abcnovels
Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Chapter 182
In the tunnel, echoing like a cry, the enemy’s shouts were heard. The emotion contained in his voice was solely one, intense rage.
‘Alright.’
With that, the possibility of the enemy retreating decreased. The enemy player would never consider going back until they’ve killed me.
“Amorph”
The opponent was the third player I encountered after Muriel and the Mother of the Sky. Unlike when facing Muriel, I had limited information about the enemy.
It was going to be a tough fight.
‘Not that I’m planning to lose, though.’
I ran across the solid ice, reassessing the cards I held.
The tetanus vine I had prepared to ambush the enemy had just been used.
The tetanus vine is a characteristic infection related to a motif of carnivorous plants often seen in classic horror movies. Its method of infection is similar to using parasites.
Within my combat arm, there is space where parasites and tetanus vine seeds can inhabit. Just as parasites can emerge from small holes in my arm when needed, tetanus vine seeds come out from holes inside my palm.
The difference is that unlike parasites that enter the opponent’s body automatically, the tetanus vine cannot. It exists in seed form within my body, so I have to inject it directly into the opponent.
Once inside the opponent’s body, the tetanus vine, which consumes nutrients, grows at a very fast rate. It fully matures in as little as 5 minutes, or at most 10 minutes, and then prepares for reproduction.
‘It becomes a human bomb right away.’
The tetanus vine, spreading through the bloodstream, explodes itself when a new host appears nearby. It’s akin to cutting a branch of a plant and planting it in the ground, resulting in new growth.
Of course, it’s obvious, but the host dies during the explosion process. It’s no different from a grenade detonating inside their body.
Thanks to these characteristics, I often used parasites and tetanus vines together for large-scale skirmishes or surprise attacks shortly before a battle.
Many players with experience fighting against me have often killed players controlled by parasites as a precaution.
So, the cult players chasing after me won’t be fooled anymore.
‘It served well as a provocation and bait.’
Aside from the tetanus vine, among other hidden cards, there are the Bone Beast and Revenant Organs I acquired recently.
Both traits play a crucial role in Amorph’s battles. They are traits I frequently used in the game.
The Bone Beast can be thought of as a combination of the effects of “King of Monsters” and “Symbol of Hunt” that I obtained.
Of course, it doesn’t become significantly stronger like when using King of Monsters or Symbol of Hunt.
The effects of the Bone Beast can be summarized into two major aspects: enlargement and reinforcement of defense.
Since it’s a trait made from the Giant Creature trait and Bone Axe trait, it inherits both effects.
When the Bone Beast trait is activated, my body becomes slightly larger than when using the Giant Creature trait alone. Currently, my body length is around 28m, and it increases by about three times from here. Of course, as the body grows, so does the strength.
Up to this point, it’s similar to a regular enlargement, but there’s an additional aspect in the Bone Beast state.
That is, a hard bone glove is added to the surface of the body. It’s similar to when using Symbol of Hunt, where exoskeletons grow all over my body. With thick gloves and additional spike-like bones, I can collide with opponents of similar caliber and deliver blows.
‘But there’s no increase in speed, though.’
It’s disappointing to think that the speed doesn’t increase when using Symbol of Hunt, but rather decreases.
‘If it’s as good as the Symbol of Hunt, then that’s a problem, too.’
Expecting the same level as a transcendent trait gained through the transcendence system for a Bone Beast trait that’s merely a ‘fusion’ trait is excessive greed.
Although it’s not at the level of Symbol of Hunt, a powerful Bone Beast saved as a hidden card. It can be used when facing enemy players. Plus, I currently possess the special state trait, King of Organic Evolution, which allows me to transform.
‘Thanks to consuming Ice Horror, I have abundant energy.’
The energy to sustain the Bone Beast is sufficient due to the situation where a creature several hundred meters in size is inside me. Let’s use King of Monsters, which consumes extreme energy, depending on the situation.
‘And the Revenant Organs.’
As the name suggests, the Revenant Organs are traits related to resurrection.
‘It doesn’t really bring back the dead, though.’
This fusion trait, made from the “Ghost State,” functions differently from other traits.
Most of the traits I possess are either constantly active like passive traits or provide special effects when activated.
In contrast, the Revenant Organs only work conditionally.
Although not visible, there’s a very small secretion organ attached to my heart. If the conditions are met, this organ activates on its own and secretes special hormones into my heart.
Even for someone like Amorph, who can actively regulate activities within the body, the Revenant Organs were uncontrollable. It’s a trait that, like in the game, only operates when conditions are met.
And that’s not all. The effectiveness of the Revenant Organs varies depending on how powerful I am and “what state I’m in.”
If I fail to meet these conditions properly? Even if I activate it, it’s useless.
‘Plus, the cooldown is incredibly long.’
Due to these difficult conditions, there are hardly any players in the game who have properly utilized this trait. At most, it was players like me and the 4th Outspacer Ranker who enjoyed this trait.
‘But when they see me now, there’s no joker card like this.’
If properly activated, the Revenant Organs are a powerful weapon that can immediately turn the situation around. If used well, it can seriously give cult players a hard time in battle.
‘Then let’s prepare from the Divine Spectre…’
While checking my last options, I felt a familiar yet strange sensation in front of me. Countless images appeared and disappeared in front of me as if the video speed was doubled.
At the same time, the auxiliary organ under my jaw trembled.
‘An unknown danger is approaching.’
[?????? is targeting my ????.]
‘Predator Sense!’
As I ran through the corridor, I quickly pressed my body to the ground. A sinister energy mass barely grazed my back and the exoskeleton above my neck. When the energy bullets hit the corridor wall, the spot where they hit evaporated with a sinister sound.
“Fucking Cunt! Where do you think you’re running!”
Angry voices from behind. They were cultists. Then, I felt ominous energy bullets flying towards me.
‘Tch!’
The cultists protecting the player had fired demolishers at me.
The demolisher bullets were precisely aimed at my auxiliary organs. They knew that was my weakness.
I quickly covered the auxiliary organ part with my combat arm as I turned my head to the side. Most of the energy bullets missed, but not all of them; a few struck my arm.
[Pain Nullification Activated!]
The synthetic scales and exoskeletons around my wrist melted like ice on a hot plate as soon as they came into contact with the material fired by the demolishers.
‘So this was the reason for the ambush.’
Because of my size, it wasn’t easy to avoid small energy bullets. That’s why I decided to ambush them before they could shoot demolishers from over there.
I raised only my upper body, turned my head backward, and exerted force on my tail to strike the ceiling of the corridor. As the collapsing ceiling fell backward, I ran again.
Unable to shoot demolishers due to the ice and rocks covering the corridor, the enemies fired psychic techniques at me. Gravity control and restraints poured behind my back, but I was a step faster.
Some of the psychic techniques hit the tip of my tail, but Swamp King’s pincers are attached to my tail. As the defense against psychic attacks is the best on my body, I was unharmed.
‘But the coordination is unusual.’
The cultists who entered the underground space of the ice plain divided into three groups and aimed at me.
I fought directly with the other two groups, excluding those protecting the players. Except for the cult leader killed by tetanus vines, there were no particularly impressive individuals among the rest.
However, the movements of those attacking me with the enemy players were distinctly different. The coordination was smooth, as if their heads were connected as one.
‘But it doesn’t seem like a buff technique.’
Given the situation, there is one technique that comes to mind.
Among the top psychic power techniques, there is a technique called ‘Ultra Control.’ It’s a crowd control device that completely controls the mind of a specific target.
It has a similar effect to parasites but can be manipulated more finely, and the victim cannot resist.
‘And there’s no time limit.’
Unlike Amorph, who needs to constantly replace parasites, once Ultra Control is activated, it won’t be released until either the user or the victim dies.
The drawbacks are that it doesn’t work well against enemies prepared for psychic attacks, and only one person can be controlled at a time.
‘So it’s highly unlikely….’
Or it could be a unique bonus effect possessed by him. It might be a trait that gives a wide range of buffs to other cultists.
I heard a rumbling from behind as I ran.
It was the sound of cult players breaking through the collapsed corridor. Then, the footsteps of many cultists moving vibrated the corridor.
But it doesn’t matter. I’ve reached my goal.
I broke through the half-collapsed, narrowed corridor and entered the wide chamber.
In front of me, a white skull spanning hundreds of meters is visible. It’s the tomb of Ice Horror, where I lured and fought the cultists before.
As soon as I entered, I quickly turned my head and prepared for the next attack.
The long tentacles covering from the back of the head to the neck of the giant monster moved towards me. Violet energy beams emanated from the tip of my tail gathered towards the head through the synthetic scales.
A large sphere with a diameter of 6 meters, larger than my head, was formed at the tip of my snout. The sphere, burning with violet flames from the inside out, flew towards the corridor where the enemies were rushing.
The perfectly round sphere turned into a line as straight as the horizon. Although thinner, its destructive power remained the same.
The mighty force that even battleships couldn’t withstand, the Psychic Breath, tore through the underground chamber’s corridor and advanced.
But this time, the desired result didn’t happen.
The violet spear flying through the ice corridor stopped abruptly in mid-air. Then, the line turned naturally, as if it should have been that way from the beginning.
The manipulated Psychic Breath wasn’t aimed at the cultists but at me.
‘Damn it!’
I quickly pulled my tail forward and raised the pincers. The fierce Psychic Breath collided with my pincers.
[Pain Nullification Activated!]
‘Oof!’
Due to the tremendous impact, my tailbone almost broke. I used my combat arms to hold the pincers like a shield and block the Psychic Breath.
Thanks to the psychic reflection gloves applied to the pincers, the Psychic Breath started reflecting again. Due to the successive reflections, the violet energy beams lost their target and flew around, hitting nearby areas.
The wide underground chamber received a huge shock and shook again. Cracks in the ceiling and walls grew to an unprecedented size.
Giant ice fragments fell from above like icicles, revealing the enemy players and cultists.
‘Annoying.’
A cult player wearing black full-body armor with deer antlers muttered irritably. He carried a small silver stick at his waist and an axe, ‘Condemnation,’ on his back, which the female cult leader was holding bare.
As soon as I saw him, I knew. He was a cult player who targeted and found me.
In front of the player stood 11 cultists, all armed like other Temple Guardians. They wore ivory bodysuits and wielded Champion Shields. Six of them held Gallagon’s Claw Swords, while five held Demolishers.
At first glance, they didn’t seem different from other Temple Guardian groups, but I quickly noticed something odd about them. Their eyes were cloudy, like those of madmen, and their breathing patterns were identical, without any variation among the 11.
Moreover, being able to detect psychic powers as an auxiliary device, I could see it. Each of the 11 cultists had a purple stem attached to their foreheads, all connected to the players and linked to the back of their necks.
“That damn Amorph -bastard, because of you, my Alia died. Damn, it was so difficult for me to target her…!”
A player with a ruggedly handsome face spat out curses. Treated as nobility in the cult society, the deer antler cultist spoke like a thug, but the cultists in front showed no reaction.
Seeing that, I was certain. I knew what the enemy’s special ability was.
‘Enhancing the effects of psychic power techniques.’
Just now, the reflection of my Psychic Breath and the purple stems attached to the cultists’ foreheads. They both seemed to derive from some ability.
‘Reflection and Ultra Control are evident.’
The reflection ability is probably Reflection. Originally, it was a technique that only reflected physical attacks, but for some reason, it can now reflect psychic attacks as well.
Ultra Control, too, originally had the characteristic of controlling only one person at a time, but he is controlling 11 people simultaneously.
Given that, it’s highly likely that the enemy’s special ability greatly enhances the effects of psychic power techniques.
The reason I speculate this is because it felt similar to me.
‘Of course, I can’t jump to conclusions.’
What’s important here is that they can also reflect energy-based attacks. If that’s the case, executing my plan becomes much easier.
I opened my mouth to buy time to prepare for the next move.
“It’s because of me. I can’t understand.”
“You can’t understand? You implanted Tetanus Vines, and she got completely messed up!”
“I could have healed her, but you killed her.”
“What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Or do you have traps or nests set up around here? Or maybe that Wolf slave of yours.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know? That Griffin Wolf, you ate it, right? Ha, whatever. First, deal with yourself, then think about it.”
As soon as his words ended, the cultists in front of him raised their weapons. The Demolisher, aimed at my auxiliary device, seemed like it would fire energy at any moment.
But I was also ready. I lowered myself to the ground, bringing my upper body as close to the floor as possible. The Inmansoos on my back were preparing to attack.
Inmansoos* are positioned on the back when not transformed into symbols of hunting. Due to their body structure, to attack smaller enemies like this, I had no choice but to lie down like this.
[* TL/N- Well I too do not understand this word but it was like this in the raws I’ll make the PR do some research on it and he’ll change it.]
[PR/N- “–“]
‘Fire.’
The Inmansoos unleashed their sonic attacks. The small monsters in the shape of cult heads emitted sound waves towards the cultists holding Demolishers.
‘Tsk.’
The player lightly clicked his tongue as he watched. The cultists controlled by him quickly avoided the attacks, but they couldn’t all dodge. Three cultists holding Demolishers were paralyzed by the sonic attacks and collapsed to the ground like boiled dolls.
‘Seems like they can’t reflect sound waves.’
I stored that fact in the corner of my mind. Meanwhile, my body moved diligently.
The tip of my tail aimed at the cultists who had evaded the sound waves. As I spread the pincers at the end of my tail, the thorns packed inside shot towards the cultists.
‘Here we go.’
Anticipating this, the cultists holding Champion Shields moved agilely. Approaching the Demolisher gunners in an instant, they used their shields to block the thorns.
Then, other cultists cast Gravity Control on me. The gravity around the space I was standing in changed drastically, putting pressure on the entire chamber.
It seemed like the cultists had unleashed all the limiters with Ultra Control, and the output was tremendous. I was forced to keep my head down, unable to do anything but drive it into the ground.
“You acted like a jerk in reality, and you’re doing the same here. Know that you’ll never get away with it.”
Despite the lackeys casting Gravity Control, bleeding from their eyes, noses, and mouths, the player paid no attention at all. Seeing him act so cockily, I struggled to say a word.
“You thought you could mess with me like this?”
“This damn Amorph -bastard, catching you was easier than I thought, huh?”
“Is that so?”
“Still, Alia, she was a decent one. Thinking about it pisses me off again.”
As he irritatedly gestured, a cultist with a Demolisher fired an energy blast at my head. Part of the tentacles of the monster, struck by the energy blast that dismantled everything, was cut off.
[Pain Nullification Activated]
‘Ugh!’
“Does it hurt? You little piece of crap.”
Unintentionally, a scream escaped my lips due to the pain beyond imagination. Seeing this, the player chuckled.
“You know, the longest I’ve tortured someone like you is a year? Let’s see how much longer you can hold out.”
The player seemed pleased at the thought of torturing me.
But there’s one thing he doesn’t know yet.
I’m not just sitting still because I’m afraid of him or because I have no way to fight back. While he’s off guard, the preparation for his trait is complete.
“Forget… everything I’ve said.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, I raised my head slightly.
And then, I opened my mouth wide. From the moment I fired the thorns, the power of my brain’s preparation surged from my chest. The massive energy, dormant in my chest like a beast with a collar, received the signal and surged forth. A brilliant golden beam, illuminating the dark underground chamber, the Divine Spear, erupted from my mouth.
“What?!”
The player, seeing this, was startled, spreading his arms. It seemed he intended to deploy Reflection, as he did when blocking Psychic Breath.
However, the Divine Spear I fired flew towards the wall far above them, not towards him. It created a huge hole in the ice ceiling, powerful enough to destroy an imperial battleship.
The remaining energy spread through the underground chamber like lightning in the night sky, traveling along the ice walls and ceiling of the chamber.
As a result of being hit by the Divine Spear, the underground chamber shook as if there had been an earthquake.
“Ha, hahaha! You crazy bastard! That missed!”
As the power of the brain was expelled, I felt my strength drain from my body. Seeing me drop my head, the player grinned.
“Missed, did it?”
Well, did it really?
“Anyway, your lightning attacks won’t be able to block… huh?”
The player, who was mocking me, fell silent. It was understandable.
The vibrations occurring within the chamber were abnormal.
“I never aimed for you in the first place.”
He probably doesn’t know why I fought here in the first place. When I first entered, I should have been wary after seeing the corpse of the Ice Horror behind me.
Fighting the Ice Horror, the place was in a precarious state. Above our heads lay a vast expanse of ice several hundred meters thick.
The reason this underground world had been sustained was simple. There hadn’t been an impact large enough to upset the balance.
But since I started fighting the Ice Horror, that precarious balance had been completely shattered. The ice walls, like the mythical Atlas supporting the giant ice masses, were all a mess, and the ice ceiling above our heads had cracks larger than the intact areas.
In such a state, using the Divine Spear was impossible to endure.
“First, let’s deal with your lackeys here and then leave.”
“This damn bastard?!”
The startled player spat out curses and tried to use Reflection, but it was woefully inadequate to block the massive ice chunk descending upon him.
Watching him exerting all his effort to block, I drew the next card.
‘Now’s the chance.’
The bone beast, turning Amorph into a giant monster. Its trait was activated.
Within the collapsing chamber, my body began to grow rapidly.