The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 201

1.

The monsters emerging from the Forest Labyrinth included not only the common creatures found in most labyrinths—such as snakes, bats, and spiders—but also those unique to the forest.

Among them, the most formidable was a beast-type monster covered in green fur, moving on all fours but towering even larger when it stood upright—the Greenleaf War Bear.

“Graaauuuugh!”

When it reared up on its hind legs and swung its massive front claws, most players would be torn apart instantly.

Standing before such a beast, Seong casually strolled forward, preparing to test his new skill.

The War Bear, as if recognizing that Seong was a powerful foe, charged at full strength right from the start.

The speed at which the Greenleaf War Bear lunged on all fours was incredibly fast.

At first glance, it seemed to appear in front of him in an instant.

However, Seong, as if seeing through everything, simply raised his index finger.

Then, assuming the posture of pulling a trigger, he activated his skill.

A single drop of blood, redder than ruby, shot forward.

“GRAUUUUGH!!!”

The Greenleaf War Bear had no idea what was happening as it saw the drop of crimson blood.

Yet, sensing something ominous, it instinctively charged in faster.

Just as it reached Seong and prepared to swing its lethal claws—

That tiny drop of blood transformed into a crimson blade, expanding in size and slicing through the air toward the War Bear.

A single drop of blood, turned into a keen, deadly blade.

The now-enlarged crimson blade slashed deep into the Greenleaf War Bear’s chest.

SCHIIIIING—!!!

A sound like metal being cleaved echoed as a long wound was carved into the War Bear’s chest.

The momentum of its charge was forcefully stopped, its powerful legs carving two deep trenches into the ground as it was pushed back.

ZZZZZZZZZZT!

The crimson blade had deeply cut through the War Bear’s chest, yet that was all.

Greenleaf War Bear’s blood flowed from the open wound.

However, the beast wasn’t finished yet. It still looked ready to attack.

But at that moment, its head suddenly spun, as if lightheaded.

Was it because of the blood loss?

No, that couldn’t be it.

Before it could even recognize what was happening, it saw another crimson blade forming right before its eyes.

It tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

The second effect of Crimson Execution.

If the caster’s HP is full, an additional strike is triggered.

That effect activated now.

The Greenleaf War Bear desperately tried to block it.

But the crimson blade, like a grim reaper, struck again.

The newly formed blade slashed directly into the wound that had already been cut open.

SQUELCH!!!

“GRRAUUUUUUUUHHH!!!”

The War Bear let out an agonized roar.

And at that moment, the lush green of its fur darkened into a sickly black hue.

Poisoned by Blood Venom, the beast writhed in agony.

Seong snapped his fingers.

The poison inside its body detonated.

BOOOOOM.

The Greenleaf War Bear collapsed lifelessly.

And then, a system message appeared before Seong.

[You have gained experience.]

Crimson Execution.

Compared to Seong’s other Almighty-tier offensive skills, its raw performance seemed somewhat underwhelming.

But when combined with Blood Venom, it became incredibly effective.

Other skills that completed the Blood Lord build would likely form an excellent combo.

“This is good.”

As long as he was satisfied, that was all that mattered.

Through this large-scale event and his third job advancement—

He had grown significantly.

Both in terms of skills and stats.

‘Let’s take a look.’

【Status Window】

『Seong』

『Lv 157』

『Class』 → 『Overlord』

『Title』 → 『Sovereign (Legendary)』 ...and 32 others.

『Stats』 → 《Strength: 242 (186+56)》 《Agility: 267 (205+62)》

《Endurance: 267 (205+62)》 《Intelligence: 605 (465+140)》

《Wisdom: 605 (465+140)》 《Mental Power: 133 (120+13)》

《Dexterity: 8 (7+1)》

『Bonus Stats』 → 《5》

No matter how many times he saw it, these stats were ridiculous.

It was almost absurd that his total stats had risen this high.

Especially with the additional 200 stat points he gained through Blood Lord.

At this point, his Intelligence and Wisdom had surpassed even the Strength-Agility-Endurance stats he had acquired in the Hall of Knights.

Still, Seong felt a little regretful.

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‘Is there a Hall of Mages somewhere?’

That was a completely unreasonable thought.

Even Seong found himself chuckling and shaking his head at the idea.

That aside—

‘Level 160 still feels far away.’

Even after sending Helena and Fiora to hunt separately in the labyrinth after the quest ended,

And even though the experience points kept flowing in,

His level refused to budge.

Thanks to the last quest, he had managed to reach 157.

But gaining the remaining levels wouldn’t be easy.

Unless he could find another good quest, it wouldn’t happen in a day or two.

If things got tough—

‘I should ask Branch Leader Penelope if there are any quests.’

Since it was Overpalace, there had to be something.

With that thought, Seong decided to wrap things up.

He summoned Helena and Fiora, who had been hunting elsewhere in the labyrinth.

It didn’t take long before they arrived.

Both of them looked curious as to why he had called them.

They had been hunting for quite some time.

After completing a large-scale event and a Unique-rank linked quest,

It was about time to log out.

“It’s time to head back, huh?”

Helena, immediately realizing his intentions, asked.

Seong nodded.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks for making today fun, as always, Seong.”

P, Please return safely.After sending them back to the Underworld,

Seong logged out as well.

[Eternal World awaits your return.]

Seeing the now-familiar message, Seong stepped out of the capsule.

‘Phew.’

It had already been twenty days since he started playing Eternal World.

It wasn’t a long time, yet he had become completely immersed.

When his sister first introduced the capsule to him, he never expected it to turn out like this.

Seong let out a small chuckle as he stepped out, feeling slightly sticky. He considered taking a shower.

Naturally, he checked his phone.

There were a few messages waiting for him.

Several emails from the Rapid Guild and a few messages from Lee Geon-dong.

Besides that, there were some texts «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» in group chats.

Ignoring the group chats, he checked the messages that were sent to him personally.

Lee Geon-dong had sent a message saying he had just finished editing today and would buy Seong a meal tomorrow.

‘So he’s finally buying that meal he promised, huh?’

Not a bad deal. Seong smirked and then checked the emails from the Rapid Guild.

They included a few additional contract adjustments, official documents, and confirmation that his signing bonus had been deposited.

The new terms and added conditions were incredibly favorable.

He hadn’t read everything in detail, but—

Even at a glance, he could tell the deal was insane.

‘They’re even covering my taxes? That’s huge.’

Tax management and coverage?

That was some next-level employee benefits.

He also saw that his additional contract bonus and revenue from livestreams and video monetization had been deposited.

Seong deliberately didn’t check the exact numbers in the contract.

It wouldn’t be fun if he spoiled the surprise.

Instead, he opened his banking app to see how much had been deposited.

And when he saw the balance—

『Deposit - [Rapid Guild] - 51,194,851,000 won』

“??????”

The number didn’t make sense.

Wait.

They mentioned an additional contract bonus and earnings settlement, right?

What the hell?

For a moment, Seong thought it was a system bug and refreshed the page.

He checked the transaction history again.

There was no mistake.

He then looked at his account balance.

[Nara Bank]

Balance: 53,218,529,720 won

“...?”

Was this real?

500 billion won?

Seong’s mind went completely blank.

And this was the post-tax amount?

His brain felt like it was about to short-circuit.

But when he thought about it logically, it wasn’t entirely absurd.

The star players of Eternal World—

Seong was now one of them.

Although he had only just reached the level where he was considered a mid-tier player,

It was inevitable that he would become a ranker.

And Eternal World’s star players had reached the same level of global fame as sports superstars.

So, in a way, this amount of money made sense.

But seeing it in his own account was a different story.

‘Can I really just play games and make this kind of money?’

All he did was have fun playing a game.

Sure, streaming was technically a job,

But he genuinely enjoyed doing live broadcasts.

Yet this amount of money?

‘...This is more than the prize money from Squid Game.’

That thought alone made it feel even more ridiculous.

Well, Squid Game was a game, and Eternal World was also a game.

With that reasoning, Seong just chuckled to himself.

What the hell was he supposed to do with all this money?

Thinking about how absurd it was, Seong suddenly remembered the driver’s license he got before joining the military.

He nodded to himself.

‘I should at least spend a little of it.’

Tomorrow was probably going to be a busy day.

A peaceful weekday afternoon.

The streets were mostly empty,

But one young man was standing in the cold, shivering as he waited for someone.

That person was Lee Geon-dong.

Seong wasn’t late.

There was still some time left before their meeting.

But Lee Geon-dong, not wanting to be late for a meal he was supposed to be treating, had arrived early.

As he exhaled a puff of white breath in the cold air, he muttered to himself.

“Ssssshhh... Damn, it’s cold.”

Even though he was grateful to Seong and wanted to buy him a meal,

He was starting to regret coming out so early.

If he knew it would be this freezing, he should have left home later.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Seong spotted him and walked over.

“You came early.”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m the one buying, so I can’t be late.”

“Jeez... So, we’re getting barbecue, huh?”

“Of course! We’re eating beef!”

“Oh.”

Beef for lunch?

It felt a little excessive,

But there was no reason to complain about free food.

Seeing that Seong had no objections, Lee Geon-dong grinned and led him to a beef barbecue restaurant he had found.

Unlike the freezing cold outside,

The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by warm air and the delicious aroma of sizzling meat.

Even though it was lunchtime, the restaurant was already packed.

Definitely a famous spot.

“Welcome! A table for two?”

“Yes, please.”

“You can sit anywhere.”

Following the staff’s instructions, Seong and Lee Geon-dong picked a table and sat down.

They placed their orders and began chatting while waiting for the food.

“So, by the way, have you seen the latest video edit? It turned out pretty damn good.”

“Oh! That was your work?”

“Hehehe, of course!”

“Ohhh.”

Seong had actually seen the video.

The quality was impressive.

Now that he knew his friend was the one who made it, it felt a bit strange.

But he just accepted it.

Lee Geon-dong, grinning smugly, joked that he had earned a bonus from the job, so he could afford to buy lunch.

Seong smirked and nodded.

Then—

“Man, the Rapid Guild is insanely generous. Their payouts are way better than other guilds.”

“Well, Yujin is definitely a big spender.”

Having experienced it firsthand, Seong responded naturally.

Hearing that, Lee Geon-dong smiled and asked,

“So, did you buy anything with it? When you suddenly get a ton of money, you usually splurge on something.”

“Oh, actually, I bought something this morning.”

“Oh? What?”

Since his friend had just made an insane amount of money,

Lee Geon-dong was curious about what he spent it on.

Seong answered casually.

“A car.”

“Damn!!! That’s the way! If you succeed, the first thing you do is buy a car! So, what did you get?”

“Me? A Matizen.”

“...???”

A Matizen?

Was there even a supercar called Matizen?

At least, in Lee Geon-dong’s memory, there wasn’t.

Feeling suspicious, he hesitantly asked,

“Wait... Matizen, as in...”

“Yeah, a used one. It was cheap. Got it for 5 million won.”

It really was the Matizen he was thinking of.

“......D-Don’t people usually buy sports cars or something when they get rich?”

“Huh? I heard a used compact car is the best option for a young guy just starting out.”

“......Well... That’s... technically true...”

Faced with Seong’s shockingly sensible decision, Lee Geon-dong was at a loss for words.