The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 264
A tremor?
He didn’t think it was an earthquake.
There was no way an earthquake would hit the intact castle of the Lord of the Dead.
Still—
“What’s this vibration?”
“I’ve never seen this in any guides.”
“A tremor, huh...”
“Something feels... off.”
The Prism Effect party members’ expressions shifted slightly.
Up until now, everything had gone exactly as the guides described.
But a sudden change like this—
It was only natural to be thrown off.
In the midst of that tension, only Seong calmly assessed the situation and spoke.
“Hm, maybe it’s because of the hidden piece.”
“Ah!”
“That... could be it.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“So the hidden piece caused some kind of change...”
Their grim expressions began to shift.
Now a mix of anticipation and excitement appeared.
If a hidden piece caused this change, then that could only mean one thing:
They might be the first party to discover and clear this new content.
Excitement and tension flickered in everyone’s eyes as they exchanged glances and nodded.
Then, they handed Seong the Unique-tier skill book they’d held onto for him, and gathered in a huddle.
They were still in the room that resembled a study—
But the moment they stepped out, anything could happen.
It only made sense to prepare in advance.
“For now, we don’t know what kind of changes are out there, so planning a detailed strategy might be hard.”
“Should we assume the boss changed?”
“That seems like a logical guess.”
“Haha, what if the boss is just walking around now?”
As they bantered—
Seong, already knowing the truth through Basile’s memories, thought silently to himself.
‘It must be him.’
The undead that had been left behind to guard this place when the Lord of the Dead departed. The Lord’s lich—and Basile’s younger brother.
Barseon.
It had to be his awakening.
And the trigger...
‘Was probably me.’
He didn’t think it had anything to do with unlocking the hidden piece.
Basile’s memories had shown that opening this place wouldn’t activate anything directly.
Which meant the difference between him and other players was—
His aura.
It had to be that Barseon reacted to the presence of the Lord’s energy.
As he reached that conclusion, Seong casually suggested,
“What if... a hidden raid boss appeared?”
“Ah?! A hidden raid boss?!”
“...That’s possible. I’ve heard of hidden bosses stronger than the original showing up in some other city scenarios.”
“A hidden raid boss, huh...”
“Hahaha, well this could be rough. Not sure ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) we can take it down with just us.”
“We can do it!”
Ir snapped back at Bask’s hesitant words.
Everyone chuckled softly and nodded.
Talking about losing before the fight even started—how foolish.
And so, while reviewing roles and scenarios, they began forming a strategy.
Planning for as many variables as possible.
Seong also memorized the tactics in his head.
Once everyone felt ready, they stood from their spots.
“Fuuuu...”
The party members looked slightly tense.
But none of them were the type to back down.
At level 240, cowards were rare.
And so, once they stepped out of the room—
Saaaaaah—!
A cold wind swept through the hallway.
This was clearly different from before.
Up until now, there had barely been any chill, but now the temperature had dropped rapidly and a bitter wind blew through.
The anomaly had begun.
However—
Whooom—!
With a flick of Seong’s hand, the surrounding energy surged.
Even the cold, which could have caused status effects, couldn’t pierce through the heat he released.
“Whoa, you have a skill like that?!”
“Thank you.”
“This’ll definitely help.”
“Now Plodin won’t have to keep buffing us.”
As everyone spoke, Seong waved it off like it was nothing.
It wasn’t the important thing right now.
The moment they stepped outside—
Sure enough, a sound approached.
They braced themselves, thinking perhaps the hidden boss was on the move.
But what appeared was a familiar enemy—skeleton knights, common in the Lord of the Dead’s castle.
Only, they were... different.
“They’ve changed.”
“They’re covered in frost.”
“They’ve been enhanced...”
“Is it because of this cold?”
Even while talking, they dropped into formation immediately.
Seong also stayed cautious, thinking he’d observe first.
Then, his violet flame rose into the air.
Fwoooosh—!
The violet fire gathered into a single point and spun rapidly—
Forming a conical shape, it spiraled out in a burst, unleashing flames like beams of light across the air.
The speed was intense.
Under normal circumstances, a skeleton knight wouldn’t even react in time.
But this one—
It raised its shield the moment it saw the flame coming.
BOOOOOM—!!!
The violet fire cone slammed into the shield, exploding with a thunderous roar.
The impact blasted the knight back with its shield, far across the hall.
SSSSSSHHHH—!!!
Its feet scraped deep twin lines into the floor—
But despite being pushed that far, the knight’s stance didn’t break. It held firm.
A completely different reaction from the ones that crumbled under Seong’s attacks before.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“Hm.”
“It blocked that?”
“...It’s gotten stronger than expected.”
“We need to be careful.”
“Everyone, get ready!”
At Ir’s final command, the party surged forward.
First to step up was Stella, the tank.
As the shield knight, she braced herself and activated her skills.
The skeleton knight, whose glowing eyes had fixed on Seong with fear, now turned its gaze toward Stella and charged.
Stella grimaced under the weight of the enhanced blow, even as she blocked it.
Next came Ir’s attack—a pillar of light that fell from the sky.
Plodin followed with purification spells, but both frowned.
The effects were weaker than expected.
Despite the undead’s usual weakness to light—and despite Plodin being a priest—her purification barely scratched it.
Only Seong’s fire showed any real impact.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Bask came in next, aiming for the rear with a dagger coated in crimson energy—
But his strike failed to deal significant damage either.
GRRRAAAAH!
The knight roared in fury and surged forward again.
Seong responded by sending violet flame straight into its body and detonating it from the inside.
KABOOOOM—!
FWOOSH—!!
As if the sun itself had released a flare—
Violet flares erupted from the gaps in the knight’s armor.
Even Stella, hardened as she was, instinctively stepped back from the overwhelming heat.
The skeleton knight, struck directly by that wave of heat, staggered slightly—and from there, the Prism Effect party was able to finish the job.
It ended more quickly than expected.
But without Seong, it could have easily felt like fighting a boss-tier enemy.
Of course, compared to Razak, this knight still fell short.
That said, it wasn’t weak by any means.
Right after they defeated it, everyone shook their heads with uneasy expressions.
“Stronger than I thought...”
“If the mobs are this tough...”
“Then the boss must’ve gotten a serious buff too.”
“Good thing Yu-hyeon’s here.”
“Seriously.”
“There’s no way we could’ve cleared this without him.”
Still, with Seong around, it felt doable.
Either way—
No one had any intention of hiding or running.
They pushed forward.
The castle was definitely large.
To stay on track, they followed the routes laid out in the strategy guides.
Along the way, they encountered more skeleton knights—technically just mobs.
But thanks to Seong’s increased support, they dealt with them much more smoothly.
And the others had begun to adapt as well—
Their pace picked up noticeably.
Meanwhile, Seong remained alert, scanning the surroundings.
Just as they were about to step into a wide area resembling a grand lobby—
Teal light burst from Seong’s eyes as he stepped forward.
FOOOSH—!
Violet flames suddenly erupted like a blossoming flower.
The flames enveloped the party like protective petals.
The suddenness of it left the others stunned.
But then—
A wave of piercing cold slammed into the violet flames.
SSSHHHHHHH—!!!
CHHHHHHHH—!!!
The sharp cold and the swirling violet fire collided—
A roar of steam and wind blasted through the air.
BOOOOOM—!!!
The explosive noise was nearly deafening.
The party instinctively dropped into combat stance.
According to the guidebooks, this lobby was supposed to be empty.
What kind of monster could launch an attack like that?
Everyone was visibly tense.
And then, the sound echoed—
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
Footsteps.
Something was walking toward them.
Wearing a bluish-grey robe—
He looked like a loyal servant from some ancient royal court.
But his form was skeletal, holding a thin, bony staff in one hand.
It was a lich—one of the most powerful types of undead.
And the aura emanating from this lich was unlike any they had faced.
Even more terrifying and intense than the chill Razak had wielded.
No one had to say it aloud: this was the hidden raid boss they had talked about.
At that moment, everyone froze.
Had he used a spell?
No—it was just a cutscene. Seong, who had experienced countless moments like this, recognized it immediately.
‘Event scene.’
The lich began to speak.
—Do you even know where you stand, to dare enter this place?
A voice like spears of ice.
Cold and vicious, brimming with rage.
—I see. You’ve come to defile the name of my great Lord of the Dead.
The party exchanged confused glances.
They had assumed this lich was the Lord of the Dead.
But apparently not?
As they tried to make sense of it—
The voice rang out again, like a blizzard ripping through the air.
—My Lord ordered me to guard this place. And so, I shall erase you all.
The words were quiet, but so firm they rang like a thunderclap.
As tension reached its peak—
A system message appeared in front of them.
[You have encountered the Hidden Raid Boss, 『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』.]
[Hidden Raid begins.]
!!! WARNING !!!
This is an extremely powerful hidden boss!
Proceed with caution!!!
The “extremely powerful hidden boss” warning made everyone go stiff with tension.
Not Seong, though.
He was used to this.
Rather than nervous, he was calm as he prepared for battle.
But the first to act—
Was Stella.
Though visibly tense, she stepped forward to protect the party as the tank.
However, the moment she moved, Barseon raised a hand.
Immediately, a deadly frost spread out and seized control of the area.
[『Lich of the Lord of the Dead, Barseon』 casts 『Land of Bitter Cold』.]
[The surrounding temperature drops rapidly.]
[All movement speed reduced by 30% due to extreme cold.]
Sudden field effects.
But Seong casually snapped his fingers.
Snap!
FWOOM—!
Heat flared around the party, enveloping them completely.
The debuff disappeared.
A perfect elemental counter.
Barseon’s glowing eyes flared in response to the heat.
—How pitiful.
