The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 310
In the past, dark magic was not respected.
No—not respected didn’t even begin to describe it.
People were called witches, demon-worshippers, servants of darkness.
They were branded as evil.
Seong knew that all too well.
But still, it was Will who had used dark magic for the sake of protecting his village.
Wouldn’t the villagers understand that?
Seong held onto that faint hope.
But he saw it—
The fearful gazes aimed at Will.
The twisted expressions that looked as if they were staring at something disgusting.
“......”
Could it be...
Was this why the system had created a monster inside the village?
As Seong stood there, silently watching with that thought—
Barbaros returned to the village not long after.
“Seong-nim, the wave is finally ove—huh?”
Barbaros also noticed something was off the moment he arrived, and looked between Seong and the villagers.
The tension was palpable.
The villagers’ expressions, and Will standing alone at the center of it all.
Barbaros swallowed hard.
To be honest, even the wave had been nearly impossible without Seong.
It was Legendary-grade, after all.
That much difficulty was to be expected, but...
Now that they’d cleared it, what was this atmosphere?
Barbaros’s eyes darted nervously.
Then—
One of the villagers pointed and shouted at them.
“Y-you’ve come at the right time! W-Will is using dark magic!”
It was not a cry of joy.
It was soaked in fear and hatred.
And what came next made both Seong and Barbaros freeze.
“P-please! Kill that wicked child!”
“...What did you say?”
Had he just asked them to kill that child?
Barbaros’s eyes trembled with disbelief.
Seong, though more experienced—
Having seen similar memories from ghosts—
Still bit his lip so hard it went pale with rage.
His fists clenched, turning white.
But he didn’t act.
He knew better than anyone that there was nothing they could do right now.
Barbaros tried to move—
But couldn’t.
It was like an event cutscene.
At that moment, Will stepped forward, trying to say something.
“I-I just...”
He wanted to protect the village.
He wanted to say that dark magic was not evil.
But—
The moment Will opened his mouth, the villagers unleashed their malice.
And it spread like wildfire.
“He’s a demon for sure!!!”
“He used dark magic!!!”
“He’s the one who summoned the monster wave!!!”
“He tricked us with that innocent face!!!”
“He talks to ghosts!!!”
“P-please, behead that demon child!!!”
“He might be a servant of the Demon King!!!”
Barbaros began to panic, utterly overwhelmed.
Seong stood there, enduring as best he could, but visibly pained.
Neither of them could move.
And Will—
Swallowed hard, his face turning pale.
He had only wanted to protect his home.
But what he received in return for his kindness was hatred.
Fear disguised as righteousness—
Malice fueled by ignorance swept through the villagers like a storm.
And Will knew why they were acting like this.
Had it not been for Helena, he too might have believed dark magic to be evil.
But now he knew better—he had used it himself.
Dark magic didn’t demand human sacrifices like demonic pacts.
It was simply magic drawn from dark mana.
Just another branch of magic.
But the madness born of ignorance wasn’t something Will could stop.
He didn’t have the power to change their minds.
Terrified by their mob mentality, Will turned—
And saw—
“...Mom.”
“My child is a demon...”
“You demon bastard!!! What did you do with our Will!!!”
His mother collapsed, sobbing on the ground.
His father shouted in fury, demanding the real Will back.
Watching that, Will’s heart crumbled.
Even his parents had rejected him.
Tears—cold, bitter tears—streamed down his face.
Barbaros covered his mouth, tears welling in his eyes.
Seong let out a quiet sigh.
It was too cruel.
But...
‘This must be the real history.’
Because Seong had blocked every possibility of monsters sneaking through—
The system had spawned one inside the village just to show this scene.
If things didn’t play out like this, the story of Will Baghdad couldn’t be revealed.
And the version of that history was just... too cruel.
Rejected even by his parents—
Will realized, in that moment, how futile it all was.
And in the depths of that despair—
He saw her again.
A woman with crimson hair, smiling gently in his mind.
“......Ah.”
He remembered.
The promise he made—
That once he was strong enough to protect the village on his own, he’d go find her.
As that promise bloomed in his heart—
He looked around.
There was no one here who would protect him.
Then did he even need to protect this place?
That thought shook Will.
At that moment—
“Go. We’re here now.”
Seong spoke.
It sounded like he was saying leave.
But Will understood the meaning right away.
It meant:
This village is ours to protect now. So you can leave.
Upon hearing that—
Will looked at Seong with gratitude,
and disappeared alongside a wraith.
Seeing this, the villagers finally relaxed and cheered.
“Ah! The mercenaries saved our village from the wicked demon!!!”
“They’re heroes, just like Hindel!!!”
“Thank you, truly!!!”
As they shouted their praise—
Barbaros felt sick.
He wanted to vomit from the disgust.
And perhaps as if to offer him solace—
A system message appeared.
[You have completed the Legendary-grade tale, 『The Village Boy’s Sorrow』.]
[You have received your rewards.]
They were pulled from the book, along with a chunk of experience points.
Barbaros trembled, mumbling:
“How could they do that!? He only showed his power to protect them!!!”
He was outraged.
Completely immersed, he was furious.
Seong felt similarly.
He, too, was enraged—
But he endured it, knowing this was the past.
Seeing Seong’s calm face, Barbaros managed to cool down a bit.
“Haaah... I never imagined the story would go this way.”
“...It was predetermined.”
“Yeah... the foreshadowing was there.”
“It probably happened this way in real life.”
“...Ah.”
At Seong’s words, Barbaros realized once again—
This wasn’t fiction.
This was real history.
His eyes lowered, saddened.
Then he said—
“But... thanks to you, Seong-nim, I think Will felt a little relieved in the end.”
“Hm?”
“You know, the last thing you said to him—it seemed like it gave him some peace.”
Seong gave a sheepish smile.
Maybe so.
He’d had his share of such moments burned into memory.
Helena.
Serpina.
Others like them.
That’s why Seong suddenly felt a deep respect for Overpalace.
Wasn’t this how things used to be?
They had been the ones to change that.
To ensure that no one else would suffer like Helena did—
They had changed the world itself.
They’d made it known:
Dark mages and demons were not the same.
Once again, Seong thought to himself—
‘They were truly remarkable people.’
So that no dark mage would ever be persecuted again...
Then—
—In the past, people sometimes awakened to dark magic naturally. And...
Helena trailed off.
Just like with other forms of magic,
there were cases of natural awakenings with dark magic.
But because of public perception—
—Most of them died unjustly.
“...Hoo.”
Seong let out a sigh at Helena’s words.
Normally, he wouldn’t have gotten this emotionally involved.
It was just a game, after all.
But perhaps because he had inherited so many memories from ghosts—
He couldn’t help but empathize.
It was heartbreaking.
Wretched.
Thinking about it, Seong began to understand
why Helena had fought so hard.
—And it was Helena-nim’s death that brought all the dark mages of the world together. Of course, some of us went mad with grief like I did, but most united and formed Overpalace.
—......
Helena went quiet at Leonic’s words.
She didn’t think her death was something to be proud of.
She was sorry for the sorrow she’d caused.
But—
—I... I believe it’s thanks to Helena-nim’s sacrifice that Overpalace exists.
Fiora chimed in as well.
Without Helena’s death,
Overpalace might never have formed.
It was true.
Her death had been the catalyst that united dark mages across the world.
Her retainers had wandered in grief and lost their way—
But ultimately, it had led to a shift in global perception.
Thinking of that, Seong felt a tinge of sadness.
‘......’
If only Helena had lived.
But that was the past.
And the past couldn’t be changed.
—I won’t die.
Hearing Seong say that—
Why?
His retainers all felt something stir inside them.
The way Seong spoke—
Casually, like ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) it was no big deal, as if to say don’t worry—
Made them all sniffle and wipe their eyes.
“Ahem.”
Seong, flustered by their reactions, gave an awkward cough.
Barbaros, having calmed down, asked:
“Shall we go to the next volume?”
As if on cue—
A new message appeared.
[Traces of 『Lord of the Dead』 remain.]
[Seek out the Legendary-grade tale, 『The Drifter Youth’s Revenge』.]
Revenge?
This time it was about revenge?
Could it be about revenge on the villagers?
The thought worried Seong slightly.
But he already had a good idea of what kind of person Will Baghdad was.
Besides—
—He’s not that kind of kid.
Helena denied it firmly.
Honestly—
‘Though I do think those villagers deserve some revenge...’
Seong muttered bitterly, still angry.
A few of his retainers chuckled quietly.
Anyway—
“Do you know where the next volume is?”
“Of course! I’ve already found it!”
Barbaros answered confidently and led Seong to the book.
Enough time had passed, but they could manage one more.
Thanks to Seong going all out with his retainers,
the wave had ended faster than expected.
Barbaros guided him to the next book, and there it was:
『The Drifter Youth’s Revenge』
As expected—
“This isn’t going to be a revenge story on the villagers, right?”
“Hmm, probably not.”
“Well, Will is a good kid. Still, those villagers do deserve a bit of payback.”
Barbaros said it bluntly.
Seong gave a small nod and chuckled.
The two touched the book, and a message appeared.
[The scenario for 『The Drifter Youth’s Revenge』 is now beginning.]
Chapter 310
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