I Reincarnated into a Game Filled with Mods – Chapter 155

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘What in the…?’

The large, round, lifeless eyes, like oversized doll’s eyes crudely glued onto its face, stared at me. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

I instinctively took a step back.

The shock of encountering such an absurd creature was amplified by the complete lack of foreshadowing.

If there had been even a hint, a clue that this ridiculous mod was in effect, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

But there wasn’t, and I was left to deal with the consequences.

Hiss…

The blue, metallic body of the… thing began to move, accompanied by the hiss of escaping steam.

A plume of dark grey smoke puffed from the tall smokestack, a detail that was oddly… accurate. It hadn’t emitted any smoke while stationary.

The steam locomotive, its cheerful grin incongruous with its monstrous form, its lifeless eyes fixed on me, charged.

The ground cracked beneath its wheels. Despite the lack of tracks, it moved effortlessly across the rough terrain.

My body reacted before my mind could process the absurdity of the situation. I rolled to the side, dodging its charge, just as I had done countless times in the game.

A rush of air passed by me.

Crash!

The front of the locomotive slammed into the wall, the impact shaking the entire boss room.

I noticed, for the first time, that a coal car was attached to its rear.

Despite the violent collision, the coal inside remained undisturbed. If it had been real coal, it would have spilled everywhere.

“……This is… unbelievable.”

I wanted to unleash a torrent of curses, but held back, afraid that expressing my frustration would only make me more agitated, hindering my ability to react.

I took a deep breath, calming myself.

As I regained my composure, the blue locomotive slowly turned.

Its face was unscathed.

‘Will its attack patterns be the same?’

That was my first thought as I leveled Wingless Nightmare.

The charge attack had been easy to dodge, due to its slow startup and wide turning radius. But what about the other attacks?

The locomotive lacked a… lower jaw, so I would have to rely on subtle cues to anticipate any biting attacks.

If I waited to see the full animation, it would be too late.

As I hesitated, the blue locomotive, its grotesque grin still plastered on its face, began to move again, the hissing sound growing louder.

I watched it intently, my body tense.

If its patterns were completely different, I would have to call Nix and have her deal with it.

It would be embarrassing to ask for help after claiming I could handle it alone, and I would lose out on the experience points, but my life was more important.

Clank! Clank!

The sound of lights switching off echoed through the room.

I tensed, looking around, when two lights near the corners of its mouth flickered to life, shining upwards.

They illuminated the underside of its face, making it even more grotesque and unsettling.

‘Of all the…’

I knew the character was infamous for its uncanny valley appearance, and that mods replacing enemies with its likeness were popular in many games.

But seeing it on a screen was completely different from experiencing it in person.

While the Stone Centipede was a weaker version of the Rock Centipede, the difference in size was negligible. A train was still significantly larger than a human.

In other words, I was facing a giant, sentient steam locomotive with a disturbingly human-like face, its headlights shining upwards, charging at me with full force.

With the right background music, it could be a scene straight out of a horror game.

‘……Calm down.’

Perhaps it was a good thing the Stone Centipede had been replaced.

Both creatures shared a long, segmented body. The similarities in their shapes might make it easier to predict its attack patterns.

I shifted Wingless Nightmare’s enchantment to magic, the blade glowing with a faint blue light. True to its reputation as a weaker version of the Rock Centipede, the Stone Centipede – or rather, the steam locomotive – had high resistance to physical damage.

Normally, elemental enchantments, magic, or Divine Spells were recommended, but with Wingless Nightmare, I could simply change the weapon’s element to inflict pure magic damage.

The blue locomotive charged again. It was the same attack. This time, I was prepared, dodging easily.

‘It won’t get close enough to attack.’

As I predicted, it stopped just short of the wall, narrowly avoiding a collision.

It was a shame I had missed the opportunity to exploit its long recovery animation after crashing into the wall.

‘It can’t be helped.’

I decided to stick to the basics, baiting out its charge attack and dodging. While its other attacks also had exploitable weaknesses, they were too risky.

With its altered appearance, I couldn’t predict its attacks based on its movements, and I wasn’t sure about the range of its attacks or the size of its hitbox.

I wasn’t going to take any unnecessary risks.

The locomotive’s eye, seemingly annoyed at having missed its target twice, rotated rapidly.

In opposite directions.

The right eye spun clockwise, the left counterclockwise. The headlights intensified, their beams shining even brighter.

It was a grotesque sight.

The blue locomotive charged again, but this time, it was slower, more of a deliberate approach than a full-on charge.

I anticipated its next move, lowering my stance, ready to parry. The locomotive reached me, its face looming large.

Just then, the headlights detached, flying towards me in a parabolic arc.

I recognized the attack pattern.

I swung Wingless Nightmare just as the headlights were about to cross paths, deflecting them with a clang.

The locomotive faltered momentarily.

I seized the opportunity, slashing at its face. My glowing blue blade struck the metal near its mouth, a series of metallic clangs echoing through the room.

Angered by the attack, the locomotive charged again, the smoke from its smokestack billowing thicker and darker.

I dodged, and it slammed face-first into the wall with a loud crash.

I rushed towards its rear, momentarily hesitating before attacking the coal car.

I wasn’t sure if it was even possible to damage it.

I swung my sword.

The blue blade, arcing downwards, left a faint scratch on the blue metal.

I landed six more hits, then retreated.

The locomotive, its face still pristine despite three collisions with the wall, turned towards me, its cheerful grin even more unsettling in this context.

‘It might be easier than I thought. I just need to keep my distance.’

Its large size made its attack patterns easier to read, despite its altered appearance.

I might not need to call Nix after all—

Honk!

A deafening horn blared through the boss room.

I instinctively covered my ears.

As I regained my balance, I froze, my eyes fixed on the locomotive.

Its eyebrows angled upwards, as if in anger, and its grin slowly faded, its face becoming impassive.

The hollows around its eyes deepened.

Crack! Crunch!

Legs sprouted from beneath the wheels.

Centipede legs.

The sharp, pointed tips slammed into the ground, supporting its weight. The joints bent at right angles, lifting the wheels off the ground.

The locomotive’s metallic shell transformed into a chitinous exoskeleton, its cheerful grin replaced by a flat, emotionless line.

Dozens of legs lined its underside.

The blue steam locomotive, now a centipede-like train, or perhaps a train-like centipede, its single eye illuminated from below, stared down at me, its expression blank.

“……This is a nightmare.”

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