The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 264

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

Episode 264
264
A tremor?
I didn’t think it was an earthquake.
There was no way an earthquake could occur in the perfectly intact Lich Lord’s Castle.
But still.
“What is this tremor?”
“I’ve never seen this in any strategy guides.”
“A tremor, huh….”
“Something feels off about the atmosphere….”
The complexions of the Prism Effect party members shifted slightly.
Until now, everything had matched the strategy guides perfectly.
But this sudden change.
It was impossible not to feel bewildered.
Yet among them, only Yoo Sung-hyun calmly assessed the situation and spoke.
“Hmm, this could be due to a hidden piece.”
“Ah!”
“That could be it.”
“That seems to be the right answer.”
“A change caused by a hidden piece, then….”
At first, their expressions had hardened from the unexpected change.
But now it was different.
A mixture of anticipation and excitement.
What else could it mean that a hidden piece had caused this change?
Wasn’t it that this party might be the first to clear something entirely new?
At Yoo Sung-hyun’s words, everyone exchanged glances with expressions mingling excitement and tension, nodding to one another.
Then they handed him the unique skill book as he had mentioned beforehand, and gathered as if for a meeting.
They were still in this library-like space.
But the moment they stepped outside, everything could change.
It was only natural to prepare in advance.
“First, since we don’t know what changes await outside, it’ll be difficult to devise a detailed strategy.”
“What if we hypothesize that the boss has changed?”
“That’s reasonable too.”
“Ha, is the boss wandering around or something?”
While everyone was discussing such possibilities.
Yoo Sung-hyun, who already knew Basilae’s memories, thought to himself.
‘That creature must have awakened, surely.’
The undead the Necromancer Lord had left to guard this place when departing—a lich under the Necromancer Lord’s command and Basilae’s sibling.
Barseon.
That creature had definitely awakened.
The condition must be.
‘Because of me, right?’
I hadn’t thought it was about opening a Hidden Piece.
I knew that even if we opened this place using Basilae’s memories, nothing would activate.
Which meant the difference from other players was none other than Yoo Sung-hyun.
It seemed to have reacted to the Lord’s aura.
Yoo Sung-hyun stopped his thoughts there.
He spoke casually.
“Could this be a Hidden Raid Boss appearing?”
“What?! A Hidden Raid Boss?!”
“…That could be it. I’ve heard that Hidden Bosses stronger than existing bosses occasionally appear in scenarios from other cities.”
“A Hidden Raid Boss, huh….”
“Haha, this is troublesome. I wonder if we can clear it on our own.”
“We can do it!”
At Bask’s dejected words, Ir bristled and spoke up.
At that, everyone let out soft chuckles and nodded.
It was foolish to speak of defeat before the battle even began.
Because of that, they all discussed positions and various other matters, formulating their strategy.
Preparing for multiple scenarios.
Yoo Sung-hyun committed those strategies to memory as well.
Everyone rose from their seats, looking ready.
“Phew.”
The party members looked somewhat tense.
Yet none of them were cowards who would back down.
At level 240 and beyond, cowards were actually rare.
With their preparations complete, they all left the room.
A chilling wind swept through.
The frigid cold now permeated the entire Corridor.
It was distinctly different from before.
Where there had been almost no chill moments ago, the temperature had plummeted sharply, and an icy wind now blew through.
The change had already occurred.
However.
A surge of heat erupted.
As Yoo Sung-hyun gestured, the aura around him intensified instantly.
Even the bitter cold that would normally inflict status ailments.
Could not penetrate Yoo Sung-hyun’s warmth.
“Wow, you have a skill like that too?!”
“Thank you.”
“That will definitely be helpful.”
“With this, Flodin won’t need to keep using buffs.”
Everyone agreed to leave it at that.
Yoo Sung-hyun dismissed it as if it were nothing.
It wasn’t important right now anyway.
As the party stepped outside,
an unmistakable sound of something approaching reached their ears.
Tensing at the thought that the true hidden boss might be stirring, what appeared before them was none other than a skeletal knight—a creature frequently seen throughout the Lich Lord’s Castle.
Yet something was different from before.
“Its appearance has changed?”
“It’s radiating a chilling aura?”
“It’s been enhanced…”
“Is it because of this cold?”
Even as they exchanged such observations, they immediately took their stances.
Yoo Sung-hyun, too, adopted a defensive posture while deciding to observe first, and the violet flames erupted from his hands into the empty air.
Whoooosh—!
The violet flames converged into a single point and rotated,
forming a cone-like shape.
As the flames spun violently, tracing a spiral pattern, they shot forward.
At a speed like a beam of light, the violet flames carved their path through the air.
Extraordinarily swift.
At such velocity, the skeletal knight should have been unable to react at all.
Yet the moment it saw the attack, it raised its shield in response.
BOOM———!!!
The instant the violet cone of flames struck the shield, a tremendous explosion erupted, and the skeletal knight’s body was driven backward considerably along with its shield.
Screeeech—!!!
Bracing itself with both legs against the ground,
it carved two long lines into the earth,
yet despite being pushed back significantly, its stance remained unshaken and resolute.
A far cry from how it had crumbled helplessly before Yoo Sung-hyun’s attacks until now.
At this sight, everyone’s eyes widened.
“Hmm.”
“It blocked that?”
“…It’s become stronger than expected.”
“We need to be careful.”
“Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
At Ir’s final cry, everyone surged forward.
The first to take her stance and advance was Stella, the tank.
As the shield knight took her position and activated her skill,
the skeletal knight’s hollow eyes gleamed as it looked fearfully at Yoo Sung-hyun who had attacked it, then it charged toward Stella.
Stella blocked its assault, but her expression twisted at the impact—far more powerful than before.
Following suit, Ir, who conjured pillars of light to strike it down, and Flodin, who activated her skill for purification, both grimaced.
The effect was less pronounced than expected.
Light was antithetical to the undead, and despite Flodin being a priestess, her purification proved minimal.
Only Yoo Sung-hyun’s flames displayed a true opposing force.
Bask followed suit, targeting from behind with a dagger wreathed in crimson energy.
Yet he too failed to inflict substantial damage.
—Grraaahhh!
The creature lunged forward with renewed fury.
Yoo Sung-hyun unleashed violet flames that penetrated deep into its body and detonated from within.
Boom——!
Whoooosh——!!
Like a sun unleashing a solar flare.
Violet flames erupted from between the creature’s armor plates.
The searing heat was so intense that even Stella was forced to retreat several steps.
The skeletal knight, struck directly by that inferno, staggered momentarily, and afterward the Prism Effect party members were able to finish it.
It ended far more quickly than anticipated.
Without Yoo Sung-hyun, it might have been genuinely difficult—perhaps even boss-tier.
Of course, compared to Razak, there was still a considerable gap.
Yet that did not make this skeletal knight weak.
Immediately after defeating it.
Everyone shook their heads with troubled expressions.
“It’s stronger than I thought…”
“If a mere mob is this powerful….”
“The boss must be considerably stronger.”
“Still, we’re fortunate to have Yoo Sung-hyun with us.”
“Absolutely.”
“We could never have cleared this alone.”
Still, I felt reassured knowing Yoo Sung-hyun was here.
In any case.
There was no thought of hiding or fleeing from this place.
Everyone pressed forward.
The castle interior was certainly vast.
Everyone moved according to the strategy guide.
Along the way, we encountered skeletal knights that could be called mobs.
As we progressed, Yoo Sung-hyun provided increasingly more support, making each encounter far more manageable.
Of course, the rest of us had also adapted to his tactics.
We could move even faster.
Meanwhile, Yoo Sung-hyun remained vigilant, watching our surroundings.
The moment we attempted to enter a spacious lobby-like chamber within the castle.
Teal-blue light blazed from Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes as he stepped forward.
Whoooosh——!!!
Suddenly, violet flames bloomed like flowers unfurling.
They wrapped around the party members like budding petals.
The sudden onslaught left them bewildered.
But then, an extreme chill struck directly at those violet flame buds.
Saaaaaahhhhh———!!!
Shiiiieeee————!!!
As the intense cold and violet flames collided head-on.
A sharp gust of air erupted outward with a hiss of steam.
Booooooom——!!!
At that explosive sound, all party members took combat positions.
According to the strategy guides, this Lobby was supposed to be completely empty.
Was there really a monster capable of unleashing such an attack?
Tension was written all over their faces.
And then, a clear sound reached their ears.
Tap, tap, tap.
Something was walking toward them, the sound of footsteps echoing.
It wore a grayish-blue robe.
It resembled a loyal servant working in a royal court.
Yet it was composed of bone and wielded a thin staff.
A Lich—known to be among the most powerful of the undead.
And the aura emanating from this particular Lich was anything but ordinary.
More vicious and fierce than the cold Razak had unleashed.
Without anyone needing to tell them, every single person recognized this Lich as the hidden raid boss mentioned earlier.
But in that moment, everyone’s body went rigid.
I wondered if it had done something, but having experienced this phenomenon far too many times, I thought to myself.
‘An event scene.’
It began to open its mouth.
-How dare you trespass upon this place.
Its voice cut like frost.
It was cold and vicious.
At the same time, it was clear the creature was deeply enraged.
-You dare desecrate my great Necromancer Lord.
The party members hearing this grew confused.
They had certainly thought this Lich was the Necromancer Lord.
Was that not the case?
Among the bewildered party members.
The voice rang out again like a blizzard howling.
-My lord commanded me to guard this place. Therefore, I shall annihilate you.
Though spoken in a low tone.
That resolute voice was so emphatic it seemed almost like a shout.
Tension rippled through the air as everyone held their breath.
A message materialized before their eyes.
[You encounter the Hidden Raid Boss, ‘Barseon, Lich of the Necromancer Lord’.]
[The Hidden Raid begins.]
!!!WARNING!!!
This is an extremely powerful Hidden Boss!!!
Proceed with caution!!!
The warning about the extraordinarily powerful Hidden Boss sent everyone’s tension soaring.
For Yoo Sung-hyun, however, such encounters were routine.
Rather than nervousness, I prepared for battle with calm composure.
Yet it was Stella who moved first.
Her tension was unmistakable.
As the tank, she stepped forward to shield all her party members.
But the moment Stella advanced, Barseon gestured.
A bitter, piercing cold swept outward, seizing control of the battlefield in an instant.
[Barseon, Lich of the Necromancer Lord, casts ‘Frozen Wasteland’.]
[The surrounding temperature plummets drastically.]
[All movement speed decreases by 30% due to the extreme cold.]
An abrupt field notification.
But I snapped my fingers.
Snap!
Whoosh—!
Warmth enveloped all party members.
The speed reduction message vanished.
A perfect counter to his element.
Barseon felt the heat and his eyes blazed with light.
-How pathetic.

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