Ch.246Test Subject (1)

Adhigh landed lightly on top of the hangar.

Whether he had used ‘Red Armor’ when ramming into Pyrrha Eleven’s carrier aircraft, there wasn’t a single wound on his body.

｢Kin｣｢Vengeance｣｢Repaid｣

[Zzzzz (Well done)]

｢Great Elder｣｢I｣｢Great Leader｣｢Role｣｢Did I do it?｣

[Zzzzzzz (Of course)]

｢Little baby well done! Well done!｣

｢Success｣｢Fortunate｣

Having received praise from me and No. 26, he nodded his head proudly. It felt strange to see him acting so dignified when before he would jump up and down whenever he was happy.

‘Though it seems he can’t control his tail.’

I stroked his head as he wagged his plump tail back and forth.

[Zzzzz Zzzzzzz (What about Sky Mother?)]

｢Ham Oort｣｢Took care of her｣｢Sea of Stars｣｢Going there｣｢Difficult she said｣

[Zzzz (I suppose)]

Volf don’t immediately die when exposed to space with their bare bodies. However, unlike monstrous races like AMorph or Metallic Gremlins, they can’t survive for extended periods.

If there’s a well-maintained ship or a nest like the one I made with an adequate oxygen supply, there’s no problem, but traveling through space while clinging to Adhigh’s back would be quite burdensome.

While we were conversing, the hangar door closed by itself. And I could feel the entire ship rapidly descending. PS-111, who had taken control of the ship, was trying to land it.

‘He must be in the control room.’

Pyrrha Eleven remotely controlled this massive ship, but that was only possible because he was an android with superior performance. While PS-111 is special, his performance doesn’t match up to Pyrrha Eleven’s level.

So he must be controlling this ship while directly synchronized with the bridge.

‘Since it’s a Jax Alpha class battleship, I wonder if it’s in the central upper section.’

I headed toward the control room with Adhigh and No. 26.

When we arrived at the control room, PS-111 was there as I expected. He was lying face down inside a section of the floor that had been opened up in the center of the room.

The organic tissue covering his back was split in half, revealing his spine clearly, and hundreds of cables were connected to it.

“You’ve arrived?”

He acknowledged us after staring blankly into space.

“Good timing. I need to check something.”

“About the Star Union support fleet?”

“Can you check when the support request was sent?”

I thought he could easily access the records since he was directly controlling the massive ship.

But contrary to my expectation, he gave a negative response.

“Pyrrha Eleven has strengthened the security system. In my current state, it’s impossible to break through.”

“Is that so?”

“However, if my mechanical module is enhanced, I believe I could break through.”

“Enhancement. You’re thinking of using this ship’s facilities.”

“Correct assessment.”

This ship carries various machinery and facilities responsible for producing Screamers. He could easily modify the facilities to enhance himself.

‘I was thinking of infiltrating the ship to access the data, but his method might be better.’

Considering Pyrrha Eleven’s harsh personality, who knows what problems might arise if we forcibly deactivate the security system. He would certainly have set traps.

While conversing with him, the ship, which had been steadily descending, safely landed on the surface.

Coming out of the ship, I could see a half-collapsed canyon in the distance.

Sky Mother and the Gallergorn were waiting for us in the plains near the ship. The Gallergorn’s bodies were covered in wounds, but none of them had died.

Ham Oort, who stood at the front of the Gallergorn, quietly bowed his head toward Adhigh. The Gallergorn behind him also bent their front legs and bowed their heads.

Adhigh slightly bowed his head with his wings spread wide. Then, he emitted thought waves that I couldn’t interpret.

‘Is this a ritual for achieving revenge?’

While Gallergorn have no concept of funerals, they do have a sense of kinship. If a young Blue Gallergorn dies or an egg breaks, the entire herd becomes enraged.

‘Even in the game, Gallergorn’s revenge was notoriously fierce.’

That made hunting them really difficult. When hunting alone, other Gallergorn would continuously appear.

‘And now I’m traveling with a herd of Gallergorn.’

If the me from the game saw my current self, he would be shocked.

While watching the dragons’ ritual, Sky Mother approached me.

｢He would have loved to see this.｣

[Zz Zzzzzz Zzzz Zzz Zzzz Zzzzzzzzz (That Gallergorn maniac? Were you two acquainted?)]

｢Yes. After my clan disbanded, he tried really hard to recruit me when I was alone.｣

The “he” she’s referring to was the 18th ranked Cold Blood ranker, very famous as a Gallergorn maniac. He even stole eggs once, saying he wanted to raise Gallergorn.

‘I wonder if he also came to this world, being a ranker.’

Cold Blood, due to their racial characteristics, can grow rapidly until mid-game, but it becomes increasingly difficult afterward. Because they borrow power from Voltex One, they’re powerful initially, but over time, the price they have to pay increases, making it harder.

‘Considering the price, survival wouldn’t be easy.’

The cosmic demons, the Voltex Ones, are transcendent beings that only rankers can encounter. The power they lend is formidable, but the price is also transcendent. Failing to properly pay the price? Only a fate worse than death awaits.

If he didn’t take the cultist route, he might still be alive, but realistically, the chances are low. With the power of Voltex One, most immediate problems could be solved, so it’s questionable if one could resist that temptation.

‘Come to think of it, Jason also caught a Cold Blood ranker.’

I heard this when interrogating the Cult ranker Jason after turning him into a human-faced beast.

Among the perks he possessed, the ability to create metal forms, which is now “Color of the Deep,” was originally a Cold Blood ranker’s perk.

‘Jason said he didn’t know what rank he was.’

Cold Blood rankers all have low ranks due to their inherent limitations. True to his arrogant nature, he had no interest in those weaker than himself.

‘It was that reckless personality that led to his defeat by me.’

Moreover, he said that the investigation of the Cold Blood ranker was handled by another player who participated in the ranker hunt with him. So there was no reason for him to be interested.

While I was lost in thought about someone who was already dead, Adhigh sent me a thought wave.

｢Great Elder｣｢I｣｢Nest｣｢I’ll be back｣

He probably wants to inform his kin in the nest about this. Just as I was about to tell him to do as he wished, PS-111, who had belatedly emerged from the ship, approached us.

“To increase the ship control efficiency, I need to upgrade my mechanical module part. For this, I need metal from the nest.”

｢I｣｢Will take you there｣

“Thank you.”

With that, it was decided that those with business would return to the nest.

After they left, only I, No. 26, and Sky Mother remained beside the ship.

‘Well then…’

I looked up at the ship with damaged front and side sections.

There are still unresolved issues. We don’t know when the Star Union support troops that Pyrrha Eleven mentioned will arrive.

But that’s information we can only ascertain after he’s enhanced. It’s not something we can do right now.

There’s only one thing I can do now.

Check the treasures that Pyrrha Eleven had diligently collected for creating Screamers.

‘I wonder how many genetic samples are on the ship.’

[Zz Zzzzzz Zzzz (Let’s explore the ship)]

｢Alright.｣

｢A Screamer’s ship. It wasn’t in the game. Interesting.｣

I boarded the ship again with the kids.

If I’m lucky, a new unique trait synthesis formula might open up here.

‘Though a synthesis formula requiring infection-related traits as materials has already opened up.’

Conversely, there’s a possibility that there are only samples of the same organisms, so I might not gain many traits. Of course, even then, securing a large number of traits wouldn’t be bad.

With such pleasant thoughts, I headed toward the section where genetic essences were stored. As I got closer to the area, the enticing smell I had passed by earlier grew stronger.

Was it because I had consumed a lot of energy during the intense fight? With a moderate hunger and anticipation for what’s to come, I found myself in a good mood without even realizing it.

｢Big baby seems to be in a good mood.｣

｢…Indeed, Morph bo-, ahem, indeed.｣

Finally, I reached the place where the smell was strongest. I grabbed the thick iron door blocking the sweet fragrance and tore it off.

Then, an incredibly concentrated aroma hit my auxiliary organs.

‘Wow.’

The scene that unfolded behind the iron door was just as I had imagined.

No, perhaps it was beyond my imagination.

There were genetic samples refined from hundreds of different species filled in freezers. Not only that, but frozen containers holding biological remains from this planet and others also greeted me.

｢Wow! There’s so much food!｣

No. 26 exclaimed in amazement from above my head. As he said, this place was a treasure trove of genetic essences.

The only disappointing aspect was that a significant portion of the samples that should have been in the freezers had leaked out and broken. It was presumed that the freezers were damaged due to the impact during the battle.

Still, it wasn’t a big problem. There were still plenty of samples left.

‘Forget everything else, let’s use Hunter’s Emblem first.’

It’s time for a feast after a long while.

–

On that unnamed planet, there is a peculiar volcano.

While it’s classified as a super-large volcano, it’s not particularly special in that regard. There are countless volcanoes in the universe that are even larger.

The true peculiarity of this volcano isn’t its size.

First is its color. On this planet where snow and hail fall day and night, this volcano always maintains its black color. It’s strange, considering that nature doesn’t avoid this volcano.

Second is its energy. This volcano continuously emits an enormous amount of energy. It’s so intense that creatures that feed on energy find it difficult to leave this place.

What’s curious is that this volcano wasn’t always like this. It’s been less than a few decades since the volcano changed this way.

A volcano that suddenly transcended the laws of physics and nature. At its entrance, there is a cave.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary cave, but once inside, it’s not that simple. The long cave, intertwined like a maze, reaches the core of the volcano.

As the temperature inside the volcano rises to a level where organisms can survive, the cave is teeming with various predators from this planet.

Because of this, for a long time, no unfamiliar visitors set foot in this cave.

Until recently, that is.

“Ssak…!”

A repulsive creature, a mix of mantis, wasp, and horsefly, collapsed with its head half-severed.

In front of the fallen monster stood a woman with black hair. With a slender figure and wearing a white bodysuit, she lightly shook off the blood from the pure white blade that had emerged from her wrist.

“How’s it going over there?”

｢It’s done.｣

The one who answered her was a being wearing a 2.5m metal suit. It was a heavy suit that combined features of an enhancement suit and a walker, giving it an image closer to a fully armed combat android.

“Is Captain Nern safe?”

“I am safe, Siheyon Yujin.”

The woman in the white bodysuit, Siheyon Yujin, surveyed the survivors. The number of those remaining wasn’t very many.

‘…9 people?’

When they first set foot on this planet, there were 60 people. Among them, 10 were lost to wild animal attacks before entering this volcano. In reality, being separated alone on this harsh planet is as good as being dead.

Having lost 10 out of 60 people, they entered the volcano, but this place was even more terrifying than the outside.

While the interior of the volcano didn’t have the extreme cold, it was instead teeming with all sorts of dangerous creatures.

The creature she just dispatched is a very dangerous monster named Hellside Hornet. Without the enhancement suit “White Maiden,” which changes shape according to the wearer’s imagination, even she would find it difficult to defeat.

‘This is already the fourth encounter with such a monster.’

“We’ll rest here for a moment.”

“Yes!”

At her command, her subordinates prepared to rest on the ground. Knowing they were tired from fighting formidable enemies, Siheyon didn’t scold them.

Siheyon approached the subordinate in charge of communications.

“How’s the communication? Has the weather anomaly issue been resolved?”

“The weather anomaly issue has been resolved, but it seems the other side hasn’t fully restored the line yet.”

“The satellite radar’s problem… hmm?”

At that moment, the being in the metal suit, Lila Chamberlain, gestured to her, indicating she had something to say privately.

“Try again and let me know if you succeed.”

“Yes.”

After giving orders to her subordinate, Siheyon followed Lila. She stopped at a spot slightly away from the clearing where the other personnel were resting.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

｢Since entering this place, we’ve encountered Hellside Hornets four times. Ah, including the one just now, that’s five in total. In my entire life, this is the first time I’ve seen so many Hellside Hornets.｣

“…Indeed.”

｢And there was also an Ice Horror, right? Twenty people died because of it. That’s only because you lured it away and we barely managed to shake it off. If things had gone wrong, we could have been completely wiped out. Am I wrong?｣

Due to severe physical damage, Lila has to rely on the life support system of her suit for the rest of her life. Her vocal cords are completely damaged, so she speaks with the help of a machine.

Though the machine’s rapid-fire voice carried no emotion, Siheyon easily understood Lila’s feelings.

Lila was questioning whether what she was doing was worth all this.

“There’s an important artifact here. We need to obtain it to achieve what we desire.”

｢That artifact nonsense. You know how ridiculous you sound, right? Magical artifacts don’t exist anywhere in this universe.｣

Lila’s former house, T&C, has the most colonial planets among the Megacorps. They are well-versed in all the unique elements that exist on various planets.

So Lila knows better than anyone that ancient artifacts or secret weapons left by a fallen civilization from a distant past unknown to humanity don’t actually exist.

｢You gave me an opportunity. I can’t die until I achieve what I want. Dying in a place like this is especially not on my agenda.｣

“……”

Siheyon maintained a brief silence before responding to Lila’s words.

Siheyon understands Lila’s thoughts, and what Minseok, who might be somewhere outside this planet, might be thinking. Originally, she too would have thought similarly to them.

But she saw it.

Reborn in a clone’s body, she not only checked the records left by Siheyon but also all the records left by those around Siheyon.

And in the few records left by Siheyon’s former mentor, Bumho, she found an unusual message.

It was something close to a provision for the future.

Siheyon hasn’t shared that record with anyone until now.

‘But…’

Now it’s time to speak. Siheyon handed a small memory chip hidden inside her enhancement suit to Lila.

｢What is this?｣

“You’ll know when you check it.”

Without asking further, Lila immediately inserted the chip into the panel on her wrist. The copy images stored in the chip appeared before her eyes.

｢Is this a navigation chart?｣

“Yes.”

｢What are these beside it? Words? Sentences? They look like characters left by primitive sentient beings.｣

“Those are characters used in the past on Earth.”

｢Earth? The Earth I know?｣

“Yes. They’re now dead languages. If I were to decode them, they’d mean this.”

Siheyon took a deep breath and began to speak.

“The ownership of two pieces of equipment made with the ‘Perk’ of ‘Unknown Creator’ is temporarily transferred from ‘Player Jungwoo’ to ‘Player Shin Bumho’.”

The words that flowed from her lips were no longer used by anyone. Even as Siheyon spoke them, she felt strangely familiar.

As if the blood flowing in her body was responding.

“Thereafter, only those with the blood of ‘Player Jungwoo’ can acquire ownership of these two pieces of equipment. ‘Player Shin Bumho’ will safely store this equipment until then.”

With such thoughts, she recited the next sentence.