The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 32

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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 32
Episode 32
0.
A colossal obsidian fortress wrought from deepest shadow.
Any soul possessed of artistic sensibility would find themselves breathless before its terrible beauty.
Its surface, devoid of luminescence, was consumed entirely in somber darkness, and each brick thrummed with an extraordinary presence.
A mysterious paper bird, fashioned from black parchment itself, descended upon that obsidian fortress—more impregnable than any stronghold that would ever deny an intruder entry.
The black paper bird passed effortlessly through the oppressive dark veil that encircled the obsidian fortress, gliding deep into its most secret recesses.
The lobby of the grand audience chamber—the palace’s innermost sanctum where the sovereign receives petitioners.
There stood an elderly figure, solitary and contemplative, gazing upon an empty throne.
Or could one truly call them elderly?
Their visage bore the unmistakable creases of age, yet their skin possessed the flawless luminescence of white jade—as unblemished as youth itself.
A being whose identity, age, and even gender eluded all comprehension.
As they extended their hand to the side.
The black paper bird came to rest there, as though it had always been meant to.
The very same bird that moments before had been soaring toward this audience chamber.
Without warning, they unfolded the black paper bird that had materialized in their grasp.
“….”
After reading the words inscribed upon it, their eyes—now tinged with melancholy—fixed upon the throne that had remained vacant for so long, and they closed them.
And when they opened their eyes once more.
Yearning and desire, and something ineffable, blazed forth like flames dancing in their gaze.
“Go to Sekan Village.”
A single utterance.
At that one command, every shadow within the palace trembled like raising a chalice in celebration, and the audience chamber erupted into tumult.
The shadows cried out as though singing—no, as though chanting hymns.
-Bow in reverence!
-Worship!
-Our Lord arrives!
-The master of the palace!
-Let us offer our palace!
-We are servants to our Lord!
-The palace we shall offer!
-Let us present it!
The shadows that had chanted like hymns vanished in an instant, as though a machine had been switched off.
Alone in the silence of the audience chamber, they turned their body, their eyes blazing with fervent intensity.
“The time has come to offer our palace, Overpalace, to our Lord.”
Overpalace, which had scarcely stirred.
And its master.
The Nine Heroes, Black Star, rose with ponderous determination.
1.
I returned to Sekan Village and headed toward the central plaza.
More people had gathered than before.
When I first arrived, it had been far too early in the morning.
Actually, it had been closer to dawn than morning.
Thanks to that, I’d been able to speak with the former village chief and Gwen without any inconvenience.
But now, there were quite a few people here.
Players occupied most of the plaza.
It resembled a bustling marketplace.
And the noise—it was deafening.
Even my usually impassive expression faltered slightly.
“Heading to Adum Cave! We’ve gathered three, just need two more! Rogues are full!!”
“Looking for party members for Jackal Forest! Only one spot left! Need a melee warrior!!”
“Forming a party for Persi Hill! I’m a ranger with excellent ranged damage! Please!!”
“Purba Mountain Range entrance party forming. Just need you and we’re good.”
“Please!! Let me join your party!! I graduated from the Intermediate Rogue Academy! Why won’t anyone even talk to me!!”
I had to find a party in this chaotic plaza.
‘Should I just go solo?’
Even in the second village where party play was practically mandatory, there should be solo hunting grounds if I looked.
Maybe I should escape this grating place.
I was lost in such thoughts when—
I sensed someone approaching from behind.
Who was it?
I turned around upon sensing the presence.
A naive-looking player was carefully approaching me.
A young male player with an innocent appearance.
Had he just recently become an adult?
He looked like he could even be a high school student.
In that brief moment, I assessed the player’s equipment.
‘He seems skilled.’
Though his gear was slightly inferior to mine, most of it appeared to be rare-grade equipment.
Usually, that would suggest someone with money, but I thought differently.
I only equipped gear I’d obtained myself.
I couldn’t even fathom the idea that he’d purchased it.
It was a small misunderstanding, but it didn’t matter.
Was he looking for party members?
As I turned to face him properly—
The young-looking player asked me.
“Ah, are you perhaps looking for a party?”
“Well, for now, yes.”
“For now? Ah! Then, if you don’t mind, would you consider joining our party? We’re short one member.”
Let me take a look at this young-looking user.
Unlike that user, the other party members appeared to be somewhat older.
One woman and two men.
The woman looked like an archer, one man appeared to be a mage, and finally another man who looked like a swordsman.
Including the young-looking male user who had approached me, it was a party of four in total.
We were just one member short, as it happened.
This young-looking user seemed fine.
Though it was a misunderstanding, from what I could see, they appeared to have real skill.
The timing worked out perfectly.
I was about to accept right away.
-Kyaaaah! You murderous bastards!! You’ll pay for this! Hiyah! Hiyah!
A Child Ghost was flailing about with all his might, throwing punches and kicks at the three behind him.
What did I just see?
I blinked in confusion at the strangeness of it.
“Huh? Is something the matter? Oh!! Could you know each other!?”
“No, this is our first meeting.”
“Ah! Those people over there are members of our party.”
“I see? Is that so?”
The Child Ghost called them murderers?
I looked at them with suspicion.
Our eyes met with the Child Ghost’s.
And recognizing that I understood him immediately.
The Child Ghost quickly approached me and spoke.
-These bastards are just plain evil!! They take people into caves and kill them!! They deliberately make them fall into traps and don’t even rescue them!!
“Hmm?”
I let out a sound of realization and smiled.
In other words, they were the type who hunted players.
Now that I heard that story, they certainly did look suspicious.
First, they seemed displeased with this young user trying to recruit me.
Their expressions smiled as if welcoming me.
The female archer with her arms crossed.
The male mage smiling with his mouth, but his eyes cold as he looked toward me.
And finally the other male swordsman, laughing while stroking his chin, yet tapping it repeatedly as if calculating something intently.
Even without Apik’s memories and experience, I could tell.
A stench wafted from them.
Had I not already learned this once through Beziron?
‘So these are the ones who hunt players.’
I could tell from the Child Ghost’s testimony and just reading the atmosphere.
Apik’s memories and experience also signaled that these were the type who reeked of malice.
I was already familiar with eyes like those.
I had seen that gaze countless times—in the memories of Former Instructor Ghost Eddie, the hunter Apik, and countless other spirits.
That greedy glint in their eyes, I knew it well.
These three possessed the same look.
Then there was something I needed to confirm.
“You mentioned one person was missing? Are these three people you already knew?”
“Huh? Oh! No, no! We just formed this party recently. These three know each other, but I only just met them when I was looking for party members.”
“I see.”
It became immediately clear.
They were targeting this young-looking user.
Having assessed the situation, I made my decision.
“Where are you planning to go?”
“Adum Cave! It requires a five-person party!”
“Very well. Let’s go.”
I had found the perfect place to use my spirits.
As I expressed my intention to join them.
The man who had been tapping his chin as if making final calculations smiled with narrowed eyes, his gaze gleaming with avarice.
And beside him.
-You’re all in big trouble now!! This noble person is going to teach you a lesson!!
The Child Ghost’s scolding echoed out.
Though they could never hear it.
2.
The party I had agreed to join.
The party leader heading to Adum Cave was none other than the young-looking user.
His nickname was Jinu.
His level was 23, slightly lower than mine.
As an aside, he had apparently just turned twenty.
I introduced my level and nickname as well, and the three suspicious users exchanged pleasantries smoothly.
“Oh my, nice to meet you. I’m Amir, an archer, and I’m level 26.”
“Ahem, I’m Nuel, a mage. Level 27.”
“Haha, well, meeting like this must be fate, so let’s introduce ourselves properly. I’m Manhu. As you can see, I’m a swordsman, and I’m level 29! The three of us already know each other.”
There was nothing suspicious about the way they introduced themselves.
Which meant they were practiced at this.
At least, to most people’s eyes.
But to someone with a hunter’s keen perception like myself, it was nothing but an amateurish farce.
[Amir-So we’re really doing this?]
[Nuel-We have the numbers, so we might as well.]
[Manhu-Look at this bastard Sunghyun’s gear first before we talk. If you have eyes, use your brain and think about it.]
[Amir-Sorry…]
[Nuel-He has epics too?]
[Amir-Wow… I didn’t notice that. Manhu really is impressive.]
[Manhu-If you understood, shut up and just follow me.]
Three of them plotting through messages.
Just as Sung-hyun had anticipated, they were approaching to target items.
[Amir-You don’t think he noticed, right???]
[Nuel-No way. When have we ever been caught?]
The two of them were fooling around.
Manhu examined the party window with irritated eyes.
『Jinu-Lv.23-(Sword Guard Warrior)』
『Sung-hyun-Lv.25-(????)』
『Amir-Lv.26-(Archer)』
『Nuel-Lv.27-(Elemental Mage)』
『Manhu-Lv.29-(Swordsman)』
Sung-hyun not revealing his class was somewhat concerning.
But he didn’t think it would be a problem.
It was easy to tell just by looking at the equipment he was wearing.
Manhu sent a message while watching the two fooling around.
[Manhu-You two better act properly and don’t get caught like idiots. That guy Jinu is a Sword Guard Warrior, and that Sung-hyun is a swordsman like me, but seeing he’s carrying dual swords, he’s probably a dual-sword swordsman, so don’t let your guard down. When I give the signal, you two—Nuel and Amir—attack first.]
[Amir-The signal is when we disband the party and form one just among ourselves, right?]
[Manhu-Don’t ask obvious questions.]
[Nuel-Understood.]
[Amir-Got it…]
They couldn’t even imagine that Sung-hyun would already know.
Who would ever imagine it?
That a user who entered with a formed party would suddenly turn into an enemy.
Especially when the icon above his head was perfectly intact.
It was natural not to suspect anything.
This was all Manhu’s scheme.
If you preemptively attacked another user, infamy would accumulate.
At first it was fine, but as it accumulated, you couldn’t even enter towns, and you could end up being arrested by guards at the entrance and thrown in jail.
But there was a way around it.
‘This really is the best game ever. Kehehehe.’
As long as you didn’t kill them directly, that was all that mattered.
Let them fall into a dungeon trap and die?
You weren’t attacking first either.
No infamy would accumulate.
Users with shiny items acting all arrogant?
He’d already disposed of 5 or 6 of them using this method.
The items he’d obtained this way were quite substantial.
There was a reason he couldn’t stop doing this despite having obtained a decent class.
Though this would be the last time.
‘Once I join a Guild, this nonsense will finally be over.’
After all, I had a Guild I was planning to join soon.
I couldn’t keep doing this after joining a Guild.
Joining a mid-tier Guild meant I couldn’t pull off these pathetic schemes anymore.
‘I was planning to make a big score this time, but what a windfall this turned out to be.’
Manhu chuckled to himself as he watched Sung-hyun and Jinu standing before the Secret Cave entrance.
Every single item adorning Jinu’s body was Rare grade.
Sung-hyun went even further.
Equipment settings that included Epic-grade items.
And that sword hanging at his left hip—clearly no ordinary blade.
That had to be Epic grade or higher.
‘I’m taking that no matter what.’
Confident in his abilities, Manhu harbored not the slightest doubt that they would lose.
After all, he was a talented individual who had confidently passed the Advanced Swordsman Academy.
There was no way he could lose to Sung-hyun, who was merely four levels lower.
They entered Adum Cave.
Manhu found himself unable to help but voice his confusion as the situation began spiraling in an unexpected direction.
“Wh-what?”

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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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