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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 467
The bio-garden is a trait that lets manipulate the nest’s mucus to create structures into any form I want.
The reason I chose this trait, which had been so useful when hunting Space Dogs back in the gaCorp colonies, was simple.
‘This side has less risk.’
Being able to fully wield another creature’s abilities is already an incredible advantage. But the potential and benefits of the Essence Fusion System far exceed that.
I don’t know how many more traits I’ll gain in the future, and I have no intention of throwing that away.
Besides, unlike Joy who could balance out her weaknesses thanks to Fourth ranker’s help I have no such ans. If I gain a weakness, I have to live with it.
This world is a dangerous place where life-threatening crises strike frequently. In a ga, if you die because of a weakness, you just try again. Here, you don’t get that luxury.
So, this ti, I chose the path that seed safer.
‘Let’s rge them, then.’
I slotted my unnecessary traits in as enhancent material and confird the selection.
｢rging Joy (Joy Spencer)’s perk with the Bio-Garden trait. Movent^ꂈ⦶⍝ Trait Enhancent System intervention!｣
｢Trait refinent in progress｣
｢Evolved into the Terramorph trait!｣
｢Terramorph: You may use a sufficiently grown nest as a secondary body the “Terramorph” form. This form automatically deactivates once all energy is consud.
*Warning: While using this trait, the main body is rendered completely immobile.｣
The trait I’d just obtained was… subtly different from what I had expected.
‘I thought it’d be so kind of support trait for the nest…’
From the description, it could be a trait to strengthen the nest… or it might be closer to Hydra Fission, creating copies of myself. Or maybe it was a mix of both.
‘Guess I should try it directly.’
Judging by the explanation, there didn’t seem to be any re-use cooldown risks like traits such as Symbol of Hunt. As long as I had a nest and energy, using it itself shouldn’t be a problem.
‘Alright, let’s see then.’
I had just built a nest anyway, so this was the perfect chance to test it.
‘I’ll probably have to use it while linked, right?’
I pressed the sub-organ under my jaw against the nest. Familiar sensations spread, my senses fanning out through the black mucus.
Link with the nest complete. I imdiately activated Terramorph.
｢Nest is not sufficiently grown.｣
‘Huh?’
An unexpected alert. Instead of activating, the trait failed.
‘You’re kidding ?’
This nest had been around for over three hours, grown large enough to swallow a tenth of the giant farmland. I hadn’t expected failure at all.
Thinking the location might be the issue, I tried again elsewhere sa result.
‘So only almost fully matured nests work, huh.’
An Amorph’s nest expands rapidly for three to four days, then slows. I can shorten the ti to peak growth, but I’ll still need to wait at least a full day.
‘Tch.’
I had thought the risk was low, but of course there’s a catch. I’ll need more ti to verify the trait.
‘For now, I’ll just focus on building the nest.’
Just as I was about to spew more mucus, I sensed soone entering the nest vibrations, as if dozens of people were walking in unison. It was Isabel, the mutant Screar shaped like a snake and centipede.
“Amorph.”
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (What is it? Do you need food?)]
She shook her head at my question.
“I have sothing important to tell you.”
[ZZZ ZZ (What is it? Tell )]
“First, promise one thing.”
[ZZZ (A promise?)]
“No matter what happens, protect my sister. Like you do for Number 26 and Adhai.”
Her face of beautiful sculpted tal was expressionless. Even the blue eyes, the only thing that remained from when she was alive looked the sa as always.
The difference was… this ti I could feel emotion. Faint, but seeping up from beneath her hard, tallic skin.
[ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Why are you asking this?)]
“Just answer , can you promise or not?”
She pressed for an answer, looking genuinely uneasy.
Since becoming a mutant Screar, she had never shown herself like this. I knew I had to consider my words carefully.
“Be honest with .”
After a brief pause, I spoke in a human voice.
“PS-111 is worth protecting at any cost. But… not as much as those two.”
“…You an….”
“Number 26 and Adhai are special to . If I absolutely had to sacrifice one of the three, I’d choose your sister.”
“……”
“Of course, that’s not going to happen. I’ll make sure of it. I'll intervene before it even cos to that. As long as I’m alive, I’ll protect her. That’s my promise.”
Isabel fell silent at that.
I knew it wasn’t the answer she wanted. But she didn’t want to lie either and so I told her the truth.
“…As I thought. Alright.”
It was a long while before she spoke again.
“Then… pretend I said nothing important.”
“Alright.”
“…Huh?”
She looked like she’d expected to be angry, but instead I was… grateful.
“You’re still telling your sister’s next after those two, right? Important enough for you to resolve to protect her.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s good enough for .”
“I thought you’d dislike for ‘playing favorites.’”
“I understand how you feel.”
The short reply carried a lot of weight.
“Anyway… since you’ve humored , I’ll tell you what I ca to say.”
‘What on earth is she about to say that makes her so cautious?’
I fixed my attention on her lips.
“It’s about Beomho, the leader of the returners. More precisely… a clue about his perk.”
“…What?”
The Seventh’s perk? The words ca out of nowhere, and I was caught off guard.
“Before, when I asked you about him, you said you didn’t know that you couldn’t find out without seeing him in person.”
“I never have seen him directly. Whenever he needed to et or Alshas, he always sent a proxy.”
Thanks to her perk, All-Seeing Eyes, Isabel could check a target’s information. The catch was that she had to see them with her own two eyes for it to work.
“So… there was sothing about the proxy?”
“Yeah. Their text box wasn’t like a normal person’s. In all my ti, I’ve only seen sothing that strange three tis.”
It’s not like traits or equipnt that hide information are unheard of but as far as I know, there aren’t any that can replace the text outright.
“What was different about it?”
“The proxy I t wasn’t a Ranker… but they had two nas. Above their real na, there was another written ‘Shin Beomho.’”
“…Two nas overlapping?”
“Mm. The real na was translucent, faint enough it was barely visible, while the na Beomho was bold and clear.”
An overwritten na, huh. Definitely unusual.
“And aside from that?”
“All other fields besides the na were faded out… replaced with a single word: ‘Dominated.’”
“Overwritten nas, a ‘domination’ ssage… sounds a lot like so kind of mind control ability.”
At my guess, she gave a small nod.
“Probably. When the na goes completely transparent, that person has fallen entirely under Beomho’s control.”
“You make it sound like you’ve seen that happen firsthand.”
“There was a human in Water Fortress who was in the middle of that process. Soone you know, actually.”
“…That I know?”
“Si-Hyun Yujin. A clone of hers stayed briefly at the hotel where I worked.”
The sudden ntion of that familiar na made flinch slightly.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t impossible after all, I’d fought Si-Hyun Yujin back on Verzan-02.
Still, of all places, I hadn’t expected her to show up at Water Fortress… let alone in the hotel Isabel worked at.
“Yujin’s text box also had two overlapping nas but hers was much clearer. And the rest of her stats were untouched, with no ‘Dominated’ tag.”
“…So he was trying to make her his next proxy?”
Yujin’s combat sense ranked among the top even among gacorp's players. She’d make an appealing pawn for Beomho.
‘That strange weapon of hers… must have co from him, too.’
A weapon capable of destroying the essence of a specific species I’d wondered where she’d gotten it. Looks like the answer’s Beomho.
“So… how do you think the perk works?”
“It seed linked to sleep or dreams. Every ti they woke up, their condition worsened.”
“No strange equipnt or supernatural phenona?”
“Nothing like that.”
If Isabel hadn’t seen anything like that, it ant he wasn’t relying on weapons, energy tools, or other external aids to seize control of soone’s mind.
‘I’ll have to keep digging into this…’
Even from what Isabel had just told , Beomho’s perk sounded extrely dangerous.
Chances were high I’d end up fighting him at so point.
Once I took care of Akira Yujin, I’d have to start tracing leads on him.
“That’s as far as my intel goes.”
That was Isabel's entire piece. And from what she’d told , I could understand why she’d been so hesitant at first.
“Yeah… definitely important information. But…”
There was still one thing bothering .
“…why bring it up only now?”
We’d traveled together for quite so ti, sharing all sorts of stories. And we had talked about the Returners before, especially Beomho.
But she had never once told anything like this until today.
‘So… she’d been deceiving all this ti.’
Not for a day or two, but for quite a long while.
“When I was still a Coldblood, there was a restriction on I couldn’t reveal anything about Beomho’s proxies.”
“And after that? Once you beca a Screar, you could’ve told .”
“I originally planned to tell you back in Nox. I thought it’d be the perfect ti, since you’d ntioned eting Si-Hyun Yujin. But the timing just never lined up… and here we are.”
She spoke in a calm voice, as though she’d already anticipated my question.
But she still hadn’t answered the most important part.
“You’re still avoiding the real question: why hide it at all?”
As I spoke, I slowly raised one of my tentacle-arms.
If Isabel had deceived for so ulterior motive… then she was no longer an ally.
I wouldn’t necessarily kill her here and now but I would subdue her on the spot.
“To be honest, I needed certainty.”
“Certainty?”
My sharp claws reflected in her blue eyes.
Even under that threat, neither her gaze nor her voice wavered.
“You overwheld Vortex-One, that infamous demon of the cosmos. There aren’t many single lifeforms in this universe stronger than you. And…”
Her words paused, and she turned her head toward the factory.
“…There are also those who truly follow you. Adhai and Number 26. The Gallagons who follow them. The tallic Gremlin packs. The Wolves. If you gave the order, they would all stand by you.”
“…And your point is?”
Her bright blue eyes turned back to et mine.
“Your strength already rivals that of the Returners and the Dominion Faction. If you grow further, no one will be able to touch you. Not even those under your protection like my sister.”
“That sounds like you’re saying you’ll cozy up to because I’m now strong enough.”
“That’s exactly right. I’m ready to invest everything I have into you.”
She lowered herself almost bowing in deference.
“If you want, I’ll even hand over my perk to you.”
For a Ranker, there’s only one way to pass on a perk: dying to another Ranker.
In other words, she was saying I could consu her if I wished.
I looked down at Isabel without a word.
Honestly, it disgusted .
If she were anyone else, I would have killed her imdiately.
Even now, a faint urge to crush that small, delicate head was creeping up from the back of my mind.
And yet I didn’t.
Because I understood why she had deceived .
Her twin sister’s safety.
She was willing to stake her life for that.
Family, huh…
I have no siblings.
Even before I ca to this world, I’d been estranged from my parents and our relationship long soured.
Living a severed, solitary life… I couldn’t truly understand Isabel’s devotion.
But… even I have beings I hold dear here.
‘Maybe that’s why I could understand… at least a little.’
And besides…
I’d made a promise to PS-111 before to help it recover its mories from its human days.
And the Screar before … is the one who occupies the largest space in those mories.
“You’re saying you’ll give everything?”
Seeing my claws draw closer, Isabel quietly closed her eyes.
My tentacled fingers stopped just short of seizing her beautiful face.
Instead, I moved a single finger.
The tip of my claw touched her tallic skin and sparks danced in the air.
“…Then I guess that’s not much different from how things already are.”
I left only a tiny scar on her forehead and withdrew my tentacle.
Killing Isabel here would bring far more loss than gain.
I could even lose PS-111 in the process.
And now… she’d never be able to deceive again.
Because there is no one else here who can protect her sister like I can.
“Whew…”
Realizing that my anger had subsided, Isabel let out a deep sigh.
Her hardened torso and arms loosened, the tension lting away.
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t thank . I plan to wring every bit of use out of you from here on.”
Beomho was the kind of man who even sent proxies to his own faction mbers.
He’d be hiding sowhere far out of reach.
Even Isabel would have to work hard to track him down.
After I deal with Akira, I’ll make sure PS-111 helps follow Beomho’s trail.
The best place to start will be Yujin… and his proxy.
Especially Yujin, she had people under her command, which would make finding her far easier.
I was about to wrap up the conversation there when a thought suddenly struck .
“Co to think of it… you ntioned you’ve only seen three people with that kind of strange text box, right? The proxy, Si-Hyun Yujin… and who’s the third?”
Isabel tilted her head.
“Why, you, of course.”
“…What?”
She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“You’re the only Ranker I’ve ever seen who can hide their own na.”
Her words were nothing like I’d expected.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⁂fire
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