Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Assault on the Bee Lumber Realm
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Leyzon decided to stay in the World Forest for the time being to clear the dungeons.
Unfortunately, the manuscript research yielded no significant results in just ten days.
He decided to leave the manuscript study to the lone spider.
Leyzon then set out to tackle the mid-tier dungeons in the World Forest.
As mentioned before, the World Forest had a labyrinthine structure.
So, Leyzon hired someone well-versed in the forest's paths.
"...So that's why you're here."
Zid Agrasil, the search captain of the Agrasil Elves, spoke with a stunned expression.
After talking with the lone spider,
Leyzon had hurried to Agrasil Village and sought out Zid.
Zid freaked out the moment he saw that ugly face mask of his.
"I earned this for blocking the Demon King from before."
"But that was traded with our sacred relic, wasn't it?"
Zid glanced at the sacred relic coiled around Leyzon's staff.
[Indestructible Life].
The Agrasil sacred relic was now essentially Leyzon's property.
"It was just sitting in a corner, unused. I took it out and put it to good use."
"It wasn't sitting there. We were cherishing it."
"If you're not using it, it's no different from gathering dust."
Items exist to be used.
Zid let out a sigh at Leyzon's words.
"There are a few dungeons in the World Forest,
but I'm not sure if any would be helpful for someone of your caliber, Leyzon."
Leyzon tilted his head.
"There are plenty. The World Forest has tons of mid-tier dungeons."
"Pardon? Mid-tier dungeons?"
Zid tilted his head right along with Leyzon.
Leyzon realized one thing from this.
Evidently, Zid was evaluating him far higher than he deserved.
"I'm an 8-Ascension mid-tier pioneer."
So, Leyzon decided to tell the truth.
Zid shot him a look that said he was pulling his leg.
This guy's never gonna believe it, even if he drops dead.
"Just guide me."
"Yes, sir."
Zid decided not to pry further.
Afterward, Zid immediately led Leyzon to a mid-tier dungeon.
True to his role as search captain, he knew every path in the World Forest like the back of his hand.
Inside a crevice in the cliff.
A massive honeycomb filled the entire crevice.
The place Zid guided him to was the 8-Ascension mid-tier dungeon, Bee Lumber Realm.
It was home to hornet species.
The buzzing of bees echoed from within the hive.
Just hearing it was incredibly intimidating.
"Zid, don't you have stuff to do?"
"Yes, I have a lot on my plate."
"Doesn't look like it."
Zid's face fell a little.
There was no escape for him.
"It's better than smashing every tree because we can't find the way back, right?"
"How can you say something so harsh?"
Zid looked at Leyzon with pity, for not understanding elven sensibilities.
"I'm not asking you to do anything specific. Just follow along."
In the end, Zid had no choice but to trail behind Leyzon.
Leyzon entered the dungeon with Hanok and Zid in tow.
Inside the Bee Lumber Realm.
The place resembled the inside of a beehive, with countless hexagonal holes dotting the ceiling.
Between the hexagonal openings,
pale white larvae were visible.
Each one was vastly larger than a human.
"Ugh, it's so noisy."
Hanok winced and covered his ears.
No hornets were visible yet,
but Hanok's sensitive ears picked up every single wingbeat.
"L-Leyzon, there are tons around us? They sound really pissed."
"We're in their house."
Who'd welcome intruders into their home?
"Still, they're illegal squatters. Time to evict them."
Who asked them to build a nest wherever they pleased?
"You really won't have me do anything?"
As Zid asked again, Leyzon nodded.
Wooooong!
At that moment, a sound like fighter jets roared from above.
Leyzon turned his head to see a swarm of hornets.
Each hornet was about half Leyzon's size.
Self-made, ordinary hornets.
Hanok didn't even need to step in.
Leyzon drew the Staff of Abundance.
"Fierce Poison Emanation, Attribute Fusion: Darkness Descent."
⟨ Attribute Fusion ⟩
Darkness and poison bloomed before Leyzon and merged.
Eden's darkness wasn't all that different from Syria's shadows in usage.
With the poison's aromatic haze activating, the venom grew far more vicious.
"Attribute Fusion: Dragon Scale."
⟨ Dragon Scale ⟩
Leyzon swung his staff toward the sky.
Riding the sudden gust, the darkness shot upward.
The ordinary hornet swarm scattered in all directions, trying to evade.
But it was too late.
Leyzon released the Dragon Scale compressing the darkness.
The darkness unfurled, spewing venom in every direction.
The ordinary hornets hurriedly escaped the cloud.
But by then, their bodies were already coated in poison everywhere.
Their bodies couldn't withstand it and began melting away.
Prep work done.
Fierce Poison Fury
Poison on targets detonates.
The poison on the ordinary hornets exploded as Leyzon aimed his staff.
Amid fireworks-like blasts everywhere, the hornets shattered to pieces.
"Hm, pretty useful."
Leyzon spun the Staff of Abundance in his grip.
Shadows were liquid-like, while darkness was closer to gas.
Depending on how he used it, the possibilities seemed endless.
Syria puffed up proudly from within the shadow.
Eden chimed in, unwilling to let it slide.
A subtle rivalry sparked between Syria and Eden.
Maybe because their attributes overlap so much.
Competition was fine, but he hoped they wouldn't fight.
Next up is curse branding, huh.
He already had ideas for how to use that one.
Poison's main use was debuffs, but
just as poison could be medicinal, debuffs could be flipped positive.
Leyzon grinned suspiciously.
The more skills he acquired, the more creative applications came to mind.
A glass cannon build cramming everything in.
Stacking the build was fun in itself.
"...I've been wondering since last time, but how many skills do you even have, Leyzon?"
Zid cautiously asked after witnessing the battle.
To Zid, Leyzon's skills seemed bottomless.
Normally, handling that many would cause confusion,
yet Leyzon wielded every single one fluidly.
"Wanna see? I could unleash a barrage."
As Leyzon's eyes sparkled, Zid straightened up.
"No, I'm good."
What a buzzkill.
Leyzon smacked his lips in disappointment.
No worries.
Things would naturally call for it as they delved deeper.
"Alright, everyone."
Leyzon strode forward energetically.
"Let's go suck some honey."
Though hornets typically didn't gather honey.
Leyzon's group pressed on steadily afterward.
Hornet species wielded diverse weapons.
From winds whipped up by wings,
sound attacks, venom stings, venom spit, teeth, and claws.
They assaulted with every biological weapon they had.
"Their poison isn't that potent."
But the hornets had the worst matchup against Leyzon.
He pulled a hornet sting, triggered Poison Recovery (B) with its venom,
and found it sorely lacking.
Zid eyed Leyzon sticking the sting into his own arm with disgust,
but Leyzon tested things out regardless.
Experience becomes nourishment.
Leyzon believed experience itself was strength.
"Ugh, starting to see more tough ones."
Still annoyed by the wingbeats,
Hanok spoke with his ears plugged.
As they went deeper, just as Hanok said,
higher-grade hornets appeared with tougher exoskeletons.
Hanok's skills focused on defense, so piercing their thick hides in one hit was tough.
"But it feels good stabbing them."
Still, Hanok was a born hunter.
If one strike didn't kill, multiple would do the trick.
Hanok wagged his four tails, eyeing the next prey.
Classic Hanok.
"Hanok, how's your ascension EXP?"
"Feels like there's still quite a bit left."
Sword-Tooth Clan underwent two ascensions, so their EXP requirements were huge.
Even after giving him the Ascendant Fang, EXP gain isn't smooth.
Well, Leyzon was the abnormal one; ascension couldn't happen overnight.
Plus, their dungeon clear speed was blazing, faster than most.
Still feels lacking.
He'd come here specifically to boost Hanok's growth.
Wooooong!
Another hornet buzz echoed from afar.
But this time, it wasn't just ordinary hornets.
Amid the swarm, one stood out.
Its wingbeats differed from the rest.
"Leyzon."
Hanok's eyes sharpened as he called out.
His perked ears pinpointed it perfectly.
"Yeah, about time the boss showed."
Wooooooong!
So many hornets blackened the sky overhead.
They bared clear killing intent toward the intruders.
Among them,
a turquoise-winged one flitted by.
Pollen began scattering on the incoming wind.
Leyzon, knowing its true nature, turned to Hanok.
Zid had already donned a netted hat in haste.
"Hanok, wrap your face with Haron too."
Leyzon tapped the ground as he instructed Hanok.
"Syria, shadows."
A crimson shadow surged from beneath Leyzon's feet.
It instantly enveloped the group in a hemispherical dome.
Kak! Kagak!
Scraping sounds came from outside the shadow.
What he'd thought was pollen was micro-hornets.
One of the Jade Wing Queen Hornet's swarms.
They burrowed inside bodies and stabbed venom freely.
Parties without mages fell easily to the Jade Wing Queen Hornet.
The micro-hornets stabbed at Syria's shadow with their stings.
But Syria's shadow didn't budge.
They were too weak to affect it.
Thud!
As if realizing this, more emerged from the hexagonal holes.
A brigade of giant king hornets, leagues beyond the previous ones.
House-sized king hornet brigade descended.
They tried crushing the shadow with their massive bodies.
Meanwhile, the Jade Wing Queen Hornet merely floated high above.
No direct attacks came from it.
The Jade Wing Queen Hornet had the toughest exoskeleton among hornets.
Its attack power was near zero.
It traded offense for supreme defense.
Instead, it commanded hornets and spawned them endlessly.
Even now, hornets were birthing from its body.
Beating the Jade Wing Queen Hornet is a race against time.
The longer it dragged, the more hornets multiplied.
Killing underlings meant nothing.
If the queen survived, the horde persisted.
But as mentioned,
Leyzon matched horribly against hornets.
Leyzon raised the Staff of Abundance with a ferocious grin.
"Perfect for attack power testing."
A Poison Necromancer's specialty was mob hunting.
The more numerous the foes,
the more targets to hit.