The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 173

0.

The moment Felix, the Black Puma, locked eyes with Seong, he understood.

Felix was one of the Black Knights.

Given how flashy the battle had been, it was inevitable that someone would take notice.

Perhaps the knights had already been tracking the spy.

After all, Shivren had already captured quite a few merchant overseers.

Because of that, Seong wasn’t particularly concerned about Felix.

He had planned to hand the spy over to the Black Knights anyway.

More importantly—

"The Tome of Ruin's effect is insane."

He hadn’t had a chance to test out the skill before.

But now, he was impressed.

It was indeed a lost grand magic.

And its power was considerable.

Helena’s skill was equally surprising.

"A skill that revives the dead?"

It had something to do with the Orb of Life used in forming Helena’s body.

Because of that, once per cooldown cycle, she could bring back a dead being.

And not only that—she could restore them to their desired level of health.

It was a skill that would undoubtedly prove useful in the future.

After mentally reviewing the battle, Seong’s vision was suddenly filled with system messages.

[You have captured the Hidden Raid Boss: "Basilica’s Spy, Shivren."]

[You have completed the Hidden Unique Quest: "Basilica’s Spy, Shivren."]

[A portion of the rewards will now be granted.]

[You have gained a massive amount of experience!]

[Level Up!] ×2

[You have reached Level 141.]

[Reaching Level 140 has unlocked a new Overlord skill.]

[You have acquired the Legendary-tier skill: "Scent of Death."]

[Reaching a 10-level milestone has activated the Almighty-tier item: "The Overlord’s Codex."]

[The next quest is now available.]

[Only one person has contributed.]

[This is classified as a solo raid.]

[You have captured the boss alone.]

[Your rewards have been enhanced.]

[First clear bonus detected.]

[Your rewards have been enhanced.]

[Since this was a solo raid, all rewards will be granted to Player "Seong."]

[The hidden linked quest and its rewards have been merged.]

[Upon completing the hidden linked quest, rewards will be granted.]

[You have unlocked the hidden linked quest: "The Shield of Ninyaru, the Black Knights."]

[This is an undisclosed hidden raid.]

[Information about this quest cannot be revealed.]

"This is long."

To summarize—new skills, a new quest, and the rewards would come after completing the linked quest.

Seong skimmed the messages and nodded.

Then, he read the next quest.

"The Shield of Ninyaru, the Black Knights."

It was exactly as he expected.

He grabbed Shivren and turned to face Felix.

When Seong stood before him, Felix finally snapped out of his daze.

"Hah... They said you were an outsider, but your skill is remarkable."

"Thank you."

Seong accepted the praise without false humility or denial.

Acting modest could be interpreted as rejecting Felix’s words—and worse, it would downplay the strength of his subordinates.

And that was something Seong wouldn’t do.

Felix nodded in approval.

"Such incredible resolve. Honestly, I never thought you’d be able to win."

He didn’t say it outright.

But his expression made it clear—Seong had exceeded all expectations.

And then—

"Thank you for capturing the one who exploited the weaknesses of our knight order. On behalf of both the citizens and the Black Knights, I extend my gratitude."

"It was nothing. I only did it at Becky’s request."

"Hmm. That young cat merchant? We should reward her as well."

At that moment, Seong realized something.

"Wait. Becky is a girl?"

He nearly reacted in surprise but managed to keep his composure.

Regardless, Seong continued.

"I’ll leave him in your hands. It makes more sense for you to interrogate him than for us to do it."

"If you’re willing to hand him over, I am truly grateful. However, I can’t help but feel like we’re taking credit for your efforts. Could I ask you to visit our knight headquarters? It’s only right that we offer you a reward."

"Of course."

It would be strange to refuse a reward.

Besides—

"The quest told me to follow them."

The quest had specifically instructed him to go to the Black Knights’ headquarters.

For Seong, this was a good development.

Anyone could see that the Black Knights held a higher status than the merchant overseers.

If he stuck with them—

"Wouldn’t I get a chance to meet the ruler of this city?"

With that thought in mind, Seong handed Shivren over to Felix.

Shivren, still in shock, didn’t resist.

He was already restrained.

But even if he hadn’t been, it seemed likely he would have surrendered anyway.

Felix observed him and nodded.

"If I were in his position, I’d probably do the same."

Even as someone who wasn’t an enemy, Felix had felt a shiver of fear toward this outsider.

For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling—

That this wasn’t even their full strength.

Felix swallowed hard.

He decided not to dwell on it.

For now—

"Let us escort you to our headquarters."

It was time to properly welcome their guest.

1.

After regrouping with the rest of the Black Knights, Seong and his subordinates returned with them to the knight headquarters.

The moment they arrived, a familiar voice rang out.

"Nyaaaang!!! S-Seong, customer!!! Are you safe, nya!?"

Becky leaped up and down, waving frantically.

Her voice, her expression, her every movement overflowed with concern.

Seong nearly reached out to pat her on the head.

But he barely restrained himself.

Honestly, the fact that he managed to hold back was impressive.

Instead, he simply nodded.

"Of course."

"Hiek!? A-And did you catch the bad guy, nya!? T-That’s amazing, nya!!! As expected of the Black Knights, nya!"

Becky beamed, eyes sparkling with admiration.

The Black Knights, however, reacted differently.

Some scratched their heads in embarrassment.

Others looked away awkwardly.

Felix, on the other hand, shook his head.

"We didn’t do anything. It was all Sir Seong. I was worried because he was an outsider, but if I had known he held a knight’s title, I would have been less concerned."

"Nyaaaang!?! S-Seong, customer, you’re a knight, nya!?"

Becky’s ears perked up in shock.

Seong chuckled and nodded.

Even he, as composed as he was, couldn’t completely ignore how adorable she looked.

The knights behind him murmured amongst themselves.

"To think that the tremors we felt from afar were caused by an outsider..."

"I still can’t believe it."

"But the results speak for themselves."

"An outsider with a knight’s title? I can’t even process that."

"Truly remarkable."

"Well, considering he made it into our city, we should have realized he wasn’t ordinary."

The knights collectively voiced their admiration.

It was the kind of moment that could make anyone feel a little embarrassed.

But Seong kept his composure.

However—

"Uwaaaah!!! T-That's amazing, nya!"

Becky gazed up at Seong with wide, sparkling eyes, nearly making him falter.

Watching this, Helena elbowed Seong’s side and whispered playfully,

"Ahaha, our Seong is quite popular, isn’t he?"

"...Shut up."

He shot Helena a glare before turning back to Felix.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

"Ahem, so should ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ I just wait here?"

"Ah, yes. Please give us a moment. We need to process the prisoner and conduct an interrogation, so we’ll be busy for a while."

"Understood."

The quest hadn’t been marked as completed yet.

So for now, waiting seemed like the best option.

As he considered this, Felix spoke again, this time with consideration.

"If you get bored, feel free to explore the grounds. You’re welcome to take a look around, from the buildings to the training grounds."

"Oh, thank you."

That was definitely better than just standing around.

With that in mind, Seong stepped outside.

Perhaps because this was the knight order responsible for the city’s security, the grounds were vast.

There was a lot to explore.

The training grounds, in particular, stood out.

"Hmmm."

He observed the Black Knights training diligently.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to call them knight trainees.

Watching them train, Seong nodded to himself.

Perhaps because they were feline beastkin, their bodies were exceptionally agile and flexible.

More importantly, their swordsmanship and weapon handling were distinctly different from humans.

Could he incorporate some of those movements?

For a moment, Seong considered using the memories he had gained from the ghost guarding the door.

But it wasn’t easy.

"Their body structure is too different."

It would be difficult to learn swordsmanship from the ghosts here.

Their physique and muscle structure were fundamentally different from his own.

It was a shame, but unavoidable.

As Seong came to that conclusion and prepared to leave,

Helena, having read his thoughts, asked,

"What’s wrong? Think you can’t do it?"

"Yeah, the body structure is too different."

"Hmmm~ You’ll probably get a skill for it soon."

"A skill?"

Well, she was a former Overlord.

She probably knew most of the skills.

Seeing his curiosity, Helena grinned mischievously.

"Ahaha! Probably in your next class change?"

"Oh-ho, now that’s something to look forward to."

"You should be excited."

A teaser for his next skill.

If that was the case, it might be a good idea to start reading the memories of the knight ghosts here.

Just as he was about to search for them,

A presence behind him made him turn.

At the same time, Helena also noticed something and turned to look in the same direction.

But there was nothing there.

Both of them tilted their heads in confusion.

"Hmm..."

"...I definitely felt something."

Though they didn’t voice it aloud, they both found it strange.

They had definitely felt something, but nothing was there.

Had someone managed to deceive their senses and vanish?

That seemed unlikely—it had been just a fleeting moment.

Both Seong and Helena scratched their cheeks and looked at each other.

"You didn’t see anything, right?"

"Nope. If even you didn’t, then I guess it wasn’t there."

Considering Seong’s reflexes and vision, that was probably true.

Helena mulled it over for a moment before asking,

"So, what skill did you get this time?"

"Oh, right."

He then told her about his new skill.

The skill called Scent of Death.

As soon as Helena heard the name, a mischievous glint flickered in her eyes.

Coincidentally, Seong’s expression was the same.

2.

The king’s departure was quieter than ever.

Normally, such an event would have been held with grand ceremony.

But the king did not want that.

After simply dressing himself, he disappeared from his chamber.

It wasn’t teleportation.

And yet, none of his attendants were surprised.

With the king’s inhuman speed, such a thing was not unusual.

Where he reappeared—

Was none other than the Black Knights’ headquarters.

The sensation he had felt there had been undeniable.

"Overlord."

Digging through memories from centuries past, the king smirked coldly.

Once, he had been a mere child.

But now, things were different.

He was no longer a prince—he was a ruler.

And, more importantly, the current Overlord was not the same as the last.

Thus, he intended to meet the new Overlord and demonstrate his status.

He moved forward boldly.

And then—

He saw her.

Lustrous, cascading red hair.

Eyes gleaming with playful mischief.

The moment he took in her appearance, his fur bristled on end.

"H-H-Helena!?"

His instincts reacted before his mind could.

He immediately concealed himself—

Like a feeble prey animal hiding from a predator.

The very instant he vanished from sight—

Two people turned to look toward where he had been.

How?

How was Helena still alive?

Judging by her power, she had weakened.

But even so, Helena was still Helena.

There was only one conclusion—

"R-Retreat."

The great and noble ruler of Ninyaru, sovereign over all,

Could do nothing in the face of Helena.

And so, he tried to slip away, retreating back to his palace.

But—

A presence appeared behind him.

He turned his head slowly.

And there—

Helena stood, smiling sweetly.

And floating just behind her—

A skull hovered ominously in the air.

"Nyaogu!"

He had been caught!