A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 40

[The Player said, the Sky Incantation that utilizes soul and mana requires a stronger soul and more resolute determination than anyone else.]

“…Ugh.”

A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead.

Cha Jiyeon, who was wearing only a tank top, was surrounded by a blue light that illuminated her entire body.

[You undoubtedly possess an exceptional soul and mental fortitude. That is why you were chosen.]

The blue mark that was etched on her pale back like a tattoo was slowly spreading over her shoulder and creeping down one of her arms.

This was the method she had inherited from her Player, a way to maximize her special ability.

By combining curses and special abilities through the [Status Window], her species of Step-Up Hunters had found a way to enhance their powers.

Among them, she was particularly gifted.

She had displayed combat abilities that went beyond what she had been taught.

[That is why the Player has taken an interest in him as well.]

“But he belongs to another Player.”

[What does it matter? He is not our enemy, after all.]

Her Player was always cold and calculating.

To her Player, she was nothing more than a piece on a chessboard.

However, if a pawn was deemed necessary and useful, her Player had no hesitation in making bold investments.

“Then… you’re really going to teach him the Sky Incantation?”

[Yes. The Player has judged that he possesses a formidable soul. Such a presence is something a mere human could never possess. It is the soul of a rare hero.]

The Player’s tone was resolute.

Cha Jiyeon slowly opened her eyes.

Her faintly glowing blue eyes stared at him, who stood flustered at the entrance.

“Are you… alright?”

Shin Woo, who had been casually seated in the living room in his light attire, flinched under her glowing gaze.

“Huff…”

“It’s true.”

He barely managed to keep himself from spitting out the coffee he had just started drinking.

After coming home unaware and witnessing her mysterious training, he had barely calmed down enough to sip his coffee—only to be hit with shocking news.

“My Player said Shin Woo possesses a very strong soul.”

“That’s… hard to believe.”

He scratched his head. Strong? Him?

It was a word that didn’t suit him at all.

But in that moment, something flashed through his mind.

He wasn’t truly alone.

The Soul String.

The connection between him and the Swarm was said to be special.

Perhaps the powerful soul her Player had seen in him was not his own, but that of the Swarm connected to him through that single String.

If that was the case, then it made sense. The soul of the Swarm would indeed be formidable.

“Anyway, to handle mana stones, you need to learn this.”

She placed a glowing red mana stone on her palm.

It was the same one she had used when searching for the Player, Oh Yoon-Ah.

“From the way you’re talking, it sounds pretty impressive. Does that mean I can’t learn it?”

For now, there was no issue.

Another Player, Park Jun-Seok, was also here.

When she pocketed the stone and turned away, he swallowed nervously.

He had prepared an excuse for any unforeseen situation, but luckily, it seemed he had narrowly avoided trouble this time.

“Your thoughts?”

“Of course, I’ll learn it.”

He controlled his expression and took the blue stone she offered.

He accepted her proposal as well.

If he could learn it, the Swarm could learn it too.

This was an opportunity to teach the Swarm a new skill.

And at the same time, it was a chance for him to become stronger.

“But I have no intention of being bound by any restrictions.”

“…I thought so.”

He firmly drew the line, and though he felt a bit sorry for her, he did not waver.

Cha Jiyeon gave a bitter smile and nodded.

It seemed the Opposing Player had granted permission.

Impressive, really. Granting power to someone who wasn’t even their Unit.

“But I’m not even a Hunter. Can I really learn this?”

“I also combine it with my special ability. The curses and Heavenly Soul Technique were something I learned separately.”

She began the lesson immediately.

Opportunities only have meaning when seized. He had always tried to keep that saying in mind, so he listened as attentively as possible.

This wasn’t just for himself.

If he survived, the Swarm would survive.

“Ahem, I’ll leave you to it.”

Park Jun-Seok, who had become an onlooker, cleared his throat and retreated to his room.

Left alone in the living room with Cha Jiyeon, Shin Woo sat facing her.

…Now that he was looking at her like this, he found it hard to know where to direct his gaze.

“Learn well. Become stronger. And make sure you survive on that day.”

When she spoke with such genuine sincerity, he couldn’t help but meet her eyes.

*

“You’re sure he’s not watching?”

[Yes. And right now, he’s busy. The Heavenly Soul Technique is said to be a type of curse practiced by a special caste called Karkos, who live in a world called Sehansha.]

“They speak of souls and minds in grandiose terms, but at its core, it’s a powerful form of psionic energy that amplifies mental waves, essentially brainwaves.”

The Swarm, confirming that Shin Woo wasn’t looking at his mobile phone, reclined in a chair modified from a flesh wall and focused all its attention.

Its target was, of course, the otherworldly curse Shin Woo was learning through Cha Jiyeon.

The Swarm was deploying its transcendent computing power to absorb all the teachings in real time, like a sponge soaking up water.

“Not bad.”

Having grasped the true essence of the Heavenly Soul Technique in an instant, the Swarm swung its legs idly.

From what it had analyzed, the Heavenly Soul Technique was highly compatible with the Swarm.

After all, the condition of maximizing mental strength through spiritual energy was an easy feat for a being like the Swarm, which could freely manipulate a cavern-sized brain.

[You’ve found a way to grow stronger. This is precisely the voracious appetite for knowledge you sought.]

“Exactly. It’s not enough to strengthen the body alone.”

The Swarm’s lips curled into a smile.

It had become somewhat accustomed to smiling now.

But soon, it drew its lips back down and hardened its expression.

“Then why, now, does my chest, my emotions feel like they’re racing?”

The Swarm began to analyze the phenomenon.

The emotional stimulus was, of course, caused by the String.

It was something it had grown familiar with, but what unsettled the Swarm was its content.

It was something it had learned more deeply from Kang Do-Yeon.

[Wasn’t his happiness your ultimate goal?]

“That’s true, but something feels off.”

It wanted him to be comfortable and happy.

But it wanted that happiness to come solely from itself.

In the past, it had believed that winning wars and growing stronger would surely make him happy.

This was a feeling it had never considered before.

[…There’s been a clash on the 39th Stratum.]

Feed them.

In the 39th Stratum, targets were detected by the Swarm.

The entire Swarm focused its attention there.

If the opponent were to notice, they might feel an inexplicable sense of indignant anger.

“What the hell is this?”

The 39th Stratum.

The Swarm had finally pushed back the infected entities with sheer force.

At the battlefront connecting from the 38th Stratum, Kang Do-Yeon, who was commanding the Swarm Soldiers, furrowed her brows.

Her chest tingled strangely, and her blood felt hot.

For her, as a human, it was a familiar emotion—anger.

Being part of the Swarm, she could also feel the faint anger resonating throughout the entire Swarm.

“Kyaaaa… Screech!”

One Moonlight Fairy Infected Entity lunging at her was torn limb from limb by the foreleg of a nearby Assault-Type Swarm Soldier.

Even in that strike, there was a peculiar emotion imbued.

Anger was power.

The Swarm had already mastered the use of emotions in combat.

“Again. These traces—this is definitely a survivor.”

Kang Do-Yeon analyzed a corpse brought by a Swarm Soldier.

It was the corpse of an infected entity with an arrow lodged in its back.

The corpse belonged to a Red-Carapaced Cave Centipede with a hardened carapace.

The arrow embedded in it was quite well-crafted.

Her gaze turned toward a passage extending into a corner.

The 39th Stratum was part of the Trunk Layer.

The Trunk Layer was connected to anywhere from one to as many as six Grand Strata.

This labyrinth grew larger as one ascended, resembling an inverted tree with its trunk expanding upward.

The Grand Strata, comparable to branches, were as vast as the lower Trunk Layers.

In other words, anything could be living here.

“A reconnaissance—however, for swift reconnaissance, we’ll conduct a large-scale reconnaissance.”

Kang Do-Yeon received the command of the Swarm.

Until now, the Swarm’s reconnaissance had always been carried out by the smallest scout units, based on bees, to facilitate stealth and concealment.

But in this situation, stealth and concealment were meaningless.

Thus, flying species with high mobility and Assault-Type Swarm Soldiers, based on beasts, began rushing out and spreading through the various passages.

“Ugh.”

She frowned as the flood of information poured into her brain like a waterfall.

The Swarm filtered the information first, and to expedite analysis, it even borrowed her brain—nothing more than a cat’s paw compared to the Main Brain—for computation.

“More traces have been found. Numerous. And there seems to be a deliberately cleared path.”

Through large-scale reconnaissance, the Swarm quickly uncovered the traces.

Within the Swarm’s vision, a stone wall subtly moved and slid shut with a faint motion.

There was something behind it, that much was certain.

“A wall too thick and heavy. The passage is too narrow to move large Swarm Soldiers easily.”

The Swarm concluded that the stone wall must be destroyed.

The problem was how to accomplish that.

And just then, a flying species darted through mid-air toward Kang Do-Yeon, holding a blue luminescent ore in its jaws.

“Use this.”

She accepted it with a conflicted expression.

Faced with the impasse, the Swarm had reached an immediate conclusion.

What had been given to her was the blue luminescent ore embedded in the Vajra of the Moonlight Fairy Great Chief.