Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 136



Only Noblemtl

Ep. 136

The size of the Sea Demon in the game is roughly 20 to 30 meters. In other words, it is as big as my body length.

You might think that it’s relatively small for a semi-boss-level creature, but there’s a catch.

The thing is, the C-Demon can adjust its size and shape to whatever it wants.

The Sea Demon in normal mode is only about 20m long, but when it enters combat, it can grow to 100m. Its threatening weapon, the saw-tipped tentacle, also grows to fit its body, and the range of the Sea Demon’s unique trait, ‘Deep Sea Terror’, also increases.

As you can see from #26, Sea Demons are usually highly intelligent. This means that they actively use their abilities even during battle.

So, the number of things that players in charge of tanking have to calculate has inevitably increased.

‘Even taking that into account, this guy is huge.’

Is it because it lived so long? At first glance, its corpse was more than twice the size of a normal sea demon. It was so big that it even surpassed the 50m-tall Pale Mask.

In addition, there were large and small scars all over its pink skin, clearly showing that it was no ordinary creature.

‘If it weren’t for the spaceship crash, I wouldn’t have died so easily.’

As evidence, there was a wound on his torso that was longer than my body. Even though he was a powerful monster, he had not yet recovered from the injury he sustained when he collided with the spaceship.

As I was looking down at the corpse of the Sea Demon from a distance, No. 26 approached. Dozens of tentacles emerged from the creature’s body and attached themselves to the corpse.

‘What are you doing?’

I thought maybe he was paying tribute, but judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like that. The guy stuck all the tentacles he had protruded from his body onto the corpse and then just sat there.

After a while, a purple light began to ripple across the surface of the giant corpse. It was such an enormous amount of energy that even I, wearing my reflective gloves, felt a tingle inside my body.

A purple energy moved along the surface of the corpse. The massive flow of psychic power was directed towards the tentacles attached to Number 26.

A purple glow came from 26, who used his tentacles like straws to suck up energy. The intensity of the light was not much different from when he expressed his emotions, but my auxiliary organs denied it.

There’s a massive psychic power swirling around in his body. The amount of energy he’s absorbed is enough to overwhelm my psychic breath.

And then the guy’s body started to crack like an egg breaking. I was startled for a moment when I saw that.

It’s a good thing the guy didn’t look like he was in any pain, otherwise I would have intervened.

‘It might be important.’

I quietly watched the guy change.

The cracked outer shell soon broke and the guy with concentrated psychic power swelled up greatly. His body, which had shrunk to 3 meters while he was locked up in the research base, grew rapidly to around 10 meters.

The psychic power was so strong that even the auxiliary organs couldn’t properly sense the entity’s appearance, but at first glance, it looked similar to the dead Sea Demon.

‘I see. So that’s what it was like.’

Many players have speculated in the game that there is a relationship between the Sea Demon and the Bubble Amoeba, that the two creatures are genetically closely related.

Among them, there were players who thought that Bubble Amoeba grew up to become Sea Demon. This theory states that the weakest marine life grows up to become the strongest creature, and there was some basis to this theory.

Most wild NPCs in the space survival world have a mechanism to grow from a baby to an adult. If that’s the case, then Sea Demons will also have a fluid stage.

Many players have searched the ocean planets without fail, but no one has found a fluid sea demon. This is why people are saying that the bubble amoeba, which looks similar, is the sea demon.

‘Of course, few people took it seriously.’

Many players kept Bubble Amoeba as a pet. Everyone knew that Bubble Amoeba didn’t change much as it grew bigger.

‘That’s what happened.’

Looking at the scene unfolding before our eyes, it seems difficult to see the growth theory as being completely wrong.

Number 26, the baby of Sea Demon, looks almost exactly like a bubble amoeba. It can hide its tentacles and fins inside its body, so they are invisible, and it is also smaller.

The Sea Demon in its fragile fluid state lives among a group of Bubble Amoeba and protects them. During this process, it will gradually grow by hunting down predators that threaten the group. Then, when it is time to inherit the power of the Sea Demon, it will mutate into an adult.

‘No wonder no one knows.’

Bubble Amoeba is a pet, not a combat support creature. Even if someone is lucky enough to get their hands on the Sea Demon’s fluid, they won’t fight, so they can’t be raised.

How about taking him to battle the mighty sea monster, Sea Demon?

If it were a bubble amoeba with no combat ability, you’d think it would die 100 times out of 100. Of course, unless you’re someone who enjoys killing your own pets, you wouldn’t take it.

The condition is that you have to rescue a Sea Demon baby that looks exactly like a Bubble Amoeba and bring it to the corpse of a dead Sea Demon. It’s a method that is virtually impossible to verify.

While I was lost in thought, No. 26 continued to suck up the legacy of the Sea Demon.

However, at some point, the absorption rate began to slow down. Even though there was still a lot of energy left, the speed was gradually decreasing.

Then the guy stopped absorbing energy. The 10m long purple glowing object attached to the corpse slowly fell away.

The psychic power remaining in the C-Demon’s corpse gradually faded and then disappeared.

‘What a pity.’

I felt a little regretful at having lost sight of the essence of pure psychic power. I scratched my head with my broken and healed combat arm.

Even after the energies disappeared, No. 26 was still glowing. The light it was emitting gradually became smaller.

No, it wasn’t just the light that was diminishing, it was the body itself that was shrinking.

From 10m to 5m, and then to 1m. The thing that seemed like it would become infinitely smaller stopped at around 50cm.

‘huh?’

It was just big enough to fit on top of my head. Its appearance had also returned to that of a slime, except for the fins that came out for swimming.

‘There’s a pattern.’

If I had to pick the biggest difference from before the transformation, it would be that No. 26 had a pattern on his body. The dark pink base of his skin had gently undulating lavender spiral waves.

Since this is the bottom of a sea trench, no light comes in, but if sunlight were to shine, I think it would shine like a pink sapphire.

The guy who had finished his transformation came towards me with his fins wagging.

[Zuzuzu (Are you done?)]

“huh!”

Number 26 answered with his usual lively voice.

“Now that my friend is dead, I will have a new friend to protect my family.”

[Zu zu zu (new friend?)]

“Yeah. I can’t because I have other family members. I just ate a little to give it to my other friends.”

Listening to what he said, it seems like the energy that was scattered earlier is mixed into the water and transferred to other Sea Demon fluids.

There’s no need to say anything, but the monster’s tentacles are halfway up saying, “Just don’t worry about it and eat it all.”

Thanks to the care of Sea Demon and the guy, a new monster will be born somewhere in this deep sea.

“The older child can eat since the friend’s work is finished.”

[Zuzuzuzuzu (Is that okay?)]

A guy who shines with positive energy.

In this respect, No. 26 is definitely different from humans. If he were a human, he would try to collect his friend’s body.

‘Is mourning the death of a compatriot separate from the corpse?’

Certainly, No. 26’s appearance was closer to that of a highly intelligent wild animal with social skills than a human.

I gently stroked the guy with my fighting arm. The guy’s body sparkled as if he was happy to be stroked after such a long time.

I patted the guy once and looked at the corpse of the sea demon.

‘I can use the symbol of hunting, but….’

The duration of the Hunting Symbol has been increased to 20 minutes due to the ‘Nightmare Horizon’ effect. This is enough time to eat the head of a Sea Demon that is nearly 50m long, but there is a problem.

‘You have to go upstairs and eat the Pale Mask too.’

It took almost an hour to get down here. Even with the hunting symbol effect that greatly enhanced physical abilities, there was still not enough time to get up there.

‘Besides, I didn’t kill that sea demon.’

The guy suffered from injuries that he sustained after crashing into a spaceship and died after suffering from a chronic illness. It had been quite some time since he died.

‘If you just eat it, the chances of getting the trait are very low.’

Of course, because the temperature is very low in the deep sea, the corpse itself is barely decayed, but since I didn’t kill it, the probability of it being preyed on is extremely low.

Even if you eat while wearing the symbol of the hunt, creatures that you did not kill yourself are treated as identical to genetic samples. And if you eat a sample while wearing the symbol of the hunt, you will not obtain the full trait, but only receive it as a 0.5 trait.

‘On the other hand, it is not a pale mask.’

The guy is a trophy that I hunted with my colleagues. If you use the symbol, you can get the trait almost 100% as before.

‘Let’s postpone the representation.’

After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to just eat the corpse of the sea demon.

Even if you use the symbol of hunting, the loss is greater than the gain. Even if you eat the sea demon here and get a 0.5 trait, if you don’t get to the water surface in time and miss the Pale Mask, that’s a real disaster.

‘The cooldown for the symbol of hunting is one week, so it is impossible to eat it over time.’

The archipelago region we are in has a climate close to subtropical. In just two days, let alone a week, Pale Mask’s genetic essence would be completely damaged.

‘It’s a shame, but let’s consider this as a nutritional supplement.’

I approached the corpse of the Sea Demon and swung my fighting arm. I cut through the water and my sharp claws sank into the Sea Demon’s outer shell.

‘As expected, it’s solid.’

Despite its soft appearance, the Sea Demon’s outer skin is quite thick and strong. Its durability is also higher than that of Pale Mask, so even if you bite it, your teeth won’t get stuck. Until you gain jaw or teeth-related traits, you’ll have to use your arms to tear off meat and eat it.

‘The erosion tentacles are good for swallowing, but their cutting power is poor.’

Now it was time to resort to primitive methods. I used my sharp claws like knives to slice up the corpse of the Sea Demon.

I thought that maybe No. 26 would feel awkward, but he didn’t care at all what happened to the corpses of his kind. He just played around by flicking the spines on the end of my tail with his fins.

Having lost interest in the guy, I tore off the flesh of the Sea Demon. No blood flowed out. It had already coagulated since it had died a long time ago.

‘Where once.’

I put the flesh into my mouth.

‘hmm.’

The meat of this fearsomely powerful sea monster had a flavor as strange as its strength.

The texture itself looked like jellyfish, so I thought it would taste like yangjangpi or jellyfish salad, but it wasn’t. The flesh was closer to salmon sashimi. It had a slightly oily taste compared to regular salmon sashimi. In addition, it had a fragrant scent similar to lime.

‘Overall, it feels luxurious.’

One thing that is slightly disappointing is that it is less unique than I expected.

Maybe it was because it wasn’t a freshly caught sea demon. Other than the impressive tangy lime flavor, it seemed like just another delicious food.

With that thought in mind, I tore off some more flesh and put it in my mouth.

‘hmm?’

The moment I took a bite of that piece, I couldn’t help but admit that I had just been extremely reckless in my judgment.

‘The taste is different here?’

Surprisingly, the taste of the Sea Demon varied greatly depending on the part. The part I just ate tasted exactly like snail soup. It was the taste I had when I went to a buffet as a child.

One thing they have in common is that this part also has a lime scent.

‘This is really interesting.’

I began to eat the Sea Demon’s meat with admiration.

It felt like the taste got deeper the further you went inside compared to the outer skin.

As time has passed since death, the blood has coagulated and the overall temperature has been low, so the taste is not very palatable, which is disappointing.

After a series of surprises, I was able to eat the entire head and brain of the sea demon, excluding the fins.

‘Ugh. It didn’t come up in the end.’

With the jaw effect of the Harvester, I can get the same predation effect as if I were eating the entire body by eating only the head. I ate the entire head, but the predation effect did not occur.

I had expected it wouldn’t come out because the conditions were so bad, but it was still hard to shake off the disappointment.

[Zuzu zuzu (let’s go now)]

“Aren’t you going to eat any more?”

[Zuzuzu (It’s okay)]

Parts of the body and fins were left uneaten.

The meat I have already eaten is far larger than my body size. Any more nutrients are unnecessary.

So, No. 26 and I left the remains of the Sea Demon and headed back up.

As we left, the bubble amoebas sent us off, emitting light. No. 26 said goodbye to them and swam alongside me.

“I like being with my big brother.”

[Zuzu zuzu (Me too)]

The size of the 26th is much larger than when we first met, but in terms of proportions, it feels similar to carrying it on your head.

Maybe it was because I swam while thinking about old times. I didn’t feel particularly bored even though I was going back the way I came.

After swimming for an hour, we were able to climb back up onto the island.

As soon as we got up, what greeted us was the corpse of Pale Mask, with about a fifth of its body missing. Next to it was Heavenly Mother, lying down and grooming her fur.

“It took longer than I thought.”

The Heavenly Mother greeted me with her eyes. I turned my head and looked around.

[Zuuuuuuu (Where is Adhai?)]

“He was just lying down a moment ago, and then he suddenly ran over there.”

A large rock in the direction she nodded. Adhai was detected hiding behind it.

I can feel his heartbeat through the accessory organ under his chin. It’s beating so fast that I can tell he’s scared right now.

‘Why are you suddenly doing that?’

There is no particular danger factor, but I don’t know why it is doing that, so I was looking for the cause, and then Adhai’s ideology touched my tentacles.

“Adult” “Danger” “Escape” “Impossible” “Danger” “Danger” “Danger”

[Zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (There is nothing dangerous here. What’s wrong?)]

“Fellow” “Here” “Come” “Me” “Adult” “Death” “Death” “Death”

The wave of thought wavered anxiously. I thought for a moment and then realized why Adhai was afraid.

‘Could it be because of number 26?’

Number 26 may look cute, but it has absorbed a huge amount of psychic power. Although it is not yet a full-grown adult, it is still strong enough to fight most psychic creatures, including the White Gallagon, on its own.

Adha is very sensitive to psychic powers. It would not be unreasonable to mistake No. 26 for White Gallagon, or the next level Black Gallagon.

Number 26, who was above me, called out to Adhai, as if he was thinking the same thing as me.

“Little baby! It’s me.”

“Little adult?”

“I ate a lot and got stronger! So don’t worry!”

Hearing those words, Adhai popped his head out from behind the rock.

“Little Adult” “Is that right?”

“huh.”

After a few more minutes of conversation, Adhai came out from behind the rock with relief.

“I” “Memory” “Little Adult” “Big” “Now” “Small” “Incomprehensible”

“Now it can grow bigger or smaller. Isn’t it amazing?”

“Me” “Amazing” “Amazing”

“Look. If you do this, it will grow longer?”

“Me” “Surprise!”

While the two of us were chattering away in our thoughts and opinions, Mother in Heaven called me.

“I left the head behind.”

[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu (there are a lot of other parts left)]

“… How big is that thing? It’ll take several days to eat it.”

[Zuzuzu (I see)]

“By the way, transformation is possible? Does that mean you’ve become a C-Demon adult?”

[Zzuzuzuzu zuzuzu zu (not perfect but okay)]

“… Ha. You really have become a monster.”

The Heavenly Mother shook her head, letting out a sigh that could not be said to be either admiration or shock.

‘A monster.’

She doesn’t know. She’s about to see more monsters, but it’s too early to be surprised.

[Zuzuzu zu zuzuzu (Now I’m even more surprised)]

“what?”

Instead of answering, I activated the hunting symbol trait.

“Uh… Uh?”

The eyes of the Heavenly Mother, who was looking at me from the knees, grew as big as lanterns.

The first hunting symbol written after becoming a semi-adult.

As the name suggests, my body began to change into a form optimized for hunting and predation.