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[Proofreader – Draxx]

Chapter 227

He had many names.

The One Blessed by the Stars, the Sage who Gained the Wisdom of the Stars, the Strongest Male, and so on.

But among all the names, the one he liked the most was this:

The Great Odd Grad.

No expression described him as well as the word "great."

There was no creature in the world as special as him, born with the blessings of the stars.

He could see the future.

Sometimes in dreams, sometimes in visions.

Thanks to this foresight he had from birth, he could avoid any danger that came his way.

He also used this ability actively to protect his pack.

Since the time of the Aquamarine Scales, he had gone out hunting with his kind, ensuring they never fell into danger. His kind trusted him, calling him a wise young being.

As time passed, he became the strongest leader of the pack. He earned the respect of many of his kind and had beautiful, strong females as his mates.

Everything was perfect.

Until he met ‘that dwarf’.

Before the flow of stars changed dozens of times, someone infiltrated the nest and stole the eggs.

The thieves were dwarfs, the likes of which he had never seen before. They came in a flying vessel that smelled similar to minerals.

Enraged, he attempted to attack the vessel that the dwarfs were on. He would have done so if the future had not warned him.

He could never forget the future he saw then.

The moment he attacked, one of the strange dwarfs stepped forward. He killed him along with all of his kind. The dwarfs took all the eggs.

No matter how hard he tried to avoid destruction, the future he saw never changed.

The strange dwarf in the vessel was on a different level. No matter what he did, he couldn\'t win against him.

If he had been another of his kind, they would not have given up. But Odd Grad was different. He had always thought differently from his kind, thanks to his ability to see the future.

The fear of death, the anxiety over an uncontrollable future—emotions he had never felt in his life swelled up inside him. The very ability that made him great consumed him.

In the end, he succumbed to fear. He bowed his head before the dwarf and begged, promising to do anything if he would spare his life.

Perhaps the dwarf—no, the "Transcendent One"—was surprised by his actions. The Transcendent One seemed pleased with his behavior.

The Transcendent One did not kill him. Instead, he bestowed grace upon Odd Grad.

He revealed to his secrets even Odd Grad didn\'t know, things happening among the stars, and the truth of this world.

The moment he started listening to the Transcendent One\'s words, the world he knew shattered completely.

His beloved mates, the young ones he sometimes played with, the strong white-scaled kin he went hunting with.

All of them were worthless. They were no different from the lumps of metal scattered outside.

The Transcendent One spoke.

Only Odd Grad was a ‘unique’ being. He was the only one worthy of becoming an avatar of the stars, and it would be a waste to kill him now.

He didn\'t understand exactly what that meant, but it didn\'t matter. What mattered more was that the Transcendent One assured him of his life.

After the deal with the Transcendent One, he survived.

As a token of their newfound friendship, the Transcendent One even gave him a precious gift.

But the young leader who loved his kind was no longer there. Only "the Great Odd Grad" remained.

That Great Odd Grad had now awakened from a long sleep.

The fight with the cunning "Black-scaled Kin" ended unpleasantly. He had to rush back because the kin of that wretch attacked the nest.

Losing the traitor was no small loss, but there was a bigger problem: the future in which the black-scaled kin would kill him had not changed.

Only then did he recall the Transcendent One\'s warning.

The stele bestowed upon him by the Transcendent One had spoken to him, saying that a being who might be able to kill him would appear.

But Odd Grad couldn’t heed that warning. Dealing with the defectors within his pack was more urgent.

Even the dreams hadn’t warned him of an ominous future. Because of that, he acted carelessly.

In hindsight, he might have been inevitable. He had spent his entire life choosing only futures that his abilities could control.

This time too, he decided to rely on his abilities. After all, wasn’t it the ability to see the future that had allowed him to survive without clashing with the Transcendent One? The power to see the future was surely going to guide him on the right path.

Odd Grad, having awakened from his dream, emitted a telepathic wave.

｢Finally｣ ｢Victory｣ ｢I have seen it｣

After wandering through his dreams for several days in search of an answer, he had found a way to change the future.

｢Odd Grad｣ ｢Commands｣ ｢All kin｣ ｢Prepare｣ ｢Hunt｣ ｢Join me｣

｢All kin?｣

｢Nest｣ ｢Defense｣ ｢Impossible｣

｢I command again｣ ｢All kin who can fight｣ ｢Every one of you｣ ｢Follow me｣ ｢Refusal｣ ｢Will not be forgiven｣

His mates cautiously voiced their dissent, but Odd Grad did not listen.

In his dream, he had seen:

He was standing on top of a peculiar mountain peak. Beneath his feet lay the battered black-scaled kin. He saw himself cutting the kin\'s throat with sharp claws, drinking his blood.

The Great Odd Grad had claimed victory once again.

---

Having flown a considerable distance from the nest, I landed on one of the peaks of the vast mountain range.

There was a nest made of broken tree debris mixed with glittering gem shards. This was the twin peaks I had visited not long ago to capture a Crystalwing.

I lay down on the nest that had lost its owner.

‘By now, he must have seen.’

Since I had defected from the pack, Odd Grad’s vision of the future would have changed. He would try to strike me as soon as possible, knowing that such an opportunity might not come again.

There aren’t many twin peaks in this area. And there are even fewer places where a Crystalwing’s nest can be found, like the one I’m lying in.

‘If he saw me in his dream, it wouldn’t be hard to find.’

There was still time before they arrived.

I unpacked the equipment I had brought.

‘Blood Reaver, Demolisher, the Harmonizer…’

These were all spoils I had collected from enemies I had fought so far. Besides what I had taken out, there were more bags of spoils in the nest.

The Priest’s Golden Spear wasn’t in this bag. Originally, it was, but I had intentionally removed it and thrown it into a pit.

‘Mother of the Sky would know what I mean.’

I trust that they will soon realize my intention, but just in case, I prepared a backup plan.

She knows how useful the Priest’s Golden Spear is. Once she checks the spear hidden in the pit, she’ll understand my intent.

‘I doubt they’ll feast on it immediately after I left. They’ll probably find it by tomorrow morning.’

This is the first time I’ve ever executed a plan with so many variables. Still, this was the best way to keep Odd Grad in the dark.

I replayed the fight with him in my mind.

There were two major instances when I could be sure that his danger-sensing ability activated: when I used the Divine Spectre and when I activated the ‘Abyssal Hue’.

‘It wasn’t as clear when the cruiser exploded, though…’

Given that he didn’t suffer a fatal injury, it’s highly likely he foresaw the future and evaded it.

In short, the attacks he avoided by seeing the future were all ones that could have inflicted serious injuries on him.

‘The enhanced Watcher of Fear is slightly different, but it’s still directly tied to death.’

The ‘Watcher of Fear’ imbued with the Abyssal Hues causes its target to continuously experience the most horrific pain. In that state, combat, let alone flight, would be impossible, so it’s certainly related to death.

‘But he didn’t show that reaction to other attacks.’

Even though the Black Gallagon’s hide is tough, it’s not invincible as long as it’s a living creature. Repeated hits from a regular psychic breath or other attacks would cause injuries. In fact, he bled when hit by the cruiser’s main cannon.

‘It didn’t seem like he predicted the future at that time.’

The Cult’s cruiser’s main cannon can injure the Black Gallagon. However, killing it in one blow is impossible.

Therefore, it’s highly likely that his danger-sensing ability only activates in response to ‘single attacks that can kill him or inflict fatal wounds leading to death’.” Both the Divine Spectre and the Abyssal Hue fall into this category.

‘As for the psychic-reflective armor, it’s still unclear.’

I looked down at the equipment I had laid out.

‘It doesn’t align well with its ability and the Divine Spectre.’

The Divine Spectre is extremely powerful, but because of its overwhelming strength, it’s not ideal in this situation. His predictive ability would likely detect it.

‘In that case, I need to change tactics.’

I activated a translucent text box.

"Plunderer\'s Amorphous Polyhedron: Devour a piece of equipment to specialize in the unique ability of that equipment. Can only be used once per equipment, and the previous equipment\'s special effects are lost when devouring new equipment."

A few months ago, I obtained the ability ‘Plunderer\'s Amorphous Polyhedron’ after killing the cyborg player Muriel. By devouring the Cult’s orbital weapon ‘Brain God’, I acquired the characteristic of using the Brain God’s power through the Divine Spectre.

And here, I’m planning to devour new equipment.

Among the equipment in front of me, there are three items worth devouring:

The Blood Reaver and the Harmonizer obtained from Muriel, and the Demolisher acquired from the temple guards and cruiser.

‘The Demolisher.’

I picked up the rectangular gun that resembled a pencil case.

The characteristic created by the Plunderer\'s Amorphous Polyhedron follows the traits of the devoured equipment. Devour a plasma launcher, and you gain plasma beams. Devour the Brain God, and you gain the Brain God’s power. If I devour the Demolisher, I’d be able to shoot beams with matter manipulation effects.

‘But this won’t work, will it?’

The Demolisher’s bullets can disintegrate even the hardest substances. Since its effects are similar to the psychic breath enhanced by the Abyssal Hue, it would likely trigger Odd Grad’s danger-sensing ability.

‘Next is the Harmonizer.’

The Harmonizer, a cross-shaped halo headband, is a trophy I gained after killing Muriel.

Originally, Jason also had the Harmonizer, but when he teleported, his equipment disappeared along with him, so I couldn’t obtain it.

‘The Harmonizer’s ability isn’t bad either.’

The Harmonizer is a reward for clearing the Cult’s unique system quest at stage 9.

While wearing this headband, you automatically teleport to a nearby location whenever you sustain a fatal injury. The concept is that it atomizes your body and moves it, and as a result, your injuries are completely healed after teleportation—a terrifying effect.

You can teleport up to five times. In other words, it’s like having five lives.

‘Teleportation is great, but it’s not useful here.’

What I need is a means of attack that can inflict moderate damage without triggering his ability. Having a defence mechanism is nice, but at this moment, it’s hard to say it would be useful.

‘The last one is the Blood Reaver.’

I looked down at the small spider-shaped machine, no bigger than a finger joint.

It may look small and cute, but it’s actually a very dangerous device.

\'After all, it’s a unique war machine of the Star Union.’

In terms of rank, it’s on par with the Brain God. In fact, their production costs are almost identical.

In the game, the Blood Reaver is frequently used in various situations, including player-versus-player combat, capturing rare creatures, and weakening powerful raid boss-level entities.

When the Blood Reaver is activated, it attaches itself to a specific target and begins draining their life force. The absorption speed is so rapid that even the strongest enemies experience a significant reduction in combat power.

One might think that it could be detected and avoided beforehand, but that’s impossible. The metals and paints that make up the Blood Reaver have effects that nullify detection. Even my auxiliary organs can’t pick it up.

‘This nearly got me killed when I fought Muriel.’

Back then, I had preemptively activated the ‘Gremlin Moss’ characteristic, which renders machines useless, allowing me to neutralize the Blood Reaver.

Considering the effects of the Blood Reaver, it’s well-suited for this situation. It provides me with a means to steadily accumulate damage on it without delivering a single fatal blow.

As I examined the equipment laid out before me, I lifted my head to look at the sky. With the thick clouds still blanketing the area, it was difficult to gauge the time, but I could roughly tell that it was night.

‘I still have some time left, so I’ll think it over slowly.’

Besides the three main pieces of equipment, there are other items in my bag.

I began pulling them out one by one, contemplating how best to use them.

Truth be told, I’ve already decided what I’m going to use, but I’m doing this out of anxiety.

Can I really defeat an enemy that can read the future?

What if he changes his target?

What if he attacks Adhai or the others first instead of me?

I arrive back at the nest too late, only to find their corpses strewn about. Number 26 curses me as it dies from its wounds, accusing me of abandoning them to save myself...

‘Stop.’

I slammed my head hard against the ground.

Maybe it’s because of the cold snow, but the ominous thoughts vanished in an instant, and my mind felt clearer.

‘I don’t lose.’

Almost nothing has gone perfectly according to my plans up to this point. There have always been unexpected variables and unforeseen crisis.

But I’ve survived. No adversity, no formidable enemy has been able to overcome me.

Odd Grad will be no different.

It will come here, and I will devour every last drop of his genetic essence.

With that thought, I waited.

Time passed, and the clouds shifted. The storm intensified, with snow, lightning, and gales whipping together.

The weather had become so extreme that it was beyond mere bad weather—an outright severe storm.

In the midst of this relentless onslaught of harsh conditions, my auxiliary organs detected something.

A large number of massive objects were rapidly approaching this location.

‘They’re here.’

I pulled out the equipment from my bag and swallowed it. The Plunderer\'s Amorphous Polyhedron activated, and the structure within my body began to change.

As I felt the departure of the Divine Spectre, which had been with me for so long, I looked up at the sky.

Behind the veil of the storm, I saw black wings.

The long wait was over.

The time for the hunt had come.

[Proofreader – Draxx]