-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Things in the Lowest Level (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Competition between Players is a given.]
"Then how do I protect myself? The Legion is..."
[That does not matter. What's important now is simply growing stronger. You just need to not die foolishly.]
The screen changed.
A sense of unease still lingered, but I calmed myself, taking solace in the fact that the game was still in its early stages.
[You survive, and the Legion grows stronger. Those are our respective roles. And when we both perform our duties well, our individual strengths become our collective power. Look at the screen.]
I did as it said and checked the screen.
The Legion was currently observing some kind of organism.
"What is that?"
[The Legion scoured the area to acquire the abilities it lacked. It then discovered a fungus. Uniquely, this fungus spreads its spores on animal carcasses and propagates there.]
Just as described, a peculiar-looking mushroom was blooming on a pile of what appeared to be organic matter.
The organic matter consisted of bones, hides, and scales.
"Don't tell me that's..."
[Correct. Those blue scales belong to the Blue-scaled Twin-headed Earth Dragon, which we were unable to digest. That mushroom possesses the ability to digest even those steel-like scales.]
A path had been revealed.
The Legion immediately mobilized its soldiers, attempting to hunt the mushroom.
[As befits its unique ability, the fungus had a unique defense mechanism. Regrettably, the fungus began to harden its body with the same components as the scales. The fangs, poisonous stingers, and claws of the Legion's soldiers could not penetrate it.]
"Th-Then what?"
[We had to find it. A creature with enough attack power to pierce those scales. The Legion expanded its reconnaissance once more. And that's when it found that turtle.]
A turtle appeared on the screen.
It was a creature that barely qualified as a turtle.
Its size was ordinary, similar to the other creatures, but this turtle, submerged in the water, stretched its long neck and snatched a lizard-type Legion soldier that was acting as a lure.
And in a single motion, it crushed it.
[The Legion has determined that the turtle's jaw strength will be sufficient to crush the scale-armored fungus. That would be more efficient than collapsing the cavern to crush the fungus to death.]
The Legion had found its answer.
The most efficient and advantageous method.
"Wouldn't it be better to go for something strong and big, like a shark?"
[What's important is its underwater combat capability.]
"I know."
I headed to a bustling supermarket.
There was only one reason: to buy a fish.
A live fish that could give the Legion gills and swimming skills.
"So what are you here to buy, anyway?"
"...Why did you follow me?"
The one problem was my younger sister, Kang Do-yeon.
When I said I was going to the supermarket, she insisted on coming along.
Fortunately, the moment we entered, Kang Do-yeon walked over to the bakery as if entranced.
"How much is this?"
I immediately bought a live fish from an aquarium tank.
I asked for the freshest one possible, and as soon as I paid for it, I went to the restroom and took a picture of it with my camera.
[The small fish you provided has become both a specimen and a form of sustenance. It is an unfamiliar creature called a fish, one that certainly did not exist in this cave. However, based on its existing data, the Legion deduced that the organ known as gills is for operating underwater.]
The Legion devoured the fish I gave it and began to mass-produce new soldiers based on its newfound knowledge.
These were specialized aquatic troops, even more adept than the amphibians here, which mostly relied on pulmonary respiration.
They were soldiers designed to consume the flora and fauna that lived most of their lives in the water.
"What? Did you leave and come back?"
"Nope. If you've bought everything you need, let's go."
I lied nonchalantly to Kang Do-yeon, who was approaching with a bag of bread.
Even on the way home, I kept looking at my phone.
New soldiers were already emerging from the nest in egg form.
"...What's that on your hand?"
"Huh? Wai—Hey!"
We were almost home.
As I was looking at my phone, she suddenly grabbed my hand.
"What is... Did you get a tattoo? But why does it look like this?"
"N-No, it's not that!"
Startled, I pulled my hand back and made an excuse.
Thankfully, she didn't press the matter further.
Though, from the way her eyes crinkled and the corners of her mouth turned up, it looked like she thought she'd just gotten some dirt on me.
[Are you planning to use the Execution Ticket?]
"Are you insane?"
I muttered, dumbfounded, and went straight home.
At least she was mature enough not to tell our mother right away.
[The Legion has completed its preparations. It is time to hunt the targeted turtle.]
Back in my room, I focused on my phone again.
The rapidly grown new soldiers hatched from their eggs.
They were definitely not fish. The Legion only needed to take the gills, after all.
Their overall streamlined shape, designed for easy swimming, resembled the local amphibians.
The difference was that they had gills and crawled on the ground with a pair of tough, thick arms.
[The turtle's carapace and plastron are certainly hard. But compared to the earth dragon, which was covered in scales from head to toe, it is an easy opponent.]
The turtle, seemingly already wary of us, had its head out of the water, hissing.
But all that got it was a barrage of poisonous stingers, an attempt to draw its attention.
[The turtle's attention is completely diverted. Simultaneously, the Legion's soldiers have begun to dive into the water one by one.]
The water was dark and murky, making it impossible to see.
Still, I could tell what was happening.
[The Legion's soldiers sank their sharp teeth into the turtle's relatively soft flippers and tail. Feeling the pain, the turtle panicked, quickly retracting its neck and flippers into its shell.]
"Now what?"
[The outcome is already decided. The turtle cannot breathe underwater.]
A cruel sentence.
But even if it escaped onto land, other soldiers were already waiting.
[The moment the turtle raised its head again to breathe, waiting Legion soldiers tore at its neck. Trying to struggle by extending its flippers was its fatal mistake, as it only provided more areas to be bitten.]
This was more brutal than a savanna documentary.
The mournful cries of the turtle being eaten alive echoed through the cavern.
If that were a person... But the Legion would surely devour a person all the same.
[It is not over yet. Hunting the turtle is but a single step in a process. The true objective is to capture the fungus that can digest the earth dragon's scales.]
"..."
The Legion moved without rest.
Come to think of it, isn't this the first time?
The first time the Legion has intentionally and persistently hunted a specific target as a means to an end.
[Correct. The Legion is learning. It is learning to better utilize its abilities. It will prepare more thoroughly to take down formidable foes and plan efficient hunts to solve problems.]
A new soldier was being created.
A soldier equipped with the jaw strength of the Cave Long-necked Turtle hunted this time.
As soon as it was ready, it would chew up and swallow the targeted mushroom, taking its ability as well.
"...I should get a part-time job again."
At the same time, I checked my bank account balance.
It seemed my expenses would be increasing one way or another, so I figured I should be prepared.
*
The cavern was already devastated.
The fallen corpses would gradually be enveloped by extending tentacles and digested.
Amidst it all, a single mushroom remained, standing proud and alone.
It had survived by allowing all its sprawling roots to wither in the face of an external threat, absorbing them and covering its body with the hardest substance it could create.
This was this mushroom's survival strategy.
But the enemy seeking to devour it now had annihilated five caverns and slaughtered countless life forms just to kill this one mushroom, finally arriving with the answer.
[The mushroom does not know. It does not know the sheer strength of the obsession and greed directed at it.]
It was lucky enough to have obtained and digested the hardest scales in this entire stratum, but that was all.
A large lizard slowly approached.
And it opened its maw wide.
The mushroom tried to resist, but as a mere imitation, not the original, it could not withstand the crushing jaw strength.
The scales began to crack.
The inside of the mushroom couldn't bear the impact and burst.
[Now, we have acquired even the hardest of scales. But are we satisfied with that? Absolutely not.]
The lizard chewed the mushroom to a pulp and spat it out into the nest.
Production and digestion were solely the nest's duties.
But the Legion, while carrying out the digestion, was simultaneously thinking and acting on another front.
[Another earth dragon... that thing has become our Legion's next target.]
It was twice the size of the Blue-scaled Twin-headed Earth Dragon.
A massive lizard with crimson scales lumbered into view, entering this stratum.
[Has it caught the scent? Has it noticed the anomaly and come to crush it?]
The earth dragon sniffed the air, as if searching for something.
Its appearance was that of a lizard, but its intelligence was surprisingly high.
Among all the brain tissue the Legion had absorbed, the earth dragons of this stratum possessed the most advanced systems.
The creature's eyes gleamed.
Its gaze met that of a black bird watching it from the air.
'Feathered creatures' did not exist in this cave.
The bird was, of course, one of the Legion's scouts.
The beast opened its mouth wide and spewed a massive fireball.
The fireball exploded upon impact.
It obliterated the surrounding area.