I Became an Evolving Space Monster

Episode 308 – Traces (3)

–

“… Alshas, ​​I didn’t know you would be like this.”

Nern, wearing a cult-like purple military uniform, glared at his junior next to him.

“I understand how you feel, sir.”

“You say you understand and then you drag me here?”

“You’re dragging me. “Do you know how important this place is when you say that?”

Currently, they were at the mansion of Chisos, the leader of the Innovation Sect.

Four days ago, Alshas arranged a meeting between the visionary Eugene and Kisos at Nerne’s request. To her surprise, Kisos took her vision to heart and promised to provide her with a reliable supply route for her equipment.

Nern was satisfied that the negotiations were so successful. This is because the stronger Sihyeon’s power becomes, the more likely he is to take revenge on that ‘three-headed devil’.

So I was relieved, but I didn’t expect to be hit in the back like this.

“I said I wouldn’t return until I had my revenge.”

“I’m not asking you to return either.”

“The man over there is the vice-captain of the Eye of Revelation priests, and that is the chief of the Aur Surveillance Office. “You brought me to a gathering of the planet’s key powers and said no?”

They were not the only ones invited to the party hosted by Kissos.

There were other guests in the banquet hall besides the two. He looked ordinary on the outside, but his position was anything but ordinary. Even when he was the captain of an imperial carrier, these people were in a position of power that he could not easily meet.

“Senior, you know it too. Sihyeon Eugene has more than one enemy. Even if she has her relics, it is true that the road ahead is difficult for her. “It never hurts to be prepared,” she said.

“Do you think the council would keep quiet if they knew I was alive? “They will try to use it somehow.”

“Kisos decided to help with that part. Until the vision’s role is fulfilled, you will remain dead. “No need to worry.”

“her.”

It was all over before he knew it. Nern glared at Alshas.

He did not look very favorably on this kind of political maneuvering. This was partly because he was a natural soldier, but also because he had seen countless unjust deaths on the battlefield due to factional conflicts.

If it had been any other time, I would have been very angry, but this time I couldn’t.

Because he knew that Alshas was acting for his own good. If it were the other way around, he would have tried to somehow help his junior return.

In the end, Nern sighed softly instead of getting angry.

“… “When can I say hello?”

“When Sihyeon and your brother are finished, you can greet them separately.”

Currently, Kissos, the host of this party, was introducing Sihyeon to the participating guests. Although she was human, as expected from Noble Capital, she treated customers skillfully.

‘Come to think of it… .’

His gaze shifted from the vision to the silver-haired cultist in the corner of the banquet hall.

A man who not only resembles hair color, but also has a similar overall aura to Alshas. Alkadi is the one whose younger brother is the captain of an imperial carrier.

“Alkadi is here too.”

“You said it last time. He said he would do well if he became the governor’s assistant. “Kisos said that a good spot has just become available.”

“Wow, I never thought both siblings would be so resourceful.”

Nern clicked his tongue and looked at Alkadi. He was holding a glass of alcohol to his mouth, looking somewhat anxious.

“You seem very nervous. Are you okay?”

“If I get close to my brother, I might say something different… .”

“but.”

“Honestly, I’m a little worried, but I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

While the two were chatting, Sihyeon’s introduction ended. She stepped away, and Alkadi, who had been sipping his drink alone, moved towards the group of VIPs.

Although he has a bad reputation due to his bad tastes, it is true that he is a businessman with excellent skills. There is no way he would be rude to the planet’s key powers. It will probably end without any problems.

“huh?”

That’s what I thought, but there was something strange about the atmosphere.

The vice-leader of the Eye of Revelation priesthood suddenly stepped forward and blocked the space between Alkadi and Chisos.

Then, the vice-captain decapitated Alkadi with the knife on his belt. It happened so quickly that no one could react properly.

“Brother!”

Alshas, ​​aware of her brother’s death, let out a scream-like yell.

She quickly ran towards her brother’s fallen body. Nern, who quickly came to her senses, followed behind her junior.

‘Why, vice-captain? ‘

“… Vice-captain, what is this?”

Chisos’s cold voice penetrated Nern’s ears. At a banquet he hosted, his voice was extremely cold because the person he had invited had died.

If the person who committed the stabbing attack had been someone else, he would have been dragged away already. The reason he didn’t do so was because the person who drew the sword was the vice-leader of the Eye of Revelation priesthood.

The Eye of Revelation Priests, along with the Temple Guardians, are one of the Empire’s most elite military groups. While the Temple Guardians are experts at hunting monsters, the Eye of Revelation Priests mainly deal with internal enemies such as Vortex One cultists.

Due to the nature of their work, they require strong military and mental strength. There is no way the vice-leader of such an organization would act like that for no reason.

And the reason for the vice-captain’s sudden action was soon revealed.

“What is that?”

“Oh, brother?”

Everyone’s eyes were focused not on the vice-captain but on Alkadi’s body.

Instead of blood, something else was flowing from the neatly cut cross section of the neck.

‘snake?’

Something with a black, elongated body started writhing, but soon stopped moving. The vice-captain, who was watching the monster, opened his mouth.

“It is believed to be an outspacer parasite variant.”

The banquet hall froze at those words.

–

As you can see, Berzan02 is a desert-type planet.

No matter where you go, all you see is sand, and with the two suns rising alternately day and night, the temperature is very high.

However, if you look at the names of big cities in Berzan 02, many of them are related to water.

This is closely related to the fact that these cities were built on areas with large amounts of underground water.

Even if the cult had interstellar travel technology, transporting water from another planet would be a very cumbersome task. This is because as the planet develops, transportation costs gradually increase.

Of course, it is not impossible for an empire that operates hundreds or thousands of space fortresses to transport water. There’s no reason to waste the planet’s water resources and do something like that.

Anyway, ‘Water Fortress’ is also one of the cities built on water and sand.

Unlike the above-ground bio-dome, the underground area has extensive waterway lines and groundwater management facilities.

Water is an important resource on a desert-type planet, so defenses are as thorough as those on the ground. Starting with fortress guns that can only be seen in space fortresses, all kinds of detection equipment, and an incredible number of cults are deployed in the management facility.

Even in the game, if you wanted to infiltrate the water fortress, it was easier to go through the aboveground route than underground. I have only succeeded in sneaking underground once.

However, the situation and conditions are different now.

For me, the best stealth mode is ‘Clever Underdog’. And it also possesses a number of means to avoid the gaze of its enemies. If it were like a game, I would have avoided it, but here it is more advantageous to use the underground route.

So I prepared to infiltrate the underground route of the Water Fortress during the clever underdog’s cooldown.

Digging the tunnel leading to the fortress.

After becoming an adult, their bodies become unsuitable for moving underground, but that doesn’t mean they can’t dig.

Moreover, the time given to me was 30 days. During the generous amount of time I was given, I dug into the ground every day. During the day, we taught the children how to use their newly acquired abilities, and at night, we built underground paths.

As a result of spending so much time faithfully, the tunnel I created has become closer to the management facility beneath the water fortress.

While getting here, there was no response from the city. Even though the management facility’s detection system would have detected the vibrations I created long ago.

There is a reason.

｢… “I didn’t know you could avoid surveillance in this way.”

Heavenly Mother, who was riding on my back, shook her head. Even in the darkness of the underground, her eyes were staring straight at the creature in front of her.

Now, there are other creatures besides me and her on the passage I created.

In front of me, of course, is a red snake with a body as large as the Ice Horror I encountered before. The identity of that creature is an adult red worm.

“Imitating Red Worm.”

The perception of adult Red Worms, which are slightly less powerful than Apex creatures, varies greatly depending on the species.

In Megacorp, the monster that imitates voices and eats its victims is viewed only as an object of hunting. On the other hand, the cultists do not want to kill Red Worm.

This is because red worms play an important role in the ecosystem of desert-type planets.

‘To be exact, they are not red worms, but creatures that coexist with red worms.’

The body of this carnivorous earthworm, which is so large that it fills the width of a tunnel, has insects the size of children all over it. These bugs, called ‘water beetles’, help maintain the planet’s environment by emitting clean water and substances that enrich the soil.

Water beetles feed only on the dead skin cells of adult red worms. As red worms decrease, water beetles also decrease and the planet’s ecosystem deteriorates. From the perspective of a cult living on a desert-type planet, they naturally have no choice but to protect the adult Red Worm.

[Zuzuz zuzu (not bad, right?)]

“So that’s why the players didn’t know.”

My adult size is similar to that of a young red worm that has not yet completed its growth. The management facility’s detection system will recognize my presence as a new red worm coming from outside.

As long as I don’t mess with the underground water pipe or equipment here, there is little chance that they will come to catch me.

Heavenly Mother also found out about this and laughed.

“Anyway, I’m afraid someone might think it’s Morph Park, so look at his head.”

[Zuzzuzuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzuzu (If you don’t do this, you won’t be able to get up to 5th place)]

｢… “You did well.”

She was on my back, scratching her beak with her hand. The moment her hand touched her beak, the waves surrounding her body shook.

“I even prepared a reinforced suit just in case, but I don’t think it’s really necessary for something like this.”

Currently, she is wearing advanced reinforced clothing. This is an advanced reinforced suit stolen from an attacker sent by Alkadi last time, modified to suit her physical conditions. By strengthening the existing hiding function, a weak stealth effect was added on top of the optical camouflage effect.

And while I was entrusted with improving the equipment, I searched for a route that would allow me to safely enter the water fortress. Unlike me, I was free to engage in external activities, so there were a lot more places I went to. In reality, the route she found was similar to the stealth method I used in the game.

However, at this point, the underground route is safer than the above ground route. Unless something happens that deviates from my expectations, I won’t use the method she found.

‘Well, things don’t always go as planned.’

Seeing as there was no reaction from the city while we were here, it seemed like the infiltration itself would be successful. She said that because she knew it.

[Zuz zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (it might be helpful after infiltration)]

“In a situation like that, I think it would be better not to be helpful.”

In fact, much of the information she obtained during her research changed from the game. Among them, there was some information that would have been quite difficult if I had not known it. Her knowledge will come in handy when I get out of the city, or when I need to attack a planet later.

‘Anyway, I guess that’s all for today.’

Anyway, red worms kept wandering around, so it was difficult to dig any further.

It’s not because I’m scared of them, it’s because I’m afraid I might accidentally kill them. If Red Worm, which plays an important role in stabilizing the ecosystem, dies, the cult will react immediately, and if that happens, the tunnel operation will be over.

Just as we were about to stop digging the tunnel and return to the hover bus center.

A short but powerful signal flew into my head. My body stiffened without realizing it because of the death-like waves.

“what’s the matter?”

Heavenly Mother on my back asked, but I could not answer.

The wave that just flew in.

It was the last signal sent by the parasite I had planted.

‘Is Alkadi dead?’

Something happened that I never expected.