The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 355

Just as they were about to descend—

A stone slate suddenly rose from the ground.

Apparently, even going down required certain conditions to be met.

Unlike other dungeons where it was just one battle after another, this one exuded a subtle, almost theatrical mystery centered around masks. Seong found himself smiling in satisfaction.

These kinds of gimmicks were part of what made the game fun.

With interest piqued, Seong stepped closer to the slate. Strange text was inscribed on it:

[This is the play of the Faceless Lord.

All masks dance for the Lord, and the stage vanishes once the curtains fall.

Upon the stage where the curtain rises, none yet stand.]

“Hmmm.”

The words were metaphorical, so Seong didn’t understand them right away.

But Baren, sharp-eyed as always, murmured thoughtfully.

“Hmmm, seems like we need to gather as many masks as possible.”

“Ah!”

Seong instantly caught on to what he meant.

He wasn’t dumb enough to miss it, especially with a hint like that.

This was the Faceless Lord’s play.

In other words, the “Masked Lord.” And the “play” referred to the entire process of entering this tomb and undergoing its trials.

“All masks dance for the Lord, and the stage vanishes once the curtains fall”—this meant the tomb itself would disappear when the performance ended.

And the final line—“Upon the stage where the curtain rises, none yet stand”—meant that no one had worn the mask and entered the final area yet.

“No one’s reached the final stage wearing a mask yet.”

“Yeah, and if we go by the map, the fourth floor is likely that stage. And it seems we’ll need to wear a mask to open it.”

“Seems that way.”

As Seong and Baren quickly deduced the situation, the others could only nod in agreement.

- Wow, they figured that out that fast?

- Didn’t expect the Demon King to be brainy too...

- Honestly, if you can’t figure this one out, yikes lol

- Not the hardest puzzle, but still cool

- Yeah, feels like a fair difficulty level

It wasn’t a particularly hard puzzle, so no one was amazed—but they were pleased by how smoothly things were progressing.

Seong counted the masks they had collected so far.

He had: the Clown Mask, Swamp Mask, Duplication Mask, Blood Mask, and Mirror Mask—five in total.

Baren had one: the Deer Mask. And the other investigation team had found two more—the Wolf Mask and the Stone Mask. That brought the total to eight.

But—

“Hmm. Still not enough.”

“There’s thirteen of us...”

They were five short.

And if they were going to the fourth floor, they’d probably need one mask per person.

“For now, let’s check out the other areas. The ones on the second floor are probably just our investigators, so we can leave them. We don’t even know how to go back up, and it’s all players up there anyway—nothing to worry about.”

Baren, who seemed to be the leader among the investigators, said it directly, which made things easier for Seong.

Seong nodded, relieved.

Then, glancing toward the farthest point on the map—where the others were—he sent a silent message to Veladrina.

— What’s the situation over there?

— They’re managing for now. I believe it’s only a matter of time before they defeat the mask.

Since he had already planted a familiar there, he was better informed than anyone.

If they were about to finish the mask off...

Seong hesitated for a moment.

That’s when Veladrina lowered her head slightly.

— If you wish, I could eliminate them now.

— Hmm. But the familiar would be exposed—and if something goes wrong, everything could fall apart, right?

— ...Yes, Your Majesty. If timed well, I could pull it off quietly, but the vice-captain’s strength is greater than expected.

— Then let’s hold the familiar back until I get there.

— Understood.

Veladrina bowed again, and Seong shook his head with a sigh.

Then he turned to Baren.

It was probably time to head toward the Infiltration Unit.

“Baren?”

“Yes?”

“I think we should check on the other team next.”

Seong was about to explain further, but Baren nodded, already ahead of him.

“Hmm. If they reach the bottom first, it might lock the path. Going there now would be the smart move.”

Baren had already reached the same conclusion. Seong let out a faint chuckle.

'This is why talking to smart people is so easy.'

With a nod, Seong got everyone’s agreement and shifted the room toward the direction of the other team.

'I’ll be seeing you soon.'

Haldrin, vice-captain of the Infiltration Unit.

Seong smiled in anticipation, wondering just how strong he’d be.

6.

Haldrin, vice-captain of the Infiltration Unit, scowled deeply.

“Why the hell won’t it move?”

He had long since burned away most of his emotions—but irritation was beginning to creep in.

Until now, the rooms had been moving just fine.

They had been able to descend simply by choosing to take the next trial at the center of the room.

But that wasn’t working anymore. He was grinding his teeth in frustration.

He glanced around with a calm gaze, but unfortunately, the team here was composed solely of assassins and frontline combatants—none of the intelligence specialists were present.

So it was extremely difficult to spot any clues.

That included Haldrin himself.

Hell, they only found this place in the first place because the investigation team had discovered it first.

Which made Haldrin even more irritated.

“Haaah... seems like there’s some kind of condition. Has anyone found anything?”

“Nothing yet, sir.”

“Same here, no clues.”

They were good at fighting, but not at solving puzzles.

Of all the bad luck, the two types of specialists had been split up perfectly.

“...Should we regroup?”

But how?

They didn’t even know where the others were.

There was no map.

Haldrin grew more anxious.

'Don’t tell me we’re trapped?'

Just to be sure, he looked toward the air again. The system still showed the option to exit—proof that they weren’t technically trapped.

“Haah...”

He sighed heavily.

That’s when he spotted Kruger, still energetically scouring the room.

He was moving around in his usual erratic fashion—but something about it struck Haldrin as odd.

'He’s zigzagging like it’s random... but he keeps circling one area.'

The movement was strange.

Seemingly random—but that one spot kept coming up.

Weird, but not worth saying anything just yet.

And sure enough, the next time Kruger moved, he avoided the area entirely.

Then returned to it.

'Was I imagining things?'

Haldrin tried to brush it off and continued waiting for his subordinates to find clues.

He doubted he could do any better himself.

But just thinking about how much trouble he’d be in after this was already making his head throb.

'Haaah...'

They had lost five of their intelligence operatives—key figures in the Infiltration Unit.

That alone was a disaster.

It wasn’t that those five couldn’t fight.

'But if they made it to the third floor, they’re dead for sure.'

Haldrin had been holding back just in case, but even considering that, the enemy must have been extremely strong.

He was still brooding when suddenly—

The ground began to shake.

Kugugugu.

The entire room trembled.

Haldrin jumped up, looking at his subordinates.

None of them had triggered anything.

Everyone looked around, confused.

And yet—

'Kruger?'

He caught a fleeting glimpse of a strange expression on Kruger’s face.

But it was gone in an instant, so Haldrin thought nothing of it.

He turned toward the shifting room.

That’s when the door swung open—and someone stepped inside.

Boots echoed across the floor, followed by the sound of many other footsteps.

As the number of people became clear, the Infiltration Unit formed up around Haldrin, ready for combat.

Haldrin himself prepared to fight.

And then, when he saw who entered, his gaze narrowed.

'Overlord?'

Why the hell was he here?

Doubt rose in Haldrin’s mind—but then he thought:

I can make up for losing the five intel operatives!

If they could kill the Overlord and weaken his power...

It would be worth a commendation.

Haldrin smiled faintly and began preparing for battle.

But before he could move—

The Overlord greeted them as if he already knew who they were.

“Greetings, members of the Infiltration Unit.”

“...?”

How did he know?

No one answered the bait. But they were clearly shaken.

They didn’t show it on their faces—but everyone knew.

Their identities had already been exposed.

They couldn’t stay passive.

Haldrin was the first to act—vanishing like a shadow.

The others followed.

The next moment, they reappeared—beneath Seong’s shadow.

Their movements were more assassin than knight.

But Seong had already cloaked his body in darkness. Every sharpened blade was parried and countered with a crushing wave of dark energy.

KWAANG—!!!

The Infiltration Unit was struck by overwhelming force. They managed to deflect most of it, minimizing the damage.

Still, Haldrin felt a sting in his wrist and stared at Seong.

'Definitely no pushover.'

The others were nothing special—but if they all joined forces, even he might struggle.

'Do I have to use it?'

He was reaching for his hidden trump card when—

Something swung at him ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) from behind.

Haldrin dodged in a panic—but couldn’t stop the assailant from stealing the pouch at his side.

He spun around and gasped at who he saw.

“Kruger?”

“Do I still look like Kruger to you?”

As the figure transformed into the beautiful woman who had been standing behind Seong, Haldrin broke into a cold sweat.

“When... when did you...?”

“Been planted since before you moved rooms,” Seong answered casually.

Then added,

“Shall we continue?”

Seong raised his power—blood droplets rose into the air, cloaked in darkness.

As the blood-colored drops hovered around him, Haldrin’s gaze deepened. He clenched his teeth.

“...Fight with everything you’ve got.”

“Yes, sir.”

And so, Seong’s crimson droplets clashed with the four remaining infiltrators.