The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 157

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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 157
157
Why are the Cat Merchant’s goods so exceptional?
To be honest, I hadn’t held particularly high expectations simply because the merchant was a cat.
Yet most of the items were Unique grade.
I couldn’t help but be astonished.
The total number of listed items was five.
『Radiant Starlight Shield』
→《Unique》
『Superior Spirit’s Dagger』
→《Unique》
『Orb of Life』
→《Unique》
→Consumable
『Labyrinth Serpent Scale Armor』
→《Unique》
『Flower of the Underground Labyrinth』
→《Unique》
→Crafting Material
I couldn’t purchase everything, but two items stood out to me.
‘The Orb of Life and the Flower of the Underground Labyrinth.’
-Yes, yes, Yoo Sung-hyun, those two should be excellent.
Materials for creating Helena’s physical form.
Quite crucial materials at that.
The Orb of Life was an item with superior utility rather than mere crafting potential.
Upon use, it could revive and heal all damage.
Even upon death, if it remained in the inventory, one could choose whether to activate it.
Among users, it was treasured enough to be called a spare life.
Yet such an item could also be used as a crafting material.
If I used this, Helena’s physical form would become considerably superior.
‘I absolutely must buy it.’
But would I have enough gold?
I’d spent 8,000 gold at the last auction.
My remaining funds were slightly over 30,000 gold.
Could I afford these items?
I should ask the price.
“How much gold are these?”
I asked politely.
The Cat Merchant tilted his head and looked at me.
Similarly, I gazed at the Cat Merchant with bewilderment.
The Cat Merchant jumped up in surprise and spoke.
“Meow?! Do, do you mean this is your first time using the Labyrinth Merchant Guild?”
“Yes, it’s my first time.”
Was something wrong?
Was the purchasing method different?
The moment Yoo Sung-hyun thought this.
The Cat Merchant spoke with an apologetic expression (roughly a dejected cat’s face).
“I, I’m new, so I m, made many mistakes. In our guild, we don’t trade in gold—we trade in the number of monsters hunted in the Labyrinth, meow.”
“The number of monsters hunted?”
“Yes, meow. For grades higher than Unique, we calculate by the number of bosses, meow!”
“Hmm? Then how many do I have?”
“Please wait a moment, meow!”
I hadn’t hunted as much in the Labyrinth as I’d thought.
But considering the Chimeras and Homunculi I’d caught in Melicia’s Research Lab, I had quite a few.
And I’d hunted several times on the way to the lab as well.
So I probably had quite a lot, didn’t I?
I waited with that thought in mind.
The Cat Merchant brought over some kind of tool.
And held it out to me.
“Ooh!? W, wealthy customer, meow. You’ve caught 229 creatures, meow!”
“Oh.”
From the way they called me wealthy.
It seemed like quite a lot.
But they still hadn’t told me the most important thing.
“So how much is that worth?”
-Being new, they make a lot of mistakes. Cute.
I was a bit frustrated.
But they did look like a cat, so they were cute.
If they were human… well, that would be different.
Anyway, when I asked that.
The Cat Merchant jumped in surprise again and spoke.
“Oh, oh no! I, I forgot, meow. Each Unique grade is worth 100 creatures, meow!”
That was a decent price.
So with the discount here too.
Could I buy one for 70 each?
“Oh? So I can buy three of these items right now?”
Just to be sure, I calculated and asked.
“Y, yes, meow!”
At those words, I immediately selected the Orb of Life and the Flower of the Underground Labyrinth.
These were the only two I needed right now.
As for the other items, well…
I wasn’t particularly drawn to them.
So then.
White energy poured from my hand like a waterfall into the Cat Merchant’s bundle.
“Ah! Th-thank you so much for purchasing, meow!”
“No, I should be thanking you.”
“Th-then I hope you’ll call for me again next time, meow!”
With those words and a soft pop, both the goods and the Cat Merchant vanished.
It seemed they disappeared immediately after a purchase.
Did I buy something and leave right away because I was happy?
Since they said they were new, I couldn’t tell if it was a mistake or just how the rules worked.
Either way, a cute cat selling such fine merchandise.
It was more entertaining than I expected.
‘They said merchants occasionally appear in the Labyrinth, right?’
Even if I found them, would they really sell such excellent items?
I hadn’t received any explanation.
How would I know?
I’d heard far too little.
I hadn’t even learned the Cat Merchant’s name.
Even without knowing the name, I could probably find out something about the Labyrinth Merchant Guild by searching online.
As I thought this, I muttered while reading the description written on the whistle.
“There’s nothing about close relationships or Quests either.”
-It seems there must be some condition.
I nodded at Helena’s words.
Since I hadn’t even learned the Cat Merchant’s name yet.
There was definitely some condition.
Perhaps something like needing to buy a certain number of items.
That’s usually how it works.
I’d figure it out eventually as I kept buying things.
But now there weren’t many enemies left.
“I should explore the Labyrinth a bit more.”
If I swept through the Labyrinth today, wouldn’t I obtain other items more easily?
With that thought, I immediately set out to explore the Labyrinth.
-Yaaaawn. Then I’ll come back out later. Staying out continuously drains my energy.
Helena suddenly yawned and spoke.
Going back in again?
“Will you be gone for a long time this time?”
-Mm, no, I’ll just go in for a bit. I can come out whenever you call me.
“Ah, I see.”
-Mm-hmm, call me if you need me~
At Helena’s words, Fiora and Leonik bowed their heads with reluctance.
-W-well, Helena, s-see you next time.
-Please rest well.
Though disappointed, they understood there was no helping it, so they spoke accordingly.
Helena’s retainers from before also heard the two speak and bowed their heads in response.
-P-please rest and return.
“Please come back.”
Baltar and Nocturnium didn’t know what conversation had transpired.
But inferring from Fiora and Leonik’s words, they spoke thus.
Yet none of them knelt.
Since their current master was Yoo Sung-hyun, they merely bowed their heads to Helena.
Helena gazed at her retainers and spoke with an enchanting smile.
-Yoo Sung-hyun should listen well and behave, yes? Then I’ll be going~
With those words, Helena melted into Yoo Sung-hyun’s embrace and vanished.
With Helena gone.
Now, shall I return to my tasks?
0.
The most crucial element of the Labyrinth.
The Labyrinth Merchant Guild.
Wherever one ventured in the Fifth Region, the Labyrinth Merchant Guild traders could be seen.
For every Labyrinth was connected to the Labyrinth Merchant Guild Headquarters where they dwelled.
Thus they could be found in any Labyrinth.
Among users, they were quite popular for their feline appearance.
Within the Labyrinth Merchant Guild Headquarters, numerous Cat Merchants bustled about busily in all directions.
Since they conducted trade in the numbers of Labyrinth monsters.
The higher the count of creatures recovered, the greater one’s standing within the Labyrinth Merchant Guild.
Those who had sold merely dozens could be considered rank-and-file.
The Cat Merchant who had sold goods to Yoo Sung-hyun was originally the same.
It was no coincidence that she had been relegated by seniority and visited the Labyrinth where Carmine dwelled.
But now things were different.
“Oh? Becky? Your numbers have grown quite a bit, haven’t they? What did that crazy woman buy this time?”
The Cat Merchant called Becky was precisely the one who had traded with Yoo Sung-hyun.
Thanks to the transaction with Yoo Sung-hyun, she had easily surpassed 100 units in sales.
Adding her previous count, nearly 200 units!
Yet her experience still seemed considerably lacking.
Though her sales performance had risen.
Her actual experience hadn’t increased.
At the sudden senior’s question, Becky trembled and nodded her head.
The crazy woman—not Carmine, but she had traded with Yoo Sung-hyun.
Yet she had carelessly told a lie.
“Meow, meow. Y-yes, that’s right, meow.”
“Puhaha! That crazy woman buying something other than food? Now that’s surprising!”
“And you—over a hundred transactions now. Shouldn’t you fix that speech pattern of yours?”
“You still sound like a rookie, you know.”
The senior merchants speaking thus wore expressions commonly called “chubby cat faces.”
Becky, still in her kitten form, cried out indignantly.
“M-mind your own business, meow!”
“Puhehe, we all had those days.”
“Ah yes, indeed~”
“Just packing on the pounds, and boom—a respectable merchant of the Labyrinth Merchant Guild!”
“That’s the spirit! Hahahaha!”
Ignoring the seniors’ hearty laughter, Becky quietly slipped away.
Any longer and they’d surely start reminiscing about their own rookie days.
Having made her escape, Becky crept into the Treasure Vault and began withdrawing various items.
All of them were sellable goods.
Rare items that appeared in the Labyrinth.
Among them especially—
‘I bought only material items and consumables, meow. I picked those kinds specifically, meow.’
I had selected precisely the items Yoo Sung-hyun wanted.
Then suddenly—
Something odd occurred to me, and I cried out.
“Meow!? I-I forgot to introduce myself, meow!”
Since the Labyrinth Merchant Guild’s whistle allowed one to summon a specific merchant,
I needed to introduce myself so we could meet again next time.
How could I have forgotten that!
I was so foolish.
Then a thought struck me.
‘No wait, meow. They’ll definitely send me again anyway, meow.’
That crazy woman wouldn’t know she was dead.
When Yoo Sung-hyun blew the whistle, she’d surely think it was that crazy woman.
Then I’d volunteer to go and rack up more sales.
So Becky laughed with sinister thoughts, meow meow meow.
Waiting for Yoo Sung-hyun to call again.
1.
Pentasgrid Castle.
There, someone was wracking their brain in anguish.
“Ugh… is this truly acceptable?”
None other than Paragon Marquis.
“Sigh…”
I exhaled a deep sigh from within, lost in thought.
Paragon Marquis was plagued with doubt—had he truly made the right choice in sending Yoo Sung-hyun?
Carmine had been prowling through the Underground Labyrinth for months now.
Desperate to deal with the situation by any means necessary, he had reluctantly turned to Yoo Sung-hyun, who appeared to be the strongest among the outsiders, after so long.
Yet half a day had passed since he entered, and there was still no word.
The Underground Labyrinth was treacherous—even without Carmine, powerful monsters emerged from its depths.
No news at all meant….
Paragon Marquis trembled with anxiety, consumed by ominous premonitions.
Then.
“If you’re so worried, my lord, perhaps it would be wise to send soldiers to investigate?”
“Soldiers?”
One of Paragon Marquis’s retainers, who had been attending to administrative duties in the office, offered this suggestion.
Indeed, if there was still no word, a direct investigation was the prudent course.
Something could have gone wrong.
If he sent capable soldiers, even if Carmine were alive, they could extract Yoo Sung-hyun swiftly.
Having made his decision, Paragon Marquis nodded and rose to his feet.
“Butler? Send soldiers down to investigate.”
“Very good, my lord. I shall dispatch our most capable soldiers at once.”
“I hope….”
Praying that Yoo Sung-hyun had prevailed, Paragon Marquis issued the command, and his nerves were clearly frayed—he decided to go to the Labyrinth entrance himself.
Just as he was about to send the soldiers.
The entrance to the Labyrinth creaked open.
Carmine?
No, that was impossible.
Magical barriers had been installed to prevent Carmine from leaving this place.
Then who was emerging from the Labyrinth?
There could be only one answer.
As the door opened and the figure stepped out, their eyes met Paragon Marquis’s.
The newcomer scratched his head apologetically and spoke.
“Sorry I’m late—I was busy clearing out the remaining monsters in the Labyrinth.”
It was none other than Yoo Sung-hyun, looking remarkably unscathed.
What emerged from there was none other than Yoo Sung-hyun, looking far too unscathed.

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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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