Chapter 14: True Power (3)
[The end of this game is something I don’t know either. One thing is certain: the world is vast.]
“What’s that… It’s not helping at all.”
[As I said before, keep all possibilities open. That’s all the hint I can give you.]
“Ha.”
A snicker escaped my lips.
Anyway, if I consider all possibilities as that guy said, anything could really happen.
Either raising creatures from another realm alongside me, or… the reverse would also hold true.
“What if there’s a player in a world with a legion? Should I kill them?”
[…It’s your choice. However, if the world is different, it might not mean much in the beginning.]
“So, there’s no need to bother with them?”
I was beginning to understand the rules roughly.
In the end, one world equals one server.
It meant there was no point in interfering with someone from a different server.
Ultimately, my true competitors are those involved in this world where ‘a legion exists’, whether they are on Earth or another world.
Just like those rat bastards’ player.
[They seem to be flustered.]
I maintained my tension as I glared at the screen.
The war had just begun.
Of course, this was just a small battle to announce the start, but I had to win this for there to be any answers.
[They were panicked, but soon changed their attitudes and began to resist violently. Their resistance was unexpectedly fierce.]
They shot crossbows like madmen and hurled spears.
I rubbed my eyes.
Even a crude catapult had appeared.
What I thought would be a one-hit wipeout was dragging on longer than expected.
[The legion detected an anomaly. It was a system and communication method entirely different from what had been encountered so far.]
“Right… In my opinion, those rats are not just defined by what’s engraved in their genes.”
I realized the reason.
The reason their combat power was stronger than what the legion had interpreted.
They were currently using tools and the power of communication like humans, transcending the limits of their genes.
[But still, the physical limitations are unavoidable.]
The fortress began to crumble.
The legion, pushing with numbers, finally broke through their resistance and began to slaughter them.
They bit, slashed, crushed, and shot them dead.
[However, they couldn’t catch all the ones that fled.]
“If things go wrong, our existence will be discovered.”
What could the racial characteristics of those rats be?
It didn’t seem like they had a collective consciousness like ours.
The survivors who escaped would certainly return to their base and disclose information about us.
In that case, there’s a significant probability that the opposing player would suspect us.
“But there’s no certainty. For now, can those rat bastards communicate with the player? I can’t.”
[I don’t know.]
I estimate that at that level, they are less capable than primitive stone-age tribesmen receiving equipment and information from modern people.
It would certainly be difficult for them to converse freely.
However, it was a fact that the rats were receiving teachings and weapons from an unidentified opponent.
[They devour and absorb them. But the legion was again plunged into a great question. Is this enough? They digested the rats and obtained their information, yet the results were stagnant. The organized movements exhibited by the rats, though certainly less competent than the legion’s, nevertheless led the legion to focus on the fact that “they cannot learn” it.]
“That can’t be helped. Learning experience and knowledge requires more than simple predation.”
[The legion finally grasped the necessity of a brain. A brain, and something beyond the brain. The consumption of emotions, experiences, and knowledge.]
The legion’s response remained unchanged.
They simply devour anything.
If there is something they lack or don’t possess, they must devour it without question.
Now, whether it’s intangible knowledge or experience doesn’t matter.
“So what are you going to do about that?”
[Of course, the legion is finding the answer on its own. Information about high-intelligence birds like magpies or crows might be of help. Won’t you provide assistance?]
I stiffened at the message flickering on my phone.
How on earth could I help?
Honestly, I’d thought about it for a while, but now that the legion had grown this large, it might be possible.
Right, to… devour humans.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure… Should I go to the zoo and take a picture of a monkey? I can’t let innocent people get eaten alive.”
[In fact, I think it’s still premature. This is something that requires a bit more attention. After all, the legion’s ego is trying to form.]
“What does that mean?”
[They praise and worship the god. However, there are certainly those who resent and seek to overthrow the god.]
I couldn’t grasp it immediately and frowned.
But soon I became lost in thought, biting my lip.
“Are you saying the kids might become hostile towards me?!”
[It’s only a possibility. So you should handle it well. The newly forming advanced ego of the legion is not even at the level of a child.]
In the end, there is a possibility. This one statement was enough.
Of course, it wasn’t something I hadn’t anticipated.
I never thought I shared the same values with the legion.
[Still, I keep saying, you are not a simple observer.]
“…Fine.”
Though my heart felt heavy, there was no way to escape it.
For now, I decided to just watch.
To see just where and how they grow.
Above all, it didn’t seem we were at a noticeable disadvantage compared to those rat bastards.
The legion continued to fight without pause, separate from their internal struggles.
They clearly thought the enemy was strange and aimed to crush them before they could respond properly.
How would the opposing player, who had built a forward base and even sent expeditions to lower levels, overcome this crisis?
By observing their response, I might gather clues to identify the player’s identity or location.
“…Conversely, does that mean I can kill the player and eliminate the legion’s enemies?”
[That’s correct.]
It was a terrifying game.
An extremely terrifying one.
“Are you not going to hang out after the exam?”
“I’m just planning to rest at home this time.”
I answered awkwardly with a smile.
My mother didn’t ask any further.
Of course, as my mother suggested, I had thought about enjoying this summer properly before it got any later, but given my current predicament…
…I had mentioned that girls were also going along too.
“Look at that. That girl has been coming out on TV a lot, and it seems like she finally received an A rank.”
At that, my mother pointed at the TV.
My head automatically turned to the television.
There, I saw a familiar face.
“C rank Chae Yeon. No, now she’s A rank Chae Yeon.”
The woman exiting the management bureau, receiving camera flashes, was that girl I had seen once before.
She was one of the rapidly emerging hunters recently receiving global attention.
Among them, she had become a unique presence, now one of only a few A rank hunters in South Korea at this moment.
“…”
I had a sudden hunch.
What if she was a unit blessed by the player?
I’d heard that whether player or unit, there are no fixed rules or hierarchies.
They have a thoroughly interdependent relationship, with every life supporting the other.
A sigh escaped me.
No matter how I thought about it, I was too powerless and worthless.
“Are you worried too? This girl…”
But perhaps misunderstanding my sigh, my mother furrowed her brows and picked up her phone.
It was then that I finally checked the empty space beside me.
*
“Ga, game?”
“Yeah. It’s really fun… and an inescapable game.”
On that late evening when families were having dinner, Kang Do-yeon met her friend Oh Yu-na at a nearby park without any particular thoughts.
Oh Yu-na, who had been just an ordinary friend, now carried an unusual aura.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. That game and all…”
“The chief said to find a guardian who can inscribe this sentence. They could become the warriors who will protect my life.”
Ignoring her friend’s words, Oh Yu-na raised her hand.
In that hand, something was shining.
She looked in shock at what she saw.
“You awakened as a hunter?!”
“That’s not it. My people gave me this magic for my sake!”
Oh Yu-na firmly grabbed the wrist of her startled friend.
Kang Do-yeon, surprised, tried to pull her hand away reflexively but failed.
With a height difference of 155 cm and 170 cm.
Yet, surprisingly, Kang Do-yeon couldn’t shake off her friend who was usually one head shorter than her.
“Ow, that hurts!!”
“Just bear with it a little! You can become strong too!”
Even as she screamed in pain from the burning sensation, she didn’t let go.
When her hand finally relaxed.
Kang Do-yeon looked in horror at the clear mark imprinted on her wrist.
“Look, see?”
“What the hell is this?!”
At that moment, something the size of a fist flew at her.
In rage, she reflexively raised her hand to swat it away.
“…No way.”
And she was astounded.
Because the large stone that hit her hand shattered into pieces.
“Now you are my knight, Do-yeon. Stand against our enemies and die for me. To think the popular girl at our school is protecting me, that’s reassuring.”
Oh Yu-na grinned with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, Kang Do-yeon, who couldn’t comprehend the situation, was clutching her wrist with a pale face.
“Now I’ll reveal the secret to you.”
Smiling as though to show kindness, Oh Yu-na took out her cell phone.
‘Clearly…’
At that moment, the pattern she saw on her hand vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
