Chapter 46
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Struggle for Survival (6)
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"The utilization of Form Power through Divine Stones. But they said the true power of the Moonlight Fairies comes from this Divine Tree."
While the Legion was briefly reorganizing its main forces.
I shifted my gaze to where Kang Do-yeon had moved.
This place, once the stronghold of the survivors.
Now, only a single life remained there.
"I can feel it. Even this young Divine Tree is imbued with power."
"...Is the Legion planning to use even that?"
As my sister slowly stroked the tree, my eyes were drawn to the stakes scattered around it.
They were the stakes that had encircled the Divine Tree, engraved with intricate carvings.
I heard they were a gift from a Player.
I didn't feel at ease.
I wondered how the opposing Player, whose face and name I didn't even know, watched as their last remaining Unit was tortured by our Legion, forced to give up information before dying.
When the last survivor dies, the Player dies too.
[Do not be afraid. The Legion can feel it.]
"Oops."
I hurriedly calmed my mind.
I could handle other emotions, but I didn't want to show any weakness to the Legion.
"We're going to devour this Divine Tree."
"Is that possible? Uh... I've never given the Legion a living plant before."
The Legion's choice was as I expected, but I spoke up just in case.
Until now, plants had never been a consideration.
There were no plants I could grow in that barren otherworld cave.
"If we can obtain the power of a plant, maybe we could even gain energy through photosynthesis later."
"I don't know about that. In any case, the Legion has already made its decision."
Kang Do-yeon, who had been stroking the Divine Tree, stood up.
Behind her, the Legion's Nest was already extending its tentacles and fleshy walls.
[The Legion has determined that if we can utilize the power of the Moonlight Fairies' Divine Tree—its power sharing and linking capabilities—the Form Power we are developing can advance to another level.]
"Form Power..."
I muttered, watching the Divine Tree being slowly digested by the Nest.
I'd heard that the Hunters' abilities were the same, but it was a concept I had only recently learned about.
And I was still in the process of learning it.
"I think I should go now. Take care of yourself."
"Huh? Oh, okay."
Though she only said she was leaving, she didn't actually turn off the connection.
I silently watched the phone.
Beside my sister, who was waving a hand toward the sky, someone who had appeared out of nowhere scurried over.
"Show me how to use it."
It spoke.
From behind, a flying unit that had been carrying the spare phone I gave them in its claws flew over and dropped the device into its hand.
That's when I turned off the phone.
"Make sure to send a notification if anything unusual happens."
[Of course.]
I spoke firmly, thinking it might try to exploit a loophole if I wasn't clear, and then opened my door.
Cha Ji-yeon was just coming in.
"From what I can see, the dominant force on Earth seems to be Evolution, the group you belong to, Ms. Cha."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's just something I was thinking about. Uh, from a Player's perspective."
During a simple meal.
Park Jun-seok, who usually stayed quietly in his room, spoke up.
"Come to think of it, Mr. Park, what are your Units like?"
I seized the opportunity and asked casually, as if it were nothing.
Fortunately, he just grinned and suddenly showed me a picture.
"Aren't they cute?"
In it were screenshots.
His Units generally had the form of dogs.
Moreover, they were bipedal, in a form one might call beastmen.
At least they didn't live in a cave.
"Leaving behind information isn't a good idea."
"I know, but it's all meaningless if I die anyway, isn't it?"
Cha Ji-yeon spoke cautiously, but he shook his head.
"That's how careful a Player has to be. Even if you try to hide, some people, like Ms. Cha, have the ability to find you."
"...So?"
"I'm guessing other Players have probably banded together as well, including their Units. And the ones they'd be most wary of are the strongest factions, right?"
His words had a point.
In the end, Units that have to kill each other can never truly unite.
That's why Evolution, the group Cha Ji-yeon belonged to, joined hands with the most powerful and largest rulers of this world: ordinary people.
But that action was bound to make other Units wary.
"My Player must have their reasons."
She murmured quietly.
Her expression wasn't good. She had once told me that she was nothing more than a pawn.
"But no matter how much they try to interfere, they won't be able to stop this expedition."
"I... suppose so? If this expedition gets overturned, they'd be making an enemy of the entire world."
I turned my gaze to the TV.
Lately, the news had been dominated by one story.
The allied forces of the world's major nations, led by Evolution, were going to reverse the flow, opening a Gate to strike the monsters' home base.
People's anger was already boiling over from the pillaging that had occurred all across the globe.
It was unlikely that even a strong group of Units would make enemies of the general populace.
They'd be busy enough fighting other Units.
"For now, let's all just focus on surviving."
She said, looking at me.
I nodded.
But I'm no longer satisfied with just surviving.
The reason I'm taking the risk and going there is to become stronger.
"Ah, I'll be hiding quietly until you all get back. As you know, I'm not alone."
Park Jun-seok chuckled and returned to his room.
It's really not long now.
The time for me to jump into the battlefield myself.
*
[Moonlight Divine Tree: 3n1699]
"The Divine Tree..."
"This life-form has the ability to resonate with and amplify any nearby Form Power using its own energy. But its true power lies elsewhere."
In the heart of the 39th floor's stem layer.
In the middle of this place, which had almost completely transformed into a Nest, a tree with black bark had grown from the fleshy floor.
The tree had already grown past a sapling and was now the size of a young tree.
Kang Do-yeon tilted her head back, looking up at the tree that had grown taller than her.
"Don't tell me that's..."
"That's right. This is the tree's true power."
Her eyes widened.
This tree, modified by the Legion, had not a single leaf, unlike before.
From the tips of its withered-looking branches, something red began to form and gradually grow larger.
The Legion focused its energy to accelerate its growth.
Soon, it had grown to the size of a newborn's fist before it dropped with a soft thud.
Kang Do-yeon caught it in her palm.
It was a rough ore with a dark red luster.
"A Divine Stone."
"The new Legion soldiers have the ability to process and change the form of energy. Such as converting absorbed nutrients into Divine Stones imbued with Form Power."
The Legion summoned its new soldiers.
They weren't entirely new, but rather slightly modified versions of existing ones.
Kang Do-yeon noticed the Divine Stone embedded like a heart inside the body of a versatile unit that approached her.
The Legion had made a bold investment to turn some of its soldiers into an elite force.
"It's our Legion's own new power source."
Flinching, she placed a hand on her chest.
In fact, a Divine Stone was already inside her body.
This stone was the finest quality item obtained from the legacy of the Moonlight Fairies, but now the Legion had acquired the ability to mass-produce such stones.
A Legion soldier approached and handed her something.
Seeing it, Kang Do-yeon accepted it with a tense expression.
"The strongest sword."
A special sword forged by mixing finely crushed Divine Stones into the Legion's carapace.
It resonated with the Divine Stone that served as her heart, beginning to glow with a crimson light.
[It is time to advance once more.]
"...I understand."
Receiving the command, Kang Do-yeon finally turned around.
Energy is scarce.
As the Legion's mass and brain grew, and as it acquired new powers, its energy requirements increased exponentially.
To satisfy this hunger, it naturally had to devour anything and everything.
[The Sword of the Legion has left for war. Should not the Brain of the Legion also do its part?]
"I've already seen it. And I've memorized it. All of it."
While the Legion's claws and fangs—its soldiers—moved ceaselessly.
The Legion was fiddling with the phone.
It had to memorize everything in it before the battery died.
But the Legion's brain was now far larger and faster than a mere mobile phone.
[So, have you obtained all the knowledge you desired?]
"No."
The Legion shook its head firmly.
The science books, humanities books, engineering books, and more that had been haphazardly stored on the phone.
It had read and memorized all of them in a flash, as if scanning them, but they weren't particularly appealing to the Legion at the moment.
Mechanical engineering, scientific technology, and philosophy were merely reference materials for a being entirely different from the humans of Earth.
If anything, the creative works infused with human imagination or the Bible it had requested earlier were more interesting.
It believed that the history he and it were creating together was a myth in the making.
"But none of it explains what 'he' considers beautiful."
[...]
For now, most of its attention was directed elsewhere.
The Legion had also heard what he said to his sister.
It hadn't realized he was practically speaking to it, simply thinking it had obtained good information, but finding an answer was proving difficult.
"What is beauty?"
The Legion, having removed its mask, caressed its own face.
A face identical to Kang Do-yeon's.
Kang Do-yeon was certainly known in her circles for her lovely appearance, but 'the most important person' didn't think of her as pretty at all, instead seeing her as just Creature #1 living with him.
Therefore, from the Legion's perspective, Kang Do-yeon's face was not beautiful at all.
'More data.'
In the end, the conclusion the Legion reached was no different than before.
To accumulate more data and create a new body.