The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 158

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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 158
158
Paragon Marquis and the retainers and soldiers present were all astonished at how perfectly unscathed Yoo Sung-hyun appeared.
And for good reason—who had been standing there moments before?
Carmine.
The woman who could be called the very worst calamity to plague this city.
And yet, after vanquishing such a formidable foe, he stood without a scratch!?
Moreover, what was this?
He’d been delayed because he had to eliminate all the remaining monsters in the Labyrinth?
Paragon Marquis understood every word he’d said.
Yet his mind reeled.
He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d truly heard correctly.
“W-what!?”
“What do you mean!?”
“Is such a thing even possible!?”
Paragon Marquis’s retainers were equally stunned.
Surely this foreigner was either deceiving them or grossly exaggerating his account.
That’s what they thought.
However, when several soldiers ventured into the Labyrinth to verify and returned,
“Sir, there truly are no monsters or Carmine left!”
“Did he really eliminate them all!?”
The monsters in the Labyrinth—yes, that much was plausible.
But for him to accomplish this after defeating Carmine?
It seemed like a lie, yet it was reality.
Paragon Marquis and the other retainers had no choice but to accept it.
This man standing before them was more than worthy of receiving a knighthood.
Yoo Sung-hyun understood their reactions perfectly.
‘It makes sense.’
Carmine had been a formidable opponent after all.
If I had fought her alone?
Well, that’s another matter.
In any case, I emerged victorious.
There was no need to dwell on hypotheticals.
In any case,
‘The abundance of monsters was fortunate.’
The number of monsters in Dungeon Central exceeded my expectations.
I’d worried that Carmine might have slain most of them.
But there were far more than I’d anticipated.
Likely the monsters had been avoiding Carmine, which is why they’d accumulated.
Gathered in one place as they were, I was able to dispatch them far more quickly than expected.
In total, I had captured three hundred monsters.
I would have liked to catch more.
‘But the Central Region was sealed off, so I couldn’t catch any more.’
There simply weren’t any more monsters to hunt.
With the other regions cut off,
I had no choice but to emerge at the Lord’s Castle.
The timing worked out perfectly.
Since I was here anyway, I might as well collect my rewards and leave.
[You can now claim the remaining rewards from the Hidden Unique Quest, 『The Worst of Pentagrid』.]
The message appeared the moment I decided to accept.
I smiled at the sight of it.
Paragon Marquis, observing my expression, nodded and spoke.
“Indeed, you spoke with confidence. To possess such remarkable skill—a knighthood is truly not something anyone can obtain.”
He seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
He offered words of acknowledgment, maintaining his noble dignity.
Then,
“In that case, I too must honor my promise. Prepare to open the Treasure Vault!!!”
At Paragon Marquis’s command, his retainers bowed their heads.
The Butler and his attendants moved about with purposeful haste.
And leaving the Butler and his attendants behind,
Paragon Marquis spoke to me.
“While preparations are underway, you can leisurely make your way to the Treasure Vault.”
“Thank you.”
“Hahaha! I should be the one thanking you. Truly, I am grateful. It feels like a thorn has been removed from my side!”
Paragon Marquis laughed brightly, genuinely relieved.
Carmine had clearly caused him considerable headaches.
He had every reason to be pleased.
As I conversed with him in this manner, we walked at a leisurely pace.
And soon arrived.
“Here it is—the Treasure Vault of our Pentagrid Lord’s Castle.”
“Wow.”
At Paragon Marquis’s introduction, I couldn’t help but marvel genuinely.
The massive gate that seemed impossible to exist within a castle, and the dazzling radiance of items gleaming brilliantly from within it.
It was a sight that drew gasps of admiration.
As I stood there marveling,
Pride kindled in Paragon Marquis, and he spoke to me.
“Now then, you need only select three items from within. Should you attempt to take more, the magic will exact a severe penalty, so be cautious.”
At his warning, I nodded as though it were obvious.
Three items from this place.
There were quite a number of objects gleaming with an orange radiance.
In other words.
‘Three Legendaries!’
It meant I could obtain three Legendary-grade items.
Which ones should I pick?
I stepped inside the Treasure Vault.
The vault door closed automatically.
Crrrunch.
Whooom!
A heavy sound echoed as the door sealed shut.
But I paid it no mind.
[The door will reopen once you have selected all three items.]
I read that expected message and began wandering through the vault to select my items.
It resembled Kah-hoo-koo’s third treasure vault.
The difference was that I could read the item descriptions here.
As I wandered, I discovered a bookshelf in one corner.
‘Books?’
Could it be?
I approached with cautious hope.
Indeed it was.
A bookshelf lined with skill books.
This was a genuine treasure trove.
With that thought, I scanned through the shelves.
And there I found a Legendary-grade skill exclusive to Dark Mages.
『Skill Book – Fate Manipulation』
It was both a Dark Mage exclusive skill and Legendary-grade.
I couldn’t know the skill’s effects until I used the book.
But judging by the name alone, it was clearly a broken skill.
I selected the skill book.
[You have selected the Legendary-grade Skill Book, 『Skill Book – Fate Manipulation』.]
[Two items remain.]
After reading that message, I continued exploring the vault.
I wandered around examining various items, wondering what else might be worthwhile.
‘Among swords and staves, there’s nothing better than what I already have.’
Growth-type items weren’t exactly common, after all.
Most of the items here were excellent.
But they either had level restrictions or conditions I couldn’t meet.
Or if they had no conditions, they were mediocre at best.
Just as I was considering selecting another skill book.
Helena burst forth from my robes and cried out.
-Yoo Sung-hyun, look there!
“Hm?”
Helena, who said she would appear when called, suddenly burst forth.
Wondering if it was such an important item, I headed toward where Helena pointed.
And then.
A jewel shimmering like a star caught my eye.
『Radiant Celestial Starlight』
→《Legendary》
→Material Item.
→An item formed when radiant starlight descended from the heavens crystallized into solid form.
→When used in alchemy and crafting, it can grant powerful effects related to vitality and life force.
‘Oh?’
-How about this? It would be incredibly useful as a material, don’t you think?
She was absolutely right.
A Legendary-grade material item.
It was a rare commodity.
So I selected it.
[You have selected the Legendary-grade material item, 『Radiant Celestial Starlight』.]
[1 item remains.]
And then.
-Over there too!
Helena cried out urgently.
As I headed toward that location, another similar item lay waiting.
『Fragment of the Fallen Heart of the Abyss』
→《Legendary》
→Material Item.
→A shard of a heart that shattered after some entity from the abyss fell into corruption.
→When used in alchemy and crafting, it can grant effects related to abyssal properties and mana.
‘Excellent. With this, I could acquire abyssal properties.’
-Yes! It could even work as a substitute for a heart!
I nodded at Helena’s words.
With this.
[You have selected all items.]
[You are being expelled from the Treasure Vault of Pentagrid Lord’s Castle.]
Once I had selected all the items.
I found myself outside before I knew it.
As we emerged, Paragon Marquis asked with a satisfied expression.
“Did you select items to your satisfaction?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I was able to obtain wonderful items.”
“Hahaha! I myself have been greatly helped. Thank you truly.”
Paragon Marquis expressed his gratitude in those words.
After the two of us finished our conversation.
“Then I’ll head back to the Labyrinth.”
“Huh? Without even resting?”
“Yes, I need to hunt more monsters.”
“Ha, haha. You are truly a model for all knights, Lord Yoo Sung-hyun.”
Such noble resolve.
Watching Paragon Marquis speak such words, I felt oddly embarrassed.
It wasn’t about nobility at all—I simply needed to hunt monsters like a madman to afford the items I wanted.
Still, it was fortunate that he saw it in a favorable light.
I brushed past the compliment with a bow and departed from the Lord’s Castle.
Watching me fade into the distance.
Paragon Marquis murmured softly.
“The hero of our city.”
“Indeed, my lord.”
“We made the right choice in entrusting matters to Lord Yoo Sung-hyun.”
His retainers nodded in agreement with Paragon Marquis’s words, their eyes following my receding figure.
One way or another, as long as I remained in Pentagrid, the monster threat seemed manageable.
2.
Eternal World Community.
The community was divided by region.
Among them, the Fifth Region Community had been buzzing with activity for some time now.
[Title – Is it true that the Overpallace Branch Director showed up in Pentagrid?]
[Author – Sword Brigand]
『Overpallace itself has never made a move before.』
『Is the Branch Director really going around?』
[CooldownToday: Yeah it’s real. I rode a carriage to Pentagrid and some important person took one of the users from the carriage?]
└[ComboMaster: Wait, really? What kind of person were they to be taken away?]
└[CooldownToday: No idea lol.]
It was all because of rumors that the Overpallace Branch Director was moving about.
At first, no one believed it.
But as other users’ testimonies remained consistent, and there was nothing to gain from lying, the trend gradually shifted toward belief.
Since Overpallace had never shown any activity before.
The reaction was enormous.
A Branch Director-level official had actually moved.
Moreover, a user whom such a Branch Director personally came to meet and escorted away with respect.
It was bait too intriguing to ignore.
And on that very day the rumors circulated.
Another post appeared.
[Title – Why did the Overpallace Pentagrid Branch Director appear at the Auction House?]
[Author – Manaless Mage]
“I mean, I went through all the trouble of getting into the Auction House to bid, and then some guy just threw down 100,000 won and bought some item and left lol.”
I wasn’t planning to buy it anyway, but after that, I saw him talking to another user before leaving. That so-called distinguished user must be something special, right?
And then he even went off to catch some user who dropped out midway.’
[FloorDamageControl: Wow, is there really something going on?]
└[Manaless Wizard (author): Haha, so what is the identity of that user?]
It was another story about the branch manager of Overpallace Pentasgrid, who had spoken to a user and then vanished.
The common thread was a single user.
I wondered what their true identity could be.
But that identity was about to be revealed.
[Title: Insane;;; Wait, the Demon King came to Pentasgrid.]
[Author: SubQuestHunter]
‘Like, what’s with this guy solo-clearing the entire Labyrinth???
He unleashed an undead legion and is hunting like a madman;;;
Is this even right?
Our party got hit hard with reality shock seeing that;;;’
[ForcedLevelGrinding: ??? Then isn’t that griefing?]
└[SubQuestHunter(Author): Nah, no stealing or full map control. He only hunted mobs nobody touched.]
└[ForcedLevelGrinding: So legion command can work like that;;; Overpowered users really are different;;;]
[HealerInChaos: ??? Wait? Then the user the Overpallace branch manager talked to and escorted—isn’t that the Demon King?]
└[HamsterInDungeon: Huh? That makes sense??? Dark Mage so like;; Then the Demon King is the only user Overpallace considers friendly, right?]
└[HealerInChaos: He does maintain close relationships with other users, but I didn’t know a branch manager would move for him.]
As these speculations spread, more users began arriving in Pentasgrid.
Dark Mages gathered, desperate to infiltrate Overpallace by any means.
And scattered among them were users bearing no guild insignia, all converging on Pentasgrid.
And looking at the place, they spoke.
“Is this it?”
“Demon King. This time, we won’t let you slip away.”
Those who harbored resentment toward Yoo Sung-hyun were gathering as well.

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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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