Chapter 28

chapter 28

she opened her eyes to a world that was cold and oppressive. the pressure weighed down on her fragile flesh, and the temperature felt like knives piercing her body. it was a place known to some sentient beings as the deep sea, and it was her homeland.

despite the harsh environment, she didn’t think her home was all that bad. after all, there were beings there who watched over and protected her.

the pink spherical beings like her were the most fragile creatures in the dark and murky world. because of this, they had chosen a different way of survival compared to the other creatures in the dark, blue world.

they formed groups and cared for their young, who were weak and vulnerable. they naturally had social structures that could be classified as ‘families’ by sentient beings.

of course, with the presence of dangerous creatures that considered her kind as prey lurking in the depths, they always lived under the constant threat to their lives.

but she was different. as she grew, she realized that she was not like the other pink spheres. she was special.

she possessed an intelligence approaching sentience and a slender tentacle that grew from her body. these were things that her fellow beings did not have.

her tentacles, usually kept inside her body, had the power to ward off dangerous creatures, and they would retreat when she pointed them. she protected her kin using these mysterious abilities.

as time passed, despite her young age, she became the leader of her group. while everyone considered her the mother figure, her life remained largely unchanged. eating together with her kin and sleeping together at night brought her the greatest joy.

however, this happiness didn’t last long. creatures descended from above, intending to take her kin away. they were beings with skin tougher and colder than any she had seen before. with claws that seemed like they wouldn’t let a single drop of blood flow, they grabbed her kin mercilessly.

when she heard the agonizing screams of her kin, she earnestly hoped. she wanted to fulfill her duty as the leader, to protect her precious ones. did her tentacles hear her prayers? a massive purple energy erupted from the tips of her tentacles, gripping the unyielding beings and contorting them.

she thought she had succeeded in protecting everyone, but unfortunately, it was not the case. more beings with cold, tough skin continued to descend from above, capturing the pink spheres wherever they could find them.

once again, she hoped for a miracle, but instead of a miracle, an unbearable sense of powerlessness washed over her. she lost consciousness.

when she opened her eyes, it was in a repulsive-smelling liquid prison. there, she witnessed the pitiful deaths of the offspring she was supposed to protect.

in that strange, furry creature’s arms, she was called ‘experiment subject 26’. when she awoke in her prison, there were no fellow creatures left.

at the bottom of this hell, she prayed. she begged for anyone to help her, promising to dedicate herself to protecting the ones she failed to save if someone would aid her.

she made that solemn vow.

***

i had two enemies i found most annoying in the world of space survival.

one was the amorph race, and the other was a megacorp user who had gone through genetic modifications. what they had in common was that i couldn’t predict their abilities at all. since there was no information about the enemy, even a small mistake could lead to fatal consequences.

therefore, i focused solely on what abilities si-hyun yujin possessed, not caring about how she might be specifically different from a player.

‘in the game, there are no restrictions on using genetic technology.’

i naturally assumed she would use it as well since she had player-level specs. that was a mistake.

in retrospect, si-hyun had been fighting with only one ability at a time from the beginning. i had thought it was a bluff, but it wasn’t.

there was a fundamental limitation on her use of genetic abilities that set her apart from players.

“you’re really getting on my nerves. to the point where i want to kill you.”

si-hyun’s tone was colder than before. perhaps she was trying to be threatening, but it sounded slightly different to me. she was doing it on purpose to avoid revealing her inexperience.

‘i need to find out how long the delay is when she changes traits.’

even if she changes her traits quickly, there must be a gap between changing them. that’s when she becomes a vulnerable civilian.

i needed to change my strategy.

she withdrew gallagon’s claw and crossed her arms, accumulating an enormous amount of psychic energy that made the white blades on her arms gleam with a vivid purple hue.

‘this is dangerous; the proximity is too close to dodge.’

‘i have to block it!’ i urgently thought, using my four arms to shield my head and chest. as she unleashed her crossed arms, an unprecedented gigantic beam swept through my body.

the relatively slender horn on my right shattered, and my arms and legs didn’t escape unscathed either. more than half of my right upper arm was severed, and my thigh was severely injured, with bones visible through the torn flesh.

‘just a bit more!’ i mustered my last ounce of strength and charged at her once again. even at such close range, she gracefully evaded my charge with astonishing agility, and my head slammed directly into the wall.

“where are you looking?” she taunted, mocking my failed attack.

she quickly scanned my injured body and grinned, seemingly confident that my condition would prevent me from continuing.

well, i wonder if that’s really the case.

“sorry, but i didn’t miss”, i replied. as i pulled my head from the wall, it finally crumbled. corroded by acidic blood, it succumbed to the successive powerful impacts. no matter how well-made the alloy was, it couldn’t withstand such force.

“my intention was never to hit you in the first place, si-hyun, not you.”

beyond the shattered wall lay what i had been waiting for.

countless stars and an unfathomably deep abyss of darkness awaited us.

“oh, no!”

the pressure throughout the corridor dramatically dropped as the space, black-hole-like in appearance, sucked us in along with the oxygen. the ship’s environmental control systems loudly warned of severe internal damage.

even si-hyun, who had been smiling confidently in anticipation of victory, seemed taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. her face was now marked with bewilderment. she had wedged gallagon’s claw into the corridor to hold herself in place, preventing her from being flung out.

i had been waiting for this moment.

i raised my injured left arm towards her, and the muzzle was pointed at her head. the distance between us wasn’t great, or more precisely, it was just close enough for the bone spikes to pierce her forehead and destroy her brain before she could encase her head with the alloyed skin.

her complexion turned pale as she realized my intent.

“why, in a place like this?” she exclaimed. perhaps she had pushed herself to the limit in the face of imminent death.

she began to bleed from her eyes and nose, attempting to utilize two traits. from the tips of her black hair, the trait tungsten alloy skin slowly began to encase her head for protection.

i couldn’t wait any longer and fired the bone spike.

the ice-like bone spike left the tip of my arm. in an age of lasers, plasma, and all sorts of futuristic weaponry, a primitive form of ammunition hurtled through the air, aiming for her head.

however, by that time, the alloyed skin had already covered more than half of her head.

at that moment, there was barely 5cm left for the bone spike to reach her forehead. suddenly, she froze in her tracks. the alloyed skin, in the process of encasing her head, came to an abrupt halt.

she looked at me with an expression of disbelief, as if she couldn’t fathom what was happening. her gaze was fixed behind me.

「leave the baby alone!」

‘number 26?’

i didn’t even need to turn my head to see it. a violet energy beam was emanating from number 26’s body, tightly wrapping around its head.

“damn it...”

number 26’s time holding her was very brief, but it was enough time for the bone spike to reach its target. the bone spike pierced through si-hyun yujin. her body, now deprived of its command center, lost strength and slumped down.

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