Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Finally, News from Rakroden the Flamehead
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Leyzon wasted no time after hearing the news, bringing Piran and Poison Spider along with him.
And trailing close behind those two was one additional undead.
It was Granpin, the former subordinate from the ossuary.
Granpin, in his skull-headed form, clicked his tongue the moment he spotted Leyzon.
His attitude toward Leyzon had always been insolent, without fail.
"The ossuary's gone and croaked now, so hasn't the master you're following clearly changed?"
"Hmph. My loyalty isn't something you can buy off like that."
Even so, he was bound to pledge his loyalty to Leyzon in the end.
At that moment, Syria kicked Granpin square in the side.
Granpin went flying through the air with a whoosh before crashing into the ground.
"You can't even show respect to Lord Leyzon, and you still haven't fixed that foul mouth of yours!"
It always ended like this, so Leyzon didn't bother scolding Granpin.
For all his talk, Granpin reliably conducted research alongside Poison Spider.
In fact, thanks to him, their poison magic studies had made significant progress.
"Sorry about that. Teacher Granpin's got a bit of a strong ego."
Poison Spider stepped in to apologize on Granpin's behalf.
She had become close friends with Granpin through their research.
"It's fine. Granpin's one of my undead in the end, after all—no changing that."
Leyzon said this as he turned to Piran.
Piran had grown a little more during that time.
Even for an elf with a long lifespan, she was still in her growth phase.
"How's it going, Piran? Made much progress with primal magic?"
At Leyzon's question, Piran immediately demonstrated her poison magic.
The poison magic flowing from her hand was pitch black.
This was advanced poison magic.
"Yes! I can use advanced poison magic now!"
Piran brimmed with pride.
The black staining on her fingertips was proof of her hard work.
'The more primal magic she masters, the more her poison magic manifests like that.'
As expected, primal magic differed greatly from skills in many ways.
Piran's growth offered Leyzon plenty to learn from.
Just as Piran had broken through her talent limit this time, Leyzon wanted to shatter his own limits.
"Estelle."
"Yes, we'll head out right away."
At Leyzon's call, Estelle transformed into her death dragon form and carried everyone aboard.
With a powerful kick, Estelle soared into the sky.
The scenery around them blurred past at high speed.
This was Estelle at her best when it came to mobility.
"Piran, long time no see."
"Hanok, you've shot up even taller!"
In the meantime, Piran and Hanok chatted away.
They were around the same mental age, and they'd grown close since that last dungeon.
Having a friend was a good thing.
"...And that's how I got rejected after confessing."
"At least you manned up and confessed, right?"
Even getting shot down like that came with its own consolation.
Leyzon watched the two of them before propping his chin on his hand.
'Friends.'
Come to think of it, did he have any relationships in this world that qualified as friends?
Leyzon considered himself fairly sociable.
Sure, he'd let some ties slip during his busy study days, but he'd always had friends around.
Yet here, he didn't have anyone he could really call a friend.
'Feels like I've become a company chairman running the show.'
Lots of subordinates, but no one to share his heart with.
Leyzon was lost in these thoughts when...
"Lord Leyzon, we're almost there."
Estelle's voice reached his ears.
True to her high-speed travel, they'd already arrived at the designated spot.
Leyzon's destination was the Ged Mountains in the north.
Coincidentally, the place where Twilight lingered was also in the northern Ged Mountains.
'Darkest under the lamp, huh.'
It had been Estelle's old hiding nest in the past.
So she had no trouble finding the way.
Moments later, beneath a snow-covered forest, a man with blue hair came into view.
He was a man of striking appearance.
Estelle lowered herself and landed in front of him.
The women at his side flinched for a moment.
It was due to the aura of death emanating from Estelle that had them pinned.
But the figure stepping forward from him inspired even greater fear than Estelle.
A man with black hair that shimmered purple within.
The Abyss, Leyzon.
"Flamehead."
He greeted Rakroden warmly the instant he saw him and descended to the ground.
Rakroden's eyes flickered with something subtle.
"...Abyss. You've grown even stronger."
"Happens every time, doesn't it?"
Just as he said, Leyzon had grown stronger every time they met.
Growing at this rate wasn't normal by any means.
But Leyzon always managed to surprise Rakroden with his gains.
Nothing new about it anymore.
"Mosina and Soaz are missing, plus one more?"
In the midst of this, Leyzon noticed three of the five women were absent.
Soaz, who flinched at the mere sight of him.
Mosina, the boldest of the five.
And one additional absence.
"The three of them are handling separate tasks."
"Still keeping busy, I see."
"Think you're one to talk?"
Fair enough.
Leyzon nodded and glanced at the remaining two women.
"The gemhead and the sword user, right?"
He remembered them from the ossuary fight, fighting at Rakroden's side.
He hadn't caught their names back then.
"Not gemhead—it's Lizbel."
The woman with hair like sparkling jewels introduced herself as Lizbel.
She was beautiful, but gave off a sharp, venomous vibe.
Thinking back, she was the first to react aggressively.
"I'm Misha."
The sword user Leyzon had mentioned was a curt woman.
He recalled she wasn't much of a talker usually.
Looking at them now, the women around Rakroden all had distinctly different personalities.
'Is this what a harem looks like?'
Impressive in its own way.
Leyzon wasn't sure he could pull it off.
Then, a thought from earlier resurfaced.
"Rakroden, are we friends?"
He'd always dealt with Rakroden as a business partner, not a subordinate.
And they'd known each other for quite a while now.
Rakroden furrowed his brows, shooting him a disdainful look.
"If you're just gonna spout nonsense, turn around and go home."
In a way, it was the kind of look you only gave a friend.
"Why not? Friends are great."
"Whatever's got you hung up this time, just focus on the job."
He turned and walked off without another word.
The two women hurriedly followed behind Rakroden.
"What a cheapskate."
Leyzon mentally slotted Rakroden into his friend candidate list.
The Ged Mountains were blanketed in snow, as always.
The north repeated its endless cold weather.
Thus, the high-altitude Ged Mountains in the north were perpetually snow-covered.
"Estelle, if you have business here, feel free to stop by your old home."
Leyzon said this to Estelle, who was walking beside him in human form.
True to her death dragon nature, plants withered in her footsteps.
A death colder than winter itself.
"I'm fine. My place is by Lord Leyzon's side."
"You talk a good game. Here's a lurker from the old days."
Syria chimed in slyly, but Estelle kept her composure.
"Mm, our home is indeed by Lord Leyzon's side."
"That's right."
Pauli and Iden chimed in agreement.
A faint smile tugged at Leyzon's lips.
Watching his undeads made him decide friends weren't such a big deal after all.
"Flamehead, I don't think we need to be friends after all."
"......"
Rakroden didn't even respond as he led the way.
He seemed sulky about not being called a friend.
Before long, they reached a spot in the Ged Mountains rich with ruins.
The Ged Mountains had existed even during the height of the Kaltura Empire.
It had long been famous for its abundance of sub-races.
The rugged terrain already made it hard for humans to enter.
As such, ancient sub-race ruins remained intact.
Rakroden arrived at one such ruin shaped like a temple.
Leyzon realized what this place was.
'One of the hero-grade dungeons in the Ged Mountains.'
The hero-grade dungeon, Snowflower Realm.
A beautiful dungeon blooming with countless snowflowers.
Yet, for all its beauty, it was also highly dangerous.
The atmosphere in the Snowflower Realm consisted of hydrogen sulfide.
A place filled with a foul stench worse than rotting corpses, belying its visual allure.
That was the Snowflower Realm.
On top of that, temperatures approached -200°C.
Absurdly harsh conditions.
True to a hero-grade dungeon, it barred entry to pioneers.
'The Snowflower Realm is one of the most dangerous hero-grade dungeons.'
The phantasmal beasts that appeared there were no joke either.
Phantasmal beasts, blizzard beasts.
The blizzard beasts that swept in with the snowstorms were incredibly tricky.
Blizzard beasts were tiny.
Physical attacks did nothing, and they infiltrated pioneers' respiratory systems and skin.
Then they took over the body.
Pioneers whose bodies were seized were trapped in the Snowflower Realm for life.
Rakroden halted in front of the Snowflower Realm's entrance.
Soon, a short, stout figure sitting at the entrance came into view.
"Oh, you've arrived."
A dwarven elder with a face full of thick beard.
He grinned when his eyes met Leyzon's.
"To think I'd get to meet the famous Abyss. What an honor."
"Groundskeeper."
Leyzon recognized him as the groundskeeper.
He was a dwarf, one of the long-lived races.
Dwarves were typically warriors.
Their sturdy bodies and immense strength suited the warrior path.
A dwarf necromancer was quite unusual.
"How's the lizard faring?"
Just then, he asked about the lizard.
"Under treatment."
The lizard, battered by the ossuary keeper.
Leyzon had once again entrusted his treatment to Firsiran.
The lizard had scouted out the timing to defeat the ossuary keeper.
Leyzon wanted to revive him if possible.
"Heh heh, good to hear. I was worried when I heard the lad with a kid of his own had met with trouble."
The groundskeeper had spent quite some time in the Resonance World.
He was well-acquainted with other necromancers.
"You're looking for the gravekeeper."
The groundskeeper, already briefed by Rakroden, pointed to the Snowflower Realm.
"He's inside the Snowflower Realm right now. Ah, no—that's not precise. Let me put it more accurately."
The groundskeeper corrected himself.
And Leyzon tensed up at his next words.
"The gravekeeper's body was taken over by a blizzard beast, and now he wanders the Snowflower Realm."
The gravekeeper, Gorgodon.
The bastard had been caught by a phantasmal beast.