The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 169

Becky hopped around frantically, signaling danger to Seong.

However, Seong could clearly see Paul’s ghost right in front of him.

What was he supposed to do about this?

He quickly summarized the situation.

A quest to find Paul.

But Paul was already dead.

That wasn’t a problem.

The fact that he was dead would likely be revealed in the next stage of the quest.

Since it was a chain quest.

However.

"Paul seemed to hold a fairly high position, yet he was murdered?"

This was shaping up to be a large-scale quest.

Ninyaru appeared to be a generally harmless city.

And yet, a murder had taken place?

Maybe.

"Could this quest lead me directly to the city's ruler?"

Seong's eyes gleamed as he grasped the opportunity.

At the same time, he reached out to Paul's ghost and absorbed his memories.

[‘Unknown Power’ has allowed you to accomplish something impossible at your current level.]

[Intelligence +2, Wisdom +2, Dexterity +1 permanently increased.]

His stats increased, similar to when he had encountered the cat soldiers.

Memories flowed into his mind like a panorama.

However, there was always a chance that Paul had been killed right here and his body disposed of.

That was a concern.

But it turned out not to be the case.

"They took him away and tortured him?"

Seong had already suspected this wasn’t a simple murder.

And sure enough, there was more to it.

Reading through Paul’s memories, he discovered that the culprit wasn’t a cat.

"A snake?"

More precisely, a beastman with a snake’s head.

Seong furrowed his brows at the revelation.

As he looked around the living room, he noticed Becky frantically searching for clues.

Maybe Becky knew something?

Just as Seong briefly considered that thought—

“Seong, do you think that little one would even know?”

“Hmm.”

Helena voiced the same doubt he had.

Even without seeing Becky before now, just looking at the baby kitten in front of him wasn’t exactly reassuring.

It was a fair concern.

But just in case.

Watching Becky scour the surroundings in a frenzy, Seong cautiously asked,

“Is there a rival city to Ninyaru? Or maybe a natural enemy?”

“Nyaaang??? Ah, ah!? Y-yes, there is, nya!”

“Oh?”

So Becky did know.

Was it because he was a resident of Ninyaru?

Or because he was a merchant?

As Seong pondered, Becky trembled and said,

“There is a place called Basilica, nya!”

“Basilica?”

“A t-terrifying dungeon filled with deadly poison and sinister schemes, nya!”

“Ohho?”

[Keyword 『Basilica』 acquired.]

Seong dismissed the notification.

He turned back to Becky, expecting further explanation.

According to him, Basilica and Ninyaru had opposing roles.

While Ninyaru’s merchants helped those wandering the labyrinth, Basilica’s inhabitants harmed them.

Not just snakes, but bats and spiders coexisted in that city.

In stark contrast to Ninyaru, Basilica was a brutal and savage place.

That seemed to check out.

"Most of the bosses in labyrinth regions were bats, spiders, and snakes, right?"

There were exceptions, of course.

But in most labyrinth areas, at least one of those three creatures was guaranteed to be a raid boss.

A fitting rival to Ninyaru.

And—

“T-they want to invade our village, nya! A-and they plan to eliminate all merchants and seize control of the labyrinth, nya! M-maybe Paul was one of their victims, nya!”

Becky fully grasped the intent behind Seong’s question.

Fidgeting anxiously, he turned to Seong and said,

“S-shouldn’t we report this to the knight order, nya?!”

“Knight order? There are knights in this city?”

“Of course, nya! There are three orders! The Black Knights! The Golden Knights! And the White Knights, nya!”

Listening to Becky’s explanation, Seong understood that these knight orders ranked above the city’s regular soldiers.

And the one responsible for maintaining security was—

"The Black Knights, huh."

Reporting this immediately seemed like a reasonable course of action.

But first, he needed to clear the quest.

What was the best approach?

Seong thought for a moment before coming up with a good idea.

“In that case, Becky, can you go and report this? I’ll track down the traces and figure out where Paul was taken.”

Upon hearing that—

—Hohoho, as expected of a noble soul. You are indeed a kind person. It's best if Becky avoids danger.

“Hahaha! That’s our Seong!”

Helena seemed oddly pleased with Paul’s ghostly praise.

Ignoring them both, Seong looked at Becky.

It was up to him whether he wanted to go through with it.

After briefly contemplating, Becky nodded.

“O-okay, nya. I-I’ll go report it right away, nya! Th-then...”

“If I manage to catch the culprit, I’ll return to this mansion.”

“U-understood, nya! I-I’ll file the report and come back here, nya!”

With their plan settled, Seong sent Becky on his way.

Whether he was chasing or capturing the culprit—

Becky would only be a burden.

More importantly.

"I already know where to go."

Since he had Paul’s memories, he also knew the route the culprits had taken when they dragged him away.

Once Becky left.

Seong’s expression darkened.

His minions also shifted into a much more serious mood.

A tense atmosphere settled in as they prepared for action.

Seong moved.

Paah!

In a burst of movement unbecoming of a dark mage, he shot out of the mansion.

Paul’s ghost waved at him in farewell.

—Please, be safe!

It was a simple sendoff filled with concern for Seong’s well-being.

Seong gave a brief nod and sped off.

Following the memories, he arrived at the mansion’s rooftop.

There, he found what he was looking for.

Bloodstains and something that had been dragged away.

“This is it.”

—Kahahaha! You found it instantly! Truly, you are our Lord!

“You are amazing.”

—L-Lord is incredible!

“As expected of Master.”

“Haha! Our Seong is the best!”

Ignoring his minions’ chorus of praise.

Seong confirmed the direction the trail led and followed it.

Tracking the faint traces along the way was no easy task.

But since he had Paul’s memories, he was able to locate the path in an instant and moved forward at high speed.

After some time—

[You have completed the hidden chain quest, 『Ninyaru’s Merchant Overseer』!]

[Rewards granted.] [You have gained a massive amount of experience!]

[Level up!] ×2 [You have reached Level 135.]

[The next quest, 『Paul’s Bloodstained Trail』, has been generated.]

With the experience gained from clearing the quest—

Seong was able to instantly recover the levels he had lost due to Transcended Death.

Leveling up this fast...

Even though it was a hidden quest, this was still just the early stage of a chain quest.

And yet, the experience reward was this generous?

This quest was definitely worth it.

Quickly, he opened his quest window and briefly checked the next objective.

→ Follow Paul’s Bloodstained Trail and find a decisive clue!

The mission remained similar.

But instead of "find Paul," the wording had changed to "find a clue."

It was becoming increasingly clear that Paul’s situation was critical.

It was only a suspicion before, but now, the quest itself was pushing Seong to hurry.

Fueled by that urgency, Seong picked up his pace.

As he followed the faint blood trail, something shiny caught his eye.

Tak!

Even while moving at high speed, he controlled his momentum to land smoothly and picked up the glimmering object.

For someone who left behind this much evidence...

Paul's captors were careless.

There was a gap of at least 300 meters between bloodstains.

Rather than carelessness, maybe they simply hadn't expected someone like him to be tracking them.

Most people wouldn’t have been able to follow such faint traces.

But with Paul’s memories, Seong had no trouble at all.

Still, from his perspective—

"This is downright sloppy."

Leaving behind this much evidence practically guaranteed they would be caught.

Looking at the item he picked up, a notification appeared.

[You have acquired a decisive clue!]

[You have knowledge of the 『Basilica』 keyword!]

[You have obtained a scale belonging to a suspected Basilica spy.]

[You have completed the hidden chain quest, 『Paul’s Bloodstained Trail』!]

[You have gained a massive amount of experience!]

[Level up!] ×2

[You have reached Level 137.]

[The next quest, 『Basilica’s Spy』, has been generated.]

Another level-up alongside a new quest.

"Could leveling up get any easier than this?"

Quests were proving to be a goldmine.

If he had to grind monsters instead, it would have taken him days, maybe even weeks, to gain this much experience.

Satisfied, Seong checked the details of his new mission.

→ Track down the hideout of the Basilica spy who kidnapped Paul!

A location-tracking quest.

But Seong already knew where to go.

After storing the newly obtained clue in his inventory, he focused on a different direction.

One that differed from the path of the blood trail.

From Paul’s memories, Seong had already confirmed that following the blood trail would take him on a longer, indirect route.

Now that he had the quest objective—

It was time to head straight to the hideout.

To a place where shady figures loved to lurk.

"The sewers."

“Why do criminals always seem to love hiding in sewers?” Seong muttered.

“Because it’s easy to hide?” Helena mused.

“Ugh, it’s so unhygienic~” Serpina frowned, her face full of distaste.

Ignoring them, Noctrynium murmured,

“The sewer is the weakest security point in any city.”

—Kahahaha! Rats belong in the filth. It’s only natural for them to hide there!

—V-Valtar, w-we’re not chasing rats this time. We’re after snake scum!

Noctrynium provided a logical analysis, while Valtar remained aggressively battle-hungry.

Even Fiora, who had a habit of nitpicking, chimed in, stammering as she pointed out the difference.

Seong chuckled at their banter and nodded.

"Time to move."

And with that, Seong and his minions set out.

4.

Meanwhile.

After parting ways with Seong, Becky hurried toward the headquarters of the Black Knights.

By the time he arrived, Seong was already well on his way to the enemy’s hideout.

Regardless, Becky rushed into the Black Knights’ building and shouted at the top of his lungs,

“B-Big trouble, nya!!! P-Paul has been kidnapped by those Basilica scoundrels, nyaaa!!!”

The Black Knights, who were in the middle of preparing for deployment, all turned to stare at Becky with wide eyes.

Their expressions made perfect sense.

A cat merchant—who looked no older than a child—had just barged into their headquarters.

And now he was loudly proclaiming something that directly involved the very mission they were preparing for?

More than surprising, it was bizarre.

As all eyes locked onto him, Becky instinctively shrank back.

His previously bold demeanor had completely disappeared.

Now, he just looked pitiful.

But even so, the knights did not back down.

There was something off about Becky.

And that warranted their full attention.

Just then—

“Enough.”

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A voice rang out.

The suffocating tension in the air immediately dissipated.

Becky sighed in ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) relief, as though he had just escaped a nightmare.

Then, he turned and flinched.

A tall black puma knight was approaching him.

He looked terrifying.

Shivering, Becky cowered as the puma-knight asked,

“How do you know about Basilica?”

“T-That’s because my c-customer and I saw it together, nya.”

“Customer?”

The knight frowned.

What customer?

Still trembling, Becky mustered his courage and answered.

Of course, he remained hunched over in fear.

“A-a foreign guest, nya! A v-very important visitor to our city, nya!”

“A foreign visitor... And he mentioned a Basilica spy?”

“N-no, nya! We f-found Paul’s blood in his house... And w-when he asked if we had any natural enemies, I-I told him about Basilica first, nya!”

“Where is this visitor now?”

“C-customer said he’d c-capture the culprit, nya...”

The Black Puma knight rubbed his temples, pressing against his throbbing forehead.

“...We need to find him immediately. Do you know where he went?”

“W-why, nya?! Is customer in danger, nya?!”

Becky’s panicked voice trembled with concern.

The Black Puma knight sighed and answered.

“The spy from Basilica that infiltrated our city is an elite warrior. There is no way a mere outsider could defeat him.”

“NYAAAAAH?!?!!”

Becky’s entire body jolted in shock.

Without waiting for his reaction, the Black Puma turned and barked an order.

“Move! We need to secure the outsider before it’s too late!”

“Yes, Commander!!!”

With that, the Black Knights rushed into action.

Becky, still trembling, watched them go.

"Seong might be in danger..."

He had assumed Seong was strong.

No—he knew Seong was strong.

But this...

This was different.

"Paul... Seong... Please, both of you, be safe, nya..."

As Becky worried, the Black Puma knight thought to himself.

A spy who managed to infiltrate our city without being detected... An outsider won’t be able to handle him alone. If he has any sense, he’ll realize that and retreat.

If he was smart, he’d fall back.

If not...

Then they would have to move faster.

Before it was too late.