The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 293

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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 293
293
0.
Yoo Sung-hyun and Edian ventured into the forest near Heptarion in search of materials.
Yoo Sung-hyun led the way, with Edian following behind.
As they walked, Yoo Sung-hyun couldn’t shake the suspicion that Edian trailing behind him was a Demon.
The damp, oppressive aura was one thing.
His instincts were screaming it at him.
Yet he couldn’t be certain.
It was difficult to pin down based on intuition alone.
Perhaps he was mistaken.
It would have been ideal to verify with weapons imbued with demonic energy.
But they came with a cooldown—once used, they couldn’t be deployed again for some time.
The Sword Saint said he’d arrive in a day or two.
‘I’ll figure it out before then.’
As Yoo Sung-hyun harbored these suspicions,
Helena spoke up, her tone equally uncertain.
-It does seem right. But I can’t be sure either.
She shared Yoo Sung-hyun’s assessment.
When Yoo Sung-hyun first engaged the monsters, he unleashed the Galaxy Sword Dance.
Watching the monsters being cleaved apart, Edian observed with considerable interest.
Yoo Sung-hyun, witnessing this, tilted his head in continued uncertainty.
Edian then mentioned that the material location wasn’t far, and they continued through the forest.
Yoo Sung-hyun followed his guidance, taking the lead.
Thus, a tense standoff—though not quite a confrontation—persisted.
“…Hmm.”
“Something’s coming.”
Yoo Sung-hyun’s brow furrowed.
In that instant, Edian issued a warning as well.
What appeared was no ordinary monster.
A system message materialized before Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes.
[A monster imbued with demonic energy has appeared!]
[A demon-infused monster is equivalent to a raid-tier entity!]
[Exercise caution!]
With a message that seemed somewhat overwrought, a grotesquely formed monkey-like creature emerged.
It was a type he’d encountered frequently since arriving here, but perhaps due to the demonic infusion—
Its ashen fur and the demonic energy it couldn’t contain caused
patches of flesh to visibly decay and melt away.
Truly a repugnant sight.
Yet Yoo Sung-hyun paid it no particular mind.
‘Is this creature planning to strike at my back while I’m dealing with it?’
I almost wished it would try, so I drew my sword to hunt it down.
Srrring.
The blade sang with a clear, sharp resonance as it was unsheathed.
As I focused on the Galaxy Sword Dance, starlight poured forth and settled into my blade.
A mystical azure radiance, like the light of a night sky, bloomed around the sword’s edge.
I took a light stance as I observed it, then fixed my gaze upon the creature.
The demon-infused monkey instinctively sensed that my sword was its natural opposite and shrank back, but with no intention of fleeing, it bristled its fur and unleashed a roar.
“KYAAAAAAAA!!!”
With a piercing shriek.
It charged toward me.
The monkey launched itself like an arrow from a tree, stretching its two legs and cleaving through the air.
Though its frame was massive, its speed was considerable—most at this level would have lost sight of its movements, but for me it was child’s play.
I read its trajectory precisely and swung my luminous blade toward the creature rushing at me.
The blade’s arc unfolded like a constellation, as if stars in the heavens were being connected.
In an instant, the charging monkey panicked and tried to evade, but my blade descended like starlight, and a constellation was carved into its chest.
Shhhhk—crack!
“KIEEEEEEE!!!”
The monkey suffered fatal damage from a single strike.
But this was only possible because I held back slightly, and all of this was to draw out Edian.
‘Will he take the bait?’
Thinking so, I assessed Edian’s movements.
He appeared to be casting magic.
Seeing this, I decided to press deeper.
Though wounded.
The monkey could still move, so it widened its eyes and swung its long arms, trying to seize me.
I naturally tried to evade, but I feigned poor distance control and belatedly raised my blade, unfurling a defense of cascading starlight like the Milky Way to block the creature’s arm.
KWAAAAAANG—!!!
With a tremendous impact, my opening was completely exposed.
If he were to strike, now was the optimal moment, and I deliberately created a large opening so that if he attacked now, it would deal considerable damage.
And in that moment.
A magic circle completed behind me and magic unfolded.
‘Is he finally coming?’
Or so I thought.
KWAGAGAGAGA——!!!
A blue beam shot from the magic circle, lashing across the monkey’s chest.
The beam struck directly over the wound the monkey had received from me.
Unable to regain its senses, the creature exhaled ash-gray smoke with its mouth agape.
“…?”
I was momentarily bewildered by the fact that he had helped me.
I moved on instinct, finishing off the monkey.
Shing—crack!
Its neck severed in a single strike, the creature’s head fell away, and as its corpse vanished, nothing remained in that spot.
Yoo Sung-hyun tilted his head in bewilderment.
“A monster infused with demonic energy, it seems.”
“Hmm. We should investigate this further.”
Yoo Sung-hyun probed cautiously with his words.
Yet Edian responded as though nothing was amiss.
Just now had been the perfect moment to strike at him.
Yet rather than attacking, he had actually provided cover instead.
Could it be that he wasn’t Edian after all?
Even as such thoughts crossed his mind, Yoo Sung-hyun tilted his head in confusion.
For now, I should wait and see.
With that resolve, I stepped back.
Edian spoke.
“Let’s go gather materials.”
After dealing with the demon-infused monster, there was nothing particularly pressing to do, and the escort mission that followed concluded smoothly.
The materials had been gathered well, and Yoo Sung-hyun had provided excellent protection.
Returning to the Caliber Magic Tower like this.
Seeing Yoo Sung-hyun, Edian smiled faintly, clearly pleased, and spoke.
“That was excellent. Clear your schedule for tomorrow as well—I’ll need certain materials.”
At Edian’s words, Yoo Sung-hyun nodded awkwardly and replied.
“Yes, understood.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, Edian vanished.
Is he really not the one?
With a puzzled expression, Yoo Sung-hyun scratched his cheek.
1.
After one escort mission concluded.
Yoo Sung-hyun returned to the Caliber Magic Tower and was about to take on another assignment when.
The Guard Knight Commander spoke as though he had other business.
“The Chief Mage is looking for you.”
“Is it another escort mission?”
“It seems to be. I apologize for asking you to do two escort missions, but I must ask. Once the second escort is complete, you’re free to leave for the day.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. Then, do your best.”
Leaving the Guard Knight Commander, who still seemed pleased with Yoo Sung-hyun, behind.
As Yoo Sung-hyun stepped outside.
Serena called out to him, as though she had been waiting.
“Oh! Yoo Sung! You’re here!”
“Yes, I heard you found them.”
“Right, I need materials again this time.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
With those words, Yoo Sung-hyun escorted Serena as they set out to gather materials.
Traveling with Serena was no different from the previous occasions.
As expected, there were no monsters infused with magical essence either.
‘Is my suspicion correct?’
There were Demons in the vicinity.
Monsters infused with magical essence could appear.
But why did they appear precisely when I was with Edian?
Isn’t that suspicious?
Yet if that were the case, I couldn’t understand why they didn’t seize such an opportunity.
Why would that be?
Because they weren’t Demons?
As my contemplation deepened considerably.
Serena noticed my troubled expression and asked.
“Is something bothering you?”
“Pardon? Ah…”
Just as I was wondering whether to mention it.
I spoke as if a good idea had occurred to me.
“Earlier, I went to the Forest with Edian and encountered a monster infused with magical essence.”
“A monster infused with magical essence???”
Serena looked startled, as if such a thing shouldn’t exist.
I spoke to Serena cautiously.
“Yes, the sudden appearance of a monster infused with magical essence is rather suspicious.”
“Well, magical essence isn’t something you see every day.”
“It seems you know quite a bit about magical essence, Serena.”
“Right, weapons infused with magical essence have been appearing fairly often in this area.”
“I see.”
As we conversed, Serena probed cautiously just in case.
But seeing her genuinely ignorant demeanor, I let go of my suspicions slightly.
I had wondered if Serena might be a Demon out of an abundance of caution.
For now, I decided to wait and observe further.
Thinking it over, we continued with other topics.
And naturally, the conversation flowed on.
“By the way, I heard Edian was difficult, but he didn’t seem that way.”
“Edian???”
Serena looked genuinely surprised.
And I didn’t miss that reaction and asked.
“Yes, he helped me quite often.”
“Hmm, that doesn’t sound like Edian at all.”
“Is that so?”
Yoo Sung-hyun asked in that manner.
Serena nodded her head.
At least, the Edian she knew was not like that.
“When he takes the Guard Knights with him, he doesn’t lift a single finger himself, or so I’ve heard. On top of that, he finds fault with everything, they say. That’s why the knights talk about how difficult he is. Did he take a liking to Yoo Sung?”
“Well, he actually asked me to help again tomorrow.”
“Really?”
At those words, Serena smiled with interest.
Given Edian’s reputation, there was no reason to doubt Serena’s words, so I should probably ask the Guard Knight Commander as well just to be sure.
Why was everything so complicated?
But could that be why?
‘This is more interesting than I expected.’
Within this pressing timeframe.
I even had to engage in this kind of deduction.
Should I say it’s because I’m a Demon after all?
I’m hiding my identity quite well.
But.
‘The Sword Saint will arrive soon—let’s see if I can keep it hidden until then.’
2.
In the middle of the Forest where ashes still lingered.
It was the location where Yoo Sung-hyun and Edian had been moments before.
And there, two shadows slowly rose into view.
They were allies of the Demons who had infiltrated the Magic Tower.
The two Demons stared at the ashes, their expressions crumpling as they muttered.
“It seems we really don’t have a good matchup against this.”
“It’s strange—it’s not even holy power. It’s like what we suffered at the hands of the Hero.”
At those words, the other Demon’s expression crumpled irritably as he spoke.
“Stop joking around. The Hero is already on our side.”
“Hmph, that’s just what I’m saying. It’s strange, that’s all.”
“That’s a fair point.”
Having encountered such demonic energy for the first time in ages, both of them were frowning deeply.
Certainly, in a situation like this, it was best to buy as much time as possible.
They had infused one monster with demonic energy at his request and had it attack, but.
If things were like this, it was right to follow his instructions.
Though little time remained, with such a matchup, all three of them would need to gather.
And in their own stronghold at that.
Otherwise, they would surely be devoured.
The Demons muttered as they thought this through.
“Even if he’s a foreigner, we could create a Monstrous Demon.”
“The physical body will remain regardless.”
“Krhkrhkr, even if we have an extreme compatibility disadvantage, there’s no way you can face all three of us simultaneously.”
“I’ll tear you to shreds.”
“After that, we’re supposed to bring the natives. I should prepare in advance.”
“If we just prepare beforehand, all we need to do is shred the physical body and scatter it for completion. I need to finish the preparations before the Sword Saint says anything about it.”
The Demons laughed and chattered away like that.
They left the place, hoping tomorrow would come as soon as possible.

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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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