The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 323
0.
After spending a long-overdue evening with his friends—
Even though he hadn’t drunk, Seong felt strangely sluggish all over.
“Phewww...”
He let out a long breath and stretched.
He had plans to meet Babaros this morning.
So he got up early and went through his usual morning routine.
A light jog, followed by a refreshing shower—and as expected, breakfast was already on the table, prepared by his mother, Lee Na-gyeong.
When Seong sat down at the dining table and saw the soup bowl, he could immediately feel his mother’s love.
Even though he hadn’t actually drunk the night before,
perhaps assuming he had after hanging out with friends,
she had made dried pollock soup.
‘That’s going to hit the spot.’
As he waited, his father Yoo Gwang-jin and older sister Yu Mina also came out and joined the table.
“Everyone, enjoy your meal~”
“Thanks for the food.”
“Thanks, honey.”
With that, they all lifted their spoons and took their first sip of the soup—
And even though he hadn’t been drinking, the clean, briny flavor made it feel like his hangover was being cured.
Even Yoo Gwang-jin looked thoroughly satisfied as he ate.
Midway through the meal, Yu Mina suddenly turned to Seong and asked,
“Still working on the library?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah—I’m still doing that quest.”
“How far are you now?”
“Just reached Almighty tier.”
“Oh? That’s fast.”
The conversation was about to fizzle out, when—
Seong suddenly remembered something.
A piece of information he had picked up during the earlier story arc involving the Kingdom of Rieskan.
One of those details was about a city—Badea.
It was also one of the seven major cities.
Seong looked at his sister and asked,
“Hey, do you know anything about Badea?”
“Badea? Oh, the war city?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing that, Yu Mina furrowed her brow, trying to recall what she knew.
She tilted her head.
“Besides the fact that the Kingdom of Rieskan and the Balion Empire have been fighting there for god knows how long... not much else, honestly?”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Unless it’s stuff you can find through a quick search, I’m in the dark too.”
If even she didn’t know, then clearly there wasn’t much public info on it.
Seong acknowledged that and went back to eating.
He’d look into it more once the Lord of the Dead storyline was wrapped up.
There wasn’t any immediate information he could get by going there—
‘But if the Kingdom of Rieskan is still actively using it, there might be more to it.’
From what he’d learned, Badea had been a perpetual war zone ever since Helena’s era—locked in an eternal conflict between Rieskan and Balion.
Kind of like a designated theater of war to display national power.
That was the official lore.
To most players, it was just another war-themed city.
But there could be something else hidden there.
Seong mentally filed it away for later.
No need to go now.
For now—
‘Let’s focus on the Lord of the Dead quest.’
1.
Fifteen minutes before their meeting time—
Babaros logged in and looked around.
Seong hadn’t arrived yet.
He grinned.
Once again, he’d arrived first.
Then, as usual, he began scanning the surrounding bookshelves, reading the titles.
That was his pre-Seong routine: organizing the layout and skimming book names, hoping to get a head start.
After about ten minutes—
Seong finally entered the Legendary Library.
“Ah! You’re here!”
“Early again, huh?”
“Hehe, I just like arriving ahead of time.”
“Ah, I see.”
Seong replied casually and then asked,
“Shall we head to the Almighty-tier Library?”
“Yes! Sounds great!”
“I get the feeling this one’s going to take a while too.”
It was a major storyline, after all.
Legendary-tier had already eaten up more time than expected.
This one probably would too.
Babaros nodded in agreement.
“Yeah... Almighty-tier? I’d say maybe three days.”
“Hm...”
Today was Friday.
So counting today, they might be done by Sunday?
Monday was the company dinner.
Would be nice to wrap it up by then.
Thinking that, Seong nodded.
“Let’s try to push through without delay. If it takes longer, oh well.”
“Honestly, I don’t mind if it takes longer—it’s just that fun. Hehe.”
“Alright, shall we go?”
“Yes!”
Now that they felt like co-protagonists in this story,
Babaros looked thrilled.
He wasn’t too worried about anything else.
As they made their way to the Almighty-tier Library,
Babaros offered a short explanation.
“Apparently, the library tier after Almighty isn’t necessarily harder—it’s more of a special dungeon or something.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it’s not more difficult than Almighty, from what I’ve heard. But if it comes after, the rewards must be even better, right?”
“Oho.”
After wrapping up the Lord of the Dead quest, maybe he’d visit Badea and then come back for that next-tier content.
If level restrictions weren’t an issue, that is.
Anyway—
They made it to the Almighty Library.
And as always, a prompt appeared—visible «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» only to Seong.
[A final trace of the 『Lord of the Dead』 remains.]
[Find the Almighty-tier story, 『War Against the Demon Realm』.]
“!?”
Seong couldn’t help but be shocked at the title.
A war... against the Demon Realm?
He already felt that this was beyond what Will Baghdad could handle alone.
What the hell had happened?
While he stood there processing it,
Babaros looked at him and asked,
“What is it? Did you see the next title?!”
He remembered Seong mentioning that these were connected to a personal quest.
So he figured Seong had just gotten another clue.
Seong nodded.
“Yeah. I got the next title.”
“Oooh!? What is it this time?!”
Seong looked him in the eye and said,
“『War Against the Demon Realm.』”
“Gasp!?”
Was this a conflict that went beyond demons—
an outright war against the Demon Realm itself?
Naturally, the next question was—
“Can Will handle that? Seems like too much for him...”
“Well, he did say he was going to meet Helena at the end of the last arc... maybe she’s the one who starts the war?”
Seong offered the guess.
And Babaros nodded. That was the logical conclusion.
From this point on, they were both heading into uncharted territory.
“Should we split up and search?”
“Yeah, good idea.”
With that, they scattered to check the bookshelves for the correct title.
That was when Helena herself chimed in—
—Yeah. That thing I said about being busy? It was because of the war.
How did she end up at war with the Demon Realm?
Seong kept searching while listening intently to her voice.
‘What happened?’
—The guy who allied with both the current Sword Saint and Giorrden, the one from my time—yeah, it’s the same Demon Grand Duke. He’s also the one who waged war on me.
‘Huh? Then...’
—Yeah. I guess he thought he could take me down.
As the explanation continued, things became clear.
And who better to explain it than Helena herself?
It all started after she created the Gorge of Despair and sealed the Dark Fortress Noktrinium into the Netherworld.
While she was enjoying a quiet life in that other-dimensional realm,
a Demon Grand Duke came knocking, stirring up trouble.
In the Middle Realm, things had been peaceful.
But Helena’s Netherworld connected easily with both the Demon Realm and Hell—
and that’s how a Grand Duke found his way to her doorstep.
The Demon Realm had gone without a king for thousands of years.
Three Grand Dukes were contending for the vacant Demon King title.
One of them, clearly irritated that Helena was referred to as the Demon King in the Middle Realm, challenged her.
—Turns out, the Demon King throne wasn’t empty because no one was strong enough. It needed a story—like how we’re setting up a succession arc for the Lord of the Dead.
‘So the Grand Duke tried to crown himself by killing you?’
—Exactly. He wanted to off me and take the title.
But everyone knows how that turned out.
The Grand Duke failed.
And that event became the story known as 『War Against the Demon Realm.』
Will Baghdad fought in that war.
And it served as the final turning point in his rise as the Lord of the Dead.
Seong nodded.
That’s why the Grand Duke tried to kill Helena—
and why the Kingdom of Rieskan and the Sword Saints cooperated:
they were annoyed by both Helena and Overpalace.
What else could you call it but selfish?
Or just plain greedy?
Seong knew it was all a game,
but even so, the sheer human pettiness of it made him shake his head in disbelief.
And then—
He found it.
『War Against the Demon Realm』
Spotting the book, Seong called out,
“Oh!? Found it!”
“Eh!? I-I’m coming!”
Babaros rushed over.
The two of them, now grinning ear to ear, opened the book without hesitation.
And a message appeared.
[The scenario 『War Against the Demon Realm』 is now beginning.]
As the scenario began—
The world faded into an ashen stillness, like time had paused.
Then, as if a movie had begun playing, a visual narrative unfolded in front of them.
Will Baghdad, journeying across the lands in search of Helena—
Along the way, his deeds and might as Lord of the Dead gained him widespread fame.
Eventually, he connected with other well-known dark mages and was summoned to the current battlefield.
Then, text appeared—
[You are currently among Helena’s summoned followers.]
[Most are dark mages, though not all.]
[Everyone here honors Helena and the dark mage tradition. Each has obtained a fragment of transcendence.]
[That includes Lord of the Dead Will Baghdad.]
[They were gathered because Helena requested aid. Her disciples summoned prominent individuals—and now, you are here.]
[You’ve been summoned to prepare for war against the Demon Realm.]
[The first strategy meeting is about to begin.] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
[Please adapt to the situation and participate.]
[The objectives will be explained during the meeting, so pay attention.]
Reading the long prompt, Seong and Babaros both nodded.
And just like that, time began to flow again.
But the hall was silent—no one speaking.
Though they had gathered for war, it was clear that few of them knew each other.
Seong stood still, curious.
And then—
Someone shouted:
—Helena-nim’s first disciple, and the First Seat of the Seven Heroes—The Black Star is entering!!!
Seong flinched in surprise.
The Black Star is appearing here?!
