Jungle (1)

"Th-that's everything I know! Please, just let me live!"

The human pilot, enslaved by the parasite, begged for his life before me.

Still chewing on the Cult pilot's arm, I gave a flick of my eyes toward the Tooth Fairy swarm.

At once, the flesh-eating fleas surrounding the pilots squealed with delight and hurled themselves at their prey.

"N-no, waaaait, AAAAAAH!"

With that, the pilots of the downed fighter craft were dealt with for good.

My current location was the Saintopia 02 Continent on the planet known as PH-101. Its ecosystem closely resembled that of primordial Earth, offering near-perfect conditions for life to flourish.

But this planet was far from as beautiful as it appeared.

'The Blue Hell, they call it.'

Every single creature native to this world possessed overwhelming power, so players of middling skill were far more likely to be hunted than to do any hunting themselves.

What's more, hostile Wolf NPCs inhabited the regions where precious resources lay buried, and among them, named Wolves occasionally made their appearance.

'Creatures on an entirely different level from the ones I've devoured.'

The rare named Wolves that cropped up were brutally powerful — strong enough that even I, as I was now, couldn't guarantee an easy victory against one.

Because of this, conquering this planet was next to impossible for anyone short of a player with ranker-caliber skills or a major clan.

On the flip side, even elite players and large clans who *could* conquer it with ease were unable to monopolize the place.

The reason was simple: by the setting's own rules, PH-101 was a planet under the Cult's religious protection.

No matter how badly other factions wanted it, the game system rendered any construction activity or base-building impossible here. Even Cult players were only permitted to remain on the planet for a limited period of time.

'That's exactly why I chose this planet in the first place.'

On PH-101, I could dodge the watchful eyes of rival factions and stockpile high-quality genetic essence to my heart's content.

'At least, that's how it was supposed to be.'

Interrogating the pirate pilot had revealed a way in which reality had diverged from the game.

As of now, this place was under the occupation of one of the most powerful cartels among the Spacedogs.

The cartel's name was Humanity.

Considering that most Spacedog cartels simply took their boss's surname as their name, this was a peculiar exception.

'And "Humanity," of all things.'

Back before I quit Space Survival, there had been a clan led by a ranker with a strikingly similar name.

Strangely enough, the clan leader was a woman, yet the clan accepted only male members.

Because of that, I remember the community forums being full of ugly gossip, calling them a "queen bee clan" and worse.

'...Though I suppose I'm not one to talk, given that I was the community's sworn enemy.'

In any case, I could take a fair guess at how the Humanity Cartel had managed to occupy this place.

As I could see from the Cult pilot I was currently eating, the vast majority of Humanity's members were Cultists.

Thanks to that, the cartel could come and go from this planet as boldly as they pleased — something that would have been impossible in the game, a variable born purely from this being reality now.

'And apparently the boss has connections within the Cult's ruling class, too.'

Which meant Humanity's boss was, at the very least, a high-ranking Cultist of Yak Horn rank or above.

I couldn't imagine why someone like that would bother with piracy, but then again, I had no real need to know.

'Either way, I get to gather genetic essence AND meet my evolution conditions. Two birds, one stone.'

I swallowed down the rest of the Cultist's remains and recalled the Tooth Fairy swarm.

According to the pilot, Humanity periodically left this planet on smuggling runs.

'If there's a ship, getting off this rock becomes that much easier for me.'

Approximately fourteen days remained until the pirates departed.

I had to seize that ship before they left.

'But first.'

I activated my translucent textbox.

Capturing the Hulk Mutants of the Calvin and the Metallic Gremlins of Sector I-97 had netted me a whole trove of useful traits.

One example was Camouflage, created by fusing the traits I'd obtained from the Rhino Hulk Mutant and the Metallic Gremlin.

My outer hide and carapace were now covered in tiny scales, nearly invisible unless you looked up close. Crouch still and take no action for ten seconds, and those scales would automatically shift, altering the color of my entire body.

And how did they change? Into something closely matching the surrounding environment. When I crash-landed and hid my body beneath a giant tree, the reason the fighter craft failed to spot me was precisely this Camouflage.

'It alters my appearance, but it won't fool detection equipment.'

Then again, I currently possessed the Radio Interference trait. Enemies at extreme range, beyond the reach of the interference effect, might still detect me — but any hostile in close proximity would have a very hard time picking me out.

Beyond that, I had the Bone Axe and Enhanced Contagion from the gorilla-like Hulk Mutant, and the Enhanced Suckers from the Metallic Gremlin.

I flexed my upper right combat arm. Normally, bloodsucking tentacles would have sprung from the inside of that palm; instead, a curved blade of bone erupted forth in their place, twisted into an uncanny shape.

It resembled the back-mounted arms that emerged when I used my Hunter's Avatar form, though there were differences as well.

The bone blades on the back-mounted arms were thin but razor-sharp, ideal for slicing and stabbing. The Bone Axe, by contrast, was thick and heavy, specialized for cleaving down through enemies and crushing them like a kukri or a hatchet.

'I always say this.'

A new weapon is always welcome.

Having retracted the Bone Axe, I climbed up the giant tree using my combat arms and legs.

The Amorph species had always possessed organs resembling the adhesive pulvilli that insects use to cling to walls, built into the soles of their feet.

The problem was that the effects of Nightmare Horizon had made my body so heavy that tree-climbing had become difficult — but as it happened, the perfect trait for the job had just come along.

The microscopic suckers that had formed on my hands and feet made climbing the tree an easy task.

The trees lining this continent were vastly larger than the redwoods said to be Earth's tallest, so the one I was scaling bore my weight without the slightest complaint.

When I reached the very top, a jungle stretching beyond the horizon unfurled beneath me.

Pterosaur-like creatures wheeled through the cloudless sky, while the roars and calls of beasts rose from the jungle far below my feet.

At the point where blue sky met green jungle, I could see a sunken, gouged-out depression — the cruiser that had fired its main cannon had to be positioned over there, no doubt about it.

Swiveling my gaze in the opposite direction, I saw the horizon lined to its very edge with blue.

Somewhere out there, in that ocean, were No. 26 and Adhai.

'...I'll come collect them once things here are safe.'

PH-101 was crawling with dangerous creatures, and if the two of them traveled with me, injuries were all but guaranteed.

I needed to focus entirely on fighting the pirates and the lethal fauna of this world. Diverting my attention to shield them could easily botch everything.

'The old me would have used them as bait, no question.'

But now, genuine affection had taken root between me and the kids.

Frankly, if No. 26 or Adhai were gravely wounded or killed, I couldn't promise I'd keep my sanity.

'In jungle warfare, the one with the greater patience wins.'

Emotional turmoil leads straight to defeat.

'The ocean is No. 26's home turf, so it should be safer there than here.'

As for Adhai, an open beach or the waters near an island would suit her far better than a jungle riddled with obstacles to flight.

'...They're both clever ones, after all.'

Once I'd finished off every last pirate, I would come for them without fail.

Having settled my thoughts, I descended from the treetop.

There was a small pirate camp somewhere in this vicinity.

About halfway down the tree, I extended my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Erosion Tentacles and swung across to another tree.

Traveling between the giant trees using my Erosion Tentacles and Enhanced Suckers, I felt movement stirring in the undergrowth below.

Every manner of monster was strutting through the forest — from insectoid creatures the size of puppies to colossal dinosaurian beasts stretching dozens of meters in length.

"Monster" was in no way an exaggeration here. On PH-101, even a creature no bigger than a newborn infant could kill an armed soldier with ease.

'Devour those things, and my next evolution is as good as secured.'

Of course, I had flitted in and out of this place countless times even in the game, so I knew exactly what creatures lived here and how to take them down.

Partway through my journey through the canopy, a creature resembling a monkey crossed with a bat ambushed me from above.

It was called a Wood Devil — a creature that liked to conceal itself in tall trees, exactly as this one had, then pounce on whatever passed beneath and devour it.

Though it ranked in the lower tiers of this planet's food chain, its blinding speed, powerful musculature, and surprisingly high intelligence had earned it the nickname "newbie slayer."

'The only problem is that I'm not a newbie.'

I had known the thing was targeting me for some time.

Without so much as turning my head, I flicked my tail and launched a volley of spine-needles.

"Kyit?!"

Its body froze mid-leap, locked in the very posture of its descending strike, and it began plummeting toward the ground. An Erosion Tentacle burst from my back and snatched the falling creature out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the air.

Next, I drew a bloodsucking tentacle from one of my combat arms and whipped it across to the tree opposite.

"Skreee!"

A second Wood Devil, camouflaged among the leaves, thrashed wildly in the tentacle's grip. When I flexed the tentacle, the creature's bones snapped, its whole body warping into a grotesque, mangled shape.

Even as I leisurely swallowed one of them with my Erosion Tentacles and drained the blood of the other through my bloodsucking tentacle, I never let my guard down.

'There should be one more.'

Wood Devils always hunted in trios. Just as I'd predicted, I spotted the third one fleeing through the treetops off to the diagonal.

"Kikkit!"

Gripping the two in my tentacles, I launched myself off the tree. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My body went gliding between the giant trees, hurtling straight at the escaping creature.

"Skreeee?!"

The Wood Devil shrieked in terror at the sight of me bearing down on it.

The axe-blade of bone erupting from my upper right hand shattered its skull. As the headless creature began to drop, I swiftly coiled my tail around it.

'Easy.'

I unhinged my jaws wide and crunched down on the headless Wood Devil.

Since I'd used my Bite Force trait as raw material, my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠jaw strength had weakened compared to before — but a Wood Devil was more than soft enough to tear through.

'...Tastes wholesome.'

The Wood Devil's meat tasted like cheap soy protein.

Same as when I'd eaten the Plant Lizard back in the space city — anything with "plant" or "wood" in its name invariably had this flavor.

'Wood Devils are carnivores as far as I know, so why do they taste like soy protein?'

Soy protein is only meat in name; there's no actual meat in the ingredients at all.

Chewing over that pointless little thought, I tore into the remaining carcass.

Just as I finished cleaning my plate and turned to the creature dangling from my bloodsucking tentacle, another predator appeared, drawn by the scent of blood.

A black panther's body mounted on eight spider legs — its name was the Nightstalker.

The very creature that served as the source material for my Spine-firing Tail trait.

The thing rippled its eight legs at astonishing speed and lunged at me.

'Its venom won't work on me.'

I'd have to fight differently than I had with the Wood Devils I'd neutralized with my spine-needles.

I stayed perfectly still, offering no resistance. In a flash, the creature closed the distance, baring its thick venom fangs, and clamped down on my throat.

Or rather, it tried to.

Had my outer hide been any less tough, those fangs would have sunk in and left me fighting for my life.

The Nightstalker's venom was even deadlier than the neurotoxin I carried. It spread through a victim's body so quickly that even antivenom often came too late.

You could fairly say that unless you were outright immune to the toxin itself, death was all but certain.

'But even the deadliest venom is useless unless it can get inside the target's body.'

The Nightstalker's fangs simply weren't sharp enough to pierce my hide — hide that was tougher than a starship's outer hull.

"Kyahng?"

Only then did the creature realize something had gone wrong, and it tried to retreat — far too late. All four of my combat arms already had it locked in their grip.

Still holding it, I clenched my four arms with all my might. Under my crushing strength, the Nightstalker crumpled like an empty plastic bottle.

Its entrails slid out from its rear in a slick, glistening pile, and I used my Erosion Tentacles to suck down every last scrap of them.

'Now that I'm actually here, there's truly no time to rest.'

While the Erosion Tentacles gorged themselves on the entrails, my mouth worked through the Nightstalker's body proper.

Fascinatingly, this one tasted like a croissant.

The mouths of my Erosion Tentacles have no sense of taste, so I can't say what the entrails were like — but if I had to guess, they'd probably have tasted something like a croissant sandwich.

Having licked up even the blood splattered across the bark, I set off once more.

After that, pushing through several more ambushes as I traveled, the pirate camp appeared before me before I knew it.

Right on cue, the sun was setting over the jungle.