Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Abyss in the Red Grove
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"Something feels different."
Those were the words Specimen 026 said to me after waking up that morning.
As always, she noticed my changes right away. Probably because she saw me as someone she needed to protect.
To be precise, it was more like we protected each other, but that didn't bother me at all. Whether in reality or games, I'd rarely met anyone who gave unconditional love like she did.
I plucked some plants growing at the base of the tree and handed them to her while giving a simple explanation.
[Zuzuzuzu zuz zuzuzuzu (I ate a bad guy and grew even bigger)]
"Such a good growing big baby!"
[Zuzu zuz zuz (Thanks. Eat this)]
"Okay!"
She extended her tentacles and swept up the mushroom-like plants in one go.
"Grow fast so we can bring the little ones too."
[Zu (Yeah)]
I stroked her dutiful little head, and her pink body glowed brightly.
At that moment, PS-111 awoke from dormancy for nutrient replenishment. I spawned Tooth Fairies and gave them to Heaven's Mother and PS-111.
"Uh, um, I'm good."
"Thank you."
Heaven's Mother shook her head vigorously at the sight of the Tooth Fairies. Instead, PS-111 took hers and even hers as well.
"A new transformation state?"
Was it because of Specimen 026's psychic power influence? PS-111 also showed curiosity about my tentacle form.
[Zuzuz zuz zuzuzuzu zuzuzu (No. This is a permanent change)]
"An unregistered energy wavelength in the database is distorting the light."
She swallowed the Tooth Fairies in one gulp, her eyes gleaming with interest.
"If you could provide a sample..."
[Zuzu (No)]
I didn't even know what the 'Colors of the Abyss' ability did exactly. I couldn't give something like that to her. Not only might it have side effects on her, but it wouldn't be good for us either.
'If it goes wrong and becomes uncontrollable, it'll be a headache.'
I refused outright, and she chewed on a Tooth Fairy with a sullen expression.
After a simple breakfast, I explained the day's plans to the group. I needed to test the new Strong Enemy Token alone.
"I wanna go with big baby."
[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuz (Sorry, but not this time)]
I didn't know how this trait worked yet. Uncontrollable traits were hard to judge as safe or a landmine until you tested them yourself.
I didn't want to drag her into danger needlessly.
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu (Help mid baby instead)]
"Why mid baby?"
[Zuzu zuz zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (While I'm gone, she'll find a nest and gather food)]
Yesterday, I'd briefly discussed morning plans with Heaven's Mother.
She said she'd search for a suitable nesting spot while I experimented. Her eyesight was the sharpest, making her perfect for scouting a lair.
'She's right.'
She had plenty of experience fighting me in the game. So she knew well where Aimorphs built their nests. She could find us a good hideout.
Even if Gallerons lurked nearby, with Specimen 026 and PS-111, evasion would be easy. They could sense Galleron psychic waves.
[Zuzuzu (Be careful)]
"Don't worry. I'll be super careful."
[Zuzuzuzu (Please)]
"Y-yeah, you be careful too."
She hesitated, added that, and looked away. Her attitude toward me still felt awkward, probably lingering from yesterday.
Telling her not to mind would just make it worse. I nodded in response.
And so, we parted ways for our respective tasks.
I raced through trees that spread higher and higher upward. Branches extended endlessly, tangled with others, letting almost no light inside.
The only sound was air whistling through the branches like a beast's growl.
Already dim, with blizzards raging outside nonstop, the atmosphere was downright eerie.
I ran deep into the secluded forest for a while.
It wasn't just to put distance from the group. I was tracking traces of a certain 'creature'.
'That guy has to be here somewhere.'
In the game, Galleron nests were classified as tricky hunting grounds. They only appeared on planets with extreme cold like this one or lava-boiling volcanic worlds, making entry tough from the start.
Even if you prepared well and got in, problems remained.
'A dragon's lair is a demon realm.'
Near Galleron nests swarmed powerful creatures Galleron-tier or higher. They served as prey or population control for Gallerons.
In short, the planet with a Galleron nest was teeming with apex predators.
'With Ice Horrors and Winterwalkers here, other monsters must be too.'
I knew what horrors lurked on ice planets with dragon lairs. I'd raided them multiple times in the game.
As my four legs busied themselves, the auxiliary organs under my jaw diligently searched for traces. Then, I sensed movement far off.
I lowered my body and slowed down.
With 'Clever Weakling' still active, my body—including tail—was under 5 meters, small enough to hide behind big rocks or thick trees.
Using terrain for cover, I cautiously approached the movement.
Soon, I spotted it through the trees.
4 meters tall, gaunt build, freakishly long arms and legs, white body contrasting its pitch-black face. A Winterwalker, hunter of the tundra.
But its namesake hunter instincts seemed absent. Its white eyes were foggy like mist, ignoring my presence nearby.
Winterwalkers ranked low in the planet's food chain, always vigilant. So its odd behavior had a reason.
'The smell.'
Like frying green onion pancakes next door on a rainy day, a delicious scent permeated the air deeply. It trudged toward the source.
'Perfect.'
I tailed it at a distance. Eyes fixed ahead, swaying as it walked—like it was hypnotized.
'Maybe it is hypnosis, in a way.'
Following it, the surroundings began changing.
The biggest shift: the densely packed trees now bore red moss. Nearly black-brown trunks veined like bulging blood vessels.
Even the snow on the ground was syrup-red stained. And it smelled just as sweetly as real syrup.
'Found it.'
That dizzyingly appetizing red moss was the trace I'd sought.
The scent-led Winterwalker greedily licked the moss off a tree. Each tongue-touch made it shudder like a drug addict in ecstasy.
This red moss was a toxic substance from a powerful apex monster. But not the pain-inflicting or hallucinogenic kind.
'More like a drug.'
Like paradise flowers luring bugs with sweet scents, the moss enticed creatures with its aroma.
Even I, with 'Complete Immunity' against poisons and viruses, found the smell irresistibly alluring. A poison-weak Winterwalker stood no chance.
'But that won't satisfy it.'
As expected, after burying its head in the tree, its face showed intensified thirst.
Inevitably so—the moss packed insanely potent narcotic effects. Even a tiny taste turned you into the forest's slave instantly.
As if its prior lethargy was a lie, it bolted deep into the moss-filled woods.
I followed, keeping just enough distance to barely keep up.
I couldn't go too deep. Getting trapped would be game over.
With nerves on edge, creeping slowly, other creatures appeared one by one.
From weaklings like Winterwalkers and Cave Ghouls to powerhouses like Green Gallerons.
Different species, same state: heads aside, bodies like red moth pupae impaled on the ground.
Connected stalks pulsed, injecting something into them. Each twitch brought blissful drooling expressions.
This was a food storage. Those ensnared by red stalks were delicacies handpicked by the red forest's master.
'Glacier Pind.'
It had a stag beetle-like upper body and a plant-like lower with countless stalks. Before settling, it flew on back wings seeking prey-rich spots.
Finding one, it rooted underground, producing the luring red substance. Its roots likely sprawled beneath this frozen earth too.
The entire vast red forest was its territory.
A rooted Glacier Pind was a formidable foe. It controlled other creatures with the red substance.
'Technically, induces behavior with narcotics.'
The pupated monsters knew who supplied the drug. When Glacier Pind assigned targets, they obeyed unto death.
If it wanted me dead, every monster in those pupae would swarm me.
'This should do.'
I stopped tailing the Winterwalker and moved to an area with sparser red stalks. The storage master was sluggish, but its slaves weren't.
What I was about to do next would enrage the storage's owner. I needed escape routes secured for easy flight if needed.
'Time to test Psychic Breath.'
Targets: the prey dangling from stalks, lost in orgasmic bliss.
I positioned myself for quick escape and activated Colors of the Abyss. The fur covering my body bristled like charged with static.
'What's this?'
Alarmed, I raised a combat arm. Inside the fur, on the carapace, eerie colors shimmered.
Purple-ish, green-ish. Colors writhed alive. Suspicious lights boiled across my entire body.
'Doesn't feel like part of me. No energy detection either.'
Unlike my face organs, the colors felt alien—like wearing another's skin.
Strong instinct said not to maintain it long.
I focused senses on the monster tentacles covering my neck and jaw joints.
The writhing colors surged into the tentacles. Their purple-green hues sharpened vividly.
Limp tentacles defied gravity, floating up. Colors spread into air like ink drops in water.
If the Psychic Breath sphere was once a purple sun, this one was utterly different. A sphere barely containing a ghastly light-show, colors' frenzy.
I hurled the ceaselessly churning chaos sphere at the red pupae. Unlike prior purple heat-ray form, it launched as a sphere.
The moment it hit, I couldn't help but be shocked.
Countless lights burst out, devouring the red pupae. Struck ones lost form, morphing into identical chaos spheres.
Newborn spheres lunged at nearby prey. The process repeated.
Uncontrollable chain attack. That was Psychic Breath infused with Colors of the Abyss.
「Grooooooooaaaaarrr」
As Psychic Breath spread, swallowing all red pupae, a roar echoed from within. The warehouse master was furious.
The instant the roar ended, multiple creatures stirred.
'How many more warehouses around here?'
I evaded the Glacier Pind's slaves and shifted position.
Tough luck for it, but the experiment wasn't over yet.