Screamer (3)
Woken from sleep, Adhai and Mother of the Sky stared blankly at PS-111, the Screamer reduced to nothing but a head.
"Everyone, look! My new friend!"
"Greetings, wild creatures. I am PS-111. I now serve Main Controller 'Sea Demon' and Sub Controller 'Unidentified Hostile Organism.' I look forward to working with you."
"Don't call him Unidentified Hostile Organism. Just call him Amorph."
"Acknowledged. Updating the Sub Controller's designation."
Still perched atop No. 26's body, the human woman's head finished introducing herself — and Mother of the Sky's jaw dropped open. Her gaze wavered, then swung toward me, her eyes asking whether what she suspected was true.
'Yes. It's exactly what you think it is.'
Unlike the startled raptor-faced woman, Adhai kept tilting her head back and forth, as if something about the newcomer felt strange.
[Big Adult] [Me] [Question]
[Zzz(What is it?)]
[Her] [Words] [Strange]
Adhai had immediately picked up on the awkward wavelength PS-111 was emitting.
[Zzz Zzzz Zzz (Her body hurts, that's why)]
[Wounds] [Many?]
[Zzzz(Probably)]
I had no idea what PS-111 had originally looked like. The Screamer I'd hunted was a low-class S model, so the real thing would look nothing like it.
'Either way, if all that's left is a head, I have to treat it as a critical injury.'
Of course, there was a good chance PS-111 felt no pain from the damage at all. Thanks to the Sea Demon genes, she could relocate her vital organs. To the outside eye only a head remained, but inside it there was still a brain and rudimentary digestive organs.
Explaining all that to Adhai would have been needlessly complicated, so I let it slide.
[Her] [Injury] [Severe] [Pitiful]
[Zzz Z Zzzzzz Zzz Zzzz(You're the elder here, so help her a lot)]
[Me] [Elder?]
She hadn't asked directly, but that was almost certainly what she meant. According to the game's lore, a Screamer's operational lifespan never exceeded a single year.
PS-111 was a new model, but even so, a long life was unlikely. She'd probably been built within the last few years at most.
Anyway, hearing my words, Adhai — apparently fascinated by the novelty of a creature younger than herself — scampered over to No. 26 and PS-111.
"Exterior analysis of wild creature complete. 78% match with 'Green Galagon.'"
"Little Baby, play nice with your friend."
[Sick child] [Pitiful] [Helping]
"And friend has to play nice with Little Baby too. Okay?"
"Per Main Controller's directive, reclassifying 'Green Galagon (78%)' as Sub Controller 2, 'Little Baby.' I look forward to working with you, Little Baby."
[Sick child] [Words] [Strange] [Me] [Teaching] [Possible]
"Yes! Little Baby is being good!"
"Thank you for your support, Little Baby."
Three eccentric monsters chattering away in perfect harmony with one another turned out to be surprisingly entertaining to watch.
Adhai in particular was behaving in a markedly different manner than she did around Mother of the Sky. She was taking a soft, coaxing tone with PS-111.
'Is she feeling a sense of responsibility over seeing a creature younger than herself?'
Or perhaps she'd judged the Screamer to be afflicted with a bodily defect much like her own.
I was watching the trio get along with a fond eye when Mother of the Sky called out to me.
"What is going on here? Taming a Screamer — that was even possible?"
[Zzz Zzzz Zzz(I didn't tame her)]
She clearly couldn't wrap her head around the existence of a friendly Screamer. In the game, they appeared solely as unconditional enemies, so her reaction was understandable. I'd thought much the same once.
I gave her a brief summary of what had happened earlier.
"So No. 26 took control of that new model — a Mutant Screamer, you said? She wrested the initiative away from it?"
[Zzz(That's right)]
"A Screamer that wields psychic power. You're right. Someone out there is compensating for the Screamer's weaknesses."
Having voiced her agreement with my deduction, she let out a sigh.
"Chloe Garmelda. I can more or less guess who it is."
"Rank 12, most likely."
Among the Megacorp rankers, there had been a player who specialized in weapons development. A specialist in crafting rare equipment who supplied arms to the players hostile to me.
"The two sponsors Muriel mentioned last time. One was a Cult player named Jason, and she claimed she didn't know who the other was, remember?"
[Zzzz(I remember)]
"And you speculated that the unknown one was a Garmelda person."
[Zzz Zzz Zzzzz(Don't tell me they're the same person?)]
She nodded.
"Only two rankers have real expertise in crafting equipment. Rank 1 is already dead, which leaves Rank 12 and no one else."
[Zzz Zzzz Zzzz Zzzzz Zzzz(From what I heard, Rank 12 was a man?)]
"In the game you could pick your gender however you liked. No way of knowing whether it reflects the truth."
[Zzz(Fair enough)]
It was a valid point. What had been true in the game carried no guarantee of holding in this world.
'I need to be careful about this.'
More than half a year had passed since I arrived in this world, yet I still caught myself making judgments based on the game now and then.
I was already an element that deviated from the principles of Space Survival's world — if I kept thinking this way, it could well come back to bite me.
'I have to keep every possibility open. Stay alert.'
Having steeled myself, I continued the conversation with Mother of the Sky.
[Zzzz Zzzz Zzzzz Zzz Zzz Zzz Zzzz(If Muriel's backer and the Screamer's developer turn out to be connected, then that one becomes all the more important)]
"Whether that's actually the case will take more investigating."
[Zzzz Zzz Zzzz Zzz Zzzz(If she's the thing's former Main Controller, it should know something)]
If I captured PS-111's former Main Controller — 'Fira Eleven' — I could squeeze out considerably more information.
'Timing is the problem, though.'
Should I deal with the Black Galagon first and then hunt it down, or strike before that fight?
If the new-model Screamers had ties to the players, then their commander Fira Eleven almost certainly did as well. It could observe my battle with the Black Galagon and transmit that intel straight to the players.
'But charging after the Screamers first won't be easy either.'
Under normal circumstances, preemptively striking Fira Eleven would be the smart play — but the situation was anything but favorable.
I'd already confirmed that the Galagons were roaming abnormally wide territory. If I set out carelessly in search of the Screamers and crossed paths with a Galagon pack, I risked opening a two-front war. Judging by the strength of the Screamers I'd fought so far and the information PS-111 had provided, the thing was an extremely powerful enemy. My best estimate put it below the Black Galagon — but that hardly made it an easy opponent.
Fighting those two enemies at the same time would be outright suicide.
'Could I play the fisherman and let them bleed each other? No. I know far too little for that.'
I'd have to decide this part after extracting more intelligence on Fira Eleven from PS-111.
'Until I'm certain, let me finish preparing for the APEX hunt first.'
If I hunted down the predators on this planet and banked their useful traits in advance, I'd be able to fight smoothly no matter who the enemy turned out to be.
'There's also unlocking Mother of the Sky's Wendigo transformation on top of that.'
I was still sorting through my thoughts when No. 26 and PS-111 came drifting back toward us.
"I have a question for the Main Controller. What species is the wild animal beside you?"
"Wild…?"
"Psychic power similar to a Galagon detected. Estimated to be a highly developed intelligent being."
"She's a friend. This one here is Middle Baby."
"Information uncertain. Search results for creature 'Middle Baby': zero entries."
While Mother of the Sky, having just been classified as wildlife, stared in open disbelief, I gave PS-111 a brief explanation of who she was.
[Zzzz Zzzz Zzzz Zzzz Zzz Zzz(She is a deified Volf — in other words, a Volf with the power to transform)]
"A mutant Volf expressing a transformation trait. Updating internal database."
"Middle Baby is an amazing baby who punishes bad babies really, really well. Be nice to her."
"Reclassifying as Sub Controller 3, 'Middle Baby.' Pleased to make your acquaintance, Middle Baby."
"…Y-yeah. Likewise."
Mother of the Sky looked thoroughly flustered by the sheer surreality of being introduced to a Screamer through the good offices of a Sea Demon. Paying her stupefied attitude no mind whatsoever, the beast and the synthetic being wrapped up their light introductions and promptly wandered off toward Adhai.
"Special metal equipment detected on Little Baby."
"Don't touch that. Big Baby brought it."
[Big Adult] [Friend] [Two] [Permitted to use] [Sick child] [Inspect] [Want?]
"Absorbing the device in question would aid in rapid recov—"
The three monsters, huddled together in a cozy cluster, had begun chattering away in thought-waves and psychic wavelengths. Watching them act so familiar with one another despite having met only hours ago, Mother of the Sky shook her head slowly.
"…You're surprisingly good at picking up monsters."
[Zzzz(I suppose I am)]
"And here I thought I was used to this sort of thing."
It was a combination that would have driven any other player out of their mind. She murmured it under her breath, but I saw no need to respond.
After talking for about an hour, the three of them drifted back to sleep. Mother of the Sky, worn down from the string of battles since daytime, sank into slumber almost immediately as well.
The only ones still awake in the nest were me and PS-111, the head-and-nothing-more Screamer. She swam through the marsh spread across the nest floor toward me.
"Amorph. Are you not retiring to sleep?"
"No. I have things to do."
Earlier, I'd been about to examine the newly unlocked 'Trait Enhancement' system before turning in.
Because No. 26 had slipped out of the nest without warning, I hadn't gotten the chance — so I intended to take a look now.
But PS-111 didn't return to her spot. She simply hovered there in front of me.
"Is there something you want to say?"
"Yes. Amorph. According to information obtained from Little Baby, that 70-liter tactical backpack is Amorph's property. Is that correct?"
Her small metal legs were pointing at the backpack holding the equipment I'd secured from Muriel.
Inside that bag, which Adhai normally carried slung across her back, were the High Priest's Golden Spear and eight Blood Reavers, Unique-grade weapons of the Star Union.
The Plunderer's Amorphous Polyhedron, obtained by killing a player, carried the effect of devouring Unique-grade equipment and converting its abilities into a unique trait of my own. Thanks to it, I had already absorbed the Cult's orbital weapon, the Thunder God, and gained the trait known as God's Whip.
The High Priest's Golden Spear and the Blood Reavers might yet serve as fodder for the same purpose, which was why I kept hauling them around.
"That's right, I obtained it. Why do you ask?"
"I require three of the metal mechanical devices, 'Blood Reaver,' contained within. Absorbing those devices would allow for a dramatic improvement in my combat capability."
"Absorb?"
"Higher entities of intermediate-terminal class and above are granted broad self-repair authority in order to withstand concentrated enemy attacks. Therefore, when the necessary materials have been secured, they may be diverted for repair purposes."
Hearing that, I recalled the Screamer that had killed the Winter Walker on the surface. It had tried to devour the corpse to replenish its energy.
'So beyond flesh and psychic power, equipment can be devoured as well.'
PS-111, much like me, seemed able to consume and make use of metal, weapons, and gear. Which meant Fira Eleven, her superior entity, almost certainly possessed the same ability.
"Why are you only telling me something this important now?"
"According to information secured from Main Controller 'Sea Demon' and Little Baby, this location is not safe. In order to protect the Main Controller, combat functions must be restored as quickly as possible."
I stared hard at PS-111. Judging by her demeanor, she didn't seem to have deliberately withheld critical information.
'And even if she'd intended to hide it, she wouldn't be bringing it up now.'
She didn't appear to be lying — but that didn't mean I could simply hand over the Blood Reavers.
I had no way of knowing how absorbing such a powerful Unique-grade weapon might change her, and the Blood Reavers I possessed numbered only eight.
'Three of them is practically half my stock.'
I'd need them for the coming fight against the Black Galagon, so the decision demanded care.
As I deliberated, the auxiliary organ beneath my jaw detected an exceedingly faint vibration.
'What was that?'
The tremor had drifted in from somewhere quite far from here. It felt somehow different from an earthquake.
A bad feeling settling over me, I lowered my body and linked the auxiliary organ to the nest.
My senses spread out along the surface of the marsh blanketing the nest, fanning across the entire subterranean space. The frigid walls of ice, the tunnels where cold air slipped in and out, the craters carved by my ferocious battle with the Ice Horror.
As my senses swept the interior of the vast underground expanse spreading beneath the ice plains — like a tongue licking over every inch of it — another vibration registered.
A heavy, thudding boom, and the heap of ice and rock choking the tunnel vanished in an instant. And in its wake came the surge of psychic power and the lingering resonance of metal weapons.
The moment I understood what it all meant, I shot upright from my resting place.
'Enemies!'
A large number of psychic power users had entered this underground space.