The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 253

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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 253
253
5.
Before the Spine of Ten Thousand Soldiers and the Stomach of Corrosion were destroyed.
In other words, before Sung-hyun’s broadcast suddenly ended.
Sung-hyun was growing somewhat bored.
No one had yet arrived at the path leading to the Corrupted Heart.
To what extent was he bored?
‘Did I catch them too quickly?’
The thought even crossed my mind that I had defeated the enemies far too swiftly.
Of course.
-What’s with this new skill???
-The darkness-related skill is so cool;;;;
-Did you switch to a darkness-related class?
-Now that you mention it, aren’t most of your minions also shrouded in darkness?
-Oh? You’re right???
While engaging with the viewers to ease the tedium.
It wasn’t entirely satisfying.
There wasn’t much he could say about his own class anyway.
“I’d appreciate it if you thought of it as a Dark Mage rather than darkness-related.”
Regardless of other matters, Rapid had instructed him to keep quiet about his class as much as possible.
So he had no intention of saying more than necessary.
While engaging in various other exchanges.
A system message appeared.
[The path to the 『Corrupted Heart』 opens.]
A message stating that the Spine of Ten Thousand Soldiers and the Stomach of Corrosion had been destroyed.
Finally, the path was open and it was time to work.
‘Excellent.’
The viewers were equally excited, flooding the chat.
-Whoa, entering first!!!!
-The strategy was seriously incredible;;;
-I saw other streams and he got credit from other locations by sending minions;;;
-Really outstanding tactical sense….
Chat messages acknowledging Sung-hyun poured in.
However, now that Sung-hyun was about to enter the Corrupted Heart, he paid them little mind.
More excited about the prospect of engaging in fresh combat than the broadcast, just as he was about to enter.
Something came to mind.
[Conditions fulfilled.]
[First place in contribution points in 『Apopis Interior』 (Completed)]
[Third advancement of 『Overload』 (Completed)]
[『Overload』 Story Quest 『Helena’s Diary 1』 (Completed)]
[『Overload』 Exclusive Skill – 3 or More Lord-Class Skills (Completed)]
These suddenly appeared?
Judging by the viewers’ reactions.
It seemed these messages were visible only to me.
Just as I was wondering how I should respond.
[Conditions satisfied. Proceeding to the hidden stage 『Apopis’s Heart』 instead of 『Corrupted Heart』.]
[All external connections will be severed.]
“Huh?”
With that single utterance, the broadcast and everything else cut out.
Simultaneously, I felt myself being transported somewhere.
I found myself in a place engulfed entirely in darkness.
The previous location hadn’t been particularly bright either.
But at least there had been enough light to discern my surroundings.
This place had none of that.
‘Is this something Overpalace prepared?’
A hidden stage accessible only to those with the highest notoriety.
Hidden stages are desirable, but being thrust into one so abruptly.
Left me feeling rather disoriented.
As I attempted to survey my surroundings, I noticed several things had vanished.
The broadcast chat I could see was gone, and the indicator showing I was live had disappeared.
Just to be safe, I checked if video recording was still active.
The recording hadn’t been blocked—the recording indicator appeared.
‘Fortunately, the recording is still going.’
The system connection was severed.
If I hand this over to Rapid later and upload it as a video, the view count should be quite impressive.
Anyway, enough about external matters.
Now I needed to understand what this hidden stage was.
Apopis’s Heart.
That meant.
‘The Corrupted Heart isn’t Apopis’s true heart?’
That’s likely what it means.
After organizing my thoughts, I surveyed my surroundings and grasped at the darkness.
All the darkness surrounding me became mine to command.
And everywhere my gaze fell, everything began to reveal itself with perfect clarity.
“Hmm.”
By all appearances, it resembled the 『Interior of Apopis』.
Except for the absence of light.
Pale pink walls and floor resembling internal organs.
Observing the slightly undulating walls and floor, I felt no particular sense of alienation.
However.
There was one difference from before.
Thump—!
Thump——!
Thump——!
Thump———!
The floor and walls trembled ever so slightly.
And I could unmistakably recognize the sensation of those vibrations.
‘A heartbeat.’
As the pulse reverberated and reached me, I felt something distinctly amiss.
If I could sense the heartbeat’s vibrations here now.
Why hadn’t I felt it until just moments ago?
Wasn’t I standing right before the Corrupted Heart?
‘Is this truly inside Apophis’s body?’
Then that place was merely something shaped like Apophis?
I couldn’t fully comprehend it.
But I grasped enough.
A hidden stage.
This was Apophis’s true body.
With that realization, I turned my gaze toward the seemingly endless corridor ahead and began walking.
‘A place I can handle alone.’
Then I should leave the Corrupted Heart to my other teammates.
With that reasonable thought, I moved forward.
What awaited at the end of this corridor?
My expression brimmed with curiosity.
6.
The Erosion Poison Spring and the Corrupted Heart were separated by considerable distance.
Helena had not yet reached the Corrupted Heart.
Unlike the other servants, her movement was taking considerably longer.
And it was then that Helena, heading toward the Corrupted Heart, could sense it.
Yoo Sung-hyun had vanished.
Stop—!
In the midst of flying through the air alongside Fiora.
Her movement came to an abrupt halt.
Fiora, too, had shifted into the form of a swift bird before reverting to her true self, skidding across the ground and carving a long furrow before stopping.
Whoosh——!
Seeing Helena suddenly stop, Fiora tilted her head in confusion.
Helena spoke to Fiora.
“Hmm, where did Sung-hyun go?”
-Huh? Uh, where could he have gone?
Yoo Sung-hyun’s aura vanished abruptly.
Yet no matter how hard she searched, she could not sense it.
Helena, displeased with the situation, delicately creased her beautiful face and folded the parasol she always carried, then tapped the ground with it as if it were a staff.
The parasol touched the ground lightly.
In that instant.
Thud.
The small vibration rippled outward, and the ashen aura of the abyss spread in all directions.
As the abyssal energy, whose depths could not be fathomed, spread in every direction.
Helena could perceive everything within a remarkably vast range.
From the shattered Erosion Poison Spring to the collapse of the Spine of Ten Thousand Soldiers, to the sight of every head falling from the Stomach of Corrosion.
She could perceive it all.
And even the traces of fierce battle before the Corrupted Heart toward which she was heading.
Yet nowhere could she find Yoo Sung-hyun.
“Hmm, this is troublesome.”
-You… cannot find him?
“It seems so.”
I had a rough idea of where Yoo Sung-hyun had disappeared to.
But I could not be certain.
So Helena did not give a definitive answer.
And as Fiora grew restless at that response.
Helena smiled softly and stroked Fiora’s head.
‘If Sung-hyun has vanished, there is a high probability that our dear disciple has prepared something.’
Apophis itself was a gift box that her disciple had prepared for Yoo Sung-hyun.
It was certain.
Then what was important now? What should Helena do?
It was simple.
Right now, Yoo Sung-hyun holds first place in contribution.
Helena did not understand such systematic matters.
But she understood that Yoo Sung-hyun’s accomplishments in this place were important overall.
And she also knew well that her own actions, as Yoo Sung-hyun’s retinue, would add to his accomplishments.
Then what Helena had to do was simple.
“Let us go together, Fiora.”
-Wh-what!? But… the Lord…?
In the past, Fiora would have hung on Helena’s every word.
But still anxious, Fiora asked after Yoo Sung-hyun’s wellbeing first.
Rather than feeling disappointed, Helena stroked Fiora approvingly, as if to say that was how it should be.
I was a phantom of the past.
Resurrected by Yoo Sung-hyun’s power like this.
Yet I considered even that to belong to him.
So like Fiora, I thought only of Yoo Sung-hyun.
“Sung-hyun will be fine. We need to do our part. That’s the best way we can help him.”
-Y-yes, understood!
“Then shall we go capture the Corrupted Heart?”
At Helena’s words, Fiora transformed anew, and Helena likewise unfurled her parasol, drifting lightly into the air.
Yet despite her buoyant, graceful ascent.
Helena’s speed was considerable, allowing her to reach the Corrupted Heart before anyone else.
And unlike Sung-hyun.
Helena gazed upon it with a peculiar smile and murmured softly.
“A heart that does not beat….”
-R-really!?
Fiora too grasped Helena’s meaning, tilting her head in bewilderment.
For as they approached the heart, no pulse could be felt at all.
With that realization, the two advanced toward the Corrupted Heart.
Gradually, monsters began to reveal themselves.
Serpentine humanoids fashioned from black blood.
With a hissing sound, they flicked their tongues and brandished weapons and fangs of blood, threatening Helena and Fiora.
As if to declare they would never allow passage to the heart.
These monsters bore a resolute determination.
Yet Fiora and Helena attacked without hesitation.
Celestial energy bloomed in the void, forming spears, while abyssal energy erupted from the ground, ensnaring them.
The celestial spears soon shot forth, piercing each creature’s heart in unison.
Simultaneously, Fiora’s eyes widened as she unleashed her power.
It was not comparable to a dragon’s breath.
Yet as considerable force surged forth in waves.
Every corpse of the creatures with spears embedded in their hearts crumbled to dust and vanished.
Thus dispatching the monsters in a single stroke, Helena and Fiora swiftly advanced toward the Corrupted Heart.
Faster than anyone else.
7.
A path shrouded in darkness.
Sung-hyun walked through it in silence.
How far had I traveled?
The further I ventured through the Corridor, the more pronounced the heartbeat became.
Thump—!
Thump———!
It felt as though my own heart was pounding violently.
I had once heard that when a friend stood right before a club’s speakers, the bass was so overwhelming that one’s own heartbeat became distinctly audible.
Was this a similar sensation?
Even as I felt the illusion of hearing my own heartbeat alongside it.
I pressed forward.
A fairly expansive clearing came into view.
The space was enclosed on all sides by walls, floor, and ceiling that resembled flesh, with thick veins spreading throughout.
More precisely, they radiated outward from the center.
Across the entire body.
And at the ends of those veins.
Thump——.
Thump———.
Thump————!
A heart was pounding with violent force.
A heart far larger than Yoo Sung-hyun himself.
Would this be what it looked like to witness a whale’s heart beating directly?
No—it appeared far larger than that.
Yoo Sung-hyun now felt he had truly arrived at the heart itself, and he surveyed his surroundings.
He thought that a battle would soon commence in this place.
And that thought became reality.
Thump——!
The heart beat with unusual ferocity.
In that same instant, something burst forth from the heart.
At first glance, it resembled a parasite—a pure white serpent.
Initially small in size, but from the moment it erupted from the heart, it grew progressively larger.
Soon it had expanded to fill the entire clearing.
And the instant it had grown massive, it opened its jaws toward the heart from which it had emerged.
Gulp——.
It swallowed it whole.
Then.
[Hidden Stage, 『Apopis’s Heart』 is about to commence.]
As Yoo Sung-hyun read those words and prepared for battle.
A strange thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘Is that Apophis?’
To anyone’s eyes, it appeared to be Apophis’s true form.
But if it’s called the god of black serpents, shouldn’t it be black rather than pure white?
As this thought crossed Yoo Sung-hyun’s mind.
In that moment, he could perceive something peculiar.
Above the head of that colossal white serpent, a translucent teal-hued phantom of another pure white serpent.
-Ssssshhhhh?
“…?”
It was the ghost of a serpent.

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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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