The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 145

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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 145
145
The Belmore Branch Manager could come here.
This is an Auction House, after all—there’s no reason he couldn’t.
But why this timing, of all moments?
Yoo Sung-hyun’s mind suddenly grew tangled.
And then came that wink and thumbs-up directed at me.
I found myself uncertain whether I should be pleased or troubled by it.
‘But isn’t this dangerous?’
He’d suddenly appeared and disrupted the proceedings.
Wouldn’t that noble take offense?
Even Bereta, who was participating in the auction, had cast a displeased glance at the Countess.
The Countess had perceived Bereta’s intention to cause a disturbance, which was why she’d reacted that way.
But Yoo Sung-hyun couldn’t possibly know that much, so he could only worry.
Still, this NPC had helped me.
There was no way it could be good if I fell out of favor with the noble Countess.
Had my concern somehow reached her?
“B-Belmore Branch Manager?!”
The Baroness gasped and shot to her feet, crying out in surprise.
Huh?
Did she know the Belmore Branch Manager?
More than that—she’d just used an honorific.
Yoo Sung-hyun’s mind raced suddenly.
He hadn’t suddenly intruded to express anger?
He was deferring to her?
If anything, Yoo Sung-hyun grew even more confused by his demeanor.
Which meant…
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Had my worry been needless?
As Yoo Sung-hyun thought this,
the Belmore Branch Manager quietly approached him and activated a skill, conscious of the surrounding gazes.
[Belmore Arcadius, Branch Manager of Overpalace Pentagrid, activates the skill ‘Veil of Silence’.]
[Sound does not propagate to the surroundings.]
A barrier enveloped only Yoo Sung-hyun and the Belmore Branch Manager.
Text appeared before Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes.
“I came because I thought I might find something useful for the Successor, but… ah, was I perhaps a hindrance…?”
The Belmore Branch Manager watched Yoo Sung-hyun’s expression more carefully than he would any Countess or other noble.
Yoo Sung-hyun found this somewhat absurd.
‘I take priority over the nobles?’
Even the other nobles trembled slightly at the mention of “Branch Manager” and turned their attention to Belmore.
I’d heard Overpallace was impressive, but…
How could a mere branch manager make people shrink back like that?
Watching the Belmore Branch Manager still struggling in my presence, I wore a puzzled expression.
What exactly was Overpallace that made everyone act this way?
Hmm.
Since everyone treated me with such deference and courtesy,
I couldn’t help but view them somewhat lowly.
No matter how I tried to avoid it, as a human I couldn’t help but develop some sense of hierarchy.
Still, they’d brought me Legendary Skill Books and Almighty-grade items,
so I did recognize them as impressive.
But a mere branch manager commanding such fear that even nobles trembled?
I’d significantly elevated my assessment of Overpallace’s standing.
“No, it was very good… indeed.”
Somehow my speech became more formal as well.
“Ah, I, I sincerely apologize for displeasing you.”
The Belmore Branch Manager trembled, interpreting it as displeasure.
I noticed it and wondered what to do.
No, that’s not what I meant at all.
“Ahem, no really, it’s fine. There were nobles present, so that’s why.”
“Ah!? Is, is that so?!! Haha, what a relief. Then I shall go retrieve the merchandise. Please wait just a moment!”
The Belmore Branch Manager said so and headed toward the stage.
Even the seasoned Auctioneer seemed flustered.
Was it because the unit suddenly jumped to 100,000, leaving him bewildered?
[Ah, aah! S, sold!!! I, I’ll have the item packaged and ready, so p, please wait just a moment.]
At the Auctioneer’s words, the Belmore Branch Manager nodded as well.
Yet from behind his back, an inexplicable black aura emanated as he spoke.
“Hmm, is that so? I understand. However, you must wrap it very carefully. With utmost sincerity. It belongs to someone of considerable dignity, after all.”
[H, hiiek!!! O, of course! Th, then… I, I shall introduce the next item…]
The auction hall suddenly grew turbulent.
Observing the atmosphere, the Belmore Branch Manager glanced around,
then returned to me and spoke quietly.
“It seems my presence is preventing the proceedings from running smoothly, so I shall step out for a while. Should you need me, please call anytime! Then.”
The Belmore Branch Manager swept out of the hall like a whirlwind.
As he left,
sighs of relief echoed from all corners.
Just how terrifying was he that they’d react like this?
The Auctioneer quietly released a sigh of relief as well.
[Well then, after a brief pause, we shall resume.]
The auction was delayed somewhat,
but no one voiced any complaints.
Everyone understood what was happening.
The only one who didn’t grasp the situation was Yoo Sung-hyun.
‘What… what… what is this user doing? Why is the Belmore Branch Manager coming out in such a posture?’
Bereta, suddenly seized by chills, trembled as she looked at Yoo Sung-hyun.
She had chosen the wrong opponent—catastrophically wrong.
Four items still remained to be auctioned.
Sensing something ominous, Bereta hastily gathered her belongings and moved to leave.
The Female Marquis was far too preoccupied to concern herself with someone like Bereta, merely swallowing hard.
Bereta hurried out of the Auction House.
‘Damn it!’
She had assumed that a mere user conversing with nobility must have some significance.
But to think they were connected to Overpallace itself.
She needed to escape quickly, just in case.
The moment she stepped outside the hall and turned toward her carriage.
A chilling voice reached her from behind.
“Hmm, is that you?”
Like a mouse before a serpent, every hair on her body stood on end.
No—it was far worse than that.
Her body had gone rigid, making even movement impossible.
Though Bereta was aware this was a game.
She had never felt such tension and dread.
An invisible force and pressure closing in from all sides.
If the very air of this place had grown heavy, it would feel like this.
Bereta found herself unable to breathe properly.
For a moment, she even felt as though the genre itself had shifted to horror.
Then, just as suddenly, that oppressive weight seemed to ease slightly.
“Answer me.”
A frigid voice cut through the air.
“Y-yes!?”
“I asked whether you’re the one who caused a disturbance at our Overpallace event.”
“T-that is… I… I don’t… know…”
“I see.”
At the Belmore Branch Manager’s final words, her mind went blank.
In that whitened void of consciousness.
Only a single thought consumed her mind.
‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die.’
Now she couldn’t even breathe.
Bereta realized she had chosen the wrong opponent—far too wrong.
In that moment, she swore she would never return to this area again.
“Overpallace is everywhere.”
“Ah.”
I even found myself wondering if I should quit the game altogether.
But then.
“It’s not a grave mistake, so let’s call it even.”
With the Belmore Branch Manager’s words, the oppressive weight of the air pressing down on me and
the letters that had filled my mind vanished without a trace.
As though it had all been nothing but a dream.
And then a message appeared.
[You have been released from the skill ‘Nightmare Erosion’ of Belmore Arcadius, the Overpalace Pentagrid Branch Manager.]
When exactly had I been caught by it?
I couldn’t even muster the energy to question it.
No, I was caught in a skill, yet the message didn’t appear until after I was freed from it.
I had been so consumed by that skill just moments ago.
Such thoughts crossed my mind, but then I remembered.
There had been a message when I first fell under the skill.
But then.
‘Did I… forget it while trapped in the hallucination?’
A skill like that existed?
My body trembled at the indescribable terror.
In that moment, a chilling voice reached my ears.
“There won’t be a next time.”
With that icy voice, his presence vanished.
I quietly turned around.
Confirming that the Belmore Branch Manager who had been behind me was gone, I let out a relieved breath.
“Haaaaah.”
I genuinely thought I was going to die.
Not just in the game, but in reality as well.
It felt that real, and it was that terrifying.
Yet this Belmore Branch Manager treats that user as someone difficult to handle?
“W-what on earth is that person’s identity?”
Normally, I would have written about this incident on the community forum.
But I couldn’t even bring myself to think of it.
Of course, it was probably unreasonable.
What if the Belmore Branch Manager appeared behind me the moment I posted?
That fear had burrowed deep into my heart and mind.
So curiosity about that user’s identity crumbled helplessly before the weight of my terror.
Swearing never to go near that place again,
I left for another city.
5.
The auction house that the Belmore Branch Manager had swept through had since calmed down and was flowing once more like a social gathering.
Once the auction preparations are complete, the Auctioneer will take the stage again, or so I’ve heard.
Everyone seems unconcerned about it.
But my attention has shifted elsewhere.
‘They’re all subtly watching me.’
I feel the sudden weight of countless gazes upon me, and I’m growing increasingly uncomfortable.
It must be because of the Belmore Branch Manager.
I want to ask what our relationship is supposed to be.
But no one approaches, as though they’re too afraid to do so.
I can sense it too—this is an awkward situation.
It feels like things were better when no one paid attention to me at all.
But there’s nothing I can do about it.
-Mmm! L-Lord, th-this is really delicious!!!
“Is it? Eat as much as you’d like.”
-Th-thank you so much!!!
Fiora pays no mind to any of this, devouring the food voraciously.
And here’s where the problem lies.
-Oh, it’s all gone now….
Watching Fiora lament as the food runs out.
“I-I’ll bring more right away!!!”
The staff member jumps in alarm and rushes off to prepare more food.
Everyone has become deferential toward Fiora.
Fiora tilts her head in confusion, as though she doesn’t understand why.
-Huh?
She’s my companion, after all.
In other words, she’s the companion of someone the Belmore Branch Manager finds difficult to deal with.
That’s the logic that seems to have taken hold.
So they’re doing their best to accommodate Fiora.
Well, if it works out well, that’s fine.
‘I’ll just leave it be.’
It would be strange to step in and deny it myself.
As I wait quietly like this.
The Auctioneer takes the stage once more.
He seems considerably more composed now, displaying the same stability as before.
No trembling, no bowing—just stepping forward with renewed vigor.
[Ahem! Everyone, thank you for your patience!!! This is the seventh item of today’s auction!!! Ah, we haven’t been able to identify what this is yet, so please don’t be startled!!! But we have confirmed that it belonged to none other than Serpina Nightbloom, the one known as the Witch!!! The starting bid is 5,000, and it will increase by 100 gold increments as usual!!!]
At the Auctioneer’s powerful voice.
The noble NPCs gasp in surprise.
“What? An item belonging to the Witch Serpina?”
“That Serpina, the Witch of the Night?”
“Oh my? This might be even more valuable than a fragment of a dragon’s heart.”
Even the Female Marquis showed interest.
Yoo Sung-hyun, unfamiliar with the situation, simply stared blankly at the scene.
Text materialized before his eyes.
[You have obtained the keyword 『Witch of the Night, Serpina Nightbloom』.]
This is a keyword too?
Today’s quite the keyword festival.
With that thought, Yoo Sung-hyun watched how this auction would unfold.
Then, to display the auction item, another staff member carried what looked like a stone onto the stage.
Only Yoo Sung-hyun could see it here.
-Oh my?
A ghost with alluring navy-blue hair bound by the stone, brushing it aside with a bewitching smile.
-Handsome nobleman, won’t you purchase me?
She was uttering remarks that could be problematic from a content perspective.

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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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