Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Subadult Awakening
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She stared at the massive cocoon that filled the living room.
She had been told the child she traveled with would turn into an egg, but no matter how she looked at it, this was far too big to be an egg.
One moment its body suddenly swelled up, the next it became a cocoon.
Was it because she was still young? She couldn't grasp what kind of creature the child was at all.
No animal she'd ever seen in her life had been like this.
Still, she didn't mind too much.
When she emerged from that repulsive liquid prison, she had made a vow. No matter what, she would protect the child.
Yet more often than not, she had been the one protected by the child rather than the other way around. That fact made her uncomfortable.
The child seemed terribly hungry, always clamoring for food whenever it saw some, but there was little she could do.
What if the tentacles that empowered her had been a bit stronger? Would things have been different?
What if her own body had been bigger? Would that have changed anything?
In her troubled state of mind, she extended a tentacle to gently caress the cocoon. The moment it touched, she jolted in surprise.
An unknown energy flowed through the tentacle's tip and absorbed into her body. A sense of fullness washed over her, like after devouring highly nutritious food, and strength surged within.
Addicted to the high-calorie energy, she couldn't pull her tentacle away from the cocoon.
-
'This time it's different, huh?'
When I evolved from hatchling to juvenile, I could sense my surroundings from inside the egg, but this was different.
All sensory connections to my body were severed, leaving me standing alone in darkness.
Looking down at my hands, human hands that now felt strangely unfamiliar greeted me.
My clothes were exactly what I'd worn before entering the Space Survival world.
'This seems like my inner world.'
Looking around, there were no threats. Just endless pitch-black space without a single point of light.
'Dark places are familiar enough.'
As a child, whenever my parents fought, I'd always hide under the bed or in the closet. Plugging my ears and curling up made my mind feel at ease.
'Brings back old memories.'
Memories I had no desire to recall.
I shook my head to dispel the unnecessary thoughts.
'Wonder how much time's left.'
In the game, it took 6 hours to become a subadult.
I didn't know about reality, but since evolving to juvenile hadn't differed much from the game, this would probably be similar.
'What were the devs thinking with this design?'
Imposing such a harsh penalty on evolution, essential for Aimorph progression. It made no sense.
In a game with 24/7 real-time player-killing, being incapacitated for 6 hours was a bug-level flaw.
Plus, Aimorphs couldn't cooperate, so asking allies for protection during evolution was impossible. Unless you hid in an unknown spot, you'd get caught midway most times.
'There were even players who hunted Aimorphs exclusively.'
Especially after me, tons of people hated Aimorphs, so innocent ones got attacked too.
So many Aimorphs failed evolutions, rage-quit with shotguns blazing. I'd died plenty to Aimorph hunters during my own evolutions.
Failed evolutions had no direct penalties—just the hassle of finding a new hiding spot and waiting ages longer, which was infuriating.
That's why hunters tormented us extra viciously after interrupting evolutions.
'Looking back, I was pretty ruthless too.'
Once, I'd recorded a hunter getting wrecked by me and posted it online.
The backlash was explosive—mostly hate and blame aimed at me.
How could a person do that? Are you really an Aimorph? You're gonna kill kids? All sorts of wild accusations flew.
'Tch.'
Maybe it was the allure of the empty darkness, but more unwanted memories kept surfacing.
With time to kill, I shouldn't waste it—better use it productively.
Lots to do ahead; once out, I needed to plan my next moves.
'Might as well walk and think.'
I took a step forward.
Ripples spread out like stepping on water's surface.
With that, I wandered aimlessly across the black void.
'After evolving, first things to eat: the Wolfs next door and on the 5th floor. That'll solve the shapeshifting species issue somewhat...'
Pondering trade hub strategies post-evolution, a dark brown shape appeared, blocking my path.
'Huh?'
The thing that emerged in the black space was a juvenile Aimorph.
I knew instinctively upon seeing it.
This was the remnants of Aimorph instincts clinging to my body.
Seems they followed me into my inner world.
It bared its teeth and growled, but it didn't scare me. Felt familiar, even.
I reached out my hand. The growling threat silenced as it meekly lowered its head.
The moment my hand touched its head, I awoke.
'Where's this?'
Opening my eyes, a thin wall blocked my view. A soft, sticky membrane enveloped me.
Sensation returned to my body.
I was curled up like a fetus in the womb, arms wrapped around legs, long tail coiled like a belt. Unfurling my combat arms, I rose, and with a vinyl-tearing sound, the membrane ripped.
Standing atop the torn cocoon, a text box appeared before me.
Species:Unidentified Hostile Space Creature
Stage:Subadult
Objective:Survive (2 Successful Evolutions)
Possessed Traits
• Physical (Type Applied): Wings, Chitinous Exoskeleton, Regeneration (Fused), Neurotoxin Gland (Fused), Monster Skeleton, Acidic Blood, Leg Strength Enhancement, Mimicry Organ (Fused), Sawblade Tentacles, Contamination Organ, Spine Launch Organ
• Psionic: Predator Sense (Fused), Monster's Tentacles (Fused), Humanity, X-Ray Vision, Psionic Resistance
Type:Physical Enhancement Type
*New unread messages have arrived. View them?
'A message?'
Never gotten one after evolving before. Since this never happened in the game, I accepted curiously.
'They called it a new game, so there are changes after all.'
No such message when I ate Psionium last time. Seemed like a new system unlocked only after official evolution.
I selected confirm, and the text filled my vision.
Fuse 3 or more possessed traits into a new 'Unique' trait. The newly acquired trait is a completely novel one that didn't exist before. Available Traits: Chitinous Exoskeleton, Monster Skeleton, Leg Strength Enhancement
P.S.: Not always purely beneficial. Choose carefully.
'Transcendence system, huh.'
In original Space Survival, fusions were strictly 1:1.
Species reliant on traits ended up with so many in long games they couldn't remember them all.
Even I struggled by endgame with over 500 traits.
A nightmare system even for a morph nut like me, and now revamped like this.
'What to do.'
In game, I'd accept instantly, but this was reality. Bad calls could be fatal.
New unknown system meant judging carefully, per the P.S.
'Getting a unique trait is a merit.'
Space Survival traits had no ranks. Efficiency varied wildly by user.
Fused ones were generally deemed stronger, at best.
But some traits overwhelmingly outperformed others: so-called 'Unique' traits. Artifact-level rarity, top-tier performance.
'Not without drawbacks, though.'
Uniques were powerful but had one flaw: they vanished permanently on death.
Regular traits persisted; uniques required reacquisition from scratch. Had to manage ultra-cautiously.
'But here in reality, that's not a con.'
Death here was game over anyway. Losing the unique wasn't an issue.
'Still, fewer traits is a risk.'
More pressing: trait count. I had 11 physical traits; losing 3 drops below 10 needed for physical type.
Acquire unique first, farm physical later? No.
'Type reset doesn't erase penalties.'
Current psionic type penalized to 6 traits. Reactivating physical adds penalties, jumping to 12 needed.
'...Hold off on Transcendence.'
Physical traits were relatively easy to get.
Tempting as unique sounded, caution now. Better safe, even if slower.
Use it after stockpiling physical traits.
I dismissed the text and stepped from the cocoon.
'Definitely grown a lot taller.'
After the spacious research ship, my increased size felt stark in this cramped house. Shaking off cocoon bits, No. 26 approached.
｢Whoa!｣
[Zuzuzuzu (Miss me?)]
｢The big baby from before? Not spinning this time?｣
[Zu zuzuzu zuzu (Yeah. That was temporary)]
She wagged her tentacles in wonder.
'Huh? Tentacles?'
Now that I noticed, No. 26 looked different. Her body, once slightly smaller than a human head, had grown. And two tentacles sprouted from it.
[Zuzuzuzu (What's that?)]
｢This? It grew new!｣
[Zuzu (When?)]
｢When I touched the egg while you were inside.｣
She flicked them lightly, and a brief purple energy wave flowed out then vanished.
Seeing that, I was certain.
'C Daemon.'
Those were probably sawblade tentacles. Smaller and cuter than mine, but I knew.
Razor-sharp barbs hid within.
Brushing someone's face with those would flay the flesh clean off.
More curiously...
'Why'd she evolve suddenly?'
No obvious trigger. What happened while I was cocooned? No special traces via auxiliary senses.
'She touched the egg during my evolution?'
Unknown cause, but maybe she absorbed some energy from my process.
Pure speculation, since even Bubble Amoeba to C Daemon relations were mysteries, let alone evolution conditions.
｢Now I can protect the baby!｣
No. 26 declared confidently. I patted her approvingly.
'As expected, it's real.'
Once pondered eating her, but no such thoughts now.
'Weak now, but as a C Daemon, she'll bolster forces.'
C Daemons I saw exceeded 20m, with hundreds of tentacles. Game semi-boss tier; one following me would help immensely.
No plans to yield genetic essence, but passing useless food her way? Worth considering.
[Zu zuzu zu zu (Then let's eat)]
｢Yeah!｣
Fresh off evolution, hunger clawed at my gut.
She agreed instantly, probably starving too after just a sandwich for over 6 hours.
I set her on my shoulder and opened the door.
Appetizing prey awaited next door.