Chapter 257
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 257
Chapter Title: Guide to the Ruined Tower
Leyzon safely healed the cliff beasts.
The cliff beasts all repeatedly expressed their gratitude to him.
Leyzon had soon been elevated to a god-like existence in their eyes.
The elder even stepped forward to paint a mural of him.
Leyzon didn't want things to go that far, so he politely declined.
Instead, he wanted answers to his original question.
"If you're talking about the city where the most land beasts gather, it has to be the Ruined Tower."
"The Ruined Tower?"
"Yes, the Ruined Tower."
The elder dredged up his memories.
"Long ago, there were those who built a tower reaching toward the world above the skies."
"They kept stacking it higher and higher without end."
"But in the end, their arrogant actions drew the ire of the Transcendent Beings."
The Transcendent Beings punished them by toppling the tower.
As a result, all the creatures living in the tower met their end.
Thus the tower fell, and thousands of years passed.
"In the past, the tower held a special power. It's faint now, but still enough to evade the eyes of the Transcendent Beings."
"That's why so many land beasts have gathered to live underground beneath the Ruined Tower."
That explained the name Ruined Tower.
Leyzon nodded in understanding.
"How far is it from here?"
"On foot, it would take at least three months."
Three months on foot.
In Leyzon's case, with Bone Broom, he could shorten it.
'But at three months' distance, even I might have trouble finding it.'
The world beyond the walls was vast beyond imagination.
He worried about navigating without a proper guide.
"Would you happen to provide someone to guide us?"
"Is there someone who can guide you?"
"Yes, the Apostles of the Cliff pass near the Ruined Tower regularly."
"They often stop by the kin living underground when they pass in front of it."
There were cliff beasts among them too, it seemed.
"If it won't be a bother to you, Prophet, I can guide you to the Ruined Tower."
"After that, you can join up with the kin there—no burden on us at all."
The elder explained carefully to make sure Leyzon understood.
"And if you happen to feel moved to cure the black plague among our kin as well, we'd help with anything."
He had his own hopes too.
He'd realized curing the black plague would benefit Leyzon as well.
Leyzon could see through the elder's intentions, but it wasn't a bad offer.
For Leyzon, it was a proposal with no downside anyway.
"Very well. I'll cure your kin there too."
"Oh, thank you so much."
The elder bowed deeply.
Whatever the case, Leyzon was their benefactor—that hadn't changed.
"Who will guide the Prophet?"
The elder called out to someone.
As Leyzon turned, the elder gave an awkward smile.
"It's me. I'll guide you."
Nugail, the cliff beast elder.
He had been lucky enough to survive the black plague for a long time.
But that too was nearing its end.
His lifespan was already at its close anyway.
So he gladly volunteered to guide Leyzon.
No other cliff beast tried to stop Nugail.
Land beasts who could no longer continue living in their home departed.
That was their unwritten rule.
For Nugail, it was time to leave as well.
Thus he stepped forward to guide Leyzon.
"I'm an old man, but I've been outside more than anyone here. I'll serve you as best I can, so please treat me comfortably."
Nugail bowed in the posture of a cliff beast swearing loyalty.
For Leyzon, as long as there was a guide, age didn't matter.
"Then we've finished our business here. No point wasting time—let's go. What do you say?"
The Empire was in the midst of fierce battle right now.
Leyzon wanted to return as soon as possible.
He had no intention of lingering long.
"Yes, I'll guide you right away."
Nugail agreed.
The place where land beasts gathered to live.
The Ruined Tower.
They set off for it immediately.
The Ruined Tower.
To head there, Leyzon remodeled his Bone Broom into Citadel Form [A].
He couldn't just ride the broom alone since he needed Nugail's guidance.
The form Leyzon crafted was a bone wolf.
It was inspired by Syria's shadow wolf from the past.
The bone wolf raced across the ground at high speed.
At first, it was endless sand and reddish earth, but gradually vegetation began to appear.
Fortunately, the world beyond the walls wasn't entirely barren.
"Seeing some grass makes my eyes feel alive again."
Leyzon whistled as he enjoyed the scenery.
The open vista eased his stuffy mood a bit.
Even Leyzon felt anxious in such a situation.
Dropped alone into an unknown place.
'In a way, it's similar to when I first fell into this world.'
He'd nearly died for real back then.
Still, this was better than that time, he thought.
Beside Leyzon, Nugail quietly gazed at the plains.
He occasionally stretched his back, marveling at his body's condition.
Thanks to his bones being undead-ified and pain-free, color had returned to his face.
In truth, though his appearance was the same, Nugail's body was sturdier than in his youth.
Just then, Leyzon and Nugail's eyes met.
Nugail cleared his throat awkwardly.
"...Um, Leyzon, may I ask you one thing?"
He'd been told not to use "Prophet."
Leyzon didn't want misunderstandings in front of the other land beasts.
"Sure, I'll answer what I can."
"When you cured the black plague, did you do something to me?"
He'd finally noticed.
The other cliff beasts had only lost their black plague, with no major changes.
But Nugail had become too healthy—it puzzled him.
"Yes. To put it simply, I reinforced your bones. They're sturdier now than in your youth."
"I-is that so?"
Nugail's face lit up with realization.
He hadn't expected to regain his health like this.
Feeling rejuvenated, he scratched his head sheepishly.
"I never dreamed I'd gain such a fateful encounter."
"Fateful encounters are chance, but they come more often to those who strive."
Leyzon turned to Nugail as he spoke.
"Nugail, when everyone was scared, you were the one who stepped forward."
Nugail's eyes slowly widened.
"That fateful encounter—you seized it with your own hands."
Fateful encounters were chance.
But seizing them required one's own ability.
As Leyzon pointed that out, Nugail cleared his throat again.
"...I was just an old man whose life was ending, so I stepped up."
"It wouldn't have been strange if I'd died anytime."
"No, that's not it."
Leyzon had witnessed quite a few deaths by now.
Some sacrificed their lives to keep promises to their grandchildren.
Some died hoping their lineage's prayers would continue after their son's death.
Some died for their knightly order.
There were certainly those who accepted their deaths calmly.
"Many think people face death with detachment, but that's rarely the case."
Yet most feared their own pathetic end.
Death was the primal fear of living beings.
Leyzon, as a necromancer who transcended such death, was naturally sensitive to it.
'Death is fear.'
Those who could accept it calmly were that much stronger.
When the cliff beasts cowered in fear before Leyzon, who stepped forward first?
No matter how near death loomed, Nugail hadn't flinched.
He had confronted death head-on.
Leyzon didn't scorn those who tried to change reality.
They weren't foolish—they were striving.
Nugail certainly had little lifespan left.
Yet he had pushed beyond death through effort.
"You were the one who stopped things from spiraling into the worst."
"And because of that, I think pretty highly of you."
Nugail was also the first to volunteer for the black plague treatment.
So Leyzon inwardly rated him highly.
Caught off guard by the evaluation, Nugail looked stunned.
Then he cautiously opened his mouth again.
"...Then, if I may impose on your leniency once more, could I ask one more thing?"
Leyzon nodded.
"You're not a prophet, Leyzon—how are you so strong?"
It was a question he wouldn't have asked if Leyzon were a prophet.
The sheer strength of Leyzon without prophetic power fascinated him.
"...We cliff beasts have lived hidden our whole lives. And we will forever. I don't want that for our kind."
Leyzon saw the quiet ambition burning in Nugail's eyes.
"Nugail."
So he decided to ask directly.
"Be honest, excluding your duty to the cliff beasts—what do you want?"
Nugail's true feelings.
At the question, Nugail fell silent for a moment.
He'd only known Leyzon a short time.
But Leyzon gave the most honest answers to honest words.
Nugail had already sensed this.
Thus he slowly parted his lips.
"...Long ago, my father left to forage and was caught and killed by a prophet."
"Seeing that, I trained desperately to fight back against the prophets."
The elder's hands were covered in scars.
Traces of his past efforts against fate.
But as time passed, he faced reality.
Land beasts could never stand against prophets, no matter what.
That was the harsh truth.
His back hunched, his gaze fixed downward.
Before long, he could see only the ground, not the sky.
"It's not about fighting that injustice."
But now he could face reality squarely.
"I've spent my life thinking that even to run away, you need strength."
Not a vain dream, but an achievable goal.
Survive, and the next step follows.
Nugail knew this well.
He had lived hidden his whole life.
Without even the strength to flee.
So at the end of his life, he wished.
He wanted the power to at least run.
Unfortunately, he realized this too late, when he was already too old.
But today.
The elder encountered an unexpected fateful opportunity.
Perhaps someone who could provide answers to his long life.
In the elder's eyes, the youth he'd harbored long ago now shone.
Having met this fateful encounter, the elder was growing young again.
Leyzon's lips curved upward.
He had planted the seed.
But sprouting it was up to Nugail himself.
And Nugail was clearly doing so.
"Nugail, do you want to grow strong?"
A goal from life he'd long set aside due to age.
At Leyzon's question, Nugail lifted his head.
His eyes shone with crystal clarity.
"...Yes."
He had finally spoken his honest truth.
That resolve was enough.
"Nugail, can you live as an undead?"
"An undead?"
Nugail reacted ambiguously.
He clearly didn't know much about undead.
Leyzon wanted to test something right then.
Inside the Empire, undead creation stemmed solely from skills.
Thus all undead were assigned the same Corruption Level.
Now he wanted to try a different approach.
'The undead creation ability passed down from Gorgodon.'
Leyzon had fully mastered the undead creation skill by now.
He had also steadily practiced primal magic.
So instead of activating the skill.
He planned to use Auto-Evolving Undead Creation [?EX] as primal magic.
'If it can grow strong regardless of Corruption Level.'
At least outside the walls, he'd have a decent escort.
It was rushed, but with no telling when he'd return.
'Nugail already has undead creation applied.'
Improving and reapplying undead creation was already proven possible.
Layering it on was feasible.
Above all, his bones were already in undead state.
Even if creation failed, he wouldn't lose his life.
"There are risks. You'll have to bear them."
"But if the theory works, you can grow strong."
Nugail already wore a resolved expression.
"...I'll do anything."
A fateful encounter gained by chance.
His face said he absolutely wouldn't let it go.
To him, Leyzon appeared a mysterious powerhouse of unknowable depths.
Leyzon was clearly someone who gained fateful encounters.
Yet somehow, he had become one who granted them.
What he received, he passed downward.
That too was a cycle.
Leyzon ignited a purple flame atop his finger.
"Brace yourself."
He couldn't guarantee the outcome either.