Ep. 212
What would be a good Apex that Adhai and I could capture together?
Sky Whale, which absorbs all types of energy, is out of the question. To fight it, you have to rely purely on physical prowess. It is a very disadvantageous opponent for Aadhai, who is much smaller than his kin.
Crystal Wing is a suitable opponent for Aadhai to develop his skills, but there is a problem. It would take at least a few days to catch them, and we don't have that much time.
Therefore, Crystal Wing is also excluded.
Another thing to consider is Glacier Fiend, but this is also ambiguous. Because Glacier Fiend's narcotic substance dazzles even Gallagon. White Gallagon has a high poison resistance, so it will survive to some extent, but it will be difficult to avoid the aftereffects. Since the fight against Od Grad is not far away, it is not a good idea to fight an enemy that leaves behind aftereffects.
So what about ice horror?
Not very good. In the case of Ice Horror, he ate it twice. Twice, one I caught and one caught by Ham Ort. I've taken it several times and it doesn't seem to have any new effects.
If you take out Ice Horror, Gallagon remains. It's not a bad opponent, but other than the Od Grad and Ham Ort groups, there are no other enemies on this planet. In the end, even Gallagon is too much.
This situation excludes a total of 5 types of Apex, including Gallagon.
From what I remember, there are three other types of Apex that inhabit the ice planet other than these. One of them, Arcane Orca, is a higher species than Skywhale, so there are two types left.
One of the two has no flight ability at all. It is not suitable as a training target for Aadhai, which needs to become accustomed to aerial combat.
Naturally, there is only one Apex left.
Now I am moving with Aadhai to catch him.
The place we are currently in is far from the forest where the nest is located. It's close to the huge mountain where Sky Whale was captured, but it would take quite some time to get there.
I didn't see any special movement from the Od Grad group, so I went a little further away. It would be dangerous to wait too long, so I plan to return after just one day.
Since we had to calculate Aadhai's physical strength, we landed on the mountain from time to time to rest or eat.
[Eat]
「Thank you」
I handed Adhaj a small animal corpse. As I watched it suck the blood with its tentacles, I swallowed the animal's corpse in one go.
'It's difficult to find the one to catch this time, so you shouldn't be in a hurry.'
Although it is not as good as Crystal Wing, it is a type that is troublesome to find.
The guy we're going to catch this time is the stealth type Apex. Like the ice horror, it belongs to the type that builds its own home and hides in it.
'It's more like a food warehouse than a house.'
It has a unique habit of catching prey, storing it in an appropriate place, rotting it, and then eating it. What is the nickname of gourmet?
Just like picking and eating food, the target we will hunt this time is very intelligent. They do not have a high level of sociality or an advanced conversation system like Gallagons, but this is because they only move alone.
In some ways, it can be said to be a similar type to Aimorph.
After a short meal and rest, we started exploring again.
Beneath our wings, we see the ridges of vast mountain ranges leaving a forest full of trees.
Even during the flight, my auxiliary engine was fixed near the mountainside. It usually hides on the side of a mountain, so you need to look closely at that area.
Although it is clever at hiding its nest, it has one impressive feature. I talked to Adhai about this in advance.
「Big Adult」「Question」
While I was looking closely at the mountains, Adhai called me.
「Adult」「Knowledge」「Plenty」「Kindred」「I」「What I don't know」「Everything」「Knowing」「Interesting」 [
Zuzuz (Is that so?)]
「Ham Ort」「Od Grad」「Two」「 "Everyone", "I don't know", "Big Adult",
and "Yuil" seemed surprised that I knew so much information. From my perspective, the guy who remembers every single movement of the stars seems even more amazing.
「Big Adult」「All」「Prey」「All」「Know?」
[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (no, not that much)]
I have memorized about 80% of the information on creatures that appear in Space Survival. This is because the more information you know about creatures, the more beneficial it is to Amorph, whose characteristics are his strength.
'There weren't many players who knew as much as I did.'
Probably the 4th place Outspacer ranker and the 1st place Cyborg ranker are similar to me or know more than me.
However, since this is reality, there are quite a few things that are different from the game. Gallagon Aadhai is the 26th mutant who became a Sea Demon from a bubble amoeba. These are all creatures that cannot be seen in games.
Aside from those guys, the same goes for the first Ice Horror I encountered on this planet. The guy was much bigger than the size specified in the game. White Gallagon Ham Ort also possesses far superior skills compared to his compatriots.
'My knowledge is still useful enough.'
I don't know how long this will be the case. In the end, there is only one way to minimize the risk arising from the discrepancy between my knowledge and reality.
'To develop strength so as not to die.'
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzu zuzu zuzuzu (I don't know a lot of things. I'm still weak)]
「Big adult」「Body」「Black kind」「Similar」「Strength」「Strong」
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzu (You too can grow up) If you do this, you will become stronger than me)]
「Truth?」
It is true. Even the regular Black Gallagon is superior to me in terms of specs. If Aadhai becomes Red Gallagon, he will become the most powerful among my colleagues.
'Of course, because of its small body, it may not be as strong as the original.'
Aadhai seemed happy after hearing what I said and flew and waved his tail left and right.
「I」「Growth」「Completed」「After」「Wish」「Yes」
[zu zuzuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzu (Yes, if you want something, I will grant it)]
「Promise」
I also have to keep collecting genetic essence, regardless of evolution. This is the position. If there's food he wants, it wouldn't be a bad idea to catch it together.
As I continued walking around the mountains, I saw traces of him.
[Zuzuz (found it)]
「Where?」
[Zuzuz (over there)]
Me and Adhai landed on a mountainside with a lot of snow. It was a mountain full of trees and plants and not many rocks.
'They move trees and plants and plant them at the entrance to the nest.'
A normal animal or someone who doesn't know about its habits would probably just ignore it.
「Over there」「Nest?」
[Zu (yes)]
I took Adhai and approached a place covered with trees, vines, moss, and various plants.
The reason I was convinced that this was its nest and food warehouse was simple. I ripped out the vines growing from the ground.
'This plant species does not grow nearby.'
Those with the ability to fly always go to distant areas to find food. Each time, they bring seeds or roots of plants from the food area and plant them at the entrance to the hideout.
In other words, if you see plants that do not grow naturally, that is their hiding place.
I picked a fruit growing on a vine, swallowed it, and threw one to Adhai as well. I said this to the guy who started eating the fruit.
[Zuzu Zuzu Zuzuzu (Wait here for a moment)]
「Me」「Together」「Enter」
[Zuzu Zuzu Zuzuzu Zuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzu(No, I will lure you out and then fight you outside)]
The enemy you will face this time has a very irregular style. prefers the tactic of It is a style of hiding and then making a surprise attack or deceiving the enemy and counterattacking. For such a subject, the attack power is very high, so if you make a mistake, Aadhai's body can be severed.
'In that case, it would be better for me to go in and take it out myself.'
I tore down vines and trees. After clearing away the obstacles with the wing arms and fighting arms, a large cave appeared.
There was a faint smell of blood and a rotting corpse inside. The moment I smelled it, I was sure.
'He's inside.'
The one I'm looking for doesn't go out until it's finished eating.
I entered the entrance with my body prone. It was narrow on the outside but became wider as it went inward. Not only did the passageway become wider. There were numerous crossroads like an anthill.
However, there is no need to go further inside along the road. Because my job is to get this guy out.
'He might be waiting for me…'
I stopped in a moderately wide passage.
The cooldown for the symbol of hunting ended a few minutes ago. I took out the biological weapon latent in my body.
As the shape of the head shell changed, vision disappeared and other senses became much more sensitive. The body structure was distorted, the human face moved to the carapace of the head, and bone sickle arms protruded from the back. Red vein-like patterns were engraved on the wings. Not only did the change in appearance end, but the body length also became longer than before.
My body, which had completed its transformation, filled the passage. If I raised my body even a little, my head would touch the ceiling.
Everything was exactly what I wanted. I started hitting the walls and ceiling of the passage with the carapace of my head.
'Come out quickly.'
If this place collapses, no one will die. Instead, all the food it cherishes becomes trash.
"Saaaaaaaaaa! Shaaaaaaaaaaa!"
As I intended, an angry shouting sound came from inside. Next, a sound similar to that of quickly opening a paper book echoed through the narrow passage. It was the sound of a guy running.
Having succeeded in luring him, I just backed away.
Beyond the dark cave, as much as the musty smell, it gets closer and closer. A strong sense of resentment can be felt in its footsteps.
And by the time the claws at the end of my tail were out of the nest.
Its arms, which looked similar to the front legs of a praying mantis, split the air. Its paw, with its tremendous cutting power, severed one of my horns.
I knew the guy was close, so I quickly put my head back, so I didn't get fatally injured.
Having lost one of my horns, I quickly got out of the nest.
「Big adult」「Horn」「Where are you going?」
[Zuz zuzu zu zuzuzu (He will come out. Get ready)]
Aadhai, who was eating the fruit using his tentacles like straws, got very nervous when he heard my warning. Not even a few seconds after I got out, the guy jumped out.
Its front leg flew out to cut me again, but I was ready too. I took advantage of the wide space and turned my body to the side to avoid its attack, and then used the recoil to swing my tail.
The pincer attached to the tail flew like a meteor and hit the guy's body. With a strong explosion, the creature fell down on the snow piled up in front of the cave.
'I was weak.'
It may seem like you got it right, but it actually isn't. This is because when I hit the claw, it folded its front legs to minimize damage.
As expected, he woke up as if nothing had happened.
Its name is 'Hellside Hornet'. As the name suggests, Apex has an appearance close to an insect.
'Of course, there are no insects like that in the world.'
The Hellside Hornet has a combination of the characteristics of a praying mantis and a wasp. However, while regular insects have 6 legs, this insect has a total of 8 legs. It has two arms similar to the front legs of a praying mantis on its upper body and six legs on its lower body.
Its body structure is similar to that of a praying mantis, with its upper body raised upward and its folding sickle-like front legs.
Although the structure is different from the slim-looking mantis, its upper body is developed as if it has bulked up. Inside its thick carapace, it is filled with muscles that make it difficult to imagine that it is an insect.
'His speed and strength come from his muscles.'
The head on top of the sturdy upper body looks similar to a wasp. Just as being bitten by a wasp's jaw is very painful, its jaws are also a threatening weapon.
On its back were wings large enough to cover its entire body. Unlike the upper body, which is reminiscent of a praying mantis, the lower body looks like the entire body of a horse fly, with an elongated living tube-like tube hanging near the tail.
[Zuzuz, zuzuzu, zuzuzu (Be careful not to get hit by that tail)]
「Okay」
I didn't compare it to a horsefly for nothing. If you are attacked by its tail, you will be infected with parasites.
It does not manipulate other targets like the parasite in Nana Outspacer or drive them crazy like the narcotic substance in Glacier Fiend, but instead causes hundreds or thousands of maggots to pop out from the wound. It can be seen as a similar effect to the 'Tetanus Vine' that I used before when I was destroying the Temple Guardians.
'In some ways, it's more terrible than vines.'
Imagine hundreds of maggots the size of an adult male finger crawling around your wounds and inside your body. It's visually shocking, but more than anything, you can't help but suffer from tremendous pain. If it were me, I wouldn't know it, but if it were Adha, I would be incapable of fighting immediately after infection.
The only consolation is that, given its physical structure, it is difficult to infect Aadhai with its tail.
'Because he's big.'
The Hellside Hornet in front of us is about 10m tall and 15m long. You would have to be quite flexible to infect Aadhai.
The Hellside Hornet, with its dark brown stripes on a dark navy blue background, glared at us with its disgusting compound eyes.
"Shaaaaaaaaaaa."
Its gaze turns to our wings. It was probably a confirmation of our level of mobility.
Eventually, its wings spread wide. At the same time, Dong-si, I, and Adhai also spread their wings.
'It's a start.'
All three flew together into the dark sky.
The dogfight involving me and two Apex has just begun.
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