A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 4

[Cave Thread Snake: 1c1601]

[One-Eyed Jumping Spider: 1d0080]

The Swarm advanced to the upper stratum, devouring and devastating everything in sight.

The gene pool they acquired continued to grow.

Even the clusters of mushrooms and moss, which carried faint traces of life, were mercilessly stripped away.

[As you stopped supplying Energy, the Swarm, which had been freely expending it, began to concern itself with Energy efficiency.]

“Should’ve done this earlier.”

[Prioritizing efficiency inevitably leads to reduced combat power. The number of Soldiers decreases, and expansion slows.]

“It’s not like we’re short on time.”

Unless I recklessly took photos at a grocery store and fed them everything there, they’d have to find their own solution.

The fortunate thing was that, despite lacking proper brain tissue, they were remarkably intelligent.

[Of course. The size of our Colony itself is our brain.]

“Why do you sound so smug about it?”

I was lying absentmindedly on the Bed.

Today was a free day. I should have been studying, but I couldn’t focus at all.

“What kind of Species did the other Players choose? Wolves? Rabbits or something like that?”

[There’s an immense variety. Some even chose intelligent beings.]

“…What?”

I casually asked, but the answer was rather shocking.

Intelligent beings? Weren’t we all just raising animals?

[I mentioned variety. I meant it literally.]

“Then isn’t that way too unfair?”

Some are raising Cells, while others are developing civilizations?

[No one can make any definitive judgments on that.]

The entity was firm on this point.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand, but I kept my mouth shut.

Complaining wouldn’t change anything, anyway.

In the end, I decided not to think about the other Players anymore.

[The Swarm has redefined efficiency.]

They constantly thought and experimented.

Faced with the current challenges, they established new policies.

This felt right. I wanted them to be as self-sufficient as possible.

[By adjusting the number of Soldiers while increasing combat power per unit, they identified an optimal number. Some Nests that had already completed their Growth entered a dormant state, devising ways to conserve Energy to the extreme.]

They armed themselves with new methods they discovered on their own.

Of course, conquest and Devouring never ceased.

The second stratum was almost entirely under our control.

The updated map reflected the expansion of our territory.

[The third stratum is now populated primarily by vertebrates. To hunt them, we needed stronger Soldiers.]

I grabbed a soda and some snacks to watch.

At this point, it felt more like a documentary than a Game.

Suddenly, I remembered the ant farming I had enjoyed as a child.

[While we can’t produce results beyond the data we possess, we can combine and manipulate it.]

The most terrifying aspect was that, compared to mere beasts, we were a unified Colony.

With a singular purpose, the Colony moved as one, creating Soldiers for ‘War’ beyond mere hunting.

With Units tailored to specific roles, reducing numbers didn’t matter much. Unless we faced an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, like a bear smashing a beehive, I didn’t think we’d lose.

After all, our operations were based on thorough Reconnaissance.

The next stratum was inhabited by relatively insignificant creatures, making a steady expansion the optimal strategy.

[Once again, it was time to hunt.]

After a brief reorganization, the Swarm re-entered the upper stratum.

The unfortunate native creatures, unable to resist their rapid consumption and evolution, were one-sidedly hunted.

“Couldn’t we just pour all the size into a single unit?”

Munching on snacks, the thought slipped out of my mouth.

Right now, we were mobilizing countless small Soldiers.

Wouldn’t it be better to focus on creating a single massive unit, a physical powerhouse?

[Efficiency.]

The entity silenced me with a single word.

It was an all-purpose answer.

[More importantly, we still lack experience. While you may not realize it, consider this: from our perspective, the entirety of our world is just a few Cave Apertures.]

“…I get what you mean.”

[These beings don’t even know what humans are. The information we’ve gathered so far is minimal. Despite possessing extraordinary hardware, we lack the sophisticated software to fully utilize it.]

“If we keep ascending this Cave, will we eventually encounter other intelligent beings?”

While watching the Swarm grow, I found myself wondering.

Just where does this Cave end?

Is this Cave truly the entire world?

Or is there a real world beyond it?

[…That is what you must continue observing and teaching the Swarm. Your curiosity, your human sense of wonder—those are essential.]

I couldn’t fully imagine it yet, but it seemed possible.

After all, we had come this far from a mere cluster of Cells in just three days.

“I bought some bread.”

“…”

“This time, I won’t—”

The door burst open.

The person grabbed the entire bread bag I was holding, dashed into their room, and closed the door again.

[High-Quality Nutrient…]

“Don’t joke about it. That’s not even enough to make a dent anymore.”

Sighing, I went back to my room.

I had spent the entire day staring at my Mobile Phone.

Skipping all the life-and-death, soul, and Game aspects, it was entertaining enough to watch.

“The third stratum isn’t much, and we can just keep going like this.”

Compared to the Lowest Layer, which had only a few mushrooms and moss, the third stratum had slightly more.

Flowing water and plants growing in the Cave were newly discovered, along with an increase in the variety of small animals active there.

And we devoured all of it.

“Can’t I teach them the concept of farming? What’s the point of eating everything in sight?”

[Farming is a luxury for us right now.]

True, even though I suggested it, it wasn’t a great idea.

Farming in this Cave? Ridiculous.

Besides, farming involves converting Energy from plants into fruits or grains that I can consume.

Our Species didn’t need to farm. By mimicking the Fungi we consumed, which acted as primary producers, we could directly produce Energy.

What really mattered was the absolute amount of Energy.

And that Energy could only increase by Devouring others or being supplied externally.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh… just out for some exercise.”

Eventually, I left the house again, even though it was already dark.

I was determined to find a solution.

While self-sufficiency was essential, I figured it would be better if I filled in the physically impossible parts myself.

[Did you find a solution?]

“I’ve changed my perspective a bit. Food doesn’t have to be something made by humans. Look, some animals get Energy by gnawing on large trees.”

[Our Species lacks the ability to digest wood.]

“What’s the problem? Just send them such a creature.”

I decided to take a more active approach since I could intervene.

Our house was exceptionally clean to the point of being unable to tolerate even a single cockroach, but this Back Hill was different.

I picked up the camera.

I thought if I took pictures like crazy, I’d catch something eventually.

Anyway, right now, we felt like we could eat whatever bug might fall.

[Wait, that method is not advisable.]

“Huh?”

[Don’t take random photos recklessly.]

Just as I was about to press the shutter, I was interrupted.

[Your account level is still Level 1. This means there are restrictions on your ability usage.]

“I didn’t hear anything about that.”

[Because there was no need to mention it.]

…This guy?

Still, it was a convincing limitation.

If I were some insanely wealthy and powerful person who could disregard morals and laws to exploit abilities, it would be incredibly unfair.

Think about it—what would happen if I spent money to buy meat in warehouse quantities and sent it?

“From now on, tell me such things in advance. So, what can I do right now?”

[At Level 1, you can provide a total of 10 Specimens and a maximum of 20kg of food per day.]

“…I think I understand why you’re constantly pursuing High Efficiency.”

It was quite a realistic limitation.

This explained why food waste was so despised.

It made sense to exclude anything that could be obtained locally, like moisture.

“Alright. So far, Ants, Fruit Flies, Spiders, Bees, Beetles…Butterflies and Pigeons…”

[You have three attempts left.]

“Ugh.”

Taking a single photo was proving to be a challenge.

I turned on the Flashlight and approached the midsection of the Back Hill, near a Fallen Tree.

This hill was more like a small mountain, with many people strolling along its trails even at night. Using the Flashlight, I carefully inspected the tree’s surface.

What I wanted was Termites, insects that feed on wood.

On YouTube, they just seemed to catch them in the mountains without much effort.

“What’s going on? Why?”

[Forget about Termites for now. It seems better to observe something else instead.]

An alarm rang.

I didn’t think much of it at first, but then I saw something I couldn’t possibly ignore.

[On the 4th Floor we targeted, there was another Swarm. They were not detected during the previous aerial Reconnaissance. These creatures mainly inhabit underground and terrestrial areas.]

“Ants?”

From the description, they sounded like Ants.

On the displayed screen, there were beings on the ground clashing with our Scouts, which were based on Giant Hornets.

They were large but had an overall structure resembling Ants, with a head, thorax, and abdomen.

“…?”

[Do not underestimate them. Their Swarm is the Rulers of the 4th Floor.]

A White Ant, which had been in a standoff, suddenly opened its jaws and sprayed some kind of liquid like an Anti-Air Attack.

The liquid hit one of the Scouts.

I was speechless as I watched the part it touched dissolve helplessly with smoke rising.