The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 25

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

Episode 25
Episode 25
Lee Sung-young was momentarily at a loss for words, staring blankly at Sung-hyun as he tried to process what had just happened.
Sung-hyun was only now beginning to understand.
‘Ah, so I’ve drawn more attention than I realized.’
It was only now that he truly grasped it.
He’d been aware that surrounding players and NPCs made a fuss far too often, enough to feel embarrassed, but he hadn’t realized how remarkable that actually was.
He knew Overlord was a prestigious class.
But he’d never mentioned it to anyone.
He hadn’t even noticed that Lee Sung-young was trying to recruit him.
Sung-hyun’s expression shifted to one of dawning realization.
Lee Sung-young spoke again.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I’m Lee Sung-young, a scout for Sick Brothers. I’ve taken the liberty of seeking you out to extend a guild recruitment offer.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Since I don’t want to interfere with your hunting, I’ll simply hand you my business card and be on my way.”
“A business card?”
“Yes, here it is.”
He quickly approached Sung-hyun and handed over his business card item.
Having delivered the card, Lee Sung-young silently exulted within himself.
But he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Based on the reaction, it didn’t seem like it, but one could never be too sure.
“By the way, have you received any offers from other guilds…?”
“No, never.”
“Ah!!”
Hearing Sung-hyun’s words, Lee Sung-young silently exulted once more.
‘I did it!!!’
This was certain.
He’d finally landed the big catch.
He’d reeled in a female player from the Special Job Training Center on the way here, but Sung-hyun was the main prize.
The big catch who’d learned all skills in just one day, according to what that Special Job Training Center female player had told him!
If Lee Sung-young’s prediction was correct.
‘He’s already at least an Epic-grade class user.’
He truly was a remarkable catch.
Conversely, Sung-hyun watched as Lee Sung-young approached him like a whirlwind, feeling bewildered.
He hadn’t understood at first, but now he grasped why the scout was so excited.
But still.
‘Hmm, is that really it?’
In a world where people earn money through games.
He supposed it was possible, but he didn’t fully understand it.
Was Lee Sung-young picking up on Sung-hyun’s uncertainty?
Lee Sung-young’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
Most other scouts would have pestered relentlessly at this point, pushing hard for a contract.
But Lee Sung-young was different.
A true specialist among scouts!
“Well then, if you’re interested, feel free to contact me anytime and I’ll get back to you! Of course, I can match the industry’s best terms! Thank you so much for taking the time!!! See you later!!!”
Lee Sung-young had arrived like a whirlwind and vanished just as quickly.
Watching Lee Sung-young sweep through with such frenetic energy, I blinked repeatedly as he became a distant speck, then pulled out the business card he’d left behind.
『Sick Brothers – Guild Ranking #12 Overall』
-Scout Lee Sung-young
-Game Messenger Code: iliilillili
“???”
Based on their behavior, I’d assumed they were just some ordinary guild.
They were ranked far higher than I’d expected.
-Congratulations!!! As expected of such a great person. Your fame is surely spreading widely among humans!
‘No, that’s not it.’
This was my first scout offer.
It doesn’t warrant that much praise.
Still, it was true that a respectable organization had reached out.
I studied the business card intently, lost in thought.
A guild ranked 12th overall.
‘That’s impressive.’
In a game hailed as the greatest since the dawn of gaming itself.
Ranking 12th among all guilds in Eternal World, loved by two billion players, was absolutely staggering.
Even if I didn’t know the full reality of Eternal World, I understood it was enormous.
From what I’d seen on the news, major guilds apparently held positions comparable to large corporations.
Top-tier conditions from such a place?
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted.
‘Best treatment probably means salaries in the hundreds of millions, right?’
I didn’t know how much my sister earned, but wouldn’t it be something like that?
Excitement surged forward, but I quickly shook my head.
I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.
If the actual terms turned out worse than expected, disappointment would inevitably follow.
I think my sister mentioned having a guild too.
If they’re ranked 12th overall, maybe joining them would be better?
I should hear what my sister has to say about it.
After brief deliberation, I stored the business card in my inventory.
A business card is just a business card.
I still need to obtain the Hidden Piece.
‘Let’s go then.’
My mana had recovered quite a bit during all this commotion.
Let me handle this properly.
—Tsk tsk! Great one, please be careful of those creatures.
With Kah-hoo-koo’s farewell, Lee Sung-young set out.
0.
Dense forests stretched across both ends of the sprawling Perseville Plains.
Beyond those forests on either side loomed massive cliffs, making further progress considerably more difficult.
While technically classified as part of the Perseville Plains, the presence of forests and cliffs meant something different.
Some players regarded them as separate hunting grounds entirely.
The goblin settlements nested within these forests, yet they ventured far into the plains to attack players.
The settlement I’d raided was located somewhere within this very forest.
Following my memories, I traced the winding path forward.
I navigated through each twist and turn of the labyrinthine route.
Without prior knowledge, one would inevitably lose their way.
The trees grew so densely that even light barely penetrated.
The terrain made finding direction nearly impossible.
I was fortunate to possess these memories.
‘No wonder it remains undiscovered.’
From Kah-hoo-koo’s memories, the player who’d killed him had failed to obtain the compass that led to this place.
According to the memories, it was an item usable only by its owner, so they’d apparently spent considerable effort seeking magical solutions to reach here.
But I could freely access Kah-hoo-koo’s memories at will.
Finding the path was trivial.
Even Kah-hoo-koo would have struggled without the compass’s power.
Yet by leveraging Kah-hoo-koo’s memories and the hunter Apik’s experience, I could navigate while examining those recollections.
Hunters were specialists in pathfinding, after all.
Sifting through memories took some time, but I eventually found it.
A colossal cliff.
While called a Secret Cave, no entrance was visible—only this enormous cliff face, before which sat a single massive boulder.
At first glance, moving or destroying it seemed utterly impossible.
This was the place.
‘I’ve arrived.’
Behind that boulder lay the location where Kah-hoo-koo had hidden his treasure.
One might think the boulder needed to be moved to enter, but that wasn’t the case.
Instead, I confidently walked directly toward the boulder.
Just before impact—
I passed through the boulder and entered the interior.
‘The entrance is concealed by magic, so how could anyone discover it?’
Even if someone somehow lost their way through the forest and reached this location, finding it while hidden like this would be impossible.
Without these memories, I’d have wondered how to enter myself.
Upon stepping inside, a vast Secret Cave stretched before me.
It was the sort of cave that should have reeked of mustiness and damp moisture, yet no such odor emanated from it.
If anything, a faint fragrance even wafted from him.
In Kah-hoo-koo’s memory, he had always been immaculate and meticulous.
It seemed he maintained the Secret Cave where he’d hidden his treasures with the same care.
‘Impressive.’
Crystal orbs embedded in the ceiling illuminated the interior, so it wasn’t dark at all.
As I walked down the stretching passage, a doorway appeared that looked like the entrance to a Treasure Vault.
A massive door, and flanking it on both sides—two goblin statues clad in armor, gripping spears.
That was precisely where the treasure lay hidden.
I could have rushed forward to open the door, but instead I drew the steel sword and the tiger’s fang, preparing for combat.
The special goblins that guarded this place.
Or should I even call them goblins?
Grrrrr.
The grinding sound of stone echoed as the statues began to move.
At first, the goblin statues moved stiffly.
But soon, as if they’d adapted to the motion, they moved with fluid grace.
That was the true nature of the special goblins guarding this place.
The goblin statues spotted me and, judging me an intruder, charged forward.
[Lv.20 Goblin Statue]
[Lv.21 Goblin Statue]
Creatures nine to ten levels higher than me.
But I wasn’t worried.
I’d already defeated Beziron, who was level thirty.
I assessed the charging goblin statue’s movements and retreated backward.
Its speed wasn’t particularly fast.
But the sheer weight created an overwhelming pressure.
Whoosh! Crunch!
The goblin statue thrust its spear down at the spot where I’d been standing.
The cavern floor caved inward.
Judging by the force, a direct hit would be fatal.
As I was pushed back, I summoned bone arrows and hurled them at the goblin statue still charging toward me.
The bone arrows flew in an instant, striking the statue’s forehead with perfect accuracy.
Crack!
[The effect of 『One Strike!』 activates!]
But its defense was formidable—the bone arrow that should have embedded itself in the forehead crumbled instead, scattering into dust.
No critical hit registered.
Yet there was still some damage; the forehead bore a slight crack.
I brightened at the sight.
The goblin statue with the cracked forehead paused.
Then the other statue that had attacked the floor charged at me again.
I couldn’t keep dodging indefinitely.
That’s why.
Lee Sung-young charged forward instead.
‘Since it’s not a living creature, curses and death auras won’t work.’
The methods available to me right now were extremely limited.
I couldn’t use Death Aura or the Curse of Shared Pain.
Sensory Paralysis was the same.
If I got hit by that thing anyway, there wouldn’t even be bones left to recover.
As Lee Sung-young charged in, the Goblin Statue swung its spear again toward him as the distance closed.
Whoosh!
I lowered my body lightly to evade and burrowed into its embrace.
The Goblin Statue with the dented forehead thrust its spear toward Lee Sung-young.
Having just lowered my stance, my balance was set low, making it difficult to dodge.
But my eyes blazed with teal light as I drew upon the memories of Former Instructor Ghost Eddie and hunter Apik, maximizing my body’s flexibility.
Twisting my body against the low center of gravity, I slipped past the spear like a serpent, drove my steel sword into the Goblin Statue that had burrowed into my embrace, then gripped the Tiger’s Fang with both hands and thrust it toward its heart.
The Tiger’s Fang, blessed with piercing power, lodged brilliantly into the Goblin Statue’s heart.
Thunk!
[Critical Hit!]
[The effect of 『One Strike』 activates!]
I couldn’t pierce it cleanly like tofu, but I could drive it in like piercing wood.
Though I felt solid resistance, the piercing option was excellent.
Immediately after, I swiftly recovered the Tiger’s Fang and retreated, then activated a skill.
Teal light gathered in my palm, forming the shape of a spear.
As the light coalesced and manifested in the spear’s form.
Without hesitation, I stepped back and simultaneously twisted my body in mid-air to hurl the spear.
Whiiiing!
The vengeful spirits of the dead, tearing through the air, pierced precisely through the heart where I had thrust the Tiger’s Fang.
Crack!
The vengeful spirits lodged and penetrated the Goblin Statue’s body, the teal spear emerging from its back.
Since it wasn’t a living creature, there shouldn’t be a debuff from dark damage.
That’s what I thought in that moment.
[Dark damage is applied.]
[The Goblin Statue’s all sight and senses become impaired for 10 seconds.]
‘Huh?’
If it’s not a living creature but possesses sight and senses, does it apply?
Then this changes things.
Could it be because the level difference narrowed?
The duration extended even longer than with Beziron.
My eyes gleamed.
Regardless of what happened to its companion statue, the Goblin Statue with the dented forehead charged toward Lee Sung-young.
Still moving at a sluggish pace.
At that speed, I swung the spear.
The massive weight bore down with overwhelming force, and the violent wind pressure around me slashed past Lee Sung-young with lethal intent.
Whoooosh!
Hearing the air tremble and tear apart was enough to chill one’s blood.
Yet Lee Sung-young’s eyes remained unwavering as he fixed them on the Goblin statue, gripping Tiger’s Fang dagger, and drove it deep into the indented forehead of the Goblin statue that had been struck by the spear.
The large motion made it easy to drive in.
But the moment the Goblin statue saw Lee Sung-young driving into its body, it loosened its lower stance and attacked with its feet.
In an instant, the creature’s knee appeared before Lee Sung-young’s eyes as he drove in, but using that momentum, I gripped Tiger’s Fang and thrust the dagger toward the knee.
Squelch!
Tiger’s Fang embedded itself in the creature’s knee from its own force, and using that recoil, I withdrew Tiger’s Fang and retreated while simultaneously firing a bone arrow at the already-indented forehead.
Crack!
The bone arrow crumbled to dust and scattered, and the creature’s forehead became further indented.
Damage was accumulating steadily.
I wanted to use the vengeful spirits of the dead again here, but the cooldown time remained.
My attacks landed and I distanced myself from it.
The Goblin statue with the indented forehead made a strange sound.
Grrr.
Seeing the creature emit a sound of considerable frustration, I charged forward again.
If I gave it more time here, the creature that had lost its vision to darkness damage would recover.
The Goblin statue with its pierced heart, now recovered and regaining consciousness.
But it was already too late.
I moved my feet swiftly and reached the Goblin statue with the indented forehead in an instant.
However, this time the creature seemed resolved as well, prepared for injury, and thrust its spear at me.
It cared not what happened to its own body.
Seeing that resolve clearly in the attack, I also pressed forward with my assault.
My dagger, Tiger’s Fang, aimed for the indented forehead of the Goblin statue.
And the Goblin statue’s spear aimed for my heart.
My attack was faster, but the Goblin statue’s spear was equally swift as it reached for my heart.
A crimson veil-like barrier unfurled.
Thud!
The blood barrier blocked the spear’s attack, and my Tiger’s Fang….
Pierced!
It pierced through the creature’s head.
The Goblin statue with the indented forehead crumbled away.
A message appeared.
[You have achieved victory against a monster with a significant level difference!]
[Achievement unlocked!]
[You have obtained the title ‘Monster Slayer’]
[Experience gained!]
[Level Up!]×3
My level had risen by three.
And the lone goblin statue remained.
Despite losing its companion, the creature burned with fighting spirit and charged at me.
I had already summoned a bone arrow toward the creature whose heart had been pierced.
Unlike before, when it had shattered against its forehead,
the bone arrow now penetrated straight through its chest, lodging deep within.
Thunk!
Being made of stone, the creature showed no signs of pain or flinching.
It merely stumbled backward from the force of the bone arrow.
After that, I remained motionless until the moment it charged, then lightly sidestepped its spear thrust and clenched my other hand—the one not gripping the tiger’s fang.
A teal-colored spear materialized in my grasp.
The vengeful spirits of the dead surged from beneath the goblin statue, piercing through its heart and driving upward through its skull.
Crack!
As its head shattered in turn,
the statue crumbled into dust.
[You have achieved victory against a monster with a level difference!]
[You have gained experience points!]
[Level Up!]×1
[You have reached Level 15.]
All obstacles had been eliminated.
Now it was time to claim the reward.
I placed my hand on the Treasure Vault door.
[Hidden Piece: Opening the first Treasure Vault of Kah-hoo-koo, the Treasure Goblin.]

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