The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 152

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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 152
152
I’d known for ages that Helena was just playing around.
But you never know for certain, do you?
So Yoo Sung-hyun kept his distance.
Seeing the gap between them, Paragon de Gridley’s expression grew slightly dejected.
Watching that, Yoo Sung-hyun thought,
‘Is this actually real?’
-Ugh… surely not…
By this point, even Helena had grown somewhat serious.
And so, as Yoo Sung-hyun and Helena continued to regard Paragon de Gridley with cautious eyes,
Paragon de Gridley became quite flustered, wondering if he’d made some mistake.
Worried that she might refuse the commission altogether.
But those concerns were short-lived.
“Ahem, the reason I’ve visited today is because of the commission you mentioned before.”
“Oh!? Ah, a commission, you say!?”
“Yes, yes.”
Well, of course she came because of the commission. What else would she come for?
Finding it strange, Yoo Sung-hyun looked at Paragon de Gridley.
Paragon de Gridley realized her rudeness and apologized with a clearing of her throat.
“Ahem, my apologies. My mind was racing. I fear I was quite discourteous.”
“Not at all. But your mind was racing, you say?”
As Yoo Sung-hyun asked this,
Paragon de Gridley let out a long, weary sigh and shook her head.
As if burdened by accumulated sorrows,
Yoo Sung-hyun and Helena lowered their guard and listened intently to Paragon de Gridley’s tale.
A story of a vicious criminal who had long been a problem.
And as I listened to that story,
-Yoo Sung-hyun? Isn’t this the one we’ve been looking for?
‘I think it is.’
The commission was to capture the very criminal I’d been wanting to catch.
I’d been planning to accept this commission and then ask, as a favor, to be allowed entry into Dungeon Central.
But now there was no need for such a roundabout approach.
I’d have to capture them anyway.
So I’d capture them while accepting the commission and receiving compensation?
I wasn’t fool enough to refuse such an offer.
“That’s how it stands. I’ve been venting my frustrations, admittedly. But you needn’t accept this commission. It is a matter concerning my domain… and even if you refuse, there is no reason for resentment.”
Paragon de Gridley spoke with a somewhat haggard expression.
Seeing this, Yoo Sung-hyun was about to accept immediately.
-Yoo Sung-hyun, just stay quiet for now.
‘Stay still?’
-Right, the thirsty man digs the well.
I understand the saying well enough.
But can it still be used now?
As I pondered this, I remained motionless.
Paragon de Gridley, growing anxious for no reason, carefully opened her mouth.
“If you would do this for me, I shall offer you a most generous reward.”
“….”
“Hmm.”
At that response, I remained quiet, as if deliberating.
Perhaps it was my composed demeanor that made Paragon de Gridley increasingly restless?
She fidgeted before speaking first.
“W-well then, I shall open the Treasure Vault of our Lord’s Castle. It is a vault where, once opened and entered, you are guaranteed to obtain one item—how does that sound?”
“Hmm.”
This time too, I remained quiet as Helena had instructed.
Then.
“W-what about twice?”
-If you wait just a bit longer, she’ll give you one more.
I was thinking the same thing.
“Hmm, twice, you say.”
I murmured as if contemplating.
Paragon de Gridley drew in a sharp breath, rose from her seat, and cried out.
“T-three times! W-what do you say? Surely this is enough to satisfy you!”
-This is the best! Take it!
Following Helena’s words, I nodded.
“If you insist so strongly… out of respect for the Lord’s sincerity, I shall accept this commission.”
“Ah! Thank you so much! Truly!!!”
Paragon de Gridley rejoiced, bobbing her head repeatedly.
I smiled with satisfaction as well.
Now, where should I check the Quest?
As I thought to check the Quest, a message appeared before me.
[You have successfully negotiated with a Lord for the first time!]
[You have obtained the Title, ‘Gambler’!]
“…?”
-My goodness?
Both Helena and I were startled by the unexpected message.
But that wasn’t the important part anyway.
Still, I checked the effect first.
‘Gambler’
→《Epic》
→It is a title bestowed upon the first user to successfully negotiate with a Lord.
→You gain an advantage in negotiations targeting NPCs.
→Aspects relying on fortune receive a positive effect increase of +10%.
‘This is incredibly good?’
Yoo Sung-hyun smiled at the title effects, which were far better than expected.
In any case, the Quest creation window I had been waiting for appeared right after.
[You receive a commission from Paragon de Gridley, the Lord of Pentagrid.]
[A Hidden Unique Quest, ‘The Worst of Pentagrid’, is created.]
The Worst of Pentagrid, huh.
Yoo Sung-hyun read it and immediately opened the Quest window.
『The Worst of Pentagrid』
→《Hidden-Unique》
→There exists a criminal bearing the title of “the worst” that appeared in Pentagrid.
An entity that committed heinous crimes even among the NPCs.
Carmine.
She flaunted her dark crimson hair as she committed the most atrocious crimes.
It began innocuously.
Mercenaries and Hunters who traversed the Labyrinth would frequently quarrel with her—cute-level incidents that occurred regularly.
But did that become the catalyst?
After that, she slaughtered every mercenary and Hunter who had crossed her path.
Countless blood was spilled.
Had something awakened within her at that moment?
Afterward, she hunted down and murdered the families of the mercenaries and Hunters she had killed.
The guards and soldiers of Pentagrid stepped forward to stop her, but they were no match.
Paragon de Gridley, the Lord of Pentagrid, placed an enormous bounty to stop her by any means, and in the end, Carmine was driven to the brink of death by a female user wielding only a single sword—a formidable warrior.
But at that moment, she used an item she had hidden until the very end and escaped that place, fleeing into the Labyrinth.
A Subjugation Squad was formed to eliminate her.
But within the harsh Labyrinth, they could not face both the Labyrinth and Carmine simultaneously.
After the Subjugation Squad suffered a crushing defeat,
Carmine occasionally revealed herself, boasting of her continued existence, and Lord Paragon de Gridley had no choice but to seal off the Dungeon Central, where she primarily appeared.
To fully confront her within the Labyrinth, he determined that only a small group of powerful users—like the female user who had previously overwhelmed her with a single sword—would suffice.
Therefore, I entrust this commission to you, a user who has earned a knighthood.
Please capture Carmine and preserve the peace of this city.
→Restriction: A user with considerable renown, or a user who has proven overwhelming strength.
→Reward: Vast experience points, Lord’s Castle Treasure Vault access (3).
‘Hmm.’
She is certainly a fiend of the worst order.
A serial killer in her own right.
By the way.
‘That female user wielding a single sword.’
Something felt oddly familiar.
Had I become a master swordsman of some sort?
I dismissed the thought with a shrug.
A player who’d already passed through wasn’t what mattered.
As I finished reading the entire Quest window while furrowing my brow, Paragon de Gridley nodded as if she understood.
The request was quite difficult, after all.
She must have mistaken my tension for something else.
“Carmine. She’s a peculiar one.”
“Peculiar in what way?”
“She wields the spear with ghostly finesse, but she’s equally adept with magic.”
“Oh?”
A spear mage?
I’d experienced one before through Merlin.
But I’d never actually fought one.
A wielder of the spear.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t intrigued.
“Be especially careful—her magic and spear have a truly uncanny ability to steal the very soul from a person.”
At Paragon de Gridley’s warning, I smiled and nodded.
I was genuinely curious about what kind of opponent she was.
My memories held combat experience, certainly.
But I’d never actually fought before.
‘A battle with a spear wielder.’
My expression grew grave.
Paragon de Gridley’s face darkened.
She wasn’t going to agree and then back out, was she?
That’s what she was thinking.
Right now, I was her only hope.
She desperately wanted me to defeat Carmine.
But contrary to Paragon de Gridley’s concerns, I rose from my seat, thrilled at the prospect of a new battle.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I’ll go right now.”
“R-right now?”
“Yes. There’s no point in wasting time.”
At my boldness, Paragon de Gridley blinked before breaking into a bright smile.
“I’ll show you the way myself!”
She could have sent the Butler to guide me, but she chose to do it personally instead.
She’d never been happier.
1.
There has never been a day as joyful as this.
1.
The Underground Labyrinth beneath Pentagrid.
More specifically, the Center of Labyrinth—known to be the most brutal section of all.
There, a woman caked in blood wandered with heavy, deliberate steps, though none could say when she had arrived.
Countless streams of blood had congealed and matted into her hair.
Her original hair color was lost to memory, but now a dark crimson mane engulfed her entire body.
And from her eyes blazed only murderous intent, gleaming as she surveyed everything around her with predatory awareness.
Scraaaaaape—.
A dark crimson spear, caked with dried blood and scabs, dragged across the floor as she traversed the Labyrinth.
Monsters appeared sporadically before her.
Her spear vanished in an instant.
It curved like a serpent, bursting the monster’s skull.
Splurch—!
The type of monster mattered not at all.
When her single spear descended upon them.
It had never needed to strike twice.
One blow.
A single strike shattered every monster’s head.
And she continued her leisurely walk, step after heavy step.
Pure slaughter.
She moved as though nothing else held meaning—only this.
Carmine’s gleaming eyes swept across her own throbbing upper body.
There, revealed, were countless horrific scars.
Long, deep gashes from blades covered her entire torso.
Wounds that would have killed an ordinary person a hundred times over.
She ran her fingers across those scars—the kind that made survival seem miraculous—and opened her mouth.
How many months had it been since she last drank water?
Her voice, cracked like rusted metal, rasped out savagely.
“…Why does it throb like this?”
A vicious growl, sharp and feral like a beast or monster.
A savage tone that could never be mistaken for a woman’s voice.
As the wound throbbed, her murderous urges intensified.
She stomped the ground.
Boom!
A deep, clear footprint seared into the stone.
Carmine’s form blurred and vanished without trace.
She reappeared where monsters swarmed.
There, she swung her spear.
Splurtchsplurtchsplurtch———!
From the violent sweep of her spear, five bat-shaped monsters that had stood there all tumbled to the ground, their necks severed.
Carmine seized one of the bats and lifted it.
A torrent of bat blood cascaded down her face.
“Ahhh——.”
Like a parched soul receiving rain after drought, she tilted her head back and opened her mouth to the flowing crimson, quenching her thirst.
Her lips, stained a vivid crimson, glistened wetly.
She savored the taste.
“Shhhhh.”
It wasn’t enough.
The blood of mere monsters would never be enough.
“That woman, bring me that woman here now now now!!!! This time I’ll kill her for certain!!!!!”
So cried Carmine.
And far, far away from the Fifth Village, at the very frontlines where players dared venture, a woman wielding but a single blade tilted her head with a puzzled murmur.
“Hmm, I could’ve sworn someone called me. Must be my imagination.”
She dismissed the thought and continued speaking.
“Hmm, anyway, I wonder if Yoo Sung-hyun managed to catch that one. Since I let that beast slip away, I was hoping he’d catch it for me.”
Yoo-na—for that was what she was called in this place, not Yoo Mi-na—chuckled coldly as she mused aloud.
“I should’ve killed it back then. What a shame.”
“I wish I had killed you back then.”

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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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