A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 68

"Huff... Huff..."

Ragged breaths stabbed at his lungs.

Even after escaping through that narrow and rough small hole, he didn’t stop running for even a moment.

His legs felt as if they were about to fall off, and every muscle in his body screamed in agony.

"I must... I must inform them faster..."

But the boy gritted his teeth and moved his body, enduring the pain of tearing muscles.

He knew that the fate of not only his family but also his entire species depended on him.

The sight of the city torn apart by the monsters emerging from the dark and barren land, and the somber face of the Great Chief as they grabbed his shoulder and pleaded, lingered vividly in his mind.

"I must..."

At the time when the Legion had finished stabilizing, communicating with Shin Woo, and was taking a brief period for reorganization.

The boy, shaking his head, had no idea of that news and thought only of climbing upward.

The reason they had settled there was because the ruins of their ancestors were relatively intact, but the upper stratum was not entirely empty.

For his purpose, there was no need to traverse all the dozens of strata above.

"Aaargh!"

The gasping boy stumbled and fell onto his backside.

What blocked his path with thundering steps was a golem with its core glowing brightly in its chest.

Unlike the golems of the lower stratum, the golems in this nearby region were not ordered to fight against the Destruction Fungus.

"Invader! Now! We are in danger!"

The boy, crouching, shouted frantically. It wasn’t his own language but the human language he had studied bit by bit.

The golem, which was about to step on the boy, suddenly halted its movements.

After a brief silence.

"Ride... Ride?"

The golem extended its hand toward the boy.

A low humming sound could be heard. Soon, the boy, regaining composure, climbed onto the golem's hand on his own.

"Nothing much to see here. Well, wasn’t this place already cleared out years ago?"

His tone was filled with indifference, showing no intention of taking a closer look from the beginning.

"Yes, Vice President of the Academy Club. Still, this time, our branch discovered various species in the Ancient Labyrinth..."

"Not exactly appealing. Wasn’t that labyrinth already claimed by someone else? Let’s just head back."

"Pardon...?"

The people, who had been nervously waiting, were taken aback by his words.

They had prepared countless things, expecting a visit from someone of his stature. From a major cleanup to polishing the floors and walls to a shine with toothbrushes, many had worked hard.

And now he was declaring his intention to leave after just a quick glance around.

"But Vice President of the Academy Club..! You haven’t even properly examined our research achievements!"

"Hmm?"

At that moment, someone, unable to hold back, stepped forward.

It was a young woman wearing a white robe as her research uniform. Everyone gasped as they saw her step forward.

"Researcher Reina."

He read her name from her badge and then smirked.

"I’ve seen enough. What is there to delve into here in the first place? I met the mayor yesterday. The city as a whole is unimpressive. With the fierce competition among other guilds, I don’t have time to invest in the research of those pushed to the frontier in such a remote place."

"But..."

"If you want to hold onto me and ascend to the center, you’ll need a groundbreaking subject."

He spoke without hesitation and turned away with his attendants.

The harsh truth he delivered left everyone frozen. They were resentful and frustrated, but there was nothing they could do.

To a mage belonging to the guild that ruled this world, the guild’s will was law and truth.

"Am I wrong, Reina? If your abilities were exceptional, wouldn’t your research already have been shown to me at the center?"

"No... Sir."

She lowered her head deeply and answered in a crawling voice.

Now the gazes that had been filled with surprise at her turned into ones of hostility and annoyance. They thought she had unnecessarily stepped forward and offended the Vice President of the Academy Club.

"Ahem, shall we leave now, Vice President..."

"Big! Big news!"

However, the news that came in at that moment halted his steps.

"Now this is getting interesting. Don’t you think so, Director?"

"Y-Yes! This is...!"

The Vice President of the Academy Club couldn’t hide the smirk tugging at his lips.

The place that suddenly became crowded with mages from the guild was none other than the entrance of the cave known to lead to the Ancient Labyrinth.

In their midst stood a sharp-eared boy, trembling with fear, his body painted with peculiar marks.

"However, it’s... The Moonlight Fairies, the indigenous species, are extremely wary of us, making proper research nearly impossible..."

"Can he communicate?"

Mages are fundamentally thirsty for research, that is, for subjects.

Especially in the frontier, where mages had to compete for advancement based on their research findings, this thirst was even more pronounced.

"Still, he stammered a few words. Right now, he’s clamming up out of fear."

"Ridiculous. What’s your name?"

The Vice President of the Academy Club sneered at the mage operating the security golem and pointed his staff at the boy's chest.

"Yelson."

Understanding the question, the boy, who had been silent until their arrival, stammered his name with trembling eyes.

The mages, astonished to hear human language from the mouth of a species previously shrouded in mystery, murmured among themselves.

"Good... Yelson. Why did your kind, who proposed the non-interference treaty first, violate it and come to our..."

"Intrusion! Now! We are in danger! Monsters below, coming!"

The Vice President of the Academy Club tried to calmly continue questioning as the representative, but Yelson, not understanding his words, urgently poured out what he had to say.

He couldn’t help it. Even at this moment, his people were dying.

"What do you mean..."

"Help, need help. Help!"

At the very least, his desperation and urgency were conveyed to everyone.

Among the flustered mages was Reina, who had her hand covering her mouth.

"Quiet, everyone! This doesn’t seem like a matter that can be taken lightly. Chief Secretary, bring that boy in first."

When the Vice President of the Academy Club struck the ground with his staff, a faint shockwave spread across the area.

"That boy?"

"Or do you plan to keep standing here?"

"N-No, sir!"

Startled by his glare, the secretary hurriedly grabbed Yelson's hand and dragged him along.

Even though the bewildered Yelson shouted something, no one dared to move. While everyone at the scene was curious, no one could defy the guild.

"Vice President of the Academy Club! According to the testimony, their situation seems dire. So..."

"Once again, it’s you, Researcher Reina. As a mere researcher, focus on your duties. I know what I’m doing."

As expected, it was Reina who stepped forward again.

And, as expected, he didn’t even pretend to listen to her.

"Vice President of the Academy Club. Then, I’ll at least contact the mayor. We should dispatch an investigative team at once..."

"No, forget it."

As soon as he walked away, he shook his head at the director, who was eager to please him.

Yelson could only listen with an anxious expression, unable to understand their conversation.

"Excuse me? But..."

"Director, don’t you want to move to the center soon? I think we’ve got an excellent research subject here. For instance, something like the anatomy of Indigenous Ancient Species. What do you think? Tempting, isn’t it?"

Grinning, he suddenly placed his hand on the director’s shoulder.

The director’s face turned pale, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.

"You see, I’m in a rush for research. And you all don’t understand. You don’t know the burden I carry. Ugh."

Suddenly bursting into laughter, he began walking ahead on his own.

The confused people stopped for a moment, staring after him, but the man who had just thrown them into disarray seemed entirely preoccupied with something else.

"Fools. They’ve only now begun to learn rudimentary incantations. However, if the entire species, weak though they may be, possesses even a trace of talent, and if they develop further to enable large-scale group magic, it could change the balance."

His eyes gleamed. In part of his vision, an entirely different world unfolded.

In the dark and barren land, there were countless creatures, living in groups.

Perhaps alerted to his gaze, they were startled and prostrated themselves in reverence.

For the god who grants them knowledge and current issues.

"Rise. There is no time to waste. The war is not over."

At his command, they rose again and resumed their duties.

The fact that his life depended on the survival of these humble creatures, who were no more than beasts before meeting him, always weighed heavily on him.

"The item given by the Ashukrud folk?"

[Now it’s ready]

He continued walking ahead, handling the tasks. This was something he always had to pay attention to but could never do in front of others.

"No matter how much I research and covet, I must first survive, mustn't I?"

He glanced at the screen and smirked.

His units, the ones some humans called Kobolds, were moving the treasured items packed in wooden crates to a specific location.

In any case, the interaction with the mysterious otherworld had greatly contributed to his power and social status.