The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 230

2.

A rain of countless Heavenly Spears descended from the sky.

They shimmered with a platinum glow, illuminating the air with their divine radiance as they fell upon the lone figure standing below.

However, with a mere gesture of his hand, the man willed darkness to rise from the earth.

In response, an equal number of Dark Spears surged upward to meet the descending celestial onslaught.

Black and platinum energies clashed, scattering bursts of light and shadow in all directions.

It was a sight both radiant and ominous.

At that moment, as the platinum energy dispersed in a dazzling explosion, the Heavenly Spears condensed into piercing projectiles, instantly honing in on Seong.

But in that same instant, his dark aura erupted like an engulfing abyss, swallowing the platinum energy whole.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

A massive explosion swallowed the surrounding area, erasing all traces of lingering energy.

Watching the aftermath, Seong furrowed his brows.

At first glance, it seemed like an even exchange.

But in reality, the disadvantage was his.

Even now, the sheer amount of mana he had consumed was not trivial.

Summoning Dark Spears in such numbers alone had taken a toll.

But forcing an explosion to erase the remnants of the celestial energy had drained him even further.

As expected—elemental advantage played a huge role.

This was the unavoidable flaw in his current magic.

On the other hand, Helena, who had been wielding the Heavenly Energy, simply smiled and called out cheerfully.

“Impressive! But let’s move on to the next stage.”

Despite this supposedly being his training session, she looked absolutely thrilled.

With a snap of her fingers, another surge of divine energy materialized in the sky.

Earlier, she had created countless spears.

But this time—

A single Heavenly Blade formed.

However, Seong instantly realized that the celestial energy within this blade was on an entirely different level.

This is ridiculous.

Comparing it—

‘This has more energy than all those spears combined.’

Even if he gathered the force of the previous attacks, it still wouldn’t match the single blade floating before him now.

Knowing this, Seong’s mind raced.

If he responded as he had before, trying to counter the blade with darkness, he would only be overpowered again.

The smartest option—

Defense.

Making his decision, Seong called forth darkness and wrapped himself within an immense barrier.

Seeing this, Helena smiled in amusement.

But the Heavenly Blade—

It moved.

With a razor-sharp glimmer, it sliced forward.

And then—

SHRRRIIIIP—!!!

The darkness was cut apart as effortlessly as slicing through paper.

The barrier, which should have at least slowed it down, had been split in a single stroke.

Yet—

Seong was nowhere to be seen.

Helena, however, was still smiling.

Meanwhile, the blade hovered in place, as if momentarily confused.

Where had Seong gone?

As if searching for an answer, the Heavenly Blade began scanning the surroundings.

Then—

Darkness spread across the ground.

And from that darkness—

Figures began to emerge.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Shadows rose like living entities.

And soon, they took shape.

Each one identical.

Each one Seong.

Dozens of shadow clones, indistinguishable from the real thing.

The very nature of darkness allowed them to move seamlessly, their silhouettes blending into the dim light, making it impossible to tell them apart.

The Heavenly Blade hesitated.

But the clones did not.

Gathering their darkness, they simultaneously launched concentrated energy blasts.

The dark pillars of energy surged toward the blade—

But—

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The Heavenly Blade effortlessly slashed through the attacks, dispersing the darkness while cutting down several of the clones in the process.

However, as the clones were struck—

The darkness that composed them spread outward.

And in the next moment—

The growing darkness wrapped itself around the blade like a thick veil.

One layer, then another.

More and more ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) darkness coiled around it, swallowing it whole.

The sheer amount of shadowy energy overwhelmed the divine blade.

And then—

It disappeared completely.

The Heavenly Blade had been consumed.

“Haaaa... Finally.”

As the last remnants of darkness dissipated, the real Seong finally revealed himself.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he smacked his lips.

Helena, watching with an approving look, asked curiously,

“What properties of darkness did you use?”

Seong ran a hand through his hair and answered,

“I used the shadow’s nature to create clones. And I used the void property of darkness to erase the blade.”

Rather than just manipulating darkness freely, he had utilized specific traits of the element to counteract the celestial energy.

The Stealth aspect of darkness had allowed him to conceal himself momentarily.

The Shadow Duplication ability had confused the blade.

And finally—

The Devouring Abyss of darkness had swallowed it whole.

By exploiting the properties of his element to their fullest, he had managed to overcome his disadvantageous affinity against divine energy.

Helena nodded in satisfaction, crossing her arms.

“Alright. You pass.”

“Haaaaah...”

Seong let out a deep sigh.

He had gone through hell to get to this point.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

When had this training even started?

Thursday.

And now—

It was Monday.

Four nights and five days of this insanity.

Seong had always understood the properties of darkness in theory.

But applying them in practice? That was an entirely different challenge.

Of course, manipulating the outer form of darkness was easy.

Even now, he could make a tiny shadow figure dance in the palm of his hand, mimicking various stances and movements.

But utilizing the essence of darkness—its deeper traits—was an entirely different struggle.

For example, even his first attempt at using Shadow Step with his Lord of Darkness abilities had been incredibly difficult.

He had stumbled through it, adjusting over time.

Still—

“Phew.”

“Hmm~ You’re getting really good at this now.”

“It’s still difficult.”

Even though he had gained a solid grasp of it, he knew that mastering Lord of Fear or Lord of Blood in the future would present similar hurdles.

At least next time, he would have a much better starting point.

After all the hardship he had endured, he felt a quiet sense of accomplishment.

But instead of showing it outwardly, Seong simply turned to Helena and said,

“Thanks for your help.”

To be honest, if it hadn’t been for her relentless Spartan training methods, he might have taken far longer to grasp the concept.

Hearing his words, Helena looked slightly bashful.

“What? It’s nothing, ahaha...”

Her awkward laugh was almost out of character for her.

Seeing that, Seong smirked and nodded.

Now that the training was complete—

It was time to take care of something he had put off.

“How about checking out that place from Hindel’s memories?”

With a faint smile, he set his next goal.

3.

A lavish chamber, extravagant in every possible way.

Even high-ranking nobles couldn’t afford such a luxurious space.

Every piece of furniture was pristine, not a single blemish to be found.

Everywhere, there were bells to summon maids at a moment’s notice, and plush furniture designed for comfort.

It was the kind of room anyone would dream of.

Yet—

The young man lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, did not seem pleased.

Even the ceiling was adorned with a grand chandelier and a masterful painting, its artist unknown.

Sighing, the young man muttered,

“...House arrest?”

With a frustrated groan, he sat up abruptly.

Looking around at the extravagant chamber, he muttered again,

“This isn’t the kind of place a Hero should be staying in.”

The young man—Luke—shook his head at the luxurious surroundings.

Yes, it was comfortable.

But that was exactly the problem.

It’s uncomfortable.

Had it been a simple knight’s quarters, he would have felt much more at ease.

The beds there were stiff, and it wasn’t the most pleasant place physically—

But mentally, he would have felt much more comfortable.

It wasn’t that he was naïve or unappreciative.

That was just the way he was.

He hadn’t expected to train in this place, but even so—

He still felt restless.

Every time he asked when he would be allowed to leave, they kept repeating the same response:

"The Hero’s Assembly will be held soon. Please wait until then."

Like a broken record.

And after that?

The Sword Saint himself would come to visit.

That was what unsettled Luke the most.

"Beware the Kingdom of Rieskan."

Seong’s words echoed in his mind.

One of his recent visitors had been tasked with investigating the matter.

"I hope Plinky does a good job with it..."

Unfortunately, the one he had entrusted with the task was Plinky.

That was the real problem.

Plinky was always messing around, never someone who gave off a reliable impression.

Still, Luke believed in him.

No matter how absurd he acted, he always got the job done.

There was no reason to worry too much.

Besides—

When Seong—the current Overlord—told me that, Plinky’s entire demeanor changed.

That meant he would take this seriously.

With that in mind, Luke leaned back against the sofa, sighing.

“...But whether we’ll find any real evidence is another story.”

In a world where both Helena and Hindel were long gone—

The Kingdom of Rieskan had remained strong.

In a way, they were the only true survivors.

And for that reason alone, they had more than enough power to rewrite history to suit their needs.

Of course—

Overpalace was involved.

Which meant a complete cover-up wouldn’t have been possible.

Even so, was there anything left that could be considered a weakness?

Probably not.

If there had been anything, they would have erased it long ago.

But then—

If that’s the case... why did Overpalace let them remain?

That was what didn’t make sense.

If Rieskan was truly responsible for the downfall of the previous Overlord, why had Overpalace allowed them to continue existing?

It didn’t add up.

What if... we find nothing?

The thought was unsettling.

But even so, he would look into it.

Determined, Luke closed his eyes and resolved to see it through.

At the same time, elsewhere—

Someone carefully unrolled an ancient scroll.

It was an old mission directive.

The parchment had clearly aged, its edges worn from time.

Though the exact details of the mission weren’t clear,

Beside the scroll, another notebook was placed—

A single book, filled with notes.

As the person flipped through its pages, their eyes scanned the text.

And then—

They murmured to themselves,

“...Found it.”