Chapter 357
Chapter 357
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 357
Chapter Title: I Became an Evolving Space Monster
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‘To think there are creatures living in a place like this.’
Volcanic planets like this one have incredibly harsh environments, so the specs of the lifeforms that inhabit them are no joke. It’s a far cry from icy planets, where weak and strong creatures are all mixed together.
That’s when I spotted a creature fleeing from a volcanic eruption.
It was stepping over flowing lava without a care. The beast’s name was Vulkarox—a carnivorous bull-like monster with three horns and skin that gleamed like heated bronze.
It didn’t hold a particularly high position in the planet’s ecosystem, but that didn’t make it an easy opponent by any means. Its charge could overpower the firepower of a Plasma Launcher with ease.
‘Not that it matters against me right now.’
I spread my wings wide and flew over the Vulkarox as it furiously dashed along the river of lava. It noticed the shadow enveloping it and picked up speed even more.
The moment I was about to pounce on my prey, my auxiliary organs detected another creature.
From the seemingly endless river of lava, a mysterious assailant burst out and lunged at the Vulkarox.
A grotesque creature with two legs, a long tail split into two prongs, and a mouth that forked into five starfish-like tendrils—it swiftly climbed onto the Vulkarox’s back. Then, with the scythe-shaped bone at the end of its tail, it severed the bronze bull monster’s neck in one stroke.
“……”
The Vulkarox spewed thick, lava-like blood from the wound and crashed onto the lava floor.
“Kiaak! Kiaaak!”
The hunter, having skillfully succeeded in its kill, raised its neck stiffly and let out a triumphant cry.
Its name was Lavaraptor.
These creatures hide in the lava, then suddenly leap out to hunt their prey. They average between 4 and 5 meters in size and don’t look all that impressive, but that’s not what makes them terrifying.
“Kiaak!”
“Kiaaak!”
“Kiaak!”
Hundreds of Lavaraptors nearby responded to the successful hunter’s cry with howls of their own.
The true value of Lavaraptors lies in their pack hunting. Unlike Gallerons, which rarely number more than a few dozen, Lavaraptor packs consist of at least a hundred individuals.
Hundreds of Lavaraptors that had emerged from the lava growled warily at me hovering in the sky.
I ignored their reactions and landed on the blackened ground. The impact of my massive body hitting the earth sent volcanic gases and pumice scattering around.
“Kiaaaak!”
The one that had killed the Vulkarox roared again, and the smaller hunters began to move. Wary of me, whom they’d never seen before, they approached slowly while forming an encirclement.
‘They must be starving pretty bad.’
Lavaraptors weren’t as intelligent as Gallerons, but they had a decent level of smarts. They didn’t recklessly charge at enemies they couldn’t hunt. My body was dozens of times larger than even their leader. The fact that they weren’t fleeing was quite surprising.
‘Maybe there’s been some change in the environment.’
I didn’t know the reason, but more food was always welcome.
I opened all three of my mouths wide. The Mother of the Sky, Adhai, who had been in humanoid form, burst out from the central mouth and spread her wings. Specimen 026 latched onto my fangs with its tentacles and settled right on top of my head.
｢Only you would sneak into a volcano while it’s erupting.｣
｢Hot｣ ｢So hot｣
｢Boom booms everywhere here!｣
Then PS-111 and Isabel crawled out from my left and right heads. PS-111, which had jumped down onto the lava, fully extended its previously bent legs. Isabel, who had been coiled up, floated into the air the moment it emerged from my maw.
“Arriving on a volcanic planet via Aimorph taxi is a novel experience.”
“Currently observed lifeforms estimated as ‘Vulkarox’ and ‘Lavaraptor.’ Confirmed to have undergone advanced evolutionary processes to adapt to extreme environments.”
The Lavaraptors, thinking they were facing just one enemy, grew agitated as our numbers suddenly increased.
“Kiaak!”
The leader let out a cry to rally the wavering pack. The creatures, which had been advancing cautiously, leaped toward us all at once.
“Over two hundred of them—that’s a pretty big pack.”
“Lifeforms worthy of study.”
｢…A fight right after arriving.｣
｢Hunt｣ ｢Fun｣
｢Food! Food!｣
Two hundred Lavaraptors would be more than enough to sate our hunger after the long journey.
It didn’t take long to clean up the snacks charging in blindly.
Aska 44, where volcanic activity raged fiercely, had a history as unique as its environment.
80 years ago, the emperor of the Cult Empire suddenly went mad and began a reign of terror. He purged capable ministers and priests, then insulted the Providence that the Cults revered. Amid the chaos, a faction worshiping the emperor seized the council, nearly fracturing the empire.
The already decaying empire, crippled by corruption, tilted even further under the mad emperor’s rule. Countless Cults, disillusioned with their homeland, emigrated to Mega Corp territories, and vast wealth flowed out to other great powers.
The mad emperor’s tyranny lasted five years before it ended. While indulging in orgies with dozens of slaves daily in his detached palace, he was assassinated by the empire’s last loyalists.
Curiously, one of the assassins was a Space Dog of Cult origin. His exact role remains unknown, but it was enough to pique the curiosity of many.
The Cults’ epic tale, The Legend of the Pirate King Who Slayed the Tyrant, was based on this event.
So what does the mad emperor have to do with Aska 44, a planet of extreme environments?
It was the site where the emperor had hidden slush funds to support his worshipers. A portion of the treasures from the imperial palace and his personally amassed wealth were stashed there.
After the emperor’s assassination and the complete collapse of his faction, Aska 44 was abandoned for decades—until a young Cult arrived.
A room decorated more lavishly than the imperial palace itself.
A wolf with a mastiff’s head gazed out the window.
The building he occupied was equipped with gravity regulators, floating above the lava. Its outer walls were protected by layered shields.
This wolf, idly sightseeing from the legacy of the Cult emperor, was the planet’s overseer.
“Master Salman. The new cargo is ready.”
The attendant at the door called out, and Salman, the mastiff-headed wolf, turned his head.
“Are the transporters all prepared too?”
“Yes. We’ve selected ones who could disappear at any moment without raising suspicion.”
“Good.”
Salman left the room with the attendant.
Passing through a corridor adorned with priceless masterpieces, they arrived at a vast space.
Unlike other facilities dripping with opulence, this one had no decorations whatsoever. The only machinery was the lights on the walls and a dome-shaped gate serving as the ceiling.
At a glance, it resembled a spaceship dock. But at the center wasn’t a ship—it was dominated by a massive rock mountain, as if a volcano had been transplanted there.
And collapsed before that boulder was a single creature.
Resembling a hedgehog, but spewing lava instead of blood, it was an Elemental Hedgehog—one of the apex predators native to this planet.
Salman took a slender spear from the attendant and approached the Elemental Hedgehog. The 13-meter-long carnivorous beast glared with wide eyes at the much smaller wolf.
Salman silently jabbed it lightly with the spear.
“Grrrrr.”
The monster let out a low growl. Salman ignored it, stepped closer, and placed his hand on its head.
Then something strange happened.
The Elemental Hedgehog, which had been hostile moments ago, suddenly rolled onto its side, exposing its belly to Salman. It even began making affectionate whines, like a pet dog greeting its returning owner.
But no one present found it surprising.
“Good enough. Patch up the major wounds and send it to ‘Her Majesty.’”
“Right away.”
“Any sign of the Magmasaur?”
“Five currently active volcanoes are believed to be due to the Magmasaur’s movements.”
“Excellent. Deploy all personnel to track the Magmasaur.”
“Understood.”
Leaving the Elemental Hedgehog’s handling to the attendant, Salman glanced at the rock mountain.
“Oh, and don’t forget to feed that one too.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, Salman departed.
The rock mountain remained utterly still even as other servants entered to move the Elemental Hedgehog.
｢Yummy!｣
｢Tasty｣ ｢Spicy｣
A feast unfolded for the first time in ages on this alien volcanic planet.
Specimen 026, having bulked up considerably, swept up Lavaraptors with its tentacles. Adhai stabbed bundles of tentacles—serving as its mouth—into the prey and sucked out the blood.
Since leaving Adhai’s homeworld, no one had enjoyed a satisfying meal, so they all focused intently on devouring.
Even the Mother of the Sky, usually hesitant about eating wild animals, was savoring the Lavaraptor meat.
She first chopped up a Lavaraptor, then skewered a piece on the priest’s golden spear. Holding it over the flowing lava, she roasted the meat with the heat.
Once the surface was crisped and the fat between the flesh melted and dripped, she withdrew the spear and ate.
｢What? Why?｣
[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzu (It’s nothing)]
Noticing my gaze, she primly wiped her beak smeared with grease. I held back from saying she looked good eating heartily.
‘I’m in the same boat.’
After nonstop FTL travel for so long, I was pretty hungry. We’d looted a pirate ship on the way, but it wasn’t nearly enough to fill us up. Even with a dragon heart, hunger didn’t magically vanish.
‘In the game, stuff like this wasn’t an issue.’
｢Middle child, is that tasty?｣
｢Huh? Want some?｣
｢Yeah!｣
｢Here.｣
The Mother of the Sky pulled off a piece of meat and handed it to one of Specimen 026’s tentacles. It retracted the tentacle, stuffed in the meat, and lit up brightly.
｢Even tastier!｣
｢That｣ ｢Tasty?｣
｢Yes!｣
｢Friend｣ ｢Me too｣
｢You said it was an ugly friend before.｣
｢Deny｣ ｢Pretty friend｣
｢I’m not falling for that anymore. Shoo.｣
｢Mean｣ ｢Mean｣ ｢Mean｣
Watching them enjoy their meal, I tossed a Lavaraptor corpse into my mouth. Hot heat washed over my tongue along with the blood’s unique flavor. Even raw and unseasoned, it had a sharp spiciness. If I had to compare, it was like charcoal-grilled lamb dusted with cumin.
‘The texture when chewing? Way softer than lamb.’
More like a rare steak than lamb—quite a difference in mouthfeel. But the taste itself was undeniably good.
‘And I even picked up a trait on top of that.’
Eating dozens of Lavaraptors had netted me one new trait.
One of their key biological features was their well-developed hind legs. I’d absorbed one of the Lavaraptors’ main strengths.
‘Enhanced Hind Legs.’
As the name implied, it boosted hind leg performance.
With ‘Enhanced Hind Legs’ applied, my leg musculature had grown substantially larger. Inside the legs, new bio-ducts joined the blood vessels. When running or jumping upward, a special fluid flowed through these ducts, reducing strain on the muscles.
To match the internal changes, my legs had thickened as well. I could already stand on two legs, but now it felt even more stable.
‘Not something I desperately needed, but better to have it than not.’
Truth be told, the trait I really wanted from this planet could be obtained from another creature.
The ultimate apex predator found on volcanic planets: the Magmasaur.
A colossal monster that constantly spewed magma and fire from its body, it ranked in the top tier of apexes.
Interestingly, despite its immense power, it didn’t eat meat. More precisely, it consumed energy from lava and volcanic eruptions. Few apexes were herbivores, but this was one.
‘Of course, not eating meat doesn’t make it weak by any stretch.’
Magmasaurs dwelled deep in volcanic cores, making them extremely hard to hunt. They also had unique innate abilities, making them tricky foes. Even in the game, I’d struggled solo.
‘But that was the game. Things are different here.’
I was in far better shape than my game counterpart. My own specs were top-notch, and I had plenty of allies to help.
‘The problem is finding the damn thing.’
Given its habit of rarely emerging from volcanic depths, I’d have to go in after it.
And this planet had volcanoes everywhere. Hunting Magmasaurs one by one would eat up a ton of time.
‘I can’t waste time searching for it.’