Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 169



Only Noblemtl

Ep. 168

Early in the morning, I came up to the nest with my heavenly mother.

The ice block I had placed over the entrance to the nest had accumulated a considerable amount of snow overnight. After removing the ice block, I waited for a while in the passage in the ice.

The Heavenly Mother went out before me. She had better eyesight than I did, so she could see if there was any danger up in the sky.

After observing for a few minutes, she wagged the lion’s tail to signal that it was safe.

After clearing away the snow and ice and climbing up, I saw a landscape that was no different from before I came in yesterday.

The difference was that the sharp wind that could rip off bare skin had stopped. Thanks to this, even Mother in Heaven was feeling less cold than yesterday.

‘But I can’t stay here for long.’

I looked up and saw that the clouds were still thick. I had to hurry because I didn’t know when the snow and hail would start pouring down again.

“What did you say you had to get?”

“Winterwalker, the heart of the ice horror.”

Winterwalker and Ice Horror. Both are creatures that only live on ice planets or the polar regions of terrestrial planets.

Adhai also knew of creatures that looked similar to the two animals. Winterwalker said he had seen them himself, and Ice Horror said he had heard about them from other Gallagons.

‘It’s fortunate that we are both on this planet…’

There is also the difficult attack condition of a cold environment, but the specs of the two creatures are by no means poor. Among them, the Ice Horror is a particularly strong enemy.

“It won’t be easy.”

“Yeah. Winterwalker is doable, but Ice Horror is the problem.”

She’s right. Ice horrors are one of the most dangerous predators in the frigid climate.

Although it is weaker than the Sea Demon or Black Gallagon, which are considered as semi-raid bosses, it is considered a difficult enemy due to its unique habits and superior raw specs. I have also failed several times in the game when trying to catch it.

‘But there are four of us.’

This is a combination of Gallagon, Sea Demon, Aimorph Semi-adult, and Divine Wolf. If we combine our strength, we should be able to defeat him.

‘I have to catch Ice Horror anyway.’

In my case, to go from a sub-adult to an adult, I need to hunt 30 powerful creatures classified as APEX. Since Ice Horror is classified as an Apex, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to count one this time.

“The question is where to find him.”

“That’s right. Because he doesn’t walk above ground.”

Rather than wandering around in search of food, ice horrors have a habit of digging traps within their territory and hunting creatures that enter them. In short, they can be said to be spiders that live in cold regions.

‘They look very different, though.’

Anyway, it takes quite some time to find the ice horror.

It lives wherever there is food, but it is a master of hiding. I am pretty good at hiding, but I am no match for it. It decorates its territory and traps so convincingly that it is impossible to see them unless you get close.

‘If it’s close, it might be worth trying to lure it.’

If he’s not nearby, you might have to go quite far.

“Ice Horror takes a long time, so let’s find Winter Walker first.”

“good idea.”

Our Heavenly Mother made the same judgment as I did.

Unlike Ice Horrors, Winter Walkers are creatures that actively hunt. They are so common that even Adhai has seen them, so you should be able to find them quickly.

Having set our goal, we ran across the plains covered with snow and ice.

A golden griffon gallops beside me as I crawl through the ice and snowdrifts.

Her mane and the sapphire pendant hanging from her neck swayed wildly in the winter wind. Beneath her mane, the muscles hidden under the fur stood out on the lioness’ body. Her movements were very nimble, as if the dense muscles were not for decoration.

She moved as fast as the wind, but I was no pushover either.

Six fighting arms became legs, pulling my body while smashing through the ice of the ice rink. Behind, the tail and blunt claws scattered here and there pushed the massive body forward.

Compared to her walking on air, her movements were noisy, but her speed was fast.

Thanks to our speedy movement like a high-speed train, we quickly approached the mountain range.

The black mountains standing on the white horizon felt like structures built by an unknown being. The nature that created those mountains was also a transcendent being, so my feeling might be true.

The black mountains, with their wondrous scenery, were thick with the smell of life. Tall, dense trees grew on the hardened soil.

Perhaps because they were plants that grew in a special environment called the coldest place, the appearance of the trees was all similar. The trunk was long and thin, but the branches spread out in a complex manner as they went up. The branches were intertwined with other trees and firmly fixed to each other.

This is probably a form that has adapted to the environment here where strong winds blow frequently.

‘I have to be careful.’

If there is a forest, it means there is plenty of food. It is a good environment for Winterwalkers and Gallagons to wander around in search of food.

I slowed down and moved while focusing on the auxiliary organs. The Heavenly Mother next to me also walked while looking around.

The four accessory organs under my chin twitched and licked the ground. Every time they did, information about what was happening around me flowed into my brain through the organs.

‘Just looking at the vibrations felt from the ground, there were two, or maybe three.’

Judging from the intensity of the vibrations, it seemed like they were quite a distance away, but there was something peculiar. The vibrations were intertwining and then separating, repeating.

What does this mean?

‘fight.’

I lifted my head off the ground.

From now on, I must move quietly, as I sense the movement of a creature that I suspect is my target in the forest. Instead of using my mimetic organ to speak, I used the monster’s tentacles to call out to the Heavenly Mother.

“There’s a fight ahead?”

[Zuzuzuzuzuzu (It’s a bit far)]

“Should I check?”

Judging from the vibrations felt, they are both terrestrial animals. If it were Gallagon, it would have been able to fly, so the vibrations would have been felt more rarely than now.

My Heavenly Mother and I moved carefully following the vibrations.

As we got closer to the epicenter, we could hear the sound of trees breaking and animals howling in the distance.

That low growl, similar to the growl of a tiger, is the sound of Winterwalker. He is fighting his prey.

When we heard the sound, we stopped moving. If we approached any closer, they would notice the sound of my movement.

“I’ll check from above.”

The Heavenly Mother climbed up the tree with light movements.

The trees here aren’t strong enough for me to climb. I put my auxiliary gear on the ground again and listened for the sounds and vibrations of my enemies.

‘The enemies Winterwalker faces are small and nimble.’

The size seems to be roughly similar to that of the Mother of Heaven, and the legs are… .

‘Between eight and nine.’

As far as I know, no creature on the ice planet has eight legs, unless it has hundreds of legs or none at all.

‘Is this a species I don’t know?’

At that moment, the Heavenly Mother, who had finished her reconnaissance, jumped down from the tree.

[Zuzu (have you seen it?)]

“One is Winterwalker. The other is….”

She hesitated for a moment and then continued speaking.

“It seems like a screamer.”

[Z(what?)]

Why is the mechanical monster Screamer of Star Union here? If what she says is true, then this is Star Union territory.

‘I’ve swallowed several Star Union ships, but I haven’t seen any routes that lead to here.’

[Zuzuzu (Are you sure?)]

“To be honest, I don’t know. There’s a creature that looks like a Screamer and a Winterwalker fighting.”

I guess I’ll have to see it for myself to know. She and I moved again.

As I ran through the trees, I found Winterwalker and the mysterious monster.

No, let me correct that. It’s the decapitated corpse of Winterwalker and a monster that resembles a Screamer.

“Hostile creature eliminated.”

The guy standing on the empty lot that had become a sea of ​​blood was a monster that I had never seen before, even though I had been playing the game for a long time.

‘Is that a screamer?’

It was identical to the Screamer in that it had a human head and torso, tubes and metal machinery attached to it, a tail, and six legs made of a metal skeleton that allowed it to crawl on the ground, but there were more differences.

Simply put, it looks less mechanical than the original.

A typical screamer has a tube inserted into their mouth, so instead of them speaking, a mechanical device does the speaking for them.

On the other hand, the tube was not connected to the bastard’s mouth and his mouth was exposed. He could make sounds at will and did not make the rough breathing noises caused by the tube.

The face was as pale as a human face, but it was otherwise normal, but from the back of the head, it took on a biomechanical appearance of a tangled web of living tissue, tubes, and mechanical devices. Unlike the Screamer, where the machine and the bare body were clearly distinguishable, there was no such distinction in this creature’s body.

The eight legs extending from the body were the same. The legs were in the form of red muscles and tubes intertwined on a metal frame. Beneath the long, thin legs, instead of feet, there were three sharp alloy claws.

If the original Screamer reminded me of a scorpion, the one in front of me was a shaman spider. A hybrid spider that was a mixture of biology and machine.

‘It’s not just the physical appearance that’s threatening.’

Winterwalker, whose neck was cut off, was killed by the bastard. If he killed Winterwalker alone, it means he had considerable skill.

However, it seems that he was not completely overwhelmed.

Two of the legs appeared to be unable to move properly due to the metal skeleton being greatly distorted, and dark red blood was oozing from the area near the torso where the machinery and flesh were intertwined.

“Need to replenish energy. Initiate self-supply.”

The one who muttered like that opened his mouth and began to devour Winterwalker.

‘I guess there’s no need to wait any longer.’

You can find out the bastard’s true identity by yourself. In Aimov’s own way, as is typical of Aimov.

‘If you eat it anyway, it’ll all come out.’

The Heavenly Mother read my mood and jumped up the tree. At the same time, I rushed at the guy who was eating.

“Danger detected.”

The one who was focused on the meat read my surprise attack without even looking at me. He jumped into the air in the same posture he was in while eating. I ran like a runaway truck and slammed into Winterwalker’s corpse.

“Hostile creature identified. Subdue…”

“Where!”

The spider monster that was trying to shout something from above was unable to accomplish his goal.

It was because the Heavenly Mother, who had jumped out from between the trees, swung her foreleg at the bastard’s head. The bastard narrowly avoided the attack as its neck was grotesquely broken.

“Tch!”

Regretting the failure of her attack, the Heavenly Mother landed. The spider monster, which had avoided all of our surprise attacks, landed on the ground and immediately gained some distance.

‘Isn’t that a screamer?’

If it were a Screamer, it would have pounced on us as soon as it got into position, but it didn’t. It nodded its head as if it was probing and glared at us both.

“Check hostile creature 2. Left creature. 89% match with special target type C. Right is….”

The one who saw me opened his red eyes wide. He glared at me with eyes that resembled blood and shook his head threateningly.

“75% match with the set target. Main controller ‘Pira Eleven’ command delayed. Self-judgment required. Initiate target suppression.”

The man who had been muttering incomprehensible words lowered his body and took a fighting stance.

I also prepared to attack without taking my eyes off the bastard’s movements.

I don’t know if this thing is actually a Screamer, or if it’s some new type of weapon, but if it is, then things are a bit more serious.

‘The chances of a Screamer walking around here alone are close to zero.’

There is a very high possibility that there is reinforcements somewhere I don’t know about. Since there is a Gallagon nest on this planet, it must have been a small number of elites who came in, but that doesn’t mean we can be at ease.

‘I need to quickly sort things out and make a decision.’

The moment I thought that, the bastard leaped like lightning and ran towards me.