Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: The Impostor Revealed
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The upper-tier pioneers who had used Hanok as bait and fled.
They weren't far away, catching their breath as they rested.
"We really almost died. That scared the hell out of me."
"Hah, it was a nightmare. A total nightmare. I'm scared it'll haunt my dreams."
They all patted their chests in relief over what had just happened.
The sight of the greater phantasmal beasts gathered together was nothing short of a nightmare.
But unrelated to that, one of them had a darkened expression.
"...We used that girl as bait and ran earlier. Didn't she help us to save our lives?"
His words made the other two pioneers look awkward.
But at the upper-tier pioneer level, they'd all seen plenty of people die.
In a dungeon, protecting your own life was always your own responsibility.
Sticking your nose in was your own mistake.
"We never asked for her help, did we?"
"Y-yeah, why make such a fuss? She died because she stuck her nose in.
Besides, we had no choice. We need to report this incident fast!"
The two pioneers said as much, and the rest fell silent.
It was a harsh truth, but this was the reality of being a pioneer.
"Right. Sticking your nose in is her own responsibility."
At that moment, a voice rang in their ears.
Naturally, it was a voice none of them had heard before.
All three gazes snapped to one spot.
There stood a man with his arms crossed, nodding along.
His entire body was clad in pitch-black gear, his face unrecognizable.
"And punishing those who pass the shit to others is my prerogative too."
"Wh-who are you?"
The pioneers asked cautiously.
He looked up, then grinned faintly.
"Me? I'm the partner of the girl you dumped the greater phantasmal beasts on and ran."
The pioneers drew their swords in unison.
They were convinced Leyzon had come for revenge for his comrade.
But that was a mistake.
Leyzon expressed pity.
"If you'd apologized first, I might've stayed level-headed."
In that instant, the ground vanished beneath the feet of those who had drawn their swords.
Before the pioneers could react, shadows snatched them away.
"Guh..."
Even their screams were cut short as two vanished.
Thus, only one of the three pioneers remained.
The one who had felt guilt toward Hanok earlier.
His face had drained of all color.
His comrades were veteran upper-tier pioneers with 12 ascensions.
They'd been taken without doing a thing.
At that point, there was nothing he could do.
His body trembled violently.
Leyzon stood before him and spoke.
"Answer every question I ask truthfully, and I'll send you and your comrades back without issue."
"A-anything, I'll answer."
"Greater phantasmal beasts don't normally gather in packs. Tell me everything you know about what's going on."
He swallowed hard and bowed his head low.
"There's a problem deep in the Primate Layer's forest."
"What kind of problem?"
"...An underground area appeared that no one had seen before."
Leyzon recalled the stories of the two swallowed by shadows moments ago.
They'd been yammering about discovering something.
That something must have been the new underground dungeon.
'There are two reasons an underground space appears in a dungeon.'
One was dungeon evolution.
An empty space created during the dungeon's overhaul process.
Most pioneers knew this.
So it wasn't something to make a fuss over.
'Their reaction says it's definitely not that.'
Then the second reason.
A new dungeon spawning beneath the existing one.
A first dungeon no one had entered.
Such a dungeon had now appeared below the Primate Layer.
'Coincidence?'
The recent incident where upper-tier pioneer teams, including women, had been mass-kidnapped.
Was it really a coincidence that tied into this sudden underground dungeon?
Leyzon was certain.
'No way.'
Leyzon's eyes gleamed quietly.
The greater phantasmal beasts had fled outside in fear of something leaking from the dungeon.
Leyzon turned and walked away.
Then Syria pulled the two pioneers from the shadows.
They had already passed out long ago.
The sole unharmed pioneer stared in dazed shock.
"One more thing: spread word about me, and the shadows I've planted in you will instantly crush your hearts."
Hanok had scurried up beside Leyzon unnoticed.
The pioneer slumped in relief at seeing Hanok alive.
Fortunately, he'd survived.
The pioneer swore never to breathe a word about today's events.
It was just a calamity that had passed by.
Double dungeon.
It was an event that occasionally occurred even in Dungeon Replay.
The hallmark of a double dungeon was that the newly formed one had higher difficulty.
Leyzon flew over the Primate Layer on his Bone Broom, Hanok in tow.
The Primate Layer's purple rivers all converged on the central forest.
The deeper in they went, the more greater phantasmal beasts they saw.
They paid no mind to Leyzon flying overhead.
They were desperately fleeing far from the center.
A few pioneers were among them.
They had wisely escaped first to avoid getting caught in the greater phantasmal beasts' rampage.
A prudent choice befitting upper-tier pioneers.
The upper dungeon already had high difficulty as is.
If something blew up here, lives would be lost.
Thanks to that, Leyzon could handle the Bone Broom freely without worry.
'Something's off, as expected.'
Leyzon tilted his head as he removed his [Black Mask].
A double dungeon was a dungeon within a dungeon.
The phantasmal beasts inhabiting it had no reason to fear it.
They were all phantasmal beasts in the end.
'So what these guys fear...'
Was likely some other existence, not a phantasmal beast.
Leyzon's eyes narrowed.
"L-Leyzon, sir, look over there."
Just then, Hanok pointed ahead.
There, the ground had collapsed into a massive hole.
A sinkhole.
The sunken hole took on an incredibly bizarre shape.
The forest and river bent along the underground walls, perfectly preserved as they extended downward.
It looked as if gravity itself was being defied.
Rustle—
In that moment, something stirred in Leyzon's embrace.
Leyzon looked down to see Eden standing up.
Eden, who had reverted to the form of an ordinary straw doll mid-evolution.
He seemed to sense something from that sinkhole.
Syria showed the same reaction.
For the undead to feel unease.
This was definitely an abnormal situation.
Leyzon lowered the Bone Broom.
Soon, it descended to the ground.
Landing near the hole gave a clearer view of the double dungeon's entrance.
The hole evoked the image of an antlion pit waiting for prey.
"Gravity must apply differently there."
"Leyzon sir, what's gravity?"
Hanok tilted his head at Leyzon's mutter.
Leyzon was used to it by now.
This was the level of essential medieval education.
"It's the force pulling us to the ground we're standing on."
No need to explain further anyway.
Leyzon picked up a stone from the ground for testing.
He tossed it lightly into the hole.
Ting, roll roll—
The stone fell endlessly downward.
Unlike the walls, the hole itself was affected by gravity.
Splat!
In that instant, the stone collided with something.
At the unexpected sound, Leyzon peered into the hole.
There, someone was climbing up, sword embedded in the wall.
"Urk."
He'd been hit right in the center of his forehead by Leyzon's stone.
"Ah."
Leyzon let out a sigh.
Some people had the worst luck.
The problem was he'd lost balance and was tilting.
He was coming up from below.
He surely had info on the lower dungeon.
Leyzon felt bad for throwing the stone, so he decided to save him.
"Hanok."
"Yes!"
At Leyzon's call, Hanok leaped down nimbly.
He caught the unbalanced man just before he fell.
Then he formed chains with Ha Ron and wrapped them around a tree.
The chains gripped the tree tight, and Hanok swung their bodies wide.
Whoosh!
The recoil sent Hanok and the man soaring skyward.
Before his own body could fall, Hanok kicked off the cliff repeatedly and ascended to the surface.
Thud—
Hanok landed safely and set the man down.
It was awe-inspiring physical prowess, even on second look.
"Guh, huff!"
Meanwhile, the man panted roughly, realizing he'd nearly plummeted to death.
"Hoo, why'd a rock have to drop like that."
He exhaled and looked up.
"Thanks. You saved my life."
Hanok glanced at Leyzon.
Leyzon was the one who'd nearly killed him.
But Leyzon grinned shamelessly.
"Yeah, lucky we spotted you in time."
As he spoke, Leyzon quickly scanned the man's attire.
The robe bore a Niflheim Empire badge dyed red.
Leyzon narrowed his eyes but quickly schooled his expression.
"Imperial army?"
"Ah, yes. There's been an incident among upper-tier pioneers lately, so we've been patrolling regularly."
The imperial army hadn't fully washed their hands of this incident yet.
"Did you catch the culprit?"
"Unfortunately not. No idea where they're hiding."
He let out a deep breath.
"Really grateful. Can't properly repay you right now, though."
He turned a bitter gaze to the sinkhole.
"My comrades are down there. We got caught in the double dungeon opening and tumbled down without time to react, so there are injured."
He'd climbed the sinkhole to rescue the wounded.
"It's a real emergency."
His eyes turned pleadingly to Leyzon and Hanok.
"Mind helping me out? You seem like skilled pioneers if you made it this far."
"You know what?"
Then Leyzon cut him off.
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a gem-like crystal.
Light began leaking from the crystal.
The imperial soldier stared at it dumbly.
"Imperial army robes are specially treated to prevent impersonation."
Of course, regular soldier robes didn't have that.
But patrolling upper dungeons required real skill; no just anyone could enter.
Imperial officers carried personal robes provided by the empire.
"When someone else wears it, the badge turns red."
The dumb look on the imperial soldier's face slowly faded.
He regarded Leyzon with an expressionless stare.
"I see. Learned something new to take to the afterlife."
His tone shifted in an instant.
His voice sounded distorted, laced with noise.
"Yeah, know it well on your way to the other side."
Ting!
The abyss crystal left Leyzon's hand and floated in the air.
Fierce Poison Cataclysm
[Explosion engulfs the area]
As Leyzon chanted the spell, the abyss crystal spewed light.
Kaboooom!
The explosion swept the area in an instant.
Protected by Syria's shadow, Leyzon's eyes gleamed coldly.
There was only one who would impersonate an imperial soldier.
This bastard was the culprit who kidnapped the upper-tier pioneer teams including the women.