Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Echoes of Sihyun Yujin
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"What?"
"Was that just now?"
[Zuzz zuzzuzzuzz (I don't know either)]
Adhai, riding on my back, poked his head out to ask.
As we approached the nest, something suddenly burst out. Thinking it might be a remaining enemy, I swung my wing arms without even looking. Thanks to that, the opponent was smashed to pieces and died.
Upon checking the corpse, I realized the dead target was human.
'Why is a person here?'
He was wearing a specially made reinforced suit. It was equipment focused on insulation, temperature control, and other life-support functions rather than combat capability.
Just from the outfit, he looked more like a researcher or explorer than a fighter, but that raised questions too. He couldn't have come here alone, so there had to be some organization or group that brought him.
'This planet isn't even on any navigation charts.'
Jason had been able to find this place only because fellow players shared the coordinates with him. Even the Cult Empire's star charts didn't record this planet's location. I only made it here because Adhai gave me detailed guidance—otherwise, reaching this spot would have been impossible.
Already, after the Star Union's Screamer, an unidentified human group had appeared in this remote corner of the universe known to hardly anyone.
'Did they come to capture me too?'
Jason had said the other players wouldn't come here. He judged he could handle me alone.
But that was just his opinion. No one knew for sure what his comrades thought. Jason might have set up insurance in case he failed.
If I was unlucky, I might have to fight not just Gallerons but new players too.
'Let's check.'
I shoved the mangled corpse into my mouth. While casually chewing the not-particularly-tasty meat, I activated the 'Human-Faced Parasite Host' trait.
The genetic information from the corpse was transmitted to the organ managing the parasites. The organ, having received new data, discarded one of the five previously stored gene sets. From the nest on my back, the existing parasite melted away in an instant, and a new Human-Faced Parasite was born.
'Come out.'
At my command, the parasite tore through the tumor-like membrane of the nest and emerged. The insect, bearing the exact face of the corpse I'd just eaten, looked around in confusion, as if unable to grasp its situation.
"■?!"
Realizing it had become a bug, it started to freak out. I fired brainwaves to control the parasite, forcibly calming it down.
"I have questions. Answer them."
Human speech flowed from my mouth, and the fly monster with a human head began trembling violently.
"Who are you, and what group do you belong to?"
"■■ Jason... N-no, I-I'm Collin Russell."
The fly monster, now permitted to speak human words under my control, stuttered at first but gradually stabilized.
"I serve Sihyun Yujin."
"Sihyun Yujin?"
"Yes. She came here to accomplish her great cause."
What it said was completely unexpected.
'Sihyun Yujin?'
It had been a long time since I'd heard that name. The first formidable opponent I'd faced after arriving in this world.
'But she's dead, isn't she?'
Two of my main traits came from devouring her: 'Mimicry Organ' and 'Monster's Tentacles'.
Now, thanks to the Essence Harvester's jaw, I could just eat the head, but before that, it wasn't possible. To extract genetic essence from a target, I had to devour every last scrap of flesh.
'She definitely died. So either a clone or someone impersonating her.'
When I encountered Sihyun Yujin, she had been disguised as part of the Space Dogs cartel. True to her name, her real identity was a member of the Yujin Family, one of Mega Corp's Noble Capitals. The chance they'd stolen cloning tech from their enemy, the Star Union, wasn't high.
'Clones have side effects anyway.'
Star Union clones had incomplete minds. They cared only about their own identity and answered to no one. In the game, clones were even the Star Union's main enemies.
Would an ego-driven Noble Capital invest in such an unstable element? Unlikely.
'That leaves...'
"She died by my hand months ago."
"No. That's impossible. She hasn't rested a single day since swearing to achieve her great cause."
"Great cause?"
"Reclaiming the Yujin name. Punishing the traitor who usurped the family head position. That is Sihyun Yujin's destiny."
Now it made sense. One of the players Jason mentioned was the head of the Yujin Family.
'Akira Yujin, was it?'
A player obsessed with Japanese names, acting like a chuunibyou old man, according to Jason.
There was only one ranker with those traits. If he was the Mega Corp ranker I knew, blood must have flowed when he took over the family.
'Skilled, but a total asshole personality.'
A ranker called a sociopath in the community would be even worse here.
'I get the picture.'
Before I devoured her, Sihyun Yujin was likely a leader purged by Akira Yujin. The Russell family name was a false one used by remnants hiding their identity.
Her death in battle with me must have been awkward for the purge faction.
'So they set up a body double.'
The "Sihyun Yujin" this guy mentioned was probably an impersonator leading her subordinates here.
I asked why they were here.
"Sihyun Yujin said there's an important relic here."
"Relic? What kind?"
"I don't know. Just that it's somewhere in the black mountains, and we have to find it."
I asked a few more things, but nothing else useful came up. He knew nothing about the Screamers either.
'Fine. Got what I need.'
Fortunately, they didn't seem heavily tied to the players. If anything, Sihyun Yujin's faction—or her impersonator's—hated players.
'I'll check them out after dealing with the Aud Grads.'
One key piece of info even he didn't mention: exploring this barren planet required serious prep—weapons, gear, survival supplies.
Obviously, resupply meant ships. Pretty big ones.
'Probably orbiting nearby.'
Raiding the ship would reveal what Sihyun Yujin's group was up to and where they were.
With my thoughts sorted, I sent the parasite back to the nest. Adhai, bored on my back, perked up.
「Done?」
[Zuzz zuzzuzz (Sorry. That boring?)]
「It's fine.」
[Zuzz zuzz zuzzuzz zuzzuzz zuzz (Let's grab what's inside and go)]
I'd gained intriguing info from an unexpected place.
Afterward, Adhai and I raided the Hellside Hornet's food storage. Thanks to Collin Russell's traces, we navigated the maze straight there.
I checked for other potential informants, but no living creatures remained. The sealed space was filled only with pupae brimming with rot and fermented fluid.
「This」 「Tasty」 「Good」
The guy jabbed a tentacle into a pupa for a taste, and his eyes curved into crescents. First time I'd seen Adhai make that face.
'That good?'
I plucked one from the ceiling cluster and chugged it. My eyes bent into crescents too, beyond my control.
'Holy shit, it's amazing.'
The taste was like a mojito but fizzier. The aroma was exquisite, flooding my throat and body with refreshing coolness. So good, it made me forget my battle wounds.
[Zuzz zuzzuzz (How many to take?)]
「Agree」 「Agree」 「Agree!」
I grabbed as many pupae as possible. Using combat arms and erosion tentacles, I managed fifteen. The rest went into Adhai's and my stomachs.
Having cleanly looted the Hellside Hornet's storage, we headed out.
[Zuzz zuzzuzz (Let's head back)]
Adhai and I spread our wings and soared into the sky. By the time we reached the nest, the Aud Grad herd would likely be stirring.
'Heal up quick at the nest.'
Target the White Galleron out hunting.
'The issue is how to hunt the herd...'
Even as I cleaved through clouds, I kept pondering how to fight the Aud Grads.
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The forest brimmed with trees sporting dozens, hundreds of branches—an ancient place. Even the youngest tree was centuries old. There, one beast crouched low.
In the deep darkness, its pumpkin-orange eyes glowed like lanterns. It had a bird's head, four legs, a slender tail. Two sharp horns protruded from its head.
The beast dug up a mushroom-like plant with its thick forepaw. It picked it up with its beak and chewed thoroughly.
Even while sating its hunger simply, the beast's gaze stayed fixed on one spot.
It watched the forest's edge: sheer rock cliffs riddled with caves. Most planetary cliffs were crevasses from cracked ice, but not these.
Instead of cold air, hot steam rose steadily from the base. Anyone sensing psychic power would detect energy vortices swirling up from below.
Those rock cliffs the beast watched were the Gallerons' habitat—the dragons' nest.
"……."
Having devoured the plant, the Mother of the Sky resumed her motionless vigil. For the past two days, she'd moved only for brief meals, knowing full well how dangerous Gallerons were. Caution was key.
Besides, she wasn't alone—comrades waited behind her.
'Comrades.'
Seed Demon, Galleron, Screamer, and...
'Aimorph.'
If her real self, Choi Seo-ah, heard she'd teamed up with 5th ranker Morphbag, she'd probably snap, 'Bullshit!'
She wasn't sure about Morphbag, but she'd never liked him—hated him, really. Back when she first entered this world, she'd have tried to kill him on sight.
'Because of that guy, the clan split.'
That's when she learned how fragile game-world bonds were.
Her clan, Savage Clan, was small due to its unique concept. After the fight with Morphbag, she was the only one left. Her friends quit in disgust or joined others.
Forced back to reality partly because of that. Choi Seo-ah, escaping reality for various reasons, utterly loathed Morphbag then.
'...Ironic.'
He'd half-driven her from the game to reality, yet now they were battle-comrades who'd crossed death's line together. Weirder still, her bond with him was closer than with Savage Clan members.
After opening up to him recently, her heart felt lighter. He probably had no clue.
'Seemed oblivious.'
Otherwise, he'd notice what No. 26 or Adhai thought. Even in-game, his social circle seemed tiny.
'Or maybe not.'
Neither Mother of the Sky nor Morphbag knew each other's real identities. Despite closeness, no one broached it.
'Makes sense.'
Here, she had a sturdy body, agile form, magnificent mane—but real Choi Seo-ah? Average at best, below it. Pathetic.
So she never wanted to mention Choi Seo-ah. Morphbag probably felt the same.
'With his personality, no friends for su—Hm?'
Mid-inner rant about Morphbag, she spotted nest movement and refocused.
Straining her eyes, she concentrated. From one cave, a few Gallerons emerged.
'What's that?'
Two green-scaled Gallerons carried another into a different cave. The carried one was bloodied, no limbs intact.
'Ham Ort?'
Mangled, but she remembered it. The near-dead White Galleron with broken horns and torn wings was Adhai's mother, Ham Ort. The Greens dragged her roughly inside.
'What happened? Isn't she dead?'
Her injuries screamed imminent death. And the rough handling didn't look like late betrayal.
'Taken prisoner?'
Important intel—commit to memory. Then...
Twelve White Gallerons burst from another cave. They spread wings, soared over the cliffs, and vanished into the sky.
'It's starting!'
Seeing them leave to hunt, she stayed put awhile. Only after no more motion did she creep forward carefully.
The black sky over the forest churned.
In response, thick darkness erupted from a deep cave below the cliffs. The silent shadow shot up, vanishing into the clouds in seconds.