Chapter 29
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Chapter 29: Finally Ready to Have Eyes?
Trilobite heard for the first time that the “System” on a traveler could actually “leave” for a while.
However, after some thought, he felt this “System Lady” might just be an “advisor” or “customer service” presence.
He could still open the “Evolution STEAM” interface without her, so her absence didn’t matter much.
Still, Trilobite was happy the System Lady returned.
After all, during this time, besides talking to himself, there wasn’t a single “person” he could chat with.
Though he could “play with” and “touch” that blonde young lady in his dreams, he couldn’t actually talk to her properly—whenever he tried to “speak,” she’d collapse to the ground, looking like she was in pain.
Sometimes her ears even bled.
Trilobite wondered if his voice was too loud.
But no matter how quietly he spoke in the dream, nothing changed.
He gave up trying to talk and just poked or touched her with his “invisible” hand instead.
In the end, the System Lady was the only one he could have normal conversations with.
Having someone to chat with was nice.
Even if this “person” was useless and kept giving him “silly,” “unprofessional” advice…
“Welcome back.”
【……】
The System Lady paused, seeming thrown off by his welcome.
【Um… well…】
【I… ahem!】
【Anyway, don’t think one nice phrase erases how you offended me earlier!】
【But since you welcomed me so warmly, I’ll overlook your rudeness for now!】
Trilobite finally caught something odd in her words.
“Huh?”
“Systems have genders?”
【We’re all maternal!】
Trilobite decided her programming was definitely glitchy—he’d heard “female” or “feminine,” but never “maternal” for a gender, especially from the entity herself.
But he shrugged it off.
In his past life, he’d met all sorts of quirky people at museums—some weirder than this “System Lady.”
Besides…
Her words hinted that her kind wasn’t just her?
“Interesting…”
But that wasn’t urgent. For Trilobite, who felt his situation was “perilous,” the priority now was…
【What are you daydreaming about!】
【Come join the lottery!】
【You don’t want free skills!?】
As soon as Trilobite heard about the lottery and the free offer, he perked up!
“Yay!”
“Roll the dice!”
“Clatter—!”
Trilobite saw a card.
It showed purple and green intertwined and merging.
“Wow! This is…”
【Congratulations! You drew a special Skill card—it’s an amazing one!】
Although he often disagreed with the System Lady, this time, Trilobite felt she was right.
Because the card’s name was—【Dance of Ancient Bacteria and Germs】
—-
“I told you, the so-called prophecy and fate can actually be changed!”
Sulya looked at the Giant God, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, then started devouring the Thunder Scorpion’s corpse and gazed victoriously at the Prophet.
The Prophet looked utterly confused, as if doubting his whole life.
“This…”
“I’m glad your god avoided this disaster, but I still don’t get it; prophecies shouldn’t be wrong…”
“It shouldn’t…”
“What went wrong?”
Still, the Giant God’s powerful divine body and how he easily toyed with Sankalabi left a deep mark on him.
“Indeed… he was a mighty deity, strong and brutal to foes, yet incredibly kind and generous to his followers!”
“Maybe I misjudged him…”
“Or the prophecy had a basic misread.”
While the Prophet wondered why he came for nothing, Sulya knelt, murmuring and praying.
“The Prophet’s words fell short.”
“But his warning held some weight.”
“Perhaps those at the lowest rank like Andumali and Dantalin, plus the Seatless Ones and lone Outer Gods, won’t draw Chaos’s notice.”
“But if a strong deity like the Thunder Scorpion, Sankalabi, vanished or fell, it could stir real attention in Chaos.”
“Next time, it might not be one Chaos God coming, but a whole legion of Chaos deities!”
“Then…”
“God!”
“Please listen to my prayer!”
“If possible, leave this place as soon as you can!”
Just as Sulya prayed, the old Prophet suddenly shouted.
“Oh my… is that… Bones!?”
“Did the prophecy really come true!?”
Sulya opened her eyes.
She saw a giant fish-like god swimming slowly.
As it moved, huge Bone Fragments fell like heavy clouds, slowly descending and crashing onto the ocean floor, making a thunderous sound!
—-
Although Trilobite got a rare Skill, he only skimmed it before setting it aside.
He planned to finish his tasks first, then think hard about using the Skill and if it was worth keeping.
The top priority now was to change his body based on data from the fight with the Thunder Scorpion, fixing weak points and boosting strong ones.
“Hmm, if I take off this armor, it only sells for 250?”
“Fine, let’s go with this…”
Trilobite removed the fierce but heavy armor from Duncker’s fish.
But he kept the two pairs of “fangs” coming from his jaw; these were great armor-piercing tools, lighter than teeth but just as tough, and they grew all his life. They mixed the best of lizard-like and archosaurs, even topping them!
Plus, since they were part of the jawbone, they didn’t stop real teeth from growing.
That was good.
Seeing Trilobite finally drop the armor stacking after testing, the System Lady was thrilled.
She thought he had finally understood.
【Well now, you’re not stacking armor anymore.】
【Seems you’re not so stubborn after all.】
“Hmm…”
“Armor stacking helps or not depends. For small animals under a meter, it has benefits.”
“See, beetles did well!”
“But over a meter, it gets clunky.”
“Still, over billions of years, many species came and went, showing armor stacking can be a way to survive.”
“It just doesn’t fit fighting for the top of the food chain.”
That was indeed true.
For weaker creatures, armor stacking was a path, but for predators…
Outside the horror fish group, few others did it.
And horror fish like Duncker’s fish probably stacked armor to handle sea scorpions, which were fading but still common in the oceans; also, as “first vertebrate rulers,” they had little competition.
After “real-world testing,” Trilobite found this path wasn’t great, so he dropped it fast.
The big question now was how to plan for the future.
With Trilobite getting it, the System Lady pushed her offers again.
【Why not get an eye this time?】
【Buy now and I’ll cut you a deal!】
“Uh, well…”
“Maybe not…”
【Big brother! I’m calling you big brother!】
【Buy an eye now!】
Maybe the System Lady’s push finally got to Trilobite.
“Alright, I’ll do you that favor?”
