Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Piran’s Mother
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Piran’s mother.
The master of the Resonance World and a Soul Realm Necromancer.
She was no longer in this world.
But her will was still aiding countless necromancers.
‘This is something I never saw coming.’
That’s why connections are so frightening.
‘Especially since the necromancer circles are under heavy pressure from the empire’s wanted orders right now.’
Unexpected things like this happen.
‘And...’
Leyzon was now certain, based on the stories from the Gray Mage Tower Lord and the Lone Spider.
The Gray Mage Tower Lord had said the master of the Resonance World had fallen to the empire.
‘That means the necromancer who slaughtered all the dark elves acted on the empire’s orders.’
Leyzon’s eyes gleamed coldly.
The empire had some reason to wipe out every last dark elf.
“Why are you looking for a Soul Realm Necromancer?”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t explained yet.
“I need help tracking down some Soul Realm undead.”
“Soul Realm undead...”
“Abyssal undead.”
The Lone Spider had heard directly from Leyzon that they were in the Abyss.
So he simply nodded without pressing further.
“In that case, it’s not impossible.”
Leyzon’s eyes sharpened.
He’d had one hunch.
“Piran’s mother, by any chance...”
“Yes. Her body may be gone, but her soul hasn’t dissipated.
That’s why the Resonance World still endures.”
As expected.
The master of the Resonance World hadn’t vanished completely.
“Of course, maintaining sanity as a pure soul isn’t easy. Most of them are dormant.”
“Even souls sleep, huh.”
“It’s just a figure of speech. More accurately, they’re conserving power.”
Leyzon got the picture.
“She should be able to help you out.”
But Leyzon sensed this wouldn’t be straightforward.
“Won’t work on an empty stomach, I take it.”
“Exactly. She’s slumbering to preserve her limited strength.”
Leyzon understood that well enough.
And he could guess why she clung on like this.
“For Piran’s sake?”
“......Yeah.”
The Lone Spider’s face clouded over.
He had raised Piran in place of his close friend’s mother.
By now, Piran was like a precious disciple with no equal in the world to him.
“She never wanted to raise Piran as a necromancer in the first place.”
Leyzon understood why Piran’s mother had felt that way.
Necromancers didn’t have the best reputation.
It wasn’t a job anyone would recommend.
“Kids mimic their parents no matter what you do to stop them.”
But children weren’t tools that bent to their parents’ will.
They thought for themselves and pursued their own paths.
A parent’s role was to support them and watch over.
“Yes. And Piran had a gift for necromancy. An astonishing one, at that.”
“A gift?”
Leyzon’s eyes narrowed.
Unlike humans, non-humans hadn’t had their talents fully severed.
That was due to the Kaltura Empire’s plan being incomplete.
So the idea of talent wasn’t alien to him.
But astonishing talent? That raised eyebrows.
“He could squeeze high-rank efficiency out of low-grade spells.
And his mana consumption was dramatically lower than a typical necromancer’s.”
That was pure talent.
A rare case in a world where the empire had stripped away gifts.
‘What makes Piran special?’
Leyzon pondered briefly.
Then it hit him—the one thing unique to Piran.
‘Half dark elf, half elf.’
Piran was a dark elf-elf hybrid.
And non-humans hadn’t been fully severed from their talents.
‘Did the lingering bloodlines synergize somehow?’
Humans were animals too.
And animals evolved through repetition.
Sometimes by environment.
Sometimes by necessity.
Sometimes by chance.
The survivors passed on their genes, and evolution marched on.
Piran might be the crystallization of that process.
A mutant born with talent in a talentless world.
‘The Kaltura Empire fell a thousand years ago.’
In non-humans, those incomplete severances had persisted through generations.
Over ages untold, talents began to bloom anew.
Piran was living proof.
‘Now I see what the empire feared.’
Through the White-Horned Sovereign, the empire had tried to eradicate non-human talents entirely.
That explained their obsession with severance.
‘Humans had already lost theirs.’
Even if they could engineer talents artificially.
They feared those born with natural gifts—the non-humans.
Leyzon let out an incredulous breath.
“That’s why Piran’s mother couldn’t rest easy. She left the Resonance World behind.”
She surely knew of her son’s gift.
And that he’d inevitably walk the necromancer’s path.
The road ahead for her boy as a necromancer.
For Piran’s sake, that path couldn’t vanish.
So even in death, she forged the Resonance World.
A mother’s love for her son.
“Lone Spider, I mentioned talent severance earlier.”
Piran’s gift had to stay hidden.
The sharp Lone Spider knew that too.
When Leyzon asked if it was okay to share this with him, the man chuckled.
His calculating side shone through the laughter.
“I figured if it was you, Leyzon, you’d recognize Piran’s worth.”
The Lone Spider knew Leyzon was at odds with the empire.
Someone like Piran could deal them a massive blow.
Leyzon would protect him for sure.
That’s why he’d opened up.
‘Necromancers gonna necromance.’
Black-hearted as they come.
But it was a sound judgment.
“Lone Spider, how long were you planning to stay in the World Forest?”
“Since that day, the elves have been hounding me. I was about to leave anyway.”
The Low King hadn’t shown up, fine.
Part of the World Forest hadn’t been blasted away, okay.
The treasure vault hadn’t been looted by a necromancer, alright.
Imperial troops hadn’t invaded the World Forest, good.
For the Agra Sil elves, it had been the worst day imaginable.
Elves were more selfish than most races.
They probably didn’t see Leyzon as a benefactor.
More likely, they treated him like a relic thief.
And the Lone Spider was associated with him.
Once Leyzon vanished, the elves kept pushing him out.
“Elves, man.”
“You’re an elf too, Leyzon.”
“Dark elf.”
And a half-breed at that.
Leyzon grinned, and the Lone Spider grinned back.
Their hearts aligned a little.
Two poison necromancers who just clicked.
“There’s a corpse dragon in the northern Ged Mountains.”
The Lone Spider had roamed the Resonance World for ages.
He even knew its master personally.
Of course he knew about the corpse dragon.
“I’ll send word ahead. Tell it to take Piran with you.”
“Thank you.”
The Lone Spider accepted eagerly.
Imperial forces had pushed deep into the World Forest.
A necromancer like him must’ve been uneasy.
Perfect timing.
“And pass a message to Piran’s mother.”
The message was simple.
“I’ll help sustain her soul and the Resonance World.”
Not personally, of course.
Find the Ghost Bride, Tessa—she’d handle it.
Put it on his tab.
After setting up the meeting with Piran’s mother,
Leyzon returned to reality from the Resonance World.
Trips there always left a lingering stiffness.
Probably from leaving his body idle so long.
Leyzon checked his Shadow Trick status.
The auto-hunt he’d left running before diving in was chugging along nicely.
‘Time to spectate a bit.’
Leyzon peeked at the situation from within the shadow.
Two undead at Corruption levels 19 and 18, no less.
Disasters in a mid-tier dungeon.
Sure enough, Eden had turned the place to rubble.
Hanok had snagged plenty of solid EXP in between.
‘Dungeon changed.’
Had they cleared the previous one already?
It was shorter than most, but still too much for two undead to handle easily.
Having blitzed through, they moved to the next.
Just then, Syria—fresh from Undead Merge—flew by in bat form.
She’d been Merging consistently, so even as a bat, she could manipulate shadows to some degree.
Thanks to her, Leyzon had moved freely in the Resonance World.
As he watched, Eden wrapped up a fight.
Hanok finished his alongside, and Syria descended from above.
She perched on Hanok’s shoulder.
When Eden returned, Hanok pointed aside with his paw.
Eden nodded.
For some reason, they were communicating purely through gestures.
‘......Why aren’t the kids talking?’
Leyzon finally noticed something off.
Were they playing a silence game or what?
“Kiiing, ing.”
Only Haron seemed frustrated, making noises.
Syria yawned, and Eden pressed on.
Hanok followed, farming EXP.
Absurd to anyone watching.
No way my kids aren’t close, right?
Is this the shock parents feel seeing their mute offspring?
He couldn’t just sit back anymore.
“Syria.”
Leyzon finally spoke up.
“Ah, Leyzon!”
Syria beamed and welcomed him warmly.
With her help, Leyzon emerged from the shadow.
“L-Leyzon! You’re back!”
Hanok wagged his tail furiously at the sight.
Even tearing up—he seemed extra thrilled today.
Eden, having cleaned up the phantasmal beasts, hurried over.
She flashed a languid smile.
“Leyzon, good trip?”
Leyzon eyed the trio silently before asking,
“You three don’t talk at all when I’m gone? Not even a word? Not that close?”
They glanced at each other.
No reply came.
Leyzon felt baffled.
Eden and Syria were undead he’d created himself.
They’d spent time together—odd if they weren’t tight.
Syria and Hanok had history too.
They’d chatted now and then lately.
But without him? This?
‘......Wait, pinning it down like this makes Syria the issue.’
Leyzon glanced at Syria on his hand.
She blinked innocently, like she was blameless.
Almost melted from the cuteness.
No, snap out of it.
“Syria, it’s been ages since you saw Eden. Don’t you have stuff to catch up on?”
Syria chattered endlessly by his side normally.
Mostly Leyzon praise, sure.
But she wasn’t the quiet type.
“Stuff like what?”
Syria tilted her head innocently.
As if nothing mattered but Leyzon.
How’d she end up like this?
Some families never talk, even siblings.
Syria fit right in.
This wouldn’t do.
Dad didn’t approve of this household.
Leyzon switched targets.
“Eden, you’ve got stories to share too.”
“Plenty about Radis.”
“Nothing’s easier than bragging about your kids. They’ll listen anytime, not just me.”
He shot a look, and Syria and Hanok nodded reluctantly.
“Whoa, then I’ve got tons.”
Eden smiled lazily.
Since Leyzon fixed things for her,
she’d been brightening up.
She’d return to her chatty old self soon enough.
Eden seemed fine.
“Hanok, Syria and Eden may have different classes, but they’ve lived long and seen much.
You’ll learn more than you think about combat.”
Both had started from the bottom and climbed here.
Deep dungeon knowledge, battle-hardened.
Neither began as powerhouses.
This wisdom would help Hanok for sure.
“R-Really?”
Hanok glanced timidly.
But he peeked at them—curious enough.
Lose the fear, and he’d ask away.
“Syria, answer properly when they talk.”
“Yep, got it!”
She answered best but felt the most unreliable.
Always dependable, Syria.
Except communication. Hopeless.
“And Haron.”
“Nng.”
The speechless Haron piped up.
“You’re doing great. Keep it up.”
“Kiiing!”
Always trusted.
Leyzon sighed.
He wanted his kids to bond.
Not easy.
‘So this is parenting.’
Watching his socially stunted trio, Leyzon looked up.
He forced the brightest smile.
Forget today’s mess for now.
“Alright, let’s clear the rest of these dungeons.”
Work was work.