The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 233

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

Episode 233
233
Why would Plinky appear here of all places?
Isn’t he a descendant of the Sage?
And Plinky committed theft?
Something feels off about this.
A man with no need to steal has stolen something.
Which means.
‘He must know what’s hidden in that scroll….’
And if I recall what the Hero’s descendant I met recently, apprentice Hero Luke, said.
The pieces of this puzzle fell into place far more quickly than expected.
The current Sage and Hero are suspecting the Riescan Kingdom.
Regarding the death of the Former Hero, Hindel.
After turning these thoughts over in my mind, I posed a question to Terian.
“Is it possible anything else was stolen besides the Zircan Knights documents?”
“Hmm, I conducted a thorough investigation, but nothing else was taken.”
“Only that single item was stolen….”
As I continued to ponder this.
I asked another question.
“Have you reported this to your superiors, by any chance?”
“…Of course not. Shameful as it is, I’m trying to catch the thief and handle this quietly before anyone notices—to ensure there’s no fault on my part. Such incidents tend to reflect poorly on one’s record.”
Isn’t that actually worse?
If this comes to light later, you’ll face even harsher scrutiny.
Does he really believe that as long as it doesn’t get discovered, all is well?
Such thoughts crossed my mind.
But I chose not to voice them.
After all, my task was simply to catch the thief and retrieve the scroll and notebook.
So I replied accordingly.
“I understand. Thank you for your trust. I’ll pursue them immediately.”
At my response, Terian nodded with evident satisfaction.
He seemed quite confident in me.
With that settled, my thoughts grew deeper.
Before heading outside to give chase.
I turned over various possibilities in my mind.
‘Why didn’t they bother to hide what they stole?’
According to what I heard, the thief left no trace during the theft itself.
Yet they left evidence of what was taken, and made no attempt to conceal the theft itself.
Which suggests they wanted to make it known that this item was stolen.
If that weren’t the case.
If that’s not the case.
‘You know it doesn’t matter if the theft is exposed?’
Even now, Terian should have reported the stolen item to his superiors.
Yet he didn’t.
Considering the relationship between the Riescan Kingdom, the Hero, and the Sage.
He would certainly understand such bureaucratic procedures.
So he didn’t hide it openly?
Or was he deliberately hinting that it had been stolen?
Though I hadn’t seen much of Plinky, considering his nature.
‘It seems he knows something.’
I had the impression that Plinky already knew about that scroll and stole it, while also deliberately letting someone know about it.
The appearance Plinky showed—the Sage’s descendant—was nothing more than presenting himself as an eccentric boy to Yoo Sung-hyun.
But wouldn’t a true Sage have seen through this much?
With that thought, Yoo Sung-hyun activated the scent of death.
Why not try tracking him then?
7.
True to its epithet as a knight’s city, Sysvalt resembled a military fortress quite closely.
Yet its interior was remarkably vibrant.
Along the main thoroughfares, the streets bustled like a marketplace, selling all manner of goods.
Being a city of knights, security was hardly a concern.
Thanks to the achievements of the upper echelons, commoners could live safely, creating this lively atmosphere.
NPCs crowded the streets, moving about busily.
Players were no exception.
The aroma of street vendors and various foods sold at intersections wafted through the air, evoking the unique feeling of a marketplace.
Among the throngs of people.
A young girl—or perhaps a boy—smiled brightly while holding a skewer of grilled meat, savoring it delightfully.
“Mmm! This is delicious!”
That boy, wandering alone without a care, spoke cheerfully and excitedly as he moved about, listening to various conversations around him.
Among them, a story he’d been hearing frequently lately.
“Haha! Have you heard the news about the Iron Knight?”
“Ah, that foreign knight? I can’t quite remember his name.”
“Ah, what does a name matter? We just need to know about the Iron Knight!”
“That’s true. So what has this Iron Knight done this time?”
“Well, nothing concrete yet, but he appeared again after just five days?”
“Oh my? It seems trouble has erupted. If they’re calling the Iron Knight, haha!”
At the residents’ conversation, Plinky smiled quietly.
Already knowing who the Iron Knight was, Plinky couldn’t help but be delighted.
So he moved after all.
Then does he know it was me?
With that thought, I grinned and tried to move forward.
But the moment I was about to take a step, a chilling sensation ran down my spine, and as I turned my head.
My gaze met the eyes of a flaming skull.
What in the world?
I tried to blink in bewilderment, but before I could—
darkness erupted beneath my feet far more swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, it swallowed me whole.
What in the world!
I had no time to process my shock.
As my vision shifted, I swallowed hard.
Everything around me was dark.
A place devoid of even a single glimmer of light.
‘Is this even possible?’
I thought as much and tried to conjure a spell that would emit light.
Or rather, I did cast it—but even that radiance was absorbed by the darkness and vanished.
There was no way this could occur naturally.
Knowing this well, I looked around in considerable alarm.
My senses detected nothing,
yet I felt a presence nearby and trembled before speaking at once.
“I-I’m sorry!!!”
The moment I said that—
Whoooosh!
The darkness receded in an instant.
Light flooded the room, illuminating everything around me.
And someone within that room gazed at me with a faint smile.
I too smiled awkwardly at the sight.
“Shall we talk then?”
I swallowed hard as I looked at the one speaking so courteously—Yoo Sung-hyun.
There was no helping it.
‘When did he grow so much?’
He had grown far beyond the rumors I’d heard mere days ago.
Honestly, that darkness just now was executed with such perfection that it was difficult to believe it came from a foreigner.
Of course, it was a Lord’s skill.
It was only natural that I sensed it as such.
In any case—
“It’s been a while, Plinky.”
“Ah, haha, y-yes, Yoo Sung-hyun.”
An awkward reunion between us two.
Yet Yoo Sung-hyun, regardless, spoke to me.
“As you know, I’ve taken on a commission. I’m curious why our Sage’s descendant has resorted to theft.”
At those words from Yoo Sung-hyun,
my mind raced frantically.
I could tell from his words alone.
Yoo Sung-hyun had already figured out that I was the one who stole it.
Rather than discovering it through precise pursuit and finding Plinky, he’d known Plinky had stolen it even before that?
How?
‘Did I leave traces?’
That couldn’t be.
I hadn’t left any alchemical traces or my distinctive mana patterns.
Yet he still knew?
I was aware that Yoo Sung-hyun’s abilities were formidable.
But learning that he’d known all along left me genuinely astonished.
Perhaps I’d been underestimating him because he was an outsider.
‘He’s truly impressive.’
I had no choice but to acknowledge it inwardly.
I’d always thought he was absurdly competent compared to Hero Luke.
Yet it seemed I’d assumed he had limits precisely because he was an outsider.
As I reflected on this internally, my thoughts continued.
‘Then….’
Could he possibly know what this scroll is?
I looked at Yoo Sung-hyun with that thought in mind.
But I couldn’t read his thoughts at all.
Though he’d removed his mask, his emotions and thoughts were even more unreadable than when he wore it.
How could such a person exist?
I wondered if all Overload members were like this.
With that thought, I sighed and nodded.
“I have no idea how much you already know. I suppose I’ll have to reveal everything I know.”
Even as I spoke, I was probing Yoo Sung-hyun’s reaction.
But it didn’t work on him.
Rather, Yoo Sung-hyun looked at me with what seemed like amusement.
‘He’s sharp, as expected.’
We were observing each other, probing.
But there was nothing I could do.
The fact that I’d resorted to theft to secretly request help from Yoo Sung-hyun meant
‘they’ were now cornered to that extent.
Thinking this, Yoo Sung-hyun recalled Hero Luke and listened to what Plinky had to say.
And from Plinky’s mouth came information largely as I’d anticipated.
“First, the reason I stole this was because Hero Luke asked for my help.”
“Hmm.”
“You probably already know, but Hero Luke wanted to investigate after hearing from you to be wary of the Riescan Kingdom, but he’s essentially been confined to the Riescan Kingdom and can’t move freely. So he asked me to do it.”
“I see.”
I spoke as if I didn’t know, feigning ignorance.
Plinky smiled softly and continued.
“Anyway, while I was keeping watch over the Riescan Kingdom and investigating various things, I found that many knights were active, as befits a kingdom of knights. When I looked into any suspicious circumstances, this Knights Order seemed rather peculiar.”
“….”
Yoo Sung-hyun listened to Plinky without saying a word.
There were quite a few reasons for suspicion.
Plinky laid them out one by one as he spoke.
“First, there was one suspicious detail: after completing a single mission, half of the Knights Order suddenly retired. But here’s the interesting part—there were records of their retirement and also records of their continued activity afterward, existing simultaneously. The retirement records appeared in quite important documents, while the publicly known story was that they remained active.”
“Oh?”
“And the interesting thing is, both of those records showed signs of tampering.”
Tampering, then….
So it really was the Riescan Kingdom, I thought.
And seeing that, I became curious about what story lay behind it.
As my interest grew without knowing the details, Plinky continued speaking.
Plinky went on.
“The base where those knights operated was right here in Sysvalt, and the mission records of that Knights Order were written in the Archive here. When I checked them, I was quite shocked—this place was also tampered with, you see?”
“Hmm.”
Then that meant the details of that mission couldn’t be known?
It was somewhat disappointing.
But Plinky’s words didn’t end there.
“Ahem, but I was able to restore it. Although they tampered with it, there were traces left in this record, and I could restore them from those traces. So as a result, do you know what I discovered?”
“….”
Plinky spoke as if building suspense.
The expression on Plinky’s face, which had been smiling faintly, suddenly changed.
And with a chilling voice, I spoke.
“The mission the Zircan Knights received was to assassinate a girl from Blue Village. They claimed she was connected to an entity that posed a threat to the world. And after assassinating that girl and framing it as the work of Dark Mages, half of the Zircan Knights were killed.”
“…You don’t mean?”
“Yes, Blue Village has since been renamed Hindel Village, and the girl who was made to appear dead at the hands of Dark Mages was named Lumen Astra—the one and only blood relative of Hindel Astra.”
Upon hearing those words, I could only close my eyes for a moment.
And.
[You have obtained a secret keyword for 『Hero Luke』.]

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