Chapter 5
【Evolution Requirements】
＊Body size of at least 2 mm
＊At least 5 traits
＊Devour the biological core of a Lesser Predator or higher
The newly unlocked evolution requirements were surprisingly simple.
Grow to at least 2 mm in size and possess five or more traits.
No problem.
Nereia had grown to more than 2 mm after devouring countless deep-sea creatures and continuing to grow. It had also acquired a variety of traits.
The problem was the final requirement.
‘The biological core of a Lesser Predator or higher?’
Looking at the system window, Nereia thought.
Never mind what a biological core was—what did it mean by a Lesser Predator or higher?
What was that supposed to mean...?
‘...The Deep-Sea Predatory Larva.’
Come to think of it, among the information about the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva it had seen before fleeing, it had said the creature was a Lesser Predator.
In other words, even if Nereia weren't doing it for revenge, it would have to fight the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva to evolve.
‘Let's look on the bright side. This is a chance to kill two birds with one stone: evolution and revenge.’
Muttering that to itself, Nereia glanced beyond the rift.
Along with the still-raging turbulent current, it could see the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva lingering at its edge.
It felt as though the creature had gotten even bigger, though.
‘I can do this. I can.’
Nereia muttered as if encouraging itself.
No matter how strong the creature was, Nereia now had a decent chance of winning, unlike during their first encounter.
After all, while devouring various deep-sea creatures, hadn't it acquired another fused trait besides the Primitive Mana Organ?
It had acquired two new fused traits in total.
One of them was...
【Primitive Propulsion Organ】
＊Instantly expels mana from within the body to generate powerful thrust.
＊Dramatically increases underwater movement speed for a short time.
＊Repeated use causes mana and stamina consumption to increase dramatically.
It was the Primitive Propulsion Organ, useful for evading attacks in an instant.
And the other was...
【Primitive Erosion Tentacle】
＊Part of the body surface transforms into a long, flexible tentacle.
＊The tip of the tentacle transforms into an erosion organ.
It was a Primitive Erosion Tentacle that could be used to attack, though it differed somewhat from the one the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva possessed.
And if it made use of its other, unfused traits as well, it should be able to hunt the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva.
Having steeled its resolve, Nereia...
‘The rematch starts now, you damned monster.’
It swam out through the rift and left the hydrothermal vent, heading toward the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva.
* * *
‘It's seriously huge. And this thing is only about 3 cm long?’
Riding the turbulent current with its fine cilia, Nereia looked at the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva still lingering near the boundary and thought.
It had thought the creature was big the first time it saw it, too.
Now that it was facing it properly, was it just imagining things, or did it seem even bigger than before?
And besides...
‘Even a glancing blow would be fatal. If it catches me, it's all over.’
The creature's tentacles were normally nothing but limp, flabby appendages, but once it swung them in earnest, they were powerful enough to burst Nereia's frail body in a single strike.
Especially if it caught Nereia, that would be the end. There would be no second chance.
But...
‘In the end, all I have to do is avoid getting caught.’
Just as even the most powerful weapon was useless if it couldn't hit its target,
all Nereia had to do was avoid being hit by the creature's tentacles.
That was why it had also trained to move underwater using its fine cilia while in the hydrothermal vent.
And...
‘If I use the Primitive Propulsion Organ properly, I should be able to exploit its openings.’
Using it required mana,
and the more it used it in succession, the more rapidly its mana and stamina would be depleted. But the momentary burst of speed it provided was explosive.
If it used it properly, it should be able to slip through the creature's defenses and land a decisive blow.
It would also be a huge help in escaping the tremendous suction force created whenever the creature opened its mouth.
So...
‘I've watched it long enough. Now...’
It was time to begin the hunt.
Having finished putting its thoughts in order, Nereia emerged from the turbulent current.
This was the bottom of the deep sea.
A place without a single speck of light.
It was incredibly difficult to make out anything in this place, where everything had been swallowed by darkness, but the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva was easy to see.
A bizarre bioluminescent organ had sprouted from its body.
An organ that emitted a faint, beautiful light.
The creature usually used the light from that organ to lure in prey, then devoured it.
In other words, its bioluminescent organ was essential to its survival, and one of its hunting tools.
But...
‘It never imagined that would end up making it a target.’
The light emitted by the creature's bioluminescent organ stood out all too clearly in the darkness at the bottom of the deep sea.
Other deep-sea creatures would be lured in by that light and rush toward it, but Nereia was different. It was a deep-sea creature too, a deep-sea unicellular larva, but its mind was human.
It could never bring itself to do something so stupid as mindlessly approaching a faint light as if under a spell.
Hiding its body in the darkness of the deep sea, Nereia swam stealthily toward the creature.
The creature still hadn't noticed Nereia.
It simply rode the current, loitering at the edge of the turbulent flow, and whenever prey approached, it lashed out with its three tentacles like lightning, snatching and devouring it.
The creature was steeped in the leisurely confidence unique to predators.
‘That also means there aren't any other predators around.’
In other words, even if Nereia got injured while hunting the creature, as long as it killed it, its safety would be practically guaranteed.
It truly couldn't have asked for a better environment or better conditions.
The creature was off guard. There were no other predators nearby.
The creature hadn't noticed Nereia, while Nereia knew exactly where it was and what it was doing. And now...
Nereia stealthily swam within close range of the creature.
Twitch-!
The creature's massive body shuddered for an instant, and its three limp tentacles began to tense.
From that movement, Nereia knew the creature had noticed it, but it didn't matter.
It was already...
‘Too late-!’
Nereia thrust its Erosion Tentacle at the creature, certain of victory.
The creature might have noticed Nereia, but it was far too late.
It would be pierced by Nereia's Erosion Tentacle, dissolve from the inside out, and be absorbed by Nereia.
Nereia was certain of that as it thrust its Erosion Tentacle, but...
Clang-!
‘You son of a—!’
The Erosion Tentacle it had thrust with confidence bounced off without piercing the creature or even leaving a scratch. Nereia blurted a curse in shock.
The Deep-Sea Predatory Larva's body looked like limp jelly on the outside, but it was tougher than Nereia had expected.
That was why Nereia's Erosion Tentacle had bounced off.
It was even sturdier than the Deep-Sea Carapace Microbe it had eaten before.
‘Damn it-!’
After its ambush failed, Nereia hurriedly activated the Primitive Propulsion Organ.
Fwoosh!
A tremendous amount of mana burst from the Primitive Propulsion Organ, and the resulting explosive thrust sent Nereia nearly 10 cm away in an instant.
At the same time, the three tentacles swung by the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva swept through the place where Nereia had been just moments earlier.
If Nereia's judgment had been even slightly slower, the creature's tentacles could have hit it and blown it to pieces.
Having survived by a hair's breadth, Nereia looked at the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva with a sensation like a chill running down a spine it didn't even have.
Seriously...
‘What a monster.’
Nereia knew the creature was strong.
But it hadn't expected that jelly-like body to be harder than the Deep-Sea Carapace Microbe.
‘No, this was my mistake.’
It was a predator.
Even if it was a larva like Nereia, it was still a predator. It was called a ‘Deep-Sea Predatory Larva’ for a reason, after all.
The fact that there were no other predators nearby was all because of that creature.
And considering how many deep-sea creatures it must have devoured to become what it was, Nereia should have been able to predict how tough it was, too.
Failing to do so had been unmistakably Nereia's own mistake.
‘Here it comes-!’
But this wasn't the time to blame itself for its mistake.
The creature had begun to move in earnest.
Three tentacles lashed out.
The three tentacles whipped through the water of the deep sea, rushing at Nereia from three different directions and aiming for its life.
No matter how much the fine cilia made it easier to move through the deep sea, Nereia couldn't dodge this with swimming alone.
In that case...
‘Once more-!’
Fwoosh!
Once again, a tremendous amount of mana burst from the Primitive Propulsion Organ.
Powered by the explosive thrust, Nereia once again moved nearly 10 cm as if teleporting, but...
【Warning! The Primitive Carapace has sustained massive impact damage!】
‘I know that!’
Nereia shouted inwardly at the system warning that appeared before its eyes.
Thanks to the Primitive Propulsion Organ, it had avoided the creature's tentacles, but not completely.
One of them had grazed Nereia.
And that alone was enough to shatter the Primitive Carapace, which had seemed invincible in the hydrothermal vent.
No, the Primitive Carapace wasn't the only thing that had shattered.
The Primitive Erosion Tentacle had been torn to shreds by a mere graze, and the Primitive Propulsion Organ that had saved Nereia's life twice was broken.
Still, even after losing its means of instantly evading attacks and its only means of attack, Nereia didn't give up.
It desperately swam to dodge the creature's attacks while observing it as calmly as possible and searching for a way to win.
But...
‘Damn it, there's no answer.’
No matter how carefully it watched or how hard it thought, it simply couldn't see any chance of winning...!
‘Ah, I made a mistake.’
Had it been thinking too deeply?
For an instant, Nereia failed to notice the creature opening its mouth.
And the result was...
‘Kgh! I-I have to get out of this!’
Swept up by the tremendous suction force generated as the creature opened its mouth, Nereia let out a muffled groan.
Somehow, somehow, it had to escape that suction.
But how?
The Primitive Propulsion Organ, which could generate tremendous thrust in an instant, had been broken for some time.
And the Primitive Erosion Tentacle, which could grab onto something nearby and help Nereia hold on, had long since been torn to shreds.
It couldn't escape the creature's suction force by swimming with nothing but the help of its fine cilia.
‘Ah, fuck. This really fucking sucks.’
Swept away by the suction and ultimately dragged into the creature's mouth, Nereia had the inane thought that even when it had been human, it had never cursed this much...
Chomp!
It was devoured by the Deep-Sea Predatory Larva.