Ch.468Intermission (3)

All this time, the rankers I’ve devoured always had their names clearly displayed.

Two names each: one they were called in this world, and one they were called in the real world.

But I am different from them.

「Species: Unidentified Agressive Space Morph」

The text box only shows my species, with no name.

‘Why am I only realizing this now?’

I clearly remember what my name is. I can vividly recall how I lived in reality.

Yet until Isabelle mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed the difference at all.

As if my thoughts had been blocked from going in that direction.

“AMorph?”

Isabelle pulled me out of my confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never hidden my name.”

“Huh? Wasn’t that a Perk you used?”

“No.”

None of my traits have the effect of hiding text boxes.

From the moment I first opened my eyes in this world, that entry hasn’t changed. The species category has always remained unchanged at the very top.

“Really? That can’t be.”

Isabelle tilted her head, finally realizing why I was flustered.

“I thought you were deliberately hiding your name. You’ve tricked people with that several times in the game.”

She’s not wrong. I did frequently hide information when using traits like mimicry organs and parasites.

“You don’t… actually forget your name, do you?”

“No, that’s not it. I clearly remember my past.”

I had already told Sky Mother who I was a while back. I explained my name and past to Isabelle as well.

“Your mother, is she that famous actress…?”

“Yes, the one you’re thinking of.”

“I always thought you were a good actor, now I know why.”

Isabelle remarked with a small exclamation. It’s exactly the same reaction Sky Mother had.

“Anyway, you’re saying it’s been like this since you first opened your eyes in this world?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe something happened before you hatched from the egg?”

She’s right. The time I spent inside the AMorph egg is the only part I can’t remember.

‘It’s possible, but…’

“Probably not. I didn’t feel anything when I devoured the human who moved the egg to the spaceship.”

If that person had been a ranker or someone related to one, I would have known right away. No, I probably wouldn’t have even been able to hatch from the egg. Both the Dominants and the Returnees are desperate to kill me.

Even if my thinking is wrong, it’s impossible to track down those clues now. The spaceship disappeared long ago, and everyone involved is dead.

“Can’t you see why this happened with your Perk?”

“All-Seeing Eye is a Perk that reads text boxes as they are. I can’t check what I can’t see directly.”

Unfortunately, I can’t rely on my Perk this time. I’ll need to find another Perk with similar effects.

‘Wait a minute.’

As I was lost in thought, looking at the nest spread across the floor, an idea came to me.

One of the space monster type rewards, ‘Double Helix Monolith,’ allows me to transfer traits to beings friendly to me.

‘What if I use this to enhance the performance of a Perk?’

I tried something similar with Sky Mother before, and the results were quite good. The traits she received were ‘Superior Homeostasis’ and ‘Revenant Organ.’ She uses them to reset her Perk cooldowns.

This case is similar. I shared my idea that had just occurred to me.

“You mean like what you did with Seo-ah unni?”

“Exactly.”

“Sounds like a good attempt. If it works well with All-Seeing Eye, there could be synergy.”

Among psychic-type traits, there are some that can see past events or track traces of other creatures. If I give her one of these, it might help uncover the secret of the text box.

Of course, there’s no way to investigate the text box right now. We ended the conversation there.

Isabelle left to check on her sister, and I remained alone in the nest.

‘……’

Since coming to this world, I’ve faced countless problems.

I’ve nearly died from serious injuries, and my range of movement has been severely restricted by taboos. I’ve survived every hardship to get this far.

But this problem feels different somehow.

I have an ominous feeling that this won’t end with just a text box error.

‘…No. I don’t need to think negatively already.’

Worrying about it now won’t solve anything. Instead, I should focus on growing the nest.

Suppressing my complicated feelings, I lay down on the sticky floor. With my eyes closed, I connected the auxiliary organ under my chin to the nest.

The black slime began devouring the field’s harvest faster under my command.

While I was concentrating on management to forget my uneasiness, No. 26 and Adhigh Orr came looking for me.

「Big baby sleeping.」

「Food」「here」

I can detect the smell of meat juice and calorie blocks from them. They must have brought them for me.

「Sleeping face cute!」

「Disagree」「Previous」「form」「more」「cool」

「If you don’t like it, little baby go away. I’m going to sleep with big baby.」

I felt a small, soft touch on my tentacle arm sprawled on the floor. No. 26 crawled up my arm and settled next to my head.

「I」「want」「sleep」「too」

Adhigh Orr also climbed onto my back and lay down. I felt another soft weight, different from No. 26’s, through my carapace.

After finding their spots, both of them quieted down soon after. Because of this, I missed the timing to open my eyes.

And perhaps thanks to their warmth, my stuffy feeling improved considerably.

‘Well, no need to wake them up.’

I continued managing the nest without moving. After finishing that task, I drifted off to sleep, enjoying the comfort created by No. 26 and Adhigh Orr.

–

“Mr. Wilter. The hunt is over.”

“What’s the damage report?”

“One Gigacracker completely destroyed, two with engine and ion cannon damage….”

A captain’s room filled with various weapons and stuffed beasts.

While the scene resembles a Space Dog poaching ship, the owner of this vessel is no pirate.

Wilter Saintkay, head of House Saintkay, one of the seven houses of Megacorp, and nicknamed the eccentric of Noble Capital.

The old eccentric is listening to his subordinate’s report in this uniquely atmospheric space.

“That concludes the damage report.”

“How’s the tracking of the prey going?”

“Currently, pursuit teams are tracking the blue and red specimens, but it’s not easy. It seems we’ll have to give up on specimens other than the black one.”

“Hmph. One out of three, is it?”

Wilter, who had been listening with his arms crossed, frowned.

He had mobilized five Gigacrackers and various new weapons to hunt high-ranking Outspacer specimens. He could count on one hand the times he had deployed this much military power.

But the results were disastrous. The damage exceeded expectations, and they only managed to kill one specimen.

Moreover, they had originally targeted four specimens. One didn’t even show up, yet this was the result. It was essentially a complete misjudgment of the enemy’s strength.

This hunt was essentially a failure.

“I can’t remember the last time I failed.”

“I apologize.”

“Tsk, disappointing but unavoidable. Pay the scheduled hazard pay to the families of the dead hunters.”

“Yes. We’re already disbursing to those we’ve identified.”

“Additional bonuses may be paid to those whose contributions are recognized later.”

Wilter personally gave his subordinate several instructions regarding the handling of casualties.

He paid more attention to subordinate management than other Noble Capital houses. This was due to his hobby.

Wilter was not only the head of his house but also a hunter of exceptional skill. His reputation was so great that it was known even in the Cult Empire.

A skilled hunter knows to treasure his hunting dogs. Wilter spared no expense on things that helped with hunting.

“I will handle it as you instructed.”

“Good.”

“The next item to report is the spoils.”

The subordinate manipulated his terminal to display a hologram. The corpse of a giant monster stored in the Gigacracker appeared in the middle of the captain’s room.

“As you can see, the outer skin is severely damaged. The wing membrane is also heavily damaged and can only be utilized in a limited way.”

“What about the inside?”

“Fortunately, the damage is relatively less. About 60% of the major organs are in good condition.”

“Hmm. That’s somewhat fortunate.”

For the first time since the report began, Wilter showed interest. Uncrossing his arms, he stared at the insides of the black specimen scanned by the machine.

This monster, resembling a bat, had the ability to emit energy equivalent to a super-large ion cannon.

This means there are organs inside its body that generate and manage energy.

If they secure and study these, they could upgrade the performance of Gigacrackers beyond their current capabilities.

“Share the data obtained from the dissection with Garmelda.”

“Are you sure that’s alright?”

“The little miss over there will make interesting weapons with this.”

This was hard-won spoils. Other Noble Capital houses would have thought of monopolizing it first, but Wilter shook his head.

Despite his eccentric nickname, he understood House Saintkay better than anyone. With their house’s capabilities alone, it would be difficult to fully exploit this Outspacer.

In that case, it’s more beneficial to collaborate with those who can make the best weapons from this “precious resource.”

“And…”

Wilter manipulated his terminal.

A new video appeared above the hologram. It was footage of the battlefield recorded by another battleship hours ago.

Amidst the chaotic tangle of numerous ships and Outspacers, there was one monster. This creature, with two heads and multiple tentacles, attacked everything around it indiscriminately.

Neither the battleship’s main guns nor the black specimen’s attacks could destroy the monster. It was uncertain whether even a Gigacracker’s ion cannon could destroy it. The monster’s strength and durability were that overwhelming.

“To catch bigger prey, you need better weapons.”

A monster with power equal to or greater than the high-ranking specimen they had barely managed to catch.

The old hunter eyed his next prey with eyes full of desire.