The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 26

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

Episode 26
Episode 26
Hidden Piece: Kah-hoo-koo the Treasure Goblin’s First Treasure Vault.
That’s right.
The fact that this was Kah-hoo-koo’s first vault meant that a second and third vault existed as well.
Naturally, I knew the locations of all of them.
Crrrreeeeak.
The heavy vault door groaned open, revealing the interior in full.
It wasn’t a dazzling display of magnificent treasures, nor was the entire vault overflowing with riches.
The vault’s interior was modestly furnished, arranged comfortably for one person to live in, and a rather large treasure chest sat in the center of the living space.
Roughly a meter wide and half a meter deep?
I boldly threw open the chest that occupied considerable space.
Golden light burst forth, illuminating the room.
Whoooosh!
‘Wow.’
Even I, typically composed, felt my jaw drop at the sheer number of gold coins.
And the ring resting on top of them.
It was a reward that made my eyes spin.
As I examined the chest, the system responded immediately.
A notification appeared at once.
[You have obtained 555 Gold.]
[You have obtained the Rare+ grade item, ‘Ring of Protection’.]
555 gold.
Combined with the 104 gold I’d earned in Beginner Village, that made 659 gold total.
Considering the exchange rate of roughly one dollar per Silver, and ten Silver per gold, it amounted to at least nine million won.
My mind raced with calculations.
My eyes widened.
‘At least nine million?’
Money earned in just a single day.
If I were any other user, I would have simply gotten lucky finding this Hidden Piece today.
I wouldn’t have factored it into my average earnings.
But I was different.
I possessed a cheat key—whenever I found a specter, I could find a Hidden Piece.
I wouldn’t earn ten million won every single day like this.
But even half that amount was five million won.
‘Heh.’
So that’s why Eternal World had such a reputation for making money.
I recalled my sister’s words and swallowed hard.
The reason so many people were attempting to earn money through gaming.
Now I truly understood.
I’d felt it before when I earned over 100 gold in Beginner Village.
But this sensation hit far more profoundly.
Lee Sung-young shook his head with such thoughts, maintaining his composure.
‘I can’t always be this fortunate.’
Meeting a specter that knew the hidden piece was luck in itself.
So I steadied myself.
I already knew I could earn money well.
Now it was time to calm down and examine the rewards first.
‘I obtained the Ring of Protection and a title too. Let me check the title first.’
The title “Slayer of the Strong.”
Was it a title specialized in attack power?
Lee Sung-young opened the title with such curiosity.
『Slayer of the Strong』
→《Rare》
→A title granted to users who hunt monsters with a level difference of 10 or more.
→Defense +10% when fighting higher-level enemies.
‘Hmm.’
Not bad.
But it wasn’t an option I was particularly pleased with either.
An increase in defense would be nice, certainly.
‘Have I ever taken a direct hit?’
Aside from when I deliberately took one to test the poison buff on goblins, not really.
Still, having it wouldn’t hurt—I might need it someday.
After all, I can’t dodge every attack.
I examined the Ring of Protection in the same manner.
Based on its name, it seemed like it would be related to defense.
『Ring of Protection』
→《Rare+》
→A ring imbued with mysterious defensive magic that activates upon mere equipping.
→Defense +10%
→Once per day in critical situations, generates an automatic shield equal to 5% of the wearer’s maximum health.
‘Oh?’
It wasn’t simply an effect that boosted defense.
It generated an automatic shield for the wearer once per day?
It could block fatal blows or blind attacks.
This was quite excellent.
Lee Sung-young, satisfied, rose with a faint smile playing at his lips.
My business here was finished.
Time to head back, perhaps?
‘Let me return to the village and log out.’
Today had been quite eventful.
It was time to call it a day.
Though I wouldn’t have minded doing more.
Evening was approaching, after all.
I recalled my mother’s complaints about how my older sister Yoo Mi-na always logged in late during the evening hours.
She had a point.
Even I found it hard to log off now.
So I headed toward the village—Perseville.
Of course, I hadn’t forgotten what I needed to do first.
‘I should contact them once I arrive in the village, right?’
I pondered this while recalling the business card I’d received earlier.
They’d said to reach out if I was interested.
They could match the industry’s best terms.
First, I registered their messenger code.
‘Let me contact them once I’m outside.’
The Eternal World app existed, after all.
I could use the messenger on my smartphone even outside the game.
I wondered just how incredible the conditions they’d offer would be.
The anticipation was thrilling.
1.
From a developer’s perspective, Kah-hoo-koo, the treasure goblin, was undoubtedly a nightmare of a monster.
A mad goblin who had accumulated vast wealth from the first village through the second, third, and even fourth villages.
And his intelligence—how remarkably high it was.
His business acumen with humans was extraordinary.
He was equally difficult and troublesome to capture.
Catching Kah-hoo-koo as he roamed from the first village to the fourth, visiting each settlement, was no simple feat.
When such a treasure goblin appeared in the first village and was killed by a novice player, how many developers had cheered.
And when Kah-hoo-koo’s compass was lost, they cheered even louder.
Now all four treasure vaults from the first through fourth villages were lost.
How could anyone not be delighted?
Lee Won-sang was one of them.
It seemed like just yesterday he’d been celebrating with both hands raised.
So why?
“…Sir, it’s been cleaned out?”
At his subordinate Oh Jin-hyuk’s words from beside him, his teeth ground together.
But it was fine.
No, truly fine.
“…No, it’s trivial.”
“Sir?”
Oh Jin-hyuk stared at his superior with genuine concern, wondering if the man had lost his mind.
But Lee Won-sang regarded Oh Jin-hyuk with a look of utter disappointment.
“Thank goodness it wasn’t the third or fourth Treasure Vault.”
“Right!”
“If that had been raided, we’d have been in real trouble. The first village only had the Ring of Protection and 555 gold anyway.”
“Exactly!”
“Phew. I don’t even need to report something like this.”
“Really dodged a bullet there.”
“Indeed.”
As Lee Won-sang said this, he watched Sung-young return to the village and log out, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
That’s enough for today.
I can finally clock out.
Just as Lee Won-sang relaxed and began to stand from his desk.
Ji Hye-jung called out to him.
“Lee Won-sang, come over to my desk for a moment.”
“Oh.”
Her voice was certainly calm.
So why did an ominous premonition wash over me?
Lee Won-sang approached Ji Hye-jung’s desk with visible unease.
Ji Hye-jung’s expression had grown increasingly rigid as she spoke.
“Are you familiar with Overpellis?”
“Ah, of course. Unlike the White Mages who are divided by affiliation—like the Tower of Fire or Tower of Ice—it’s a place where all the Dark Mages united to form a tower. Among magical organizations, it’s arguably the strongest faction in the entire world.”
Lee Won-sang explained matter-of-factly.
Ji Hye-jung nodded as if she already knew.
Then she continued.
“Then you’re aware that Overpellis is the organization that serves the previous Overlord, Helena?”
“Huh? Yes? What? Wait?”
“…Sigh.”
A deep, weary sigh.
The organization serving the previous Overlord Helena is the world’s strongest magical faction.
So what reaction would they show toward Sung-young, who had just become the new Overlord?
It was painfully obvious.
“W-well, since they serve Helena, there shouldn’t be any connection….”
“There will be.”
“Y-yes, there probably will be.”
Watching Lee Won-sang attempt denial, Ji Hye-jung drove the nail home.
No matter how I thought about it, there had to be some connection, one way or another.
And.
“That ridiculous problem was also posed by Overpellis.”
“Ah.”
So they created such a problem because they serve Helena.
And Sung-young got all of it right?
“He legitimately proved his qualifications and became an Overlord.”
“Ah.”
Lee Won-sang responded with another vacant sound.
It couldn’t be helped.
Just looking at Sung-young’s trajectory now, he seemed destined to become the storm of this game.
If he were to unite with Overpellis?
I couldn’t even begin to imagine where that path would lead.
As Lee Won-sang stood there dazed,
Ji Hye-jung spoke up.
“We need to delay them meeting as much as possible.”
“Ah, understood!”
“We can’t interfere directly, but we must do everything we can to prevent it.”
Lee Won-sang nodded at those words.
“There haven’t been any connections to Overpellis so far, so it should be fine.”
“Create Quests and offer additional rewards, but keep them away from Overpellis.”
“You mean to lure him with additional rewards?”
Additional rewards for Sung-young, who was already running wild?
We’d have to give him something substantial, but Lee Won-sang nodded as well.
This had to be prevented no matter what.
“Yes. You can do that, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lee Won-sang answered with determination.
Ji Hye-jung nodded in relief.
Lee Won-sang was the most reliable junior when it came to getting things done.
That’s why Ji Hye-jung trusted him.
As Ji Hye-jung and Lee Won-sang were having this conversation,
Oh Jin-hyuk was growing anxious, worried that Lee Won-sang might get scolded, when a video suddenly appeared on Lee Won-sang’s screen.
‘Huh? The Sung-young user logged out, so why is there a screen?’
Usually, screens appeared when NPCs related to a user moved.
But Oh Jin-hyuk, still a newcomer, didn’t fully grasp this yet.
Curious, he took a closer look.
There, he could see a familiar NPC sending a letter somewhere.
‘The village chief of Hindel Village?’
And the muttering words as well.
“His successor has appeared. It is time for the palace to move.”
Oh Jin-hyuk didn’t understand it and tilted his head, dismissing it as unimportant.
Just an NPC’s action.
And he moved on.
If Lee Won-sang had known, he would have wept tears of blood.
Oh Jin-hyuk had no idea how serious the situation truly was.
2.
The capsule opened, and I stepped out.
Extended gaming sessions typically left one drenched in exhaustion.
But I felt nothing of the sort.
If anything, I felt refreshed?
‘Hmm, my body doesn’t feel stiff at all.’
The memories and experiences I’d gained from the spirits were manifesting in reality as well.
My physical body had benefited considerably from this phenomenon.
I felt it instinctively as I left the room.
The house was quiet—no one had returned yet.
Mother Lee Na-kyung had gone out for an appointment, and Father Yoo Kwang-jin hadn’t returned from work either.
As for my older sister Yoo Mi-na…
It was predictable.
‘She’s still logged in.’
I opened my sister’s room and saw the capsule still running.
Seeing she was connected, I casually opened my smartphone.
The Eternal World app I’d downloaded in advance.
It was an incredibly useful application that let you check character information and use in-game messaging.
You could also use the in-game exchange system and auction house through it.
Anyone playing Eternal World would have this app—there was no exception.
As I entered through the app, I checked my contacts.
A registered user appeared in my messenger.
Since I’d only registered one user, only one name showed up.
I didn’t hesitate and sent a message immediately.
The content was simple.
[Lee Sung-young—Hello. I’m the person who received your business card at the Goblin Settlement. I’m reaching out to inquire about the terms of your offer.]
I could just wait after sending this, right?
They were a massive guild ranked 12th overall.
They’d probably be too busy to check messages immediately.
As I was about to head to the bathroom to shower off my slightly uncomfortable feeling, a notification chimed.
Ding! A message had arrived.
Huh?
Who could it be?
I checked my smartphone, curious.
It was a reply from the recruiter Lee Sung-young, whom I’d just messaged.
‘This fast?’
Their eagerness to recruit was evident.
How desperate must they be to reply instantly like this?
Well then, should I see what their conditions are?
‘Will I make at least a hundred million won a year?’
I’d heard that major guilds invested considerable sums into players with genuine potential.
Since Sung-young’s knowledge was limited, I didn’t know exactly how much they earned, but surely they’d receive at least a hundred million won?
With such hopes in mind, I opened the message.
My eyes widened at what I read.
[Lee Sung-young – Hello! I’m Lee Sung-young from Sick Brothers. Thank you for reaching out! Typically, for rookie newcomers, Sick Brothers offers a signing bonus of 500 million won and an annual salary of 50 million won. However, we’d like to offer you a special contract: a signing bonus of 1 billion won and an annual salary of 100 million won. We’re prepared to discuss additional terms as well, so feel free to contact us anytime! Thank you!]
“W-what is all this?”
My eyes went wide as saucers, and I swallowed hard.
A hundred million won a year—I’d guessed right.
But the signing bonus?
How much was the signing bonus again?
Thinking I might have misread it, I checked again.
It was indeed a billion won.
They were offering a billion-won signing bonus and a hundred-million-won annual salary?
And as I stared at it, I could be half-certain of one thing.
‘This has to be a scam.’

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