A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 3

“What’s up? Why does your face look like that? Didn’t sleep well?”

“…No, it’s not that.”

A close classmate commented as soon as they saw my face.

It wasn’t like I couldn’t sleep. It’s just that there was something bothering me.

“Come to think of it, it’s unfair, isn’t it?”

While others were chatting and distracted with exams, I pulled out my mobile phone and sighed.

“Even though I’m being blackmailed into playing this weird game, what’s in it for me?”

That guy clearly said it would benefit me, but after trying it out, it didn’t seem that way at all.

It was costing me money, and more than that, it was eating up my time.

[Your children are still too immature.]

“Oh, so when these guys grow up, they’ll help me out?”

[Possibly.]

The response was unexpectedly straightforward, leaving me at a loss for words.

Of course, setting aside the question of what I could even do with these creatures.

“I’m curious. You mentioned there are others like me.”

[That is correct.]

“They don’t all start like this, do they? Are their abilities different?”

From the circumstances so far, it was clear there were other ‘Players’ like me.

Then, what exactly was the purpose of all this?

Competition between us? If so, the information was severely lacking.

[You will find out before long. One thing I can tell you is that the species assigned to each person at the start varies.]

“So it’s not originally a game where you raise something from the cellular level…”

“Alright, good morning, everyone.”

My words were cut off as the professor entered the room.

The lecture hall fell silent, and the students who’d been outside quickly came in, signaling the start of class.

[Reconnaissance in the designated area has failed 192 times.]

“…”

In the middle of the lecture, a message popped up on my mobile phone.

Clicking my tongue, I discreetly glanced at the screen.

This exam was doomed. If anyone saw, they’d think I was failing because of a mobile game.

[With the current system, it is impossible to break through. Growth is needed.]

I nodded.

I agreed with what it said.

The obstacle blocking our way wasn’t anything special.

It was a Giant Spider, about the size of a King Crab, and its meticulously woven Crazy Web was quite formidable.

The web even exerted a force that pulled at targets passing through its threads, a truly insane trap.

[For now, devouring all the Small-Scale Vegetation on the lower levels seems the most appropriate course of action.]

I also believed that focusing on strengthening ourselves was the priority.

Whether that meant increasing our size or acquiring some unique weaponry.

“Hey. Going straight home today… Where are you headed?”

“Midterms are coming up, and it’s a bit warm, isn’t it? Have you ever seen bees around the campus?”

After class ended, I grabbed the classmate who had approached me and asked.

The classmate blinked in confusion, seemingly taken aback by my sudden interest in bees.

[Our Soldiers have modified themselves into the strongest forms—Ant’s Jaws, Flea’s Legs, and so on. They seek the most efficient, the most powerful models.]

“Yeah, yeah, they’ll do fine.”

Despite having only one class today, I didn’t go home. Instead, I wandered around the bushes near the building.

At my age, collecting insects like this was ridiculous.

But thanks to that, I managed to capture images of various insects on my camera, including Beetles and Butterflies.

[The Soldiers used their powerful jaws to bite and disassemble the Butterflies and Beetles. The meat provided Energy, and their Genetic Information became our assets.]

The feedback was immediate.

Now, the Soldiers, slightly larger than ordinary ants, began to pour out of the growing Nest in a frenzy.

The corpses of discarded or deceased comrades were nothing more than excellent nutrients.

[The Soldiers initiated action. The top priorities were gathering food and hunting prey. Our first target was the nearby Mushroom Colony.]

According to the map, there was a Mushroom Colony near the Cave Aperture where our Nest was located.

We were no longer the kind to fight against mere cells of mushrooms.

We were now targeting the Vertebrates residing in the Mushroom Colony.

[That Small Salamander is the king of this Mushroom Colony. We will hunt it.]

“…This feels more like a massacre.”

[Our proud Swarm has begun its march.]

The enthusiastic narration from the creature felt oddly endearing.

Frankly, from my perspective, sending thousands of these ant-like monsters—no longer fitting the term ‘ant’—to capture a single Small Salamander didn’t seem all that impressive.

[This was the first time we hunted a Vertebrate. This moment will be recorded in our history…]

“Yes, yes.”

I put down my mobile phone and headed deeper into the campus forest.

If I couldn’t find it here, I planned to just head home.

[What are you trying to catch?]

“Bees.”

I answered simply.

I contemplated for a moment.

How should I attract these creatures?

From what I could tell, emphasizing the Collective Consciousness was the key.

So, I just… gave it some thought.

To my knowledge, the most social insects were ants and bees.

Especially bees, which had poison stingers and wings.

“Poison ants aren’t that common in our country… Ant acid just doesn’t seem enough.”

The problem was that, despite their occasional sightings, these creatures were nowhere to be found today.

I decided to give up and go home, retracing my steps.

“…Is someone flying a drone?”

Just then, I heard a buzzing sound, completely different from the annoying whine of Acid Mosquitoes.

A chill ran down my spine.

There’s no way someone would be flying a drone here.

[Capture it.]

“Ahhh!”

I raised my mobile phone.

At that moment, something brushed past me.

A massive buzzing form.

When you hear Giant Hornet, you think hornet. When you hear drone, you think Giant Hornet.

Apparently, this Giant Hornet had set its sights on me.

“Oh, please!”

Ever since being stung as a child, I’d been terrified of bees, even though I could handle other bugs with my bare hands.

I frantically pressed the shutter.

And then, as if the heavens had answered my prayers, the buzzing stopped.

[Without a doubt, this external Enemy was formidable. However, we could not let that hornet escape.]

The capture squad, equipped with enhanced Leg Strength, charged toward the transmitted Giant Hornet.

Out of hundreds, only two or three managed to latch onto it and drag it down.

However, some of them were quickly struck down by the hornet’s Poison Stinger, their bodies dropping like flies.

[It is strong. But now, no ordinary invertebrate can stand against us.]

The Most Powerful Soldier stepped forward.

It is a Salamander-like Creature with a hard carapace covering its body.

Its strength is comparable, and the Poison Stinger could not penetrate the carapace.

No matter how formidable a Giant Hornet may be, it could not withstand being swarmed from all sides.

[Disassemble and evolve.]

The bee was dismantled on the spot.

The acquired Genetic Information was stored in the entire Colony and transmitted to the Nest, the Production Factory.

The fungi that made up the Nest rapidly developed, creating new Soldiers.

[Solders with spines, bee wings, and poison stingers are created.]

“…Gross.”

It was hard to call it impressive.

And the biggest issue was that Energy was running out again.

[Cave creatures each have their own methods of obtaining Energy, but this Cave inherently lacks sufficient Energy.]

“Sigh…”

Once again, I had to feed them.

No matter how hard I tried to find a solution, the environment itself was too barren.

“So, in the end, it means devouring cannot be stopped. The more they develop and grow.”

Now Soldiers the size of three finger joints were emerging, and there was no way bread crumbs would suffice.

In desperation, I tried to feed them Food Waste, but this time, it opposed the idea.

Its reasoning was absurd.

[It also requires Energy to digest food. If more Energy is spent on digestion than absorbed, what is the point?]

It ultimately came down to efficiency.

The only thing I managed to scavenge was a Dead Pigeon on the Road.

“…So this is acceptable? But how is this any different from Food Waste?”

[It is.]

Fortunately, it did not reject corpses.

The bonus from obtaining the pigeon’s Genetic Information was nice, but producing something of that size was inefficient for now.

“Hey, about the bread I…”

[Bread was a fairly decent nutrient.]

The door my younger sibling closed slammed shut.

Though I was used to contemptuous looks, I couldn’t believe this was happening over bread.

With a sigh, I just went back to my room.

To appease the sulking sibling, I would probably have to buy more bread.

“You’re not getting any more from me now.”

[The Lowest Layer is now completely our territory.]

Whether it was listening or not, I didn’t know.

In any case, the Expansion Trend was steep.

The entirety of the Underground Lowest Layer Cavern, though not very large, became our domain.

It took just a day, no, merely two days.

But Growth came with side effects.

Even after devouring all the microorganisms, mushrooms, and other living things in that area, self-sufficiency was less than half possible.

“So expansion is the answer, after all?”

If they couldn’t find any food at all, they would starve to death.

And the Growth that had already ignited could no longer be stopped.

The only remaining option was to keep pushing forward.

[Our Growth does not stop. And to grow, we must continue the War.]

The Swarm gathered.

Even the bees seen in documentaries seemed cute in comparison.

In mid-air, there were versatile Soldiers with carapaces, wings, and poison stingers on their tails.

On the ground, Soldiers that maximized strength were crawling.

At least thousands, no, tens of thousands of such individuals.

[Even moving up a single stratum in the Cave improves the situation. Our target now is the lifeforms in the Upper Layer. Reconnaissance indicates that the most formidable among those in the Upper Layer is the Snake.]

“Honestly, it doesn’t feel like we’d lose.”

Unless it was that distant Upper Stratum where King Crab-sized Spiders lived, which had blocked reconnaissance.

At this point, we were clearly a menacing Swarm.

It was obvious that small animals couldn’t possibly stop us, no matter how much they struggled.