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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 360
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"Salman, the cargo has departed. The estimated arrival date is in seven days."
"Alright."
While eating, Salman nodded at the words the attendant had just spoken.
"If any issues arise along the way, it would be troublesome, so maintain contact."
"Understood."
At his master's command, the attendant politely bowed and withdrew.
Salman resumed cutting the steak on his plate with a knife. It was made from the meat of a Bulkarox, a beast he had tamed. Even though a giant bronze bull had been slaughtered, there was only enough edible meat for one plate.
He speared a piece of the precious meat with his fork and placed it in his mouth. The texture was a bit tough, but the flavor itself wasn’t bad. Additionally, it had been generously seasoned with very expensive spices, making it impossible for it to taste bad.
However, despite growing up eating all sorts of rare foods in his previous life, it wasn’t enough to satisfy his discerning palate now.
‘Tsk.’
There was no saffron and vanilla ice cream, nor the Iberico ham sourced from his farm. The realization was a source of discomfort for him.
‘You guys are really amazing. It’s only been a few years for me, and I’m struggling like this. How did all of you manage to endure through such long years?’
Salman had only spent three years in this world, yet he was already feeling this miserable. He couldn’t even imagine how hard it had been for the others who had lived much longer.
He took a sip of his cult wine, marveling again. The meat was so-so, but the wine had a raspberry-like aroma, making it palatable enough.
Just as he was about to finish his meal, a strange sensation suddenly overtook him. It was like the sudden chill of a breeze against his neck after being in a warm place. He knew exactly what this feeling meant.
It was the signal sent when one of the creatures he controlled detected danger.
‘Bulkarox?’
Asuka-44 had a different kind of surveillance system compared to other planets, because of Salman’s control over various animals.
He had scattered the creatures he controlled across the planet, and these living surveillance cameras roamed around, keeping an eye out for intruders.
If one of these creatures detected an intruder, the signal would be sent to Salman.
Just like now.
‘Who could it be?’
According to the signal from Bulkarox, an enormous creature, one Salman had never seen before, was wandering near the territory of the Dreadsong. Since Salman had ordered his creatures not to engage with formidable opponents, the creature had fled, avoiding the mysterious monster.
‘Tch, I deliberately didn’t set up visual synchronization because it’s too tiring.’
The special ability Salman had, ‘The Beast God's Snar’, allowed him to link his controlled creatures with his own physical functions. However, it wasn’t something he used often due to the many limitations that came with such a connection.
Moreover, even before this, the creatures he controlled had sometimes made incorrect reports. This was because, no matter how much he controlled them and gave them orders, their low intelligence couldn’t be easily improved.
It seemed the Bulkarox on his plate had sent a false signal, which led to this situation.
‘But still, I should check just to be sure.’
Salman gestured for the attendant.
"Send a ship to investigate the Dreadsong’s territory."
"Understood."
Assuming it was just another mistake by the foolish Bulkarox, he finished the rest of his wine.
---
[ZZ ZZZ (Is everyone alright?)]
｢Phew, I thought I was going to get crushed.｣
｢I’m fine!｣
"The 11% of the tail is damaged, but otherwise, no issues."
I used my three heads and six corrosive tentacles to clear the rocks that had piled up on my back.
The fragments of ground that had been blasted high into the sky came crashing down directly above me. The moment I saw the rain of falling rock, I grabbed the others with multiple arms and ran.
The sheer scale of the explosion created by Number 26 and the Mother of the Sky was overwhelming. If I didn’t have the ‘Enhanced Hind Legs’ trait, I would’ve been buried under the collapsing debris.
While that kind of impact wouldn’t harm me, the others weren’t so lucky. If I had been even a little slower, the Mother of the Sky or PS-111 might have been injured.
‘And in fact, PS-111 was injured.’
As I ran, its tail was grazed by falling rock and molten debris, sustaining minor damage. Fortunately, the demolisher attached to the tip remained intact.
[ZZZ ZZZZ (Can you repair it?)]
“If I have access to the appropriate organic materials, I can conduct repairs.”
Saying this, PS-111 turned its head upward.
Isabel was descending, her prey in tow. She had embedded dozens of arms into the massive toad-like creature’s body, her grip tight and unyielding.
Every time the Dreadsong struggled, her arms twitched slightly. She was probably rending its flesh apart from the inside with her claws.
｢Me｣ ｢Found first｣ ｢Cutting in line｣ ｢Unfair｣
“What do you mean, ‘cutting in line’? It’s not about who sees it first it’s about who gets it first.”
｢Wrong｣ ｢Pretty one｣ ｢Disappointed｣ ｢Disappointed!｣
“You lose things when you let your guard down. Just like now.”
Behind me, Adhai’s thoughts rang out in an indignant flurry. Of course, Isabel wasn’t paying her the slightest bit of attention.
By the time the two of them landed, the Dreadsong was barely clinging to life. Isabel, still holding the creature, approached me.
“You need to be the one to finish it off to get the trait, right? Same deal here?”
I nodded, and without hesitation, she handed over the spoils.
For Coldbloods, unlocking higher-tier contracts requires fulfilling multiple conditions one of which includes hunting Apex creatures.
‘The Dreadsong isn’t a required target, though.’
It was an Apex predator, but it wasn’t on Coldblood’s list.
‘Or maybe that doesn’t matter anymore since my body’s changed…?’
Either way, the Dreadsong’s corpse was of no use to Isabel.
I prepared to consume a new genetic essence, activating 'Symbol of Hunt' to maximize my trait acquisition chances.
As the trait effect triggered, my body began to change.
A hardened carapace grew over the eye in the center of my head, plunging my vision into darkness. In exchange, my auxiliary organs became far more sensitive, allowing me to feel every shift in my form with unsettling clarity. A second set of jaws, a pharyngeal jaw, extended from each of my heads, while the carapace and horns covering them thickened.
And it wasn’t just my head that changed.
My body doubled in size, and from my waist, a new pair of bony scythe-arms burst forth.
“…What the hell?”
｢Ah, right. This is your first time seeing this, isn’t it, Isabel?｣
Her eyes widened as she watched my sudden transformation. Meanwhile, the Mother of the Sky nodded in understanding.
｢I’ve heard that taking on this form increases the success rate of absorbing genetic essence.｣
“…Wait, what? Isn’t that kind of broken?”
｢It’s not like I can transform whenever I want. There are restrictions.｣
Isabel muttered in disbelief. To think an Amorph would be accused of cheating it was a sign of how much things had changed.
Now fully transformed, I lifted the Dreadsong she had given me.
With my body now surpassing 100 meters, even this massive carnivorous toad looked no bigger than a hamburger.
‘I’ll have to eat carefully.’
Its corpse had plenty of useful parts. If I accidentally devoured anything other than the head, it would be a waste.
Opening my secondary jaws, I sank my teeth into its wide, flat head.
With a sickening crunch, its skull shattered, spilling thick fluids, flesh, and brain matter from the gaping wound.
‘Huh… this has a strange taste.’
The Dreadsong’s brain tasted like the curry I once had at an Indian restaurant. A pleasantly sharp spiciness hit my senses first, followed by the rich, oily flesh that mellowed out the heat.
PR/N: obv it was an indian restro.. :):)
I noticed a similar flavor when eating a Lavaraptor. It seemed that creatures exposed to molten environments and acidic substances developed a distinct taste.
‘I’d like to eat more…’
But with the others waiting, that wasn’t an option.
I set the now headless Apex down. The Mother of the Sky, having shifted back into her humanoid form, stepped forward first. She drew her golden priestess’ spear and began stripping the Dreadsong’s hide.
“I can assist with skinning.”
｢Thanks. Take care of the tail section.｣
“Understood.”
While they worked on the corpse, I swallowed what I had been chewing and waited for the expected text box to appear.
‘…Huh?’
Thanks to my Amorph physiology, the Dreadsong’s flesh was quickly broken down and converted into energy. But the notification confirming a successful trait acquisition never appeared.
‘Wait? Don’t tell me…?
I had seen this happen before when I hunted the Crystal Wings on that frozen planet. Only one of the two had granted a trait.
The Symbol of Hunt significantly increased my odds, but it didn’t guarantee success. I had been pleased with how easy the hunt was… only to end up with this outcome.
｢Huh? Amorph, did it not trigger again?｣
The Mother of the Sky had nearly finished skinning the corpse when she noticed I hadn’t changed.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Looks like it.)]
“So it’s not completely broken, after all.”
Isabel sounded genuinely disappointed, which somehow made it sting even more.
｢Want to look for another one?｣
[ZZZZ (It’d be difficult.)]
On top of wasting Symbol of Hunt, hunting another Dreadsong wasn’t so simple. Even if I wanted to, finding one of these underground-dwelling creatures within the time limit was nearly impossible.
Just as I was about to give up, PS-111 who had been quietly stripping the hide spoke up.
“I have obtained complete ecological data on this planet’s Dreadsong population from the airship. Including this one, three specimens are currently under surveillance.”
[ZZZ (What?)]
“If you wish, I can provide the locations of the remaining two.”
PS-111’s voice was as cold and precise as always.
Yet in this moment, it sounded almost angelic.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (Tell me the location of the closest one.)]
Nineteen minutes later, with exactly two seconds left on 'Symbol of Hunt', I successfully devoured the Dreadsong.
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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