The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 24

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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 24
Episode 24
The Golden Goblin.
It was a concept that appeared frequently in games.
The same held true in Eternal World.
“When you say golden goblin, you’re usually talking about those common mobs that carry lots of treasure, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“There was a golden goblin in Perseville too?”
Lee Won-sang sighed as he watched his junior, who hadn’t yet mastered all the hidden pieces.
Oh Jin-hyuk flinched at that sigh, feeling the sting of it.
What could he do about not knowing?
He had to ask.
Lee Won-sang nodded, accepting this as the way of things.
“To be precise, it should be called a treasure goblin.”
“Huh?! Then that user already knew about it and left with it, didn’t they?”
“Hmm, that’s possible, but I doubt it. It’s a creature unique to the Goblin Settlement in Perseville, not found in other goblin settlements, and it’s already dead.”
“Really?”
If it were dead, they wouldn’t fail to discover it entirely, but wouldn’t it be difficult?
As Oh Jin-hyuk thought this to himself,
Lee Won-sang continued.
“Yeah, another user killed it thinking it was just a common goblin, didn’t discover the hidden piece, and left for another town.”
“Ah!”
Now that made it certain.
The clue to the hidden piece was now lost.
In such cases, no one else could discover the clue, and the hidden piece itself was lost.
It wasn’t completely gone, but the developers knew it was essentially impossible.
That’s why they called it a lost hidden piece.
But why?
Oh Jin-hyuk found it strange as he watched his senior’s expression harden completely.
‘Why is he like that?’
It was clearly a lost hidden piece.
There should be nothing to worry about.
“Since it’s a lost hidden piece, that user won’t be able to obtain it either.”
“…I suppose so.”
He was answering,
but Lee Won-sang looked anxious.
Yet soon he nodded and smiled.
“Haha, yeah, he won’t find that. How could anyone find a lost hidden piece?”
“Haha! Exactly! You really are something, senior!”
For someone who’d been stripped of all his basic rare skills by some inexplicable force, he certainly laughed a lot.
4.
The Perseville Plains, known as the largest hunting ground in Perseville, was home to numerous monsters.
From beast-type monsters like deer, wolves, and foxes to humanoid monsters like goblins, zombies, and skeletons.
The variety was as vast as the terrain itself.
If one were to ask which monster dominated the plains, the answer would undoubtedly be goblins.
But were goblins truly strong? Not particularly.
Ask any user, and they’d say goblins were weak across the board.
Yet they were infuriating.
They hunted in packs, were cunning, and laid ambushes and traps with calculated precision.
Among all the monsters users faced on the Perseville Plains, goblins were the most exasperating.
That was certainly what Lee Sung-young believed.
‘Hmm.’
But witnessing the massacre unfolding before my eyes made that fact seem unbelievable.
The clang of metal reverberated through the air.
The acrid stench of blood rose from the slaughter ground.
“Keruk!”
“Kyahak!”
“Keuruk!”
-Keruk! (Kill them!)
-Kehuk! (Victory for our master!)
-Kekek ke! Keruk! (Our ancestral lands! Dye them with death!)
-Krukkek ke! (For our Lord!)
The ones being slaughtered were goblins, and the ones slaughtering them were undead shrouded in black darkness, radiating a cyan aura.
Yet from their size and appearance, it was immediately apparent that these undead had once been goblins in life.
Witnessing what amounted to kinslaughter, I scratched my cheek.
Was this gruesome?
That thought crossed my mind for a moment.
[Death Soldier defeats a goblin.]
[You gain experience.]
[Death Soldier defeats a goblin.]
[You gain experience.]
[Death Soldier defeats a goblin.]
[You gain experience.]
…(continued)
An endless cascade of experience points flooding in.
It wasn’t long before.
[Death Soldier defeats a goblin.]
[You gain experience.]
[Level Up!]
It was far too easy.
Even Beziron at level 30 could only manage five skeletons and two zombies, yet Lee Sung-young at merely level 10 had absorbed a lower-tier undead generator and was now commanding twenty undead creatures.
Ah, my level just increased to 11.
How long did it take to annihilate an entire Goblin Settlement?
Roughly under ten minutes.
‘This is absurd.’
Even watching it myself, the results defied logic.
Of course, the mana consumption was beyond imagination.
The battle lasted merely ten minutes, yet less than ten percent of my mana remained.
Since I’d eliminated the entire settlement, there was no need to maintain the skill any longer.
I attempted to deactivate Legion of Death.
I’d managed to create twenty undead, but while it was disappointing, there was no helping it.
Maintaining them alone drained my mana reserves.
In moments like these, I envied the Mortuary that Beziron used.
It allowed him to store undead creatures.
But regret or not, there was nothing I could do now.
As I deactivated the skill, the goblin undead lined up in formation and bowed respectfully toward me.
-Kekruk! Kek-kek! (It was an honor to serve you!)
-Ker-geuk! Kekruk! (Oh! Lord! My Lord!)
-Kehuk! Kekruk! (Infinite glory to our Master!!!)
-Ker-huk-huk! (Infinite victory to the Lord!!!)
They cried out their loyalty to me among themselves before crumbling to dust and vanishing.
‘…That’s quite something.’
Even I laughed awkwardly, taken aback.
Their loyalty was beyond words.
It was far better than creatures that wouldn’t obey.
They were just a bit noisy, that’s all.
After the undead disappeared, I wondered if the goblin spirits remained.
They did not.
They all vanished as if ascending to a better place.
‘I hope they go somewhere good.’
Though I had killed them, they disappeared satisfied until the very end.
Well, that’s good enough.
As I thought this to myself.
[You have single-handedly eliminated the Goblin Settlement.]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Goblin Slayer’.]
[You have led undead to eliminate a large number of enemies.]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Apprentice Necromancer’.]
‘Oh.’
Welcome messages appeared.
It felt like it had been a long time since I’d seen these.
What kind of titles would they be this time?
Goblin Slayer was a bit clichéd, though.
Still, let me check.
『Goblin Slayer』
→《Rare》
→A title granted to users who single-handedly eliminated the Goblin Settlement.
→Attack power increases by 2.5% when hunting goblins.
『Apprentice Necromancer』
→《Rare》
→A title granted to still-inexperienced Dark Mage users who led undead to eliminate large numbers of enemies.
→Health of subordinate undead increases by 5%.
‘Not bad.’
I couldn’t say they were incredibly powerful, but they were quite practical for everyday use.
Sufficiently good titles.
I was reasonably satisfied and thought about moving elsewhere to hunt.
My mana was nearly depleted, but my health hadn’t taken a hit.
There were still enemies I could take down with my sword.
Once my mana recharged, I could hunt with undead again anyway.
I was about to move.
Something appeared in one corner of the Goblin Settlement.
Was there a remaining goblin?
That couldn’t be.
I’d obtained the title precisely because I’d eliminated the entire settlement.
Besides, my Death Soldiers wouldn’t have missed a single one.
I looked at that spot intently.
‘Huh?’
There was a semi-transparent goblin, different from the others.
Semi-transparent with legs in an unstable form, as if pixels were breaking apart.
A goblin ghost.
I’d already seen monster ghosts when raising corpses, so I wasn’t startled.
But I found it curious that monster ghosts could wander around separately like this.
Intrigued, I approached.
The ghost was equally startled to see me.
-Whoa!? Our settlement fell, and I wondered who it was, but you’re quite the formidable one!
“Huh?”
I was even more surprised by the goblin ghost’s words.
The goblin Death Soldiers I’d controlled spoke in goblin tongue, but this goblin was clearly speaking in human language.
In Eternal World’s terminology, it was the common tongue.
How could a goblin speak the common tongue?
My eyes gleamed with curiosity even as I tilted my head in confusion.
A ghost as unusual as this one was likely to possess something of value.
-Tsk tsk! You seem quite surprised. A mere goblin speaking the common tongue must have caught you off guard, yes?
“Honestly, it did.”
-From my youth, conducting business with humans allowed me to pick up the language naturally. My somewhat sharper intellect compared to my kin certainly helped as well.
The glimmer of wisdom radiating from those eyes was so profound it created the illusion of gazing upon a sage.
This was undoubtedly a wise goblin.
Even the manner of speech carried a distinctly archaic air.
Yet even a monster ghost, it seemed, could harbor goodwill toward Sung-hyun.
After witnessing him sweep through the settlement, the goblin still offered guidance kindly and even praised his accomplishments.
I found myself thinking anew that all these ghosts were remarkably kind to me.
-Tsk tsk! Since we have met by fate’s design, great one, would it be acceptable if I offered you the treasures I have accumulated over the years?
“Treasures?”
-Though I am but a lowly goblin, the wealth I have gathered is quite considerable.
“Oh?!”
I was genuinely taken aback.
I had heard that Eternal World had creatures commonly called golden goblins.
Could this goblin ghost actually be one of those legendary golden goblin ghosts?!
What fortune had befallen me.
My face must have betrayed my eager anticipation.
The goblin ghost smiled contentedly and nodded slowly.
-Tsk tsk, I am delighted by your enthusiasm. Allow me to guide you then. For reasons unknown to me, I find myself unable to depart this place.
“I see.”
So this was what they called a bound spirit—a ghost anchored to a location.
Such cases did occur from time to time.
Ghosts unable to venture beyond their confines.
This goblin ghost must be one of them.
I nodded in understanding.
The goblin ghost provided detailed directions to guide me on my way.
Then, suddenly—
‘Wait?’
A sensation I had never felt before washed over me.
I had found my way through ghosts’ guidance many times before.
Yet I had never gained their memories or experiences.
But having absorbed so many encounters already, could it be different now?
Inexplicably, I sensed that I could make this goblin ghost’s memories and experiences my own.
And acting on pure instinct, I reached out my hand.
-Oho?!
“Ah.”
The goblin ghost’s memories and experiences flooded into me.
Teal-colored pupils gleaming, and a teal-hued aura emanating from behind my back.
I had accepted the goblin ghost’s memories and made them my own.
Having absorbed the memories in an instant, I swept through Kah-hoo-koo’s life like a panorama and spoke.
“Kah-hoo-koo?”
-That’s right! Yes!!! That’s my name.
“I see.”
-Ah! Now you can find your way without my explanation. Truly a great one!!!
“Hmm.”
I cleared my throat, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
In any case, I could now navigate the path with ease.
Moreover, I learned about the traps and the special goblins guarding them.
If I prepared in advance, there would be nothing to worry about.
My mana was running low anyway, so I needed something to do—this worked out perfectly.
‘Thank you. Because of you, I was able to find this place.’
Now I conveyed my thoughts to him.
The goblin ghost, Kah-hoo-koo, understood me and nodded with a satisfied expression.
-Not at all. It’s more than enough that I could be of help to such a great one. Tsk tsk! When I go to the afterlife, I’ll have something to boast about.
‘Haha….’
Ghosts always flatter you like this.
It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, so I finished thanking him and was about to leave.
I was about to leave, but at that moment, I sensed someone approaching.
And at a considerable speed at that.
Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed, but my sense perception had developed through the experiences of Former Instructor Ghost Eddie and hunter Apik.
Someone extraordinarily fast was heading this way.
From their footsteps alone, it was clear they were deliberately targeting this place.
‘What is this?’
Another user who found the hidden piece first?
But according to Kah-hoo-koo’s memories, the user who killed him didn’t take the map that Kah-hoo-koo had.
That meant no user knew about this hidden piece.
So why were they approaching so quickly?
With that question in mind, I looked toward the direction.
Not long after, I could see a man in neat attire like a business suit, his hair disheveled from running, approaching me.
‘Hmm?’
I had seen users in such clothing even in the Common Cemetery.
I hadn’t paid attention then, but looking closely now.
I could tell he was a Scouter.
It was occasionally mentioned in strategy guides.
Beginner guides that warned to watch out for users dressed neatly like office workers.
Since I had only been playing for a single day.
And had no intention of joining a Guild yet, I hadn’t given it much thought.
But something felt off.
Why would a scout come running desperately all the way here?
That’s what Lee Sung-young was thinking.
The scout who had been rushing over moments ago now alternated his gaze between Lee Sung-young and the devastated Goblin Settlement, then bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
“Hello! I’m Lee Sung-young, a scout for the Sick Brothers! I’ve taken the liberty of coming here because I desperately want to recruit you as a Dark Mage for our guild!”
“Huh? Me? Why would you….”
“Eh?”
Lee Sung-young was taken aback by my confused reaction.
He straightened up slightly, his eyes studying me with a hint of uncertainty.
His gaze seemed to ask: Could I have made a mistake?
He was quite handsome.
With only a ten percent customization limit from the original template, the odds of the base form being attractive were extremely high.
I hadn’t heard all the details from the informant, but this seemed to match.
Usually, when scouts extend recruitment offers, people claim to be the target even if they aren’t.
But seeing this reaction made me uneasy.
‘Wait, did I get it wrong?’
Doubt crept in for a moment.
“You’re… the Dark Mage who summons those unusual undead, aren’t you?”
“Yes? Oh, that’s me.”
“And you received training at the Special Job Training Center….”
“Yes, that’s me too.”
So it is you then.

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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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