The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 291
4.
Pssshhh.
As the capsule opened and Seong stepped out, he loosened up a bit and thought to himself.
‘Still can’t find them.’
After meeting Taukan...
And after hearing from Serena that the Sword Saint was coming...
He had hurried his efforts.
But there were no more traces of the natives in the forest.
Even Noctrynium, with his incredible detection ability, said there wasn’t a single hint left.
Honestly, it made Seong think the natives might have already been attacked by demons.
‘Hmmm. Where could they be?’
He hadn’t expanded the search too widely yet.
Maybe tomorrow he’d get a better idea.
For now, he could sleep, wake up, go to work, and search again afterward.
That was the plan as he washed up, ate, and went to bed.
Even Mina didn’t know anything helpful.
So he had no choice but to look with his own two feet.
Still, the exploration was kind of fun, so he didn’t feel too frustrated.
With only four days left—no, now three—until the Sword Saint’s arrival, he should’ve felt more anxious.
But the thrill of it was making things oddly enjoyable.
The next morning came.
Seong went through his usual routine—morning run, shower, breakfast—
Then went right back into the capsule.
“Do well today, son~”
“Of course.”
“What about my daughter?”
“Your daughter’s always amazing~”
Mina pouted a little at that,
But went into her capsule anyway, half accepting it.
Once Seong logged in,
He went straight to the Tower, as usual.
It was his third day of work already, and he was adjusting well, handling his tasks without issue.
That’s when he was summoned by the Captain of the Guard Knights.
Wondering what it could be, he headed straight to the Captain’s office—
“I heard you were looking for me.”
“Hello?”
“...Huh?”
And there, waiting for him, was none other than Serena.
With her sudden appearance and the Captain’s expression of “perfect timing,”
Seong immediately understood.
“I’ll be escorting Chief Magician Serena today, then?”
“Hahaha, that’s right.”
“Thanks in advance~”
Serena greeted him, and Seong nodded in response.
He wanted to patrol and check for mages tainted with demonic energy—
But oh well.
So, just like the first day, he and Serena headed outside.
Apparently—
“Today’s list of materials is shorter, so we’ll finish earlier than last time.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yeah, I have to finish early thanks to that damn Sword Saint. The materials I’m collecting today are for that.”
At that, Seong asked Serena,
“Because of the Sword Saint?”
“Ah, right, you probably didn’t hear? The Sword Saint’s coming to the Tower. In three days? Roughly. So I have to take care of things beforehand... seriously, what a pain.”
“I see.”
“Hm? You’re a knight—are you a fan of the Sword Saint or something? I heard foreigners usually aren’t.”
Seeing Seong’s lukewarm reaction, Serena commented.
Seong chuckled and replied,
“I’m not a fan.”
“Right? Don’t be. He’s a really shady guy.”
That was definitely something Serena would say.
Seong had heard some things too.
But not in detail.
So he asked out of curiosity.
“He’s shady?”
“Yeah, big time. I shouldn’t say this out loud but...”
Serena looked around the field to make sure no one was nearby.
Then said quietly to Seong,
“There’s even a rumor that the only reason he put his little brother on the throne was so he could control him. Pretty much anyone high up in the Kingdom of Rieskan knows about it.”
“Oh?”
So the Sword Saint was royalty.
Seong nodded at the unexpected bit of news.
But Serena didn’t stop there.
“And you know what’s even more suspicious? The way he immediately took in the Hero right after their appearance.”
“Hm, he took the Hero?”
“Yeah. Claimed he wanted to make them his student. But apparently a bunch of his previous students went missing. It’s a pretty well-known story.”
“Missing?”
“Yeah, no one knows what happened, but ten of them disappeared completely. He still has some disciples, but those ten were never seen again.”
That made Seong think this Sword Saint really did have some shady business going on.
Disciples going missing, huh.
‘Surely he didn’t use them to make demonic weapons, right?’
He did hear that you need powerful warrior souls for those.
A crazy thought, but if it’s the Sword Saint, maybe...
While listening to Serena’s stories, Seong gathered the materials.
5.
What once was the natives’ land.
Now, in a place untouched by the bright sun, in a realm cloaked in shadow—
Shadowy figures, as if made of darkness itself, slowly emerged from stone chambers.
Grumbling with irritation, one of them muttered,
“Damn it, we’re short on offerings.”
“Warriors—we need warriors.”
“Those damn natives would’ve been perfect...”
“But they all ran. Can’t find a single one...”
The two demons scowled in frustration.
If only they hadn’t wasted time, they could’ve captured them all.
But someone had interfered.
They remembered it clearly.
Under the full moon’s light, they had seen her.
The old woman wielding the sacred power of nature.
The one they called the Grand Shaman.
“If it weren’t for that old witch, we’d still have hundreds left.”
“Such °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° a waste. The natives, their entire race—each one had the strength of a warrior. Not like ordinary humans.”
“Now we have no idea where they’ve gone.”
“And we can’t release demonic energy freely near the city either.”
The demons muttered in frustration.
Then remembered one of their own who’d been sent to search.
“Well, he said he’d look.”
“We just have to wait.”
If the natives were hiding in the city, they couldn’t track them.
But they’d heard a few had made it into the city.
Even if it wasn’t hundreds, they’d have to settle for those few.
They were desperately short on materials.
And with the Sword Saint arriving in a few days, they had to prepare the proper quantity.
Annoying, yes.
But they had no choice but to follow orders.
“That damned Sword Saint... I’d chew him up if I could.”
“Grrr. Whatever. If he finds the materials, we’ll have to go pick up the sacrifices.”
Annoyed, the demons began working again.
Dozens of demonic weapons piled high.
As their dark energy flowed, another demon spilled the blood of crimson-skinned natives over them.
6.
After returning from gathering Serena’s materials,
Seong also volunteered for patrol duty.
Pleased, the Captain gave him another early dismissal.
“Great job today!”
“Thank you.”
Told to go home early again, Seong thanked him and stepped out.
But he didn’t look happy about it.
Normally someone would be thrilled to leave early—
But he just looked disappointed.
It wasn’t that he was a workaholic.
He just hadn’t found any mages tainted by demonic energy.
Which was unfortunate.
“...I’m sorry.”
As he stepped outside,
A familiar figure kneeled on one knee and bowed his head—Noctrynium.
He hadn’t found the natives’ village in the forest.
“Hmmm, it’s fine.”
Seong replied and, before anyone could see, sent Noctrynium back to the underworld.
It had only been two days of searching—
But if Noctrynium couldn’t find anything...
‘This method won’t work.’
Plain detection just wasn’t enough.
There had to be another way.
Taukan didn’t seem to know.
Maybe he had to find another native—
Just then, he sensed someone approaching from behind.
Whoever it was, they were very skilled—it was hard to detect them.
But Seong was no slouch.
—Someone’s coming, Seong.
‘Yeah, I felt it too.’
He had Helena and the other subordinates watching over him.
And he noticed quickly as well.
Still inside the city, but he wasn’t letting his guard down.
He stood ready for battle.
There was something oddly familiar about the presence.
It felt like someone he’d seen recently.
Seong stopped for a moment.
A large figure filled the alley behind him—staring at Seong.
“...Huh?”
“Ahem.”
The big man gave a subtle signal to follow.
Taukan.
But he looked a bit different than yesterday.
Less guarded and suspicious.
Still a bit timid, but more resolute.
Just the fact that he’d come this far in secret was a major change.
‘Something’s up.’
Maybe something special happened since their last meeting.
Or maybe a delayed trigger had gone off.
He wasn’t sure—
But the fact that Taukan came was a good sign.
Seong followed him into a secluded alley.
Taukan looked around warily, then spoke.
“W-We meet again.”
“Yes, again so soon?”
“Ahem... Taukan has something to say.”
Seong waited silently, signaling he was listening.
Taukan spoke again.
“Yesterday... I lied a bit. The Grand Shaman told me to bring you.”
Hearing that, a glint appeared in Seong’s eyes.
The Grand Shaman?
So they did know where the relocated tribe was.
As Seong stared at him curiously,
Taukan averted his gaze, clearly embarrassed or guilty.
But hey, he was here now.
That’s what mattered.
And honestly, Seong understood why he lied.
“Alright.”
“Thank you. Come.”
With that, Taukan summoned the power of nature—
And transformed into a mouse.
A perfect transformation—Seong was impressed.
‘A druid?’
He’d heard druids could transform into animals.
Seeing it firsthand was fascinating.
As Taukan, now a mouse, darted forward,
Seong cloaked himself and followed.
Even as a rodent, Taukan was fast.
But not faster than Seong.
He kept pace easily.
After a while, Seong realized they were heading toward the slums.
He nodded to himself.
‘So most of them came into the city.’
No wonder he’d found nothing searching the outskirts like crazy.
If you want to hide a tree, put it in a forest—
Exactly like that.
The natives had been clever.
When they reached the slum,
Taukan transformed back and gestured toward one of the houses.
“Go in.”
He didn’t say much.
But it was clear—that’s where the Grand Shaman was.
Seong stepped inside.
The space was filled with vibrant green light.
Spirit energy?
Tiny green orbs of light floated in the air, and laughter echoed from somewhere.
The aura of nature was overwhelming—almost shocking.
But then, Seong saw something else.
More than the glowing spirits laughing and dancing—
—Sigh, those spirits get all the praise while we’re stuck here.
—Why do they worship spirits like they’re ancestors?
—Tsk tsk, Grand Shaman’s delusional.
—Weren’t you a Grand Shaman too? Look who’s talking.
—Ugh... huh? He’s looking at us.
—Eek?!
The bickering spirits of old women—
And in front of them, a living old woman, smiling at Seong.
“Hehehe, I see you were surprised to see the spirits of our ancestors.”
“...Yes. A little surprised, I admit.”
Chapter 291
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