Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Assault on the Swamp
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"You know who Rick is, right?"
"Chatty Rick? Of course I do. What's he got to do with anything?"
"They say contact with his camp got cut off."
"What?"
Even in broad daylight, the pirates at the camp stood guard with utmost vigilance.
It was because orders had come down from their main base, the cruiser they called home.
"Another camp losing contact? On top of the recent ones?"
"That's exactly why we're pulling guard duty at this hour."
"...Ugh, wasn't this whole sector supposed to be safe?"
The pirate on watch stiffened at his comrade's ominous words. His buddy quickly followed up to reassure him.
"Don't worry about it. Word from above is the boss'll be back at the cruiser the day after tomorrow."
"Really? That's a relief. But what the hell's kept him out so long?"
"No clue—they didn't say. Rumor has it something to do with those prisoners we nabbed a while back."
"I... want... to... hear... more..."
"I'd love to tell you more, but I don't know anyth—huh?"
"Huh?"
The chatting pirates whipped their heads around at the sudden intruding voice.
They were the only two on guard duty here.
Their gazes drifted upward.
That's where it perched, mimicking a pirate's voice to perfection.
It's been a week since I arrived on Saintopia 02.
In that time, I've raided multiple pirate camps in the forest to gather intel on players.
One pirate let slip that my Indomitable Mask originally belonged to the pirate boss, gifted to his second-in-command.
Meaning the Cult pirate I killed earlier was the Humanity Cartel's number two.
Among the camps I hit for more info afterward was a large one swarming with pirates. There, I encountered someone wearing Cult quest reward gear, just like the mask's original owner.
That was enough for me to be mostly certain.
The Humanity Cartel's boss was either a player or someone very closely tied to one.
In other words, I was facing a grave threat.
Interrogating the pirates gave me more on the boss.
Putting their accounts together, three key traits stood out: Cult race, female, and she kept bringing in bizarre artifacts through some unknown means.
As a pirate, she wasn't exactly the benevolent type—and she had a cruiser plus all sorts of gear at her disposal.
So the power gap between me now and the pirate boss was no small thing.
No matter how well I fight in the jungle, a gap this wide won't be easy to bridge.
And if she really was a player, she'd likely know about me. Which meant a good chunk of my jungle tactics might be common knowledge to her.
Call it ego, but strategies I've used—like corpse bombs or skinned bodies—are infamous enough that most veteran players would recognize them.
At least she's not here right now.
No idea why, but her underlings said she'd been away on some distant trip and would return to the cruiser in two days.
The cruiser itself hadn't made any moves to catch me either, probably waiting for her.
Just like the pirates mentioned earlier, they'd only warned the camps that I was prowling around.
They're gathering intel on me beforehand.
Using the camps as bait to collect data until the boss returns, then hitting me with everything they've got.
Of course, the situation wasn't entirely stacked against me.
I've got time before the boss shows up.
Time usually isn't on my side, but this is the exception.
I need to evolve to Near-Adult within these two days.
I chewed through the spoils from the camp and activated the translucent text box.
The condition to devour playable races is done.
Only types remain.
To evolve to Near-Adult, I need a total of 4 types. I've already got Physical Enhancement and Psionic Enhancement, with 3 more available down the line.
Over the week, beyond just pirates, I'd snacked on wild animals here and there, securing two new traits.
'Disease Resistance' from the Nightstalker, tied to special defense. And 'Hallucination Worm' from the carnivorous mushroom-like Red Clown, for infection.
That unlocked Special Defense Enhancement Type two days ago, but I've been holding off.
Unlocking a type ramps up the trait requirements for the others.
For instance, grabbing Infection Enhancement now would bump the needs for Special Defense and Nest to 8 traits each.
So in this pinch, prioritize Infection Enhancement first.
At first glance, evolution still looks far off.
But I've got an ace up my sleeve.
Today marks a week since I took over the spaceship with my Erosion Tentacles.
Meaning I can use Emblem of the Hunt.
Keep Predation Effect popping as much as possible for 20 minutes.
If this were another planet or continent, scraping together the genes for evolution would've been tough.
But this is Saintopia 02. Rare gene essences swarm the place.
And there's a perfect spot for Emblem of the Hunt.
Somewhere in this forest I need to go.
Super dangerous for me right now, but packed with the traits I need.
The swamp.
Follow the river south, and you hit a massive swamp teeming with horrors.
Not that each one's overwhelmingly strong—it's the environment and matchups.
Swamp monsters all pack insanely potent poisons and viruses.
Even pros need heavy prep for biochemical defenses, or it's a no-go.
In the game, I'd have waited till Near-Adult or Adult before tackling it—never as a Subadult.
That was then.
I finished devouring the pirate corpses and left the camp.
I've got everything needed for the swamp now.
For starters, Disease Resistance grants immunity to all diseases.
Something I'd never touch in the game.
Near-Adult evolution perk auto-immunizes you to all biochemical attacks anyway.
Not super useful long-term, but perfect for diving into the swamp ASAP.
With Emblem of the Hunt boosting trait effects, I'll take minimal damage even there.
And the Emblem buffs my physical stats across the board, so fighting swamp beasts won't be an issue. They're tough, but raw combat power lags behind Honde Giants.
And this.
A small hand on my chest grips the half-shattered Indomitable Mask. This silver death mask grants poison and mental attack immunity, plus stealth detection.
Key part: it's metal.
Metal Absorption target.
Everything but Unique gear.
Its poison immunity will hugely aid the swamp run.
Prep complete, today's the day I challenge the swamp.
Almost there.
The wide blue river narrowed, yellow moss and water weeds dotting the surface.
Rotting broken dead trees, toxic mushroom spores spewing mist, vibrant bugs everywhere.
Foul stench wafted through the air, venom seeping past my thick hide.
Shocking place no matter how many times I see it.
I endured the stinging all over and scanned around.
No towering hundred-meter trees here, but 5-to-10-meter mushrooms, man-sized leeches, bus-sized cockroaches crawling about.
Pre-birth movie with a giant ape protagonist had explorers stranded in a valley swarmed by grotesque bugs.
Community lore says Saintopia 02's swamp drew from that valley scene.
Weird pests loaded with toxins and viruses popping out everywhere.
Even top players skipped it—not just for difficulty, but the gross visuals.
Perfect for me right now.
A literal treasure trove of gene essences.
I activated Metal Absorption and bit into the Indomitable Mask.
Itchy tingle near my hide, then the stinging vanished.
To double-check, I grabbed a head-sized scorpion scuttling nearby and gulped it down.
Prankster Bug—its itch-inducing poison debuffs victims.
Stomach felt fine.
Poison immunity confirmed.
I set the mask aside and activated Emblem of the Hunt.
My flesh, already evolved once via Nightmare Horizon, shifted into an even more perfect predator form.
Two new arms burst from my thick heavy back. Bone blades at their tips—ultrahard, razor-sharp, slicing any metal effortlessly.
Then all six Erosion Tentacles hidden inside emerged.
Bigger, but same shape. Ends morphed into six hook-like claws like my combat arms' talons—vicious weapons in their own right.
Back shrank post-deployment, streamlining into a sleeker build.
(Cute Tooth Fairy nests still nestled at my waist, though.)
Silhouetter sleeker than Nightmare Horizon, but overall size ballooned.
Height now 12 meters—nearly four stories.
Tail lengthened massively; total body length just shy of 20 meters. Size-wise, on par with a Honde Giant.
Details as usual: combat arms and legs' plating reinforced.
Spikes protruded from arm/leg plates—now lethal clubs capable of massive damage.
Finally, head plating covered my eyes, completing the changes.
Grrr...
Nightmare Horizon topped with Emblem of the Hunt.
Apartment-building body brimming with insane power.
Power to do anything.
I swung my tail lightly, smashing a rear dead tree.
5-meter-thick rotten trunk splintered like twigs. Giant centipedes nesting inside fled in panic.
Nice.
Erosion Tentacles lashed out, hooks shredding the bugs.
Tentacles sucked them in, spamming translucent boxes.
I watched, inhaled deep, and unleashed a mighty roar.
■---------!
Air exploded outward, polluted swamp water parting before me. Cat-sized mosquitoes airborne ahead vaporized mid-flight from the roar.
Let's get started.
Goal: enough essences for evolution in 20 minutes.
Predation time—it's been too long.