The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 266

The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 266

[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』 has pushed his power to the limit.]
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』 Phase 2 has been removed.]
Along with those two messages, a sound echoed out.
Crack, crickle-crack, crickle-crickle-crack.
In an instant, the sound of freezing overtook the surroundings.
This place, once teeming with the dead, had always been a cold one—but never like this, never like the heart of a glacial storm.
A biting chill spread outward, beginning to dominate the entire area.
The surroundings turned a shade of ashen blue.
And within that, the violet flames began to slowly lose their glow.
Likewise, the heat they had radiated quietly faded away, and the supremacy of that brilliant element started to flicker like the dying purple light.
Seong looked at Barseon with a strange expression.
A forbidden magic. A spell that devours all.
A magic so destructive it had been lost to time, called simply—Destruction.
It was a magic that could not exist without the Grimoire of Destruction. And yet, here it was, manifesting.
Barseon began to freeze over, his life unraveling.
Tearing himself apart, his form dispersed into flakes like snow. With a skull that showed no expression, he looked toward Seong and shouted:
—Glory to the Lord of the Dead—!!!
After offering up that cry like a sacrifice to a god, Barseon’s icy gaze gradually dimmed, turning as cold as the blizzard around him.
It was the price of invoking Destruction on the surface without a catalyst.
Barseon, having scattered and become the wind of the frost, vanished.
In this zone where absolute zero had now been unleashed, the blizzard howled even fiercer.
Fwooouuuuuung——
Though it wasn’t a storm with the force of a typhoon, it was a cutting gale that snuffed out even the last remnants of warmth.
The only fortunate thing was—
‘I didn’t get caught in the AoE.’
The Prism Effect hadn’t been caught in the range.
Even as the violet flame dimmed, Seong burned more mana, reigniting the surroundings in a purple glow.
He amplified the hidden principle of heat within the flame to the maximum...
But even that, it seemed, was something absolute zero refused to tolerate. The snowstorm began to intensify.
As if determined to extinguish every last bit of warmth, the frigid wind surged in.
The violet warmth still shielded Seong...
Crickle, crack.
“......”
The tips of his fingers froze.
So it really is Destruction magic.
Seong thought that far and then, as if surrendering, raised both hands.
He had meant to rely solely on Inferno Lord till the end—
But this, he had to admit.
At that moment, shadows writhed at Seong’s feet.
Like twilight slithering across the ground at sunset, they climbed up to embrace his body.
As Seong’s body darkened, violet flames took root in the shadows, then turned black, wrapping around him completely.
And then the concept of darkness took form, severing the ‘warmth’ between him and absolute zero.
An untouchable realm of darkness.
Absolute zero tried desperately to intrude.
But as multiple concepts mixed—
Even absolute zero could not trespass into that domain.
Saaahhhhh——!
The raging blizzard calmed, like a spring bloom suddenly bursting forth.
Soon, the surrounding landscape returned to normal.
And Barseon, torn to shreds and scattered—was nowhere to be seen.
“Hm.”
He had wanted to rely only on Inferno Lord, so it was a bit disappointing.
But that didn’t mean the Lord of Darkness wasn’t part of his power.
He didn’t think of it as a loss.
Just a small regret.
As Seong was thinking that, a system message popped up before him.
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』 has been defeated.]
[You have gained a massive amount of experience!]
[Level Up!] ×4
[You are now Level 224.]
[The user with the highest contribution is 『Seong』.]
[Rewards are being enhanced.]
[First Clear Achieved.]
[Rewards are being enhanced.]
[Due to a contribution rate exceeding 99%, most rewards will be given to user 『Seong』.]
[You have obtained the clue to a Hidden Legendary Quest.]
[Hidden Legendary Quest, 『Trace of the Lord of the Dead』 (1/3)]
[Obtain two more clues to unlock the Hidden Legendary Quest, 『Trace of the Lord of the Dead』.]
[As an enhanced reward, you have acquired the item 『Map of Septem Arcana』.]
[『Absolute Zero』 has been recorded in the 『Record of Destruction』.]
[The Lord-class skill, 『Inferno Lord』 has been enhanced.]
[You have acquired a Legendary-grade item, 『Life Vessel』.]
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』 was a unique entity.]
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』 will no longer appear.]
[This is a hidden raid with restricted information.]
[Information cannot be disclosed.]
‘Oh.’
Not only had Absolute Zero, which he’d wanted badly, been recorded... but he’d also gotten the clue to a Hidden Legendary Quest.
On top of that, Inferno Lord had been enhanced.
And finally—
The Life Vessel.
According to its effect, it worked simply by being in his inventory.
If he were hit by something that would have killed him, it would resurrect him once per day.
Extremely useful.
Not that he expected to die any time soon, but—
Still better to have it than not.
‘So now I have two resurrection effects?’
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
More is always better when it comes to revival effects.
So he let that slide.
Which meant now, the remaining issue was—
‘Septem Arcana?’
That name... it definitely rang a bell.
But more than where he’d heard it, what puzzled him was ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) why this map had appeared.
It was strange enough for this map to drop so suddenly—
But the fact that Barseon, Basilе’s younger brother, had it?
That could only mean it was connected to the Lord of the Dead.
‘Basilе doesn’t have any memory of it.’
She didn’t know where the Lord of the Dead had gone.
But her brother Barseon... maybe he did?
In any case, it seemed he would have to head to Septem Arcana.
As he thought that, a memory surfaced.
Information he’d heard back in Sisvald, the sixth city and the City of Knights.
‘Hmm, as I heard it, beyond here—yeah, what outsiders call the seventh region—someone appeared in Septem Arcana wielding a weapon imbued with demonic energy.’
A city known for the appearance of a weapon imbued with demonic energy. A city of mages.
Could the Lord of the Dead be there?
He was a monarch from ages past.
It wouldn’t be strange if he were already dead.
If the breastplate ended up in Seong’s hands, that possibility was the most likely.
In any case, he had obtained the clue to the Hidden Legendary Quest.
‘Looks like my next destination is set.’
So Seong was thinking to himself.
While he was lost in thought, the members of Prism Effect’s party were staring at him in a daze.
They hadn’t seen the final moment when he invoked darkness—
But it was only natural that they’d be stunned.
He had soloed a Hidden Raid Boss that even all four of them together couldn’t so much as touch.
While deep in thought, Seong recalled their presence and noticed them still staring blankly at him.
They looked completely dumbfounded.
As Seong wondered what he should say to them—
Surprisingly, Ir was the first to speak.
“I-I knew you were amazing, but... you’re even more amazing than I thought......”
Once Ir started—
“......Honestly, we’re just really grateful you helped our party......”
“Thank you so much.”
“It was an incredible experience, thanks to you.”
Reaching level 240 meant they were well beyond the level of average players.
Among streamers, they were considered some of the more skilled ones.
They could easily make a living as professionals.
Which meant they were the kind of people who might typically let pride get in the way.
But Prism Effect wasn’t like that.
At the very least, they understood honor.
“We’ll give you the rewards we got, too.”
“To be honest, it’s not much...”
“But still, we’d feel better giving them to you.”
“Ha ha, please accept them.”
“......Ah.”
Seong looked slightly awkward at that suggestion, but eventually nodded.
They handed him some gold and a few items.
Honestly, they didn’t seem like loot that had just dropped from Barseon.
Considering Seong had over 99% of the contribution,
It made sense nothing really dropped for them.
In other words—
‘They’re giving this from their own pockets.’
But there was more gold than he expected.
It would feel wrong to reject such sincere generosity.
So he accepted it without protest.
The items weren’t anything he could really use,
But they’d be good to sell or distribute among his undead.
After accepting the rewards, and now that the interference to the Lord of the Dead’s Castle Quest was gone,
He was able to clear it not long after.
Finally, after returning to Lumensia and collecting the quest reward,
Everything was done.
“Thank you so much!”
“Really, thank you!”
“You worked so hard.”
“Ha ha ha! I hope we meet again someday!”
As the members of Prism Effect gave their farewells, Seong replied in kind.
“I should be thanking you.”
Thanks to them, he’d been able to reach the Lord of the Dead’s Castle without delay.
So now—
It was time to pursue the trail left behind by the Lord of the Dead.
Time to head for Septem Arcana.
‘Well then, shall we go?’
The place where someone had appeared wielding a weapon imbued with demonic energy.
A city presumed to be where the Lord of the Dead had headed.
What would happen this time?
With the spirit of an adventurer, Seong set out for the new city—
The city of mages, Septem Arcana.
0.
Septem Arcana, though called the city of mages, was essentially a city centered around a pale-blue magic tower known as the Cerule Spire.
As one would expect of a city of mages, nearly everything in this place was tied to the magic tower, and there were countless mage-related scenarios.
However, it was also one of the few cities in the seventh region where a main scenario had yet to be discovered.
Some speculated that the main scenario simply hadn’t begun yet,
While others claimed it was a hidden storyline, purposely concealed.
No one knew who was right since nothing had been found so far.
But in any case, now that Seong had arrived in this city,
It meant he would inevitably become involved with that pale-blue magic tower, the Cerule Spire.
For some reason, both the NPCs and players in Septem Arcana seemed unusually excited.
NPCs were launching fireworks in the streets, and players walking around were shouting in celebration.
“Yeehaw!!!”
“Yaaaah!!!”
“I’m telling you, the Master of Cerule Tower is just built different!!!”
“Why not! Beer’s half-off today!!! Locals, strangers, it doesn’t matter—everyone!!!”
“No takebacks, boss!!!”
“Kwahahaha!!! That hits the spot!!!”
“Finally!!! Hyaaa! Now that means that’s gonna open up too!!!”
“Of course! Didn’t the Tower Master say it himself?!”
A player who had just arrived in the city looked around in confusion, tilting his head.
What the hell is going on?
Is there some kind of festival?
As he stood there bewildered, another excited player saw him and called out.
“Ahh, you must be new here?!”
“Uh? Oh, yes.”
“Wahaha! That makes sense! That cursed demon palace has finally been dealt with!!! Some powerful archer got hold of a demonic-imbued bow, and it was causing all sorts of trouble here! But then the Tower Master personally stepped in and wiped it out! Can you believe it?!”
Still full of excitement, the player was practically seething as he spoke, and the newly arrived player’s eyes lit up.
A weapon imbued with demonic energy had been subdued?
Intrigued, the new player’s curiosity clearly showed on his face, prompting the excited player to continue.
“And get this—Tower Master Cerule personally purified the demon palace, and now he’s offering the bow as a prize for a player tournament!”
“Oh? A tournament, you say?”
At that, the new player removed his black robe and asked again.
“Can you tell me more about it?”
Taking off his robe, Seong asked the player for more details.
Naturally so, because—
[Quest has been created.]
→ Learn about the Demon Palace.
A new quest had just been triggered.

Chapter 266