Genius of the Dark Magus Family

Chapter 1  

The Great Extra.  

That was my nickname when I was part of the Hero’s party.  

I had plenty of other nicknames, too.  

Because of my insane talent, I ended up accomplishing all sorts of things, leaving behind a remarkable legacy during the Era of Destruction.  

The Saint of the Mire, the Seeker of Light, the Lantern in the Darkness, and so on.  

‘Honestly, I only did it to make money. But all I got was fame that didn’t pay.’  

I coughed up blood and recalled my wretched past.  

When I was twenty years old—  

After escaping from my miserable family, rolling around in the back alleys, and dreaming of success—  

The Demon Emperor of the Magic Empire, the Carnage Demon King, invaded the Dominion of Light.  

And so, the Great War began.  

Back then, I thought:  

‘This is the opportunity of a lifetime. If I make a name for myself in battle, I’ll enjoy unimaginable wealth and glory once the war is over!’  

With that in mind, I endured all kinds of hell, accomplished countless feats, and even managed to join the Hero’s party in the final stretch—only to end up penniless.  

The Hero’s party lost, and the Dominion of Light was annihilated at the hands of the Magic Empire, led by the Demon King.  

‘Ha, life. If I had known it would turn out like this, I never would’ve gone through all that crap.’  

At the very least, I would have stayed far away from the Hero’s party.  

But it was too late for regrets.  

In my final moments, a flurry of voices came to me.  

“So, this is how it all ends.”  

An image that made my teeth clench just by looking at it.  

…No, it was the Hero, Evan.  

“It should have been you, Chris. You should have been the Hero, not me.”  

Beside him, the Archmage Ranya nodded bitterly, as if in agreement.  

“That’s right. If only you had focused on mastering the sword and magic instead of all those miscellaneous skills, we wouldn’t have lost like this.”  

That was something the Hero’s party lamented countless times.  

The reason I could leave behind so many achievements during the Era of Destruction was my insane genius.  

An extraordinary talent that allowed me to instantly, flawlessly master anything.  

Thanks to that, I had taken on all sorts of roles—sometimes a divine healer, sometimes a guide who could foresee a thousand miles ahead, sometimes a master craftsman of unparalleled skill.  

But unfortunately, I never fully committed to swordsmanship or magic.  

‘Though, just by watching the Hero’s party from the sidelines, I still managed to reach quite a high level.’  

Four-Star.  

That was the rank I attained while tagging along with the Hero’s party, albeit belatedly.  

To put into perspective how absurd that was—  

A Four-Star Prime-Class warrior was a realm that talentless people could never reach in their entire lifetime.

I had never formally trained or deliberately practiced, yet I reached that level just by observing from the sidelines.  

And not just in swordsmanship, but in magic as well.  

I joined the Hero’s party in the latter half of the Era of Destruction and spent less than three years with them—so it was nothing short of an insane achievement.  

That was why.  

People were so regretful.  

- Chris, you shouldn’t have wasted your talents on various tricks. You should have mastered swordsmanship and magic.  

If I had truly devoted myself to the sword and magic, the outcome of the war would have been completely different.  

Some even speculated that I might have surpassed both the Hero and the Demon King, who had reached the pinnacle of Nine-Star, and ascended to the mythical Ten-Star realm.  

The Hero’s party went so far as to make this absurd claim:  

"If we could turn back time, we would have made Chris the Hero instead."  

I scowled immediately.  

'Yeah, no thanks. Me? A Hero? Screw that.'  

I had suffered enough in this life.  

If I really had the chance to live again…  

‘I just want to be born as the son of a rich family and enjoy a life of luxury…’  

But I never got to finish that thought.  

Because Ragnarok had been completed.  

The Carnage Demon King’s goal was not merely to rule the world—he sought true annihilation. Ragnarok, the destruction of all existence.  

A black light engulfed the world, and everything came to an end.  

Yet, for some reason…  

In my final moments, one thought crossed my mind.  

‘Please, let me be reborn as the son of a rich family…’  

Perhaps it was because of that wish.  

Because I regressed.  

Back roughly 15 years.  

Specifically, five years before the Era of Destruction was set to begin.  

And not only that—  

I wasn’t in my original body anymore. My wish had come true.  

I had been reborn as the son of an unbelievably wealthy family.  

But there was a problem.  

It was a noble house, sure, but… its name was Dark Mage Household.  

As the ominous name suggested, it was one of the most prestigious families of the Magic Empire.  

I, who had once been a beacon of hope for the Dominion of Light, was now a young master of the very empire that birthed the Demon King who destroyed the world.  

And this body I was in…  

Was an absolute menace.  

*         *         *

'You've got to be kidding me.'  

I, Chris, gazed out the window with a gloomy expression.  

Outside, a scene of sheer extravagance unfolded before me.  

But then—  

- Kraarak!  

In the garden, goblins were meticulously tending to the plants with expert precision.  

That wasn’t all.  

Beyond the estate, a troll let out a fierce roar as it swung an axe, toppling a massive tree.  

Up in the sky, a wyvern screeched as it descended, delivering a letter before flying off.  

"……."  

Chris remained silent.

Monsters that one would typically only see in the Demon Realm were peacefully going about their tasks within the estate.  

There was a reason for that.  

This was the Magic Empire.  

A dark empire where Dark Beings, black mages, shadow elves, and magical beasts roamed freely—where Demon Kings reigned supreme.  

The same empire that would one day bring about the downfall of the Dominion of Light.  

‘Why did I regress as someone from the Magic Empire?! Aaaagh!’  

He clutched his head in frustration.  

‘All I wanted was to be the son of a normal rich family!!’  

But no matter how much he pulled at his hair, nothing would change.  

Three days had already passed since he regained his senses, and he had accepted reality.  

‘I need to decide what to do next.’  

Chris slowly began to entertain a thought.  

‘…Should I just ignore everything that’s going to happen and live a life of luxury?’  

It was entirely possible.  

The Dark Mage Household was one of the most prestigious families on the continent, meaning they were unimaginably wealthy.  

But—  

‘Ugh! There’s no way I can do that! If I just sit back and watch as the Dominion of Light falls, I won’t survive either!’  

There was a reason for that.  

‘The Carnage Demon King turned out to be a complete lunatic.’  

At first, when the Magic Empire invaded the Holy Crusade Alliance of the Dominion of Light, no one was overly alarmed.  

Conflicts between the Magic Empire and the Dominion of Light were common occurrences.  

But as the Great War neared its end—  

The true intentions of the Carnage Demon King were revealed.  

He didn’t just want to conquer the Dominion of Light.  

‘Ragnarok. His goal was the annihilation of the entire world.’  

By the time people realized this, it was already too late—there was no one left who could stop him.  

The Carnage Demon King slaughtered every human in the lands he conquered, offering them as sacrifices to trigger Ragnarok.  

Not only did he destroy the Dominion of Light—he annihilated the entire world.  

In other words, if things continued as they had before, Chris would be swept up in the destruction and die once again.  

‘Damn it, I have to stop this.’  

Chris bit his lip hard.  

‘The problem is that I’ve regressed into the Magic Empire. I need to find a way to save the world… as a Dark Being… Ugh!’  

It would have been far easier if he had regressed as someone from the Dominion of Light.  

But no—of all people, he had to end up in the body of a Dark Being.  

This was beyond ridiculous.  

‘In that case, there’s only one option left.’  

Chris clenched his teeth.  

‘I have to rise to the top of the Magic Empire.’  

Simply stopping the Carnage Demon King wouldn’t be enough.  

The Carnage Demon King wasn’t the only one who sought destruction.  

Countless figures within the Magic Empire followed him.  

‘That means I have to climb to the very top of the Magic Empire and become someone powerful enough to stop them. In other words, I must become a Demon King of the highest rank.’  

Chris began formulating a concrete plan.  

‘First, I’ll take control of this body’s household, the Dark Mage Household. Then, I’ll become a top-ranking Demon King and rule the Magic Empire.’  

There was also another huge advantage to this plan.  

‘The Magic Empire is the strongest nation on the continent. If I rise to its peak, I’ll be able to enjoy a level of wealth and luxury beyond imagination.’  

Even in this ridiculous situation, he hadn’t given up on his dream of living in luxury.  

The Magic Empire, home to Dark Beings, was indisputably the most powerful nation in the world.  

If he became one of its Demon Kings, he wouldn’t just be some ordinary noble—he would enjoy a level of privilege and power beyond comparison.  

Chris made a firm resolution.  

‘First, I’ll become a Demon King and prevent the world’s destruction. After that, I’ll kick back and enjoy the greatest life of luxury, without lifting a single finger!’  

But there was a problem.  

The identity of the body he now inhabited.  

His status itself wasn’t bad.  

After all, he was of the prestigious Dark Mage Household, a noble lineage close to the heart of the Magic Empire.  

The issue was that this body belonged to a degenerate.  

‘Not just an ordinary troublemaker—a legendary scumbag.’  

The body Chris now possessed belonged to someone so infamous that even the Dominion of Light had heard of his notoriety.  

A man doomed to meet a gruesome end.  

- That bastard is trash, not even fit to be dog food. If it weren’t for his family’s protection, I would’ve torn him apart myself.  

- His time is running out. I heard the main house is considering disowning him.  

In short, this body was the worst of the worst.  

A disgrace to his household, someone so worthless that it wouldn’t be surprising if he was discarded at any moment.  

And yet, from this bottom-tier trash, he had to ascend to the pinnacle of the Magic Empire.  

A near-impossible task.  

But—  

‘I can do it. It’s more than possible.’  

Chris quickly identified the source of his confidence.  

‘Because I’m a genius.’  

The force that had allowed him to leave behind an unparalleled legacy in the Era of Destruction—  

An unrivaled talent.  

In truth, even the word genius wasn’t enough to fully encapsulate his abilities.  

Which meant—this was possible.  

‘Let’s begin.’