Chapter 24 – Movement (2)
The master of the bizarre-looking structure on level 20, whose name and identity remain unknown.
But no matter what it is, the Legion has already judged victory and attempted an attack.
Persistent reconnaissance and observation through scouts.
[If the Legion thought they would lose from the start, they wouldn’t have engaged in battle.]
‘They’ have begun to move.
Toward the surprised enemy, they grabbed the venomous toad and ‘threw’ it.
“Grraaah!”
The toads exploded, spraying acidic liquid onto the creature’s body.
The low, rumbling cries of the creature echoed throughout the entire structure.
Proving that it wasn’t easy, it seemed the creature suffered little damage despite being doused in acid.
[Its skin is tougher than expected. What about its venomous stingers and teeth?]
Beast-like Legionnaires continued charging at the thrashing creature.
Though they were inevitably outmatched in strength, their numbers could make up for it.
Countless lizards clung to one of the creature’s arms, biting and wrestling with it.
Flying species hovering above were recklessly stabbing at what seemed to be the creature’s weak point: its eyes.
[The creature has no eyes, ears, or nose. Almost no weak points exist. But we still have one more means.]
“…Finally.”
As the creature’s movements were restricted, those who had been waiting began to charge forward.
I don’t know how strong the sword clutched in their hands is.
“Aaaargh!”
The creature screamed.
To attack the vexing flying species, one soldier leapt off the ground and thrust their sword deep into the creature’s open mouth.
[A giant is collapsing from a mere scratch.]
“Is its mouth a weak point?”
The Legion began to cover the creature’s fallen body.
They realized its mouth was a weak point.
Strong large species began to forcibly pry open the creature’s mouth.
“Umm…”
I frowned at the horrific sight.
Through the creature’s forcibly opened mouth, soldiers began to crawl inside.
After all, unless it chewed, its teeth couldn’t inflict wounds on the carapace.
The soldier who had crawled deep into its throat began to stab with a blade inside its neck.
[Guardian of the Great Branch: 4c0080]
“Spirit…”
After that, history ended, and reality returned.
The monster we had defeated and absorbed was named the Guardian of the Great Branch.
[Look. They are not just one.]
“…How vast is it?”
In the meantime, the Legion prepared for war once more.
Creatures continued emerging from the other branches connected to this structure.
Of course, they were just abundant nutrient food for the Legion, who had already experienced victory and gathered data.
[The developed intelligence and analytical ability of the Legion discovered one peculiar point about the Guardians.]
“Peculiarity?”
[How did they come rushing to their kin’s death? It’s the power of communication. Now we can understand it.]
They discovered an organ among the Guardians that emitted ultrasound, the meaning of which was initially unfathomable.
In the past, the Legion would have overlooked this organ without understanding its significance, but not now.
Watching it emit regular ultrasound, they had grown to the point where they could guess that it served as a communication organ among kin.
“In the end, to raise overall analytical ability, they must continue surpassing limitations and grow their brains. But why is the Legion interested in communication methods? They are already bound by collective consciousness. Could it be?”
[That possibility is correct. The Legion is trying to communicate with external beings. Specifically, with you.]
A chill ran down my spine at those words.
They acknowledged me. Finally.
“I, I am…”
[To the Legion, who is presently nurturing curiosity, you are the subject of the greatest interest. For a growing intelligent life form, the existence of a parent is naturally significant.]
“Then I suppose I should give a reward. Though I don’t know if they’ll see it as a reward.”
Feeling pleased, I took pictures of the high-calorie foods I had bought with the money my sibling gave me and sent them.
Will they actually recognize this as a reward?
[Victory, and the sweet food that follows. The Legion has reached a stage where they assign meaning to their previously repeated actions and hypothesize reasons.]
“Oh!”
At the very least, they were no longer just passively receiving.
Looking at the rapidly absorbed items, I felt a sense of pride.
It was a sense of accomplishment greater than watching a well-trained pet.
A parent. They certainly said that.
While it wasn’t a perfect analogy, the Legion was definitely not just a simple pet to me.
[No longer are there enemies in the structure. Thus, this place is ours.]
The Legion moved ceaselessly.
Scouts had already spread out in all directions, scouring every branch connected to this place, and they had also discovered an upward passage.
As they had always done, they consumed all the small branches without leaving a single life behind while simultaneously pushing upward.
“This place where we were. It seems more akin to ‘roots’ rather than branches.”
[Correct. The place where the Legion awoke is the lowest level of this labyrinth. The deepest part of this place. Thus, the structure we have now ventured into also belongs to the very bottom of the branch.]
“There’s an end to a cave, right?”
I felt a surge of anxiety. I might be urging too much, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
[There’s no need to worry too much. This cave is not a starting point. Your account level has risen to 4. Slots and capacity have increased.]
“This is!”
[And, as we have reached the lowermost branch, the history of the Legion has transitioned from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2.]
The screen changed.
Two new icons appeared on the left side.
“What are these?”
[If Chapter 1 is adaptation, Chapter 2 is the beginning. From now on, the units and players can properly communicate with each other. The strings are being strengthened.]
In that moment, I felt a tingling in my chest.
Of course, just this alone wouldn’t create any noticeable changes.
[The first icon. It is an offering.]
I touched the first icon.
The camera turned on.
[We didn’t mention it because you didn’t choose, but didn’t you feel it when we passed the sample? You couldn’t send physical objects while transmitting samples.]
“…Now that you mention it.”
When I sent pictures of the termites, the enclosure remained the same.
When sending the goblins, their weapons remained intact.
No, the very act of sending samples was a skill specialized for us.
[Think back to the rats you encountered. The items they possessed. Those were all offerings. It is a basic function possessed by all players from the start.]
“Oh, no. So does that mean everyone else has already moved on to Chapter 2, but I’m the only one who just transitioned?!”
Thinking slowly, I was horrified.
When was the last time I encountered the rats?
[It is indeed slow. But it couldn’t be helped, and the reason is also a sort of penalty.]
However, the response was calm.
I sighed at the assertion that it couldn’t be helped.
[Offering has a time limit. Secondly, the next step is the sacrifice. This is what units devote to the player as a form of gratitude.]
“Could it be like the mark that Oh Yu-na’s units gave me? I remember they said I could only communicate like that after reaching Chapter 3?!”
[No. Offerings and sacrifices are only limited to items. Skills and teachings are their abilities that are unrelated to the system. If they are indeed remarkable, they could already transmit items with just a faint string from the initial stage.]
“…”
At that moment, Chae Yeon’s exploration stone flashed in my mind.
I didn’t think she would have made that.
That’s terribly unfair.
I left the room and rummaged through the kitchen.
By chance, I found a thick new-style kitchen knife.
My mother had deemed it too scary to use, so now it would come in handy.
[The Legion is responding to your offering.]
“You understand what it is, right?”
The knife dropped right in the middle of the nest.
The Legion moved immediately.
[The creeping tentacles recognized that the kitchen knife was a metal already stored in their memory. They understand what this is. They just need to analyze the intent.]
“Oh..?”
They analyze the intention. That single statement brought satisfaction.
After all, it means they won’t just passively receive.
“Wha, what? Am I not giving anything?!”
[The concepts of equivalent exchange or paying a price for receiving something do not exist in the Legion yet. So this is the resulting judgment.]
However, after that, the Legion never presented me with sacrifices.
At least they could show some gratitude!
All that happened was a goblin Legionnaire trudging forward and grabbing the kitchen knife with its hands.
[They are growing stronger. ‘It’ wishes us to grow stronger. So we grow stronger. That is the conclusion.]
The Legion had only been walking down a single path thus far.
So they knew nothing but that.
I had nothing much to say.
Anyway, it was the path I desired.
“I guess I’ll wait a bit more…”
[Assumed to be branches, the lower levels, which turned out to be roots, were all targeted, and now the Legion turns its gaze upward. The second branch. The scouts found no threats that posed a risk.]
Still, the Legion was steadily, no, rapidly growing.
Before long, they had extended their influence toward the next branch.
Mediocre beasts and forces could no longer overcome us.
Since the encounter with the rats which were units of other players, our rivals had not appeared yet.
