Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 146



Only Noblemtl

Ep. 146

–

The Cult’s spaceships are renowned for their elegant design. In particular, the Imperial Carriers used for purification missions are said to resemble cut diamonds and are called “gems of the universe.”

In some ways, this may be an accurate nickname. The production and maintenance costs of the Imperial Carrier are enormous.

The beautiful jewel of the universe and the treasure of the cult empire, the imperial carrier, one of them, ‘Judgment of Damos 08′.

The ship dedicated to the security of the Cult Empire is in grave danger.

“The flow of cosmic power is reversed! Overload has exceeded 200%!”

“If we continue like this, the ship will collapse!”

The situation room shook as if it would shatter at any moment. All the decorations that had been splendidly shining inside fell and shattered, and sparks continuously flew from the computers and other mechanical devices.

The cult sailors who had somehow managed to secure their positions at the scene of the Abigyu Rebellion urgently reported the situation.

“What happened to the carrier group?”

“30% silenced by enemy psychic power attack!”

“With just one blow?! That’s ridiculous!”

Even in the midst of the commotion, the captain remained calm and checked the images in the center of the situation room.

The dark matter that the Imperial Carrier handles is a delicate and dangerous force. The advanced modules attached to the Imperial Carrier are not simply there to charge and fire Cosmic Bolts. They are also a means to control and adjust the beast that is dark matter, which can turn into something unpredictable at any moment.

The captain, having examined the entire condition of the ship, made a decision. He spread his psychic power to send a message to the crew on board.

“Notice to all crew members on board. All persons are to retreat to the escape craft.”

“Captain!”

“Ha, but!”

The sailors were shocked, but the captain remained calm.

“I will stay here. You guys leave this place.”

“yes?!”

“The device that controls the Cosmic Bolt’s output has failed. Someone needs to hold it until the crew can escape.”

The captain, who had said so, came down among the crew and began to manipulate the computer. Having gained control over the images made of psychic powers, he simultaneously used his psychic powers and manipulated the ship’s computer.

The sailors who saw that sight all shut their mouths.

“What are you doing? I said, get out quickly!”

“… … .”

The sailors exchanged glances as they saw their captain willing to sacrifice himself for his men.

“I’ll take care of this, so run away quickly!”

“…sorry!”

“Ugh?!”

One of the young sailors pulled a gun out of his pocket and struck the captain in the back of the neck.

The captain fainted with a short groan. The sailor carefully supported him as he tried to fall.

“Please take care of the captain.”

“We’ll do our best to buy as much time as possible so we can get to the escape ship.”

“Come on, there’s no time. Everyone get to your seats!”

“That kid always sings about wanting to be a captain.”

“Heh heh heh.”

A group of cheerful-looking cult sailors who had decided to take their own lives rather than sacrifice their beloved captain.

The young cultist took the captain on his back after looking at his back once.

As he left the situation room, the cultists’ shouts could be heard behind him.

“Brave cultists! May Providence take us!”

“May Providence take us!”

He swore quietly that he would definitely convey their noble sacrifice to the Empire.

“May Providence take them….”

Moments later, numerous escape ships were launched from the Imperial Carrier. Some were transferred to the ships of the surrounding carrier fleets, while others disappeared into the distance of space.

The Imperial carrier, which had held out until the last escape ship was launched, began to collapse as if it could no longer hold out.

The ship’s outer armor, which had maintained perfect balance like a refined diamond, was greatly distorted and shattered, and the situation room located at the top center was oxidized with the explosion.

The cosmic bolt launcher in the center of the ship suddenly buckled as if being sucked in by something.

At that moment, dark matter was about to leak out through the cracks in the damaged glove.

A golden lightning bolt flew from Saigil 08 and struck the black energy.

Soon, a bright light reminiscent of a supernova enveloped the carrier and its convoy.

–

‘I won.’

I passed out after seeing the Imperial Carrier explode. There were still quite a few ships left, so I thought I shouldn’t lose consciousness like this, but I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t something I could do by my own will.

‘Seeing that you’re still alive, it seems like the other side has retreated… huh?’

Perhaps it’s the aftereffects of being the King of Monsters, but even though my body doesn’t have any strength left, something keeps crawling into my mouth.

The thing that awakened my dulled sense of taste was the meat of a living creature. Someone was feeding me all kinds of meat, including Hond Gigant.

The crispy meats passed through his throat and were quickly digested, and his vitality slowly, very slowly, came back. The tentacles and auxiliary organs of the monster, which had been completely incapable of reacting to external waves, also became activated little by little.

Only then did I realize the state of my body. My body had returned to a semi-adult state after the effects of the psionium had ended. The two heads that assisted me were gone, and the lowermost combat arms that served as legs had returned to a similar appearance to my other arms.

My body, which had briefly evolved into an adult through Psyonium, returned to its original state.

Even as my senses began to recover, unidentified prey continued to enter my mouth. I used the auxiliary organs under my chin to look around.

Only then could I see who was feeding me.

“You might be low on energy! You have to keep feeding it!”

“Big baby! Don’t die!”

“Me” “Prayer” “Adult” “Survival”

There are guys gathered around my head. When the Heavenly Mother and Adhai bring food, No. 26 cuts the food into appropriate pieces and stuffs it into my mouth.

‘Why are you bringing food so quickly?’

I opened my eyes to see what was happening. Number 26, who was dismembering a charred animal with his tentacles, and Adhai, who was carrying small animal corpses, were startled to see me.

“The big baby is awake!”

“Big man” “Survival” “Confirmation!”

Number 26’s body glowed brightly, and Adhai threw away the corpse of a small animal he had caught with his tentacles and ran towards me.

“Don’t stop! Your stamina hasn’t fully recovered yet!”

“huh!”

“admit”

The Heavenly Mother sent a thought to the guys who were happy to see me alive.

Her figure was visible in the distance, among the burning trees. Her entire body was covered in scorched hair, and she was carrying the meat of a large creature on her back.

‘fire?’

I looked up and looked up.

There was a burning sky there.

After the Imperial Carrier was destroyed, its debris became a meteor shower and is still raining down on the planet. Judging from the appearance, it is likely that this area is not the only one burning. The entire continent of Saintopia 02, no, the entire continent of planet PH-101, must have been turned into a sea of ​​fire.

‘indeed.’

I thought it was strange that the food I was eating tasted like barbecue or charred meat, but now I understand. They brought me the meat of creatures that had burned to death in the forest.

Even after I came to my senses, the three of them continued to feed me. I wanted to tell them that it was okay and that they didn’t have to do that, but everyone here knew that wasn’t the case.

I thought to myself as I quietly ate the food like a baby bird.

‘It would have been dangerous if the body had not been easily salvageable.’

The King of Monsters effect is very good, but its side effects are not trivial. It is a side effect as dangerous as the psychic breath that causes you to lose consciousness if you shoot more than the limit, and the symbol of hunting that causes you to go berserk if you run out of remaining energy.

‘Is this how it is after just one transformation?’

When Aimorph becomes an adult, the efficiency of using the energy he possesses greatly increases. If he had not become an adult, he would have died in an instant because his energy was depleted by the King of Monsters.

Before I actually woke up, my energy was so drained that I couldn’t even move my auxiliary organs properly. If I hadn’t been an adult, or if I were alone, I would have been out even after destroying the Imperial Carrier.

‘I survived thanks to the children and my mother in heaven.’

It is thanks to their efforts to save me that I am still breathing today.

‘We are allies.’

The situation was so urgent that I couldn’t check it properly earlier, but the message clearly said ‘ally’.

It goes without saying who that ally refers to, but that’s not the important part.

Aimorphs are a race of killing machines that cannot interact with other life forms due to the system. They only hunt and kill.

The system has acknowledged that such an Aimov is making a companion. What does this mean?

‘I, no, Aimorph, am evolving.’

Although it varies from case to case, sociality is usually advantageous for survival. Animals that live in groups can effectively defend themselves against attacks from stronger enemies. Carnivores can subdue prey that poses a greater risk through numerical superiority.

Even if we look at humans with high sociality, isn’t it true that humans have many disadvantages for survival, but haven’t they been able to thrive thanks to their sociality?

‘Even when I used the symbiotic spores, that message didn’t appear…’

What that means is that things are fundamentally different now than they were before, which makes sense.

‘Space monster type.’

I opened the semi-transparent text box and checked the type located at the very bottom.

｢⑥ Space Monster (only): Perfect Organism (only), Nightmare Horizon (only), Organic Evolution (only)｣

There, the ‘Complete Organism’ and ‘Nightmare Horizon’, previously classified as physical and nest-related types respectively, were moved.

These are all Transcendence Stage 1 traits obtained by utilizing the ‘Unique Trait Synthesis’ system.

‘… If I hadn’t acquired the nest-related traits in advance, I would have been in big trouble.’

Each time a type is acquired, the number of traits required to acquire a new type doubles from before.

For example, let’s say that the required number of characteristics for the Nest Reinforcement Type and the Special Defense Reinforcement Type are 8 each. If you obtain the Nest Reinforcement Type first, the number of characteristics required to obtain the Special Defense Reinforcement Type increases to 16.

The problem is that when the number of characteristics required to obtain a type increases like this, characteristics of the type that has already been obtained are lost.

This is the case when a trait is consumed by using it as a fusion material to gain traits related to another type, or as a unique trait material. In that case, even types that have already been acquired are considered unacquired, and the strengthening effect is lost.

One thing to note is that the number of types required does not revert to what it was before.

When you get a type, you only need 8, but what if the required number increases to 16 after you get the type? You need to fill up the characteristics to 16 to receive the type strengthening effect.

‘I’m not trying to piss anyone off. They’re changing this without any message.’

If I had acquired fewer traits, I would have suffered a great loss, such as losing the nest strengthening type.

Fortunately, before I entered Transcendence Stage 2, I had acquired a number of miscellaneous traits by running around the swamp for 14 hours.

At that time, in addition to the ‘Crab Claw’ trait, I acquired several infection-related traits and nest-related traits. Thanks to this, even if the traits moved around arbitrarily like they do now, the type effect wouldn’t be lost.

‘At that time, I was collecting them because I thought I could use them as materials, but they turned out to be a waste of money.’

In any case, it was significant in many ways that only the characteristics acquired through the system that synthesizes unique characteristics were transferred to the new type.

‘Perfect Organic’ that transforms into a more powerful monster, ‘Nightmare Horizon’ that corrodes and dominates ships, and ‘Organic Evolution’ that can be used by swapping the ‘Giant Life’ and ‘Dwarfism’ traits.

‘It’s a trait that goes beyond the limits of Aimov.’

Moreover, the ‘only’ type among the types has never been seen in the game.

‘And there is no type with an attached explanation like now.’

There is no explanation of what effect each type that Aimorph acquires has or what kind of characteristics it has. Players must check it out for themselves.

Even though that was the rule, the description was available for the space monster type because it was the only type. I opened the text box that came with the space monster type.

｢Space Monster (Unique): The ultimate goal of evolution is to surpass the limits of the species. This type receives additional effects in stages each time a characteristic acquired through the ‘Transcendence’ system is added. This type ignores the penalty incurred by acquiring the type.

*Step 1 (Required number of characteristics 3/4)

*Step 2 (Required number of characteristics 3/8)

*Step 3 (Required number of characteristics 3/??)

*Step 4 (Required number of characteristics 3/??)

After looking at the contents, I could see why an explanation was needed. As expected of a stage 2 transcendence reward, the type effect was also quite unique.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen a type that strengthens in stages.’

In general, a type has no effect when it is just unlocked, and only takes effect after it has been ‘acquired’ by fulfilling the conditions. There are no cases where collecting more than a few characteristics, like the space monster type, gives a special effect.

‘As expected, it’s not written what effect it has.’

It’s too early to tell since there are no clues, but I think it will have a very powerful effect.

‘Now all that’s left is the trait enhancement system… .’

I want to check right away, but extreme fatigue is creeping in. My stomach is slowly growing, and the ground is warm, perhaps because of the fires around me, so I have a strong desire to sleep.

“Big baby, you can sleep if you’re sleepy.”

“Big man” “Tired?”

“… The fire has been put out, but it would be better to rest. It’s a trait that doesn’t exist in the game, so we don’t know what kind of side effects it might cause.”

Those who advise me to rest even though it must be difficult for me.

“Zzu… (Thank you…)”

I fell into a deep sleep without even being able to properly express my gratitude.

–

Mercury.

The closest planet to the sun and the smallest planet in the solar system, it is officially ruled by Carmelda, one of Megacorp’s Noble Capitals.

The Eugene family that owns the moon, the Carmelda family that rules Mercury, the TNC that exerts influence on Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos, Prime Capital that competes for Ganymede, etc.

In this way, the seven families of Megacorp owned several satellites and planets in the solar system.

Usually, when Noble Capital or Prime Capital purchased another star, they would send a member of the family as governor to rule on their behalf. However, Carmelda was a little different.

Chloe Carmelda, the current head of the Carmelda family. She has been locked away in a weapons research facility on Mercury for the past ten years.

No wonder her nickname is ‘Queen of Mercury’.

It would have been natural for her position to be shaken if the head of the household had neglected the family, but surprisingly, that did not happen. This was because the influence of the equipment she developed was enormous.

Weapons, armor, and even special drugs to strengthen soldiers.

Thanks to her ability to create new murder weapons every year, Carmelda has maintained the wealthiest status of all time. As a result, she has gained strong support from the elders despite her young age and lack of interest in family affairs.

The Queen of Mercury, a weapons developer of such distinction, took a rare vacation today.

“It seems like the master has been taking a lot of vacations lately. He even took a vacation a few weeks ago.”

Researchers were walking along the pavement at the bio-dome-shaped Garmelda weapons research base. Their gaze was drawn to the center of the dome. In the central basement is where Chloe Garmelda’s main residence is located.

“That’s good. You’re too focused on your work. If you keep doing that and get hurt, it’ll be a big problem.”

“While the master is away, let’s do another test of the new equipment among ourselves.”

Chloe, who was supported by the servants of the same facility, was currently in a space located in the main residence.

In the dark place, there were fallen diamond monuments with wires connected to them. Of these, only two were lit up and floating in the air.

Chloe, sitting on a specially developed levitating chair, opened her mouth towards the two stone monuments.

“Brother Jason, what happened with the Imperial Carrier dispatch? My satellite split in half, so I can’t see the situation.”

“I’m curious about that too. It’s impossible to gather intelligence because of the mother ship groups.”

Jason, Chloe, and Jubaka.

Respectively the power holders of the Cult, Megacorp, and Star Union, they conspired a few weeks ago to eliminate the infamous 5th ranker, Aimoff.

They spread false information that the planet PH-101, which the cultists call Cygil-08, where the 5th ranker is believed to be hiding, was contaminated, and caused the cult council to issue a purge order. As a result, the imperial carrier ‘Judgment of Damos-08’ headed to Cygil-08.

Chloe and Jubaka were still unaware of the situation as the carrier fleet protecting the Imperial Carrier had destroyed all of the Megacorp and Star Union satellites surrounding Saigil 08.

That’s why, now that some time has passed since the purge order was issued, I called Jason to check the results.

“It wouldn’t have been too difficult since you’re a semi-adult, right?”

“I don’t know because it’s Morphbak. The carrier group may have suffered considerable damage.”

“They’re all toys anyway, so what’s the point? If they break, we can just replace them with other ones.”

“As expected from Megacorp, that statement is full of disregard for human life.”

“What are you talking about? A dictator.”

The reason Chloe and Jubaka can joke around so leisurely is because they firmly believe that Aimov has been defeated.

No matter how skilled a 5th-ranked player is, it is impossible to win against an imperial carrier that is wiping out all life on the planet. There may have been some resistance, but it would have been reduced to a handful of ash by the cosmic bolts fired by the carrier.

but.

That the unexpected could become reality.

A clear woman’s voice suddenly came and woke them up to the cruel reality.

“It’s been a while. Chloe, Jubaka.”

“Huh? Cynthia? Why are you… on Jason’s gravestone?”

“… … .”

Chloe, who was trimming her nails, was startled when she heard a woman’s voice coming from the tombstone. Jubakka let out a slurred voice, perhaps feeling more ominous than surprised.

“Normally I would have used my own tombstone, but due to the urgency of the situation I used Jason’s tombstone instead.”

“Urgent? What’s urgent?”

“…no way?”

“The purge order led by Master Jason has failed completely. The Imperial Carrier and the Carrier Fleet were annihilated. Because of this, the Council is condemning Master Jason for going against the Providence and attempting to attack the Holy Land. Master Jason has not responded to the summons and is currently in hiding.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“I too, was summoned to a hearing all day long for the crime of misinterpreting the prophecy, and barely managed to get here. Please understand.”

The worst future we could ever imagine has become reality.

Chloe, realizing that fact, dropped the nail grinder she was holding without realizing it.