Chapter 17
【Individual Information】
Name : Nereia
Age : ???
Species : Primitive Mutant Merfolk
Classification : Mutant Species
Sex : Female
Growth Stage : Mature
Predation Rank : Mid-Level Predator
Threat Level : Unmeasurable
“Ha….”
After checking her individual information over and over, Nereia clutched her head in both hands and let out a deep sigh.
Right. She had expected this, to some extent.
On Earth, merfolk were thought of as mythical beings with the upper bodies of beautiful women and the lower bodies of fish.
Merfolk were often depicted that way in various works of fiction, too.
Of course, some myths and works of fiction featured male merfolk as well, but the prevailing formula was basically ‘merfolk = female.’
Nereia’s perception was no different.
That was why.
“I did consider the possibility that becoming a Primitive Mutant Merfolk might lock my sex as female.”
Maybe it was because she had lived her whole life as a man.
The shock of what she had expected actually coming to pass was surprisingly intense.
Of course, so far her chest had only swelled ‘slightly.’ Very ‘slightly.’ Her waist was only ‘slightly’ narrow, and her hips only ‘slightly’ wide.
Thanks to that,
“From the outside, I feel more like a monster than a woman.”
Still, despite her appearance, there was no denying that she was now a woman.
And as she continued to evolve, she would grow even closer to a mermaid.
Her current monstrous appearance, too, would gradually come to resemble that of a beautiful mermaid.
Her chest, which had no volume at all and was barely any different from a man’s, would surely become full and voluptuous someday.
Or else…
‘What if I end up with the so-called ’loliㅋㅋ‘ kind of breasts…! Aaaah! What am I thinking?!’
After briefly imagining what she might look like after evolving further, Nereia let out a shriek and shook off the thought.
Right. There was still a chance.
She was a ‘Primitive Mutant Merfolk,’ not a ‘Primitive Merfolk.’
If she intervened appropriately in the process of evolution, surely her sex would change to male.
No, she would make sure it did.
She had lived as a man her whole life. Surely it was too cruel to tell her to live as a woman now.
So…
“I have to evolve.”
Nereia’s determination to evolve grew even stronger.
At first, she had yearned to evolve so she could grow stronger and avoid dying in vain. Now, she wanted to evolve so she could return to being a man.
“But why on earth did I become a woman?”
I’ll evolve and return to being a man, no matter what.
As Nereia steeled herself with that resolve, a thought suddenly occurred to her, and she murmured.
A change of sex.
Now that the shock of what people commonly called TS had faded and she had regained some composure,
Nereia began to wonder why her sex had become female.
If the sex determined through evolution followed the soul, then she should certainly have become male.
Could most of the deep-sea creatures she had eaten to evolve have been female? Had their influence turned her into a woman?
Or perhaps every merfolk in this world was female.
“Ah, forget it. There’s no point thinking too deeply about it. I should just focus on evolving and turning back into a man.”
If her sex was still fixed as female after several evolutions, it wouldn’t be too late to tear open her own body and study it to find the cause.
So for now…
“Let’s study Trait Organification.”
Nereia turned her attention to Trait Organification, the new trait she had gained by evolving into a Primitive Mutant Merfolk.
* * *
The potential of Trait Organification was limitless, given that it could cause artificial mutations.
But they say great power comes with great responsibility… no, a price.
At present, Nereia was limited to using Trait Organification three times.
When Nereia took an interest in Trait Organification, the system provided her with additional information.
【Additional information on Trait Organification is being provided.】
【The number of available uses of Trait Organification is limited to 3.】
【The number of available uses of Trait Organification increases upon evolution or when certain conditions are met.】
【Warning! Trait Organification causes permanent changes to the body.】
【Warning! There is a high chance of unexpected mutations during the process of Trait Organification.】
Along with those somewhat chilling warnings,
“You should’ve told me this from the start.”
Nereia grumbled as she read the newly added information on Trait Organification.
Well, Trait Organification was a powerful ability, powerful enough to cause artificial mutations.
Powerful enough to affect her future evolutionary lineage, too.
It would be even stranger if such a powerful ability had no limitations or penalties.
So for now…
“The question is, which traits should I use?”
Nereia looked over her traits and pondered.
She had a total of three uses of Trait Organification.
Nereia had no intention of using all three chances right away.
The system’s warning was one thing, but it would be foolish to use all three up when she didn’t know how her body would change or what mutations might occur.
‘Especially since, according to the system’s explanation, these changes are permanent. Once a trait is organified, I can’t undo it, so I need to be even more careful.’
Muttering that to herself, Nereia fell into deep thought.
Which traits should she use?
What did she need most right now?
“I can probably sort the traits I currently have into five categories.”
Starting with mobility traits that supported not just speed, but movement itself, there were concealment, predation, and defense traits, and finally, mana traits.
Of course, these were only broad categories.
Examining each trait in detail would get far too complicated, so Nereia had simply grouped them into broad categories like these.
As Nereia looked over the traits in the five categories and thought,
a possibility suddenly occurred to her.
‘Now that I think about it…’
There was no such wording.
She couldn’t find it in any of the explanations.
A statement that only one trait could be used for each instance of organification.
Put another way,
‘Doesn’t that mean I can use multiple traits in one instance of organification?’
For example, could she use two or three traits in a single instance of organification? Maybe even four or more?
As soon as the possibility occurred to her, Nereia’s mind began racing.
One minute passed.
Then ten minutes. By the time an hour had passed,
“This… might actually work.”
She could feel her intuition as a researcher shouting, ‘It’s possible!’
Her instincts as a Primitive Mutant Merfolk seemed to be shouting that her idea was ‘possible!’ as well.
Right. Let’s try it.
To begin with…
“Sometimes you have to take a bit of a gamble to get stronger.”
Just as she had until now, and just as she would from now on.
As Nereia murmured that, something bordering on madness flickered in her eyes.
* * *
Having finished thinking it over, Nereia made her decision.
The first thing she would use Trait Organification on was her…
“Tail, I think.”
Her tail. More precisely, Nereia decided to use mobility-type traits.
There wasn’t any special reason.
Nereia believed that one of the most important things for a living creature’s survival was quick reflexes—in other words, speed.
No matter how sturdy she was. No matter how powerful.
Somewhere in this vast deep sea, there would surely be predators teeming about that were stronger than she was.
If she happened to encounter one of those predators, she would need to flee quickly—in other words, she would need speed to survive.
Nereia’s decision was also heavily influenced by her time as a Deep-Sea Mutant Predator.
Her experience escaping from the colossal deep-sea creature she had encountered by chance had played a significant part, too.
Once she had made her decision, Nereia didn’t hesitate.
【「Trait Organification」 activates.】
【Select the body part 「Tail」.】
【Choose the traits to apply.】
“I choose High-Speed Multi-Axis Propulsion Sac, Sudden Acceleration Muscle, and Current-Sensing Muscle.”
Nereia answered the system’s prompt.
She would have liked to use even more traits, but…
‘If I use too many traits on my first try, the chance of an unintended mutation will be high.’
Hadn’t the system warned her, too?
That there was a chance an unexpected mutation might occur.
So for now, this was just right.
The moment Nereia thought that, the mana within her body began to run wild.
At the same time, excruciating pain surged through her tail.
“Ghh—!”
Was it because she was forcibly altering her body’s very structure?
The terrible pain, unlike anything she had ever felt before, started in her changing tail, and Nereia let out a stifled groan.
Even so, Nereia desperately held on to consciousness.
‘I’ll endure it. I’ll endure it to the end.’
If she passed out like this, she had no idea what might happen.
She couldn’t even rule out the possibility that Trait Organification would run wild and leave her unable to use her tail.
How much time passed as Nereia desperately clung to consciousness through that terrible pain?
The pain that had started in her tail gradually began to subside.
At the same time,
【Trait Organification is complete.】
【「High-Speed Multi-Axis Propulsion Sac」, 「Sudden Acceleration Muscle」, and 「Current-Sensing Muscle」 have been applied to the body part 「Tail」.】
【Compatibility between the traits and the body part confirmed.】
【The unique trait 「Mutant Evolution」 intervenes.】
‘W-wait…! Gaaah—!’
Nereia was startled by Mutant Evolution’s sudden intervention and had barely begun to shout when the terrible pain from before started up again in her tail.
Nereia let out another stifled groan.
Although she had to go through that terrible pain one more time,
【New unique organ 「Multi-Axis Burst Propulsion Fin」 has been formed.】
Nereia had gained an even newer, more powerful tail.