The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 348

To think that the Galaxy Sword Dance successor would be affiliated with Overpalace.

He had suspected as much when he heard she was in Nocturne, but—

To find out it was true felt strangely surreal.

He had predicted it, yet now that it was reality, it felt odd.

Of course, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for the Sword Saint—but then again, they were enemies.

In any case, once Seong finished that train of thought, he had no choice but to ask the most fundamental question.

“But if you’re with the Audit Division... what are you doing here?”

They’d already fought after running into each other.

But knowing she was connected to Overpalace made it feel a bit off.

Was this encounter truly a coincidence?

When Seong asked, Nina suddenly flailed her hands in a panic.

“P-Please lower your speech, sir!”

“...Ahem. Alright.”

Still, wasn’t this a bit too much of the Overpalace tone, even for a Galaxy Sword Dance successor?

Seong couldn’t help but feel slightly awkward about it—

But since it wasn’t a bad thing, he let it go.

In any case—

Whatever the situation, Seong’s gaze clearly asked, Why are you here?

To that, Nina answered once more.

“I came here on orders... I was told to investigate this forest...”

As she said it, Nina tilted her head as if it struck her as odd too.

Naturally so—she was part of the Audit Division.

They were supposed to monitor dark mages or individuals within Overpalace, so there was no real reason for her to be sent into a forest.

A mission like this was indeed strange.

Seong had similar thoughts and grew about halfway certain.

This situation—

Just as Seong was reaching that conclusion—

A voice came from behind them.

“My apologies if you were displeased. I gave the order, thinking you seemed to be looking for Nina.”

A man in a black suit appeared, offering a polite apology.

Unlike most Overpalace members, he was dressed immaculately, which was surprising.

Most of them usually bore visible signs of being dark mages.

So Seong had expected the same this time—but this man wore a crisp, noble-looking suit, something like what medieval aristocrats might have worn.

No robe, nothing suspicious—he looked simply like a noble.

As Seong watched him—

The man bowed deeply and spoke.

“I should have introduced myself sooner. I am Nocturne, the one who governs this city. I built it and named it after myself.”

“Ah.”

From that, Seong was able to make an instant deduction.

Though the man gave off no particular sense of strength—

He was undoubtedly an extraordinary powerhouse.

He likely had at least a monarch-type skill.

Still, Nocturne continued bowing deeply to Seong.

“I see. Well, I wasn’t offended, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ahh, how merciful is the master we serve. Even your words are a blessing.”

“...Right.”

Faced with such extravagant deference, Seong couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward.

Even after all this time, he never got used to being treated like this.

In any case, now that they’d met—

He figured they’d probably head to the castle.

But just then, Nocturne gave a gentle smile, gesturing politely to the ground, and asked,

“This place seems uncomfortable. Would it be alright if we moved somewhere else?”

As Seong nodded in agreement—

The surrounding scenery began to dissolve. What had just been a forest slowly transformed into the interior of a building.

Like a midsummer night’s dream, the shift happened in an instant, and Seong couldn’t help but be surprised.

He now had quite a few monarch-tier skills himself.

He was able to perceive energy movement quite well.

But whatever Nocturne had just done—he hadn’t sensed a thing.

How is that possible?

As Seong pondered this—

Nocturne chuckled lightly and said,

“It’s a little trick of mine. Techniques tied to the night often involve dreams.”

“Hm.”

As Seong looked curious, Nocturne explained further.

Though Seong still didn’t entirely understand—

“I turned the place we were in earlier into a dream and made this the place where we ‘woke up.’ It’s a bit of a complicated technique.”

Helena, standing behind them, offered a more detailed explanation.

And Nocturne gave her a slightly sorrowful look.

But that moment passed quickly.

Nocturne turned back to Seong with a bright smile.

“Shall we get to the point now?”

“Of course.”

As Seong answered, Nocturne created a sofa and sat down as if that were the natural next step. Seong sat down as well.

Then—

“To speak honestly, I saw you enter the city. Much like insects crawling in, you stood out.”

“Hmph.”

As expected—he’d known from the start.

It would’ve been strange if he hadn’t.

As Seong thought that—

He glanced at Nina.

If he’d known about the Intelligence Knights entering, couldn’t he have hidden Nina entirely?

It was the traces she left behind that had drawn them all here in the first place. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

At that moment, Seong realized the true intention.

No way...

“You lured them here on purpose?”

“Yes, that’s correct. They would never stop searching for signs of the Galaxy Sword Dance. So I instructed Nina from the Audit Division to leave traces and draw them here.”

“Ohh.”

Seong nodded, seeing the logic in it.

Even the folks at the Cerulean Tower—like Weejel—knew the Sword Saint was searching for traces of the Galaxy Sword Dance.

There was no way Overpalace wouldn’t know.

And the owner of the Galaxy Sword Dance was Seong himself.

Overpalace had to have known that as well.

They had used Nina to deceive them all—for Seong’s sake.

With his thoughts reaching that conclusion, Seong briefly reflected.

If Overpalace was on his side—

There was no need to worry about the Intelligence Knights.

‘I’ve even confirmed the Galaxy Sword Dance successor now.’

She was a bit lacking, likely not having mastered the ultimate skills yet—

But since she was with Overpalace, he could see her again anytime.

So there was no need to worry.

In that case, maybe it was time to head for the Celestial Ruins?

That was the ninth region.

Granted, Seong was strong enough to handle it despite the 275-level entry requirement—

But since he was already in the eighth region...

It felt like a waste to just skip over it.

Just as he was considering that—

A message from Veladrina arrived.

—Your Majesty, I’ve obtained valuable information.

“Oh?”

Seong’s expression brightened.

Veladrina quickly continued.

—Have you ever heard of the Masked Lord?

“Hmm... yeah, I’ve heard of him.”

One of the monarchs within the Overlord.

He remembered reading about it in the Book of Monarchs.

At the time, he had chosen the Inferno Lord—

But the Masked Lord had caught his interest too. And now here it was, being brought up again.

As Seong focused in anticipation—

Veladrina delivered good news.

—I’ve discovered the existence of a sealed thought-form of the Masked Lord.

“!!!”

That was truly great news.

But... did they know where it was?

Just as Seong was about to ask—

Veladrina added:

—Unfortunately, they couldn’t determine the exact location. However, the Sword Saint’s side is doing all it can to collect monarch-related sword techniques. Among those not yet secured, the Masked Lord is considered one of the most valuable.

It hadn’t even been that long—

But she had already gathered all that information.

Truly impressive.

As Seong admired her work—

Nocturne bowed respectfully and said,

“I must apologize, but I happened to overhear your conversation.”

“That’s fine.”

“I believe you are looking for the grave where the Masked Lord lies. Am I correct?”

“...?”

A grave?

The sealed thought-form was in a grave?

But how did Nocturne know that?

As Seong looked at him with suspicion—

Nocturne smiled softly and explained.

“In truth, I’m the one who built that grave. I know exactly where it is.”

“??????”

He had said the city was named after himself—

So he must have lived a very long time. But this kind of connection?

Seong stared blankly at him in disbelief.

Nocturne simply smiled and said,

“I’ll give you a map. Oh, and I should also give you... hmm.”

As he spoke, his expression suddenly twisted in irritation.

Helena, standing beside Seong, muttered in frustration as well.

“Seriously... the Will of the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ World is such a pain.”

Nocturne nodded in agreement.

Then he said,

“To deceive the Will of the World, there’s only one way.”

With a snap of his fingers—

A system message appeared in front of Seong.

[Scenario Quest, 『The Masked Lord’s Hidden Tomb』 has been created.]

A sudden quest.

And then—

[This is a linked quest.]

[Rewards will scale based on your actions.]

After reading the messages, Seong looked at Nocturne.

Who smiled and said,

“I’ll give you a reward once you return.”

This felt like nothing more than another generous giveaway.

Even giving away the location of the Masked Lord’s grave was reward enough.

Seong thought so too—

But he didn’t say it out loud.

‘Alright then, let’s go.’

A very worthwhile quest had just landed in his lap.

8.

Meanwhile, Gust, captain of the Intelligence Knights, bowed his head while holding a crystal orb.

The transfer of their base to Nocturne had been completed—

Without a single mistake.

Yet something felt... off.

Call it intuition? A hunch?

He didn’t know the reason—

But there was a lingering unease.

Still, having purged his emotions, Gust ignored the feeling and filed his report.

Soon, the crystal lit up with the Sword Saint’s image.

He had initiated communication to receive the report, and Gust spoke.

“There wasn’t a single trace of the Galaxy Sword Dance left behind. We’re still tracking, but unless something resurfaces, it may take quite some time.”

—...Hmph.

At that, a sigh tinged with irritation came from the Sword Saint, and Gust flinched.

After all, his master was the Sword Saint.

He did all he could to follow orders—but the mission had practically failed.

Of course he was afraid.

As Gust trembled, the Sword Saint shook his head and said,

—Continue the search. And what of other monarch or sword techniques?

At that, Gust’s expression brightened a little as he replied.

“We have yet to confirm any other sword techniques. However, we’ve found a lead on one monarch.”

—Oh?

“The Masked Lord. We discovered a record that his power—once mighty enough to dominate the continent—lies buried somewhere. We haven’t found the location yet, but it may be more important than the Celestial Ruins.”

Hearing that, the Sword Saint paused, then nodded.

—Dedicate all forces to locating the Galaxy Sword Dance and the Masked Lord.

“Yes, sir!”

Once the call ended, Gust sighed deeply and muttered,

“We’ll need to split our personnel—half to focus on tracking the Galaxy Sword Dance, the other half to pursue the Masked Lord.”

Of course—

Gust had no idea that someone else was already heading straight there.