Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Secret of the World (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'It feels like I'm floating.'
An expansion and addition of senses she had never experienced before in her life.
Kang Do-yeon stumbled, but a grin spread across her face.
Thanks to the Legion's direct intervention, her brain could now smoothly process the flood of information.
The stimulation to her brain during the process gave her a strange sense of pleasure.
[This is clearly no ordinary enemy. Assumed to be highly skilled. The Legion has ordered the artillery-type soldiers to commence bombardment.]
"...!"
In an instant, dozens of bone spikes shot through the air, raining down on them.
The man in the lead, along with the other warriors, raised their swords in unison, deflecting and slicing through every last spike.
"Looks like it's my turn."
Kang Do-yeon kicked off the ground with a thunderous boom.
Leaving his subordinates behind, the man angled his sword and charged toward her as she ran at him alone.
Of all the enemies she had ever faced, he was by far the strongest.
"Hmph."
Just before impact, Kang Do-yeon's waist bent at an unnatural angle.
At the same moment, a menacingly sharp blade grazed past her eyes.
[His movements are disciplined, precise, and sharp. The Legion is focusing all available sightlines to imprint his movements onto the mind from every angle. It is impossible to face him with a sword. That is the true way of the sword.]
Kang Do-yeon countered the enemy's sword with her transcendent senses and neural responses.
Her swordsmanship was no match for his, so she relied on pure physical prowess.
The blade repeatedly grazed past her eyes and missed her body.
Her opponent also displayed extraordinary physical abilities, but he was slower than her, who manipulated her nerves by borrowing the power of the Hive Mind.
"Where do you think you're going!"
She dodged his sword as it aimed for her waist, then twisted her body and unleashed a kick.
Though the kick started from an unstable, twisted posture, her spine snapped of its own accord as the muscles in her thigh exploded with power, heedless of the rupture.
[Has she found a way to counter him? Of course, this is a tactic that would be difficult for an ordinary Legionnaire without all-purpose cells to attempt.]
Unable to react to the bizarre and unorthodox attack, the man was sent flying with a sickening crunch, crashing into the ground far away.
"It's not going to end that easily, is it..."
[The remaining forces, who were on standby, are now moving. We will respond accordingly. The analysis is complete.]
Instantly regenerating her broken spine and torn thigh, Kang Do-yeon frowned at her opponent as he staggered to his feet.
Sensing the crisis, the enemies now swarmed forward as a group, and the Legion moved to match them.
[However, not all of them appear to be on the same level as their leader. The Legion is confident that victory is possible using our specialty: group tactics.]
The all-purpose Legionnaires drew their swords and charged forward in unison.
The dense, coordinated attacks and chain combos, with each individual moving in perfect sync, was a tactic only the all-purpose Legionnaires, created from human and orc bases, could execute.
Kang Do-yeon also lunged once more toward the leader, who had staggered back to his feet.
'I can see it now.'
She dodged the weakened man's sword and swung her own, severing his arm.
Then, she immediately followed up by slashing his neck.
The blue-burning light in his eyes and the glowing patterns faded.
"...Are they sad?"
While the Legionnaires cornered the remaining enemies according to their calculated and planned tactics,
she stared blankly down at the face of the corpse, which had become like a mummy.
*
[The body of the last resisting enemy has fallen, brought down by our allies who charged simultaneously.]
"It's not over yet."
"Right. We need to see what's inside."
The Legion was victorious, but it was too soon to relax.
I watched Kang Do-yeon as she slowly approached the structure the enemies had been trying to protect.
I zoomed in the screen, matching her point of view.
"This place... it really looks like a temple."
[Sending in a scout first.]
A Legionnaire standing nearby took on the role of a scout.
It pushed open the massive stone doors and went inside.
This time, I switched my view to the scout.
"Is... is that an enemy?!"
[No hostility is detected. No, it is not even alive like the others.]
In this spacious area, a single being sat cross-legged in the very center.
An ancient magic circle, seemingly drawn in blood, was spread across the entire floor, with the figure at its center.
"It's him. The flow that was spreading throughout this entire place is circulating around that mummy."
Kang Do-yeon covered her mouth with her hand as she saw it.
A Legionnaire strode forward and pulled out something the mummy was clutching tightly to its chest.
"...A Vajra?"
"What's that?"
"It's a thing."
Of course, it probably wasn't a real one, but at least to my eyes, it resembled the ritual implement known as a Vajra.
The Legionnaire twisted and pulled out something embedded in the middle of the Vajra.
[It is a self-luminescent gem, engraved with a strange pattern. The pattern may share similarities with other patterns drawn in this place. This peculiar flow, the source of the spell that controlled the phantoms, is this very gem.]
It looked like an extraordinary object, even to me.
Kang Do-yeon, who received it, also stared at it with a dazed expression.
"Is it possible to use it or analyze it?"
[Not yet. More data is required.]
Unfortunately, it seemed it would be difficult to use it right away.
"There's a clue here. Look at this."
"Yeah. This is better than characters we can't even read."
For now, they pocketed the glowing stone—a pie in the sky—and Kang Do-yeon moved elsewhere.
[The Legion also showed great interest. How could those bizarre patterns on the wall possibly be a clue? But it soon realized that the patterns were 'depicting' something.]
"...You're saying this is a picture. Like a mural? What is it a drawing of?"
Kang Do-yeon shared her knowledge with the Legion, which was encountering the concept of pictures for the first time.
The Legion immediately began to observe all the drawings within the temple.
"Look at this. Can you see, Oppa? This looks like the starting point."
At that, Kang Do-yeon pointed somewhere.
I checked that part as well.
It was indeed a mural.
To be precise, a depiction of a group of people entering a cave.
While being threatened by others holding spears, no less.
"These people... were they driven from the surface?"
Both my sister and I interpreted it similarly.
I naturally looked at the panel next to it.
Next to it was a drawing of people developing an underground city, centered around a lavishly adorned figure.
[After analyzing Kang Do-yeon's analysis, the Legion made its own judgment about the pictures. According to this mural, it seemed there was more than one of these city-like places.]
"There are numerous cities drawn here. But what's next? The cities are disappearing, one by one."
The mural was about halfway deciphered.
From this point, strange things began to appear.
[The cities fell one by one, and the survivors fled in haste. But there was nowhere left to hide. They gathered in the one last remaining city. And they made a decision.]
"...They sealed the entrance themselves. And everyone participated in the ritual. To protect their home, their last bastion, from being trampled. The floor below must have been some kind of outpost. Built to find a place to escape. But we, who came up from below, know. There was no escape down there."
Kang Do-yeon muttered as she looked at the final drawing.
They had succeeded in uncovering some of the truth, but just as many new questions had arisen.
[The unidentified monsters that drove these once-thriving people to self-destruction... let's hope they are living creatures.]
Of course, regardless of the circumstances, the Legion was hoping to meet prey it could devour as soon as possible.
"What about the seal?"
[Look at the screen. The seal was broken the moment we dismantled the Vajra. The Legion has already dispatched scouts.]
The screen changed.
This time, the view switched to that of a scout soaring through the air.
On the 37th floor, the one after this 36th floor, there were also structures.
However, compared to the good condition of the floor below, it was literally in ruins.
"There's vegetation. Is it because this place wasn't sealed off and isolated?"
Here and there, one could see cave vegetation, including the characteristic mushrooms and moss.
However, no movement of any sizable creatures could be detected or seen.
[This place, also a developed stem layer, was vast. More detailed reconnaissance is required. Above all, the nesting of the lower floors must continue, and the unexplored small caverns must also be searched.]
The Legion moved busily.
Of course, it was now at a point where it could easily handle multiple tasks at once.
"Let me know if you find anything."
With that, I turned off my phone.
The Legion was working hard as always, so it was time for me to get moving too.
'Can I do it? No, that's not what's important.'
I bit my lip as I looked at Cha Ji-yeon's message.
Other Units, other Players—they all get stronger as time passes.
If it's dangerous to hide quietly and dangerous to be active, then being active is the right choice.
In the end, this crazy game is just like an ecosystem.
A cold ruthlessness with not an ounce of mercy.
If you fall behind and become weak, you'll eventually be devoured by someone stronger, used as nothing more than nutrients.
I had to run forward, no matter what.
I checked the potion I had tucked away one more time.
This was the item that would help me commit the perfect crime.