The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

Chapter 21

Why did it have to appear when there were people around?

I decided not to answer.

Helena tilted her head in curiosity.

“Why can’t you answer? Thinking about it is enough to respond, isn’t it?”

‘Huh? Really?’

“Of course. We’ve already shared memories and experiences.”

‘Ah.’

It was true.

Being able to communicate just by thinking.

I’d never had a conversation with ghosts through thoughts before, so I couldn’t help but hold a bias.

If we had shared memories and experiences, it made sense that we could communicate this way.

That was a relief.

“By the way, are you learning the basics of dark magic?”

‘Yeah, I heard the basic skills are taught here.’

“Hmm~”

Helena hummed, seemingly pleased with my response.

It seemed she was quite satisfied with the idea of learning the basics of dark magic.

While I was chatting with Helena, the elderly professor, Urden, looked at me and spoke.

“Ah! My mind must be slipping. Since we have a new student, we should introduce ourselves to one another. Let’s start with the senior student, Yun.”

“……”

Yun’s displeasure at being told to introduce herself was palpable, but she reluctantly opened her mouth.

“Yun, Level 15.”

It was a curt and prickly introduction.

But really, what more was there to say?

Being a dark mage was a given since we were in this classroom.

Urden tilted his head slightly, puzzled by her terse demeanor.

‘Why is she acting like this?’ he seemed to think.

But without dwelling on it, Urden turned his attention to me and said, “Hmm, now it’s your turn.”

“Ah, I’m Seonghyeon. My level is just 10. I look forward to learning from all of you.”

“……”

With Urden present, Yun couldn’t blatantly ignore me, so she gave a brief nod of acknowledgment.

A distinctly rude gesture.

Still, I didn’t react much.

I wasn’t the type to get worked up over something like this.

Instead, I noticed Urden tilting his head again, this time at Yun’s attitude.

‘This is unusual.’

She wasn’t typically like this.

Could it be that Yun simply disliked outsiders?

Not that Urden needed to dig any deeper into it.

Clearing his throat, he shifted the topic.

“Well then, let’s begin the lesson.”

A lesson.

The training centers didn’t rely on skill books; instead, they conducted actual lessons.

If a student understood the professor’s teachings, they could quickly learn a skill. Even if they didn’t fully grasp it, attending a one-hour lesson was enough to acquire the skill.

You might wonder why they didn’t just hand out skill books or generate skills instead of bothering with lessons. But these lessons provided valuable insights into skill utilization.

This was especially true for basic skills.

After all, basic skills form the foundation of any profession.

These lessons aimed to deepen students’ understanding of their skills.

‘This part is particularly important, right?’

In fact, numerous guides and top players emphasized the importance of mastering basic skills.

The guides I had read said the same.

Skipping these lessons would only lead to regret later.

That’s why everyone focused on attending these lessons diligently.

Even if the material was hard to understand, attending just one hour a day meant you could still learn the skill.

Skipping it was simply a disadvantage.

“Ahem, under normal circumstances, we’d start with the basic skill 『Poison: Sensory Paralysis』, but today we’ll begin with 『Bone Arrow』 since Yun is already working on it.”

“Oh.”

“……”

I had already experienced this skill firsthand.

Vegron had launched countless Bone Arrows at me.

So it was a rare skill.

‘I thought it was just about having a high level, but I guess not.’

A rare skill being part of the basics meant it required completion of at least an advanced training center.

While I was lost in thought, Yun frowned as she glanced at me.

At the very least, she intended to learn it faster than me.

Yun was undeniably skilled.

‘I’ve already learned other skills in about 30 minutes… I’ll be even faster this time.’

Unlike me, Yun had already mastered five basic skills of normal grade at the intermediate training center.

Since this skill was an upgrade from a normal-grade skill, Yun clearly had an advantage over me.

At least on paper.

She was determined to prove the gap between herself and me, someone who had only managed to enter the elite training center by luck.

With that determination, Yun focused on the lesson.

Urden, observing us both, began his lecture.

“Bone Arrow is not a spell that uses the bones of corpses scattered around.”

“Oh.”

“……”

“Then where do you think the bones for the arrow come from?”

A sudden question from Urden might have thrown some off guard, but Yun, being used to this, remained composed. So did I.

It was Yun who raised her hand first.

“Could it be bones reconstructed with the caster’s mana?”

“Hmm, unfortunately, that’s incorrect.”

Urden shook his head in regret.

Yun furrowed her brow in frustration but quickly composed herself.

If she couldn’t answer it, there was no way I could.

This wasn’t something you’d typically find in any guidebook.

Then Urden turned to me with a look that said, “Your turn.”

Feeling his gaze, I thought.

“Easy.”

As Helena said.

“It’s magic that summons fragments of bones from the Dark Realm using the caster’s mana.”

“Ohhhh! Incredible! That’s correct!”

“……???”

Urden expressed open amazement, while Yun looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

‘Was that just a lucky guess?’

Even if it was, Yun’s pride suffered another small crack.

To lose to someone like me from the start—it was infuriating.

Urden, too, seemed quite impressed.

This was the first time an outsider had correctly answered one of his questions during his tenure as a professor here.

Internally, he couldn’t help but admire me.

‘As expected of someone with a recommendation from that person!’

There had to be a reason behind that recommendation.

And the person in question wouldn’t make such recommendations lightly.

While thinking this, Urden nodded approvingly at me and asked, “How did you know that?”

“Oh, I’ve seen someone use it before.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I had seen Helena use it in her memories and Vegron in real life.

Helena’s memory even included the principles behind it.

So it was easy for me.

Urden, pleased with my answer, nodded in satisfaction.

“An excellent response.”

“Tsk.”

“……?”

What’s with that reaction?

“Isn’t it because Seonghyeon is doing well? She seems to thrive on being the best, and now you’ve come along, so she’s feeling jealous.”

‘Really?’

Do people usually dislike someone this much for that?

Although I wasn’t overly bothered by it, it didn’t feel particularly pleasant either.

I decided to let it slide.

“Ahem, continuing with the lesson—like Seonghyeon said, Bone Arrow is a spell that summons fragments of bones from the Dark Realm, the dimension of the dead. What’s critical here is controlling your mana to summon just enough bones to create the arrows.”

“Hmm.”

“……”

While Yun diligently took notes, I nodded along, comparing Urden’s explanation with the information in my memory.

Helena was the best when it came to dark magic in this world.

She had long since mastered the basics of magic, so this lesson felt like nothing more than a review for her. While I attended the lesson as if revisiting concepts, Yun seemed to view me as an eyesore.

She was furiously taking notes, ensuring she wouldn’t miss a single detail, while I sat back and simply listened.

The expression on her face, teeth clenched in frustration, looked like she was dying inside.

Her determination to learn Bone Arrow faster than I did was practically visible.

‘Just wait and see.’

Even if I answered the question correctly, she would prove her superiority in skill and talent.

While Yun furiously scribbled notes, not even five minutes into the lesson, light burst forth from my body.

A radiant glow surrounded me, spiraling upwards like it was ascending to the heavens.

FWOOOOSH!

‘Oh.’

Surprised by the sight, I looked up at the light. Yun and Urden stared at the phenomenon with wide eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

This could mean only one thing.

[You have fully comprehended the rare skill 『Bone Arrow』 with the help of ‘Unknown Power.’]

[You have acquired the rare skill, 『Bone Arrow.』]

“Se-Seonghyeon! Have you already mastered Bone Arrow?!”

“No way…!”

The glowing effect was unmistakably the sign of acquiring a skill during a lesson.

And it had appeared in less than five minutes.

Dumbfounded, even Urden couldn’t help but ask again, though I nodded confidently.

“Yes.”

“Ahaha, Seonghyeon, your talent really is extraordinary.”

Helena laughed gracefully, though only I could hear her.

Meanwhile, Yun and Urden continued to stare at me, clearly still in disbelief.

Especially Yun—her gaze was filled with unease.

Mastering a skill in less than five minutes?

It couldn’t be a bug.

The system had activated, and the skill acquisition effects were undeniable.

Even so, wasn’t this too fast?

When Yun had mastered a skill in about 30 minutes, her peers had been astonished and praised her as incredible.

But what was I?

‘Is this a glitch?’

Yun knew better than anyone that it wasn’t.

But she wanted to believe it. She wanted to convince herself it was some kind of trick or underhanded shortcut.

‘Maybe he overheard someone else talking about the skill… or maybe he guessed the answer from something he heard somewhere else.’

It was a pathetic line of reasoning, but Yun clung to it for her own mental comfort.

Acknowledging the gap between us wasn’t an option.

Watching me sitting there calmly only fueled her anger further.

It wasn’t just my talent; Yun also prided herself on her effort. That was why this infuriated her so much.

If anyone saw her now, they’d probably call it a warped form of passion.

Surely the next skills wouldn’t come as easily.

Or so Yun—and even Urden—thought.

A one-time occurrence was possible.

But mastering additional skills so quickly? That couldn’t happen.

They were convinced.

But life is full of surprises, isn’t it?

“Seonghyeon, since you’ve learned the skill so quickly, could Yun wait a moment while I teach you another skill? I’d like to see how you fare,” Urden said, requesting Yun’s understanding.

Although she had been waiting for her turn, Yun nodded stiffly.

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

Her eyes were locked on me, daring me to try again.

Not even five minutes later:

FWOOOOSH!

[You have fully comprehended the rare skill 『Poison: Sensory Paralysis』 with the help of ‘Unknown Power.’]
[You have acquired the rare skill, 『Poison: Sensory Paralysis.』]

“Whaaat?!”

“This… this can’t be…!”

Both of them cried out in shock, practically leaping out of their seats.

Especially Yun, who felt her vision spinning.

Surely the next time would be different. There was no way it would happen again.

Roughly five minutes passed.

FWOOOOSH!

[You have fully comprehended the rare skill 『Blood Veil』 with the help of ‘Unknown Power.’]
[You have acquired the rare skill, 『Blood Veil.』]

“Wh-What?! Then try this one! Try learning this one too!”

“Huh?!”

This time it didn’t even take five minutes.

Roughly three minutes?

I had gotten faster at utilizing Helena’s memories.

FWOOOOSH!

[You have fully comprehended the rare skill 『Curse of Sensory Deprivation』 with the help of ‘Unknown Power.’]
[You have acquired the rare skill, 『Curse of Sensory Deprivation.』]

“Wait, it’s even faster now?!”

“……”

At this point, Yun’s pride, inferiority complex, and everything else seemed to crumble. She stared at me like I was some kind of monster.

Luck? Connections?

She knew now that it wasn’t any of those things.

What in the world was I?

Even Urden, who was considered a genius, shared her disbelief.

With bloodshot eyes, veins bulging on his forehead, he looked at me like a scientist consumed by curiosity.

What was this person?

Yun was too frustrated to think clearly, her eyes welling up with tears.

But no one paid her any attention.

Urden, on the other hand, was practically shouting in excitement.

“This is unbelievable! You’re a once-in-a-lifetime genius, Seonghyeon! It’s no wonder that person wrote you a recommendation letter!”

“Uwaaah…”

Meanwhile, Yun sobbed openly.

It was utter chaos.

“So they’re only realizing this now? Hmph.”

Helena, proud on my behalf, planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest triumphantly.

Meanwhile, all I could think was, Please, can we just stop this already?