Ch.258Cursed Vessel (3)

–

Recent days had been good for Gidkyu.

The credits he’d won on a long-shot bet at the human arena were firmly secured in his terminal.

Perhaps it was thanks to the hope he’d grasped after so long? Even though he was heading to work, he didn’t feel tired.

“The next landing point is ‘Military Port’.”

The hover bus announcement pierced his ears.

Normally, he would have taken the military train beneath the fortress to commute. He would have been squeezed among the swarming crowds, completely ruining his mood.

But not today. Gidkyu was currently enjoying the luxury of commuting on an expensive hover bus.

Of course, the hover bus wasn’t any less crowded, but the smell was different.

Here, instead of the revolting mixture of alcohol, sweat, and vomit, there was the scent of expensive air freshener and the perfumes of wealthy passengers.

While both the train and bus were equally crowded, the different smell made for a different mood.

In truth, considering Gidkyu’s earnings, the hover bus was an extravagant luxury, but he didn’t care. Sometimes you need a change of pace like this. Thinking this, he looked out the window from among the passengers.

The self-levitating bus had just left the chaotic city district and was approaching the military port. As it landed in front of the port, people poured out.

With fewer people, there was now some space. Gidkyu lightly stretched his stiffened body.

Before the doors closed, he spotted someone he knew while looking outside.

It was a guard from the military port. They had shared drinks once before. The guard was laughing with his mouth wide open, clearly amused by something.

Though it was obviously a smiling face, Gidkyu felt something strange about it.

It was because of the eyes.

The guard’s pupils showed not the slightest tremor. Even while laughing, his gaze remained fixed on the bus.

Seeing this, Gidkyu recalled the Screamers he had seen during his time with the Star Union. Unfortunate beings who weren’t even allowed to breathe on their own under machine control.

As unwanted memories surfaced, Gidkyu averted his gaze from the guard.

But there were others with similar expressions elsewhere. Among the busy crowds moving through the military port, he occasionally spotted people with strange faces.

Some were vagrants, others were Cartel pirates. These seemingly unrelated individuals all stood with the same expression as the guard.

‘Must have taken some heavy drugs this morning.’

Kesha Arma was a space fortress that lived on crime. It wasn’t unusual to see people high on drugs anywhere—like now.

‘Lucky bastards.’

Gidkyu lost interest in the suspected drug users.

The doors closed and the bus took off again. The next landing point was the Second Command Center, where he worked as a security guard.

Even after the bus carrying Gidkyu departed, the drug users remained standing in place. A moment later, they turned and headed somewhere.

To return to their master.

–

Three days had passed since arriving at Kesha Arma, the abandoned fortress of the Cult.

During that time, I’d been gathering information, spending time figuring out how much this place had changed from my memories.

‘So the minerals ran out.’

According to my newly caught prey, the fortress was abandoned because the minerals on the planet it was guarding had been depleted.

‘Well, in games minerals might be infinite, but not in reality.’

Whether resources or organisms, they need time to flourish again.

Anyway, the resources were exhausted, and this wasn’t exactly a strategically important star system either. The Empire had no reason to maintain an orbital habitat that cost a fortune.

‘Administratively, it’s still an Imperial facility, but…’

From what I can see, it seems the Space Dog Cartel obtained management rights through lobbying.

It’s not particularly strange. Even Muriel, the first player I devoured, invaded the holy planet with Jason’s sponsorship.

‘I’ll get more details from the next target.’

My minions have just discovered operatives belonging to the Martio Cartel, the rulers of this fortress. Not just common low-level members, but someone who works at the Second Command Center, an important facility in this city.

‘I hope they’re smart.’

There are two reasons why the kids and I came here.

The first is because of rumors about a very large auction starting at the pirate fortress.

Many things happened after leaving the dragon’s nest.

While hunting the rare apex creature “Gorgon Swarm,” our transportation, the Screamer support ship, was severely damaged. As a result, it became difficult to travel with the Gallergorn pack.

‘Fortunately, there was a suitable place nearby to make a dragon’s nest.’

There was a planet in the star system where the Gorgon Swarm was located that would be suitable for Gallergorns to inhabit. The Gallergorn pack made their new nest there.

The sad part was that having lost the ship, I had to part ways with the Gallergorn pack for a while.

Since Adhigh Orr chose to follow me, he temporarily stepped down as the pack leader. Ham Oort became the interim leader in his place.

Hoping to meet again later, I left them.

Leaving the star system in search of a new goal, we switched to a new vessel. In the process, we were fortunate enough to obtain information about a slave market.

‘We really caused a scene there.’

On the planet where the slave market was set up, I was able to prey on various creatures. Not only that, but following one lead after another, I obtained very important information from a smuggler.

Information that a very large auction for smuggled animals and slaves would be held at Kesha Arma.

‘Just two more unique traits and I’ll be an adult.’

Through various experiences, I’ve nearly fulfilled the evolution conditions to become an adult.

I activated the translucent text box.

“‘Subadult’->’Adult’ Evolution Conditions

APEX 30/30 (Completed), Unique Traits Owned 8/10 (Incomplete), Types Owned 6/6 (Completed)”

Of the unique traits I possess, six were created using the transcendence system, and two were obtained from hunting apex creatures, for a total of eight. To evolve further, I need to either prey on more rare creatures or gather various traits randomly to use the transcendence system.

‘That’s why I’m targeting the auction.’

The possibility of finding a creature with unique traits at the auction is close to zero, so I’m aiming for the latter method—obtaining two more unique traits through the transcendence system to evolve.

‘Perfect Organism,’ ‘Horizon of Nightmares,’ ‘Organic Evolution,’ ‘Great Infector,’ ‘Herald of Chaos,’ and a unique trait I haven’t used here yet.

Besides those, I have ‘Dragon’s Heart’ obtained from capturing the Black Gallergorn, and ‘Medusa Organ’ from capturing the Gorgon Swarm.

Excluding the unique traits obtained from apex creatures, six are currently classified as cosmic monster type. If two more are added, that will make eight, unlocking the cosmic monster type level 2 reward.

‘That way I can get both evolution and the level 2 reward simultaneously.’

That’s my reason for coming here, and the second reason is more related to the Sky Mother than to me.

Currently, the Sky Mother is in a similar state to mine. She only needs one more sacrifice to advance her deification stage.

‘The heart of a corrupted Volf.’

After refining the Starpearl ore we took from the dragon’s nest at the pirate slave market, all that remains for her is to consume a Volf’s heart.

It seems like an easy goal, and it actually is. All she needs to do is extract the heart of a Volf player who can transform.

‘If this were a game.’

Unlike in the game, it’s been difficult to find a Volf as powerful as the Sky Mother here. Most Volfs didn’t even know the concept of deification.

If we hadn’t heard at the slave market about a Volf in the space fortress who could transform, we would have kept searching for much longer.

‘They said the deputy leader of the Martio Cartel, who oversees the auction, is a Volf.’

If we capture the organization member reported by my minions, we can obtain information to lure out the deputy leader.

Anyway, that’s the biggest reason we came here.

Although this was the destination chosen by me and the Sky Mother, the others didn’t particularly object.

‘Good kids.’

As terrifying as they are when fighting enemies, they only look cute to me.

My family is currently inside a container that has been moved to the military port.

It’s a container owned by the previous owners of the ship I came on, providing shielding effects against various types of energy. Inside it, the psychic power emitted by my companions doesn’t leak outside at all.

Originally, this place was a space fortress managed by the Cult fleet. Although I had heard it had changed into a pirate base before coming, I hid my companions in the container in case there were still military forces remaining.

‘Now that it’s confirmed to be under Space Dog control, there’s no need for that anymore.’

When we formally invade the fortress, I’ll need to bring them out and utilize them.

‘But not yet.’

The fruit isn’t ripe. Now is the time for groundwork. When all preparations are complete, I plan to go to war with them.

I rose from my prone position in the cargo hold.

When I left the dragon’s nest, my body resembled a spider in form. A 25m spider with a tail and wings.

Although I’ve gained many traits since then, my appearance hasn’t changed much from that time. The main differences are that my head carapace has grown larger due to ‘Herald of Chaos’ and my monster tentacles have become longer.

“Come here.”

Hearing the words flowing from my mouth, twenty minions approached me.

Controlled by parasites, they were extremely happy to follow my orders. This would have been impossible in the game, but the enhancement effects of two traits made it possible.

Great Infector, which provides three enhancement effects each for Infection and Nest traits. Through this, the enhanced ‘Parasite Colony’ can produce twenty parasites.

This means the number of targets I can control has increased to twenty.

And that’s not all. ‘Shape Dominator,’ one of the Proof of Mighty traits, also enhanced the parasite colony. Not just in number, but in quality as well.

The parasites, now the size of eels, eat away at the opponent’s brain and replace that part. Now the infected person’s entire brain activity is under the parasite’s control.

It’s not simply about serving me. To them, I am a part of their life, or rather, no different from a part of their body. They follow me with all their sincerity, not forced obedience.

‘The bad part is when it’s time to collect them.’

I experimented before to see what would happen, and they don’t die immediately when the parasite leaves. Since part of their brain is gone, they become completely disabled.

In other words, unlike before, once a parasite is implanted, that person is finished.

‘Good thing I took it out of the Sky Mother early.’

After seeing an eel covered in brain fragments shoot out of a victim’s mouth, she didn’t come near me for quite a while.

‘Enough distractions. I need to focus.’

With twenty people lined up in front of me, I activated ‘Herald of Chaos.’ The monster tentacles hidden in my rear head carapace and neck shot out.

The tentacles writhe like an octopus swimming underwater. Psychic power that has a fatal effect on the flesh and mind of living beings spreads through the air via the tentacles.

People sensitive to energy would be able to see it. Very thin strands of psychic power permeating the air like smoke rising from an incense burner.

As Herald of Chaos activated, the twenty people in front of me reacted immediately.

“Slurp slurp, hee hee, slurp slurp, hee hee!”

“Huk, huk, huk, huk, huk, huk, huk.”

“Oogh, ugh, aah, ooheeheehee!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sor…”

A uniformed guard sucked his fingers vigorously, perhaps seeing childhood memories.

A pirate with a glass eye repeatedly apologized, perhaps encountering victims he had killed in the past.

Some thrust their hips wildly into the air, drooling as if experiencing extreme pleasure, while others panted and licked the floor frantically.

Slaves to sensation floundered in the psychic power that twisted and distorted their senses.

Herald of Chaos is a unique trait for which I secured material information when raiding the Screamer support ship. With many psychic-related traits as ingredients, it specializes in mental manipulation and crowd control using psychic power.

‘The range is actually much wider originally…’

It can affect all sentient beings within a 500m radius, but I’ve extremely limited the range now. There’s work to be done with these twenty people here.

As their actions became increasingly intense and more animal-like, I noticed purple light flashing above some of their heads.

‘Good.’

Those light clusters are ‘Madness Bombs’—a kind of side effect that comes with using Herald of Chaos.

Confirming this, I immediately deactivated Herald of Chaos. The minions who returned to reality collapsed in their places, completely exhausted.

‘I’ll start with this.’

When the madness bombs explode, there will be quite a commotion.

I ordered those surrounded by the purple light clusters.

To find places where many people gather.