------------------
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
------------------
Chapter 98
'Wow.'
The rewards from just the sub-quests had been amazing.
But after clearing the Main Quest, he really felt it.
So this is why players were always going on and on about Main Quests, Main Quests?
Even aside from the Dark Fortress itself as a location, both rewards were enormous.
First of all, both were Almighty-rank.
A skill and an item.
And one of them was even an exclusive item bearing the name of Overlord.
As Seonghyun quietly marveled,
Nocturnium remained still, as if prompting him to check.
'He probably wants me to check them, right?'
Seonghyun examined the skill first.
Since, this time, it was definitely a dark-type skill.
He wondered if his dark build would become even stronger.
『Jet-Black Fallen Thorns』
→《Almighty》
→[Lv Max][Completed Form]
[Instant Effect][Active]
[Cooldown: 30 minutes]
Thorns descending in the deep darkness will ultimately blossom into a sinister black flower.
→Overlord Exclusive Skill.
→Dyes the battlefield with darkness, turning it into a land of darkness and causing jet-black thorns to fall.
→The fallen jet-black thorns feed on the nutrients of the land of darkness and grow into beautiful flowers.
→The bloomed flowers soon burst forth, engulfing the surroundings in darkness.
'Whoa.'
It wasn't a skill that fit his build, but it was a considerable area-of-effect skill.
Given its rank, its performance was also highly anticipated.
It wasn't just a simple thorn attack.
The part about engulfing the surroundings in darkness after the flowers bloomed likely indicated a follow-up effect, like an explosion.
Even if it wasn't a build-specific skill, a skill like this was always welcome.
Seonghyun, seemingly quite satisfied, closed the skill window and checked the item next.
An exclusive item obtained as a reward from the Main Quest.
Just what kind of item would it be?
Judging by the name "Tome," was it an item related to skills, like the Tome of Despair?
『Tome of the Overlord』
→《Almighty》
→An ancient tome of the Overlord, passed down from ancient times. Even Helena, the first Overlord and the progenitor of Class, said she could not discern the origin or true nature of this tome.
→Although Helena learned on her own, she acknowledged that without the aid of this tome, she would not have grown so quickly.
→Overlord-exclusive item.
→Upon acquisition, you can learn a black magic skill of your choice.
→Every 10 levels after acquisition, you can learn an additional black magic skill of your choice.
→Simply by possessing it, the power of black magic skills increases by +20%.
*Effect applies when in inventory.
*Skills can only be of Unique rank or lower.
*Every 100 levels, you can acquire a Legendary skill.
'……?'
As expected, it was.
But the effects were even more impressive than he had anticipated.
Was it because it was a higher rank than the Tome of Despair?
As Seonghyun stood there, dumbfounded,
[By acquiring the 『Tome of the Overlord』, you can acquire a black magic skill of your choice.]
[Will you acquire one?]
[Yes / No]
'Heh heh.'
A slightly hollow laugh escaped him, and Seonghyun muttered without thinking.
"Can I get a dark-type skill for my build?"
[You can acquire a black magic skill for your build.]
[Searching for skills that best match your current skills.]
[Matching skills found.]
[Displaying list.]
『Jaws of Darkness』
『Frost of Darkness』
『Writhing Darkness』
『Land of the Black Sun』
…….
…….
(Omitted)
[Will you choose?]
As soon as he asked, the list appeared as if it had been waiting.
Seonghyun's jaw dropped at the rather extensive list.
This was possible with an item?
Wasn't this too overpowered?
He swallowed hard at the thought.
So he could acquire build-enabling skills like this.
First, let's check the skills.
There were quite a few options.
Roughly a dozen or so.
Perhaps because the search was so well done, they all synergized well with his current skills.
They weren't incredibly powerful skills since they were build-focused.
But they felt very good to use together.
However, Seonghyun was able to choose one from among them.
[Due to the effect of the Overlord class-exclusive Almighty-rank item, 『Tome of the Overlord』, you have acquired the Unique-rank skill, 『Writhing Darkness』.]
『Writhing Darkness』
→《Unique》
→[Lv Max][Complete Form]
[Instant Effect][Active]
[Cooldown 3 minutes]
→Black Mage Class exclusive skill.
→Forces dark attribute attack skills to hit without fail.
→If dodged, the darkness writhes to pursue the target until it hits.
A skill that granted a hit-without-fail effect to dark-type skills.
There were many other good skills, but.
Since Seonghyun's current skills were aiming-type skills, not target-locked.
He chose it because it seemed like the best skill he could get right now.
As Seonghyun expressed satisfaction, seemingly confirming he had made the right choice,
Nocturnium cautiously broached a topic.
-My Lord, I have something to tell you. First, I would like to speak to you about the other wanderers besides myself, but it seems that a messenger from Over Palace has arrived near the entrance to the Netherworld you created and is waiting for you.
"Hmm?"
A messenger from Over Palace?
Were they the same ones he had seen before?
But why suddenly?
As Seonghyun wondered about this,
Nocturnium continued.
-The descendants of the Hero and the Sage also seem to be nearby. Two messengers are blocking them. And one messenger is waiting for you. I thought it best to tell you this, as meeting them seems urgent, before I tell you about the wanderers.
"Hmm."
The descendants of the Hero and the Sage.
The descendant of the Sage must be Flingky, right?
Was the reason they were being blocked because of the Hero?
'Considering Flingky, it might be okay, but....'
You never know.
Flingky was also an unpredictable one.
Perhaps they had come all this way to subdue Seonghyun.
It wouldn't hurt to be careful.
Even if Seonghyun was strong now, that was only true within a similar level range.
'I'm still a bit vulnerable against NPCs or players with much higher levels than me.'
Of course, he could handle it to some extent.
But the Hero was a different story.
Seonghyun, unaware that the Hero had not yet grown, considered him a formidable threat, and he wasn't actually wrong.
The unripe Hero, Luke, was a whopping level 250.
A level difference that even Seonghyun couldn't overcome.
He had heard the situation, but he didn't quite understand it.
Anyway, Over Palace probably wouldn't block them for no reason.
Despite this situation.
One thing was certain.
Nocturnium.
He certainly did his job very well.
'Just being able to detect what's around is amazing.'
From now on, he could leave all the searching to Nocturnium.
Anyway, the situation outside was more urgent right now.
'Then, should I go meet them first?'
Let's find out why Over Palace came.
Seonghyun used the Netherworld skill again.
A portal leading back to the cave he had first used opened.
He was about to head straight out through the portal to the cave.
When Nocturnium followed behind him to attend to him.
Returning to the cave, a single crow came into view.
It was a crow that gave him a strange sense of déjà vu.
As Seonghyun looked at the crow.
The creature slowly began to transform into a human shape.
Crack, crunch, snap!
Horrific sounds echoed as bones and flesh shifted.
There was a faint, slight scent of blood.
Not long after the sounds and smell appeared,
A man wearing a familiar crow mask appeared.
The mere presence of him thickened the concentration of black magic in the area, pressing down on everyone.
If anyone with an opposing affinity to black magic had been present, they would have been choked by the dense concentration.
But it did Seonghyun no harm.
Instead, his body felt lighter, and a familiar message appeared.
[You have been exposed to high-purity black magic.]
[This black magic is friendly to the 『Overlord』.]
[All stats temporarily increase by +10.]
It was significantly lower than the percentage increase he had experienced when he met Fiora in the past.
But even this was a considerable boost.
The crow man, still exhibiting immense power.
Seonghyun even felt a bit of gladness seeing him, since it had been a while.
The man in the crow mask bowed his head and said.
"The messenger of Over Palace, Karls Grimcrow, greets the rightful successor. Have you been well?"
"I suppose so."
It had only been a few days since they last met, after all.
What trouble could have possibly occurred?
'Hmm.'
Come to think of it, maybe something had happened.
Seonghyun briefly had that thought, but then looked back at the crow man, Karls.
Seeing him again, his loyalty was still excessive.
However, Nocturnium, standing beside him, nodded as if this was perfectly appropriate.
Was this the correct etiquette?
He didn't know, so he decided to stay quiet for now.
Seonghyun was often told by his friends that he lacked emotional expression.
But at this moment, that trait worked to his advantage.
It would have been quite a scene if he hadn't been so composed.
Seonghyun let it slide and asked the bizarre crow man, Karls.
"So, what brings you here this time? I heard the Hero and the Sage are nearby...?"
"……Indeed. You see through everything."
"……."
It was Nocturnium who had done that, not him.
But he didn't bother to correct him, as it might become troublesome.
Then.
"With utmost humility, I must inform you that we received intelligence that the Hero, Luke, is coming to the successor's location, and we have come to intercept him."
"……He's coming to find me?"
He came all this way on purpose?
If he was coming to find him, that was definitely a bit concerning.
The previous Overlord and the Hero hadn't seemed to have a particularly good relationship.
Did that mean Flingky was tracking him somehow?
Perhaps the item he had given him had tracking magic on it.
Seonghyun had these various thoughts, and then suddenly asked.
"He tracked my location and came here?"
"Upon investigation, that does not appear to be the case."
"……???"
Then why are they blocking him?
Seonghyun stood there, his expression uncomprehending.
The crow man said.
"According to our intelligence, the Hero, Luke, was tracing the footsteps of his predecessor, the Hero Hindel, and learned that Hindel had visited this Sermath, so he came here, My Lord."
"……So……."
"Yes, he did not come specifically to find the successor."
Then there really wasn't a reason to stop him, was there?
Wouldn't blocking him make it more suspicious?
He had that thought, but.
"Do not worry. We are handling it well."
"……If… you say so."
It was a bit awkward.
But since he was so confidently asserting it.
He had no choice but to trust him.
So, if they were blocking the Hero, could he just leave this place?
"Can I just leave here right away?"
"Yes, but before that, I have come to deliver an item given to me by the Black Star, to pass it on to you. He also asked me to convey his regards, saying that he was glad to be able to provide you with something quite decent this time, being a little more free from the world's constraints. Please accept it."
Why did he keep giving him things every time they met?
It was getting burdensome.
And this time, he even said he had provided something better.
Of course, just because it was burdensome didn't mean he wouldn't accept it.
With that thought, Seonghyun received the item being offered.
[You receive the Almighty-rank item, 『Primordial Demon Crest Ring』, from the messenger of Over Palace, Karls.]
"……?"
It really was getting burdensome.
Main Quests.
A very important piece of content that exists for each class.
The rewards were also considerable, so it was a quest that all players dreamed of.
And for good reason, as the rewards could increase the rank of their class, and they could also receive a bunch of skills and items of the same rank.
Of course, there's a limit.
But where else would you get such an opportunity?
Because of this, even the user management team tends to let things slide when it comes to Main Quests.
Naturally, it's an event designed to give out rewards generously.
However.
"……What rewards has he received so far?"
At Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong's question, Associate Oh Jinhyeok, who was next to him, reported with admiration.
"Wow, two Unique skills, three Legendary skills, one Almighty skill, and two Almighty items?"
Just from quests, he had received six skills and two items.
And what's more, both items were of the Almighty rank.
And that wasn't all.
The Skill Advancement Orb that Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong had pushed to create.
They thought it would upgrade two existing Unique skills.
It upgraded the remaining skills to the Unique rank in large numbers.
That synergy made Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong tightly close his eyes.
If only they had made it consume two uses just to upgrade from Epic to Unique.
This mess wouldn't have happened.
In his haste, he had made such a blunder.
'This is really grounds for a written apology.'
It didn't matter if player Seonghyun caused a ruckus, piled up rewards like a mountain, or even tap-danced on them.
No, maybe tap-dancing would be a bit much?
Anyway, it didn't matter.
But this was different.
Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong had personally submitted the proposal, it had been approved, and then the problem arose.
If he had been just a little more careful, this wouldn't have happened.
Just in case.
[Immortal, can you calculate the rank of the explosive power that player Seonghyun currently possesses?]
He requested a calculation from Immortal.
The reply came quickly.
[Calculating the combined explosive power of player 『Seonghyun』's skill 『Deadburst』, along with the poison skills used in 『Vengeful Toxin of the Dead』 and 『Venomous Detonation』, it is measured to be above Legendary-rank skill and below Almighty-rank skill.]
"……Sigh."
It was like giving him a near-Almighty rank skill to prevent the addition of a new Legendary one.
Given that the existing explosive power was already comparable to a Legendary skill.
In a way, it was inevitable.
Soon there would be performance reviews, and now a written apology.
Because he had a prior instance to stand up for associate Oh Jinhyeok
He was at a disadvantage.
Even if the written apology didn't affect his performance evaluation, as it had already been submitted, it certainly wouldn't leave a good impression.
But what could he do?
'I did it, so I have to take responsibility… Sigh.'
As Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong wore a grim expression.
Team Leader Jung Jihye approached his desk and said.
"Assistant Manager Lee?"
"Ah, yes."
He thought the time had come.
But Team Leader Jung Jihye's expression didn't seem too bad for some reason.
What was this?
He was sure he had made a mistake.
As Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong looked bewildered.
Team Leader Jung Jihye brought several reports and handed them to him.
Lee Wonsong, momentarily tensing up, read the reports, and his eyes widened like saucers.
"Th-this is!?"
The report detailed how useful Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong's proposal had been.
Although it had upgraded all the explosion build skills to Unique.
Considering the uncertainty of randomly obtaining a Legendary skill, or the drawbacks of upgrading two Legendary skills, it was actually a good outcome, it said.
The report was written as if Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong had intentionally encouraged the building of the explosion build, and it was full of positive evaluations as a result.
"Deputy Manager Lee Jaekyung put in a good word for you this time. You should go thank him later."
"Ah. Th-thank you!"
As Assistant Manager Lee Wonsong’s expression brightened, Team Leader Jung Jihye raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm… but what kind of reward did Player Seonghyun get this time?"
"Huh?"
Just like that, Lee Wonsong’s face turned pale again.
And on top of everything else, there was another new build to deal with.
But the real problem lay elsewhere.
"Did you see the massive event that just got triggered because of Player Seonghyun?"
"…Wait, what???"
Lee Wonsong looked genuinely caught off guard, like it was the first he was hearing of it.
Jung Jihye let out a short sigh and rubbed her temples, clearly fighting off a headache.
"Tsk."
Yeah, she did not look happy.
What the hell had happened now?
"A new event just got triggered because Seonghyun obtained the Dark Fortress through the Main Quest."
"A-Ah…"
"And since we forgot to send out a heads-up notice beforehand, it’s turned into a whole mess."
There’d just been so many other issues piling up lately.
He’d completely missed it, something he normally wouldn’t have overlooked.
A major blunder.
At this rate, the earlier report they’d used to smooth things over wouldn’t even matter anymore.
No wonder Jung Jihye had been giving him that look earlier.
But what came next was unexpectedly casual.
She spoke calmly and handed him another document, like it was no big deal.
"Make sure you read through this. I know you’ve had a lot going on lately, but I need you to double-check things more carefully from now on."
"Ah… Yes. Understood."
Still tense, Lee Wonsong took the file—and his face went white as he read the title.
[Event Management Team Support Request Form]
With a bit of corporate experience under his belt, Lee Wonsong knew exactly what that meant.
That “cover-up” report from earlier? Yeah, it wasn’t a free favor.
As he slumped in defeat, Jung Jihye returned to her desk like her business was done.
And the only one left, Associate Oh Jinhyeok, gave him a sympathetic look.
"Whoa… isn’t the Event Management Team insanely tough? S-Senior, good luck."
"Haha."
Seeing his senior laugh out of nowhere, Oh Jinhyeok tilted his head. Did he finally snap?
Then—
"They’re sending two people. You’re coming with me, Associate Oh Jinhyeok."
"Huh… Wait, what? WHAT?!?!"
At last, Lee Wonsong got a bit of payback.
Even if it meant dragging someone else into the fire with him.
------------------
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
------------------
