The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

Chapter 33

3.

Adum Cave.

A dungeon designed for five-person parties, teeming with goblins and hobgoblins.
Its difficulty level was considered high, even in Sekan Village.

The hobgoblins and goblins charged with unrelenting ferocity, their numbers far from trivial.
Perhaps because so many goblins lived here, the dungeon was littered with traps and poison.

This wasn’t a dungeon designated for five-person parties for no reason.
And this was precisely why Manhu and his group had chosen it as their hunting ground.

They needed a place difficult enough to ensure quick deaths.
What use was good equipment if the people wielding it were incompetent?

When the traps or goblin hordes isolated the vanguard, it was game over.
The rest would die off without resistance.

This time should’ve been no different.

“Hmm, this doesn’t feel like a five-person dungeon. It’s too easy.”

“??????”
“?!?!?!?”
“!!”
“Wow! Seonghyeon-hyung! That was amazing, seriously!”

I sheathed my sword after finishing the cleanup.
It truly hadn’t been much of a challenge.

The hobgoblins and goblins came at me relentlessly.
The hobgoblin, being a higher-tier monster, should’ve been troublesome.

It was even giving out systematic commands to the goblins.

Underestimating them as ordinary goblins would have been a mistake.

But against my sword, they fell no differently than any other goblins I had faced before.

“Hmm, is it really that impressive?”

“Y-Yes! It’s incredible!”
“A-Amazing, honestly…”
“Th-That’s right…”
“Indeed.”

Grit.
Someone ground their teeth audibly, but I ignored it.

It was surprisingly easy.

“Is it because of the sword?”

The sword of Apprentice Hero Hindel.
Its performance was undeniably top-notch.

I felt a bit bad for the Steel Sword I had relied on in the early stages, but this sword was leagues ahead.

Even so, this level of ease was…

“Too easy.”

Judging by the reactions of Manhu’s group, they were just as surprised as I was.

But inside, I chuckled as I thought to myself:

“Do they really think this is all there is?”

Surely they weren’t naive enough to think a dungeon like this only had a few goblins and traps.

If Manhu or any of his previous victims had overheard my thoughts, they’d have burst with indignation.

Fortunately, no one could hear them.

After I swept through the horde of goblins, Manhu quickly checked the party window, his eyes trembling.

『Jinu – Lv.23 – (Sword and Shield Warrior)』
『Seonghyeon – Lv.25 – (????)』
『Amir – Lv.26 – (Archer)』
『Nuel – Lv.27 – (Elemental Mage)』
『Manhu – Lv.29 – (Swordsman)』

Seonghyeon’s level was clearly lower than theirs.

So how was he capable of such prowess?
It didn’t seem like he was using any obvious skills.

The faint teal aura visible only to Seonghyeon—or to those with keen senses—was invisible to the others.
They couldn’t possibly understand.

Manhu bit his lip nervously and muttered to himself:

“L-Lucky break.”

In all his time entering Adum Cave, it was rare for only one goblin horde to appear at the start.
Yet that’s exactly what happened when Seonghyeon took the lead.

But it didn’t matter.
There was no way the number of enemies ahead would stop at a single horde.

Getting cocky over one small fight? How foolish.

“Let him bask in his arrogance for now.”

The true terror of Adum Cave was about to begin!

Or so Manhu thought.

When three goblin hordes appeared at once, Seonghyeon was again the first to step forward.
And just like before, they were swept away like fallen leaves in a storm.

Jinu, the sword-and-shield warrior, didn’t even bother tanking or drawing aggro.
Seonghyeon dashed through the mobs, his sword radiating blue energy as he slashed through them.

He even wielded a dagger in his off-hand, cutting through enemies with surgical precision.
In less than five minutes, the goblin hordes were completely wiped out.

“Wow!! That was incredible, Seonghyeon-hyung!”

“…Hmm, not much. Still, it might get dangerous ahead, so let’s stay cautious.”

“……”
“……”
“…Ha.”

Manhu stared at Seonghyeon, utterly dumbfounded.

How could a person be like this?

When three goblin hordes attacked in Adum Cave, wasn’t it customary to at least suffer a scratch?
Yet Seonghyeon didn’t even look fatigued, let alone injured.

And while Manhu’s group wasn’t explicitly trying to kill him yet,
why was Jinu just standing there, watching?

Manhu couldn’t make sense of any of it.

Amir and Nuel exchanged anxious messages.

[Amir: What do we do now? This doesn’t even make sense.]

[Nuel: This is seriously bad. Should we just let it go?]

Their messages weren’t unreasonable.

There were still traps and other measures remaining.

[Manhu: There are plenty of traps left. He can’t just cut his way through those. Let’s wait and see.]

Amir and Nuel reluctantly agreed.

After all, raw combat power and traps were two entirely different matters.

Besides, the party lacked a thief capable of disarming traps.

Though Nuel could dismantle traps, there was no way she would do so.

Surely Seonghyeon would fall victim to a trap sooner or later.

But as they watched him move forward, disarming traps as he went, hope turned to despair.

“Ah, another trap here. I’ll disarm it before we proceed.”

“Whoa! How can you be this good at disarming traps too, Seonghyeon?!”

“…Seriously…”

Grit.

What kind of combatant was skilled in disarming traps too?

It was as if he had the eyes of a seasoned hunter, spotting traps from afar and neutralizing them with ease.

Even so, Seonghyeon remained cautious.

“These traps are pretty obvious. Still, there could be more dangerous ones ahead. Be careful, Jinu.”

“Yes, sir! I’ll be careful!”

“……”

Was he mocking them?

The trap Seonghyeon just disarmed was the most difficult one in Adum Cave.

Manhu’s group, realizing this, grew increasingly grim.

“…There’s no way…”

Normally, no one survived this far.

But Seonghyeon had breezed through everything as if it were a leisurely stroll.

How could someone possess such unbelievable physical prowess and extraordinary detection skills?

Was he some kind of overpowered character?

Manhu ground his teeth as he glared at Seonghyeon.

“Could he… be one of them?”

A hunter targeting players for their items, like themselves?
No, that couldn’t be it.

If he were, he would’ve made his move already.

Then, who—what—was he?

As Manhu agonized over these questions, Seonghyeon pondered the group’s intentions.

“When do they plan to strike?”

The ghost’s warning echoed in his mind.
They had to be waiting for the right moment to ambush him.

Surely they wouldn’t rely on something as petty as these traps or monsters.

And yet, that’s exactly what they were relying on.

But Seonghyeon dismissed the possibility.

“No way. They must be waiting for the boss fight to strike.”

That would certainly be a critical moment to launch an attack.
I’d have to prepare for it.

Unaware of Manhu’s internal turmoil, I confidently made my assumptions.

Meanwhile, a frantic discussion was underway among Manhu’s group.

[Amir: What now? Seriously, what do we do?]

[Manhu: Hmm.]

[Nuel: If even the hardest traps didn’t work, isn’t it time to give up?]

[Amir: You might be right.]

[Nuel: The only option left is to attack him directly, but…]

[Amir: That’s… risky.]

Amir was visibly reluctant at the idea of a direct confrontation.

The truth was, Amir had a point.

Launching a preemptive attack on another player came with heavy penalties.

It wasn’t something one could commit to lightly unless they were fully prepared to face the consequences.

Manhu, too, normally wouldn’t take such a risk.

However—

“……”

Manhu’s gaze shifted to Seonghyeon, who was calmly looting items after butchering the goblins.

More precisely, to the sword Seonghyeon carried, the one radiating a faint blue aura: Apprentice Hero Hindel’s Sword.

Could he just let that slip away?

At that moment, Manhu’s eyes gleamed with raw greed, a fiery desire sparking within him.
No, he couldn’t let it go.

The risk of attacking was better than the regret of losing that weapon.

[Manhu: We’ll strike in the boss room.]

Ironically, events unfolded just as Seonghyeon had predicted.

4.

Adum Cave, one of Sekan Village’s infamous dungeons, was home to a boss whose name was, unsurprisingly, Adum.

A hobgoblin warrior by species, Adum was vastly different from the child-sized goblins that roamed the dungeon.

Hobgoblins, roughly the size of an adult human, were known for their physical prowess and cunning intellect, making them formidable opponents.

To make matters worse, Adum wasn’t alone in the boss room.
Four additional hobgoblins flanked him, explaining why the dungeon was designated for five-player parties.

“Hmm.”

“Wow, four hobgoblins and Hobgoblin Warrior Adum?!”

Jinu let out an impressed, albeit tense, exclamation as the party took in the sight of the boss room.

A spacious cavern, with Adum seated on a makeshift throne as though proclaiming himself the king of this dungeon.

[Lv.35 Hobgoblin Warrior ‘Adum’]

Adum’s name was highlighted in a menacing red font, clearly marking him as a boss monster.
When Adum stood, the other hobgoblins followed suit.

[Lv.32 Hobgoblin]
[Lv.31 Hobgoblin]
[Lv.30 Hobgoblin]
[Lv.30 Hobgoblin]

As the hobgoblins took their positions, Seonghyeon glanced at Manhu and his group.

It seemed they were still waiting for their moment to strike.
If that was the case, then it was only proper for him to make the first move.

His eyes flashed with determination as he gripped the hilt of Apprentice Hero Hindel’s Sword on his left hip and charged forward.

With a low stance, almost scraping the ground, Seonghyeon dashed toward the hobgoblins like an arrow.

Behind him, Jinu belatedly followed, wielding his sword and shield.

Seonghyeon had handled everything solo so far, but now that the boss was involved, Jinu seemed intent on assisting.

This time, even Manhu unsheathed his sword and joined the charge.
However, as he ran, he couldn’t help but notice something unsettling.

“He’s… faster than me?”

Seonghyeon’s speed was noticeably superior to his own.

How was that possible?

Manhu’s level and stats were undoubtedly higher, so his speed should have been superior.

Unless… Seonghyeon was pushing his abilities to the absolute limit, something only someone deeply attuned to this world could achieve.

In one fluid motion, Seonghyeon reached a hobgoblin, drew his sword, and slashed at its neck before it could react.

***

[Critical Hit!]

[The effect of ‘One Strike!’ has been activated!]

The sharp blade sang as it sliced through the hobgoblin’s neck, leaving a thin crimson line.

Blood spurted like a fountain, but the hobgoblin’s tough neck muscles allowed it to barely cling to life.

“Grrrk! Krrrk!”

The monster flailed in pain but still turned to face Seonghyeon, its resolve unbroken.

At that moment, Jinu, brandishing his massive shield, charged in with a shout.

“Take this!!”

Boom!

The hobgoblin was sent tumbling backward, rolling across the ground from the impact.

Unfazed, Seonghyeon fully unsheathed his sword, gripping it in his right hand while wielding Tiger’s Fang in his left.
Without missing a beat, he dashed toward another hobgoblin.

This one, having witnessed its comrade’s fate, prepared itself, swinging a club at Seonghyeon.

Clang!

The club collided with Seonghyeon’s sword, both weapons recoiling from the clash.

Seonghyeon pressed forward, closing the distance between them. With his right hand adjusting his sword grip, his left hand lunged forward, repeatedly stabbing with the dagger.

[Critical Hit!]
[The effect of ‘One Strike!’ has been activated!]
[Critical Hit!]
[Critical Hit!]
[Critical Hit!]

Four consecutive critical hits landed, the hobgoblin’s eyes rolling back as its body trembled violently.

Seonghyeon kicked the staggering monster away and swung his sword in a finishing move.

[Critical Hit!]

Slash!

A sharp cutting sound accompanied the notification as the hobgoblin collapsed, blood pooling beneath it.

However, the resilient creature still clung to life.

Expecting this, Seonghyeon raised his sword to deliver the final blow.

At that moment, the remaining hobgoblins charged at him with wild cries.

“Krrrhk! Krrrk!”
“Krruuh! Krruuuhhh!”

Two hobgoblins rushed toward him, an overwhelming sight even for someone like Seonghyeon.

Yet, he remained composed, preparing to swing his sword again.

Suddenly, a chilling sensation ran down his spine.

Seonghyeon instinctively leapt aside, just as a massive sword slammed into the spot he had just vacated.

“Krrruuuaahhhh!!”

Boom!

The ground cracked and fragments scattered as Adum, the boss, let out a roar, his colossal sword splitting the earth.

Seonghyeon turned to counterattack but was interrupted by an intense heat rising behind him.

If he were hit by it, he wouldn’t die instantly but would certainly suffer serious consequences.

[Party member ‘Nuel-Lv.27’ has attacked you.]
[Entering full hostile state.]
[Party member ‘Nuel-Lv.27’ has left the party.]
[This user has a bounty. Attacking them will not increase your infamy.]

Despite the sudden betrayal, Seonghyeon moved as though he had anticipated it all along.

He dodged the attack even before the heat could reach him.

“How… how did he avoid that?!” Nuel stammered in disbelief.

What she had intended as a decisive, perfect strike had completely missed.

Jinu, watching the scene, shouted in shock.

“A-Attacking an ally?! What’s going on?!”

Unlike the stunned Jinu, Seonghyeon smirked.

“So, you’re finally showing your true colors.”

His calm and knowing demeanor unsettled Manhu and his group.

Still, there was no turning back now.

If they fought with all their strength and used the boss monster to their advantage, they could still win.

Manhu, steeling himself, shouted to Amir and Nuel.

“It’s fine! He can’t possibly handle—”

“Handle what?”

Seonghyeon interrupted, an unusual smile playing on his lips.

Behind him, a massive teal portal materialized, unleashing a flood of shadowy, teal-tinged Goblin Undead.

Their numbers totaled twenty.

And leading them was a towering figure wreathed in black shadows and teal energy, radiating a menacing aura.

“Khehehehe! It’s time for slaughter! For our master!!”

The atmosphere grew oppressively heavy as Barfur, the Death Soldier emerged, his savage energy suffocating the room.

[Lv.40 Death Soldier – Barfur]

This undead creature was even stronger than the dungeon’s boss.

Manhu and his group began to tremble uncontrollably, their confidence crumbling into sheer terror.