——————
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
——————
Once a barren planet, OW-33 is now teeming with life.
There, a being resides one who has built the most powerful Outspacer force in the universe.
From the throne deep within the heart of the planet, the ‘Empress’ became aware that one of her Queens had died.
‘…As expected.’
She had poured considerable effort into creating that Queen. Her death was regrettable but anticipated. After all, the foe she faced was beyond even her capabilities.
‘The Amorph.’
In the N-51 star system Megacorp territory and the place where the Queen perished a fierce battle was unfolding. The Dominion faction’s leader, Akira, had deployed a purge squad to confront the notorious Amorph ranker.
‘Still, I’m glad the outcome is what I wanted.’
The Amorph had been too focused on the Queen to notice the trap Akira had prepared. And Akira’s trap was especially deadly to those who, like her and the Amorph, used genetic essence.
Meanwhile, Dominion forces continued to pour reinforcements into N-51. Even for that creature, survival would not be easy.
‘This is the end of our alliance, Akira.’
Most of the troops she had sent had already been slaughtered in the battle with the Amorph. Though she could send more, she chose not to.
Their temporary cooperation was solely because of the Amorph. She had never intended to align with the Dominion permanently. Just like the Amorph, they too were targets to be eliminated.
‘While they’re distracted elsewhere… I’ll lay the groundwork in the Solar System…’
She set aside thoughts of the Amorph and began to focus on her next move until the communication monolith on the floor disrupted her thoughts.
｢Message received.｣
‘Hm?’
Mucus flowing from her body activated the monolith.
There was only one being who might contact her now: her beloved, her cherished partner, a fellow Outspacer from the Repatriation faction.
‘Aren’t they supposed to be busy expanding the planet?’
She still vividly remembered the tearful goodbye and the promise of no contact for a while. This was unexpected but of course, not unwelcome.
She checked the message displayed on the monolith-connected terminal.
‘Huh?’
Contrary to expectations, the sender wasn’t her lover. She formed a tentacle atop the mucus and began typing a reply.
｢Beom-Ho? What’s this about?｣
｢Message received.｣
The Empress was startled by the immediate response.
‘You’re hiding among the Amorph purge squad?’
According to the original plan, Beom-Ho was supposed to be awaiting a guest brought by another compatriot.
That guest was a crucial element in the grand plan of the Repatriation faction. Beom-Ho, the very architect of the plan, had stressed this repeatedly.
Yet now, he had changed the plan himself.
The leader of the Repatriation faction… was in the N-51 system, now a battlefield.
***
Highly condensed energy beams pounded its body.
The carapace and armored hide encasing it cracked bit by bit, blood and flesh slowly spilling into the void of space.
Normally, these wounds would’ve healed almost instantly. But now, they weren’t healing at all.
｢A-Amorph! It’s one of the ranker’s special traits!｣
Amid the crisscrossing energy beams from warships, Isabel sent a psychic wave. Her eyes, enhanced with the ‘Thousand-Eyed Perception’, gleamed vividly.
[ZZ ZZZ (A special trait?)]
｢A gene that produces electrons that contaminate genetic essence it’s a trait that interferes with healing!｣
The Amorph gains immunity to toxins and viruses upon reaching its sub-adult stage. Thanks to this immunity, it can wield all kinds of bacteria, viruses, and parasites as weapons.
No matter how potent the toxin ingested, it is simply digested without causing any harm.
‘But if it’s not a toxin…’
That changes everything.
Isabel said the root of the problem lay in a gene that contaminates genetic essence. It was likely acquired when I consumed the Shadow.
‘There wasn’t any message when the Predation effect activated.’
Whenever the Amorph successfully consumes something, the relevant details are always displayed in a textbox. The only genetic essence I stole from the Shadow was Ultra Control.
But just because something doesn’t show up in the textbox doesn’t mean all of the prey’s genes vanish. Organs like the Mimicry Organ, Parasite Colony, or the Humanoid Parasite store some of the genetic material.
Those organs cannot be controlled at will. It’s like how humans can move their limbs freely but not their liver or gallbladder.
A trap that activates the moment I eat it.
The master of the Shadows aimed directly at me with precision.
‘And now the Dragon Heart is malfunctioning too.’
A throbbing pain had been emanating from deep within my chest. The Dragon Heart was clearly another target of this trap.
‘Energy supply is a mess as well.’
By my estimate, energy output has dropped to nearly a quarter of normal levels.
It’s one thing if I can’t heal, but being cut off from energy is a critical issue. All of my offensive traits and faster-than-light travel consume immense amounts of energy.
Moreover, with the balance maintained by the Dragon Heart now broken, the penalty from the Hunger trait has reactivated. If I recklessly use my strength, I’ll lose consciousness and fall into madness.
‘I could still gain energy by devouring enemies directly, but…’
There’s a chance the enemy implanted traps in the crew, just like with the Shadows. If I carelessly try to consume the ship, I might make a fatal mistake.
｢No, healing, trait use, for one hour, so be careful.｣
It’s some relief that there’s a time limit, but I can’t let my guard down. For the next 60 minutes, I’m effectively cut off from any means of recovery.
Meanwhile, enemy reinforcements continue flooding in. More ships than at the start of the battle are now concentrating their firepower on me.
I’m still in good condition, but the longer this drags on, the worse it becomes for me.
At that moment, I detected a powerful energy surge in the distance. A thermal beam fired from an Alpha class warship larger and more powerful than standard vessels.
I cut off my train of thought and dodged in haste. The beam, as wide as my body, barely missed me.
Next came a barrage of attacks from other warships. Green flashes formed a dense web of fire. A net of energy closed in tightly to entrap me.
Getting caught in that would be disastrous. I accelerated and escaped their range.
Trailing behind me came the Mother of the Sky and the right head.
｢Amorph? That wound what happened?｣
She had seen the blood scattering from my cracked carapace.
[ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (I got caught in a trap laid by a Ranker)]
｢What?｣
[ZZZZ Z ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (No regeneration for 60 minutes. And no energy recharge either)]
｢……｣
While I was explaining, a change began in my body. The duration of the Symbol of Hunt had run out.
My enlarged form began to shrink, returning to its original shape and proportions. When I opened my eyes, the Mother of the Sky was looking at me with deep concern.
‘It’s dangerous like this.’
I have to use every tool at my disposal to change the tide. If I don’t, only defeat and death await.
‘First, I need to gather the others.’
After I retreated, the enemy's assault lessened. They might be reorganizing their lines alongside the newly arrived fleet.
Taking advantage of the lull, I flew toward the place where Number 26 and Adhai had been fighting.
The patrol ships and carrier-based aircraft that Adhai and the left head had been facing were already long dealt with. Now, the two were assisting Number 26 in battling the Screamer.
There were only a few remaining Screamer variants specialized in psychic abilities, based on Jason. Once they noticed me approaching, they gave up the fight and retreated.
｢Don’t run!｣
Number 26’s tentacles extended like my own Corrosive Tentacle, wrapping around two fleeing Screamers. It dragged them back and swallowed them whole.
Watching this, Adhai gave a quick shake of the tendrils around her mouth.
｢That｣ ｢tastes｣ ｢bad｣
｢Grrrrr｣
｢Oh? Big One is here!｣
They had been fighting fiercely but brightened upon seeing me. Their relief didn’t last, though not after they saw how injured I was.
｢Big One?｣ ｢Body｣ ｢Hurt?｣
｢Bad things bullied Big One!｣
Adhai’s psychic waves pulsed with worry and unease, and Number 26's pink body darkened with anger.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (I have a favor. Call them for me.)]
I asked Number 26 to summon the Metallic Gremlins. The out-spacers that were interfering with faster-than-light travel were gone, so they could warp in at any moment.
The Metallic Gremlins are a species specialized in fleet combat. They would be a powerful ally against the hybrid fleets of the Megacorp and the Star Union.
If it weren’t for the Ranker, victory would’ve come easily.
It was almost certain now that the enemies were under the command of a Ranker. And a Ranker would know how to counter the Metallic Gremlins. While we might take some damage at first, they would adapt quickly.
But what I wanted from them wasn’t just brute force.
Just introducing an unexpected variable the enemy doesn’t know about that alone has value.
If the Metallic Gremlins suddenly showed up, the enemy’s attention would inevitably scatter. While they were distracted, we could strike at their core and break their formation.
And if things went wrong… Warp Boy could get us out.
Right now, I need to conserve the energy stored in my body. If retreat became necessary, I would rely on Warp Boy for extraction.
That wasn’t possible in the game, but here it is.
With Number 26, who can communicate with them, asking to be sent to a nearby star system shouldn’t be an issue.
｢Okay! I’ll call the sparklies.｣
At my request, Number 26 extended a silver tentacle. From the orb at its tip, a small light burst forth.
It released an incredibly fast pulse outward beyond the star system, summoning the Metallic Gremlins.
Good. Now…
I opened a semi-transparent textbox.
Dozens of traits cluttered my vision. I looked first at the earliest ones: Mark of a Mighty Foe and the Plunderer’s Amorphous Polyhedron.
I didn’t think I’d end up using this here.
Behind the Plunderer’s Polyhedron was the name of a power I had obtained by devouring a unique piece of equipment:
Void Dice.
A power I consumed from Si-Hyun Yujin’s gear.
This ability allowed me to use all of my traits freely for three full minutes.
It was absurdly powerful, but it had a cooldown of 66 days. I’d only used it once before. If it hadn’t been for the Revenant Engine that triggered during the battle with the Magmasaur, I still wouldn’t have access to it.
The enemy doesn’t know about this power.
They thought I was heavily weakened. And they weren’t wrong.
It’s the perfect time to roll the dice.
｢Sparklies are here!｣
At that moment, in response to Number 26’s psychic pulse, a ripple of blue light gathered behind me. It was a signal from the notorious silver raiders, the ones who had answered its call.
Enemies in the distance sensed the intrusion of unfamiliar forces and moved to intercept. Before their warships could fire, I quickly activated the Spectral Complexity Prism.
A transparent mirror shimmered into existence before me, holding within it glimmers of multicolored light. Moments later, thermal beams fired by the enemy warships streaked toward the circular prism.
But the massive, translucent disc didn’t shatter. Instead, it reflected every single incoming attack.
While I bought time like that, the swarm of Metallic Gremlins completed their warp jump without a hitch.
｢■■■｣
｢■■?｣
｢Yup yup! Let’s get the bad ones!｣
｢Speech｣ ｢weird｣ ｢can’t｣ ｢understand｣
The enemy’s barrage halted. No doubt they were thrown into confusion by the sudden appearance of unfamiliar foes.
Now, it was our turn to strike back.
——————
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
——————
