I Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 361

“Predation effect activated! Successfully acquired the ‘Illusion of Hell’ gene essence.｣
｢Taken away ‘Illusion of Hell’ among the creature characteristics of ‘Dradsong’.｣
｢Would you like to apply ‘Illusion of Hell’?｣
‘It was close.’

Shortly after the text box opened, all strength left my body. This is because the ‘symbol of hunting’ has ended. The gigantic body was reduced by half, and the parts that had changed here and there returned to their original appearance.

“how is it? Did you succeed this time?
“Do you want to move on to the next object?”
[Zuzuz, zuzuzu, zuzuzu (It’s okay. This is enough)]

Since I have secured the characteristics and obtained the necessary materials from the Heavenly Mother, there is no need to go and catch more.

‘Plus, I just happened to gain some good traits.’

A text box is waiting for my selection. When I chose to accept the trait, the text box disappeared, and the digested genetic essence was evenly distributed throughout my body.

It was through the biological pipe that the flow of essence that would fundamentally change my body arrived.

When an Amorph grows into an adult, long and short pipes appear here and there on its body. These biological pipes are used to secrete special chemicals, such as ‘Dark Shroud’, a fusion trait related to psychic abilities.

When Dradsong’s genetic essence was applied, the pipe began to change. What was once black turned dark red, and on top of its unique bio-mechanical form, it became rough, like hardened lava.

Not only that, but the area where the pipe sprouted, that is, the outer skin covering my entire body, also had a dark red streak pattern. It’s like lava that flows out of a volcano and begins to solidify.

Meanwhile, except for the wings and head carapace, all parts were black, so it felt a bit boring. However, adding accents to various parts of the body definitely made it look more impressive.

｢Big Adult｣｢Color of Stars｣｢Similar｣｢You Look Strong｣

Aadhai tapped his ankle with his front paw. And he pointed at his red wings with the bundle of tentacles attached to his snout. I guess he likes me because I’m similar to him.

‘Shall I show you what effects it has?’

Now that the mutations of the biological pipe have been completed, it is time to experiment.

This characteristic can be viewed as operating through two mechanisms.

‘First things first.’

Chemicals produced within the body are expelled through biological pipes.

All the pipes sprayed gray liquid into the air. Like water sprayed with a spray gun, the liquid on the floor and my outer skin quickly evaporated. Soon, a gray gas reminiscent of the sulfuric acid fog that hung over the Dradsong habitat enveloped my body.

Since the substances that make up the gas are strongly acidic, I can cause damage to other equipment or buildings just by approaching it. You can think of it as spreading characteristics like ‘acidic blood’ or ‘acidic fungal glands’ in the form of a gas.

But if it ended here, it wouldn’t have been called ‘Illusion of Hell’.

[Zuz zuzuzu (everyone step back)]

So far, step 1. I distanced myself from the kids. This is because children can also be harmed from this point on.

‘Now step 2.’

I covered my body with gas and opened my mouth, teeth chattering lightly. Then a spark flew out and attached to the gas. In an instant, my entire body was covered in huge flames, and the temperature inside my body rose rapidly.

This strongly acidic substance that makes up the gray gas has a very low flash point, so it catches fire easily. The temperature of the flame also rises so high that even a small bullet can be destroyed before it reaches my body.

As the name of the illusion of hell suggests, I myself become a monster burning in endless flames.

‘It’s a characteristic that is very different from the power of the original.’

In the case of Dradsong, it causes a strong explosion by inhaling naturally formed gases and explosive substances. On the other hand, the illusion of hell can be seen as a form in which its destructive power and aggressive aspects are weakened, instead of producing toxic gases on its own.

‘It’s not that bad right now.’

Since it is a trait that surrounds the body with fire, it is useful when fighting enemies who specialize in hand-to-hand combat.

Not to mention small and weak enemies, it is also useful when fighting enemies that are heavily armored or have high defense. This is because it can continuously inflict damage to nearby enemies, just as the saying goes that you don’t notice your clothes getting wet in a light rain.

No matter how strong an enemy’s defenses are, if they are continuously exposed to acid gas and high-temperature flames, the damage will inevitably increase.

‘The high level of heat dissipation is a bonus.’

As the illusion of hell was applied, the heat dissipation effect of my outer shell increased significantly. There is no fear of the fire cooking my intestines and flesh. It is also useful when fighting monsters that inhabit volcanic planets, such as Magmasaur.

｢Big baby, it’s burning hot.｣
｢Big star｣｢Power｣｢Slightly｣｢Feeling｣
“After analyzing the composition of the gas, it was confirmed that it was a mixture of acidic and flammable substances. Please be careful as there is a risk of ignition upon contact with the material.”

They are intrigued by my burning body.

“Seeing that reminds me of something that happened before.”
“What happened before? Ah, ah!」
“It looks like Seo-ah knows it too. ‘Space Bomber’.”
“It’s so famous that there’s no one who doesn’t know about it. Because of that, the kids who have it these days get angry whenever they see Amorph.”

Heavenly Mother and Isabel looked at me and whispered among themselves, as if they were remembering something from the past.

‘Don’t be a space bomb.’

I was called that for a while when I was passionate about gaming.

Here, this trait is acquired after becoming an adult, but in the game, it is acquired during the sub-adult period. At that time, when I somehow infiltrated the space fortress, I immediately ran to the oxygen supply facility.

‘And it became light.’

Enclosed spaces, large amounts of oxygen, and even gases made of flammable substances. This is a very good environment for self-destruction. If you blow up the fortress, you won’t be able to get the genetic essence, but at the time, I was focused on instilling fear in my enemies, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘Looking back, it was a bit too much.’

There have been more than one time that I lost the essence of my good genes because I found the bombing fun. After obtaining the unique trait, I refrained from self-destructing, but until then, many players blew up their forts and quit the game because of me.

‘Now that I think about it, there was a unique attribute synthesis formula that was unlocked before, right?’

Other than the synthesis formula unlocked by killing Vortex One, there is only one synthesis formula that was unlocked a long time ago. The illusion of hell trait acquired this time was one of the ingredients for the synthesis formula.

‘I’ll have to move my seat first and check it out.’

When I decided to unlock the trait, the pipes in my body became locked. The flames that were burning wildly gradually died down.

[Zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (Let’s go to a safe place)]
｢Where are you going?｣
“On the way, we found a huge pit. “Due to the structure of the entrance, it is highly likely that it leads underground.”

I picked up the kids and followed the directions of PS-111 to the place where the pit was.

As I flew back the way I had flown over the barren black land, I saw a very large hole. It was wide enough to easily fit a destroyer. Also, when I looked down while flying, I couldn’t see the bottom, so it seemed like it was quite deep.

‘It looks like there’s no lava inside.’

There is no steam or gas rising, and only the sound of a strong wind is heard.

I jumped down and entered the pit.

When I saw the entrance, I thought it was spacious, but it was as expected. Inside, there were small tunnel-like things opening here and there, and the shape was quite complicated.

When I looked at it, it looked like a space created naturally by lava and gas. As time passed, the contents moved to another place or spewed out, leaving behind such a huge feature.

When I got to the bottom, I saw a passage through which the lava had escaped. The entrance was large enough for me to go in and hide.

‘I need to hide there.’

I crawled into a natural tunnel created by flowing lava. Inside were the corpses of several animals that had died because they could not find a way out.

‘There’s some decent food right now.’

The kids got off my back and each took their own food without me having to say anything.

“Will my friend get better if I have this?”
“It’s an organic material that looks useful for tail repair.” “I’ll help you too. What do you need?”
“Food” “It’s soggy”
“Shall I bake it for you?”
｢Rejection｣｢That Method｣｢Meal｣｢Inconvenient｣

I told the kids that I had something to check, went inside and took a seat.

‘Where then…’

I lay down comfortably and checked the semi-transparent text box.

｢’Transcendence’ material list: Inorganic Digestion, Harvester’s Maw, Bone Beast, Infernal Vision, Ultra Control (not obtained)｣

｢’Transcendence’ Material List (New!): Demon Machine, Tyrantroid, Unconfirmed, Unconfirmed, Unconfirmed｣

‘I originally came here for the second fusion ceremony.’

I came here because I thought hunting Apex creatures would be a clue after seeing the incomplete trait, ‘Demon Machine’, that emerged after preying on ‘Ring of Anguish’.

‘Originally, I was planning to target Magmasaur and other high-level Apex creatures.’

Until I came here, I never thought I’d catch a dragoon, but things have changed a bit. Now that you have obtained the vision of hell, all that is left is the trait you can get from the Antler Cult, ‘Ultra Control’.

‘There’s just a problem.’

It’s been quite a while since I unlocked the first fusion ceremony. This is because the key trait was ‘Inorganic Digestion’, which was obtained when hunting down the powerful Apex creature ‘Gorgon Swarm’.

So why have you been paying attention until now? The reason was that it was very difficult to obtain one of the many materials, ‘Harvester’s Maw’.

The body-related fusion characteristic, Harvester’s Maw, is created by synthesizing the ‘Essence Harvester’s Jaw’, which only Aimorph semi-adults or special Outspacers have. If you use the harvester’s maw as a material, you will lose the ability to obtain genetic essence by consuming only the head.

‘At the time the fusion ceremony was held, it was a semi-adult body, so there was no room to consider it.’

The other ingredients, ‘Digest Minerals’ and ‘Bone Beast’, are not easy to obtain. When collecting a large amount of genetic essence from the space fortress ‘Kesha Arma’, I had the same concerns and gave up.

‘But now the conditions are different.’

When I became an adult, my body became so large that it was difficult to deliberately aim for the heads of other creatures. There aren’t many creatures bigger than me right now. Quite a few creatures can be swallowed in one bite or eaten in a short period of time.

Therefore, it can be said that the risk of having to eat the enemy whole has been reduced.

‘If you think about it this way, it might not seem that important, but…’

If you change your mind slightly, it won’t be like that again.

‘Even when fighting people like Vortex One, it’s a hassle to have to eat their entire body.’

Without the Harvester’s Maw, it becomes difficult to acquire traits through predation during battle. Even if it is an enemy that can be swallowed in one bite, even if it is a slightly large creature, the meat must be consumed one by one.

‘Besides, it will be difficult to experiment on other people.’

I looked at No. 26 and Aadhai sharing Osundosun food. They feasted on food they would never eat if it were a game. Thanks to that, we both gained new strength.

Not only those guys, but also the twin sisters and Heavenly Mother. They also need the bodies of Apex creatures to become stronger.

If I eat it all, I will be robbing everyone of their opportunity.

‘In the past, I wouldn’t have thought about this at all.’

Whether in the game or in reality outside of the game, I lived only thinking about myself.

In space survival, all beings are seen as prey. In reality, I did not interact deeply with anyone.

When I see that I feel affection for those little monsters and am willing to give in, I feel like I have changed a lot.

‘…Well, because this method is more advantageous for survival.’

First of all, the first fusion ceremony must be sealed as before. It won’t be easy to get Ultra Control on this planet anyway.

Let’s focus on the second fusion ceremony, just like we decided to come to Asuka 44.

‘There has never been a case of overlap among the fusion ingredients so far.’

Among the unconfirmed ingredients for the second fusion formula, I have to exclude the illusion of hell. It will take more time as researchers infected with parasites are diligently looking for Magmasaur.

‘The next enemy worth targeting….’

A few types of creatures worth eating come to mind.

I closed my eyes and kept thinking about what to do next.

–

“what? “Dreadsong habitat was destroyed by an earthquake?”

Salman tilted his head at the communication sent from the exploration team.

Earthquakes are not a particularly special natural phenomenon in Asuka 44, where volcanic activity is active. The building where he stays is equipped with a gravity control device to minimize damage from earthquakes.

Salman knew that too, but there was something he couldn’t understand.

‘This is a dread song that is notorious for being cunning. ‘They never make their home in places where earthquakes occur.’

Even if you lose the battle for territory and are forced to live in a place where earthquakes occur frequently, it is a problem. Because they live underground, they can predict earthquakes faster than anyone else. If an earthquake is expected to occur, evacuate to a safe area in advance.

‘But there was no such sign.’

If Dradsong had moved territory, there was no way his eyes all over the planet would not have seen it.

‘…Vulkarox, that’s what he said. There was an unknown giant creature near Dradsong territory.’

As I thought about that, one thing came to mind.

A being that preys on all kinds of vicious beasts and takes their power. If ‘that guy’ came here, he would most likely be looking for Dradsong first.

‘no way?’

Salman suppressed his ominous thoughts and gave an order.

“Check all of the areas of Dradsong that have been confirmed so far. If you encounter a suspicious creature, report it immediately.”
“All right.”

After ending the communication, he immediately opened the drawer.

‘If he’s here….’

It hasn’t been revealed yet whether he’s really here, but you never know. Considering his notoriety, it is impossible for Salman to deal with it alone. He has no intention of dying here.

Inside the open drawer was a diamond-shaped tombstone.

“Watch next episode”