Chapter 80

chapter 80

space survival is a game known for its expansive universe, diverse races, and high level of freedom, making it appealing to sci-fi enthusiasts. while it’s a game that caters well to fans of the genre, it, like many online games, faced issues, particularly in its management.

the team behind space survival had a notorious reputation for being more dysfunctional than any other game’s developers. given the game’s characteristics, balancing issues were rampant.

for instance, comparing cultists who rarely show any weakness from the beginning to end and the amorphs who are challenging to play from the very beginning, there was a clear imbalance. despite this, there were very few instances where the developers adjusted the balance.

i, too, had a fondness for amorphs, which allowed me to rank up and experience the endings. if it hadn’t been the case, i might have quit.

‘but this... they changed right away?’

it’s the first time i’ve seen such a prompt response from the management amidst all the balance complaints.

‘cheating.’

there were similar incidents in past games. megacorp operates multiple colonial planets to recruit employees. some planets resemble earth with familiar environments, while others are fantastical. however, they all have restrictions, be it tangible or intangible, making it impossible for them to resist megacorp’s dominance. employees on these planets had poor armaments or the planet lacked advanced civilizations.

‘in other words, these are places where gathering genetic essence is remarkably easy.’

hence, i once roamed only on these colonial planets, gathering genetic essence. on a day when i raided about three planets simultaneously, an urgent notice appeared in the game. they claimed an unforeseen situation occurred and immediate adjustments were necessary.

at that time, the community buzzed with speculation, yet no one knew precisely what had changed.

‘it had to happen.’

they didn’t play as an amorph after all like i did. unlike them, i could immediately discern what the issue was.

the next day, i attacked colonial planets to harvest numerous genetic essences, but the instances of the predation effect were extremely rare among them. it meant that the administration had adjusted the probability of the predation effect being triggered by employees of these colonial planets to be extremely low.

‘even after devouring dozens of employees here, only one trait emerged.’

anyway, having experienced something similar before, this situation didn’t feel that unfamiliar to me. however, as a human, i couldn’t help feeling extremely unsettled.

‘they talk about development intentions and leave other things uncorrected, yet they swiftly modify this.’

if this continues, i will have to change my plans again. if the traits keep appearing incomplete even after consuming samples, it won’t be worth it.

‘...let’s just take this for now.’

i accepted the offer to obtain the space flight trait. as indicated by ‘incomplete,’ there was no noticeable change in my body.

i felt a sense of disappointment and irritation at the fact, pondering on what to do next.

‘the samples need to be consumed after the ‘symbol of hunt’ ends. that’s when there’s at least a possibility... huh?’

at that moment, a semi-transparent text box appeared once again.

[new unread message has arrived. would you like to read it?]

there were no words indicating that it was an urgent message or the like.

‘last time, a similar message came regarding the transcendence system.’

upon checking, my anticipation was correct.

[‘transcendence’ material list: form mimicry, pheromone enhancement, clairvoyance, hallucination (not acquired)]

[‘transcendence’ material list (new!): wings, endurance, space flight, gigantism (not acquired), hijacking (not acquired)]

sure enough, it was a guide suggesting the creation of a new unique trait using the transcendence system.

‘who’s trying to trick me now?’

suppressing the rising irritation, i attempted to dismiss the text box.

‘wait?’

at that moment, a single idea flashed across my mind.

i revisited the text box.

‘why space flight?’

the transcendence material list marks the traits i don’t possess as ‘not acquired.’ gigantism and hijacking are traits that i don’t have and are separately indicated as such. however, there’s no additional indication for space flight.

realizing this fact, i deduced a possibility.

‘could it be that the transcendence materials can be used for traits i haven’t completely acquired?’

i revisited the previous message regarding the transcendence system.

「’transcendence’ system: merges three or more possessed traits into a new ‘unique’ trait. the newly acquired trait is entirely new and previously non-existent.」

it was the message i received back then. the tooltip mentions merging ‘possessed traits,’ not specifically ‘usable traits.’

‘i can’t use wings, but if they’re included in the materials, there might be a chance.’

if traits rendered unusable due to restrictions are included, couldn’t space flight be used as a transcendence material?

‘an intriguing hypothesis.’

if so, the paths ahead split into two for me.

first, to gather transcendence materials by manifesting the predation effect in the state of the ‘symbol of hunt’.

‘gigantism and highjacking might be possible with a stroke of luck.’

‘having this trait would have allowed me to use the gigantification technique, what a pity.’

similar to how the monstrous tentacle trait enables the psychic breath, acquiring the gigantism trait allows transformation into a special state of gigantification.

‘upon gigantification, i could grow to around 20 meters tall and become incredibly powerful.’

despite being limited to once a week, once gigantified, i become significantly formidable. it’s not just about size; my physical abilities also scale up proportionally. a gigantified amorph would possess immense strength, enough to face a warship or even an entire city without flinching.

furthermore, the predation effect doubles the efficacy of traits and type effectiveness. if i had the gigantism trait in this state, i could easily exceed 50 meters. that would truly display a majestic presence worthy of the term ‘space monster.’

‘sigh. regrettable, but inevitable.’ that was the end of the skywhale sample.

from eight skywhale samples, i acquired four traits: space flight, gigantism, energy absorption for material, and robust vitality.

‘if only there weren’t any limits, it would have been a significant harvest.’

obtaining four traits from a single creature is remarkable.

‘...it’s in the past now. there’s no use getting annoyed.’

i shook my head to dispel irritation and reached for the remaining samples to consume.

at that moment, the sub-mandible auxiliary device beneath my jaw trembled.

simultaneously, rapid scenes flashed in my mind.

[the female cultist says, ‘something seems suspicious.’]

[the male cultist asks, ‘what?’]

[the female cultist shakes her head at the camera. ‘the head of the autopsy team visited the genetic vault but hasn’t returned from the cryogenic vault.’]

[the male cultist responds, ‘huh? why would they go in there?’]

[the female cultist continues, ‘i don’t know. also, other researchers went in earlier, but they haven’t come out yet.’]

[the male cultist stands up. ‘i’ll go check. if it seems odd, i’ll report to the higher-ups.’]

the scene ended with the male cultist with ram horns exiting the dark room.

‘oh no.’

i thought it had passed without incident, but it hadn’t.

‘that female cultist has a keen sense.’

initially, the fire incident didn’t raise much concern, but observing the odd behavior of the head of the autopsy team aroused suspicion.

‘the third central control room is nearby.’

in about five minutes, the male cultist will arrive here. capturing the male cultist itself isn’t particularly challenging. i’m currently strengthened by the effect of the ‘symbol of hunt’.

‘the issue arises after dealing with the male cultist.’

if the cultists aren’t in contact, that perceptive female cultist won’t just stand by. she’ll undoubtedly contact the higher authorities, the first central control room, or the monument security team.

‘i need to neutralize the cameras.’

for that, i need a trait possessed by the metallic gremlins.

i inserted the metallic gremlin samples into my mouth, and as the capsules passed through my throat, the genetic essence inside seeped into my system. every time the essence dissolved, a text box appeared in front of me.

dwarfism, dwarfism, metal absorption...

it didn’t start well. after multiple dwarfism traits, the third was metal absorption, which i already had. i acquired dwarfism as a material and cancelled the rest.

next, when i consumed the fourth capsule, the anticipated electromagnetic interference trait appeared.

‘great. just once more.’

obtaining interference one more time would allow me to acquire a complete trait. however, despite consuming two more samples, no predation effect appeared. i now had only two chances left, and at this point, i began to feel anxious.

‘should i go with the initial plan?’

suddenly, i thought it might be better to go for the method of infesting and controlling the cultists.

‘but that keen female cultist might be onto something.’

as seen in william’s case, parasites aren’t foolproof. while the male cultist may succumb, if that sensitive female cultist suspects anything unusual with her colleague, i might end up back where i started.

‘that’s not all. if caught with the ‘parasitic colony’ trait, the situation will get even worse.’

contemplating how to handle the female cultist, i swallowed the seventh sample.

and then, the text box appeared.

[predation effect triggered! successfully obtained ‘electromagnetic interference(incomplete)’ genetic essence from the ‘metallic gremlin.’]

[extracting ‘electromagnetic interference(incomplete)’ from the biological trait ‘metallic gremlin.’]

[would you like to apply ‘electromagnetic interference (incomplete)’?]

[electromagnetic interference: emits waves causing temporary malfunctions in devices powered by electricity.]

the completed trait spoke to me. there’s no need for further contemplation.

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