The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 211

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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 211
211
Before doing anything else, Yoo Sung-hyun surveyed the village’s perimeter.
It was fairly spacious, but not as expansive as a typical village.
It was even smaller than the Beginner Village had been.
Of course, small villages could exist.
But what was strange was.
‘There are no ghosts at all.’
Even in the smallest village, one would expect at least a ghost or two.
Especially in such an ancient settlement, one would think there’d be a spirit or two lingering.
The complete absence of any was certainly peculiar.
Living beings had been present since Helena arrived.
Were they perhaps a long-lived species?
Since they had cultivated trees themselves as homes and tools.
One might have thought them elves.
But they bore none of the typical elf characteristics.
They had no pointed ears, and the faces beneath their wooden masks were neither particularly handsome nor striking.
Another peculiarity was.
‘There are no elderly.’
And there were no children either.
The village had no elderly or children among its inhabitants whatsoever.
Once I considered that.
The village itself began to feel remarkably uncanny.
Like the opening of a horror story, perhaps?
Yet Yoo Sung-hyun didn’t suspect foul play.
Rather.
‘Should I ask and find out?’
I was simply wondering whether to ask.
It would be nice if they answered.
But they might not.
As Yoo Sung-hyun pondered this.
A sturdy man wearing a weathered wooden mask and garments spoke.
“Hahahaha! You’ve got quite the curious look about you, don’t you? Go ahead and ask away!”
Judging by his forthright manner.
He wasn’t lying.
So then.
“It seems you’re not human, from what I can tell….”
Yoo Sung-hyun broached the subject delicately.
The man in the weathered wooden mask laughed heartily and answered.
“Hahahaha!!! You’ve got sharp eyes indeed! Think of us as a type of Spirit Trees!”
“Spirit Trees?”
[You have acquired the keyword 『Spirit Trees』.]
Yoo Sung-hyun gazed at the man with evident curiosity.
Spirit Trees, he mused.
Were they spirits? Or trees?
In truth, I had never encountered a spirit before.
I had glimpsed a few spirits summoned during the great war on the Dune Wild Trail.
But an NPC spirit—that was entirely new.
Yoo Sung-hyun observed with fascination.
The man explained methodically.
“Gahahaha!!! To be precise, we are closer to spirits, though not quite spirits themselves—rather, a subspecies! We are trees themselves and yet spirits as well. You could call us Spirit Trees. As you can see, we even resemble humans!”
“I see.”
It was certainly fascinating.
As Yoo Sung-hyun posed various questions.
The man answered with earnest sincerity.
First, that the man held a position akin to the Village Chief of this settlement.
And that Helena had come here three thousand years ago.
And most importantly.
“The Tall Thin Man and Face Man? Ah!! Those must be the ones the lord mentioned. The servants of darkness and their prey.”
“Servants of darkness?”
[You have acquired the keyword 『Servants of Darkness』.]
At Yoo Sung-hyun’s question, the Village Chief nodded and replied.
“Yes, to be more precise, they are servants of the master who rules this Dark Forest. You would do well to be cautious of that Spider and its fruit.”
The Village Chief, who had maintained his smile throughout their conversation, now spoke without it, mentioning danger—a clear sign of genuine peril.
Upon hearing this, Yoo Sung-hyun nodded.
“Once you leave this village, they will surely attack you from all directions.”
“I understand.”
“But surely you, like the lord before you, have a reason for coming to this forest?”
Helena’s reason for coming here was to find Narisha and Berto.
And my reason was simply the Quest.
“To absorb the darkness, as the lord did three thousand years ago?”
At those words, Yoo Sung-hyun tilted his head in bewilderment.
That was the first I had heard of such a purpose.
Absorb the darkness?
What manner of tale was this?
Yoo Sung-hyun listened intently.
“The lord came and absorbed the darkness, gaining even greater power than when she first arrived! Gahahaha!!! And afterward, the darkness—the master of this forest—grew strong once more. You have come to absorb it again!”
Though I had not intended it.
Somehow, I had just learned the ultimate objective of this Quest.
To absorb the darkness.
And the master of this forest.
Upon hearing this, Yoo Sung-hyun immediately recalled that darkness which had coveted Helena’s power and manipulated both Narisha and Berto.
And to think that its minion was positioned outside this forest.
“…Well, you could say that.”
Yoo Sung-hyun nodded in agreement upon hearing the story.
The Village Chief spoke with a pleased smile.
“This village welcomes you anytime. Come rest when you grow weary!!!”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps sensing that Yoo Sung-hyun would depart immediately.
The Village Chief spoke as if promising a future meeting.
And Yoo Sung-hyun expressed his gratitude to the man and rose from his seat.
Should I go meet the minion of darkness called Spider right away?
Just as Yoo Sung-hyun was about to leave.
The Village Chief spoke, watching him.
“If you absorb the darkness and return, I’ll reward you again!!! The darkness has been growing thicker lately, and I’ve been quite worried about what to do.”
“Ah.”
[You can receive an additional reward for the final chapter of the Story Quest from the 『Village Chief of Wooden Drum Village』.]
To help me this much.
I was truly grateful.
Yoo Sung-hyun smiled warmly as he expressed his thanks.
The Village Chief told me to visit again anytime, then pulled out a wooden drum—when it had appeared, I couldn’t say—and shouted.
“May another benefactor arise for our village!!!”
“Hurrah! May a benefactor arise!!!”
“Hahahaha!”
Boom! Boom——! Boom———!
Following the Village Chief’s lead, the other Spirit Trees gathered and all beat the drum together in excitement.
Upon hearing that drum sound.
[You have heard the magnificent drum sound of the 『Spirit Trees』.]
[All stats temporarily increase by 5% for 1 hour.]
Yoo Sung-hyun smiled as he received the tremendous buff.
Everyone waved their hands to him and bid farewell as if to say, “Be careful out there.”
Well then, shall I go see the Tall Thin Man?
2.
The drum sound of Wooden Drum Village echoed with a steady beat.
From far away in the darkness that had been watching intently, something crunched as it chewed.
A spider with a human head dangling from a tree crunched on the head of a person hanging there, muttering with a frown.
“I want to tear apart the irritating drum of Wooden Drum Village.”
But this spider with a human head knew better than anyone that it could not do so.
A hateful sovereign.
The drum Helena had gifted prevented darkness from invading that village.
Because of this, Spider, a servant of darkness, could not venture into that area either.
I couldn’t even reach the entrance of the Dark Forest.
All because of that drum sound.
If it hadn’t been for that.
I could have tormented the intruder from the very entrance.
Those Spirit Trees I wanted to tear to shreds.
“I’ll rip them to pieces. Of course, before that….”
Spider spoke thus while watching Yoo Sung-hyun attempt to leave Wooden Drum Village, smiling with a bitter edge.
Without even resting, he walked into hell of his own volition.
How pathetic.
Though my master shared the same predicament—having lost all power because of that hateful sovereign, Helena, and now accumulating strength anew.
Yet three thousand years had passed.
I had recovered to some degree.
So I could be confident.
Above all, the hateful aura emanating from that intruder.
“That creature possesses the same power as that one. If I offer it to my master, he will gain even greater strength.”
Spider laughed thus while loosening my body, preparing to ambush Yoo Sung-hyun from the darkness.
Darkness was my stage.
And there were still plenty of human heads hanging from the trees.
He would be torn to pieces horribly, unable to withstand me.
Just as I was about to move with that conviction.
The spider with a human head sensed something strange.
“…What is this?”
I was about to rush at him immediately and kill him with a surprise attack.
But why?
My body refused to move.
Should I call it instinct?
An instinct telling me not to charge now.
Spider didn’t understand it and tilted my head, looking toward where Yoo Sung-hyun stood.
Then.
“!!!”
Our eyes met.
Despite the considerable distance between us.
Had my location been discovered?
No, that couldn’t be.
A mere human couldn’t possibly know my location.
It must be mere coincidence.
Spider thought thus, and just in case, was about to hide my body when.
I could see Yoo Sung-hyun’s lips moving from that distant place.
‘Found you.’
In that instant, a teal-hued portal materialized above the Spider’s head.
From within came the sound of muttering, and a decrepit old demon burst forth.
—Muttering away.
Simultaneously, a slash extended outward.
The Spider felt its spine tingle with dread and immediately fled the spot.
The densely packed trees were cleaved in an instant, carving open space around it.
And Yoo Sung-hyun, who had drawn near without warning, smiled faintly as he spoke.
“So I can reach here after all.”
The Spider swallowed hard as it beheld Yoo Sung-hyun and Dracanoss.
How had this come to pass?
There was no way to know.
But one thing was certain: the ambush had failed.
Now, escaping from that creature was the priority.
However.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Teal-hued portals multiplied and spread.
And from them emerged Nocturnium, Leonik, Baltar, Serpina, and even Fiora.
The Minions burst forth.
Every pupil in the Spider’s human head trembled violently.
Could it possibly escape from here?
3.
How much time had elapsed?
At least it felt like it took longer than with Narisha and Berto.
However.
—Hmm, it was rather anticlimactic.
—I agree.
—Muttering away.
—Hey, it was pathetically weak.
“I concur.”
The Minions muttered in evident dissatisfaction.
Sure enough, even after surpassing the second phase, the Spider had been subdued far too easily by the Minions.
“Gaaaahhh.”
All of its legs had already been severed.
And every human head surrounding it had been used up.
The Spider’s combat style—wielding spirits through human heads while spewing threads and venom.
Yet here, there was no one who would fall victim to such tactics.
Especially when it attacked by manipulating spirits.
Yoo Sung-hyun activated his death aura and claimed all the spirits as his own.
From the Spider’s perspective, it felt as though it might lose its mind entirely.
“You all did well.”
Yoo Sung-hyun approached the Minions who had captured Spider, offering his praise regardless of their protests.
To his commendation,
-Oh, it was nothing, Lord. The creature was far less formidable than expected.
-We exist to accomplish whatever you command, my liege.
-Murmur, murmur, murmur.
-Noya says it was nothing at all, my Lord.
-I-I really didn’t do much.
“It was simpler than anticipated.”
Though they all claimed it was nothing,
they wore peculiar smiles—clearly delighted by Yoo Sung-hyun’s praise.
Adorable creatures, more so than I’d expected.
In any case,
Yoo Sung-hyun approached Spider and asked,
“So, will you tell me who your master is? A servant of darkness?”
“M-Me, speak?! My absolute loyalty shall never waver, not even in death!!!”
With that cry, Spider took its own life.
Spider died before Yoo Sung-hyun could even react.
But as Spider’s spirit rose above the corpse,
Yoo Sung-hyun saw the spirit,
and Spider’s spirit grinned like a lackey as it spoke.
-Ah! You mean the Dark Lord? I’ll tell you anything!

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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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