Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Inside the Resonance World
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Inside the Resonance World.
Leyzon was now face-to-face with Flamehead.
'The guy who impersonated me, got his ass handed to him, and bolted.'
That was how Leyzon remembered him.
"...Just one question."
Flamehead spoke up.
Leyzon leaned back in his chair, responding with bored indifference.
He planned to play it cool no matter what came up.
"Did you have someone close to me feeding you info?"
What the hell kind of nonsense was this?
Leyzon's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Is this guy running with a crew?'
Come to think of it, there was no reason he wouldn't be.
The whole point of Dungeon Replay was forming parties.
Nothing strange about him having one.
But for some reason, he suspected one of his party members was in cahoots with Leyzon.
'Did I unknowingly screw up his plans somehow?'
Leyzon had no guesses.
All he'd ever blocked was Flamehead's Abyss impersonation.
Leyzon still didn't know why Flamehead had tried to pass himself off as Abyss in the first place.
'There must be some reason.'
Flamehead was an odd one.
From what the necromancers had told him, the intel Flamehead spread was harder to come by than expected.
'A lot of it was about undead, apparently.'
One thing Leyzon was sure of: Flamehead was an undead expert.
'A seriously skilled one.'
The aura coming off him was hero-tier at minimum.
No wonder the other necromancers couldn't ignore his Abyss claim.
'And now he's got a crew.'
Leyzon eyed Flamehead again.
Could this guy really be the necromancer traitor Leyzon had marked?
"No answer, huh."
His flames flickered.
"Or can't you?"
He wasn't dropping his suspicions in any direction.
Guys like him, full of paranoia and overthinking, always stirred up trouble.
"Let me ask one first."
Leyzon turned the glare back on him with a question of his own.
"What were you planning to do by impersonating Abyss?"
Impersonating Abyss had its perks.
The necromancers' reactions proved it.
The Empire was scrambling to hide Leyzon's undead.
But they couldn't fool experts in the field.
Necromancers knew the endless potential of Leyzon's creations.
That was why Abyss impersonators popped up now and then.
"...I keep telling you, I am Abyss."
What a stubborn bastard.
Fine, you be Abyss.
Leyzon clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
Flamehead sighed, clearly exasperated by the dead-end conversation with Leyzon.
He already knew his impersonation wasn't flying with him anymore.
Flamehead shuffled over with heavy steps.
Then he plopped down into a chair.
"Fine. Better if I am Abyss."
What now?
Leyzon felt Flamehead's gaze boring into him.
"You said you know Abyss."
Leyzon nodded.
"Then tell him this: don't ever show his face again, same as always."
Flamehead's words weren't hostility toward Abyss.
This was advice.
Advice for Abyss.
But that made it even harder to understand.
"Why."
He couldn't just drop that without explanation.
At least give a reason.
"You might know already, but there's an imperial mage."
He didn't.
One thing was clear: Flamehead was overestimating him.
"The Millennium Mage."
Flamehead's flames rippled, as if even naming him was distasteful.
"For some reason, he's started hunting Abyss again."
Leyzon suddenly felt a headache coming on.
'Another one joins the chase.'
Judgment Sovereign, Sword Saint, and now the Millennium Mage.
What the hell—why was he so damn popular?
Leyzon shuddered at their obsessive pursuit.
'I've got all the attention I never wanted in my life.'
Marry any one of them, and you'd be set for life—or so the rumors would say.
Leyzon quietly savored his position of power.
"Even Abyss would be done for in a straight fight with the Millennium Mage. He's a monster."
"So you impersonated him to draw the mage's attention. That it?"
Flamehead didn't reply.
He just stared at Leyzon silently.
Seemed like there were more reasons, but he wasn't spilling.
"Make sure you relay my message to Abyss. I can throw the Millennium Mage off your trail."
With that, Flamehead stood.
"And."
His parting words.
"Being the head of that giant birdcage is worthless."
He left those cryptic words behind and vanished.
Leyzon watched his back recede.
He couldn't read Flamehead's moves.
Or if he was the traitor necromancer.
Just that he didn't want Abyss taken down.
'Hmm.'
Looked like he needed to shake down the Resonance World a bit harder and faster.
Those shady necromancer bastards.
They were hiding more than he'd thought.
Clack—
Right then, the click of men's dress shoes approached.
Leyzon turned to see a humanoid spider gentleman adjusting his clothes.
The sight immediately brought Arachne to mind.
And he knew who it was.
"Poison Spider."
"Sorry I'm late. My disciple had an issue."
Definitely Poison Spider.
"No worries."
Thanks to him, Leyzon had time to chat with Flamehead.
He wouldn't have opened up with anyone else around.
'Talk about perfect timing.'
Leyzon grinned at the stroke of luck.
"The transcript?"
"I've studied it."
Poison Spider said confidently.
Flamehead called leading the giant birdcage pointless.
But Leyzon saw it differently.
'Gotta be at the top to even attempt fixing things.'
If effort wasn't cutting it.
Might just be a lack of power.
This world solved a lot with brute force.
Leyzon was a firm believer in that.
* * *
Poison Spider had dug up more than expected.
First off, the transcript was definitely a magic archetype.
"The activation principle is clear. I'm sure it can be triggered."
But there was a catch.
He understood it in theory and was confident he could activate it.
"For some reason, the magic won't trigger."
Leyzon had shared some skill secrets with Poison Spider.
To research the transcript properly.
You had to grasp the skill's core.
So Leyzon fed him info.
From that, they formed hypotheses.
One in particular.
"It might mean the talent theft stripped away the very possibility of humans using magic from the start."
The possibility itself was stolen.
Leyzon hadn't considered that angle.
'Active necromancers think differently.'
Good call consulting him.
"Even if we study this magic endlessly."
"Yeah, we probably can't learn the magic itself."
Leyzon crossed his arms.
He'd dreamed of infinite magic farming via transcript.
Now it felt like a letdown.
'There has to be a way.'
He drummed his arms thoughtfully.
Then another idea struck.
What if.
"Poison Spider, you said 'possibility' earlier."
"Yes."
"If you returned a skill you've used to a skillbook, would the proficiency vanish?"
Poison Spider's eyes sharpened at the question.
He'd caught on too.
"No. Proficiency sticks around."
"Right. Skills lock out, but proficiency remains.
Body and mind remember how to use them."
"It's like unlocking the potential once."
The Kalтура Empire's system wasn't flawless.
Leyzon's undead proved it.
Not to mention all non-humans keeping their talents.
Loopholes existed.
"Acquire a skill to open the potential, then return it to the codex.
Once you grasp the magic's principles and concepts—what happens then?"
No one had tried it before.
But worth a shot.
If it worked.
Infinite magic without skill slot limits.
"I'll gather the skillbooks listed here."
"I'll hunt some down too."
They were top-tier Poison Necromancer skills.
Not easy to snag.
'Gonna take time.'
Still, a new path forward—time to celebrate.
Good they talked transcript.
Now, onto the next.
"Poison Spider, one more thing."
Leyzon explained why he'd come to the Resonance World.
"Any soul necromancers here? Or among your contacts?"
Soul-manipulating necromancer.
Leyzon needed to find his undead, the ghost bride Tessa.
So, soul specialist required.
A wry smile tugged at Poison Spider's lips.
"...If I had to say, not anymore."
"Meaning."
"Remember Piran?"
His half-dark-elf disciple.
"Of course."
"My friend—Piran’s mother—was a soul necromancer."
The one murdered by another dark elf, as he'd heard.
So.
"Now."
"Yeah, she's dead."
Complicated emotions crossed Poison Spider's face.
Leyzon felt bad for prodding a sore spot.
He wanted to keep things good with him.
Poison Spider noticed and smiled reassuringly.
"And actually, someone even you know."
"Even I know?"
What followed was shocking.
"Yes. This Resonance World."
Poison Spider's gaze drifted to the ceiling forming the space.
"She was the one who made it."
Leyzon's eyes widened.
The necromancer killed by the Empire, as the Gray Mage Tower lord said.
The one who wanted necromancers to share info and survive injustice.
The soul necromancer who'd built the Resonance World was Piran’s mother.