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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Shackles of Fate (2)
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"Ugh, I'm really worried."
I had to go to school, too.
Kang Do-yeon had already woken up early and left.
It felt wrong to even think about school in this situation, but I couldn't just drop everything and cling to this problem.
I scratched my head frantically.
I wanted to handle this myself—or at least find out the truth.
[Do you think that will be enough?]
"She's a friend she's always with, so she must know something. I wouldn't be doing this if you'd just tell me what's going on with all that fate nonsense. Wait, is this really related to the game?"
A sense of unease was definitely there, but it was still early.
It was more likely a personal issue than something connected to this game.
In that case, it would be difficult to suddenly bring up this surreal situation—the game and me being a Player.
[That, I cannot say. The judgment is yours.]
"I figured... Fine. I'll just have to find out for myself."
In the end, I sighed and chose a method I wasn't particularly fond of.
I sent a message through social media to one of my sister's friends that I knew.
I asked her to let me know if anything happened.
With that unsettling matter concluded, I boarded the subway to school.
Fortunately, a reply came quickly, and the news wasn't bad.
She said today, and yesterday, were just like any other day—hanging out with friends and going to cram school was all she did.
Of course, whether I could trust this friend was another question.
I sent messages to her other friends as well.
"I don't know anymore. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I'm dumber than the Legion."
[From my perspective, that appears to be the case.]
"..."
I blankly turned on my phone.
It had become a habit to check it even when there was nothing new.
The Legion, as always, was preparing for war.
[It seems they are finally noticing that something is amiss and are beginning to consider a serious response.]
The Legion's 'main body', which had already consumed most of one grand stratum, had now extended its roots all the way to the 13th stratum.
This massive organism, one and many, crushed and burrowed through the hard rock in the deepest parts of the cave, transforming its shape and expanding its mass.
The history of this old, deep cave was being rewritten by us.
[Their scouts have appeared and begun to investigate. Some of them were strangely riding what appeared to be tamed, bird-like creatures.]
After encountering the rat-creatures, the higher we climbed, the more the ecosystem began to change.
It was the first time we'd seen feathered creatures in this cave, a departure from the reptiles and amphibians we'd seen so far.
[Of course, to the Legion, which already possessed information on avians, feathers were hardly a mystery.]
The Legion, having steadily accumulated experience since its cellular stage, understood the importance of scouts.
The reverse was also true.
Blocking the enemy's reconnaissance.
Immediately, the Legion's aerial units were dispatched to seize control of the air.
Based on the data we had gathered, the combat strength of that scouting party was pathetic.
[The feathered creatures they rode were quite fast, but it was already too late.]
And just as I expected, not a single one of their scouts escaped.
[But this is not even the beginning. Behold, their strength was indeed great enough to covet other grand strata.]
The screen on my phone inverted.
I was speechless as I saw the view from our scout's perspective.
After ascending a rough and treacherous tributary, we reached the second grand stratum, the 15th stratum, and its landscape was vastly different from the first one on the 10th stratum.
It was a barren cave, just the same, but the flora was more diverse, and more importantly, small plants, not just moss, were visible.
"...So that was their main base."
I let out a hollow laugh.
Fortresses and roads adorned the entire grand stratum, countless nests, and at least several thousand rat-creatures.
I had vaguely thought that our Legion's greatest strength was our numbers, but it seemed that might not be the case.
[The Legion was once again revising its strategy. The ones we had seen until now were merely small groups. The real war begins now.]
It seemed they too were preparing for war.
Fortunately, they hadn't noticed our scout, allowing us to survey every corner of their territory.
That's when I saw large quantities of scrap metal being transported.
"You've got to be kidding me."
I couldn't hold back a curse at what came next.
A sleek, silver body.
A handle with a good grip.
"What is that doing there?"
[The appearance of a tool unknown to the Legion.]
The object, carefully carried by a rat armed with crude armor and dangling accessories, was a large-caliber pistol I hadn't even seen in the military.
"Whoever the other Player is, I don't think they're from my country..."
I rubbed my throbbing temples.
A large-caliber pistol? Could a gun that could pulverize a watermelon actually inflict meaningful damage on us?
"It might just be manageable."
[As the enemy has brought out a new tool, the Legion has decided to proceed with caution. First, to find out what that tool is.]
It was a bit frustrating, but with no way to communicate, I had no choice but to leave it to the Legion.
Still, they were smarter than me. Surely they could figure out the gun soon enough.
[The Legion sent out a vanguard. It knows that those who prepare and are ready are stronger. Therefore, it intended to move before the enemy's preparations were complete.]
The highly mobile aerial units took to the skies once more.
Their purpose was singular: to relentlessly harass the enemy until the main army was formed and ready to strike.
[The enemy has noticed our attack. The first raid is merely a taste. Poisoned spines and claws rained down on the enemy scurrying frantically atop the fortress.]
The enemy, true to form, worked together, thrusting spears and firing arrows at the Legionaries, who were much larger than them.
The arrows, fired at close range, seemed to have decent penetration, as they began to pierce the soldiers' carapaces.
[Indeed. It seems they have no intention of using their secret weapon here. But the Legion will continue these guerrilla tactics. We do not tire, but they surely will.]
A war of attrition that left both sides wounded.
If the Legion judged this to be advantageous, it would repeat it endlessly.
It was already well aware of its own strengths.
"Those rats will definitely waver. If they're living creatures."
The survival instinct is a fundamental instinct for any living being.
But the Legion was an exception.
*
"..."
Again.
The black tide surging from the lower strata once again swept across the sky, rushing toward this place.
They took up their spears, their crossbows, their swords to fight once more.
For they were no longer mere cave rats.
Their traits of rapid reproduction and fast growth allowed them to quickly cycle through generations and increase their population.
With each rapid generational shift, they grew stronger and smarter.
They were no longer the rats that scavenged the corpses of other animals.
They were a regional power, one that had conquered this grand stratum and sought to expand its influence outward.
The pride of this new generation was beyond words.
"...!"
They fought bravely against the invaders.
This was not their first or second battle.
Through learning, the next generation quickly absorbed the solutions of the past and developed new ones.
They had systematically defeated and driven to extinction enemies far larger than themselves.
There had been other enemies that formed packs, but the unity and organization of a mere beast pack could not compare to theirs.
"&＠%!!"
However, the enemies they faced this time were different from any beast they had fought before.
Dozens of the panicked rats were slaughtered.
The attacks, diving from above with massive wings spread wide, were precise and relentless.
Their coordination surpassed even their own, who listened to the commands of a commander shouting at the top of his lungs.
"＠#~!!!"
But they did not give up.
They continued to fight, stepping over the corpses of their countless kin.
They defied death, crushing their fear with fighting spirit.
Because it was a warrior's duty to fight.
Because their faith in themselves was unshakable.
And, at the end of that desperate battle with the monsters...
They were victorious.
They roared in triumph.
They had repelled the black monsters several times now.
Their morale soared to the heavens.
Although production and foraging had been drastically reduced to fill the void left by their fallen kin, a victory was a victory.
This victory was not achieved by their strength alone.
Following the priest's lead, they offered their respects to the sky.
For the one who always gave them miraculous weapons and teachings.
According to the knowledge passed down, their growth had begun thanks to the grace bestowed by that someone.
"&...!"
Though their short lifespans meant they did not live long, they all believed that soon they would grow strong enough to conquer this entire, seemingly endless cave.
[But what arrogant thoughts. Is a momentary victory truly a gain?]
"%＠*..."
Their momentum, this time too, did not last long.
The information barely delivered by survivors from a forward fortress that had been annihilated was only now beginning to make sense.
The grand advance of the horrific monster army.
While they were being constantly harassed, the Legion's nest, which had devoured all the lower strata, had been stealthily extending its slithering roots all the way here.
[The Legion dispatched a large-scale force to draw out the enemy's full strength. I can see their panicked faces. They must be surprised. They must not have known. That we are Legion.]
The Legionaries, a diverse mix of units as varied as the rats themselves, marched slowly, destroying everything in sight.
The rats were hastily gathering in the fortress.
Sensing that something was terribly wrong, their numbers were considerable.
[The Legion initiated battle once more. Above the furiously charging ground forces, the units that had seized the air tore through the sky.]
The aerial units now transitioned to a purely support role.
They snatched poison-pouch toads with their talons and dropped them from the sky.
Even when a volley of arrows burst the toads' swollen bodies, the exploding creatures only scattered a highly corrosive acid.
While the enemy was in a panic from the bombardment, the artillery corps, now in range, unleashed a barrage of poisoned spines.
The Legion's siege strategy was for the main force to breach the fortress in the ensuing chaos.
[Ah, is it finally making its appearance? To boost morale and deal with a powerful foe.]
Just then, it revealed itself atop the fortress.
A gleam of silver flashed, reflecting the light of the glowing stones.