Chapter 121

Chapter 121

[Translator Jjescus]

[Proofreader Demon Gods Disciple]

Darkness, and mist was everywhere.

Screams and blasts echoing faintly from serious places.

Everything is the result of my actions and decisions.

Despite the chaos surrounding us, Muriel and I, seated here, observed each other without the slightest hint of wavering.

When to strike, how to retreat.

How to uncover the enemys numbers, and how to compensate if we fail.

She and I may be enemies, but we share the same thoughts.

Just before the raid on the campsite, I received information about the enemy from the Mother of the Sky.

Shes the type who fights while enhancing herself both with equipments and information.

According to what I heard, Muriel had a combat style quite distinct from the typical cultists.

While Space Survival guarantees high freedom, deviating entirely from the gameplay presented by the game developers was impossible.

For instance, playing as a Megacorp player to collect essence like an Amorph by consuming people, or pursuing a vegetarian Amorph, would render the game progress impossible.

Hence, when reaching a higher rank, one could generally speculate about the tactics and strategies based on the opponents race and faction.

If the opponent is a cyborg of the Star Union, theres a high possibility of fighting with various modules to enhance oneself or preparing various traps, while cultists often use psychic power techniques with diverse utilities to pressure.

Though exceptions exist, generally, they dont stray far from this framework.

So, if you draw the best card like the Antler Cult, the most effective approach would be to choose the cultish tactics, exploiting the enemy with over dozens of psychic power techniques.

Normally, thats what you would do.

As the Mother of the Sky said, Muriel was said to be more proficient in hand-to-hand combat than handling psychic power techniques.

Cultists in the setting are adept in psychic abilities but have physical abilities below humans.

Even if one enhances their physical abilities somehow in this reality, it would be almost impossible for a cultist like her who learned divinity to engage in close combat and emerge victorious against a Wolf who is close to divinity.

However, Muriel defied this common knowledge.

The style of fighting by enhancing oneself is often chosen by cyborgs.

For example, the navy-blue bodysuit shes wearing.

It closely resembled when the Nano Spartan module was activated.

The Nano Spartan module, as the name suggests, is an auxiliary device that equips a nano-reinforced suit over the entire body, dramatically enhancing physical abilities. Its mainly used by cyborg rankers when engaging in close combat, enhancing them slightly beyond Amorphs or Wolves.

Thats a cyborg-exclusive module. How did she use it?

In some mysterious way, Muriel, along with other races including the cultists, openly wore equipment that was supposedly not usable by them.

Even if I use insight, theres nothing coming out.

[Name: Muriel (Real name )

Species: Contains unidentified information.

Status: Contains unidentified information.

Worn Equipment: Golden Spear of the High Priest (Unique), and others.

Skills: Contains unidentified information.]

Just in case, I tried using insight, but all that came out was the golden spear she was holding, the Golden Spear of the High Priest.

Is it a new technology that nullifies insight, or

Whether its because Muriel is a player, or something else, its currently impossible to know.

Theres a lot to ask.

Having finished the brief contemplation in a matter of seconds, I withdrew the corroded tentacle from the hole in my back.

Just as I felt when I saw Muriel, she too frowned upon witnessing my abilities, which she had never seen in the game.

Muriel moved slowly to the side. It seems she has chosen her target.

Now, theres only one thing left.

A signal flare announcing the end of the exploration phase.N♡vεlB¡n: Inspiring Minds, Illuminating Souls.

Hot!

The initiative was taken by Muriel. She unleashed a swift battle cry and struck the ground.

The moment she lifted her foot from the ground, my corroding tentacles shot towards her simultaneously.

Muriel wielded the spear to deflect the tentacles. Now, can my massive tail really block her?

I pressed my upper body tightly against the ground, raised my tail upward, and swung it fiercely.

Seemingly judging it as difficult to block, she rolled her foot in mid-air. Disregarding the laws of physics, she stepped on the air like solid ground and reached out her left hand towards me.

When her hand glowed violet, my movements significantly slowed down. It was the effect of the advanced psychic power technique called Distortion Field.

The Distortion Field drastically impairs the movements of enemies within a certain space while greatly accelerating the casters own movements. It would likely slow me down while simultaneously enhancing herself, but she overlooked one thing.

Ihaveapsychicpowerreflectionglove.

Annoying!

Her floating demeanor crumpled. About 30% of the negative effects of the Distortion Field were reflected back onto her, applying to her as well.

Still, she could move much faster than me.

After evading my slowed tail, she counterattacked with the spear. The Golden Spear of the High Priest, stained with a considerable amount of blood, easily pierced through my tail armor.

Having successfully created small holes in my tail, Muriel thrust the spear repeatedly.

As expected.

In her rapidly recovering face, things unseen in ordinary living beings were revealed. Inside her melted skin, instead of white bones, there was an ivory-colored alloy skeleton, along with small mechanical devices and chips nestled between her red muscles.

It had been a question from the start. According to my memory, Muriel in the game was a cyborg affiliated with Space Dogs, using equipment exclusive to cyborgs while freely utilizing the Cults long-standing psychic power techniques. Even during the fight, she strangely preferred hand-to-hand combat like the Cult, which had raised suspicions. Now, all doubts were resolved.

A fusion of a Cultist and a cyborg.

It was a combination that all cyborg players in the game ardently wished for, yet it was an impossible combination for balance reasons. Now, it stood before me.

Having removed the melted horn and completed her recovery, the cyborg stared at me.

How can this be?

Setting aside balance, Cultists, with fragile bodies by design, couldnt endure cyborg modification surgery due to the intense pain. Until now, none of the Cults I encountered had attempted to resist the parasite, simply because they couldnt endure the pain.

Considering this, the possibility that Muriel started as a Cult and was later modified into a cyborg seemed low.

Rather, it might be the opposite.

Starting as a cyborg and changing the base race to the Cult through some means.

Its somewhat similar to my Transcend System.

Similar transformation abilities to Volph, dominance over spaceship capabilities unique to an Outspacer, and more. I transcended the limits of Amorph with the Transcend System. Muriel went beyond the limits of a cyborg to master psychic power as well. Somewhere, it felt strangely similar.

Alright. Ranked 5th, is it?

Instead of answering my question, Muriel pressed her empty left hand firmly against her neck. A transparent button-like thing appeared and disappeared where her fingers passed.

Eventually, the effect of the button she pressed manifested. Muscles on her body swelled, her eyes emitted an intense purple glow, and her left arm, which hadnt held the Priests golden spear, transformed into a mechanical arm integrated with the suit.

She absorbed psionium.

Just as Amorph could draw upon the next stage of evolutionary abilities by consuming psionium, the same applied to Cults and Cyborgs. Cults, when unlocked through specific quests, gained the ability to use psychic power techniques, and Cyborgs had the limit on the number of modules they could equip lifted all at once.

I wonder which race she upgraded to?

Human-based cyborgs were treated as cyborgs due to the race classification, so unlocking module restrictions through psionium effects wasnt surprising. However, Muriel was a more complex being, a combination of a Cultist and a Cyborg.

Perhaps she was influenced by both.

The headband I was wearing turned into a violet halo, marking the end of her transformation.

Because of you, Ive used psionium and even the equipment I saved. Ill make you pay for that later.

With those words, she quickly approached me. It was a speed so fast that even me, an Amorph, who had heightened senses, could barely detect it.

Danger!

Instinctively turning my head, I immediately heard a threatening sound, the noise produced by the spear she thrust. If I hadnt avoided it, my head might have been pierced by the attack.

Her physical abilities have risen unbelievably.

Realizing this fact, I swung my tail.

Unlike before, she didnt evade my tail this time. Instead, she grabbed it with her mechanical arm. Then, she began exerting force on the hand that held my tail.

[Enduring Pain skill activated!]

Not only breaking the thick exoskeleton of my tail but also breaking the bones inside it. With this level of strength, she might be able to tear off my tail with her left hand.

I pulled out the bone axe from my combat arm and swung it at her.

She easily blocked my attack with the short spear. Although the spears attack power remained the same, the force behind it was so strong that my attacking arm felt numb.

You dont seem to get tired of this. Will this method work on me?

Howabout this?

What?

She, with a disdainful smile, countered.

I already know you have a troublesome personality.

The hidden card isnt exclusive to her, and Ive been waiting for her to use that card.

I restrained her with the combat arm and corrosive tentacles to prevent her from escaping. The parasite I had planted before signaled beneath our feet. The host is ascending now.

No way?!

As soon as Muriel exclaimed, the ground we stood on exploded.

Muriellll!

Emerging from the pierced ground was a lions massive foreleg. Accompanied by a roaring sound resembling lightning striking from the sky, the lions foreleg flew towards Muriels legs.

Damn it!

When her calf was half severed, her body glowed purple and disappeared from my hand. Then, from a distance, she appeared intact.

You damn son of a bitch! What kind of Amorph are you!?

What are yousaying?

What kind of Amorph brings a companion along?!

Well, thats just game norms.

Humph!

While Muriel raged in anger, the Mother of the Sky crawled up from beneath the ground.

Choi Seo-ah, this idiotic girl wont die!

Until I finish avenging my family, until I chew on each piece of your flesh, you cant die, even if you want to. Before ending the vengeance of my family, you cant.

Muriel, using psionium, vowed revenge with blood tears, and the Mother of the Sky, now a precursor, joined in. With all the main characters assembled, the second round begins.

[Translator Jjescus]

[Proofreader Demon Gods Disciple]

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