The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 20

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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 20
Episode 20
1.
Perseville and all the first villages after the tutorial had a Job Training Center.
True to its name, it was an institution that advanced users to new professions and educated them in those disciplines.
The interesting part was that these training centers had ranks.
From Basic to Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, and finally Elite.
Five ranks in total.
So what’s the difference?
Simple.
The higher the rank, the greater the variety and tier of skills you can learn.
For instance, a Basic center might teach only two or three Normal-tier skills, while an Intermediate center teaches five Normal-tier skills of the same grade.
As the number of skills increases, their practical applications become virtually limitless.
It was essential for all users.
Most users could reach the Intermediate level without difficulty.
In fact, it was rarer to visit only the Basic center.
The Intermediate center taught all the skills from the Basic one anyway.
The requirements were simple too.
You just had to clear a basic Quest.
But what about Advanced and beyond?
“Ugh, I failed the Advanced exam again.”
“Again? How many attempts is that?”
“Four times….”
“Wow? That’s a lot of failures.”
“Tell me about it.”
There were plenty of people who challenged it multiple times.
But only a tiny fraction passed.
From Advanced onward, you had to pass an examination administered by the center.
It wasn’t a written test—it was a practical skill assessment tailored to each profession.
If you fell short?
You didn’t pass.
No matter how many times you tried.
So why did people stress themselves out trying to pass?
Simple.
“You’ve already learned up to Intermediate, so why not just give up?”
“No way! They said if you reach Advanced, they’ll swap one of your basic skills for a Rare skill! How could I give up?!”
“Yeah, that’s true~”
From Advanced onward, one of your five basic skills could be exchanged for a Rare skill.
For those without Hidden Pieces or connections like Yeon, the Job Training Center was like rain in a drought.
And Superior offered a whopping two Rare skills!
How could I give up on something like that?
Even if it doesn’t work, I challenge it every single day with sheer determination.
It was one of the daily routines for users in the first village.
Some clung to hope until they left, but once they reached level 20, they’d face reality and abandon their dreams en masse.
By the way, Beziron, who had attacked Sung-hyun, was also a graduate of the intermediate academy.
So if the advanced academy grants two rare skills, what about the elite academy?
“Wow, has anyone actually entered the Elite Dark Mage Academy recently?”
“I’m not sure? Did someone recently?”
“Right? I think I heard there was one in Perseville?”
“Wow, that’s insane.”
“Seriously, I’m so jealous. They say if you enter the elite academy, they upgrade all your basic skills to rare grade?”
All five basic skills you could learn in the first village converted to rare grade?
You’d start leagues ahead of everyone else from the very beginning.
No one welcomed such a disparity in starting points, yet opportunities were distributed fairly to all.
The only thing you could blame was your own ability.
There was nowhere to vent that frustration.
If you were good enough, you would have already passed anyway.
As people lined up at each academy, chattering loudly, someone lingered near the Elite Dark Mage Academy entrance.
“Hey, is that person trying to challenge the elite academy? Oh, what happens?”
“Pfft! Hey, look at that person’s wrist.”
“Huh? Wow, what?! There’s no academy bracelet?”
“Didn’t even go to the basic or intermediate academy, and now attempting the elite as their first try? Haha, I want to tell them to give up. Seriously.”
Lingering near the Elite Dark Mage Academy was possible.
Everyone tried it once or twice when they didn’t know any better.
Usually people didn’t even approach after checking guides, but occasionally someone this reckless appeared.
Other users watching were curious how quickly they’d be kicked out and whispered among themselves.
“Hey, want to bet on how fast they get thrown out?”
“Oh! That sounds fun!”
“I say 10 minutes!”
“Nah, that’s too long… I’ll say 3 minutes!”
“Alright, then I’ll say 1 minute!”
“No way, 1 minute is too much! Hahahaha!”
The outright mockery was partly due to the appearance of the user lingering near the Elite Dark Mage Academy entrance.
With such a handsome face, jealousy was natural.
They seized the moment to whisper and jeer.
The guard NPCs stationed at the Elite Dark Mage Academy entrance also noticed the user had no bracelet.
Their thoughts weren’t much different from the other users.
‘Another ignorant outsider has arrived.’
‘Should I guide them? They seem unfamiliar with this place.’
Unlike the users, they didn’t mock—they simply ignored him all the same.
I had assumed he was just another clueless user.
“This is an Elite Dark Mage Academy. Not just anyone can pass through here.”
“Looking at your wrist, it seems you haven’t visited the Job Training Academy or the intermediate academy either. Why don’t you go there first?”
The words dripped with unmistakable contempt.
Normally, when an NPC showed such an attitude, users would get upset and flare up.
But this user didn’t seem bothered at all—he simply pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.
“Here.”
“Hmph.”
There were occasionally people like this.
Outsiders who thought they could bribe their way in, as if they were someone important.
Let’s see what makes him so special.
With that mindset, the NPC took the paper.
His eyes widened in shock as he looked back and forth between the paper and the user standing before him, his mouth falling open with a gasp.
“This, this, this is!?”
The guard who had received the paper jumped back in surprise, and the other guard beside him approached with a puzzled expression.
“What? What is it? Gasp!?”
He had the exact same reaction upon seeing the paper.
From a distance, the other users tilted their heads at the guards’ behavior.
“What’s going on? Why are they acting like that??”
“Who knows? Did he give them a bribe?”
“Come on, those guys don’t move for bribes.”
“How would you know that?”
“…You don’t need to know.”
“Anyway, what is it?”
The users stood there bewildered.
The guards’ attitude had done a complete 180.
They bowed deeply to the handsome user standing before them and spoke with utmost courtesy.
“P-please, come right in.”
“We, we apologize for not recognizing you.”
“No? Ah. It’s fine.”
The handsome user said it was no problem and walked in, while the guards wiped cold sweat from their foreheads.
This was the kind of treatment a regiment commander received when visiting a checkpoint.
Who would have thought he’d be treated with such deference as he entered?
The users who had dismissed and mocked him stared after him in disbelief.
What in the world was happening?
Those guards stood with their chests puffed out even toward users entering the Elite Dark Mage Academy.
Yet they showed such treatment to a first-timer with no wristband?
“Who, who exactly is that person?”
“I, I have no idea??”
“W, what on earth is going on??”
All the users were left speechless, their mouths agape, unable to form a single coherent word.
They could only think.
In the Eternal World where skill was everything, what kind of extraordinary person received such treatment from guards?
And he was even handsome.
“…Please, just three centimeters….”
“…Let’s not go that far. It’s too pathetic.”
“Hehehehe.”
That day, in front of the Job Training Academy, quite a few male users shed tears of envy.
2.
Yeon was an outstanding user by anyone’s measure.
She thought so herself.
Her talent had been evident since the Beginner Village.
While others sweated profusely trying to catch rabbits, she caught them with elegant ease, entirely alone.
She was markedly different from those who relied on coordinated drives and cooperation.
Catching a rabbit single-handedly in one go held great significance in the Eternal World.
One couldn’t claim talent from catching just one rabbit, but talented users invariably caught them in one attempt.
Yeon felt the same way.
‘I have talent!’
Even her friends who had suggested starting together acknowledged it.
That conviction became pride, and despite barely a few days passing, that pride transformed much about her.
What if she actually had no talent?
She never entertained such doubts.
Looking around, she was overwhelmingly superior.
After watching videos of rookies featured on broadcasts, that thought became absolute certainty.
‘Why did I start so late?’
She resented herself for beginning so belatedly.
Just how intoxicated she was by her own talent needed no observation.
The class she chose was none other than Dark Mage.
The reason was simple.
It looked far more refined than solo players or those hunting in parties.
Melee classes that fought laboriously and breathlessly, and ranged classes that struggled to do anything alone without the protection of melee fighters.
Yeon believed neither suited her.
She wanted to stand alone, commanding an undead legion, becoming a one-woman army.
So she chose Dark Mage.
And she realized that choice was right.
‘It suits me perfectly!’
By summoning undead to establish her own front line, she annihilated enemies from behind with overwhelming talent and instinct.
Yeon’s talent shone confidently even in this, the first town.
Unlike the Beginner Village, these users had grown stronger with acquired skills, yet not a single one could keep pace with her.
Moreover, after learning foundational skills at the intermediate Job Training Academy, she challenged the Elite Dark Mage Academy and succeeded after two attempts.
I displayed a talent that could be said to have truly blossomed.
But the fact that it took two attempts wounded Yeon’s pride.
It bothered me that I hadn’t succeeded on the first try.
‘I need to do better.’
And so my pride soon hardened into stubbornness.
Yeon herself began to work even harder because of it.
In the end, it could be called a good catalyst.
But even with such dedication, the standards of the Elite Dark Mage Academy professors were rigorous and exacting.
Only one class per day, and even then, just one hour long.
Objectively speaking, she could acquire skills faster than those who had entered other Elite Job Training Academies.
But the professor’s reaction was ambiguous.
“Hmm, haven’t you learned this yet?”
“How much more do I need to explain before you understand?”
“You didn’t grasp this part?”
Rather than dismissal, they were genuinely expressions of incomprehension.
It resembled the attitude of a genius teaching someone with lesser talent.
As such incidents accumulated, Yeon naturally became increasingly sensitive.
‘This is ridiculous.’
I couldn’t believe the fact that I was being disregarded, but the NPC professor’s words were true.
From Yeon’s perspective, the professor teaching me was a genius, after all.
She had also searched the internet and confirmed that she surpassed the average of those who had entered the Elite Academy, but it brought no comfort.
I would earn the professor’s recognition with the time remaining.
Today, just as yesterday, I attended class determined to master the lessons even faster.
Just as the class was about to begin.
A knock sounded at the door.
Who could that be?
A question bloomed in Yeon’s mind.
The professor spoke.
“Come in.”
Not long after speaking.
The door opened and a man entered.
Another user besides herself, whom I had thought was the only one in Perseville.
3.
The handsome user who had earned the envy of many, Sung-hyun, entered the interior of the Elite Academy completely unaware of this fact, holding a piece of paper.
Though constructed in medieval style, it was quite a large and spacious building.
As large as the building was, there were quite a few rooms, each with job classifications written above them.
There was naturally only one place Sung-hyun needed to go.
[『Elite』 Dark Mage Academy]
Looking at the letters with “Elite” particularly emphasized, Sung-hyun knocked lightly.
It was proper etiquette to knock before entering anywhere.
Knock, knock.
Not long after the knock, a voice called out from within.
“Come in.”
It was the voice of someone quite advanced in years.
From that voice, I sensed both strictness and a cool detachment.
A stern professor, perhaps?
With such expectations, I opened the door and stepped inside.
The interior of the academy was more pleasant than I had anticipated.
About the size of a typical university lecture hall?
It could comfortably accommodate around fifty people.
However, there were very few people present.
‘One professor and a user?’
An elderly man with an NPC mark and a single person with a user mark.
The elderly man with the NPC mark appeared to be the professor, and he had quite a stubborn impression about him.
An image of someone strict and meticulous?
I thought this might prove somewhat challenging.
The user, on the other hand, was a female player with a rather sharp countenance.
An image suggesting a sensitive temperament?
Yet beneath that lay pride and unwavering confidence.
She gave off the impression of possessing considerable skill.
Indeed, the female user’s sensitivity seemed to be genuine.
As I entered, she glanced at me with a piercing stare.
‘Why is she glaring at me like that?’
I hadn’t done anything.
Her eyes were filled with wariness, astonishment, and such emotions all mixed together.
There was even a hint of wounded pride in her gaze.
I had thought there would be no one at the Elite level.
I never expected there to be even one person here.
And a fellow Dark Mage at that.
I glanced around the classroom briefly.
The elderly NPC who appeared to be the professor spoke to me.
“Have you come after passing the examination?”
“Pardon? Ah, well….”
“Judging by the absence of a bracelet, it seems you’ve attempted the Elite level for the first time. You must have considerable talent.”
“….”
This professor apparently doesn’t listen well to what others have to say.
At the professor’s words, the female user who was already here shot another sharp glare at me.
I ignored the user’s piercing gaze and spoke.
“Actually, I’ve brought this instead.”
“Hmm?”
The elderly professor accepted the paper that Sung-hyun handed over.
His eyes widened dramatically, his pupils trembling with intensity.
‘What is this?’
The guards reacted the same way, and so did this meticulous, stern-looking elderly professor.
Everyone who laid eyes on that paper came dangerously close to being knocked over in shock.
It must have been a document entrusted by Pahm, the village chief of Hindel Village.
Could it be that Pahm, the village chief of Hindel Village, was actually a person of tremendous power?
That thought crossed my mind.
“W-welcome! There’s something about your aura that feels quite extraordinary!!! Hehehehe!”
“Ah… Yes. Thank you.”
“…!”
On the surface, I offered my thanks with composure, but the praise still made me uncomfortable.
When the elderly professor offered his compliment, the female user’s eyes widened.
Her gaze contained a mixture of shock, envy, confusion, and various other emotions.
By any measure, she seemed displeased.
‘I just wanted to learn quietly…’
That clearly wasn’t going to happen.
As I scratched my cheek with a sense of dismay, the elderly professor spoke to me.
The elderly professor addressed me.
“Hehehehe, then, well, sit next to Yeon over there.”
“Ah, yes.”
I didn’t ask who Yeon was.
There could only be one other person.
I went to my seat and sat down.
“…”
Yeon coldly ignored my arrival and shifted slightly away.
I couldn’t see that I’d made any mistakes at all, so why was she acting like this?
I couldn’t understand it, but I decided to let it go.
At least having someone else in class with me provided some comfort.
Meanwhile, the user called Yeon glared at me with irritation in her eyes.
‘Seriously, I hate this.’
It wasn’t that Sung-hyun had done anything wrong per se.
She had felt special, and now that someone else had appeared, it annoyed her.
‘This was my classroom.’
That said, she didn’t particularly dislike Sung-hyun at first sight.
Her talent wouldn’t fade just because her sense of exclusivity had been shattered.
He was even handsome, so she’d considered letting go of her irritation.
But when the elderly professor said he seemed talented, her annoyance flared up again.
‘Please don’t say things like that to just anyone.’
It felt like the kind of thing he’d say to everyone, and her mood soured considerably.
But when he then produced some document, I found myself not merely irritated but genuinely angry at the old professor’s astonished expression.
‘He entered without even taking an exam?!’
I couldn’t help but think it.
After all, he didn’t have the intermediate training center completion bracelet that the professor mentioned.
I didn’t know what method he’d used, but handing over that document made it obvious.
He must have cleared some special quest to get in.
Unlike me, who had legitimately taken the exam to enter.
From my perspective, it felt entirely unfair.
And on top of that, praise the moment he received the document?
I couldn’t accept it.
‘I’ve never heard the professor say anything like that to me!’
Had the old professor ever said such things to me before?
No, never.
‘I’ll learn skills faster than you no matter what. Just wait and see.’
As I glared at Sung-hyun with that thought, he paid me no mind and focused on the professor’s words instead.
Why did he keep ignoring my stare?
But Sung-hyun knew that indifference was the answer in moments like these.
He simply ignored her completely.
“Ahem, Yeon, you already know this, but allow me to introduce myself again. I am Urden Pyton, a professor at the Elite Dark Mage Academy.”
And so the lesson began.
At the same time, Yeon looked at Sung-hyun with absolute conviction in her thoughts.
‘I’ll overwhelm him completely.’
She would show him that this place was no easy feat through sheer skill.
While Yeon harbored such resolve,
Sung-hyun scratched his cheek with a slightly troubled expression.
It wasn’t because of Yeon.
-A place to learn dark magic? That sounds fun. Should I teach you a bit too?
A voice suddenly reached his ears.
He didn’t need to look to know whose it was, but he glanced slightly to the side anyway.
Helena, smiling radiantly, gazed at him.
Yeon was already beneath her notice, and Sung-hyun found himself in an awkward predicament.
Seonghyun was already out of Yeon’s mind, and he was at a loss for what to do about this situation.

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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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