Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Two Left
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In the game, the Psionium effect lasts for five minutes.
It's an incredibly useful drug that can reverse an unfavorable battle situation if timed right, but it has a fatal drawback.
'The duration shortens with every use.'
The reduction is random, anywhere from a few seconds to a full minute. If you're unlucky, you might only get five uses out of it.
That's why players either burned through it early in the game or saved it for crucial moments later on, using it judiciously.
This characteristic of Psionium works the same way in reality. I've used it myself since becoming an Aimorph.
'I used it when I fought Sihyun Yujin.'
I got the full five minutes then, so if I take another dose now, I should enjoy at least four minutes of effect.
'But Muriel said it lasted eight minutes when she fought her.'
According to the Mother of the Sky, Muriel used Psionium against her, and it lasted eight minutes.
'Maybe an improved version, or a module that boosts drug effects?'
With so many differences from the game, it's hard to pinpoint the cause.
'Doesn't matter. That's not the key point.'
What matters is that Muriel can't exploit Psionium's effects indefinitely.
If she could, she would've used it right away when fighting me.
'The drug she used at the start of our fight was Ultra Controller.'
The cigarette she was smoking while waiting for me.
The liquid inside wasn't synthetic narcotics—it was Ultra Controller, which enhances psyker output and precision.
She acted natural enough, but there was no hazy tobacco scent in the smoke, so I spotted it immediately.
'A woman that clever dodging a sure path to overwhelming me?'
Even if her Psionium has an extended duration, it probably doesn't eliminate the original flaw: the shortening effect with each use.
'If she spams it carelessly, she won't have it when it really counts.'
That's why she only used it when she deemed herself in dire straits.
'Duration maxes under eight minutes. Assuming the same reduction rate as standard Psionium, under seven.'
In truth, our fight is unlikely to drag on for seven or eight minutes.
Both sides move at speeds far beyond human limits, so whoever wins, the battle won't last long.
'My plan from the start wasn't to outlast the Psionium effect anyway.'
While hearing the Mother of the Sky's story, it hit me.
The key was to prevent her from doing things that only Psionium makes possible.
"...Even with two of you, nothing changes!"
Muriel gnashed her teeth and launched her assault.
The moment her feet left the ground, a golden spear thrust right up to my snout.
Lightning-fast speed.
I whipped my bone axe upward in a flash. Our weapons clashed, exploding with a sound like a bomb going off.
Her spear rebounded high, throwing off her stance. My erosion tentacles lunged, auxiliary limbs splayed wide to swallow her whole.
"Hah!"
Muriel spread her mechanized left hand wide. Her body slithered eel-like through the gap in my slowed tentacles, distorted by her field.
Then she clenched her left fist. In that split second, my auxiliary organs detected a massive energy surge flowing from her body into her arm.
It's the Thunder Arm module, upper-tier among combat modules cyborgs can equip. Exceptional in destructive power and penetration, enough to pierce even my near-adult carapace.
｢Not on my watch!｣
"Kuh?!"
The Mother of the Sky leaped in, slamming her body into Muriel's side.
No matter how boosted Muriel's physical abilities were, she couldn't ignore a charging griffon over four meters tall, packed with muscle.
Muriel's posture crumpled, her mechanical arm veering slightly off-target. The yellow lightning bolt she fired merely grazed my back.
Of course, it wasn't harmless—I lost two erosion tentacles—but I could still endure.
"Don't... interfere...!"
｢Ugh!｣
Muriel backhanded the Mother of the Sky with her glowing-hot left arm post-energy discharge. The griffon retreated far, her face burned and beak cracked.
'Perfect.'
With her distracted by another foe, this was my chance.
I poured all my power into my head and rammed her.
"Gah!"
My horn shattered her ribs and pierced her organs. She pulled back just in time to avoid full impalement, but it was still a lethal wound.
'No! Not over yet!'
As expected, her body glowed purple.
The purple halo floating behind her head—from the cross-shaped headband halo she wore, the 'Harmonizer.'
The Harmonizer is one of the mid-to-late Cult quest clear rewards. It grants five daily uses of etherealization to relocate.
Cult quests span twelve stages total; the Harmonizer unlocks at stage nine.
She didn't use it when I hit her with the acidic fungal barrage.
'Not that she chose not to—probably couldn't meet the conditions.'
Given how she used it post-Psionium, she'd cleared up to stage eight for sure.
'Whatever. Three left now.'
Muriel had used the Harmonizer twice so far. Once when the Mother of the Sky burst from underground for a surprise attack, and again just now against my horn.
In other words, she had only three extra lives left.
I predicted her relocation point and dashed there. About 100 meters away, purple particles gathered in midair.
"!"
Etherealization complete, Muriel's eyes widened as she saw me charging.
She raised her left arm for the distortion field, but the Mother of the Sky wasn't just watching.
｢Think I'll let you?｣
Her face half-charred black, the griffon seized Muriel from behind. Her half-broken beak clamped hard on the woman's left shoulder.
"Guh!"
Shoulder bone crushed, Muriel's distortion field fizzled midway.
Facing me head-on, she hastily assumed a defensive stance with her priestess spear.
Krunch.
"Urgh!"
Our spear and horn collided; one of my horns snapped. Pain surged like someone smashing my head with a solid object.
But she didn't escape unscathed.
The momentum of my charge transferred through the horn, and blocking it wrecked Muriel too.
Her right arm, gripping the spear, went limp. The Nano Spartan module kept it attached, but inside, it was surely pulverized mush.
"Eeeeek! Dieee!"
Screaming—battle cry or not—she activated Thunder Arm again. As energy gathered in her left arm, the Mother of the Sky urgently released her beak grip.
I twisted my body to evade her arm's aim. The yellow beam scorched past my side by a paper's width.
In the meantime, she'd etherealized away, reappearing atop a watchtower near the camp.
"Th-this... can't be...!"
Etherealization left her body unscathed, but her expression was another story.
Blood beaded from bitten lips, eyes trembling finely.
Compared to before the fight, she was visibly cowed.
'You're cornered, Muriel.'
Playing defensive or dragging it out means the Psionium wears off, no more Harmonizer.
Fight aggressively like usual, and she'll likely burn through it.
Either way, without it, she's relying solely on Nano Spartan recovery against us.
'Should've used it to flee from the start.'
Engaging me—us—in combat was the wrong choice to begin with.
To her, now feeling fear toward us, I calmly stated the facts.
"Two... left."
"!"
She knew exactly what I meant.
And what happens when those two run out.
-
Three years ago.
Muriel found herself alone in the world of Space Survival.
Possessed in the body of a Space Dogs cartel grunt, no less.
Even as rank 20 with a massive clan leadership in the game, that was all virtual.
A mere college student in reality, surviving this brutal dystopia was no easy feat.
Had she not been a sturdy cyborg or beautiful enough to earn the boss's affection, she'd have lasted two days at most.
Thanks to the Cult-born boss who doted on her, Muriel secured her life.
A month into being his lover.
With survival assured, she finally checked what she'd received upon arriving in this world.
It was a kind of blessing—a 'perk' for those transported here.
Hers allowed changing her cyborg base species to others.
In the game, cyborgs were fixed to human base, but she could switch to cyborg, wolf, Cult, etc.
A perk reflecting the diverse pirate crew of Space Dogs.
But not without limits.
Her native species: cyborg.
To activate the perk, she had to loot symbolic parts from other species, mod them into 'modules,' and equip them. This restriction persisted post-switch.
Only intelligent species players could choose—no wild animals.
Realizing the perk's potential, she poisoned the boss to switch to Cult base.
She didn't love him, and as a mere game NPC, murder didn't faze her much.
Modding his horns into a module, she converted to Cult, then targeted the cartel members.
Her group was a powerhouse cartel, making it tough, but she emerged victorious.
En route to the Cult homeworld, she met other players, grew with their aid.
Two years in this world, Muriel had grown immensely. None in the universe dared cross her.
Plus two ranker backers—crises were a foreign word.
Until now, on Saintopia 02, facing this Aimorph.
"Kuh!"
Muriel raised her spear to block the damned Aimorph near-adult's slashing arm. The blow was no joke; she gritted her teeth.
Its power hadn't waned since the fight began. If anything, it felt stronger the longer they clashed.
To be precise, the enemy wasn't growing stronger—she was weakening.
'No way! I can't lose...!'
"You bastard!"
Anxiety crept in, but she shook it off with a curse-laden shout.
Thunder Arm on her left fired a yellow bolt, piercing its arm.
Brief joy at severing it—then the Mother of the Sky swiped claws at her face.
"Ugh!"
She jerked back, but the right side of her face tore half off from that beastly bitch's strike.
'...I can recover from this!'
Only two Harmonizer uses left—had to conserve. Trusting Nano Spartan's regen, she swung her spear.
The priestess's golden spear sliced the Mother of the Sky's flank as the Aimorph's tail whipped in.
Mid-attack, she couldn't fully dodge. Banking on Thunder Arm's durability to block—bad call.
"Eeek!"
The brutal tail bent her mechanical arm grotesquely. Not done, it sent her flying into a pitiful tumble on the ground.
"Kuhuk?!"
Black blood spewed from Muriel's mouth.
She'd hit the dirt multiple times, but this was her first vomit.
'That fucking Aimorph spawn pulling tricks...!'
Only now did she notice the fog enveloping the camp.
Aimorph nest product, no doubt. She'd fought them plenty in-game, recognized it instantly.
But never this prolonged, so she'd underestimated the toxic mist's terror.
Not a foolish error, really.
Nano Spartan's recovery is insanely potent. Even potent toxins get purged fast while active.
'But it's not keeping up!'
If she held steady even briefly, the module would normalize.
Her foes allowed no such respite.
The blood-spewing Mother of the Sky charged. Muriel leaped, double-kicking the pouncing griffon away.
Enemy launched far, but another attacked.
She barely parried the barrage of spines with her spear.
'N-no! I can hold...'
Then tentacles flew in. She deflected some, not all—half her thigh tore off from the last.
'Switch modules, fix this!'
As she rose, the Mother of the Sky's forepaw loomed. Exploiting her narrowed right field of vision.
'Distortion field...!'
She raised her recovering left arm, deploying the field. The griffon halted midair—but from the opposite side, Aimorph horn targeted her.
"Gah!"
'Next...!'
Spitting blood again, airborne Muriel.
Her mind raced for the next move.
She had a module to break this—precious, harsh aftereffects, rarely used. No choice now.
'I can still win!'
Blocked. Both legs shattered.
Psyker power to levitate, then next plan.
She had a psyker tech to wipe foes. Saved it, but prime time now.
'This'll...!'
Blocked. Shoulder and gut pierced.
Serial lethal hits slowed the nanosuit rapidly. Amid bleeding haze, she pondered.
'Next...'
What to do?
The bastard seemed to know every module and psyker tech she had.
Before it, she was naked.
That thought made the monster loom larger. Gorged on her blood, flesh, emotions—now overwhelmingly gigantic.
Facing it revived long-buried chest feelings.
Despair, and.
Fear of death.
"I-I don't want to die!"
Mind pushed to the brink, Muriel burned another precious Harmonizer.
Her body dissolved into purple particles, reforming farthest from the monster.
'No!'
Regenerated, instant regret. One chance left.
Then it spoke.
"One."
Hundreds of meters away, yet the Aimorph's word stabbed clear into her ears.