The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage
Chapter 240

0.

At this point, other users were still unaware of Apophis.

However, signs of something happening were beginning to spread.

Across every server and every region, strange rumors were circulating among NPCs.

“Phew, don’t even get me started. Those black snakes have been ruining the crops lately.”

“There aren’t that many, but they keep showing up.”

“Black snakes are an ill omen.”

“Doesn’t seem like a good sign.”

Everywhere, people were talking about black snakes.

It was enough to make the players suspicious.

Regions and servers aside, what was truly bizarre was that NPCs of all levels were talking about the same thing.

There was no way this wouldn’t seem suspicious.

At first, players assumed it was just some local quest.

But soon, they realized it wasn’t just a local phenomenon—it was happening all across Eternal World.

Naturally, the internet was in an uproar.

[Title - Black Snakes? What’s this about?]

[Posted by - LoweredMyLevel]

『Everywhere I go, NPCs keep talking about black snakes.

There’s no way, but... are the NPCs bugged?

What the hell is this?』

[LootAndDie: So, they’re dropping hints in every region, across all levels? Has this ever happened before?]

[HealthDepleted: ????? For real? I’m logging in now.]

[HealingReject: Yeah, even overseas servers are talking about it.]

└ [BuffOnlyMain: Even overseas?]

└ [GoldHoarder: What the hell is going on?]

With no explanation for these mentions of black snakes, players /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ scrambled to uncover clues.

But there was nothing to find.

Instead of searching for direct answers, some started to dig into other possibilities.

[Title - Black Snake Mystery: This Might Be Huge]

[Posted by - LegendaryItemSeller]

『NPCs keep saying the black snakes are appearing and it’s making them uneasy.

They’re all repeating the same lines about it being ominous.

It’s happening across different regions and servers.

Honestly, this feels like some kind of promotional event.

There’s never been a game-wide, all-server, all-level event in Eternal World.

Even anniversary events were minor in comparison.

This sudden shift probably has something to do with the Heroic Council meeting from a few days ago.

I’m guessing that’s what triggered this full-scale event.』

[ExplodedWhileUpgrading: Oh? A mega-event?]

└ [LegendaryItemSeller (OP): Yeah, that’s what it looks like.]

└ [WatchingFromOutsideDungeon: Just speculation?]

└ [LegendaryItemSeller (OP): No, it’s a hot topic in overseas communities too.]

└ [NoHealForYou: Oh?! So it’s a real massive event? This is gonna be insane.]

└ [TankerForReal: Whoa, an event for all levels? Absolute god-tier game.;;;;]

[Title - Why This Has to Be an Event]

[Posted by - HealthFullNow]

『There’s no way this isn’t a major event.

Every NPC across all servers and levels is talking about it, but players barely see any black snakes.

The NPCs mention it, but they only seem to bring it up to players.

Among themselves, they don’t discuss it at all.

And yet, when you watch their everyday routines, they act normal.

The only time they mention the black snakes is when a player asks or when they have to bring it up.

This is 100% an event.

Otherwise, there’s no reason for NPCs to behave this unnaturally.』

[LuredMobsAndDied: Oh, this makes sense!]

[PotionBox: What kind of event will it be? I can’t wait.]

Players’ expectations soared.

Naturally, guilds were the first to act.

When a major event happened, getting information quickly and moving accordingly was always beneficial for guilds.

So, multiple guilds began making moves, approaching high-level NPCs to gather intelligence.

They were desperate to learn anything about the Heroic Council.

However, no one seemed to know anything.

Some NPCs trembled in fear at the mention of the Heroic Council, while others grew furious, claiming complete ignorance.

With no concrete information, they couldn’t be certain.

But one thing was clear.

This event had started because of the Heroic Council.

Yet, there was too little information to act decisively.

They couldn’t just ignore it, either.

It was too ambiguous.

That was why, despite the growing interest, only one guild was moving aggressively.

Rapid Guild.

“We need to prepare without anyone else catching on.”

On the surface, they seemed focused solely on leveling up.

But those in the know understood—they were desperate.

The best strategy was to get their levels as close as possible to key benchmarks.

Most of them were pushing for level thresholds like 99, 199, and so on.

Of course, Seong’s backup team was working themselves to the bone.

Since Seong aimed to hit level 200, they had to match him.

So they grinded relentlessly.

Even Rapid Guild, ranked third in the guild rankings, was dedicating all its resources to supporting them.

“Phew...”

They were optimizing everything for maximum efficiency.

And with their sheer power and skill, their leveling speed was beyond belief.

By now, they should have felt secure.

But instead, Rapid Guild was growing more anxious.

It wasn’t just about Seong and his backup team.

Damn it...

The solo rankers were moving.

Rankers from 1st to 4th place weren’t making any moves.

It was clear they had no intention of participating.

But from Rank 5 onwards, things were different.

I heard they’ve stopped grinding and are investigating instead?

Thankfully, the 5th to 7th rankers weren’t affiliated with any major guilds.

Even so, Rapid Guild knew they had enough potential to rise into the top 10 at any moment.

Of course, Rapid’s current strength was substantial.

If Luna Team, Seong’s backup squad, continued growing at this rate, they’d become an unstoppable raid force.

But they still couldn’t ignore the solo rankers’ movements.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Will Mina... no, will Yuna be able to handle them?

The 9th-ranked solo ranker.

Yuna, who was on the verge of surpassing the 8th-ranked player, had become the prime target of other solo rankers’ scrutiny.

The reason?

Simple—she was too exceptional.

Honestly, if I were in their shoes, I’d be wary too.

Unlike the other solo rankers, she had started two months later, yet not only had she solidified her place among them, she was now on the brink of overtaking 8th place.

It was only natural that they were trying to keep her in check.

Most of all, her control skills were absurd.

She was someone who simply had to be monitored.

The higher-ranked players didn’t particularly care, but those in the 5th to 7th range of the solo ranking had been obsessively keeping Yuna in check.

And yet, she was still closing the gap.

We haven’t had a direct confrontation yet. But this time, it’ll be different.

According to the information Seong had gathered, players would be grouped into brackets of 50 levels.

In other words, as long as the solo rankers participated, they would all be in the same group.

And Yuna, fully aware of this, was planning to deal with them herself.

The real issue was whether she could handle them all.

Yuna had simply told them to trust her before disappearing into seclusion training.

That left Rapid Guild with no say in the matter.

Well, we have no choice but to trust her.

There wasn’t much Rapid Guild could do for Yuna anyway.

So.

They had no choice but to shift focus and assist their other main priority—Seong.

That was why they were rapidly developing his backup team.

Their pace was unprecedented.

So fast, in fact, that other guilds were accusing them of exploiting a bug.

But even with all that, there was still a gap between them and Seong.

Seong was somehow moving even faster.

How the hell is he leveling up that quickly?

1.

While Rapid Guild was pondering this question...

Over at Seong’s location.

A procession of demons stood in line, each one repeatedly striking the neck of the demon in front of them.

Thud~! Thud!

Smack! Smack!

The sickening sounds echoed in all directions.

But the demons had long abandoned resistance, mindlessly reaching for the throat of the one ahead.

Overseeing this disturbing scene was a single demon, barking orders.

— "Alright, everyone! Maintain order! Let’s do this peacefully! Strike the neck of the demon in front of you! And, ah! Dedicate your lives to Seong-nim!"

— "Yes, understood!"

At Zrak’s command, the demon at the front, whose neck was already hanging on by a thread, calmly extended it.

And in one swift motion, Seong’s subordinates finished the job.

[You have gained a massive amount of experience points.] ×10

The message popped up repeatedly.

Seong scratched his head as he looked at the situation.

Is this... really okay?

Honestly, at this point, if he got penalized for it, he wouldn’t be able to argue.

But beside him, Kalina simply smiled and reassured him.

“It’s fine. The world’s will isn’t paying attention to this place right now.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s probably preoccupied with something else.”

That seemed to be the case, so he left it alone.

If this was truly an issue, someone—whether it be the system itself or Overpalace—would have stepped in by now.

The fact that it was still working meant it was at least half-approved.

Seong calmly continued collecting experience.

He’d use this method until the system eventually stopped awarding experience from summoned demons.

No need to worry about penalties before they actually arrived.

2.

The User Management Team was responsible for overseeing players across various servers.

Naturally, the East Asian Server Management Division was one of the largest.

But right now, it was eerily empty.

The reason?

Personnel had been drafted due to Apophis.

With so many people reassigned, staffing was critically low.

And because of that, monitoring players had become lax.

But there was no choice.

“Ughhh!”

“Just kill me already...”

“I mean, no, save me...”

Whenever a senior staff member dropped by to retrieve something, they looked half-dead.

Even Assistant Manager Lee Won-sang had grown gaunt from shuttling between the Apophis Team and his usual duties.

The workload was on an entirely different level.

Junior staff member Oh Jin-hyuk swallowed nervously as he watched.

Just as he was about to ask something—

“...Just focus on monitoring the solo and double rankers for now.”

“Yes, understood.”

“If there’s anything unusual about the rankers, report it immediately. We can’t have them exploiting anything during an event.”

“Got it!”

Oh Jin-hyuk answered confidently.

But Lee Won-sang didn’t respond, merely walking off to rejoin the Apophis Team.

Left alone, Oh Jin-hyuk glanced at Seong’s absurd experience gain and thought to himself.

Well, he’s not a ranker, so I’ll just focus on the actual rankers~

Had Lee Won-sang overheard that thought, he might have smiled bitterly before choosing suicide on the spot.

Instead, Oh Jin-hyuk simply carried on, casually keeping an eye on the top-ranked players.

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