Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 104



Only Noblemtl

Ep. 104

White demons cling to the hull.

They bit into my stomach with their sharp teeth.

‘It’s too late to avoid it.’

I quickly created erosion tentacles on the outer wall of the ship. My erosion tentacles rushed at them with bullets fired from the storm gun.

“■!”

Numerous tentacles latched onto the metallic gremlins, tearing off their limbs or swallowing them whole. The spores of putrefactive mold that had already formed on the outer walls continued to spit out without stopping.

Adhai, who had returned to the hull, and No. 26, who was writing ‘Terror of the Deep’, also fought against them.

Adhai blasted through the gremlins in green lightning, while No. 26 tethered the gremlins to the stormgun’s trajectory. The black hull gleamed with the silver blood they had sprayed.

So we fiercely defended against the horde of metallic gremlins, but it wasn’t easy.

‘There are too many.’

I cleared the text box that keeps popping up. The predator effect keeps popping up because I’ve been eating a ton of metallic gremlins.

Most of them were either the ‘Metal Predation’ trait that I had already acquired, or the ‘Dwarfism’ trait that I didn’t need. Still, I was able to acquire a few useful traits.

‘I would have liked it if it were other times, but… .’

Things are not going well right now.

I was able to reduce their numbers by half with psychic breath, but there were still hundreds. There were so many of them that no matter how many I killed, there was no sign of their numbers decreasing.

‘Besides, the Storm Gun is out of ammo.’

If we continue like this, even if we try hard, we will all perish.

The outer walls are already in tatters as hundreds more are chewing away at the hull while we kill hundreds more.

[Zuzuzuzuzu (Everyone come back)]

I can’t put it off any longer.

If it is delayed any further, it will be difficult to use superluminal navigation. Since superluminal navigation puts a considerable strain on the hull, if the entire ship is damaged, it may be torn apart during the navigation.

‘There are still a lot of them…’

There are still over a hundred metallic gremlins clinging to me, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Big baby! There are too many bad guys!”

“Enemy” “Infinity” “Me” “Fatigue”

I checked if No. 26 and Adhai, who came up next to me, were okay.

The guys looked tired from fighting countless enemies nonstop. Fortunately, the two of them did not appear to have any major injuries other than minor cuts.

‘The kids are here too, so let’s get ready.’

I changed the structure of the ship to make the walls of the rooms we were in, the reactor, and other important facilities as thick as possible.

And the remaining energy in the reactor was turned into a light engine.

The light engine, which had been eroded by me and transformed into a black sphere, slowly wriggled as it inhaled energy.

Even as the engine prepared to start, the onslaught of metallic gremlins continued.

With Adhai and No. 26 gone, it was becoming increasingly difficult to defend against their attacks.

I tried my best to slap them away with my erosion tentacles, but they still managed to crawl inside the ship.

Those who broke into the ship made a mess of the facilities inside as if it were their own world.

If there had been more of them, we would have lost the reactor before the light engine could start up.

As they were eating away at the outer walls of the reactor, the ship’s heart signaled that everything was ready.

‘it’s okay!’

At last the light engine roared.

The destination is an area that smugglers often visit. Near the place they arrive, there is a jungle-like planet inhabited by various rare creatures.

A blue light enveloped not only us but the entire ship, and the stars that were occasionally visible in the distance became strangely distorted.

And everyone inside and outside the ship leaped through space together.

‘Huh?!’

The moment I realized that fact, an enormous pressure came over my body. It was due to the shock caused by the ship entering the realm of superluminal speeds, exceeding the speed of light.

Even the escape pod wasn’t like this, so is it because the ship is so big? Or is it because the ship was damaged by metallic gremlins?

The ship, which was protected by a hard alloy and a special mucus created to prevent corrosion, twisted like a twisted pot.

Because my body was connected to controlling the ship, I could feel that the pressure on the hull was not normal.

I focused my senses more closely on the slimy substance covering the alloy wall to check the condition of the entire ship. Then, a pain as if my whole body was being crushed struck my mind.

“Pain relief activated!”

I want to disconnect from the senses right now, but I have no choice because I have to check the state of the ship at all times.

‘… I’ll just barely hang on.’

If the ship had split, it would have collapsed long ago. If it continues like this, it seems like it will be able to hold out until it lands on the planet.

But that and the pain were separate issues. Even though the pain relief had been activated, the pain that felt like it was squeezing my whole body continued, making it difficult to come to my senses.

“Big baby! Come on!”

“Great Adult!”

The waves of support from No. 26 and Adhai are detected.

I clenched my teeth again as I received the guys’ cheer.

‘I’ve never died like this in a game.’

If community users heard that I was barely able to get away with something like Metallic Gremlin, no one would believe me.

Somehow, I managed to pull myself together in the midst of the pain and created erosion tentacles on the outer wall.

“■■?”

The metallic gremlins panicked as tentacles burst out of the half-ruined ship. I controlled the tentacles and slapped them away.

‘We need to get everything organized before we arrive.’

The ones inside the hull are hard to drop, but the ones outside aren’t.

“■■■■!”

Those who were on the outer wall and were hit by the tentacles fell somewhere in space while screaming pitifully. They clearly wanted to fight back, but they couldn’t move recklessly.

If you make a wrong move and fall off the ship, you’ll end up like one of your own kind who got hit by a tentacle.

The problem is the guys inside.

They cunningly stopped invading the reactor once the ship entered superluminal travel, probably because they knew that if the reactor exploded en route, it would be a disaster.

‘I don’t intend to leave it alone though.’

They’ll attack as soon as they arrive. It’ll be hard, but we have to reduce them somehow.

I created small turrets scattered throughout the ship that would fire rot fungi following the tentacles.

“■■■!”

The guys who had been gnawing at the walls from the inside turned their attention towards the new enemy that appeared.

I cleaned up the ones on the outside with erosion tentacles and kept the ones on the inside at bay by blowing mold spores at them.

From inspecting the condition of the hull to manipulating tentacles and rot fungus organs.

There were so many things to worry about that I thought my head was going to burst.

After such a frantic struggle, the superluminal voyage that seemed like it would never end came to an end.

‘We’ve arrived!’

Beyond the darkness that has descended upon the surroundings, a blue planet is visible. It is the planet that pirates infiltrate to capture rare animals.

‘Okay! Let’s hold on a little longer!’

I entered the planet’s atmosphere with the metallic gremlin inside the ship. The entire outer wall was burning hot and the intense heat penetrated inside.

“Squeak!”

Metallic gremlins scream in the sweltering heat.

It’s not because it’s painful.

Metallic Gremlins are incredibly powerful in space, but become very weak when on a planet.

In terms of setting, metallic gremlins have virtually no eyes or sense of smell, but instead use organs that detect metal to find prey.

That’s why if you go to a planet with a lot of metal mixed in, your excellent metal detection ability becomes poisonous. You will sense metal all around you, which will confuse your senses.

Also, they can only glide through the planet’s atmosphere and do not have the propulsion to return to space. In other words, once they enter a planet, they cannot return to space.

Trapped on a planet, the metallic gremlin has no choice but to wander aimlessly around the planet, waiting to be eaten by other predators.

They know that fact and that’s why they’re running wild.

“Keeeeeek!”

“Kick! Kick!”

They try to run outside, making strange noises.

It used its teeth and claws to scratch at the wall closest to the outside in an attempt to somehow escape.

‘That won’t do.’

These guys have been bothering me a lot up until now. Should I just let them run away?

I kept swallowing up the ones trying to escape with the erosion tentacles, while continuously changing the location of the space they were standing in.

Even if they break through the wall, their location changes, so they have no choice but to continue wandering around inside the ship.

So I entered the atmosphere, toying with the metallic gremlins.

The blue sea, the islands scattered here and there like dots, and the land covered with dense jungle appear small.

If there are various environments mixed together, the types of creatures living there will also be diverse.

What this means is that the range of genetic sequences I can acquire has also expanded.

As I looked around to see where to land on the ground, an unpleasant scene flashed before me.

“Intercepted by the main gun of the Cult Cruiser.”

“The hull was split in two. It cannot be recovered.”

“The reactor exploded.”

“I’m dead.”

‘what?’

Realizing that what had just passed was a foreshadowing of the future by a predator’s senses, I quickly turned the boat sharply to the right.

A huge heat ray flew in from inside the land and blew away the back of the ship, which was where the propulsion and control room were located.

‘this!’

The ship was under my control, but I couldn’t maintain altitude even with the propulsion blown off.

The boat carrying me and the children went out of control and began to plummet.

I quickly checked what was happening where we were crashing. It was a shallow sea adjacent to the land.

‘If it’s the cruiser’s main gun, there’s a waiting time. If it crash-lands in the sea before then… .’

But the mysterious enemy didn’t seem to want to let me land safely. Diamond-shaped fighters emerged from the jungle inside the land.

‘What happened?’

The information left on this ship said that no other force other than pirates was coming. At least, there was no record of the pirates I had captured engaging in any conflict with other forces on this planet.

‘… Another pirate.’

Judging by their relentless attacks, it was clear that they were part of a higher cartel than the original owners of this trading ship.

Who would have thought that on the day I came, another group of pirates would show up here? A new group of pirates joins the gremlin group. Bad luck is coming one after another.

‘Let’s calm down. If we continue like this, we’ll all die.’

We should overcome the current crisis first and leave the regrets about our misfortune for later.

‘If you don’t land before the main gun activates, you’re finished.’

However, the enemy’s aircraft will not let me land safely. The ship is currently badly damaged and will be easily destroyed by the plasma bullets fired by the aircraft.

‘I can hold out somehow.’

I won’t die unless the reactor explodes in mid-air.

But these are not the kids that are with me now.

‘…We need to get the kids out first.’

The question is whether those carriers will leave the kids alone.

If by any chance they shoot at Adhai and No. 26, the kids will be in great danger.

Adhai can fly, so he can escape, but No. 26 cannot.

‘Since it’s the sea, let’s send the kids here first.’

The ocean is No. 26’s home ground. If he goes into the water, he will be able to escape with Adhai.

In my case, I secured a new escape route by eating the metallic gremlin earlier. So, even if I stay on the ship until the end after sending the kids away, I can still escape.

‘How can I attract attention… ah.’

While I was wondering if there was a way, an idea came to mind.

Those guys who are causing trouble inside my ship, metallic gremlins. I have to use them.

I modified the structure of the ship and made a large hole in one of the walls.

The blue sea was visible outside the hole, and the smell of the sea swept in, filling the space.

[Zuzuzuzuzuzuzu (You go first)]

“Big baby?”

“adult?”

I changed the shape of the metal walls to surround 26 and Adhai. 26, who realized what I was doing, quickly sent a wave.

“Let’s go together!”

[Zz zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zu (I’ll send you guys first)]

“You can’t be here! It’s dangerous!”

I didn’t answer and focused on how the situation outside was changing. The fighters were slowly getting closer to the ship.

‘good.’

When the plasma launcher on the ship was aimed at the ship, I literally cleared away some of the walls in the space inside the ship.

Then the metallic gremlins inside jumped out. They glided at the same speed they were running and latched onto the aircraft.

‘Now!’

I struck the metal sphere I had created to protect No. 26 and Adhai with my tentacle. Just before the sphere detached, a thin tentacle shot out from No. 26 and touched my auxiliary organ.

At that moment, I could feel the guy’s thoughts.

Fear of what will happen next, helplessness of not being able to do anything, and a desperate plea not to die.

To that message of mixed emotions, I responded like this:

I will never die.

And we will meet again soon.

“It’s a promise!”

The moment the guy shouted, the sphere separated.

The sphere surrounding Aadhai and No. 26 was ejected from the ship through a pre-drilled hole.

I concentrated my mind and watched them fall into the sea safely. The aircraft on board did not react at all to the falling metal spheres, perhaps because they were out of their minds due to the gremlin.

‘it’s okay.’

All I could do on the ship was done. I released the erosion tentacles and ran towards the hole the sphere had popped out of.

And jumped out of the ship.

I can see the main gun’s heat ray flying out of the distant jungle. The heat ray mercilessly penetrates the ship, and a tremendous explosion engulfs me.

“Pain relief activated!”

‘Ugh!’

In the blazing flames, I spread out all my fighting arms and tail.

This is to use one of the characteristics I got from eating the metallic gremlin earlier, the ‘gliding membrane’.

“Glide membrane: Helps you glide stably at high altitudes.”

A long membrane stretched from between my fighting arms to the middle of my tail, and my body was lifted into the air current.

The gliding membrane is designed to mimic the gliding form of a wingsuit or a flying squirrel, but no one would associate this with an Aimorph with its four arms and long tail.

As I was gliding through the sky, slowing down my descent, the fighters chased after me.

The plasma bullets they fired grazed my head and back.

I quickly folded the membrane attached to my arm. My body fell rapidly, and the aircraft also dived down after me.

‘I got caught.’

I closed the distance between me and the descending aircraft by deploying my glide shield again, and once again used the trait I had gained from the Metallic Gremlin.

“Radio interference: It emits waves that cause temporary errors in electrically operated devices.”

That characteristic is ‘radio interference’.

I just learned about radio interference, one of the materials for hijacking.

A mechanically disruptive wave flowed from the double-ridged plates on my back, engulfing nearby aircraft.

The aircraft’s power went out and they began to fall helplessly.

Before they fall, the pilots are seen beyond the reinforced glass, at a loss as to what to do in the unexpected situation.

After disabling the aircraft, I used my glide shield and quickly flew into the jungle.

‘The radio interference effect does not last long.’

If the other side is a skilled pilot, they will quickly regain control of the aircraft.

As I expected, one of the falling aircraft quickly took off again, and the rest crashed into the forest.

The carrier tried to chase me, but I was already close to a forest full of tall trees.

I folded the curtain and fell into the jungle, breaking the tree.

After knocking down numerous large trees, I was able to land safely. As soon as I landed, I hid under a pile of fallen large trees.

When the aircraft following me mistook me for a rock and tried to fly past me, I gave the pilot a look of terror.

‘Where are you just going?’

The aircraft, which had been flying normally, suddenly changed course and crashed into a tree. With its wing half-broken, the aircraft staggered and circled around before crashing to the ground.

Two pilots crawled out of the crashed aircraft.

One of them had horns so I knew it was a cult, the other was human.

They seemed to be out of their minds from the shock of the fall, but when I showed up, they started running away without hesitation.

I had no intention of letting either of them go, so I blasted out my erosion tentacles and caught them.

“Hey, wait a minute! Wait, wait!”

“Hey, save me!”

Pilots struggling while being captured.

Normally I would have used parasites or something, but I don’t think I would do that now.

Because it’s been a long time since the lid was properly opened.

“Keep, keaaaah!”

“Stop it! Aaaah!”

The human was slowly devoured from the toes by the eroding tentacles, while the cult grabbed the arms and legs with two tentacles and pulled them.

‘You fucked me up so hard.’

Doesn’t the metallic gremlin horde event happen, which is less likely to happen than being struck by lightning twice?

I thought I had somehow avoided it, so this time the space dog popped out.

Wouldn’t you just blow up the ship you worked so hard to get with your main gun?

‘And on top of that, I almost killed Adhai and No. 26.’

For this reason, I am feeling very bad right now.

‘You dare to provoke me in the jungle?’

The battlefield I’m most confident in is neither a spaceship nor a space city.

After I wiped out four clans on a jungle planet in the past.

Even the rankers of Space Survival would rather commit suicide than fight me in the jungle.

In other words, guerrilla warfare here in the jungle is what I do best.

“Keeeek!”

The cult, which was caught in two tentacles, screamed loudly and became quiet only after its upper and lower bodies were separated.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh… .”

Another one let out a feeble groan before being crushed to death by the tentacles.

After slowly killing and eating the two, I left the place.

The pilots still on the downed carrier. To kill them all too.

I will not spare a single pirate on this planet.