The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 17

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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 17
Episode 17
3.
‘He dodged that? And he’s just a beginner?’
The user who had fired a bone arrow at Sung-hyun in attack was left flabbergasted.
He had aimed with perfect timing and was certain it would hit!
And yet he dodged it?
The user’s name was Beziron.
He was the first to discover Gerik’s hidden piece, and as a level 30 user in Perseville, he was among the higher-leveled players.
Which made this all the more unbelievable.
How had he evaded the attack of someone at level 30?
Merely a beginner?
‘Did I miscalculate my aim?’
No! That couldn’t be it.
Beziron was objectively a skilled user.
So why did he remain here when most players left the Beginner Village once they reached level 20?
Was it because his talent was lacking?
No.
There was only one reason.
The hidden piece.
The story of a cabin in the Labyrinth Forest had circulated for quite some time.
But no user had ever met the conditions to enter it.
Beziron was no exception.
Yet Beziron couldn’t simply abandon this cabin, which was undoubtedly a hidden piece.
Others were busy leaving the Beginner Village and rapidly leveling up to grow stronger.
Investing time in the cabin was simply too difficult.
While others raised their levels and moved toward the next town, continuing to pour time into such an uncertain venture was impractical.
There were users willing to gamble, but none had succeeded thus far.
But Beziron was different.
He resolved to obtain the hidden piece, even if it took longer.
And through extensive inquiries and considerable time investment, he finally discovered the truth.
‘It’s Gerik’s Cottage!’
Information he had barely obtained after completing countless quests from the library and other residents, raising his affinity with them.
He had learned that Gerik frequented the Labyrinth Forest.
And even that the Dark Mage’s secrets were hidden within that cottage.
Only Beziron, a Dark Mage, could have obtained such information that other users could not.
An achievement born purely from obsession.
He had prided himself on being ahead of everyone else.
In fact, no one else would even know this hidden piece existed.
Yet here was another user, arriving before him.
‘What on earth is this?’
There was no way another player had found this place before him.
He could say that with absolute certainty.
There hadn’t been a single trace of anyone visiting Gerik’s Cottage or the Gravedigger’s Quarters where Gerik used to stay.
Beziron was the first to set foot here.
So how could this be happening?
When Beziron first saw Sung-hyun evade his attack, he misunderstood.
Was he a player with a higher level than Perseville’s recommended tier, just like himself?
But no.
This player appeared to be a beginner.
His equipment looked decent enough, but he was unmistakably a novice.
Equipment didn’t matter.
Beziron’s eyes couldn’t be deceived.
In Perseville and the other starting villages, there was a mandatory bracelet that players received upon reaching level 10 and entering the Job Training Center.
But Sung-hyun’s wrists bore no such bracelet.
‘He’s below level 10.’
The absence of the bracelet meant he hadn’t reached level 10 yet.
Sung-hyun must have already advanced his job class, but since he hadn’t reached level 10, he came for Gerik’s hidden piece before that quest.
It was an accurate deduction.
Even the scouts had figured out Sung-hyun was a beginner based on that very fact.
It was a common way to distinguish players in the starting villages, including Perseville.
‘Is it a coincidence?’
Any other player in Perseville would have been hit by that attack nine times out of ten.
But Sung-hyun had dodged it.
That point irritated Beziron considerably.
“Hmm.”
Even that calm tone of voice.
Without changing his expression, he turned to look at Beziron and tilted his head in confusion.
As if asking why he was attacking.
Did he truly not understand?
Beziron’s nerves were on edge.
He’d stayed in Perseville despite being ridiculed by his friends for wasting time.
All for a single hidden piece.
If he obtained this and moved on, it would more than compensate for his delayed leveling.
No! He would actually leap far ahead of them all at once.
So this was—
“This is my hidden piece, so get lost!”
Beziron shouted.
Sung-hyun looked at Beziron with a puzzled expression and replied.
“Pardon? I arrived here first.”
You’ve left me utterly speechless.
Not a single rebuttal comes to mind.
But that’s fine.
“…Either way, it’s mine!!”
Warning messages had already begun cascading across the screen.
But I ignored them.
If I killed him, that would be the end of it.
I was simply trying to reclaim what was originally mine.
What was so wrong about that!
Sung-hyun’s expression darkened at the sight of Beziron’s shameless tantrum.
Truth be told, before seeing Beziron in person, I harbored some guilt.
After all, there was someone who had worked hard to reach a hidden piece, and then there was me—a ghost who had reaped the rewards.
If legitimacy were to be determined between the two, it would naturally belong to the one who had put in the effort.
Had Beziron approached this through dialogue rather than violence, I would have been willing to hand it over.
But an attack?
That was something my nature simply could not comprehend.
‘You attack first because you’re desperate?’
That won’t do.
My eyes sank deep with intensity.
It was the gaze of someone consumed by anger.
Yet anger alone rarely solved anything.
What did I need most right now?
At a glance, my opponent was significantly higher level than me.
When he attacked, his information appeared, and I could assess him.
[User 『Beziron-Lv.30』 is attacking you.]
[Entering full combat mode.]
[This user bears an infamous reputation.]
[Attacking them will not increase your infamy.]
Level 30.
I had hunted some skeletons, but only gained experience—my level hadn’t risen.
And this was despite possessing the Supernova title, which increased experience gain.
So leveling truly was difficult.
Overcoming a gap of nearly thirty levels in such a state was far from simple.
With eyes sunk deep in thought, I assessed the situation.
It was not favorable.
‘This is difficult from every angle.’
My stats were not those of an ordinary level 1 player.
If anything, they were closer to level 13.
Factoring in the effects of various titles and items, I was roughly at level 20.
Still, there remained a ten-level gap.
If I leverage the memories and experiences I’ve accumulated so far, perhaps I can manage somehow.
After all, I possess the memories and experiences of Helena, who was once called the Demon King.
At the very least, I won’t be helpless.
Since my opponent also appears to be a Dark Mage, I should gain an advantage through memory and experience.
“Die!!! Mortuary Chamber Open!!!”
Mortuary Chamber.
One of the skills a Dark Mage can learn around level 30.
The effect is simple, just as the name suggests.
A subspace-type skill for storing undead that one has created.
So Beziron just retrieved the undead he had stored.
Two zombies and five skeletons.
Hardly a small number.
I could manage the five skeletons somehow.
‘The two zombies are the problem.’
Ordinary zombies are typically only around level 10.
But the zombies Beziron just summoned were—
“Grraaahhh.”
“Grraaawwwgh.”
[Lv.23 Zombie]
[Lv.23 Zombie]
A staggering level 23.
The skeletons weren’t the level 2 or 3 ones Sung-hyun had defeated earlier—each one was level 15.
They were lower than Beziron’s level, but still formidable.
Actually, these undead might be even more troublesome.
Should I move and fight with my sword?
No.
If I do that, Beziron behind them will unleash magic to suppress me.
There were bone arrows before, and he likely has other offensive Dark Magic spells too.
“Grraaahhh!”
Clatter, clatter!
“Grraaawwwgh!”
The zombies and skeletons shambled toward me slowly.
I bit my lip as I watched them approach.
‘Death’s Aura? No, that’s not it.’
Death’s Aura only deals damage-over-time to living creatures.
For the dead, the description says it devours their souls and flesh, but I’m not sure what that means exactly.
I tried to search through Helena’s memories.
-Would you like my help?
A woman’s ghostly voice came from somewhere—one I’d heard before.
But there shouldn’t be any other ghosts here besides Gerik’s spirit?
‘Huh?’
A strange sense of déjà vu made me turn my head.
There stood a very small figure.
Or rather, a small ghostly figure?
It was a ghost I already knew.
A woman in a black dress and a black bonnet hat like those worn by medieval ladies, her luscious red hair adorned with black silk ribbons flowing freely, gazed at me with an enchanting smile while holding a black parasol.
Though I knew she was a ghost, her bewitching appearance could have captivated me for a moment, but I lightly stepped back and dodged as I saw the zombie’s arm swinging toward me.
Whoosh!
“Grraaaagh!”
Rather than wondering how, I focused entirely on dealing with the zombie.
Helena, without any explanation, revealed the black silk attached to her bonnet hat, and her black eyes began to tint with a cyan hue.
-Death’s Aura doesn’t only apply to the living.
“Ah.”
From Helena’s single statement and that cyan gaze, I could understand.
The memory of Death’s Aura that I myself couldn’t fully manifest.
The hidden effect of Death’s Aura that I would be able to use in the not-too-distant future.
The moment I realized that, my eyes began to glow with a cyan light.
Beziron watched me and let out a knowing laugh.
Dodging the bone arrow the first time had been pure chance.
I was evading all the attacks from two zombies and the skeletons, but it wouldn’t be long before they caught up.
When that happened, it would be over.
So, shall I accelerate that a bit?
I dodged by accident before, but this time there’s no way I’ll manage it.
“Bone arrow….”
Just as Beziron began to deploy his skill, something unexpected occurred.
My eyes blazed with cyan light, and a matching cyan aura rose from behind my back.
What is that?
I couldn’t comprehend it, nor did I understand it.
It clearly seemed like a Dark Mage skill, but a beginner below level 10 had changed jobs?
That’s strange.
Job changes happen at level 10, and if one had changed jobs, there shouldn’t be a bracelet.
But that’s definitely a Dark Mage-type skill.
Beziron, being a Dark Mage himself, could sense it.
Then the desolate cyan aura coalesced into the shape of a heart behind my back.
So vivid and lifelike that it felt utterly real.
Identical to the heart he’d seen in old educational materials, his eyes trembled violently.
Could it possibly be an incredibly powerful skill?
A chill of fear gripped him.
‘No, no. That can’t be right!’
But he tried to deny it anyway.
It’s probably just a skill with a flashy effect.
That’s what I told myself.
There’s no way a mere beginner could possess such a formidable ability.
But that conviction lasted only a moment.
Thump———thump.
My heart began to race.
As Beziron’s thoughts shattered like glass, a teal-colored aura began to spread eerily throughout the surroundings.
The teal mist didn’t obscure my vision, but it enveloped a considerably wide area around me.
And the moment I touched that aura.
[You have been exposed to an irresistible force.]
[Your health is continuously decreasing.]
An irresistible force?
Me, at level 30, here in Perseville?
No, that couldn’t be right.
It seems like a curse has been cast. I need to use Curse Removal.
As a Dark Mage, curse countermeasures are essential.
“Curse Removal!”
[Your rank is too low.]
[This is an irresistible force.]
[The normal skill ‘Curse Removal’ does not work.]
“What?”
Beziron let out a dumbfounded sound and rubbed my eyes in disbelief.
What was this nonsense?
Me, at level 30, unable to use Curse Removal?
My rank too low?
It was a series of incomprehensible messages.
At the same time, I felt damage striking me repeatedly.
It was still manageable damage, but it was far greater than I’d anticipated.
I thought I might be in real danger if this continued, but it was fine.
I regained my composure and rationality.
‘It seems I got lucky and obtained a high-rank skill, didn’t I?’
But regardless, my undead forces remained intact.
No matter how powerful a curse is, it’s actually a blessing to the undead.
I’ll crush them with two zombies and five skeletons!
That’s when Beziron had that thought.
“Grrraaaahhh!?”
“Grraahhh?!”
“Clatter!?”
The zombies and skeletons had made strange sounds.
They stopped attacking—why were they acting like that?
“Go, attack! I said attack!”
Beziron screamed desperately, but his minions paid no heed to his command. Instead, they tilted their heads skyward and opened their maws wide.
From those gaping jaws, a teal-colored mist—like the smoke that already blanketed the area—began to seep forth.
Undead shouldn’t be susceptible to curses at all!?
What in the world was that supposed to be!?
With trembling hands, Beziron began chanting bone arrows once more.
If I just stood here passively, something terrible would surely happen.
It was a movement born of pure instinct.
As Beziron’s bone arrow materialized.
“Bone Arrow!!!”
Beziron incanted, and the arrow that materialized in the void shot forth violently toward Sung-hyun.
But then.
Clack!
A shadowy arm appeared mid-flight, snatching the arrow from its trajectory.
The owner of that arm—pitch-black like a shadow, yet with teal mist seeping through the cracks in its form—was a zombie.
One that had been Beziron’s subordinate mere moments ago.
[By an overwhelming margin, your subordinate undead, ‘Zombie 1’, has been seized.]
[By an overwhelming margin, your subordinate undead, ‘Zombie 2’, has been seized.]
[By an overwhelming margin, your subordinate undead, ‘Skeleton 1’, has been seized.]
….
….
[By an overwhelming margin, your subordinate undead, ‘Skeleton 5’, has been seized.]
“Huh?”
Now even my regular undead had been taken from me, not just the hidden pieces.
What? Give my undead back.

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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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