BXBX NOVEL Chapter 80
Chapter 80
The team behind Space Survival had a notorious reputation for being more dysfunctional than any other game’s developers. Given the game’s characteristics, balancing issues were rampant.
For instance, comparing Cultists who rarely show any weakness from the beginning to end and the Amorphs who are challenging to play from the very beginning, there was a clear imbalance. Despite this, there were very few instances where the developers adjusted the balance.
I, too, had a fondness for Amorphs, which allowed me to rank up and experience the endings. If it hadn’t been the case, I might have quit.
‘But this… they changed right away?’
It’s the first time I’ve seen such a prompt response from the management amidst all the balance complaints.
‘Cheating.’
There were similar incidents in past games. MegaCorp operates multiple colonial planets to recruit employees. Some planets resemble Earth with familiar environments, while others are fantastical. However, they all have restrictions, be it tangible or intangible, making it impossible for them to resist MegaCorp’s dominance. Employees on these planets had poor armaments or the planet lacked advanced civilizations.
‘In other words, these are places where gathering genetic essence is remarkably easy.’
Hence, I once roamed only on these colonial planets, gathering genetic essence. On a day when I raided about three planets simultaneously, an urgent notice appeared in the game. They claimed an unforeseen situation occurred and immediate adjustments were necessary.
At that time, the community buzzed with speculation, yet no one knew precisely what had changed.
‘It had to happen.’
They didn’t play as an Amorph after all like I did. Unlike them, I could immediately discern what the issue was.
The next day, I attacked colonial planets to harvest numerous genetic essences, but the instances of the predation effect were extremely rare among them. It meant that the administration had adjusted the probability of the predation effect being triggered by employees of these colonial planets to be extremely low.
‘Even after devouring dozens of employees here, only one trait emerged.’
Anyway, having experienced something similar before, this situation didn’t feel that unfamiliar to me. However, as a human, I couldn’t help feeling extremely unsettled.
‘They talk about development intentions and leave other things uncorrected, yet they swiftly modify this.’
If this continues, I will have to change my plans again. If the traits keep appearing incomplete even after consuming samples, it won’t be worth it.
‘…Let’s just take this for now.’
I accepted the offer to obtain the Space Flight trait. As indicated by ‘Incomplete,’ there was no noticeable change in my body.
I felt a sense of disappointment and irritation at the fact, pondering on what to do next.
‘The samples need to be consumed after the ‘Symbol of Hunt’ ends. That’s when there’s at least a possibility… huh?’
At that moment, a semi-transparent text box appeared once again.
[New unread message has arrived. Would you like to read it?]
There were no words indicating that it was an urgent message or the like.
‘Last time, a similar message came regarding the transcendence system.’
Upon checking, my anticipation was correct.
[‘Transcendence’ Material List: Form Mimicry, Pheromone Enhancement, Clairvoyance, Hallucination (Not acquired)]
[‘Transcendence’ Material List (New!): Wings, Endurance, Space Flight, Gigantism (Not acquired), Hijacking (Not acquired)]
Sure enough, it was a guide suggesting the creation of a new unique trait using the transcendence system.
‘Who’s trying to trick me now?’
Suppressing the rising irritation, I attempted to dismiss the text box.
‘Wait?’
At that moment, a single idea flashed across my mind.
I revisited the text box.
‘Why Space Flight?’
The transcendence material list marks the traits I don’t possess as ‘Not acquired.’ Gigantism and Hijacking are traits that I don’t have and are separately indicated as such. However, there’s no additional indication for Space Flight.
Realizing this fact, I deduced a possibility.
‘Could it be that the transcendence materials can be used for traits I haven’t completely acquired?’
I revisited the previous message regarding the transcendence system.
｢’Transcendence’ System: Merges three or more possessed traits into a new ‘unique’ trait. The newly acquired trait is entirely new and previously non-existent.｣
It was the message I received back then. The tooltip mentions merging ‘possessed traits,’ not specifically ‘usable traits.’
‘I can’t use Wings, but if they’re included in the materials, there might be a chance.’
If traits rendered unusable due to restrictions are included, couldn’t Space Flight be used as a transcendence material?
‘An intriguing hypothesis.’
If so, the paths ahead split into two for me.
First, to gather transcendence materials by manifesting the predation effect in the state of the ‘Symbol of Hunt’.
‘Gigantism and Highjacking might be possible with a stroke of luck.’
Gigantism can be obtained from the Skywhales, and Highjacking is a fusion trait, that can acquired from the Metallic Gremlins.
‘I need to merge the Dexterity trait with the Interference trait.’
Of course, fusion traits can only be made with fully functional traits, so my trick might not work.
‘I need to acquire the Interference trait twice to use it as a material.’
That’s as far as the first option goes.
‘The other choice is simply waiting for the effect of the ‘Symbol of Hunt’ to end and then take the samples.’
‘In this case, acquiring a completely usable trait solely depends on triggering the predation effect, but the downside is that the probability of triggering it will be very low. If luck isn’t on my side, even consuming all the samples here might not yield me a single trait.’
I looked down at the samples.
‘What should I do?’
After a brief contemplation, I made a decision.
‘Let’s consume one right now.’
In a situation where both options rely on luck, acquiring a trait through the ‘Symbol of Hunt’ appeared to be less risky. At least, even if luck doesn’t favor me, I would at least get some incomplete traits.
I picked up a sample and swallowed it.
With a gurgling sound, a text box appeared signifying the predation effect.
[Predation effect activated! Successfully obtained ‘Energy Absorption’ genetic essence]
‘Energy Absorption.’
Skywhales are creatures that periodically appear on various forest or ocean type planets though the probability is quite low. Their appearance includes eight eyes and wings displaying multiple opalescent colors. They are colossal in size, reaching a minimum of over 50 metres.
Skywhales spend their lives in the sky, except for three instances: when they’re born, when they give birth, and when they die. Unlike typical animals, they don’t acquire energy through meals. Lacking a proper digestive system, they utilize the energy absorption trait to draw energy for survival from natural sources like light, air, and moisture in clouds.
While it might seem like an excellent ability, it’s not suitable for an Amorph.
‘If I acquire Energy Absorption, my mouth and digestive system would deteriorate.’
Amorph gains traits and nutrients by consuming its prey and digesting the genetic essence within them. If I apply Energy Absorption, the side effect would result in the loss of my mouth and digestive system, effectively eliminating my means of obtaining genetic essence.
I’ve had incidents before where I unknowingly received Energy Absorption, which then blocked further evolution, forcing me to restart as an Amorph again.
‘Hmm.’
Normally, I shouldn’t accept this trait, but since the circumstances have slightly changed.
‘And I have the transcendence system.’
Even if it’s currently not useful for me, there’s a possibility it could be used as transcendence material.
‘I know the combinations for fusion traits, but…’
The newly updated transcendence system is still an uncharted territory for me.
‘If it’s Incomplete, it won’t have any effect, so applying it shouldn’t be an issue.’
The fact that incomplete traits don’t trigger effects has already been proven through the Space Flight trait.
After much deliberation, I accepted the Energy Absorption trait. As expected, there were no changes in my mouth or in my insides.
Having received Energy Absorption, I continued to ingest the samples. Upon consuming the fifth sample capsule, the predation effect triggered.
The trait I obtained was ‘Robust Vitality,’ a trait I previously acquired through cockroaches.
‘Since I already have regeneration, I don’t really need it…’
If there are two similar traits, only the effect of the better one applies. With sufficient physical-related traits already, there’s no need to consume a lesser-performing trait like Robust Vitality, apart from it being a material for regeneration.
‘Just in case, though.’
While in the game, traits evaluated as not useful might have undisclosed purposes, as evidenced by the Wings being used as transcendence materials.
Subsequently acquiring Robust Vitality, I found myself with only one Skywhale sample left.
Honestly, it was a slightly disappointing outcome.
‘No, gathering materials isn’t so bad. Let’s find significance in that.’
Without much expectation, upon consuming the final sample, a new trait emerged.
[Predation effect triggered! Successfully obtained ‘Gigantism (Incomplete)’ genetic essence from the ‘Skywhale.’]
[Extracted ‘Gigantism (Incomplete)’ from the biological trait ‘Skywhale.’]
[Do you want to apply ‘Gigantism (Incomplete)’?]
If it were Space Flight, I would have acquired a complete trait, but unfortunately, it was a different trait.
‘Gigantism.’
Gigantism is a universal trait possessed by every colossal creature with a size exceeding 50 metres.”
This translation aims to convey the details and nuances of the original text for English readers.
“The owner of the sample I just consumed, the Skywhale or the quasi-embryo-like Black Gallagon, possesses the trait of Gigantism.
‘Having this trait would have allowed me to use the Gigantification technique, what a pity.’
Similar to how the Monstrous Tentacle trait enables the Psychic Breath, acquiring the Gigantism trait allows transformation into a special state of Gigantification.
‘Upon Gigantification, I could grow to around 20 meters tall and become incredibly powerful.’
Despite being limited to once a week, once Gigantified, I become significantly formidable. It’s not just about size; my physical abilities also scale up proportionally. A Gigantified Amorph would possess immense strength, enough to face a warship or even an entire city without flinching.
Furthermore, the Predation Effect doubles the efficacy of traits and type effectiveness. If I had the Gigantism trait in this state, I could easily exceed 50 meters. That would truly display a majestic presence worthy of the term ‘Space Monster.’
‘Sigh. Regrettable, but inevitable.’ That was the end of the Skywhale sample.
From eight Skywhale samples, I acquired four traits: Space Flight, Gigantism, Energy Absorption for material, and Robust Vitality.
‘If only there weren’t any limits, it would have been a significant harvest.’
Obtaining four traits from a single creature is remarkable.
‘…It’s in the past now. There’s no use getting annoyed.’
I shook my head to dispel irritation and reached for the remaining samples to consume.
At that moment, the sub-mandible auxiliary device beneath my jaw trembled.
Simultaneously, rapid scenes flashed in my mind.
[The female cultist says, ‘Something seems suspicious.’]
[The male cultist asks, ‘What?’]
[The female cultist shakes her head at the camera. ‘The head of the autopsy team visited the genetic vault but hasn’t returned from the cryogenic vault.’]
[The male cultist responds, ‘Huh? Why would they go in there?’]
[The female cultist continues, ‘I don’t know. Also, other researchers went in earlier, but they haven’t come out yet.’]
[The male cultist stands up. ‘I’ll go check. If it seems odd, I’ll report to the higher-ups.’]
The scene ended with the male cultist with ram horns exiting the dark room.
‘Oh no.’
I thought it had passed without incident, but it hadn’t.
‘That female cultist has a keen sense.’
Initially, the fire incident didn’t raise much concern, but observing the odd behavior of the head of the autopsy team aroused suspicion.
‘The Third Central Control Room is nearby.’
In about five minutes, the male cultist will arrive here. Capturing the male cultist itself isn’t particularly challenging. I’m currently strengthened by the effect of the ‘Symbol of Hunt’.
‘The issue arises after dealing with the male cultist.’
If the cultists aren’t in contact, that perceptive female cultist won’t just stand by. She’ll undoubtedly contact the higher authorities, the First Central Control Room, or the Monument Security Team.
‘I need to neutralize the cameras.’
For that, I need a trait possessed by the Metallic Gremlins.
I inserted the Metallic Gremlin samples into my mouth, and as the capsules passed through my throat, the genetic essence inside seeped into my system. Every time the essence dissolved, a text box appeared in front of me.
Dwarfism, Dwarfism, Metal Absorption…
It didn’t start well. After multiple Dwarfism traits, the third was Metal Absorption, which I already had. I acquired Dwarfism as a material and cancelled the rest.
Next, when I consumed the fourth capsule, the anticipated Electromagnetic Interference trait appeared.
‘Great. Just once more.’
Obtaining Interference one more time would allow me to acquire a complete trait. However, despite consuming two more samples, no predation effect appeared. I now had only two chances left, and at this point, I began to feel anxious.
‘Should I go with the initial plan?’
Suddenly, I thought it might be better to go for the method of infesting and controlling the cultists.
‘But that keen female cultist might be onto something.’
As seen in William’s case, parasites aren’t foolproof. While the male cultist may succumb, if that sensitive female cultist suspects anything unusual with her colleague, I might end up back where I started.
‘That’s not all. If caught with the ‘Parasitic colony’ trait, the situation will get even worse.’
Contemplating how to handle the female cultist, I swallowed the seventh sample.
And then, the text box appeared.
[Predation effect triggered! Successfully obtained ‘Electromagnetic Interference(Incomplete)’ genetic essence from the ‘Metallic Gremlin.’]
[Extracting ‘Electromagnetic Interference(Incomplete)’ from the biological trait ‘Metallic Gremlin.’]
[Would you like to apply ‘Electromagnetic Interference (Incomplete)’?]
[Electromagnetic Interference: Emits waves causing temporary malfunctions in devices powered by electricity.]
The completed trait spoke to me. There’s no need for further contemplation.