Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

A dark green shadow appeared behind Kal'tsit, roaring like a giant monster made of crystal, blocking her way, directly in front of the cargo container that was slowly cracking.

"No need."

But this time, it's Thomas's turn to stop Kal'tsit.

A moment's hesitation was enough for the unknown creature in the cargo box to break through the partition, revealing a crack in its form to the two of them.

—It was a mysterious creature covered in deep blue.

The snow-white bone crown, with its massive horns, resembled an enlarged version of a demon skull, but its body resembled that of a large reptile skeleton, covered only by a layer of flowing, fluorescent skin. No internal organs or anything else could be seen inside the body.

It lay on the ground, its upper body protruding from the cargo box. The mere movement of it easily widened the original crack, as effortlessly as passing through a barrier made of paper.

It had no eye sockets that "looked" at Kal'tsit and Tomat. Perhaps it was because it had no vocal organs, or perhaps it was simply keeping silent. No sound came out of it, and all one could feel from it was a stillness, like a skeleton on a wasteland, which could only remain silent and go unnoticed.

But both of them knew very well that the other was a real living being.

"...It has actually grown to the point where it can induce 'tranquility'?"

"...There's only bone left, what the hell am I supposed to eat?"

The brief eye contact with the monstrous fish evoked different feelings in the two of them. As a result, after hearing what Tomat said, Kal'tsit turned her head to the latter, her expression indifferent, but her look was clearly asking, "Are you serious?"

In Kal'tsit's eyes, the Terrorfish before her had already reached a level that could be called a Sea King. Its head had become skull-shaped so that when it was hostile to humans, it could use this symbol of death in its appearance to give its opponents visual and mental pressure, and it could also confuse them so that others would think that it was observing the outside world with "eyes". Moreover, if nothing unexpected happened, it could also release attacks that would cause serious damage to the nerves.

The quadrupedal crawling is designed to increase mobility and agility. The constantly changing light-emitting film on the surface has a hypnotic and camouflage effect, and the combination of these features likely provides an astonishing ability to disguise and evade.

There were no internal organs inside. Although Hai Si doesn't need many internal organs, the necessary ones would still grow. But the empty abdomen now indicates that Hai Si has probably compressed its organs into its bones and integrated them with the spinal cord that controls nerve reflexes. Not only are they fully protected, but they can also function like an insect, without stopping the operation of other parts even if it is beheaded or otherwise injured... It may be full of ganglia and a brain!

But in Tomat's eyes, these things were not important. Even if it had more things hanging on it, it would be fine. What mattered was the meat, or rather, the things that looked like meat.

There are such emaciated dinosaurs in the world!

How can anyone eat this?! Should we make soup with it?

Tomat is furious!

[Event] Fool's Day Stories: Chapter 3 - Step on Me!

"This tarantula has the ability to injure some operators. We need to deal with it before it escapes."

Kal'tsit actually felt deep down that she didn't need to give Tomat any instructions, but she still went through the motions and made things clear.

Her voice broke the silence, and a dim light flickered in the hollow eye sockets of the dinosaur. It seemed to understand that Kal'tsit's words meant an impending attack, and thus it showed signs of taking action—or rather, the light itself was a form of action.

The dim light spread out like a gentle sea mist, disorienting people and even making their minds drowsy. The soft light with a hypnotic effect, as well as the odorless poison gas that could paralyze muscles and nerves, filled the space.

Within this range, the actions of any conventional organism would be restricted; if it were slightly weaker, it would likely become unable to stand firm the moment it entered this environment.

It opened its mouth and charged toward Kal'tsit behind M3.

M3 is not a conventional creature, but it is connected to Kal'tsit's spinal cord and acts according to her instructions. Although it has a certain degree of self-awareness and judgment, it ultimately takes Kal'tsit's command as its main mode of action.

The sudden spread of a large amount of paralyzing toxins that interfered with nerves by the ferocious fish affected Kal'tsit's ability to issue commands. Her reflexes were infected, and although she wanted to give the command to M3 to defend, her body and mind were both a beat too slow.

Moreover, its skeletal body was incredibly light, and at such close range, it unleashed a speed that left only a fleeting afterimage.

If this continues, Kal'tsit will surely be attacked by the direfish.

Kal'tsit has forgotten when she last took an attack head-on.

—But Kal'tsit and M3 weren't the only ones present. Another creature that could be described as an "unconventional creature" was standing next to Kal'tsit, and was not the first target of the direfish.

This is enough to show that it is actually quite intelligent.

But Tomat didn't make a move at that moment; he simply moved aside to make room for someone.

"Buzz—!!!"

The next moment, a dark shadow, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound, grazed past Tomat's nose and struck the still-propelling Terrorfish.

Clearly, the force of the impact exceeded the power the dinosaur used to move forward. The shadow struck its hard skull, sending fragments flying everywhere, with even the smallest pieces embedding themselves in the floor and walls.

The dinosaur stopped what it was doing and stared intently at what it saw: a terrifying circular saw operating at high speed. The spinning blade was embedded in the dinosaur's head furnace, cleaving through most of the furnace to a great depth, while continuing to spin wildly with a piercing grinding sound, producing a large number of sparks that would only appear when cutting metal, along with smoke.

"I smell...the scent of my hometown."

A nun in black and white, her light hem blocking Tomat's path, rang out. A melodious female voice rang out, and the previously spreading poison gas was dispersed by the airflow that erupted as she moved.

The newcomer turned around and gave Tomat and Kal'tsit a gentle—but seemingly sly, smile. However, this almost cunning look only existed for a moment in her crimson eyes like a fleeting illusion before she turned her head back to look at the Terrorfish nailed to the cargo box by the circular saw.

"How come there are tarantulas here? No wonder the sharks ran so fast..."

"What a bizarre evolutionary form..."

Two more roars caused by turbulence rang out, and two figures arrived one after the other.

Skadi, as always, was dressed in her Agorian attire.

And there was Goredia, who had removed her shawl and robe, and was only wearing a bodysuit that suited her streamlined figure.

As for the first one, it was the operator Specter, who completely eliminated the Originium components that had been forcibly injected after a long period of treatment.

They came here without any prior notice; there was only one reason: they had smelled the scent of the tarantula. As deep-sea hunters, this level of identification ability was just the bare minimum.

As for the other operators, they probably didn't recognize the scent of the Fearfish as a danger, or they mistook it for the scent of another operator, which is why they didn't arrive immediately.

"You've arrived just in time."

Despite being on the defensive just now, Kal'tsit's expression didn't change much. She looked at the three deep-sea hunters, nodded, and then looked at Tomat.

However, he didn't seem very happy about the appearance of these three people.

"You three..."

Thomas's voice drew everyone's attention to him.

"Have you actually eaten everything I taught you?"

Thomas then pointed with his thumb to the messy passageway behind him.

The three's high-speed movement made a mess of everything they passed through—after she pointed this out, Specter chuckled silently, seemingly trying to brush it off. Skadi looked away and even considered whistling.

Only Gretia stood up straight, as if admitting her mistake, and closed her eyes without saying a word.

"Mastering more sophisticated techniques is also a way to become stronger. High-speed movement can indeed be used as an attack method, but if the purpose is only to move, it is necessary to control the effects of movement. After all, you deep-sea hunters have a great advantage in learning ki because you have less Originium in your bodies and high physical strength, but don't just focus on improving physical strength and ignore the honing of techniques."

"Yes~"

"Yes--"

"Yes."

Three people, three different responses.

But in reality, both sides were already used to each other's character, and Tomat didn't just give these kinds of lectures to these individuals.

Being "lectured by Instructor Thomas" has become an unavoidable part of the Rhodes Island operators' intensive training.

However, the current situation does not seem suitable for conducting a speech on the spot.

Because there was also that terrifying fish that shouldn't belong here, watching.

It had recovered some of its mobility from the previous attack, and its skull healed rapidly, actually managing to squeeze the ghost shark's circular saw out of the wound.

"Sorry for skipping get out of class~ Captain, remember to take notes for me~"

The black high boots made a crisp clinking sound on the hard floor, like elegant and graceful dance steps, and the ghost shark was in front of the tarantula that had just crawled out of the cargo box in an instant.

This time, she did not stir up storm-like turbulence while moving at high speed.

The ghost shark gently lifted its toes, pressing the hard sole and high heel of its black boot onto its newly healed head.

"You wicked beast..."

She leaned slightly forward, pressing one arm down on her raised thigh, while lowering her head to reveal a beautiful, cool yet genuine smile.

The tarantula, which could have easily lifted its head by supporting its body with its four legs, or even easily knocked away a ghost shark of this size, was now struggling to lift its "head" no matter how hard it tried.

"Who gave you permission to set foot on dry land?"

With a crisp sound, the limbs that the dinosaur was struggling to support its body broke off at the same time, leaving only its skeletal body connected to its head, which was then trampled and pressed onto the floor.

"Who gave you permission to set foot on Rhodes Island?"

An even harder cracking sound followed, and the skull of the dinosaur deformed and disintegrated.

The ghost shark slowly raised its foot.

"Who gave you permission to dirty my feet?"

The indifferent, amused expression turned into mockery and contempt, and the pleasure in his tone could not be concealed in that instant.

She stomped down again—an even louder sound followed, but this time it wasn't from the body of the dinosaur, but from the impact of the stomp that completely pulverized it, echoing across the lower deck.

[Event] Fool's Tale: Chapter 4 Join the Great Will of Rhodes Island!

"How about I give you a grade, teacher?"

Where the boot touched the ground, a huge dent appeared in the deck, but it quickly returned to its normal flat shape at a speed visible to the naked eye, demonstrating the value of the reinforcements made to the Rhodes Island hull.

This does not mean that Ghost Shark used "too little force to damage the deck." She did use enough force and skill, which is why she asked the question with a smile, trying to calm Thomas down.

With physical pressure, skillful control, and breath output all occurring simultaneously, the Ghost Shark's stomping force was precisely channeled into the Terrorfish's body, and the energy contained within blasted it into dust that would be scattered by the wind.

The terrifying fish, which possessed a strong vitality, simply vanished from the deck, leaving no trace of its existence—except for its skull.

It seems that because most of the force was applied to its body, its head fell off separately. Due to the impact, it rolled several times before landing at Tomat's feet.

"This is decent enough, I'd give it an 8 out of 10. If I remember correctly, they also have regenerative abilities, right? For these kinds of creatures, the best way is to completely grind them into powder."

Thomas ignored the skull at his feet and answered Ghost Shark's question:

"Of course, if even a piece of flesh contains the energy to regenerate the whole body, then that's a different story. Not a single cell should be left behind; just blast them apart with your qi."

Although the similar creatures Rhodes Island has encountered so far have not been considered dangerous opponents, and a few have even been domesticated as a long-term source of meat, Thomas continued to speak eloquently based on his experience, emphasizing that vigilance should not be relaxed against such enemies.

"Eight points? I've never gotten such a low score on a test before." Although the request for a score was just a joking remark to lighten the mood, Specter asked with a hint of curiosity after seeing Thomas's response, "Where did the other two points go?"

As he spoke, the skull that had been motionless at Tomat's feet suddenly changed its shape—the lower jaw suddenly split into six long bony legs, and then the horn on the frontal bone turned into a long whip-like tail, making it look like a scorpion with its skull upside down on its back.

It climbed onto Tomat's body with astonishing speed, all the way up to his face, and then wrapped its six legs around Tomat's entire face, while its whip-like tail stabbed Tomat's carotid artery with its sharpest tip.

Previously, inside the cargo box, it used this part to knock the inner wall from the inside.