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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Legion's Gratitude (1)
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[We have now reached the 15th stem, the 35th floor.]
"Don't tell me it ends like this."
The Legion ascended with unstoppable momentum.
Of course, they hadn't conquered every single floor.
They were simply sending scouts ever upward.
Until a force that understood our actions appeared to stop us, or until we discovered something unusual first.
"No way."
[The Legion has discovered an anomaly.]
And when they arrived there.
The Legion halted its reconnaissance.
They had discovered the anomaly first.
"What in the world? Traces of civilization?!"
[That is not yet known. The Legion has split its forces in two. One half will continue to consume the conquered floors. The other half will proceed upward as quickly as possible to conduct reconnaissance and collect samples.]
"Those are structures, aren't they?!"
I couldn't even register what it was saying.
I rubbed my eyes and wiped the phone screen until it squeaked.
But nothing changed.
The small, bee-shaped scout continued to survey the area.
The 35th floor... it was a massive cavern.
The only difference was that, unlike the other caverns teeming with vegetation, there wasn't a single living creature in sight.
And that this place was filled with ruins—statues and structures that could never have formed naturally.
"Ha."
I sighed, looking at the half-shattered statue lying on the floor on the screen.
It was half-broken, but I could still make out its facial features.
Two eyes, a nose, a mouth... it looked no different from a human.
"What is this?"
[What you do not know, the Legion naturally does not know either. But the Legion's history has always begun by analyzing the unknown. At the very least, it can be determined that those statues were shaped in the image of something.]
After all, goblins and orcs had eyes, noses, and mouths too.
Separate from the Legion, I also kicked my brain into high gear.
No matter how I looked at it, it had to be the remnants of a civilization.
Are these ancient ruins like something out of a movie?
If so, where are the beings who made them?
If they really exist, could they be connected to the guardian spirits?
Then, what kind of beings are they?
What kind of beings would build such ruins in a cave like this?
[The scouts began to search every nook and cranny. Using the sense of incongruity, completely different from the natural environments experienced so far, the Legion deduced that these structures, like our hive, were created with someone's intent.]
As the reconnaissance continued, I was able to see the interior of the massive ruins.
I was speechless.
This entire massive cavern was a ruin.
Countless rooms, structures that looked like altars, and more.
Even the passage leading to the upper floor was in the center of this ruin.
"...A hole?"
The scout tilted its head up.
A huge, cylindrical passage was wide open in the ceiling.
Complex, indecipherable patterns were carved around it.
[Whatever this place was, it was certainly suitable as a branching point. Having made its decision, the Legion moved its forces. The plan was to first occupy this place and use it as an intermediate base.]
The Legion's main force headed here, crossing the same path the scouts had swept through.
The other life forms could no longer stand in our way, after all.
As long as they confirmed there was nothing unusual, checking even the smallest branching paths, they would likely leave them be.
[The 34th floor, just below the 35th where the ruins were discovered. Is this where that moth was?]
An all-purpose Legion unit that had just arrived discovered something.
It swept the floor with its hand.
Something white and shimmering.
It was the powder from the moth they had faced before.
[The existence of a gatekeeper naturally means there is something to protect beyond it.]
The Legion began to move again.
It was the moment they finally set foot on the 35th floor.
[Was it a trap?]
At that very moment, a variable emerged.
"What is this!"
[The Legion is currently assessing the situation.]
The entire ruin was shaking violently.
The strange patterns carved everywhere.
Light slowly began to fill those patterns.
I was terrified, but the Legion units didn't even flinch.
"What in the world are those..."
[Ah, this is for the better. The only things we can currently utilize are living organisms. It seems we might find a clue if we dismantle and consume these unidentified beings.]
The walls of the ruins cracked open, and pale limbs burst out from within.
Skin so smooth and pale it was almost translucent, tall and slender bodies, and gleaming eyes.
One by one, they awakened, their pale bodies covered in strange patterns like brands, and showed hostility toward the Legion units.
"They can't be... Units. Not waking up like this."
I bit my lip.
Their overall appearance resembled humans.
It was even possible to distinguish male from female by the length of their hair or the presence of genitalia.
They didn't look like simple beasts or monsters.
[It had been a while since they faced an opponent that used tools. The Legion showed interest and naturally engaged them.]
As they approached, holding old swords and spears, the Legion units also lowered their bodies.
We had no reason to back down.
"!!"
Just before impact, the patterns on their bodies and their eyes flashed as they let out a roar-like scream.
The collision followed immediately after.
What was most surprising was that these pale, slender beings unexpectedly had the upper hand in strength.
*
"Anyway... school is still on."
"I guess most people still don't know. Just how serious all of this is."
Oh Yoon-ah muttered.
The school's atmosphere was somewhat unsettled.
Classes resumed today at the school Kang Do-yeon and Oh Yoon-ah attended, the same one that had been attacked by goblins.
However, the atmosphere was hardly conducive to studying.
Flowers were placed on desks here and there, and more than half the teachers hadn't come to work.
The families of the missing couldn't accept the situation and were even protesting against holding funerals.
"Do you think they can be rescued?"
"I don't know. If I put myself in their shoes, I don't think I'd last a single day if I were dragged off by those monsters."
Oh Yoon-ah shook her head, disgusted.
It was the same for Kang Do-yeon, who had brought it up first.
She usually presented a strong front, but she was confident she would break down faster than anyone if she were in that situation.
"We're never going to go through that. We're going to survive until the very end."
Oh Yoon-ah suddenly grabbed her hand.
"You're the one saying that to me?"
"W-well... anyway! It'll be fine as long as we all make it through. The people of my Cheongsan Tribe will carry us!"
Startled by her snort, Oh Yoon-ah tried to change the subject and took out her phone.
Kang Do-yeon watched with interest.
At a glance, one might mistake it for a movie or a drama, but the people on Oh Yoon-ah's phone were all real.
"What exactly are their abilities?"
"There's something called a racial trait. It's a kind of unique ability. In the case of our Cheongsan Tribe, our ancestral shamanism developed to an extreme degree, allowing us to communicate directly with the spirits of earth and wind."
Whether it was out of guilt or because she trusted the stigma, Oh Yoon-ah answered readily whenever she was asked anything.
Of course, Kang Do-yeon herself had no intention of betraying Oh Yoon-ah, whom she was currently milking for information.
She was just memorizing the information to pass it on to her true ally.
"Anyway, my tribe is capable and smart. We've already unified the surrounding tribes, so all that's left is to expand."
"...You're not planning on acting separately, are you?"
"Ugh."
Oh Yoon-ah flinched and gave a slight nod.
Cha Ji-yeon, who had practically outed herself as a Unit, was continuously contacting Players.
And she was maintaining close cooperation with them.
Oh Yoon-ah, and of course Kang Do-yeon, were essentially members of that organization, but they weren't actively participating.
"My mom and dad said they wouldn't let me."
"Right. It's indiscriminate killing. Besides, what if you become a target?"
"It's a bit of a shame, though. I feel like it would be great if we could give those items from Ms. Cha Ji-yeon to our tribe."
"You're right... that's another way to do it."
There were so many ways they could interact with each other.
Kang Do-yeon clicked her tongue and suddenly thought of the Units her brother was raising.
'They didn't seem... human.'
They were both extremely cautious with each other, but she had still heard a few things.
Based on that, Kang Do-yeon concluded that Shin-woo's Units were definitely not human.
"Looks like it'll take more time before classes can get back to normal."
"Yeah. Almost all our classes today were self-study anyway."
"See you later, then."
With shortened classes, school let out earlier than usual, and Oh Yoon-ah and Kang Do-yeon parted ways at the main gate.
Oh Yoon-ah left in her mother's car, who had come to pick her up.
Their houses were in opposite directions, and Kang Do-yeon had refused to ride along, burdened by the sight of Oh Yoon-ah's mother constantly apologizing and scolding her daughter.
Staring blankly at the receding car, she slowly began to walk.
'I don't know if this was for the best or not.'
She let out a small sigh.
She had been forcibly dragged into it one way or another, but now she thought it was for the better.
If she hadn't known the truth, she would never have been able to understand Shin-woo, who was struggling all by himself.
"Nngh..? Ugh!"
But just as she was almost home.
Her face contorted from a burning pain in her wrist, and she clutched it.
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