Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Hunting the Hellside Hornet
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Ep. 212
What would be a good apex for Adhai and me to hunt together?
Skywhale is off the table. Fighting one means relying purely on physical prowess since it absorbs all forms of energy. It's a highly unfavorable matchup for Adhai, who's much smaller than its kin.
Crystalwing would be a suitable opponent to hone Adhai's skills, but there's a problem. Taking one down would take at least several days, and we don't have that kind of time.
So Crystalwing is out too.
The next candidate is Glacial Pincer, but that's ambiguous as well. Its narcotic substances can even befuddle a Galleron. White Gallerons have high poison resistance, so we'd hold out for a bit, but avoiding the aftereffects would be tough. With the Odd Grad horde and Ham Ort's group closing in, tangling with something that leaves lingering debuffs isn't ideal.
What about Ice Horror, then?
Not great. Adhai's already consumed two—one I caught and one Ham Ort caught. After multiple feedings, it's unlikely to yield any new effects.
Ruling out Ice Horror leaves Galleron. Not a bad choice, but aside from the Odd Grad horde and Ham Ort's group, none exist on this planet. So Galleron's out too.
That's five apex species eliminated, including Galleron.
As far as I remember, there are three more apexes inhabiting this icy planet besides those. One is Arcane Orca, a superior species to Skywhale, so that's excluded. Leaving two.
One of them has no flight capability at all. It's unsuitable for training Adhai, who needs to get used to aerial combat.
That naturally leaves just one apex remaining.
Right now, Adhai and I are heading out to hunt it.
We're far from the forest where our nest is located. It's somewhat closer to the colossal mountain where we took down the Skywhale, but it still takes a fair bit of time to get there.
No unusual activity from the Odd Grad horde yet, so we've ventured out a little. To avoid dragging things out too long and risking danger, we plan to scout for just one day before returning.
Factoring in Adhai's stamina, we've been landing on mountaintops intermittently to rest or eat.
[Zz zz (Eat)]
「Thanks」
I handed Adhai a small animal carcass. As she slurped up the blood through her tentacles like a straw, I swallowed the rest of the animal in one gulp.
'The target we're after this time is tricky to find, so no getting impatient.'
It's not as bad as Crystalwing, but still a pain to track.
Our quarry this time is a stealth-type apex. Like Ice Horror, it builds its own home and hides inside.
'Though it's more like a pantry than a house.'
It catches prey, stores it in a suitable spot, lets it rot, and then eats. No wonder its nickname is gourmet.
It picks and chooses its food, and the one we're hunting is extremely intelligent. It doesn't have the high sociality or advanced language of Gallerons because they operate solo.
In a way, it's similar to Aimorphs.
After that brief meal and rest, we resumed our search.
Beneath our wings stretched not the dense forest anymore, but the vast ridges of a mountain range.
Even in flight, my auxiliary organs were locked on the mid-slopes of the mountains. That's where it usually builds its lair, so I had to check carefully.
Being smart, it hides its nest well, but it has one telltale feature. I'd already briefed Adhai on it.
「Great One」「Question」
As I scanned the mountains meticulously, Adhai called out to me.
「Great One」「Knowledge」「Abundant」「My kin」「Don't know」「All」「Knows」「Amazing」
[Zz zz (Is that so?)]
「Ham Ort」「Odd Grad」「Both」「Don't know」「Great One」「Only」
She seemed amazed that I knew so much. From my perspective, someone who memorized every star's position was far more impressive.
「Great One」「All」「Prey」「Knows?」「All?」
[Zz zz. Zz zz zz zz zz (No. Not quite that much)]
I had about 80% of the creature data from Space Survival memorized. For Aimorphs, where traits equal power, the more you know about creatures, the better.
'Not many players knew as much as I did.'
Probably only the 4th-ranked Outspacer and the 1st-ranked Cyborg knew as much or more than me.
But this was reality, so there were plenty of differences from the game. Specimen 026 turning from Bubble Amoeba into a Sea Demon, mutant Galleron Adhai. None of them existed in the game.
Ice Horror was another first encounter on this planet. It was far larger than its game counterpart. Ham Ort, the White Galleron, also boasted superior prowess to its kin.
'My knowledge has been useful so far.'
But how long that would last was anyone's guess. Ultimately, the way to minimize risks from discrepancies between my knowledge and reality was simple.
'Get stronger so I don't die.'
[Zz zz zz zz zz zz zz zz (I still have much to learn. I'm still weak)]
「Great One」「Body」「Black kin」「Similar」「Strong」
[Zz zz zz zz zz zz zz (You'll surpass me once you grow)]
「Truth?」
It's true. Even a standard Black Galleron outclasses me spec-wise. If Adhai somehow became a Red Galleron, she'd be the strongest among my allies.
'Though her small size means she won't match the original's power.'
Adhai wagged her tail side to side in delight as we flew, clearly pleased by my words.
「I」「Growth」「Complete」「After」「Wish」「Have」
[Zz zz zz zz zz zz zz (Yeah. I'll grant whatever you wish)]
「Promise」
I needed to keep collecting gene essence outside of evolution anyway. Hunting whatever she wanted wasn't a bad deal.
As we patrolled the mountains, I spotted traces of our target.
[Zz zz zz (Found it)]
「Where?」
[Zz zz (There)]
Adhai and I landed on a snowy mid-slope of one mountain. There weren't many rocks; it was overgrown with trees and plants.
'They transplant trees and plants to camouflage the nest entrance.'
Any normal animal or someone unaware of its habits would pass right by.
「That」「Nest?」
[Zz (Yeah)]
I led Adhai to the spot thick with trees, vines, moss, and all sorts of plants.
The reason I was certain this was its nest and pantry was simple. I yanked up a vine growing from the ground.
'This plant species doesn't grow nearby.'
With flight capability, it always forages far away for food. Each time, it brings back seeds or roots from those areas and plants them at the lair entrance.
In other words, unnatural plants mean it's the lair.
I plucked a fruit from the vine, swallowed it, and tossed one to Adhai. As she started sucking it up through her tentacle-straw, I said,
[Zz zz zz zz zz zz (Wait here for a bit)]
「I」「Together」「Enter」
[Zz zz zz zz zz zz zz zz (No. I'll lure it out, and we'll fight outside)]
This enemy favored highly irregular tactics. It ambushed from hiding or deceived foes into counterattacking. Yet its attack power was immense—one wrong move and Adhai could be sliced apart.
'Better if I go in and drag it out myself.'
I ripped away the vines and trees. Clearing obstacles with my wing arms and combat arms revealed a large cave.
Faint blood and rotting corpse smells wafted from inside. The moment I caught them, I knew.
'It's in there.'
It doesn't leave until all its food is consumed.
I crawled in on my belly. The entrance was narrow, but it widened inward. Not just the passage—there were ant-hill-like branches everywhere.
But I didn't need to delve deeper. My goal was just to lure it out.
'It's probably waiting for me...'
I stopped in a sufficiently wide tunnel.
Perfect timing—the Emblem of the Hunt cooldown had just ended minutes ago. I drew forth the bio-weapon dormant in my body.
My head carapace morphed, vision vanishing as my other senses sharpened dramatically. My body twisted, the human-faced organ shifting to my head carapace, while bony scythe arms erupted from my back. Red vein-like patterns etched across my wings. The changes weren't just superficial—my body length increased too.
Now fully transformed, my body filled the tunnel. Even slightly raising my head scraped the ceiling.
Exactly as intended. I began slamming my head carapace into the walls and ceiling.
'Come out already.'
The collapse won't kill it. But all its precious food will turn to rubble.
"Screeeeech! Shaaaaak!"
As planned, an enraged roar echoed from within. Then came the sound of rapidly flapping pages—like papery wings buzzing through the narrow passage. It was charging.
Having successfully lured it, I backpedaled out.
From the pitch-black depths beyond the dank cave, it drew nearer. Strong malice radiated from its footsteps.
Just as my tail pincer emerged from the nest...
Its mantis-like forelimb sliced through the air. The tremendous cutting power of its front leg sheared off one of my horns.
I'd sensed it closing in and jerked my head back in time, avoiding a fatal wound.
One horn lost, I hurriedly exited the nest.
「Great One」「Horn」「Where go?」
[Zz zz zz zz (It's coming out. Get ready)]
Adhai, who'd been sipping fruit through her tentacle-straw, tensed at my warning. Seconds after I emerged, it burst out.
Its forelimb swung at me again, but I was ready too. Using the open space, I twisted my body sideways to dodge, then whipped my tail in a counter.
The pincer on my tail rocketed like a meteor hammer, smashing into its body. A thunderous boom rang out as it tumbled across the snow piled before the cave.
'Weak.'
It looked like a solid hit, but it wasn't. It had folded its forelimbs to minimize damage as I struck.
As expected, it rose unfazed.
Its name is Hellside Hornet. As the name suggests, it's an apex with insect-like features.
'Though no such insect exists in reality.'
Hellside Hornet blends traits of mantis, hornet, and blowfly. Unlike typical insects with six legs, it has eight: two mantis-like forelimbs on its upper body, and six legs on its lower.
Its structure—upright torso and folding scythe forelimbs—resembles a mantis.
But unlike a sleek mantis, its upper body is massively bulked up. Beneath the thick carapace pack muscles unimaginable for an insect.
'Its speed and power come from those muscles.'
Atop the sturdy upper body sits a hornet-like head. Like a hornet's jaw, its mandibles are a fearsome weapon.
Its back bore wings large enough to envelop its whole body. Unlike the mantis-like upper half, the lower body resembled a blowfly's abdomen wholesale, with an elongated bio-tube near the rear.
[Zz zz zz zz zz (Watch out for that tail)]
「Understood」
I didn't compare it to a blowfly for nothing. Getting hit by its tail means parasitic infection.
Not like Outspacer parasites that control hosts or Glacial Pincer's narcotics that drive madness. Instead, hundreds or thousands of maggots erupt from the wound. Similar to the 'tetanus vine' I once used to screw over the temple guardians.
'In some ways, even worse than the vine.'
Imagine hundreds of maggots the size of an adult man's finger writhing in your wound and insides. Visually shocking, but the agony is unbearable. I might handle it, but Adhai would be combat-ineffective instantly.
Small consolation: its body structure makes infecting Adhai via tail difficult.
'It's huge.'
The Hellside Hornet before us stood 10 meters tall, 15 meters long. Considerable flexibility needed to wrap Adhai.
Glaring at us with loathsome compound eyes, its dark olive base accented by deep brown stripes.
"Shaaaa, screeeeech."
Its gaze shifted to our wings, gauging our mobility.
Then its wings unfurled wide. At the same instant, Adhai and I spread ours.
'Here we go.'
All three of us launched into the dark sky.
The aerial battle—including me and two apexes—had just begun.