Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Predator's Manifestation
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In the world of Space Survival, there are thousands upon thousands of traits.
Some are powerful enough to completely turn the tide of battle, while others make you wonder how they ever passed review.
With traits boasting every conceivable effect scattered everywhere, it's no surprise that body-altering ones are part of the mix too.
Take the Volfs I devoured before, for example.
They're like space-age werewolves, each with the innate ability to transform into a beast form for a short time. If you play as a Volf, reclaiming their true form becomes your main goal.
In that sense of pursuing a superior existence through evolution, they might even be similar to Aimorphs.
The reason I'm bringing this up is that the changes happening to my body right now felt a lot like a Volf's transformation. My flesh was already that of a monster, but my new form was less "monster" and more "kaiju."
The exoskeleton covering my head had grown rapidly enough to obscure my eyes, and my horns had elongated into massive spears.
My original 3-meter frame had swollen to a size that made standing upright in the room impossible.
Thanks to the Complete Organism effect, my combat arms had bulked up even more with added muscle and changed shape. The exoskeleton around my wrists had grown disproportionately, forming what looked like small shields. Spines studded the surface of these shield-like plates, suggesting they weren't just for defense—they could be wielded offensively too.
The bone-launch organ on my left forearm had undergone a major shift as well. What used to resemble a rifle now looked more like a mortar.
'And it's got three barrels?'
That meant I could fire three shots at once or in quick succession. No more worries about lacking ranged firepower.
Impressive as that was, the biggest change had taken place on my back.
'I've grown extra arms?'
Two additional arms had sprouted from my back.
Unlike my other arms, they had four joints each, and instead of hands, the tips ended in elongated crescent-shaped bone blades. These were arms designed purely for combat and slaughter.
'Is this why Wings was restricted?'
The sensation of moving them felt almost identical to manipulating wings, confirming these back arms were a replacement organ.
I swung the back arms a few times. The bone blades at their ends were razor-sharp; each swing produced a menacing whoosh as they cleaved the air.
It was a transformation worthy of the trait called Predator's Manifestation.
'And even without eyes, everything feels this vivid.'
Though I'd completely lost my vision, my auxiliary organs had more than tripled in sensitivity, leaving no room for regret.
Thanks to them, I could sense not just my own changes but the movements and forms of every person in the building. I could even hear the heartbeats of the four bundled up in reinforced suits.
'Powerful traits come with a price. A change like this must have insane backlash.'
A trait inducing this level of transformation would guzzle energy like crazy. One misstep, and I might starve the moment it wore off.
'Time to get out...'
"Over here!"
One of the knights outside aimed a plasma bolter at my room. The plasma fuel inside converted to energy and fired from the muzzle.
The pure essence of destruction—plasma energy—reduced the wall to dust and charged straight at me.
And then...
"What?!"
A voice distorted by mechanical modulation, laced with pure bewilderment.
Even taking the plasma head-on, my exoskeleton was barely singed.
'Not bad.'
There was some pain, but it was so faint it hardly registered—like the slight sting on your tongue from hot coffee.
I brushed the soot off my exoskeleton with a combat arm and crawled out of the room.
Unable to stand straight due to my size, I moved by planting all my combat arms on the floor in a half-crawling stance. Even so, my bulk filled the entire corridor.
Overwhelmed by my enormous new form—unlike before—the enemies hesitated and fell back.
Grrr...
"P-Plasma bolter, and it does nothing?!"
"Everyone, fall back!"
My growl sent them retreating in a hurry.
This was getting fun.
I tensed my tail and whipped it hard.
The tail didn't just smash the corridor wall—it lashed the rearmost knight. His reinforced suit, which could shatter concrete, crumpled in an instant.
"Gah!"
His waist bent at an unnatural angle from the blow. It should've been fatal, but some life-support option kept him breathing.
"Pyfield!"
"Damn it, too late! Fall back and regroup!"
"Son of a—!"
Instead of chasing the others, I approached the injured knight called Pyfield.
'My jaws are reinforced now, so I can eat him as is.'
Activating Metal Absorption before devouring him would double my defense, but with the nest awaiting my return, I needed to preserve my ongoing Concealment function.
I seized the knight with a combat arm.
His high-grade reinforced suit was practically an armor suit, making him nearly 3 meters tall—but my bulk dwarfed him, forcing him to look up.
"Cough... The Silver Lion Knights... urk... will get you..."
His voice was mechanically distorted, but it couldn't mask the coughing. The scent of blood vibrated from inside his armor.
I paused my attack for a moment.
Not to spare him, but because one word caught my attention.
'Knights.'
The only faction in Mega Corp using "knights" was Ezerton.
'So the patriarch's here.'
Playing as House Ezerton grants you a mercenary knight order as a perk when you become patriarch. In-game, their name is randomized, but here in reality, they went by Silver Lion Knights.
'Makes sense. It's the board of directors, so all seven Mega Corp houses are probably coming.'
The others would likely bring hefty escort details too.
'Some houses have fixed system escorts I know about.'
Like Ezerton's knights, certain houses get mandatory mercenaries. Not all do, though, so I'd have to check those myself.
Anyway, no more intel to glean from this prey. I slammed a back arm down on his head.
The sharp, sturdy bone blade pierced the high-grade suit's visor helmet and embedded in his skull. As I yanked it free, blood and brains sprayed out, and the suit powered down upon its owner's death.
Inside the shattered helmet was the face of a young, handsome white man. He'd probably been popular in life, but now he was just a corpse leaking brains from a hole in his head.
I gaped my jaws wide and bit into the knight's body. With my enlarged frame and flexible jaw, I engulfed his torso in one go.
Clenching down pulverized the high-grade suit effortlessly. Flesh, blood, and organs spilled from the armor into my maw.
It felt like biting into a jawbreaker filled with sweet jam.
'This guy's augmented too.'
Which meant he tasted exquisite.
The metallic suit was a downside, but its crunch made it palatable enough.
The armored knight was reduced to nutrients in minutes. My bigger body let me polish off a 3-meter meal in no time.
A semitransparent text box popped up when I finished, but I ignored it.
'Hunting time's not over yet.'
I had to diligently round up the fleeing sheep before Predator's Manifestation ended.
-
"Your Highness, Director Layla Chemberlin is hosting a banquet in your honor."
"Heh, when did she prepare that?"
"As you know, she's the famous Saddam Chemberlin's daughter. Pulling something like this off is child's play for her."
"Tch, that Saddam guy's got all the luck."
Denver clicked his tongue in admiration at Layla Chemberlin's resourcefulness, the young woman just barely an adult.
He was currently in a top-tier suite inside Monument, the megatower in the administrative district. Nothing special about the location, but the room's setup was extraordinary.
Every fixture and furnishing matched his office at home exactly—not just in appearance, but down to materials and age.
'No wonder he's not worried. He raised his kids right.'
Not public knowledge, but Prime Capital Ezerton and Noble Capital T&C had been covert allies since Denver became patriarch. T&C funded the massive costs of Denver's secret project: next-gen Hulk mutant development.
In return, Ezerton voted for T&C's Saddam Chemberlin on the board. Layla might not know, but Denver had already sealed the deal with Saddam before coming here.
'I was thinking of summoning William again after all these years, but then that happened.'
Seeing his old subordinate attempt suicide right in front of him had shocked Denver. The William in his memories wasn't the suicidal type.
'Please...'
Denver mulled over William's dying words.
What had his old underling begged him for? When the first project ended in scandal, Denver had given the team generous severance.
'Can't be about credits.'
No amount of money was worth more than life. Self-harm over something so petty didn't fit.
'A problem he can't solve himself. And extremely urgent.'
Unfortunately, Denver knew little about T&C's special trade hub operations. He was well-versed in the politics, but not whatever had a regular cop risking his life for help.
'I'll need to gather intel on William.'
Sorting his thoughts, Denver asked his deputy commander.
"What happened to the suicide attempter?"
"He's in a commercial district hospital. Surgery went fine; he's in a recovery pod now."
"Hm. He's an old friend of mine—treat him well."
"We've assigned four Silver Lion Knights. All veterans, so no worries."
"If my deputy says so, I can rest easy."
True to his endorsement, it was handled cleanly. Nodding, Denver gave further orders.
"Also, look into the recent security issues in this city and report back."
"Security issues, sir?"
"Yeah. Got me curious."
"Understood. I'll have a report by tomorrow."
With Denver needing to prepare for the banquet, the deputy stepped out.
He couldn't fathom why Denver cared about some cop who ruined the welcome, but he didn't question it. The patriarch's whims weren't new.
Like the Silver Lion Knights, he was merely His Highness's blade. Blades don't question their wielder.
Back in his own suite, the deputy summoned another knight to carry out the orders.
"I'll investigate with the squad."
"Appreciated."
After sending off his men, the deputy pulled out an ornate communicator.
'Better check on them once more.'
The Silver Lion Knights were one of Ezerton's elite special forces, composed of battle-hardened veterans. Armed with high-grade suits and deadly weapons, they were human weapons. The deputy had no real concerns.
He just wanted to ensure they were executing as usual.
But today's op didn't go as he'd planned.
Aaaagh!
Damn it! Milburn's down!
Vickers, Deputy Commander! We need backup! Pyfield and Milburn are already... zzt
Hell was unfolding over the comms.