The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 169

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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 169
169
Becky bounced frantically, alerting everyone that Paul was in danger.
Yet Paul’s ghost appeared clearly within my field of vision.
What was I supposed to do about this?
I quickly organized the situation in my mind.
A Quest to find Paul.
But Paul was dead.
This wasn’t necessarily a problem.
After all, the clue about his death wouldn’t appear in the next Quest, would it?
Since these were linked Quests.
However.
‘Paul appeared to hold quite a high rank, yet he was murdered?’
This seemed like a Quest with considerable scope.
Ninyaru appeared to be a generally harmless city overall.
A murder occurred in such a place?
Perhaps.
‘This could become a Quest that leads to the city’s master?’
Having spotted that opportunity, my eyes gleamed with interest.
Simultaneously, I reached toward Paul’s ghost and absorbed his memories.
[‘Unknown Power’ has accomplished something impossible at your current level.]
[Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Dexterity +1 permanently increased.]
The same stats rose as with the Cat Soldier.
I read through the memories flowing in like a panorama.
However, there was a possibility they had killed and disposed of the body here.
So I was somewhat concerned.
But that wasn’t the case.
‘They took him away to torture him?’
I knew this wasn’t an ordinary murder case.
There was definitely something more to it.
And upon reading Paul’s memories, I confirmed the culprit wasn’t a cat.
‘A snake?’
More precisely, a humanoid creature with a snake’s head.
I tilted my head in confusion upon confirming this.
Then I spotted Becky desperately searching the living room, looking for clues.
Could I learn something by asking Becky?
As I briefly considered this.
“Sung-hyun, wouldn’t it be possible that this child might not know anything even if you ask?”
“Hmm.”
Helena, who happened to share the same thought as me, was right there.
I had seen it all up until now.
Even if I hadn’t witnessed it before, seeing Becky in the form of a kitten was enough.
She didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
So it was only natural to harbor such thoughts.
Still, one could never be too careful.
Yoo Sung-hyun watched Becky frantically searching her surroundings and asked cautiously.
“Does Ninyaru perhaps have a rival city, or some kind of natural enemy?”
“Meow??? Oh, oh my!? Y-yes, there is, meow!”
“Hmm?”
Was it because she was a resident of Ninyaru that she knew?
Or perhaps because she was a merchant?
With such thoughts, I looked at Becky.
Becky trembled as she spoke.
“The Basilica, meow!”
“The Basilica?”
“A t-terrible place filled with deadly venom and sinister schemes within the Labyrinth, meow!”
“I see?”
[You have obtained the keyword 『Basilica』.]
I even obtained a keyword.
Yoo Sung-hyun dismissed the message upon seeing it.
Then I sought further explanation from Becky.
Apparently, there were merchants in Ninyaru who helped those wandering the Labyrinth, and the Basilica which harmed those wandering the Labyrinth.
A city where not just serpents, but bats and spiders coexist as well?
She explained that the place was considerably rougher and more brutal than Ninyaru.
It certainly seemed to fit.
‘The general bosses are related to bats, spiders, snakes, and such, right?’
There were raid bosses that weren’t, of course.
But you could assume that every Labyrinth region had at least one raid boss among those three types.
It was certainly a place that could be called Ninyaru’s rival.
And.
“Th-those creatures want to invade our Village, meow! And-and they want to eliminate all the merchants and monopolize the Labyrinth, meow! M-maybe Paul was also attacked by them, meow!”
Becky had properly understood the intent behind Yoo Sung-hyun’s question.
The restless Becky spoke to him.
“Sh-shouldn’t we report this to the Knights Order, meow?!”
“The Knights Order? This city has a Knights Order as well?”
“Of course, meow! The Black Knight Order! The Golden Knight Order! The White Knight Order! There are three, meow!”
Upon hearing the explanation about the Knights Orders.
I understood they were entities that existed above the soldiers.
And the Knights Order that maintained the city’s security was….
‘The Black Knight Order.’
Going straight to report it does seem like a good option.
But I need to clear the Quest first, it seems.
What should I do?
Yoo Sung-hyun pondered briefly before a good idea came to mind.
“Then, would you be willing to report this, Becky? I’ll investigate these traces and find out where Paul has gone.”
At that decision.
-Hehehehe, as expected, a noble person is truly kind. Since Becky could be in danger, that seems like the better choice.
“Ahahaha! That’s our Yoo Sung-hyun for you!”
I’m not sure why Helena was pleased by Ghost Paul’s praise.
In any case, Yoo Sung-hyun ignored the two of them and looked at Becky.
To see what Becky wanted to do.
Becky, who had been thinking hard about Yoo Sung-hyun’s question, nodded her head.
“Y-yes, I will, meow. I-I’ll report it right away, purr! Then….”
“If I manage to catch the culprit, I’ll return to this Manor.”
“Y-yes, I understand, meow! I-I’ll report it and come back here too, purr!”
After reaching an agreement with Becky.
Yoo Sung-hyun sent Becky off quickly.
Whether to pursue or catch the culprit.
Becky would only be a burden if she came along.
Above all.
‘I already know the location.’
I could also remember the path I took while dragging Paul.
Once Becky left.
Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes grew sharp and cold.
At the same time, the atmosphere among my retainers changed considerably.
It became the grave atmosphere before work.
Yoo Sung-hyun moved.
Whoosh.
Moving with incredible speed that couldn’t be called that of a Dark Mage, I slipped out of the Manor.
Watching me leave, Ghost Paul’s spirit waved his hand in farewell.
-Please, you must return safely!
A simple farewell filled with concern for me.
I nodded at those words and moved swiftly.
The first place I moved to following my memory was the roof of this Manor.
Upon climbing there, I was able to discover clues that could serve as traces.
Blood stains and the marks of something being dragged across the surface.
“This is it.”
-Kuhaha! You found it right away! Truly, you are the Lord!
“You’re quite impressive.”
-L-Lord, you’re amazing!
“As expected, Master is truly exceptional.”
“Ahahaha! Our Yoo Sung-hyun is amazing!”
I deliberately ignored my retainers’ words of praise.
Yoo Sung-hyun confirmed the traces continuing around that area and moved toward them.
With only faint traces remaining, tracking them while moving proved quite challenging.
But with Paul’s memories, I swiftly located them and traversed the path at rapid speed.
How far had I gone?
[Hidden Chain Quest, 『Ninyaru’s Merchant Administrator』 has been cleared!]
[Rewards are granted.]
[You acquire tremendous experience points!]
[Level Up!]×2
[You have reached Level 135.]
[The next Quest, 『Paul’s Connected Blood Trail』 is generated.]
With the experience points obtained from clearing the Quest,
I could instantly recover the level lost to transcendent death.
Rising this quickly.
Though it’s a Hidden Quest, it’s an early chain Quest.
Yet it grants this much experience.
I made the right choice pursuing Quests.
I quickly opened the Quest window.
I briefly confirmed the next Quest.
→Follow Paul’s connected blood trail and find the crucial clue!
The mission was similar.
Only the wording changed from “find Paul” to “find a clue.”
The Quest seemed to be progressively signaling that Paul’s condition was critical.
Though it was merely speculation, I pushed harder and moved with greater urgency.
While discovering faintly connected blood trails, I spotted something glimmering.
Thud!
Even while moving rapidly, I utilized momentum skillfully to land and picked up the glimmering object.
Both the blood trail and this fellow—truly careless.
There was a gap of at least 300 meters between one blood trail and the next.
Rather than careless, who would have known someone like me existed?
For anyone else, it would have been difficult to find.
But I found it easily because I have the memories.
In any case, from my perspective, careless was the perfect word.
Leaving such evidence while moving.
There’s no way not to get caught.
As I thought this, I examined what I had picked up.
[You have acquired a crucial clue!]
[You now know the keyword regarding the 『Basilica』!]
[A spy seemingly working for the Basilica. A scaled creature.]
[Hidden Chain Quest, ‘Paul’s Connected Bloodstain’ cleared!]
[Massive experience points acquired!]
[Level Up!]×2
[You have reached Level 137.]
[New Quest, ‘The Basilica’s Spy’ has been generated.]
Another new quest meant another level gained.
Was there an easier way to level up than this?
Quests were certainly proving invaluable.
If I’d hunted instead, it could have taken days of relentless grinding.
In any case, I quickly reviewed the quest details once more.
→Find the hideout of the Basilica spy who kidnapped Paul, the culprit!
This time it was a quest to locate a hideout.
I already knew where it was.
I placed the clue I’d just obtained into my inventory and checked the other direction.
A different path from the connected bloodstain.
I’d already confirmed in my memory that following the bloodstain would take a roundabout route.
Now that I had the quest, I could move forward.
I was ready to head straight to the hideout.
A place those damp creatures favored.
The Sewers.
“I don’t understand why criminals always love those Sewers.”
“It’s good for hiding?”
“Hmm, it’s not very clean~”
Helena answered with a casual thought.
Serpina frowned with distaste at the filth.
Behind them, Nocturnium muttered.
“It is the most vulnerable point in the city.”
-Kahahaha!!! Of course rats live in such places.
-B, Baltar? W, we’re looking for snakes, not rats!
Nocturnium spoke in principle while the combative Baltar responded, and even Fiora threw in a subtle jab while agreeing.
I watched them and smiled faintly, nodding.
Shall we head out then?
With that thought, my retinue and I moved forward.
4.
After parting with me at the Manor, Becky headed straight to where the Black Knight Order was stationed.
By the time Becky arrived, I was already on my way to their hideout.
In any case, Becky hurried and burst into the Black Knight Order’s building, shouting loudly.
“C, catastrophe! P, Paul has been captured by those Basilica bastards!!!”
“Oh no, this is a big problem! Paul has been captured by those Basilica guys!!!”
At her cry, the Black Knight Order members preparing for their departure fixed their eyes on Becky with blank stares.
What else could they do?
It was already strange enough that the Cat Merchant, who appeared far too young, had entered.
And now that creature was blurting out the very reason they were about to march out?
It was beyond strange—it was utterly bewildering.
So all the Black Knight Order members turned their gaze toward Becky.
Becky, suddenly the center of everyone’s attention, shrank back into herself.
Where had that bold demeanor gone?
Her hunched posture was almost pitiful to witness.
Yet the Black Knight Order members did not relent in their intensity.
There was something compelling about Becky’s bearing.
As everyone stared thus.
“Everyone, enough.”
Someone called out.
As that oppressive atmosphere dissipated, Becky released a relieved sigh, as if she might actually survive this.
Then she saw the imposing Black Puma approaching her, and she shrank back once more.
He looked terrifying.
As Becky trembled with that thought.
The Black Puma asked.
“How did you know about the Basilica?”
“W-well, m-my customer found out and told me, meow.”
“Customer?”
The Black Puma questioned, uncertain what she meant.
Becky spoke courageously despite her trembling.
Of course, her body remained hunched.
“Y-yes, a f-foreigner, but a g-great guest who entered our c-city, meow.”
“A foreign guest… Are you saying he mentioned the Basilica’s spy?”
“N-no, rather, P-Paul’s blood was found at P-Paul’s home… and when he asked if there were any natural enemies, I-I told him first, meow.”
“Then where is this foreigner now?”
“M-my customer said he w-would catch the culprit…”
Upon hearing this, the Black Puma furrowed his brow and pressed his throbbing temples firmly as he spoke.
“Tch… I must find him at once. Do you know where he went?”
“W-why are you asking like that, meow!? Is m-my customer in d-danger??”
Hearing Becky’s trembling voice, the Black Puma replied.
“The spy sent by the Basilica to our city is a formidable fighter. A foreigner like that cannot possibly win.”
“M-meooooow!?!”
Becky leaped up in shock upon hearing this.
Leaving Becky behind, the Black Puma shouted.
“Hurry! We must save the foreigner!”
“Yes, Commander!!!”
With those words, the Black Knight Order hastily prepared.
Becky trembled as she watched them.
Yoo Sung-hyun could be in danger.
“P-Paul sir, Y-Yoo Sung-hyun customer, I hope b-both of you return safely, meow.”
Watching the worried Becky,
the Black Puma thought to himself.
‘A Basilica spy who infiltrated the city under our watch. The outsider will have a hard time surviving. Still, if he has any sense, he’ll recognize the creature’s strength and flee.’
If he does flee, then we must take action and capture the beast ourselves.
So we need to deploy even faster.

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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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