Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Struggle for Survival (5)
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"Another way?"
"For instance, that goblin we met last time was shooting fireballs or something..."
"Of course, there must be various methods. It's the same with Hunters' status windows."
Cha Ji-yeon, who was overseeing my training, nodded in agreement.
Form Power—and the countless ways to achieve it.
I decided to gather data to find the most efficient and best method for the Legion.
"For example, the Thousand Soul Art cannot be learned unless one's own soul meets a certain threshold. Could mere goblins learn this spell? They must have their own methods."
"I think I get it."
The method the Legion had found for itself flashed through my mind.
It had explicitly stated that the Thousand Soul Art was inefficient for it.
The Legion's soul was powerful but singular; splitting it would reduce its efficiency.
The alternative it had found was to use Divine Stones, a special mineral Cha Ji-yeon also called mana stones.
"My Player emphasized that when manifesting Form Power, things like efficiency and speed are just as important as the sheer power of the output. She added that the Thousand Soul Art satisfies all those conditions."
"I see."
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
I had actually heard this before as well.
The Legion had also said it searched for a method by weighing a combination of various factors.
The concept of integrating Divine Stones, minerals imbued with energy, into its body was something the Legion had developed on its own with those considerations in mind.
It might even be a method only the Legion could use.
After all, embedding stones into one's own body is no easy feat.
"Try to do what you've learned."
"Understood."
It was time to put aside all other thoughts.
I focused my mind and tried to manifest what she had taught me.
My fear that I wouldn't be able to do it, since her Player had seen the Legion's soul and not mine, was thankfully unfounded.
I could feel something within me.
I concentrated on it and attempted to move as I had been taught.
"Open your eyes, Shin-woo. You did it...!"
I heard Cha Ji-yeon's voice.
I slowly opened my eyes.
A faintly glowing aura was shimmering around my body.
I had succeeded in learning the basics.
"My Player is coveting you."
"Coveting me? For what?"
She silently pointed at me.
I flinched for a moment but managed a smile as I rejected the scouting offer.
"She says she'll tell you... the identity of the ones who harmed your sister."
"What...?"
But her next words shattered my expectations.
Cha Ji-yeon bowed her head deeply, as if apologizing for bringing up my sister, a topic she was forced to mention by her Player.
"Is she really just going to tell me?"
"My Player seems to want you to be angry at them."
This was an unexpected windfall.
Cha Ji-yeon looked apologetic, as if she were reopening an old wound, but I was fine.
More than that, I wanted to hear the story.
"Tell me. Please."
I placed a hand on her shoulder to show her I was okay.
"It might seem obvious, but we aren't the only human species in this universe, apparently."
"...I guess that makes sense. We've seen all sorts of aliens."
Technically, orcs and goblins were alien species too.
Given the circumstances, it wasn't hard to believe that other humans existed in other worlds.
"Wait, are those suits and guns all...?"
"My Player calls them the Human Federation. She says there's a powerful faction somewhere in the universe with that name."
Cha Ji-yeon nodded.
A highly advanced human species, just like the ones Earthlings had imagined and depicted in movies, comics, and novels.
Such beings truly existed, and one of them was the Player who had several Earthlings as their Units.
Given that even a guy like me was a Player, the logic was so sound that I could only nod blankly.
"My Player says that for ages, they've been fighting among themselves and extending their greedy hands to their surroundings, making them quite vicious..."
"That part sounds a bit malicious. A Player is ultimately just an individual."
"I think so too."
Cha Ji-yeon, who had been relaying her Player's words, gave a bitter smile and nodded.
It wasn't likely her Player thought I wouldn't notice; it seemed she genuinely despised them.
A Player is an individual. No matter the disposition of the group a Player belongs to, you can't equate the two.
...Unless they all share a single mind or creed.
But since they were described as a human species, that possibility was low.
"The bastards who tried to hunt my sister are obviously detestable, and I want to kill them, but I don't want to extend that to the entire group that Player belongs to."
For one, it was too dangerous.
My primary goal, after all, was to survive.
Cha Ji-yeon nodded, calling my decision wise.
"However, she says you must consider it."
"Excuse me?"
"What if that Player intentionally leaks information they know to mobilize the group they belong to?"
Her expression hardened.
If that was true, the story was becoming far more complex.
It meant that outsiders, completely unrelated to this game, could collectively jump into the fray and wreak havoc.
Just like the allied forces of Earth's nations, who were now defining the monsters beyond the Gate as enemies and preparing an expedition.
And the ones who had spearheaded that movement were none other than Evolution, the group of Units Cha Ji-yeon belonged to.
"Evolution is..."
"They're acting because there's a mutual benefit, I assume."
Cha Ji-yeon readily admitted it.
The reason she and the other Step-Up Hunters could share information without issue wasn't just because they were all powerful Hunters. It was because they had actively recruited various powers, like the governments and associations of each country, and turned them into allies.
*
"Is training over for today?"
"Yeah. I made some progress."
While Cha Ji-yeon was briefly away, I went into my room and quietly turned on my phone.
Actually, it had been on for a little while.
I had secretly turned it on to watch the Legion and my sister for a bit before speaking up.
As soon as it heard I was there, the Legion rushed to the flesh wall and threw itself against it.
"Do you need anything?"
"N-Need anything?"
"Like, say, books?"
I just said it outright.
Having eavesdropped on the conversation between the Legion and my sister, I knew the Legion was thirsty for knowledge.
Of course, my sister had made the excuse that she was the one who wanted to read, but I didn't buy it for a second.
She was the type who never read anything but comics.
"Right... could you send some? Anything."
"That's not hard."
"B-But there's one thing you absolutely have to send."
But it seemed there was something I didn't know.
Kang Do-yeon's expression was awkward and strange.
"What do you need...?"
"The... Bible."
My sister mumbled, staring at the floor.
We had never so much as stepped inside a church, nor did we have any religion we believed in.
I let out a dry laugh.
[It is only natural for the Legion to be curious about creation and God.]
"Really...? Religion doesn't exactly seem to fit with a species of reason."
[It could be it simply wants it for reference.]
I didn't think the Legion would get swept up in religion, but it was still on my mind.
For now, I told her I would.
"There's one more thing."
But the Legion's desires, conveyed through Kang Do-yeon, didn't seem to end there.
My sister's face twisted as if she were about to say something unspeakable. She finally squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth.
"Oppa, what's your ideal type?"
And the words that came out of her mouth sent a shiver down my spine.
Why did I have to hear those words from her?!
"Reeeally... Why are you suddenly asking about my ideal type?"
"It's not a big deal. I can ask, can't I? And it's not like I'm asking because I like you."
I could hear the sound of her grinding her teeth.
I rubbed the goosebumps that had broken out on my arm.
Of course, I knew who was making her ask this, and I knew the intention behind it.
I took a moment to think about my answer.
There weren't many forms the Legion could take right now anyway.
Besides my human sister, Kang Do-yeon, there were the Moonbeam Fairies?
But their overly pale skin and non-human appearance didn't really appeal to me.
"Of course, I like pretty."
"So, the standard for that prettiness is... No, just name one celebrity you think is the prettiest."
"No."
Trying to take the easy way out, are we?
I saw the shocked look on my sister's face and smirked.
"Try to think of one yourself. If you just copy someone's appearance, it won't feel special. There's no reason to pursue an unattainable perfection. You can learn to love imperfection."
There, I spoke not to Kang Do-yeon, but directly to the Legion, which I knew was listening to this entire conversation.
I wonder if it understood my words.
"You relayed my words exactly, right? You didn't leave anything out or alter it because it might hinder the Legion's growth?"
[That is correct. As I have already said, I will no longer interfere. I wonder how the current Legion interpreted what you just said.]
"...I don't think there was anything to misinterpret, was there?"
What I wanted to tell the Legion was not to obsess over perfection.
It was in the same vein as telling it not to overdo it.
"I should go to the bookstore for a moment... no. It would be faster to just send an e-reader."
I used a secondhand marketplace app to quickly get a spare phone nearby.
Then I started loading it with various books.
I had no idea what good the knowledge accumulated by humanity would do for the Legion, though.
"Will it calm down a bit if it learns some humanities?"
Muttering nonsense, I sent the spare phone over as a gift.