The Game of the Greatest Black Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 30

3.

Sekan Village.

It wasn't a village with a pleasant atmosphere.

Ever since the village head, the elder of this village, passed away a year ago, the atmosphere had been like this.

It wasn't that people weren't living their lives diligently, but the air was heavy with a somber mood.

It felt as if the entire village was in a state of mourning.

Some NPCs were hostile towards users.

They blamed the users for the village head's death, believing that if a certain user had arrived on time, the village head would still be alive.

Because of this resentment, the atmosphere was even worse.

Perhaps because of this, fewer users visited the village afterward.

No one played games to be ostracized, even if they didn't expect special treatment.

The few users who did come to Sekan Village did so with the hope of finding hidden pieces rumored to be hidden within the gloomy atmosphere.

But they all left empty-handed.

On the other hand, there was one user who arrived in the village with a rather cheerful gait.

'It's quite different from Perthville.'

It was Seonghyun, who had just arrived in Sekan Village.

The atmosphere was depressing, and some NPCs looked at him with wary eyes, but he didn't mind.

This village held a dungeon left by the hero Hindel.

That was what mattered.

As he strolled down the road with a positive mindset, Seonghyun noticed several things.

'The atmosphere is definitely different from the second village.'

He wasn't just referring to the NPCs' attitudes.

The atmosphere among the users was quite different.

In the first village, there were many inexperienced players.

But in the second village, there was a more organized feel.

Perhaps it was because they had adapted to the game and become more proficient?

It didn't really matter to Seonghyun, who hadn't engaged in party play.

'Now, I need to find the ghost of the village head...'

If he died of illness, he would usually be near his house.

If not, he would be near a place that held significance to him in life.

Of course, there were ghosts like the former village head of Hindel Village who wandered around restlessly...

That would be a bit difficult, but Seonghyun had a method that was practically a cheat.

‘And there he was!’

"Excuse me."

-Oh my? It's rare for someone to see me! We have a very special guest in our village.

He spoke to a ghost of a middle-aged woman nearby.

And immediately,

"Do you happen to know where the ghost of the former village head is?"

-Ah! You must be talking about the village head~ Of course I know~ He's sitting on a bench in the plaza in front of the village head's house.

"Thank you very much."

It was quick to ask other ghosts.

He hadn't thought of this method when searching for Hindel, but when he thought about it, who would know ghosts better than other ghosts?

Having identified the location of the former village head's ghost in Sekan Village, Seonghyun immediately headed there.

And just as the ghost woman had described, in front of the village square, in front of a large mansion that appeared to be the village head's house, he saw an elderly ghost sitting on a bench in the village square.

It was the ghost of the village head, who looked like a kind grandmother.

Her attire was somewhat old-fashioned and elegant, clearly showing that she was the village head.

A benevolent and warm appearance.

He could understand why she was called the great elder of this village.

As Seonghyun approached the grandmotherly ghost of the village head...

She looked at Seonghyun first and greeted him with a kind smile.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

-Greetings, hohoho. I never imagined I would be exchanging greetings with the living after death.

"Nice to meet you."

-What brings you to me?

"Ah, it's nothing special, but I wanted to know about the cave where the hero Hindel sealed a monster during his lifetime."

-Hohoho, of course, I can tell you. Here, let me tell you.

As the village head's ghost was about to tell him...

Seonghyun naturally accepted her memories and experiences.

As soon as he saw her memory of discovering the cave while playing with her friends as a child, and the memory of discovering the sealed monster there, he realized the location.

Far from being surprised that Seonghyun had received her memories, the grandmotherly ghost of the village head smiled, as if she had expected it.

-As expected of a special person.

['Unknown Power' has allowed you to exhibit abilities beyond your current stats.]

[Wisdom permanently increased by +5.]

Having gained memories and experiences...

Seonghyun expressed his gratitude to the grandmotherly ghost of the village head, Gwen.

"Thank you. Then I'll be on my way."

-I wish you good luck.

After being seen off by Granny Gwen...

Seonghyun immediately set off.

'It wasn't simply because Granny Gwen died.'

He thought as he looked at the gloomy atmosphere of the village.

The atmosphere in Sekan Village was strangely depressing.

It was odd to attribute it solely to the death of Gwen, the great elder.

Those who were alive had to live on.

He felt this even more strongly after obtaining Gwen's memories.

Even though the villagers respected and followed Gwen...

There was no reason for them to ostracize users to this extent.

After all, she didn't die because of users.

There was no reason to resent users.

Then why had this happened?

It was simple.

'The demonic beast, Barpur.'

The monster that the hero Hindel had sealed.

The name of the demonic beast that was scattering its evil energy throughout this village.

Through Gwen's memories, he knew the location where it was sealed and its name.

He also knew what kind of power it possessed.

According to the stories passed down among village heads...

The demonic beast Barpur sowed evil in people's hearts and brought misfortune.

Just like the current state of the village.

'It's fortunate that its power has weakened.'

Originally, it would have been a monster that Seonghyun could never defeat.

Before being sealed, the demonic beast Barpur was so powerful that even the hero Hindel barely managed to seal it.

Even though it was before the hero Hindel had fully grown, he was stronger than any adventurer.

But even such a hero Hindel could only manage to seal it.

The power of the demonic beast Barpur was extraordinary.

'But it's been too long.'

Not long after Gwen had become the village head...

There was a time when Barpur's seal had loosened once.

Like the demonic beast Barpur's power weakening over time, the seal had also worn down.

At that time, a mage passing through the village had repaired the hero Hindel's seal, but even that had loosened after a long time.

His sister Yoo Mina had told him it was a lost hidden piece, but...

It seemed that wasn't the case.

'This must have been opened as a Sekan Village event.'

If it had been during Gwen's lifetime...

If the Rapid Guild member had succeeded as his sister had said...

Perhaps a subjugation team for the demonic beast Barpur would have been formed then.

This time as well, just before the seal completely broke...

A subjugation team might have been formed.

But that wouldn't happen this time either.

'It's still sealed. I can defeat it alone.'

Strictly speaking, he wasn't alone.

[The Death Legion stored in the Netherworld has finished growing to match the Overlord's level.]

Seeing that message, Seonghyun turned his head again.

It was a forest no different from any other.

But if you looked closely at the center of the lush forest, you could see something whitish.

Like a transparent veil.

A place where black rocks and white rocks stood side by side.

It was a barrier that prevented anyone from entering.

And Seonghyun already knew how to break through this barrier.

'Black rock three times, white rock four times.'

As Seonghyun recalled Gwen's memories and tapped the rocks in order...

Ripples appeared on the transparent veil.

Swoooosh.

The veil lifted like a curtain being drawn open.

Even though its power had weakened and it had been sealed for a long time, it was still a powerful demonic beast.

Even Seonghyun, who was usually calm and composed, felt a bit nervous.

The demonic beast Barpur.

Even if it had weakened, it was undoubtedly stronger than the village boss monsters that appeared from the second village onwards, that is, stronger than Sekan's boss monster.

But he didn't get overly nervous and recalled the memories of the hunter Apik, the former instructor Eddie, and even Helena.

With countless memories and experiences flooding his mind at once, Seonghyun's eyes faintly glowed with a teal light.

He moved forward.

Step, step.

The place he entered after the veil lifted was a cave.

It didn't seem like an artificially made cave.

Stalactites and stalagmites were scattered around casually, and the floor was rough and uneven.

Walking through the uneven terrain, Seonghyun continued deeper into the cave.

A cool, damp breeze blew from its depths. It was an unpleasant wind carrying a black mist-like energy, which seemed to be what was called demonic energy.

[You have been exposed to demonic energy.]

As Seonghyun expected, a message appeared. He was about to frown, but then...

[Due to the dignity of the 『Overlord』, demonic energy has no effect.]

'Oh?'

Usually, wouldn't he be afflicted with a bunch of debuffs here?

It seemed the Overlord class ignored even that.

This changed things.

According to the strategy guides and what his sister had told him, the reason why demonic beasts were difficult to deal with was because of this demonic energy.

But if the demonic energy didn't affect him...

He could defeat it more easily than he thought.

As Seonghyun was thinking this, something flew towards him from within the cave at high speed.

Swoosh!

Since he had already activated the memories of various ghosts and Helena, he immediately switched to battle mode and drew his Steel Sword and Tiger Fang.

At the same time, he opened the Netherworld to prepare for a counterattack!

It was a perfect battle stance.

And the thing that flew towards him at high speed was a wraith, enveloped in a teal light and emitting an eerie aura.

[Lv. 35 Wraith of the Demonic Beast Barpur]

-Kyaaaaaaaaaa!

As the wraith lunged, Seonghyun immediately jumped back and dodged.

He moved in a direction where there were no stalactites or stalagmites.

Thud!

A mole-like hand struck the spot where Seonghyun had been standing.

But it only hit the cave floor.

Boom!

A thick cloud of smoke rose as the spot where the wraith struck caved in.

Seeing the crater-like impact, a chill ran down Seonghyun's spine.

How could a wraith exert such physical force?

It was a shocking attack.

One hit would be an instant game over.

Seeing this, Seonghyun tried to summon the Death Legion by opening the Netherworld.

But then, suddenly...

'Huh?'

-Shaaaaaaaaa!

He made eye contact with the screaming Wraith of Barpur.

At first, he thought he was mistaken, but...

The Wraith of Barpur, emitting a teal light and scattering an eerie aura with game effects.

And next to it, another wraith that looked exactly the same, but with its legs scattered as if its pixels were broken, was restlessly fidgeting and trembling.

'Why are there two of them?'

Seonghyun stared in confusion.

Clearly, one had a monster name and level displayed above its head, while the other had no such indication.

Just like any other ghost.

And the ghost of the demonic beast Barpur slapped its wraith repeatedly and shouted.

-Oh my! How dare you hit a-a noble person!! S-stop it right now!!

-Shaaaaaaaaaaa!

-Oh, this is driving me crazy!! I-I'm so sorry!! To think I've caused such trouble for a noble person!

-Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

The ghost of the demonic beast Barpur kept bowing to Seonghyun and apologizing, while the Wraith of Barpur roared, ready to attack at any moment.

What was this?

And at that moment, the Wraith of Barpur charged.

Swooooooooosh!!

The swift, ghost-like movement characteristic of wraiths!

Even Seonghyun would have found it difficult to dodge if he hadn't been prepared.

Combining the experiences of the hunter Apik and the former instructor Eddie, he predicted the wraith's path and quickly moved out of the way.

The Wraith of Barpur struck the ground in vain, and using the rebound, it leaped again and charged towards Seonghyun, who had retreated.

The Wraith of Barpur had excellent combat sense.

However, when it came to sense, Seonghyun, with the experiences of two ghosts, was several steps ahead.

He kicked a stalactite and spun in the air, narrowly escaping the attack of the Wraith of Barpur.

Crash!

The Wraith of Barpur slammed into the wall, and at that moment, Seonghyun's eyes lit up.

An instinctive attraction.

Recalling Helena's memories, he glared at the Wraith of Barpur with his teal eyes.

He naturally understood.

His own ability.

And the fact that wraiths were also a type of undead.

In other words...

'Death Aura.'

It was a very good material.

The teal energy that bloomed behind Seonghyun as the Death Aura unfolded transformed into a heart, and as the teal heart began to beat...

A teal fog instantly filled the surroundings.

Even the Wraith of Barpur couldn't escape its influence.

-Cough!

The Wraith of Barpur opened its mole-like mouth as if to vomit something out, suffering and groaning.

From there, a teal aura rose.

And the message that Seonghyun had been waiting for appeared.

[You can use 『Death Legion』.]

[Would you like to raise the 『Death Legion』?]

At the same time, Seonghyun shouted towards the ghost of the demonic beast Barpur, who was watching with glowing teal eyes.

"Come."

-Aaaaaah! Of course!!

Like a servant faithfully carrying out his master's orders, the ghost of the demonic beast Barpur lunged towards the Wraith of Barpur, and at that moment, a teal aura erupted from Seonghyun's entire body.

The light gathered in Seonghyun's hand, forming another heart, and as that heart throbbed...

The Wraith of Barpur and the ghost of the demonic beast Barpur merged into one, becoming enveloped in black darkness.

Simultaneously, as the other heart in Seonghyun's grasp pulsed...

The Wraith of Barpur and the ghost of the demonic beast Barpur, now unified, bowed their head.

-I behold my new master, my god.

['Unknown Power' has allowed you to convert a target that is normally difficult to convert into the 『Death Legion』.]

[The Wraith of the demonic beast Barpur joins the 『Death Legion』.]

[You have brought an undead of a higher level than yourself under your command!]

[You have acquired the title, 『Elevated Leadership』.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[Level Up] × 5

[Additional Stat Points have reached 100.]

[You have acquired the title, 『The Enduring One』.]

[!!Caution!!]

[This Death Soldier has a higher level than its master!]

[It may disobey orders!]

It may disobey orders?

Seonghyun looked at the Wraith of Barpur again, seeing that message.

This guy, with his mole-like face, was bowing his head and looked like he was about to lick Seonghyun's shoes.

This guy?

No way.

He had obtained a wraith unified with its soul.

This was an unexpected gain.

He leveled up and even gained a title.

But then...

-Ehehehe, Master. If you go that way, you'll find my physical body! It might be difficult for you now, but if you keep that body, wouldn't it be useful someday?!

It was even spilling valuable information.

To think he could gain even more benefits here...

'This is good.'

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]