Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Ep. 110
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"Damn it! Goddamn it!"
Dillon muttered curse after curse. His remaining subordinates glanced at him uneasily from the side.
'I underestimated the enemy too much!'
After running for a good while, they were hiding behind a boulder, catching their breath. Including Dillon, there were only six of them left.
He had no idea what had happened to the others.
But just minutes ago, the gunfire echoing from afar had completely stopped, making it all too easy to imagine their gruesome fates.
'Damn it!'
He'd come with thirty-two men, including his deputy, plus five Heavy Walkers, and now only six remained.
Even if they escaped unscathed, the boss wouldn't let him off easy after such a colossal screw-up.
'...Contact the cruiser.'
Even so, Dillon chose to reach out to the cruiser because it was his best shot at survival.
He was the type who preferred enduring torture to outright death.
Dillon pulled the wire from the terminal on his wrist and plugged it into the port on the corner of his Deathmask-like helmet.
He pressed the button on the terminal, and soon the connection to the cruiser linked up. A brief tone sounded from the device, and the communications officer picked up.
"It's Dillon. Where's the boss?"
｢He headed inland this morning. Got intel on treasure from that 'Mother of the Sky' beast we captured recently.｣
"I see."
Dillon let out a sigh of relief at the officer's words.
The pirates listening in tense silence beside him also relaxed visibly.
Without the boss around, Dillon was the top dog in the Humanity Cartel.
If they could take down the monster with the cruiser's reinforcements before the boss returned and offer it up, their punishment would be lighter.
"There's a top-class hazard creature here. Sending the data—log it in the ship's database."
｢Y-Yes, sir!｣
Dillon operated his terminal, and the footage his mask had recorded transmitted straight to the cruiser's computer.
｢All data received.｣
"Good. We're in mortal danger, so get here..."
｢Zzzt｣
Dillon tried to call for backup, but static burst in, and the terminal went dead.
"You bastard! Bring the cruiser here right now!"
｢Zzzzt｣
"Shit!"
As he raised the device to smash it in rage, the sound of snapping trees echoed nearby.
It was the unmistakable noise of a massive beast on the move—terribly familiar to the pirates there.
"......"
They all clamped their mouths shut, trembling.
They weren't without means to hurt it among their weapons.
Grenade launchers detached from the Walkers, Dillon's Purple Spray Gun and Auto Plasma Gun.
The problem was they could wound it, but not kill it.
They all knew what happened to the others when the unwounded beast struck back.
So they chose hiding and enduring over fighting.
Hoping it would pass without noticing their hideout.
Thud, thud, thud.
Each heavy step made the damp ground quake and tremble.
As the footfalls grew louder, Dillon could barely tell if it was the beast's steps or his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
The endless-seeming stomps finally stopped. Meanwhile, Dillon's heart raced at its peak.
｢Grrrrr｣
The beast growled.
The sound came from very close—they knew exactly where it was.
It was right behind the boulder they hid behind.
'Damn, what do I do? What should I do? Fuck, should I charge now? No. What if it goes wrong? Goddamn it! I don't want to die!'
In extreme tension, Dillon felt like he was going mad. His subordinates shook visibly, thinking the same.
｢Grrr｣
The culprit tormenting the pirates in terror finally moved again.
The vibrations underfoot gradually faded.
Only then did the pirates sigh in relief. One, too tensed, yanked off his helmet and vomited on the spot.
A foul stench wafted, but Dillon didn't blame him.
As a Cult member with weak physique, he barely held back his own urge to puke.
The pirates hiding behind the boulder rose one by one, scanning around. Dillon took deep breaths and stood.
The beast was nowhere in sight—already far off, it seemed.
As he tilted his head back to stretch in relief—
"......"
Dillon truly felt his heart freeze.
Atop a withered tree beside the boulder, a purple mass gleamed vividly.
｢Found... you...｣
The moment he registered it, sharp pain lanced his shoulder.
A spine the size of a fruit knife had flown from the beast's tail, embedding in his shoulder.
Even the Auto Plasma Gun mounted on his shoulder was pierced and deactivated.
"Urk!"
"Kuh!"
The spines hadn't hit only him—the nearby pirates cried out briefly and collapsed limply.
'Poison!'
｢Huh...｣
Seemingly unexpected, the beast tilted its head.
Thanks to the Indomitable Mask, immune to poison, Dillon bolted the opposite way. As he fled, more spines whistled past, stabbing the ground behind him.
He injected the booster from his reinforced suit and ran with every ounce of strength.
He'd never used it due to side effects, but now wasn't the time to care.
He'd never faced such visceral terror in his life.
Not even when first meeting the boss, who massacred countless lives with a smile.
The beast was beyond "monster."
It embodied the primal fear all intelligences held.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Running breathless, Dillon realized no footsteps followed and glanced back.
No sign of the beast, but he didn't stop.
As he sprinted madly, wind whistled in his ears. The air-vibrating sound was too quiet for a fighter jet, lacking wingbeats for a pterosaur.
Turning his head to pinpoint it, Dillon finally saw the beast's form.
Gliding between trees on wing membranes linking its four arms and mid-tail: thick legs, a tail far longer than its body.
"Holy shit, it flies too."
Dillon gave up fleeing.
Dazed, cursing, as the beast swooped in.
-
'So that's what saved you.'
I examined the mask in my grasp. Gear from the pirate leader, dead with his waist folded backward.
A silver mask resembling a human Deathmask. I knew what it was.
'Cult quest reward—how'd he snag this?'
The Indomitable Mask: grants wearer immunity to poison and mental attacks, reveals hidden targets.
Not Unique-grade, but no common item—Cult quest clears were rare, requiring complex dungeon completions.
'Another player besides me?'
Players would accept quests naturally, but this was reality.
Hard to imagine this pirate grasping the system enough to claim such gear.
'If other players exist, how many came in?'
I'd assumed I alone entered Space Survival's world—no other users crossed my mind.
But that raised a huge issue.
'How should I treat them?'
Not my place, having devoured countless, but players were different.
They grew up in my world.
Closer to me than this world's denizens, frankly.
So if they turned hostile—could I fight them willingly?
Why worry? Because I'm an Aimorph.
Long-time players would target me, and for Ascension, I'd inevitably clash with others.
'Ascension demands it.'
Like Aimorph Ascension, other races' finals included exterminating outsiders.
If players chased Ascension, friendly encounters were unlikely.
'...No. Too little info.'
Too soon to decide on others.
Better gather intel first.
Interrogate those paralyzed pirates: where/how they got the mask, from whom if looted, etc.
I pocketed the mask and devoured the Cult leader's corpse entirely.
'Other people.'
If players lurked here, meet them at my strongest. Even if I spare them, they might not.
Weak? I'd be enslaved or prey.
No desire for that fate.
So, do what only I, an Aimorph, can: hunt, devour, evolve.
'Be strongest to choose freely when it counts.'
I backtracked my path.
The paralyzed pirates awaited eagerly, no doubt.
But not pirates awaited me.
"Grrr..."
Spotting them, I crouched fast. Camouflage activated, blending my body with the nearby red withered tree.
"Grung?"
A large theropod with head horns paused mid-feast on a pirate, tilting its head my way.
Hond Giant: 20m long, 9m hip height—apex hazard.
Two atop this forest's food chain munched the paralyzed pirates.
"Grrr?"
It sensed something from my direction despite not seeing me.
But my Cult blood scent mixed with the pirates', hard to distinguish.
One focused on me while the other sneaked bites.
"Grrr."
"Kraaa!"
"Grung..."
The one eyeing me finally ignored it, roaring at its partner to back off.
They devoured all five pirates around the boulder and sauntered off.
'Damn.'
Confirming gone, I rose.
'Hond Giants this far in.'
Considered fighting, but too tough now.
'One, maybe... but...'
Hond Giants were mighty predators with terrifying unique ability.
'Rage Mode's a nightmare.'
They paired always; killing one berserks the survivor massively.
Exoskeleton toughens beyond my Psionic Breath, jaws snap my head carapace.
Win too injured? Loss, with enemies remaining.
'Move after they leave.'
Habitat far off—likely drawn by my bombs on pirates.
Full bellies send them home.
'Cleaned 'em out, huh?'
Hond Giants ate all—no one left to question on the mask.
'Plenty of camps around.'
Hunt pirates, interrogate—info'll surface. If not, target the cruiser.
'Rest till Hond Giants go.'
Don't know their Cartel stake, but wiped out now.
Time before more hunt me.
I climbed a tree, curled up.
Camouflage confirmed, I closed my eyes quietly.
Entered continent, split from crew, hunted odd-named pirates, learned unexpected player intel.
Jumbled thoughts faded, drowsiness hit.
'Haven't slept alone in ages.'
Specimen 026 always near—first solo shut-eye in ages.
A strange loneliness washed over me as I drifted off.