The Game of the Greatest Black Mage

Chapter 58

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 58

Still bewildered, they followed Seonghyun,

And before they knew it, they arrived at the arena.

At first, Seonghyun might have found the way confusing, but thanks to the clear directions, he found it easily.

They came to their senses, finding themselves at the arena.

Longfeng looked at the other two, wondering if this was right.

The two, finally regaining their senses, shook their heads.

A newbie who brought them to the arena, talking about an initiation?

They had never heard of, nor seen, such a newbie.

Even the unruly members of the Luna Team wouldn't go this far.

They might act aggressively and speak bluntly,

But to politely bring them to the arena while talking about an initiation was truly a first.

No, they had never even heard of it.

'He brought us straight to the arena?'

Something was strange.

They were definitely planning to do something,

But this turn of events was truly bizarre.

Was he really going to have a duel?

No, could an initiation be done like this?

Longfeng, Hwawol, and Elzahar, all bewildered, looked at each other.

But backing down wasn't an option either.

Although Seonghyun spoke politely, this was ultimately a duel request, wasn't it?

If they backed down now, it would only mean they were scared.

But if he had gone this far, did he have something up his sleeve?

'What in the world is his scheme?'

'Hmm, what's going on here~'

'What a fucking situation…'

Unlike their complicated thoughts,

Seonghyun's mind was clear.

'I was told not to tolerate any provocation.'

He didn't quite understand the concept of an initiation.

However, if he was going to do a solo raid, wouldn't he have to prove he had the skills?

And the surest way to show one's skills was to clash against each other, wasn't it?

That's why he brought them to the arena.

With that thought, Seonghyun was willing to accept their initiation.

He thought that's what "don't tolerate" meant.

Of course, he was completely wrong.

But perhaps it was for the best?

'If it's in the arena, we can clearly show our skills without petty emotional fights.'

It was a very rational approach,

But seeing everyone dumbfounded, he wondered if he had made a mistake.

However, he had already brought them here; there was no turning back.

As Seonghyun lightly warmed up,

There was a reaction from the other side.

'What should we do?'

'Hmm, why don't you do it?'

'You're the weakest one here.'

Pushed by Elzahar and Hwawol's glares, Longfeng stepped forward.

Before he could even confirm anything, Seonghyun said,

"Since I'm doing the raid alone, I have to fight all four of you at once, right?"

"Huh???"

“……?”

“???”

“W-wait a minute. No, not me!”

Luna desperately tried to explain,

But was her explanation lacking?

It was received in a completely different way.

"Ah, so it's the three of you then."

It was like bringing a truckload of oil to a house fire.

And naturally, those words became the trigger.

Although Luna belatedly tried to fix the situation,

It was too late.

The oil had already been spilled.

“N-no, that's not……”

“Hmm! Hmm! Team leader, no, no. You said it would be doable without the team leader, right? We should play along as seniors, shouldn't we?”

“Hmm, this is a bit irritating~”

“……Yeah.”

Longfeng cut off Luna's words, and a fiery blaze ignited in the usually leisurely Elzahar's eyes.

Even Hwawol, who always spoke harshly, only gave a short reply.

These were the signs of their extreme anger.

Luna realized that she couldn't stop them now and quickly sent a message to Rapid, but

There was no reply.

The situation was already giving her a splitting headache, and now she couldn't even stop them.

While Luna was stammering, they had already entered the arena.

The matchup was, of course, Longfeng, Elzahar, and Hwawol as a team, and Seonghyun standing alone on the other side.

“Ah, what should I do???”

Luna somehow ended up in the audience seats,

And some spectators recognized them.

They were quite famous after all.

It was perhaps inevitable.

“Oh? Aren't those three the Rapid Guild's Luna Team???”

“Eh? Oh!? I-it's them! Longfeng, Elzahar, and even Hwawol are there!?”

“Everyone's there except Luna-unni!?”

“But there's only one opponent!? That's way too arrogant!!!”

Some spectators were indignant that Seonghyun was facing three members of the famous Luna Team alone.

Then someone murmured,

“Oh? Isn't that person in the black robe Rapid Guild's new rookie?”

“Rookie? Ah! That Demon King!?”

“Gasp!? The Demon King versus three members of the Luna Team?!? I came at the right time!!!”

“But even if he's the Demon King, can a rookie really win against those three from the Luna Team?”

“Isn't it some kind of initiation???”

“Anyway, this is going to be a good show!!!”

The spectators were excited by the matchup and shouted.

Among them, Luna pulled her robe down further to hide her identity, almost crying as she watched them.

Her large, teary eyes seemed ready to spill tears at any moment, but

She was praying with all her might that she could somehow reach Rapid.

She was worried that this might even lead to bad rumors about the Rapid Guild.

But Rapid was still silent.

Why wasn't she responding?

Frustrated, Luna was already half-resigned, knowing it was too late to stop them.

'Sigh, even so, it's impossible to win against those three.'

Even Luna, the strongest among the current Rapid Guild rookies before Seonghyun arrived, wasn't confident.

She could win one-on-one, but even against two, victory wasn't guaranteed.

But against three?

It was a certain defeat.

Seonghyun might hold out for a while, but

That was all.

'Even if he's at the level where he can solo raid…… those three alone can succeed in a raid.'

Luna had also seen Seonghyun's video.

It was amazing.

She had never seen such undead, and their power was considerable.

But that was all.

To those three, Seonghyun's undead were just annoying, numerous monsters.

They wouldn't pose a significant threat.

Seonghyun must have grown considerably since the video, but

It still wouldn't be enough against those three.

Luna was worried that Seonghyun's confidence might be crushed, but

He brought this upon himself.

'Sigh, should I postpone the solo raid to another time?'

If only Rapid had answered her message, things might have been different.

With that thought, Luna watched the situation unfold with regret.

She was already thinking about how to comfort Seonghyun afterwards.

The trio's victory was all but certain.

Just as Luna thought,

The three of them were thinking similarly.

'How arrogant. He wants to face the three of us at once? No, he initially intended to take on even Team Leader Luna together with us?'

'What an arrogant newbie~ He needs to be taught a lesson~~'

'……I'll kill him.'

All three were extremely furious at Seonghyun's attitude, thinking he was trying to take them all on, including Luna.

They felt he had disregarded Team Leader Luna, whom they respected.

With one mind and one heart, they looked at each other.

Although they loathed cooperating,

This time, they decided to join forces.

As all three shared the same sentiment,

Seonghyun looked at them and briefly thought,

'I should test them with the Legion Commander first.'

Wouldn't they be perfect for testing how far he could go against living undead without souls?

He needed to see the extent of the Legion Commander's leadership and buffs.

Although he didn't know their exact strength, he estimated their skills to be around Kim Chegeon's level.

There was a mage and an archer, after all.

With that in mind, Seonghyun's eyes gleamed with a teal fire.

He recalled the memories and experiences of many ghosts for strategic purposes.

“……?”

“Hmm?”

“Huh.”

All three flinched at the sight of Seonghyun's suddenly shining eyes.

The atmosphere had changed.

It wasn't a game-like feeling, but an instinctive one.

All three of them were quite sensitive,

So they could clearly notice the distinct change in Seonghyun's aura.

How should they describe it?

'What is this? It doesn't feel like a user.'

'Hmm? Is it like seeing a strong NPC~?'

'……Tsk.'

It was like seeing an NPC, not a user.

Like an inhabitant of this world, perhaps?

It was a feeling they occasionally got from the executives of the Rapid Guild, whom they had seen from afar.

No, it was far stronger than that.

They knew he wasn't a pushover.

But the sudden shift in his aura made all three of them a little nervous.

Was this his true strength?

As all three prepared themselves,

The arena system message popped up in the air.

[3]

…….

[2]

…….

[1]

…….

…….

[0]

The last countdown felt slow, as if time itself was slowing down.

They were more focused than ever before, which made time seem to crawl.

With their perception accelerated, Longfeng and Hwawol tried to close the distance by moving their bodies.

Meanwhile, Elzahar remained rooted to the spot, as if her feet were glued to the ground.

The first to activate a skill was Elzahar, who seemed immobile.

Clank! Clank!

Clank! Clank!

Kuuuuung—!

The sounds of multiple chains moving and sturdy iron bars closing echoed through the arena.

It seemed like a binding magic spell,

But the target was none other than Elzahar herself.

Ice chains that appeared from the floor bound her limbs, and a giant ice prison materialized in the air and fell, confining Elzahar within.

Elzahar's body was completely restrained.

However, a tremendous amount of mana surged from her body.

Hwaaaaaaaaaaa—!

This was a strategic move utilizing Elzahar's class trait: the more she was bound, the stronger her mana and magic power became.

Seonghyun's eyes lit up with curiosity at the peculiar sight.

He still didn't know what the other two's classes were.

Longfeng seemed like a rogue, and Hwawol an archer.

However, he couldn't understand why Hwawol, an archer, was closing the distance.

There must be a reason.

Seonghyun also opened his netherworld.

Saaaaaaaaaa—!

A teal energy spread in all directions, and a portal appeared in the air.

Several portals with a teal hue opened, and from within, the Death Legion Commander, the Wraith of Barpur, and twenty Knoll Ghoul emerged.

Each one resembled a ghoul devoid of intellect.

However,

At the beckoning of the Legion Commander, Wraith of Barpur, intelligence began to dwell in their eyes, and they burned with teal flames.

—Offer victory to the master! Fight with all your might against those two! Pay no heed to the mage positioned at the rear!

At Wraith of Barpur's command, the ghoul legion charged forward faster than ever before.

Longfeng and Hwawol, who had quickly closed the distance, showed no signs of faltering as they swung their weapons at the first ghoul to attack.

First, Longfeng, who appeared to be a rogue, held daggers in both hands and swiftly swung them through the air.

Each attack missed the ghouls.

After five consecutive attacks,

A bluish energy enveloped Longfeng's two daggers, and a fearsome sword aura, drawing an X, slashed through the surrounding ghoul legion.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Five ghouls were instantly defeated.

Intentionally missing attacks to build up stacks and strengthen his attack?

'Interesting.'

Seonghyun's eyes gleamed as he observed this.

It was an intriguing class.

And it wasn't just Longfeng who had been attacked.

The ghouls that rushed towards Hwawol...

He thought that an archer who closed in would be weak,

But he was completely wrong.

Typically, bows become considerably weaker when used in close combat.

However, Hwawol's bow was different.

Whizz—!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

After closing in, she pulled the bowstring to its limit and fired an arrow.

The surrounding ghouls exploded and shattered.

A total of seven were defeated.

Two more than Longfeng.

However, the strange thing was that with such power, the arrow should have pierced through and destroyed the ghouls behind them, but like a shotgun, only those in the immediate vicinity were hit, with no signs of penetration.

Was she a close-range archer?

'They're both unique.'

And among them, the most peculiar one was Elzahar, bound at the back.

Using the amplified magic power and mana from being bound, she cast a wide-range magic spell.

She fired a frost-covered beam, as if condensing a blizzard, and swept away the ghoul legion in an instant.

As if she still had power left, she tried to attack Seonghyun as well.

However,

Kwaaaaaaaaaaa!

It was blocked by the Wraith of Barpur's arm, and the magic dissipated.

With most of the ghoul legion gone, Seonghyun nodded and used the Death Legion skill again.

The original ghoul legion doubled in number, and as he opened his netherworld, more knoll ghouls began to appear.

A total of sixty.

But that wasn't the end.

With twenty Skeleton Mercenaries emerging,

Seonghyun's forces increased to a staggering eighty.

At the absurd number of troops, Hwawol muttered,

"This game is fucked up."

It was high praise.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]