001
'It's no use worrying about it.'
I decided to end my frustration here.
It's not that I ignore it because I'm more optimistic than others.
Aimorphs are a fighting race with strong vitality, but not when they are hatchlings.
I have only possibilities and potential, but right now I am just a weak being who will die if I don't eat something within an hour.
So, you have to move diligently before your remaining stamina runs out.
Where I am currently is inside a huge metal structure.
I know very well that it is a space ship made of alloy that swims in the sea called space.
'Just looking at the form, it looks like Megacorp or Star Union.'
Either way, they are undesirable forces to me.
Looking around, I saw a container about the height of three people. Plastic boxes were seen between the containers stacked on top of each other.
As the auxiliary organ under my chin twitched, various information flashed into my mind.
'It's a strange feeling.'
The feeling is completely different when you directly experience the 'super sense' that was implemented in the form of a mini map as allowed by the game.
Would you say that information is conveyed through a mixture of the five senses, such as smells being heard like sounds and sounds being seen? It is a sense that senses everything within the range of feeling at the same time.
At the tip of the claw, you can feel the sound of a pulsating nuclear fusion engine. The smell of various components, such as phosphorus and carbon, finely mixed in the air stimulates the ends of the auxiliary organs.
The auxiliary organ picked out the fact that something edible was present among the various smells and transmitted it to my brain.
My top priority right now is nutritional supplementation. It is encouraging to know that food is not far away.
Three pairs of legs moved steadily toward the prey, stepping on the cold metal plate.
Every time your toenails come into contact with the grating floor, a clanking sound is heard.
After passing through the forest of containers and arriving at a plastic box, I used my claws to climb onto the box. When I went up, there was a lock on the box that required a password to be opened.
'I'm glad it's a password. Let me see.'
I put my chin close to the license plate. As the auxiliary organ wriggled and walked over the license plate, fingerprints on the surface flowed into my mind.
'1234. 'Is this true?'
Even in the space age, this level of security is still there. I was shocked and pressed the button with my front leg.
There was a sound of the lock being unlocked inside the box.
When I opened the lid, there was a pile of vacuum-packed calorie bars inside. I took out the top calorie bar.
I simply tore the package open with my claws and took a bite. The chewy texture felt like chewing a rubber eraser. The in-game tooltip also stated that it was a food designed with only nutrition in mind, and that seemed to be true.
'Well, I was successful in supplementing my nutrition.'
It was tasteless, but because it was high in calories, I could feel the energy building up to the tip of my tail.
The moment I was about to lift my leg to eat another bite, something caught my senses. My tail moved quickly like an arrow and pierced the unidentified thing.
'cockroach?'
It was a cockroach with a sharp stinger stuck in it. The guy struggled to get out and fell limp.
I bit the cockroach as if possessed by something. Its carapace shattered under my teeth, juices splattering out. He was a very juicy guy who seemed to have ate well and grown up well.
As I ate it, a text window with different content from before appeared.
"Predation effect activated! Successfully acquired the 'wings' gene essence.｣
｢Taken away 'wings' from the biological characteristics of 'cockroach'.｣
｢Do you want to apply 'wings'?｣
'Oh?'
I'm quite lucky to get the genetic essence so quickly.
Genetic essence is a key element in the operation of Amorph, so much so that it can be called the alpha and omega. This is because the more diverse genetic essences acquired, the more powerful creatures can evolve.
'Wing it.'
In a game set in space, it is difficult for the wings themselves to have any special meaning. But this is reality, not a game. Considering that I am a weak caterpillar, it is a trait that is closer to useful rather than bad. Because it allows you to dominate the air when hunting and is also advantageous for escape.
'accept.'
"Applying characteristics."
A tickling feeling was felt on the back, and wings with a smooth and elastic texture unique to chitin grew.
｢'Wings' trait applied. ｣
'Good.'
I decided to try moving the wings.
'How should I move?'
Unlike legs, wings are not parts familiar to humans.
Still, since it was on my back, I tried applying force with the feeling of moving the trapezius muscle area. The wings slowly flapped as if it was the correct answer.
'I burn more calories than I thought.'
After moving it a few times, I figured it out right away. Flying consumes a lot of energy.
I stopped moving my wings and opened a calorie bar.
'There's something more you need to use your wings properly.'
Gaining wings was a welcome thing, but there were other key abilities that the cockroach needed to acquire.
It is an ability that must be acquired in order to survive smoothly and comfortably.
'The first goal has been decided.'
I thought as I chewed the calorie bar.
First of all, I want to become a cockroach killer.
–
I once read a story like this when I was young.
A man named Jonah ran away to avoid God's orders and was eaten by a whale in the sea. An ordinary person would have died, but Jonah did not die because he received God's protection, and escaped after being in the whale's belly for three days. Jonah, who came back from the dead, faithfully followed God's words from then on.
The reason why I suddenly brought up an old story is because I resemble Jonah in the whale's belly. I too am wandering around looking for cockroaches in the stomach of a steel whale swimming in weightless space.
As I was waiting by the wall without moving, a cockroach passed below me. My tail became a fishing line with a hook and I caught him.
The tail rises carefully but strongly, like a fisherman pulling in a net .
The guy hanging on the end sensed his fate and tried to escape somehow.
'That doesn't work.'
Sharp teeth sank into the guy's head. My small but sharp teeth worked constantly to prepare the hard shell and thick flesh for digestion. The remnants of the cockroach were able to pass through the throat only after they were almost like juice in a blender.
In fact, in terms of nutrition, the calorie bar was overwhelming, but in terms of taste, the cockroach was much more delicious. Thanks to this, I was able to do things without hesitation that would have been unthinkable in my human days.
'It's funny to say this, but it somehow tastes like a pupa.'
It literally tastes like soju.
'This is my 20th. 'Is there no result again?'
As was my habit when I was a human, I picked my teeth with my front legs and thought of the text window. According to my will, a text window appeared in front of my head.
｢Species: Unidentified hostile space creature
Status: Hatchling
Goal: Survive.
Possessed trait: Extra-sensory wings Chitinous outer shell.
I guess it was beginner's luck that I got my first wings. Since then, 19 more animals have been caught and eaten, but only one genetic essence has been obtained.
'The chitin shell is not bad, but…'
The chitin shell is a powerful trait that greatly increases defense depending on the level of growth. It is a useful trait towards the end, but it was unnecessary in the current situation.
There is no point in trying to slightly increase defense in a hatchling state where defense is close to zero. Other abilities are more important than that.
'I need to secure a strong vitality trait, but it's not coming out well.'
Strong vitality is a common trait possessed by most insect-type creatures and plant-type creatures. Of course, the effect is very simple.
'Slowing down aging by reducing energy consumption.'
In a game where lifespan does not exist, it was a characteristic that only users who valued the concept took care of. However, when the game becomes a reality, its status is completely different.
'If you have strong vitality, the need to cling to food is greatly reduced.'
I can't just live in this cargo hold forever. Vibrations felt beyond the wall, faint footsteps heard. Every time I felt this, I could realize that time was running out.
The owners of this ship, humanity, are my enemies.
Even without thinking about the background story in the game, it's hard to think that they will go over well when they see me.
If they know that supplies are running low in the cargo hold, they'll try to find me. And what if you get caught? Either death or experimentation.
To avoid a gloomy future, you must meet the evolution conditions as quickly as possible to overcome the hatchling stage. In order to do that, the scope of activities must be expanded beyond the cargo compartment.
The chatter was long. In short, if you want to live, you have to catch cockroaches diligently.
'Let's change places.'
Cockroaches are sensitive and intelligent insects, so they never come to the area where their companions died. This was because he knew that danger lurked where his colleague died. At first, I didn't know that and wasted my time by sitting in the same spot for 30 minutes.
'Tsk!'
He bent his eight legs and pressed his body against the wall, then stretched them out in an instant as if exploding his strength.
My body bounces elastically and takes flight.
While floating in the air, the wings spread wide from my back. In humans, the back muscles, which would be equivalent to the trapezius muscles, were tense. As the wings began to flap, my falling body slowly flew upward.
It's like a monster that looks like a desert spider flying around flapping its wings. If someone with a weak heart sees it, wouldn't they faint?
Even during flight, the vision and auxiliary organs continuously searched for cockroaches.
'At this point, he's truly an honorary Amorph.'
While I was lost in thoughtless thoughts, I detected a cockroach.
There is a guy stuck to the wall and a guy crawling hard on a plastic box.
I decided to first catch the one closest to me, that is, the one near the wall. The angle of the wings was adjusted and my body turned accordingly in the direction where it was.
The cockroach was probably preoccupied with something else and did not notice my lecture at all. I grabbed him with his front legs like an eagle catching a fish.
I quickly put it in my mouth before it escaped between my claws. The outer shell, which looked like a well-polished shoe, was broken, and pieces of meat and internal organs were sticking out from the side.
Since there was still one more animal left, I held it in my mouth and aimed for the next target.
'this.'
The guy on the floor recognized me. The guy went down the box to avoid predators.
The place where the legs on that small body are heading is the gap in the floor. If it slips through a gap in the alloy steel plate, the hunt is over.
'You can't miss it!'
I gained momentum by pushing against the wall with all four pairs of legs and flew towards him like an arrow. The guy was already sticking his antennae and head into the gap between the steel plates.
I landed hard on the floor when only the man's lower body was visible. My whole body was in pain as I was hit by a metal object that was not soft at all, but my mind was focused on the guy's tail.
My tail shoots out like a viper aiming for its prey. The tail cuts through the air and the stinger at the end enters the hole in the iron plate.
The guy who was sighing and thinking it would be okay now was shocked. The brain of the guy who thought he had to run away immediately was unable to achieve that goal and was torn in two by the sharp needle.
'after.'
By a narrow margin, I succeeded in hunting both of them. My tail returned to its original position with a graceful gesture. At the end of it hung a proud trophy.
After finishing the corpse in my mouth, I started eating the one on its tail. When I was almost done eating the whole thing, the message I had been waiting for appeared.
"Predation effect activated! Successfully acquired the 'Strong Vitality' gene essence.｣
｢Stolen 'Strong Vitality' from the biological characteristics of 'Roach'.｣
｢Would you like to apply 'Strong Vitality'?｣
'Of course I accept.'
I feel a qualitatively different vitality throughout my body than before.
The muscles on the legs, which were long and thin, became thicker, and the chitinous outer layer covering the back and stomach became more shiny.
It starts now.
The cargo compartment is incredibly large and spacious compared to my body, but it is only a small part of the ship.
The time has come to break away from the world I entered into.
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Try the novel
Conquest of Taboo and Debauchery
Ruthless Rebirth of Conqueror
.....
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