Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Steel Wolf's Predicament
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Leyzon glanced at the unusually large number of imperial soldiers.
A strange light flickered across Leyzon's face.
'Lately, it feels like trouble follows me wherever I go.'
Leyzon traveled all over the world.
Given how many places he visited, it was only natural that he encountered incidents frequently.
Besides, since he always dug into every event he came across, it made sense that he got tangled up in them often.
Even accounting for that, there were times when something felt oddly off.
He had started feeling this way ever since entering the dungeon in the Kaltura Empire.
'I do have a knack for attracting trouble, though.'
Maybe it was because this world was teeming with transcendent beings. Sometimes, he genuinely questioned whether his intentions were purely his own.
After all, Leyzon himself was an outsider summoned to this world.
'Whoever brought me here must have had some purpose.'
The real Leyzon had vanished.
Leyzon still didn't know why he had taken the real Leyzon's place here.
That uncertainty had planted the seed of doubt.
Shaking his head, Leyzon brushed it off.
'Just a hunch—no real evidence.'
Above all, this was the path Leyzon had chosen for himself.
And if there was some intent behind it, using it to his advantage was his prerogative.
'Whoever sent me here...'
Whoever it was, he'd repay that debt tenfold.
Leyzon hadn't forgotten that.
Soon, he passed the throng of imperial soldiers and arrived at the Eloria Pioneer Association.
The Eloria Pioneer Association was a massive building.
With so many high-ranking pioneers, they must be raking in the cash.
As Leyzon approached the counter, the usual boisterous clamor filled the air.
Even high-ranking pioneers were still pioneers.
They roamed dungeons daily, facing mortal danger every time.
In that grind, they brushed with death repeatedly.
As a result, many lived like there was no tomorrow.
A good number of them were rough around the edges—fearless because they treated every day as their last.
'Someone should open a psych clinic near the Pioneer Association. It'd boom.'
But Dungeon Replay's civilization was medieval at best.
They didn't even realize they needed to care for their mental health.
It was a pity.
"I'd like to do an Ascension. And we'll take the Ascension quest here."
Leyzon immediately sought out a Pioneer Association staff member.
"Ah, yes—oh."
The staffer flinched upon seeing Leyzon's face.
His perpetually menacing mask was doing its job today as well.
She cautiously took Leyzon's Pioneer ID.
Hanok quickly handed over his own as well.
As Leyzon waited calmly, a commotion erupted outside.
Syria reported the situation from the shadows.
Typical of these hot-blooded pioneers.
Starting brawls in broad daylight.
Leyzon paid it no mind.
That is, until he heard that.
Without a moment's hesitation, Leyzon turned from the counter.
Steel Wolf Guild.
A guild that had once been his enemy.
Now, Steel Wolf was practically his limb.
If the guild was in trouble, the guild master (himself) had to step up.
Leyzon flung open the door boldly.
There, before him, stood members bearing the Steel Wolf emblem.
They were surrounded by a crowd.
"It was you guys, wasn't it? You murdering dog bastards!"
"Who else could it be? We clashed with you recently—everyone knows it!"
Leyzon watched with a curious gaze as they shouted.
They were accusing the Steel Wolf members.
"Damn it, it wasn't us. Why the hell would we kill your guildmates?"
"We keep holding back and listening, and they turn us into murderers."
The Steel Wolf members fired back fiercely.
Steel Wolf Guild had a reputation for being formed from back-alley thugs.
Indeed, there had been crimes within the guild in the past.
So, whenever something went down, Steel Wolf's name always came up.
But that was history now.
Rafila didn't run Steel Wolf sloppily.
He enforced hierarchy more strictly than anyone.
And now, Rafila himself was working tirelessly to reshape the guild's image.
Naturally, the members were influenced too.
No Steel Wolf member had been linked to any crimes recently.
If there were, Rafila would handle it personally.
'High-ranking pioneers under Steel Wolf wouldn't dare act recklessly against Rafila.'
It seemed old prejudices had stuck, leading to this mess.
"Hey, you—Steel Wolf Guild members."
Leyzon stepped in to mediate.
A Steel Wolf member turned at his call.
"What's the situation?"
As Leyzon interjected, the Steel Wolf member squinted at him like he was trash.
"Who the hell's this ugly bastard?"
"Whoa, talk about a face only a mother could love."
Instead, they turned on him.
Leyzon blinked.
Then he got it.
Of course. Rafila couldn't have briefed everyone in this backwater about him.
So Leyzon flashed his widest grin and introduced himself.
"Me? I'm the guy who grabs meals and hits the sauna with your guild master."
Dogs that don't recognize their master need discipline.
Before Leyzon stood the Steel Wolf Guild members, all sprawled flat on the ground.
Even so, for the guild's image, Leyzon had gone easy on them.
He'd brought them to the nearby Steel Wolf branch first.
He hadn't punished them in public view.
That alone showed how merciful he'd been.
The problem was their insolence during the process.
They'd mouthed off at Leyzon without learning their place.
And this was the result.
"I'm sorry. I failed to manage the men properly."
Leyzon eyed the man bowing repeatedly before him.
A Steel Wolf executive from the Wild Wolves.
Largo.
The Wild Wolves had been personally trained by Rafila.
They had direct lines to him, of course.
Through that, they'd heard about Leyzon.
Rafila had warned the Wild Wolves multiple times.
If they ever encountered Leyzon, they were to obey his word above all else, no matter what.
That was the highest order given to the Wild Wolves.
And now...
The subordinates of Largo, Steel Wolf's Eloria branch chief, had screwed up.
Grit!
Largo glared at his men, seething with rage.
The half dark elf had warned them to be cautious at all costs, yet these idiots had forgotten and messed up.
But the subordinates felt wronged too.
They hadn't expected the half dark elf to look so damn intimidating.
Especially since Leyzon's human blood made his skin tone hard to distinguish.
They hadn't even realized he was a half dark elf at first.
They'd followed intending to chew him out, never dreaming it'd end like this.
"It's fine. I'm not that ugly."
"......"
Largo fell silent for a moment.
When Leyzon narrowed his eyes slightly, Largo nodded vigorously.
"L-Leyzon, sir. I have your Pioneer ID."
In the meantime, Hanok scurried back.
Leyzon took his Pioneer ID from him.
He'd felt his power surge just moments ago—Ascension successful.
Leyzon pocketed the Pioneer ID.
From now on, he'd handle Ascension quests in other villages whenever possible.
No need to invite suspicion or give anyone leverage.
With the Eden evolution issue too, he needed to stay low for a while.
'Man, the world sure loves messing with me.'
Why were there so many enemies?
All he'd done was live a little harder than most.
"Leyzon, sir... you're making that weird face again......"
Hanok muttered to himself, but Leyzon didn't hear.
"Anyway, what was the fight about?"
Leyzon shifted gears.
A Steel Wolf guild member thrust his arm up dramatically.
"We're innocent!"
"Arm down."
Largo strained his face, and the member quickly lowered it.
"What's so innocent about it?"
Leyzon swiveled his chair toward them.
The earlier scuffle had fizzled out with his intervention.
So he still didn't know what had happened.
They'd all been too busy sniping at each other.
"It's about the recent pioneer disappearances in the Primate Layer."
Pioneer disappearances.
Leyzon tilted his head at that.
No wonder there were so many imperial soldiers—this was the weird incident.
"High-ranking pioneers disappearing?"
"Yes. So naturally, suspicion fell on us."
The Steel Wolf member looked troubled.
Steel Wolf had been pouring effort into rebranding lately.
But the back-alley guild stigma lingered.
That's why they'd gotten dragged into this disappearance case.
'High-ranking pioneers aren't pushovers anywhere.'
They were battle-hardened and skilled—that defined high-rankers.
Especially in Eloria Village, full of top pioneers.
If someone vanished, traces would have been found.
'No traces, so they're pinning it on innocent Steel Wolf.'
Leyzon tapped his crossed arms thoughtfully.
Something sinister was afoot.
"Disappearance location?"
"Inside the dungeon."
"You guys really didn't do it, right?"
"Yes! We'd never! Our worst lately was just shaking down some cash!"
They still needed more training.
But since they confessed voluntarily, they were probably innocent.
"Alright, Largo. I'll look into this."
"Are you sure?"
"I need to stick around the village anyway, and Steel Wolf getting smeared isn't good for anyone."
To Leyzon, Steel Wolf was a stepping stone to the nation-building ending.
No point if that stone wobbled.
Plus, he knew Rafila's efforts.
"If Steel Wolf solves this, won't it boost your standing big time?"
Especially the high-rankers—they were future assets.
Some could become hero-tier, so planting a good image paid off huge.
Leyzon stood.
"Now, time to investigate the disappearances. Tell me everything you know."
Let's catch this bastard.
In a Steel Wolf room provided by Largo.
Leyzon reviewed two key pieces of info on the disappearances here.
First, every missing party had at least one woman.
Second, search parties found abnormally long hair.
As a result, the Primate Layer now banned women from entry.
Female pioneers were frustrated.
They knew the risks.
But being sidelined from dungeons hurt them badly.
Still, repeated searches turned up no leads.
Just that one freakishly long hair.
The imperial army searched every high-ranker entering.
No one had hair that long.
'Five parties missing total.'
One or two? Phantasmal Beast attack, maybe.
Five times? No way that's natural.
"Even the imperial army's searches came up empty. Isn't that beyond us?"
As Hanok said, the imperial army had taken charge.
But it was all for naught.
"Yeah, the culprit's smart—observant, acting with full awareness."
The army probably used bait too.
Sent in women-backed parties and trailed them.
But the culprit sniffed it out and stayed clear.
They knew messing with the army brought nothing good.
"So right now, at this timing, we dangle bait."
He didn't know why the culprit targeted parties with women.
But the serial nature meant there was a reason.
Women had been banned long enough now.
The culprit must be itching.
'They held back against the army somehow.'
By now, they'd bite at anything.
"B-but, Leyzon sir."
Hanok looked awkward.
"We don't have bait, do we?"
Leyzon's party had no women.
Hanok pointed that out.
At that moment, Syria popped up from the shadows.
"What do you mean no? I've got you covered!"
Syria puffed out her chest proudly.
Hanok eyed her, then rolled his eyes dramatically.
Syria lunged at Hanok, shaking his neck.
Hanok yelped.
"Syria definitely won't work."
"L-Leyzon sir?"
Even Leyzon rejected her, leaving Syria shocked.
"The culprit detected the army. Probably has detection skills."
Syria was hard to detect with average skills.
But that very elusiveness would raise flags.
Undetectable meant a powerhouse—opposite of what they wanted.
The culprit, having dodged the army once, would be cautious.
With Syria along, odds of showing up dropped.
So she stayed in the shadows.
No bait role for her.
"Plus, the dungeon entrance is army-controlled."
With incidents piling up, they strictly screened women.
No women getting in, period.
"Th-then what do we do?"
Hanok, eyes spinning from Syria's shake, asked.
"Hanok, you can do it."
"Huh?"
Hanok looked baffled.
"Oh, got it!"
Syria caught on instantly.
A move only a man could pull off.