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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 348
Isabel choked her until the life-support machine attached to her body signalled danger, but she soon lost consciousness. Her brain had just been transplanted and her body was not in a normal state.
"The signal from the younger one's brain has been unnecessarily amplified. Switching to external support systems until self-stabilization can occur."
PS-111 connected cables and various electronic devices to the fallen Isabel’s body and began calibration.
She had barely woken up before passing out again, but it wasn’t a concern. As long as the calibration worked, she would wake up again.
‘Alright. Then…’
I turned towards Alshas, who was lying on the floor with its snout.
The handgun Isabel had been wielding until she fainted.
It was probably referring to the weapon she had used to fight enemies in the past. After Cynthia tricked her, it was assumed that she took it with her.
Jason said that Cynthia had collected the equipment from the hunters, and he mentioned that she, along with Jason, had hunted at least two or more rankers so far.
‘When we fought at the space fortress, she didn’t have any weapon with her.’
She wouldn't have thrown away the equipment she had obtained from Isabel, Penelope, and the other rankers. She must have hidden it somewhere.
And the person who might know where it is stood before me.
The one who had nearly died flinched as it felt my gaze. When I leaned closer, it trembled.
"We still have something to calculate, don’t we?"
"I-I really don't know anything! I swear, please believe me!"
Given the circumstances, it's highly likely that it was Cynthia who turned Isabel into a slave. At some point, Alshas must have taken over the responsibility of managing Isabel from Cynthia.
Cynthia, who was playing the role of a double agent, wouldn’t have entrusted the management of the rankers to someone she didn’t trust. Even if they were comrades in the same faction, that wouldn't happen. If they were close, she would know where the equipment she obtained was hidden.
‘It seems like its mind is clear now.’
Since communication was possible, it wouldn’t be difficult to extract information.
"Tell me everything you know about Cynthia, the one who entrusted Isabel to you."
"C-Cynthia? She was just my colleague; I don’t know much about her…"
"If you don’t know anything, there’s no reason for you to stay alive."
"...If I tell you everything, will you let me live?"
"Yes. You won’t die. I promise."
The Mother of the Sky, who had been helping PS-111 take care of Isabel, shot me a glance. It was a look that seemed to say, ‘Here we go again’.
PR/N:- CJ..???
"Should I change positions?"
"Y-Yes... Hii?!"
I picked up Alshas with my combat arm.
｢Where are you going, big baby?｣
｢I｣｢am｣｢going｣
｢Hold on. The Coldbloods that Isabel brought haven’t eaten yet. Could you two help them out?｣
｢Are the humans with a lot of appendages hungry?｣
｢Cute little dwarf｣｢I’ll help｣
｢You don’t have to feed them what we eat. Just go to the cafeteria and bring them the leftover food.｣
｢Got it.｣
Number 26 and Adhai left for the cafeteria to deliver food to the 40 Coldbloods.
‘Speaking of which, I should consider what to do with those 40.’
I can't keep carrying them around on the Gigacracker. I need to drop them off on a safe planet where they can survive on their own.
‘A safe place, huh.’
They know a lot about us. If they happen to come into contact with other rankers, information about us could leak out.
So, simply moving them to a safe place isn’t enough. It’s better to relocate them to a planet that other players don’t know about.
‘Should I send them to the Dragon's Nest?’
The frozen underground kingdom, ruled by Ham Ort in place of Adhai. That place isn't in the game, and to reach the underground world, you have to drill through thick layers of ice. Even if another ship stumbles upon the planet, it’s not easy to verify the underground world.
‘The underground below the ice isn’t a bad place for the Coldbloods to live.’
Moreover, since the Gallagons can offer protection, it would be safer than any other planet. It was a passing thought, but surprisingly, it seemed like a good idea.
‘Normally, this would be unthinkable.’
It’s hard to believe when I look at Adhai, but Gallagons are extremely vicious. They view all other creatures, aside from their own kind, as enemies. They are not creatures that are modeled after the dragons of Western mythology for no reason.
Of course, I am considered part of Adhai’s faction. If I ask Ham Ort to protect the Coldbloods, she will likely agree.
‘If I assign them the task of incubating eggs or helping to raise Blue Gallagons, that should work.’
I’ll need to discuss this with the Mother of the Sky later.
With my thoughts in order, I took Alshas to the hangar.
"Let’s start with Cynthia."
Once we arrived at the hangar, I began asking Alshas about things I was curious about.
It did its best to answer, trying to satisfy me. The mocking attitude it had shown me on Verzan-02 was nowhere to be seen.
In fact, it seemed it really didn’t want to die, because it not only spilled everything about Cynthia but also about its comrades. Thanks to that, I was able to learn many interesting facts.
‘The 4th and 7th ranked have joined forces.’
I had suspected it when Alshas received support from the Outsiders, but it turns out the Outsider ranker and the 7th-ranked Cult ranker, Beom-Ho, were cooperating. Outsiders and the Cult cannot coexist, so what they traded for that cooperation remains unclear.
According to Alshas, Beom-Ho persuaded the 4th ranked to join their side.
‘More importantly, the 4th ranked has been in this world for over 30 years. That’s a huge problem.’
In the game, the 4th ranked was the type who grew a swarm steadily to overwhelm enemies. Outsiders are weak individually, but they become very strong when many of them come together. The 4th ranked’s playstyle suited their species perfectly.
Having steadily grown for 30 years, their swarm is likely far larger than I can imagine. Additionally, the rank 37 Outsider player has also joined the 4th ranked's swarm.
With two rankers working together, they might even be able to bring down the Cult Empire in one fell swoop.
‘Although I’ve become an irregular entity myself, I need to be cautious.’
Having accumulated genetic essence over 30 years, along with their bonuses, if a fight breaks out, I’ll need to prepare thoroughly.
‘At least now I know who’s in the Returner faction.’
According to Alshas, aside from itself, two Outsider rankers, and Beom-Ho, there are two more rankers. One of them, the Wolf ranker, manages the faction's equipment.
"Is the Wolf ranker the 9th ranked?"
"The 9th ranked is dead. The one who manages our equipment is someone else."
The 9th ranked was the most skilled among the Wolf rankers. Unlike the Mother of the Sky, who is adept at fighting in her transformed state, the 9th ranked preferred to fight in his beastman form while commanding fleets.
Seeing that Alshas is certain he’s dead, it’s possible he was killed by the Returner faction.
"Where is he hiding?"
"He’s on Asuka44 in the Dorane Star System. It’s an unknown volcanic-type planet."
"A volcanic-type planet, huh."
I had been planning to create some equipment for the Wolf ranker with the Mother of the Sky’s help, and this worked out well. I had already obtained the most important material, the Vortex One’s body, so I just need to gather the remaining mineral materials from there.
‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to stop by while retrieving Isabel’s handgun.’
"Alright, I know where the Wolf ranker is. What about the other one?"
"I-I don’t know the details. I just know that he was given orders by Beom-Ho to go do something else."
Scratching the hangar floor with my combat claws, Alshas hastily added.
‘Looks like Beom-Ho plays the role of the brain.’
I had expected that.
He is skilled at using various variables to strike at the enemy unexpectedly. In this regard, he’s quite similar to me in that he enjoys using unconventional tactics.
"Where is Beom-Ho's base?"
"He’s always wandering around, so I don’t know where he is right now."
"What’s his special ability?"
Alshas hesitated before answering my question.
"I... I’ve never really had a deep conversation with him, so…"
"Is that so?"
The answer was that he didn’t know, but I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
Beom-Ho was a player with a mindset similar to mine. Even if we were in the same faction, I had already expected that he wouldn’t share his information.
"To follow someone without knowing anything... You really trust people more than I thought."
"It’s not like that."
"Not like that?"
"Beom-Ho knows how to return us to the real world. That’s why I follow the cause of the Returners."
"By return, you mean the ending?"
At my question, Alshas shook its head.
"It’s impossible to reach the ending as per the method in the game."
"Impossible? How do you know that?"
"Before the Returners were formed, Beom-Ho, along with other rankers, tried to complete the final mission, but they failed. The 9th ranked also died back then."
Now that I think about it, I’ve heard something similar from the Mother of the Sky.
In the past, several rankers, including the 1st ranked, tried the final mission, she said.
They used some method to meet the conditions for challenging the mission. Looking back, I suspect they used the special abilities they were granted.
But they failed, and after that, conflicts between rankers began.
"That’s an interesting story. How does he plan to reach the ending?"
"I don’t know that either."
"Don’t know?"
"Only Beom-Ho knows the exact method. He only shares parts of the plan when necessary. If the plan leaks, it could cause problems."
"Trying to lie to me isn’t a smart move."
"I-I’m not lying! Beom-Ho only tells me parts of the plan when needed, so I don’t know much!"
I have several ways of detecting lies. I could use parasites or turn it into a human-faced bug if needed.
Alshas, being a ranker, surely knows that, so it wouldn’t try to lie or deceive me.
However, there’s one point that’s bothering me.
‘Neither Cynthia nor Alshas seems like someone who would easily trust others.’
Cynthia was a double agent, and Alshas had betrayed its comrades to survive. Earning trust from such people wouldn’t be an easy feat.
‘Or is there something else at play here?’
There might be something Alshas doesn’t even realize, something in Beom-Ho whether it’s a special ability or some kind of brainwashing technique that I don’t know about.
‘I don’t know what it is, but I’ll have to be cautious.’
At least I’ve mostly confirmed the important points.
I asked Alshas one last question.
"Did you ever see any illusions while clearing the quest?"
"Sorry?"
"I heard that the closer you get to the ending, the memories from the real world start appearing as illusions. Who did you see in your illusion?"
Alshas fell silent for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"I saw myself in my human form. In this world, I killed an enemy who had been turned into the Cult’s body in my mansion."
That was the opposite of what Jason had experienced. Jason had seen the illusion where he killed ‘himself, who had once been human’, in the form of the Cult’s body.
"At what point did that happen?"
"Why are you asking?"
"It doesn’t seem like you're in a position to ask that."
"...I saw it when I cleared the 10th stage of the quest."
Jason had also seen an illusion at the 10th stage. It seemed that while their choices differed, they had both experienced their illusions at the same point.
"What happened after that?"
"Beom-Ho and the Empress of the 4th rank said that from then on, they saw illusions of their life in the real world."
"Life in the real world?"
"They said it was to help us prepare to adapt safely."
I hadn’t expected much from the question, but the answer turned out to be unexpectedly interesting.
Among the members of the Returners, three saw illusions related to the real world. It's almost certain that the faction and the illusions are connected in some way.
‘Moreover, they said the illusion helps prepare them to adapt to the real world.’
It might be that the illusions change depending on the identity someone has chosen as they near the ending. For example, if they chose a human form, they might see life in the real world; if they chose their form from this world, they might see their life as a space survivalist.
‘I’ll have to ask Isabel about this once she wakes up.’
"Alright. I don’t have any more questions."
"Is that so?"
With that, I had gathered enough useful information. I stood up.
Alshas, who had been lying in front of me, looked up at me with eager eyes.
"You promised, right? If I answered your questions, you’d spare me."
"Yeah."
"Then, I’ll leave now."
Having lost most of its limbs, Alshas crawled toward the remaining ship in the hangar.
I blocked its path with my combat arm as it struggled to crawl like a worm. It tried to sidestep with a forced grin, but I was quicker.
I picked it up with four long fingers. Then, with my central head, I opened my mouth wide. The moment it saw the open maw, Alshas's complexion turned pale.
"Y-you promised you’d spare me!"
"Yeah, I promised."
"I-I won’t try anything again! I’ll never go against your will, Amorph!"
I brought the remains of its body closer to my mouth. Hanging from my fingers, it struggled desperately to escape.
‘It’s pointless, but…’
"Please, let me go! I don’t want to die!"
"You won’t die."
"Excuse me?"
"Your form and personality will change a bit, but..."
"Wait, you don’t mean…?"
When I said I would spare it, I meant it.
However, if I left it as is, I couldn’t trust when it might betray me again, so I planned to take a little action.
"Ahhh! No, not the humanoid parasite! Please, not this! Don’t do this!"
It wriggled like a fish out of water. But even with its limbs, it couldn’t escape there was no way it could now.
Its once-beautiful face, typical of the Cult, was now smeared with tears and other bodily fluids. The imposing ranker from Verzan-02, who had mocked me, was nowhere to be seen.
I swiftly threw it into my wide-open mouth.
"Nooo! I don’t want to die like this…!"
As I closed my mouth, its screams abruptly stopped. A sweet fragrance spread across my tongue, from my palate to the corners of my teeth. It was a refreshing, minty scent, like enjoying a cool candy, making me feel good.
I would have liked to keep it in my mouth longer, but that couldn’t go on forever. I swallowed what had been Alshas.
And then...
｢Predation effect activated! ‘Alshas (Olivia Green)’'s special ability stolen successfully!｣
｢‘Three Heads’ and ‘Smog Tower’ can be fused. Please select the traits. The result of your choice will affect the traits used as materials.｣
｢Note: You are at a critical crossroads. Please make your decision carefully.｣
｢Time remaining for trait selection: 24:00:00｣
｢This is a target for the Trait Enhancement System. Would you like to use the system?｣
It was the same text box I had seen in the Dragon’s Nest before.
A new ‘Mark of the Adversary’ awaits my decision.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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