Chapter 14
Agmen are strong.
They’re one of the most powerful species in the sea.
They have bizarre bodies, with crocodile heads and four tentacle-like limbs. If they evolve a little further, they may even be able to move onto land.
They’re intelligent, so living in groups comes naturally to them.
They hunt prey and share it, and they’re clever enough to use stones, too.
They’ve formed a society.
They use tools.
Even if they stay in the sea, they might build a civilization beneath the waves.
That’s how much potential this species has.
But.
[Pipyu!!]
A mysterious voice rang out, sending a shiver through the place where they lived.
“Grrk?”
One Agmen looked up.
The Agmen had settled in a cozy spot surrounded by huge boulders and coral, but a considerable shadow fell over it.
“Piiit!!!”
“Pipyuut!!”
Little Squirmy and its descendants.
An army of hundreds of Little Squirmies invaded the Agmen’s habitat.
KWAANG!!
The rocks the Agmen had arranged and the beautiful coral were smashed and toppled in an instant.
They fired shockwaves.
They rammed into them with their bodies.
Whoosh!!
They created currents to push their enemies back.
They accelerated in an instant, then swung their tails.
The Agmen were helpless.
The Agmen fell or fled before the Little Squirmy army’s surprise attack.
“Grrk!!”
Of course, the Agmen were a powerful species, too.
A huge Agmen, apparently their leader, belatedly propelled itself toward the Little Squirmy army like a rocket, with the other Agmen following behind.
The Agmen had the advantage in close combat. It was hard to predict who would win in a head-on fight.
[Pipyuut!!]
Little Squirmy stepped forward itself.
Its body glowed brilliantly as a gigantic whirlpool formed.
Fwoooosh!!
As a massive current formed, the Agmen were swept up and trapped in place. The Little Squirmy army fired magic at them.
The result was an overwhelming victory.
An entire Agmen group was wiped out.
“Wow… Little Squirmy’s incredibly strong.”
I watched the whole thing unfold.
At first, I was worried, but now all my worries had vanished.
Little Squirmy was strong.
Its children were strong, too.
The one that used to be so busy running away had now reached the point of leading an army and wiping out a group of a powerful species.
They were strong enough to ram their bodies into enemies or lash out with their tails, and they could use magic, too. The outcome was only natural.
But.
“Will it really be okay…?”
The real fight was only just beginning.
The Agmen had flourished for a long time.
They’d only destroyed a single habitat. The Agmen were still a formidable force.
Was that why?
[Pipyu!!~]
“Pipyu!!”
Little Squirmy and its kind advanced toward another habitat, and a long war began.
*
Half a year had passed in Yeoulrim.
More than a hundred groups and over two thousand Agmen had been attacked by the Little Squirmy army.
With the Little Squirmies moving together, the Agmen couldn’t easily stop them.
“Grrk!!”
Perhaps they couldn’t just keep taking the attacks.
The Agmen launched a powerful counterattack.
Like Little Squirmy, the Agmen had a powerful alpha individual that represented their species. That individual launched a surprise attack on the Little Squirmy army.
“Ugh, why is that thing so huge?”
The alpha Agmen was a full seven meters long—much bigger than Little Squirmy.
Not only that, but more than five hundred Agmen had surrounded the Little Squirmy army.
This was a war that would decide the fate of their species. If they lost, they’d be driven to the brink of extinction; even if they won, they were bound to suffer heavy losses.
“Should I help them?”
Wriggle, wriggle.
I was getting nervous just watching.
I wanted to see how far they could grow on their own, but if things looked too dangerous, I’d have to step in.
“Graaa!!”
Just then, the Agmen charged.
The surrounded Little Squirmy army huddled tightly together and formed a defensive line, but they didn’t look like they could stand up to the Agmen’s momentum.
They were being pushed back. The serious expressions on the mini Little Squirmies’ faces said it all.
I guess I really should help them.
I couldn’t let the Little Squirmies die.
[Pipyu~]
“Huh?”
Then something unexpected happened.
Just as I was about to use my power, Little Squirmy opened its mouth with a carefree cry…
“Holy… Are those all mana stones??”
Inside Little Squirmy’s mouth.
I could see hundreds of mana stones. It had secretly stored them inside its mouth.
CRUNCH!!
Mana Devouring.
Little Squirmy devoured all the mana stones in one go, then burst into a brilliant blue glow!
[Pipyu!!~]
Then something incredible happened.
A massive whirlpool surrounding the Little Squirmy army surged up and above the surface of the sea.
Whoooom!!
Its scale was astonishing.
It was large enough to engulf the entire surrounding area.
It was a disaster, plain and simple. You could say a giant typhoon had formed beneath the sea.
On top of that, Little Squirmy’s mysterious glow and its deep, resonating cry sent shivers down my spine.
“Grrk!!”
“Greeek!?”
The Agmen were swept away en masse.
No—they lost the will to fight.
The Agmen who saw the whirlpool lost their fighting spirit at the sight of such overwhelming force and tried to run.
The more they panicked, the more they were swallowed up by the vast whirlpool, shrieking as they went.
Meanwhile.
“Pipyu?”
“Pipyu!!~”
The mini Little Squirmies sang a song of joy.
They were in the eye of the typhoon, so they were completely unaffected. They offered a hymn of praise to Little Squirmy, the progenitor of their kind.
Everyone was thrilled or awestruck by Little Squirmy’s mysterious glow and overwhelming power.
[Pipyu!!]
FWOOSH!!
The finishing move was perfect, too.
The Agmen alpha was the only one to emerge through the whirlpool, but Little Squirmy fired a water-cannon blast at it and brought the war to an end.
With that, the Agmen had lost their central leader.
They’d barely be able to survive in small groups.
They’d flee far away from Little Squirmy’s territory and recognize it as a natural enemy, doing their best to stay out of sight.
“I was worried for nothing.”
My worry had been completely unnecessary.
It seemed Little Squirmy had been waiting for the enemy alpha to show up with a large number of followers. It had waited a full three months to wipe them all out at once.
The mana stones it had kept in its mouth were proof.
Its strength and intelligence were beyond anything I’d expected.
“Heh. You little rascal, I’m so proud of you!!”
Flash!
I had to celebrate.
After a long time, I projected an avatar and appeared before the Little Squirmy army.
“Little Squirmy!”
“Pipyu!?”
The mini Little Squirmies, who were seeing me for the first time, jumped in surprise and eyed me warily.
[Pipyu!!~]
Regardless, Little Squirmy’s mysterious, clear cry rang out.
[The alpha individual receiving faith offers you its overwhelming support.]
[245pt of World Power has been acquired.]
I’d gained a huge amount of World Power from Little Squirmy alone.
What’s more, at Little Squirmy’s cry, the mini Little Squirmies calmed down and showed their curiosity.
“Heh~ Our Little Squirmy’s gotten so big, huh?”
Guruk, guruk~
Little Squirmy swam over, wiggling its body from side to side, and held out its head.
“Pipyu~”
Its voice no longer carried that powerful resonance.
Like a cat that meowed differently when its owner was around, Little Squirmy’s voice was full of affection when it faced me.
“You’re much bigger than me now, but you’re still my adorable Little Squirmy.”
Pat, pat~
I gently stroked Little Squirmy.
I couldn’t hug it like I used to, but stroking its head was easy enough.
Little Squirmy let out a happy cry and rubbed its head against my chest.
“Pipyu!….”
“Pipya?~”
The mini Little Squirmies watched our interaction.
They seemed quite taken aback.
Come to think of it, stroking someone’s head was a gesture that established their rank among themselves, wasn’t it?
Hmm. I hope they don’t think this is weird.
I’m just doing it because I like it.
Anyway.
“Want to play today, too?”
“Pipyu~”
Today was the day Little Squirmy defeated a threatening species and became the master of the sea.
Of course, the sea was vast, and there were creatures more dangerous and powerful than the Agmen. But at least in this area, Little Squirmy was the master.
No one would dare challenge it.
Little Squirmy would grow even stronger.
Who could threaten it now?
“Let’s gooo~”
“Pipyu~”
Fwoooosh!~
I climbed onto Little Squirmy and we headed forward.
We sailed through the vast sea, enjoying ourselves.
I didn’t forget to hold or pet the mini Little Squirmies now and then, either.
[Many individuals look up to you.]
[144pt of World Power has been acquired.]
In turn, they supplied me with a pretty significant amount of World Power.
[8pt of World Power has been acquired.]
Starting that day, I began receiving a small amount of World Power automatically every day.
*
“Hup! Hah.”
I sat up in the real world.
Lately, I’d been focusing too much on Yeoulrim.
I’d wake up now and then to study or exercise, but I’d neglected the real world and immersed myself in Yeoulrim to watch Little Squirmy’s war.
By a rough calculation, I’d spent about a year in Yeoulrim for every day that passed in reality.
Well, it should be about time.
The next evolution…
“Eek!”
SPLAT!
Maybe I’d gotten a little too carried away with my daydreaming.
As I got out of bed, I tripped over something at my feet and took an awkward tumble.
“Ugh….”
I rubbed my forehead and looked ahead.
There were books by my feet.
Books on biology and mana stones.
They were books I’d reread several times over the past few weeks while caring for Yeoulrim.
Strangely enough, the mana stone books had helped me more than the biology books. They’d taught me a few things about developing Little Squirmy’s magical organs.
Tap, tap.
I tidied up the books.
No matter how busy I was, I shouldn’t neglect cleaning my room. Your surroundings reflect your state of mind.
I should at least keep things tidy.
More importantly.
Bzzzt~
[Yeoul, can I come over tomorrow?]
Nari kept coming over to my place.
We usually ate, chatted, or hung out together about once a week.
So I couldn’t let her see my place looking like a mess.
Better get cleaning.
After that.
[Sure, I’ll have the mana stones ready.]
Time to focus on the real world.
Tomorrow’s meeting was about the mana stones.
I was running low on living expenses, so it was about time I earned some money.
So I was going to carve mana stones today and entrust them to Nari to sell tomorrow.
Which meant…
“Maybe I’ll go do some gacha pulls~”
It was time to pull some mana stones.
I needed raw stones to carve mana stones, and the only way to get raw stones was through gacha.
Next time, I’d ask Nari to get them for me, but this time I had to take care of it myself.
Well, let’s give it a try.
Let’s see if I can get better stones than last time.