Ch.64Evil Spirit (1)

In Space Survival, all traits and skills belong to specific categories.

For example, traits like wings or chitinous exoskeleton that I first obtained belong to the physical category, while the psychic organ I got from devouring Kisaragi belongs to the psychic power category.

So which category contains the most powerful traits concentrated together?

If you asked me or other rankers, we would answer without hesitation:

The Power of Deep category, which contains traits exclusive to Voltex One.

And the Dragon Power category, which only Red Gallergorn can use – these two.

There’s a reason these two categories are strong.

Voltex One is a species that appears as a boss in the final mission of Outspacer. Since the entire species is classified as boss-level, their exclusive traits are naturally overwhelmingly powerful.

Red Gallergorn is one of the most powerful creatures in the game, an NPC that even rankers struggle to face.

That’s why the powers of these two cannot be used through normal methods. It’s not that there’s no way at all, but it’s extremely difficult or risky.

Let’s slightly change the question then.

Among the categories of traits and skills that players can commonly use, which is the strongest?

The answer to this question would differ among rankers, but most would point to the psychic power category that handles psychic abilities.

The psychic power category contains many traits and skills with versatility that can be applied in various situations.

The same applies to the physical category, but physical-related skills and traits have a decisive limitation. They focus on physical attacks and defense, making them vulnerable to non-material attacks.

In contrast, psychic power can exert powerful physical force while also possessing destructive power against mind and soul.

Due to this unfair game structure, Outspacers who cannot acquire psychic power abilities at all, and Star Union cyborgs who are half-machine and must rely solely on equipment to counter psychic powers, became increasingly disadvantaged in the later stages.

Players who chose biological species like Megacorp can acquire psychic power through genetic modification. It’s naturally difficult to compete against them without psychic abilities.

If there’s a disadvantage to psychic category traits and skills, it’s that they’re not easy to obtain, but even that is resolved by playing as Cult.

‘Were about 30% of game users Cult?’

Among rankers, the proportion of Cult is higher than the general user base. Out of 20 rankers who saw the ending, as many as 9 were Cult.

By the way, 1 of them is Korean. How do I know? Because I directly competed against him.

‘He was a formidable opponent.’

He was a player who fought much better than I had expected.

Apart from Cult being good performance-wise, there aren’t many players with exceptional skills.

Psychic power is modeled after what we commonly call telekinesis or telepathy.

As a result, it tends to be more abstract than intuitive, and has a complex structure requiring high understanding from the user.

In other words, the power of psychic abilities can differ as much as heaven and earth depending on how creatively the user employs them.

The Korean Cult I fought belonged to the category of creative players.

‘He was so old-fashioned he was practically a fossil.’

He showed me ways to utilize psychic power that I couldn’t even imagine, and thanks to that, I thought I was going to lose all my hair trying to figure out how to counter him when we fought.

‘I learned a lot thanks to him.’

Although I won in the end, I gained a lot of new knowledge through fighting him.

I used many psychic traits myself, but after fighting that Korean Cult, my understanding of psychic power increased significantly.

Anyway, it’s about time to put that experience to use.

‘To properly use psychic-related traits, I need a type.’

Securing a psychic enhancement type makes me eligible for the Complete Organism effect. The Complete Organism effect enhances the effects of the types I possess.

In other words, all my psychic power traits will be doubly enhanced. Since I still don’t have many psychic power-related traits I can use, I need to focus on output for now.

‘I’ve waited a long time. Type unlock.’

The text box that received my permission disappeared as if dissolving into the air, and mutation began in my body.

There are a total of 2 external organs in my body that use psychic power: the auxiliary organ under my jaw and the tentacle cluster at the back of my head. There wasn’t much change in the auxiliary organ, but significant changes occurred in the tentacle cluster related to the “Monster’s Tentacles” trait and the surrounding area.

First, the shape of the carapace covering my head changed.

Previously, it had a smooth and monotonous design except for protruding horns, but not anymore.

The carapace protecting the back of my head spread wider to protect the tentacles.

Additionally, curves and patterns appeared on the surface, changing to a more complex appearance than before.

If the previous head carapace could be compared to a horned helmet, now it’s a crown. A very large crown at that.

When the “Hunting Emblem” effect ends, it will shrink from its current size, but the fact that it has become a more impressive appearance won’t change.

Along with the change in the carapace covering my head, the tentacle cluster also changed significantly.

The tentacles, which were previously thin and long almost like hair, became much thicker and longer. Now they flowed over my shoulders.

The color also changed; previously they were the same dark brown as my exoskeleton, but now they were a vivid purple, probably from containing psychic power.

As soon as the tentacle mutation ended, my entire body itched. The psychic resistance received enhancement effects and manifested on my exoskeleton.

As a result, vivid purple tattoos appeared on my predominantly dark brown exoskeleton. The purple tattoos were engraved throughout my body as if following blood vessels.

Currently, my eyes are covered due to the Hunting Emblem effect. But perhaps thanks to the developed auxiliary organ, I could feel the changes in my body as vividly as if I were seeing them directly.

And so all the changes were completed.

‘Something’s different.’

The way I see and feel is different from before. The auxiliary organ also received the type effect, widening the range and scope of detection.

Now I can detect psychic power even when Cult isn’t directly using it.

These faint purple energies flowing through this hospital, this space. Things I couldn’t see before.

‘So this is what it feels like.’

In the game, it simply marked psychic power users as purple on the minimap, but is it because this is reality?

I could experience again the surprise and freshness I felt when I first became a Hatchling.

‘With this level of sensitivity, I could detect attacks before they happen when fighting Cult.’

I could already detect the flow of psychic power with my auxiliary organ, but not as precisely as now. It will be much easier when fighting Cult or enemies using psychic power in the future.

Having obtained the type, I returned to the first floor of the hospital with satisfaction.

The metal absorption effect hasn’t ended yet. Now I just need to return to the nest where the kids are waiting.

Just as I was about to leave the lobby, something strange registered in my senses.

「Twenty knights in silver reinforced suits emerge from the alley.」

「The knight at the front, whose armor has a picture of a woman in a bikini, speaks. We’ll divide into three teams of 7, 7, and 6. I’ll take the first team, Tennessee the second, and Paris the third.」

「The other knights chorus. Understood, Sir Jacob.」

「The knight called Jacob says, Tennessee, when you reach the hospital, take the second team and enter through the back door. The third team, under Paris’s direction, will wait at the station and provide support if needed. The first team will go with me through the main entrance.」

「A knight with an eagle drawn on his armor responds. Understood. Second team, this way.」

「A knight with a shield drawn says, Sir Jacob. People are coming around the hospital.」

「Jacob says, Reporters. Leave them to the police.」

With that, the sensation of watching a video on fast-forward abruptly ended.

‘Predator sense?’

Only the method of quickly showing the video is the same; everything else is different.

Predator sense only activates when facing a life-threatening crisis. Also, it fragmentarily shows an unfavorable future that’s about to come, not reality as it is.

In contrast, what I just saw was much more detailed than usual. It showed who was speaking and where they were coming from.

‘Is the predator sense also affected by the Hunting Emblem effect?’

The Hunting Emblem effect enhances all traits I possess.

I’m guessing that the psychic enhancement type and Hunting Emblem effect tripled up, causing the predator sense to precisely show a crisis further in the future than usual.

‘That means there’s still time before they arrive here.’

One might say I could just escape in that time, but if that were possible, the predator sense wouldn’t have activated in the first place.

‘There’s a station near their path.’

The concealment effect is still valid, but the problem is that they can detect me. If I go out like this, I’ll be discovered immediately.

‘Fighting itself isn’t the problem, but…’

There are too many enemies. Even if I somehow annihilate them all, there’s not much time left. There’s a high possibility that the concealment effect will be lifted during the fight.

‘Even if I take a detour, there are guys waiting.’

Since 6 of the knights are waiting in front of the station, fighting is unavoidable no matter which way I go.

‘The problem is time.’

In the Hunting Emblem state, I could easily kill 6 of them, but the issue is killing them without being noticed by anyone.

I came to the hospital in the first place to prevent the city from discovering my identity. It would be completely counterproductive to reveal myself openly while claiming to escape safely.

‘Should I call the kids?’

The current time is 10:30 PM.

At this time, they do inspections inside the station in preparation for the board meeting. Since the board meeting hasn’t started yet, there’s a high chance they’ll inspect today too.

‘I ate that female reporter at this time last time.’

I explained this to No. 26 before coming here. I told him to come out when I contact him if the station is dark.

Sea Demon is a creature that lives in the deep sea, so it’s sensitive to light. No. 26 probably can detect a wider spectrum of light than I can, so there shouldn’t be any difficulty following the plan.

‘But words and reality are different. I need to time my signal well.’

I think a diversion tactic between me and them isn’t bad, but for it to succeed, it’s most important that I give the signal appropriately.

‘With the improved performance of the auxiliary organ, if I just concentrate, it shouldn’t be difficult to grasp the situation inside the station… wait a minute.’

At that moment, another thought occurred to me.

I tried sending the usual wavelength to No. 26.

[Zz·zzz·zz(Can, you, hear?)]

「…Big one?」

[Zz·zz·z·zz(It’s, me, can, you, hear?)]

「Big one, what’s wrong?」

‘I knew it!’

I tried it just in case, not expecting it to work, but it succeeded.

The means by which I can communicate with No. 26 is thanks to these tentacles, the psychic organ attached to the back of my head.

When I didn’t have this organ, I could hear what No. 26 was saying, but I couldn’t speak to him.

Currently, it has been reborn as Monster’s Tentacles through fusion, but the previous communication ability remains. Thanks to that, I’ve been using it well when talking to No. 26.

I had been using it so naturally that I forgot.

That the function helping me communicate with him is also subject to the psychic enhancement type effect.

「Are you on your way to the nest?」

[Zz·zz·zzz·zzz(No, because, of, something, else)]

「What is it? Need help?」

This way, I don’t need to call No. 26 with perfect timing. I can just tell him directly.

I told No. 26 that I would give him a signal soon, so he should get ready. While he prepares, I need to prepare too.

‘Just in case, let me check all the traits I’ve acquired.’

When the text boxes passed by, I skipped traits like “Insight” that weren’t immediately necessary. There was enough time to check them when I got to the nest.

But the situation has changed. I might be late to the nest, so I need to acquire them now.

The number of traits I acquired in the hospital is 5, excluding William. I got them from 3 knights and 2 civilians.

Hunting Emblem increases the probability of predation, but doesn’t make it 100% certain to acquire traits.

Even if I had eaten more people, the chance of all predation effects activating would be very low.

Still, compared to usual, I obtained an embarrassingly large number of traits in a short time.

‘I’ll apply them quickly and go at full power.’

I brought up the text boxes and quickly scanned the contents.

「Stole the biological trait ‘Space Bacteria’ from ‘Human’.」

「Do you want to apply ‘Space Bacteria’?」

「Stole the biological trait ‘Breath of Fire’ from ‘Magmagator’.」

「Do you want to apply ‘Breath of Fire’?」

「Stole the biological trait ‘Endurance’ from ‘Human’.」

「Do you want to apply ‘Endurance’?」

「Stole the biological trait ‘Spiny Hair’ from ‘Nightstalker’.」

「Do you want to apply ‘Spiny Hair’?」

「Stole the biological trait ‘Pheromone Enhancement’ from ‘Insectman’.」

「Do you want to apply ‘Pheromone Enhancement’?」

‘No need to ask further. Apply them all.’

When I obtained Complete Organism, the text box left me with these words:

There is no end to evolution.

The body evolves again by the newly introduced genetic essence.