Chapter 32

chapter 32

the next day, before going to work, ras reported the strange man he had seen yesterday to the police. having made the report, there was nothing more he could do. the rest would be up to the police.

so he spent the day at his busy job, trying to forget about yesterday’s incident. lost in his work, he didn’t realize that quitting time was approaching. he hurriedly grabbed his bag, intending to escape from this hellish place, but his team leader grabbed him.

“ras, you’re not leaving early today.”

judging by the team leader’s expression, it seemed like he might end up as a mountain crawler’s meal if he left. in the end, ras had to stay late at work with his unwilling teammates.

‘...that team leader is such a lunatic.’

it was only well into the night that he could finally break free from his work. normally, he would go to a bar to relieve stress, but it was already quite late. to be able to get to work the next day, he had to go back home.

as usual, ras bought a synthetic drink and walked to the subway station in the residential district. the streetlights, which had been broken yesterday, were now brightly lit, casting a reassuring light on the streets. there was no sign of any suspicious individuals in the well-lit area.

on his way home, he once again noticed the manhole cover. unlike yesterday, the cover was tightly closed.

seeing the manhole, the terrifying memories from yesterday came rushing back. ras swallowed hard and walked past the manhole.

fortunately, nothing he feared happened until he reached his apartment complex.

“phew.”

as he passed through the entrance to the complex, ras let out a sigh of relief. he looked up at the corridor on the third floor where his apartment was located.

there, ras felt his heart stop.

something pitch-black stood in the apartment corridor. with a long tail and four arms, it moved strangely and then opened his apartment door and entered.

“...”

without saying a word, he took out his communicator.

***

‘it’s narrow.’

as expected, the cyborg’s apartment wasn’t very spacious. it was a one-room apartment consisting of a bathroom, living room, and a balcony.

after deciding to target the cyborg, i checked out everyone who lived in this apartment complex.

‘it was easier to investigate during the day when most people were either at work or sleeping.’

during the day, i roamed the rooftop and corridors, collecting all the necessary information about who to target and when to change appearances. if no one was around, i entered the house and searched for clues, and if someone was present, i observed the inside from the outside using auxiliary equipment.

through thorough investigation, i learned that various species lived here besides humans and cyborgs. there were reptilian humans with scales, known as cold bloods, and bipedal creatures like wolfs, among others. there was a diverse range of prey available.

‘it’s a good thing that the species i need to eat to evolve into a pre-saint is difficult to obtain.’

evolution conditions become more complex after reaching the pre-saint stage.

‘i have to eat a total of 60 playable species: 20 species capable of transformation, 20 humanoid species, and 20 species using psychic powers. and...’

achieving four types is one of the conditions.

space survival is a game that emphasizes player versus player combat. eating other species isn’t that difficult for amorphs. the real challenge lies in obtaining those four types.

‘i already have one for physical enhancement, and i’m on the verge of acquiring one for psychic enhancement. but it’s still a long way to go when considering the type penalties.’

types don’t just unlock with an abundance of traits. key traits required to unlock type conditions, and i need to focus on acquiring those relevant traits, making it a challenging task. additionally, the predation effect doesn’t always occur.

so, most amorph players give up at this point and focus on raising other species. it might be a wise decision since the conditions for evolution beyond saint become much more challenging.

‘a special trade hub like this attracts many extraterrestrial species, making it easier to collect genes in one place.’

collecting genetic essence by going to planets where the required species live is inefficient. storming a place with a high concentration of them is the shortcut to rapid evolution.

‘especially in the special trade hub, there are quite a few cults that have immigrated from megacorp.’

if i consume them as well, i can easily fulfill the condition of eating 60 extraterrestrial species.

“alright, i’ll spend some time here, so why not take a look around?”

i meticulously inspected the entire apartment. number 26, apparently delighted with this cramped and dirty space, roamed around here and there.

‘the soundproofing isn’t great.’

after a thorough look, that was the first thought that came to mind. the noise from the adjacent and upstairs apartments was so loud that it could be heard even here.

‘the apartment below is vacant.’

there might be prospective tenants, but currently, it’s unoccupied. when i evolve into a saint, my weight will significantly increase, and the people downstairs will soon notice something unusual happening upstairs.

‘i’ve calculated that, but... huh?’

my auxiliary system gave me a warning signal. someone is approaching in the corridor.

[zzz zzzz (come here)]

「baby, what’s going on?」

[zzzz zzzzzzzz(someone’s coming)]

i called number 26 and calculated the footsteps in the corridor. there were a total of three individuals. the cyborg and two others i didn’t recognize were following.

‘the police.’

i had no intention of fighting with law enforcement right now so i decided to hide inside the apartment.

***

“you said a monster entered the house, right?”

“yes.”

“the door seems fine.”

“they broke in through the door!”

while the alcohol was tempting, the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to sleep without getting drunk also influenced his decision.

with that, he emptied another bottle and collapsed onto the bed. his house might be small, but he had purchased a relatively large bed because he wanted to sleep like an upper capital.

‘feels good.’

the spacious and plush bed enveloped him. the intoxication and comfort slowly took over his mind.

“when i get off work tomorrow, i’ll choose a woman who looks like the team leader.”

he had vowed to let go of all the stress caused by her making him work late, but then a strange sound reached his ears.

from the apartment below, he could hear the dragging of a heavy object.

grrr! grrr! grrr!

“that crazy guy, can’t he do this during the day instead of at night?”

he muttered curses under his breath and tried to go back to sleep. just as he was drifting off, he remembered something important.

no one lived in the apartment below him.

grrr! grrr! grrr!

“...”

as if ice-cold water had been poured over him, ras snapped back to full wakefulness. he wanted to believe that it was a sound coming from another house, but the annoying noise resonated too closely. it was as if something were hiding just under his large bed.

the creature he had seen earlier. at first, he had thought it was huge, but upon reflection, it wasn’t.

excluding the tail, it was only about two-thirds the size of an adult man. to be precise, it was just big enough to fit snugly under a bed.

grrr! grrr! grrr!

as he realized this, ras’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if possessed by a cold shiver. he desperately prayed that it was just another delusion.

when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in his familiar room, and he turned his gaze toward the floor beneath him.

there, with only its head exposed, it was grinning, revealing its teeth.

***

gary couldn’t sleep because of the neighbor next door who kept shouting.

‘crazy bastard, this time i won’t just let it slide’, gary muttered to himself as he stormed out of his house. he banged on the neighboring door forcefully.

“hey, you bastard! come out right now... huh? what’s this smell?” gary furrowed his brow as he pounded on the door, puzzled by an indescribable scent that mixed something akin to a metallic smell from a hardware store with an inexplicable pheromone-like aroma.

‘why is there a metallic smell in the middle of the night?’ gary wondered aloud when, suddenly, the door swung open.

“it’s night, why are you making so much noise? did you buy this place or something?” gary asked.

“i apologize.” ras, the man from next door, offered an apology in response to gary’s anger. gary had intended to unleash a string of curses, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. as he looked at ras, something about him seemed off. having crossed paths with him a few times before, gary had a rough idea of what kind of person he was. but the ras before him now was clearly not behaving normally.

‘what, what’s with this creepiness?’ gary thought. ras stared at him with an unblinking, expressionless face, leaving gary speechless.

“hey, uh, it’s night. it would be good if you could be a bit more careful’, gary finally managed to say.

“i apologize.”

“understood. just be more cautious from now on.”

ras continued to repeat apologies like a broken machine, leaving gary wanting to leave this place immediately. he gave a vague cautionary word and entered his own house. as a result, he didn’t hear the words ras had left behind.

“the next target has been chosen.”

***

after sending the neighbor away, i returned home to find number 26, rummaging through the refrigerator. it was stuffing sandwiches from the fridge into his mouth one by one.

[zzz zzzzzz zzzz zzz zzzzz (are you hungry? want to eat?).]

「i want to eat a lot.」

leaving number 26 to scavenge for food while wandering around, i picked up one of the arms lying on the floor of the room.

‘it doesn’t taste good’.

surprisingly, ras was the second least tasty thing i had eaten so far. his flesh carried the scent of alcohol and the stench of rotten meat, reminiscent of old decay. if i exclude calorie bars, which had no taste at all, ras was the least appetizing.

‘it seems there’s a correlation between health and taste’, i mused.

he didn’t appear to have a healthy diet, and i couldn’t help but worry about consuming similar beings in this apartment complex.

‘well, i have to force myself to eat it’, i decided.

if i want to evolve, i need to at least eat this cyborg. i received a message in the text box, acknowledging my efforts.

[the ‘metamorph’ to ‘pre-saint’ evolution condition has been fulfilled. do you wish to evolve?]

originally, i had planned to finish things on the megacorp research ship, but it seemed i had come a long way.

[zz zzzz zzzz zzzzz zz(i’ll become an egg for a moment)]

「an egg? but you’re just a baby, why are you becoming an egg?」

[zzzz zzzzzz zz (to grow bigger.)]

「a baby is going to be a big baby?」

[zz zzz zzzz (yes, don’t worry)]

just in case number 26 might be surprised, i informed it beforehand and then accepted the evolution.

the time had come to enjoy the majesty of the sub-adult body, which i had briefly tasted with the psyonium.

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