Ch.416Side Story: Monster Ecology Report

The planet Askha44, filled with fire and magma.

Until recently, it had been the site of the Cult Emperor’s secret palace, but now no trace of it remained.

This was due to mysterious monsters that suddenly appeared one day.

The palace was completely destroyed by monsters that came from space. All the forces guarding it were utterly annihilated. Only the crashed spaceships and their debris remained as evidence that Askha44 was once touched by civilization.

So where were these beings that brought destruction to the stellar intelligences, and what were they doing?

Some of them had gone far away to hunt. Others were caring for newly welcomed companions underground.

And some of them were deeply immersed in higher-dimensional activities.

A vessel that made an emergency landing on the black earth.

In the quiet ship, only the dining car was filled with noise.

Under flickering lights, skinned animal carcasses and various items were scattered messily. More like a slaughterhouse than a kitchen. Inside were the culprits who had made a mess of the dining car.

“Humans sprinkle something called ‘seasoning’ on their food!”

“Seasoning?” “Food” “Same thing”

“No. Seasoning is different from food because it’s softer and stickier.”

The pink Sea Demon, No. 26, dipped a tentacle into the metal pot in front of it. After stirring the pot once and pulling it out, the surface was coated with a pungent-smelling liquid.

“See?”

Adhigh, who had been lying lazily on the metal floor, lightly dabbed the liquid with his front paw. Soon, the small Gallergorn nodded.

“Young kin” “Food” “Similar” “Sticky” “Soft”

“Right?”

While confirming with the ‘little one,’ No. 26’s other tentacles continued to move without rest. One would smash down hard on a Lava Raptor carcass, while another would sweep up the meat and put it into the pot.

After examining the liquid on his claws, Adhigh seemed to lose interest and shook his paw to clean it off.

“But” “Food” “Seasoning” “Meal” “All the same” “Eat” “End”

“Wrong! Mixing food and seasoning to ‘cook’ makes it much tastier!”

“Cook?”

PS-111, who had been observing the two, joined the conversation.

“Higher intelligences have a habit of processing organic matter for safe and effective nutrient intake. The Main Controller’s actions can also be referred to as cooking.”

“Yes. It’s cooking!”

“Cooking” “Troublesome”

When PS-111 finished explaining, No. 26 glowed brightly, showing satisfaction. In contrast, Adhigh tapped the floor with his hind leg, as if uninterested.

The red camera lens of the Screamer blinked, recording the situation.

‘Recording registered. Main Controller’s response is positive. Appears to be due to high academic enthusiasm. Code name Little One, negative. Understands the explanation but shows no interest. An impressive difference.’

There is almost no known information about Sea Demons and Gallergorn. Even searching through the data left by Pyrrha Eleven, a member of the Mechanical Committee, yields the same result. That’s why PS-111 has consistently recorded whenever the two controllers showed unusual behavior.

Of course, it’s not particularly for reporting to anyone. It’s just because it wants to know about the ecology of these resilient creatures. In human terms, it could be called a kind of hobby.

‘This differs from what I know. Interesting.’

Sea Demons are known to be much more dangerous and violent than Gallergorn.

Among primitive civilizations on ocean-type planets, cases of Sea Demons being worshipped as gods are occasionally found. Records describe them as uniformly ruthless and terrifying beings.

For such a ferocious being to cook like this? Impossible.

“Big One likes delicious things, so he’ll like cooking too.”

“Certainly” “That’s” “True”

Adhigh, who had been watching No. 26 with an indifferent attitude, nodded in agreement.

“Big Elder” “Food” “Taste” “Knows a lot” “Often” “Cares”

“Right. He prefers tasty things over tasteless ones.”

Hearing this, the small Gallergorn got up. Then he went into the freezer at the back of the dining area and brought something out.

“Then” “Put this” “In”

“What’s that?”

What Adhigh brought was a bottle of premium wine that the ship’s owners used to drink.

“Red star” “When went” “Ate” “Similar”

“I know! I know that! It’s called alcohol!”

“Confirmed as wine made from Beryan02 cacti. Identical brand to the wine drunk at slave trader Robetz’s mansion in the Fortress of Water.”

“Alcohol?” “Wine?”

“When you drink alcohol, your stomach feels full and you feel good!”

“The components in this wine effectively work on the brain to relieve stress. Intelligent beings primarily drink it to enhance reproductive urges.”

“Reproductive urges?” “Really?”

“Yes. According to comprehensive analysis of various data…”

While PS-111 was explaining knowledge related to alcohol, ‘Little One’ wasn’t there. His amethyst-like eyes were fixed exactly on the wine bottle.

“This” “If more” “Big Elder” “Would it work?”

“In Megacorp, they mix various alcohols to drink… Pardon?”

“Big Elder” “Elder” “Me” “Elder” “Mating” “Possible”

PS-111 stopped speaking at this unexpected statement.

“Ham Oort” “Said” “Leader” “Quickly” “Egg” “Needed”

“Is this to prevent problems in the pack?”

“Yes” “That’s” “Leader” “Responsibility”

It wasn’t wrong.

Gallergorn have a habit of serving the most outstanding individual in the pack as their leader. However, Adhigh’s pack is ruled by Ham Oort, the second strongest. He acts as the leader in place of his daughter who is active outside.

This is possible because Adhigh is a female Gallergorn.

There is no individual in the pack strong enough to be the queen’s mate. So she would go out and bring back eggs from a superior male. This was the justification Adhigh had put forward.

No Gallergorn was unaware of who this ‘superior male’ referred to. Or how strong the being courted by the queen was. That’s why the Gallergorn could accept it.

However, continuing to delay wasn’t good. The young ones just hatched from eggs would be confused about who the leader was.

“So” “Egg” “Needed”

At that moment, a short, thick burst of sound echoed through the dining car. It was the sound of No. 26 crushing a metal chair with its tentacles.

“No!”

“Why?” “I” “Sufficiently” “Grown” “Egg” “Laying” “Possible”

“I told you egg talk is forbidden! Why are you breaking your promise!”

“Pack” “Eggs” “Need” “Leader” “Duty” “Kin” “Expecting”

“You promised me first, so you have to keep your promise!”

“Then” “Kin” “Not good” “I” “Big Elder” “Little Elder” “Learned” “Pack” “Protecting” “Priority”

Adhigh expressing his intentions more logically than before.

No. 26 was very annoyed but couldn’t get angry. Because Little One’s argument wasn’t wrong.

But that didn’t mean there was nothing to say.

No. 26 had spent the most time with Big One’s pack. Then shouldn’t No. 26 be the first to make babies with Big One, at least before Little One? This was something it absolutely could not yield on.

“Making babies with Big One is my priority! I’m closest to Big One!”

“Deny” “I” “Big Elder” “Close” “Little Elder” “Same”

“No! Big One likes me the most!”

“Deny!”

The air in the dining car rapidly froze due to the two enraged dangerous creatures.

Numerous eyeballs formed on No. 26’s body and tentacles. On the opposite side, Adhigh’s scales turned red like burning flames.

It was truly a situation on the brink of explosion. Just before the two clashed, PS-111 intervened.

“Please calm down. Fighting here is meaningless.”

“Don’t stop us, friend.”

“Hurt child” “Perhaps” “Big Elder” “Egg” “Want?”

“An interesting research topic, but there’s a problem first.”

“Problem?”

“Explanation” “Needed”

“The reproductive ability of AMorph and its method have not been confirmed. Until this is confirmed, producing offspring is impossible.”

At those words that mating was currently impossible, both relaxed their combat stance.

“Understand” “Not possible” “Big Elder” “Female” “Interest” “Much” “Tail” “Sometimes” “Looks at”

Adhigh swished his tail back and forth.

‘Old record access. For male Gallergorn, horns are important; for females, the shape and size of the tail. Little One’s tail is effective in attracting sexual interest among Gallergorn.’

Despite the handicap of having a small body, Adhigh’s tail was famous among Gallergorn. Males were captivated by its alluring shape and movement, and even females admired the smoothly arranged tail scales.

But soon the enchanting queen’s wings drooped.

“But” “Only” “Pretty” “Words”

“Can’t Big One have babies?”

No. 26 cautiously emitted a wavelength. Reflecting its owner’s mood, the pink body shrank like a deflated balloon.

“From my observations, it’s impossible to artificially remove AMorph’s reproductive ability. ‘Middle One’ has also stated that AMorph’s reproductive ability exists.”

“Then why doesn’t Big One show interest in us?”

PS-111 had analyzed data from various organisms. Comparing and observing this with AMorph’s body, the following conclusion could be drawn:

“AMorph’s reproductive activity is likely influenced by specific conditions and environments.”

Among creatures living in harsh environments like extreme cold, some species keep their reproductive organs inside their bodies during normal times. This is to prevent damage to vulnerable parts.

Such creatures only engage in reproductive activities when conditions like appropriate temperature and safe environment are met. Similarly, AMorph likely has a structure that protects its reproductive organs.

‘Since it can change its body shape according to the prey it hunts, this is quite possible.’

However, due to its characteristic of quickly adapting to any environment, creating a situation to trigger reproductive desire became difficult. Despite observing AMorph all this time, PS-111 had never seen its reproductive organs.

“I don’t understand what that means.”

“Explanation” “Simple”

“The probability of AMorph feeling sexual intimacy toward you two is calculated at 87%. However, for it to lead to direct reproductive activity, various factors such as surrounding environment, temperature, and time need to be considered.”

“Time?” “Temperature?”

“I know! I know! ‘Atmosphere’ is important!”

Suddenly, No. 26 lit up its body like a light bulb.

“Atmosphere?” “What does that mean?”

“Humans say atmosphere is eating delicious food and making a pretty nest! Movies say you need a good atmosphere to make babies!”

“Indeed” “Nel Germa” “Before” “Mating” “Good food” “Lots” “Lots” “Ate”

“Then if we give Big One lots of delicious food and make a pretty nest, will he want to make babies?”

“One” “Question” “Big Elder” “Food” “Very” “Much” “Eats” “But” “Mating” “Interest” “None”

“Since AMorph is not human, the conditions that can stimulate reproductive activity are different. We need to know those conditions.”

To PS-111, who possesses genetic manipulation abilities, AMorph is like a treasure chest containing God’s mysteries. It was very curious whether it could leave offspring, and how those offspring would be created through gene combination.

‘The most effective way to check would be for me to try.’

According to simulation models, the probability of Sub-Controller 1 accepting the proposal was 21%. It was a probability worth trying, but the risk of failure was too great.

“Alcohol” “Mating” “Inducement” “Condition” “Included”

“But Big One stays the same even when drinking alcohol. Different from humans.”

“More” “More” “Much” “Quickly” “Feed”

“Would it change if we feed a lot at once?”

“Maybe”

After being lost in thought for a while, PS-111 saw No. 26 coming out of the storage room. Dozens of tentacles were holding various bottles of alcohol and metal cans.

“Why did you take those out?”

“I’m going to put all of these in.”

“Pardon?”

No. 26 poured all the liquid from the bottles and cans into the pot.

“Big One will like this. Right?”

‘Megacorp synthetic alcohol, Lava Raptor flesh, stones, psychotropic drugs, Mars-produced mega soda, rats, energy bars, laxatives, cyborg oil, human toes and eyes, Cult-style sand chocolate…’

It was too late to stop now. Until just now, it was somewhat edible, but now it had far exceeded that line. It had become industrial waste that could only be seen in Star Union factories.

“It’s done!”

No. 26 lifted the pot. It was filled with liquid of an indescribable color. Green lumps floated to the surface whenever the pot shook.

“If Big One eats this, he’ll feel good too!”

“Big Elder” “Reaction” “Curious”

PS-111 was certain that the ‘mixture’ couldn’t possibly taste good. If a naked human or Cult encountered the chemical gas coming from that pot, they would most likely die on the spot.

But seeing the Main Controller’s joy, it couldn’t bring itself to say no.

“Friend, when is Big One coming?”

“By now, he should be returning from hunting.”

“Great!”

After all, if it’s AMorph, a living war machine, it can easily digest that mixture.

Whether to eat it or not is his choice. There’s no need for PS-111 to stop it.

With that, the conversation between two monsters and a fusion of machine and organism in the crashed spaceship came to an end.

Unfortunately, the love potion created by No. 26 and Adhigh was never delivered to their beloved. This was because ‘Middle One,’ who was taking care of the giant Mountain Crawler, entered the ship and saw the ‘mixture.’

“Oh, those were the few remaining fresh ingredients! What is this!”

The extremely angry Sky Mother immediately pierced through the window with the pot containing the dish.

“But we worked hard to make that!”

“Ugly friend” “Shape” “Personality” “All” “Bad!”

“…You two haven’t tasted this, have you? Try it yourself before complaining.”

After tasting it directly as Sky Mother suggested, the two had to agree with her actions.

“It tastes strange. I put in delicious things, why is it like this?”

“Gwueeeeck”

No. 26 expressed confusion by changing its body color, while Adhigh simply vomited.

“From today, no cooking when you two are alone. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Gwueeeeck”

After giving a stern warning, Sky Mother went back underground where the Mountain Crawler was.

After showing the peculiar behavior of vomiting through his tentacle mass for a long time, Adhigh also left the ship with tired steps. Only No. 26 and PS-111 remained in the devastated dining car.

“I followed what humans do, why did it taste strange? Do humans like this?”

“I suspect there was a problem with the combination.”

“Combination?”

“When foods complement each other, they have special effects. Not only does the taste improve, but new effects can also emerge.”

“Really? I need to study cooking hard!”

No. 26, who had been contemplating the failed result, soon regained energy. Watching this, PS-111 thought:

‘Recording registered. Partial modification of Main Controller’s personality. Never gives up on anything related to Big One.’

“I will help you study.”

“Yes! Friend!”

And so, another line was added to the report in the mutant Screamer’s head.