042. The real war begins (3)

The pupils of the party who witnessed this strange encounter shook violently from side to side as if an earthquake had occurred.

This is a situation I really don’t understand.

Not only did the two look exactly the same, but the player without an arm even showed how they used the [Defense Master] authority they knew well.

Anyone can see that the player who hunted demons together as a team in the previous life is not the ruler of the spider army, but the player who lost that arm is more suitable.

Even though the ruler of the corps clearly explained it, it was a situation where I could understand it rationally, but couldn’t easily accept it in my heart.

“Jiwoo, come on.”

“… … Hee!?”

A man named Han Ji-woo, the ruler of the Nemesis Spider Corps, whom the party met in this episode, greeted guests with open arms and a very fishy smile, as if he was showing off his abilities.

As always, a relaxed look that gave goosebumps and that creepy smile.

‘… … Me, someone just like me… … ?’

In contrast, the other Han Ji-woo was really on the verge of fainting.

His face was white as white as a sheet of paper, and his whole body was wet with cold sweat, down to his underwear.

“all… … you are… … .”

The players who brought her seemed embarrassed, and the culprit, Han Ji-woo, also wanted to ask the man in front of her a lot. However, due to the tension and fear, the mouth does not come out well.

The myth that you will die if you meet your doppelgänger was useless in this case.

“Say it comfortably.”

“… … Are you, me, me from the future? Oh, or the one in the parallel dimension… … is it?”

The ruler of the legion laughed at this question and replied:

“Ha, did this bastard receive home education as a fantasy?”

The man he met with the same appearance as himself was a man with a really creepy impression like a ‘boss mob’.

* * *

“Ahhhhh !!!”

The pyramid-shaped building where I live was constantly hearing very ghastly screams. It’s obviously a fairly well-insulated building, but the screams were enough to pierce even that soundproofing.

“If anyone hears it, they’ll know you’re torturing them.”

“… … It’s like torture.”

The name of a man who was given the authority of [Defense Master] according to his tendency to like games at the age of 28 is Han Ji-woo.

He was undergoing surgery to attach a new arm that I had cultivated and was in great pain.

“Hey, the strongest. Doesn’t that sleep well?”

“The powers of healers cause spell-shattering pain. You’ve received it too, so you know it well, right?”

“… … Fuck.”

This work is being done by players who participated in the Pandemonium Territory operation and gained the authority related to treatment. In order to connect the blood vessels and nerves, the guy had to incise again in detail the area that he had burned and sutured in a hurry.

What’s really unfortunate is that their powers don’t have a function called ‘anesthesia’ at all. I wonder what kind of crazy nobleman created this authority.

Anyway, if you move on to surgery rather than such a simple treatment, it really becomes a job to catch people. If you fall behind in shock like that, there’s no point in making an arm.

“But they scream that they die like that. A real weakling has entered my body.”

“… … Well, I think you were like that too.”

To be honest, that player, Jiwoo Han, has nothing to do with me anymore. The shell is obviously my body recreated by going back in time, but the substance inside it is the soul that should have been born as a different being.

The reason why I dared to reattach the arm I had cut off, cultivated the arm, and attached healing powers was no different. I didn’t want to see a guy who was born with the body and powers I originally had die in vain not long after the war started.

“Such a weak bastard. Having his arm cut off and eaten by some piece of lower-class flesh. Is it okay for a bastard born with my body and power to be so weak?”

Unlike Han Ji-woo, the ruler of the corps, player Han Ji-woo was extremely weak, and he was also an extremely nice guy.

Using his ESP ability to read the surface psychology, he lost an arm in the end while using his powers nonstop to save people who had nothing to do with him.

Wow, that’s really fucking stupid.

“Why are you so nice? I don’t like it.”

In the previous rounds, I was a fairly famous player who stood out from the beginning, adapting quickly to the changed world, using my abilities very savagely, and taking advantage.

It’s not that I teamed up with a leader who hid his power, a hero of mankind, and an archmage.

I was the owner of an irreplaceable authority.

The [Defense Master] ability is a bit tricky to grow, but it is a very outstanding ability that can grow to the level of being able to defend an area later based on the sacrifices of dealers while protecting one’s body enough.

In addition, the tricky thing about growth is that it takes away a lot of credit from others, but in fact, it’s not that difficult if you stealthily steal it by intentionally giving it the final blow with a turret.

“No, even if you learn it for the first time, it’s a power that can withstand quite a few waves of demons.”

Above all, the story that this growth is difficult is not the story of weakness.

How can the power that suddenly turns a bloody battle into a defense game from the moment it was given is weak?

Rather, this is one of the strongest powers before others grow up.

“If you run out of stamina and strength, shouldn’t you take a break and watch it?”

It was obvious that if he lived like that, he would soon be searched for, given that he was born with good powers that were evaluated as impossible to replace.

This floor only cares about their own comfort and growth benefits. It’s a world where the innate mind is so kind that it really doesn’t help the player.

No, having such a mentality is rather a huge negative factor.

Saying that he will help others unconditionally and not wasting his life is a very foolish thing that even a ‘former hero addict’ who is on the verge of changing jobs as a chef while cooking porridge for patients.

No matter what Kang Jin-hyeok said he would save everyone in the world, when the situation was really unfavorable, he jumped out without looking back, unleashing his powers that were very specialized for escape.

“If the situation is bad, you should just let go and run away whether people die or not. Why are you holding on to that until the end? Ha, you look like such a stuffy child.”

The curious wizard continued to talk about this and that even after hearing my explanation.

“… … Jiwoo, isn’t it really like a split ego? Aren’t you a soul from a parallel world or something?”

“… … sick child. How many times do I have to explain I was just born in a different body thanks to the damn authority, and since my body is empty, this person is a soul that has nothing to do with me who came in.”

I am not a being from a parallel world, nor am I a grandiose being who crosses time and causes a time paradox or something.

“For reference, I’ve seen a calf using my body when I was a cow, but that calf didn’t take long to find it either.”

“… … .”

“That bastard was a little crazy. I would just lay a turret behind you and get some experience points, but I bought a knife for no reason and shouted the name of a skill while attacking and got cut.”

“… … .”

It is just a very simple principle that if time is rewinded and the soul that should have entered the body does not enter, another soul enters and is born.

“I’m glad he’s still alive. How did he manage to still survive after all that?”

The archmage, who had been silently listening to my words, showed a look of surprise.

What is this reaction?

“… … As expected, I thought you were always abandoning your colleagues, but you are a guy who knows how to take care of people.”

I smiled and nodded.

“So that is it. I never dreamed that I could get the [Defense Master] back like this. If that bastard was immediately searched for and eaten by a piece of flesh, there would be no way to get it back, right?”

“… … .”

“why? Originally, I said I would use my authority again, but what is that expression?”

So, that is the authority I need to use. Let’s throw away the incarnation that this disgusting Kang Jin-hyeok picked out with his genes.

“This bastard’s powers are a real scam, but after all, I have a lot more fun grinding turrets from behind than the mean stuff of charging in and picking heads.”

It was then. A man appeared like a ghost in the room I was living in, to be precise, not in the empty area in the Leviathan’s nervous system where the main body resided, but in the room of the building where the incarnation resided.

His unique baggy clothes, messy hair, and wide eyes matched well, giving him the impression that he looks more tired today.

“… … Hey, did I sleep long?”

The manager finally woke up.

* * *

The situation on Earth has now been sorted out to some extent.

A team of mankind’s strongest players, including a strange guy who could even hear the Hive consciousness, picked out only the dominant object that facilitated hatching and ran around.

Not only that, but I also sent a lot of jellyfish to the sky above the earth. Jellyfish will notice the colony mind and report back if there are any cubs or remaining cubs secretly infiltrating.

Now, the remaining remnants of them were earning experience with the help of apostles and regression players.

It was a lot easier to deal with than we thought, unless it was the dreaded entity division with no end in sight.

However, the Nemesis, which was closest to the enemy’s main base, was still in an endless war of attrition.

The flesh divides and attacks and eats the legion, and the legion catches them, tears them to pieces, feeds them to the hatchery, and uses the nutrients to pick up spiders again to catch them.

To stop this, I have to kill the bastard at the base… … .

-ruin. Intake. food.

-corps. Corsair. death. birth of life.

“Can you hear that?”

“What is that? Is it something similar to that jellyfish-like spider that you take with you?”

As a result of what I ate, this man named Manager, who was chewing on chocolate with a very refreshing but profoundly unique taste, frowned at the grotesque voice of the enemy boss coming from the flesh planet.

“… … How does that sound?”

“Hey, hyung is a pretty great person.”

What a great nobleman. This gentleman called Administrator doesn’t even have psionic energy, but it seems that you can hear some of the hive consciousness that they and the legion emit.

“That bastard in the base over there, you look much stronger than me, don’t you?”

“Well, it seems so. From the output I can feel, there is a clear difference from you. Wow, where the hell did this crazy bastard get those bastards? If you’re sending such a big chunk of puppies, you’d have to be prepared to recuperate for a few months.”

The manager dug deep into the fact that the Demon God was more tired than he was from sending that, and I dug deep into a completely different concern.

“… … old man.”

“yes. Would you like some chocolate?”

“… … No, that will come later.”

The fact that the opponent’s boss had a much higher output than mine, this was the most threatening problem for me right now.

“I sent a few jellyfish nearby, but all contact has been lost.”

“… … Jiwoo, can that be?”

“… … I guess the guess is right. You bastard, do you have a very nasty knack for shaking my dominance?”

Legions, one side or the other, have communications and a chain of command formed by psychic powers. That is to say, if I recklessly approach the enemy’s main base, I may lose control of the corps the moment I am swept away by the opponent’s mental power.

Just as I was able to promote their individual division, there is a very good chance that they will be able to feed my legion.

Even if each possesses the ability to control the mind, if the power gap is too great in the first place, a picture of one side suffering unilaterally will naturally emerge.

“So it’s a bit difficult for me to go there myself.”

“… … .”

In my heart, I want to send the empowered creatures to carry out a large-scale raid, but if a whale, a snake, or a super-sized jellyfish is stolen, there is really no answer.

“Whether it’s a whale or a snake, if you just plant an egg and throw it away, the earth will be destroyed that day.”

The manager who listened to my words thought quietly, and soon came to a very hot conclusion to overcome this situation.

“Hey, then let’s do this.”