A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

“The utilization of Formative Power using the Divine Stone. However, they said the true power of the Moonlight Fairies comes from this Sacred Tree.”

While the Legion temporarily reorganized its main force.

I shifted my gaze to where Kang Do-Yeon had moved.

This place, which had been the stronghold of the survivors.

Now, only a single life remained here.

“I can feel it. Even this young Sacred Tree holds power within it.”

“…Could the Legion be trying to use even that?”

As my younger sibling slowly stroked the tree, my eyes turned to the stakes scattered around.

They were intricately carved stakes that had surrounded the Sacred Tree.

I had heard they were bestowed items from a Player.

I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

How would the Opposing Player, whose face and name we didn’t even know, react to seeing their last remaining unit tortured for information and then killed by Our Legion?

When the final survivor dies, they would die too.

[Do not be afraid. The Legion senses it.]

“Damn.”

I hurriedly calmed myself down.

Regardless of other emotions, I didn’t want to show any weakness to the Legion.

“We will devour this Sacred Tree.”

“Is that possible? Uh… I’ve never given a living plant to the Legion before.”

The Legion’s decision was as expected, but I still voiced my doubts just in case.

Plants had never been considered up until now.

After all, there were no plants around me that could grow in the barren caves of the Otherworld.

“If we can harness the power of plants, wouldn’t we be able to derive energy from photosynthesis in the future?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, the Legion has already made its decision.”

Kang Do-Yeon, who had been stroking the Sacred Tree, stood up.

Before I knew it, the Legion’s Nest was extending its tentacles and flesh walls from behind.

[The power contained in the Sacred Tree of the Moonlight Fairies. The Legion judged that if we could utilize the sharing and linking of power, the Formative Power we are developing could advance to another level.]

“Formative Power…”

I muttered as I watched the Sacred Tree being gradually consumed by the Nest.

The Hunters’ special abilities were said to be similar, but it was a concept I had only recently learned about.

I was even still in the process of studying it.

“I think I’ll have to go now. Take care of yourself.”

“Huh? Oh, got it.”

Though I only mentioned leaving, I didn’t actually turn off the device.

I silently watched my mobile phone.

Next to my younger sibling, who was waving their hand toward the sky, someone suddenly appeared and approached.

“Teach me how to use this.”

The figure spoke.

Behind them, a Flying Species picked up the spare device, which had been given as a bestowed item, with its claw and dropped it into the figure’s hand.

At that, I turned off my mobile phone.

“Send a notification if there’s anything notable.”

[Of course.]

I firmly emphasized it, just in case they tried to exploit any loopholes, and then opened the door.

Just in time, Cha Jiyeon was coming in.

“In my view, the dominant force on Earth seems to be Evolution, which Cha Jiyeon is part of.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just something I thought about. Uh, from a Player’s perspective.”

As we had a simple meal.

Park Jun-Seok, who usually stayed quietly in his room, spoke up.

“By the way, what kind of units does Park Jun-Seok have?”

Taking the opportunity, I asked casually and nonchalantly.

Fortunately, he grinned and suddenly showed me a photo.

“They’re cute, aren’t they?”

The photos he showed were captured images.

His units all had the appearance of dogs.

Bipedal walking ones, in forms that could typically be described as beastmen.

At least, they didn’t live in caves.

“Leaving information behind isn’t very wise.”

“I know, but if I die, it’s meaningless anyway.”

Cha Jiyeon spoke cautiously, but he shook his head.

“That’s why Players have no choice but to be cautious. Even if they’re hiding, some, like Cha Jiyeon, have the ability to find them.”

“…So?”

“Other Players have probably formed groups as well. Including their units. Those kinds of groups would most likely be wary of the strongest faction.”

His words had weight.

In the end, units and units, which must kill each other, could never fundamentally unite.

Thus, Evolution, which Cha Jiyeon was a part of, joined hands with humans, the overlords of this world, who were the strongest and most numerous.

But that act surely made other units wary.

“My Player must have a plan.”

She murmured quietly.

Her expression wasn’t good. She had previously told me that she was merely a pawn.

“But no matter how much interference there is, they won’t be able to stop this expedition.”

“Right… If this expedition fails, it would mean making enemies of the entire world.”

I turned my gaze to the TV.

Recent news was all about one topic.

The Allied Forces, led by Evolution, were opening the Gate and attacking the stronghold of the demonic creatures.

The people’s anger, fueled by the pillaging that had occurred across Earth, was at its peak.

No matter how strong a unit group was, it seemed unlikely they would go against the humans.

They would be too busy fighting other units.

“For now, let’s just think about surviving.”

She said while looking at me.

I nodded.

But now, mere survival wasn’t enough for me.

The reason I was risking everything to go there was to become strong.

“Ah, I’ll stay hidden until you return. As you know, I’m not alone.”

Park Jun-Seok chuckled lightly and returned to his room.

It wasn’t long now.

The time to throw myself into the battlefield.

*

[Moonlight Divine Tree: 3n1699]

“The Sacred Tree…”

“This lifeform has the power to resonate with the Formative Power contained in nearby entities and amplify it with its own energy. But its true power lies elsewhere.”

At the center of the 39th Stratum’s Trunk Layer.

In the middle of this place, which had almost entirely undergone nestification, a black-barked tree had grown up from the flesh wall on the ground.

The tree had already grown beyond a sapling, reaching the level of a young tree.

Kang Do-Yeon tilted her head back and looked up at the tree that had grown taller than her.

“Could that be…”

“Yes. That is the true power of this tree.”

Her eyes widened.

The tree, which had been modified by the Legion, no longer had a single leaf.

At the end of its withered-looking branches, something red began to form and gradually grew larger.

The Legion concentrated its energy to accelerate its growth.

Before long, it grew to the size of a newborn’s fist and then fell with a thud.

Kang Do-Yeon caught it in her palm.

It was a crude ore with a dark red sheen.

“Divine Stone.”

“The new Legion Soldiers possess the ability to process and transform the form of energy. For instance, converting absorbed nutrients into a Divine Stone infused with Formative Power.”

The Legion summoned the new Legion Soldiers.

They weren’t entirely brand new but were slightly modified versions of the existing Legion Soldiers.

Kang Do-Yeon noticed the presence of the Divine Stone embedded like a heart within the body of the versatile Legion Soldier approaching her.

The Legion made a bold investment to turn some of its soldiers into an elite force.

“This is the new core engine unique to Our Legion.”

Startled, she placed her hand over her chest.

In truth, a Divine Stone was already inside her body.

This Divine Stone, obtained from the Legacy of the Moonlight Fairies, was of the highest quality, but now the Legion had acquired the capability to mass-produce such Divine Stones.

A Legion Soldier approached her and handed her something.

Seeing it, Kang Do-Yeon accepted it with a tense expression.

“The Strongest Sword.”

It was a special sword made by mixing finely crushed Divine Stone into the Legion’s Carapace.

As it resonated with the Divine Stone that now replaced her heart, it began to glow with a dark red light.

[It is time to move forward again.]

“…Understood.”

Receiving the command, Kang Do-Yeon eventually turned her body.

Energy was lacking.

As the Legion’s build expanded, its brain grew, and it gained new powers, the energy it required increased exponentially.

Naturally, to satiate this hunger, it had to devour anything it could.

[The Legion’s sword has left for war, so shouldn’t the Legion’s brain also fulfill its role?]

“I’ve already seen it. And I remembered everything. All of it.”

While the Legion Soldiers, the claws and teeth of the Legion, moved ceaselessly.

The Legion was fiddling with a mobile phone.

Before the battery ran out, it had to memorize everything stored within.

However, the Legion’s brain was now far larger and faster than a mere mobile phone.

[So, have you acquired all the knowledge you desired?]

“No.”

The Legion shook its head firmly.

The mobile phone contained a haphazard collection of science books, humanities books, engineering texts, and more.

In an instant, it had scanned and memorized all of them, but none of it appealed to the Legion at this moment.

Mechanical engineering, scientific technology, and philosophy—these were merely reference materials for a being entirely different from Earth’s humans.

Instead, creative works infused with human imagination or the previously requested Bible were of greater interest.

The Legion believed that the history it was creating with him would soon become mythology.

“But what he considers ‘beautiful’ isn’t mentioned anywhere.”

[…]

For now, most of its attention was directed elsewhere.

The Legion had also heard what he said to his younger sibling.

Though it didn’t realize those words were essentially directed at itself, it thought it had merely gained useful information, making it difficult to arrive at a clear conclusion.

“What does it mean to be beautiful?”

The maskless Legion touched its own face.

It was identical to Kang Do-Yeon’s face.

Though Kang Do-Yeon was quite renowned for her striking appearance, the one who mattered most didn’t even think of her as pretty, merely regarding her as just another living being.

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 remained unchanged from before.

It needed to gather more data to create a new body.