"Dust answer me this."

[What is it?]

"Is there a defense against the One-time Assassination Right? Pm not talking about some wordplay like fAssassination Reflection Right', Reflection Ignoring Right', or Rainbow Reflection-’ ."

[Of course, there's no such thing.]

The response was blunts likely because my question was absurd. Still, it was hard to comprehend. If there were no system-based defenses, how could Di Chang Hyun remain so calm? The One-time Assassination Right, a system power that doesn't discriminate its targets, is terrifying to players. But isn't it even more dangerous for units? It could tear apart even wraiths, which have no physical bodies.

Players could survive by hiding, but units had to face enemies directly.

[What he said wasn't wrong. This is just a game...]

"So you're saying it's absolute?"

I laughed bitterly. The power built into the system, like the One-time Assassination Right, was undoubtedly unimaginable. The game connects worlds, forcibly links groups and individuals, and even possesses the power to take lives, against which no strong individual can resist. But is this system absolute and the truth?

[There are many powers in this universe that surpass this system. The One-time Assassination Right merely brings its target to death once. So, what exactly is death? Isn't it usually referred to as the cessation of physical activity and the soul leaving the body?]

"So, if you can overcome that state, if you can somehow return from death, then the One-time Assassination Right isn't scary?"

I chuckled in disbelief. However, I didn't think it was a ridiculous story. The legion is also free from the One-time Assassination Right. The legion is one, yet many at the same time. Even if one of the entities dies, it's just a part of them falling off, and the connection is severed the moment the soul leaves, causing no harm to the main body.

Contrary to conventional values, I had a fleeting thought that death might not be as significant as I thought.

"Isn't that unfair?"

If one can escape even the power of the system, which I thought was absolute and could maintain balance, then isn't the outcome predetermined from the start?

[Don't be too relieved. The process of temporarily escaping, even by a trick, is simple and clear for the One-time Assassination Right, and that's probably the limit for units. The souls of players trapped in the game have no way out. And the world is originally unfair, and reality is not a game. If you can't overcome competition and become extinct... that's the harsh reality of the world.]

The legion countered with a fundamental argument. It wasn't wrong. The purpose of this game was competition for survival. And it was a very unfair competition. In the real fight, where balance patches are not considered, the losers only become experience points for the winners.

I wasn't feeling great. However, in this situation, where it's practically impossible to have a miraculous growth story like a work of fiction, my units were the very definition of growth.

"...Open the screen."

Leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling, I stayed alone in the barracks during my free time, watching the legion.

Unaware of my observation, the legion was still very active.

While I was now indifferent to the legion killing humans, what filled my mind was what name I should give to that child. I wanted to give it a meaningful and beautiful name.*

[He has successfully grown by learning the Resonance Method, a mind technique that you improved, which allows him to express his Formative Force.]

"Was he happy?"

[...Yes. He might even mention it in his next video.]

"In his next video."

The legion felt relieved after hearing about his day. It didn't matter if others recognized him. The only thing of importance was whether he liked and appreciated their gift.

"We're thinking of gifts that will make him stronger. He'll definitely like them more."

[That's a good decision. You'll be safe only if he becomes stronger.]

After surfacing, the legion successfully amassed a wealth of diverse and abundant knowledge. The data they devoured and analyzed became a treasure trove, extending beyond mere

sight and sound. They had no trouble acquiring even those pieces of information that couldn't be obtained through consumption.

"Ah...ah..."

In the heart of the forest, which the legion had claimed as their nest, people were half-buried in the tree trunk housing the eggs that mass produced legionnaires. They screamed in extreme pain. The infecting bacteria infiltrating their bodies forced them to spill all the knowledge they possessed, including magic, in accordance with the legion's intentions.

At that moment, the legion was extracting magical knowledge and simultaneously gathering information about this world from their captives, who were part of the societal elite.

"But so far, it's not much."

In this eerie silence where not even a bird's chirp or the sound of insects could be heard, only screams and groans filled the air. The legion, attempting to conjure a fireball, soon shook its head. They had captured prisoners, interrogated them, and listened to their stories, but the results were far from satisfactory.

The legion had already witnessed the deputy director's high-level magic and craved a similar level of power for themselves.

[In just one day, we've hunted down an entire city, 23 villages, and nearly 20,000 humans. The hunt is still ongoing. Humans are now aware of our existence and will surely prepare countermeasures.]

"Our dispatched forces are merely buying time, preventing the humans who are still oblivious to our true nature from noticing our expansion."

The legion cast their gaze into the distance, far from the ever-expanding nest that was relentlessly consuming all life in its path. The tens of thousands of legionnaires, initially preserved and then released all at once, were spreading out in a frenzy, indiscriminately slaughtering across a wide area. Their ruthless and aggressive advance was clearly a diversion.

While the panic-stricken humans were distracted, the plan was to consume this entire area unhindered. Then, they planned to cover this vast forest and land entirely with the legion's cells.

"Once we expand the nest and gain a massive amount of energy, we can do things we couldn't do underground due to efficiency issues."

In the legion's mind, an aerial map of the area based on the human maps they had acquired was spread out. Numerous flying creatures were released all at once, and within the accurately constructed aerial map, the sight of the continent's corners gradually darkening was clearly visible.According to their calculations, even if they consumed only this corner of the land, they could produce millions of medium-sized legionnaires every day. They could also experiment with various combinations they hadn't attempted before.

Rapture the wizards from the society who have learned advanced magic. Kill all the others and use them as nourishment.'

The legion issued another command to the legionnaires on the front lines. A disruption operation was necessary for at least this level of stabilization.

Rhe Wizard Society, and the Continental Council.'

They now had detailed knowledge of the local powerhouses and how they wielded power and authority. Having heard of their strength, the legion never let their guard down in order to win with minimal losses. Their top priority was to confuse them as much as possible until they could crush them with overwhelming power.

[I understand why you would want to capture wizards or those who have learned martial arts.]

"Please...save me..."

"Let...let me go...!"

[But why are you capturing them?]

At that moment, a group of people was brought into the middle of the nest. Forced to walk using infection bacteria to control their bodies, they arrived at the nest, screaming weakly.

All the women brought in, regardless of their social status or origin, were young and physically healthy, all in their childbearing years.

"Obviously, it's for analysis."

[...What exactly?]

The nest, which had been handling production, digestion, absorption, and analysis, had grown in size and divided its roles. The reason the legion brought them to this place, a nest for decomposition, absorption, and analysis to accumulate data, rather than the battlefield where they were quickly digested and fed to the legionnaires, was simple.

"No...no..."

As they were buried alive and their bodies began to tremble, covered in mucus, their faint hopes of survival were completely shattered. Whether they were digested on the spot and turned into nourishment or decomposed and analyzed, the end result was the same - death. But the paths to that end were very different.

[Do you think he would like this? Creating a beautiful body and face by accumulating data in this way.]

"I saw the sky for the first time and felt that pursuing beauty is natural for a living being. Kang Do Yeon said he likes pretty girls."

The legion, of course, showed no signs of wavering.

"...Huh?"

But at that moment, the legion put their hand on their chest. They had replaced their heart with a power engine, but when there were extreme emotional changes, they would mimic what Kang Do Yeon used to do unconsciously.

"Why?"

The startled legion flinched. This was the first time the entire hive consciousness had been so taken aback.

"He's angry. Is he under attack?!"

[No, he's watching...he's started watching this scene. Will you hide your body?]

The calm voice of the administrator echoed in their head. The startled legion rushed to the stem of the sacred tree next to them and hid their physical body inside it.