NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: 030
As a science fiction game, Space Survival does not have many fantasy elements, but there are a few exceptions.
A representative example is the Vortex One space dragon Gallagon, a cult psychic creature that uses powers close to magic and is called a space elf, and has a strong fantasy tendency.
There are other creatures that can use psychic power, but these three races are unique in that they use psychic power like 'magic'.
'Each of them can be likened to an elf, demon, or dragon.'
Gallagons, nicknamed the dragons of the universe, are so rare and rare that it is difficult for ordinary players to even meet them.
As a result, many beginners mistakenly thought that it looked like a dragon, just like its nickname.
'In reality, it's completely different.'
It has a huge reptile-based body and a head with wings and horns on its back, similar to a dragon, but it differs in that it has a bundle of tentacles where its mouth should be.
Because gallagons rely on blood and psychic energy, their oral structure is made up of tentacles, unlike ordinary animals.
It is commonly said that the color of a dragon represents one's personality, but the difference is that the color of a gallagon represents one's level of growth.
The 'Gallagon's Claw' trait that Sihyeon Eugene gave me is White Gallagon's genes. If it's white, it's a sub-adult if you compare it to a medium Amorph.
'I've never gotten Gallagon's claws so quickly.'
Even the hatchling-level Blue Gallagon can be caught without difficulty at least when it is a semi-adult. If it's white, which is two levels higher than that, it goes without saying.
The fact that I have now acquired Gallagon's genes is an incredibly unprecedented event.
'I don't know where you got that precious thing…'
I can only be grateful.
The next trait I gained after Gallagon's Claws was 'Camouflage Skin'.
In fact, this ability is so powerful that it is no exaggeration to say that it is the greatest among the characteristics given by Sihyeon Eugene.
'Honestly, I'm more curious about where you caught the giant chameleon than Gallagon.'
Because the giant chameleon is a herbivore, its combat power itself is not that great. It is weak enough to be hunted without difficulty even in its Amorph fluid state.
The problem is that finding him is incredibly difficult.
Giant chameleons produce a special magnetic field from projections on the surface of their skin.
This magnetic field has the effect of making observation impossible with equipment or characteristics. The characteristics of my auxiliary organs, the psychic powers of electronic devices such as cameras, etc. all do not work.
Giant chameleons can only be seen with the naked eye, so spotting them is like picking stars in the sky.
You could say that it would be okay to search for them one by one, but their habitat is unknown. There are over thousands of planets in the game, so who would search for them knowing where to find them?
I said all this because while I was playing Aimorph, I only got the Giant Chameleon Essence three times.
Even if you want to buy the gene because it's an Amorph, you can't trade it. To obtain the essence, you must hunt it yourself and obtain it through the predation effect.
Of course, the predation effect can be achieved by consuming large quantities of samples or eating already dead corpses. The problem is that the acquisition rate with this method is so low that it is inefficient.
So the best way is to work hard yourself.
'I gained valuable information thanks to that hard work, so it might actually be beneficial.'
I know one piece of information about camouflage skin that even rankers don't know.
It is possible to combine mimicry and camouflage skin.
When the two fuse, they create a completely new characteristic.
No one knew about it, so I was the only one in the game who possessed this fusion trait.
The name of the characteristic created by combining mimicry and camouflage skin is the mimicry organ.
It is a trait that causes others to 'recognize' me as a victim that I have preyed on when they see me.
The way it works is a bit complicated, but here's a brief explanation:
First, the mimicry organ analyzes the genetic information of the prey victim. And it emits special pheromones made from information analyzed throughout the skin, disrupting the senses of other creatures.
As long as other creatures are within the area of my pheromones, they perceive me as a victim. In addition, the imitation effect remains, so of course it is possible to imitate the victim's voice.
The range of the pheromone itself is quite large, so it can be effective even from a distance.
It can be said to be a characteristic optimized for infiltration or surprise melee.
'Well, there are quite a few shortcomings.'
If you look at it this way, it may seem like a scam, but it also has quite a few drawbacks.
First of all, the mimicry organ does not change my body. Since the creature is deceived with pheromones, it is captured in a camera or other machine that does not work with pheromones, and its true appearance is also reflected in the mirror.
The mimicry effect itself is not perfect. Although it copies the victim's appearance, it cannot depict complex emotional changes such as joy and sadness other than simple actions.
As a result, the uncanny valley phenomenon is very severe. Even the most oblivious person can feel a sense of alienation and discomfort when they are in the same space.
Other imitations and shortcomings are also shared. During the mimicry effect, you can't say long, complex lines, or if you eat a new victim, you can't describe the previous victim, etc.
Although it has clear pros and cons, it is a trait that has a lot of potential to be useful in that it temporarily confuses the opponent's perspective.
'Finally, clairvoyance.'
The first two traits are great, but clairvoyance is actually a bit of a subtle trait.
'It's a good trait, but…'
In space survival, clairvoyance is only a name, and it is subtly different from the concept we know in reality.
'It's close to a kind of super spatial perception ability.'
Rather than seeing what actually is behind the wall, it is closer to the ability to 'reconstruct' what might be by combining information from the surrounding environment or elements.
However, because the reconstruction effect is almost the same as reality, it is called clairvoyance. In some ways, it can be seen as similar to the ability to predict the future.
If you look at this point, you will get the feeling that it is similar to something.
It is similar to Aimorph's extrasensory characteristics.
'Tsk. It would have been a good trait if it weren't for Amorph, but it's a shame.'
Since Aimov's extra senses are close to being compatible with clairvoyance, clairvoyance is a skill.
'Still, clairvoyance counts as a psychic type.'
Although it is not useful right now, it is a valuable supernatural ability. Plus, it can be used for fusion later, so it's better than nothing.
The inspection of characteristics has been completed. The text window has been waiting for my response since a while ago.
I accepted all trait applications.
｢The 'Gallagon's Claw' characteristic has been applied.｣
｢Can be fused with an existing 'superpower organ'.'
｢The 'Gallagon's Claw' and 'Superpower Organ' characteristics are fused. Evolves into the 'Monster's Tentacle' trait! ｣
｢Monster's Tentacle: Inherits and strengthens the existing 'Superpower Organ' trait. Can use psychic powers.
*PS: The power of the dragon must be used with caution.｣
｢'Camouflage Skin' trait has been applied.'
｢Can be combined with the existing 'Mimicry' trait.' ｣
'Camouflage Skin' and 'Mimicry' traits This fusion. Evolved with the 'Mimetic Organ' trait! ｣
｢Mimetic Organ: Can imitate the appearance of the hunted victim. Limited to once per day.
*P.S.: The human body is the warmest place to hide."
I was surprised to see the translucent text window popping up like crazy.
'Monster's tentacles?'
Without any time to question, my body began to mutate. Suddenly, I felt a pulling sensation in the back of my body, and itching came over me all over my body.
A bundle of small tentacles quickly grew long. Perhaps due to rapid growth, my head became heavy and I could feel the tips of tentacles on my shoulders.
On the body, microscopic holes were forming in the chitinous covering of the skin. A person with trypophobia would probably faint if they looked at my skin through a magnifying glass.
A new membrane-like material formed over the holes, making the outer skin look like it had geometric patterns carved into it.
Since it did not evolve to the next level, the mutation was short-lived.
I touched the long tentacles that looked like the legs of an octopus. No matter how you look at it, it looks exactly like the tentacle attached to Gallagon's mouth.
As far as I know, Gallagon has no superpowers. Also, the tentacles in the mouth cannot be acquired as an attribute. In human terms, it's the same as trying to acquire fingers or toes as characteristics.
'…I don't know what it means, but it's clear that I got a better weapon than claws.'
The ability to throw a sharp wind composed of psychic energy is good, but the monster's tentacles have a wide range of use beyond attack. It's an unexpected result, but it's not bad at all.
'The mimicry organ will be as I expected.'
Finally, perspective was applied, but I didn't feel any change. Still, thanks to this, it won't be long until I get a type related to superpowers.
'Now there are 4 psychic abilities.'
There are four situations: predator sense, humanity, monster tentacle vision. If you evolve into a sub-adult here, you will receive 'superpower resistance' as a perk, making it 5.
In other words, if you get just one more, you can secure a type related to superpowers.
As I thought about that, something came to mind.
I looked at No. 26, who had fainted and then fallen asleep.
'I never thought it was Mr. Demon.'
Many marine life enthusiasts have tracked the ecology of the Sea Demon, but no one has discovered how the Sea Demon is born. So everyone accepted it as a game-related permission, and so did I.
At least until today.
'Couldn't it be a mutation among the bubble amoeba that evolves into a sea demon?'
The two are similar in appearance and ecology, except for size. And although the Sea Demon is such a fearsome being that it is called the tyrant of the sea, it does not eat the bubble amoeba.
Maybe it's because the two are of the same race.
It is very important in the current situation whether No. 26 is a Sea Demon or a mutant with the possibility of evolving into a Sea Demon.
'…Sea Demon has supernatural powers.'
It is a trait called 'fear of the deep' and it is a trait that drives people within a certain range crazy. It is similar to Red Mist's hallucination characteristic, but its range is incomparably wide and it is a passive characteristic, so it is activated at all times.
Although it is a very powerful trait, it is not easy to obtain the trait because the Sea Demon is such a dangerous monster that many rankers must hunt it together.
'In a way, it's a trait as rare as Gallagon's claws.'
And there is a being in front of you who may possess those characteristics. Compared to the Sea Demon, it is infinitely weaker.
'no.'
I thought about it for a moment, but I firmly shook my head.
It is unclear whether No. 26 is truly a mutant with the potential to evolve into a Sea Demon. Even if it is correct, there is no guarantee that the predation effect will be activated.
'I heard about…'
Hunting and evolving alone is fun enough, but traveling with other beings is also a new experience.
Hunters must always pursue learning. Only when you accept everything with a broad mind can you broaden your horizons and become stronger.
I stroked No. 26. He is a useful person who helps me. I plan to help as much as I can until my life is in danger.
After shaking off my thoughts about No. 26, I went to the cockpit and changed navigation from manual to automatic.
｢Please set the destination.｣
'Destination.'
When I pressed a button on the dashboard with my small hand, several candidates appeared as holograms.
The default location was a planet under Megacorp, which was originally the target of the shooting star's research vessel.
'There's no need to go there.'
Large troops are deployed on Megacorp's planets. It's a little different depending on which planet you're on, but it's completely impossible to deal with them in my current state.
'Where is the closest place from here?'
I searched my memory and looked at places we could go. Then, I saw a place that was familiar to me.
'T&C Special Trade Center.'
It is a huge space colony floating in outer space, and I know it well.
'This place will be fine.'
It was a famous place in gaming where many players gathered to make transactions. It was a place where all kinds of genetic essences gathered, so it was also a place I visited regularly.
'Thanks to you, I got a lot of criticism.'
There was a lot of complaining that he was a cowardly morph, but what can you do when Amorphs are that kind of race to begin with? If they feel so unfair, they can also do AMOFF.
Of course, it doesn't mean that the other person won't eat just because he or she is an Amorph.
Anyway, a colony where various races gather will be good nutrients for my growth.
"The route is being reset to T&C Special Trade Center. There are 3 hours left until arrival."
3 hours. I decided to rest for a bit before arriving.
I filled up my energy through meals, but I wasted a lot of mental energy fighting continuously.
I went to the bed and lay down next to number 26. I slowly fell asleep while stroking the boy snuggling in my arms.
–
Star Union's capital city, Sachs-01.
Polluted rain pours from the black smog, in which not a single ray of light can be found.
If you follow the falling raindrops down, you will see factories constantly spewing out smoke.
No matter where you went on the planet, all you could see was factory smog and photos attached to every building.
A photo of a man with mechanical eyes and a solemn expression with his arms crossed was posted in every home, store, and factory.
The name of the man in the photo is Zubaka. He is the great leader of the Star Union and is considered the father of all cyborgs.
Cyborgs walking down the street saluted every time they saw the photo, but no one thought it was strange. Because it's a natural thing here at Star Union.
Amidst the strange scenery, there was one building with no photos.
What looks like an abandoned building.
There was a facility underground that the cyborgs were not aware of.
Contrary to the dark atmosphere of the ground, there was a medical capsule in a clean medical room without a trace of dust.
The capsule, which looked like a pure white coffin, slowly opened with a mechanical sound.
As soon as the capsule was opened, a pure white arm protruded from inside.
"Huh! "Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk…"
The owner of the arm was a woman. A woman with black hair and a slim body. She got up and coughed.
Her name is Sihyeon Eugene.
No, to be exact, he was her 'clone'.
As Sihyeon Eugene is the 'shadow' of the Eugene family, she is so strong that she has no enemies, but it wasn't like that from the beginning.
At a time when genetic modification was not yet complete, she took out insurance for the future.
If you die, you have arranged for a clone to take your place.
In Megacorp, if nothing else, human cloning technology was a kind of taboo. So she hid her clone in a hostile country of Megacorp.
"I didn't know I would become a clone…"
Sihyeon looked down at her body. I saw a smooth body with white skin as if it were a newborn. Although she had a beautiful body, she was unfamiliar.
Inevitably, some of the original genes in the clones were not updated. Her Gallagon's claws, Redmist's hallucination abilities, and countless other genetic abilities were all lost.
I didn't know how much longer it would take to restore the genes lost because of the monster. She gritted her teeth because it seemed like a major setback had occurred in the grand plan she had been planning.
"…I'll rip out his brain, the next time I meet that bastard."
Sihyeon Eugene's eyes were deeply stained with resentment.
–
The time when light falls asleep and stars open, the port district of T&C Special Trade Center was still crowded.
All kinds of intelligent beings, including workers in work uniforms, businessmen in suits, tourists, and alien races, were walking around diligently under the colorful neon signs.
Carpenter, who works in the port district, was also working overtime like them.
It was break time, so he was watching a web novel on a small terminal when his communicator light came on.
Beep
"Hey Carpenter. "Are you busy?"
"Howard ? why?"
"The Megacorp escape ship has arrived."
"Where did it come from?"
"I contacted the control tower, but they said there was no answer. Seeing that it is set to auto-pilot, I guess there is something wrong."
"It looks like the loveless babies have arrived again. "I'll check."
"It's Area 7."
When I went to the place my colleague told me about, a richly decorated escape ship caught my eye. Carpenter whistled as he looked at the small spaceship that clearly looked like it had spent a lot of money on it.
"Wow, what kind of master would sneak away like this?"
There were often escape ships here with children from high-ranking capital companies trying to run away from home. Carpenter, convinced that this was the case again, knocked on the escape ship's door.
"Everyone inside, please come out."
I waited for a while, but there was no answer.
Carpenter sighed and took out his hacking equipment. After connecting the cable to the terminal next to the door and operating the equipment, the escape ship's door opened easily.
"Why did you even turn off the light?"
The inside of the escape ship was dark without any lights. Carpenter turned on the lantern attached to his hard hat and looked around the inside of the escape ship.
"Where did you go?"
There were traces of someone's presence, such as a broken liquor bottle on the floor and the cockpit, but no one was actually visible.
"huh?"
There was something sticky stuck to the bottom of my shoe. When I checked the floor, there was a strange liquid accumulated there.
"What is this?"
While I was touching it with my hand, liquid fell from above. Carpenter's gaze followed the dripping liquid upward.
There was "it" on the ceiling.
–
"Hey Carpenter, where did you go?"
"uh? "He said he was leaving work early today."
"okay? "The guy who said you need to make money to buy a house is leaving early?"
"uh. "There he goes."
Howard turned his head to his colleague's words. Carpenter was seen walking about 20 meters away.
"Hey Carpenter!"
"…."
Howard called and Carpenter stopped in place.
Coincidentally, the place where he was standing was a dark alley where the streetlights did not shine.
It was so dark that even though the distance was not far away, the outline of the upper body was covered in shadow and could not even be seen.
'Why is that bastard standing in a place like that?'
Howard suddenly felt strange when he saw Carpenter. It was clearly him, judging by his gait and the clothes he was wearing, but somehow it felt like I was seeing a different being.
"Hey, you said you were working overtime today? Are you just going to go?"
"uh. busy."
"Isn't the work manager saying something?"
"uh. "I said I was busy so I asked to go."
After saying that, Carpenter disappeared into the darkness of the alley. Strangely enough, when Carpenter disappeared, the discomfort I felt in a corner of my head completely disappeared.
"…Why the fuck does that bastard talk like that?"
"Leave it alone. "I guess I'm having my period. Tsk tsk."
Howard returned to work with his giggling coworker.
The next day Carpenter did not come to the port district.