I Became an Evolving Space Monster

The loot obtained from the port command post was quite good.

The material part was as unremarkable as expected, but I did get some interesting information instead.

When my clone attacked the pirates, they used confinement bombs.

This weapon made by Star Union is effective when dealing with medium to large creatures. In fact, it can be said to have an excellent blocking effect as it is capable of holding my alter ego at least for a moment. Therefore, it is a weapon often used by players who enjoy hunting.

‘But it’s a bit tricky to find.’

According to the setting, the restraint bomb is a classified weapon created by Star Union for use against Hulk mutants, so its distribution is restricted. The official setting is that players from other factions can purchase and use it only with approval from the Machinery Committee.

And manufacturing it requires expensive shape memory particle manufacturing plants and advanced nanotechnology. It is not easy to make unless you are a cyborg player who has reached a certain level.

A pirate uses such high-end consumer goods? It’s close to impossible. Unless you receive support from a ranker.

‘The amount I brought was considerable.’

Because I brought as many as 5 containers. Even in games, it is rare to see this many bullets being used.

A war between players, or…

‘When capturing the upper Apex.’

Apex creatures are difficult to catch simply by pouring out high firepower. It has strong combat power and has many special abilities, so various preparations are required. There is nothing more to say if it is someone like Vortex One, who is at the top of Apex.

And a large amount of binding ammo is a very basic preparation for hunting high-level Apex or raid bosses.

‘But there are no Apex creatures here.’

The same goes for other planets in Jer-11. Even if there were stronger creatures living there than I knew, they probably don’t exist now. Because they would have been completely wiped out of Megacorp during the terraforming process.

‘Except just one.’

A noble being that does not settle on any planet or star system, but constantly wanders.

One of the top Apex creatures, Arcane Orca.

‘PS-111 did that. It is highly likely that this area will be included in Arcane Orca’s activity area.’

This place has no precious resources, nor is it home to rare creatures. From a pirate’s perspective, there is no particular reason to come here.

However, if you have Arcane Orca, the story is different.

‘They came for the same purpose as me.’

There were a total of two candidate sites selected by PS-111 and Mother of Heaven. PS-111 and I came to Jer-11, and Heavenly Mother went to investigate another star system.

As was the case in the game, it takes a considerable amount of time to find Arcane Orca. Honestly, I thought AG-01 was most likely a dud. But I never thought I would find traces left by a space wanderer so quickly.

‘Of course, there are still problems.’

I looked down at Ventress hanging on the wall. He was consumed by parasites and was staring into space with empty eyes.

‘The key is exactly when Arcane Orca gets here.’

Even Shinoni’s vice-major knew nothing about that. The only orders he received were to stabilize AG-01 until the other pirates arrived.

‘Your colleagues said they would be back in about two weeks, right?’

It is said that the Shinoni leader who gave orders to Ventress is currently carrying out a mission elsewhere. Once that’s done, they’ll come to AG-01 with cartels that share the name ‘Sino’.

That means it will be at least two weeks before Arcane Orca comes here.

Although the exact date is unknown, it is certain that the pirates will arrive earlier than Arcane Orca. You will have to come in advance and prepare for hunting.

And as long as their goal is the same as mine, conflict is inevitable.

‘If you are a ranker aiming for the top Apex, this is not an easy opponent.’

Looking at the Sino Group cartels that we have encountered so far, it is assumed that the identity of the leader is Ranker. Whether it’s a plasma rifle or a binding bullet, it’s not easy to get one unless you’re a ranker.

‘I don’t know which faction it is.’

Anyway, both the ruling faction and the returning faction are hostile to me. It doesn’t matter where he belongs.

What is more important than that is the power it possesses. A person trying to hunt a creature as powerful as Vortex One cannot be weak. He might be at the same level as me, or even stronger than me.

Of course, I have no intention of giving up. Because here, the characteristics and Aadhai’s life are at stake.

‘He doesn’t have much time left.’

Even at this moment, Aadhai is trapped inside the red crystal and is rapidly consuming energy. If you don’t get Arcane Orca’s body quickly, your life is in danger.

To get what I want, I have to kill my rival.

‘They don’t know I’m here yet.’

If I use Vicemaster Ventress well, I can keep my presence hidden. In addition, it would be possible to induce specific actions by providing incorrect information to the enemy.

So, while they don’t know anything and focus on Arcane Orca, we can create a game that is advantageous to our side. No matter how strong you are, you will be shaken if you receive an unexpected attack.

‘Then I’ll have to get ready right away.’

I contacted PS-111 and told them what Ventress had said and my thoughts.

｢AG-01 is the activity area of the dangerous organism ‘Arcane Orca’, and is estimated to be observable after at least two weeks. Shino, a pirate association tracking the creature, is also scheduled to visit in two weeks. “Is that right?”

“Yes.”

PS-111, who heard my story, summarized the situation briefly.

“So, tell Heavenly Mother to come here too.”
“All right. Still, we will continue to collate Zer-11’s stellar activity data to prepare for emergencies.”
“Yes. please. Oh, and I probably won’t be able to hear from you for a few days starting today.”
“Why is that so?”

There was something that had to be postponed due to pirates targeting the research complex.

Predation of materials for unique trait synthesis.

Here, I plan to create a unique feature that uses the trash feature as a material.

“Are you preparing for physical growth?”
“That’s right. So, if anything happens, consult with Heavenly Mother. “She would know what to do.”
“Has confirmed. “I hope you complete your growth safely.”

After completing communication with PS-111, I activated the holographic device using the hiveformer. A list of genetic samples previously brought by MPS-03 floated in the air.

There are a total of 4 characteristics that I need to acquire from numerous samples. It is overlooked because its performance is not very good, but it is not particularly difficult to obtain it.

Except for one thing.

‘Let’s get the reclusiveness first.’

This trait can only be obtained from three types of creatures. One of these is an Apex creature, so it won’t be here. Instead, I’ll have to check to see if there are samples of the other two creatures.

‘How many scrap metal crabs and mushroom snails are there?’

The Hiveformer operated the device and searched for the names of creatures with characteristics. After a while, detailed information about the sample appeared as a hologram.

‘Let me see.’

I first checked the genetic sample of the scrap crab.

‘You can often see scrap metal crabs at Megacorp, so there will be quite a few samples.’

Scrap crabs are large crustacean creatures measuring about 2 meters in length. It looks like a mix between a hermit crab and a palm claw, but its habits are close to those of a hermit crab.

Instead of conch shells, they make buildings or spacecraft alloy materials their home. When moving to a new house, you spend the rest of your time inside the house except when eating. However, if there is no food nearby, they will chew up their own home, so they move frequently.

‘Because of this habit, they are often raised to dispose of metal waste.’

According to the setting, the Cult Empire and Megacorp operate a garbage disposal site using the habits of scrap metal crabs. This was possible because it did not attack humans thanks to its gentle nature. It was popular among players as an ornamental along with the bubble amoeba.

‘what? The number of samples currently in storage is 4, and all the rest will be discarded?’

However, there were fewer scrap crab genetic samples left than expected. It seems that the managers of the research complex secretly sold it.

‘If there are this many scrap metal crabs, there may be no mushroom snails at all.’

Mushroom snails are harder to see than scrap crabs due to their unique habitat and habits.

‘Because they mainly live in putrid swamps.’

Mushroom snails’ main food is rotten bones trapped in contaminated soil and meat containing a lot of bacteria. That’s why they like environments like swamps infested with all kinds of germs or tombs full of rotting corpses.

It goes without saying, but these places are not easy to access. Entry is only possible if you are fully equipped with anti-gas equipment, so it is difficult to encounter living things inside.

In addition, mushroom snails are difficult to find once they enter the ground. The bumps on its back look like mushrooms, so if you don’t know it, it just looks like a colony of poisonous mushrooms. To catch it, you have to dig through the contaminated soil one by one.

And the number of samples of mushroom snails was only one.

‘If you add them all together, you can challenge a total of 5 times.’

Even if you don’t have many opportunities, it’s worth a try.

‘good. Next…’

‘Dwarfism’, ‘sensory deterioration’, and ‘slow life’ are present in many types of living things. It is not as difficult to obtain as the hermit orientation.

In no time, I had checked all the samples I needed. I ordered the hiveformers in the complex to bring genetic samples.

The total number of samples collected in this way was 32. After transforming into a ‘hunting symbol’, I started by pouring samples of scrap crab and mushroom snail into my mouth.

A sample smaller than my fingernail passed straight down my throat. The purified essence was digested in an instant, and three text boxes appeared in succession.

‘Three?’

Perhaps because the samples were stored poorly, predation was successful only three times out of five.

Fortunately, the last of the three was hermit-oriented.

‘it’s okay.’

If a sample is successfully predated in the hunting representation state, it acquires the incomplete characteristic. In this state, no characteristic effects can be obtained, and it can only be used as a unique characteristic material.

Anyway, I have overcome a big hurdle. I ate all the rest too.

A feast of text boxes announcing successful predation followed. There were some pretty interesting ones among them, but that’s not what we’re going to worry about now.

｢’Transcendence’ Ingredients List: Dwarfism, Hunger, Sensory Degeneration, Slow Life, Hermit Orientation｣
｢Do you want to use the Transcendence System?｣

The important thing is that you have obtained all the desired characteristics.

‘What will be the new unique characteristics?’

And what vision will you see inside the cocoon this time?

‘You’ll find out soon enough.’

With that curiosity in mind, I accepted the text box’s request.

“Watch next episode”