Ch.293Target (2)

“…It’s gotten even more hideous since becoming an adult.”

Sky Mother grimaced at the insect monster with Jason’s face.

It seemed quite disturbing to see a 3m-sized bug monster in reality.

‘Well, shall we begin?’

I used my “mimicry organ” to ask Jason in a human voice.

“How many quest stages have you cleared?”

“I cleared up to stage 10 and was working on stage 11.”

Cult has a unique system called ‘quests.’ The quests consist of 12 stages, and rewards are provided each time a stage is cleared.

The armor and weapons Jason brought when fighting me were the “Dragonslayer Set,” the reward for clearing stage 10. I had expected him to be around that level, and I was right.

‘It takes quite some time to clear from stage 11.’

Anyway, having cleared up to stage 10 means he’s fairly close to the ending. So he likely had experiences similar to mine.

“Did you see visions of your human life while clearing quests?”

“Yes. I saw them each time I cleared a quest stage.”

“Things that happened in the past?”

“That’s right.”

It was as I expected. Just like I saw things that happened in the past, he had the same experience.

“Was there anything strange about the visions? Like only showing bad memories, or distorted parts?”

He hesitated at my question. Jason’s face twisted grotesquely. He seemed to be recalling unpleasant memories.

“There was no distortion in the memories shown by the visions. They were exactly as I experienced them.”

“Then they must have been unhappy memories.”

“Yes. My drunken father always called me a faggot. My mother and I couldn’t resist him at all. We just got beaten by him every day.”

Despite his severely contorted face, Jason continued in an extremely dry tone. Sky Mother, who was listening beside us, frowned. From what he was saying, it seemed Jason hadn’t lived a very smooth life either.

“Besides that, I saw memories of being alone because I couldn’t adapt to school, and having to return to my hometown after failing to get a job.”

All the memories he mentioned were from his human life.

‘Similar to me.’

“Is that all the visions showed? Nothing besides memories of abuse?”

“No. When I cleared stage 10, I saw a different vision.”

“A different vision?”

Jason’s severely distorted face gradually began to relax.

“When the vision started, I woke up in front of my room. I was standing there with a Cult body.”

Standing in front of his real-world room with the body he obtained in this world. Exactly the same as when I saw the “me” in reality.

“When I opened the door, my real self was there.”

“What did you do to him?”

“I killed him.”

He calmly stated that he killed his real self.

“My real self lived a failed life. But I’m different here. Perfect appearance, powerful strength, authority that everyone looks up to, women who live only for me. Those things are far more valuable than someone like ‘Jason Tunningham’!”

He passionately ranted as if completely intoxicated. It was the first time I’d seen him this excited since becoming an insect monster.

‘He seemed to have a strong ego.’

This was unexpected. He maintained his arrogant attitude until his death at my hands. I naturally thought he would be the same in reality, but I never imagined he would have such severe self-loathing.

‘Is it a reaction to an unpleasant reality?’

As a stag-horned Cult, he was among the highest nobility in the Empire. Moreover, he was a shaman, an influential power in the Empire.

‘A life completely opposite to his miserable reality.’

In that respect, there’s a commonality between Jason and me: hating our real selves.

I almost killed “myself” in the vision too. I was able to stop because something blocked me, but if not for that, I would surely have devoured “myself.”

‘Sky Mother didn’t like her past either.’

If she raises her incarnation level in the future, she might have similar experiences to ours.

‘Is the purpose of these visions to encourage us to stay in this world?’

I suspect they might be deliberately emphasizing the negative aspects of reality to prevent us from returning.

‘Then did Jason and other factions see different hallucinations than us?’

Cynthia, whom I met at the space fortress, said her goal was to see the ending and return to reality.

That means many in her faction still have attachments to reality.

‘Is their reality not as unfortunate as ours?’

Perhaps that’s why they saw different visions than we did.

As I was lost in these thoughts, Sky Mother, who had been watching our conversation, spoke up.

“I have a question.”

“…”

“If you chose your self in this world because reality was painful, why did you inflict pain on others?”

“Answer her question.”

Since the insect monster is essentially part of my body, it only obeys my commands. When I urged him, Jason broke his silence.

“Because I could.”

“What?”

“If you have power, isn’t it natural to use it? When I can get whatever I want with this power, why should I care about others’ pain?”

“Didn’t you ever think about using that power to protect those who love you?”

“Why would I do that when everyone loves me anyway?”

“How do you view the lives of those who dedicate themselves to you?”

“As toys. I am their owner.”

Sky Mother closed her mouth at Jason’s brief response. She was speechless with disbelief.

“Rather, I’d like to ask you. Why do you advocate for coexistence?”

This time, the insect monster directed a question back at her.

“…They’re not just NPCs. They’re residents living in another world. If we’re going to adapt to this world, shouldn’t we naturally mingle with them?”

“Adapting to this world and treating NPCs as persons are separate issues. Even if they’re really alive, I, as the stronger one, have no obligation to help them.”

“To think you consider this reality yet view all other creatures as slaves… I can’t understand.”

“Didn’t you also keep Volfs as pet toys? While being worshipped as their god?”

“I was trying to protect them!”

“Same here. My power benefits the Empire just by existing. I merely received small compensation for that.”

Their argument was going nowhere.

Both Jason and Sky Mother chose to adapt to this world rather than reality, which is the same.

But their approaches were completely different. Jason chose to abuse and dominate other beings, while Sky Mother tried to form bonds with the Volfs and live with them.

“I heard the Coexistence Faction failed because of fools like you who get too attached to NPCs. If that stupid Muriel hadn’t failed, then you too…”

“Enough.”

“■!”

I forcibly silenced Jason as he was about to cross a line.

“Do not insult her.”

He looked at me with surprised eyes, then bowed his head.

“Are you okay?”

“…That bas-, ahem, that thing hasn’t changed even after becoming an insect monster.”

Sky Mother glared at the silenced insect monster, then soon sighed.

“I’d like to punch him, but would that kill him?”

“If you want to hit him, it’s fine. He can regenerate anyway.”

“Now that you say that, I want to hit him even more.”

Contrary to her words, she had no intention of punching the insect monster and just plopped down on the floor.

After confirming she had calmed down, I removed the restriction allowing Jason to speak again.

“I’ve heard there are people aiming for the ending. Do you know about them?”

“Yes. They call themselves the ‘Return Faction.'”

“And you just mentioned the ‘Coexistence Faction.’ They’re people who chose to stay in this world like you?”

“They’re quite different from us, but I think our goals are similar.”

The Return Faction has clearly different objectives, and the Coexistence Faction is similar to Jason’s faction but with major directional differences.

The three factions cannot coexist because of their vastly different perceptions of reality and the Space Survival world. There might also be differences in how the factions contrast the two in their visions.

Understanding those differences is necessary to know why the visions exist and how they affect us.

‘And whether the visions are dangerous or not.’

My belief that we need to see the ending to understand why we fell into this world remains unchanged.

But if I didn’t decide that of my own will, but was induced by something, I will never follow it.

‘Instead, I’ll have to find another way.’

“Last question. The members of the Return Faction and Coexistence Faction, do you know where they are?”

Jason answered my question.

“I know two from the Return Faction and one from the Coexistence Faction, three in total.”

“Tell me.”

“The 4th ranked Outspacer player, the 7th ranked Cult player Bumho, and the 22nd ranked Coldblood player. The first two are Return Faction, and the Coldblood player is Coexistence Faction.”

“4th and 7th? Those two are Return Faction?”

“Yes.”

I know those two well.

‘Of all people, it had to be some of the most troublesome ones.’

The 4th ranked player, as the top Outspacer player, is an expert who controls tremendous resources very well. He knows almost as much game information as I do.

‘And the 7th.’

Jason knew him well enough to call him by name. The name ‘Bumho’ doesn’t fit with Cult, so it must be his real name. As far as I know, the 7th ranked was the only Korean among Cult rankers.

‘The most troublesome one among Cult players.’

The highest-ranked Cult player is 2nd. One might think he’s less skilled due to his lower ranking, but that’s not the case at all.

‘The 2nd is simple and straightforward, which makes him easier to deal with.’

On the other hand, the 7th, Bumho, is the best strategist I know among Cult players. In terms of combat sense and tactical planning, he’s better than me.

‘I can’t beat either of them now.’

Both are among the smartest players. They must have already noticed my existence.

Especially the 4th ranked player knows that Outspacers are included in AMorph’s evolution conditions. He must have made thorough preparations for when I come after his life.

‘Then what remains is…’

The Coldblood player from the Coexistence Faction.

“Where is the 22nd ranked?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I missed the 22nd but caught their companion. I only know that the 22nd is hiding somewhere in the Empire.”

The Cult Empire’s territory is even larger than Megacorp’s. With numerous star systems under imperial control, saying they’re hiding somewhere in there is as good as saying he doesn’t know.

“Bumho’s whereabouts are also unknown, so I can only tell you the location of the 4th ranked.”

‘This is troublesome.’

Fighting the 4th without knowing the 7th’s location would not be easy at all. Since they’re in the same faction, they might be together.

What if they both come after me?

‘That would be the end.’

Even with all the Gallergorn and a Gigacracker, I would certainly lose.

As my worries deepened, Sky Mother stood up.

“I have something to say.”

“Hm?”

“…I know a way to find the 22nd ranked’s location.”

“What?”

“But promise me one thing.”

Her amber eyes turned toward me.

“When you meet them, talk first before attacking.”

“What if they attack first?”

“They’re a coward, so they won’t. If you find it hard to believe, I’ll try to persuade them first.”

From her tone, she seemed to know the 22nd ranked. No, they appeared to have a relationship more intimate than mere acquaintances.

‘But I don’t know if that’s still the case.’

Sky Mother had been in seclusion at the Cult sanctuary for a long time. She seems to have encountered the 22nd ranked even before that, but can she still maintain the same relationship now?

After thinking for a moment, I partially accepted her request.

“I’ll try to talk. But if I judge there’s even a slight danger, I’ll attack immediately. I don’t want to leave any potentially harmful elements.”

“…Okay.”

“If I determine they’re not dangerous, I’ll just subdue them.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

She understood my intention and expressed gratitude. As long as I don’t kill them, I can use symbiotic spores to heal them. Just like I did when I first met her.

‘So our next destination is set.’

After Adhigh’s nest, our next destination:

The Cult Empire, where the 22nd ranked is hiding.