Chapter 139

Chapter 139 [Translator – Jjescus] Chapter 139 It took some time, but with this, all the conditions have been fulfilled. I captured two more Swamp Kings, but the desired traits didn’t appear. I had no choice but to wander through the swamp and hunt whatever came my way to gather materials for Nest Fusion traits. ‘Thanks to that, it took a whopping 14 hours. Still, I’ll have to console myself with the fact that I obtained good traits like the pincer-like ones.’ 「Big one, can we really eat just it?」 [ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (I’ve eaten a lot, so it’s okay)] I nodded cautiously to Number 26, who asked. Having completed the preparations to enter Transcendence Stage 2, I returned to the nest with the corpses of three Swamp Kings. ‘This delicious food would be a waste if I ate it alone.’ When I was separated from them, I wanted them to taste this Swamp King meat. 「Swamp King, huh? Haven’t had it in a while.」 「Me」 「Curious」 「This」 「Delicious?」 「It suits my taste.」 Surprisingly, it seems like the Mother of the Sky has preyed on Swamp Kings before. As far as I know, in her stage, there is no way to defend against the toxins in the swamp. Unless there is someone’s help. ‘Seems like there’s a story.’ The griffon looked at the corpse with a bitter expression. Judging by her appearance, I could roughly guess what happened. Presumably, her husband, the father of the Earth, must have hunted the prey and they had eaten it together. ‘Unfortunately....’ She has to eat this. The flesh of the Swamp King is necessary to elevate the Wolf’s sanctification stage. Currently, the Mother of the Sky is cooperating with me, but fundamentally, our relationship is a contractual one. She pledged to give me everything in exchange for revenge. And I need a Wolf that has reached the highest stage of sanctification. Not immediately, but it might be insurance after I reach the Ascendent stage. I extracted a piece of flesh from the tough exoskeleton and handed it to her. The Mother of the Sky glanced at me once and took the meat into her mouth. ‘Lucky.’ Previously, when I treated her, I implanted parasites in her head. After killing Muriel, I judged that the possibility of the Mother of the Sky betraying me was very low. So, I lowered the interference stage of the parasite to the minimum, allowing her to move autonomously. However, the fact remains that there is a parasite in her head. Whenever I give the command, she has no choice but to obey me. But doing so would completely ruin our relationship. She is a quite capable combatant, and not utilizing her would be a waste. Until I reach adulthood, or rather, until Adhai grows into a White Gallergon, I need her cooperation. 「Tasty?」 「Fairly. Just eat without asking. You should try it too.」 「Affirmative.」 She chewed the meat, understanding my intention. Perhaps she was recalling her deceased family. The pumpkin-colored eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion. Still, there was no resentment towards me. Starting with the Mother of the Sky, Adhai and Number 26 also began to eat one corpse each. 「Delicious!」 「Yeah!」 Adhai used her tentacles like straws to suck blood, while Number 26 tore the flesh with its tentacles and fins and put it into its body. Both seemed to enjoy the Swamp King’s meat fiercely. 「It suits their taste; that’s good.」 As they just started their meal, I informed them of an important fact. I plan to enter Transcendence Stage 2 from now on. So, I’m asking them to protect me. ‘I don’t know if Transcendence Stage 2 will fit into the cocoon or not. Even applying the unique traits obtained through the transcendence system, such as ‘Perfect Organism’ and ‘Horizon of Nightmares,’ took almost as much time as regular growth. There’s a high possibility that Transcendence Stage 2 will take just as long.’ 「Big one, growing again?」 「Me」 「Envy」 「Adult」 「Growth」 「Fast」 [ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (If Adhai eats a lot, she’ll grow quickly)] 「Affirmative」 「Me」 「A lot」 「Eat」 「Eat」 Number 26 and Adhai, who already know what happens when I use the transcendence system, didn’t ask separate questions. 「Already evolving? You probably haven’t fulfilled all the conditions for ascension yet.」 On the other hand, the Mother of the Sky has never seen me use the transcendence system. ‘Come to think of it, didn’t I tell her about it?’ The transcendence system wasn’t part of the game. Even for a ranker like her, it’s not strange not to know something that didn’t exist in the game. I briefly explained the transcendence system to her. It’s a new ability that combines multiple traits to create a single one. After hearing my explanation, she nodded. 「Indeed. I’ve heard that later on, dealing with too many traits becomes a headache for Amorph or Outspacers.」 [ZZZ (That’s right)] 「But maybe that’s your advantage.」 [ZZZ (Maybe)] 「I」 「actually」 「said」 「ugly」 「truth.」 After getting hit in the head, Adhai retaliated, and Number 26 swung its tentacles again. This time, the target was not Adhai but Redwood nearby. When the tentacles hit the tree with a diameter of several meters, it easily split as if it were a ripe fruit. Mother of the Sky and Adhai were astonished to see centuries-old giant trees falling after being hit by the small tentacles. 26 commented, 「Noisy.」 「Agree」 「I」 「made a mistake」 「silence.」 Number 26’s terrifying power made Adhai immediately quiet down. Mother of the Sky internally adjusted her assessment of Number 26’s danger. She considered it a formidable opponent who might cause fatal injuries rather than just significant bleeding. ‘I thought Sea Demons were supposed to be quiet.’ Although Sea Demons were intelligent beings, they were treated as quasi-boss-level creatures due to their ferocity. They never stopped killing any creatures entering their territory until everything was dead. Once marked by them, you had to worry about Sea Demon attacks every time you entered the sea. While Number 26 had a personality almost like an angel compared to regular Sea Demons, it was not entirely docile. At least, it seemed strict when it came to hierarchy issues. As Mother of the Sky was lost in thought, Number 26 suddenly called her. 「Middle one, I have something to ask.」 「Huh?」 「Little one, have you ever been a mother?」 The griffin with the head of a man with a mangrove thought for a moment. She was named to match her departed husband’s name. The wolves on this continent referred to them as the Father of the Earth and the Mother of the Sky, combining them as the parents of all beings. ‘But what should I say in response to this?’ Although they married and formed a family, she had not experienced childbirth. For some unknown reason, they had not been able to have children. So, Mother of the Sky raised the indigenous wolves like her own children. Both she and the wolves called each other mother and child in this context. 「...Embarrassing, but yes. I’ve played the role of a mother.」 「Wow! Middle one, you’re amazing!」 Number 26 sparkled at her words. The innocent reaction of the little one made her awkwardly avert her gaze. Then, Number 26’s following question made her even more uncomfortable. 「I have something I’m curious about!」 「What is it?」 「How are babies made?」 「What?」 For a moment, Mother of the Sky thought the pink slime in front of her was joking. In fact, despite the serious reaction of Number 26, it seemed like a joke. However, Adhai also chimed in. 「I」 「curious」 「I」 「adult」 「know」 「want.」 As Adhai often communicated as a synesthete, the Mother of the Sky often received direct impressions of what she was thinking. According to her feelings, Adhai’s statement was 100% sincere. With 2Number 6’s serious reaction and Adhai’s curiosity, the situation became so perplexing that Mother of the Sky remained silent. Even though she seemed in a bad mood while saying that, Mother of the Sky was not well-versed enough to know the Sea Demon’s method of expressing emotions in detail. Moreover, she was too flustered by the questions of these two small monsters to even think about Number 26’s feelings. ‘Are they asking me to give sex education to Sea Demon and a Gallagon?’ As far as she knew, Sea Demons and Gallagons were creatures in the game whose methods of reproduction were not disclosed. Furthermore, the fact that Sea Demons had bodily fluids was something she learned for the first time after seeing Number 26. ‘Adhai seems like a female... no. Leaving that aside, can Sea Demons also give birth to offspring?’ 「That, um...」 「That?」 「I」 「curious」 「curious.」 Seeing these two sincerely interested in reproductive activities, Mother of the Sky felt her mind fading. While pondering what to say exactly, she sensed something with her extraordinary eyes and looked into the dense forest. Her highly developed sense of detection, as well as her ears and nose, moved fiercely according to the owner’s will. 「Wait.」 「Wait?」 「Oh no! Enemies!」 Both Number 26 and Adhai immediately reacted to her emotions. They quickly dispersed and hid behind trees and rocks in the vicinity. 「Enemies? Bad guys came?」 「I」 「not visible」 「enemies」 「where?」 「...It’s quite far from here, but they might come this way.」 Except for the Amorph, who was underground in a cocoon, she was the monster with the most outstanding detection abilities in this place. She could sense that there were fully armed cult warriors several kilometers away. They were moving as if searching for something, meticulously searching through the forest. 「You should be able to sense them too. Focus.」 「Got it. I’ll try.」 「Concentrate.」 Cultists emitted a powerful psychic power due to their racial characteristics. Sea Demons and Gallergons were the most sensitive creatures to psychic power. Even if they were far away, they could detect it sufficiently. As expected, Number 26 and Adhai quickly detected the mysterious cultists. 「Amorph... um, Big One can’t move yet. It’s in the middle of evolution.」 「That’s right. Big One said not to touch it when it’s growing.」 「Affirmative」 「We」 「enemies」 「intrusion」 「defense.」 Mother of the Sky looked at Number 26 and Adhai with a serious gaze. 「Yes. We have to stop them.」 Her words were short, but the two small monsters immediately understood the meaning behind them. Their most beloved being was in danger. Purple flames flickered in Number 26’s body and Adhai’s eyes.