Episode 35 – Secret of the World (1)
‘It feels like I’m floating.’
A sensation of expansion and addition that I had never experienced before.
Kang Do-yeon stumbled yet smiled widely.
Thanks to the Legion stepping in, her brain was now able to process the smoothly flowing information.
In that process, stimulated, her brain oddly felt pleasure.
[This is certainly an unusual enemy. It is presumed to be a skilled one. First, the Legion instructed the artillery-type soldiers to fire.]
“…!”
In an instant, dozens of spiny bones poured through the air toward them.
The man at the forefront, along with the other warriors, raised their swords and deflected all the spikes.
“I have to go.”
Kang Do-yeon slammed her feet into the ground with a thunderous sound.
The man too, with his sword drawn, charged at her as she leapt in alone, leaving his subordinates behind.
Without a doubt, he was the strongest opponent she had encountered so far.
“Huht.”
Just before collision, Kang Do-yeon’s waist twisted grotesquely.
At the same moment, a sharp blade passed by her eyes.
[His movements are precise, sharp, and decisive. The Legion focused every possible gaze on that movement and etched it into their minds from all directions. One cannot dare to contend with a sword like that. That is how one wields a sword.]
Kang Do-yeon confronted the enemy’s sword with superhuman perception and neural reflexes.
Since a contest of swordsmanship was futile, she opted for pure physical prowess.
The blade continued to brush past her eyes, missing her body.
The enemy, despite demonstrating extraordinary physical capabilities, was slower compared to her, who manipulated her nerves using the collective consciousness.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
She dodged his sword aimed at her waist and twisted her body to deliver a kick.
Beginning from an unstable position caused by her twisted waist, her spine broke while her thigh muscles endured and exploded.
[Has she found a counterattack method? Of course, it is a tactic that ordinary legionnaires, not the omnipotent type, would find difficult to attempt.]
Unprepared for this bizarre and irregular attack, the opponent was kicked away, crashing to the ground amidst a thunderous sound.
“Is it not ending easily…”
[The remaining forces that were on standby are moving. We will respond accordingly. The assessment is already complete.]
In an instant, Kang Do-yeon regenerated her broken waist and ruptured thigh and frowned at the enemy trying to rise unsteadily.
Recognizing the chaos, the enemies began to group together, and the Legion moved in response.
[Still, they don’t all seem to be of the same high caliber as the leader. The Legion was convinced that if they utilized their specialty in collective tactics, they could win.]
The versatile legionnaires all drew their swords and charged.
The dense coordination and unity exhibited by each individual could only be achieved by versatile legionnaires created using humans and orcs as the base.
Kang Do-yeon, too, stumbled towards the rising opponent and charged once more.
‘Now I can see it.’
She avoided the enemy’s sword, which was now weakened, and swung her own sword to slash off his arm.
Then, she immediately followed up with a strike to his neck.
The bluish flames in his eyes and markings extinguished.
“…Is he grieving?”
While the legionnaires advanced on the remaining enemies according to the tactics they had calculated and planned, she stared blankly down at the face of the corpse that had turned to a mummy.
*
[The body of the last resistive enemy was simultaneously brought down by the advancing allies.]
“It’s not over yet.”
“Right. We need to see what’s inside.”
The Legion had won, but it was too early to relax.
I slowly watched as Kang Do-yeon approached the structure those beings had been guarding.
I zoomed in according to her viewpoint.
“This really looks like a temple.”
[I will deploy a scout first.]
One of the legionnaires nearby took on the role of the scout.
He swung open the giant stone door and entered within.
This time, I shifted to the scout’s perspective.
“Is that an enemy?!”
[I do not sense any enemy intent. No, they are not alive at all, unlike the others.]
In this spacious area, only one being sat cross-legged in the middle.
Around him, an ancient magic circle, seemingly drawn in blood, spanned the entire floor.
“That’s the one. The flow, which was spread throughout this place, is circulating around this mummy.”
Kang Do-yeon held her mouth at the sight.
One legionnaire stepped forward and carefully retrieved something that the mummy was clutching.
“…A vajra?”
“What is that?”
“It exists, that sort of thing.”
Though it likely wasn’t, to me, it resembled a magical artifact—a vajra.
The legionnaire twisted something embedded in the middle of the vajra and pulled it out.
[A curious gemstone with strange patterns inscribed on it began to emit light. The pattern could possibly find similarities with patterns drawn in this place. This peculiar flow, the source of the spell controlling the phantoms, is this gemstone.]
Even to my eyes, it was an item of extraordinary significance.
Kang Do-yeon, having received it, gazed at it with a dazed expression.
“Can it be utilized or analyzed?”
[It is still not possible. More data is needed.]
Unfortunately, it seemed immediate use would not be feasible.
“Here’s a clue. Look at this.”
“Yeah. This is better than the unreadable text.”
Grabbing the glowing stone, which was just a mere fantasy for now, Kang Do-yeon moved on.
[The Legion showed great interest as well. What could those strange patterns on the wall suggest? But soon, they realized that those patterns were ‘depicting’ something.]
“…This is a painting. It seems like a mural. What is it depicting?”
Kang Do-yeon shared her knowledge with the Legion, who encountered the concept of painting for the first time.
The Legion immediately began to observe all the paintings drawn inside the temple.
“Look at this. Can you see it, Oppa? It looks like a starting point.”
At that moment, Kang Do-yeon pointed somewhere.
I turned to check that particular part.
It was indeed a mural.
To be precise, it depicted a group of people entering a cave.
Moreover, they were being threatened by others wielding spears.
“Are these people…being exiled from the surface?”
Both I and my younger sibling interpreted it similarly.
I naturally checked the side next to it.
Next to it was a depiction of someone adorned extravagantly, developing an underground city.
[The Legion, having analyzed Kang Do-yeon’s interpretation, now reached a judgment of their own regarding the painting. According to this mural, it seems there wasn’t just one or two like this city.]
“Numerous cities are depicted here. But what’s next? The cities are disappearing one by one.”
The mural was about half-deciphered.
From here on, strange points emerged.
[One by one, the cities were falling, and the survivors hastily evacuated. Yet there was no longer a place to hide. They gathered at the last remaining city. And then they made a decision.]
“…They sealed the entrance themselves. And everyone participated in the spell. To protect what was left of their territory from being trampled upon. The lower level was a sort of forward base. Created to find a place to flee. But we came up from below, knowing all too well that there was no escape down there.”
Kang Do-yeon muttered as she looked at the last painting.
They had succeeded in understanding a part of the truth, but new questions arose alongside it.
[Entity unknown that drove once-thriving ones to self-destruction, may they be living beings.]
Of course, regardless of that, the Legion was eager to encounter prey they could devour soon.
“The seal, what about it?”
[Look at the screen. The moment we broke the vajra, the seal was already shattered. The Legion has already sent out scouts.]
The screen changed.
Now, it shifted to the perspective of the scout crossing through the air.
There were also structures in this 37th level, following the 36th level.
However, compared to the well-maintained lower levels, they were just ruins.
“Vegetation is alive. So it’s not a sealed and isolated place?”
Mushrooms and cave vegetation were seen here and there.
However, any movement or sightings of sizable creatures were undetectable.
[This place, being developed like a stem layer, was still vast. A more detailed reconnaissance is required. Most importantly, the nesting process on the lower tier must continue, and unexamined small colonies need to be explored.]
The Legion moved busily.
Of course, now they could easily handle multiple tasks at once.
“If you find anything, let me know.”
I turned off my phone there.
As usual, the Legion was working hard, and it was my time to move.
‘Can I do it? No, that’s not what’s important.’
I bit my lip as I read Chae Yeon’s message.
Other units and players grow stronger as time passes.
If it’s dangerous either way, whether I hide quietly or act, then it makes more sense to act.
Ultimately, this insane game is akin to an ecosystem.
A harshness devoid of any mercy.
Falling behind and growing weak means being devoured by the stronger ones, only to serve as nutrients.
I had to push forward unconditionally.
I once again checked the potions I had tucked away.
This would help me with my perfect crime.
