Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 172



Only Noblemtl

Ep. 171

The world that unfolded beneath the cold ice was a maze.

The underground space I had chosen as my nest had large openings in both directions, but this one was even worse. It seemed as if a giant mining drill had been moving around and digging passages.

My Heavenly Mother and I walked through an ice maze built underground.

Thanks to the auxiliary organs, I can stay in the dark without getting lost. Even so, Heavenly Mother moved around without difficulty even in this place where there was no light.

“Which way is faster?”

[Zuzuzuz zuuzuz zuuzuz zuuzuz (I think the right side is better)]

“okay?”

Her amber eyes, as she walked beside me, were shining softly like a lantern.

Among the phantom beasts that Wolf can transform into, there is a type that stores light in its body like that and emits it according to the situation. Thanks to that ability, Griffin can actively utilize its excellent eyesight regardless of day or night.

Like adventurers exploring an unknown world with only a small torch, we continued on our way toward the nest.

‘Something’s strange?’

It’s been over 10 minutes since I entered, but I haven’t encountered any living creatures. There must be creatures living in this underground space.

Moreover, I didn’t know it when I first entered, but the deeper I went inside, the more I became convinced that this empty space was not something that had formed naturally.

My mother in heaven thought similarly to me.

“I think we came to the wrong place.”

She pointed to a part of the wall with her forepaw.

There were long, 3m long excavation marks scattered here and there. They were all covered in ice and dirt, indicating that they had been made quite a while ago.

But I know what the traces mean.

And what kind of place this is.

This place is a space created by a being greater than any creature I have ever encountered.

A monster with immense power, though it is inferior to the Black Gallagon.

[Zuzuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu (This is the realm of ice horror)]

“… Judging by its size, it’s at least an adult, or maybe larger.”

As Ice Horrors age, they shed their skin, and each time they shed their skin, their body grows larger and their shell hardens. In the game, for balance reasons, they are capped at an adult size, preventing them from growing in size.

But this is reality. If it had continued to grow after becoming an adult, I can’t even imagine how big it would be.

‘That mark looks like a leg claw mark.’

If it has claws that big, then it must be at least 150 meters long. Even if it’s out of standard, it’s not lacking.

“Can’t you feel anything around you?”

[Zuzuzu (still)]

Of course, I checked the auxiliary organs before coming down here. I only felt cool air, and no special movement was detected.

I tried the auxiliary organ against the wall, but it was the same as before.

But if this is the realm of ice horror, you should never let your guard down.

Because of its large size, it does not go far to hunt. It makes a certain area its hunting ground and targets prey that enters it.

‘It’s been a few dozen minutes since we came in. They must have noticed our intrusion by now.’

It can sense smells and vibrations from dozens of kilometers away. If there were no nest, it would be far superior to me, who can only detect enemies within a few kilometers.

By now they must be busy coming to catch us.

In addition, the Ice Horror can reduce the sound of its movements despite its very large body. This is because the fluff on its legs and body minimizes the sound it makes each time it moves.

Because of these characteristics, by the time you hear its voice, it is likely already too late.

Even if you spot him chasing you and run away, this is his home ground. Running away is just wasting time.

Rather, we need to prepare how to fight him.

‘Let’s look at them one by one.’

First, let’s look at the enemy’s advantages. I don’t know much about him.

I know a lot about Ice Horrors, but I’m not sure how much stronger this one is.

In the game, the size of the thing is no more than 100m, but the thing here is at least over 150m. My current body size is 28m, and if I use the symbol of hunting, it will be bigger, but compared to the enemy, it is infinitely small.

Unlike Sea Demons or Black Gallagons, which use their extraordinary special abilities to taunt their enemies, Ice Horrors do not possess any special abilities. Instead, they are the type of creatures that push through with their superior physical abilities.

I’m sure he’s superior to me in both strength and defense.

Besides, it has better detection abilities than I do. The Ice Horror can detect various factors such as vibrations, sounds, and smells with the antennae on its head.

I can’t use my usual strategy of starting a battle by surprise, because they’ll quickly figure out where I’m hiding.

An enemy with detection capabilities superior to mine. And the unknown strength of the enemy. These are the two advantages of the enemy.

‘On the other hand, I have the same advantage.’

The Ice Horror doesn’t know anything about me either. He probably thinks we’re just Winterwalkers who accidentally fell into the underground.

‘He doesn’t know what I can do.’

If that guy is out of the norm, then so am I.

Even if my fighting prowess is lower than his, I have characteristics that can compensate for it.

Also, I don’t know about the guy, but I know ‘Ice Horror’ well. The Ice Horror’s habits, strengths and weaknesses, all the information is in my head.

A variety of traits, and the experience of hunting countless ice horrors. These are the weapons I have.

After gathering my thoughts, I called out to my heavenly mother.

[Zuzuzuzuzuzuzu (Let’s fight here)]

“Will it be okay just the two of us?”

I shook my head at the question from my heavenly mother.

Of course not.

I’ll have to face him face to know for sure, but it’s too much for me to fight him alone.

‘If it’s over 150m in size as I think, it’ll be hard to break its shell.’

Even the thinnest shell would be several meters thick. Unless it has a body enhanced with the ‘Symbol of the Hunt’ or a destructive trait like the ‘God’s Whip’, it would be completely incapable of causing any damage.

So here, I need help from everyone else besides me, Number 26, Adhai, and Heavenly Mother.

[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (I’ll buy you some time. In the meantime, go to the nest and get those guys.)]

“Are you trying to lure me?”

[Z (Yeah)]

“Well, it’s true that he goes for the big prey first, but that’s not always the case. I could be attacked first.”

That’s a valid point.

Ice Horrors generally prefer large prey, but there are exceptions. They are such a cunning species that they sometimes act in an unorthodox manner.

For example, there are cases where it first subdues weaker-looking enemies and then goes for larger prey. If it were to do so here, Heavenly Mother would be in great danger.

[Zuzuzu zuzuzu (No need to worry)]

They say he’s cunning, but he’s no match for me when it comes to using his brain.

‘Kids, it’s your time.’

The circular mucous membrane located at the part where the thick back shell and waist meet was torn with a sticky sound. The small evil spirits inside the nest poured out.

Infection-related fusion trait, Tooth Fairy Nest is activated.

Compared to my body that had grown to 28m, the killer fleas, which were still small, lined up in front of me. Mother Sky, who noticed what I was trying to do, nodded.

“… I think I know.”

[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (Okay. When you reach the fork in the road, turn right.)]

“You know even if I don’t explain it to you, right?”

The griffon, who had snorted, met my eyes.

She didn’t say anything, but it was easy to guess what she was thinking.

As I nodded slightly, she ran straight forward.

After sending her off, I looked at the tooth fairies.

‘There are things you guys have to do.’

The guys who came into contact with the ideology that contained my will began to move, each finding their own tasks. As I watched them disperse, I also moved to another location.

There’s a battlefield nearby that’s perfect for fighting him.

–

‘It’, which had been crawling through the ice cave with its countless legs, stopped in place.

This is because there was a change in the vibrations flowing in from afar.

The large and small vibrations that had been moving together suddenly split and moved in different directions.

‘It’ knows what this means. Among the prey that gather together, there are cases where adults become bait to protect the weak young. This case would be similar.

If so, the answer is set.

It’s much more effective to target small vibrations. The young ones are slow and weak, so it’s better to eat them first and then target the strong adults later.

‘It’ tried to move along the small vibrations as it usually did, but its antennae detected a new vibration.

From the large vibration, fine vibrations poured down.

This has never happened before, so ‘it’ was a little flustered. Was the small vibration acting as a decoy this time? Or did he misperceive it?

‘It’ touched the ground with its two long tentacles. Small tremors and sounds mixed with the cool earth and ice came up through the tentacles.

He judged it to be the sound of small creatures’ footsteps, which meant that there were babies around the large vibration.

The reason why there was a change in the large vibration that was felt a little while ago was probably because it was a creature carrying its young. Although rare, such creatures were not unheard of, so ‘it’ understood.

“Ss …

‘It’, having retrieved its antenna, set off again.

The destination is a place where countless vibrations gather.

It glided through the ice maze, moving its hundreds of legs diligently. Despite its enormous size, it moved very quietly. If any other creature had heard it, they would have thought it was a hole somewhere in this underground space, blowing wind.

The prey was caught by the sense of ‘it’ that had been moving in such a short time. There are ten cubs in front of him.

Perhaps some of the bastard’s cubs who ran away got left behind.

Even though they were young, they were quite aggressive creatures, and the stragglers rushed at ‘it’ that appeared in the passage.

‘It’ opened its four jaws covering its mouth wide and slammed its head into the prey. The four jaws, like an excavator, exposed the frozen ground. The young ones were mixed in with the dirt, rocks, and ice and went straight into the thing’s intestines.

This method was possible because the size difference between the two was so great that there was no need to compare them.

The one who killed ten pups in one breath kept going.

The antenna tells him. If you just go through this passage, you will come across a cave. There is a big vibration and a bunch of babies there.

The thought of the upcoming feast made venom drip from his chin. He raced down the ice cave, eager to stuff fresh meat into his intestines as soon as possible.

The creature quickly passed through the passage and popped its head into the wide cavity. The distance from the ‘big vibration’ was close enough for him to make out its outline with his antennae.

“I got caught.”

A small sound carried through the air.

He didn’t know what that sound meant.

But the massive energies that were detected from the being that made that sound. I knew what kind of results that mass of energy would bring.

‘It’ tried to quickly retreat back down the passage, but it wasn’t easy because of its size. While its body was stuck in the passage and unable to move properly, what the thing had been worried about became a reality.

A massive amount of energy flew in from inside the cavity, burning the thing’s shell. ‘It’ screamed as not only the shell but also the flesh inside was heated.

“Sssssss!”

The pain was similar to what ‘it’ had felt when it was very young and had been attacked by flying snakes.

The only difference is that it is much more destructive than what happened back then.

The energy not only set the creature ablaze, but also destroyed the ceiling and walls above its head. As soon as the energy flames died down, rocks and ice crushed the creature.

–

‘It’s all according to plan.’

There are several ice passages in the cave I’m in, but I intentionally left 10 Tooth Fairies in those passages.

This was because I was certain that the Ice Horror, which targets young and the weak, would definitely trample on the Tooth Fairies. And I prepared in advance so that I could shoot psychic breath as soon as I sensed the Tooth Fairy’s death.

The reason I used Psychic Breath instead of God’s Whirlwind was simple: if I used God’s Whirlwind, it was obvious that the entire ice plain above my head would collapse.

If that happens, everyone else besides me will be crushed to death. The Gallagons flying outside will quickly notice that there’s something down here.

For this reason, I used Psychic Breath, which is the most destructive long-range attack method after God’s Whirlwind.

‘Besides, the enemy was big so it worked well.’

I estimated its body length to be 150m, but its head looked even bigger. Because its body was so large, it was unable to avoid my attack because it got stuck in the passageway even though it sensed it early.

‘I took the initiative first.’

The passage it had passed through had completely collapsed, but the Ice Horror wasn’t weak enough to die from such an attack. Perhaps the part of its shell that was directly hit by the psychic breath was damaged.

It’ll pop out and attack me any moment.

‘Before that.’

In order to deal with monsters, you must first become a monster yourself.

I activated the symbol of hunting.