A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

“Uh…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I’m Lieutenant Yoon Sua. Actually, I’m a Fake Soldier. I volunteered for the Special Operations Unit to join the expedition.”

She removed her beret and smiled faintly. Her short hair, tied into a net, swayed slightly.

I, on the other hand, was so flustered that I couldn’t even move my tongue and just fumbled awkwardly.

Cold sweat trickled down my back as I worried about what would happen if she figured out that I was a Player.

“Were you perhaps leaving a voice log? Don’t worry, I only caught the last word.”

“Ah… A voice log?”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be from “that side.”

Instead, she glanced at the mobile phone I had placed on the makeshift desk, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, and made an incorrect assumption.

“Yes, something like that… similar.”

Of course, from my perspective, I was grateful for her misunderstanding.

Suddenly, I became someone sentimental enough to leave voice logs on the battlefield.

While I was dying of embarrassment, her eyes gleamed with interest.

“It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“No, I think it’s fine. Things like that.”

“By the way… why did you come here, Lieutenant?”

Come to think of it, she didn’t even knock before coming in.

Or maybe she did, and I just didn’t hear it.

“I just came to take a look. Even though it was during the fight, you left quite an impression.”

“That goes for me as well.”

I still vividly remember the sight of her fighting that monster, the Demonic Mole Cricket.

“I was just doing my job. But I’m good at reading people. I’ve experienced enough to know. Saving is always harder than fighting.”

But she looked at me with sparkling eyes.

It was an unexpected and bewildering interest that I hadn’t anticipated at all.

“You were a Hunter, right? Were you with a company? Or a freelancer?”

“…I just started recently.”

“Then you came here as soon as you Awakened?”

She, who had approached me first with interest, talked a lot.

I responded calmly to this unexpected connection.

There was also the possibility that she was a hidden Unit or Player.

“Why? Ah, maybe that’s too rude of me to ask.”

She perched herself on the desk and spoke with a smile.

Still, talking with her like this, she didn’t seem like someone with malicious intent, even if she was a bit self-centered.

“If I had to say, it’s about seizing an opportunity.”

I gave her the external excuse of avenging an old Nemesis.

She, startled, glanced at me with a Chris-like expression and opened her mouth slightly.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Isn’t it the same for everyone? Even the regular soldiers are composed of volunteers.”

“…That’s true. Actually, it’s the same for me.”

Her expression darkened for a moment.

I closed my mouth.

Come to think of it, Yoon Sua, who was said to be a normal B-Rank Hunter, also volunteered for this expedition.

“I also lost my family to those Demonic Creatures.”

“My condolences…”

“No! They’re definitely alive. It’s been less than a week since they were taken.”

Her eyes flashed.

The intense determination radiating from her was palpable, even to me.

“That’s why… I will definitely go to save them.”

“Yes.”

I nodded. I couldn’t say anything more hopeful or negative.

She then smiled again to lighten the mood and, after chatting a bit more, left, saying, “See you next time.”

“I was happy when you said I was helpful.”

Her last words carried weight.

I sat there blankly.

I had decided to act for the Legion and had actually done so.

And as a result of those actions, a new connection had been formed.

I wondered if this was really okay as I wrestled with uneasy feelings, then turned the app back on.

[The Legion has offered you a Sacrifice.]

But before I could activate the app, something arrived in front of me, as if waiting for me to be alone.

“The Legion’s Power Core.”

[To be precise, it is closer to the Divine Stone used by the Moonlight Fairies.]

I picked up the Red Ore that appeared before me.

Compared to what I had seen in the app, its size was smaller.

It was usually about the size of a fist, but this one was less than a quarter of that.

However, unlike ordinary Core Engines, it had intricate patterns engraved on it.

“Why this? What’s its purpose?”

[Its foundation lies in the Heavenly Soul Technique. Haven’t you already learned it?]

“That’s right.”

I had already learned how to handle Mana Stones from Cha Jiyeon.

I focused my power and injected it into the ore.

At the same time, the ore showed no reaction.

“It’s not a failure. It’s just set to be like this.”

[It is an item that can identify the Player and Units. The principle is the String. When power is injected, it senses the Subtle Soul String and emits light. It can also block forces attempting to scan you.]

“Impressive.”

I couldn’t help but be amazed.

It was truly a necessary and highly useful item for me.

“In that case, I should return the favor. What should I give?”

[Must you give something?]

“Yes. In the past, I might have hesitated, but not anymore.”

The intent was obvious. Its primary purpose was the Growth of the Legion.

Having used me well until now, it probably hoped for the Legion to abandon its obsession with me and become a Mad Predator consumed by madness.

But I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let the Legion discard me now.

Even if the Observer tried its tricks again, it wouldn’t matter.

Ultimately, the most important thing was the will of the Player, which I had already confirmed.

“I feel like I haven’t taken care of it enough.”

Thinking this, the thought of making it conscious and anxious made me feel a bit guilty.

So, giving it a carrot or two now seemed like a good idea.

*

“Hey, I’m not taking it.”

“…I know. I’m not exactly being wary.”

“Seriously, this is driving me crazy.”

In the Legion’s Nest, the two were munching on something.

Kang Do-Yeon, casually sitting, spat out the snack she had been chewing.

The snack fell to the floor and dissolved.

And the same went for the Legion, which was also chewing a snack with only its mouth visible.

However, the Legion was clutching onto something else in addition to the snack.

‘What is my brother even thinking?!’

Kang Do-Yeon agonized internally, unable to say it out loud.

The cause was Shin Woo’s attitude, as the person who had been burdened by the Legion’s obsession suddenly changed his demeanor.

‘At this rate… it really feels like raising a daughter.’

She stared at the Bestowed Item and ‘gift’ the Legion was holding with a troubled gaze.

It was nothing special. It was a Small Doll, and she couldn’t even guess how they had obtained it from that place.

Of course, what was given wasn’t the important part.

What mattered was that ‘he gave it to her through them.’

Kang Do-Yeon scratched her head, unable to comprehend.

The Legion had been given a doll to pass on. And the Legion, without the slightest doubt, carried out the act.

‘He definitely knows something.’

But she didn’t.

She instinctively realized that her Older Brother had figured out that the Legion had formed a body and was hiding that fact.

This also meant that the Observer, who was acting as the Mediator, sided with Shin Woo instead of the Legion in this matter.

Because of this, the intention behind it became even more of a mystery.

What was being done now was an act that shook the still-unstable psyche of the Legion, reinforcing its Obsession.

Still, she suppressed her curiosity with the thought that there must be some meaning behind it.

[The Scouts have discovered something.]

“Very interesting.”

Just then, the Legion’s Scouts, who had been investigating the Upper Stratum after the battle, found something.

[Logically speaking, there was a contradiction. The Mutant Destruction Fungus is powerful. It is only natural since it is an existence born from devouring other Destruction Fungus. If so, it shouldn’t have suffered from Energy deficiency. There are still many Destruction Fungus Infected Entities, and the Labyrinth is vast. However, the behavior of these entities was strange.]

“They should have dominated every place as other Destruction Fungus do, but they acted as if they were blocked. The fact that they were specifically clustered on the 45th Stratum was also peculiar.”

The Legion had already noticed the oddities and kept them in mind.

And when the Mutant Destruction Fungus was exterminated and the area beneath the 45th Stratum was finally claimed as a complete territory of the Legion—

They discovered it at the Trunk of the 46th Stratum.

“This can’t be…”

Kang Do-Yeon covered her mouth in shock.

[An unidentified but powerful being.]

“It is undoubtedly a Destruction Fungus. A Mutant. But it is different from the others.”

The being was clearly alive, yet it did not attack the Legion’s Scouts.

It resembled a massive lump of flesh.

A Mutant Destruction Fungus, created by the fusion of countless Infected Entities.

However, its appearance differed from the Mutants on the Lower Stratum who had evolved into more violent and dominant forms.

“It doesn’t seem hostile?”

“Maybe communication is possible.”

The Legion felt something emanating from the massive body.

Momentarily, curiosity overtook the Legion’s instincts of War and Voracious Appetite, and it injected its Infected Cells into the colossal Mutant Destruction Fungus to infect it.

And the being did not resist.

[Infection-Proliferation Mutated Destruction Fungus Over-Colony: 6N0987]

Information about the being was registered in the Legion’s database.

The existence of the Infection-Proliferation Mutated Destruction Fungus Over-Colony, which had been anticipated, was now confirmed.

‘It claims it will not be hostile.’

In a partially assimilated state, the Legion could interpret the other’s intentions.

A massive being formed by the fusion of over hundreds of Destruction Fungus Colonies. However, this grand existence was now on the verge of death.

Ultimately, it was due to the same Energy deficiency that plagued the Mutants on the Lower Stratum.

Indeed, withered tissues were scattered around the massive body.

[The Over-Colonies possess the ability to forcibly manipulate nearby Destruction Fungus Colonies and draw them in. It is no wonder the Mutants on the Lower Stratum were startled. In a way, it could be called the Final Boss of Cannibalism.]

Not the first, but one of the strongest beings to have emerged.

However, ironically, the strongest Mutant Destruction Fungus, which had absorbed and unified all other Destruction Fungus except for the Mutants controlling the Lower Stratum, was now choosing death.

‘Why?’

The Legion, having partially read its thoughts, could not understand.

The Legion, which considered survival and evolution as the ultimate truth in any situation, found this even more incomprehensible.