Chapter 20
【You have acquired the 「Explosive Leap Cell」 trait.】
“Just as I thought, it wasn’t an ability related to spatial movement.”
Nereia said, looking at the system window floating before her.
She had more or less expected as much from the jellyfish’s name, ‘Deep-Sea Leap Jellyfish,’ as the system had identified it.
The jellyfish she had just eaten really didn’t have any ability like spatial movement.
It had simply moved by generating enough speed to escape even her eyes for an instant.
And the reason it could reach that speed was probably the Explosive Leap Cell trait she had just acquired.
However.
“This is insane. What kind of trait is this?”
Nereia frowned as she examined the information on her newly acquired Explosive Leap Cell trait.
From its name alone, it seemed like it could use the cells making up her body to gain explosive speed.
And that was exactly what it did.
However.
【Explosive Leap Cell】
＊Breaks down and utilizes some of the cells that maintain living tissue to generate explosive propulsion.
The description of the Explosive Leap Cell was a single line, and nothing more.
Yet, Nereia could tell at a glance how dangerous the Explosive Leap Cell was from that single line.
No, from the very start.
“If you can read this and still not understand how dangerous the Explosive Leap Cell is, you might as well forfeit your humanity. You’d have a head just for decoration.”
Wasn’t that already clear from the description?
It said it broke down and utilized ‘the cells that maintain living tissue.’
In other words, the more she used this trait, the more it consumed her own body.
No, the trait was far too dangerous to describe as merely consuming her own flesh.
To begin with, living creatures had a limit to the number of cells they could possess.
Even the blue whale, said to be the largest animal in Earth’s history, had only about one quintillion cells. Humans were said to have a mere 30 to 60 trillion.
Of course, this wasn’t Earth, and there was still some chance that creatures with more cells than a blue whale existed in this vast ocean.
Even so, it was obvious that any ‘living creature’ had a limit to how many cells it could possess.
Of course, cells regenerated through division, but that regeneration wasn’t infinite, either.
Just as there was a limit to the number of cells, there was a limit to their regeneration.
Wasn’t the reason all living creatures experienced ‘aging’ the depletion of stem cells over time?
That undeniable truth…
“Would apply to me, too.”
Nereia said, glancing down at her body.
There was no reason Nereia would be any different.
In other words, the Explosive Leap Cell was exactly what it sounded like: an extremely dangerous trait that traded her lifespan for its use.
That was why, as for the Explosive Leap Cell she had just acquired…
“I should only use it when things are at their most dangerous—when I’m in danger of dying and have no choice but to use even this.”
As Nereia murmured those words, the interest in the ‘Deep-Sea Leap Jellyfish’ that had shone in her eyes began to fade.
* * *
Nereia resumed exploring the canyon.
Although the Explosive Leap Cell was a liability of a trait, the Deep-Sea Leap Jellyfish wasn’t the only creature in the surrounding ecosystem.
Her original goal, after all, was to eat a wider variety of deep-sea creatures, collect a wider variety of traits, and observe, analyze, and study the many creatures scattered throughout the deep sea.
Well, to be honest…
“From a researcher’s perspective, the Explosive Leap Cell is still a pretty interesting subject.”
With that thought, Nereia let the currents carry her as she observed the surrounding ecosystem.
A considerable variety of deep-sea creatures lived in the surrounding ecosystem.
Crustaceans that changed the color of their shells to match their surroundings.
A peculiar deep-sea fish that was clearly a fish, yet had pincers on either side.
Deep-sea anemones that could release paralyzing poison from every tentacle growing on their bodies, and so on.
Nereia swam through the area, encountering a variety of deep-sea creatures and acquiring traits by eating them.
A Multicolored Protective Shell, both sturdy and capable of changing color to blend into the surroundings.
A Shock Pincer capable of generating a powerful shock wave like a sonic boom with a single swing, much like a pistol shrimp on Earth.
Paralyzing Tentacles that produced venom capable of leaving even a Lesser Predator unable to move for at least thirty minutes, and more.
In addition to the Explosive Leap Cell, which was more of a liability than an asset, Nereia collected new traits by preying on various deep-sea creatures in the area.
However, Nereia didn’t apply any of the traits she had collected so far, aside from the first one, the Explosive Leap Cell.
It wasn’t as though she needed to apply them right now, and…
“Besides, even if I apply them, they’re basically one-use.”
That was the biggest reason Nereia hadn’t applied the new traits she’d collected.
Traits that were simply applied without organification were practically one-use.
Of course, only a few traits had disappeared while Nereia went through two evolutions. But the important thing was that some traits had ‘disappeared.’
She wouldn’t particularly mind if something like the Explosive Leap Cell disappeared, but…
It would be a real setback if she applied a useful trait only for it to disappear in her next evolution.
That was why Nereia planned to collect as many different traits as possible first.
“It’d be better to turn them into unique organs.”
That was the conclusion she reached.
At the very least, unique organs created through Trait Organification were permanent changes.
In other words, unlike traits that were merely applied, they wouldn’t disappear in her next evolution.
Of course.
“It’s a little disappointing that I only have two uses of Trait Organification left.”
That was why Nereia planned to collect as many different traits as she could.
If she gathered a wide variety of traits, she could make use of even ones that seemed trivial or useless.
She had already confirmed, through the Multi-Axis Burst Propulsion Organ she had created, that there was no limit to the number of traits that could be made into a unique organ through Trait Organification.
And so…
“First, I’ll collect the traits of every deep-sea creature here.”
Thinking that, she brought out the Dorsal Eightfold Predation Tentacles.
* * *
Munch, munch.
Crunch. Crunch.
Slurp—. Gulp.
Nereia busily moved the eight tentacles protruding from the split in her back, indiscriminately grabbing and eating the creatures around her.
Trait Predation wasn’t all-powerful.
No, to be precise, the chance of Trait Predation succeeding wasn’t 100%.
There were traits she couldn’t acquire even after eating a hundred creatures.
And there were traits she could acquire after eating just one.
The chances were completely random.
Still, it didn’t matter.
After all, here…
“There’s food everywhere.”
That was right. This was a small ecosystem formed by various deep-sea creatures gathered together.
Unless they were extremely rare deep-sea creatures, there were anywhere from several thousand to tens of thousands of them.
Of course, if there were deep-sea species with a ‘large’ population, there were also species with a ‘small’ population.
Still, Nereia didn’t care about that, either.
Even if she ate every ‘small-population’ deep-sea creature here, that species wouldn’t go extinct in this vast ocean.
Somewhere in this canyon, there had to be another ecosystem similar to the surrounding environment, and the deep-sea creatures she had eaten would be living there, too.
To begin with, driving an entire species to extinction in a natural ecosystem wasn’t easy.
On Earth, so many species had gone extinct because there were so many humans, pollution worsened as civilization developed, and all manner of bizarre inventions appeared one after another.
As Nereia indiscriminately preyed on the deep-sea creatures around her, a question suddenly occurred to her.
Come to think of it…
“There are surprisingly many traits related to survival.”
Every deep-sea creature she had preyed on so far had at least one trait necessary for survival.
Starting with the liability that was the Explosive Leap Cell, they included sturdy shells or scales, traits that enabled them to move quickly, and camouflage specialized for evading predators, among others.
She hadn’t noticed at first, but once she realized it, Nereia couldn’t shake the question.
The place she had reached by way of the enormous turbulent current had, at most, only Lesser Predators.
Why did the deep-sea creatures living in a place like this possess at least one trait specialized for survival?
That question soon became curiosity, and after observing her surroundings, Nereia finally realized something.
This place was inside a canyon.
Naturally, this ecosystem had formed along the canyon walls as well.
And yet, strangely, the deep-sea creatures living here never went down.
Was it because of the turbulent current?
That wasn’t it.
Nereia had only just realized this herself, but turbulent currents didn’t rage constantly, all 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
Turbulent currents were a kind of phenomenon that appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly.
In other words, there was no reason the deep-sea creatures around her couldn’t go down.
Even so, the deep-sea creatures never descended toward the bottom of the canyon from the ecosystem they had established, as if it were imprinted in their genes.
As though…
‘There’s a predator down there.’
When she thought that and observed her surroundings once more,
Nereia noticed various traces carved into the canyon wall below, some distance away from the established ecosystem.
Could those traces have been left by a predator?
If so, the predator down there would be at least a Mid-Level Predator, on the same level as Nereia.
Even the Lesser Predators in the ecosystem never went down there.
No, perhaps…
‘It might be a High-Level Predator.’
If the predator down there really was a High-Level Predator, Nereia would be wise not to descend.
But…
‘I’m curious. What on earth is down there that makes them desperately struggle not to go down?’
She was curious. Her curiosity had been piqued.
What could be at the bottom of the canyon?
She wanted to observe it. To dissect it. To analyze it.
And she wanted to study it.
The predator that might be down there at the bottom.
And, if possible…
‘I want to devour it.’
With that thought, Nereia hesitated briefly, then finally headed down toward the bottom.
Right. First, she would just find out.
What was down there.
And if the predator below really was a High-Level Predator, she would observe it as much as possible. If it was a Mid-Level Predator…
‘I’ll eat it.’
Having made her decision, Nereia advanced into the darkness at the bottom of the deep sea.
Not a hint of hesitation could be found in Nereia’s movements.