Chapter 350
Chapter 350
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 350
Chapter Title: Hydra Division
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‘If Smog Tower is the ingredient, is it trying to produce a trait that empowers nest battles?’
I hadn’t had much use for my nest lately, but there was no guarantee that would hold true going forward. I’d turned the Cult Empire’s key strongholds into wastelands, so I’d likely be facing hordes of enemies from here on out. On top of that, I still had to prepare for mass battles against the Outspacers.
‘But I have no idea what kind of trait it’ll produce.’
A fusion of a trait that spreads toxic mist from the nest and the ability to create clones.
It might be a trait limited to producing clones or something similar only from the nest. The black slime in the nest was all organic matter generated from my own body. Creating new lifeforms from it wasn’t entirely impossible.
That said, if my guess was right, its versatility would take a serious hit.
I wouldn’t be able to use Strong Enemy’s Token without a nest available. It’d be useless in situations where I couldn’t borrow the nest’s power, like fighting fleets or battling in open space.
‘Should I burn a rare ingredient to get something close to the original trait?’
Or pick an easy-to-obtain ingredient for a gamble on the result?
None of the Strong Enemy’s Tokens I’d acquired so far had been completely useless. They each had pros and cons, so no matter what came out, it probably wouldn’t be a huge loss.
I sprawled comfortably on the hangar floor, lost in thought.
After agonizing over ingredient choices for a good long while, I finally made up my mind.
‘Let’s go with Three Heads.’
No ingredient was as valuable as the perk itself.
The players I’d encountered so far all had perks with different effects. Even if I beat more rankers later, the odds of getting a clone-making perk were slim to none. It’d be irrational to sacrifice my shot at the desired perk just to save a rare ingredient.
‘Plus, there’s the versatility issue.’
This time it worked out, but in the future, I’d face more situations where I couldn’t rely on the nest. I could already fly freely through space, and my enemies would attack me in all sorts of environments.
Fusing with Smog Tower only to get a nest-locked trait would tank its usefulness.
‘Of course, Three Heads might not live up to my expectations either.’
Still, it was the better bet.
‘Doesn’t matter. Confirm.’
I had a few traits I didn’t need right now anyway.
‘Bite Strength, Chitinous Exoskeleton, Wings, Beast Claws, Improved Salivary Glands, Enhanced Digestive Fluid Secretion. That’s six.’
Once I set the enhancement materials, the Strong Enemy’s Token system activated.
As the trait took effect, changes rippled through my body.
Two long necks sprouting from what would be human shoulders and collarbones, each ending in a head. A purple sheen began flowing over the surface of that area. It looked like purple electricity crackling, but there was no pain.
‘Feels weird.’
「Grrr?」
「Gruk?」
Whether they felt the same, my left and right heads tilted curiously.
I checked the text box for my new Strong Enemy’s Token trait, ‘Hydra Division’.
Split off a head to create a clone capable of independent action for 60 minutes. Maximum of 2 clones possible. Clones partially share some of the original body's physical traits.
*Shared elements: Physique, special defenses, internal organs, environmental adaptation traits
*Caution: If a clone dies, regeneration is impossible for 30 days.
‘Looks like it turned out just as I expected.’
I’d guessed it would use the heads to make clones, and that’s exactly what happened.
The downside was that unlike Alshas, the clones couldn’t use all of my abilities.
‘And it’s capped at two clones.’
You could call it a downgraded version, in a way.
「Grrr…」
「Gruk? Grrr?」
‘It’s not you guys I’m talking about.’
The left head caught my thought and bowed apologetically. The right one tilted its head, then copied the left when it saw what it was doing.
‘Come to think of it, they seem smarter now.’
The two heads already had enough intelligence to assist me in battle before. But they couldn’t express emotions this richly.
‘They’re not breaking control, though.’
It wasn’t like body parts gaining egos. More like their brains had gotten a functional upgrade.
‘Let’s test it out.’
I focused on my left head, its purple sheen flowing, and activated Hydra Division.
As the trait kicked in, the purple glow around the left head and neck intensified. It soon turned gelatinous like purple jelly, detached from my body, and plopped to the floor.
I nearly toppled over too. The missing neck threw off my balance, but that wasn’t the real reason.
‘Energy drain is insane.’
Not quite as bad as firing the Black Devourer Cannon, but it guzzled a ton. If Specimen 026 and Adhai hadn’t crammed Ring of Agony meat in my mouth while I slept, I might’ve been in trouble.
As I steadied myself, the purple jelly on the floor began to swell in size.
Starting at about 15 meters, ‘it’ ballooned rapidly into a 50-meter colossal monster. Its form closely resembled an adult Aimorph—except for the single head, being about 10 meters smaller than me, and giving off a slimmer, less imposing vibe.
‘Because Unique traits don’t carry over.’
Compared to my bulky frame of muscle, scales, and carapace, this thing’s body was sleek and slender.
And sure enough, its left tail had a normal tail instead of a bio-cannon, and without Erosion Tentacles, its back plating looked hollowed out.
It looked just like my in-game avatar.
Once the form solidified, its body shifted to black like mine. The black carapace and scales gleamed with a purple sheen.
「Grrrrr」
The ‘left head’ growled in its new body. Unable to share psionic traits, it lacked the monster’s tentacles too. Probably couldn’t speak like me.
‘So how do I control it?’
As I stared, ‘left head’ approached and licked me with its tongue, like a pet dog craving affection from its owner.
‘Aimorph cuteness overload.’
Adorable, but not what I wanted right now. The moment I thought to push it away, my sub-organ under the jaw buzzed. A strange new sensation gripped me.
I sensed a two-headed Aimorph before me.
At the same time, I saw the faintly glowing purple ‘left head’.
Like an insect’s compound eyes, two images pierced my mind.
‘Sharing senses between two bodies…’
「…Two Aimorphs?」
A telepathic wave came from the door connected to the corridor.
The Mother of the Sky stood there in her griffon beastkin form. Her alluring amber eyes fixed on me and ‘left head’ in bewilderment.
‘It’s a bizarre feeling.’
I saw her through the main body’s eyes while sensing her presence through the other body. Lacking eyes, ‘left head’ detected her via the sub-organ under its jaw. Like when I entered Hunting Aspect state.
In other words, my split self perceived the griffon beastkin from two angles, two senses. Nothing this alien since becoming an Aimorph.
The culprit refreshing that novelty approached the griffon wolf.
「Huh? W-wait a sec?」
「Grrrrr」
It opened its maw and licked her with its long tongue. The golden fur covering her body bristled like a startled cat’s.
「……」
[Zzuzu (Stop)]
「Grrr?」
I didn’t need the sub-organ to tell she hated it. When I signaled to stop, its tongue froze mid-lick on her head.
‘Back off.’
I carefully withdrew ‘left head’ like when I first awoke as an Aimorph hatchling.
[Zzuzu zzuzuzu zzuzuzu (Still getting used to it)]
「Don’t ever do that again.」
[Zzuzuzu (Got it)]
「I came to see what you were doing, and this is the mess I walk into.」
Soaked in Aimorph saliva, the Mother of the Sky sighed deeply and shook out her fur.
It’d take time to get used to this new trait.
「So that’s the ability you got from catching Alshas.」
[Zz (Yeah)]
「Grrr」
The Mother of the Sky eyed ‘left head’ in its new body curiously. As I moved to answer her, sound came from both my main body’s mouth and ‘left head’s.
「Bodies are synced, huh? Like an artificial auxiliary body?」
[Zz zzuzu zzuzu zzuzuzuzu zzuzu (Never tried those fancy things, so no clue)]
「Looks like it can move independently when you’re not controlling it.」
Despite her irritation at the saliva, she seemed intrigued by me operating two bodies at once.
‘I’ve got the hang of moving it.’
It felt like merging the sensations from linking with the nest or commanding parasites.
If I had to compare to human senses, it was like that moment before waking from a dream when you move. Your body’s still asleep, but in the dream you’re getting up, hitting the bathroom, eating breakfast.
I tried raising ‘left head’s wing-arms and swinging my main body’s tail at the same time. Awkward at first, but I adapted quick.
‘If this happened back when I was human, I’d have lost my mind.’
With two clones, it’d get even more complex—but that was for later. My stored energy had limits.
‘How do clones use traits, though?’
Clones could access physique, special defenses, internal organs, and environmental adaptation traits—four categories. Things like regeneration would auto-activate, no issue. But complex ones like Mimicry Organ? Unclear.
‘Perfect timing.’
Aimorphs were immune to pheromone disruption, so she couldn’t tell my appearance. Only guess via the organ’s side effect of voice mimicry.
But the Mother of the Sky was affected by the pheromones.
[Zzuzuzu (Hold on)]
I asked her to wait and focused on letting ‘left head’ use its Mimicry Organ. I felt the tiny pores across the clone’s body wriggling.
My main body’s sub-organ picked up a familiar pheromone afterscent. With that, I opened the clone’s mouth.
“How’s it look?”
“How’s it look?”
「……」
The same voice from both mouths—Alshas’s, the last being I’d devoured.
“How do I look?”
“How do I look?”
「…It’s creepy, so can just one of you talk?」
Her saliva-matted fur bristled again. She really hated it.
Instead of speaking, I sent a wave via my main body’s monster tentacle.
[Zzuzu zzuzuzu zzuzuzuzu zzuzu zz zzuzuzu zzuzu (Can’t control it well yet. How do I look now?)]
「Both look like Alshas.」
[Zz (Really?)]
Her amber eyes pointed way below my head. The mimicry pheromones distorted her senses, making her see me as human.
“Half success.”
“Now for the rest…”
“Shifting to another form.”
“Using Gene Essence, that is.”
「…If you wanna experiment, try it on someone else, not me.」
I had more to test, but she hated it so much I’d save it for later. I left ‘left head’ mimicked and released my main body’s Mimicry Organ.
[Zzuzuzu zzuzuzuzu zzuzuzu zzuzuzu (More to check, so later, okay?)]
「Phew…」
She shook her head with a sigh at my wave.
「We’ll talk later. Doesn’t it hurt, having that part split off? Your neck’s empty there.」
[Zzuzuzu zzuzuzuzu zzuzuzuzu zzuzuzu zz zzuzuzuzu (I’m fine. The awkwardness after splitting faded quick)]