A village of dark mages.

While not common, there were instances where intelligent dark mages formed communities and lived together.

Even so, their numbers were typically limited to a few hundred or, at most, a few thousand. They were nowhere near the size of a human village.

So, when Baek Yu-Seol encountered a dark mage city with tens of thousands of inhabitants, he couldn’t help but seriously wonder how such a place had remained hidden all this time.

’I thought it was just a dark mage village...’

The hidden city lay deep within the forest, far beyond the territory of monsters and beasts.

Such remote regions, outside the watchful eyes of the Central Continent’s Mage Association, occasionally showed evidence of cities that dark mages had successfully ’colonized.’

It was Baek Yu-Seol’s first time seeing one in person, so he carefully concealed his face and wandered through the shadowed alleys of the city.

As much as he wanted to cause chaos, he didn’t know how many dark mages were present, and unlike the fortress he had encountered earlier, the reporting systems here seemed far more thorough.

Dark mages loitered on the rooftops of buildings, smoking or drinking, but it was obvious they were there to keep an eye on the city’s original inhabitants.

’The natives here must be the Narang tribe.’

The canine beastfolk had countless variations: there were poodle beastfolk, bulldog beastfolk, and many others.

The Narang tribe, specifically, was a wolf-type beastfolk race known for their exceptional physical abilities. Their leaders were wise, and they were rarely defeated in war. When they formed tribes, their numbers grew significantly.

The fact that such a powerful Narang tribe had been fully colonized meant that the dark mages occupying this city were no pushovers.

’If I act recklessly here, I might not even be able to retrieve my own bones afterward.’

If someone as powerful as the Dark Knight were present, escaping would be easy.

But if a large, organized group of enemies systematically closed in on him, he wasn’t sure he could survive.

’Still, it’s fortunate that I found a city like this.’

A city of this size had one distinct advantage: the exchange of information would be immense.

It was highly likely that information about the Green Core could be found in this city. So, what approach should Baek Yu-Seol take from here?

If he clumsily pretended to be a beastfolk and someone demanded he remove his hood, he wouldn’t be able to prove he had wolf ears and would end up a fugitive.

’And pretending to be a dark mage? There’s probably someone here who recognizes my face...’

There was no choice.

He couldn’t move openly, so he would have to take some risks and adopt a stealthy approach, as if he were in a spy movie.

Baek Yu-Seol waited hidden in the alleys until sunset, and when the moon finally rose, he began his operations.

"Ah, disgusting. Why are those beastfolk sneaking around so much these days? If they’re dogs, they should act like dogs and obey their masters."

"Tsk. My body feels filthy now."

Two dark mages strolled lazily into the alley, grumbling. From their tone, they sounded like local thugs, but Baek Yu-Seol knew that wasn’t the case.

’That stuff on their bodies...’

They were covered in blood.

It seemed they had been using the beastfolk of the village as slaves, and when someone finally resisted, they had killed them without hesitation.

And they likely hadn’t stopped there.

Low-ranking dark mages often resorted to eating the corpses of humans or beastfolk because they had few means to restore their dark magic.

’Perfect. These are just the kind of scum I was hoping for.’

With that thought, Baek Yu-Seol moved swiftly.

Shk!

Using a plain, unenchanted blade instead of his magic sword, he closed the distance in an instant and stabbed one of the dark mages through the neck.

"Guh..."

The dark mage died instantly, unable to even scream.

Baek Yu-Seol twisted his blade, cleanly severing the head, and in one fluid motion, he sliced off the arms of the second dark mage.

"Agh, gahh!"

Overwhelmed by sudden and incomprehensible pain, the dark mage tried to scream, but Baek Yu-Seol grabbed its neck, silencing it completely.

No matter how much the dark mage wanted to grab Baek Yu-Seol’s arm and struggle, it was impossible without arms.

The emptiness of its missing limbs and the suffocating pain overwhelmed it, leaving the creature disoriented, its eyes rolling back.

Before it could pass out, Baek Yu-Seol threw it to the ground and plunged his sword into the ground beside its head.

"H-hiiick..."

The dark mage was certain that if it said the wrong thing, the blade would twist and slice its neck. Terrified, it remained silent and trembled on the ground like an insect.

"Answer only what I ask."

"Y-yes..."

"Among the dark mages ruling this village, who’s the one in charge?"

"In charge...?"

"The leader, idiot."

Smack!

Baek Yu-Seol lightly slapped the dark mage’s face with the flat side of his blade and pressed his foot against its neck, preventing it from screaming.

"Ack, gack...!"

"Answer. Who is it?"

"Th-the tallest tower..."

Shk!

Baek Yu-Seol didn’t bother listening to the rest of the sentence and cleanly slit the dark mage’s throat, finishing it off.

"Seriously, whether it’s mages or dark mages, they all love the tallest buildings."

He recalled earlier in the day when he had seen beastfolk slaves constructing a tall structure in the center of the village.

There had already been a tower over 15 stories high, which had seemed odd at the time. Now it made sense. It must have been built by the dark mages.

’Beastfolk don’t usually build tall structures.’

Having no further use for small fry like this, Baek Yu-Seol quickly moved to another location.

’If the dark mage ruling a village of this size is in charge, they’re likely at least risk level 8.’

A dark mage of that caliber couldn’t be taken down with a simple ambush. Baek Yu-Seol wasn’t a properly trained assassin to begin with.

Leaping onto a nearby wall, he observed the tallest tower in the village, and his eyes widened in shock.

’What is that?’

The security was far more thorough than he had anticipated.

The area around the tower was surrounded by double-layered walls and fences, with dark mages patrolling in pairs between them.

The sight of dark mages - who were usually selfish and driven by their own impulses - working together in a systematic manner was an enormous shock to Baek Yu-Seol.

’Does this even make sense?’

Even in the game, such organized dark mages didn’t exist.

In Aether World Online, the gameplay leaned toward hack-and-slash, where the protagonist could take on everything solo with ease.

This meant that even in a village like this, a player controlling the protagonist could single-handedly destroy everything.

In fact, most players enjoyed the game that way, leveling up and equipping high-tier items to steamroll their enemies.

Why was that possible?

’Because dark mages are inherently selfish.’

That was their concept.

Dark mages wouldn’t cooperate no matter what incident occurred or who was involved.

Even when faced with an enemy, they never worked together. Instead, they would charge in one by one, only to be crushed individually, playing the role of stereotypical villains. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

But with dark mages as organized as these... even if this were a game, it would be impossible to single-handedly destroy everything.

’Who could possibly control the dark mages so effectively?’

Should he have interrogated the dark mage earlier for more information?

No. That would be too risky.

The alley he was in earlier was frequently used by many dark mages, so lingering there for too long would have significantly increased the chance of being discovered by others.

That’s why Baek Yu-Seol had immediately beheaded the dark mage after getting an answer.

’There’s no choice. I’ll have to interrogate the underlings one by one.’

To cross-check their answers and get reliable information, he would need to interrogate and kill at least ten of them.

As the thought crossed his mind, Baek Yu-Seol immediately put his plan into action.

Since the only place with organized guards was the central tower, he decided to patrol the outskirts of the village instead.

During the day, beastfolk slaves were frequently seen, but at night, they stayed locked up in houses that were essentially prisons. The streets, however, were filled with dark mages.

They roamed freely, destroying parts of the village, breaking into locked houses, dragging out beastfolk, and beating them mercilessly while laughing. Their behavior stood in stark contrast to the disciplined dark mages guarding the central tower.

’No... that’s actually what a typical dark mage looks like.’

They were unrestrained, doing whatever they wanted. If provoked, they would kill without hesitation and were completely devoid of humanity or morality.

Because of this, Baek Yu-Seol didn’t hesitate for even a moment to kill them.

"Ugh...! Who... what are you...?"

After killing five out of six dark mages who had been beating a beastfolk in a corner of the village, Baek Yu-Seol left one alive.

The remaining dark mage, gritting its teeth, looked up at him.

While dark mages were said to be fearless, in the face of death, they were no different from anyone else. The desire to live was universal, consuming their minds entirely.

"You don’t need to know who I am. Just answer my questions."

"Ha! I already know what a mage like you would ask. Are you curious about why we do this? It’s simple—it’s because it’s fun—"

Wham!

Baek Yu-Seol kicked the dark mage square in the face, flipping it over and bending its back in half.

Crunch!

He kept his hand over its mouth, ensuring it couldn’t make a sound during the process.

"Who said I was interested in that? Just tell me who’s in charge of the central tower in the village."

When Baek Yu-Seol removed his hand from the dark mage’s mouth after asking, the creature began to speak.

"S-spare me...!"

That was as far as it got.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Baek Yu-Seol caught on to its attempt at stalling and immediately covered its mouth again before plunging his blade into its thigh.

"I read in a book that even dark mages feel pain when stabbed here."

The creature’s eyes rolled back as its body convulsed violently.

Not wanting it to lose the ability to speak, Baek Yu-Seol removed his hand, allowing it to finally give a proper answer.

"The... the High Priest of the Dark Mage Cult! The High Priest rules the bell tower!"

"High Priest?"

So, they called the central tower the "bell tower."

"And where is the bell?"

"Th-the slaves are still building it..."

"I see."

Baek Yu-Seol stomped on the creature’s head, pinning it to the ground.

The dark mage squirmed and trembled, struggling to breathe, but it was no match for Baek Yu-Seol’s strength.

’The High Priest and the bell tower, huh.’

Judging by the terms, it sounded like a full-blown church.

Erecting a towering structure at the center of their territory to symbolize their power and forcibly instill faith, it was easy to see through their intentions.

In a remote place like this, it might take five years, or even as few as three, to forcibly indoctrinate the beastfolk into their beliefs through torture and violence.

"If you don’t believe in our god, your parents, children, and friends will die."

Newborn or young beastfolk, knowing nothing else, would grow up believing in the Dark Mage Cult amidst suffering, eventually accepting it as their way of life.

’It’s vile, but extremely methodical.’

Such thorough expansion was almost unbelievable for dark mages.

"This must be the work of that Dark Mage Cult Master, Hui-Ryeon."

With that thought, Baek Yu-Seol drew his sword and lifted his foot.

Realizing its death was imminent, the dark mage shouted in desperation.

"Wait! I have one more thing to tell you! It’s news that would greatly interest a Magic Warrior!"

"What is it?"

"If I tell you... will you spare me?"

"Depends on what you say."

Baek Yu-Seol tilted his head, motioning for the dark mage to speak. The creature quickly blurted out,

"In two days, the Dark Mage Cult Master will visit this village..."

"Oh, really? Is that so?"

That was indeed valuable information.

"Are you part of the Dark Mage Cult?"

"Y-yes, I am."

"And yet, you’re betraying the leader of the church you believe in? What a vile little creature. This is divine punishment."

Shk!

Baek Yu-Seol plunged his sword into the dark mage’s heart, swiftly killing it. After disposing of the body in a corner, he turned his gaze to the beastfolk girl who was still trembling in the shadows.

Her body was covered in bruises and caked in blood and dirt. She could barely open her swollen eyes to look at him.

It was understandable. After witnessing someone brutally kill dark mages, it was natural for her to be terrified.

"Go back home and rest quietly. Don’t tell anyone about me."

He handed her a piece of bread. The beastfolk girl nodded vigorously, clutching the bread tightly to her chest as she scurried away.

Watching her retreat, Baek Yu-Seol turned his eyes toward the tower in the center of the village.

’The Dark Mage Cult Master, huh...’

Now that he had the chance to meet them, it wouldn’t hurt to see their face.