The Game of the Greatest Black Mage
Chapter 173

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 173

After his eyes met with the black puma, Felix...

Seonghyun could tell he was one of the Black Knights.

Given how flashy the fight was, it was no surprise they had found his location.

They might have even been chasing the spy before he got involved.

After all, it seemed that Sibren had already captured quite a few Merchant Managers.

Because of this, Seonghyun didn't pay Felix much mind.

He had planned to hand the spy over to the Black Knights anyway.

Still...

'The effect of the Book of Ruin is really good.'

It was a skill he hadn't used before, simply because he hadn't had the chance.

But it was incredible.

They said it was a lost grand magic, and its effect was certainly significant.

And Helena's skill was just as amazing.

'To think there was a skill that could revive the dead.'

Was it thanks to the Orb of Life used when creating Helena's body?

Apparently, it allowed her to resurrect the dead once per long cooldown.

What's more, she could control the level of recovery during the resurrection.

It was sure to be an incredibly useful skill going forward.

After Seonghyun briefly reviewed the battle in his mind...

A dizzying stream of messages unfolded before his eyes.

[You have captured the Hidden Raid Boss, 『Sibren, the Spy from Basilica』.]

[You have cleared the Hidden Unique Quest, 『Sibren, the Spy from Basilica』.]

[A portion of the clear rewards will now be given.]

[You have acquired a massive amount of experience!]

[Level Up!] x2

[You have reached Level 141.]

[Having reached Level 140, a new skill for 『Overlord』 has been unlocked.]

[You have acquired the Legendary-grade skill, 『Scent of Death』.]

[Having reached a level ending in 0, the Almighty-grade item, 『Tome of the Overlord』, has been activated.]

[The quest continues to the next part.]

[Contribution belongs to only one person.]

[Judged as a Solo Raid.]

[Captured solo.]

[Rewards will be enhanced.]

[First Clear.]

[Rewards will be enhanced.]

[As this was a Solo Raid, all rewards will be given to the user 『Seonghyun』.]

[The Hidden Chain Quest and its rewards have been merged.]

[Rewards can be obtained upon completing the Hidden Chain Quest.]

[The Hidden Chain Quest, 『The Shield of Ninyaru, the Black Knights』 has been generated.]

[This is a Hidden Raid whose information cannot be disclosed.]

[You cannot share this information.]

'That was long.'

To summarize briefly, it was new skills and a new quest.

And the reward would be given at the end of the chain quest, was it?

Reading the rather interesting lines of text, he slowly nodded his head.

Then, he read the title of the next quest.

'The Shield of Ninyaru, the Black Knights.'

Realizing it was just as he had expected, he dragged the captured Sibren and stood before Felix.

As Seonghyun came to a stop in front of him, Felix was finally able to snap out of his stupor.

"Hah, I heard you were an outsider, but your skills are quite remarkable..."

"Thank you."

In response to the praise, Seonghyun didn't act humble or deny it; he simply expressed his thanks.

Acting humble here could have felt like he was refuting Felix's words, and more importantly, it would have meant denying the skills of his familiars.

Seonghyun didn't want that.

In any case, as Seonghyun said this, Felix could only nod in agreement.

"You have great spirit. To be honest, I had judged that you would be unable to win..."

He didn't say the words "it was beyond my imagination," but his expression and atmosphere conveyed it clearly enough.

And...

"Thank you for capturing the fiend who exploited our knight order's blind spot. On behalf of the citizens and us, the Black Knights, I express my gratitude."

"It was nothing. I was also acting on a request from Beki-nim."

"Hmm, you mean that young cat merchant? She must be rewarded as well."

For a moment, he realized, 'So Beki was a girl,' and then let it go.

He had almost reacted in surprise.

Anyway, Seonghyun continued.

"I will hand the prisoner over to you. It seems more appropriate for you to interrogate him than for us to do it."

"I would be very grateful if you did. However, I don't feel right about taking the credit for your achievement. Would you perhaps be willing to come to the Black Knights' quarters for a moment? I say this because my mind won't be at ease until I give you a proper reward."

"Of course."

It would be strange to refuse a reward when one is offered, wouldn't it?

More importantly...

'The quest told me to follow them.'

It said to follow the Black Knights to their quarters.

For Seonghyun, this was a perfect situation.

Anyone could see that the Black Knights held a higher position than the Merchant Managers.

So if he stuck with them?

'Wouldn't this be a chance to meet the lord of the city?'

With such expectations, Seonghyun handed Sibren over to Felix.

Sibren, still trapped in a state of panic, was taken by Felix without resistance.

He was already restrained, but it felt as if he would have gone along quietly regardless.

Seeing this, Felix nodded his head in understanding.

'Even if I were in this spy's shoes, I'd probably be reacting the same way.'

This outsider had made even him, not his enemy, but an enemy of his enemy—tremble.

For some reason, Felix couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't even their full strength.

He swallowed hard.

'Better not to overthink it.'

For now, it was just...

"I will guide you to our knight order's quarters."

...wiser to simply prepare to welcome his guest.

1.

After joining up with the rest of the Black Knights, who had arrived late, Seonghyun, his familiars, and the entire knight order returned to their headquarters.

Beki, who had been waiting there, jumped to her feet and shouted when she saw them.

"Nyaaaang!!! C-Customer Seonghyun-ong!!! Are you alright-nyan!?!"

Seeing Beki expressing all the worry she possibly could with her anxious voice, expression, and gestures, Seonghyun almost reached out to pat her on the head without thinking, but he barely managed to stop himself.

The fact that Seonghyun could resist was, in itself, truly remarkable.

The fact that Seonghyun could see this and restrain himself was truly remarkable.

In any case, Seonghyun simply looked at Beki and nodded in response.

"Of course."

"Hiek!? Y-You caught the bad guy too-ong!? Th-That's amazing-nyan!!! As expected of the Black Knights-ong!"

As Beki exclaimed in amazed praise, some of the Black Knights looked embarrassed and scratched their heads, while others tried to look away.

But the majority, including Felix, shook their heads at her words.

Felix looked at Beki and said,

"We did nothing. It was all the work of Sir Seonghyun here. I was worried since he is an outsider, but had I known beforehand that he held the title of Knight, I would have worried a little less."

"Nyaaaaaang!??! C-Customer Seonghyun-nim, y-you were a Knight-ong!?"

Beki jumped in shock, hearing this for the first time.

Seonghyun let out a small chuckle and nodded. No matter how nonchalant he tried to be, he couldn't help but react when he saw something so cute.

In any case, as Seonghyun nodded...

The Black Knights standing behind him couldn't help but express their honest admiration.

"Who would have believed that vibration we felt from so far away was caused by an outsider?"

"I still can't believe it."

"But the result is right here, so we have no choice but to believe it."

"An outsider with a knight's title... haha, I can't even believe that part."

"What an incredible outsider."

"Well, we should have known he was incredible just from the fact that he entered our city."

The knights praised him in one voice.

It should have been a little embarrassing, but Seonghyun managed to keep his composure.

But then...

"Wooooow!!! S-So cool-nyan!"

...seeing Beki look up at him with sparkling eyes almost broke him.

Noticing this, Helena poked Seonghyun in the side and whispered to him.

"Ahaha, our Seonghyun is quite popular, isn't he?"

"...Be quiet."

Seonghyun shot the teasing Helena a glare before turning back to Felix and asking.

"Ahem, so, should I just wait here then?"

"Ah, yes. Please wait for a moment. We'll be a bit busy after we transfer the prisoner and begin the interrogation."

"Understood."

The quest hadn't cleared yet, so he figured he should just wait here, right?

As he was thinking that...

Felix spoke to Seonghyun, as if showing him special consideration.

"If you happen to get bored, feel free to look around the grounds. It's fine to check everything, from the buildings to the training grounds."

"Ah, thank you."

It was certainly better than just standing around.

With that thought, Seonghyun left the main building.

Was it because they were the knight order responsible for the city's safety?

The grounds were remarkably spacious, so there was quite a lot to see.

First off, the training grounds were impressive.

'Hmm.'

He watched the members of the Black Knights training hard.

Or more accurately, should he call them prospective members?

He nodded his head as he observed the soldiers training.

Was it because they were feline beastkin? Their bodies were incredibly flexible and agile.

More than anything, their style of swordsmanship and the way they handled their weapons were distinctly different from humans.

'I wonder if I can use those movements as a reference?'

For a moment, Seonghyun tried to move by utilizing the memories he had obtained from the ghost of the cat guard, but it wasn't easy.

'It's difficult because our structures are different.'

It seemed it would be hard to learn swordsmanship from the ghosts here.

Their muscle composition and things like that were different.

'A shame, but it can't be helped.'

Just as Seonghyun confirmed this and was about to turn away, Helena seemed to read his thoughts and asked.

"Why? Think you can't do it?"

"Yeah, our body structures are just too different."

"Hmph~ A related skill will probably show up soon, you know?"

"A related skill?"

Then again, Helena was a former Overlord.

She would know about most skills, so her words were understandable.

As Seonghyun asked with a curious expression, Helena spoke with a playful smile.

"Ahaha! Probably during your next class advancement?"

"Oho, I'll have to look forward to that, then."

"You should."

A preview of his next skill.

With this in mind, he thought it would be a good idea to read the memories of the knight ghosts here as well.

Just as Seonghyun was about to look for any nearby ghosts...

...he felt a presence behind him and turned his head.

At the exact same moment, Helena also sensed the strangeness and turned her head to stare at the spot.

But there was no one there.

They both tilted their heads in confusion.

"I was sure..."

"...I felt a presence."

They were both puzzled, swallowing the word 'strange'.

They had definitely felt something, but there was nothing there.

Had someone deceived both their senses and vanished?

But it was truly just for a fleeting moment.

Seonghyun and Helena both scratched their cheeks and looked at each other.

"You didn't see anything, right?"

"Nope. If you didn't see anything either, then there was probably nothing there."

Considering Seonghyun's kinetic vision and movements, that had to be right.

Helena thought for a moment, then asked Seonghyun.

"So, what kind of skill did you get this time?"

"Ah, right."

He told her the name of the new skill.

Scent of Death.

The moment she heard the name, Helena's face filled with a mischievous expression, and as it happened, Seonghyun wore a similar one.

2.

The king's departure was quieter than any before.

Normally, it would have been a grand affair, but the king did not wish for it.

He simply put on his clothes.

And then, he vanished on the spot.

It wasn't teleportation or anything of the sort. But among his retainers, not a single one was surprised.

With the king's formidable speed, such a thing was to be expected.

The place where the vanished king reappeared was none other than the grounds of the Black Knights.

The presence he had felt was so strong here.

'Overlord.'

Dredging up memories from hundreds of years ago, the king gave a sly smile.

He had been very young back then, but things were different now.

Unlike when he was a prince, he was now a proper monarch.

Besides, the current Overlord and the previous Overlord were different, were they not?

And so, he had intended to show the new Overlord his proper place.

Just as he moved to make his grand appearance...

Someone came into his view.

Luscious, captivating, voluminous red hair.

Eyes and an expression overflowing with playfulness.

Seeing this figure, the king felt the fur all over his body stand on end.

'He-Helena-nim!?'

In that instant, the king instinctively hid his body, like a weak animal hiding before it's spotted by a predator.

The moment he hid...

Two people turned their heads toward the very spot he had been about to reveal himself.

'How in the world is Helena alive?'

Judging by her power, she had weakened, yes. But even so, Helena was still Helena.

Therefore...

'R-Run away.'

He was the solemn, absolute ruler of Ninyaru who stood above all others, but before Helena, even he was helpless.

And just as he was about to return to the royal castle...

...he suddenly felt a presence right behind him. He slowly turned his head.

There stood Helena, smiling brightly.

And seeing the skeleton floating in the air behind her, a chill ran down the king's spine.

"It's Nyao!"

‘I've been caught!’

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]