The Game of the Greatest Black Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 70

3.

Flingky, who had given Seonghyun his identification token and was now walking along the Trin River, his long, lustrous hair swaying with each step, stretched contentedly and muttered with a satisfied smile.

"Hyaa. That was really fun."

It had been a long time since he'd had so much fun.

No, it was something he could count on one hand in his entire life.

To witness such power with that amount of mana already...

He was truly remarkable.

The memory of that moment was still so thrilling.

Flingky, his face flushed as if he had just witnessed an explosion, spoke.

"The Overlord, huh? He's truly incredible. No wonder our ancestors and the past heroes couldn’t defeat them even when they gave it their all.”

Such overwhelming power—it was impossible not to be in awe.

Even he, as a descendant of the Sage, would find it very difficult to replicate such power.

Even with a similar level of power as Seonghyun, he lacked confidence.

Moreover, even if his level increased, he wasn't sure.

He couldn't guarantee it.

That was how astonishing that power was, without a doubt.

As Flingky walked along,

People quickly surrounded him.

Elders, who, like Flingky, had a gaunt appearance and were wearing luxurious clothing.

"Haaah, I was just enjoying myself, and then the elders came and ruined everything."

"F-Flingky! Ah, even so, you, you can't go off on your own like that."

"A-At the very least, you could have informed us..."

"Y-Yes, that's right."

Since the word "elder" came from Flingky's mouth, it was clear that these old men were not ordinary people either.

The elders of the Alchemy Magic Tower.

That was who these old men were.

However, as if such a thing was of no consequence, Flingky sighed and said,

“Well, nothing to be done about it now.”

“We’re just grateful you understand.”

“We appreciate your patience.”

“So then, would you like to return to your retreat and continue your rest?”

At the elders' words, Flingky shook his head as if he was done with it.

He looked as if his mood had been completely spoiled.

However, the words that followed were different from what the elders expected.

“I think I’ll go visit Lord Luke. It’s been a while.”

The Elders were visibly shaken, though none dared to protest.

They simply bowed their heads in obedience.

“As you command.”

“We shall depart for Lord Luke at once.”

“We will begin preparations immediately.”

“We will also send word ahead to Lord Luke.”

As all the elders agreed,

Flingky smiled with satisfaction and then

Mentioned something he had forgotten.

"Right, I gave my insignia to the person who helped me earlier, so if they ever come to the Magic Tower, you have to call me right away! Seriously, you have to!"

"......? Ah, yes, I understand."

"We'll, we'll do that."

Had Flingky ever been this insistent before?

When they thought about it, no, he hadn't.

To give his insignia as thanks for receiving help...

What in the world happened here?

Though curious, the elders didn't dare to ask.

As if they were merely loyal servants following their master's orders.

'I'll be sure to inform Lord Luke.'

Flingky, with a cheerful expression, stepped onto the magic circle the elders had prepared and teleported away, vanishing from the plains in the blink of an eye.

As if there had never been anything there in the first place.

4.

‘This is bad. This is really bad. This is a disaster.’

Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong’s expression was utterly grim as he made his way to report to Team Leader Jung Jihye regarding Seonghyun’s situation.

His darkened face resembled that of a cow being led to a slaughterhouse.

He knew Team Leader Jung Jihye's personality well enough to know that he wouldn't be severely reprimanded, but

That didn’t make the act of reporting any less nerve-wracking.

How should he handle this situation?

No, was it even possible to handle it in the first place?

'Why did Flingky suddenly appear there!?'

The disciple of the Alchemy Magic Tower’s Head.

A descendant of the Sage.

He was one of the highest-ranking named NPCs in Eternal World.

And yet, of all people, that character had run into Seonghyun.

This could only mean one thing—something extraordinary was about to happen.

He had to stop it somehow.

That is, if it was even possible to stop.

If he had known beforehand, he could have further restricted Flingky's movements.

But as a member of the User Management Team, tracking a Named NPC’s location was virtually impossible.

It could be considered an act of God, but

Would the company understand?

If everything could be attributed to an act of God, who would write the incident reports?

His ancestors?

Yeah, right.

And the worst part? This wouldn’t end with just Flingky.

'At the very least, I have to stop Flingky from going to Luke.'

To do that, he had to report this.

NPCs weren’t his responsibility, after all.

First, he’d report to Team Leader Jung Jihye.

Then… he’d have to face a person he had no desire to see.

But what choice did he have?

Work was work.

As Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong approached Team Leader Jung Jihye's desk,

He felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine.

And then—

A voice rang out.

“Hahahaha! An Overlord has appeared?! Now that’s a disaster!”

A voice and laughter that practically screamed, “Not my problem.”

The moment he heard it, Wonsong knew exactly who it belonged to.

A voice that sent chills down his spine and made the back of his neck tense up.

No doubt about it.

It wasn’t too late—he could still delay his report.

Even if he got scolded for it, reporting later might be safer.

That thought crossed his mind more times than he could count.

But the situation was too serious for that.

As Wonsong shut his eyes tightly and trembled in place, a burly man standing near Jung Jihye’s desk turned toward him with a smug grin.

"Hey~ Wonsong~?"

A voice so shameless and slick, it could only belong to one person.

Wonsong opened his eyes, and sure enough—there he was.

A man who looked to be in his late 30s but still had the youthful appearance of someone in their early 30s.

Tanned skin, radiating health and confidence.

The moment Wonsong saw him, his mind went blank.

“O-oh… It’s been a while, Deputy Manager Lee Jaekyung.”

“Hahaha! Yeah, yeah, Wonsong~ It’s been too long~”

“Ha… ha…”

As Wonsong exchanged greetings with the man known as Deputy Manager Lee Jaekyung, Jung Jihye spoke up, seemingly pleased by the timing.

“Perfect timing. You came to report something, right? About Player Seonghyun.”

“Ah… Yes.”

“Then take a seat and listen to this first.”

Wonsong’s face was still ashen, but no one in the room seemed to care.

Jung Jihye then turned to Lee Jaekyung, ready to revisit their earlier conversation.

Sharing information.

“Deputy Manager Lee, could you repeat what you told me earlier?”

“Ah, of course. It looks like an NPC managed by our team has received some intel related to the Overlord.”

“…Excuse me?”

Overlord-related intel?

No way.

A sudden, ominous thought shot through Wonsong’s mind.

Flingky was already involved, and now an NPC from Lee Jaekyung’s side had obtained Overlord-related information?

It couldn’t be.

He desperately wanted to believe otherwise, but only one possibility came to mind.

“Yeah, just like you probably guessed, 『Hero Luke』 has officially obtained Overlord-related information.”

“…What?”

“And since Team Leader Jung submitted a report this morning on the Overlord, I figured I’d stop by and get more details on this Overlord user.”

“…Ah. A-ah…”

This had just escalated beyond control.

Even stopping Flingky was meaningless now.

Luke—the Hero—already knew.

About Seonghyun’s existence.

This had become a mess.

A mess more tangled than a pair of earphones stuffed into a pocket.

Lee Jaekyung, completely unfazed by Wonsong’s deteriorating expression, continued,

“That was a well-written report. As expected of someone who’s earned both a manager and team leader title.”

“Thanks. But… what exactly did Hero Luke learn?”

“S-so, that’s what I mean.”

“Hmm. Right now, Hero Luke has only received a vague revelation about the Overlord’s existence. He doesn’t seem entirely convinced yet. That’s a relief, but I’m not sure if we should intervene.”

As Deputy Manager Lee Jaekyung spoke with a cautious expression, Wonsong’s face was steadily turning an ashen gray.

His expression had become downright bizarre.@@novelbin@@

Noticing his reaction, both Lee Jaekyung and Team Leader Jung Jihye shot him questioning looks.

Feeling the weight of their stares, Wonsong hesitated before speaking in a troubled voice.

“T-the thing is… Player Seonghyun just met Flingky, the Descendant of the Sage.”

“…What?? We didn’t receive any such report on our end—”

Bzzzz—! Bzzzz—!

A rhythmic vibration cut through the conversation.

The moment he heard it, Lee Jaekyung’s expression twisted into one of pure horror, as if he were trapped in a scene from a horror movie.

Hurriedly, he pulled out his phone and checked the caller.

It was one of his subordinates.

And among the NPCs under that subordinate’s management? Flingky.

Lee Jaekyung swallowed hard and picked up the call.

—Deputy Manager! We’ve got a major problem! Flingky just made contact with a user suspected of being the Overlord and is now planning to head straight for Luke!!!

“…Fuck.”

An unfiltered curse slipped from Lee Jaekyung’s mouth as his forehead crumpled into deep wrinkles.

His temples throbbed, and he rubbed them with his index finger as he let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

Not to be outdone, Jung Jihye let out an equally heavy sigh.

“Hoo… We’re screwed, aren’t we?”

“Haaah…”

“……”

Watching both of his bosses react like this, Wonsong knew better than to make a sound.

He held his breath, doing his best to blend into the background.

Given the situation, that was the only logical move.

Hero Luke.

And the Overlord.

It had happened in the past.

That grudge… it wasn’t something that could be explained away so easily.

Which meant that, no matter what, they had to stop this from escalating.

“I need to get back to my desk and see if we can manipulate Luke and Flingky’s movements.”

“…We can’t do anything about Player Seonghyun on our end, but is there any way to stop them?”

At Jung Jihye’s question, Wonsong hesitated.

Should he say it?

Or not?

But this was already the worst-case scenario.

“T-there is a way.”

“Oh? You’re saying there’s actually a method to stop both the current Hero and the Descendant of the Sage at the same time?”

Lee Jaekyung looked at Wonsong with an amused expression, as if daring him to prove it.

Wonsong swallowed hard and nodded.

He had already experienced it once.

And knowing how to use that experience—that was what separated the elite from the rest.

And Wonsong was one of the elite.

“What if we use Over Palace?”

“…You’re suggesting we drop a nuke to stop a bomb?”

It was an apt comparison.

Even if the Hero and the Sage’s Descendant combined their forces, they were nothing compared to Over Palace.

But if Over Palace were to make a move…

It could lead to consequences beyond imagination.

Not that they would outright kill the Hero and the Sage’s Descendant.

But it could create a situation where Seonghyun gains an overwhelming advantage.

A scenario that could severely disrupt the balance.

That’s why Over Palace had to be handled with extreme caution.

And yet, using Over Palace here?

If controlled properly, it could be an excellent solution.

But if things went even slightly off track?

Seonghyun, who was already strong, could become absurdly powerful.

Just thinking about how he had managed to obtain Add More by exploiting a minor loophole in Over Palace’s restrictions was proof enough of the risk.

And now, they wanted to try that again?

“That’s the dumbest fucking idea I’ve ever heard.”

It wasn’t strange at all for Lee Jaekyung to spit out a string of curses.

But right after swearing, Lee Jaekyung suddenly broke into a bright grin and extended a hand toward Wonsong.

Then, with a thumbs-up, he declared—

“Let’s do it immediately!!!”

It was official—Over Palace was being put into motion.

5.

From the upper stream of the Trin River to Serodin Town, the distance was quite far.

However, for Seonghyun, riding on Anemor, it wasn't that far.

He traversed the distance in an instant and quickly arrived at the town.

He had fulfilled the quest completion conditions, so

Now, he searched for the Greenfield Inn.

They had agreed to wait there if he gathered all the webbed feet.

Finding the inn wasn't difficult.

As soon as he entered, the innkeeper, a man with a friendly face, greeted him.

"Welcome!"

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]