The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 5

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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 5
Episode 5
3.
The Eternal World lived up to its title as another world, showcasing remarkable realism.
NPCs that resembled actual people, powered by superior artificial intelligence.
Monsters with such advanced intellect they seemed like living creatures.
And for beast-type monsters, there was even the process of butchering required to obtain items!
Everything was designed to enhance realism.
While butchering could be inconvenient, since it applied only to beast-type monsters, many players actually enjoyed it for the sense of immersion it provided.
Though I had to admit the inconvenience.
The hunting grounds in the beginner village were of that same variety.
This hunting ground, teeming with rabbits, was where beast-type rabbit monsters inhabited—a crucial place where novice players learned both butchering and hunting.
Even now, countless players were darting about trying to catch rabbits.
“Insane! Aren’t they way too fast?!”
“And on top of that, they’re so small the hit point is low!”
“Argh! My shin!!!”
“S-sorry!”
Catching rabbits with their small frames required various techniques.
It wasn’t easy for novice players to keep up with the quick directional changes and speed of the rabbits.
Moreover, their low hit point made attacking difficult.
Swinging a sword recklessly would only strike the ground uselessly.
While the ground would just get torn up, the sword’s durability would also suffer.
Catching a single rabbit meant taking considerable losses.
“Ugh! I’m going to be a mage!”
“Me too! If I’m a mage, I won’t need butchering!”
“…You still have to do it though?”
“Ugh.”
While some players occasionally denied reality, the butchering skill was essential even for mages, so everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and do it anyway.
If they had plenty of money, they could skip it, but otherwise, it was the right thing to do.
As the tears of many novice players accumulated, Sung-hyun finally arrived at that place.
“Oh.”
Sung-hyun was first surprised by how many people there were.
I’d heard that Hindel – Hero’s Village was popular, but I didn’t expect it to be this crowded.
And the fact that so many people were struggling was also surprising.
It looks difficult, but is it really that bad?
That was exactly the thought that crossed my mind.
‘Hmm, is it really that bad?’
Before obtaining some of the Former Instructor Ghost’s talents, I might have thought it was difficult.
But now, I didn’t think that way.
Why was that?
‘I think I can do this.’
With that thought, I pulled a steel sword from my inventory.
Unlike back at the Tutorial Training Center, it didn’t emit any light.
There was no way a hidden piece effect would appear on an item I’d already drawn.
After drawing the sword, I swung it lightly back and forth.
Light, responsive to my will.
This should be more than enough.
While I was thinking that, a few nearby players couldn’t help but snicker at me.
“Hey, a new recruit just arrived?”
“Hehe, it looks easy, but why can’t they do it? Look at that expression.”
“Ah, that newbie smell. We were like that too.”
They were acting so smug, as if they’d been here for ages.
Yet they hadn’t even caught a single rabbit, and here they were mocking someone.
My sword swinging must have looked ridiculous to them.
“How is he supposed to catch even one rabbit like that?”
“Right, seriously.”
“Tsk, you need to be more careful. Can’t just rely on flashy moves.”
“Exactly.”
Unaware of the people mocking me, I simply gripped the sword again.
The steel sword was about the size of a longsword.
Players who’d already tasted defeat knew this well.
Catching a rabbit that hugged the ground with a longsword was no easy feat.
Even if you managed to land a hit by chance, it wouldn’t die instantly.
The rabbit had enough health to withstand three or four strikes.
A monster far too troublesome for beginners to catch.
No one had caught one easily today.
The players who’d mocked me had been camped here since morning, so they knew best.
As they watched from a distance, giggling to see how well I’d do, I moved.
I kicked off the ground sharply and charged forward, and the rabbit bolted at full speed.
With a patter-patter sound, it swerved at sharp angles, trying to dazzle my eyes.
“Hmm.”
I hesitated slightly, as if thinking.
The watching players laughed mockingly.
“Haha! I knew it!”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
“There’s no way it works on the first try!”
“We’re stuck here too.”
“…Exactly.”
In the gloomy atmosphere, they could see it.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the rabbit I’d been targeting suddenly cut a sharp right angle and tried to escape.
If I leave it alone, it’ll just run away, but trying to touch it won’t work either.
It changes direction and dodges my sword.
When Sung-hyun swung his blade, the rabbit tried to evade by adjusting to the trajectory.
But with 14 Strength and 13 Agility, the sword’s arc vanished in an instant.
The blade, swung with such ferocious speed, severed the rabbit’s neck before it could change direction.
Thwack!
The sword vibrated slightly as it cut through the rabbit’s neck, and the corpse tumbled limply to the ground.
“…Insane.”
“W-what… the…?!”
“D-did that person just… catch it in one go… right?”
“I-is that even… possible?”
Their jaws hung slack as they stared at Sung-hyun, but he seemed unbothered, examining the rabbit’s corpse before placing it in his inventory and scanning the surroundings to hunt another rabbit.
The players watching Sung-hyun suddenly fell into despair, muttering to themselves.
“…Damn naturals.”
“…I’m jealous.”
“…Tell me about it.”
“…Let’s just do our best.”
Unaware that the players who had mocked him were now crushed by harsh reality, Sung-hyun wore a subtle smile with the corners of his mouth slightly raised—barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
‘This is fun.’
The original me could never have pulled off such movements.
But after acquiring some of the soul’s memories, it became possible.
Of course, attempting anything beyond this would still feel clumsy, but catching rabbits was well within my capabilities.
Sung-hyun continued his hunt, aiming for the rabbits’ necks and swinging his sword.
And messages visible only to him.
[Critical Hit!]
[The effect of 『One Strike』 activates!]
Thanks to the Instructor’s Medal that boosted all stats and the One Strike effect, I could dispatch rabbits this easily.
Targeting their necks for a clean cut meant they died almost instantly.
They died this easily?
Regardless, I was catching them far too easily.
‘I should catch more.’
I wondered if the Quest was easier than expected, but it wasn’t.
This wasn’t a Quest you could clear just by catching rabbits.
‘Even if I catch them well, if I don’t butcher them properly, I can’t sell them.’
What good was catching rabbits skillfully?
If the meat and hide were ruined, no one would buy them, and I couldn’t clear the Quest.
That’s why they said to practice butchering instead of completing the Quest until I obtained the Butchering Skill, right?
While the Butcher Shop Quest was active, the probability of learning the Butchering Skill supposedly increased?
That’s why Sung-hyun tried to gather rabbit meat in one go, and when he’d caught over twenty rabbits, a thought crossed his mind.
‘Is it time now?’
If I gather this many and keep butchering them, won’t a Butcher Shop skill eventually emerge?
If it doesn’t work, I can always catch more.
I sat down in a clearing of the forest, preparing to butcher the rabbits.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘If there’s a Former Instructor Ghost, there must be other ghosts too, right?’
For instance, a ghost skilled in butchering.
Ghosts don’t always appear when they pass by, but one would think they’d linger near a forest like this or around rabbit hunting grounds—yet I hadn’t spotted any.
Were there none?
Since this is where beginners gather to butcher, perhaps I should take a closer look?
‘Hmm, I do sense something….’
It felt like a ghost might be nearby, but the sensation was too faint, so I was about to give up.
Butchering is just tedious labor anyway—I could manage it on my own.
When had I become so reliant on ghosts?
Just as I was about to abandon the search and proceed myself, a peculiar voice echoed from afar.
-Tsk tsk tsk, that’s not how you butcher at all, you know.
The voice grumbled with clear disapproval, clicking its tongue.
Found it!
The moment I heard that voice, I bolted toward it and finally spotted the ghost.
Dressed in a coat and hat made from tiger hide, with a longbow slung across his back and multiple axes hanging from his waist—there was no doubt about it.
“A bandit?”
-Huh?! What?! I’m a hunter! Wait, hold on—you can see me?
The startled bandit—no, hunter ghost—looked at me in shock.
There was a human who could see him?
It was a situation that would astonish anyone, living or dead.
I boldly asked the hunter ghost.
“Then how should I butcher them?”
-What? Ahahaha! The great hunter Apik shall teach you, boy!
“Thank you.”
The friendly hunter ghost Apik laughed heartily at my question, and I expressed my gratitude.
But Apik corrected me instead.
-No! I should be thanking you! For giving me the chance to help! Now then, have you caught the rabbits?
“Yes, quite a few.”
-Oho, let me see them.
I nodded at Apik’s words and pulled out roughly twenty rabbit corpses from my inventory.
Apik’s eyes widened as he saw all the rabbits with their necks cleanly severed in a single cut.
It had been ages since he’d seen rabbits hunted with such pristine cross-sections.
When the first foreigners had arrived, some had shown skill, but had any reached this level?
-It’s a realm that should only be achieved after swinging a blade for decades….
“Pardon?”
-No, no! I’m just saying you did well.
“Ah, thank you.”
-Ahahaha! With such a clean kill on this rabbit, I’d say we’ll get some excellent meat and hide! Now, listen carefully to what I teach you.
As Sung-hyun nodded in agreement, the hunter ghost Apik opened his mouth.
-You see, butchering is something that becomes cleaner the more swiftly you kill the beast in a single blow. These rabbits you’ve caught are a perfect example.
“I see.”
-The quicker the kill, the better the quality. And the hunted animals won’t even have time to feel pain. That’s what I’d call a merciful hand.
Sung-hyun felt a bit embarrassed at Apik’s words and awkwardly scratched his cheek.
Seeing Sung-hyun’s embarrassment, Apik chuckled softly and continued his explanation.
He spoke of how butchering was done, and how hunting was conducted.
Thus, Apik’s ‘memories’ and ‘experiences’ flowed into me.
So this is the phenomenon that occurs the moment I receive instruction.
Sung-hyun realized this and felt the ‘memories’ and ‘experiences’ pouring in.
The memories of a hunter who had hunted for decades, and the experience of butchering the hides and meat of hunted animals and beasts.
As all of it came crashing in like a tsunami, Sung-hyun found himself drawing out a butchering dagger and beginning to butcher one of the rabbit carcasses before him without thinking.
I wielded the blade boldly, as someone who had butchered before would.
To the eye, it looked like it would be hacked apart haphazardly, yet the meat and hide separated with remarkable sharpness and precision.
Apik couldn’t help but laugh heartily at such flawless butchering skill.
-Ahahaha! That’s right! That’s the butchering method of the great hunter Apik!
As Apik laughed heartily.
A message I’d seen before came to mind.
[You have displayed an ability beyond your current stats through an ‘Unknown Power’.]
[A new stat 《Dexterity of Hands》 is created.]
[Agility +3, Dexterity of Hands +2 permanently increase.]
[You successfully complete your first attempt at butchering!]
[You acquire the skill ‘Butchering’.]
[You acquire the title ‘Exceptional Butcher’.]
『Exceptional Butcher』
→《Rare》
→A title granted to users who successfully complete butchering for the first time.
→Quality increases by 15% when butchering.
『Butchering』
→《Normal》
→[Lv 1][Growth Type]
[Instant Effect][Passive]
→Allows you to butcher more easily and without loss.
Looking at those messages, Sung-hyun thought to himself.
It seemed like earning money would be easier than expected.

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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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