The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 150
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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 150
150
5.
The Fifth Labyrinth City.
From the User Management Team’s perspective, there was no better place than this.
With a death rate far higher than other regions, it was where most users experienced death for the first time.
Lee Won-sang had honestly harbored some expectations.
Though Yoo Sung-hyun possessed monstrous stats, talents, and skills.
‘He might actually die if he lets his guard down?’
There had been a time when he clung to such dreams and hopes.
“Wow, he really fights incredibly well.”
“….”
At Oh Jin-hyuk’s words, which dripped with sarcasm from beside him, Lee Won-sang nearly found himself nodding in agreement.
His cheek nearly twitched from the strain of holding back.
But it was true—he really did fight exceptionally well.
Look at him now, battling homunculi and chimeras with such overwhelming prowess.
I would have sworn this was CGI from a blockbuster film.
How does he fight like that?
It’s genuinely absurd.
By now, Lee Won-sang no longer even wondered how Yoo Sung-hyun had discovered this place.
The discovery was already made, after all.
What was the point in dwelling on such things?
All it would do was make more of my hair fall out.
With that thought, Lee Won-sang surveyed the Mad Alchemist’s Laboratory.
“Hmm.”
There was nothing particularly noteworthy.
Rewards that held no relevance to Yoo Sung-hyun.
What was going on?
No—he might have overlooked a reward.
Lee Won-sang, who never let his guard down when it came to Yoo Sung-hyun, carefully reviewed the reward list once more.
Something peculiar caught his eye.
“Huh? There’s a Hidden Dungeon with a secret door here!?”
“Mm… that’s right?”
“Come on, there’s no way he’d find that, right?”
He wanted to agree with Oh Jin-hyuk’s words.
But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to.
After all, hadn’t he consistently discovered Hidden Dungeons even when there were virtually no clues to begin with?
What guarantee was there that this time would be any different?
So he didn’t hold much hope for that particular aspect.
Yet Lee Won-sang smiled nonetheless.
“Huh? But is that really all the compensation?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh? Even if I discover them, it’ll be hard to gain anything, won’t it?”
“Heh heh, that’s right.”
Lee Won-sang, who seemed quite pleased, nodded along.
Oh Jin-hyuk also responded with a nod.
No matter how much I examined the rewards,
they deviated far too much from the pattern Yoo Sung-hyun had been playing until now.
This time, Yoo Sung-hyun could never profit from this.
That’s what Lee Won-sang believed.
The Chimeras might have some utility if raised through the Death Legion,
but the rest were rewards difficult to utilize.
Why?
“Even if you acquire the Homunculus Creation skill, there’s nothing you can do with it. Crafting-type skills are mostly troublesome anyway.”
“That’s true.”
The greatest reward obtainable from this Hidden Dungeon bonus
was none other than the Homunculus Creation skill.
It was a Legendary-grade skill, no less.
But I had no expectation that Yoo Sung-hyun would use it properly.
Yoo Sung-hyun had been neglecting even the material items obtained, let alone actually crafting anything.
That’s why the two of them believed without doubt.
Then, suddenly.
“Um, Senior?”
“…What?”
At Oh Jin-hyuk’s call, Lee Won-sang felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
What could it be?
What else was he about to say?
Waiting for Oh Jin-hyuk’s words amid that strange tension,
“Does Homunculus Creation synergize with Transcendent Death?”
“Huh?”
Transcendent Death is a skill that removes the physical limitations of undead one possesses.
But he was asking if that skill synergizes with Homunculus?
Strictly speaking, it shouldn’t.
However, if one creates a Homunculus and then turns that Homunculus into an undead?
The story changes.
But Lee Won-sang deliberately ignored that.
“Well… it shouldn’t work, right?”
“Ah! Then that’s a relief.”
“Besides, even if it did work, Homunculus intelligence is extremely low, so even if you somehow created a Mythic-grade summon, it would inevitably be inferior to that. It only has basic artificial intelligence. Combat performance would be low.”
“Ah, well, as long as you don’t breathe a soul into it or anything, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Hahaha, you’re right. How could that possibly work?”
Why was that?
Lee Won-sang found himself anxious even as he spoke, biting his lip.
So I verified it in every possible way.
My assessment was correct.
If I turned a homunculus into an undead, I could use transcendent death.
But there’s no way to overcome the intelligence issue.
Even Yoo Sung-hyun—could he really pull this off?
Creating a homunculus in the first place was already incredibly difficult.
‘No, it won’t work.’
With that thought, Lee Won-sang continued his other tasks while keeping his eyes fixed on Yoo Sung-hyun’s screen.
As if desperately hoping his anxiety wouldn’t come true.
6.
Dodging every attack from the diving chimeras, he thrust his skills into every opening.
When Yoo Sung-hyun attacked, his subordinates would then finish off the damaged chimeras.
The chimeras, which had numbered over fifty at the start, gradually dwindled in count.
Eventually, he was able to eliminate all the chimeras and homunculi in the room.
He gained quite a bit of experience as well.
Naturally, his level didn’t increase.
In any case, after finishing the hunt, Yoo Sung-hyun wasn’t even breathing heavily.
Though there were fifty of them, the difficulty was lower than expected.
At this point, it was merely a warm-up for Yoo Sung-hyun.
With his body properly warmed up, Yoo Sung-hyun surveyed his surroundings.
‘What a mess.’
The entire research lab was in disarray.
It was difficult to even discern what was what anymore.
Judging there was nothing to gain here, he moved to another room.
Since Melicia’s Research Lab was dedicated to creating chimeras and homunculi,
it possessed a spacious layout unlike other alchemists’ labs.
In the next room, many more chimeras and homunculi appeared,
but he disposed of them instantly.
[You have gained experience.]
[Level Up!]
Seeing his level finally increase, I shook my head.
The experience gained in the Hidden Dungeon had increased,
yet it took until now for a single level up.
It was proving to be quite the challenge.
I checked the next room as well,
‘Nothing worth taking.’
The monster drop rate had increased, but.
All that dropped were material items.
Crafting-class players would have gone wild seeing them.
But for Yoo Sung-hyun, who had no interest in such things, they weren’t particularly valuable rewards.
Or rather, there was something far more important right now.
Since it hadn’t appeared, I grew slightly anxious.
It was certainly disappointing.
What if I couldn’t obtain the reward I’d been expecting?
Wouldn’t things be different if I cleared it?
‘Let me just clear it first.’
With that thought, Yoo Sung-hyun threw myself into hunting with even greater speed.
I was able to sweep through the laboratory at a rapid pace.
Even defeating the final boss, the Chimera, didn’t take long.
After all, I was fighting alongside three subordinates.
Even without any of them going all out, I could defeat it quickly.
The same went for Melicia.
These creatures were never properly created in the first place.
‘They all said they were failures, didn’t they?’
They were deemed unsuitable for combat as well.
That’s why the Mad Alchemist had tried to create the ultimate homunculus using a fragment of the Dragon Lord’s heart.
But Lint had killed them before that could happen.
Enough idle thoughts.
Once Yoo Sung-hyun and my subordinates defeated the Chimera.
I converted all the corpses into the Death Legion and placed them in the Underworld.
What was peculiar was this:
‘These ones have no souls to begin with?’
That’s why their combat intelligence was so severely lacking.
I had stored quite a number of Chimeras and homunculi.
But it seemed I’d need to use them for Corpse Burst Dragons instead.
Or I could fill them with suitable souls and organize them into separate units.
In any case, once Yoo Sung-hyun had explored the entire laboratory and defeated the boss.
A message appeared announcing the clear.
[You have cleared the Labyrinth-type Hidden Dungeon, 『Mad Alchemist’s Laboratory』!]
[You obtain Experience!]
[Level Up!]
[Dungeon rewards are enhanced!]
[Rewards are granted.]
[You obtain Achievement rewards.]
[As a reward, you obtain the Unique-grade material item, 『Chaste Blood』.]
[As a reward, you obtain the Unique-grade material item, 『Pure Flesh』.]
[As a reward, you obtain the Legendary-grade material item, 『Noble Heart』.]
[You obtain a Legendary-grade item as an additional reward: 『High Alchemist’s Cauldron』.]
“…Huh?”
My level rose by one more, bringing the total increase to two levels, and along with various material items, the High Alchemist’s Cauldron appeared.
High-grade material items.
And yet.
“It’s… not here?”
The item I desperately wanted didn’t appear in the rewards.
The material items from the rewards?
I knew they were all excellent items.
But without that one thing, they were utterly meaningless.
What was I going to do about this?
I was just thinking I’d have to spend money to buy it!
[The effect of the title 『Treasure Explorer』 activates.]
[You discover a hidden door!]
“Hmm?”
As I read the message with a puzzled expression.
The wall where I’d defeated the final boss began glowing white.
In the shape of a door.
Watching it glow as if to reveal the secret passage.
I recalled the final section of the research lab.
‘Now that I think about it, I never saw Melicia’s Private Chamber….’
So it was there.
Could it be inside?
With that hopeful thought, I headed toward the hidden door.
Perhaps the title effect had already unlocked it.
The moment I stood before it, the door opened immediately.
Creak, creak, creak, creak.
With the heavy sound of a stone door opening, the secret chamber was revealed.
-Oh my, a private chamber, is it?
-Y-yes, it appears so.
“Hmm, it seems the Chimeras couldn’t enter here.”
Unlike the other research areas, this space was arranged quite neatly, like a personal room.
As I and my retainers entered.
Another message appeared.
[You have entered the hidden chamber 『Mad Alchemist’s Private Chamber』 within the Labyrinth-type Hidden Dungeon 『Mad Alchemist’s Laboratory』.]
[No monsters exist in this place.]
[You obtain 『Mad Alchemist’s Research Journal』 as a reward.]
[You can obtain only one item from this chamber.]
‘Perfect!’
Upon seeing that message, I searched through the bookshelves, drawing upon Melicia’s memories.
It wasn’t easy to spot at first, and I fumbled around a bit.
But soon enough, I found it.
A thick tome.
The moment I grasped it—that familiar form of a skill book I’d seen countless times before—a message appeared.
A notification materialized before me.
[Will you accept the Legendary-grade Skill Book 『Skill Book – Melicia’s Homunculus Synthesis』 as your reward?]
Melicia’s Homunculus Synthesis.
A skill of an entirely different caliber from anything I’d acquired thus far.
Yet this was precisely what I’d been seeking.
‘Found it!’
A skill that might seem utterly meaningless to me?
That’s what one might think.
But it was far from it.
Melicia’s homunculi—I knew from direct combat experience—were remarkably weak.
To be precise, their bodies and performance were exceptional and formidable.
But their combat sense and tactical intelligence were abysmal, bordering on hopeless stupidity.
Melicia herself had attempted various workarounds to overcome this limitation, but most had failed.
That’s why she’d said they weren’t suited for combat.
But if I possessed this skill?
‘I could create vessels for all the souls I’ve gathered so far!’
I could craft the homunculi bodies as undead and reinforce them with transcendent death itself.
Considering that possibility, this would create an absolutely tremendous synergy for me right now.
But I’ve never attempted this before—could I really create homunculi so easily?
What nonsense.
I possessed all of Melicia’s memories, after all.
I’d already internalized all the techniques.
So then.
‘I should create the elf swordsman, Silvanor, first, shouldn’t I?’
As I spoke those words aloud.
Something suddenly tapped against my cheek.
Or rather, I felt the sensation of being touched.
Puzzled, I turned my head.
-Shouldn’t I come before that elf?
A red-haired girl spoke with an alluring smile.
“Helena?”
Helena was perched on my shoulder, beaming at me.
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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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