The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 168

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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 168
168
I knew I’d meet Becky if I came here.
But I never expected it to happen this quickly.
Still, Yoo Sung-hyun should have anticipated seeing Becky once he arrived at this place.
Becky’s surprise at Yoo Sung-hyun’s unexpected arrival was beyond words.
Her mouth fell open, and she raised both hands to cover it.
Was it really such a shocking thing?
Even as Becky and Yoo Sung-hyun acknowledged each other.
The citizens of Ninyaru chattered away while observing Yoo Sung-hyun.
“Did he wander through the Labyrinth and drift into our city?”
“But his appearance is quite refined, isn’t it!?”
“He must be quite skilled, no doubt about it, meow.”
“If he has any troubles, it wouldn’t be bad to entrust him with tasks, purr?”
One by one, they took a liking to Yoo Sung-hyun.
Then they returned to their respective duties.
It seemed the Horn and Knight rank had subtly raised my favorability.
Right, the title effect appeared to be working as well.
Examining the effects roughly.
‘Steward of Ninyaru’
→《Epic》
→A title granted to the first user to reach Ninyaru – Hidden City of the Labyrinth Merchants.
→Increased favorability with NPCs in the hidden city Ninyaru.
→Intimacy with all beast-folk races increased by 20%.
→Movement speed +10% increase.
‘One Who Steps Into the Unknown’
→《Rare》
→A title granted to the first user to discover a hidden city.
→Effects enhanced in each hidden city.
Certainly, I couldn’t say the effects were exceptional.
But at least in Ninyaru, the effects seemed decent.
In any case, it was good that the NPCs of this city held favor toward Yoo Sung-hyun.
After examining the title effects.
Yoo Sung-hyun lifted his head.
I could see Becky still sitting quietly in her astonishment.
“M-meow, ah, I hadn’t given you an invitation yet, but how did you arrive here, purr?”
“Ah.”
So the special effect on the Horn must have been an invitation that allowed entry to this place.
I had predicted as much roughly.
Helena said she knew the way, so I came.
I cleared the Quest and enjoyed the journey here too.
“Meow! Anyway, welcome! You’re truly a skilled customer! I hope you have a wonderful time in Ninyaru!”
Becky finished her cheerful greeting and turned to leave for her tasks.
I paused to consider for a moment.
Should I let Becky go and move separately with the others?
Or should I travel with Becky since we’d already built some rapport?
I deliberated briefly, but the answer was simple.
‘In a game like this, it’s better to stick together, isn’t it?’
We’d already established a connection with an NPC.
Wouldn’t it be easier to receive Quests as well?
Just then.
“Sung-hyun, don’t you think following her would be fun?”
Helena said something similar.
The way she spoke with a playful smile made it clear.
I was certain.
Yoo Sung-hyun nodded and moved toward Becky, who was already walking down the street.
“Becky?”
“Meow? What is it?”
“Would it be alright if I asked where you’re headed?”
It was a question that could have been rude.
“Meow? Of course! Our Ninyaru always welcomes customers!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Meow! That’s right! I was just heading to see Paul, so this works out perfectly! I think he’d be delighted to meet such a skilled customer!”
Paul?
Who could that be?
From the nuance, it didn’t seem like he was the ruler of the city.
The way Becky walked excitedly while saying this.
It didn’t seem like she’d casually mention him if he were just anyone.
“Who is Paul?”
Yoo Sung-hyun couldn’t help but ask.
“Meow!? Oh, I forgot to explain that…”
So she’d simply forgotten.
I nearly burst out laughing at this rookie mistake.
But I managed to hold it back.
In response to Yoo Sung-hyun’s question, Becky crossed her short arms and nodded slowly.
As if to say it was understandable not to know.
“Paul is a Merchant Administrator! He’s a high-ranking person who manages merchants, including me, Becky!”
“Oh?”
If he’s an administrator-level position, that’s quite a high rank, isn’t it?
Yoo Sung-hyun thought I’d made the right decision to follow Becky.
Still, it was true that meeting high-ranking NPCs gave me an advantage when undertaking Quests.
Among the reasons I came to Ninyaru was Nyao, an NPC Helena had once kept with her.
Fundamentally, I came here to undertake Quests.
The more Quests I could complete, the better.
“Normally, they’re in the office at the Merchant Portal, but I haven’t seen them these past few days, meow.”
“Hmm?”
I already sensed something odd.
Haven’t seen them in recent days?
That didn’t sound like anything good.
I could smell a Quest brewing.
Following Becky as she spoke, I realized something must have happened.
I trailed after her without hesitation.
What kind of Quest awaited me?
2.
A dark and cavernous hall.
All around lay an abundance of rare, exquisite, and exceptional items.
Draped across these treasures like a nest lay an enormous being.
Curled into a ball, the Great Ruler slumbered in that place.
A Black Puma Knight—whose sleek, muscular frame bore the distinctive grace of a feline predator, unlike the Cat Merchants—entered that hall.
Compared to the Cat Soldier I had seen at the entrance,
this was a warrior of incomparable skill.
With every movement, they were trained to the point where one could barely hear their footsteps even standing beside them.
When the Black Puma Knight reached the Great Ruler,
they immediately dropped to one knee and bowed their head.
“Recently, the merchant administrators have not appeared, and during my investigation, I discovered an anomaly and came to report it.”
At the Black Puma Knight’s words, the Great Ruler exhaled with apparent indifference.
I thought they were asleep.
But they were listening all along.
The Black Puma Knight continued their report undeterred.
“While searching for the whereabouts of the merchant administrators, I discovered traces of the Basilica.”
At the Black Puma Knight’s words, the Great Ruler’s reaction was immediate.
Grrrrrrr——.
A tremendous growl that resonated throughout the entire castle.
The Black Puma Knight’s body trembled at that sound.
Truly, a formidable being.
The castle shook from merely a slight display of anger.
Though fear would have been justified, the Black Puma Knight pressed on.
“Our Knights Order will take responsibility and search for traces of the Basilica.”
Not long after the Black Puma Knight spoke,
something materialized in what seemed like empty space, shimmering with light.
Not something that had just come to mind, but a being that had always existed there.
Two enormous eyes gleaming with a yellow light like the sun gazed down upon the Black Puma Knight.
At that fierce, fiery gaze, the Black Puma Knight’s body trembled violently.
“A troublesome matter. Let the Black Knight Order handle it well.”
“Yes!!! I shall obey the headquarters!!!”
At merely those words, the Black Puma Knight cried out with the resolve to dedicate himself to the command.
He shouted so loudly that the Great Hall itself rang with his voice.
Yet that being with eyes like the sun simply closed them again with an air of indifference and lay down in its nest.
And the Black Puma Knight departed from the hall.
To capture the Basilica’s spies he would present to his king.
3.
We managed to arrive at the home of a merchant administrator named Paul.
Quite an impressive Manor.
At least a three-story grand residence.
“Paul must be a wealthy cat.”
“Yeah. Seems like it.”
Yoo Sung-hyun nodded at Helena’s whisper.
It would be difficult for anyone but a considerable wealthy person to own such a house in this city.
The moment Becky arrived at the front of the house, she vigorously knocked on the door with the knocker.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!
And then.
“Paul! It’s Becky! Open the door!!!”
Unlike how she spoke with proper respect to Yoo Sung-hyun.
Though she did use an honorific, Becky’s speech had become more casual.
She knocked loudly on the knocker while calling out.
But there was no response from inside.
As Yoo Sung-hyun remained silent.
Becky tilted her head, sensing something was amiss.
“Meow? That’s strange. I thought if he hadn’t come out in a few days, he’d be sleeping at home, but there’s no response.”
“There’s no sign of anyone inside at all.”
“Even if he were sleeping, a knock like that should have woken him. Something’s wrong.”
At those words, Becky tried the doorknob just in case.
The door opened without resistance.
This was definitely strange.
Yoo Sung-hyun narrowed his eyes, studying the doorknob.
Becky jumped in surprise and spoke to Yoo Sung-hyun.
“No, no! I’m, I’m not a thief!”
“I know. It was already open.”
“Y-you believe me that easily?”
She gets moved by the smallest things.
Anyway, that’s not what matters right now.
“You’re right. Let’s go inside first.”
“Ah, understood, meow.”
After calming Becky down.
I stepped inside.
Creeeeak.
The sound of old hinges groaned.
I was able to enter the interior of the home.
It seemed people hadn’t visited recently—dust particles were visibly floating through the air, swirling about in considerable clouds.
The kind of atmosphere that would make anyone cough.
But more than that, I could detect a peculiar scent that seemed to sting the nose.
Becky could smell it too, but she seemed unable to identify what it was, glancing around nervously.
Meanwhile, Yoo Sung-hyun’s expression darkened, and Helena too furrowed her brow and muttered.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
At Helena’s words, stripped of their usual playfulness, Yoo Sung-hyun nodded in agreement and stepped further inside.
To be safe, Yoo Sung-hyun kept Becky behind him and took the lead.
From the entrance, I could immediately see the living room positioned to the left.
Quaint furniture was gathered there.
It was quite an impressive living room, with a rocking chair rather than a sofa.
A pleasant-looking living room with a fireplace.
But Helena’s bad premonition materialized into reality.
None other than bloodstains smeared on the rocking chair.
It wasn’t a large amount, but it was unmistakably blood.
It was clear that something had happened here.
Becky’s pupils dilated at the sight, and she leaped up in alarm.
“Meow, meow meow meow!? Blood, blood meow meow!”
Her fur puffed up considerably, showing just how startled she was.
She looked absolutely terrified.
Yoo Sung-hyun scratched his cheek awkwardly at the sight.
“C-customer, Paul—what could have happened to him, meow?”
“Hmm, it seems something like that has occurred.”
“Meow meow! W-we need to search for him ourselves at least, meow! Paul is in danger, meow!”
Becky spoke in a flustered rush, her excitement overflowing.
Then a message appeared before Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes.
[Hidden Linked Quest, 『Merchant Administrator of Ninyaru』 has been created.]
『Merchant Administrator of Ninyaru』
→《Hidden-Linked》
→In Ninyaru – Hidden City of the Labyrinth Merchants, the majority work as merchants.
They sell necessary items to users wandering the Labyrinth after leaving the Labyrinth City, or to NPCs.
Those who manage such merchants are merchant administrators.
They serve the role of collecting a portion of the monsters sold by merchants.
Beyond that, they assist merchants with various necessary tasks in different situations.
Becky too had gone to meet her own manager.
His dwelling, which she found strange after he’d been absent for several days.
Yet all that remained there was his blood and tufts of fur.
Something had clearly happened to the manager.
Let us help Becky find her merchant manager, Paul.
→Requirement: Acquaintance with the cat merchant of Ninyaru, holder of the Labyrinth Merchant Guild’s token.
→Reward: Tremendous experience, next Quest.
A hidden linked Quest had been created.
There was reason to be pleased.
Yet Yoo Sung-hyun scratched his head in perplexity, lost in thought.
‘What am I supposed to do about this.’
The reason he was so troubled.
-Rumble rumble, so Becky has brought a distinguished guest.
It seemed they had found the cat called Paul.
Through Ghost.

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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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