The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 186

2.

After the war with Basilica.

A somewhat eerie atmosphere lingered over the palace in Ninyaru, located in the Upper District of the Labyrinth City.

The Golden Knights guarding the palace, the Black Knights defending the city, and even the White Knights surrounding the area were nowhere to be found.

There were servants residing in the palace, of course, but they typically didn't venture all the way to the hall where Nyao resided.

It felt as though the entire palace was shrouded in a sense of stillness.

Nyao, in particular, preferred such a quiet atmosphere.

A still, lethargic rest in the midst of treasures scattered across the hall was the perfect nap for him.

But today, his peaceful time was interrupted.

"......"

He looked at the unexpected guest with eyes filled with slight resentment.

"......?"

"What's wrong, Nyao?"

The woman, Helena, responded with a questioning tone.

Nyao, now aware of his own strength, was still inexplicably lowering his gaze.

The habits engraved in his body from long ago were deeply ingrained.

At any rate, when he saw Helena and Seong return, he nodded slightly.

"Haah, the future Overlord... You are deserving of such a......"

"Let's keep it casual, Nyao."

"Ah, should I?"

"Yeah, what does it matter? We're among ourselves, after all."

"Well, that's true."

The king's dignity was certainly nowhere to be found. Despite feeling a bit emotional, Nyao couldn't help it.

Seong felt somewhat sorry for Nyao, but ultimately, he didn't stop him. After all, he didn't intend to interfere in their relationship.

Moreover, there was a benefit in this for Seong.

There was no need to stop it.

Seong quietly waited, and Nyao, in a comfortable manner, spoke to him.

"Ahem, if there's anything you'd like, you can just pick it out. Maybe around... no, about five items?"

Nyao had intended to say four but, noticing Helena's gaze, increased the number to five.

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Seong looked at Nyao with gratitude.

"Thank you."

[Hidden linked quest rewards granted!] [Reinforced with hidden raid rewards.] [You may choose five items from the collection of "Ninyaru's Absolute, Karnyao Hell Belios"!]

With that message, Seong could enter the collection of items.

What should he choose?

He already had some idea of what he might pick.

At this moment, the items he needed most?

The equipment was mostly high-level, almost top-tier items, so he didn’t need to pick any of that.

So, what should he aim for?

Right then, he considered:

『Noble Knight’s Soul』

→《Unique》

→Material item.

『Essence of the Ancient Forest』

→《Legendary》

→Material item.

『World Tree’s Amber』

→《Legendary》

→Material item.

『World Tree’s Wooden Sword』

→《Legendary》

→Elven-exclusive item.

He selected items that would be useful for crafting Silvanor’s body, the one brought from the Knights' Hall.

The other companions already had their own items, so there was no need for them.

As for Helena and Serpina, their bodies were more than capable of casting magic, so items were unnecessary.

But Silvanor was a swordsman, and a sword was essential for him.

Seong- selected that one.

As for the other materials, they didn't seem beneficial to Silvanor's body, so he passed on those.

There was just one more item to pick.

'What should I choose?'

Now, with no more obvious choices, Seong hesitated.

Helena, who had been watching, glanced over at Nyao.

"Hm, I think there was a ring around here?"

At Helena's words, Nyao jumped up from the throne, startled.

What could it be that caused such a reaction?

With a pitiful look, Nyao glanced at Helena and spoke.

"Hey, Helena, wasn't that... something you gave me?"

Nyao spoke with genuine frustration, as if the dignity of a king had been cast aside.

Seeing this, Helena seemed somewhat sorry and wore a look of regret.

"Hm, you really want it, don't you?"

"Of course! Where else could such a treasure be found..."

Nyao, genuinely reluctant to part with it, nearly begged.

By now, Seong was about to intervene, feeling guilty for receiving such an item.

"How about this?"

"Huh?"

"I can't give it to you now, but I'll make a similar one and give you two later."

"Two... two!?"

Helena made a deal.

Seong, still in confusion, stayed silent.

Nyao hesitated for a long time, contemplating the offer.

Helena, seeing that Nyao was unsure, remained silent as if saying "if you don’t want it, don’t take it."

"How long will it take?"

Nyao lowered his head.

Helena smiled and nodded.

"How does 100 years sound?"

"Wow! That's shorter than I thought. Alright, I accept!"

Did he just hear that correctly?

Helena would give him two similar rings in 100 years?

It was clear that Nyao was losing out on the deal, but for him, a hundred years seemed like nothing.

Seong was a bit dazed by the exchange.

Nyao approached Seong and handed him one of the rings.

"Here. Take it."

"......Thank you."

Though it felt a little uneasy, Seong took the ring since it had been offered.

As he reached for it, Nyao didn't release his grip right away.

"......?"

Wasn’t he supposed to be handing it over?

As Seong looked at him, Nyao smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize. Here you go."

With a bit of an apologetic expression, Nyao finally loosened his hold and let Seong take the ring.

Seong, holding the ring, couldn't help but look at it for a while. He quickly put it on his finger.

Seeing Nyao still looking at him with a pitiful expression, Seong couldn't help but ignore it.

The look in Nyao's eyes was almost like that of a tragic hero.

Just how valuable was this item?

Seong, still amazed, looked at the ring:

『Heart of Infinity』

→《Almighty》

→A ring whose crafting process is a mystery. Even legendary sorcerers cannot create such a ring.

→The purpose for which it was made is unknown, but any mage who possesses this ring gains immense power.

→Exclusive to mage and dark mage professions.

→When worn, it grants the ability to use 'Infinite Mana' once /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ per day.

→When 'Infinite Mana' is activated, it consumes no mana for one minute, allowing the use of any skills without the need for mana consumption.

→Increases maximum mana by 100%.

→Increases mana regeneration by 50%.

"Ah."

No wonder Nyao was so reluctant to part with it.

What kind of item was this?

Infinite Mana?

A ring that allowed the use of all skills without consuming mana for one minute?

Not only that, it doubled the maximum mana and increased mana regeneration by 50%.

Even an Almighty-tier item, this was exceptionally powerful.

No wonder Nyao had resisted giving it up.

It was more than just valuable.

Seong, entranced by its power, gulped. He quickly put the ring on his finger.

Nyao continued to watch, his expression still full of pity.

Seong ignored it, as he admired the ring in his hand.

[You have selected all items.]

[You are receiving your rewards!]

As the message appeared, Seong realized he had indeed received everything. After leaving the collection room filled with Nyao's items, he felt a sense of completion.

Nyao, appearing somewhat tired, spoke to Seong and Helena.

"Haah, you've really done a lot for me. Thank you."

However, he was sitting slumped on the throne, almost as if buried under the weight of what he'd lost. He looked a bit pitiful, but Seong wasn’t planning to return the ring.

"Ahem."

"Right... whenever you want to come back, you are always welcome. I also wish you well, Helena."

"Yep~ take care, Nyao!"

"Goodbye."

With that, Seong and Helena bid farewell to Nyao, who had issued the farewell decree. As they left the hall, Helena seemed quite excited.

"Hmm, that ring is pretty good, don't you think?"

"It's not just 'good,' it's amazing."

"Haha! You've got a good eye!"

"Did you make it too, Helena?"

"Yep, I made a few masterpieces as a hobby, and that's one of them."

Helena casually revealed this, and Seong couldn’t help but wonder. How many such items could there be?

However, since it didn’t match the set of the Great Dark Sorcerer's relics, it seemed like there weren’t many items of such caliber.

It would have been nice if it had been compatible, though. That was a bit disappointing.

"Well, the items from the Great Sorcerer's set were made at a different time, so that's probably why."

As Seong pondered, Helena explained.

"Ah, I see."

Although it was a bit disappointing, it was still an incredible item, so Seong wasn't terribly upset about it.

Now, there was something else to do.

[Find the related NPC in the city where you first entered for your third job change.]

"Looks like I’ll have to go find Bellmore, the branch manager."

It was an unavoidable system task. He had no choice but to go back. Even if he had gone to another city, if it was the Overpalace branch, it probably wouldn’t have been much different from Bellmore’s.

After all, everyone Seong had encountered in Overpalace so far seemed just like Bellmore.

‘Anyway, let’s head back to Pentagrid.’

He thought he could get a clue for his third job change there and then move on to other places.

With that, Seong prepared to leave the Upper District city of Ninyaru.

As he was about to leave, he ran into Becky, who seemed to be there to see him off.

"Meow!? Are you leaving, Seong, customer!?"

"Becky! Hello."

"Hehe, I’m so happy. But I’m sad that you’re leaving."

"I’ll come back when the opportunity arises."

"Meow?! Then please take this with you!"

Seong was puzzled but took it.

It was an entry ticket for Ninyaru.

She had prepared something like this for him.

Seong felt grateful as he accepted the ticket and waved goodbye to Becky.

"I'll see you next time."

"If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me, meow!"

After parting ways with Becky, Seong left the maze and immediately felt the presence of dark magic.

Had this energy been there all along?

As he exited, he wasn’t sure what was going on, but seeing Helena calmly by his side, he figured it probably wasn’t anything too dangerous.

He waited a bit.

Then, from the far end of the maze, he heard someone rushing toward him.

"Swoosh! I greet the true successor!!!"

Bellmore, the branch manager, was rushing toward Seong and bowing his head.

He had just exited the maze, but Bellmore had sensed it and come to him immediately?

What was going on here...?

Seong, looking bewildered, watched as Bellmore rummaged through his pockets.

He pulled out several items—each of them unique-grade equipment.

What was this? Was he giving all of this to Seong?

Seong, now completely confused, looked at Bellmore.

"These are the items from those who dared target you, the successor. It is only right that we present them to you, our rightful master. Please accept them."

Seong had to first understand what Bellmore was saying.

There were people targeting him?

And these were their items that Bellmore had seized to present to him?

It wasn’t entirely clear, but since Bellmore was offering them, Seong naturally accepted.

Still, it left him feeling a little dizzy.

‘Who would target me?’

Could it be Echo Willow again?

Seong dismissed the thought and moved on, accepting the items.

Bellmore then pulled something else from his pocket and carefully presented it to Seong.

Unlike the previous items, this one seemed particularly precious.

It was a dusky compass.

Seeing it, Seong’s eyes widened.

Could this be...?

"This is an item necessary to move forward," Bellmore said.

Seong took the black compass, and a new message appeared:

[Level 150 or higher is required to access the third job change.]

[You have obtained the exclusive third job change item, "Overlord’s Compass."]

‘Oh.’

This was truly the third job change item.

As Seong prepared to thank Bellmore, another message appeared:

[The third job change for Overlord has triggered the awakening of 『Lord of Blood, Lazear』 from his long slumber.]

And then, another message followed:

[This is a world-wide announcement.]

[A large-scale event is about to occur!]

[In two days, an event will take place in all maze regions.]

[Level requirements are between 120 and 160 for all players to participate.]

[Details will be revealed soon.]

[We encourage your participation.]

A large-scale event announcement appeared, and Seong was left stunned.

A lot of information had come at him all at once.