Apex refers to creatures that are at the top of the space survival ecosystem. Although it varies from case to case, they usually have excellent combat power.
And even within the Apex, there is a hierarchy. Apex’s highest-ranking creatures possess such terrifying power that they can be said to have transcended the laws of nature.
Among all the entities in the game, Red Gallagon is the only one that can use ‘Dragon Power’, Vortex One has the power to defy the laws of physics and change reality, etc. They are powerful enemies that require multiple players to join forces to fight them.
Likewise, Arcane Orca is a creature with very strong power. Like its close relatives, Skywhale and Starshark, it has specialized abilities in energy manipulation.
Of course, you shouldn’t think of it at the level of Sky Whale. It is a creature as dangerous as the Vortex One. It is much stronger than the incomplete ‘Ring of Anguish’ that was fought before.
“Arcane Orcarani. It won’t be easy.”
The Mother of Heaven let out a wave of thoughtful thoughts.
I guess he reacted that way because he was well aware of Arcane Orca’s notoriety.
‘It has to be that way.’
One of the difficulties in conquering Arcane Orca is ‘finding it’ itself.
Since it relies on the energy of stars, it rarely approaches planets. And rather than settling down in one star system, it constantly wanders around looking for new food. In fact, the entire universe can be seen as a stage for its activities.
‘That’s why it’s so hard to find.’
However, if you say that it is easy to fight once you find it, that is not true. It’s at least twice as strong as the incomplete Vortex One I fought here.
‘Let’s skip the fighting issue for now. Time is more important now.’
We don’t know how long Aadhai will remain like that. It would be nice if he returned to normal along the way, but that may not be the case.
Moreover, it is currently sucking up all the energy around it. This is the nest where a group of gallagons stay. Many young gallagons and eggs survive on energy leaking from the ground and minerals.
‘If the hunt continues, everyone will starve to death.’
I looked at Ham Oort. Black Gallagon, who brought food for his daughter, did not take his eyes off the red crystal.
[Zuzuzuzu Zuzu Zuzuzuzuzu Zuzuzuzu (How are the chicks? Aren’t they starving?)]
“Bird’s nest” “Food” “Abundant” “Everyone” “Full”
[Zu (Really?)]
“But” Great Aadhay” “More” “A lot” “Eat” “Food” “Power of the stars” “Exhaustion” “Dangerous”
[Zuzuz zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (How long do you think you can last?)]
“Star of Fire” ｢Twice｣｢Until you see it｣
On this planet, daylight comes very briefly, once every 30 days. It is said that you can hold out until the fire star, that is, the fixed star, is visible twice, so I guess there is a grace period of about 60 days.
‘It’s breathtaking.’
Just finding a star system where Arcane Orca might be located consumes quite a bit of time. Even if you start preparing right away, time is running out. If there are variables that I didn’t expect along the way, even that will decrease further.
‘for a moment.’
When I thought about variables, something suddenly occurred to me.
Number 26, who recently gained enormous psychic power. There is still a lot of energy left in its body. I called number 26, which emits a dark light and expresses sadness.
[Zuzuzuzu Zuzuzuzu Zuzuzuzu (Would you please take care of the baby Gallagons here?)]
｢Little flutter? Yes.｣
[Zuz, zuzuzu, zuzuzu, zuzuzuzu (I’ll be able to endure more because I have this person)]
｢Thank you｣
If No. 26 supplies energy to the Gallagon group, we can buy additional time.
Next, I asked Isabel to stay here as well. This is because if he has a special eye, he will know right away if there is a problem with Aadhai and the Blue Gallagons.
“okay. “If there is any problem, I will contact you.”
“thank you.”
I’ve done everything I could here.
There is no time, so we must start preparing to hunt Arcane Orca right away.
“Let’s go back to Gigacracker.”
Before leaving the room, I took one last look at Aadhai sleeping in the red crystal.
I made a promise while looking at Sujeong, which did not move from beginning to end.
He says no matter what happens, Aadhai will definitely be taken out.
‘Please be patient just a little longer until then.’
With that in mind, I left the nest with the kids.
After returning to Gigacracker, PS-111 went straight to the situation room. Since there is little information about Arcane Orca, this is to check the data stored in the ship’s computer.
I decided to talk with Heavenly Mother about where he might be.
“First of all, I think you and I have some idea about Arcane Orca.”
“huh. “I’ve been caught a few times because of the equipment.”
The Arcane Orca’s body is used to make very powerful equipment and super weapons. So the very large clans would periodically organize search parties to track him down.
As I recall, after the clan was disbanded, she worked as a mercenary in another clan’s search party. There will also be information and know-how gained while working with them.
“I’ll be honest. “The way I track is not suitable for this situation.”
I also tracked down and killed an Arcane Orca, but I didn’t hunt it in a very efficient manner.
There were two main strategies I mainly used. You can either wander around checking the state of the star yourself, or secretly follow the clan tracking the Arcane Orca.
Considering the current situation, the former is not possible because it would take a long time, and the latter is not possible because it is unclear whether there is a tracking team.
So this time I need her help.
“Well, if I choose your method, it seems like it will take more time just to prepare.”
She also understood what I was trying to say and nodded her head.
“There is information that is not well known.”
She continued, scratching her beak with the claws at the end of her wings.
“Usually, when you track Arcane Orca, you usually look at traces left on stars, right?”
“Yes. “It’s common to see the electromagnetic waves it leaves behind as it absorbs stellar energy.”
“There was a player in the tracking team I participated in who tried an unusual investigation method. “We investigated not the star, but the planets influenced by that star.”
“Planet?”
｢There are cases where primitive civilizations or colonial NPCs on a planet leave records of abnormal phenomena that occur on a star.｣
Investigating the NPCs on the planet. This is my first time hearing this information.
｢In primitive civilizations, it remained in the form of a tale, and in colonies, it remained in the form of an observation journal.｣
“A tale and an observation journal.”
Among these, I heard that observation logs are sometimes collected by trade players. This is because abnormal star activity can cause damage to trading ships.
“At that time, the tracking team collected all the stories and observation logs of places where Arcane Orca might appear. And we selected only the relevant ones and predicted the target’s movement path.”
“Is that possible?”
“I did it and it worked.”
“But how did that fact not become known?”
“The tracking clan that first tried it soon collapsed due to infighting, and the clan members also quit the game. “I haven’t seen anyone try this method since then.”
Thanks to this, I don’t know whether to be sad or glad that the information didn’t spread.
“Then we should start by checking the routes you know in the game.”
“PS-111 and I will handle that part. If it’s him, it will take a few days to check.”
“Please do me a favor.”
“Don’t expect too much. “If it is different from what I know, the investigation time will be longer.”
“If we need to investigate a planet, I will go.”
“It’s better for me to go than that…ah.”
Glowing amber eyes were fixed on my pile of tentacles. He had been restless because of Aadhai’s work, but now he seemed to have recognized my changed appearance.
“Where did you get the Hiveformer?”
“I got it while fighting Akira.”
“… My heart sank when I saw those tentacles in the game, but I see them here too.”
“I’ve seen them before?”
“We even set up an advance base on the planet to catch Arcane Orca, but you came and ruined it. “Don’t you remember?”
“Oh.”
When she said that, I remembered.
There was a time when I was secretly following the punitive force and upon seeing them descend on the planet, I immediately prepared a terrorist attack. Now that I see it, she must have been in that punitive force too.
“The first time I saw a dead human being consumed by a hiveformer, I almost felt really traumatized.”
“Well, it changed in a bit of a strange way.”
“To be honest, this is worse than having you skinned and hung.”
She felt disgusted, as if an unpleasant memory had come to mind. Seeing the feathers on its body stand up stiffly, it seemed like it really hated it.
‘It’s not that bad.’
I admit that it’s a bit disgusting, but I didn’t expect to hate it this much.
“I’ll go down alone when I investigate the planet.”
She glared at me with narrowed eyes and sighed softly.
“…I’ll have to work hard to make sure you don’t end up on the planet.”
The story about tracking the Arcane Orca ended with her grumbling and sad speech.
Heavenly Mother left for the situation room where PS-111 was located, and I was left alone in the storage room.
Originally I was thinking of checking the text box. This is because, in addition to the Hiveformer, there was quite a bit of income gained through battle.
However, perhaps because it was my first rest after an intense battle, I felt very tired. Without realizing it, I fell face down on the hard metal floor and laid my head down.
‘It’s not urgent, so let’s wake up and take a look at this.’
I fell into a deep sleep as if I had lost my mind, with the vibrations of the engine sounding softly along the floor.
“Watch next episode”
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://cpunovel.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/arcane-sniper.jpg "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
