——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
——————
Chapter 350
｢That’s the ability I gained after capturing Alshas.｣
[ZZZ (Yeah)]
｢Grrr.｣
The Mother of the Sky looked at the ‘left head’, which had now taken over a new body, with a peculiar expression. As I was about to answer her question, sounds simultaneously came from both my main body’s mouth and the left head’s mouth.
｢Looks like the bodies are synchronized? Kind of like an artificial auxiliary body?｣
[Z ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (I haven’t used something that expensive, so I wouldn’t know.)]
｢Seems like it can move independently when you’re not in control.｣
Despite the unpleasantness of being drenched in saliva, the Mother of the Sky appeared quite fascinated by the sight of me moving two bodies at once.
‘I’m starting to get the hang of moving them.’
It felt like a combination of the sensations I get when linking with the Nest and controlling parasites.
If I had to explain it in human terms, it felt similar to moving my body just before waking up from a dream where the body is still asleep, but in the dream, I get up, go to the bathroom, eat, and so on.
I attempted to lift the winged arm of the ‘left head’ and move my main body’s tail simultaneously. At first, it felt awkward, but I quickly adapted.
‘If this had happened when I was human, I think I would have lost my mind.’
It might get more complicated when I have two clones, but I’ll need to experiment with that later. There's a limit to the energy stored in my body.
‘But how do the clones use traits?’
Clones can use traits from four categories: physical body, special defense, internal organs, and environmental adaptation. Traits like regeneration will activate automatically, so there’s no need to worry about those, but I’m unsure how more complex traits, like mimicry, will work.
‘Well, this works out.’
Since Amorphs aren’t affected by pheromone-based interference, it’s impossible to tell what I look like to others. The only way to figure out what I’ve transformed into is through the mimicry effect of the Mimicry Organs.
However, the Mother of the Sky is affected by the pheromones emitted by the Mimicry Organs.
[ZZZ (Wait a moment)]
Asking her to wait, I focused on making sure the ‘left head’ could use the Mimicry Organs. I could feel the tiny openings all over the clone’s body wriggling.
Then, my main body’s auxiliary organs detected the familiar aftertaste of the pheromones. With that, I opened the clone’s mouth.
“How do I look?”
“How do I look?”
“……. ”
The same voice came from both the main body and the ‘left head’ mouth. It was the voice of the last entity I had consumed Alshas.
“How do I look to you?”
“How do I look to you?”
｢…It’s creepy, can one of you stop doing that?｣
Noticing her fur standing up from the sticky saliva, it seemed she really didn’t like it. Instead of speaking, I sent a pulse through the monster’s tentacles attached to my main body.
[ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ Z ZZZ ZZ (I can’t control it well yet. How do I look right now?)]
｢They both look like Alshas.｣
[ZZZ (Really?)]
Her amber eyes were now focused far below my head. It was because the Mimicry Organs confused her sensory input, making her perceive me as a human.
“Half-successful.”
“Now, the next step is…”
“Changing into another form.”
“Using the genetic essence, of course.”
｢…If you want to experiment, I’d prefer you do it with someone else instead of me.｣
There were still a few more things to check, but since she clearly disliked it, I’d have to do it later. I left the Mimicry Organs of the ‘left head’ as they were and deactivated the Mimicry Organs of the main body.
[ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (I still have things to confirm, so I’ll ask you later.)]
｢Phew…｣
She sighed and shook her head in response to the pulse I sent out.
｢That can wait. Is there any pain in the separated part? The neck is empty, after all.｣
[ZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (It’s fine. The awkward feeling after splitting quickly disappeared.)]
｢That’s right.｣
She was staring at the cleanly separated neck area when, as if a sudden thought occurred to her, she snapped her fingers.
｢I just remembered why I came here. I have something to say.｣
[ZZZ (What is it?)]
｢According to PS-111, Isabel’s calibration will take about 30 hours.｣
30 hours that's longer than expected.
It’s not that there’s an urgent need to resolve anything right away, but I’m not thrilled about Isabel being out of commission for such a long time. Someone else will have to stay by her side to protect her.
Sensing my thoughts, the Mother of the Sky continued.
｢It’s because the equipment on the Gigacracker isn’t precise enough for fine adjustments.｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZZ (So, if the equipment were better, it would finish faster?)]
｢Yeah, probably.｣
That gave me an idea.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (The 40 Coldbloods aboard the Gigacracker. I wondered if we could send them to the ice planet ruled by Adhai’s faction.)]
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (And there’s the Screamer support ship there too.)]
[ZZ ZZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (With the help of the Screamer production facilities, the efficiency of PS-111’s work could be greatly improved.)]
｢Hmm?｣
Since we were going to the ice planet anyway, I suggested the idea of having the Coldblood slaves live there with Gallagon.
｢Something that would never happen in a game, but it seems possible here.｣
｢The thing we need to consider here is the environment, not Gallagon. When I visited last time, I confirmed that there’s oxygen. There’s concern about bacterial infections, but the Coldbloods are resistant to various viruses…｣
She fiddled with the tip of her beak as she evaluated whether the ice planet was suitable for Coldbloods to live in.
｢The problem is the temperature. Coldbloods are vulnerable to extreme cold. They won’t be able to withstand the underground chill.｣
[ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ (But the area near the Nest is probably warm due to the sulfur rivers, right?)]
｢If they’re healthy, they might endure it, but right now their physical condition isn’t good. They won’t be able to last until they recover their stamina.｣
[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ (I plan to resolve that by equipping them with reinforcement suits.)]
｢Reinforcement suits? Ah, you mean the ones on the Gigacracker.｣
The Gigacracker has reinforcement suits designed for space operations. If they wear those, they can avoid both the temperature and bacterial infection problems.
‘Of course, they can’t wear them forever, so they need to recover as quickly as possible.’
After that, it’s up to them. My role will end once the Coldbloods are safely relocated.
｢I’ll talk to them about it.｣
[ZZ ZZZZZ ZZZ (I’ll go check on PS-111.)]
After sending the Mother of the Sky off, I directed the ‘left head’ to face toward the top of my main body’s head.
‘While I’m practicing, should I try this out?’
I decided to test how it felt as I moved away from the clone, and also planned to visit PS-111 using the ‘left head’.
While my main body rested in the hangar, I crawled along the corridor, still connected to the ‘left head’. Even as the distance between us increased, the strange sensation didn’t change much.
As I slowly made my way toward the manufacturing facility, I experimented with a few things. For example, I tested what happened when I severed the connection between the clone and the main body, and whether I could reconnect without physical contact afterward.
For the first case, as soon as the connection was severed, my consciousness returned to the main body. It wasn’t possible to concentrate my consciousness solely on the ‘left head’, even though it had its own sense of identity. It seemed that, despite its independent traits, it was still merely part of my body.
When I decided I wanted to control the ‘left head’, the sensation quickly returned. It felt like the tingling sensation of cutting off circulation and then releasing it, and with that, the connection between me and the ‘left head’ was restored.
‘Moreover, there’s an unexpected advantage.’
What’s interesting is that even when my consciousness was separated, the 'left head' still tried to carry out what I had intended to do on its own. During the brief moment when the connection was cut off, it kept crawling down the hallway, attempting to reach the manufacturing facility.
‘Maybe the two heads are smarter than I thought.’
Although it displayed behavior close to instinct, it was created based on me, after all. Even when not under my direct control, it’s highly likely that it would try to mimic my combat style, my strategies, and so on. In situations where I can’t pay attention, I can pre-inject commands and have it fight strategically.
‘I’ll need to do more experiments to be sure.’
There are other things I need to test, like how far the clone can be separated from the main body while maintaining the connection, how to utilize complex traits like mimicry organs or the insect-host ability, and more. There’s a lot to confirm.
While conducting these simple experiments and moving forward, I reached the manufacturing facility.
Inside, PS-111 was using its long, hooked claws to examine Isabel, who was lying down. The claws, which were usually used to tear apart enemies in battle, were now delicate surgical instruments. Its sharp fingers moved gracefully, like a pianist playing, manipulating various mechanical devices. The MPS series robots were scurrying around, using their short metal legs to help their creator.
When PS-111 sensed my presence, it looked up. Its red camera lenses, which replaced its visual organs, turned to face me.
“Subcontroller ‘Amorph’, 82% similarity. Who are you?”
“It’s Amorph. I’ve consumed Alshas and gained new powers.”
“New powers?”
It tilted its head, as if it didn’t understand.
“It’s similar to when you synchronize with the MPS units and control them.”
“Creating a device that’s so similar to the original in such a short time is quite fascinating. If you allow me to collect a skin sample, it will greatly advance the MPS design.”
Though an interesting suggestion, I had something more pressing to attend to.
“By the way, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“The Mother of the Sky said it will take 30 hours to complete the calibration. Wouldn’t the equipment on the Screamer support ship speed up the process?”
I briefly explained the conversation I had with the Mother of the Sky. After listening to me, PS-111 nodded.
“With the equipment on the Screamer support ship, the calibration can be completed in less than 10 hours.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ll pause the calibration for now and start the operation of the Gigacracker.”
“Please.”
“Please check on ‘sister’s’ condition in the meantime.”
True to its mechanical nature, PS-111 was quick to act once a decision was made. It left the manufacturing facility, heading out to the Gigacracker with the mini-Screamers.
‘Then, here…’
“Amorph.”
Just as I thought about experimenting with the Mimicry Organs or the insect-host ability, I heard a voice from below.
Isabel, who now had cables and wires connected to her head, was looking up at me, having somehow woken up.
‘She was awake?’
I had assumed she’d be in a dormant state while PS-111 focused on the calibration, but that wasn’t the case.
Thanks to the transplantation of Coldblood’s eyes, her eyes glowed a deep, ocean-like blue. Whether by coincidence or not, they were the complete opposite of her twin sister’s red mechanical eyes.
She gazed at me with those blue eyes and spoke.
“That body, you ate Alshas.”
“Yes.”
It seemed that despite the body change, she hadn’t lost the ability to read information about others. Since it might be related to the eyes, I had suggested transplanting the same eyes from PS-111, and it seemed that was the correct decision.
“This is a special ability I received when I came to this world, ‘Heaven’s Eyes of the Infinite.’ As the name suggests, it can only be used if you have eyes.”
“Seems like it was a special ability.”
“Funny to say this now, but I honestly thought you would kill me and take it from me.”
To be honest, I still had a slight inclination to do that. The ability to read others' information is extremely tempting. But, I judged that keeping her alive would be more beneficial for me, so I made a different choice. Of course, there was no need to say this aloud.
“Your sister, PS-111, asked me to spare you. I was just fulfilling its request.”
“I knew it, but it’s still different.”
It seemed that she was impressed by the contrast between how I acted in this world versus how I would have acted in the game. She muttered to herself.
‘I see, it doesn’t seem to be an issue communicating with her.’
Although part of her long body was disassembled and her head had wires sticking out, her mind seemed perfectly intact. With some time left before we reached the ice planet, it seemed a good opportunity to ask the questions I’d been wanting to ask.
“With your ability to read information, you must know more than most, right?”
“Yeah. If it’s something I can answer, I’ll tell you.”
I asked her directly, without hesitation.
“The players I’ve met so far, including myself, all saw strange illusions as we neared the end. Do you know what that means?”
The mystery behind the illusion, which I had been wondering about without any solid clues. None of the rankers I met before had been able to give me a clear answer.
Perhaps that’s why. Isabel didn’t answer immediately. She just stared at me silently with her sapphire-like eyes.
After a brief silence, her small mouth opened, and the answer to my question came flowing out.
‘What?’
And the answer was something I hadn’t expected.
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
——————
