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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: True Power (3)
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[I don't know how this game will end. The only thing I'm certain of is that the world is vast.]
"What's that supposed to mean? That's not helpful at all."
[As I've said before, keep all possibilities open. That's the only hint I can give you.]
"Hah."
A dry laugh escaped him.
In any case, if I considered all possibilities as it suggested, then truly anything could happen.
Someone could be raising otherworldly creatures just like me, or... the reverse could also be true.
"What if there's a Player in a world with a Legion? Should I kill them?"
[...That's your choice. However, if the worlds are different, it might not mean much in the beginning.]
"So there's no need to bother them?"
I was finally starting to get a grasp of the rules.
In the end, one world is one server.
I guess that means there's no point in messing with someone on a different server.
My true competitors, whether they're on Earth or in another world, are those involved with *this* world—the one 'with the Legion.'
Just like the player controlling those damn rats.
[The enemy appears to be in disarray.]
I kept my focus, glaring at the screen.
The war had only just begun.
Of course, it was just a small battle to signal the start, but I had to win this one to see what came next.
[Though panicked, the enemy quickly changed their stance and began to resist fiercely. Their resistance is stronger than expected.]
They fired crossbows and thrust spears with frantic energy.
I rubbed my eyes.
Even a crudely made catapult had appeared.
I thought I could wipe them out in a single blow, but it was starting to drag on.
[The Legion has detected a sense of incongruity. It stems from a system and communication method entirely different from what it has encountered before.]
"Yeah... I think there's more to those rats than just what's etched into their genes."
I realized the reason.
The reason why those damn rats were stronger than the Legion's analysis had predicted.
They were currently transcending the limits of their genetics by using tools and the power of communication, much like humans.
[But even so, physical limitations are absolute.]
The fortress began to crumble.
The Legion, pushing forward with sheer numbers, finally broke through their resistance and began to slaughter them.
They were bitten, slashed, crushed, and shot to death.
[However, it failed to capture all of the fleeing enemies.]
"This could expose our existence."
What on earth are the racial traits of those rats?
They don't seem to be a hive mind like us.
The surviving stragglers will surely return to their base and report what they saw.
If so, there's a high chance the enemy Player will become suspicious of us.
"But I'm not sure. Can those damn rats even communicate with their Player? I can't."
[That is unknown.]
My guess is it's like a modern person providing equipment and information to people less advanced than Stone Age natives.
Free-flowing conversation between them would surely be difficult.
But it was a fact that those rats were receiving teachings and weapons from some unknown entity.
[It devours and absorbs the enemy. But the Legion is once again faced with a great question. Is this enough? It has digested the enemy and obtained their information, yet the result is a stalemate. The organized movements they displayed—though clumsy compared to the Legion's—the Legion focused on the fact that it 'could not learn' them.]
"That's inevitable. Simple predation isn't enough to learn experience and knowledge."
[The Legion has finally intuited the need for a brain. A brain, and something that transcends it. A gluttony for emotion, experience, and knowledge.]
The Legion's reaction was always the same.
It simply devoured everything.
If there was something it lacked, something it needed, it would unconditionally devour it.
Now, that included even intangible knowledge or experience.
"So what's it going to do about it?"
[Of course, the Legion is seeking the answer on its own. Information on highly intelligent birds like magpies or crows might be helpful. Are you not going to help?]
I froze, staring at the shimmering text on my phone.
How on earth could I help?
Honestly, I'd thought about it before, and now that the Legion had grown so massive, it might just be possible.
By... feeding it a human.
"Sorry, but I don't know... Should I go to the zoo and film a monkey? I can't let an innocent person be eaten alive."
[Truthfully, I also believe it is premature. This is a matter that requires more careful consideration. The Legion's ego is, quite literally, about to be born.]
"What do you mean by that?"
[Some praise and worship their god. But there are also those who resent their god and seek to cast him down.]
Not understanding immediately, I furrowed my brow.
But soon, my face paled and I bit my lip.
"You're saying they might become hostile towards me?!"
[It is merely a possibility. That is why you must guide it well. The Legion's nascent higher consciousness is not even at the level of a child.]
In the end, there was a possibility. That one word was enough.
I never thought my values and the Legion's were the same to begin with.
[As I keep saying, you are not a mere observer.]
"...Fine."
My heart felt heavy, but there was no way to avoid it.
For now, I decided to watch and see.
To see where and how it would grow.
Besides, it didn't seem like we were at an immediate disadvantage compared to those damn rats.
Despite its inner turmoil, the Legion did not stop its war.
It clearly intended to press its advantage and end things before the enemy could realize something was wrong and mount a proper response.
How would the enemy Player—who must have been riding a wave of success, even building an outpost and sending expeditions to the lower floors—overcome this crisis?
Their response might give me a clue to their identity or location.
"...Conversely, couldn't I kill the Player myself to eliminate the Legion's enemies?"
[Correct.]
It was a terrifying game.
Terrifyingly so.
"I thought you said you were going out after your exams were over. You're not going?"
"I'm just going to rest at home this time."
I replied with an awkward smile.
My mother didn't press any further.
Of course, just as she said, I had planned to have some real fun this summer before it got too late, but given my current situation...
...They said the girls were going too.
"Look at that. That girl keeps appearing on TV, and it looks like she finally made it to A-rank."
Just then, my mother pointed at the TV.
My head automatically turned towards the television.
A somewhat familiar face was on the screen.
"C-rank Cha Ji-yeon. No, A-rank Cha Ji-yeon now."
The woman emerging from the Administration Bureau, surrounded by a flurry of camera flashes, was the same one I had seen before.
One of the fastest-rising Hunters currently drawing global attention.
She was an unrivaled presence among them, having just become an A-rank Hunter—one of only a few dozen in all of South Korea.
"..."
A thought crossed my mind.
What if she was a Unit blessed by a Player's grace?
From what I'd heard, there were no set rules or hierarchy between Players and Units.
They were in a relationship of perfect symbiosis, each holding the other's life in their hands.
A sigh escaped me.
No matter how I looked at it, I was just a powerless piece of trash.
"You're worried too, aren't you? This girl, honestly..."
But, perhaps misinterpreting my sigh, my mother frowned and picked up her phone.
Only then did I notice the empty seat next to me.
*
"A g-game?"
"Yeah. A really fun... and inescapable game."
Late in the evening, while her family was likely eating dinner.
Kang Do-yeon, who had met her friend Oh Yoon-ah at a nearby park without much thought, hesitated.
The aura coming from Oh Yoon-ah, who had always been just an ordinary friend, was anything but.
"I don't know what you're talking about. This 'game' thing..."
"The Great Chieftain told me to find guardians to bear this crest. He said they could become warriors who will protect my life."
Ignoring her, her friend, Oh Yoon-ah, raised her hand.
In her hand, something was glittering.
Do-yeon stared at it, horrified.
"Did you awaken as a Hunter?!"
"It's not like that. This is magic, given to me by my people, for me!"
Oh Yoon-ah suddenly snatched the wrist of the hesitating girl.
Startled, Kang Do-yeon reflexively tried to pull her hand away, but failed.
Their height difference was 155cm to 170cm.
But Kang Do-yeon was shocked to find she couldn't shake off her friend, who was a head shorter and someone she could usually lift with ease.
"Ow, that hurts!!"
"Just bear it for a second! You can become strong too!"
She screamed from the pain of burning flesh, but no matter how much she struggled, she wasn't let go.
When her hand was finally released.
Kang Do-yeon stared in horror at the brand seared clearly onto her inner wrist.
"Here, look."
"What is this!"
Just then, something the size of a fist flew towards her.
Furious, she instinctively raised a hand and batted it away.
"...No way."
And she was stunned.
The large rock that had hit her hand had shattered into pieces.
"You're my knight now, Do-yeon. You'll fight my enemies and die for me. To think the most popular girl in our school will be protecting me... how reassuring."
Oh Yoon-ah grinned.
Unable to comprehend the situation, Kang Do-yeon could only clutch her wrist, her face pale.
"Now, I'll let you in on the secret."
Oh Yoon-ah smiled as if doing her a great favor and held up her phone.
'I'm sure...'
The back of her hand, visible for a moment, was completely clean—the crest she had seen before was gone without a trace.