I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 431

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 431

Among the Rankers, the Arcane Orca is ranked as one of the highest-tier Apex predators, alongside the Red Gallagon and Vortex One.

But it differs from the others in one key aspect: it possesses very few abilities.

‘Only three, huh.’

Unlike Vortex One, which defies the laws of physics with its unique powers, or the Red Gallagon, which commands a wide array of combat techniques, the Arcane Orca has a startlingly limited arsenal. Across the entire spectrum of Apex creatures, it's rare to find one with so few abilities.

So does that mean it's easier to take down?

Absolutely not. All three of its abilities are overwhelmingly powerful—and more importantly, they synergize with each other incredibly well.

The first ability is energy manipulation and control.

All the white energy spheres I’ve encountered on the way here, the blazing, sun-like radiation pulsing from afar—all of it stems from this power.

The Arcane Orca feeds on fusion energy produced by stars. Since it has to handle such vast amounts of energy, it naturally possesses advanced energy detection and control capabilities. That’s also why all of its attacks behave like homing missiles.

The second ability is energy absorption.

Its body consists of a true core encased in a pseudo-skin. This skin, made of a fusion of energy and some unknown material, serves as a protective barrier and energy absorber.

The problem? There's no restriction on the type of energy it can absorb. Psychic power, the Empire’s Cosmic Bolt, even Ion Cannons from Gigacrackers—all of them get swallowed whole.

‘That's exactly why I left Number 26 behind.’

For Number 26, who fights by manipulating psychic power, the Arcane Orca is a perfect counter. Its attacks simply won’t work.

The third and final ability: Quantum Shift.

Having mastered energy control, the Arcane Orca can disassemble its body into particles and reassemble it at a desired location. It's similar to the Cult's artifact The Tuner, awarded from certain quests.

‘But unlike the Tuner, there’s no usage limit. It’s practically a superior version.’

As long as it has enough stored energy, it can quantum shift indefinitely. The only drawback is that during the reassembly process, it becomes briefly immobile.

‘…Even thinking about it again, its specs are insane.’

Offense, defense, evasion—it’s superior in every category. No wonder it's at the top of the food chain.

‘It took me ages to finally land a successful hunt.’

Still, thanks to that struggle, I learned exactly what needed to be done to win.

I approached the brilliant cluster of light.

That white glow, like an artificial sun, was leftover waste from the Arcane Orca's energy digestion. Its true body was hidden deep within it.

But just because it’s residue doesn’t mean I can lower my guard. That light is a mass of pure energy. Every inch of space the light touches is under its control.

Due to its low aggression, it spreads energy in this way as a form of deterrence.

‘First, I need to pierce through that and get inside.’

Once it senses that the opponent is a real threat, it retracts all the energy it spreads out. Only after that white light fully vanishes does the true battle begin.

Just like I did in the game, I moved in to clear the energy field. But suddenly, the light rippled. The widely scattered glow began to compress at high speed.

‘Huh?’

Unexpectedly, I halted my flight and observed.

Moments later, a bizarre figure emerged—something that looked as though it had swallowed both the light and the darkness of space.

Roughly 40 meters long, it had a golden skeletal structure shaped like a whale, wrapped in translucent skin that shimmered with a soft, pale blue glow. Along its skin, patterns resembling star clusters drifted slowly.

Rather than a creature, it looked more like a divine being.

That… was the Arcane Orca.

‘It’s already entered combat mode, even though I haven’t gotten close.’

Most likely, it's been driven into a frenzy due to the enhancements granted by the 25th Ranker.

Suddenly, energy orbs began appearing in the empty void of space. There was no question who those destructive spheres were targeting.

‘Well, this skips a few annoying steps. That’s fine by me.’

I lunged straight at the revealed body. The light orbs moved at the same time.

The homing missiles surged toward me with brutal force. Back in the game, I’d tried every trick to dodge them, but it was impossible. Same outcome here, most likely.

‘But I have another trick.’

Just before the orbs struck, I played my prepared card.

A monster with the body of an insect and a human face—an Humanoid Parasite—tore out through my membrane. Following my command, it darted off in the opposite direction.

Half the orbs immediately veered and followed it.

‘Hooked.’

I was worried things might work differently in reality, but thankfully, they don’t.

The Arcane Orca, which exists solely in space, lacks sensory organs like eyes or ears. Instead, it uses a unique detection ability to perceive the world. When identifying opponents, it doesn’t rely on appearance, but on the nature of their body and energy.

‘And the Humanoid Parasite is made from my body.’

The creature's components are chemically identical to mine. In the game, the Arcane Orca couldn’t distinguish between us. Release an Humanoid Parasite, and it would instantly take the bait—just like now.

‘Though it’s a smart beast. It won’t fall for the same trick more than two or three times.’

That’s fine. The goal is simply to minimize damage while closing the distance.

I expelled every dormant Humanoid Parasite inside me and accelerated. The orbs dispersed in all directions, chasing the decoys. Thanks to that, I closed the gap with minimal harm.

Seeing me approach, it reacted. The starlike constellations on its body dimmed, as though the lights were being snuffed out. It was concentrating energy to launch another attack.

‘Oh no, you don’t.’

It had its turn. Now it's mine.

I dashed in close, driving my corrosive tentacles and combat arms into the translucent, pale blue skin.

My claws and tendrils sank in without resistance. And then—an intense, searing heat far stronger than the light orbs ignited inside my body.

｢Pain Suppression: Activated!｣

Its body is the product of condensed thermal energy and unknown substances.

It’s no different from plunging into a living sun.

‘I must endure this!’

Retreating now wasn’t an option. Every regenerative trait it possessed was operating at maximum capacity just to keep its body barely balanced. It had to attack Arcane Orca’s true body—the golden spine—as quickly as possible.

It was a brute-force method, but there was no choice. Psychic Breath or any other energy-based attack would only feed the creature. Physical damage was the only means of attacking that wouldn’t empower it further.

The Amorph moved its regenerating, Corrosive tentacles and arms to grasp the spine and drove its central and right heads into the creature’s body.

｢Pain Suppression activated!｣

｢Pain Suppression activated!｣

The tip of the muzzle that entered first, and the thinner horn, melted away in the heat. But the thicker headplate held firm.

Trusting in its own formidable defenses, the Amorph bit down on the creature’s bone with all its strength.

Sensing danger, the Arcane Orca convulsed violently. In an instant, large and small white orbs materialized around them.

As blinding waves of light rained down, the Amorph yanked its heads backward with full force. Fragments of the Arcane Orca’s bone were torn out along with its retreating heads.

At that moment, with its spine damaged, Arcane Orca released a surge of raw energy.

Scorching heat swept over the Amorph’s entire body. Its wing membranes evaporated in an instant, and all of its tentacles fused to its carapace. The force of the blast sent its body tumbling backward.

Fortunately, the wave of searing energy didn’t last long. The one who had caused it had vanished.

In the empty void of space, golden particles began to converge. The scattered light rapidly compressed, reassembling into the skeletal form of a whale. The creature had repelled the Amorph and then used quantum teleportation.

‘Now the real fight begins.’

Whenever it was wounded, Arcane Orca teleported. But the energy required to regenerate exceeded the energy it gained through battle. With each teleportation, its reserves dwindled.

‘Eventually, it’ll run dry.’

The Amorph's strategy was to endure until Arcane Orca could no longer teleport—then, kill it.

‘There's still time.’

Thanks to its berserk state, the Amorph had taken less damage than expected. If not for that, it would’ve already needed to activate Superior Homeostasis. Luckily, it could save that for a truly critical moment.

This hunt was going to be a war of attrition. It needed to conserve its recovery abilities for when they were most vital.

The real problem was the pain. Until the Arcane Orca died, the Amorph would repeatedly experience the sensation of its entire body melting. While the Pain Suppression trait dulled it, it wasn’t something easily withstood.

‘Still… this is nothing compared to getting hit by the Abyssal Hue bubble.’

This much pain—it could endure.

The Amorph forced its regenerating body to move again. In response, Arcane Orca resumed its attack.

Never-missing energy projectiles tore its flesh apart. Its carapace shattered, and liquefied flesh oozed from the cracks.

The injuries weren’t minor, but once again, they allowed the Amorph to close the distance.

With the pincer at the tip of its tail, it clamped down on Arcane Orca’s skull. The bone cracked easily under pressure.

In retaliation, the Arcane Orca blasted out another wave of energy to push the Amorph away. Another cycle of the hunt had ended.

Time passed.

By the eleventh repetition of this brutal process, the Amorph was in shambles.

It had lost all its corrosive tentacles, and only two of its winged arms remained. The right head had been stripped of its carapace, exposing raw bone. Injuries had piled up, and recovery was growing slower.

Arcane Orca, on the other hand, looked almost the same as when the battle began. Its energy had certainly decreased—but it was far from defeated.

‘Time for me to recover, too.’

Instead of charging again, the Amorph changed course toward the planet. Homing energy spheres lit up behind it, but it ignored them. Even as its tails were shredded by the bombardment, it didn’t slow down.

It dove straight down, crashing into its nest like a meteor. Without a moment’s delay, it linked with the hive and issued a command.

Thirty percent of the Hiveformers were to self-destruct immediately.

A gaping hole formed in the wide sensory network—a void left by the death of the nest’s caretakers.

But that void didn’t last long.

An overwhelming wave of energy surged in to fill the consciousness.

It was the effect of the trait Sacrificial Offering. The trait enabled the nest to absorb corpses and convert them into energy for the host.

Tens of thousands of corpses were transformed into nourishment and flowed into the Amorph.

Its severed combat arms and tentacles regenerated. The shattered carapace was replaced with pristine new plates.

‘Hah… good.’

It wasn’t a perfect recovery, but it was good enough.

It spread its wings wide and took to the skies again.

The Arcane Orca, which had chased it down to the planet’s blue skies, paused upon seeing the Amorph fully healed. The light across its skin flickered subtly—clear signs of agitation.

‘Then shall we begin again?’

Who would be the prey here?

That battle had yet to be decided.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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