The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 258

2.

The World Event “Temple of Apophis” had finally come to an end.

Usually, after such a massive-scale event, the dev team would celebrate a little—maybe even get into a party mood.

But not this time.

The developers, instead of rejoicing, looked completely drained, their faces hollowed out with exhaustion.

It wasn’t just the main branch in Korea—no doubt the other branches were just as wrecked.

Thinking as much, Assistant Manager Lee Won-sang clenched his fist silently from his spot on the Apophis Event Team, trembling with a mix of fatigue and thrill.

He wasn’t thinking about the bugs, the chaos, or the stress.

He was thinking about the bonus pay.

Especially this time—Chairman Park Won himself had gotten involved. Rumor had it that the compensation for this project was going to be very generous.

And really, what did the stress matter?

Money made up for it all.

Just as he was relishing in that fantasy—

“Assistant Manager Lee?”

“Y-Yes!?”

He flinched hard at the sudden voice.

It was none other than Chairman Park Won, who had appeared behind him out of nowhere.

Why is the chairman here...?

The question barely formed in his mind when Park Won spoke again.

“Don’t touch that.”

“Pardon? Uh... touch what exactly...?”

“That.”

He pointed with a finger.

The ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) screen that Lee had just been looking at suddenly shifted.

A moment ago, it had been something else. Now, it was focused entirely on User Seong—displaying his unbelievable haul of rewards from the event.

At first, Lee looked simply because Park pointed it out, but the more he saw...

What the hell is this?

Even now, Seong’s specs were already strong enough to compete with top-tier players.

But he just kept getting stronger.

Now he had a Lord-class skill, too?

And on top of that—

“W-Wait... a mythical-rank pet?!”

The rewards were enough to leave anyone speechless.

It was just... too much.

Even for someone who had dominated a massive world event, cleared a hidden stage, and pulled impossible feats—it was overkill.

And he’d already gotten that Twilight Crown from Overpalace, too...

It was only after thinking this that Lee remembered what Park had said earlier.

“You told me... not to touch anything, right?”

“Yes. I know you wouldn’t interfere unless it was a bug.”

“R-Right, of course.”

“It’s not a bug. So don’t touch it.”

With that, Lee could only nod.

He briefly thought, Shouldn’t we have blocked this kind of reward from happening in the first place?

But if Chairman Park said not to touch it, then it must have already been thoroughly reviewed.

And yet—

He’s just going to let this go...?

Lee glanced at the chairman in surprise.

He knew Park was a strict meritocrat.

But to let this slide under “merit”...?

While Lee struggled to comprehend, Park just smirked to himself.

Now this... is interesting.

Real supernatural powers?

And he actually used them to grab all the hidden pieces? He hadn’t even considered that possibility.

What kind of ability could it be?

He wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain—he’d need to keep a close eye on this user.

Even though Seong was breaking the balance of the game as an irregular,

it was still within the bounds of what Park had personally allowed.

And so Park thought no further of it.

Meanwhile, Lee looked genuinely pleased.

Sure, Seong was going to keep growing stronger...

But if the chairman said to leave him alone, then he didn’t need to stress over it anymore.

That alone was enough to make Lee relax and smile.

But then—

“And moving forward, please continue monitoring User Seong closely and report anything noteworthy.”

“Pardon? Ah... yes.”

“Especially when he gets stronger. I’ll be busy with the aftermath of the event for a while, so I’m counting on you.”

“...Understood.”

And just like that, Lee realized he was going to have a front-row seat to more gut-wrenching updates for the foreseeable future.

3.

Having received all his rewards, Seong returned to the underground of Hexia.

But instead of moving, he stood still—staring blankly at the interface.

It was absurd.

The rewards were downright ridiculous.

He had even obtained the Twilight Crown of Obsidian, hadn’t he?

After checking and confirming all of it, Seong still felt dazed, but...

There was work to do.

The first thing he did was check on As’s Egg.

He already had As’s soul in hand.

And when he’d acquired that soul, a certain message had appeared:

[You’ve demonstrated power beyond your current stats using “Unknown Power.”]

[Wisdom +13, Intelligence +13 permanently increased.]

“Hoo...”

Aside from Helena and Hindel, this was the highest stat increase Seong had ever received from a soul.

Helena had given him +30, Hindel +27... and now, As’s soul gave +26.

In other words—

“Helena and Hindel both rank higher than a myth-tier entity.”

He already knew Helena’s strength, so that wasn’t surprising.

But Hindel... the fact that a hero surpassed a divine entity in value? That was unexpected.

As was considered equal to Apophis.

That made it all the more surprising.

Still, Seong focused and called forth As’s soul again.

—Sssaaak?

As’s soul tilted its head as if asking, Why did you summon me?

Seong smirked and countered with a silent question of his own—would she like to be reborn through the egg?

He was strong enough now to sense the egg's state clearly.

There was no soul in it yet—most likely because it hadn’t hatched.

After understanding that much, Seong asked the question aloud.

As’s soul simply nodded, almost as if the answer was obvious.

—Sssaaak!

Nodding vigorously, she seemed genuinely excited.

And with that, he guided her into the egg.

Though there was no immediate change—no sudden glow, no shaking—Seong could feel a faint warmth radiating from the egg.

He tucked it into his inventory.

“Huuu...”

Now it really felt over.

The whole Apophis incident—it had been long.

He met the Reaper. Reunited with his backup team.

A lot had happened inside that event.

“More and more guilds are going to start keeping an eye on me.”

He could still handle it alone—for now.

But as he kept climbing, that might change.

He couldn’t afford to get complacent.

Still, he didn’t want to put extra burden on his team either.

“Guess I’ll log out for today.”

This familiar underground room in Hexia...

It was time to move on.

At level 220, the next zone was calling.

As if reading his thoughts, someone appeared—Kalina, the Hexia branch director of Overpalace.

Her creepy doll mask still in place, until—

She removed it, revealing her long, deep navy-blue hair, and bowed deeply.

“You’ve worked hard during your stay with the Hexia branch. We’re truly grateful to have had you.”

Hearing that, Seong was caught a little off guard.

Shouldn’t I be the one thanking them?

“I should be thanking you, really. You’ve taken care of me well.”

Kalina smiled faintly. “Hearing that puts stars in my sky.”

Seong nodded back, knowing it was time to part ways.

Kalina gestured lightly.

A portal formed at her side.

Still impressive, no matter how many times he saw it.

Seong let out a chuckle and nodded.

“If we cross paths again, let’s talk.”

With that, he stepped through—

—and arrived at the carriage platform leading to the seventh city.

He hadn’t decided where to go yet.

That could wait.

He’d wanted to pick a city and move on before logging out,

but maybe it was all the stress from Apophis...

He was done for today.

Seong logged out.

[Eternal World will be waiting for you.]

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The familiar message flashed as consciousness faded, and he opened his eyes inside the capsule.

The hatch opened—

“Seong-hyun!!!”

“...???”

Yu Mina tackled him the moment he stepped out.

Seong flinched and scowled at the perfect ambush timing.

But his body wasn’t what it used to be.

With ease, he grabbed her shoulders mid-rush and held her back.

“Tch. You used to just take it.”

“What now?”

He grumbled with annoyance.

Yu Mina grinned. “Thanks to you, I cleared Apophis and got an Almighty-grade item. Oh! My level went up too! I’m officially in the top five now!”

“Top five??”

Now that surprised him.

He knew she’d finished the event, but... top five?

Still, another thought caught his attention.

She only got one Almighty item?

It was a single-ranker stage. That was it?

I got... what was it again?

One item, As’s Egg, the Tome of the Lord, the Twilight Crown...

He silently decided to keep his mouth shut.

Whatever.

“Today’s on me! Let’s eat!!!”

Hearing that, their mom Lee Na-gyeong poked her head out of the living room, laughing.

“Oh my, is that true~?”

“Yup! Totally!”

“Then I better text your father and tell him to meet us at the restaurant~”

She darted off, already getting ready to leave.

Yu Mina skipped around excitedly.

Seong smiled as he watched them.

It was a nice sight.

Maybe I’ll let them have this one.

Still...

Tomorrow he’d need to decide on a new region.

And he had to choose his next Lord skill.

“Let’s get hanwoo! Hanwoo!”

“...Oh.”

The word hanwoo made Seong’s ears perk up.

He still had more money in his account than the prize for winning that squid-themed game...

But food always tasted better when someone else was paying.

That said—

There was one easy way to pick a new region.

“Hey, which area did you go to in the seventh region?”

Yu Mina was in the middle of getting ready when she paused, tilting her head.

Already at the seventh city? she seemed to be thinking.

Then she remembered Apophis—and nodded as if it made sense.

“Hmm, seventh region...”

She paused for a moment, then gave him a mischievous grin.

That wasn’t a good sign.

Still, Seong stayed quiet and waited.

“Lumensia. I think it’s perfect for you.”

“Lumensia?”

“Yup. Anyway, I’m gonna go change!”

And with that, she shut the door behind her.

Seong tilted his head, repeating the name under his breath as he searched on his phone.

The results came up fast.

A city of seven lights. Known for aiding priests and those with divine alignments.

He didn’t read too deeply, but...

So that’s why she said it was perfect for me.

Sounded interesting.

He thought about diving deeper—but shook his head.

He could explore it himself once he got there.

Instead, Seong shifted his thoughts to his Lord skill selection.

He had no idea what his options were—

But anything more useful than the Fear Lord would be welcome.

With that in mind, Seong got ready to head out.

Because hanwoo... was sacred.

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