The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

Chapter 38

4.

There was never a peaceful day for the Eternal World User Management Team.

Especially for Assistant Manager Lee Wonsang, who was having a hectic morning.
He was so busy that he didn’t even have time to scold Oh Jinhyuk, who was just marveling at everything next to him.

Anyone could tell how chaotic things were without needing an explanation.

After all, it was thanks to Seonghyeon, who had been active since dawn, that the workload had piled up.

By lunchtime, things had calmed down a bit, as Seonghyeon had logged off earlier in the day.

But, of course, there were still problems.

“Haah…”

“Senior? What’s wrong?”

“……???”

When Oh Jinhyuk asked the question, Lee Wonsang glared at him with a look that seemed to say, Why are you even asking me that?

Oh Jinhyuk flinched and shivered, only to realize something moments later.

“Ah, is it because of that Jinu? Who would’ve expected him to suddenly hand over a rare-grade skill book?”

“That’s part of it.”

Lee Wonsang had initially planned to reprimand him for taking Barfur’s corpse.

But there was also User Jinu.

There was no way they wouldn’t know who the alternate account belonged to.

One of the executives of the Rapid Guild, Kim Jinwoo.

A well-known figure, even within the User Management Team.

“Kim Jinwoo of the Rapid Guild. Well, I knew he had joined the guild.”

But no one expected him to gift Corpse Explosion, a skill book currently valued at over 20 million won.

Still, it was something he could overlook.

For now, things were relatively calm because Seonghyeon wasn’t around.

It was close to lunchtime, and he had just returned from eating.

Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu washed over Lee Wonsang.

Didn’t he feel this kind of tranquility on his first day at work?

He vaguely recalled how pleasant it had been to wake up refreshed in the morning, come in with a good mood, and find there was no work waiting for him.

No way…

Could something else go wrong?

Granted, something had already gone wrong, but could there be more?

Feeling uneasy, Lee Wonsang hurried to monitor Seonghyeon’s activity.

He hadn’t logged back in yet.

Yet, the unease didn’t fade.

What was this ominous feeling?

Acting on instinct, Lee Wonsang decided to check Sekan Village.

It was almost an unconscious reaction.

And as expected—

“Huh, huh!? T-that’s the Messengers of Overpalace, isn’t it!?”

“……”

Feeling a surge of foreboding, Lee Wonsang closed his eyes.

There was no need to look further.

Why?

“Wow!! Senior!! Look at that!! They’re giving Seonghyeon the Add More skill!?? Wow, Overpalace is amazing!!”

“What the!? Senior!! Now there’s Unknown Power again!?? This time, his total stats increased by 40!!”

“Whoa!! All those undead are moving like they’re equipped with cutting-edge AI!! This is insane!!”

Even with his eyes shut, Oh Jinhyuk would narrate every detail.

Since Overpalace had made a move, there was only one thing to do.

Lee Wonsang resigned himself to reporting the matter.

As he headed to report to Team Leader Ji Hyejung, he pulled an envelope from his pocket.

“Should I just submit my resignation while I’m at it?”

For a brief moment, driven by stress, he made an irrational decision.

But, with tears in his eyes, he tucked the resignation letter back into his pocket.

5.

A Legendary-grade skill book.

And they were crying and apologizing as they handed it over?

Seonghyeon felt his sense of reality crumble.

What kind of logic is this?

He thought this was already more than enough compensation.

But, considering the name Overpalace, it didn’t seem excessive.

Still, handing over a legendary skill book while apologizing was a bit much.

As Seonghyeon stood there, dumbfounded, the three men bowed their heads, trembling slightly.

Did they misunderstand and think he was displeased?

He wanted to say that wasn’t the case, but—

“Judging by the mood, that seems difficult.”

Even Seonghyeon, usually calm, felt somewhat overwhelmed by the trio’s behavior.

But since they had gone to such lengths to provide for him—

It seemed only fair to meet them halfway.

“This is sufficient.”

“Ah, we are unworthy of your grace, noble successor!”

“……”

“Uwooooh!”

Seonghyeon’s awkward expression made one of the raven-masked men speak carefully.

“Due to the Pact, we cannot always be at your side. We shall strive to do better next time.”

“…Pact?”

A pact that even Overpalace couldn’t bypass.

It had to refer to the system.

Realizing this, Seonghyeon nodded.

Indeed, if the strongest organization in Eternal World protected someone too blatantly, it would essentially be a cheat.

The system would naturally want to prevent that.

Seonghyeon understood and nodded again.

Besides, relying too much on their protection would take the fun out of the game.

Receiving gifts like this from time to time was just right.

As Seonghyeon mulled it over, the raven-masked man spoke cautiously.

“Though we wish to witness your growth, we must now take our leave. Please remain in good health. Eternal glory to the Overlord.”

“……”

“Uoooh-aaahhh!”

At his words, hundreds, if not thousands, of ravens scattered throughout the village gathered, engulfing them in a black whirlwind.

As the dark feathers flurried about, they vanished.

The ominous black energy that had engulfed the village dissipated entirely, leaving even Seonghyeon unable to detect its remnants.

From their arrival to their departure, the Messengers of Overpalace maintained an overwhelming presence.

“They’re incredible.”

To think such a group was watching over him.

It made him appreciate Helena all the more.

Though the situation had been chaotic, the rewards were undeniable.

Or rather, they were extraordinary.

The compass would have to wait, leaving just one thing.

But that one thing alone was phenomenal.

A legendary skill book?

Even useless rare-grade skill books were worth millions of won.

Decent rare-grade skill books fetched tens of millions.

Having heard this from his sister before, the reality sank in.

So what about a legendary-grade skill book?

Selling it alone would net tens of billions of won.

Even the least valuable legendary-grade skill books started in the billions.

High-quality ones could fetch hundreds of billions.

And now, such a skill book was in Seonghyeon’s hands.

“This is ridiculous.”

Selling it was out of the question.

Selling a gift would be despicable.

Besides, they must have chosen a skill that suited him.

Filled with anticipation, Seonghyeon immediately used the skill book.

[You have used the Legendary-grade skill book, 『Add More』!]
[You have acquired the legendary skill, 『Add More』!]

There was no point in delaying.

Seonghyeon checked the skill immediately.

『Add More』
→ 《Legendary》
→ [Lv Max][Perfect Form]
[Continuous Effect][Passive]
→ Exclusive to the Summoning branch.
→ Doubles the number of summoned creatures when summoning.
→ Additional summons consume no mana.
→ This effect can be toggled on or off at will.
→ The same applies to undead creation.
Applies x2 when summoning undead from the Netherworld, no stacking allowed.

“???”

When Seonghyeon first received the skill book, his expression had been one of astonishment. Now, it was even more absurd.

The effect was so surreal that he couldn’t immediately process what he was seeing.

What in the world is this?

After rereading the description thoroughly and realizing his initial understanding was correct, he blinked and scratched his head.

“So, summoned creatures get duplicated.”

Even undead summoned from the Netherworld would be doubled.

Which meant…

“Two Barfurs?”

The idea of duplicating Barfur, his most powerful undead with overwhelming dominance, was almost too much to believe.

Seonghyeon scratched his cheek in disbelief.

Was this really allowed?

And why did they cry and apologize while giving him something so absurd?

In any case, now that he had it—

“Time to put it to use.”

It was only natural to test a new skill immediately.

Seonghyeon headed to the cemetery, the same one where he had tested Corpse Explosion and The Sovereign’s Command.

Perhaps driven by excitement, he reached the cemetery faster than usual.

The cemetery was full of ghosts and undead.

Seonghyeon opened the Netherworld’s Gate, summoning his creatures.

Then—

[The effect of 『Add More』 is applied.]
[Identical undead are created alongside those summoned from the Netherworld.]

Through the portal with its greenish-blue glow, the undead emerged.

Sssshhhh.

Unlike before, however, their numbers had doubled.

More importantly, the additional summons consumed no extra mana.

The result was a completely broken effect.

“Ahhh! All hail the master! How did you obtain such an incredible ability!?”

“Kerrek! Kehhuk! (You’re amazing!!)”

“Kukruk! Kekeck! Kehuh! (Truly, our lord!!) ”

The spirits within the undead clamored noisily, showering Seonghyeon with praises.

Amid the commotion, Seonghyeon felt something strange—a sense of incongruity.

The numbers had increased, but the noise didn’t feel doubled.

He examined the situation closely and quickly identified the reason.

“Ah.”

The undead had been duplicated, but the spirits within them had not.

As per the skill description, only the physical forms of the undead were copied.

Because of this, the duplicate Barfur lacked the overwhelming presence of the original.

The goblin undead were the same.

It was a bit disappointing.

Still, there wasn’t much he could do.

“At least the numbers have increased.”

Satisfied with that, Seonghyeon decided to move on.

Just as he was about to leave, the nearby spirits began to approach, drooling as they came closer.

“What’s with them?”

Even Seonghyeon, accustomed to ghosts, found their behavior odd.

Or perhaps… he had seen something like this before.

Was it with Persville?

Back then, when he created soulless undead using Aura of Death, spirits had flocked to him.

At the time, he had been too busy to pay attention.

Now, curious, he turned to one of the approaching spirits and asked, “What’s going on?”

“H-heuk! W-well…”

“Ah, I was afraid we might offend your grace and dared not speak…”

The two spirits hesitated as they spoke cautiously, trembling all the while.

Seonghyeon tilted his head in confusion.

Why are they being so careful?

As he observed them, they finally mustered the courage to say,

“May we pledge ourselves to you!?”

“We were skilled in life! We’re former mercenaries!!”

The spirits, who claimed to be mercenaries, numbered around twenty.

What did they mean by pledging themselves?

Suddenly, something clicked in Seonghyeon’s mind as he glanced at his soulless undead.

“Could they mean… they want me to put them in there?”

Would that even work?

Come to think of it, it seemed plausible.

Seonghyeon decided to proceed, first absorbing the memories of the mercenary spirits.

Twenty mercenaries’ memories flowed into him, their greenish-blue auras seeping into his body.

As he absorbed them hungrily, veins bulged on his skin as if he were in pain.

“This is tougher than I expected.”

[Due to ‘Unknown Power,’ you have temporarily exceeded your current capabilities.]
[Strength +10, Agility +20, and Stamina +10 have permanently increased.]

While the memories and experiences enriched him, Seonghyeon felt slightly overstuffed, as if he had overeaten.

Greenish-blue energy escaped faintly from his lips, dissipating like vapor in the winter air.

Although he had lost a few fragments of memory, it wasn’t a big deal. Knowing his limits was enough.

The mercenary spirits weren’t as exceptional as Eddy, Apik, or even the late village chief Gwen, each of whom had granted him +5 to stats.

Each mercenary only contributed around +2 to his stats.

Still, the total increase of +40 was nothing short of incredible.

As Seonghyeon expressed his satisfaction, the spirits lit up with joy.

They had realized they were now connected to him.

But after reading their memories, Seonghyeon knew one thing for certain.

“I can’t put them in there.”

He couldn’t place them in the goblin undead.

Not because they had committed atrocities in life, but because it just didn’t feel right.

Without hesitation, he dissolved the duplicated goblin undead using Add More.

The spirits’ once-bright faces quickly dimmed.

They wondered if they would be denied their pledge.

Seonghyeon smiled and snapped his fingers.

Behind him, a greenish-blue heart appeared, pulsing rhythmically.

A mist of the same hue spread outward, enveloping nearby skeletons.

The skeletons, touched by the mist, began radiating greenish-blue energy.

Seonghyeon infused the mercenary spirits into these skeletons, crafting new Death Soldiers.

“Tying you to goblin bodies wouldn’t suit you.”

“Ahh!!”

“Ahhh!!!”

“Master, thank you!!”

Using his newfound understanding, Seonghyeon naturally guided the spirits into their new forms:

12 Skeleton Warriors, 6 Skeleton Archers, and 2 Skeleton Mages.

The newly created 20 Death Soldiers were greeted warmly by the existing ones.

“Rejoice! Our master’s ranks have grown!!”

“Kerrehuk! Kekek! (A toast to our lord!!) ”

“Kukruk-kekek! (Those who follow the lord are blessed!!) ”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Watching this, Seonghyeon nodded in satisfaction.

Although he hadn’t found suitable souls for the duplicate Barfur, that was fine.

“It’s better to save that for stronger spirits.”

Looking at his new legion, Seonghyeon felt their eagerness.

They shouted in unison:

“Sweep through this place!”

“Kerrek! Kehhuk! (Death! Let us present it to our lord!)”

“For the master!”

The undead, oblivious to their fate, were quickly destroyed by Seonghyeon’s forces.

When the dust settled, only Seonghyeon’s Legion of the Dead remained.

[Level Up!] ×4
[You have reached Level 34.]

With Add More and the ability to embed spirits into undead, Seonghyeon mused quietly:

“This is amazing.”

It was an understated yet fitting conclusion.