The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 21

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 21
Episode 21
Of all times, it had to appear when people were around.
I decided I couldn’t answer out loud.
Helena tilted her head curiously.
-Why can’t you answer? Just thinking about it should work, shouldn’t it?
‘Wait, really?’
-Of course. We’ve already shared memories and experiences.
‘Oh.’
It was true.
Communicating through thought alone—I’d never experienced anything like it.
Since I’d never conversed with spirits through thought before, I couldn’t help but harbor preconceptions.
If we’d shared memories and experiences, then communication through thought was indeed possible.
That certainly put my mind at ease.
-More importantly, are you learning the fundamentals of Dark Magic here?
‘Yeah, basic skills are taught here.’
-Hmm~
Helena made a pleased humming sound at my response.
She seemed quite satisfied with the prospect of learning Dark Magic fundamentals.
As I continued conversing with Helena.
The elderly Professor Urden looked at me and spoke.
“Ah! Where are my manners? We have a new student, so we should introduce ourselves properly, shouldn’t we? Let’s each introduce ourselves. Senior Yeon, you go first.”
“….”
Yeon was clearly dissatisfied with the request to introduce herself, but she reluctantly opened her mouth.
“Yeon, Level 15.”
A curt and abrasive introduction if there ever was one.
But what else could she possibly say?
Dark Mage was obvious since we were in this classroom.
Urden tilted his head at Yeon’s gruff manner of speaking.
An expression that seemed to ask: what’s gotten into her?
But without dwelling on it, Urden turned to me and spoke.
“Well then, now it’s your turn to….”
“Ah, my name is Sung-hyun. I’m just Level 10. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
“….”
With Urden present, Yeon couldn’t outright ignore me, so she merely gave a slight nod.
Clearly discourteous behavior.
However, I showed little reaction to it.
I was naturally indifferent to such things.
Rather, Urden tilted his head as he observed Yeon’s attitude.
‘She seems odd today.’
Yet he had never been the sort to act that way.
Did Yeon perhaps dislike other foreigners?
Urden had no need to delve that deeply into it.
He cleared his throat and steered the conversation forward.
“Well then, shall we begin the lesson?”
A lesson, no less.
The Job Training Academy didn’t teach through skill books alone—they conducted actual lessons.
If you listened to the instructor’s lesson and understood it, you could learn skills rapidly; even if you didn’t fully grasp it, one hour of instruction guaranteed skill acquisition.
Skill books and generated skills would suffice otherwise.
One might ask why bother with such tedious lessons, but through them, you learned an enormous variety of practical skill applications.
Especially since these were foundational skills.
They were the root skills of any profession.
This education elevated your understanding of those skills.
‘This part is quite important, wasn’t it?’
Even the top-ranked players and countless strategy guides emphasized the importance of foundational skills.
The guides Sung-hyun had read said the same.
If you neglected them out of laziness, you’d only regret it later.
Everyone committed themselves to attending these lessons precisely because of that.
Even if understanding didn’t come easily, one hour a day meant skills ingrained themselves naturally.
Skipping them would be a waste.
“Hmm, normally we’d learn 『Poison: Numbness』 first among the foundational skills, but since Yeon is already learning 『Bone Arrow』, we’ll start with that instead.”
“Understood.”
“….”
This was a skill I’d already experienced firsthand.
Bone Arrow—the very attack Beziron had unleashed countless times.
It was a Rare skill, apparently.
‘I thought it was just high-level, but that wasn’t it at all.’
A Rare skill among foundational skills meant you had to complete at least the Intermediate Academy.
As I fell into contemplation,
Yeon frowned watching me.
Regardless of anything else, she’d learn faster than that guy.
Yeon was certainly skilled.
‘I learned the other skills in the thirty-minute range… so this time I’ll learn it even faster.’
Unlike Sung-hyun, Yeon had already pre-learned five foundational skills at Normal grade from the Intermediate Academy.
Since this was an upgraded version of a Normal skill.
Yeon’s advantage over Sung-hyun, who hadn’t learned any foundational skills, was undeniable.
At least on paper.
She’d demonstrate the vast difference between herself and Sung-hyun, who’d luckily passed the Special Academy.
With that resolve, Yeon approached the lesson.
Urden began the instruction, observing both Yeon and Sung-hyun.
“Bone arrows aren’t some crude magic that simply pillages the corpses scattered about the ground, are they?”
“Ah.”
“….”
“Then where do you suppose the bones come from to craft such arrows?”
I could have been flustered by Urden’s sudden question, but Yeon, already accustomed to such tests, remained composed, as did I.
It was Yeon who raised her hand first to answer the surprise question.
“Wouldn’t they be bones reconstructed using the sorcerer’s mana?”
“Hmm, unfortunately that’s incorrect.”
Urden shook his head as if disappointed.
Yeon’s expression twisted in frustration, but it didn’t matter.
If she couldn’t answer it, that creature certainly wouldn’t either.
It was the sort of detail you’d rarely find in any strategy guide.
Then Urden turned his gaze toward me, as if inviting me to try.
As I received his attention, I thought—
-This is easy.
Helena had been right.
“It’s magic that summons a portion of the bones from the Dark Realm using the sorcerer’s mana.”
“Ohhh! How remarkable! That’s the correct answer!”
“…???”
Urden looked visibly astonished, while Yeon stared at me in disbelief.
How did I know?
‘Was it mere chance?’
No—even if it were coincidence, another small wound had been carved into Yeon’s pride.
Losing to this creature from the very start.
It was infuriating.
Urden himself was quite astonished.
In all his time teaching here, he had never encountered a foreigner who could answer his questions.
He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
‘Truly, a talent worthy of that person’s recommendation!’
There was always a reason behind such recommendations.
That person would never recommend without cause.
With such thoughts, Urden kept them to himself, nodded his head, and asked me again.
“How did you know?”
“Ah, I’ve seen someone use it before.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I’d seen Helena use it in my memories, and I’d seen Beziron use it as well.
Helena’s memories even contained the principle behind it.
It was bound to be easy.
At my answer, Urden nodded with satisfaction.
“An excellent response indeed.”
“Tsk.”
“…?”
Why did she dislike me so much?
-Isn’t she just jealous because I’m doing well? From what I can see, she lives off her own arrogance, and now that I’ve come along, she seems envious?
‘Is that so?’
Would someone usually dislike another person to this extent just for that?
Though I didn’t pay much attention to it, the feeling wasn’t particularly pleasant.
I’d let it slide and move on, but still.
“Ahem, continuing the lesson—as I mentioned, the magic works by using the caster’s mana to summon bones from the Dark Realm, the dimension of the dead, to create arrows. The crucial aspect of this magic is consuming only as much mana as necessary to summon the bones needed for the arrows.”
“Mm.”
“….”
Unlike Yeon, who was taking notes while concentrating on Urden’s words, I was nodding along and cross-referencing with my own memories.
Helena was the greatest in dark magic in this world.
I had already mastered these basic spells thoroughly.
Though I listened to the lesson as if reviewing, to Yeon I seemed like an eyesore.
She was taking notes so as not to miss a single thing, yet I was just listening passively?
She ground her teeth with an expression of utter frustration.
She would master bone arrows before me, no matter what.
‘Just you wait.’
Even if I got the answer right.
She would prove that she was superior in skill and talent.
As Yeon was taking notes so desperately and less than five minutes had passed since the lesson began.
Light erupted from my body.
The burst of radiance wrapped around me and ascended upward as if ascending to heaven.
Whoooooosh!!!
‘Oh.’
Startled by the sight I’d never seen before, I looked up at the light, while Yeon and Urden stared with eyes wide open in disbelief.
This omen could mean only one thing.
[‘Unknown Power’ has granted complete understanding of the Rare Skill, ‘Bone Arrow’.]
[You have acquired the Rare Skill, ‘Bone Arrow’.]
“W-wait, you?! You’ve already mastered bone arrows?!?”
“This… this can’t be real!!!”
This was the phenomenon that appeared when a skill was acquired during a lesson.
And it had appeared in less than five minutes?
Even Urden couldn’t believe it and asked again.
I nodded confidently and answered.
“Yes.”
-Aha, you certainly do have incredible talent.
At my confident response, Helena laughed gracefully and spoke.
Only I could hear it, though.
The two of them continued to stare at me in disbelief.
Yeon’s gaze in particular was visibly anxious.
I had grasped and mastered a skill in less than five minutes?
It couldn’t be a fraud.
The system had been applied and the acquisition effect had appeared.
But still, wasn’t it far too fast?
Even Yeon, who possessed considerable talent, had taken around thirty minutes to master a skill, and those around her had marveled at such speed.
But what in the world was this person?
‘A cheat… perhaps?’
Yeon knew better than anyone that such a thing was impossible.
Yet she desperately wanted to believe it.
That I had resorted to some trick.
‘Perhaps I had heard the content from someone else… or the problem must have come from somewhere I’d heard before.’
Crude as it was, Yeon consoled herself with such thoughts.
After all, if it wasn’t a trick, she would have no choice but to acknowledge the gap between us.
But watching me stand there as if it were nothing kindled anger within her.
It was all the more so because Yeon possessed not just talent, but also unwavering effort.
To any observer, it would appear as a twisted passion.
Surely the other skills couldn’t be learned this quickly.
It was impossible.
Urden thought similarly to what Yeon believed.
Once could happen.
But there was no way I could learn other skills this rapidly.
He believed this firmly.
Yet such is the nature of the world—one never knows what might unfold.
What would truly happen?
A mage’s curiosity stirred within Urden.
Normally, there was only one lesson per day.
But since it had ended so quickly.
“Since Sung-hyun has learned so rapidly, could Yeon wait a moment? I’d like to teach him the other skills first and see how he does.”
He sought Yeon’s understanding.
Naturally, Yeon, who had been waiting for this moment, nodded her head.
“Yes, I’m fine with that.”
Yeon’s gaze was sharp, as if to say: go ahead and try.
I scratched my cheek as I met her stare.
And so, less than five minutes passed once more.
Whoooosh!!!
[Through ‘Unknown Power’, you have achieved complete understanding of the Rare Skill, ‘Toxin: Tactile Paralysis’.]
[You have acquired the Rare Skill, ‘Toxin: Tactile Paralysis’.]
“Noooooooooo!!!”
“This… this can’t be…”
Both of them gasped in shock, jumping back simultaneously.
Yeon in particular felt her head spinning so violently she nearly lost consciousness.
No, surely this time would be different.
There’s no way it would happen a third time?
Another five minutes or so passed.
SCREEEEEECH!!!
[Through ‘Unknown Power’, you have achieved complete understanding of the Rare Skill, ‘Blood Veil’.]
[You have acquired the Rare Skill, ‘Blood Veil’.]
“Huff… huff…!? Then, then try mastering this one too!!!”
“Wha…!?”
This time it wasn’t even five minutes.
Roughly three minutes?
My utilization of Helena’s memories had grown sharper, accelerating the process further.
SCREEEEEECH!!!
[Through ‘Unknown Power’, you have achieved complete understanding of the Rare Skill, ‘Curse of Shared Pain’.]
[You have acquired the Rare Skill, ‘Curse of Shared Pain’.]
“No, the time got even faster!?”
“…”
Yeon had already abandoned all pride and inferiority, now staring at me as if I were some kind of monster.
Coincidence? Connections?
She understood now that it was neither of those things.
What exactly was this person?
It wasn’t just Yeon—even Urden, who was called a genius, felt the same way.
His bloodshot eyes gleamed with excitement, veins bulging at his temples as he stared wide-eyed.
He was the very embodiment of a mage with an unwavering experimental spirit.
What kind of person was this, really?
Yeon couldn’t comprehend it, and frustration brought tears to her eyes.
But no one paid her any attention.
Instead, Urden shouted at me with barely contained excitement.
“Truly unbelievable!! This, this time it’s the most difficult among the basic skills!!! You won’t be able to master this easily!!”
This time it wasn’t even a matter of minutes.
The moment Urden asked a question and I began to answer.
SCREEEEEECH!!!
[Through ‘Unknown Power’, you have achieved complete understanding of the Rare Skill, ‘Summon Lesser Undead’.]
[You have acquired the Rare Skill, ‘Summon Lesser Undead’.]
[The Rare Skill, ‘Summon Lesser Undead’ has been absorbed into the superior skill, ‘Legion of Death’.]
[The proficiency of the Almighty Skill, ‘Legion of Death’ has increased.]
At this point, even I felt a bit embarrassed.
I had acquired it instantly without even a minute passing.
“Ahahaha…”
Sung-hyun laughed awkwardly.
Urden’s face flushed crimson as though his head might burst, and he cried out as if possessed.
“Aaaaaaah! A once-in-an-age genius! A true genius!!! Sung-hyun is a genius, I tell you!! It wasn’t for nothing that he wrote that letter of recommendation!!”
“Waaaaaaah.”
And unlike Urden, Yeon shed tears of joy.
It was absolute pandemonium.
In the midst of it all.
-Did you only just realize? Hmm.
Helena, standing proud in Sung-hyun’s stead as he burned with embarrassment, placed both hands on her hips and thrust her chest forward with unmistakable pride.
I desperately wished everyone would just stop and let me be.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————