Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Legends of Space Survival
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Space Survival was one of the VR games released in its era that stood out for its particularly ambiguous genre.
Even with survival, competition, and evolution as its motto, the methods to achieve them varied wildly from player to player.
For some, it became a grand strategy simulation; for others, an SF horror game.
This complexity and ambiguity were reflected directly in the ranking system.
Space Survival's rankings were score-based.
Simply put, higher rank meant higher score.
However, the factors making up the score were intricate, with countless variables, making it hard for individual players to calculate.
How much influence the player wielded in this universe, how far they'd progressed on their race's unique goals, their personal prowess, and so on.
Everything the player experienced from the start of the game contributed to the score.
This naturally raised a question.
Didn't rankings just show the players who'd been playing the longest?
The top 40 rankers were indeed fossil-like veterans from the game's launch, so it wasn't entirely wrong.
But from 20th place onward, it was a whole different world from those below.
In Space Survival, the single act yielding the highest score was achieving your race's final goal and viewing their unique ending.
The difficulty ramped up insanely before the ending, regardless of race.
To reach it, you inevitably had to crush multiple rankers from your own or rival races, and take down raid bosses of immense power.
Even veterans who'd played forever found it no easy feat, and those who'd broken through to see the ending were exceedingly rare.
Thus, the top 20 rankers were bound to be exceptional.
All of them had witnessed Space Survival's ending.
Playtime might show little gap between 20th and 40th, but experience-wise, the divide was insurmountable.
They were the ones who'd seen this world's conclusion.
Living legends of Space Survival.
Of course, being an online game, seeing the ending didn't end it.
Afterward came a postscript-like new goal: "Galactic Conqueror," where rankings split again.
Galactic Conqueror boasted difficulty beyond insane, with almost no one completing it fully.
The members of Jason's group were all ending-viewers—top 20 rankers. One had even cleared over half of that brutal Galactic Conqueror.
Beings of such transcendence.
Yet here they were, whining about dying to a single Aimorph. Jason's head throbbed.
"Think about it. If we leave the 5th place alone and it grows? You know it'll be game over then, right?"
｢That's true, but it's impossible without you, old man.｣
｢We don't know its evolution stage exactly, but at least Near-Adult. Plus, we have to factor in privileges.｣
"...You're right. Forgot about privileges."
The middle-aged man's words rang true.
Every player Jason had met possessed special privileges—abilities nonexistent in the base game.
Jason himself, and the beings beyond the communication stones, all wielded multiple powerful ones.
｢How about this? Leak info to the Outspacers. They hate 5th place too.｣
The group leader opposing them was an Outspacer.
Ranked 4th, evaluated as equal to any Aimorph ranker in prowess.
｢I oppose. Too much risk.｣
｢Huh? Why?｣
"Fucking cunt! Whoever wins, they'll gobble up all the essence the loser hoarded—use your head! And if Outspacer wins? I'm fucked!"
｢Tch.｣
A smacking sound echoed from the girl's stone at Jason's outburst.
One of the Outspacer's final goals was razing the Cult homeworld.
By lore, Outspacers gathered vast psychic power to slay the Vortex One.
Sealed from innate psychic power, they sacrificed countless Cults as offerings to compensate.
Thus, the stronger an Outspacer ranker grew, the worse it boded for Jason the Cult.
｢So what do we do? I'm busy too. If no ideas, I'm out.｣
"Look at her acting all aloof like this ain't her problem."
｢Hold on. I have an idea.｣
As Jason and the girl bristled again, the middle-aged man intervened.
｢Word is Mega Corp just completed a planet purger.｣
｢What? Damn it, I told you not to send spies!｣
"Everyone knows already—what spies? Commie... ahem, Jubaka. You mean nuke the planet?"
Jubaka, the middle-aged man, nodded at Jason's question.
｢Exactly. Mega Corp and Cult both have planet purgers. Why not use one?｣
"......"
｢.......｣
At Jubaka's radical proposal, the others and Jason fell silent.
PH-101, home to the Aimorph, was a protected sacred world designated by the Cult.
Obliterating it wasn't simple, even for their unchecked power. Scary as an Aimorph ranker was, torching a planet brought massive political backlash.
In the heavy silence, the girl spoke first.
｢Not feasible here. Can't spare amid civil war, and it's a holy site, right? If I fire, Cult and Mega Corp go to war.｣
｢Fair point. Jason? Possible on your end?｣
"Could dispatch an imperial mothership, but the mood lately..."
｢Yeah, send yours and reformers plus those providence hardliners flip out. 'Holy site, what the hell?'｣
Jason held immense sway as a high Cult official, but that very position made purging sacred PH-101 tricky.
｢I'll handle that part.｣
"How?"
｢Leak false intel to moderates: planet's contaminated, needs purging. Providence faction's under your thumb anyway.｣
｢I'll take reformers. Promise Novametal support, they'll dynamite their ancestors' graves.｣
"...Fuck, Cult council's a total joke. Ahem, fine. Imperial mothership it is."
By now, players had built their factions. No more massive upheavals like past wars or events.
Just skirmishes between individuals.
This mechanical peace dragged on, leaving Jason and many others bored.
Some chased endings to escape, but failures proved it futile fantasy.
Some obsessed over impossible goals; others stagnated in twisted pleasures.
Into this stupor came the new thrill of an Aimorph ranker. Jason's group buzzed with rare energy.
"Mobilizing an imperial mothership takes time though. Even past council, elders deliberate. Minimum three weeks."
｢I'll deploy surveillance sats first. Might slip away otherwise.｣
"Hide 'em well. Diplomatic mess hurts."
｢Double-jam from here...｣
The Aimorph extermination plot stretched into the night.
-
Reaching Muriel's camp, Sky Mother was there.
Back in beastkin form, gathering clothes the wolf cubs had worn. Bodies gone, absorbed in my human sacrifice ritual.
｢.......｣
Her eagle head limited expressions. But her eyes held profound grief.
A mother's deep sorrow for lost children.
'Married to Earth Father, right?'
Earth Father was a fixed named wolf on Seintopia 02 continent.
Tied to the Temple of the Forgotten Earth, another would respawn somewhere after time.
'Though not necessarily the husband she loved.'
She knew the one she cherished wouldn't return.
'That's why she's reacting like that.'
Muriel had mocked Sky Mother for falling for an NPC during interrogation, but I understood.
I cherished Specimen 026 and Adhai too. If they died or got badly hurt, I'd lose it.
'Need more time before asking.'
I left the grieving griffon and sought the camp's armory.
Muriel visited often; tents supplemented by prefab structures.
The largest, sturdiest was the armory.
'Quite the stock.'
Inside: plasma launchers, stormguns, purple sprayguns—ranged galore—plus pulse grenades, compressed plasma rounds.
Amid them shone the centerpiece: "Thunder God."
Thunder God: 10m-diameter machine etched in intricate mandala. Light shifted colors like a living depiction—thanks to rare Novametal.
Novametal mined only from psychic-dense spots like dragon nests. Infuse psychic power, it shifts to the creator's preset form.
'Cult's shape-memory alloy.'
Tiny for a satellite weapon, but psychic infusion ballooned it to orbital destroyer hundreds of meters wide.
Auto-returns to owner post-mission.
'Game cheater.'
Orbital yet concealable—size-shrink advantage. I'd eaten hits from it plenty.
'Check Thunder God later.'
I grabbed a nearby plasma launcher.
'Predate this, gain plasma launcher power?'
Holding it, I activated Plunderer's Irregular Polyhedron trait.
｢Grrr｣
Metal absorption felt nothing; this hungered like a slight stomach rumble.
'Activated. Time to eat.'
Jaws wide, shoved in launcher. Chewing alloy: bitter, metallic tang.
'Tasteless.'
Metal, unavoidable.
Forcing chunks down throat—body and translucent box changed.
Intense heat surged in my chest—like downing harsh liquor, burning from throat to gut, a faint sting.
Faint green glow enveloped my thorax exoskeleton.
'Worked?'
Like exhaling after hot broth in winter, I craved release.
Out of warehouse, head skyward.
'Here goes.'
Jaws agape, focused on chest—hot surge rose.
Gut to chest to throat to maw: green flashes, then intense energy blasted out.
Thicker, brighter green beam than launcher tore toxic fog, pierced blue sky. Visible dozens of kilometers away.
Energy spent, heat drained. No more—mouth shut.
'Inherited basic function.'
But differences.
Output far superior, but recharge slower. Felt like 10 minutes cooldown.
'No separate energy source.'
Converting body energy to plasma caused it, probably.
'Even unique gear can't copy perfectly.'
Trials would show variances.
Not all downsides.
My plasma beam outpowered launcher's— no overheat/stability limits for me.
'Unique abilities adapt to my body.'
Some boosted, some nerfed.
Tested standard gear next.
'Same gear yields same ability.'
Ammo/energy users had cooldowns post-use. Plasma launcher 10-20 min, stormgun 30-40.
'Affected body parts vary too.'
Launcher: mouth beam. Stormgun: stormgun-like barrel on lowest battle-arm left.
Its uranium slugs? Bone shards now.
'Experiments done...'
Lined up Seintopia 02 unique gear: Tuner, Golden Spear, Thunder God, Blood River (scavenged spider-bot).
'Which first.'
All uniques—hard to acquire. Choose wisely.
'Golden Spear out.'
Priest's spear only from Forgotten Earth's Temple. Requires subduing Earth Father.
No new till respawn.
'Rare opportunity for spear, but...'
Others differ.
Tuner: any Cult quest. Thunder God, Blood River: craftable.
Tuner aside, multiples likely.
'Production costs astronomical, but...'
Multiples re-predatable later.
So eat non-spear first.
'Decisions.'
Eyed the three lined up.
Laid out, obvious.
'No need to agonize.'
Decision made, I reached for it.