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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Endless Expansion (4)
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The bats are not a legion.
They merely live together in a swarm.
And so, they had no interest in what lay on the ground, covered in their own droppings.
A few individuals noticed the anomaly, but they simply ignored it and went out to hunt.
[Foolish, so foolish. What can one expect from such beasts? But for us, this is an opportunity.]
"Unbelievable..."
I let out a sigh that was closer to admiration.
The wall of flesh had already spread, completely covering a portion of the 7th floor.
Those masses of flesh, having multiplied rapidly over a full day, were not a nest.
For the Legion, it was a new type of nest created after the production nest and the brain—a kind of forward base built for combat.
[The Legion posed a question. Should we annihilate them here and now? It then came to its own conclusion. The answer was no. It is enough for us to simply drive them away.]
"Why? That's a huge energy investment."
[Because it is only a matter of time before they all become our prey.]
The Legion would wage war against the bats.
There was a high probability that the bats, rather than fighting to the death, would simply be driven out and leave.
Where would the driven-out bats go?
They had no choice but to go up or down.
[Those that come to the lower floor will become our food, and the swarm of hundreds of bats pouring into the upper floor will crack the balance.]
"And from that crack, that chaos, we'll reap the rewards."
[Correct. When sudden chaos strikes the existing ecosystem and it collapses, we will devour it whole.]
Cunning and insidious.
But it was undoubtedly an effective tactic.
Whether the bats were eaten or did the eating, it was just a matter of prey increasing or decreasing.
And the Legion intended to devour all of that prey whole.
"But still, what's the plan, just covering the wall with a mass of flesh like that?"
[Now that the fortress is built, it is time to launch a preemptive strike from a distance.]
The flesh wall twitched.
What on earth were they going to attack with?
A few bats seemed to take an interest, their gazes fixed, but their intelligence wasn't high enough for them to move.
But in that moment.
"...What the?"
"Screeeech!"
"Screech! Squeak!"
The bats shrieked, spreading their wings in unison and flailing wildly.
In the chaos, at least a few dozen of them plummeted to the ground.
What in the world just happened?
[The Legion has mimicked the strategy of the white cave ants. They shot acid from their mouths, but we have fired a more potent acidic poison in a more advanced form. Poison darts shot from the flesh wall embedded themselves in the enemies' bodies. They are not simple darts. They are hollow, made of a bone-like substance.]
"That's insane."
It was a method beyond my imagination.
And it worked beautifully.
The skin of a bat is thin.
And their wings, covered in a membrane, are even weaker.
This meant they were extremely vulnerable to the poison darts.
The effect was maximized with hundreds of them clustered together.
[The Legion's gambit paid off. The bats felt threatened and chose to flee in confusion rather than fight back. This is our victory.]
The now-empty 7th floor was ours.
The nest continued to grow, finishing off the twitching bats on the ground and converting their bodies into nutrients, down to the last drop of blood and strand of fur.
But right now, the real chaos was likely unfolding on the floor above, the 8th floor.
After all, hundreds of agitated bats must have swarmed up there all at once.
"An unstoppable advance."
[It may seem that way. But it is not.]
I had just muttered it lightly after finishing an exam, but the thing immediately contradicted me. Way to make a guy feel awkward.
"What do you mean, it's not?"
[The Legion has simply found a tactic that maximizes its efficiency and seen it succeed. We do not yet possess overwhelming power.]
"..."
Should I call that thorough?
Regardless, I couldn't help but feel the pressure.
[Account level has increased to 2. Available samples have increased to 20, and the food allowance has risen to 40kg.]
"So you're just telling me to keep working, huh?"
A dry laugh escaped me.
But if this was a problem I, the Player, had to handle, then I had no choice.
I had to do it.
"Let's just get by with wood for the time being."
[Do you have a plan in mind?]
"...Not really."
It was a difficult problem.
Where could I find food that was easy to get, cheap, and high in calories?
After chatting a bit with my classmates, I headed home.
"Neither of you has plans tomorrow afternoon, right?"
My mother, who had come home late from work, called for my sister and me.
We both already knew and nodded.
[Is there perhaps a problem with our grand plan...]
"It's not like that, you psycho. We're just going out for a bit."
Back in my room, I shot back at the creature crossing the line.
"Tomorrow, we're going to see my father."
What was the point of telling some unidentified hacker this?
Sighing, I sat on the edge of my bed.
It had been exactly ten years.
Since my father was brutally torn to pieces right before our eyes.
Even though I thought I was an adult now, it was still hard to even think about what happened that day.
"Let's worry about something else. Like what to use for the next sample. I don't think I can afford to waste that opportunity."
[A good thought.]
"Aren't insects a little insufficient now? Of course, compared to the monsters in that place, the animals here are all meek and mild."
My thoughts expanded to reptiles, birds, and mammals.
The problem was how to get them.
In fact, seeing that rough and horrifying alien cave, there were some similar creatures I desperately wanted to add, but they were far beyond my reach.
*
"Dad must be happy we came to visit."
"...Yes."
"Let's go now."
It was the 10th year. We couldn't help but get used to it.
My sister, her expression uncharacteristically stiff and silent, was the first to leave.
She was only seven when that tragedy struck, so the shock must have been greater for her than for me.
[Is your business concluded? The Legion is currently occupying the 8th floor.]
A message scrolled across my phone screen.
I didn't bother opening the app.
It was doing fine on its own, and it would let me know if anything major happened anyway.
I closed my phone and glanced at the rearview mirror.
The columbarium building was receding in the distance.
"We should come more often."
My mother's voice was moist with emotion.
I kept my mouth shut.
Ten years already, and even though we were used to it, it was always the same.
"Oh, dear. We'll have to turn back."
"Let's do that."
The car, which had been driving smoothly into the setting sun even in silence, was blocked by a line of other cars choking the road.
Up ahead, soldiers and police officers were swarming the area.
The police were blowing their whistles, redirecting traffic.
"Attention, everyone! A Gate is about to open up ahead!"
"This is a restricted area! Please turn back!"
A few officers were shouting nonstop through megaphones.
Seeing the soldiers gathered, I had a feeling, and it seemed I was right about the Gate.
"It's okay. The soldiers are already getting ready. There are probably Hunters there, too."
"R-Right."
I took my mother's hand, which was gripping the gearshift.
It was cold and trembling nonstop.
My mother was still terrified of Gates, of the monsters that poured out from within them.
Who wouldn't be afraid of those monsters? But her fear was exceptional.
It was only natural. Those things were the hellish beasts that had once driven our family to ruin.
Ten years ago, when the response system and people's reactions were all still immature.
It was only after that day, after my father sacrificed himself to protect my younger self and my mother from the hellish assault of those creatures, that a systematic framework like this one began to form and proficiency began to build.
I bit my lip for no reason.
They were objects of terror, but they were also my sworn enemies.
Of course, I was just a powerless civilian.
Even during my military service, I was incredibly lucky and never had to be deployed because of a Gate.
"Look, I think those are Hunters."
Just then, my mother pointed at something in the distance.
Far away, I could see the silhouettes of several people rappelling down from a helicopter that had flown in.
The ones who fought the monsters were soldiers and people with power, like them.
"The monsters are going to come out."
"...Let's hurry up and turn around."
Kang Do-yeon, who had been silent, added a word, urging our mother on.
But my eyes remained fixed on that spot.
[Are those monsters from another world the food and samples you spoke of?]
Reading the message, I flinched.
Fucking useless pieces of trash.
I desperately wanted to just turn them into food for my guys.
"You're right. I was wondering what it would be like to use the monsters as food and samples."
I confessed everything once I was back in my room.
Though I had no idea if it was even possible to take a picture of those things, whose corpses were strictly managed.
If I did succeed, I'd have to worry about my life, not just the picture.
[It may be difficult for now. But with growth, with more growth, things might be different.]
"How, exactly?"
[Our relationship is not a one-way street. I do not know when it will be, but if the Legion develops a sense of self, ask it. Ask how we feel about you. Ask how we can repay the grace you have shown us.]
"How reassuring."
I scoffed, but I didn't feel bad.
How could I dislike it acknowledging and being grateful for my efforts?
[To achieve that, we must continue to fight and devour. Now, the 8th floor. And after that, them. The place where the spiders that have continuously blocked our reconnaissance live.]
And with that, our new objective was set.