The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 81

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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 81
Episode 81
Footsteps echoed through the space.
Yet even as Yoo Sung-hyun watched clearly, he couldn’t discern whether the figure was male or female, old or young.
He could perceive nothing of its nature.
Only its existence itself felt undeniably real.
Everything about its identity remained unknowable.
When such a being appeared and turned its head, I felt as though our eyes had met.
It was surely just an illusion.
‘Can it see me?’
The thought crossed my mind in that instant.
The being surveyed the sky, including the direction where I stood.
Of course, that couldn’t be it.
It was merely coincidence.
After scanning the surroundings, the being murmured with what sounded like pity.
-So you went too, Fiora. Why didn’t you go when ■■■■■ invited you?
In that voice, heavy with regret and sorrow, I found myself perceiving the melancholy gleam in the being’s eyes.
But that was all.
The being placed a note upon Fiora’s charred remains—all that was left of her body—and murmured once more.
-I shall wait in the Dark Castle. If the successor you have all been longing for arrives, tell them this.
With those words, the sealed space trembled as though shaken, and the entire garden seemed to quake.
Then the being spoke again.
-If you wish to inherit the Overlord’s legacy, come to the Dark Castle. Until then, I will not acknowledge any successor.
With that final utterance, the being vanished without a trace.
How the being had appeared in this sealed space remained a mystery.
Nor could I fathom the manner of its departure.
Yet witnessing it, I grasped at least one truth.
‘This is the beginning of the Main Quest.’
It was the prologue to the Main Quest itself.
Not long after the being’s final words, I found myself returning to the original world.
At the dungeon’s end, I read the note while witnessing the prologue of the Main Quest.
Only then did new text materialize.
[An exclusive Quest for the ‘Overlord’ and Main Quest, ‘Entrance to the Dark Castle’ has been created.]
‘So it’s a search quest.’
The entrance to the Dark Castle.
Was this a quest to find the entrance first, since it couldn’t be located yet?
Curiosity stirred within me.
The Quest window appeared belatedly.
The note’s contents were also recorded in the Quest window.
『Entrance to the Dark Castle』
→《Main》
→Main Quest.
→It is said that after the Overlord, who had existed since ancient times, perished, those under the Overlord’s command created an organization called Overpalace.
However, not all of the Overlord’s subordinates united under this banner.
There were certainly those who chose a different path from the Overpalace founded under the tutelage of the previous Overlord.
Perhaps knowing they could never be intertwined, they lived in darkness unlike Overpalace, revealing nothing of themselves.
And you discovered a note left behind by one of their number.
『If you discover this note, then you are the one who possesses Fiora’s reincarnation—the successor to our Lord.
While Overpalace may be ignorant, we have no intention of accepting a successor just yet.
However, to deny you without even granting you a chance would be a grave discourtesy to our Lord.
Therefore, I speak to you, successor of unknown name.
Come find me.
At the Dark Castle.
Here I wait with the legacy our Lord left behind.』
Currently, your only clue is this single note.
You must find the entrance to the Dark Castle.
You could ignore it, but for some reason, you felt an overwhelming sense that you must not overlook this.
Find the entrance to the Dark Castle.
→Overlord-exclusive Main Quest.
→Reward: Leads to the next Quest.
→Failure: Main Quest lost, some Overlord-exclusive skills and exclusive items lost.
It was quite lengthy.
Looking at the essentials alone.
‘So they’re saying they’ve left something important and want me to find it?’
If I find it, they’ll acknowledge me?
A rather unhelpful note and Quest.
Yet I couldn’t simply leave it be.
After all, they said the note was a clue.
I carefully folded it and placed it in my inventory.
It seemed like a clue I couldn’t use immediately.
But Yoo Sung-hyun had several people at his disposal, didn’t he?
First, Helena’s memories were out of the question.
Yoo Sung-hyun couldn’t read all her memories, and some were locked away.
They were incomplete.
It seemed Yoo Sung-hyun’s ability still couldn’t read all of Helena’s vast memories.
So.
‘I wish Helena were awake.’
Seeing that she hadn’t awakened yet, waiting longer might yield no results.
Then I could simply ask the other two, couldn’t I?
Fiora and Baltar.
Yoo Sung-hyun observed the two of them for a moment before asking.
“Do you happen to know where the Dark Castle is located?”
-Oho, the Dark Castle. It has been quite some time since I have heard that name.
-Ah, the Dark Castle…! H-Helena’s garden was also located there! Th-though it is now separated elsewhere…
“Ooh?”
An answer came faster than expected.
Could it be that I might arrive sooner than anticipated?
Such thoughts crossed Yoo Sung-hyun’s mind as well.
-*Sigh*, however, after Helena’s passing, her followers and we all parted ways so violently that I cannot say what became of those managing the Dark Castle.
-I-I also only know that the space Helena had left was relocated elsewhere…
Both of them appeared somewhat dejected at their lack of information.
Fiora was always like that, but even Baltar seemed quite disappointed.
Was this back to square one then?
Could fortune not be hoped for?
Well, if it was after a second class advancement, it would be under the premise that a Demon Knight existed.
‘Information won’t be easy to obtain like this.’
There was even a chance that Helena might not awaken.
But that was fine.
‘Games are meant to be played this way originally.’
I shouldn’t rely too heavily on ghosts or such information.
When it’s unavailable, I need to solve things myself as well.
With that thought, Yoo Sung-hyun pondered where to begin, when something suddenly occurred to him.
The spatial severance must have happened after Helena’s death.
From what Fiora was saying, it sounded like Helena had initiated the relocation herself.
Which meant…
“Fiora, so Helena was the one who relocated the Dark Castle first?”
-Eh? Y-yes! Originally it was in the Mortal Realm like this place…
-Troublesome visitors kept finding such a castle, so the previous Lord violently tore the space itself and separated it into a different dimension.
“…Is that even possible?”
Just how powerful was Helena back then?
Violently tearing space itself and separating it into another dimension.
It was difficult to even imagine just hearing about it.
In any case, the desired information had emerged.
The fact that it originally existed in the Mortal Realm.
“That means there’s a site where the original Dark Castle stood, right?”
-Eh!? Y-yes, that’s right!
-Oho? If we search that location, we might just be able to find an entrance.
Fiora and Baltar agreed with Yoo Sung-hyun’s suggestion.
Perhaps feeling the need to do something.
Barphor suddenly cried out.
I-I will! I shall serve with utmost loyalty and devotion!
Yoo Sung-hyun nodded readily at their display, clearly pleased.
Let’s head to the ruins of the old castle first.
Baltar and Fiora said they know the way.
If we have the location name, we should be able to get there.
Judging by how it opened during the second class advancement.
It seemed to be somewhere within the Third Village.
Let’s get the location name from Baltar and Fiora and search for it.
Sure enough, it was one of the places in the Third Village.
Selmas.
This was where Yoo Sung-hyun needed to go.
2.
E-World, the company operating Eternal World.
At E-World’s headquarters, more specifically in the User Management Team, strange sounds were often heard.
Bizarre sounds like some beast’s cry, somehow melancholic and sorrowful.
“Grrrraaaaaghhhh!”
“Ahhh! S-Senior, I’m so sorry!!!”
It was the sound of Lee Won-sang, an assistant manager, grinding his teeth in anguish.
Beside him, Oh Jin-hyuk, an employee, kept apologizing repeatedly.
Though it wasn’t really Oh Jin-hyuk’s fault.
Or was it?
Lee Won-sang checked the events that had occurred while he was away, busy with other matters.
So Yoo Sung-hyun had soloed the Crystal Palace raid and won?
It was unexpected, but possible.
He was always someone who exceeded expectations, after all.
But how did he manage to raid the Treasure Vault first and receive double rewards?
Of course, the items stacked in the Treasure Vault were items Yoo Sung-hyun couldn’t equip, but they were all Unique-grade items without exception.
If all of those were released onto the market at once?
Power inflation could become abnormally skewed.
The only silver lining was that there were no skill books.
Yes, if there had been skills as well, he would have converted them all to dark magic skills using the Tome of Despair.
It was a blessing that there were no skill books because it was the Armory.
But the rewards obtained from defeating Crescentra became a problem because of that.
Due to an error, all the grades became Legendary in the additional rewards.
Normally it would have been covered by the numerous weapons in the Treasure Vault, but instead Legendary-grade items and even an Almighty-exclusive skill were unlocked.
“Is this right? Really? Is this actually right?”
“Y-Yes? W-Well, it is correct, but…!?”
“Do you want a hit?”
“Ahhhhh! N-No, it’s not that!”
If he could just land one solid punch, he’d have no regrets.
Anyway, that’s not the issue right now.
The real problem is none other than the Thousand Blood Blades.
The moment Lee Won-sang heard about it, he watched Yoo Sung-hyun use the skill and couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
‘Why is the performance like that?’
It was clearly a defective skill.
Though Immortal, the superhuman AI who created the game, is said to be unparalleled in the world.
But Immortal couldn’t have made everything alone.
Human hands were bound to touch it.
In that process, defective skills like the Thousand Blood Blades did emerge.
But until now, the error skills that appeared were at most Epic-grade skills.
Yet such an error existed in a Legendary-grade skill.
‘It needs to explode not just on enemies, but the moment it makes contact.’
The power output was also somewhat stronger.
But that was due to Yoo Sung-hyun’s abnormally high stats, so the error margin would decrease.
First and foremost, the fact that it doesn’t explode even when hitting terrain is the worst.
Using it defensively like this was also outside the intended scope.
If we patch it, we need to add a duration and a setting that it explodes on contact with anything.
That’s not difficult to change.
Immortal just needs to snap their fingers once and it’s done.
But the problem is.
‘If the user Yoo Sung-hyun lodges a complaint, it’s all over….’
Lee Won-sang quickly searched for the previous Epic-grade skill error case and checked the compensation plan.
And his expression became one of despair.
‘Identical skill provision….’
Of all things, a Legendary one?
Lee Won-sang hung his head low.
If only Oh Jin-hyuk had reported it even slightly sooner?
I could have somehow blocked it with the Treasure Vault rewards.
A grinding sound came from Lee Won-sang’s teeth.
“Ugh!”
“Phew, anyway, I need to get this compensation plan approved. A Legendary….”
“But, if he still complains after that….”
“…I’ll have to give additional compensation. I’d probably do the same if I were him. So I shouldn’t just give one Legendary and call it even—I need to provide other compensation too….”
I feel like my stomach is turning inside out.
No, it really did turn inside out.
Stomach cramps hit me.
My insides churned, ached, and everything went to hell.
But our office worker couldn’t do anything about it.
If I didn’t clean up this mess now, there was nothing I could do.
Anyway.
‘The main Quest is finally starting.’
It’s troublesome, but at least it’s a relief.
With this main Quest, I should be able to hold out for a while.
Main Quests don’t typically have hidden elements tucked away like that.
I’m just receiving what Yoo Sung-hyun was originally supposed to get.
That’s at least manageable, right?
Besides.
‘I’ve extinguished the immediate fire on the Warrior Descendant’s side too. So things shouldn’t get too hectic, right?’
I was currently hampering the Warrior Descendant’s forces by slightly loosening the restrictions on the Overpalace side.
The Warrior Descendant’s side was also having difficulty moving freely.
Individual movements were one thing, but at least the Warrior Descendant’s group wouldn’t be mobilizing as a unit.
Even if the Warrior Descendant moved individually, it could still pose a significant obstacle to Yoo Sung-hyun right now.
But I don’t think that will happen.
If they had any sense, the Warrior Descendant’s group would keep the Warrior Descendant from acting recklessly.
That was the kind of sentiment I sensed.
Still, taking that as some small comfort seemed to ease the burning sensation in my chest a bit.
Or was it?
As Lee Won-sang was about to rise from his seat, feeling that bitter heartburn, he could see on the screen that an employee from the adjacent team was urgently contacting him.
What was this about?
I really hoped it was nothing serious, but that was unlikely.
Lee Won-sang urgently sent a message back.
[URGENT! Warrior Descendant Luke and Sage Descendant Plinky discovered clue to ‘Dark Castle’. Confirmed as Overlord-related location. Planning to investigate. Please confirm from Overlord side.]
Dark Castle?
I’d definitely seen it somewhere.
Not long ago. Just now, in fact.
“??????”
With a dumbfounded expression, I peeked at Yoo Sung-hyun’s Quest window.
Main Quest – Entrance to the Dark Castle.
And the clue that Hero Luke found was the Dark Castle?
So they were going to meet?
Lee Won-sang’s mind seemed to have stopped working for a moment as he stared blankly at it.
He urgently rushed toward Ji Hye-jung’s desk.
Thud! Crash, crash, crash!
He nearly stumbled along the way but somehow managed to keep his balance and kept running.
Ji Hye-jung also looked at Lee Won-sang with an ominous expression as he spoke.
“Hey, Hero Luke is apparently heading to the Dark Castle.”
“The Dark Castle? All of a sudden?”
“And based on the Yoo Sung-hyun user’s gameplay, the main Quest is starting…”
“W-wait, could it be!?”
“Wait, you can’t be serious!?”
As Lee Won-sang nodded at the ominous premonition, the room grew tense.
Ji Hye-jung closed her eyes and dialed an internal company line.
When a man with a distinctly masculine face—one who laughed with a hearty “Ahahaha!”—answered the phone.
“Lee Jae-kyung… I think we need to mobilize Overpalace.”
-Ahahaha! I told you so, didn’t I? Okay, I’m lifting the restrictions on Overpalace’s lions up to the second phase!
As if something terrible were about to unfold, both Lee Won-sang and Ji Hye-jung closed their eyes.
And so Overpalace was set in motion.
“…Nothing… nothing serious will happen, right?”
“…I hope not.”
Not a confident assertion, but a personal wish spoken aloud.
Yet why did it feel this way?
Ji Hye-jung realized for the first time how cruelly those words could sound.

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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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