The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 353

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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 353
353
The Demon King.
When people heard that name alone, there was one thing most of them thought.
She was probably skilled, but surely her reputation was exaggerated.
Though she often displayed impressive feats in live broadcasts, it was natural to think that videos might make things appear more dramatic than they actually were.
Moreover, even if she had accomplished much in reality, there was no way around the gap between video and reality.
Baren was one of those people.
-Didn’t Baren struggle against that weak-looking deer mask for 30 minutes?
-Wait, the host took 30 minutes but the Demon King did it in less than 30 seconds?
-No no no, the host’s party took 30 minutes lol
-Lol what’s the difference???
As existing viewers informed the newcomers drawn in by the commotion about Yoo Sung-hyun, the topic became even more heated.
After all, these people had come to see the Demon King.
Up to that point, Baren hadn’t paid much attention.
However, not realizing that Yoo Sung-hyun was this powerful, he could only gape in astonishment.
The gap in ability was really that vast?
“Mi… chin.”
Still, weren’t they both users at the same level?
But judging by the current display, Yoo Sung-hyun far surpassed Baren.
Honestly, it felt like watching a ranker at least level 300.
You could tell just how shocked Baren was.
And at the same time, Baren realized something.
How much Yoo Sung-hyun had been holding back for them.
“Baren, if the Demon King had spotted us right away, she could’ve killed us on the spot, right?”
“Yeah, one gesture and we’d be done for…”
“I… I think so too.”
“…S-should we look for the gimmick?”
The Exploration Team members subtly suggested to Baren and left.
Baren had no choice but to agree.
While he was confident in his own combat abilities, after witnessing that, it felt too pathetic to show himself.
Regardless, as Yoo Sung-hyun watched Baren and the Exploration Team members search for the gimmick, he wondered if he should help a bit.
‘It feels like I’m just ordering them around.’
As Yoo Sung-hyun thought this,
Belladrina spoke to him as if it were only natural.
-Your Majesty, it is their honor merely to be of service to you. Please do not concern yourself.
“…Hmm.”
This wasn’t even a world with an actual class system, so how could that be?
Still, because of Belladrina’s loyalty, he didn’t simply dismiss it.
But Belladrina wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
“Hmm, I think so too.”
-Me too, Lord.
Serpina and Fiora made the shocking confession that they shared the same thoughts.
Just as Yoo Sung-hyun was at a loss for words hearing this.
Helena, the mediator, smiled softly and spoke.
“You have to understand their loyalty. And while Belladrina spoke harshly, there’s some truth to it.”
“Huh?”
I looked at Helena, wondering what kind of nonsense she was spouting.
Helena answered while looking at me.
“Think about it—they’re outsiders just like you, right? The fact that you’re helping in combat means they’re grateful to you right now.”
“Ah.”
“They wanted to explore this place too, and you’re not only saving their comrades but also letting them explore here—they should be grateful just sitting still, shouldn’t they?”
“That’s true.”
I nodded, finally understanding what Helena meant.
Helena smiled softly seeing me like that and spoke.
“So let’s just wait quietly for the Exploration Team members.”
I agreed and nodded as well.
So my Minions and I waited quietly for the Exploration Team members.
Baren quickly set out to find the mechanisms, and it didn’t take long before he found one.
“Found it! There’s a groove here!”
He finally discovered a groove large enough to fit the Mask of Proliferation.
They held the expectation that perhaps a special mechanism would activate again and they could meet another team.
But when they inserted the mask into the groove.
A strange system message appeared.
[The map activates upon meeting the conditions.]
Boom——!
What appeared along with that message was none other than a three-dimensional map.
And that map wasn’t in a typical form, but shaped like a 4×4 cube, and within it, they could spot a red glowing point in the center of Underground Level 3.
It was an effect you could tell at a glance.
“That red point must be us, I think.”
“Yes, it seems to be the case.”
As the leader Yoo Sung-hyun and Baren spoke like that.
The viewers also typed in the chat, quite intrigued by the fascinating sight.
-Wow, the mechanics are solid?
-I’ve never seen a tomb give a 3D map before.
-Oh this is getting interesting?
-Is this the first dungeon with mechanics like this since the Demon King?
-Coming in with the Exploration Team was a masterstroke lolol
-fr lolol
It seemed that the image Yoo Sung-hyun had shown so far leaned more toward the physical than the intellectual.
Among the viewers, speculation and analytical thinking were naturally being overlooked.
However.
Yoo Sung-hyun discovered something peculiar and examined the map carefully.
Beyond the red dots, he could see other things.
“This looks like markers for other teams.”
“What? Oh? You’re right!”
What Yoo Sung-hyun pointed out were dimly lit areas between the glowing cubes—and there were exactly three such locations besides the red dot marking their own position.
They appeared to correspond to two Exploration Teams and one Intelligence Knight Order team.
Two were on Level 3 where Yoo Sung-hyun’s group was located, but one was on Level 2.
Yoo Sung-hyun paused to think for a moment before asking.
“It’s good that we have a map, but we’ve only been going down this whole time. How do we get over there?”
“Hmm, that’s the problem.”
Whether those locations held Exploration Team members or Intelligence Knight Order members wasn’t particularly important.
They could simply go and find out.
This would allow them to recruit more Exploration Team members more smoothly, but the real issue was how to move laterally.
Then suddenly, Yoo Sung-hyun spotted what looked like a door marking on one face of a cube on the map, and Baren simultaneously pointed to the same thing, as if he’d noticed it too.
“There’s something that looks like a door here.”
“Yes, but since all the doors seem to point in one direction, it’s probably not possible to move only in that direction.”
“Hmm, it must have some symbolic meaning.”
“Yes, that seems to be the case.”
As Baren and Yoo Sung-hyun engaged in this serious discussion.
The viewers were watching Yoo Sung-hyun with considerable surprise.
-Wait, this guy is handsome, plays the game well, AND he’s smart?
-Oh please please 3….
-(Blocked viewer.)
-This is seriously so unfair.
I’m crying so much.
Yoo Sung-hyun naturally couldn’t see the chat, so he was unaware, and Baren didn’t particularly care either.
Then suddenly, as Yoo Sung-hyun looked up upon seeing the door marking.
He could see the wall where the masked puppets had appeared.
And unlike the other walls, this one had no mask on it, and seeing this, Yoo Sung-hyun spoke.
“Wait? Could this door marking refer to where the puppets come out?”
“Huh? Then if someone stands in the center and accepts the message to take more trials, that team would go down, and the rest would move in the directions indicated, right?”
“Hmm, that makes sense.”
As Yoo Sung-hyun and Baren put their heads together, the conversation flowed quickly.
Of course, this could have been wrong, but it seemed they’d found all the clues available in the current situation.
Just to be safe, the other Exploration Team members who were sent to investigate after the map appeared also shook their heads.
If there were no more hints.
Then they had no choice but to proceed by force.
Yoo Sung-hyun thought this way and stood before the left wall where the nearest point among the locations where other teams seemed to be was located, recalling the text he had set aside.
[Will you challenge the next trial?]
[Yes / No]
[If you end the trial now, you may exit with all the rewards you’ve earned so far.]
Standing to the left of the door, I pressed Yes.
Except for before meeting Baren, the room that had only descended now began to shift leftward toward where Yoo Sung-hyun stood.
And seeing this, everyone erupted in cheers.
“Wow! We got it right!”
“Kekeke, the Demon King really does have a sharp mind.”
“Baren did well too.”
-It’s only natural that Your Majesty succeeded. You ignorant fools.
“Hmph, it’s basic for our Lord, of course.”
-L-Lord is so clever!
“Ahahaha! Our Yoo Sung-hyun really is something special!”
Yoo Sung-hyun stood quietly while her Minions made a fuss.
And watching them like that.
Wah wah wah wah wah wah
-What job do you need to get praised by such beautiful women?
-First, you have to be handsome.
-Ahhhhhhh
-Looks like we can’t do it~
The viewers consoled each other with sympathetic remarks, while Yoo Sung-hyun and the others waited with curiosity about what room would appear as theirs shifted.
But then, a room slowly revealed itself before Yoo Sung-hyun and everyone else, displaying a peculiar appearance.
A mask with droplets drawn in red like blood.
Seeing it, I wondered if it was a blood mask, but in that moment, a message appeared before Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes.
[This mask is derived from a Lord-class skill you currently possess.]
Along with that message, Yoo Sung-hyun looked at the newly appearing mask with a sense of foreboding.
A doll walked slowly with blood as red as crimson, confidently creating blood droplets and floating them in the air.
Just as if Yoo Sung-hyun were using a skill. And Yoo Sung-hyun could half sense it.
Could it be the power that the Masked Lord possesses?
While Yoo Sung-hyun was making such a guess, Helena nodded and answered.
“Yeah, what you’re thinking is right.”
“…You can turn another Lord’s power into a mask?”
“Yeah, not just a Lord’s power, but any power can be condensed into a mask, and whoever wears the mask can use that power. That’s the Masked Lord’s ability.”
To turn any power into a mask and allow it to be wielded—such a skill was extraordinary.
Upon hearing this, Yoo Sung-hyun couldn’t help but smile.
The utility was far greater than expected.
In other words, if Yoo Sung-hyun duplicated the Blood Lord’s power as a mask and granted it to one of the regular Death Legion soldiers instead of her Minions?
A Blood Lord Death Legion would be created.
Of course, with material costs and consumption, it wouldn’t be that easy.
But it was a power that could become considerable strategy and military strength.
In truth.
‘My power has grown to the point where I can barely wield it all alone.’
I had to obtain this.
Yoo Sung-hyun made up his mind and smiled.
Before him, the Blood Mask scattered its power as if mocking him.
Yet Yoo Sung-hyun flicked his finger as if he found it pitiful instead.
Snap!
The blood it had summoned reversed course, shooting back at it like a torrent, and as countless shards of blood pierced through its entire body like needles, it had no choice but to collapse, leaving only the mask behind.
It was the price for daring to wield such meager blood power before a true Blood Lord.
Regardless, that wasn’t what mattered now.
‘I absolutely must obtain the Masked Lord.’

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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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