Chapter 191
Chapter 191
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Piran, Son of the Resonance World Lord
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Piran.
The son of Resonance World Lord Firshiran and the eccentric Siliel.
A Half Dark Elf, he was born with the talent of a necromancer.
An innate gift allowing him to learn primitive magic freely, without limits.
It was a talent any necromancer would envy.
Recently, that talent had finally begun to blossom in earnest.
"Piran, bigger!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
But Piran had no idea.
He didn't know that even with his blossoming talent, he'd soon be pushed to his limits, struggling just to keep up.
This was already the fifth upper dungeon.
Piran was unleashing poison on an upper Phantasmal Beast.
When Piran had first entered the upper dungeon, his level was a mere Corruption 1.
But now, he'd reached Corruption 3.
Leyzon had forced him to land meaningful hits on every new upper Phantasmal Beast, piling up experience.
It was a storm of level-ups, but Piran was on the verge of collapse.
Leyzon had pushed through the dungeon relentlessly, with almost no breaks.
For Piran, experiencing a dungeon for the first time, it was like a forced march.
But unlike Piran, Leyzon and Hanok Wilbria were completely fine.
They broke through as if such grueling runs were just routine.
'Pioneers take this as normal? Guess I've had a weak mindset all along.'
Piran found himself admiring all the pioneers he'd seen so far.
They were warriors who had overcome trials far beyond his imagination.
His basic assumptions shattered like glass.
"Piran, necromancy has endless potential. Especially poison—nothing matches its lethality!"
The man delivering this passionate lecture stood before Piran.
The world's hidden mastermind, pinnacle of necromancers.
Leyzon.
He gazed at the fierce poison Piran had conjured and launched into a speech.
"Poison is deadly to foes. But that's exactly why they approach it cautiously, researching counters.
So, what do you do against enemies immune to poison?"
"Uh... r-research other methods?"
Piran answered tensely, and Leyzon's lips slowly curled into a grin.
"No. Feed them even deadlier poison."
Black venom rose in Leyzon's grasp.
He splashed it onto a fallen deer-type beast, melting it horn and all.
"No creature is immune to every poison. Even those who can break down toxins have weaknesses."
Poison Necromancers were basically immune to poison by default.
But even they had poisons that could affect them.
"Piran, your talent is something other Poison Necromancers lack."
Leyzon gripped Piran's shoulders firmly, preaching on.
"Master poison with the intent to intoxicate every living thing in the world. Now, again!"
"Yes, sir!"
Piran responded energetically, unleashing more poison.
His fingertips trembled, and he felt like blood might pour from his nose, but he didn't stop.
Forcing a Corruption 3 Necromancer to poison thirteen Ascension 13 upper Phantasmal Beasts—it was absurd.
"You're doing great! That's it!"
"Yes... I'll... try harder!"
At Leyzon's encouragement, Piran spat blood as he replied.
"The kid's working hard!"
"Yeah, Leyzon's teaching him personally."
Leyzon's two undeads had no intention of intervening.
Hanok Wilbria returned from hunting a deer-type beast and stood beside them.
For some reason, it reminded him of the past, so he watched Piran quietly.
"...Haron, another victim's joined the ranks."
"Woof."
Hanok silently prayed at Haron's response.
A Poison Necromancer like Leyzon would be born soon.
And not in some distant future.
But Leyzon was pushing even harder than Piran.
Even while clearing dungeons, he honed his primitive magic on the side.
And finally, he reached Fierce Poison Composition [Foundation].
A gray orb bubbled up in Leyzon's hand.
Now he could probably take down a chicken.
"Leyzon, you're growing by storm! As expected, overflowing talent!"
Syria Nosferatu cheered him on from the side.
"Really?"
Leyzon puffed up a bit.
"A talentless parasite? Bullshit."
But Granfin immediately shot him down.
Granfin got smacked by Syria and flew into the sky.
The youngest still had a long way to go in manners.
"Leyzon, how's it going?"
The poison spider asked Leyzon slyly.
They needed to verify Leyzon's hypothesis.
Leyzon shook his head.
"Can't say for sure yet. But I can vaguely sense an upper limit."
The poison spider swallowed a sigh.
But Leyzon remained optimistic.
"It's fine. We won't know until we test it ourselves, right?"
Too early for certainty.
The poison spider agreed.
"Yes. We'll keep researching."
The poison spider would surely yield meaningful results.
Leyzon pinned his hopes on that.
For now, clear the dungeon.
Dungeon after dungeon.
Leyzon emerged on the surface after clearing yet another dungeon.
Piran dangled limply over Hanok Wilbria's shoulder beside him.
Endless upper dungeon marathon.
Piran was utterly drained, unable to move another inch.
But thanks to it, he'd finally hit Corruption 4.
Record-breaking growth speed.
'Gotta evolve Piran soon too.'
Leyzon tabled that for later and pulled out his Pioneer ID.
Ascension 13 → 14
Upper-grade Dungeons Lv. 14+ Cleared: 8/8
Finally, Ascension 14 complete.
'One more Ascension, and it's 15—Hero grade, huh.'
Hero grade was right around the corner.
But Leyzon knew better.
"Won't happen."
He tucked the Pioneer ID away.
To reach Hero grade, he'd have to visit the imperial palace directly, as mentioned before.
Leyzon had no intention of going there.
'Next Ascension after finding Garjun.'
Ascension was on hold until after locating the former Gray Mage Tower master.
Still, Leyzon planned to keep grinding dungeons steadily.
Experience was accumulating without issue.
'We'll sort this out step by step.'
Leyzon raised his hand.
Mana surged wildly in his palm.
Even reusing it felt entirely different from skill activation.
A new hypothesis had formed, but Leyzon hadn't stopped studying primitive magic.
And at last, he achieved a breakthrough.
Fierce Poison Composition [Bloom Stage]
Primitive Magic Evolution: Germination → Foundation → Bloom
Leyzon's hand now formed a larger poison orb than before.
As basic magic, its power was still modest.
But he'd advanced from stage 1 Germination, through stage 2 Foundation, to stage 3 Bloom.
"Leyzon, how is it?"
The poison spider asked cautiously.
Leyzon gave a wry smile at the question.
"Seems our hypothesis was right."
The new hypothesis he and the poison spider had formed.
Primitive magic couldn't surpass skill limits.
Leyzon accepted it as fact.
He felt no further potential for growth here.
"As expected."
The poison spider eyed Leyzon's poison magic wistfully.
Regrettable, but nothing to be done now.
Leyzon shook off the poison magic.
No trace of disappointment on his face.
He had a knack for advancing positively, no matter the situation.
There was always a way through.
"Still, don't stop researching primitive magic."
"We'll expand to talent research too. We have Piran as a subject, after all."
"I-I'll do my best..."
Piran, still slung over Hanok, replied on reflex to the poison spider's words.
Hanok adjusted him pityingly for more comfort.
As the poison spider said, they already had a perfect specimen in Piran.
Research would eventually bear fruit.
"Good. Syria. Let's move out."
"Yes, it's practically next door now!"
The World's Forest wasn't far.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Leyzon hopped onto the shadow wolf.
"Um, Hanok?"
Piran called cautiously to Hanok, watching Leyzon.
Leyzon's stamina defied common sense, in Piran's eyes.
"Is Leyzon always like this?"
Piran felt his body quake, unable to move further.
His mana circuits had been overtaxed.
Even his snakes hung limp, motionless.
"Yeah... always has been."
Hanok replied with a face of total resignation.
For some reason, Piran felt a surge of emotion.
"You've been through a lot."
"Ah, you get it."
Hanok felt the same surge.
A comrade who understood the hardship of following Leyzon.
No one else could grasp that bond.
"Let's keep pushing."
"Yeah. Gotta. Here, eat lots of jerky. Gotta eat to survive."
"Thank you."
Piran and Hanok chewed diligently on the tasteless jerky.
They quietly thought this was life's bitterness.
"What losers."
Granfin sniped a comment and got hit by both.
The journey to the World's Forest.
Leyzon stopped by a village with a Pioneer Association midway.
Leyzon successfully completed Ascension 14.
Hero grade was now just one step away.
Starting from Ascension 6, he'd finally reached the cusp of Hero.
'Good job, me.'
Leyzon patted himself on the back and stowed the Pioneer ID carefully.
He'd sent the poison spider, Hanok, and Piran to a nearby eatery.
Lately, Hanok and Piran's appetites had grown.
Probably both in growth spurts.
'Undead grow too, so why not.'
It was nice seeing them sprout up vigorously.
Leyzon had no clue why their appetites had spiked recently.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Ah, y-yes, sure."
The Pioneer Association clerk forced a smile at Leyzon's greeting.
Her face showed she still couldn't get used to his fierce looks.
Par for the course now.
'I'm starving too. Time to eat.'
As Leyzon reached for the door,
"Hey, you hear about the elf mass suicide?"
"What, you're behind on news? That was a while back."
Leyzon froze.
He always kept his ears open at Pioneer Associations.
Pioneers often brought useful info.
And now, that habit paid off.
"Gentlemen."
"Whoa!"
The pioneers jumped as Leyzon poked his head in.
His menacing face up close was startling.
Leyzon smiled amiably at them.
"Mind filling me in on the details?"
Time to gather intel.