Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Ep. 137
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Up until now, I'd mainly used the Emblem of the Hunt as a means to acquire new traits.
It dramatically boosted my chances of successful predation whenever I devoured the corpses of my kills.
Even when consuming gene samples or bodies I hadn't personally slain, it still granted me half a trait instead of a full one—better than nothing, since I could use it as material for transcendent evolution.
That said, my hunch was that boosting predation probability wasn't its primary purpose.
No, the Emblem of the Hunt was fundamentally about hunting and slaughter—honing me to corner prey, smash them apart, and kill without mercy.
A line from the description of my fully evolved organic body read: "Your flesh is optimized for slaughter and evolution."
In truth, my current body already differed subtly from the Near-Adult form in the game.
The six combat arms, lack of legs forcing me to slither on my lower body and tail, and the blunt claws sprouting haphazardly across my frame—all matched the game perfectly.
However, my bulk and cranial carapace were larger than in the game, and my combat arms were noticeably longer. Overall, my physique had evolved to be far more combat-effective.
So what if I layered even greater hunting and predation prowess on top of that?
My temporarily mutated form was dramatically different from before.
First off, my size.
Compared to before the mutation, my length had nearly doubled. The shift in my eye level was proof enough.
Ever since becoming a Near-Adult, I'd dragged my lower body and tail along the ground, so my eye height hadn't changed much—roughly 7 to 10 meters up.
Now, it felt like I was peering down from over 15 meters high. The Mother of the Sky standing before me was even shrouded in my shadow.
'Judging by my body length, I'm about the size of a Pale Mask now.'
Size was the most striking change, but there were plenty of subtler ones too.
Starting with my head: The jaws that had split to either side were now far thicker and sturdier.
A gap had formed between my jaws and neck, letting me gape my maw like a serpent. Big enough to swallow a human whole, maybe.
With reinforced jaws came tougher teeth, strong enough to chew through thick-hided foes like Sea Demons with ease.
And one major addition: My sub-organs beneath the jaws were now shielded by carapace plating.
Those sub-organs were my body's most vulnerable spot—delicate sensors for detection, left unprotected by exoskeleton or plating.
'Even in the game, that was a key weak point.'
The plating resembled the bone scythes on my back arms in material and shape—sharp enough for exceptional cutting power, no doubt.
With four blades dangling under my jaws, I evoked the image of a land kaiju from those classic sci-fi strategy games.
These blade-plates could move independently at my command. I could whip them around to harvest an enemy's neck without turning my head, or slash while biting a massive foe.
They doubled as new weapons, but detection hadn't suffered a bit. Tiny pores riddling the blades ensured that.
Far from mere holes, they amplified my already sharp cognition. I could even sense incoming rain from air humidity.
My eyes remained hidden within the cranial carapace as before, but the upgraded sub-organs more than compensated.
'The cranial carapace has changed a lot too.'
Before Near-Adult, it had flared out like a crown in a flashy display. The broad rear flare persisted, but now elongated spines and jagged ridges protruded from the layered plating.
At least three layers thick, it offered extreme defense. The new spines and ridges amplified my old charge-and-gore tactic's destructive power.
'Overall, I've got a much fiercer look now.'
Not the dignified air of a Queen Alien anymore, but from a pure efficiency standpoint, it was solid.
If the head was a seismic shift, what about the body?
My back had evolved double-layered carapace like the head, with ridges and spines sprouting between.
Any foe trying to pin me under their weight, like Pale Mask had, would be shredded by those spines and left on the brink of death.
And as I'd suspected, new bone-scythe arms had emerged from my back. Of the eight membrane-covered sockets, two hadn't spawned erosion tendrils before—this was their purpose.
The protruding arms looked much like before.
Unlike a standard arm with one joint between humerus and radius, mine had an extra mid-joint for greater length and flexibility.
Beyond the size increase, the key difference was the dual bone scythes at the tips—like massive pincers, upper and lower blades that I could control freely. Each over 3 meters long, they exuded overwhelming menace. Their sharpness and durability had soared.
The arms were intriguing, but the biggest change was my lower body.
Upon reaching Near-Adult, I'd sprouted claws for crawling on land, burrowing, or swimming.
Those claws had turned vicious.
Like a centipede scaled to 50 meters. The former stubby claws had become short legs, countless pairs lifting my lower body and tail slightly off the ground.
'This should make me way faster.'
Plus, the gliding membranes between my arms extended to the leg gaps too—enough to float on water, perhaps.
Finally, my upper body.
Unlike the drastic changes elsewhere, the upper torso was mostly unchanged.
The combat arms were thicker and longer, and the membranes between them had expanded accordingly—that was it.
I twisted and flexed to inspect my newly mutated form, and the Mother of the Sky flinched.
"Not quite an Adult... What ability is this?"
[Zzu zzuzuzu zzuzuz zzuzuzu (Can't tell you—it's my secret weapon).]
"Your ace in the hole, huh? A special perk, maybe? That would explain the power boost, but this level of enhancement..."
She'd figured it out without me answering.
Overawed by my majestic new form, she was thoroughly cowed.
Her neatly aligned fur stood on end from tension, her eyes trembled faintly, and I sensed her heart pounding via my sub-organs.
The same dignified creature who'd never lost her poise during our first encounter or her fight with Muriel now feared me.
Then Specimens 026 and Adhai approached.
"Big Baby got even bigger?"
[Zzuz zzuzuzu (Just temporarily).]
"Big Baby can change bodies too? Just like me!"
No. 026 was thrilled at our new common ground.
Adhai, meanwhile, just stared blankly.
"I" "Adult" "Question"
[Zzu (What?)]
"I" "Adult" "Tail" "Female" "Judgment"
[Z (Huh?)]
She gestured rearward with a wingtip—toward my massive tail.
Then she pointed at my horns with her wing.
"I" "Judgment" "Error" "Adult" "Horns" "Many" "Cool" "I" "Question" "Adult" "Male?" "Female?"
'Hmm.'
Gallerons exhibited sexual dimorphism, with males sporting thick, long horns and females plumper tails instead.
My tail had ballooned most dramatically. By Galleron standards, it was absurdly robust.
'Oh, right.'
When I'd gone to rescue No. 026, she'd hesitated before speaking to me. I'd chalked it up to guilt then.
'Doesn't look that way now.'
She'd probably been trying to ask if I was male or female.
Post-Emblem of the Hunt, my horns had grown massively—around 2 meters long. Bigger than a Black Galleron's, putting me in the top tier among her kind.
In short, my form was bizarre by Galleron metrics: huge horns and a thick tail.
I was pondering how to answer her absurd question when the Mother of the Sky beat me to it.
"This one's a proper male. No way something this... mutated could be female."
"Male?"
"A buck. A stallion."
[Z zu zzuzu (I'm male).]
Adhai tilted her head at our words. After eyeing my horns briefly, she sent a telepathic confirmation.
"I" "Understand" "Adult" "Male" "Certain"
[Zzuz (Yeah).]
"Adult" "Best" "Coolest" "Group" "Leader" "Possible"
[Zzuzuzu (Thanks).]
"...Hah."
I thanked her for the praise—ignoring the Mother of the Sky's scoff.
With explanations to the group wrapped up, I finished my self-inspection.
Now for my original goal.
Devouring Pale Mask.
'Sigh. Shame to waste something this good only on predation.'
I knew the Emblem of the Hunt was my trump card, but it stung every activation. 20-minute duration, week-long cooldown—no wonder I couldn't spam it in combat.
'Maybe Transcendence Stage 2 will loosen the limits.'
That required five fusion traits from other types as materials.
Thanks to traits stockpiled in the swamp, I'd already met the quota. But it needed the nest fusion trait Symbiotic Spores, so I was waiting on a new one.
'Grab a fresh nest fusion trait before leaving this planet.'
The ship was prepped despite damage, No. 026 and Adhai were assembled. Until I could reuse Horizon of Nightmares, securing a new nest fusion was priority.
'Later for that.'
Predation time. No. 026 and I approached the corpse.
'Let's see.'
I gaped my jaws wide and crunched into Pale Mask's head. My maw, stretched like a great white or anaconda, tore off a massive chunk of flesh.
'Mm.'
Reinforced jaws? Harder teeth? It had felt so tough fighting him, but now it melted in my mouth.
'Now that's a fun flavor.'
The seafood I'd eaten here was Fishrian and Sea Demon—distinct tastes, but still firmly in the oceanic category.
This male Pale Mask meat? Something else entirely.
'Closer to lamb, even.'
Mixed with neural oil, it was the fattiest meat I'd ever tasted. Could've been greasy, but the intense meatiness balanced it perfectly.
'And the flavor layers.'
First bite: Fat and juices burst, flooding my mouth with rich aroma.
Chewing on: It softened, blending oil into smooth savoriness.
Finish: Sweet, ice-cream-like melt sliding down my throat.
Unlike Sea Demon's wild naturalness, Pale Mask was straightforward luxury—like upscale seafood buffet versus American steakhouse.
'Glad the hard catch tastes this good.'
No. 026 and I feasted heartily.
Finishing the head took about 10 minutes.
As I lapped up the last drop of brain fluid, the awaited prompt appeared.
The trait I'd gained: Man-Faced Beast.
It spawned parasitic creatures resembling Pale Mask's signature pale face.
Unlike Pale Mask's hypnotic and shock waves, the Aimorph version had different effects. A trait I'd used effectively before, so I was glad—but disappointed too.
'Was hoping for Giant Creature.'
Giant Creature was shared by beasts over 50 meters long, granting gigantification. Paired with Emblem of the Hunt, I'd be invincible.
Might sound childish, but I wanted to see it: Myself gigantified under the Emblem.
Apex predators were my evolution targets anyway, and most were huge. Plenty more chances ahead.
Shaking off regret, I applied Pale Mask's legacy trait: Man-Faced Beast.
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In the infinite void of space, where stars light-years apart were the only glow, a colossal structure drifted.
Shaped like a refined diamond—3 km across, ivory hull adorned with gold and exotic alloys—it was a spaceship.
The pinnacle of ancient Cult Empire tech: An Imperial Mothership, mass-produced weapon of war.
Just thousands of years ago, these had dominated battlefields.
To safeguard the Cults' core doctrine of Providence, to enlighten countless worlds and natives, they never rested.
Now? Ancient history. The Cult Empire had endured civil war for over a millennium. Even now, factions bickered pointlessly in the Imperial Council for political gain.
External wars ended; internal intrigue began.
The era had passed for mighty Imperial Motherships. Some retired, others guarded remote frontiers.
This one, Judgment of Damus 08, was among the exiled retirees.
In the galaxy's ass-end—no visitors, not even Metallic Gremlins or Outsiders—its captain ran futile route calculations daily.
Had his Cult adjutant not come sprinting, it'd have been another monotonous day.
"Captain! Message from the Council!"
"Told you to reject faction recruitment."
"Not that! A purge order just passed the Council; Elders are reviewing. Could come any day now—week at latest."
The yak-horned Cult snapped his head around.
"Purge? Outsiders? When'd they invade? Where's the attack? Serious enough for a Mothership?"
"N-No, sir. Intel says Star Union surveillance caught a holy site defiled. Culprit species unknown."
"Holy site?"
"Saigil 08."
"Saigil, huh..."
The captain followed intel closely, mingling with lesser races. He knew humans and cyborgs called Saigil 08 "PH-101."
"Holy site fouled and the machine freaks notice first? Council's rotten to the core."
Smarter Cult brass knew the Council's decadence well—including those profiting from piracy and smuggling.
"...Stinks of rot."
"Your orders?"
He shrugged.
"What else? We're warriors. Holy warriors loyal to the Cults and Providence, not factions. We obey the Council."
"Captain..."
"Alert the crew. Prep for departure."
"Yes, sir."
Alone, the captain resumed route calculations. Psychic space bloomed before him—now mimicking PH-101's stellar neighborhood.