The Game of the Greatest Black Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 65

A Moment of Misunderstanding

"Ah, ah, um, I was just telling Seonghyun that I was disappointed that we couldn't raid together next time."

Hwawol quickly interjected.

Seonghyun looked surprised at the statement, wondering why.

Longfeng then added.

"S-suddenly hearing a voice from behind like that can be, um, unnerving."

With a quick bit of wit, the situation was diffused.

Seonghyun seemed convinced, nodding in agreement.

It's true, being spoken to from behind unexpectedly can be startling.

Realizing this, he felt a bit guilty.

He didn't mean to scare him.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

Seonghyun immediately apologized.

They felt a pang of conscience.

"Oh, it's alright. I-I'm sorry for raising my voice too."

"No worries. Ah, about the raid, we can always join forces next time if the opportunity arises."

"Ah."

"Oh."

"Really~?"

"Wow."

The group was impressed by Seonghyun's words,

Seeing that a slightly embarrassed Seonghyun nodded in agreement.

He then quickly changed the subject.

"Um, do you have any other schedules planned for later?"

"Ah, no. Our schedule together is finished for today."

"Then I'll take my leave first. I need to go test out the rewards I received today."

He was eager to check the rewards as he also needed to exchange them for skill books with the "Tome of Despair".

As Seonghyun was about to leave, they all bid him farewell with a mix of regret and gratitude.

"Ah! S-see you next time!"

"Oh, y-you worked hard today!"

"Hmm~ will we be able to see him again~? I hope we do~"

"L-let's meet again sometime."

As Seonghyun departed, the remaining Luna team members wore a slightly bewildered expression.

They were gazing at Seonghyun as he exited the raid field, lost in thought.

From now on, individual hunting wouldn't cut it.

"Let's have a meeting to discuss our future plans. I'll report to the guild master first."

"Alright, to become a backup team, we won't be able to keep up with him if we each hunt alone."

"Hmm~ sounds good~"

"Hoo, let's do our best. Damn it."

Each member reaffirmed their determination.

Luna then contacted Rapid to report the situation.

She was worried that she would ignore them again, but fortunately, that didn't happen.

[Luna - I'll report Seonghyun's raid results.]

[Rapid - Already!?]

2.

Rapid Guild's Guild Master's office.

In that place, Rapid, a little anxious, twirled a pen in her hand and was lost in thought.

Despite deciding to ignore it,

Perhaps because the matter at hand was significant, she couldn't focus on her work.

Could Seonghyun really defeat the raid boss alone?

No, she believed he could.

He was definitely capable on his own.

If he cleared the Fortress of the Past, then this was manageable.

No matter how formidable the level 60 opponent, the Guardian of Wind, Anemor, was said to be,

At the end of the day, it was just a raid boss, wasn't it?

On the other hand, he also achieved the first clear of the Fortress of the Past.

Naturally, she expected Seonghyun to succeed.

'...Perhaps with some adjustment, he might succeed within two or three attempts?'

However, she wasn't expecting him to succeed on his first try.

Lost in such thoughts, unable to work,

The message window blinked, and an alert sounded.

Several messages had arrived, but one name stood out among them.

It was Luna.

[Luna - I'll report Seonghyun's raid results.]

[Rapid - Already!? He hasn't even gone in yet, has he???]

Had the results already come out?

Was his first attempt a failure after all?

If he was waiting in line and then entered, it couldn't have been that long, could it?

Since they gathered, it had been about an hour.

So, it wasn't a clear?

However, a message that defied Rapid's expectations appeared.

[Luna - Seonghyun cleared it alone in 9 minutes and 57 seconds. And he also took Anemor's corpse with him. I think he has a skill that can turn raid bosses into undead, maybe not immediately though, I am not sure.]

'W-what did she say?'

Rapid, after receiving the message, couldn't think straight.

Was the message she received correct?

Her mind was filled with doubts.

Should she reply that she understood for now?

No, 9 minutes and 57 seconds?

Didn't she hear that the average time other parties lasted was less than 10 minutes?

Luna's team's record was 15 minutes at most, wasn't it?

And wasn't that only until the end of the first phase?

Complex thoughts chased each other in her mind.

Her spiraling thoughts were interrupted by Luna's additional message.

[Luna - So, our team has decided to dedicate ourselves to supporting Seonghyun as his backup. We've already discussed it, and we think this will mean a much greater focus on hunting than raiding. We're concerned we won't be able to keep pace with his leveling otherwise. With that in mind, we were wondering if there's any possibility of recruiting additional members?]

A request to fill the vacant positions.

It was a common request from each team.

But it was a first for the Luna team.

To barely keep up with Seonghyun's leveling...

Above all, a backup team...

Rapid, after reading the message, was lost in deep thought.

'Yuna's difficulty in growing is because she's solo.'

They had discussed this before.

That leveling was difficult for solo players.

Since this game was designed for hunting in parties to be more efficient, it was indeed challenging.

While other single rankers had small backup teams, Yuna had climbed to 9th place alone without such support.

Even then, she had almost closed the gap with the 8th-ranked player, who had a backup team.

But now, they were creating a backup team for Seonghyun?

'It makes sense.'

No matter how Seonghyun was called a one-man army, as a necromancer, even the apex of necromancers,

There were limits to what he could do alone.

Games were designed that way.

Seonghyun could probably manage on his own until level 200.

The efficiency wouldn't be too bad either.

But after that, it would be difficult.

Yuna was a prime example.

In the case of raids or dungeons, he might be able to maintain his army until they were cleared, but the aftermath was the problem.

If his mana ran out, a necromancer was essentially toothless.

Even if Seonghyun was exceptionally skilled at controlling his physical body, he would only have a higher limit than other necromancers; a necromancer's limits were clear.

Taking that into account, it was inevitably less efficient than moving as a team.

But if he had a backup team to prepare for that?

'It's definitely a good idea.'

Luna's team had made a smart choice.

And wasn't a talented new recruit supposed to join them soon?

And Seonghyun had handpicked this recruit.

[Rapid - We've just recruited a promising rookie, and someone comparable to Luna's team in skill from the Fortress of the Past has joined. We will assign them to your team later. The idea of a backup team is excellent, and we will share it with others in a meeting.]

[Luna - Thank you. Please let us know when the new member arrives.]

After ending the conversation with Luna, Rapid thought about the newly joined rookie, JoseonBestSwordsmanKimChegeon.

Her somewhat eccentric personality seemed to fit well with Luna's team.

Following the Exposure Warrior, Reverse Archer, Failed Thief, and Binding Mage…

[TL/N: Binding Sorcerer→Binding Mage]

'Joseon Samurai, perhaps?'

Although her nationality was German,

Since she called herself a Joseon person,

Joseon Samurai would be an appropriate nickname.

Why Samurai?

'I never imagined her job would be Samurai.'

A German woman with the nickname JoseonBestSwordsman and the job of a Samurai.

It was a bizarre combination,

But she was skilled.

That was all that mattered.

Meanwhile, in order to remove Seonghyun from Luna's team and place him on the raid team roster alone, Rapid contacted Seonghyun.

At the same time, she informed him of some simple details.

She also mentioned that although the contract hadn't been fully drawn up yet, the general terms would be improved.

Seonghyun replied enthusiastically.

[Seonghyun - Oh! Thank you, Noona. I happened to have a hidden raid I was going to, and I'll send you the Anemor video along with it tomorrow.]

"???"

‘What was he talking about again?’

A hidden raid.

He had just finished a raid and found a new hidden raid?

Had he found it beforehand?

These words were beyond her comprehension.

Rapid felt a moment of dizziness and closed her eyes tightly.

It seemed her workload was exploding.

'Looks like I'll be pulling another all-nighter.'

Thanks to Seonghyun, the guild was growing significantly.

But she felt a little sad.

Even so, what could she do?

'I have to do it.'

3.

As soon as he parted ways with the Luna team, Seonghyun immediately moved to a secluded spot.

Leaving the raid field alone like that.

Some people might have found it strange, but he used Shadow Transference to conceal himself and move instantly, so it didn't cause a great commotion.

Or perhaps it did, but he wouldn't have known.

Once he arrived at a secluded place,

Seonghyun immediately took out the Tome of Despair.

He intended to immediately exchange the skill book.

'I wonder what kind of skill will come out.'

With a slightly expectant look, Seonghyun held the Tome of Despair and the Skillbook - Summon Storm Spirit simultaneously.

A message appeared before his eyes, indicating that the Tome of Despair could be used.

[This is a valid target for the Tome of Despair.]

[Use it?]

[Yes / No]

*Warning: The target skill book will be completely lost if the Tome of Despair is used.

*Are you sure you want to use it?

The usual warning messages.

Seonghyun, without hesitation, used it immediately.

[Using the Tome of Despair.]

As soon as the Tome of Despair was used, it unfolded with a swish sound.

Even though there was no wind blowing,

The pages turned quickly, and countless pages flashed by.

Swish—!

Then, it stopped on one page.

A single page was torn out as if it had been ripped away and floated into the air.

The torn page burst into flames and scattered into ashes in the air.

The scattered ashes seemed to disappear somewhere.

Then, they gathered in one place and piled up on top of the Summon Storm Spirit skill book that Seonghyun was holding, covering the cover like a snowfall, making it impossible to identify.

Then, the book began to shine for a moment, and the ashes spread out as if the outer cover was burning, and the cover began to change completely.

Whoosh—!

Crack, Snap!

With the sound of burning as if it were kindling.

The ashes, which had been piled up, all blew away and disappeared, even though no wind was blowing.

And the book that remained there had changed into a new skill book, not the Summon Storm Spirit skill book that Seonghyun had just held.

The Tome of Despair closed.

Then message prompts appeared.

[Using the Tome of Despair, the Unique-rank skill book, 『Skillbook - Summon Storm Spirit』 is being transformed into a Black Mage-type skill book.]

[The Unique-rank skill book, 『Skill Book - Summon Storm Spirit』 has been converted into 『Skill Book - Skill Steal』]

'Skill Steal?'

At the extraordinary skill name, Seonghyun unknowingly used the skill book.

He had changed it to use it anyway,

And there was no need to hesitate at all.

Let's quickly skip the useless message asking if he was sure and use it.

He was able to acquire the skill.

[Using the Unique-rank skill book, 『Skill Book - Skill Steal』]

[Acquired the Unique-grade skill, 『Skill Steal!』]

Let's immediately open the skill description.

『Skill Steal』

→《Unique》

→[Lv Max] [Perfected]

[Instant Effect] [Active]

[Cooldown 1 minute]

→Skill exclusive to Black Mage-type classes.

→Cancels the skill the opponent is about to use, and steals that skill to use it directly.

→However, only skills of Skill Steal rank or lower can be stolen.

"Oh!?"

A dispel-type skill that cancels the opponent's magic or skills.

But it didn't end there. It was a skill with "steal" attached, which allowed him to use that skill himself after canceling it.

'This is amazing!'

It's a good skill for PVP, but.

While he was fighting the raid boss, Anemor, this time, he also realised that the monsters' skills were also powerful?

A skill that can cancel such skills and use them directly.

It was a skill with tremendous performance.

With a very satisfied expression, Seonghyun was pleased.

Soon after, Seonghyun headed to a field nearby for a test.

Not the place where the Giant Killer Bees were, but the opposite side.

According to the terrain information provided by the Luna team, it should be here.

How far into the forest had he gone?@@novelbin@@

Bird-type monsters living there began to appear.

Ash Crows, crow-shaped monsters that scattered ashes everywhere.

They were quite tricky monsters, scattering ashes and easily igniting anything that touched the ashes.

When comparing it with the Giant Killer Bees, the Giant Killer Bees were said to fly faster, so they weren't even considered in the Anemor fight.

But now it was different.

He thought about using Skill Steal first but shook his head.

'Stealing the skill of scattering ashes is a bit...not ideal.'

To see the effect more clearly, he needed to test it against their boss.

Then, in this place?

There happened to be a skill he could try out, wasn't there?

He had gained quite a few new skills and items.

"Cawwww!"

"Cawwww——!"

"Cawwww! Caw!"

The Ash Crows rushed in madly.

They swooped and scattered ashes.

The ashes, swirling like a storm, comparable to a combined attack, engulfed Seonghyun.

No, they “tried” to engulf him.

However, a translucent wind barrier appeared, defending him from all sides.

Whoosh——!

The barrier was ignited by the ashes, but Seonghyun was unharmed.

'Oh?'

What he had just used was the Wind Shield.

It was quite useful.

Following that, Seonghyun summoned the most readily available skill, Bone Arrow, and fired it at one of the crows.

The moment it hit, a powerful gust of wind swept through, forcefully pushing back the Ash Crows.

However, that was all.

[The effect of 『One Strike!』 is activated!]

A minimal damage output without even a critical hit.

The Ash Crows, pushed back a considerable distance, looked at each other with a bewildered expression.

Seonghyun had a similar look on his face.

"Hmm."

The knockback effect was considerable, but there didn't seem to be any damage amplification effect.

It was a little disappointing, but the knockback alone was a good enough effect.

"Then shall I sweep them away?"

There were still four skills left to confirm.

Hoping that the Ash Crows wouldn't be finished off before then, Seonghyun smiled.

The Ash Crows shuddered for a moment.

They realized that something was seriously wrong.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]