Chapter 39
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The World's Secret (5)
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[An enemy too colossal to be dealt with quickly using the Legion's current firepower. The Legion decided to immediately put its newly acquired weapon to use.]
The new weapon was infection.
The artillery-type soldiers began to fire toxic thorns, showering the giant bull.
Dozens of thorns pierced the skin of the beast that had been crushing Legion soldiers with its overwhelming mass.
[The thorns were no longer coated in acid, but in another, improved type of Legion soldier. Bacteria-type Legion soldiers.]
It didn't take long to create soldiers at the cellular level.
The massive body staggered and let out a mournful cry.
Kang Do-yeon and the other Legion soldiers slowly backed away.
[A large number of bacteria were injected at once, accelerating the rate of infection.]
"...It's quite effective."
As the bull thrashed wildly, the bulging tumors and chunks of flesh on its body burst and fell off with a splat.
Even the Ruin Fungus, now converted into Legion soldiers, took on a black pigment.
Thanks to this, the bull's body was transformed, as if covered in a network of black veins resembling tree roots.
"Groooaaar!"
It roared, turning its thick head in the opposite direction.
There was no way the enemy could handle the colossal body that had been crushing even the Legion soldiers.
"Let's go!"
With the bull clearing a path, Kang Do-yeon once again led the Legion soldiers in a charge.
I could see scouts cutting through the air, swiftly advancing toward the next floor.
[Indeed, I now understand why they sealed the entrance and chose to determine their own end with their own hands.]
"...Is there even an end to this?"
[It matters not whether there is an end. The Ruin Fungus must have triumphed until now with their tireless bodies, their staggering numbers, and their unyielding ferocity.]
I was appalled by the sight of the endless horde of infected on the screen, but the Legion showed no sign of wavering.
[But in what way are we inferior to them? We, too, are tireless. We, too, are fearless in any situation. And our numbers surpass theirs.]
The Legion unleashed the energy it had stockpiled by consuming the lower-floor vegetation it had been saving.
Before my eyes, I could see an army of tens of thousands being produced from the entire nest in real time.
[Their corpses are our food. The vegetation that begins to reappear is also our food. They devoured only living animals, but we devour everything that lives, including them.]
The Legion soldiers that had painstakingly pushed their way up from the 37th floor began to fight once more, facing the horde pouring into the 38th floor.
Monsters of all kinds charged forward with monstrous screams.
A chilling, silent black tide swept over them in response.
A war of thousands raged throughout the vast cavern, illuminated by phosphorescent stones that shone like moonlight.
I lost all track of time, just watching the battle unfold.
This was not a fight that would end quickly.
It was a war of attrition, with both sides pouring in forces for days on end until one finally gave way.
"...I'm home."
Late at night.
I had been staring at the screen the whole way, and now I was home.
The house was quiet.
My mother was there, but she was just sitting blankly, looking at my sister's picture.
There was nothing I could do for her right now.
If I told her about the app and the game, it would only amplify her worries.
After all, my sister had become a monster, destined to lead other monsters in an endless war.
"..."
I apologized to her in my head and went into my room.
My sister's situation was one thing, but now I had to make my own move—no, I already had.
"Yes, Ms. Cha. It was a success."
I contacted Cha Ji-yeon.
I was planning to join her now.
My mother would be in danger if she stayed with me, a Player.
"Pack your things and come to the usual place."
Cha Ji-yeon instructed me to come to the safe house we always used.
I packed my bags without a word.
I had already told my mother. She probably thinks it's a school-related retreat.
[The Legion wishes to make you an offering.]
"W-what?"
[The Legion has noticed the turmoil you are feeling.]
But then.
An unexpected voice sounded from my phone.
"What on earth... More importantly, I haven't given a boon yet."
[There is no rule that you must give something first.]
Soon, something materialized before me in a shimmer of light.
I numbly accepted it.
"Don't tell me this is..."
[It is a device that can fire toxic thorns by igniting an internal gas when the trigger is pulled.]
The Legion had once again given me something useful.
To a Player as useless as me.
[Useless? No, you need to change your way of thinking. In an ecosystem, survival is everything. Especially for a Player. Compared to all those who have died, you are doing more than enough.]
"I'm useless compared to Cha Ji-yeon's Player."
[We will see if that is truly the case when this game is over.]
Will this game ever be over?
I didn't bother to speak again.
The only comfort I had was that the Legion didn't seem to think poorly of me.
"I should give something, too."
I took out the last of the glucose candies I had bought online and stockpiled, and took a picture.
The food provision feature was designed for the very early stages, so this amount probably wouldn't even make a dent for the now massive Legion.
I just hoped it would understand my sentiment.
While I was at it, I bought some bread for my sister and took a picture of that, too.
*
[Do not be so hasty. He will soon send his reward to you.]
In the deepest part of the nest, where boons materialized.
The Legion had its own body waiting there.
Before long, something appeared in a shimmer of light.
The Legion picked it up with a trembling hand.
It was just the same simple candy it had been eating all this time.
But now, it held a different meaning.
"It holds his feelings."
The lower part of its mask vanished with a soft hiss, revealing red lips and a small mouth.
It then put the candy, wrapper and all, into its mouth and crunched down.
"This is... delicious, isn't it?"
[...]
The Legion, chewing on the paper wrapper along with the candy, smiled faintly at the sweet taste it was experiencing for the first time.
It sat there and devoured all the candies.
Of course, its body had no digestive organs, so it had to expel everything and feed it to the nest, but the Legion accepted the inefficiency and insisted on eating it directly.
[That bread was sent for Kang Do-yeon.]
"...I know."
All that was left was the bag of bread.
But the Legion just held it and stared blankly.
A strange feeling made it furrow its brow.
[Are you planning to eat that?]
"Kang Do-yeon is also a part of me. If I eat it, she eats it."
In the end, the Legion did not give the bread to Kang Do-yeon.
It wasn't out of greed.
Kang Do-yeon could chew and taste with her mouth, but she couldn't digest it either and would have to vomit it back up.
"Delicious."
The pieces of bread began to disappear into its mouth.
With that soft, sweet taste, the Legion learned another emotion.
"I wish he had given it for me."
This bread was not meant for it.
Of course, he had certainly taken care of it as well.
But it wanted to have it all.
Entirely for itself.
In the end, the Legion shoved the last piece of bread into its mouth.
It wasn't a difficult decision.
After all, Kang Do-yeon was just a part of it.
[The war with the infected is still raging. Even now, as you've turned your primary consciousness to eating bread.]
"No problem."
The Legion could hear, see, and think all at once.
Besides, Kang Do-yeon, a sub-mind with her own brain, was on site, so there were no issues with control.
If any part of it was lacking, it could simply borrow Kang Do-yeon's brain.
The fierce battlefield.
Here, the battle between the endlessly swarming infected and the constantly replenished Legion soldiers had been going on for hours.
[They continue to swarm, but we have already occupied half of this cavern. The energy we absorb from killing them is now enough to break even.]
The Legion swiftly transported the corpses of the slain to the nest, immediately absorbing them for energy.
In the process, the Legion even developed a method to restore cells that had been mutated and corrupted by the Ruin Fungus.
[Moonlight Fairy: 1k2232]
[Great Cavern Bison: 3j5569]
With this power, it became possible to restore and identify the genes of the infected.
And the analyzed genes, in turn, became the Legion's strength.
"Fairy."
The Legion remembered what Kang Do-yeon had explained about fairies and elves.
Of course, she had only been describing them based on works of fiction she had seen, but upon analyzing the genes, the Legion discovered a few interesting things.
[The infection is not that old. Could it be that there are survivors somewhere in this labyrinth?]
"Sufficiently valuable."
The moment it saw the possibility, the Legion made a swift decision.
The situation was different from before.
Previously, all it could do was devour and analyze, but now it had a variety of ways to obtain information.
The Legion's scouts began to scatter into various passages, flying over the heads of the rampaging infected.
Here, there, everywhere—there were only infected creatures of the Ruin Fungus.
With all living animals already fallen, a scout that had ascended to the upper floor soon discovered a trace.
[A relatively recent wound... This was undoubtedly a sign of battle. It was evidence for our hypothesis of potential survivors.]
The scrapes and bloodstains scattered across the walls and floor did not look like the work of the infected, who do not attack each other.