I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 418

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 418

‘……’

My thoughts are a mess.

The altered endgame mission, the sudden appearance of the Amorph, and these beings called ‘Them’ none of it can be taken lightly.

That data construct threw out a bunch of critical clues, yet failed to provide a single essential explanation. It left too many gaps for me to confidently draw any conclusions.

Only one thing was absolutely certain: the boss responsible for the final trial had transformed into something similar to the Amorph.

‘I’d like to capture it and interrogate it, but…’

To meet it again, I’d have to reconstruct my body—go into a cocoon. And the only time I can enter the cocoon is when I fuse a Unique Trait.

‘I can’t create a new Unique Trait right now.’

Out of the two synthesis formulas I’ve unlocked so far, one requires the traits of an Arcane Orca—so I can’t craft it yet.

The other formula has all its components ready… except it includes the ‘Reapers Maw’.

One of the reasons I even came here was to bring the corpse of the Arcane Orca to Adhai. If I hunt the Orca without the Reaper’s Jaws, I’ll have to give up one of two things: either I don’t consume it to save Adhai, or I consume it myself.

If I choose the latter, Adhai and the rest of the Gallagon pack will be at risk. Finding another Arcane Orca would take significant time.

The ideal scenario is that the Unique Trait inherits the properties of its ingredients—but that’s not something I can count on. There’s no telling what kind of result will come out of the fusion.

‘So there’s only one real path forward.’

Do what the data construct suggested: go to Earth.

It said someone there could clear up my doubts.

‘Probably a Ranker who survived the final raid.’

In fact, I have someone in mind.

A human Ranker who fought the former boss, The Watching Shadow. He reshaped his body at will during battle. Among the Rankers I’ve fought, there’s one with the exact same ability.

‘Akira Yujin, CEO of Megacorp.’

Though he looks entirely different, the enemy had shape-shifting abilities. Appearances mean nothing—he can change them at will.

‘…Damn it. I should’ve caught him back then.’

At the time, I thought I was lucky to obtain the Hiveformer, but that was short-sighted. I should’ve devoured his real head, even if it meant pushing myself. If I had, I wouldn’t be stuck in this mess now.

‘Hmph.’

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Dried mucus and flakes from the cocoon shell scattered from my head.

It’s already in the past. Regret won’t change anything.

‘After this hunt, I’ll need to prepare to draw Akira out.’

Heading directly into the Solar System is not a good idea.

That’s Megacorp’s core territory. Its security is overwhelming. Even a basic crisis response agent is equipped with plasma weapons and powered armor as standard issue. Space fortresses are stationed across the entire star system, each one guarded by a massive fleet.

‘I could break through with the entire Gallagon pack…’

But they’d be nearly wiped out in the process.

It’d be better to lure Akira somewhere else.

‘The problem is: how?’

He’s already suffered multiple defeats from me in the game and even lost to me once in reality. If I try some half-baked bait, it’ll just put him more on guard.

I need to gather more intel on him before crafting a plan.

‘Now that I think about it, that Ranker from the Shino Group—he might know something.’

Cartels under the ‘Shino’ name are backed by major powers. If he’s leading such a group, there’s a good chance he knows Akira.

‘Another reason to devour those pirates.’

I’ll need their heads for information gathering, too.

Anyway, I’ve thought enough about what I saw in that illusion and what I’ll do next. None of it matters until after I hunt the Arcane Orca.

‘Now then…’

It’s time to check the new Unique Trait and the changes to my body.

I wiped off the dried mucus clinging near my eyes with one arm, then opened them.

Instead of the black chitin with a reddish tint I expected, what I saw were pale wing-like arms. All of the tentacles created by the Hiveformer had turned a cloudy white. Even the inner chitin of the tentacles had shifted color.

‘What the…?’

It wasn’t just the color that had changed. My eye level was far lower than before I entered the cocoon. My overall size had shrunk dramatically.

From the tip of my central head to the end of my tail, I now measured about 30 meters. With two tails and three necks taking up most of the length, my actual body was less than 10 meters long.

‘I’ve never been this small before.’

I flexed my arms slightly and raised my torso to take a closer look.

Once I fully extended the folded limbs, they turned out to be quite long. It seems each arm had an extra joint added. The wing-arms stretched well over 10 meters. The parts that previously served as legs before the cocoon had transformed into limbs identical to my battle arms.

In contrast to my thin, elongated arms, my torso had become short and stocky. The back and abdominal plates were grotesquely bloated, likely to house the organs responsible for traits like Corrosive Tentacles and Face-Beasts.

Long arms, still-massive necks and tails, and a relatively short, thick torso—my form now resembled a crab or a giant spider.

‘Or maybe more like an octopus?’

Tentacles in the same color as fog undulated from all over my body, giving the impression of a sea monster straight out of a horror novel.

｢Grrrk?｣

｢Grrrrrr…｣

Finally, the two side heads woke up.

‘Huh?’

As they raised their necks and let out low growls, something strange caught my eye. Only the parts that had been submerged in black mucus remained stained black. The tentacles carrying that darkness twitched and writhed on their own, even without my conscious control.

It was as if its body was mimicking the look of liquid pooled in a nest.

‘Is this the effect of the new trait?’

A moment later, its entire body shifted to match the camouflaged parts. Even though it was its own body, the disguise was so perfect that it couldn’t recognize itself.

And that wasn’t all.

It raised one of its arms and waved it around. As it moved, the tendrils subtly undulated, maintaining their disguised state with impressive precision.

‘This isn’t just a basic concealment ability.’

There were many traits that allowed color-shifting to blend in with surroundings. But this—this level of camouflage, one that remained even while moving—was a first. It even replicated the trembling of water’s surface. The concealment was nearly flawless.

‘It really is a Unique Trait, huh.’

Maintaining camouflage while moving—that was impressive. If it combined this with a trait like Dark Veil, the synergy could be extraordinary.

‘Still…’

Something about it felt lacking.

The Unique Traits forged through the Transcendence System had always come with overwhelming power. While this stealth ability was undoubtedly remarkable, it felt a bit underwhelming compared to the others it had gained before.

‘Size reduction has its pros and cons, so I can live with that. But… is that really all?’

It hadn’t checked the textbox yet.

Just as it prepared to see if there were additional effects it didn’t know about, a sound of water came from nearby. MPS-03 was approaching.

The bot came to a halt right in front of one of its arms.

“Cocoon. Gone? Gone?”

The Mini Screamer, with its camera-eye, didn’t even recognize the creature standing right before it.

“Search. Necessary.”

After scanning the area for a few seconds, the bot began climbing up its arm with its metallic legs, seemingly trying to get a better vantage point.

‘So how do I deactivate this?’

This wasn’t a passive ability like Protective Coloring that would turn off automatically when it moved. Focusing on the tendrils, it gathered its awareness like a net cast over still water.

The moment that mental web touched the ends of the tendrils, the camouflage peeled away, and its body turned back to white.

“Amorph! Found! Found!”

MPS-03 flinched in surprise, almost slipping off. It caught the tiny machine with one hand and gently placed it down atop the nest.

“Growth complete? Size. Reduced.”

“Yeah, but I got a new power in return.”

“Camouflage. Fascinating. Unknown mechanism.”

The bot prodded a tendril with one of its legs. Some of the tendrils reacted, briefly shifting into a chrome-like sheen before returning to their original color.

“Did you come to check if I was awake from the cocoon?”

“Affirmative. Middle one, harbor. Waiting.”

It seemed the Mother of the Sky had already arrived.

‘That was faster than I expected.’

Before entering the cocoon, it had told PS-111 to summon her here. Still, it hadn’t expected her arrival this soon.

“There's something I need to check first. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Understood.”

It sent the bot on its way, then finally opened the textbox.

｢Sinister Mimic: A wise predator knows how to take the strengths of its prey. You gain a constantly active camouflage effect. Additionally, you may utilize the 'Molting Organ' to restructure your body by adapting traits from powerful prey.

*’Molting Organ’: Reanalyze the tokens left by powerful prey to generate new body parts or organs. You may apply up to 2 tokens at a time.

*To replace one of the selected tokens, a cooldown of 30 days must pass.

*Tokens that have already been analyzed cannot be used again.

*Note: Selection and adaptation—these are other names for evolution.｣

The textbox caught my attention instantly.

I read what it said and couldn't help but nod my head.

'...This can't be boring after all.

The unique traits created using the Transcendence system have always surprised me with their unconventional effects.

This was no exception.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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