Memory (1)
Ham Ort was dreaming.
Queen of the immaculate white. Beloved of the Great Oude Grad. And a traitor.
She bore names of both praise and contempt at once, but she had not been that way from the beginning.
When she opened her eyes, a familiar face stood before her — the black-scaled male she had met the moment she first shed her shell into white scales.
His name was Oude Grad, memorable for his magnificently curved horns and eyes brimming with intelligence.
In the early days of his reign as pack leader, he had been a better male than anyone could imagine now. He cherished his kin and the hatchlings more than any other, and when calamity threatened the pride, he always knew how to answer it with wisdom.
That was why she had admired him. Not because he was pack leader, but because she loved his wisdom, his strength, his goodness.
His pure face blurred for an instant, then sharpened back into focus.
His face now had changed beyond recognition. The horns on his head, the smooth scales — all of it remained the same, but there was one decisive difference.
The intelligent gleam in his eyes was gone. In its place lingered only a fury without any discernible source, and a hatred without end.
For what reason had a good creature warped into this? The crushing weight of leading the pride, or something else entirely?
The reason remained unknown, but that was not what mattered.
Because either way, the 'Great' Oude Grad she had once loved had vanished from this world completely.
The black pack leader gave her a command.
Kill her daughter.
The pride had grown, and more and more of her kin were failing to feed themselves properly. Even the healthy hatchlings were weakening with every shift in the star's flow.
Her daughter, born small from the very moment she cracked her egg, had become nothing more than a mouth that ate and gave nothing back.
Ham Ort knew his words were not wrong.
And yet she wanted her daughter to live as long as she possibly could.
Someday her daughter might wander out to hunt with that frail body and become the prey instead. Or she might lose the competition for food against her own kin and starve.
The world they lived in was harsh and cruel. She could not reshape it any more than anyone else — she knew that well enough.
But killing her daughter merely for being useless — that, at least, she wanted to avoid.
And so she made her decision.
She would use the thieves who came to steal the eggs.
The image of Oude Grad before her dissolved like mist, and in its place came the familiar darkness.
In that boundless void of night that she had gazed upon from the nest and from the hunting grounds alike, she beat her wings.
Far away, a small light flickered.
It looked like the starlight that had blessed her daughter at her birth, but it was a light far smaller than that.
The light carrying the daughter of the shooting star shrank smaller and smaller, until it was gone.
The moment the world sank into blackness, Ham Ort opened her eyes above the swamp.
Ranked purely by threat level, the Red Gallagon is among the most dangerous predators in existence. It carries only the name of Gallagon — in truth, you could call it an entirely different species.
On top of the psychic power ordinary Gallagons wield, they possess their own unique energy framework and ability system known as Dragon Power.
There are many different Dragon Power techniques, but they all share one common trait: when Dragon Power activates, a crimson radiance pours from the user's body.
The same held true for Adhai, the half-baked Red Gallagon.
Like red dye spreading from her wings and horns, the color bled across her entire body.
Still crude.
The currents of energy burning through her like fire were unmistakably Dragon Power, but they looked very different from what I remembered.
Rather than blazing like Adhai was, it should have lain as a faint red current coating her whole frame, as if her scales had been laminated in it.
Every Dragon Power technique has a terrifying effect. Whatever it took, she had to learn to control that power.
｢Too｣｢strong｣｢controlling it｣｢is hard｣
[Zz zz zz zz (You can do it)]
｢Little Baby! Do it like when you were flapping around!｣
｢I'll try｣
Hearing me and No. 26, Adhai began to focus.
The red currents gradually dimmed, settling around her horns and wings as if to embrace them. The stray energies that would not settle seeped in along the crimson ripples patterning her body.
With the power finally stabilized, a vivid scarlet aura bloomed around the corners of her eyes.
It looked like makeup painted in blood.
｢It worked｣
Unstable, though.
I could see through her bluster, but I chose not to say anything. Merely bringing that immense power under control to this degree in such a short time was impressive enough.
[Zzzzzz zz zz (Any techniques you can use right now?)]
｢One｣｢I think I can｣
[Zzzzzz (Try it once)]
She stayed rooted in place, concentrating. Slowly, red light flowed from her four wings and dyed her entire head and forelimbs scarlet.
｢Wow! That's so cool! Little Baby got all sturdy!｣
Being sensitive to energy and wavelengths, No. 26 immediately guessed what state Adhai was in.
The name of that technique was Red Armor.
In lore terms, the Red Gallagon concentrates Dragon Power into specific body parts to shield its vital regions, driving their hardness to an extreme. In other words, it was a trait that made the user tough, exactly as No. 26 had said.
For a boss creature's ability, it seemed almost underwhelming — but that very ability was the chief reason Red Gallagons were so hard to kill.
Because it's one of the best defensive techniques in Space Survival.
The defining feature of Red Armor was that no attack of any kind could break through it.
God's Whip, the Imperial Carrier's Cosmic Bolt — no matter how devastating the weapon, a part protected by active Red Armor could not be damaged. And since it was a Dragon Power technique, even my horn, which nullifies psychic power, had no effect.
Which meant that a Red Gallagon's weakness was not its head or its heart. The only place you could ever hurt one was wherever its Red Armor was inactive.
The problem is that a real Red Gallagon covers most of its body in Red Armor.
What was more, a Red Gallagon could shift its unprotected areas at any moment.
An enemy with absurd specs, whose single weakness was a moving target — the only viable strategy was to strike that constantly-relocating flaw. It was a fight difficult enough to make you dizzy.
Killing a Red Gallagon was a real nightmare for me too.
I watched other players fight the thing, mapped out its behavioral algorithm, figured out where it tended to tuck its weak point, and only then barely managed to bring it down.
Of course, after all that, not getting the Genetic Essence was a kick in the teeth.
Weeks of effort evaporated into nothing, and I remembered having to hunt the thing all over again from scratch.
Anyway, Adhai was still too clumsy, currently coating only her head and forelimbs in Red Armor. Once she grew more practiced, she would be able to expand its coverage.
And when that happened, I would no longer have to worry about her life.
I was worried because of her small body, but this is a relief.
｢Feeling｣｢strange｣
[Zzzz zzzz zz (Try ramming that tree with your head)]
｢Don't want｣｢pain｣
[Zz zzzzzz zz zzzz (Nothing will hurt you)]
She hesitated at my words, then walked over to the tree. When she drove her horns into it with all her might, the tree toppled helplessly.
｢Amazing｣
[Zzzz zz zzzz zz zzzzzz zzzzzzz (As long as you have that power, you will never be hurt)]
Tapping the fallen tree with her forelimbs — hardened just like her head — she turned to look at me.
｢I｣｢don't know｣｢but｣｢Big Adult｣｢how｣｢do you know?｣
[Zzzz zzzz zzzz (I've seen it before)]
｢Other｣｢than me｣｢star-power｣｢kin｣｢another｣｢exists?｣
[Zzzz zz (Not right now)]
｢?｣
She tilted her head, but I had nothing more to offer. I couldn't exactly tell her I'd seen it in a game.
Will I have to tell them someday?
The fact that I am an outsider to this world, that is.
I have to leave this world and return to the place I came from. That's been my goal all along, and I'm still working toward it even now.
But the closer I get to that goal, the more things pile up that make me hesitate.
No. 26, Adhai, Mother of the Sky — and PS-111 too.
If I left, what would become of them? Would they get along fine on their own, or would they miss me? What about Mother of the Sky, who is a player like me? If I saw the ending, could we return to reality together?
I was standing there, caught in the thought, when No. 26 sent a thought-wave.
｢Big Baby knows everything, that's so amazing.｣
｢Agreed｣｢Big Adult｣｢is cool｣｢strong｣｢and smart｣
｢Big Baby has lots of extra parts and such a huge body too.｣
｢Horns｣｢wings｣｢all so cool｣
Starting with No. 26, they poured out pure, unfiltered affection. I answered not with words but by stretching out my wing-arms and stroking them both.
It's a question I can't answer right now.
There was no need to choose this very day.
But the time would inevitably come when I would have to pick an answer. If I didn't want to regret my choice then, I would have to keep wrestling with the question from now on.
[Zzzzzz zz zz zz zzzzzz (You two are the greatest gift I have)]
｢Gift? Is Big Baby hungry?｣
｢I｣｢know｣｢what｣｢Big Adult's｣｢words｣｢mean｣｢I｣｢am precious to Little Adult｣｢that's the meaning｣
No. 26, ever in her innocent, carefree way, and Adhai, flaunting how much she'd grown. Me, someone who had never managed to form a deep bond with another person even in reality. In both body and heart, I was sick — just as they said — and to someone like me, these two were precious beyond measure.
...Why am I thinking like this all of a sudden?
There was nothing wrong with getting sentimental, but I still had so much left to do. Pulling my hands away from the two of them, I sent my next instruction as a thought-wave.
[Zuuuuu zz zz zzzz zz (Adhai, you can release the power now)]
｢Confirmed｣｢power｣｢released｣
The moment Dragon Power deactivated, her body returned to normal.
[Zz zzzz zz zz zzzz zzzz (Good. Next, attack me with the power you've always used)]
｢Confirmed｣｢Big Adult｣｢attack...｣｢?｣
｢Is it itchy? Want me to scratch it?｣
I'd cut my words down so much that none of them understood me. I explained what I meant, step by careful step.
｢Big Adult｣｢kin power｣｢the more damage｣｢he takes｣｢he adapts?｣
[Zz zzzzzz zz zz zzzz (Yes. It's a power I gained as I grew)]
｢Cannot understand｣
Since she was the one who would have to attack me, Adhai seemed to find it hard to wrap her head around.
Mimic Scales was an unfamiliar trait to the Gallagons. And for Adhai — who had spent her whole life dodging the attacks of other creatures because of her frail body — it would be harder still to grasp.
｢Big Adult's｣｢words｣｢always｣｢good｣｢so｣｢I'll follow｣
[Zzzz (Thank you)]
Only after several more rounds of explanation did she finally understand what I was saying.
Adhai backed away, putting distance between us. While she readied her attack, I finished explaining to No. 26 as well.
｢Do I just do it like when I discipline the bad flappers?｣
[Zuuuuu zz zzzz zz (Just make sure the deflected energy doesn't hit Adhai)]
｢Okay. Big Baby and Little Baby, trust me with everything.｣
The reason I was trying to activate Mimic Scales in the middle of an actual fight came down to a trait I possessed: Psychic Reflection Carapace.
Whenever I took damage from a psychic power attack, this trait automatically reflected back thirty percent of that damage as energy. If Adhai had the large body and hard scales of an ordinary Gallagon, the reflected strike wouldn't have harmed her in the slightest.
Unfortunately, she'd been born with a weak body compared to her own kind. Right now her defenses were inferior even to a common Green Gallagon's.
In other words, she was a flying glass cannon. Taking a mere thirty percent of her own breath's damage would be devastating to her.
That's why we need No. 26.
No. 26 was exceptionally skilled at manipulating psychic power. She could seize the reflected energies and neutralize them, or wrench their direction aside and send them flying somewhere harmless.
Now that she's got Red Armor, she'll be able to help on her own eventually...
But Adhai was still clumsy with Dragon Power, so for the moment, we needed No. 26.
And so we finished every last preparation. Adhai, having put a proper distance between us, sent me a thought-wave.
｢I｣｢will attack now｣
[Z (Yes)]
｢If it hurts｣｢tell me｣｢I'll stop｣
[Zzzzzz zz zzzzzzz (Don't worry, fire at full power)]
She gave a small nod.
Soon, a vivid violet light flowed from the bundle of tentacles drooping at her jaws. The psychic power — dense enough that I could have reached out and touched it — condensed into small energy bullets.
And the first shot fired. Behind the psychic breath cleaving through the air, a second and a third barrage of bullet-shaped breaths came pouring after it.
A psychic breath unique to Adhai, one no other Gallagon had ever used, came hurtling at me.
The instant the first round struck my head, a powerful shock rippled across my entire head carapace. While I was still registering the pain, the psychic breaths hammered the same spot again and again.
But my pain hardly mattered here. What mattered was where those attacks would scatter next.
Without any will of mine, the Psychic Reflection Carapace activated, and thirty percent of the energy from Adhai's bullets was reflected back. Some of it flew toward Adhai herself; some ricocheted toward No. 26 at her side.
And No. 26 caught every last wisp of it without letting a single drop escape.
Her tentacles waved like a conductor leading an orchestra. The energies floating in midair gathered into a single mass, then shot up high into the sky.
Perfect.
[Zzzzzz zz (Keep doing exactly that)]
Perhaps it was thanks to all the battles we'd fought in sync together, but even though it was our first time, everyone handled it with practiced ease.
We repeated the same drill many times after that.
Seeing my head carapace reduced to a mangled mess, Adhai faltered more than once, but I convinced her it was fine — I recovered quickly. I told her to treat it as practice for the fight against Oude Grad.
Whether my persuasion worked or she simply recognized the need for training herself, I couldn't say, but from that point on she attacked without hesitation.
By roughly the thirtieth strike.
Something changed in my carapace and outer shell. The surface of my hardened plates and scales turned mushy, like melting jelly.
Within seconds, countless minute scales erupted from beneath the surface and spread across my whole body. At the same time, a translucent textbox appeared before me.
Mimic Scales — Activation Target: Psychic Power
Duration: 3 days
⚠ Warning: Psychic Reflection Carapace will be temporarily disabled.
While I was still reading the textbox, Adhai's psychic breath came flying at me again.
Energy powerful enough to make my entire head tremble slammed into my head carapace. There was only the sensation of the impact — not a trace of pain followed it.
There it is.
Mimic Scales was primed and ready.
For the next three days.
No Gallagon of any color — not even the Black Dragon, Oude Grad himself — would be able to harm me.