Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Dark Elf Boy, Piran
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Following him out of the Horizon Sunflower Field, they soon entered a vast forest thick with enormous trees.
Trees so massive that dozens of grown men linking arms couldn't encircle them.
Such trees stretched on endlessly, impossible to count.
This was the forest enveloping Yggdrasil, the great tree at the heart of the woods.
The Forest of the World Tree.
'Come to think of it, the Horizon Sunflower Field and the Forest of the World Tree are pretty close.'
The Forest of the World Tree was a place where the unfamiliar could easily lose their way.
In the game, it had a labyrinthine structure, like a maze.
Some who entered without knowing the way out had starved to death when their provisions ran dry.
That made it the perfect hideout.
'If I recall, there are pureblood elf tribes deeper in the Forest of the World Tree.'
Leyzon's gaze turned to Piran.
'Even accounting for him being a half dark elf, his skin is awfully pale.'
Not as human-like as Leyzon's own strong human blood, but aside from his black hair tinged with a bluish hue, Piran seemed far removed from typical dark elf lineage.
'Maybe he's the child of a dark elf and an elf?'
"We wouldn't have had this trouble if I'd just stayed in the Forest of the World Tree."
"But no, I had business outside and got caught right by the imperial army."
Piran sighed, lamenting his bad luck.
"Looks like the imperial troops have been expanding their search radius lately. They never came this close to the Forest of the World Tree before."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Something urgent must have come up.
Leyzon made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the imperial army's movements.
"Turn left at that tree over there."
Meanwhile, Piran continued guiding them.
To Leyzon's eyes, every tree looked the same.
But Piran navigated all the paths with ease.
"Piran, were you born and raised in the Forest of the World Tree?"
"Yeah, it'll be 89 years this year!"
Leyzon had heard that elves reached adulthood at 150.
By elven standards, Piran was still quite young.
Absurdly old by human measure, of course.
'A half dark elf who's spent 89 years in the Forest of the World Tree.'
Elves had temperaments opposite to dark elves, making coexistence impossible.
They clearly repelled each other.
'Feels like there's some complicated backstory here.'
As those thoughts crossed his mind, a house embedded in a massive tree came into view ahead.
It looked just like something out of a fairy tale.
Piran leaped off the black wolf.
"Master, I'm back!"
He dashed straight to the house, calling for his teacher.
"Leyzon."
Syria quietly called out to him.
Her half-lidded eyes stared into empty space.
"There are invisible spiderwebs strung up everywhere."
The poison spider's doing.
They appeared to be for security.
"What about the poison spider himself?"
"Someone's flying over from where we shook them off."
Perfect timing.
Speak of the devil.
"Syria, release the shadow wolf and wait in the shadows with Hanok."
"Got it!"
"Be careful."
Leyzon stepped out from the shadow wolf.
Whoosh!
Moments later, a sound came from the forest.
Leyzon turned to see someone swinging toward them on a spiderweb.
A strikingly handsome elf with long silver hair.
He glanced at Leyzon, then immediately extended his hand.
"Whoa!?"
A shot-out spiderweb snagged Piran in an instant.
'Not a dark elf here either.'
Leyzon had assumed a dark elf would come and was mildly surprised.
But he kept his composure and waited silently.
The elf wordlessly inspected his disciple, up and down.
He let out a brief sigh of relief, then turned to Leyzon.
As he raised his hand, the spiderweb surged upward.
Leyzon soon realized it formed letters.
〔Who might you be, to come here with my disciple?〕
This elf couldn't speak.
Leyzon belatedly noticed the scar on his throat.
It gave off a sinister vibe.
'Cursed, maybe.'
The aura from his throat felt like a curse.
The fact it hadn't healed yet suggested it wasn't an easy wound to recover from.
"Your disciple wandered to the Horizon Sunflower Field and got chased, so I lent a hand."
The elf's eyes widened.
He set his disciple down and gestured angrily, shouting something silently.
"S-Sorry, Master."
The disciple shrank back, intimidated by the wordless scolding.
The elf calmed slightly and bowed his head to Leyzon.
〔As a fellow necromancer, thank you for showing mercy.〕
Leyzon had used a shadow wolf to get here.
Though the mask hid his eye color.
He must have deduced Leyzon was a necromancer from the shadow wolf.
"No big deal, just helping out."
Leyzon smiled amiably, waving it off.
The elf's spiderweb moved again.
〔If it's not too much trouble, may I offer you some tea?〕
Just tea and leave?
Leyzon had plenty of questions.
"My throat's parched from the long trip. Perfect."
For a necromancer, the poison spider was remarkably courteous.
From readily agreeing to collaborate on poison research.
To repaying favors promptly.
Leyzon was quite taken with him.
'Likes me, huh.'
As Leyzon entered, he saw a normal family home.
But a faint poison scent wafted from another room.
Fitting for a poison necromancer's abode.
It only made the poison spider seem even better in Leyzon's eyes.
Of course, a poison necromancer should be like this.
This was the bond of shared paths.
〔Piran, bring some tea.〕
He asked his disciple for tea and led Leyzon to the guest room.
A large sofa dominated the guest room.
Sinking into it felt heavenly.
Meanwhile, the poison spider sat opposite.
Leyzon looked at him, then clasped his hands downward with a smile.
"Poison Spider."
Leyzon called him by his alias with a grin.
Poison Spider.
The elf called by that name slowly turned his head.
Had he heard wrong?
Poison Spider looked at Leyzon.
His lips trembled.
The name Leyzon had mentioned was an alias from the Resonance World, unknown to outsiders.
Leyzon continued with a relaxed smile.
"A bit early, but I've come to fulfill our promise."
Promise.
Poison Spider's lips parted in confusion at the word.
Leyzon tilted his head as if to say, you really don't remember?
"We made a deal in the Resonance World about the poison manuscript, remember?"
Poison Spider's eyes gradually widened.
As he said, Poison Spider had indeed made a promise recently in the Resonance World.
With a necromancer who wanted to meet about poison research.
The one called Friend of the Abyss.
Poison Spider shot to his feet.
Chills ran down his spine.
It had only been a few weeks since that promise.
For him to show up in the real world this soon.
It defied logic.
〔How do you know my identity and location?〕
Poison Spider asked, sweat beading on his brow.
Leyzon raised an eyebrow slightly.
Then, as if realizing something, he scratched his head awkwardly.
"Don't worry. I wasn't digging. Pure coincidence."
"Poison necromancers aren't exactly common, right?"
Leyzon smiled innocently, as if there was no need for caution.
Poison Spider's face hardened further at that flawless, pure smile.
"Master?"
Just then, Piran arrived with tea, eyeing Poison Spider curiously.
Poison Spider froze solid.
His mind raced with possibilities.
Leyzon had brought his beloved disciple straight here.
This could mean:
'I could have taken your disciple hostage and killed him anytime, but I came peacefully because I want to talk.'
Poison Spider's face drained of color.
'And then...'
The aura emanating from Leyzon bewildered him even more.
'His energy feels like a mid-tier pioneer.'
But the shadow wolf he'd seen earlier was at least hero-class.
'Even his appearance is a disguised fake, and I can't see beyond it.'
Syria's shadow.
The Gray Mage Tower Lord's mask mark.
These two factors cemented Leyzon as a figure of terror.
Thud.
Poison Spider quietly sat back down.
Necromancers shared a common trait.
They all had foul tempers.
If he upset him here...
'Piran dies with me.'
Poison Spider swallowed dryly.
〔Piran, set the tea down and go to your room.〕
He urged Piran to leave.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Piran quickly set down the tea and went inside.
Leyzon glanced that way, and Poison Spider flinched.
Every gaze made him react.
The same situation.
Leyzon sighed inwardly at Syria's voice.
Tell me about it.
'I scared him way too much.'
Leyzon had called him Poison Spider to cut straight to the point without beating around the bush.
He'd smiled brightly, stated his purpose, and explained it was coincidence.
Yet the other refused to believe him.
"You don't believe me?"
Poison Spider's shoulders twitched at the question.
He cautiously manipulated the spiderweb.
〔I believe you.〕
Poison Spider looked shrunken, like a small frightened animal.
Since he said he believed, Leyzon decided to take it at face value.
'This face is trustworthy, right?'
It was a mask made by the Gray Mage Tower Lord.
Yet everyone he met misunderstood it.
'Sure, I have a bad personality and exploit misunderstandings, but...'
Getting misunderstood constantly stung a little.
'Whatever.'
Leyzon decided to stay positive.
The other was already compliant and cooperative.
No need to press further.
"As I said, I came to talk about that manuscript with you."
Leyzon opened the bag from the shadows.
He pulled out the poison necromancer manuscript.
The elf carefully accepted it.
"Take a look."
Leyzon waited leisurely for his reaction.
Poison Spider hesitated but began reading.
Moments later, his eyes widened.
He pressed a hand to his mouth.
The manuscript delved into the essence of poison necromancy.
In a world where most things were replaced by skills, magic now only had proficiency levels.
Deep knowledge of magic had been lost.
Yet here it was, revived.
What did that mean?
Poison Spider slowly raised his head.
Leyzon sat there, smiling relaxedly.
Everything about him from the start had been extraordinary.
And he was the idol of all necromancers in the Resonance World, called Friend of the Abyss.
What in the world was this man's true identity?
Poison Spider's eyes shook with turmoil.
Leyzon leaned forward from the sofa.
"So, worth researching, right?"
Poison Spider gulped.
Perhaps he had encountered someone utterly unbelievable.