Ch.44. Chief Brain

    Anyway, there’s no need to build up strength right away to become that powerful.

    According to the setting, I’ve settled in this hunting ground described as a deserted forest, so I should focus on expanding my influence by taking advantage of that fact.

    ‘Wake up, little ones.’

    With that in mind, I’ve produced a total of 4 Hive Spiders and 1 rank 7 monster, ‘Chief Brain.’

    The Chief Brain is a psychic user specialized in psychic abilities and a rank 7 monster. Its appearance is that of a volleyball-sized purple sphere floating in midair, with specific stats as follows:

    Chief Brain

    Rank :: 7

    Level :: 3

    Stats

    Strength :: 2

    Agility :: 5

    Vitality :: 5

    Intelligence :: 25

    Resistance :: 30

    Energy :: 50

    Leadership :: 10

    Traits

    Monster Gene(E), Predator(E), Hive Mind(E), Subjugation(EX), Versatile Psychic User(D), Psychic Relay(D), Permanent Levitation(E)

    Skills

    Telekinesis(D), Psychic Barrier(D), Mind Control(E)

    Bio-weapons

    None

    As its appearance suggests, the Chief Brain has no close combat capabilities, but instead possesses the trait of D-rank Versatile Psychic User.

    Thanks to this, it can use both physical psychic abilities like telekinesis and barrier formation, as well as mental psychic abilities like mind control. It also has the unique trait of Psychic Relay(D).

    As the name suggests, Psychic Relay(D) means that when I use psychic abilities through this creature’s body as a medium, the power decreases relatively less, and it can withstand the shock of my psychic usage better than those without this skill.

    Considering that a few hours ago, when I used psychic abilities through a Hive Spider, its nervous system was damaged by excessive psychic energy use, this trait is essential for continuous intervention.

    Anyway, after completing the combat-ready Chief Brain and the Hive Spiders for corpse transport, I sent these five monsters through the passage and out into the forest atop the cliff once more.

    ‘…Protect the Chief Brain.’

    After giving that instruction to the Hive Spiders, the monster group began to move.

    With the Chief Brain’s intelligence and leadership, I could leave the command to it, but in the current situation where available forces are severely lacking, I’m directly commanding them to prepare for any contingencies.

    While searching thoroughly through the dense forest, the Chief Brain’s senses detected very faint vibrations from the west.

    And those vibrations rapidly grew stronger in an instant.

    It was a signal that the source of the vibrations was approaching us.

    ‘Hide!’

    I hurriedly gave that order to the Hive Spiders, and the Chief Brain also concealed itself. Right after, along with the thumping sounds, two different pain-filled cries could be heard.

    KkRrrrRrrrrRRrrRAaaAaAAAAA!!!!!!

    ■■■■■■■■■■───!!!!

    And moments later, one of those cries suddenly disappeared, and a massive corpse was thrown down right before my eyes with a thud.

    Thump!

    A monster that looked like an enormous bear with an owl’s head (now torn off) and bird talons instead of front paws.

    It was the corpse of a rank 6 monster, an Owl Bear.

    ‘…Insane.’

    The state of the corpse was horrific. As mentioned earlier, its head had been violently torn off, and its belly skin was split open as if slashed by blades, with bright red blood and pink entrails spilling out.

    The left hind leg showed damage as if something had bitten off chunks of flesh, and countless stab wounds covered its entire body.

    As I tensed up at the sight of this clearly battle-killed creature, the author of these wounds appeared.

    This reptile, equally massive, with extremely long forelegs enabling quadrupedal movement and a blade at the tip of its tail, resembled a dinosaur—specifically, a raptor.

    Of course, I know this monster well too. Actually, I know it even better than the Owl Bear.

    In the game, they were so rare that I once spent three hours grinding to get materials for equipment from this creature, but seeing it now, I can understand just how powerful this monster is.

    This monster, holding the Owl Bear’s head and eating its brain, is a rank 5 monster, a Hunter Raptor.

    ·······KrraaaAaaa.

    Crunch! Crunch!

    After fixating the head with its sharp-clawed forelegs and frantically scraping out the brain, it seemed satisfied and began chewing the remaining flesh along with the skull before turning its attention to the body.

    Approaching the headless Owl Bear’s body, it first devoured all the entrails, then stripped away the skin as if peeling it off, and started consuming the fat along with the meat underneath.

    By the time it had swallowed a corpse more than three times the size of its own body, the raptor seemed full and left, leaving behind only skin, some flesh, and bones and claws.

    ‘…It’s silent.’

    I got goosebumps at how quietly that massive creature moved, but those chills quickly disappeared when I saw the corpse it left behind.

    A rank 6 monster’s corpse would undoubtedly contain an enormous amount of energy along with excellent genes in large quantities.

    ‘Come on, move quickly!’

    Needing to collect the corpse and escape before other scavengers arrived, I moved hastily.

    I had the Hive Spiders eat all the edible flesh parts, and decided to use telekinesis to transport the bones and skin that were too tough and hard to eat.

    Even so, the amount I could actually obtain was only about 1/4 of the remaining corpse.

    Though I wanted to take the entire corpse, knowing that other monsters would soon gather, I reluctantly abandoned the rest.

    Fortunately, without being detected, I was able to safely bring back to the cave the skin, some bones, and the Hive Spiders that had absorbed plenty of nutrients.

    ※ ※ ※

    The harvest from this excursion was surprisingly abundant.

    First, there were the nutrients. Though the amount of flesh obtained wasn’t much, the nutrients and energy making up the rank 6 monster’s flesh were of amazingly high density and quality.

    So even though it was only a few dozen kilograms, the amount of energy obtained was beyond imagination.

    It’s enough to mass-produce hundreds of rank 9 monsters without issue, and even produce several additional facilities.

    I’ve gained such vast energy that I could create new monster species at least twice, which consumes massive amounts of nutrients and energy.

    [Acquired trait ‘Digestive Acid(C)’]

    [Acquired trait ‘Thick Hide(C)’]

    [Acquired trait ‘Energy Conductive Skeleton(C)’]

    [Acquired bio-weapon ‘Hunter Claw(C)’]

    Meanwhile, the spoils obtained from analyzing the Owl Bear’s genes were also incredibly impressive. All are C-rank, consisting of three traits and one bio-weapon, for a total of four.

    First, regarding the traits, Digestive Acid(C) affects the entire digestive system, particularly strengthening digestive fluids to the point of being able to digest all sorts of things and convert them into nutrients.

    At C-rank, it can turn even raw wood into nutrients, and while the efficiency is terrible, it can digest and convert small particles of stone debris or soil into nutrients.

    Thick Hide(C) is an upgraded version of the Anti-blade Fur I previously obtained from the Beast Hound. Unlike the fur that only works against bladed weapons, this is effective against almost all external attacks.

    Though it’s a simple trait, that also means it’s easy to utilize. It’s so common that most high-ranking beast-type monsters possess it.

    The last trait I obtained, Energy Conductive Skeleton(C), unlike the Thick Hide above, isn’t very efficient on its own.

    Of course, it still provides benefits like strengthening the skeleton, but its true value lies elsewhere—specifically when combined with a separate psychic energy production organ, known as an ‘Energy Core.’

    Energy produced by the core is typically used for energy shields or absorbed into the body to enhance physical abilities. With an Energy Conductive Skeleton, the efficiency of physical enhancement increases dramatically.

    And the final spoil is Hunter Claw(C), an upgraded version of the bio-weapon Hunter Claw(E) that I already possessed.

    While the lower-grade Hunter Claw is simply a sturdy blade, the C-grade Hunter Claw transcends that level.

    The edge is nanometers thick at its tip, and as a “bio” weapon, even if damaged or shattered, it recovers when supplied with sufficient nutrients, meaning that sharp edge can be quickly restored even after damage.

    Although its destructive power may be inferior to Chain Claws or Energy Claws of the same rank, I can say it’s the best melee weapon in terms of versatility, recovery ability, and cost-effectiveness.

    With all these combined, I wonder just how powerful the original Owl Bear must have become when it became reality with all these traits—truly excellent spoils.


    0 Comments

    Heads up! Your comment will be invisible to other guests and subscribers (except for replies), including you after a grace period.
    Note
    // Script to navigate with arrow keys