The Trap (3)

Once I confirmed the Hellside Hornet was dead, I reclaimed my bone scythe arm.

Blood and brain matter oozed from the hole punched through the center of its twin compound eyes.

Maggot-riddled gray matter, the head of an insect. It was a collection of every disgusting element imaginable — but from Amorph's point of view, it looked like nothing more than a delicious meal.

Even for me, a monster enthusiast, the visual was a lot to take, yet I thought nothing of it and yanked the creature's head free.

Good thing I'm Amorph, I suppose.

It had been grotesque enough while alive, but in death the Hellside Hornet had become something far worse. Of all the traits I could harvest from it, only two were truly useful.

Those sturdy arms, and the ability to spawn maggots.

Both were solid traits on their own, but fused into hybrid traits, they'd grow far stronger than the originals.

The Hornet's scythe could be fused with my Essence Harvester's Jaw trait — the scythe arm would transform into inner pharyngeal jaws. By lore, the cutting edge of those jaws is packed with monomolecular serrations capable of shredding any armor. They'd tear through even the Ice Horror's cranial carapace with ease.

And it wouldn't just gain jaws — my oral structure would change considerably as well, letting me sever a target's throat with my scythe-jaws and absorb it on the spot.

Which makes it perfect for large-scale harvesting.

Right now, on the eve of war with the Gallagons, that was exactly the trait I needed most.

And looking ahead, the maggot-spawning ability isn't bad either.

The maggot-generation trait can be fused with Human-Faced Beast. Combined, they become a trait that creates fly-monsters bearing the heads of sapient beings — and just as I can only manifest five Human-Faced Beasts, the number of human-faced flies I can separate from my body is capped at five.

The paralytic ultrasound ability carries over intact too, opening up far trickier tactical options than before.

Though I can't use it against the Gallagons.

Gallagons have no ears, so the paralytic ultrasound won't affect them. This one would have to wait for a later occasion.

…And if my luck runs out, I might get neither and end up with something like Reinforced Vitality instead.

Insect-type and plant-type creatures universally carry the 'Reinforced Vitality' trait. No matter how much the Hunter's Avatar boosts my successful predation rate, the traits I actually acquire are random. Drawing a dud is always a possibility.

Enough daydreaming. Time to eat.

Adhai was waiting beside me, practically drooling. She looked ready to dive straight into the appetizing-smelling pool of blood, but she was holding herself back on my account.

Let's dig in.

Praying for good traits, I stuffed the Hellside Hornet's head into my mouth.

Mmm.

The moment my forked jaws crunched through its skull, an involuntary sound of approval escaped me.

Anyone who looked at the thing would feel their skin crawl. And true to its appearance, its flavor was equally unambiguous.

Sweet.

Melt-on-your-tongue sweet.

How to compare the Hornet's head to real-world cuisine? It was like biting into a giant caramel made of Nutella.

Far sweeter than Nutella, though.

Its brain — pale brown mingled with yellowish mucous — hit my tongue and exploded into the taste of chocolate jam with the sweetness concentrated to its extreme. And the hard chitin shell unique to insect-type creatures crunched like a cracker, a genuinely pleasant texture.

That is an unhealthy flavor.

True to APEX creatures, each of which boasts its own distinctive taste, the Hornet's head left a strong impression. But while the meat of other creatures had tasted like a proper meal, this thing was, quite literally, dessert.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Normally I'd have swallowed it in one gulp, but the addictive sweetness made me savor it longer than usual. I let the creature's head — liquefied completely, without so much as a shard or fragment left — slide down my throat.

Instantly, a cluster of translucent text boxes materialized before my eyes.

｢Big Adult｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Meal｣ ｢Okay?｣

[Zzz zzzz zzzz zzzz (Hm? Go ahead. It's delicious.)]

The moment my permission was granted, Adhai plunged her mass of tentacles into the pool of blood and drank deeply. Leaving her to enjoy her meal, I turned my attention to the text boxes.

…Didn't see that coming.

A message related to the Transcendence system — the system that fuses multiple traits into a single Unique trait — had appeared for the first time in a long while. I'd gone so long without seeing it that I'd completely forgotten it existed.

So Host of Tainted Worms was a key material.

No such message had appeared when I picked up the Tetanus Vine, the Tooth Fairy Nest, or Human Sacrifice.

A new Unique trait, huh.

So far I'd used the Transcendence System to create Unique traits exactly twice: Perfect Organism, which grants me the Hunter's Avatar, and Nightmare Horizon, which corrodes starships into living war vessels.

Organic Evolution, which reshapes my body to fit any situation, came free as the reward for unlocking Transcendence Stage 2, so that one doesn't count.

In other words, I currently possess three Unique traits. I also have two traits from the Mark of a Formidable Foe, but those are classified separately, so they're excluded.

Come to think of it, wouldn't this make four?

Acquiring four Unique-grade traits raises the 'Space Monster' Type from Stage 0 to Stage 1. What reward that upgrade brings remains unknown.

A Type that demands four hard-to-get Unique-grade traits.

Something on the scale of an evolution, I'd wager.

Either way, I can't get it now.

The final item on the material list, 'Red Acid', is a trait obtainable from the Glacier Fiend. If I'd acquired it during that last hunt, I might have used the Transcendence System right then and there.

Or maybe not? It could just be that I don't have enough traits.

My current trait count is barely enough to maintain my Type as it is. This new material set — the freshly acquired Host of Tainted Worms plus Red Acid — amounts to four infection-related traits and one nest-related trait. Carelessly burning them as Unique trait materials would cost me two entire Type builds: the Infection build and the Nest Enhancement build.

I'll gather a few more traits first, then fuse.

Once the war with the Gallagons was over, I'd have to consider hunting Glacier Fiends or Hellside Hornets in bulk.

Setting the Transcendence System aside, I chose to fuse Host of Tainted Worms with my Human-Faced Beast trait.

The moment the trait took hold, my body began to change. The Human-Faced Beasts embedded in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my Hunter's Avatar form shifted position toward my cranial carapace, and the five faces began to writhe violently.

Each face split vertically, and from within burst the legs and wings of insects — worm-monsters squirming free like butterflies emerging from their cocoons. Exposed to the cold air, their damp bodies dried and hardened, and their crumpled wings unfurled wide.

Freshly emerged, their bodies resembled the Hornetlings: six legs tipped with sharp claws, two wings, and a mantis-fly hybrid form. Every feature matched the Hornetlings'. The differences were their larger size, and the fact that instead of wasp-like heads, they bore the heads of sapient beings. They looked like giant insects wearing human masks.

"?!"

"■!"

"■■ ■■!"

"■■!"

"■■■!"

The worms — no, the Human-Faced Insects — woke into existence and recoiled in horror at their own bodies. They retain fragments of their originals' memories, and awakening to find themselves transformed into insects must have been quite the shock.

Not long after the Human-Faced Insect Host trait was applied, the Hunter's Avatar effect ran out. My body shrank back down, and the bone scythe arm on my back crumbled into dust.

With that, the Insects' nest relocated from my cranial carapace to my back. In place of the human-mask forms, five large tumor-like nests now settled into place. From now on, that would be their home.

"■■■ ■■ ■■!"

The Human-Faced Insect wearing Jason's face screamed something at me, glaring with fresh tears streaming from its eyes.

Human-Faced Insect Host is a trait that exists in the game too. Jason, of course, understood exactly what he'd become.

And how much more miserable he was going to get.

Doesn't mean I have any intention of showing mercy.

The others would be swapped out for fresh genes once their usefulness ran its course — but not Jason. He would never be released, not until the day I died.

I ignored his protests and summoned the Insects back. The moment they received the special wavelength I transmitted, they surrendered to my command. The Insects that had been weeping and wailing moments before went vacant-faced in an instant and returned to their nests.

With the trait applied and tested, I turned to Adhai. She'd cleaned out the pool of blood at some point and was now wiping the gore from her forepaws with her tentacles.

Her wings do look a little different.

Apart from the red wave-patterns on her body growing larger and more ornate, nothing had changed. There was no sign whatsoever of an evolution toward Black Gallagon.

Wasn't eating an APEX supposed to be the trigger?

She had changed, sure, but nothing as dramatic as last time. Even granting that the Hellside Hornet ranks a tier below the Skywhale, they're both APEX creatures — I couldn't make sense of it.

Doesn't seem like it was a matter of quantity.

[Zzz zzzz (How do you feel?)]

｢Feel｣ ｢Good｣

[Zzzz zzzzz zzzzz (Feel like you got stronger at all?)]

｢Pattern｣ ｢Changed｣ ｢Strength｣ ｢Difference｣ ｢Unknown｣

She could tell her patterns had changed, but she had no idea whether she'd actually grown stronger.

No time to test it.

We'd been away from the nest for a little over a day. With no telling how Ored Ghad's pack might move, lingering out here any longer was a bad idea.

｢Patterns｣ ｢Fancy｣ ｢Good｣

Stronger or not, she seemed quite pleased with how beautifully her wings and tail had changed.

Nothing for it, then. Back to the original plan.

I'd thought feeding her more APEX prey might trigger something, but the results were underwhelming. If a White Gallagon showed up in Ored Ghad's pack, I'd have to ambush one and use it to force her evolution instead.

Time to head ba— oh.

Come to think of it, there was one last piece of business before we left.

[Zz zzzz (You hungry?)]

｢A little｣

[Zzzz (Perfect timing then)]

｢?｣

She tilted her head at me.

There happened to be a spot nearby that would fill a stomach nicely — the Hellside Hornet's prized pantry.

Wasting perfectly good food would probably offend the creature too.

I took Adhai and headed for the Hornet's larder.

"Kgh!"

Colin Russell — one of Sihyeon Yujin's subordinates — let out a groan of pain as he hit the ground. On the fourteenth day since he'd been sealed in a cocoon and strung from the ceiling, he had finally broken free.

Even for Colin, a soldier hardened by brutal military training, the past two weeks had been nothing short of a waking nightmare.

His unit, the supply division of Sihyeon Yujin's expedition, had been ambushed by a colossal insectoid monster. It had carried him and a handful of his men back to this cavern.

He'd expected to be killed on the spot. But the creature didn't kill them. Instead, it merely sealed them inside cocoons spun from its own secreted mucus.

He and his men had rejoiced at their survival. They weren't dead yet, after all — surely they could find a way to escape eventually.

It was a catastrophic misjudgment. The monster had spared them because of its rather unique palate.

One by one, it had pickled and devoured his men. Once every three days, the creature would drizzle a measure of its digestive fluid over a cocoon, and the man trapped inside would melt away from head to toe in agonizing torment.

Once its prey had liquefied completely, the monster would bury its head into the cocoon and suck it dry.

Colin and the other survivors trapped in their cocoons couldn't see any of it — but the sounds carried, vivid and unmistakable.

The sound of a human being slowly melted alive. The sound of a monster slurping down a man rendered entirely into liquid.

Every one of his subordinates had lost their minds. Colin, with his elite training, wanted to go mad too — but couldn't. Even suicide was impossible.

The cocoons served not only as prisons but as crude life-support systems. Those trapped inside were denied even the mercy of death.

But Colin refused to give up. Without rest, without pause, he scratched at the cocoon with his fingernails. His fingers bled, his nails tore out by the root — he did not stop.

His refusal to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surrender in that living hell was finally rewarded. Heaven granted him a chance.

On the fourteenth day of his imprisonment, an earthquake shook the cavern, and the insectoid monster left to investigate.

This was his last chance to survive. From the moment the creature's sounds faded, he had clawed at the cocoon like a madman. His nails were beyond ruined — his fingers had broken — and still he did not stop.

And at last, he tore through the cocoon and breathed fresh air once more.

"Hkk! Hkk…."

Hoisting himself upright by sheer will, Colin broke into violent coughing.

His condition was dire. Kept alive on the barest trickle of nutrients, his whole body was skeletal and wasted, and both his hands were ruined beyond recognition.

Even so, a single-minded obsession with escape was driving his body to superhuman feats.

Rummaging through the supplies and the remains of victims strewn carelessly around the chamber, he recovered a flashlight and a reinforced thermal suit.

Without the suit, he'd freeze to death the moment he set foot outside, escape or no escape. Preparations made with speed if not grace, he scrambled toward the cavern's exit. He'd memorized the route when the monster dragged him in.

Thanks to that, a single flashlight beam was enough to keep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him from getting lost in the labyrinthine dark.

Just a little farther!

How long had he been running? A faint light glimmered in the distance — the only exit from this hell.

He ran with the last of his strength, sprinting harder than he had since the long-ago day he'd stolen a Gallagon egg and fled for his life.

He'd nearly died a hundred times over then, too. But he had survived.

Today, he would survive as well.

He pushed aside the vine stalks blocking the cavern mouth. A wind cold as ice met his face — the outside world he'd prayed for, without cease, for two weeks.

Nothing about it had changed since the day he'd been dragged inside.

White snow. A sky so lightless that day and night were indistinguishable. Dense, tightly packed trees. And an enormous boulder.

A boulder?

Come to think of it, that rock hadn't been there when he'd first arrived.

Had the creature dragged it here to hide its lair? Or had it tumbled down from the mountain in the earthquake just now?

The answer was neither.

Because boulders do not move.

"Huh?"

What stood before him was not a rock at all. The thing he'd mistaken for stone lunged at him.