Ch.433Choice and Consequence (1)

I caught the falling Arcane Orca.

The creature, with its energy skin gone and only bones remaining, resembled a freshly discovered fossil. Only the head and parts of the spine remained, and even those were cracked in several places.

It looked quite shabby compared to when it was alive, but one shouldn’t judge by appearances alone.

Arcane Orcas, which feed on stellar thermal energy, have bodies structured to efficiently store massive amounts of energy. Even in death, this stored energy remains.

In other words, these bones contain the power of a being that once commanded the cosmos.

‘Otherwise, I wouldn’t have considered using it for Adhigh Orr.’

Looking at the bones, such thoughts suddenly crossed my mind.

Since I was lucky enough to catch it early, what if I just ate it here? Or maybe eat just the head and take the rest with me.

Arcane Orcas don’t offer many traits when consumed. If I use the Symbol of Hunt, I’d have a high chance of acquiring the trait I want: “Ether Core.”

Ether Core is one of the materials needed for unique trait synthesis. If I get this, I could synthesize a unique trait right away.

‘Then I might be able to meet the Information Unit again.’

The mysterious being I met in my cocoon state, the Information Unit. I still have much information to extract from it.

Even if I don’t meet it, that’s fine too. Considering what I need to do in the future, the more unique traits I have, the better.

‘Though Adhigh Orr and the Gallergorn would need to hold out longer…’

Is it because I now have the opportunity to acquire a trait? My predation urge is welling up.

‘…No.’

I turned my gaze away from the corpse.

Here, taking it to Adhigh Orr involves less risk than eating it myself.

Although I succeeded in hunting earlier than planned, there’s no guarantee such luck will repeat. If I gamble and fail, Adhigh Orr’s group will suffer near-annihilation.

‘Besides, there’s no guarantee I’ll get Ether Core either.’

While the chances are high, it’s not certain. There’s always the possibility of getting a different trait after consuming it.

“No movement detected from the target. Is it dead?”

Just as I abandoned the idea of predation, PS-111 flew to me.

“Despite the cessation of bodily functions, massive energy is still being detected.”

[Zzz Zzz (That’s normal)]

“Fascinating body structure.”

The drone approached, examining the corpse with its glowing red camera lens.

‘Come to think of it, I couldn’t get Prometheus either.’

For unknown reasons, looking at PS-111 now, it was clear it had merged its body with the superweapon.

Its appearance was very different from what I remembered. Only the metal-crafted female face remained the same; everything else had changed.

The body, which once resembled a mix of spider and scorpion, now looked more like a beetle.

A female upper body was attached to the underside, with eight arms on either side of the torso. Currently, all arms were folded inward during flight.

The head shape had also changed significantly. The cable bundles that hung like hair were gone, and the back of the head protruded abnormally, similar to an AMorph’s head carapace.

The elongated head was connected to two enormous circular wings.

The wings, starting from the back of the head, extended outward before curving around so their tips pointed toward the tail. From a distance, it resembled a flying saucer.

‘Prometheus was also nicknamed “flying saucer.”‘

The structure of two smooth plates overlapping top and bottom, and the emission ports in the gap between the plates that release warp particles—all similar to Prometheus. The only difference was its much smaller size.

[Zzzzz Zzzzz Zzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz (Let’s analyze later. We got what we wanted, so let’s move)]

“Understood.”

[Zzz Zzz Zzzz Zzzzz Zzzzzz (Explain what happened on the way)]

Now that the battle is over, the Sky Mother must be waiting for us. I should also drop off the Volfs and the ranker I’m carrying in my mouth, so it’s best to get moving.

I flew with PS-111 toward the Jax Beta that had landed at the port. On the way, it explained how it ended up like this.

“…That’s why I ended up this way.”

[Zzzzzz Zzz Zzzzzzzz (You transplanted the High Commissioner’s body too?)]

“I’ll show you.”

With those words, PS-111’s protruding back of the head split open sideways. When the head connected to the wings opened, a metal brain with multiple wires attached became visible—a second brain transplanted from the High Commissioner.

“Although memory data and major functions have been erased, it works fine as an auxiliary brain like this.”

[Zzzzz Zzzzzzzz Zzzzzzzz (So you control Prometheus with this)]

After closing its head, it nodded.

Though the explanation was brief, I quickly understood the situation.

‘I never thought they’d put a self-destruct function in the High Commissioner.’

It seems this was done because of Pyrrha Eleven, the High Commissioner I killed before. They must have taken such measures to prevent information leakage.

However, PS-111 couldn’t fully analyze Pyrrha Eleven’s data. Much of the data remaining on the Screamer support ship was highly encrypted.

[Zzz Zzzz Zzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzzz (With this, you should be able to analyze the data you couldn’t interpret before)]

“Agreed. I’ll attempt it as soon as we return to ‘White Stone.'”

Anyway, I understand why PS-111 implanted Prometheus into its body. With the core operational key gone, it had no choice but to take on that role itself.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that I can’t eat it now…’

Although the outcome was different from what I expected, it wasn’t all bad.

If I were to trait-ify Prometheus with “Predator’s Amorphous Polyhedron,” I would lose my existing “Void Dice” trait.

Void Dice is a trait that can reset the cooldown of all traits once every certain period. Since it’s useful as a trump card in critical moments, I’m reluctant to replace it with another trait.

In that case, it’s more beneficial for PS-111 to have Prometheus while I keep Void Dice.

And watching it utilize warp particles during battle was quite impressive. Though somewhat clumsy at first, its skill visibly improved over time.

As we talked and moved, we soon arrived at the port.

On the wide runway, I could see the ghost ship with various damages, large and small. The Jax Beta, a trident-shaped vessel hundreds of meters long, was there.

‘That ship held up well.’

While Jax Beta is sturdy, it’s not built to withstand an Arcane Orca. The fact that it’s only damaged to this extent is extremely fortunate.

[Zzzzz Zzz Zzz Zzzzzz (I saw you using unfamiliar drones during the fight)]

“They’re weapons based on APDs used in anti-psychic warfare, modified to absorb plasma energy as well. ‘Middle Child’ used them from the large stockpile in Jax Beta’s hangar.”

‘Were they brought to catch the Arcane Orca?’

I don’t know which faction made them, but their performance is exceptional. Countless were consumed during battle, but thanks to them, Jax Beta survived. This would have been impossible in a game.

“I will research the remaining drones.”

[Zzzzzz (Please do)]

PS-111 and I landed on an empty runway beside the ship. I lowered my head to release the passengers hidden in my mouth.

Ten Volfs emerged carrying No. 25, all covered in saliva. Apart from minor burns, none had serious injuries, though they clearly looked exhausted from being tossed around inside my mouth.

However, as soon as they came out, they all bowed deeply.

“Thank you! God!”

Seeing these young Volfs expressing sincere gratitude gave me a strange feeling.

‘I was ready to eat them if necessary.’

Had Jax Beta and PS-111 not appeared at the right moment, they would have become nutrients for my body along with the ranker.

｢You’re all alive!｣

I felt the thought wave sent by the Sky Mother from the ship.

She walked toward us from the ship in her griffon therianthrope form. The Volfs scurried over to her.

｢Thank you for protecting the children. When I saw the nest being bombarded, I honestly thought there was no hope….｣

Was she amazed that the Volfs survived? I could sense a slight tremor in her thought wave as she examined the children.

It was more like I saved them as a byproduct of retrieving the ranker, but there was no need to mention that.

｢That must be the ranker.｣

“Yes.”

After checking the children’s condition, her gaze turned to No. 25.

｢…Considering what that bastard did, killing him right here wouldn’t be enough.｣

“As I said before, not yet.”

She briefly glared at the ranker, who had become a burnt roly-poly, then sighed softly.

｢I suppose becoming AMorph’s subordinate is punishment enough.｣

“Is that so?”

｢Have you ever seen anyone who got involved with him and came out okay? Especially those infected by parasites—they all end up badly.｣

“A valid analysis. The subject’s future is quite predictable.”

Since it was true, I had nothing to say. Instead of arguing, I changed the subject.

“Now that we’ve got what we wanted, let’s leave.”

｢Huh? Now?｣

“With the High Commissioner gone, Star Union won’t sit idle. They’ll send pursuit teams like before.”

Several hours have passed since the High Commissioner’s death. We don’t know when enemy forces might arrive here.

That’s why I suggested leaving quickly, but PS-111 shook its head.

“You needn’t worry about that.”

“Why?”

“After implanting the High Commissioner’s body, I sent a message saying the body was destroyed in battle with the Arcane Orca. They won’t send a fleet until they realize the message is false.”

That’s fortunate. Thanks to its action, we have time to prepare for departure.

｢If we have time, I’d like to repair the ship and take it with us.｣

“I wonder if that’s possible with so much damage?”

“With everyone’s help, we can repair it within three hours.”

“God, we’ll help too!”

Four hours after we each began preparing to leave.

We departed from AG-01, the abandoned Megacorp colony.

–

In an unnamed star system not registered on any route.

At the edge of a remote region untouched by sentient beings, there exists a pale, frozen star.

Despite the harsh environment where light reaches only once every 30 days, an ecosystem exists. Passing through the icy surface and descending below, an underground kingdom unfolds.

Beneath an ice ceiling densely embedded with luminescent moss lies a forest of giant fungi. Above the tree-sized fungi, a being flies.

It’s Isabelle, a mutant Screamer resembling a centipede with a human female head. She was flying with dozens of arms carrying colorful mushrooms.

After passing through the vast fungal forest, she descended into a valley where heat and gas erupted.

Her destination was a cave located inside the valley cliff. During her approach, she encountered a Green Gallergorn guarding the valley, but no one stopped her.

At the end of the maze-like cave structure, she reached a large cavity.

This is where the Gallergorn horde keeps their most precious possessions: unhatched eggs and Blue Gallergorn.

｢Little friend! Hello!｣

No. 26, who serves as nanny to the young Gallergorn and egg guardian, greeted her cheerfully. Isabelle placed her gathered items in front of the massively swollen pink jellyfish.

“I brought some food.”

｢Wow!｣

No. 26 glowed faintly with joy. The tentacles spread on the floor moved and gathered up the mushrooms.

Then it made holes in the mushrooms and gave one to each Blue Gallergorn nestled in its embrace. The Gallergorn sucked the sap flowing from the mushrooms with the tentacle bundles around their mouths.

｢Tasty?｣

｢Good｣

｢Good｣

｢Young flutterers, eat a lot!｣

The blue-scaled younglings happily fluttered their wings. No. 26 also waved its tentacles with joy.

｢Little friend eat too.｣

“I already ate before coming, so I’m fine.”

After declining No. 26’s offer, Isabelle checked the eggs in the nest.

None were dead, but they weren’t in good condition either. Most looked too weak to last much longer.

‘It’s getting worse faster than expected.’

Ham Oort, the acting leader, predicted it would take about 60 days for Adhigh Orr to drain all the energy from this place. But at the current rate, it seemed like it would end much sooner.

Currently, not only the White Gallergorn but even newly matured Green Gallergorn were going out to find food. Thanks to this, they were barely maintaining the status quo, but no one knew when that balance would break.

‘Plus, No. 26 is at its limit too.’

No. 26’s condition was visibly poor. It was pouring energy into keeping the younglings and eggs alive. Due to the continuous expenditure of massive energy, its pink body had become almost white with discoloration.

‘We need to find another solution now…’

Just then, No. 26, who was feeding the Gallergorn, suddenly paused. Its pale body gradually began to glow brighter.

｢Wow!｣

Isabelle also turned her head at the presence she felt behind her. There stood the being the Gallergorn had been desperately waiting for.

｢Big child hello!｣

[Zzz (Hello)]

AMorph had finally returned from hunting.