Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Gray Mage Tower Lord
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Half a year ago, at the moment Leyzon had possessed the body.
The Gray Mage Tower Lord had declared at that time that Leyzon had vanished.
How in the world had that happened?
'I get it now. I know what skill the real Leyzon used.'
Soul Link [A].
A skill that connected souls, allowing him to check the target's status at any time.
It was occasionally employed when raising buffer or holy-type characters.
Since it was hard to check statuses one by one mid-battle, this skill made it possible.
There was only one circumstance under which such a Soul Link would break.
The character's death.
Or interference from some soul-related skill.
'The Gray Mage Tower Lord never even considered the real Leyzon's death from the start.'
He had assumed Leyzon had intentionally severed the Soul Link.
'Soul Link could only connect to characters registered in a party.'
It was a skill impossible to use on characters outside a party from the outset.
This world had the concept of parties, sure.
But there was no precise party system.
So Leyzon pondered.
In this world, a party was a form of trust or transactional relationship.
'That means the real Leyzon must have personally permitted the Soul Link himself.'
Leyzon's gaze shifted back to the Gray Mage Tower Lord.
Why had Leyzon granted him permission?
Was there something he was after?
"I see."
For now, he gave a vague nod of agreement to the Tower Lord's story.
His head was spinning, but this wasn't the time to dig into it.
"You've hidden this place with undead so that only a necromancer would notice."
Instead, Leyzon brought up something else.
"Were you hoping that person would see it and come looking?"
The Gray Mage Tower Lord fell silent.
Leyzon could sense him weighing how much to reveal.
"Don't his undead roam the Gedt Mountains?"
So Leyzon dangled a bit more bait to draw him out.
"...You know more than I expected."
Sure enough, the Tower Lord took it.
His gaze sharpened a touch.
His wariness had spiked, too.
"He even gave you that mask. Our bond isn't some flimsy thing."
Leyzon played it cool.
"..."
The Gray Mage Tower Lord paused in silence.
Then he broke into a faint smile.
"Let's leave his story at that."
He'd clearly realized they were just going in circles no matter how much more they talked.
It was obvious neither would yield any real information.
"Instead, there's something else I'd like to discuss."
The Tower Lord leaned back leisurely against the sofa.
"Someone of your caliber being hunted by the Empire doesn't strike me as pure danger."
His wrinkled finger tapped rhythmically on the armrest.
"And looking at you, I doubt it's out of noble intent to aid another necromancer."
Leave it to a Tower Lord—his insight was razor-sharp.
"I figure you've come here for some other purpose. Am I right?"
Leyzon let out a short chuckle at the question.
Then he pulled a book from his bag.
"Spot on. Lucky for me, you're reasonable."
What Leyzon produced was a handwritten copy on Poison Necromancer magic.
As the Tower Lord eyed the coverless tome with puzzlement, Leyzon opened it.
"Read a bit, and you'll understand why I'm here."
The Gray Mage Tower Lord skimmed the contents at Leyzon's urging.
Slowly, he straightened up.
His expression grew deadly serious as he pored over the pages.
A moment later, he closed the book.
His eyes held unmistakable bewilderment.
"...This is."
"All the magic in the current world has been replaced by skills."
Magic was far trickier to master than other skills.
No skill's power varied as much with user proficiency as magic did.
Yet with skills in play, acquiring them initially was straightforward.
The book Leyzon showed detailed the initial acquisition process for magic that skills had rendered obsolete.
Even the Gray Mage Tower Lord couldn't hide his shock.
"...What in the world are you? A book like this shouldn't exist anywhere in this world anymore."
A tome buried in a dungeon, destined to be lost forever.
Yet Leyzon had copied it, bringing it back into the world.
Its very existence shook the foundations the Empire had built.
'Looks like even the Gray Mage Tower Lord knows something about what the Kalтура Empire did.'
Leyzon wasn't the only one questioning this world's nature.
Scattered here and there were others who doubted the current state of things.
And naturally, the Empire would have rooted them out.
'Maybe that's why the Gray Mage Tower fell.'
It might not have been solely because of necromancers.
"What do you think? As former Gray Mage Tower Lord, could you master it?"
At Leyzon's question, the Tower Lord glanced down at the book again.
Then he slowly shook his head.
"Regrettably, poison isn't my specialty. I can read it, but I lack the expertise."
Leyzon had half-expected as much, but he still felt a pang of disappointment.
Poison Necromancers were a niche even among their kind.
It wasn't odd for the Tower Lord to be unfamiliar.
"But I do know someone versed in Poison Necromancy."
Still, even a rat hole lets in light sometimes.
The Gray Mage Tower Lord offered Leyzon another ray of hope.
Not all necromancers had been captured by the Empire.
"Who is it?"
"Hard to meet directly. They wouldn't even agree to see you."
Necromancers were all fugitives.
And with some siding with the Empire, no less.
Even fellow necromancers wouldn't open their doors lightly.
"...Pity."
"But it's not impossible."
With that, he picked up his staff.
"Do you know Soul Binding?"
The skill Leyzon had just deduced popped from the Tower Lord's lips.
"I do."
"Perfect. There's a necromancer who specialized in soul magic. A damn good one, too."
Past tense.
"...Dead?"
"Yes. Killed by the Empire."
As expected.
"But because they wielded soul magic, even in death, their spell activated."
"Spell?"
"Those bound to them by Soul Binding can enter the Resonance World at will."
Resonance World.
"A realm where souls can meet.
They created it so necromancers wouldn't die at the Empire's hands—sharing information and all."
Leyzon grasped the Tower Lord's explanation.
'So basically, they set up a necromancer group chat.'
A soul-based chat room for necromancers to rally and support each other.
"The Poison Necromancer I mentioned is there, too. You could ask for help."
Leyzon stroked his chin lightly.
The beard Syria had fashioned felt soft to the touch.
Oddly addictive.
"So Soul Binding is the key to entering?"
"Exactly. I was granted access, so I use it to send people in."
I see.
Now it clicked why the real Leyzon had a Soul Binding on him.
'To enter the Resonance World.'
What had the real Leyzon done there?
Maybe traces of him lingered.
'Should I go through with the Soul Binding here?'
Soul Binding let him check the bound person's status.
HP, MP, buffs, debuffs—that level of info.
Even then, it displayed in percentages, so personal details stayed hidden.
After mulling it over, Leyzon made up his mind.
"Do it."
There were risks, but the gains outweighed them.
Leyzon resolved to enter the Resonance World.
"Alright, Soul Binding it is. Hold out your arm for a moment."
The Gray Mage Tower Lord tapped Leyzon's wrist with his index finger.
A translucent sky-blue magic circle appeared, then faded smoothly away.
It felt like the circle had been etched into his body.
"From now on, concentrate mana in your wrist, and the circle will appear.
Focus mana on it once more, and you'll enter the Resonance World."
He'd joined the necromancer group chat.
Should pay a visit and say hi later.
"One warning, though. While you're in the Resonance World, your body will be defenseless."
Syria could handle that.
Even if the sky fell, Syria would hold it up.
"Want to test it now?"
"No, later."
Leyzon wasn't ready to fully trust the Tower Lord yet, so he put it off.
"Fair enough. When you enter the Resonance World later, you'll have your own room.
There'll be a book there—explains how to use it. Give it a read."
"Thanks."
With that, Leyzon wrapped up the conversation and stood.
He'd covered everything necessary with the Tower Lord.
He'd gained access to the Resonance World group chat and a rough read on the man.
'Better not reveal my true nature to the Gray Mage Tower Lord.'
Kindness aside, that lingering unease remained.
No need to get more entangled.
"I'll be off, then."
"Oh, right—that mask."
As Leyzon moved to leave, the Tower Lord spoke up as if remembering.
"I think I know why he gave it to you. Let me have it a sec."
Leyzon handed over the mask.
No point keeping it if the Empire could identify it anyway.
A short while later, after fiddling with it, the Tower Lord returned it.
"This should keep the Empire from detecting you now."
He already knew the Empire had pierced the mask's secrets.
"What did you do?"
"Wiped my traces from it. If you see him later, pass it on—he'll find it useful still."
Leyzon pocketed the mask.
If it didn't raise suspicions, it was definitely valuable.
Syria's shadow disguise fooled most, but not fellow necromancers.
'If it's usable, I should use it.'
The item itself was blameless.
"And this is a bonus for meeting a fellow necromancer after so long."
Next, the Gray Mage Tower Lord handed over a book.
Leyzon's eyes widened slightly at the sight.
It was a skill book.
And inscribed on it was:
Venom's Phantom Fragrance [SS]
Dramatically boosts magic attack power and efficiency of all poison-related skills.
An essential skill for any Poison Necromancer.
Leyzon inwardly reeled at the Tower Lord handing it over.
'Did he figure out I'm a Poison Necromancer?'
The Gray Mage Tower Lord met his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Studying that copied book, you'll need it somewhere down the line, no? Take it."
Coincidence?
Intentional?
Who knew.
But he wasn't fool enough to refuse free food.
"Thanks."
Leyzon snatched up the skill book without hesitation.
Perfect timing—a slot had just opened.
No better gift.
"Watch your back on the way out. Word is, the Empire's scouting the Gedt Mountains lately."
"Got it."
Leyzon finished the talk and left the undead abode.
After walking some distance,
he glanced toward Syria's shadow.
[No one's following.]
They'd let him go more easily than expected.
"Syria, what about this mask?"
He passed the mask into the shadow.
[Looks fine. No traces of tracking magic or anything.]
So it really was just his own traces wiped.
Makes sense—if there'd been funny business, Syria would've reacted on the spot.
"...Hard to say if this meeting was good luck or bad."
Either way, to judge,
'I need to test it.'
Resonance World.
He had to meet the other necromancers there.
"Syria, back to the inn."
When the iron's hot, strike it.
Today, he'd dive straight into the Resonance World. No holding back.