Ch.396Ranker (1)

I examined the enemy with my auxiliary organs beneath my chin.

Akira Yujin floating among the broken ship debris.

I had fought with Megacorp rankers in the game so many times I was sick of them. I’d battled that third-ranked one over there dozens of times.

But the creature here now looked very different from what I remembered.

Megacorp players can enhance their bodies through genetic modification like AMorphs or Outspacers.

However, unlike those two species, they can’t immediately use harvested genes and must first create samples. These gene samples, modified for human use, are significantly inferior to the pure essence.

That’s why they can’t transform into completely different forms like AMorphs. At best, they can only change into something like a Hulk mutant. Siheyon Yujin and Code Black, whom I’ve fought before, didn’t deviate much from the human framework.

But the Akira Yujin over there could hardly be considered human.

Compound eyes reminiscent of an insect, four horns protruding from the temples, a height of nearly 5m, scales covering the entire body, large wings, and four elongated arms splitting from the shoulders plus massive wings sprouting from the back. Everything about him was far from human.

If not for the rifle-shaped weapon in his right hand, it would have been difficult to think of him as human at all.

The moment I had that thought, he moved.

His body approached with terrifying speed as if skipping through space.

So the wings on his back weren’t just for show. He’s much faster than I expected. I quickly moved Adhigh Orr from my combat arm to the smaller arm on my chest.

He swung one of his four arms as he approached in an instant. The arm with a hook at the end looked similar to my bone scythe arm.

Just before the hook claw could pierce above my snout, I quickly pulled my neck back. His claw sliced off the carapace at the tip of my snout.

If I had been even slightly slower, my snout would have been cut in half. Having narrowly avoided a fatal wound, I counterattacked with my corrosive tentacle.

My corrosive tentacle has the “Medusa Organ” applied to it. If I succeed in piercing his body with the tentacle’s appendage, I can turn him into a quartz chunk.

The enemy didn’t react to the approaching tentacle. Instead, the wings on his back began to react, emitting energy.

‘Oh no!’

Those wings rapidly concentrating energy, I know what that means. I need to dodge immediately, but the distance is too close.

Just as the beam was about to fire, his left wing melted and scattered. Isabelle had fired Voltex One’s pistol.

Seeming to realize the danger, he abandoned his attack and tried to retreat. My corrosive tentacle caught his leg by a hair’s breadth.

Though Akira’s height approached 5m, my body is much larger. The tentacle’s appendage easily tore his left leg apart.

I was about to rip apart his entire lower body when interference arrived. Megacorp and Star Union battleships.

Torpedoes and heat rays they fired struck my back. Akira escaped from the tentacle in that moment.

Instead of chasing after him, I moved out of the battleships’ firing range. The ships continued attacking with their auxiliary guns while moving toward where Akira was.

Their grouping together isn’t welcome, but it can’t be helped. I also need time to repair with the critically injured Adhigh Orr.

‘Besides, Akira is badly injured too.’

The quickly retreating enemy completely cut off his injured leg with his hook claw. Surely to avoid the Medusa Organ.

While I was thinking that, something strange happened. New body parts sprouted from where his wing and leg had been cut off.

‘What?’

The leg that burst from the wound was protected by thick carapace, and the newly grown wing was narrower and more elongated than the right one.

Regeneration and recovery traits restore damaged parts to their original form, not reconstruct them into completely different shapes like that. His new wing and leg looked as if they had been transplanted directly from different creatures.

“AMorph, look, deep sea. His perk, it is.”

Isabelle sent me a thought wave.

“Based on stored genes, creates body parts, internally, to replace them, that’s his perk.”

As she said, it felt more like replacement with new limbs rather than regeneration. It was like a cyborg’s module replacement ability adapted to Megacorp style.

‘Similar to a variable bio-weapon.’

The right wing that had tried to fire a beam earlier was similar to creatures I knew.

‘Arcane Orca’s wing.’

It was much smaller than the original and lacked the distinctive mystical patterns. However, its shape and energy beam firing ability closely resembled that of an Arcane Orca.

The hook-clawed arm that tried to slash me, and the newly grown left wing and leg were all forms mimicking Apex creatures.

‘Changing multiple parts simultaneously.’

Variable bio-weapons can only change one part at a time, and only temporarily unless in the Void Dice state. He must have limitations on body transformation too, but from what I can see now, his perk has an advantage over mine.

[Bzz bzz bzzbzz(What about other perks?)]

“Visible, perks, combined with the current one, seven in total.”

[Bzz(Seven?)]

Among the players I’ve killed, Jason had the most perks. In my case, I have 5 “Proof of Strong Enemy” traits obtained from killing him and other players.

Seven is more than me.

“At least, fortunately, two, cannot be used, here.”

[Bzzbzz bz bzzbzz bzzbzz bzz bzzbzzbz(Can’t use them here? Are they perks with restrictions?)]

He nodded.

The Proof of Strong Enemy traits I possess are powerful but have usage restrictions. It seems his perks are similar.

‘Still, 5 is the same as me.’

He has a perk that contaminates genes, a perk that’s almost an upgraded version of variable bio-weapons, and three more perks.

‘…This won’t be easy.’

Moreover, our situation isn’t good.

While monitoring him with my auxiliary organs, I checked on Adhigh Orr cradled in my small arms.

His small, fragile body was rapidly cooling, as if to prove that his life force was draining away.

“AMorph. ‘Little one’s’ condition, very serious, it is.”

PS-111, crawling down my arm, quickly examined Adhigh Orr.

“APNC, activation, confirmed. If not treated, quickly, dangerous, it is.”

The formal name Anti Psychic Nanite Cartridge, abbreviated as APNC, is a nanomachine bullet made by Star Union.

When it successfully hits a target, the embedded microscopic machines activate and absorb all nearby psychic power. It’s very small and can be considered a Blood River that only absorbs psychic power.

However, except for the nanomachines, it’s not much different from a Stormgun’s depleted uranium round. It can’t inflict significant damage on creatures with extremely thick carapaces like me or beings that don’t use psychic power.

‘The problem is that Adhigh Orr was hit by APNC, not me.’

If he had been an ordinary White Gallergorn, he wouldn’t have suffered such a fatal wound. As Gallergorn grow, their scales become harder, making it difficult to damage them with Stormgun-level firepower.

But Adhigh Orr was born with an inherently small body. Without Red Armor, he could be seriously injured even by APNC with its relatively weak impact. Just like now.

[Bzz bzzbzz bzzbz bzz bzzbzz(Any other poison or contaminants?)]

“Not detected, they are.”

It’s fortunate that no fatal poison I’m unaware of was injected, but I still can’t be optimistic.

‘He won’t last long like this.’

The injury itself is severe, and the nanobots continue to eat away at his psychic power from within. As PS-111 warned, if we don’t take action quickly, he’ll die.

‘I’d like to transplant recovery-related traits into him, but…’

Unfortunately, that’s impossible. The genes responsible for recovery and regeneration have been contaminated due to Akira’s manipulation.

The fortunate thing amid this misfortune is that there’s another being here besides me who possesses healing power.

‘Sky Mother.’

She has powerful healing abilities from gaining the power of the Thunderbird, a phantom beast.

Having organized my thoughts, I immediately generated waves with the monster’s tentacles.

[Bzz bzzbzz(Everyone come here)]

My message spreads through space. Those fighting fiercely in the distance respond.

The silver clouds stretching between the ships turned blue and disappeared. And shortly after, they appeared tearing through space near me.

Thanks to No. 26 receiving my message and relaying it to the Metallic Gremlins, everyone came here together.

“■■?”

“Grrrr.”

“The enemy fleet just disappeared while jumping. What’s going on?”

The silver demons and my avatars who had been fighting looked confused. Sky Mother, mixed among them, flew toward me with No. 26.

“Little one?”

The two who came close hesitated when they saw Adhigh Orr in my arms. Eventually, No. 26’s body, which had been in battle mode, began to turn pale.

“Little one is hurt!”

Sky Mother, who had been in Griffon form, was also shocked by the blood-covered Adhigh Orr.

“That blood, could it be?”

“He can’t die!”

[Bzzbzz(Calm down!)]

I sent a strong wave to both of them.

[Bzzzzzz bzz bzzz bzzz(Adhigh Orr will absolutely not die)]

I had never sent such a strong wave to them before. Perhaps because of this, both of them, especially No. 26, froze stiff.

[Bzzbzz bzzbz bzzz bzzbzzbzzbz(We don’t have time. You need to help me)]

“…What are you planning to do?”

Sky Mother, perhaps because she had already experienced losing something precious, recovered from her panic state earlier than No. 26. She waited for my answer while keeping her gaze fixed on Adhigh Orr.

[Bzzbzz bzzbzz bzzbzzbzz bzzbzz bzzbzz(I’ll transfer the Revenant organ to you here)]

“What?”

[Bzzbzz bzzbzzbzz bzzbzzbzz bzzz bzzbzz(To save him, we need the power of the Thunderbird)]

Her eyes widened at my words.