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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: True Power (1)
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"You have a new purpose?"
[This is the footage observed while you were asleep.]
I checked my phone on the moving train.
The video, said to have been observed yesterday, ended with a giant lizard spewing a massive fireball at the screen.
"And?"
[As always, the Legion rejoiced. A stronger opponent. In other words, an opponent that will make us stronger.]
"...Is it possible?"
[The enemy has grown larger and stronger, but so have we.]
The Legion had already defeated one of the Earth Dragons.
And it had steadily made the dragon's legacy its own.
At the same time, its overwhelming computational power acquired and synthesized vast amounts of information.
I was already beginning to think the Legion might be smarter than me.
[Behold. These are the strongest soldiers the Legion has to offer.]
On the screen, figures could be seen tearing their way out of eggs.
Their base was a lizard, naturally.
They were, after all, the strongest individuals in the Legion's database to date.
But their appearance was different from any ordinary lizard.
[We utilized the most powerful elements recently acquired.]
A dark blue carapace gleamed.
That carapace was no ordinary shell like the ones used before.
It was the turtle shell obtained from hunting the turtle, enhanced with the scales of the recently assimilated Earth Dragon.
The departure from a scale-like form was likely for efficiency.
Partial, hardened armor is more economical than full-body plate mail.
"They're bigger, too. I think they can win."
Moreover, the Legion's accumulating experience had reached a point where it could handle creatures of considerable size with ease.
The soldiers marched majestically across the passage.
It was as if word had spread throughout this stratum; not even a single insect dared to venture into the territory we occupied.
[The Earth Dragon's location is under constant surveillance. The creature is by no means foolish. It has noticed the anomaly. Sniffing the air, it sensed the change and raised its guard.]
"Is it running away?"
[It is an arrogant tyrant.]
From a vantage point beyond the reach of its flames, the Earth Dragon came into view.
I wondered if I should be grateful that there was only one of them.
If a horde of such Earth Dragons were to attack, it seemed even the Legion would have no answer.
[We, who must consume to evolve, are always the weaker party when considering the strength of individual soldiers. But we combine and evolve. We transcend our limits. Above all, we are the Legion.]
The Legion's scouts began to earnestly draw the creature's attention.
This was not a fight in a cavern.
They would clash head-on in the great passages of this stratum.
[There is a high probability that the victor of this battle will become the ruler of this stratum. But the Legion was certain. A part of this stratum has already become a part of us, and the arrogant tyrant will be dethroned today.]
Its attention captured by the scouts flitting chaotically through the air, the Earth Dragon began to be lured forward.
Even so, the beast continued to sniff the air, remaining wary of its surroundings.
[A futile effort. We, who possess the genetic information of the 3a, Earth Dragon lineage, are already aware of its sensitive sensory organs. We have not set an ambush in this wide-open passage.]
"Grrrk..."
The Earth Dragon bared its teeth and growled.
Right now, soldiers were marching openly toward it.
Would it fight back, or would it admit defeat and flee?
[We have already acquired partial resistance to fire.]
The beast spewed a fireball.
But being burned to death and swept away by flames was a thing of the past.
The Legion soldiers' carapaces, based on the turtle's shell and composed of the same material as the Earth Dragon's scales.
They now withstood such flames with ease.
"It's, it's backing away. It's running! Aren't you going to chase it?"
Finally feeling the pressure, the Earth Dragon slowly backed away before turning and hastily fleeing the scene.
However, the Legion did not give chase.
[An efficient calculation. There are still countless strata to absorb. Even if it escapes, it will only be hunted down someday. That was the judgment.]
Though we didn't catch it, we had won nonetheless.
What followed was the Legion's usual predation and slaughter, free from all interference.
Now, this stratum too was gradually being colored by our presence.
[The Legion revealed its ambition. What could possibly lie in the next stratum, the next world?]
There was definitely a passage leading upward.
From its explanation, I gathered that the Legion was slowly developing a desire to see the end of this vast cave.
The foundation for this, of course, was its gluttony.
"Hmm..."
That evening, I set my phone aside, turned on my computer, and checked the internet.
I mainly checked the news.
Specifically, the news that was causing a stir lately.
Honestly, I couldn't help but be concerned.
"They say a lot of Hunters have been suddenly rising in rank lately. Experts don't know why, and the Hunters themselves are feigning ignorance. It's a real mystery, but I honestly can't shake this terrible thought."
[...Why do you ask me that?]
"Different species... does that mean different Players? Tell me honestly. Are humans included in those 'different species'?"
It was probably a wild delusion that no one else would ever understand.
A thought that bizarre and strange.
If it weren't for the app on my phone, I wouldn't have even been able to imagine it.
[All possibilities are open.]
"Am I just being paranoid?"
After all, even after more than ten years of research, almost nothing about Hunters and Gates has been properly explained.
[Even if that were so, what is the problem?]
"What?"
[Your 'duty,' and ours, does not change no matter what happens around you.]
He was right. I had nothing to say.
If my guess was correct, having come this far, this was all I had left.
I had been acting too casually until now.
[The others will not know. They will not know of our existence, which has crawled up from the lowest stratum. Look at the screen.]
"This is..."
[Something quite interesting is happening. Inside this cave. Intriguing... very intriguing. It appears to be the trace of a new 'faction,' the first our Legion has encountered since the white cave ant colony.]
On the screen were bloodstains and signs of a battle, discovered by the scouts.
For the first time, the Legion's thought process seemed to slow, as if it were buffering.
Because this was the first time it had acquired such a trace.
And the same was true for me.
First, the fact that the Earth Dragon we chased away had been hunted down—that was entirely possible.
However, the fact that the hunters used metal weapons like swords and arrows was a shock to me.
"...Needles? Awls?"
Even more so if those metal weapons were objects that looked familiar to me.
[Do you sense the incongruity?]
"Even if I grant that such a faction exists, this is crossing the line."
How on earth could they mine and smelt iron in this cave?
Above all, I couldn't understand how needles, meant for making clothes, were being used as weapons.
"It's another Player."
[And they are our enemy. Remember this. The Legion has not yet developed enough to interact with you. They have not even acquired language yet. Therefore, the Legion will, as always, attempt to devour the enemy.]
"...I wonder if we'll lose?"
How on earth did they kill an Earth Dragon?
They use needles as weapons, have small footprints compared to the lizards of this stratum, and there are even traces of them dragging their tails.
This meant they were beings who used collective tactics, employed tools, and knew how to wage war.
If they could take down an Earth Dragon, it meant they packed a punch.
[Fortunately, the Legion has already accumulated its own experience. This is a new type of enemy. Gathering information. It knows that this is the highest priority.]
The chance of the opponent knowing our identity was slim.
From the looks of it, there were no signs of them having come down from below.
To begin with, the Legion's purpose as a species was consumption.
That's why it had surged upward with unstoppable momentum, but others would likely see no need to take such a risk.
*
"Hey! Aren't you looking at your phone too much lately?! You didn't hear me again, did you!"
"Huh?!"
The classroom was as noisy as ever.
Frowning, Kang Do-yeon finally said something to her friend.
Startled, her friend Oh Yoon-ah quickly turned off her phone and flinched.
"What kind of game is it, anyway? Or are you into crypto or something, staring at it all the time?"
"N-no, it's not like that. I'll stop looking."
Oh Yoon-ah apologized for not paying attention to her friend's story and just looking at her phone.
Kang Do-yeon looked displeased, but she didn't say anything more.
"I guess I was glued to my phone when I was binging that drama..."
"It's nothing like a drama."
"Then what is it?"
She chuckled as if it were nothing.
But the person in question, Oh Yoon-ah, twisted the corners of her mouth into a wide grin.
"Something... very fun. A very fun game that you can't escape once you're hooked. There's another world in there, you see."
"...You're doing that on purpose, right? You sound like a real addict."
"Of course."
Oh Yoon-ah muttered in a slightly dark tone, and when her slightly flustered friend gave an awkward laugh, she immediately broke into a bright smile and nodded.
'A tattoo?'
Just as the bell for class rang and they started heading back to their seats.
Kang Do-yeon saw something on her friend's hand, which had been covered by her cardigan.
A black symbol etched on the back of her hand.
In truth, a small tattoo or some body paint wasn't a big deal among students these days, but she felt a strange sense of unease looking at the symbol.
The reason was that she had definitely seen something similar to it recently.
Feeling a little unsettled, she sat down, soon opening her textbook and turning her attention to the lesson, naturally shifting her mood.