The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 291

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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 291
291
4.
Hisssss.
As the Capsule opened and I stepped out, I stretched my body while contemplating the situation.
‘I simply cannot find them.’
After meeting Taucan.
I’d heard from Serena that the Sword Saint was coming.
So I’d hurried even more.
Yet in the Forest, there were no longer any traces of the natives to be found.
Even with Nocturnium’s tremendous detection abilities, not even a trace could be located.
Honestly, there were so few traces that I suspected the Demons had already attacked them.
‘Hmm. Where could they be?’
I hadn’t yet expanded my search widely.
I thought that by tomorrow, I might get some sense of direction.
For now, I’d sleep and wake up, then search after clocking in tomorrow—that should work.
With that thought, I washed up, ate, and fell asleep.
Yoo Mi-na didn’t know anything either.
So I had no choice but to search for them myself, boots on the ground.
Yet this kind of exploration was quite enjoyable, so I wasn’t frustrated.
Hearing that the Sword Saint would arrive in four days—or rather, three days now—I should have felt some anxiety.
Instead, I was feeling the thrill of it all, finding it rather entertaining in my own way.
And so the next day dawned, and following my usual routine, I went running, showered, finished breakfast, and then.
I entered the Capsule immediately.
“Do well out there, son~”
“Yes, of course.”
“What about our daughter?”
“She’s always doing so well anyway~”
At those words, Yoo Mi-na pouted slightly.
But she went along with it and entered the Capsule as well.
After I logged in.
I reported to work at the Magic Tower as usual.
By the third day of work, I’d adapted well enough to handle tasks smoothly when.
The Guard Knight Commander summoned me.
Wondering what it was about, I headed straight to the Commander’s Office.
“I heard you found them.”
“Hello?”
“Huh?”
And the one I met there was none other than Serena.
Serena, who had appeared unexpectedly, and the Commander, who wore an expression of perfect timing.
I could tell right away upon seeing that.
“Should I escort Senior Mage Serena then?”
“Haha, that’s right.”
“I’m counting on you today as well.”
Yoo Sung-hyun nodded as he watched Serena greet him.
I wanted to patrol and search for any mages tainted with demonic energy while we were out.
But there was no helping it.
And so Serena and I headed outside, just like on the first day.
Or so I heard.
“We need fewer materials today, so we should finish earlier than last time.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yeah, because of that damned Sword Saint, I need to handle work quickly and gather only the necessary materials.”
At those words, I asked Serena a question.
“Because of the Sword Saint?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? The Sword Saint is supposedly coming to the Magic Tower this time? In four days? About three days left, I’d say. That’s why I need to get things done beforehand… honestly, the trouble never ends, does it?”
“I see.”
“Hmm? Are you a knight fan of the Sword Saint too? I heard Outsiders don’t have things like that.”
At my lukewarm response, Serena spoke up.
I chuckled and answered her.
“I’m not a fan.”
“Right? Then don’t bother being one. He’s a pretty shady character.”
That’s the kind of thing Serena would say.
I’d heard things about him too.
But since I didn’t know the details.
I asked out of curiosity.
“Is the Sword Saint shady?”
“Yeah, extremely. This isn’t something I can talk about freely anywhere, but…”
Serena said this while glancing around the field to see if anyone else was nearby.
Then she spoke to me.
“There are rumors that he deliberately placed his own sibling as The King just to control him. Anyone sitting in a high position in the Riescan Kingdom would know about it.”
“Oh ho.”
So the Sword Saint was royalty.
I nodded upon hearing this unexpected information.
But Serena’s mouth didn’t stop there.
“And when the Hero was born, he was the first to step forward and take him—that’s suspicious too.”
“Hmm, he took the Hero?”
“Yeah, he took him as a disciple, but before that, his previous disciples would often go missing. It’s quite a famous tale.”
“Missing?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure what happened, but ten disciples disappeared completely after that. There are some disciples remaining, but those ten never showed up again after that.”
At those words, I thought the Sword Saint really was a man with plenty of dark secrets.
The disciples have gone missing.
‘Could it be that they were made into weapons imbued with demonic energy?’
I recall hearing that a fairly powerful warrior’s soul was needed for that.
Though I said “surely not,” if it were the Sword Saint, it seemed possible.
While listening to various stories from Serena, I procured the materials.
5.
A place that would have originally been the natives’ territory.
From within a domain untouched by the bright sunlight, shadow-like humans seemed to seep out from the Stone Chamber like something blooming.
Then they muttered in an irritated voice.
“Damn it, we don’t have enough sacrifices.”
“We need warriors, warriors.”
“Those native bastards would have been perfect….”
“But they all scattered and are nowhere to be found….”
The two creatures wrinkled their faces in annoyance.
We could have captured them all without taking it easy.
But there was an interferer.
We let them slip away.
The two Demons recalled that time.
When moonlight was abundant, unlike themselves, the old woman called the Grand Shaman who wielded quite sacred natural power.
“If it weren’t for that old woman, there would still be hundreds left.”
“What a shame, what a shame. Those native bastards—their entire race differs from ordinary humans, and each one of them could exert a warrior’s strength.”
“We can’t find where they’ve hidden at all.”
“And since it’s near the city, we can’t freely unleash our demonic energy either.”
The Demons muttered in frustration.
Recalling their other comrade, they spoke.
“Well, that one said they’d search.”
“So we just have to wait.”
If they’ve hidden in the city, we can’t find them.
I heard there are some natives scattered throughout the city.
Even if not hundreds, we still need to bring at least those ones.
The materials are far too scarce.
We need to meet the quota somehow until the Sword Saint arrives in a few days.
It was annoying.
But we had no choice since we were in a position to follow orders.
“That Sword Saint bastard—I’d grind him up and drink him and still not feel satisfied.”
“Grr, can’t be helped. If that one says they’ve found materials, we’ll have to go out to fetch the sacrifices ourselves.”
The Demons, grumbling about how troublesome this had become,
began handling the remaining tasks.
They scattered demonic energy across the dozens of weapons imbued with it stacked high, while another Demon sprinkled the blood-red natives’ blood over them.
6.
After procuring materials for Serena.
Yoo Sung-hyun also took on patrol duties.
The Division Commander, impressed by his diligence, allowed him to leave early again today.
“You worked hard today as well!”
“Thank you.”
Yoo Sung-hyun thanked the Division Commander for dismissing him early and stepped outside.
Yet his expression was not that of someone pleased to leave work early.
Normally, one would expect him to show joy and excitement.
Instead, his face bore an expression of regret.
It wasn’t as if he were a workaholic.
Rather, he simply hadn’t found any mages emanating magical energy.
Truly unfortunate.
“…I apologize.”
As Yoo Sung-hyun stepped outside.
Nocturnium appeared behind him, dropping to one knee and bowing his head apologetically.
It meant they had failed to locate the natives’ settlement in the Forest.
“Hmm, it’s fine.”
Yoo Sung-hyun replied thus and sent Nocturnium to the Underworld before anyone could see.
It had only been two days of searching, after all.
The fact that Nocturnium still hadn’t found them meant.
‘This method won’t work.’
Ordinary detection would be insufficient.
Was there another approach?
Taucan seemed unaware of any alternatives.
Just as I was considering seeking out another native.
I sensed something approaching from behind.
Though the presence was remarkably skilled and difficult to perceive, who was I?
-Someone’s coming, Yoo Sung-hyun.
‘Yeah, I felt it too.’
After all, I had Helena and my other servants watching over me.
Of course, I had already noticed as well.
Though we were still within the city.
I remained vigilant.
I prepared for combat and waited.
The sensation felt strangely familiar.
As if I’d seen it recently, I paused momentarily.
From the Alley, a massive man who filled the entire passage was watching me.
“Huh?”
“Ahem.”
As I recognized him.
Taucan, a burly man whose gesture seemed to signal me to follow.
Yet his demeanor was subtly different from yesterday.
Though he appeared timid rather than guarded and suspicious like before, there was an undeniable rigidity to his bearing.
The very fact that he’d concealed himself to come here marked a departure from his behavior yesterday.
‘Something’s changed.’
Since our meeting yesterday.
Whether some special circumstance had arisen, or if today’s silence had triggered something—
I couldn’t be certain.
But his arrival itself was undoubtedly a favorable development.
As I followed Taucan into the shadowy alley, he spoke while keeping watch of his surroundings.
Taucan glanced at me while remaining vigilant.
“I… see you again.”
“Yes, we meet again after yesterday?”
“Ahem, Taucan has something to say.”
I remained silent, as if to say I understood.
Taucan spoke to me then.
“Lied a little yesterday. Grand Shaman told me to bring you.”
At his halting words, my eyes widened with interest.
The Grand Shaman, no less.
So she did know where they’d relocated.
I regarded Taucan with a curious gaze.
He couldn’t quite meet my eyes—whether from shame or embarrassment.
In any case, he’d found them.
That was what mattered.
I understood Taucan’s hesitation well enough.
“That’s fine.”
“Thank you. Follow me.”
With those words, Taucan drew upon the essence of nature and transformed into the shape of a rat, his perfect metamorphosis catching me slightly off guard.
‘A Druid?’
I’d heard that Druid-class jobs could transform into animals like this.
Seeing it firsthand was quite remarkable.
With his form now diminished, Taucan moved with surprising swiftness.
I activated stealth and pursued him.
Even as a rat, he moved at considerable speed.
Yet he wasn’t faster than me.
I followed the rat-form Taucan at a measured pace.
After a prolonged journey of guidance, I sensed we were heading toward the Slum District, and I finally nodded to myself.
‘Most of them have moved into the city.’
It had indeed been strange that I’d searched this entire area thoroughly yet found no trace.
To hide a tree, one must hide it in the forest, as they say.
That was exactly what I meant.
Realizing the natives had used their heads, I arrived at the Slum District.
Taucan, who had transformed into a rat, returned to human form and introduced me to one of the houses in the Slum District.
“Go inside.”
He didn’t say much more than that.
But it seemed the Grand Shaman was in there.
As I entered that place.
I could see the surroundings filled with such an abundance of green light that everything felt suddenly bright.
Should I call them spirits?
Particles of green light drifted and moved through the air, and from somewhere came a cheerful giggling sound.
That place, saturated with the essence of nature, was a sight that could only inspire awe.
But I noticed something peculiar there.
More than the green particles of nature’s essence moving about and laughing.
-Sigh, what are those spirits saying while we’re stuck here.
-Why do they revere the spirits like the souls of our ancestors?
-Tsk tsk tsk, the Grand Shaman is clueless.
-Weren’t you from a Grand Shaman lineage yourself? You did the same thing, so what’s this about.
-Hmm. Wait? He can see us?
-Huh?!
The Old Woman Ghosts were chattering amongst themselves.
And before those Old Woman Ghosts, a living Old Woman NPC greeted me with a warm smile.
“Tsk tsk tsk, you seem startled by the souls of our ancestors.”
“…Yes, I was a bit surprised.”

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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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