Chapter 1: Do You Admit Your Guilt? I Admit You’re a Fool!
Everything is shared. It seems that what Eve desires is more than I understood.
“Do you need a calculation?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll understand.”
Eve, faintly smiling, nodded.
A calculation. It wasn’t incorrect to say that. First, I leave my physical body, and through the connected collective consciousness, I inhabit a new form.
It was a method that had never been attempted before. If Eve had really intended to conduct such an experiment with her sibling, I would have surely dissuaded her.
“Are you afraid? Humans tend to fear such things—about the unknown, and the potential issues with their own identity: Who am I? Is my identity in my body or in my mind? Such trivial questions and foolish concerns. Even that varies from individual to individual.”
“That’s because you’re not a human. But you understand human psychology eerily well.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Honestly, I felt a sense of rejection about it.
Eve had already acquired all information about my physical body. Of course, those were merely the hollow shell of a being operated by Eve, but it still meant she could replicate my appearance if she desired.
Given Eve’s tendencies, she wouldn’t do it without efficiency, but since she gained emotions, there were times she would ignore efficiency and proceed with certain actions.
“Will it affect my identity?”
I asked directly. Eve’s eyes oddly sparkled. The ‘player, Kang Shin Woo’ she defined and the ‘me, Kang Shin Woo’ I thought of were slightly different.
For me, my identity, built over time, was the most important, but it seemed that was not the case for Eve. Perhaps she even considered this identity an obstacle.
“Perhaps. Literally moving to a new body… You might not know, but both Kang Do-yeon and Reina possessed considerable mental strength among humans. Therefore, they endured without losing themselves.”
“You know how to solve that problem.”
“Yes.”
Eve immediately affirmed it. However, she seemed slightly down compared to before.
“Then do it. If you do, we can be together there too.”
If there is a safeguard, it would not matter. I made a decision.
After achieving the monumental success of becoming one, why were we still moving so busily? To gain strength.
To grow stronger in order to face the enormous forces led by the galactic fleet, which we could not reach before, and ultimately to win in this game that engulfs the entire universe.
This time, crossing over to fight was to build experience and enhance my skills, which I needed to strengthen on Earth.
*
“How’s your new body? Honestly, I dislike it. It’s a weak body that doesn’t suit you.”
‘Weak?’
Transferring consciousness through the collective consciousness was completed swiftly and without any discomfort.
I moved the hands of my new body. My original body lay on a cot next to Eve’s body, wide awake and active.
“Of course. It’s focused on versatility, so it has no strengths. One heart in the core, two in the arms. In other words, it’s only a Grade 1 Type 3.”
But Eve stood before me, wearing not a white shirt and skirt like Kang Do-yeon’s school uniform but rather a black armored shell, with red gleams in her darkened eyes.
I was not in the temporary barracks of the headquarters but in the middle of a vast wilderness where dry, rough winds blew. It was atop a giant monster as massive as a fortress.
‘No. The standard I mentioned was the original body.’
“…To be honest, that body is also too weak. It can be stronger, much stronger.”
Ignoring Eve’s grumbling, I examined my body.
Was I worried about an identity crisis? A sense of incongruity? Just as Eve had been confident, there was no sign of that whatsoever.
Because at this moment, I was inside a body of a higher being. Specifically, my consciousness had completely flowed into the collective consciousness, and I had taken command of a single individual from the species Eve was controlling.
If the existing body differed too much, the psychological rejection was lower. At this moment, I felt less like I had been reborn in a new body and more as if I had entered a virtual reality wearing a suit.
‘This is enough. My purpose is merely to practice the resonance technique.’
“Alright, shall we go?”
I drew a clear line. Eve seemed unconcerned as she smiled and pointed ahead.
This place was still a fierce battlefield.
Titans that shook the ground and tore at the atmosphere were fighting, making it hard for someone like me to intervene.
“I will instruct you on applying it to a human body when we get there, so for now, focus solely on our resonance. That is the one and only, and also everything.”
Eve drew her sword and stepped forward. I wielded a sword instead of a spear.
It was clearly a monstrous body. The physical abilities I possessed now were explosive compared to my human days.
We leapt through the air together, alternating our positions.
“I’m so happy. I’ve been waiting for this moment. This is the moment when the true legion, the true us, is born.”
Eve, radiating energy, launched a strike at a dragon-like creature above, her smile brighter than ever as her mouth opened wide in glee.
I felt the resonance with her more vividly than when I was in a human body.
The emitted strike shot out for dozens of meters, instantly severing the dragon’s neck.
‘Right now…’
I raised my sword, feeling a fluttering excitement. Right now, perhaps I could reach a level I hadn’t attained before.
At that moment, a strike similar in size to Eve’s burst forth from my own sword.
“Isn’t it nice? Breaking past limits, evolving further, and obtaining realms beyond the grasp of a human body.”
‘Absolutely.’
I couldn’t deny it. Anyone who has trained even a little to grow stronger could not abandon this thrill and sense of achievement.
As the legionnaires advanced, taking down the aberrations, I was left alone with Eve in a place filled only with corpses.
This body didn’t know the process of exhaustion. As soon as energy dropped to the point of immobility, I could just replenish it at the nest.
“You saw Kang Do-yeon too, right? And Reina. I can give you a better body than even this, just like them.”
Eve recommended again that I change my body. I knew her intentions were purely innocent.
She wouldn’t understand why I insisted on the inefficient human body.
That was true. After all the hard training days, striving to improve my skills, I managed to reach a level far beyond what I could have just a few hours ago.
[Can I endure it?]
But the moment I saw letters I could not see in front of Eve, I calmed my excitement and solidified my resolve. The body was just the beginning; the moment I became weak, my thoughts and mental state would gradually shift as well.
‘It’s not time yet.’
“Why not?”
Surprised by my response, Eve widened her eyes and asked.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I needed to be the constraint for us.
So that we do not become a destructive juggernaut turning the entire universe into enemies.
“Well… okay. If that’s your wish.”
Looking gloomy, Eve nodded her head in agreement for now.
As long as Eve remained pure, I had a chance. Unless an unavoidable situation arose, Eve would listen to my words.
‘For now, let’s return. Regardless of what anyone says, the place we need to act is Earth. Right?’
“Yes.”
Eve nodded, and my vision darkened as I opened my eyes somewhere else.
“Then let’s do something else this time. Together.”
In the blurry vision where the ceiling of the barracks came into view, Eve was still there, looking down at me even though the world had changed. I would have to get accustomed to this going forward.
Since we met and became one, Eve would be with me in both the same and different appearances, no matter where I went or what I did.
“Excuse me, Kang Shin Woo? Eve? There is an urgent call from command!”
However, we couldn’t decide what to do together freely.
“The allied forces have announced another offensive to capture a base. The destination this time is the northern territory we named Espua.”
Eve and I, along with all the hunters from the Guardian Alliance dispatched here, gathered.
Commander Jason provided us with the new announcement.
As the hunters murmured after hearing the announcement, it was clear that Jason’s words differed significantly from the previously announced details.
“But Commander, you said we would advance slowly with plenty of leeway… Above all, you mentioned the significant losses in the allied forces?!”
“…That is correct, but the higher-ups of the allied forces have revised their operations.”
After the words of a middle-aged hunter, he nodded in a solemn manner.
“The allied forces will quickly supplement reserves at the front and advance to occupy the bases.”
“What’s with the people who were just dragging their feet? What changed?”
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue, clearly confused by Jason’s continuing words. In truth, most probably shared similar thoughts. The allied forces had struggled in this war.
Though there was certainly a fighting spirit, they had suffered too many losses during the adjustment period.
Yet if they were to push forward recklessly, it was obvious they held some kind of belief.
“I would like to introduce someone. An ally of the Alliance and a researcher from planet Erres, Pyles.”
“Hello, fellow beings from another world. I am definitely humanity just like you.”
The person he introduced appeared to be an ordinary young man with blonde hair. However, his affiliation made everyone flinch.
Another human from the universe, who had been floating in the sky and only met with a select few of the elite.
“Our Erres will assist you and guide you to victory against the evil alien species.”
The researcher introduced as Pyles declared confidently.
