The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 45

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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 45
Episode 45
“Why would I kill you?”
“Huh?”
Nan Ji-ro had momentarily lost his composure from the overwhelming destructive force that had turned the Secret Cave upside down.
But thinking about it, he was right.
There was no reason for Sung-hyun to kill Nan Ji-ro.
He’d been intimidated by the sheer explosive power without even realizing it.
Seeing someone this strong, he’d jumped to the conclusion that the only reason to party with him would be for player killing.
Realizing his mistake, Nan Ji-ro apologized with an awkward expression.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s understandable.”
There were certainly notorious players out there.
It wasn’t unreasonable to be misunderstood in such circumstances.
In any case, Sung-hyun let it slide and reflected on the power of the explosion.
‘Impressive.’
Both the power and range were considerable.
With a combo skill this effective, I’d need to use it frequently going forward.
The downside was the long cooldown time.
But that would decrease as my proficiency rose and my level increased.
I’d already confirmed the skill combinations.
‘Should I clear this quickly?’
It was getting late, and I really needed to log out soon.
That’s when something peculiar caught Sung-hyun’s eye.
From the fragments of the Big Ant’s corpse that had been reduced to pieces by the corpse explosion, a green gaseous substance was seeping out.
Even though the corpse was destroyed, the poison was still being applied to the fragments perfectly.
‘Interesting.’
If the poison remained applied even after the corpse exploded, then what if I applied the poison first, dealt explosion damage through corpse explosion, and then used the poison spreading in all directions combined with the poison explosion?
Perhaps there were far more combination methods available than I’d initially thought.
Sung-hyun committed those possibilities to memory.
Since I was already here, I should experiment with everything before leaving.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes! Yes!”
With Nan Ji-ro, who for some reason had become incredibly motivated.
‘I absolutely must not upset him.’
Nan Ji-ro had boarded a comfortable ride.
1.
[You have cleared the 2-player dungeon, Big Ant Nest.]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have obtained 10 Gold as a clear reward.]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 38.]
Clearing the Big Ant Nest with Nan Ji-ro took barely ten minutes from start to finish.
Considering that a typical two-person party needed an hour to clear the Big Ant Nest, our speed was nothing short of extraordinary.
As a bonus, I’d leveled up as well.
The experience from clearing Rocks’ Tomb must have contributed to the level gain.
Nan Ji-ro bowed repeatedly to Yoo Sung-hyun with an expression that looked ready to shed tears of gratitude.
“Wow! Thank you so much! Really, truly thank you!!”
“Not at all. Enjoy yourself.”
“You too, Sung-hyun!”
Watching Nan Ji-ro scurry away with excitement, I chuckled softly.
Party hunting wasn’t so bad after all.
By recalling various combination techniques, I’d managed to gain quite a lot.
‘Having combinations available makes things so much easier.’
I was pleased by the expanded options alone.
I’d also reaped the benefits of my skills and the Apprentice Lord’s Staff.
Now it was time to log out.
The hour was getting late anyway.
Then, suddenly, I remembered something I’d forgotten.
‘Oh, that’s right.’
Kim Che-gun’s request.
I’d meant to send it but got distracted experimenting with the staff and skills.
I should send the video file I’d recorded earlier along with information about Kim Che-gun.
Whether to accept her would be Rapid’s decision.
I scratched my cheek as I sent a direct message to Rapid.
‘I wonder if this video will be okay?’
Kim Che-gun appeared in it, and because of their notoriety, the faces of Uz and Kallak were clearly visible as well.
Since they were the ones at fault, they wouldn’t complain about appearing in the video.
The system had permitted it after all.
Though I hadn’t quite maintained the concept they’d requested.
But I’d already recorded it, so I might as well send it.
[Yoo Sung-hyun-[Attached Video]]
[Yoo Sung-hyun-When you watch the video, there’s a strange inspector who appears as a party member. She asked if she could possibly take an interview with the Rapid Guild, so I’m reaching out.]
[Yoo Sung-hyun-By the way, I’m not sure if the video concept came out well. If there’s an issue, I’ll re-record and send it.]
‘This should work, right?’
I’d added “strange inspector” instead of calling Kim Che-gun an outstanding inspector, since it felt off.
If she’d seemed odd during the interview and someone tried to fault me for it later, that would be awkward.
With that thought, I sent the message and promptly forgot about it.
Once sent, it was no longer my responsibility to think about.
Unaware of what kind of ripple effect the video I’d sent would create.
2.
At the Rapid Guild Headquarters, a fortress blessed by nature itself, there was always one room where the lights extinguished last.
The office of Guild Master Rapid.
Even today, when most guild members had departed for hunts or raids, Rapid alone remained, handling the mountain of administrative duties.
She had certainly hired staff to manage the paperwork and guild operations.
Yet certain matters demanded her personal attention, leaving her no choice but to stay late into the night.
The situation with Yoo Sung-hyun had particularly contributed to this burden.
“Sigh…”
The arrival of an exceptional rookie was undoubtedly fortuitous.
But a rookie with the potential to overturn the entire landscape?
That was far more advantageous, yet proportionally more complicated.
Some might dismiss the notion that a single person could shift the balance, but in Eternal World, such occurrences were remarkably common.
A guild’s ranking could shift with the recruitment of a single-ranked player.
One needn’t even reach that echelon.
In this industry, recruiting a double-ranked player alone could alter a guild’s standing.
The acquisition of talent displaying the caliber to eventually reach single-ranked status was more than sufficient to alert rival guilds to the threat.
In truth, the interference had already intensified.
The scrutiny had already been fierce due to Yoo-na.
Now with Yoo Sung-hyun’s emergence.
The headaches had multiplied considerably.
Especially since the rookie footage had turned out exceptionally well.
It had only been posted a day ago.
Already four million views?
Even with the Rapid Guild’s channel boasting twenty million subscribers, such viewership was extraordinary.
In merely a day—or more precisely, since it was posted this morning, not even a full day had elapsed.
Yet four million views was certainly a figure that couldn’t be dismissed.
The guild executives hadn’t suggested making Yoo Sung-hyun the face of Rapid Guild without reason.
Typically, a guild’s top rankers or strongest forces became the public face, but Rapid’s elite players uniformly despised such prominence.
Ironically, this mystique had actually attracted more fans.
However, the inability to produce consistent content had stunted the channel’s growth.
Yet with Yoo Sung-hyun’s footage garnering four million views in merely half a day and adding a staggering three hundred thousand new subscribers, the excitement was justified.
The next video would need to perform equally well.
As if that were simple.
Once an initial impact had been delivered, maintaining that same momentum inevitably dulled the effect.
Rapid understood this, and she worried whether Yoo Sung-hyun might feel burdened by the expectations.
Then, at that moment, messages arrived.
He’d already filmed another video?
Rapid was startled by this, but the subsequent messages left her equally bewildered.
What was this?
Some strange swordsman wanted to interview him?
It was an odd way of phrasing it, but I understood what they meant.
They’d sent a video of party hunting and wanted to know if I could arrange interviews with those party members.
‘Hmm, I should definitely mention this to Sung-hyun.’
The Rapid Guild didn’t accept anyone lacking skill, regardless of how high their job rank was.
It was best not to recommend people unless absolutely necessary.
I hadn’t said anything since I didn’t expect a recommendation to come in just a day after joining.
Yet here they were, recommending someone already.
I decided I’d need to caution Rapid about this.
With a hint of reluctance, I opened the attached video.
‘Party hunting is far removed from the demon lord concept.’
I hadn’t seen it yet.
I’d probably need to ask them to film a different video.
As I watched the video with that thought in mind—
‘Ah! What a shame.’
I couldn’t help but sigh at the disappointment.
An event-type dungeon—Rocks’ Tomb.
It was an event-type dungeon I’d already heard reports about.
I hadn’t mentioned it because there was no suitable partner for Sung-hyun there.
Yet they’d entered this place.
‘It’s certainly a good location for content.’
Event-type dungeons, where you had to compete with countless other users, always produced excellent videos.
But since it was party hunting, it would be difficult to portray the demon lord concept.
That’s what made it even more regrettable.
If they’d found a more suitable partner, they might have created a usable video.
‘Oh?! Sung-hyun’s swordsmanship is that good? Did he inherit it from his sister? No, that doesn’t make sense.’
Unlike his sister Yoo Mi-na, Sung-hyun had never been particularly athletic.
Yet against the imp Kaisak, he wielded his sword quite skillfully.
His timing with skills was precise, and his reactions were excellent.
I didn’t know Sung-hyun possessed such talent.
It wasn’t just his job rank that was exceptional.
I watched the swordsman beside Sung-hyun—Kim Che-gun—swinging his blade in tandem, admiring him as well.
‘That swordsman is quite impressive too.’
Based purely on skill, he’d pass the cutoff.
I’d need to observe more to be thorough.
But he was definitely worth interviewing.
I’d intended to caution them that recommendations shouldn’t be made lightly.
‘But what can I say now?’
They had excellent judgment too.
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Sung-hyun truly was exceptional—a rare find indeed.
However, the footage was indeed difficult to make work.
‘The swordplay is excellent, and the skill level is outstanding. But….’
Would the public really want to watch this?
Unlike the rookie footage that had displayed the Demon King’s presence, the scene of wielding the sword with such mastery and using skills to eliminate the lesser demon Kaisak was impressive, but it wasn’t the image the public craved.
It was unfortunate.
That was reality.
‘I should probably scrap this footage and film something new….’
Just as Rapid was thinking this and about to turn off the video.
A woman’s voice came from the footage.
-Oh? Another user? This counts as compensation, right, Kallak?
-…It’s fine inside the dungeon.
“Huh? Echo Willow?”
Why are they appearing here?
The moment two guild members of Echo Willow appeared and immediately began preparing for battle, Rapid had long forgotten any thought of turning it off.
In the part that followed where Kaisak was raised as an undead to fight, it was thrilling, but when Kaisak’s head finally burst.
“Ah….”
Rapid let out a sigh while watching.
It was a shame.
And then the Echo Willow guild member, grasping victory and standing confidently, cried out.
-…That creature was your strongest undead and your only undead. Now I shall end you.
Though a fatal wound had been inflicted near the heart, it wasn’t lethal.
It was damage that could be healed with a potion.
But in that moment.
-Hmm, only?
Sung-hyun, who appeared to be in danger, muttered in an odd manner.
Rapid held her breath and watched.
Sung-hyun lightly raised his hand and snapped his fingers right there.
Snap!
Then countless teal-colored portals appeared behind Sung-hyun’s back, and ‘they’ manifested from within those portals.
An army of death that heeded only the Demon King’s commands.
As they materialized upon that ground.
A teal-colored heart was now gripped in Sung-hyun’s hand, and even Kaisak’s head, which had burst and died, was restored and revived.
The air around them froze in an instant, and the two Echo Willow guild members trembled with terror.
Truly, the reign of the Demon King.
“Wow….”
Rapid couldn’t think of any other words to express it.
She simply let out admiration, and Rapid thought.
‘If I just cut this part and keep only the battle with Echo Willow, I can really capture the Demon King’s essence perfectly!’
It’s footage of an absolute evil called Echo Willow existing and those villains receiving proper punishment.
With just this, it should naturally be popular, but.
Behold this spectacle that resembles a demon lord’s reign.
Two cruel and depraved Echo Willow guild members tremble in terror.
It was truly a refreshing sight—a video that perfectly captured the fear inspired by a demon lord.
‘I almost deleted this.’
How foolish could I be!
Rapid cursed herself briefly before preparing to edit the footage immediately.
She could have delegated it to a staff member.
But Rapid possessed considerable expertise in video editing herself.
No editor within the guild surpassed her skill.
Though her workload was overwhelming, this was something she needed to handle personally.
Then, a thought struck her.
‘Right, I should conduct an interview with this person too.’
As she pondered how to arrange it, a suitable candidate came to mind.
Not someone with idle time, but—
‘Didn’t he say he’d already met them on an alt account?’
Since that person had given me leverage,
I should send them this time.
‘Second Town—that dungeon would work perfectly. Good for interviews too.’
An excellent idea had crystallized.
Rapid was about to begin editing when she sent messages to both Kim Jin-woo and Yoo Sung-hyun—the ones she had leverage on.
She sent Kim Jin-woo a commanding message to go where Yoo Sung-hyun was tomorrow and take the interview, while she sent Yoo Sung-hyun a request asking him to help conduct an interview with Kim Che-gun tomorrow.
She figured she could send them both to that dungeon together this time.
[Kim Jin-woo—Ugh! Really! I just got back…. Sigh. Understood.]
Kim Jin-woo’s message came back in resignation, and
[Yoo Sung-hyun—Perfect timing. I actually needed a party. Thank you.]
Yoo Sung-hyun’s grateful reply made Rapid smile.
‘Tomorrow is going to be quite exciting.’
She was curious how those three would clear the dungeon, and besides, tomorrow would bring some incredible footage.
3.
After sending the video and exiting the capsule in a refreshed mood, Yoo Sung-hyun’s eyes immediately met those of his mother, Lee Na-kyung, who was in the living room.
Rather than scold him for finally emerging from the game, Lee Na-kyung greeted him with a warm smile.
“You’re out now? Aren’t you hungry?”
She could have complained about the gaming.
Instead, her concerned gaze asking if he was hungry filled Yoo Sung-hyun with unexpected warmth.
After all, even if he didn’t know exactly how much his older sister Yoo Mi-na earned, he knew she did well.
That made sense.
Besides, Lee Na-kyung wasn’t the type to complain about gaming anyway.
Yoo Sung-hyun thought for a moment and realized he wasn’t particularly hungry, likely because he’d eaten a lot with Yoo Mi-na earlier.
“Ah, yes. I ate a lot for lunch earlier, so I’m fine.”
“Oh really? So you went out with Mi-na and had plenty to eat?”
“Yes, dinner should be fine.”
“Good timing—Dad said he’d be late, so I was debating whether to prepare anything. This is a relief~”
“Understood. Please rest then.”
“Haaa… I should head to bed soon myself.”
Lee Na-kyung yawned languidly, exhaustion etched across her features, before disappearing into her room.
Watching her—having waited all this time for Sung-hyun to emerge—I felt a pang of guilt.
She’d probably intended to prepare a meal for him once he came out.
‘There’s no need for that.’
Since she’d gone to rest, I’d have to mention it to her another time.
With that thought, my throat parched, I drank some water and returned to my room.
That’s when I noticed my phone buzzing with an alarm.
‘A reply already?’
Sung-hyun opened his phone with a puzzled expression.
Sure enough, a message from Rapid had arrived.
She was asking if I could enter a dungeon tomorrow with Kim Che-gun and an interviewer from the Rapid Guild.
Entering posed no problem.
But which dungeon was it?
I checked the dungeon’s name.
‘Fortress of the Past?’
I’d heard that name before.
If memory served, it was described as a kind of trial ground—much like the scarecrow I’d felled in a single strike during the tutorial.
Sung-hyun searched for more details.
Several pieces of information surfaced.
‘Oh, a record-type dungeon you can only enter once?’
Uniquely, it was a dungeon accessible only once for those below level 50.
And exactly three people had to enter together.
There was no concept of clearing; instead, waves occurred.
Each user’s progress through the waves was recorded.
You had to surpass at least stage 10 to be recognized as a ranker, apparently.
And the experience gains were supposedly substantial.
‘There’s no reason to refuse.’
Besides, I needed to level up anyway.
Sung-hyun sent an immediate reply agreeing.
Even if it felt slightly odd, venturing into a dungeon with someone as skilled as Kim Che-gun was something to welcome.
And there would be an interviewer present.
An interviewer from a guild of Rapid’s caliber would surely be formidable.
Anticipation kindled within me.
‘Fortress of the Past.’
A record-type wave dungeon.
Tomorrow promised to be quite entertaining.
Of course, before entering the dungeon.
‘I need to raid the Treasure Vault first.’
I hadn’t forgotten what needed to be done.

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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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