Canyon

【Evolution Conditions】

＊Body size of at least 1 m

＊At least 8 mutated traits

＊Devour the biological core of an Intermediate Predator or higher

‘Surprisingly simple.’

The conditions for evolving to the next stage were surprisingly simple.

A body size of at least 1 m? Its size would take care of itself as it ate deep-sea creatures.

At least 8 mutated traits? It could naturally reach that number by eating a variety of deep-sea creatures, too.

The trickiest condition was devouring the biological core of an Intermediate Predator or higher.

But even that…

‘Should be within reach once I’ve met the first two conditions.’

How long had it been crossing the deep sea while checking the conditions for evolution?

Harnessing the thrust of its High-Speed Multi-Axis Propulsion Sac, Nereia had been moving at a speed incomparable to before. It came to a stop and murmured.

The environment…

‘Has changed.’

The deep-sea environments Nereia had passed through so far could be considered flat plains compared to the surface.

Here and there, rocks jutted up like towering mountains, and there had also been places like hydrothermal vents.

Most notably, there had been a cliff that looked like a passage descending even farther down, where that insane monster, the colossal deep-sea creature, had appeared.

But the environment where Nereia had spent most of its time was, by and large, a plain.

The environment before it, however, was entirely different.

What stretched out before Nereia was…

‘Should I call it a canyon?’

A canyon.

Formed by a rift that emerged from the darkness of the deep sea and disappeared back into it, it could well be called a seafloor canyon… no, a deep-sea canyon.

A variety of mana reactions could be glimpsed in the canyon when Nereia glanced inside. Staring at them absentmindedly, it murmured without thinking.

‘Beautiful.’

Beautiful.

Yes, the view of the deep-sea canyon before it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Various forms of mana glimmered faintly in the darkness within the canyon.

It looked just like a galaxy stretching across the vastness of space.

However, Nereia’s impression of the canyon wasn’t simply that it was ‘beautiful.’

This was the place. Right here.

This place would be perfect.

This was precisely…

‘A hunting ground suited to me now.’

Every one of those mana reactions that looked like sparkling stars belonged to a deep-sea creature that would become its prey and subject of study.

And so, Nereia slowly made its way toward the bottom of the deep-sea canyon.

* * *

The canyon’s interior had a different feel from the outside.

If the canyon had seemed grand and majestic from the outside, like a galaxy cutting across the vastness of space…

…the inside had a strongly dreamlike, fantastical feel.

Perhaps that was because of…

‘Those things.’

With a quick glance, Nereia shifted its gaze toward the canyon walls, which rose on either side like cliffs.

Various corals and mosses dotted the walls, giving off a faint glow.

That light wasn’t mana glow visible through mana sensitivity.

Perhaps it was light emitted by the organisms themselves, powered by mana—much like fireflies producing their own light.

Nereia was looking around the canyon’s dreamlike beauty as it made its way down when…

Gooooo-!

Just because things like corals and mosses produced light didn’t mean they could drive away all the darkness of the deep sea.

Most of the canyon interior was still shrouded in that darkness, and something emerged from within it.

What emerged from the darkness was a deep-sea fish.

A deep-sea fish easily 30 cm long.

Its mouth… or, in human terms, the part corresponding to its jaw, was covered in something blue and seemingly hard.

As Nereia closely observed the new deep-sea creature that had suddenly appeared, the system responded.

【Loading the target’s creature information.】

＊Species: Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish

＊Body Size: 29.1 cm

＊Predation Rank: Lesser Predator

＊Threat Level: Caution Advised

The system could only provide rough information.

Only rough information was available because the system was linked to the Deep-Sea Compendium.

Still, for a deep-sea creature researcher, being able to learn even rough details—including its name—was a considerable advantage.

In any case…

‘So the stuff covering its jaw must be bluebone.’

Bluebone. Literally, blue bone.

It certainly was a fitting name for something with a bluish hue.

Its rank was also Lesser Predator, the same as Nereia’s current rank.

‘It doesn’t look all that strong, though.’

If it was a Lesser Predator, it was on the same level as Nereia.

It should have been that strong, so why did it still seem like easy prey, no matter how long Nereia watched it?

As Nereia continued observing it, wondering at this odd feeling, its eyes met those of the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish.

At the same time…

BANG-!

A deafening boom rang out as the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish charged at Nereia.

There was no visible mana reaction.

That meant the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish’s sudden acceleration came from pure physical strength alone.

‘The density of the deep-sea water is incomparably greater than that of the water above. And here, mana makes it denser than the depths of Earth’s oceans by an unimaginable margin. Yet in water this deep…’

It can accelerate this much with pure physical strength alone?

Certainly…

‘Even a Lesser Predator is still a predator, huh. Of course—’

Shaa-!

Nereia twisted its body lightly, and the charging Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish narrowly missed it by a hair.

Glancing back, Nereia saw the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish at a distance turn around and charge again.

In response, Nereia moved its Predation Arms.

‘I don’t need to use all four.’

One of the four gently swaying Predation Arms stiffened in an instant, its tip splitting apart, and Nereia swung it at the oncoming Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish without hesitation.

Shrrraack-!

The Predation Arm Nereia swung sliced through the dense water of the deep sea in an instant and coiled around the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish’s body.

At the same time…

CRUNCH-!

With the slightest application of force, the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish’s body was ripped to shreds in an instant.

Even the sturdy-looking bluebone covering its jaw had already been smashed to pieces.

The Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish met such a pitiful end that it was hard to believe they were both Lesser Predators, and Nereia was taken aback.

Of course, even creatures of the same rank could differ in strength.

But…

‘Even so, how can the difference be this huge?’

Had Nereia simply become that much stronger?

Or was the Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish unusually weak, even among Lesser Predators?

‘Well, I can find out…’

…by checking those over there.

As it chewed and swallowed the shredded Bluebone-Jawed Deep-Sea Fish’s corpse and biological core, Nereia’s eyes darted around.

Nereia could make out the various deep-sea creatures nearby as its eyes moved from one to another.

The sight of all kinds of deep-sea creatures of different sizes occupying every corner of the canyon was undeniably beautiful, but the reality was quite different.

That was because…

‘Those are all Lesser Predators.’

Of course, not every deep-sea creature in the canyon was a Lesser Predator.

On the contrary, most were so weak they were nothing more than prey, without even a Predation Rank.

There was nothing strange about that.

That was simply how ecosystems worked.

Predators could only exist if there was prey.

So a large number of predators meant that the area had an abundance of prey.

For Nereia, that was an unexpected stroke of luck.

At this rate, it should be more than enough to…

‘Grow bigger and gain new traits.’

It would be able to meet the conditions for evolution…

【You have acquired the Sudden Acceleration Muscle trait.】

‘Ah, I got a trait.’

* * *

Having descended some way into the deep-sea canyon, Nereia began its predation in earnest.

There wasn’t anything particularly special about its active hunting.

It simply used its four Multi-Erosion Predation Arms, each with a five-pronged tip, to devour every Lesser Predator in its vicinity.

It crushed and chewed up a 15 cm crustacean.

It melted a fish at least 40 cm long from the inside and sucked it dry.

There were also long, tentacle-like deep-sea creatures; colony-forming creatures that had claimed part of the canyon as their territory; and creatures that used their own tentacles to catch prey, unlike ghost jellyfish, among others.

Nereia didn’t observe or analyze them. It simply devoured the Lesser Predators around it indiscriminately.

As a result, Nereia could now access information on the deep-sea creatures that had been grayed out in the Deep-Sea Compendium, but its analysis of them was abysmal.

It couldn’t be helped.

‘For now, meeting the conditions for evolution takes priority over observation and analysis.’

There would be plenty of time to observe and analyze them once it had met the conditions.

Or it could even do so after completing its evolution.

And so, through repeated predation, Nereia…

【Your body size has exceeded 1 m.】

【The number of mutated traits you possess has exceeded 8.】

…had met the conditions for body size and number of mutated traits among the evolution requirements revealed so far.

Only then did Nereia stop feeding and look down at itself.

Certainly…

‘I have gotten bigger.’

It felt like only yesterday that it had opened its eyes as a Deep-Sea Unicellular Larva less than 1 mm in size.

And now it was already over 1 m long.

Was it because of the environment?

Or thanks to mana?

Its rate of growth was certainly too fast to be considered ordinary biological growth.

Well, still…

‘A good thing is a good thing.’

Growing quickly meant getting stronger quickly, too.

And the stronger it became, the more deep-sea creatures it could encounter, eat, observe, analyze, and study.

So there was no need to think negatively about it.

More importantly…

‘The atmosphere has changed.’

Nereia glanced around and thought.

Various corals and moss-like things were still glowing.

Deep-sea creatures of all kinds swam between them as if nothing were wrong.

At a glance, it might have been impossible to tell what had changed, but Nereia noticed one thing with absolute certainty.

That was…

‘The Lesser Predators have disappeared.’

All those Lesser Predators were gone.

Nereia was certain it wasn’t because of it.

After all, was it because they were the same rank? Or because Nereia’s behavior was as natural as the order of things?

Even when a nearby Lesser Predator was eaten by Nereia, the others hadn’t paid it any attention.

Of course, a few Lesser Predators had been startled and fled.

That made the fact that every Lesser Predator nearby had vanished a serious problem.

Perhaps…

‘An Intermediate Predator, or something even higher, has appeared.’

Considering how that colossal deep-sea creature had suddenly shown up, it seemed likely.

As Nereia cautiously moved around, scanning its surroundings with tense eyes, it discovered a trace.

What Nereia found was a corpse—or, to put it another way, evidence of ‘aberrant’ predation.

The corpse was enormous, its size comparable to Nereia’s own, which had exceeded 1 m.

However, it was covered in bite marks that looked as if some beast had torn into it, and, most notably, its biological core was nowhere to be seen.

That was why Nereia was certain this was evidence of ‘aberrant’ predation.

Ordinary predators didn’t eat their prey this way. Or, more precisely, they didn’t ‘leave any behind.’

The deep-sea environment was dangerous enough that nothing would seem strange, no matter what happened or when.

That was why food was so important to the creatures living in the deep sea. A normal deep-sea creature would never leave its prey behind like this.

Even that colossal deep-sea creature had been furious and chased Nereia like mad because it had stolen a fragment of its biological core, no more than a crumb.

But the corpse before it looked as if it had been bitten once or twice at most.

Bite off one mouthful and then throw the rest away?

There was no way to consider that a normal deep-sea creature.

And yet…

‘It ate the biological core. Maybe those wounds were made to get to the core. Could it be…’

Could there be a deep-sea creature like me nearby?

A creature that gains all kinds of traits by devouring deep-sea creatures and grows stronger through biological cores—strong enough to evolve?

As soon as the thought occurred to Nereia, its expression instantly hardened.