Ch.287Fable (4)

# Type Unlocked at Transcendence Level 2: Space Monster

Unlike other types that are one-time acquisitions, this type has the extraordinary feature of providing additional rewards each time you advance to a higher level.

The scale of these additional rewards is beyond standard. The Level 1 Space Monster reward, “Essence Rearrangement,” completely nullifies type penalties.

I wondered what amazing thing would be given at Level 2, and it turned out to be much more unusual than expected.

‘It enhances friendly creatures?’

AMorphs have abilities to control minions like parasites, tooth fairies, and face worms. However, most of these serve only supporting roles.

The “Symbiotic Spores” that I frequently use was originally a trait meant to heal face worms and tooth fairies.

‘I thought Essence Rearrangement was extraordinary, but this…’

To be able to implant my traits into other creatures.

This is an ability typically seen in Outspacers who can customize their swarm individuals, or Metallic Gremlins who can determine the path of their pack.

‘In some ways, this might be even better than those.’

Outspacers, like AMorphs, utilize genetic essence, but they have limitations. Each individual has restrictions on applicable traits, and effects vary randomly with each application.

But “Double Helix Monolith” seems to have no such restrictions. From the description, it appears I can completely transfer traits to other creatures.

‘Let me check this out.’

Before implanting, there’s something I need to verify first.

With “Starlight Coordinates,” I could only transfer to “friendly creatures,” meaning those attached to Symbiotic Spores. This time it also mentions only friendly creatures are eligible, so I brought my auxiliary organ to No. 26.

「This target is eligible for trait implantation.」

‘Good.’

The same message appeared for Adhigh and PS-111. The only one remaining was Sky Mother.

‘Could it possibly work on players too?’

I brought the auxiliary organ to her. Sure enough, the same text box appeared.

「What’s going on?」

‘Is this even possible?’

Obviously, abilities that can implant traits into players don’t exist. Even boss creatures like Voltex One or Red Gallergorn can’t do this.

The closest thing is Megacorp’s proprietary genetic manipulation system. Even that only implants genes into one’s own body or NPCs—it can’t arbitrarily change another player’s body. Implanting just traits is naturally impossible too.

I explained the Double Helix Monolith to Sky Mother.

「…You can give traits? Even to me?」

[Zzzzzz zzz zzzz zzzzz zzzzzz(I can give you up to 2 of my traits)]

「Being able to implant traits freely. It’s like an upgraded version of Outspacers and Megacorp.」

She seems to have felt similarly to me.

「For such a powerful ability, there must be some limitations. I wonder what the drawbacks are?」

Looking at the text box description, there seem to be two potential drawbacks:

Unique traits cannot be implanted, and implanted traits are permanently applied.

‘The latter is what we need to be careful about.’

If I implant traits into my companions that turn out to be useless or even have negative effects, it would be a serious problem. I also can’t predict how the traits will function once applied.

For example, what would happen if I implanted “Three Heads” into No. 26? The concept of a head doesn’t exist for it. So the outcome is unpredictable.

‘In that sense, this could be considered a hidden limitation.’

I don’t know what the result will be after implantation. To avoid side effects, I need to carefully judge which traits are appropriate for my companions.

This part will require more research and consideration.

‘Reality-breaking events keep happening one after another.’

Add to that the battle with the human version of “me.” These are all experiences I’ve never had before.

I looked at the postscript in the text box.

‘Will you become a Guide, or will you become a Destroyer.’

Seeing this message in the current situation felt completely different.

In the lore, this choice is meaningless for AMorphs. When you ascend, the true purpose of AMorphs is revealed, and it’s closer to being a Destroyer than a Guide.

‘Ascension, huh.’

I opened another text box besides the perk content. The new evolution conditions updated upon becoming an adult appeared before me.

「’Adult’->’Ascended’

Essence of Flesh: Choose 1 from Megacorp CEO/Volf Avatar (Not achieved)

Essence of Mind: Choose 1 from Cult High Priest/Voltex One (Not achieved)

Essence of Wildness: Choose 1 from AMorph Adult/Outspacer Queen (Not achieved)

Trial of Ascension (Not achieved)

Unique Traits Owned 10/15 (Not achieved)

Types Owned 6/9 (Not achieved)」

In the game, AMorph adults were rare but not completely nonexistent.

However, everyone except me dropped out before reaching ascension.

The reason was precisely because of those three “essences” that needed to be collected.

Since it essentially means fighting the supreme leaders of each faction, it’s an enormous challenge from the start. The moment you set out to kill them, you begin a war with their entire faction.

Needless to say, these supreme leaders are usually filled with rankers. Even if you break through the enemy faction’s defenses and face your target, it’s not over. An insane trial awaits AMorphs: fighting a ranker who has the support of their entire faction.

Among the requirements for the Essence of Mind, only Voltex One is an NPC creature, but they’re no pushovers either.

The strength of Voltex One varies greatly between individuals, but even the weakest one has power comparable to a Red Gallergorn. It’s just as difficult as taking down a Megacorp CEO or Cult High Priest.

‘The easiest target would be an AMorph adult, but…’

AMorph players are very few in number. Targeting an adult is like reaching for the stars. Even I eventually failed in my attempts to hunt AMorphs and had to switch my target to Outspacers.

If you achieve all three essences and the remaining conditions, the “Trial of Ascension” opens, and clearing it leads to the ending.

‘Easier said than done.’

Getting this far is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. The unique trait and type acquisition conditions seem like nothing in comparison.

‘This is why I saved Sky Mother.’

My original plan was to raise her to the highest level of deification, “Avatar,” and then devour her. That way, I could fulfill one ascension condition right after becoming an adult, which would be advantageous.

‘I have no intention of doing that now, though.’

I glanced at her and then turned my attention back to the text box.

Anyway, my original goal was ascension. I thought seeing the ending might allow me to return to the real world.

But now that goal is wavering. The vision I saw before becoming an adult troubles me.

Why did they show me a vision of fighting the real-world “me” specifically while becoming an adult? And what if I had lost? What would happen to the current me if the real-world “me” had won?

Or conversely, what if I had devoured “me”? Would the real-world “me” disappear, leaving only the current me?

Nothing is certain, so I feel like I’m wandering in fog.

‘…Perhaps transcendence is the key?’

Transcendence, which allows AMorphs to exceed their limits.

Ascension, the ultimate goal of AMorphs.

Looking back, the two seemed to align in some ways but differed significantly in others. I’ve often debated whether to prioritize evolution conditions or to first obtain unique traits through the transcendence system.

Since both require traits, ascension and transcendence often appeared to be in competition with each other.

‘I thought it was coincidence, but it’s not.’

Seeing the rewards gained as the Space Monster type level increases, I’m convinced there’s some kind of relationship between the two.

I’m just not sure exactly what it is yet.

‘I need more information.’

Now that both the vision and ascension seem suspicious, I should gather related information. Until I confirm that ascension won’t harm me, I should put it on hold for now.

‘I should talk to Sky Mother about this later too.’

She hasn’t yet reached the stage of battling her real-world self. It’s not certain, but she might experience a vision similar to mine when she rises to avatar status. Since the vision could potentially have a negative impact on her, I should postpone this matter until things become clearer.

‘I should also check with Jason.’

He has cleared the Cult’s proprietary quest system to a fairly high level. He might have had experiences similar to mine and could know something.

‘Finally, let me check my newly acquired unique trait…’

Just as I thought about checking it, I detected a subtle anomaly. The heads on both sides raised their long necks upward. The auxiliary organs beneath the two heads roamed the empty space in a tense state.

‘What’s this?’

What the auxiliary organs detected was an energy wave. An energy explosion that occurred very far away had reached here.

‘Faster-than-light travel?’

Focusing my senses on the two heads, I stared at the empty space filled with blackness. Though nothing was visible, the auxiliary organs beneath my jaw were still sensing subtle energy waves.

Based on the sensations I was feeling, it was clear that a ship had flown near this desolate planet. Judging by the energy flow that could be felt even here, it seems a fairly massive ship attempted faster-than-light travel.

‘I don’t know who it is, but this works out well.’

The two newly acquired unique traits, “Variable Bio-weapon” and “Black Devourer Cannon,” are coincidentally both combat-related traits.

Now that new enemies have appeared, it would be good to test them out.

–

The seven houses, the core of the space superpower Megacorp.

They weren’t always mega-corporations from the beginning.

House Yugin started as a small agricultural company in a peninsula nation, and T&C was just one of many ordinary companies in the financial sector. Others include House Garmelda, originally a watchmaking company, and House Egerton, which began as nothing more than a gathering of firearms technicians.

Today, most of the seven houses have changed significantly from when they were founded.

House Yugin excels in genetic manipulation, House Garmelda leads in powered armor and weapons development, House T&C specializes in terraforming and colony management, and House Egerton possesses outstanding ship manufacturing technology. Few would recall their past appearances.

However, some houses haven’t changed their core business much.

Noble Capital “House Vedas,” which started in semiconductors and now develops ship AI.

And Noble Capital “House Saintkay,” responsible for Megacorp’s resource procurement.

House Saintkay was once the most influential diamond company on Earth in ancient times.

In the past, mining machines and miners extracted expensive diamonds. Now, super-large spaceships mine on a planetary scale.

Like their ancestors, they are people who diligently mine minerals while traveling throughout the universe. That was the characteristic of House Saintkay.

“How about that target?”

“Analysis shows it’s ‘rich in hypertite deposits,’ but there aren’t any other impressive minerals.”

“Hasn’t the price of hypertite risen considerably due to the recent war? Considering that, wouldn’t it be profitable enough?”

“We also need to consider the ‘Gigacracker’s’ energy consumption rate and time.”

In the conference room of the super-large mining ship Gigacracker.

Various team leaders had gathered there to exchange opinions.

“There’s something everyone should keep in mind. We have quotas, and it would be troublesome to forget that.”

“I believe we already met the quota a week ago?”

“That’s true, but I hear others have achieved twice as much. If we continue like this, we might receive negative evaluations in the month-end report.”

“Hmm. You’re not wrong.”

Unlike the hierarchical atmosphere of Megacorp society divided into various capitals, the mood in the conference room wasn’t bad. There was no shouting or disgraceful questioning of each other’s capital status.

The reason was related to the status of the Gigacracker.

The Gigacracker is a kind of super weapon that splits asteroids or dwarf planets with a giant ion cannon and then collects minerals. It boasts performance superior to any other mining ship and costs an absurdly high price. Even the mighty House Saintkay owns only 20 Gigacrackers.

Since problems with just one ship would cause serious damage, House Saintkay strictly managed the crew of the Gigacrackers. All the team leaders in the conference room had received special management from Noble Capital since childhood. Sharing the same past and goals, they had no reason to quarrel.

“What will you do, Captain?”

The captain from Noble Capital, Tyron Saintkay, thought for a moment before speaking.

“As the navigation team leader said, we can’t be complacent just because we’ve met the quota. We will activate the Gigacracker.”

“Understood…”

Just as the captain made his decision, suddenly a red emergency light turned on from the ceiling of the conference room.

「Unidentified energy attack detected! Everyone prepare for impact!」

Right after the emergency announcement ended, the conference room shook violently.