The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 156

The messages that popped up after Carmen's defeat were...

As expected of a Hidden Raid Boss.

The notification list was quite long.

[You have vanquished the Hidden Raid Boss, 『The Worst of Pentagrid, Carmen』.]

[You have cleared the Hidden Unique Quest, 『The Worst of Pentagrid』.]

[Partial rewards are granted.]

[You have gained a massive amount of experience!]

[Level Up!] ×6

[You have reached Level 129.]

[Additional rewards can be claimed from Viscount Paragon.]

[Only one player has received contribution points.]

[This is classified as a solo raid.]

[You have defeated the boss alone.]

[Rewards are enhanced.]

[This is the first-time defeat.]

[Rewards are enhanced.]

[As this was a solo raid, all rewards are granted to the player 『Seong』.]

[As a defeat reward, you have obtained a Unique-grade Skillbook: 『Skillbook – Dark Spear』.]

[As a defeat reward, you have obtained a Unique-grade item: 『Labyrinth Merchant’s Whistle』.]

[As a defeat reward, you have obtained a Legendary-grade item: 『Carmen of Bloodlust』.]

[As a defeat reward, you may store the corpse of 『The Worst of Pentagrid, Carmen』 in the Netherworld.]

[You are the first to defeat the Hidden Raid Boss, 『The Worst of Pentagrid, Carmen』.]

[You have obtained the title, 『Carmen Slayer』.]

[You may choose to disclose information about the first Hidden Raid clear.]

[With the death of 『The Worst of Pentagrid, Carmen』, it has been replaced with 『The Vengeful Spirit of Carmen』.]

[Rewards and difficulty have been reduced by 30%.]

[If disclosed, additional dungeon rewards will be granted for three months upon each clear.]

[You may reveal this information at any time.]

[However, if another raid team clears it first, information disclosure will no longer be available.]

Victory.

However—

“Hah... That was brutal.”

Even Seong felt drained from that battle.

No wonder he was called "the Worst."

If Anemore or Kaishak had been there, the fight would have ended much faster.

Or if the battle had taken place outdoors, it would have been a lot easier.

Seong shook his head at the thought.

‘So that's what it meant by lingering as a vengeful spirit.’

It seemed like a system mechanic allowing Carmen's raid to remain available.

But—

The real ghost of Carmen was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be...

‘Because he was an evil man?’

Perhaps villains couldn’t leave behind spirits.

There might be another explanation, but—

Somehow, that thought made sense to Seong.

Seeing his reaction, Helena nodded as if confirming his theory.

—That’s probably the case.

“Mmm. So it was like that.”

Helena's agreement made Seong nod as well.

He had never seen an evil spirit before, after all.

It made sense that spirits with crimes of that magnitude wouldn't linger.

Maybe if their sins were lesser, it’d be different.

Either way, after exchanging those thoughts, Helena spoke again.

—Well, at least you got a decent body out of it.

That was true.

While one reason for hunting Carmen was because of Viscount Paragon’s request—

The primary reason had been to find a suitable vessel for Helena’s body.

In the end, both objectives had been fulfilled.

Seong stored Carmen’s corpse in the Netherworld for now.

It was probably the most valuable reward from this raid.

With that taken care of—

Time to check the other rewards.

Seong began reviewing all the items he had received.

『Skillbook – Dark Spear』

→《Unique》

→Consumable

→Usable only by spear-wielding classes.

→A skillbook containing the technique Dark Spear.

→Upon use, grants the skill Dark Spear.

『Labyrinth Merchant’s Whistle』

→《Unique》

→There are merchants who roam the labyrinth, appearing unexpectedly.

→A whistle that summons these mysterious traders anywhere within the labyrinth.

→Holding this item grants a 30% discount on purchases from the Labyrinth Merchants.

→May establish a close relationship with the merchants.

『Carmen of Bloodlust』

→《Legendary》

→A spear once wielded by The Worst of Pentagrid, Carmen. Despite not being an actual cursed spear, Carmen’s madness led him to slaughter countless lives. As a result, the weapon itself became insatiable for blood.

→Usable only by spear-wielding classes.

→Increases the power of spear-related skills by +30%.

→Increases penetration power by +30%.

→Increases base spear attack power by +100%.

→On a successful hit, has a 50% chance to inflict Bleed.

→Absorbs the enemy’s vitality upon impalement, restoring the wielder’s health.

So Dark Spear was the skill Carmen had used at the start of the fight.

Considering he hadn’t used it again afterward, the cooldown must be quite long.

Technically, Seong could use it due to his knight title—

But it might be better to combine it with the Tome of Despair he had acquired earlier.

For now, he moved past the Labyrinth Merchant’s Whistle.

The legendary spear, though...

‘This thing is completely useless to me...’

It would be better to just sell it.

Luckily, this place had an auction hall.

That settled it.

Now, back to the Labyrinth Merchant’s Whistle.

‘Hmm.’

Summoning the labyrinth’s wandering merchants at will and getting discounts?

And the possibility of forming a close relationship with them?

This definitely smelled like the start of a quest.

—Looks promising.

Helena agreed.

Lastly, Seong checked the newly obtained title.

『Carmen Slayer』

→《Legendary》

→A title granted to the first player to vanquish The Worst of Pentagrid, Carmen.

→Grants the ability Blood Frenzy twice per day.

→Grants the ability Spear Throw once per day.

→Increases movement speed by +30%.

→Increases damage of spear-related skills by +50%.

→Increases spear attack power by +10%.

‘Tsk. A dud.’

He could always absorb the memories of spear-wielding ghosts if he wanted to learn spear techniques, but—

There was no real merit in it for him.

The title granted Blood Frenzy and Spear Throw.

Spear Throw seemed powerful, but he had no intention of using a spear.

Still, Blood Frenzy looked somewhat useful.

So maybe it wasn’t a complete waste?

Either way—

If he went straight to Viscount Paragon now, he could select three items from the treasury.

‘Should I go right away?’

The raid was over, so heading there immediately to claim his rewards didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Just as Seong was about to leave the labyrinth—

—How about summoning the Labyrinth Merchants first?

“Hm?”

—They might have a request for you.

Helena’s words made Seong nod in agreement.

At the same time, Leonic knelt on one knee before him and spoke.

—My lord! I too believe that would be wise! Not merely because Lady Helena suggested it, but because we are already within the labyrinth. It would be beneficial to assess the quality of their wares before entering the viscount’s treasury. Thus, I offer my humble advice!

Hearing that, Fiora flinched and hesitantly added—

—U-uh, I... I think whatever L-Lord wants to do is f-fine!

Leonic’s eyes widened in shock.

He had only voiced his opinion as a suggestion—

But Fiora had immediately taken that stance?!

Then, as if following her lead, the others chimed in.

—Ahem, y-yes, I also think Lord should do as he pleases.

—Same here.

“I agree as well.”

Leonic’s eyes twitched at their collective betrayal.

Not just his subordinates—

—Ahahaha! I actually thought the same thing~ Whatever our dear Seong wants to do is best~

Even Helena abandoned him.

At that, Leonic—who technically couldn't sweat—felt like he was sweating bullets as he looked at Seong.

Seong chuckled and said—

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“Hm. I think it does make sense to see what the Labyrinth Merchants have before making a choice.”

—Y-yes, r-right?!!?

Leonic, visibly flustered, trembled slightly as he expressed his relief.

Seong nodded.

Leonic’s reasoning was sound.

If the Labyrinth Merchants happened to sell high-tier items—

Then there was no need to waste his treasury selections on something he could buy instead.

Summoning them first seemed like the right move.

“Well, let’s see what they have.”

The moment Seong said that—

Despite pretending otherwise, everyone was clearly curious as they watched him raise the whistle.

Leonic shot a subtle glare at his fellow subordinates, but—

None of them paid him any mind.

Anyway, Seong blew the whistle.

Piiiiiii—!

Gloooorp.

A sharp, piercing sound rang out, and the walls of the labyrinth rippled unnaturally.

The rippling continued for a while—

And then, a voice cried out from within.

“Hiiiik! I don’t wanna go near that spear lunatic!!!”

Seong tilted his head in confusion.

‘Nyang?’

What?

Before he could process it further—

Something shot out from the wavy wall.

Thud!

A trembling figure landed—its fur bristling from head to toe.

A cat.

No, rather—

A humanoid feline, about the size of a child.

A bipedal NPC with the body of a cat.

Seong blinked, momentarily bewildered.

The cat-like creature, still shaking, lowered its head in greeting.

“Myaaang! T-thank you for summoning the Labyrinth Merchants, meow! H-huh?”

As it bowed, it suddenly noticed something odd—

The multiple legs in front of it.

Lifting its head, it locked eyes with Seong and tilted its head in confusion.

It had an undeniably cat-like face, making it look strangely adorable.

But Seong scratched his cheek and asked—

“You’re... from the Labyrinth Merchants, right?”

“Nyaang? B-but the whistle was in that bloodthirsty woman’s possession... H-how did you?!”

It was clearly talking about Carmen.

Which made sense—he had obtained the whistle after defeating her.

Seeing the feline’s uneasy expression, Seong awkwardly asked—

“I... took her down and got this. Is it not transferable?”

It was possible that the whistle was bound to its previous owner.

Perhaps the Labyrinth Merchants had specific rules.

But then—

“Wha— Hek! N-no, it is transferable, meow!!! New customers are always welcome, meow!”

The cat’s sudden excitement made it clear that wasn’t the case.

So—

What kind of items did they sell?

Seong eyed the merchant curiously.

The cat, noticing his gaze, tilted its head.

“Is there something on my face, meow?”

“...???”

“...???”

Seong and the feline stared at each other, equally confused.

Wasn’t it a merchant?

Shouldn’t it be displaying its wares?

“Aren’t you... supposed to sell things?”

“Ah!!!! Ah!!! I-I forgot, meow! S-sorry! I-I’m a n-newbie merchant....”

“Oh.”

So it was a rookie.

Well, considering the whistle’s previous owner had been Carmen—

It made sense that the lowest-ranking merchant would be sent in.

Since, you know.

She wasn’t exactly normal.

That realization made Seong feel a bit bad for the cat.

Even among merchants, it seemed experience mattered.

Or maybe it was just the same everywhere—

Even in the world of cat merchants.

Regardless, as soon as Seong spoke,

The feline merchant hastily rummaged through its bundle, pulling out various items.

Let’s see what it had to offer.

“M-myaang... I assumed that woman would be here, so I only brought... u-uh... meager wares... I-I apologize, meow.”

But as it spoke—

—Seong, this is no joke.

‘Y-yeah, seriously.’

The items that emerged—

Radiated golden light.

No matter where he looked, everything was gleaming with a brilliant golden glow.

Every single one of them—

Was Unique-grade.