The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 36

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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 36
Episode 36
0.
After stepping out of the capsule, I headed to the tax office with my sister Yoo Mi-na.
Not for tax issues, but to register as a business operator.
These days, thanks to Eternal World, more and more gamers were registering as business operators.
I was one of them.
Since I would be receiving a substantial signing bonus and annual salary from Rapid Guild,
it was standard practice to register as a business operator before receiving the contract payment.
If I received it without doing so, I’d have to pay an astronomical amount in taxes.
With so many gamers emerging and guilds sprouting up everywhere, business registration didn’t take long at all.
“Hmm.”
I examined my business registration certificate with an odd sense of disbelief.
Who would have thought I’d ever become a business operator?
It was a career path I’d never imagined, but what did it matter?
An era had come where one could earn money through gaming.
And in that game world, my talents—no, my abilities—were proving valuable.
It would be a waste to let this potential rot away.
I carefully placed my business registration certificate into the document envelope,
along with the business account issued by the bank.
Unlike me, sitting quietly,
my sister Yoo Mi-na was busily making calls to someone.
At home she seemed rather clumsy, but in moments like this, she was reassuringly dependable.
“Got it.”
Yoo Mi-na ended the call matter-of-factly.
I looked at her curiously.
Who had she been talking to?
I didn’t have to wonder for long.
Ding—!
My smartphone chimed with an alert notification.
I reflexively checked my phone.
It was a notification that funds had been deposited into the newly issued account.
And.
[XX Bank Business Account – 2,000,000,000 won has been deposited.]
Though I’d known it was coming, the amount was staggering enough to leave my jaw hanging.
Even I couldn’t maintain composure in this moment.
My pupils trembled, my mouth fell open.
How many twenty-two-year-olds receive two billion won?
This was the signing bonus, but there would be additional performance bonuses as well.
On top of that, there was still five hundred million won in annual salary remaining.
They said they’d give performance bonuses when my level and rating increase.
On top of that, they’re giving me 10% ticket royalties.
‘Is… is it okay to receive this much?’
I was surprised when I saw the contract too.
But actually seeing this amount of money come in made me tremble.
“Hehe! Don’t be so nervous. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
“Yeah, I know that, but right now it still doesn’t feel real.”
“Ehehehe. So you’re finally feeling my greatness. Ehehehe.”
Watching my sister Yoo Mi-na laugh so foolishly, I could finally calm down.
And this is supposedly the 9th-ranked player in the world.
Or should I think of her as 8th, since she said she’d be climbing the rankings soon?
Either way, seeing my sister like that helped ease my tension.
I’m pretty sure I can just keep doing what I’ve been doing.
My in-game goal is to follow in the footsteps of Helena and Hindel.
I just need to follow along.
As I relaxed a bit, my sister Yoo Mi-na asked me something.
My sister Yoo Mi-na looked at me and asked.
“So since we’re out anyway, should we grab some food before heading back? Mom went out today too.”
“Mm. Yeah, let’s do that.”
Part of me wanted to rush home and start gaming right away.
But I needed to eat.
I’d skipped breakfast too, so I was quite hungry.
So Yoo Mi-na and I went looking for a restaurant.
We heard there was a pretty famous restaurant nearby, so we decided to go there.
Since I preferred Western food more than my sister did.
It was the menu we chose.
As Yoo Mi-na and I entered the restaurant.
“Huh? Yoo Sung-hyun?”
“Hm?”
A staff member approached me as if they recognized me.
I paused for a moment to search my memory, and soon I remembered.
“Oh, it’s Su-jung?”
“Wow, it’s been forever. I last saw you before you went to the military, and you’ve already been discharged!?”
“Yeah, well.”
While I responded coolly, the staff member Lee Su-jung greeted me quite warmly.
Then she suddenly noticed Yoo Mi-na standing beside me.
Seeing my sister’s dignified and aloof appearance, so different from her usual foolish demeanor, Lee Su-jung suddenly swallowed hard.
I myself had fairly striking looks, but seeing my sister Yoo Mi-na, Lee Su-jung seemed to lose her confidence, and her words suddenly trailed off.
Noticing her words had suddenly stopped, I wondered what was wrong.
“W-who… is she?”
Lee Su-jung asked carefully.
She seemed to have thoroughly misunderstood something.
But unlike Yoo Sung-hyun, my expression had become quite contorted.
I understood what kind of misunderstanding could arise from this situation, but my instinctive nature—which had always kept me composed and unflappable—now twisted my face as well.
“My older sister.”
“Oh! Ah! I, I see. Oh, hello, unnie! I’m Lee Su-jung, and I attend the same university as Sung-hyun. P-please sit wherever you’re comfortable, and I’ll go take your order!!”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Ugh.”
Watching my clumsy sister speak so plainly, I furrowed my brow and shook my head.
It was like a perfect confirmation that we were genuine siblings.
As Lee Su-jung had said, Yoo Sung-hyun and Yoo Mi-na went to a comfortable table and sat down.
“Ooh, you two look quite similar, don’t you? I’m in favor of this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh? You two aren’t… together or something???”
“…You’ve never dated, have you, unnie?”
At my words, Yoo Mi-na made a sound like “ugh!” and her eyes trembled.
My younger brother was poking at her wounds like this.
I let my guard down.
“…Why are you rubbing salt into an open wound?”
“It’s obvious just by looking.”
“No, anyone can see that girl is interested in you?”
“What? No. She’s just a classmate—maybe it’s just because it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
“…?”
Even though Yoo Mi-na had never experienced dating, she could tell this was something else as she watched Lee Su-jung smiling at Yoo Sung-hyun and signaling that she’d be back soon.
Even from a distance falling from a super-tall hotel in Jamsil, that was a sign of affection.
Yet this oblivious younger brother was denying it.
It was absurd.
At my nonchalant response, Yoo Mi-na shook her head, deciding not to worry about it.
Romance was something he’d figure out on his own.
With that settled, we ordered from the menu.
A main-course-level complimentary service arrived without us even asking.
“This is on the house! Please enjoy it, unnie!!”
“Oh, thank you.”
“…Even after that?”
“What?”
“Sigh, never mind.”
At my sister’s reaction, I looked at Yoo Mi-na as if confused.
Most of my female university classmates were like that.
There was no way I could have known that was a sign of affection.
We finished our meal leisurely and returned home without incident.
Ah, well, there was something unusual.
[S University Class of XX—Sung-hyun! We’re all getting together this weekend. You’re coming, right? Everyone would be so happy if you were there!]
I’d received an unexpected text message.
1.
Sekan Village, one of the Second Towns.
Having lost its former mayor Gwen, a figure of great standing, the village carried on in a melancholic atmosphere—nothing particularly distinctive about it otherwise.
Like the other Second Towns, it had a tendency to half-force party play, which meant dungeons were plentiful, but that was true of the other Second Towns as well.
Despite its lack of distinctive character, the village had quite a few NPCs and a considerable number of users gathered there.
At the entrance of Sekan Village.
The village guards suddenly doubted their own eyes.
Caw——! Caw——!
“Huh, there are an awful lot of those crows today.”
“You’re telling me. Were there even crows around here originally?”
Unlike any other day, crows seemed to be converging from all directions, gathering one by one at the village entrance in countless numbers.
They thought it strange.
But they didn’t consider it anything serious.
They were just crows, after all.
But as their numbers grew—tens, hundreds, thousands of crows swarming together—
The guards realized something was wrong.
The crows gathered, and dark clouds began to form.
A desolate aura swept across the sky, and an ominous presence became unmistakable.
The guards trembled with unease.
“S-should we alert the village???”
“B-because of crows???”
But because their target was merely crows, they found themselves in a situation where they could do nothing either way.
Then a large crow flew in from afar.
Thousands of crows rushed toward that single large one.
Caw——! Caaaaw!
The crows crept together, forming a single shape like darkness or shadow, flowing smoothly into one.
As more crows gathered and thickened, thousands of them created one seamless mirror.
A massive mirror stained by darkness, entirely black, reflecting nothing whatsoever.
Only then did the guards realize something was terribly wrong and tried to ring the bell.
But they couldn’t move a single finger.
‘W-what is this?!!’
‘I-I can’t even speak?!?’
The guards, unable even to swallow, stared at the black mirror with eyes full of dread.
Ripples suddenly spread across the black mirror.
Like a single drop falling into a still lake, the ripples emanated outward from the mirror.
And then, as if it were the most natural thing, three figures walked out from within it.
The black mirror vanished after expelling the three people, and the dark clouds that had hung so desolately dispersed as if they had never been, revealing a clear sky above.
As the sun illuminated the world, all was revealed.
The guards could now see the clothing of the three figures.
The towering man standing in the center wore what could only be described as a mask resembling a raven.
Or perhaps a mask was the better term.
He wore a mask of unknown origin.
The man to his right was so pallid that one might mistake him for a corpse.
Indeed, the grotesque stitching marks covering his entire body made him appear genuinely lifeless.
Finally, the woman to the left of the raven-masked man.
Her eyes held the hollow, depthless gaze of an abyss—pupils devoid of focus, betraying no light whatsoever—and her expressionless face cradled a doll of a young girl.
Gulp.
The guards swallowed hard at the sight of them.
Not a single one of them appeared ordinary.
Only then did they notice the emblem emblazoned on the robes they wore.
A black robe adorned with a crown that gleamed in darkness.
Only one entity in this world could bear such a symbol.
“Oh, Overpalace!!”
“Oh, emissaries of Overpalace!!”
Clang! Crash!
Overpalace—the tower of all Dark Mages.
Its emissaries had arrived in Sekan Village.
The man in the raven mask stepped forward, observing the guards’ fearful commotion.
He approached them and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Fear not. We mean no harm to this village.”
His voice, though gentler than any other, carried an undeniable weight.
Why was that?
The two guards found themselves nodding, unable to resist the authority in his tone.
Should they alert the village chief immediately instead?
The man shook his head, observing the guards’ hesitation.
“We have our own business to attend to. You have yours. We require no grand reception or welcome.”
With those words, the three vanished like a mirage, dissolving into black waves.
The two guards, as if awakening from a nightmare, swallowed hard and trembled uncontrollably.
Emissaries of Overpalace had come to the village.
“I, I can’t believe it.”
“Right, I mean, Overpalace coming here? There must be something in this village worth their attention.”
The guards retrieved their dropped weapons and resumed their post at the village entrance, speaking in hushed tones.
Just as the raven-masked man had said.
From a distant rooftop, the three figures watched the guards below before turning their attention elsewhere.
The guards were never a consideration to begin with.
There was only one reason they had come here.
“This village was where we last sensed his presence. He must have come here after Perseville.”
“Uhi-hi-hi, ahhh! I feel it so intensely! I feel it, yes, yes, YES!! To think his power permeates this village so deeply!!”
“….”
At the words of the man in the raven mask, the Corpse-like Man laughed grotesquely and arched his back, while the woman cradling the doll said nothing but tightened her grip on it.
Her reaction was unusual, but the man and the Corpse-like Man paid it no mind.
There was reason enough for it.
The man then spoke to the two of them.
“Scatter and find him.”
“Uhi-hi-hi! Excellent! Wonderful!!”
“….”
The Corpse-like Man, delighted beyond measure, and the doll woman, who gave no verbal response but slowly nodded her head.
The moment they heard the command, the two vanished as if dispersing into thin air, and the man in the raven mask, gazing down at the village, snapped his fingers.
Countless ravens appeared and began spreading in all directions.
How much time had passed?
The man, connected to every raven, meticulously combed through the entire village.
He shared the vision of one particular raven.
A young man whose eyes met the raven’s, muttering with an expressionless face.
-Not an ordinary raven.
At the sight of the young man muttering so casually, as if unbothered, the man spoke.
“Found him.”

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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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