Chapter 205

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Thala]

Chapter 205

Finding food, securing shelter, mating and leaving offsprings—everything is tied to competition.

To find limited food, you must compete with others, and the places that feel comfortable to you are likely desirable to other creatures as well. The same goes for feelings towards mates.

However, just because survival and competition are closely linked, not everyone can be a winner. Most creatures in nature live having lost in some aspect of competition.

The small cave’s owner, the Sharkbear, embodied both the winner and the loser. He triumphed in all other areas but failed in just one.

He had no mate.

Perhaps it was because he had been separated from his group at an early age.

He never learned social skills and viewed other creatures solely as prey. Occasionally, females approached him, but his attitude drove them all away.

But so what?

He had a cozy cave and a vast territory all to himself. Except for not being able to leave offspring, he led a satisfying life.

Today, the young male Sharkbear roamed leisurely in his hunting grounds to satiate his hunger. There were no creatures around that could threaten him.

Except for the occasional intrusions by a beast with white fur and long limbs.

This bipedal monster was swift and strong. Its unpredictable arm movements were particularly annoying. Thus, even the Sharkbear found it a bit burdensome.

Still, the young male was not worried. He had recently chased the beast out of his forest after a fierce confrontation. He was sure it wouldn’t return anytime soon.

As he strolled through the forest, a scent reached his nose. It was warm and sticky, out of place in the frozen surroundings. And it carried a sweet undertone.

It was the smell of blood.

Someone had died in his hunting grounds.

Rooaaar.

The young male let out a low growl.

Who dared to encroach on his territory? He thought. This time, he would not let the white-furred monster go unpunished.

Following the scent through the air, he reached an open clearing. In the middle of the snow-covered clearing was the source of the blood scent.

Under normal circumstances, he would have rushed in immediately, but he did not.

Something felt off. No predator would leave such a tasty meal behind without reason.

He dismissed his curiosity about the sweet scent and looked around. There were no tracks of other animals in the snow. He looked up at the open sky.

As always, the dark sky was snowing continuously. Could his instincts be wrong about the danger?

He noticed the broken tree branches above. They looked as if something heavy had fallen from the sky.

Had he been more social and interacted with his kind, he would have understood the significance of those signs. He would have known how dangerous aerial creatures could be. for new novels

But living alone, he never knew this. He approached the snow-covered corpse. His jaws opened wide, revealing his sharp teeth.

Just as he was about to enjoy his meal.

Something swooped down from the dark sky above his head.

[‘Enhanced Endocrine Glands’ trait has been applied.]

[Can be fused with the existing ‘Muscle Reinforcement’ trait.]

[‘Enhanced Endocrine Glands’ and ‘Muscle Reinforcement’ traits have fused. Evolving into the ‘Berserker Synapse’ trait!]

[Berserker Synapse: Enhances overall physical abilities. Reduces energy consumption and allows more energy to be stored within the body.]

[*Note: You are a living tank, an unstoppable train.]

‘Whew. Finally.’

After capturing the 11th Sharkbear, I finally gained a new trait. It took a while because I didn’t use the Symbol of the Hunt.

‘I need to save the Symbol of the Hunt for the Skywhale.’

The Skywhale has some troublesome traits like ‘Energy Absorption’, but it also has many useful traits. Besides ‘Giant Creature’ and ‘Space Travel’, it has numerous valuable traits. It’s a creature worth hunting for its power.

I looked down at my new body, enhanced with the [Berserker Synapse] trait. As expected of an internal organ fusion trait, there were no significant changes.

The only noticeable difference was that the muscles around my arms, neck, and tail were more pronounced. The muscles in my wing-arms were also stronger, allowing for faster and longer flights.

‘I feel powerful.’

In the game, these changes were merely numerical, but in reality, it felt different. My whole body felt brimming with strength. Even without activating transformation modes like the Symbol of the Hunt, I could instinctively tell.

I wouldn’t have to worry as much about the side effects.

「Big guy, are you done eating?」

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Yes. You can have the rest)]

[Detection of rapid muscle density increase and energy distribution changes.]

「...Your muscles are incredible.」

While Number 26 was always indifferent to my growth, the others were not. PS-111 seemed eager to collect samples of my skin tissue, and the Sky Mother was observing the muscles of my combat arms closely.

[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Let’s leave right after we finish eating)]

「Okay. Flap flap, sounds good.」

Using her ‘Ice Spirit’ ability, she aimed to seal the Skywhale’s photon cannon attack. The Skywhale trembled as its eyes met hers.

The light on its wings flickered and then dimmed.

「I can only hold it for a minute! We have to finish it within that time!」

[ZZZZ ZZZ (Don’t worry)]

I didn’t plan to drag this out anyway. While the Skywhale was distracted by the Ice Spirit, I quickly closed the distance.

I could see its eight blue eyes, now devoid of their usual sharpness. The creature, losing its mind, charged at me. I did not dodge and charged right back.

Black wings clashed with opal wings, and the thunderous sound echoed like a bolt of lightning striking.

“■—–!”

The Skywhale cried out, overwhelmed by pain despite losing its mind. I, too, felt significant pain at the point of impact, but it was bearable.

Tendrils erupted from my back, biting into the creature. It retaliated by striking my head with its wings. Though my exoskeleton didn’t crack, the impact was considerable.

[Pain Nullification Activated!]

Ignoring the text box, I bit down on the Skywhale’s wing. It shrieked in pain and attempted to strike me with its other wing.

「Help Big Baby with the attack!」

「On it!」

Everyone riding on my back leapt towards the Skywhale, now held in place.

Sky Mother wielded the golden spear of the priestess, slicing through its flesh with the glinting weapon. Beside her, Number 26 lashed at its back with tendrils, leaving deep cuts. PS-111 crawled spider-like to its flank, slashing with its claws.

Skywhales can absorb energy-based attacks, rendering them useless. As I had warned everyone beforehand, they all engaged it in hand-to-hand combat.

‘In close combat, we have the advantage.’

The Skywhale’s melee skills weren’t bad, but it had one major flaw: its lack of durability.

Its exoskeleton was easily damaged by our attacks.

“■——”

It tried to shake us off by thrashing its body. I tightened my tendrils around it to hold it in place.

Realizing it couldn’t get rid of us without first dealing with me, it opened its mouth wide.

Skywhale mouths are more for combat than feeding. Male Skywhales bite each other to prove their strength in competition for mates. Even another Skywhale can be fatally injured by those massive jaws.

But there was something it didn’t know.

‘Now!’

“■?!”

As it opened its mouth, I thrust my head inside. Before it could clamp down, I drove the horns on my head into the roof of its mouth.

Six massive horns pierced through the soft palate, reaching the sensitive inner areas. I used my tendrils to push myself further into its mouth.

“■——–”

It tried to scream, but it was impossible. Nearly a quarter of my body was jammed inside its mouth.

I shook my head, tearing up the inside of its mouth with my horns.

“—...”

Finally, when my horns ripped through to its brain, it stopped moving. The light from its beautiful wings faded, and its six eyes slowly closed.

With its death, we all began plummeting rapidly.

「Hey, hey, hey, hey! You crazy bastard! We’re falling! We’re falling!」

「Wheee! This is fun!」

[Calculating damage based on the fall height...]

I pulled my head from the Skywhale’s mouth and spread my wings wide. At the same time, the tendrils holding the cosmic whale bore the brunt of the weight.

[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Hurry up and climb up)]

[Thank you.]

「...Phew.」

「That was fun!」

Even as the others climbed up my tendrils, I didn’t stop flapping my wings. With the Skywhale in tow, I gradually reduced our falling speed.

‘Now we just have to land and eat...’

At that moment, a surge of intense psychic power washed over me. I quickly released the tendrils holding the Skywhale and shot upwards.

In an instant, a thick purple beam slashed through my tendrils. The Skywhale’s corpse plummeted below with the severed tendrils.

「King of the Sky」 「Cannot be allowed to escape」

Above me, against the black sky, stood a being resembling a white angel.

‘...Ham Ort.’

The white Gallagon who had taken Adhai.

Ham Ort, the White Gallagon, was there.

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Thala]