Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 248
Only Noblemtl
Ep. 247
Although the Amorphs are a typical fringe race in space survival, that doesn’t mean they’re shit from start to finish.
A reward obtained after hunting NPCs or players with strong power.
The joy of accidentally discovering a trait fusion formula that I didn’t know about.
The sense of accomplishment you get when you acquire a new trait and apply it to your hunting strategy.
There is nothing more enjoyable than experiencing them one by one like a snowball, building up to near perfection.
In fact, after the ascension, I felt this joy relatively less often, because most players avoided me.
As your position in the game increases, the joy of discovering new creatures and new traits also decreases. Naturally, your sense of accomplishment also decreases.
It was like that, but today I was able to feel the joy I felt in the past once again.
I looked at the translucent text box that was glowing softly.
「’Transcendence’ Material List: Contamination Bug Host, Tetanus Vine, Tooth Fairy Nest, Human Sacrifice, Red Acid」
「’Transcendence’ Material List (NEW!): Insight, Fearful Watcher, Hallucinatory Bug, Mind Parasite, Mimic Organ (Not Acquired)」
“Psychic Parasitic Pustule: Inherits some of the characteristics of Tetanus Vine. It plants a pustule made of psychic power on the mind of a sentient being. When it explodes, it deals psychic power damage to the surrounding area and has a low probability of spreading the pustule to another sentient being.
*P.S. Who the hell created these sadistic traits?
“Harvester’s Jaw: Inherits and strengthens the Harvester’s jaw trait. Adds serrated fangs to the mouth.
*P.S. Eating is the most basic instinct.
「’Jason (Jason Turningham)’ special ability and ‘Second Brain’ trait are fused. ‘Second Brain ■∬∬⨸⫱ trait enhancement system intervention!」
“Characteristic improvement in progress”
“Evolve with the ‘Shape Master’ trait! ”
“Shape Master: When activated, the effects of traits that affect the thoughts of other beings are amplified.
*Applies to: Mimicry organs, parasitic colonies, mental parasitic cysts
*P.S. Wearing the right mask for the situation is one of the virtues of a good hunter.」
‘One of the unique trait synthesis formulas achieved, one unlocked, many newly acquired fusion traits, a new enemy token acquired, and… .’
And many general characteristics.
After the hunting symbol ended, I forgot about hunger while thinking about which of the pouring text boxes with characteristics to review first.
I chewed on one of the stored corpses and looked through the text box.
‘Let’s first look at the evidence of the new enemy.’
The newly acquired symbol of strength, ‘Shape Master’, is the result of specializing one of the perks obtained from previously defeating Jason.
There are a total of 3 player perks you can get by catching Jason before.
There was one that Jason had originally, and two perks that he had stolen by killing other players.
When I acquired it, I only converted one trait. The Coldblood Ranker’s special ability, which was the ability to summon a golden form, was changed to ‘Abyssal Color’.
The reason why all three could not be converted into tokens of a strong enemy was because there were no material properties that could be converted into tokens.
Until now, if I wanted to steal a perk from another player and use it, I would need to have a trait that matched that perk.
‘Perks and traits. You need these two to obtain the mark of a strong enemy.’
The remaining two, excluding the Abyss Color, were stored in the body in an incomplete state.
Then, this time, I got a chance while raiding the Screamer support line. I acquired a large number of characteristics at once, and among them, there was a characteristic that matched the special ability, so I was able to acquire the mark of a new strong enemy.
‘I also got quite a few general characteristics there.’
In addition to the characteristics that are shown in the semi-transparent text box I just opened, there are also quite a few general characteristics that I have obtained.
In fact, most of them were traits I already had, or had disadvantageous effects like ‘Energy Absorption’ or ‘Dwarfism’, but it didn’t matter. I could just use the useless traits as ‘Trait Enhancement’ materials.
「Characteristic Enhancement: When fusing characteristics through a special process, you can use regular characteristics as materials to enhance them. The maximum number of materials is 10, and fusion and unique characteristics cannot be used as materials.
Applicable to: ‘Unique Attribute Synthesis System’, ‘Formidable Enemy Mark System’, Unconfirmed
‘It would have been impossible without this system.’
If it were a game, it wouldn’t have received a trait that would be detrimental to its possession. This is because once a trait is acquired, it cannot be removed until it is used as a fusion material.
However, thanks to the trait enhancement system unlocked along with the ‘Space Monster’ type as a second-stage privilege of the Transcendence System, there is now room to use unnecessary traits, albeit to a limited extent.
‘But that doesn’t mean you can use it for every characteristic.’
The downside to trait enhancement is that it is limited to traits related to the transcendence system.
You can use the characteristics you have as materials when synthesizing unique characteristics, or when fusing the Mark of a Strong Enemy, as written in the characteristics enhancement tooltip. So it is difficult to receive negative characteristics at any time.
‘It’s better than nothing, though.’
I looked at the tulip tip of the newly acquired token of strength.
‘Master of shapes.’
The two newly acquired fusion traits are traits that I remember using many times while playing the game. On the other hand, ‘Shape Master’ is a trait that I am seeing for the first time.
‘Enhanced mimetic organ effects? I’ve never seen a trait with such an effect.’
In the first place, the mimetic organ in the game was like a unique trait that only I had, since I was the only one who knew how to fuse. Also, there was no other player who could utilize the parasitic colony as well as I did.
‘It’s like a trait made for me.’
Up until now, all the other strong opponents’ signs have shown ridiculous performance. Compared to other characteristics, the description of Tulip’s traits is extremely simple, but is that why? On the contrary, it is more anticipated.
‘Let’s experiment with this slowly.’
I checked my changed body.
Most of the general characteristics I got from raiding the storage were used as characteristics enhancement materials, so my body didn’t completely change into a new form like other times.
The only thing that has changed significantly is the spout.
The Hellside Hornet’s characteristics and the existing ‘Reaper’s Jaw’ were fused together to transform into the ‘Reaper’s Mouth’. Accordingly, my oral structure also changed.
Previously, the lower jaw was split into two, but now it is no longer split. It can be seen that the face shape has changed to that of a pre-adult, that is, a shape similar to the snout of a crocodile or boa constrictor.
The jaw structure was as simple as before, but instead, two large tusks protruded from the lower jaw. The tusks were sharp and hard, like bone blades that form when the animal is in a state of hunting.
‘If we’re talking about something sturdy, it’s more than the shell of the head.’
Also, the fine saw blades that grow on the surface of the fangs boast a sharpness that is almost at the level of a single-molecule cutter. It can be said that it can cut almost anything. That is, unless it is an item with special powers like Red Gallagon’s ‘Red Armor’.
Thanks to the fangs that were developed for cutting and slicing, the method of taking the enemy’s head has also changed. In the past, they would open their lower jaws wide and swallow the enemy whole, but now they can be seen as just cutting off the head with the fangs and taking it.
‘And this is what helps with that.’
I opened my mouth slightly and stuck my tongue out. I could see a tongue wriggling, light black and shaped like a snail’s tentacles.
Despite being based on a very famous SF creature, Amorph originally had no tongue. He can only get one by acquiring special traits, as is currently the case.
‘Well, rather than a tongue, should I say it’s a tentacle in the mouth?’
According to the setting, Aimorph has taste buds widely distributed inside the mouth, so he does not need a tongue. So Aimorph’s tongue is used for other purposes than sensing taste.
For example, you could snatch the enemy’s head off and swallow it, or… .
“It tickles!”
I lightly licked No. 26, who was eating the corpse stored next to me. My tongue sucked up all the bacteria and viruses that had transferred to the surface of the guy’s body.
The surface of my tongue has a new infection-related trait, a ‘microbial reservoir’, which detoxifies toxic organisms or removes microorganisms that have a beneficial effect on the target.
“What just happened? Do it again!”
[Z (Yeah)]
“It tickles! It’s fun!”
No. 26’s body sparkled as if he was feeling something new for the first time. Then, Adhai, who was eating next to him, also showed curiosity.
“Me” “I’m curious” “Me too” “Do it”
[Yeah]
I licked it as requested and the guy waggled his tail as if he had been electrocuted.
“What is it?” “What is it?” “What is it?”
“Isn’t it fun?”
“Interesting” “Very” “Interesting”
Seeing them both enjoying themselves like children makes me feel happy without me knowing it.
I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had this much fun with those guys. After getting Adhai back, we’ve been fighting non-stop, so I haven’t had time to play with them.
‘I guess I’ll have to spend more time with these guys from now on.’
Because they are useful people and friends to me.
As I was thinking that, my eyes met with the Heavenly Mother’s. The griffon with the magnificent golden mane was gagging at the sight of us.
[Zuzu zuzuzu (Would you like to do it too?)]
“No. I will decline.”
Perhaps because the griffon state has a higher resistance to poison than the wolf state, she flatly refused my offer.
Anyway, other than the change in the snout, the other parts didn’t change much. To be exact, it changed and then disappeared when it was consumed by strengthening the characteristic.
Aside from that, I also gained body-changing traits like ‘Pollution Bug Host’, but since my body is currently being applied with higher-level traits, they are all inactive.
I stopped licking number 26 and looked back at the text box.
Perhaps because there are so many traits eaten, only two unique trait synthesis recipes have been opened.
One is the fusion type that was opened while catching the Hellside Hornet before, and requires the infection series trait and the nest series trait.
This unique trait can be created right now.
‘I originally expected it to take a long time.’
I thought it would take quite some time to obtain the traits of Hellside Hornet and Glacier Fiend.
But surprisingly, there were quite a few samples of them in the Screamer support line.
Especially the Hellside Hornet. No matter where it lives, there were quite a few genetic samples that turned out to be toxic.
And the Glacier Fiend, an Apex creature rarer than the Hellside Hornet. Its genetic sample, apparently collected from another planet, was also stored inside the vault.
‘I wish there were just a little more sheep.’
If Amorph gains the narcotic substance-generating trait of Glacier Fiend, it becomes the trait called ‘Red Acid’. It is a trait that turns Amorph’s blood into a narcotic substance, and when combined with ‘Smogtop’, it becomes a powerful fusion trait.
‘It’s a very effective trait in group battles.’
If we had more samples of Glacier Fiend, we could have gotten both the Red Acid-based fusion trait and the unique trait, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible.
I don’t know if it was difficult for Pira Eleven to obtain Glacier Fiends, or if it couldn’t find a habitat like Hellside Hornet, but there were only two Glacier Fiend samples. It’s a shame that even with three, it would have obtained both the fusion trait and the unique trait.
‘Right now, unique traits come before fusion traits.’
There is something more important than meeting the evolution conditions.
If you create one more unique trait using the Transcendence system, the space monster type will also go up from stage 0 to stage 1. No matter how powerful the red acid-based fusion trait is, it won’t be as strong as the unique trait.
‘I’m also curious about the effect of the first stage of the space monster type.’
Now that fusion has been abandoned, the conditions for the unique trait that makes it with the infection series and nest series traits are perfectly matched. The number of traits has also been adjusted so that the two type effects do not disappear, so it can be made at any time.
‘Then what should we do with this?’
「’Transcendence’ Material List (NEW!): Insight, Fearful Watcher, Hallucinatory Bug, Mind Parasite, Mimic Organ (Not Acquired)」
The newly opened fusion required a number of superpower-related traits. I have obtained all but one of them.
‘You can’t get the mimic organ here.’
There are no samples that can obtain that trait on the Screamer support line, so you will need to move to another location.
‘Is it time to leave?’
Before she died, Pira Eleven said that she had requested support and that the Mechanical Council’s fleet would come.
‘Since one of my fellow members died, at least half of the Supreme Council members will come to get me.’
Maybe the Grand Master player will come too.
‘There is also the option of lying in wait and then making a surprise attack…’
I’m still not ready. Fighting the Machine Committee means going to war with the Star Union. It’s true that my power has gotten stronger, but it’s not that far off.
‘Not yet, at least.’
Anyway, to meet the type conditions for evolving into an adult, you must go to the next location.
Not a barren place like this, but a place teeming with various species and creatures. If I go there, I will be able to grow greatly once again.
‘I’ll have to ask PS-111 to look through the ship’s records.’
The guy who brought the metals needed from the dragon’s nest is not here right now. He is currently modifying machine parts on the production line located next to the storage area. He said it would take a few hours to finish.
‘Then in the meantime… .’
[Zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu (I’m going to become an egg again. So protect me)]
The guys here have seen me go into Kochi many times, so no one was surprised or questioned.
After talking to the guys, I left the storage room and went into a nearby cargo hold.
‘It’s been a while.’
The place where I first opened my eyes when I came to this world. Of course, unlike back then, there wasn’t much cargo on this ship, but the feeling was similar.
I reactivated the translucent text box, coiled up on top of the cargo hold.
「’Transcendence’ Material List: Contamination Bug Host, Tetanus Vine, Tooth Fairy Nest, Human Sacrifice, Red Acid」
“Would you like to use the Transcendence System?”
This is the fourth question in the text box you see.
As always, my answer is set in stone.