Mermaid?

‘A mermaid…?’

As Nereia looked over the available evolution options, it murmured without realizing it.

The first two options made sense.

They were both evolutions influenced by the traits it had acquired.

But the last option, merfolk, was different.

No matter how Nereia looked at it, there was no reason for merfolk to appear on its evolution list.

Every creature it had eaten so far was a deep-sea creature that lived on the ocean floor.

And none of the traits it had acquired from those deep-sea creatures had anything to do with merfolk.

In other words, even if the name contained the word ‘mutant,’ the chance of it evolving into a merfolk should have been exactly zero.

So why on earth…

‘Why did merfolk show up?’

Did the system know?

Why had an option for merfolk… no, Primitive Mutant Merfolk, appeared on its evolution list?

‘Should I ask?’

But would the system answer?

The system sometimes reacted like a person, but it was still a system, at the end of the day.

Nereia didn’t know how it had been made, by whom, or for what purpose.

Still.

‘Just in case.’

That was when Nereia’s thoughts began to turn toward asking the system.

As if it had been waiting for Nereia to ask for help, the system responded.

【Viewing additional information on Primitive Mutant Merfolk.】

＊Primitive Mutant Merfolk

└A mutated specimen of the original merfolk species that emerged in the primordial deep sea.

└Possesses high intelligence and excellent environmental adaptability.

└Specializes in the mutation, application, integration, and control of multiple traits.

└Shows the highest compatibility with the current individual’s mutation lineage.

└Evolution Compatibility Rate: 97.8%

‘Huh—.’

After reading the newly added information, Nereia let out a dry laugh.

An Evolution Compatibility Rate above 90%.

Considering that the other options, Deep-Sea Multi-Predator and Deep-Sea Ghost Predator, had Evolution Compatibility Rates of 78% and 83%, respectively, choosing to evolve into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk was clearly the right choice.

No, even setting aside the Evolution Compatibility Rate, evolving into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk was still the right choice.

Deep-Sea Multi-Predator specialized in close-quarters combat and predation.

Deep-Sea Ghost Predator specialized in concealment, mobility, ambush, and predation.

In game terms, Deep-Sea Multi-Predator would be a warrior, while Deep-Sea Ghost Predator would be an assassin.

Primitive Mutant Merfolk, by contrast, was different.

Its high intelligence and excellent environmental adaptability were good, but…

The most important part was the description saying it specialized in the mutation, application, integration, and control of multiple traits.

Nereia had eaten a wide variety of deep-sea creatures and acquired a variety of traits from them.

It had used those traits where they were most effective, combined them into new traits, and even seen its existing traits mutate depending on the situation.

That was why Nereia considered ‘versatility’ one of its strengths.

But the first two evolutions would sacrifice that ‘versatility,’ one of Nereia’s greatest strengths.

Only Primitive Mutant Merfolk seemed capable of fully utilizing the ‘versatility’ that Nereia considered its own unique strength.

‘So there was never really a choice to begin with.’

Nereia gave a faint laugh as it murmured, its thoughts building one upon another.

Though it had been presented with three possible evolutions, Nereia had never really had a choice.

Even if the information on Primitive Mutant Merfolk hadn’t been provided…

Even if it had chosen Deep-Sea Multi-Predator or Deep-Sea Ghost Predator, perhaps the system would have tried to talk it out of it.

And so.

‘I’ll evolve into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk.’

As soon as Nereia made its decision, the system responded.

【You have chosen to evolve into 「Primitive Mutant Merfolk」.】

【The unique trait 「Mutant Evolution」 has been activated.】

The system had barely announced the start of evolution when changes began.

The mana inside its body ran wild, and its flesh began to mutate.

As the mana rampaged, its body began to mutate and change of its own accord. It was enough to terrify even Nereia.

The fear it hadn’t felt during its first evolution because it had lost consciousness…

But Nereia felt no fear.

There was no pain, either.

Instead, its mind was clearer than ever, allowing it to calmly watch its own body change.

And so, Nereia…

‘If I’m evolving into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk, does that mean merfolk really exist somewhere in this sea?’

With that question suddenly rising in its mind, it watched its own evolution.

It watched with the eyes of the researcher it had once been—someone who explored, observed, and analyzed the unknown life forms of the deep sea.

* * *

【「Mutant Evolution」 confirmed.】

【Beginning bodily reconstruction.】

The first change was its head.

Its head, which had been fused with its torso, separated, and its shape became similar to a human skull.

As a result, Nereia grew a neck it hadn’t possessed before.

The second change was its torso.

The body structure of the Deep-Sea Mutant Predator it had become through its first evolution had basically resembled that of a deep-sea fish.

Naturally, the skeleton inside its body had also resembled that of a deep-sea fish.

That structure mutated. No, changed.

The torso, which had resembled a deep-sea fish, swelled, twisted, sometimes broke, and was whittled away, over and over, only to regenerate again.

Several times. Perhaps dozens.

After changes repeated so many times that there might even have been hundreds, Nereia had an upper body resembling a human’s.

After the upper body came the lower body.

If its upper body had been formed by transforming the torso of a deep-sea fish, its lower body was formed by transforming the fish’s tail.

However, as the name Primitive Mutant Merfolk suggested, Nereia’s lower body still resembled that of a deep-sea fish.

‘This is within the range I expected.’

Nereia, watching its evolution in silence, murmured inwardly.

After all, the name of the species it was evolving into was Primitive Mutant Merfolk.

What even was a mermaid?

A monster with a beautiful human upper body and a fish’s lower body.

Though its lower body had the grotesque appearance peculiar to deep-sea fish rather than an ordinary fish, Nereia wasn’t taken aback.

If, instead of this form, it had grown a lower body with two human-like legs…

Nereia would have been more surprised by that.

Meanwhile, once the lower body resembling a fish… no, a deep-sea fish, had formed, Nereia waited eagerly to see what would change next.

But…

【Evolution into 「Primitive Mutant Merfolk」 is complete.】

【Growth Stage has increased.】

【Predation Rank has increased.】

‘That’s it?’

System messages appeared in its field of vision.

Nereia murmured in surprise.

From what it had seen, the changes so far had only given it the general shape of a merfolk.

Even if it was evolving into a ‘primitive’ ‘mutant’ merfolk, was this really all there was to it?

Just as Nereia was wondering this in confusion,

【Integration, mutation, and adaptation of possessed traits is beginning.】

At the sight of the new system message, Nereia cheered inwardly.

Right. It had believed that such a small change couldn’t possibly be the end of its evolution.

Nereia watched the adaptation, mutation, and integration of its traits once again.

Four fingers sprouted from hands that had been little more than blunt lumps.

A blue-black exoskeleton formed over its hands and arms.

Hideous gills, like those often found on deep-sea fish, opened and closed on its neck.

Its face, too, was covered in blue-black exoskeleton. On the palms of its four-fingered hands, something resembling the mouths on the Multi-Mouthed Predatory Insect’s tentacles kept making a strange rattling sound.

And so, even the integration, mutation, and adaptation of its traits came to an end.

The moment the mind that had been separated for the evolution settled into its body, Nereia murmured.

This…

“It’s just a monster that looks like a mermaid.”

* * *

“Ah, ah. Aaaaa—.”

Dismissing the system that had appeared in its field of vision, Nereia made a sound through its ‘mouth.’

Even when it had been a Deep-Sea Mutant Predator, it had a mouth, but its structure was different, so it couldn’t make sounds through it like this.

That wasn’t all.

This time, Nereia moved its hand.

It had only four fingers, so the movement felt a little awkward, but the way they moved as it intended reminded it of the hands it had had when it was human.

With this…

‘I’ll be able to dismantle, observe, and analyze things with even greater precision.’

It had been able to dismantle things well enough with its Predation Arms.

Still, there was no denying that their structure limited how precisely they could move.

In addition, when it exerted force, a tentacle with a mouth at its tip—a Predation Maw—emerged from its palm.

And by using mana, it could produce hard bone anywhere on its body.

That, too…

“This is nothing like when I was a Deep-Sea Mutant Predator.”

Was it because it had evolved into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk, a species specialized in the mutation, application, integration, and control of multiple traits?

Or was it because its possessed traits had undergone integration, mutation, and adaptation?

Moving and using the various organs that made up its body was incomparably smoother than before its evolution.

Of course, those things were merely byproducts of its evolution.

The greatest thing Nereia had gained by evolving into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk was, naturally, a new trait.

【Trait Organification】

＊Can anchor and fuse possessed traits to specific organs.

＊Organified traits become part of the organ’s basic function.

＊The efficiency of organified traits increases dramatically.

＊Similar traits can be stacked and integrated.

＊The body structure permanently changes as traits are organified.

The description of Trait Organification seemed grand and complicated, but in practice, it was surprisingly simple.

To put it in game terms, traits acquired through application were active skills.

Organified traits, on the other hand, could be considered passive skills.

As the description said, it anchored and fused traits into existing organs, turning them into distinctive features of those organs.

In other words, it was an artificial mutation.

Honestly…

“It’s an ability perfectly suited to a Deep-Sea ‘Mutant’ Merfolk.”

Many of its traits had changed during evolution, too, but it could figure those out one step at a time.

More importantly, now was the time to confirm the truth it had been trying to avoid until now.

“This… has to be what I think it is, right?”

Nereia touched its chest with both hands and swallowed nervously.

“Individual Information.”

【Calling up individual information.】

It called up its individual information, the clearest and most direct way to check how it had changed.

And then.

“Why on earth—!”

Nereia screamed as it checked the individual information that had appeared in its field of vision.