Ch.418Ill-Fated Connection (1)

‘…….’

My head is a mess.

The changed ending mission, the sudden appearance of AMorph, and even beings called “them.”

None of these can be taken lightly.

That Information Unit, despite throwing out important clues, didn’t provide any of the necessary explanations. It was difficult to make inferences based on what it said.

There was only one thing I could say with certainty: the boss responsible for the ending trial had transformed into something similar to an AMorph.

‘I’d like to catch and question him, but….’

To meet him, I need to enter a cocoon when my body is being reconstructed. And the only way to enter a cocoon is when fusing unique traits.

‘I can’t create a unique trait right now.’

Currently, I’ve unlocked two unique trait synthesis formulas. One of them requires the Arcane Orca trait, so I can’t synthesize it yet.

For the other one, I’ve gathered all the materials, but one of those materials is the “Harvester’s Maw.”

One of the reasons I came here was to bring Adhigh Orr an Arcane Orca corpse. If I hunt an Arcane Orca without the Harvester’s Maw, I’ll have to give up one of two things: either not consuming it to save Adhigh Orr, or consuming it myself.

If I choose the latter, Adhigh Orr and the Gallergorn’s Nest would be in mortal danger. Finding a new Arcane Orca would consume a significant amount of time.

The ideal scenario would be if the unique trait inherited the effects of its materials, but I can’t count on that. I have no idea what the result will be.

‘So there’s only one way after all.’

Going to Earth, as the Information Unit suggested.

It said there was someone on Earth who could answer my questions.

‘Probably a ranker who survived the raid.’

I have someone in mind.

The human ranker who fought against the former boss, “Watching Shadow.” He could freely transform his body while fighting enemies. Among the rankers I’ve fought, there was one with identical abilities.

‘Akira Yujin, CEO of Megacorp.’

Though his appearance was completely different, he possessed transformation abilities. He could change his appearance at will.

‘…Damn, I should have caught him then.’

I thought I was fortunate to obtain the Hiveformer, but that was wrong. I should have eaten his real head no matter what. If I had, I wouldn’t be having these concerns now.

‘Sigh.’

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Dried mucus and cocoon fragments fell from my head.

What’s done is done. There’s no point in regretting it now.

‘After this hunt, I need to prepare to lure out Akira.’

Entering the solar system directly isn’t a good idea.

The solar system, Megacorp’s core territory, has extremely powerful security. Even ordinary crisis management team members are equipped with plasma weapons and power suits as standard equipment. The entire system is dotted with space fortresses, each with large fleets stationed at them.

‘I could break through if I brought all the Gallergorn horde, but…’

The Gallergorn would suffer near-total casualties.

It would be better to lure Akira to somewhere other than the solar system.

‘The question is how to lure him.’

He’s been defeated by me several times in the game and once in reality. If I try a half-baked lure, I’ll only heighten his vigilance.

It would be better to gather information about Akira before making a plan to draw him out.

‘Come to think of it, the Sino Group ranker might know something.’

The cartels using the Sino name receive support from the great powers. The ranker leading the group likely knows the Megacorp CEO.

‘Another reason to eat those pirates.’

I need their heads for information gathering as well.

Anyway, I’ve thought enough about what I saw in the vision and what to do next. Whatever happens, I can only resolve it after hunting the Arcane Orca.

‘Well then…’

It’s time to check my new unique trait and physical changes.

I wiped the mucus from my eyes with my arm and opened them.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw white winged arms instead of black carapace with red tints. The tentacles created by the Hiveformer effect had all turned a dull white. The carapaces inside the tentacles were the same.

‘What?’

The color wasn’t the only thing that changed. My eye level was much lower than before entering the cocoon. My overall body size had greatly decreased.

The length from the center head to the tail tip had shrunk to about 30m. With two tails and three necks taking up a large proportion, the actual body length was less than 10m.

‘This is the first time I’ve shrunk this much.’

I raised my body slightly using my arms to examine myself more closely.

When I stretched out my folded arms, they were longer than expected. It seems an additional joint was added to each arm.

The wing arms exceeded 10m in length. The parts that functioned as legs before entering the cocoon had changed to the same shape as the combat arms.

In contrast to the thin, long arms, my torso had become short and thick. My back and abdominal carapace were abnormally swollen to house bodily organs related to traits like Corrosive Tentacles or Human-Faced Tree.

Long arms with still long and large necks and tails, and a relatively short and thick torso. A body shape similar to a crab or a black widow.

‘It also looks a bit like an octopus.’

The fog-colored tentacles undulating all over my body reminded me of a sea monster from a horror novel.

“Gruk?”

“Grrrr”

The heads on both sides finally woke up.

‘Huh?’

As the two heads growled lowly and raised their necks, I noticed something strange. Only the parts that had been submerged in black liquid were colored black. The tentacles tinged with blackness continued to move without conscious control.

It was as if they were trying to mimic the appearance of the liquid pooled in the nest.

‘Is this the effect of this trait?’

Shortly after, my entire body changed to match the colored parts. It was perfect camouflage, to the point where I couldn’t recognize my own body.

That wasn’t all. I raised my arm and waved it around. The tentacles moved delicately with the movement, maintaining the camouflage.

‘This is beyond simply hiding the body.’

There are many traits that change body color to disguise as objects. However, this is the first time I’ve seen one that maintains the effect even when the body moves. The concealment effect was excellent enough to mimic even the rippling of water surfaces.

‘This is definitely a unique trait.’

An effect that maintains camouflage even while moving is quite a good trait. Combined with traits like “Dark Veil,” it could be used much more effectively.

‘However….’

I felt slightly disappointed.

The unique traits created using the transcendence system all showed extraordinary power. This camouflage ability is certainly impressive, but compared to previously obtained traits, it feels underwhelming.

‘The size reduction has its pros and cons, but I can accept that. Is there anything else besides this?’

I haven’t checked the text box yet.

Just as I was about to check if there were any additional effects I wasn’t aware of, I suddenly heard water sounds. MPS-03 was approaching.

Eventually, it stopped in front of my arm.

“Cocoon. Gone? Gone?”

The mini-screamer with its eyes replaced by cameras couldn’t detect me right in front of it.

“Search. Necessary.”

It looked around for a moment, then began climbing up my arm with its metal legs. It seemed to want to get to a higher position to look around.

‘How do I deactivate this?’

Unlike the “Protective Coloration” trait, it doesn’t deactivate just by moving. I concentrated my senses on the moving tentacle mass.

My consciousness spread out like a net thrown onto the water’s surface. The moment the edge of the mental web touched the tentacles, they returned to white, and the camouflage was lifted.

“AMorph! Found! Found!”

MPS-03, who had been diligently climbing up me, was startled.

I caught the mini-screamer that almost fell and placed it on the nest.

“Growth terminated? Size. Reduced.”

“That’s true, but I gained a new power in exchange.”

“Camouflage, interesting. Principle unknown.”

It poked the tentacles with its metal legs. Some of the tentacles reacted by turning chrome-colored before returning to normal.

“Did you come to check if I woke up from the cocoon?”

“Affirmative. Middle child, port. Waiting.”

It seems the Sky Mother has already arrived.

‘She came earlier than expected.’

I did tell PS-111 to call the Sky Mother here before entering the cocoon. Still, I didn’t expect her to arrive so quickly.

“I need to check something. I’ll come shortly.”

“Confirmed.”

I sent it ahead and checked the text box.

“Eerie Mimic: A wise predator knows how to adopt the strengths of its prey. Gain a permanently active camouflage effect. Use the ‘Metamorphosis Organ’ to transform your body by adopting the strengths of powerful prey.

*’Metamorphosis Organ’: Reanalyze tokens left by powerful prey to create new body parts or organs. Up to 2 tokens can be targeted. To change an applied token to a different one, 30 days must pass.

*Caution: Once a token has been reanalyzed, it cannot be analyzed again.

*Postscript: Selection and adaptation. Another name for evolution.”

The text box that instantly captured my attention.

After reading its contents, I could only nod.

‘…Of course it wouldn’t end so simply.’

The unique traits created using the transcendence system always surprised me with their extraordinary effects.

This time was no exception.