The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 293
0.
In the forest near Heptarion, Seong and Edian were gathering materials.
Seong walked ahead, Edian followed behind.
But Seong kept suspecting the one behind him was a demon.
The ominous aura was one thing—
—but his instincts were telling him something wasn’t right.
Still, he wasn’t certain.
A hunch alone wasn’t enough to act.
Maybe he was wrong.
If only he could scan again using the demon-infused weapons.
But those couldn’t be reused for a while after activation.
And the Sword Saint was only arriving the day after tomorrow.
‘I just need to figure it out before then.’
As he continued suspecting—
Helena spoke, uncertain.
—“It does seem like it... but I’m not totally sure.”
She was in agreement.
When Seong used Galaxy Sword Dance on some monsters,
Edian watched curiously as the creatures were cut down.
Seong tilted his head, still unsure.
Edian then said they were close to the material site and walked deeper into the forest.
Seong followed him.
Their tense non-confrontation continued for a while—until suddenly:
“...Hmm.”
“Something’s coming.”
Seong narrowed his brow.
At the same time, Edian issued a warning.
What appeared wasn’t an ordinary monster.
A system message popped up before Seong’s eyes:
[⚠️ A monster infused with demonic energy has appeared!]
[⚠️ Demon-infused monsters are as powerful as raid bosses!]
[⚠️ Proceed with caution!]
The urgent message was fitting—
A grotesque, monkey-shaped creature emerged.
It was a type he’d seen before, but maybe due to the demonic energy—
Its ashen fur sagged, and parts of its flesh were melted and oozing.
Truly grotesque.
But Seong didn’t seem bothered.
‘Is he planning to ambush me while I deal with this thing?’
He almost hoped so.
He drew his sword to begin the hunt.
Srrrng.
The blade rang with a clear, sharp note.
As Seong focused on the Galaxy Sword Dance, starlight gathered around his blade—
—and a deep blue aura like the night sky shimmered at its edge.
He took a light stance and stared at the monster.
The monkey, sensing that Seong’s sword was its natural predator,
bristled its fur and roared instead of fleeing.
“KYAAAAHHH!!!”
With a savage scream—
it lunged at Seong.
It launched itself from a tree with powerful legs, slicing through the air.
Despite its massive size, its speed was astonishing.
Most players at this level wouldn’t even follow its movements—
—but Seong had no trouble.
Reading its path, he swung his glowing blade.
The arc of the sword lit up like a constellation drawn in the sky.
The monster flinched, trying to dodge—
—but Seong’s sword fell in a flash of starlight, searing a constellation across its chest.
SKK—RKK!
“KIIIIIEEEEE!!!”
A single blow, and the monster suffered a critical hit.
But Seong had held back.
It was a trap—to draw out Edian.
‘Will he bite?’
Watching Edian carefully, he noticed him preparing a spell.
Seong decided to press further.
The monkey, despite the damage, still moved.
It swung its long arm toward Seong.
Seong feigned a misstep—
delaying just long enough to raise his sword and block the arm with a burst of starlight.
KWAANG—!!!
A massive shockwave followed—
and Seong intentionally left a large opening.
If Edian was going to strike—this would be the moment.
And then—
a magic circle activated behind him.
Was this it?
He braced himself—
but then:
KAGAGAGAGAK—!!!
A blue beam fired from the circle, smashing into the monster’s chest.
It hit the wound Seong had made earlier.
The monkey gasped and spewed gray smoke.
“...?”
Momentarily confused by the help,
Seong instinctively moved in and finished it off.
SKRR—SHK!
One clean cut.
The head dropped.
The body vanished, leaving nothing behind.
Seong cocked his head, puzzled.
“A demon-infused monster.”
“Hm. Looks like we should investigate,” Edian said coolly.
Seong had given him a perfect opening—
yet Edian had helped him instead.
Could he really not be the demon?
Still unsure, Seong scratched his cheek.
He decided to wait and observe a bit more.
As he stepped back, Edian said,
“Let’s find the materials.”
With the monster gone, nothing unusual happened.
The escort mission ended smoothly.
They collected the materials, Seong performed his duty.
Back at the Caliber Tower—
Edian smiled faintly, pleased.
“Well done. Keep tomorrow open. I’ll need more materials.”
Still confused, Seong nodded.
“Yes, understood.”
“Good. See you tomorrow, then.”
Edian disappeared.
Was it really not him?
Still scratching his cheek, Seong stood there, puzzled.
1.
After the escort was done—
Seong returned to Caliber Tower and was about to leave on another assignment when—
The escort knight commander spoke.
“The Chief Mage is asking for you.”
“Another escort?”
“Seems like it. I know it’s a lot, but once this one’s done, you're off duty for the day.”
“Thank you.”
“No—thank you. Good luck.”
The commander looked pleased with Seong.
As Seong walked outside—
Serena called out, as if she’d been waiting.
“Oh! Yuseong! There you are!”
“Yes, I heard you were looking for me.”
“Yeah, I need more materials again.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
So Seong escorted Serena to gather supplies.
It went the same as before.
No demon-infused monsters this time.
‘So maybe I was right after all?’
Demons nearby could cause those monsters to appear—
—but why only when he was with Edian?
Suspicious.
And if Edian was a demon, why not attack when he had the chance?
Why?
Maybe because... he wasn’t a demon?
Seong pondered deeply.
Serena looked at him.
“Something on your mind?”
“Ah? Oh...”
Should he bring it up?
Then a thought came to him.
“I went into the forest earlier with Edian and encountered a demon-infused monster.”
“A demon-infused monster???”
Serena was visibly surprised.
Seong spoke casually.
“Yes. The sudden appearance felt strange.”
“Well, demonic energy is rare after all.”
“You know something about it, Serena?”
“Yeah, demon-infused °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° weapons have shown up around here before.”
“I see.”
They talked.
And she seemed genuinely unaware.
Seong lowered his suspicion.
For a moment, he had wondered if Serena was a demon too.
But he decided to wait and observe.
They kept chatting.
“I heard Edian was hard to work with, but he wasn’t that bad.”
“Edian???”
Serena looked surprised.
Seong caught that reaction.
“Yes, he helped me quite a bit.”
“Hmm... that’s not like him.”
“Really?”
Seong asked.
Serena nodded.
The Edian she knew wasn’t like that.
“When he brings escorts, he never lifts a finger. Always nitpicking everything. That’s why he has such a reputation among the knights. Maybe he just liked you?”
“Hmm. He did ask for help again tomorrow.”
“Did he?”
Serena smiled, clearly intrigued.
Given Edian’s reputation, she probably wasn’t lying.
Seong figured he should ask the commander too.
This was getting complicated.
But maybe that’s what made it fun.
‘More interesting than I expected.’
Figuring this out under pressure.
Classic demon behavior—
—hiding their identity this well.
But...
‘The Sword Saint is coming soon. Let’s see if he can keep hiding until then.’
2.
In the middle of a forest reduced to ashes—
Right where Seong and Edian had been earlier.
Two shadows slowly rose.
They weren’t the infiltrators at the tower—
—they were comrades.
Two demons frowned at the ashes and muttered.
“Guess he really is our worst matchup.”
“It wasn’t even holy power. Strange. Felt like being hit by a Hero.”
The other demon growled.
“Cut the jokes. The Hero’s on our side now.”
“Just saying. It was weird.”
“Well, that part’s true.”
They both scowled.
It had been a while since they’d seen demonic energy wiped out like this.
They had infused the monster at his request, hoping it would work—
—but clearly, he was right.
Time was running out.
If their matchups were this bad, the three of them would need to act together.
And it had to be on their turf.
Otherwise, they’d be devoured.
The demons muttered:
“Even if he’s an outsider, he might be able to make a demon weapon.”
“The flesh will remain anyway.”
“Kuhuhu... Even if we’re his worst matchup, he can’t fight all three of us at once.”
“We’ll rip him apart.”
“And he said he’d bring the natives. We should prepare.”
“Once prep’s done, we just tear the flesh and scatter it. We should finish before the Sword Saint shows up.”
Chuckling and scheming—
The demons disappeared, eager for tomorrow to come.
