Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: qiqi iykow gkk-57i
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Perfect Organism
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Applied 'Metal Absorption', but there weren't any noticeable changes to my external appearance.
This time, the transformation occurred inside my body. My internal organs felt like they were boiling over with heat before quickly settling down.
Now, if I activate Metal Absorption and consume metal, I can apply the inherent properties of that metal to my exoskeleton.
'Shall I give it a test?'
The location of my nest was an underground secret passage. Both the ceiling and walls were made of solid alloy.
With the trait activated, I scraped at the wall with my claws.
As soon as I put the metal fragment that fell off into my mouth and swallowed it, the change took effect. The glossy, chitinous texture of my exoskeleton shifted to the hard, rough feel unique to metal.
Poking at my exoskeleton with my claws, it felt exactly like the wall.
'The hardness seems similar.'
Even if it's metal so tough I can't chew it, as long as it gets inside my body, the effect applies.
For example, if I activate Metal Absorption and swallow a tungsten round from a Gauss rifle? My exoskeleton's hardness would reach tungsten levels, and my body weight would increase accordingly.
'Metal Absorption seems to work perfectly.'
The trait itself was fine, so now it was time for the Transcendence System.
A system that hadn't existed in the game.
'Come to think of it, if the goal was to solve the problem of having too many traits, they could have just revamped the fusion system, right?'
Fusion traits could only be created by combining one pair of unfused traits at a time. If they loosened the fusion conditions, the issue of too many traits would be easily resolved.
Yet they introduced this entirely new system. What did that mean?
'It might be related to future evolution conditions.'
Up until reaching Subadult, the evolution conditions hadn't changed much. The conditions for evolving to Near-Adult were the same as in the game.
The fact that the Transcendence System appeared at this point suggested it could be required for evolving from Near-Adult to Adult, or perhaps for reaching Ascension.
'No point overthinking it. Better to try it and see.'
In response to the final confirmation prompt, I agreed to proceed. Mucus immediately began oozing from my body, just like during evolution.
'What is this?'
The mucus rapidly solidified, encasing my entire form. Trapped inside this massive cocoon, another translucent text box appeared.
This was a first, and it left me a bit flustered.
Normally, even when acquiring a new trait, my entire body doesn't get wrapped in a cocoon like this for a full overhaul—except when evolving to the next stage.
'Is this a trait on par with evolution?'
Thanks to this, I realized one crucial point.
Unlike other traits, those from the Transcendence System seemed to be applied after forming a cocoon state, similar to evolution. If I'd accepted it outside my nest, I'd have been in serious danger.
'Gotta be more careful from now on.'
This place was my nest, so there were no real threats. I decided to wait patiently.
-
"Contact with Jade has been lost?"
Sihyun Yujin's butler, Minseok Yujin, asked in disbelief.
The subordinate nodded and relayed the message left by Jade's underling, Hopf, to Minseok.
The message detailed how the team infiltrating the T&C Special Trade Center had been completely wiped out, along with descriptions of the creature that attacked them and its general specs.
"All infiltrators annihilated by an unidentified creature..."
No matter how many times he checked, the recorded message remained unchanged. Sighing at the completely unexpected news, Minseok thought,
'And the young lady's condition hasn't been good lately.'
Sihyun had always been like an emotionless machine. Her emotions had been worn away by the shadow-creation modification procedure.
Moreover, having long carried out spy and assassin work under Akira Yujin's orders, most of the emotional displays she showed were mere acting.
For someone operating and ruling individuals and organizations, a lack of emotion wasn't necessarily a flaw. Sihyun was a strong and cold leader who had never botched a job due to feelings.
'But...'
The resurrected Sihyun via clone was different.
Their master had been plagued by nightmares ever since her revival. Though she never spoke of them directly, Minseok suspected those dreams involved the entity that killed her.
'The young lady fears death.'
There was no clone to replace her at present. Creating a clone wasn't easy, and the Cult's soul-transfer forbidden art took considerable time.
Death this time would be final, so even someone as powerful as Sihyun had every reason to be afraid.
However, Minseok shook his head.
'We can't delay executing the greater cause for petty emotions.'
Sihyun was the rightful heir to the Yujin Family and an irreplaceable ruler.
For the sake of those who followed her, she had to uphold Jeongu Yujin's legacy.
In fact, Sihyun hadn't entirely ruled out the possibility of her clone acting unpredictably.
Minseok had already received instructions from Sihyun on how to handle it when the clone was created.
If the clone reacted negatively to Jade's death—say, by refusing to go to the space city—he would have no choice but to use force.
'I hope it doesn't come to that...'
Minseok glanced at the safe in the secretary's office. After a moment's hesitation, he decided against opening it.
"I'll handle the report."
"Understood."
Leaving the secretary's office, Minseok headed to the lab. His master was staying there due to new genetic modifications.
Upon arrival, the researchers silently bowed their heads.
With a nod from him, they quietly exited the lab.
Now only he and his master Sihyun remained. Having just received the new gene transplant, she floated serenely in the culture tube.
Her appearance had become far more grotesque than before.
Her once flawless white skin now resembled tough, rugged beast hide, and a sharp horn had grown on the left side of her forehead.
Minseok called out to his closed-eyed master.
"Young lady. I have a report."
｢What is it?｣
She opened her eyes. Her left eye had been replaced with an animal's, giving off an eerie vibe.
｢I'm in the middle of synchronization, yet you've come here. Must be urgent.｣
"Yes. Contact with the infiltrators at the T&C Special Trade Center has been lost."
｢Contact with Jade lost?｣
His news seemed unexpected to her as well; she furrowed her brow.
｢He had Metallic Gremlin genes transplanted. Normal police or androids couldn't take him down easily.｣
"According to the emergency message from Jade's subordinate Hopf, the one who wiped them out wasn't human."
｢Don't tell me Galleron's already rampaging?｣
"We've confirmed through informants that's not the case. It seems Jade's team was taken out by something completely unrelated to our plans."
｢Unrelated, huh...｣
Jade's team annihilation was bad news for the operation, but the enemy not being tied to Noble Capital was a small mercy.
"What are your orders?"
｢...Hmm.｣
Sihyun fell silent at Minseok's question.
If the board meeting was canceled, acquiring new intel on it would be difficult for her.
As someone officially listed as deceased, her information-gathering activities were restricted.
She could task subordinates with intel collection, but the gap between what she got from Akira's side and what they could obtain was vast.
In other words, missing this board meeting would make it nearly impossible to later eliminate Noble Capital as a group.
'But pushing the plan now carries huge risks.'
If any of Jade's team survived and was captured by T&C, all operational details would leak.
Noble Capital's torture was beyond imagination; no agent, no matter how rigorously trained, could withstand it.
If T&C knew her plans, they might have set a trap.
'We need to identify who—or what—they fought.'
Minseok had said it wasn't human, but both he and she knew the foe that wiped out Jade's team was no pushover.
Jade's team was assembled for terror prep, so their combat prowess was average. Still, they weren't so fragile as to be easily annihilated.
Thus, their destroyer was highly likely tied to Noble Capital. To confirm, she asked Minseok,
｢Who wiped out Jade's team?｣
"An unidentified creature never seen before, according to reports. I'll display Hopf's final message."
Minseok inserted a data chip into the terminal beside the culture tube. Moments later, a holographic message window projected on the tube's surface.
｢!｣
Her pupils dilated as she read it. Her body trembled violently, as if electrocuted.
"Young lady?"
Her intense reaction startled Minseok more than expected.
Lab equipment rattled wildly, cracks forming on her culture tube. Her psychic power, amplified by her agitation, was affecting the surroundings.
The tube finally shattered. Surrounding gear was swept away, and Minseok was flung backward.
"Urk!"
"It's him! That bastard's in the city!"
Bursting from the tube, Sihyun shouted. Her expression mixed terror and joy.
"Y-Young lady?"
"Proceed with the plan as is. With the operation team dead, prepare a new one immediately. The city's enemy is no joke—select only the absolute best."
"U-Understood!"
"And prepare my reinforced suit."
"You mean White Maiden?"
She nodded.
This meant she would personally visit the space city to lead the operation.
Any prior worries about her fearing death vanished; no such trepidation showed.
Relieved inwardly at his master's demeanor, Minseok left the lab.
Alone now, Sihyun looked down at her body. Her soles were bloodied from the tube's glass shards, but the alien sensation outweighed the pain.
A fact unknown even to her subordinates and butler: she couldn't overcome the sense of wrongness from this clone body.
She strove to maintain Sihyun Yujin's thoughts and habits, but day by day, her inner self diverged from the original.
One factor driving that change was the nightmares.
Memories of her original self being slaughtered by an unidentified monster on Yuseong's spaceship. Those memories haunted her dreams nightly.
She knew she wouldn't find peace until confirming its death.
But in this vast universe, tracking a monster of unknown origin and survival status was near impossible.
Even tasking subordinates, who knew how long it would take?
Thus, her nightmares were set to be a lifelong affliction.
If not for today's message, that would have been her fate.
'This time, I'll kill it for sure.'
Finally seizing the long-craved opportunity, she grinned with savage delight.
-
Unlike evolution, the Transcendence trait application didn't take long—around two to three hours.
I tore through the cooled cocoon and emerged. The mucus inside burst out like water from a popped balloon.
Shaking off the clinging mucus and shell fragments, I stretched languidly.
'Huh?'
The secret passage ceiling, about 5 meters high, felt much closer now.
Lowering my combat arms, I inspected them. Their appearance had changed dramatically.
All four arms now resembled human arm bones with bulky muscles attached—roughly 1.5 to 2 times thicker than before.
The hands had altered too. The pair of combat arms on my upper shoulders ended in claws massive enough to be called pincers.
My lower left arm, which housed the bone shard launcher, had thickened into something mortar-like and menacing. Even its small fingers had proportionally enlarged.
My chest's small arms had grown to the size of a 7- or 8-year-old child's, enough to wield and fire pistol-class weapons.
The exoskeleton covering my chest, back, and head had thickened substantially, reminiscent of a mountain crawler’s carapace. My weight must have increased a lot too—flying with wings might be questionable now.
'I've changed too much.'
The overall shape remained close to the flesh-enhancement type Subadult form, but the details were so transformed it felt like half an evolution.
To check the details, I opened the text box.
① Flesh-Related (Type Applied): Wings (Unavailable), Regeneration (Fused), Neurotoxin Gland (Fused), Acidic Blood, Mimicry Organ (Fused) (Unavailable), Sawblade Tentacle, Bone Shard Launcher, Beast Claws, Jaw Strength, Metal Absorption, Perfect Organism (Unique)
② Psionic-Related: Predator Sense (Fused), Monster Tentacle (Fused), Humanity, X-Ray Vision, Psionic Resistance
③ Infection-Related: Parasite Swarm (Fused)
Type:Flesh Enhancement Type
Perfect Organism: Your flesh is optimized for slaughter and evolution. Enhances your type's effects. Instills fear in all intelligent beings. Once per day, evolve into ‘Manifestation of the Hunt’.
*‘Manifestation of the Hunt’: Greatly increases Predation Effect chance while active. Boosts all held trait effects. Grants resistance to all attack types. Duration: 10 minutes.
*Note: Cannot use stealth or flight traits in Perfect Organism state.
*P.S.: Evolution has no end.
'What the hell?'
As soon as I activated the text window, a flood of messages greeted me.
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