Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Poison Necromancer's Legacy
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I might be able to learn magic from the Poison Necromancer's book.
The instant that thought crossed his mind...
Leyzon started flipping through the pages like a madman.
'If this is really possible...'
It would be no different from acquiring the complete skill book of the Poison Necromancer.
In that case, he had to find it.
The poison magic that was incredibly hard to obtain but would grant immense power if he did.
He had to track it down and master it.
Leyzon, who had been relentlessly turning the pages, suddenly stopped on one.
'Found it!'
Leyzon set the book on the floor and opened his subspace pouch.
What he pulled out was a feather quill and paper.
Soon, his transcription began.
Before the book could vanish, Leyzon copied down every page.
His heart raced.
The pages he was seeing now were all SSS-grade skills of the Poison Necromancer.
Endgame skills that required untold hardships to acquire.
The problem was that each skill spanned multiple pages.
'No wonder these are SSS-grade skills!'
They weren't even easy to learn.
'Don't rush. Better to transcribe one perfectly than half-ass a bunch.'
Leyzon kept his hand moving relentlessly without pause.
By the time several sheets filled with writing piled up in front of him...
Shrrrk—.
The Poison Necromancer book in front of Leyzon turned to dust.
"Ah."
A sigh escaped Leyzon's lips.
He'd copied as much as he could, but not everything.
Gazing at the dusty remains of the book, Leyzon let his regret show.
He'd gone through all that trouble with a loophole, only for...
The world wouldn't let him have it easy.
Even so, Leyzon didn't despair further. He gathered up the papers.
What he'd managed to copy was still a lot.
This was a massive haul!
Leyzon thought positively.
"Leyzon, I've brought all the books."
While Leyzon had been transcribing...
Syria and Hanok had fetched every book from the shelves.
Of course, those books were still fading away too, but they were worth a look.
"Thanks, both of you."
Leyzon reexamined the titles of the books they'd brought.
He hoped there'd be another Poison Necromancer book.
But it didn't seem like there were duplicates.
As he scanned the titles nonstop, he spotted a few decent ones, but...
They vanished before he could even read a few pages.
The books began dissolving and disappearing.
Particles of light filled the library.
In the end, he couldn't glean any more info on the Kaltura Empire.
He did find a book related to Phantasmal Beasts, but...
It faded after just a bit of reading.
Other than the fact that the number of dungeons increased in this era, there were no major gains.
'The emperor of the Kaltura Empire kept rambling about how he had to protect the world.'
Did the surge in dungeons have some connection?
It was still an unanswered riddle.
"This was the last one."
Leyzon expressed his regret as he gazed at the melting library.
Still, with the achievements he'd made, he had to be satisfied.
'Maybe other bug dungeons have something like this.'
Twitch!
At that moment, Hanok's ears suddenly perked up.
Hanok turned his head toward something, then tilted it.
"Leyzon."
"Yeah?"
"I hear something collapsing."
Leyzon looked in the direction Hanok was facing.
And soon, he began to feel a subtle trembling himself.
The moment he sensed it, Leyzon's face hardened.
His jinx came to mind.
The jinx where every stroke of good luck was matched by equal misfortune.
"Syria, Shadow Wolf!"
With Leyzon's shout, Syria enveloped the two in shadow.
She then summoned a Shadow Wolf and charged forward.
Behind that wolf, the bookshelves collapsed, and the floor cracked.
Rumble rumble rumble—boom!
Now that all the books were gone...
The entire dungeon began collapsing in line with the dissipation magic.
He had to escape before the dungeon fully crumbled!
Dungeons were created through advanced spatial distortion.
What happens if one collapses while you're still inside?
The answer was simple.
'You get trapped in the spatial distortion, wandering eternally until you die.'
That's why the Shadow Wolf was sprinting down the corridor at full speed right now.
The moment it stopped, Syria was done for too.
Knowing this full well, she pushed desperately.
The ceiling crumbled.
The floor shattered.
Spatial distortions peeked through the cracks.
"Syria, faster!"
"Yes!"
At Leyzon's urging, Syria replied with all her might and drew deeper on her power.
The Shadow Wolf trampled the collapsing floor and leaped.
Boom!
But the landing spot crumbled first.
Seeing this, the Shadow Wolf contracted its body sharply.
"It's a bit shaky!"
With Syria's cry, the Shadow Wolf launched itself like a projectile.
Crash!
The massive impact sent Leyzon and Hanok tumbling inside the shadow.
But that was far better than falling into spatial distortion.
"Don't worry about it—keep going!"
"Got it!"
It might look like a wolf, but its core was shadow.
Its form could change freely.
The launched Shadow Wolf shifted shape midair.
Soon, it became a bat and soared fiercely through the air.
Falling debris multiplied.
The shadow bat weaved and dashed across the sky.
Each time, Leyzon and Hanok rolled around inside.
"Leyzon, we're almost there!"
As Syria desperately controlled the bat...
She spotted the exit in her field of view and shouted loudly.
Sure enough, the spatial distortion leading outside was visible.
Boom!
At that instant, the entire dungeon ceiling began collapsing.
This was too late.
As Syria's face stiffened...
Leyzon rose, gripping the Staff of Abundance.
"Keep flying!"
With his shout, Leyzon aimed the staff.
"Blood Restoration." "Attribute Fusion: Fierce Poison Spread." "Attribute Fusion: Shadow Fortress."
⟨ Fierce Poison Shadow Orb ⟩
A sphere of blood magic began forming at the tip of his staff.
At that moment, fierce poison seeped into the gaps of the blood magic.
The black-red and green mingled together.
Leyzon overlaid shadow on top.
The liquid fierce poison blood orb solidified with shadow.
A fierce poison blood shadow orb born from three attributes combined.
Leyzon bit his lip hard upon seeing it.
A technique he'd only conceptualized for later use.
So he had no idea if it'd work.
'Will it?'
No clue.
But if it failed, they were all finished!
"Hanok! Blast this with everything you've got!"
The moment Leyzon yelled at Hanok, he charged.
Hanok poured max power into his gauntlets and unleashed.
Thwack!
The orb pierced Syria's shadow and rocketed forward.
It reached the collapsing ceiling...
And Leyzon's staff glowed.
Light leaked from the fierce poison blood shadow orb in all directions.
The moment a blinding flash erupted...
KABOOM!
A ferocious explosion followed, sweeping away the collapsed ceiling.
The blast, beyond imagination, shook the entire space.
As violent tremors made even Leyzon lose his footing...
Syria kept controlling the bat's wings to the max.
Whoosh!
The bat pierced the explosion's smoke and crossed through the spatial rift.
Whiiiir!
Unable to withstand the momentum, the bat crashed into a tree.
Thud!
Passing the shattered tree, the bat tumbled far.
The moment it finally stopped...
Shrrrk—.
The shadow dissipated, revealing the three of them.
"Leyzon!"
Syria rushed to him in a hurry.
Leyzon lay sprawled on the ground, legs pointing skyward.
"Urgh..."
Maybe from all the tumbling in the shadow.
Every bone ached.
But seeing the sky overhead? Nothing could be more welcome.
He'd make a point to look up more from now on.
"...Urk, I think I'm gonna puke."
Meanwhile, Hanok clutched his mouth, dry-heaving.
Having suffered together, Leyzon understood.
Leyzon righted himself and stood.
Crack boom!
At that moment, the dungeon entrance caved in completely.
Did this count as clearing the dungeon?
'Probably not.'
It had just collapsed due to its side effect.
No way it'd count as cleared.
'...Can't restore it, huh?'
Leyzon quickly let go of that hope.
That was a deliberate, malicious takedown.
He felt some regret, but the gains outweighed it.
You had to learn to be content with what you have.
No need to lament with all this loot.
Leyzon looked down at the Staff of Abundance.
His fingertips tingled.
Aftereffect of the explosion he'd just unleashed.
'The power amplified more than expected.'
Hence the satisfying hand feel.
The kind of rush that could get addictive.
He'd awakened something good.
"Leyzon, what now?"
Leyzon glanced at Syria, who was supporting him.
He raised a hand and ruffled her hair wildly.
"Syria, we survived thanks to you this time."
"Ahn~ Heehee."
Syria giggled happily despite the rough petting.
Whatever else, praise where it's due.
"Hanok, you did great too."
"I-I didn't do much..."
Hanok quietly covered his mouth and slipped into the woods.
'Come to think of it, Hanok ate before we went in.'
Leyzon had forgotten.
"Syria, once Hanok recovers, let's head back to the Ged Mountains."
"Yes! Got it!"
Syria beamed, thrilled by the praise.
She really eased his mind.
No one would guess she was Corruption Level 19 just like this.
Then, something suddenly occurred to Leyzon.
Through this ordeal, he'd realized the empire managed Ascension.
But what about Syria's Corruption Level?
'She's not gonna have a Pioneer Workshop.'
So how did her Corruption Level rise?
Harboring this doubt, Leyzon decided to ask her directly.
"Syria, mind if I ask something?"
"Yes?"
Syria, fiddling with her shadow, looked up.
"How do you level up your Corruption?"
Hearing the question, Syria innocently tilted her head.
"Huh? It just goes up?"
"Ah, I see. Figures."
Leyzon smiled and slowly nodded in understanding.
But his face gradually hardened.
The empire managed all talents.
'Intentionally keeping people from getting too strong.'
Maintaining them just strong enough to control.
Regulating through the 'Pioneer Workshop' system.
But undead could grow without passing through Pioneer Workshops.
What did that mean?
Undead were...
The one existence that uniquely defied the empire's control system.
And necromancers could create such undead.
Only then did Leyzon realize why the empire persecuted necromancers.
'Whoa.'
This was bad. Real bad.
Undead were the sole beings that could grow beyond the empire's oversight.