The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 27

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

Episode 27
Episode 27
The reason I wasn’t completely certain but only half-certain was just in case.
But they were offering me such a massive sum of money?
I couldn’t understand it.
Overlord.
With an Almighty-tier job, I was certainly worth that much.
No, I was worth even more.
The amount they offered might even feel too small.
‘But they don’t know I’m an Overlord.’
Lee Sung-young had no way of knowing I was an Overlord.
So why make such an offer?
Wasn’t there a chance this was a scam?
Would they ask for the signing bonus and then keep stalling, treating me like a slave instead?
Such suspicions bloomed abundantly, but I shook my head.
It was possible they genuinely offered that price out of goodwill.
I didn’t know much about these things anyway.
First, I’d search for information, and if I still didn’t understand, I’d ask my sister.
After organizing my thoughts that way, I placed my smartphone on the dining table and headed to shower.
While I was showering.
The sound of a capsule opening came from my sister Yoo Mi-na’s room.
“Ugh! Yeah, playing games for long periods really does make you stiff.”
Yoo Mi-na came out to the living room while doing some light stretching.
After loosening up, she was about to wash up in the other bathroom when she heard me showering, but then—
She suddenly noticed my smartphone sitting on the dining table.
But when she saw the strange text displayed on the screen, she squinted and looked again.
“Huh?”
Sick Brothers?
A signing bonus of one billion won?
An annual salary of one hundred million won?
The moment she saw that message, her eyes blazed and she shouted.
“These bastards!!”
How dare they put their hands on my brother!!
Yoo Mi-na, furious beyond measure, picked up the smartphone and was about to send a single middle finger emoji in response.
But she trembled and immediately put the phone down.
She’d already peeked at the phone secretly, and now she was going to send a rude reply?
She had no idea how much trouble my brother would give her.
‘But wait, one billion for a signing bonus and one hundred million annual salary?’
Those were incredibly generous terms for a rookie.
Trying to seduce my brother left a bad taste, but—
I was admittedly startled by the generous sum.
From what I knew, Sick Brothers was a guild built on pure meritocracy.
They were famous for never recruiting rookies unless the conditions were exceptional.
Yet they were recruiting Sung-hyun, who had barely left the Beginner Village?
And with such generous terms at that?
‘What on earth is this?’
I felt a rush of excitement as if I were spitting on my own younger brother, but as I regained my composure and examined it coldly, something felt off.
I knew that Sung-hyun could see ghosts, and I knew that by absorbing those experiences his talent had grown exceptional, but Sick Brothers didn’t know that.
Even if he had shown promise, would Sick Brothers really be tempted to this degree?
And then there was Lee Sung-young, Sick Brothers’ scout.
This was a name I had heard before.
He was famous as a capable scout.
There was no way he wouldn’t know.
‘If Lee Sung-young is recruiting him, then it’s real.’
At minimum, he had entered the Special Job Training Institute.
And there was one more thing.
As I recalled it, my eyes lit up.
‘A Hero!’
Did he really advance to the Hero class?
As that thought blossomed.
Trembling with anticipation, I couldn’t wait.
My eyes grew bright as if my vision itself had sharpened.
Then I burst through the bathroom door where Sung-hyun was showering and shouted!
“Sung-hyun! Did you really advance to the Hero class!?!”
“Aaah! What the—! Close the door!! You’re insane, noona!!”
No matter how composed Sung-hyun usually was, he couldn’t maintain his calm when his sister suddenly burst through the door.
He hastily shut the shower curtain and covered himself while shouting.
But such protests were useless against me.
“No! Just answer me!!”
“I said Demon King! Just close the door!!”
“Huh?”
As my sister tilted her head in confusion, Sung-hyun finally splashed water at me.
I hastily shut the door, my expression turning bewildered.
“Demon King? That’s strange?”
At my muttering from outside, Sung-hyun erupted.
“You’re the one who’s strange!!”
After the commotion subsided.
Sung-hyun emerged from his shower and glared at me, his sister.
Was it normal for anyone to open the bathroom door while their younger brother was showering?
But I, already far from normal, looked at Sung-hyun with sparkling eyes and spoke.
“Wait, what do you mean by Demon Lord???”
“Sigh… You really show no signs of reflection, do you?”
“What? Oh! Sorry, sorry. Anyway, so what about the Demon Lord???”
Sung-young shook his head at my shameless demeanor.
Family is family, even if you can’t stand them.
It wasn’t like I’d just started being self-centered yesterday.
Sung-young gave up and began explaining while drying his hair with a towel.
He told me about meeting Helena for the first time, and then about how he’d changed jobs afterward.
And as Yoo Mi-na listened to the story, her expression began shifting moment by moment.
Her face transformed so dramatically that if the guild members or her friends had seen it, they would have been shocked.
Sung-young continued explaining regardless, and when he finished.
Yoo Mi-na’s expression became quite serious.
Sung-young tilted his head as he watched his sister’s expression.
Why was she like that?
As the question formed.
Yoo Mi-na asked Sung-young again.
“So Sick Brothers recruited you? But the amount is way too low for that, isn’t it?”
“Huh? How did you know that… Oh, you saw my phone?”
“Ah, yeah. Sorry.”
“Sigh, well, I was planning to ask you about it anyway.”
“So what happened with Sick Brothers?”
How could I explain something I didn’t even know myself?
I hadn’t even revealed that I was an Overlord, yet they offered this much money.
It had to be a scam.
But looking at my sister’s reaction.
‘It doesn’t seem like a scam…?’
Then was this really the amount they gave rookies?
Just how much money did they have?
Scratching my head, I spoke.
“I’m not really sure either, but the last time we talked, they asked if I’d summoned an unusual undead and entered the Special Job Training Institute, and when I said yes, they made me a recruitment offer.”
“Huh?”
Yoo Mi-na looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
He was her younger brother, but didn’t he seem completely clueless about how the world worked?
She thought that, but then something occurred to her.
“Oh, Sung-young, was today your first time?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah…”
This time she made a dumbfounded sound for a different reason.
No matter how much he was her younger brother, this was pretty unlucky, wasn’t it?
Yoo Mi-na thought that for a moment, then shook her head.
“Anyway, this isn’t a scam, right?”
“What? The recruitment? The amount?”
“Yeah, a signing bonus of one billion won and an annual salary of one hundred million won is insanely high.”
“Ah? Oh, I see. It’s certainly a generous offer. Definitely a high amount to give a rookie. But if Lee Sung-young proposed it, then he’s judged that you’re worth even more than that.”
“Oh.”
At my sister Yoo Mi-na’s words, I found myself opening my mouth without thinking.
So this really was the offer that came through.
The moment I thought about one billion won coming in, an intoxicating feeling washed over me.
One billion won.
My father Yoo Kwang-jin runs a company, so I come from a well-off family.
But one billion won falling into my hands was a different story altogether.
The fact that I could touch such a sum of money through my own abilities—how could that not feel extraordinary?
“Hehe, but thank goodness your big sister is here.”
“Huh?”
Hearing my sister Yoo Mi-na’s voice suddenly break the mood, I looked down at her with cold, hardened eyes.
My expression was one of pure arrogance—as if to say, who does she think she is?
Yet Yoo Mi-na’s expression remained utterly composed.
What confidence was she drawing from?
Sick Brothers ranked twelfth overall among all guilds.
Could it be that my sister was in a guild with a higher ranking?
I entertained that thought for a moment, but it seemed impossible.
I couldn’t imagine that such a foolish sister had joined a guild ranked higher than Sick Brothers.
As I was about to move past that thought—
“Signing bonus of two billion won, annual salary of five hundred million won, and ten percent of the ticket sales revenue from raids I directly participate in.”
“…?”
Hearing those words, I blinked rapidly.
Yoo Mi-na spoke as if it were laughable.
“I rank ninth overall. My guild ranks third among all guilds.”
“Huh? Wha—? WHAT?!”
“Bow before me, little brother.”
“I beg your forgiveness, sister!”
“Hehe.”
No matter what else you say, money—or rather, a big sister—is truly the best.
3.
Lee Sung-young, scout for Sick Brothers.
He had recruited one user named Yeon from the Special Job Training Institute.
But that wasn’t enough.
Though I hadn’t seen Sung-young’s undead ability firsthand, wasn’t it obvious from the fact that he’d single-handedly annihilated the entire Goblin Settlement?
‘A user in his early teens wiped out an entire Goblin Settlement alone?’
It didn’t make sense.
However, if someone learns all skills at Rare grade in just one day at the Special Job Training Institute, and their job grade is high enough, it’s not impossible.
Though talent and various other conditions would certainly be necessary.
In other words, the fact that Sung-hyun’s job grade was at least Epic was evidence that his talent was equally exceptional.
If I recruited Yeon but failed to bring Sung-hyun aboard.
It would be nothing short of a missed opportunity.
This was why Lee Sung-young waited so long for a reply.
Anxiety crept in at the thought that it might not arrive by day’s end.
‘Should I have added more conditions???’
The fundamental rule of negotiation was to start from the middle and gradually increase the offer.
There was no benefit in showing all your cards from the beginning.
So Lee Sung-young had done the same, but should he have done otherwise?
Just as regret began to bloom.
His smartphone chimed with a notification that a message had arrived.
“It’s here!”
He knew immediately upon seeing it.
It was Sung-hyun’s reply.
His eyes gleamed as he read Sung-hyun’s message.
But soon the light drained from his pupils, fading away.
[Sung-hyun – I apologize.]
A message beginning with an apology.
What was the problem?
Was it the conditions?
Did he need to add more options?
Should he attach every possible condition this time?
The guild master had already granted him considerable discretionary authority, so he could make offers within his limit.
He could even exceed it.
Sick Brothers would accept conditions beyond his discretion if the talent was judged to be of that caliber.
But upon reading the next sentence, Lee Sung-young gave up entirely.
[Sung-hyun – I’ve established a good relationship with Rapid Guild. I apologize for receiving your offer first.]
Rapid Guild.
Ranked third among all guilds.
The guild bearing the epithet of being the fastest in Eternal World.
Even Sick Brothers couldn’t compete with Rapid Guild.
Matching their conditions would likely be impossible.
Against Rapid Guild, surrender was the right choice.
No matter how much he improved the conditions, defeating Rapid was difficult.
Both in reputation and in power.
Lee Sung-young exhaled a sigh of regret.
‘Damn, I’m losing this one.’
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Anyway.
‘So Rapid is making a move.’
Though too sparse in numbers to be called a Large Guild, this elite cadre had transcended the limitations of a small, select few and shone as the third-ranked guild across all guilds.
Some even called Rapid the strongest guild of all.
That said everything.
The fact that Rapid had accepted them was.
‘My eye for talent is truly precise.’
At minimum, Epic grade?
No.
‘Rapid only accepts Unique grade and above.’
Minimum Unique.
Yet recently, there had been instances where rookies with Unique grade jobs were rejected.
The reason was simple.
Insufficient talent.
Not a lenient guild that accepted based on grade alone.
A place that evaluated both grade and talent simultaneously.
That they had accepted a rookie despite this meant.
It was proof that Sung-young’s talent was that exceptional.
‘Could it possibly be Legendary?’
Lee Sung-young chuckled to himself at that thought.
It was unfortunate to have missed out, but at least I had gleaned one piece of information.
Lee Sung-young opened his friend list and sent a message to someone.
None other than the guild master of Sick Brothers.
[Lee Sung-young – Rapid has recruited a new rookie. I made contact first, but it seems I fell short on the terms offered.]
Even though I missed this opportunity, I should still report it.
Lee Sung-young chuckled softly to himself as he muttered.
Talent and power that even Rapid acknowledged.
I once again recognized and noted that guild master Rapid possessed remarkable discernment.
I would abandon any further pursuit of Sung-young.
Instead, I should pay closer attention to the newly arrived user named Yeon.
Then, suddenly.
Recalling Sung-young’s somewhat naive demeanor.
‘Surely Rapid wouldn’t have recruited them for some other hidden reason.’
With that thought, I chuckled softly.
As if Rapid would do such a thing.
She had become the Rapid of today precisely because she maintained such strict separation between public and private matters.
4.
Rapid, the fastest guild in Eternal World.
In the guild master’s office of Rapid, one person was releasing a sigh so deep it seemed the earth itself would collapse.
“Sigh…”
I let out a heavy sigh as I regarded Yoo Mi-na—the guild’s blessing and curse all rolled into one.
What on earth was I supposed to do with her?
At that thought, Rapid, the guild master, squeezed her eyes shut.
‘No, asking me to accept her just because she’s my sister—that’s ridiculous.’
I shook my head, recalling Yoo Mi-na, who was my friend in reality as well.
This was the first time Yoo Mi-na had ever made such a request of me.
Bringing someone into the guild itself wasn’t difficult.
And if she was Yoo Mi-na’s sibling, that meant it was Lee Sung-young, didn’t it?
I’d seen him a few times in reality as well.
I was prepared to accept him.
If he was Yoo Mi-na’s sibling, there would be even fewer people opposed to it.
But still, the conditions she was asking for were excessive.
‘These aren’t rookie terms.’
A signing bonus of 2 billion won and an annual salary of 500 million for a rookie?
That exceeded the standard rookie compensation by more than twenty times.
For an exceptional, record-breaking rookie, I’d even be willing to offer half that.
But 10% of the viewing tickets from my own raid participation—wasn’t that too much?
‘These terms for a rookie?’
This was absurd.
Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous.
No matter how talented a rookie was, this was overkill.
I told her I’d look at her sibling’s specs later.
When Yoo Mi-na said to keep that in mind, I’d agreed for now.
But I was already thinking that if he didn’t qualify, I’d have to cut him without hesitation.
Then a message from my friend arrived.
‘Mi-na?’
A message from Yoo Mi-na, whose nickname was listed as Yoo Na.
I wondered what she’d sent and opened it.
[Yoo Na—Check out our sibling’s specs lol.]
A message typical of Yoo Mi-na, along with a single screenshot.
And as I looked at the photo, I slammed my hand on the desk and shot to my feet.
“What the hell!!”

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