The Game of the Greatest Black Mage
Chapter 175

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 175

There were others watching the figure of 'Sibren' as he joined his colleagues without issue and prepared to return to Basilica.

From a distance, through the crevice in Ninyaru's city wall that Sibren had used, two figures watched, staring at Seonghyun in considerable shock.

They were Felix and Nyao.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Ahaha! That's our Seonghyun for you!"

"As expected of the Lord."

"His ingenuity is enough to leave one speechless~"

-Hehehe, a-amazing!

-Khahaha! A task like this is a simple matter for the Lord.

Helena laughed, thoroughly enjoying herself, while the other familiars also showered Seonghyun with praise for his incredible feat.

It was a scene that clearly showed a relationship built on a foundation of infinite trust.

King Nyao watched Seonghyun and his familiars with a hint of envy, then tilted his head in confusion.

'How on earth did he do it?'

It was a method he had thought would be impossible, even for the Helena of the past.

He had agreed to it because Helena had said it would be fine, but he never truly believed it would work.

Witnessing the process firsthand only made it more unbelievable.

Like Nyao, Felix was also in disbelief, covering his mouth as he asked the king.

"A-Are the undead originally supposed to act so much like the living, Your Majesty?"

"Of course not. It must all be due to the skill and authority of that man, Seonghyun."

"Hah."

Felix let out a short sigh of admiration and shook his head.

The method Seonghyun had used was simple.

First, kill Sibren.

Then, combine a spirit undead with Sibren's corpse using Creation of Death.

This created an undead that looked exactly like the freshly dead Sibren.

From there, he had Helena heal it with her heavenly energy, creating a "living undead."

After that, the undead Sibren pledged his blind loyalty to Seonghyun and headed off toward Basilica.

However, there was one step in this process that the king and Felix did not know about.

'I'm glad Sibren's ghost appeared.'

The fact that Seonghyun had used his ability to infuse Sibren's soul into the spirit undead.

Thanks to that, the new creation could be reborn with Sibren's memories and experiences intact.

The reason he had said it might fail was his concern that Sibren, like someone named Carmine, might have committed so many sins that his ghost wouldn't appear.

Apparently, Sibren's sins weren't that great.

'If Carmine's sins are deeper than those of Sibren, who worked mainly as an assassin, then just what in the world did he...'

He briefly had that silly thought, then dismissed it.

There was no need to dwell on it.

Furthermore, by obtaining Sibren's memories, he had also gained stats.

[You have demonstrated an ability beyond your current stats with an ‘Unknown Power’.]

[Strength +3, Agility +3, and Stamina +3 have permanently increased.]

He was quite pleased with the well-rounded increase in his stats.

In any case, the plan was a success.

"It will take at least a day for him to reach Basilica. Let's speak again after that."

"Yes!!!"

"Yes."

After Felix and Seonghyun answered at the same time, Nyao gave a small nod and said,

"Then, let's meet again tomorrow. This appears to be a rather major issue."

As he spoke, Nyao glanced at Helena.

He was undoubtedly looking for her approval to leave.

Seonghyun noticed this as well, and Helena gave a slight nod in return.

Permission granted.

"Later, Seonghyun, if you come to the castle, I shall bestow upon you a generous reward. You have accomplished a great feat."

"Thank you."

"Well, then."

With that, Nyao let out a very faint sigh of relief and vanished from the spot.

He disappeared with a stealthy speed that made no sound.

Watching the empty space, Helena wore a slightly disappointed expression.

Felix, as if he had been crushed by the pressure, showed a brief sign of relief and rose to his feet.

Then he turned to Seonghyun, clasping his hands together.

"Sir Seonghyun, you have truly gone through a great deal of trouble. If not for you, Sir Seonghyun, this plan would not even have been possible. Thank you so much."

Felix's way of speaking had at some point switched to formal honorifics. Perhaps noticing this, Seonghyun felt a little burdened.

In any case, a good thing was a good thing. Seonghyun replied appropriately.

"Ah... I'm glad I could be of help."

"More than just a help! If not for you, Sir Seonghyun, we would have had no way of knowing what Basilica was plotting and would have had to just wait for them. But now we have a foundation to figure out the enemy's plan and prepare for it, so we can easily win the war. And it is all thanks to your grace, Sir Seonghyun."

"Ahem."

Being thanked to this extent, he was so embarrassed he didn't know what to do with himself.

As Seonghyun grew flustered, his familiars watched him with pleased smiles.

Only after receiving repeated expressions of gratitude and praise for being amazing was Seonghyun finally able to get away.

"Then, I will see you again tomorrow. Until then, stay well."

"Yes, you too, Sir Felix..."

It wasn't as if they'd be apart long enough to need such a farewell, but he just went along with it.

Helping out and receiving praise was nice, but it was also burdensome.

Seonghyun shook his head with an expression that showed he was a bit drained of energy.

It had been a hectic day.

"I should stop here for today."

It was about time to log out anyway. It was best to wrap things up here.

"Well then, see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow~"

"I will see you tomorrow."

"Go safely~"

-Khahaha!!! If there's a battle, call me anytime! Lord!

-Hehee! G-Go sa-safely!

After receiving his familiars' farewells, Seonghyun logged out.

[The world of eternity, Eternal World, will be waiting for you.]

5.

There were many employees at eWorld.

With such a massive number of users, there were always incidents, big and small.

Today was no different.

However, this time it wasn't Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong of the User Management Team.

To be precise, it was the Eternal World Event Management Team.

The very same department that had been forced to plan a large-scale event because of Seonghyun once before.

An emergency had once again been declared in that department.

[A very large variable is currently occurring in the 『War of Basilica and Ninyaru』 event, set to take place in the Labyrinth region.]

As the message flashed on the screen like an emergency summons, a short sound was heard.

"Ah."

It was a short, single syllable, but the emotion contained within it was anything but.

And then...

"Ah!!! Aaaaaah!!!! Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"

At the scream filled with despair, anguish, and anger, the employees of the Event Management Team began to quietly gather their things.

They weren't packing up to go home, however.

No, they were cleaning their surroundings and preparing to sleep under their desks for an all-nighter.

They were used to it by now.

While everyone else was getting ready...

The Event Management Team Leader, Baek Jiwoo, read the message over and over again with bloodshot eyes.

And then...

"Wh-What's the variable!?"

[Due to the user 『Seonghyun』, the 『Absolute Ruler of Ninyaru』 has made a move.]

[Furthermore, due to the user 『Seonghyun』, a spy has been planted in 『Basilica』, something that should not have been possible.]

[It is believed that a significant amount of information will be leaked.]

An analysis from the Super A.I., Immortal.

Team Leader Baek Jiwoo squeezed his eyes shut.

'Seonghyun again? Again?'

Originally, this event was planned to be gradually released over at least a few months.

It was an event designed for many users in the Labyrinth to participate and solve slowly over time.

An event that had been created right from the initial planning stages of the Labyrinth region.

And now, that event was on the verge of being triggered overnight.

'The plan was for the cat merchants to appear in the labyrinth in large numbers after a few months and start the event by asking users for help...'

Does this mean the event will be activated right away?

No.

This felt more ominous.

With that sense of foreboding, Team Leader Baek Jiwoo covered his mouth and, with a dreadful 'surely-it-can't-be' thought, asked Immortal.

"Can you predict how things will play out if it proceeds like this?"

[Calculating the results of user 『Seonghyun』's participation.]

[The knights of 『Ninyaru, City of the Upper Labyrinth』 will assemble, and the 『Absolute Ruler of Ninyaru』 will make a move.]

In that state, if a war is waged with the 『Mastermind of the Labyrinth, Basilica』, Basilica will be defeated with a probability of 89.56%, even without outside help.]

"...Ah."

A defeat probability of 89% was as good as a sure thing. And that was without any outside help. 'Why on earth is the Absolute Ruler even getting involved?'

As Team Leader Baek Jiwoo grew irritated, Immortal continued.

[It is judged that the 『Absolute Ruler of Ninyaru』 has no choice but to move due to the familiar that is identical in appearance to the transcendent NPC, Helena, an existence created by user 『Seonghyun』's ‘Unknown Power’.]

In other words...

"That means you don't know..."

A familiar that looks exactly like Helena? He had heard about it.

That the user had created a homunculus, right?

But wasn't that just an empty shell of Helena?

He knew there was a connection between the Absolute Ruler of Ninyaru and Helena, but he was making a move because of what amounted to an empty shell?

He couldn't understand it. Judging by the current situation...

"The event is just going to disappear?"

[That is the highest probability.]

He could ask it to calculate other probabilities, but... he didn't know what to do.

As Baek Jiwoo asked Immortal various other questions in his panic, it replied.

[However, user 『Seonghyun』's actions cannot be predicted, and it is impossible to calculate what will result from the variable caused by his ‘Unknown Power’.]

That wasn't comforting at all.

Team Leader Baek Jiwoo squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head.

Others might not understand why he was despairing to this extent. 'If the event disappears, isn't that a good thing? It's less work, right?' One could certainly think that way.

But they would be wrong.

It is the duty of a game company to create content in each region for the users to enjoy.

That is what creates an environment where gamers can have fun and enjoy playing the game.

So, if an event disappears, it means they have to create another one for the Labyrinth region to take its place.

And the planning proposal for this original event had already been drafted and approved.

The problem?

And who was it that drafted that proposal?

Who else could it be?

It was Team Leader Baek Jiwoo.

"Ha, hahaha, hahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!"

Letting out a maniacal laugh, Team Leader Baek Jiwoo shot up from his seat.

As they watched their team leader stand there, laughing like a madman, his team members thought to themselves.

'He should really rest for a bit instead of wasting his energy.'

'Sigh, the Team Leader has it rough.'

'Don't make eye contact. If you make eye contact, you'll have to write the new proposal with him.'

'Let's even try to breathe as little as possible.'

Such warm and caring team members.

Team Leader Baek Jiwoo didn't even notice them as he stared intently into space.

A new event.

An event for the fifth region, the Labyrinth, that everyone could participate in.

He had to think of something other than a war between the two cities hidden in the crevice of the Labyrinth.

But would an idea really come that easily?

Baek Jiwoo, who had been tearing at his hair, thought deeply for a moment, and then his eyes shot wide open.

"Yes, that should work!"

In any case, good and evil were already decided. And Immortal had said it couldn't predict how Seonghyun would act.

So, why not just create the next event based on whatever Seonghyun does?

Creating something from nothing is difficult, but...

'Changing something that already exists into something else is manageable!!!'

With that, Baek Jiwoo looked over all the cards he could play.

And among them...

'User Seonghyun's 3rd Class Advancement?'

He had found something quite useful.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]