“If a lifeform has ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ a Core, are you saying we can just bring it in and affiliate as many as we want to the fortress like this?”
If that were possible.
‘There’s no way this is the only monster with a Core.’
If we paid in [Combat Rations].
There would be no shortage of people willing to gather Core-bearing monsters.
‘If we could affiliate every monster we gathered to this fortress...!’
Our unit—
—we’d be able to seize tremendous power, but...
“Regrettably, that will be difficult for the current fortress.”
“Ah.”
Unfortunately—
—that’s apparently a bit hard.
“If the fortress level rises, my limits as a spirit would rise as well, so that might change... but as of now, hacking the Core of a single species seems to be my limit.”
“...I see.”
So this one’s hacking evidently works on a “species” unit.
Having already succeeded in hacking one species,
bringing in an additional species would be a bit difficult.
“Species aside, even within a species I’ve successfully hijacked, the number I can handle is capped by my computational capacity.”
“Hm. A shame, but...”
I looked at the [Droplet] standing before me and thought:
“If it’s this one, that worry is lighter.”
It had inherited the properties of the [Droplet of Turmoil] as-is.
And the [Droplet of Turmoil] could remember and reproduce the information of what it had eaten.
It’s a shame I can’t command large numbers.
But the inability to command many species won’t be a huge penalty.
‘Because I can just feed them to this one.’
If there’s a monster with a special ability, by feeding it to this one,
we could reproduce that ability.
This one is, in the end, a fortress facility.
Naturally, as a facility it also has a level.
“If its level goes up, the likelihood of hacking other Core-bearing lifeforms increases too, right?”
“Not only that—the implementation rate of the original will rise as well.”
“Implementation rate?”
“In the current case, because the originals aren’t that high in rank, most of the implementation is possible; but if I try to mimic a high-ranked existence, the loss rate will be immense.”
The ability to reproduce what it eats is undeniably tremendous.
But fully reproducing everything is, again, difficult.
“Taking the strongest current case—‘Soon Nayeon’—as an example, her original level is 6, but I would only be able to implement about level 3.”
“Hm.”
“If you raise my level, that reproduction rate will rise as well.”
To summarize—
“The higher your level, the more other lifeforms you can affiliate to the fortress, and the more you can control at once. That it?”
“Exactly.”
“You said there’s a limit on how many you can handle right now. In that case...”
I looked at Vimanar’s Spirit Core,
then pointed my finger at the [Droplet].
“With a [Droplet] like this, how many can you handle?”
“Basing on level 1 for this spirit, I estimate I can handle at least ten units simultaneously.”
After saying that,
it continued, sounding regretful:
“That’s the frustrating part.”
“Hm?”
“It is indeed an excellent flesh-and-body. A body with tremendous versatility and potential... the problem is the number. Even if my computational power can handle ten, right now there’s only one.”
The way it sighed—
—it looked scarcely any different from an ordinary human.
“This flesh-and-body is useful enough that it could increase its own number, but with only a single unit, it cannot increase its count.”
“Is that so?”
“If we had at least two units... by repeatedly absorbing and splitting each other, we could have created new individuals and increased the number, but—ah.”
Perhaps realizing it was voicing a regret,
it corrected itself as it looked at me.
“Of course, it’s true that a single individual has limits, but this flesh-and-body would still be far more useful than seizing a spirit’s body. In that case, my Lord could depart with peace of mind...”
“No need to reassure me like that.”
“Pardon?”
I opened the [Guild Message] window
and answered it.
“My memory’s a bit fuzzy, but.”
“...?”
“Did I ever say we only secured a single [Droplet]?”
And then,
I sent a message through Guild Message.
[Private Lee Yongwan.]
A message visible to all unit members.
Meaning, by now—even Private Lee Yongwan, who should be en route back to Inje County—would see this message.
[When I told you to bring droplets, did I say bring just one?]
As I said that and looked out the window—
Flinch!
—I saw a soldier freeze.
[Bring the rest. All of them. As fast as possible.]
At that,
the soldier started sprinting out of the fortress at incredible speed.
“My Lord—surely...?”
“You guessed right.”
Back then, the droplets of turmoil we dealt with numbered more than the unit members who had participated in that battle.
Among them,
the ones the mages finished off such that their Cores didn’t vanish...
Well, I don’t remember exactly either, but—
‘I’m pretty sure it was more than ten, right?’
And—
a few hours later.
“Reporting to my Lord.”
“Reporting to my Lord.”
“Reporting to my—”
A total of ten
humans, each in different appearances,
all bowed their heads to me at once.
****
“So—what do you intend to do from here?”
I asked as I looked at the [Droplets of Turmoil] in the shapes of various humans...
No—at the legion’s droplets.
All I had to do was grant flesh-and-body; it would handle the rest.
Its gist was: feel free to head to other regions.
I figured I should at least hear how it planned to do this.
“I intend to assign these ten individuals as new recruits of the Legion.”
“Hm. And then?”
“I’ll try to shape public opinion inside the Legion. Even if anxiety spreads due to your absence, we’ll cultivate the sense that there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Hm... will it really go as smoothly as you say?”
Even if it sneaks in as a soldier while hiding its identity, it’s still a new recruit.
I doubted the opinion it manufactured would easily become mainstream, but—
“The fortress knows everything that happens atop itself. Far more information than you’d think... even the tiniest mutterings of the soldiers reach my ears.”
Its speaking power may be weak,
but when it comes to information about what happens on this fortress, it cannot help but be more detailed than anyone.
This fortress is, in essence, its true body.
That is—
“If there’s a soldier feeling uneasy, I can approach immediately and address it. The weakness in speaking power can be offset by that strength.”
“Indeed.”
In addition to that,
it planned to consume various monsters
and secure a few necessary abilities.
“The implementation rate will be lower, but as I mentioned, we’ll gain an incredibly wide variety of abilities. On the basis of those, until your return, I will suppress—or solve—all issues within the unit.”
“Not bad. However...”
“However?”
I stroked my chin and offered advice.
“The body you’re using now... what was the name again—Aunt Soon?”
“‘Aunt’... would be a stretch for my age.”
I did get the faint feeling it was a little offended...
Probably just my imagination.
“I first heard it called that. Anyway, a lot of soldiers saw that form. Transferring in as a new recruit with it will be hard.”
“Is that so?”
“Mm. As for the other forms, they were likely members of the siblings Lee Suyeon and Lee Suhyeok’s group... so they’ll need a separate heads-up. I’ll be the one to inform those two. Seeing former comrades moving around alive—depending on the person—it could feel unsettling.”
“Understood. In that case, for this form at least, rather than disguise, I’ll operate openly.”
The existence of the fortress spirit is already known among the unit.
We can explain it like: it acquired the body of a droplet we previously subjugated,
and as a result, it can take on this appearance now.
“In that case... there are a few matters I’d like permission for.”
“Mm?”
Fair enough.
From here on, I’ll be away, and it will have to handle the fallout.
There are parts where it should receive approval.
“One concerns a particular faction within your power... a faction whose dependence on you is extremely high.”
“Hm.”
“Just to confirm... are you aware of them?”
“Yeah, I know.”
They inflated my record to an absurd degree,
and there are soldiers who rely on me to an absurd degree.
I’d already heard plenty about that from the squad leaders.
“As expected of you, my Lord. You already knew.”
“You said you know everything that happens on the fortress, right? Wouldn’t it be normal for you to also know that I already know?”
“Because you never directly mentioned them, I wondered if perhaps you didn’t. Well... given how blatantly they show themselves, there’s no way you wouldn’t notice.”
“Of course.”
What nags at me a little is—
—the “particular faction” phrasing, but—
‘Well... I guess the soldiers who’re under that misconception have gathered into some group to chat.’
There are plenty of cases where soldiers who think alike become close.
It’s probably that sort of group.
“...You truly do know, right?”
“I do.”
“I mean those whose dependence is unusually high. Do you really know...?”
“I said I do. That’s why I’m not just up and leaving and am taking this complicated route, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but... I thought you might not know precisely, so—if I may explain in detail.”
“What a hassle. Let’s leave it there.”
It was starting to explain something I already knew at length,
so I cut it off.
“I obey your order.”
It obeys my commands absolutely.
Thankfully, I won’t have to sit through a tedious explanation.
“For now, they’re growing their influence far too freely, so I intend to intervene a little.”
“Intervene, huh.”
“In the present, their excessive dependence has in fact been a detriment to you. Even in this matter, you might say it hindered your freedom of movement.”
However—
Sergeant Park Taejun seemed keen to intentionally increase the number of such people,
trying to inflate my reputation.
“There’s meaning to his advice. I’m against reducing that dependence.”
“I agree. But if they grow sloppily without any kind of guideline, they could instead grow into a faction that harms you later.”
The artificial spirit in human guise smiled faintly.
“I’d like to intervene so they grow in a way that helps you. Will you grant permission?”
A “particular faction” that is indiscriminately inflating its dependence on me without my involvement.
It would—
reshape them in a way that helps me.
