Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Logging Layer Annihilation
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Inside the Logging Layer.
The hornet beasts blotting out the sky buzzed with menacing wingbeats.
Those hornet beasts were launching a fierce assault right now.
Their target was the hemispherical shadow.
The hornet beasts' stingers stabbed relentlessly at the shadow.
But even when struck by the stingers, the shadow only yielded slightly inward.
Then it bounced back with resilient force.
Frustration began to ripple through the hornet beasts.
The Jade Queen Hornet commanding them felt the same.
Her multifaceted eyes shifted.
She couldn't fathom what was happening inside that shadow.
All she felt was a vague unease rising within her.
For some reason, she knew leaving it alone would be a mistake.
And she was right.
Inside the shadow.
Leyzon aimed his staff, unleashing spells in rapid succession.
His fusion magic activated, gradually infusing the fierce poison blood sphere with various powers.
Fierce Poison Emission [A], Bleeding Repair [C]
Shadow Castle [C], Morale Emission [C]
Darkness Descent [C], Dragon Scale [C]
The myriad skills gained through undead evolution began converging on Leyzon's fierce poison blood sphere.
On top of that, Poison's Return Fragrance [SS] activated.
Power amplification stacking endlessly upon power amplification.
The [Ring of Harmony] poured out light, adding even more potency.
"Undying life..."
He set that aside for now.
Instead, Leyzon decided to test something else here.
"Curse Mark."
Normally used by designating an enemy target, but this time Leyzon chose himself.
Curses were debuffs by nature.
Yet such debuffs could sometimes trigger other synergies.
The Curse Mark activated over Leyzon's body.
The instant those two curses were applied.
Leyzon's other skills triggered.
The poison mixed in Leyzon's blood spun rapidly, accelerated by the curse.
In turn, the values from Poison Recovery surged dramatically.
"If I apply poison to my own body on top of this..."
His mana would surely recover far faster than before.
"And..."
Leyzon activated Curse Mark once more.
Rumble rumble rumble―
His eyes saw nothing, but he felt the fierce poison blood sphere surging.
Leyzon's lips slowly curved upward.
"It's working."
The curse debuffs were boosting his output even further.
Anything could be wielded if you knew how.
Preparations complete.
"Syria, drop the shadow."
With Leyzon's voice, the shadow dissipated.
The moment it vanished, the hornet swarm charged in.
Then they halted abruptly before Leyzon.
Leyzon's equipment.
Leyzon aimed the Staff of Abundance at the frozen hornet beasts.
Moths that had flown right to him.
Time to give them a warm welcome.
"Fierce Poison Cataclysm."
The fierce poison blood sphere ignited.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
The explosion blooming from the fierce poison raged fiercely.
The blistering heat of the poison devoured the hornet beasts in an instant, reducing them to a handful of ash.
Even the leader among them, with its exceptionally tough exoskeleton.
The Jade Queen Hornet was caught in the blast.
True to its sturdy shell, it struggled for a bit.
But ultimately, it melted away before Leyzon's fusion magic.
Thud!
The hexagonal ceiling, battered by the explosion, collapsed under the impact.
Beneath the ruined ceiling.
Thick smoke filled the space.
Moments later, a rising shadow cleared the smoke.
Leyzon emerged from the shadow, groping his staff.
"Hmm, is this the extent of its power?"
Leyzon glanced at the piles of ash that had once been the hornet beasts on the floor.
The Jade Queen Hornet had extreme defensive power.
But in the end, it was just a mid-tier dungeon boss.
Leyzon's fusion magic was beyond what a mid-tier boss could withstand.
"Not enough to properly test its power."
Leyzon smacked his lips in disappointment.
"I wanted to gauge the might of fusion magic without using charges."
What a shame.
"...Is this power really just a test?"
Gid, who had been inside the shadow with Leyzon, asked.
Gid stared at the fusion magic's aftermath in a daze.
He knew Leyzon used various magics.
But this level of destruction was a first.
Gid belatedly recalled the heart of the World Forest being obliterated.
He'd wondered what fierce battle caused that.
Turns out it was just one spell from Leyzon.
Gid realized anew how dangerous Leyzon was.
Thank goodness he acted with some common sense.
If he were a ruthless villain, the thought was too horrifying.
"Still a long way to go."
Of course, Leyzon wasn't satisfied with his glass cannon build yet.
He needed to upgrade his ascension and skills to grow stronger.
"Someday."
He'd one-shot even the four great dungeon bosses.
Leyzon steeled his resolve.
"But first."
Duty called.
"Hanok."
"Yes!"
Hanok, inspecting the hornet corpses on the floor, rushed over.
Leyzon took Hanok and ventured deeper into the Logging Layer.
Soon, hexagonal walls came into view.
Inside the walls, massive larvae appeared intermittently.
"Syria, take care of them."
Syria's shadow surged, and the larvae dropped dead instantly.
The shadow mercilessly swallowed them.
In the space left by the vanished larvae.
Bright yellow rocks gleamed.
"Hanok, from now on, scrape out everything inside these and put it in here."
Leyzon pulled a bag from his inventory bag and set it down.
He also drew the hand axe he kept as a sidearm.
"Gid, help out if you have nothing better to do."
Gid had no choice but to obey Leyzon.
He really had nothing else to do, as Leyzon said.
Leyzon diligently scraped yellow rocks with Hanok and Gid.
Once the bag was full, they stopped.
"Lord Leyzon, why are we collecting so much of this?"
Hanok tilted his head at the yellow stones.
"Larva honey."
Actual hornet larvae were carnivorous, eating insects.
But these hornet beasts, being phantasmal beasts, combined traits of hornets and honeybees.
"Boil this down and feed it to them—it boosts overall growth speed."
The effect only lasted up to hero-tier threshold.
But accelerating growth that far was significant.
That was why Leyzon had come to the World Forest dungeon specifically.
"The dungeons in the World Forest abound with growth-related materials overall.
So I'm planning to grab every last one I can."
"Is this... for me?"
"Precisely, for you and Haron both."
They held no special value for Leyzon anyway.
Hanok's face flushed with emotion.
"Lord Leyzon, Haron and I will work super hard!"
Hanok showed fervent determination.
If they worked hard, Leyzon would be grateful.
"Alright then, let's strip every last dungeon clean."
"Yes, we'll loot them all!"
Leyzon and Hanok shouted excitedly.
Gid, the only one not thrilled, swallowed a sigh.
"Hey, laugh along at times like this, Gid."
Gid forced a smile.
Even his emotions under control.
Afterward, Leyzon cleared more dungeons under Gid's guidance.
Four 8-ascension dungeons.
Three 7-ascension ones.
A total of seven dungeons.
This cleared all mid-tier dungeons in the World Forest.
"Halfway there."
Leyzon checked the remaining dungeons until his next ascension.
Just four more 8-ascension clears, and he'd ascend again.
"Feels like a lot, but still a long road ahead."
The path to 18 ascensions was long and arduous.
Still, the dungeon runs yielded results.
Thanks to farming growth materials for Hanok.
The World Forest brimmed with vitality.
Thus, its dungeons all held ascension EXP-related materials.
The gathered stock would all go into Hanok and Haron's bellies.
"Grow big and strong."
Leyzon planted an apple tree today as well, anticipating Hanok's future exploits in the four great dungeons.
Between dungeon runs.
Leyzon discussed the manuscript with the lone spider.
Unfortunately, it still needed more time.
Not due to lack of ability, but because the spider was experimenting in various ways.
It wasn't urgent anyway.
Leyzon just held out hope.
In this world so changed from the past.
Success wasn't guaranteed.
So Leyzon didn't pressure the lone spider.
His business in the World Forest was wrapping up.
Time to seek the next undead.
He'd safely secured the west's demon king, Eden.
Next up: the east.
"The Moving Black Fortress."
Time to find it.
"Why are you all scattered so far apart?"
It'd be nice if they gathered together.
But they all lived far from each other.
"I've stuck by Lord Leyzon the whole time!"
Syria boasted proudly, puffing up.
Eden, watching, snorted a laugh.
"Syria just likes staying home."
Syria got hikikomori treatment from Eden too.
Leyzon recalled their first meeting—Syria with her face buried in books.
Definitely not the look of a short-term loafer.
"Eden, don't slander me."
"Then don't deny reality."
Syria and Eden started bickering.
Watching them, they seemed like real siblings.
It made Leyzon want to gather all the undead sooner.
It'd be lively and fun with everyone together.
"Alright. Time to head out."
Leyzon decided to leave the World Forest.
"Are you leaving?"
Just then, the lone spider asked.
Since recovering his throat, he'd grown accustomed to speaking.
He set a cup of tea before Leyzon.
Outside, Hanok and Piran played.
Different ages by race, but similar mental maturity.
They'd grown close during their stay.
"Yeah, tons of work ahead."
Leyzon took a sip of tea.
The spider brewed excellent tea; a shame he wouldn't have more.
"Piran will be sad."
"What about you, lone spider?"
"I'll be sad too."
He'd once feared Leyzon blindly.
Now he knew Leyzon's warm side.
So his departure felt regrettable.
"Don't worry. We'll meet occasionally in the Resonance World."
He needed steady updates on the manuscript research.
Leyzon smiled faintly, and the spider smiled back.
"Yes, see you in the Resonance World."
With farewells exchanged.
Now, off to find the Moving Black Fortress in the west.