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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 468
The rankers I’ve devoured until now always had their names clearly shown.
Two names, in fact the one they were called by in this world, and the one they’d been called in the real world.
But I am different from them.
｢Race: Unidentified Hostile Extraterrestrial Lifeform｣
Only my race is written in the text box. There’s no name.
‘Why am I only realizing this now?’
I clearly remember what my name is. I can vividly recall how I lived in reality.
And yet, until Isabel pointed it out, I hadn’t noticed the difference at all as if my thoughts had been blocked from going in that direction.
“Amorph?”
Isabel pulled me out from my confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“I never hid my name.”
“Huh? I thought you hid it as a perk.”
“No.”
None of my abilities have any effect that hides my text box.
From the moment I first opened my eyes in this world, that field has never changed.
The “Race” entry has always been at the very top, unshifting.
“Really? No way.”
Finally realizing why I was so startled, Isabel tilted her head.
“I thought you were hiding your name on purpose. You tricked people with that plenty of times in games.”
She’s not wrong. In the past, I often hid information while using traits like Mimicry Organ or Symbiotic Parasite.
“You do remember your name though, right?”
“Of course. I clearly remember my past.”
In fact, I’d told the Mother of the Sky who I was a long time ago.
I’d also told Isabel my name and everything about my past.
“Your mother… she’s that famous actress, right?”
“The one you’re thinking of, yes.”
“I always thought you were good at acting. Now it makes sense.”
Isabel gave a small murmur of admiration the exact same reaction the Mother of the Sky had when I’d told her.
“So you’re saying you’ve been like this since you first woke up in this world?”
“That’s right.”
“What if… something happened before you hatched from the egg?”
She’s right. The time I spent inside the Amorph egg is the only part I can’t remember.
‘It’s possible… but’
“Probably not. When I devoured the human who had moved the egg onto the spaceship, I didn’t sense anything unusual.”
If that human had been a ranker, or connected to one, I would have known immediately.
No, I wouldn’t have even made it out of the egg in the first place whether they were Dominion Faction or Returner Faction, they all desperately want me dead.
Even if I’m wrong, it’s not like I can track that clue now. The spaceship disappeared a long time ago and everyone connected to it is dead.
“Can’t you use your perk to check what happened?”
“All-Seeing Eye only lets me read the text box as it is. If I can’t see it directly, I can’t confirm it.”
Unfortunately, my perk is no help here. I’ll have to find some other ability with a similar effect.
‘…Wait.’
I was staring at the nest spread out beneath me when an idea struck.
One of the rewards for the Space Monster type is the Double Helix Monolith it lets me transfer one of my traits to an allied being.
‘If I use that to boost a perk’s performance…’
I’d tried something similar with the Mother of the Sky before, and it had worked rather well. She’d received Superior Homeostasis and Revenant Organ, which she uses to reset her perk cooldowns.
The principle would be the same this time. I explained the thought to Isabel.
“You mean, like you did for Sister Seoha?”
“Exactly.”
“Sounds like a good idea. If it synergizes with the All-Seeing Eye, it could work great.”
Among psychic-type traits are ones that can peer into past events or track another creature’s traces.
If I gave her something like that, maybe she could uncover the text box’s secret.
While I buried myself in work to forget the frustration, Number 26 and Adhai came to find me.
｢Big one’s sleeping.｣
｢Food｣ ｢we have｣
I caught the scent of meat juice and calorie blocks from them. They must’ve brought it for me.
｢Sleeping face cute!｣
｢Disagree｣ ｢Before｣ ｢form｣ ｢better｣
｢If you don’t like it, little one can go away. I’m sleeping with big one.｣
Something small and soft touched one of the tentacle arms sprawled on the floor.
Number 26 climbed up my arm and settled down beside my head.
｢I also｣ ｢want to sleep｣ ｢together｣
Adhai clambered up onto my back. Through my carapace, I felt a soft, warm weight, different from Number 26’s.
Once they each found a spot, both soon went quiet.
I missed the chance to open my eyes.
Maybe it was their warmth; the heaviness in my chest eased a little.
‘Well… no reason to wake them.’
I remained still and continued to tend to the nest. After finishing the task, I fell asleep, feeling the comfort created by Number 26 and Adhai.
***
“Lord Walter, the hunt is over.”
“Damage report?”
“One Giga-Cracker-class ship completely destroyed, two others with engine and ion cannon damage…”
The captain’s quarters were filled with all manner of weaponry and preserved beast trophies.
It evoked the image of a spacefaring poacher’s vessel but the owner of this ship wasn’t a pirate.
Walter Saint-K, head of the Saint K family, one of the Seven Great Houses of Megacorp, and known throughout Noble Capital as its resident eccentric.
The old madman sat in this strange, atmospheric room, listening to his subordinate’s report.
“That concludes the damage report.”
“How’s the trail on the prey?”
“The pursuit squad is tracking the blue and red specimens, but it’s proving difficult. It seems we may have to abandon any target other than the black specimen.”
“Hmph. One out of three, then.”
Walter, arms folded, scowled.
To hunt high-grade Outspacer specimens, he’d deployed five Gigacrackers and an array of experimental weaponry. Such a force was rarely mobilized.
The results, however, were grim. The damage sustained exceeded expectations, and only one target had been successfully killed.
Originally, the goal had been to take down four. One had never even shown itself and now this was the outcome. They had completely underestimated the enemy’s power.
This hunt was, for all intents and purposes, a failure.
“I can’t even remember the last time I failed like this.”
“My apologies.”
“Tsk. Regrettable, but unavoidable. Pay the bereaved families of the dead hunters the full hazardous duty allowance.”
“Yes, we’re already processing payments for the confirmed cases.”
“If others are later recognized for merit, give them performance bonuses as well.”
Walter issued a string of instructions regarding how to handle casualties.
Compared to other Noble Capital leaders, he paid far more attention to the welfare of his subordinates because of his own… hobby.
Walter wasn’t just a family head; he was also a hunter of exceptional skill, famed enough that even the Cult Empire knew his name.
And any seasoned hunter knows: you take care of your hounds.
Walter never hesitated to invest in anything or anyone that could aid the hunt.
“As you command.”
“Good. Now, the next reportour spoils.”
The subordinate keyed a command into his terminal, projecting a hologram into the room.
A massive beast’s corpse, stored in a Gigacracker’s hold, appeared in the captain’s quarters.
“As you can see, the outer shell is heavily damaged. The wing membranes are also badly torn and will only be usable in a limited capacity.”
“And the insides?”
“Fortunately, relatively intact. About sixty percent of the primary organs are in good condition.”
“Hmph. Small mercies.”
For the first time since the report began, Walter showed interest.
Unfolding his arms, he examined the black specimen’s internal scan.
The bat-like monster possessed the ability to unleash energy on par with a superheavy ion cannon.
Which meant it had internal organs capable of generating and channeling that energy.
If secured and researched, those organs could be used to upgrade the Gigacrackers’ performance beyond their current capabilities.
“Share all dissection data with Garmelda.”
“You’re sure?”
“That little lady on their side will make something fun out of this.”
It was a rare and hard-earned prey. Another Noble Capital house would have immediately looked to monopolize it, but Walter shook his head.
Eccentric or not, no one knew the Saint K’s better than Walter himself. With their resources, they couldn’t fully exploit such an Outspacer on their own.
Better to collaborate with those who could turn a ‘precious resource’ into the best possible weapon.
“And one more thing…”
Walter tapped at his own terminal.
Above the hologram appeared new footage of battlefield imagery recorded hours earlier by another warship.
Amidst the chaotic clash of numerous ships and Outspacers, one monster stood out two-headed, bristling with writhing tentacles, striking indiscriminately at everything around it.
Neither a warship’s main batteries nor the black specimen’s attacks could bring it down.
Even a Gigacracker’s ion cannon might not be able to destroy it.
Such was the sheer might and resilience of the creature.
“To take down bigger prey… you need better weapons.”
A monster equal to or greater than the high-grade specimen they’d barely managed to kill.
The old hunter’s eyes gleamed with hunger as he fixed on his next target.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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