The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 133

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 133
133
3.
Clink!
The sound of glasses colliding rang out, and the liquor inside sloshed gently.
Yoo Sung-hyun watched the glass and drained it in one gulp, then looked at the friend across from him.
Lee Geon-dong, his closest friend since middle school, likewise drained his glass in a single draught, just as Yoo Sung-hyun had done.
“Ahh, that hits the spot.”
“Right? It’s been so long since I’ve had a drink. Feels good.”
Yoo Sung-hyun also spoke as if he quite agreed.
Lee Geon-dong looked at Yoo Sung-hyun with a bemused expression and spoke.
“That’s exactly why you should come out more often.”
At Lee Geon-dong’s words, Yoo Sung-hyun let out a soft laugh and replied.
“I’ll come if you call.”
“Hmm, that’s true, isn’t it? Anyway, thanks for celebrating my discharge~”
“Yeah, yeah, this one’s on me.”
“Oh?! Then can I get the Gabbrisal? It’s seriously delicious.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
It was his friend’s discharge celebration, after all.
I could afford it.
With that thought, Yoo Sung-hyun placed an additional order and raised another glass with Lee Geon-dong.
Various topics came up, but inevitably.
The hottest topic of the moment had to surface.
When men gathered, wasn’t it natural that gaming would come up?
It was no different for Lee Geon-dong and Yoo Sung-hyun.
Yoo Sung-hyun had never been particularly good at games in the first place.
But this time was an exception.
“Wow, I had no idea you were that Yoo Sung-hyun. You’re really incredible. Your older sister was a national kendo representative, right? She even competed in the world championships?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Hmm, but you seemed to have no athletic ability back then…”
Lee Geon-dong said so, recalling their school days.
Yoo Sung-hyun also let out a soft laugh.
Indeed, back in school, I had virtually no athletic ability.
I was nothing but a bookish scholar who only studied.
So it was surprising to suddenly show talent in the Eternal World like this.
Well, regardless.
“Anyway, congratulations! Really!”
Lee Geon-dong offered his sincere congratulations.
Having talent in the Eternal World was quite significant in itself.
Yoo Sung-hyun felt a strange emotion at his friend’s congratulations and expressed his gratitude with a toast.
“Man, aren’t you living the dream? Must be nice having your life bloom like that.”
“Well, I suppose it is.”
“I’m giving it a shot too, but seeing as I haven’t even managed to join a guild yet, I guess I’m just not cut out for it, huh?”
Yoo Sung-hyun tilted his head at the sudden remark.
I knew he was trying, but…
I hadn’t realized he was taking it so seriously.
This made me feel a bit guilty.
When Yoo Sung-hyun looked at Lee Geon-dong with those apologetic eyes.
Lee Geon-dong let out a snort and spoke.
“You bastard, don’t you dare pity me like that!”
“Well, I am sorry.”
“Nah, forget it. I tried pushing hard at first but gave up. Now I’m just playing for fun.”
Wanting to dispel the awkward atmosphere that had formed.
Lee Geon-dong spoke up first with a flourish.
“Anyway, I’m looking into video editing now.”
“Editing?”
At Lee Geon-dong’s words, Yoo Sung-hyun tilted his head slightly.
Wasn’t that guy a business major?
Video editing all of a sudden?
Seeing Yoo Sung-hyun’s somewhat surprised reaction.
Lee Geon-dong chuckled as if he understood.
Well, he’d never mentioned it before.
Understanding why Yoo Sung-hyun would react this way, he spoke.
“Yeah, I never told you guys, but ahem, I actually did some Eternal World streaming.”
“What??? Really???”
Since this was the first time hearing about it.
Yoo Sung-hyun showed considerable interest.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lee Geon-dong took a sip of his drink.
“Ahem, well, it just happened. With Eternal World, most of the income comes from video revenue anyway. Even if I couldn’t make it selling live tickets, I thought I’d at least try to make a living off videos. Before I enlisted.”
“Wow. I seriously had no idea.”
Given that Yoo Sung-hyun’s reactions were mostly indifferent.
This meant he was quite shocked.
Lee Geon-dong, knowing this, continued speaking despite his embarrassment.
“But when I upload videos, the view counts keep climbing, yet I feel like there’s a ceiling, you know? Since I don’t have much natural charisma, there’s more editing to be done. And through all that, I realized I actually have a talent for editing. When I started touching up other YouTubers’ videos, their view counts exploded.”
“Ooh.”
“Sounds like you definitely have talent.”
That certainly seemed to confirm he had genuine talent.
Well, I don’t know much about it myself.
Anyway, riding the momentum, I broached the subject.
“So later, could you edit my videos too?”
“Oh!? I’d absolutely love that!!!”
“Our guild doesn’t have any particular contract like that anyway. Since you said it’s fine to just create a video and send it, I think I can edit it and send it to the guild.”
“Man, I really appreciate this. My portfolio will grow too, so honestly, this works out great for me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
At my words, Lee Geon-dong seemed genuinely moved and thanked me sincerely.
This much is natural between friends.
Why was he thanking me so much?
I felt oddly embarrassed and simply held out my glass.
As if to say, let’s do this well.
Lee Geon-dong chuckled at the glass I offered and clinked it against mine.
Sharing drinks, the long-awaited night deepened like that.
Then we talked about our school days.
We chatted about games and drank for quite a while like that.
4.
Haven’t you ever woken up in bed wondering why you still smell like alcohol?
That’s what I was experiencing now.
“Sigh.”
As I exhaled.
The smell of alcohol lingered even in my breath.
At least I had no hangover, so it wasn’t particularly unpleasant.
Since I’d drunk moderately well, my stomach wasn’t upset either, so I got up right away.
‘I should shower and freshen up.’
As I headed out to shower.
My mother, Lee Na-kyung, smiled softly and spoke.
“Son~ you’re up?”
“Yes. I’m up. You woke up early?”
“Hehe, housewives naturally wake up early~ and especially when there’s a son who drank last night, it’s even more so~”
“Ahem.”
At Mother Lee Na-kyung’s teasing, I felt a bit caught and cleared my throat awkwardly.
Anyway, a fragrant soup aroma wafted over.
I caught the scent and asked.
“Is that soybean sprout soup?”
“I added dried pollack too, so it’ll be refreshing~”
“Wow.”
“Shower first and come eat—it’s not quite ready yet.”
“Yes!”
It had been a while since I’d had a drink.
And the morning after drinking, dried pollack and soybean sprout soup.
What greater luxury could there be?
I showered refreshingly and came out.
I had a refreshing hangover cure.
Though my older sister Yoo Mi-na glared at me in the middle of it.
But I hadn’t done anything wrong.
So I didn’t pay it much mind.
Anyway, after that satisfying meal, I headed straight back into the Capsule.
It looked like the behavior of a game addict.
But for Yoo Sung-hyun, this was his workplace.
[Welcome to another world, the eternal Eternal World.]
[May fortune smile upon you, Player Yoo Sung-hyun.]
As I logged in and looked around, I took in my surroundings.
It was still the desolate Dune Wild Trail.
I still hadn’t reached the level cap.
So it was only natural.
But now there really wasn’t much left.
‘118, was it?’
Just two more levels.
Two levels remaining.
I thought if I swept through a place like the Demon Realm again, my level would rise.
But finding such a place again wasn’t easy either.
For now, I’d have to explore while wandering around the area.
Whoosh.
With that thought, I immediately opened the gate to the Underworld and summoned my subordinates.
Fiora and Leonik as combat units.
Anemor for transportation.
And Nocturnium for exploration.
With just these, exploration would be worry-free.
-ROOOAAAR!!! Did you summon us?!!!
-Th-thank you for c-calling us, L-Lord.
“I shall always be of service.”
-Screeeee!
All four summoned beings expressed their gratitude to me.
By now, it was no different from the morning greetings I heard every day.
In any case, I climbed onto Anemor’s back.
And the other subordinates climbed on after me.
Since Anemor was large enough for everyone to ride on its back.
So we all mounted up and flew swiftly around the area.
“Hmm.”
Nocturnium did its best to scout the surroundings, while Leonik and Fiora kept watch.
Anemor was flying well as always.
At a moderate pace, so as not to miss anything in the exploration.
Yoo Sung-hyun leisurely gazed down from atop Anemor, his mind wandering through idle thoughts.
‘Drive hunts are entertaining enough, but I wonder if hidden fields like the Knights’ Hall ever appear….’
It was a rather unscrupulous thought, admittedly.
But anyone could entertain such musings, couldn’t they?
It wasn’t something he genuinely expected—merely a wishful notion, a fleeting “wouldn’t that be nice?”
It would have been ideal if Nocturnium could explore such hidden fields and dungeons.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Since Nocturnium was ultimately a spirit bound to the Dark Castle, perceiving concealed spaces proved difficult.
Still, detecting the locations of nearby monsters was impressive enough in itself.
It was somewhat disappointing, though.
Then, at that moment.
Nocturnium tilted his head as if sensing something amiss.
“Lord, there is a human in the vicinity.”
“…A human?”
An NPC?
Why would that be?
Yoo Sung-hyun regarded Nocturnium with a puzzled expression.
“They wander alone. Unlike you, Lord, they do not bear the aura of a foreigner.”
“Not a foreigner, you say?”
An NPC, not a user, wandering solo?
That was certainly peculiar.
There was an odd scent to it all.
Perhaps the scent of a Quest?
Since there was nothing else to occupy his time besides hunting anyway.
Yoo Sung-hyun spoke with evident interest.
“Then let’s head in that direction.”
I had no idea who this NPC was.
But wandering alone through this treacherous Dune Wild Trail was certainly strange.
At my words, Anemor nodded in understanding and immediately moved in the direction Nocturnium had indicated.
Since it wasn’t far away.
We arrived swiftly at Anemor’s rapid pace.
There, a solitary figure traversed this desolate expanse—something in human form moving about.
“Oh?”
Upon seeing the marker above their head.
They were indeed an NPC, not a real user.
Catching the distinct scent of a Quest.
I descended to the ground with a smile.
I left Anemor in the Underworld and rendered the other three completely invisible using Fiora’s abilities.
I descended discreetly and approached the NPC’s vicinity carefully so as not to startle them.
Then.
Upon seeing Yoo Sung-hyun, the figure approached with evident delight.
“Oh!? Are you perhaps a foreign traveler?”
“Yes? Ah. That’s correct.”
“Oh how wonderful to meet you!!!”
Yoo Sung-hyun sensed something inexplicably suspicious about this display.
While such exuberant enthusiasm was indeed peculiar, he reasoned it was possible.
The true oddity lay elsewhere—that despite my sudden appearance, this NPC showed neither caution nor suspicion toward me.
Welcoming one of the most dangerous individuals on the Dune Wild Trail with such warmth?
Something felt decidedly wrong.
For now, harboring such doubts, I continued observing the NPC.
“Haha, forgive my late introduction. I am Irmi Upse.”
“Ah, pleased to meet you. I’m Yoo Sung-hyun.”
“Oho!? Is that so? You seem to radiate nobility—might you be of aristocratic birth?”
“…What?”
Could it be the knightly title?
I had been told I would receive preferential treatment and hospitality.
Considering the title’s effects might account for this, my wariness diminished somewhat.
Though I still questioned whether such enthusiasm was warranted.
In any case, it could be the title’s effect.
“I’m not nobility, merely a knight.”
“Oho!? But isn’t a knight also of noble standing!? My, what an honor!”
“Haha, that’s not quite right.”
“My, such humility you possess.”
“Ahem. Thank you.”
“If you have time to spare, might you visit our village?”
“Your village?”
As the conversation took this turn, I posed the question with evident curiosity.
Yoo Sung-hyun tilted his head slightly in inquiry.
Then—
“In truth, our village has fallen into dire straits due to monsters, and we’ve been seeking foreign travelers or adventurers who might aid us.”
At those words, a system message suddenly materialized before my eyes.
[NPC Irmi Upse is in distress.]
[He requests your assistance.]
[Will you accept?]
[Yes / No]
[A Quest will be generated upon acceptance.]
The abrupt appearance of a quest notification.
It struck me as odd.
‘Does it usually appear this readily?’
The sudden emergence of a quest felt somewhat unusual.
However, since Yoo Sung-hyun had scarcely undertaken a normal Quest before.
He briefly expressed doubt, then shook his head.
That could be the case.
In truth, even if this were a trap, wouldn’t it be entertaining?
A trap that an NPC overlooked.
It could even be a special event.
Yoo Sung-hyun accepted immediately.
“Of course. Isn’t that what it means to live in a world where we help one another?”
“Ah! Thank you so much! Yoo Sung-hyun!”
As Irmi Upse expressed his gratitude in those words.
A Quest window materialized.
[Quest, 『Village in Peril』 has been generated.]
『Village in Peril』
→《Hidden-Chain》
→NPC Irmi Upse, wandering alone dangerously through the Dune Wild Trail.
He travels here and there searching for a foreigner or traveler who might save his village, or so he claims.
Though there is something oddly suspicious about him.
On the surface, he appeared to be a genuinely simple-hearted person, so you accept his request.
Yet even after accepting his plea, you regard NPC Irmi Upse with suspicion.
How could such an innocent person be wandering alone through the harsh Dune Wild Trail?
Something seems amiss, but for now you cannot quite put your finger on it.
So you decide to accompany him to the village where he lives.
→Restriction: Users wandering alone through the Dune Wild Trail.
→Reward: Leads to the next Quest.
Even the Quest window itself seemed suspicious.
Yoo Sung-hyun smiled with amusement, shook hands with Irmi Upse, and decided to head toward that village.
‘This is entertaining.’
Though I hadn’t undertaken many Quests before.
This one was certainly peculiar.
Wouldn’t it be worth experiencing at least once?
What is he hiding?
I should find out.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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