The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

It was... an odd one.

There was no doubt that it was a powerful skill—

Exactly what one would expect from a Legendary-grade ability.

However—

‘I don’t have any probability-based skills.’

Negating probability-based enemy skills was useful—

But he already had Monarch’s Command, which was much more versatile.

The second effect was the real prize.

The ability to guarantee success for probability-based skills.

But the problem was—

Seong didn’t have any probability-based skills to make use of it.

It was almost ironic.

Yet, at the same time—

‘This actually works out perfectly.’

Now was the time to finally use the items he had been saving.

He had two Skillbooks:

And if he didn’t—

He could always use Overlord’s Grimoire for a guaranteed one.

First, 『Dark Spear』.

Since he had no idea what he’d get, he decided to convert this one first.

Upon transforming the Unique-grade skill into a personalized skill—

Seong immediately used the Skillbook.

『Blade of Shadows and Darkness』

→《Unique》

→[Lv 1] [Growth-Type]

[Instant Effect] [Active]

[Cooldown: 30 seconds]

→ Dark Magic-exclusive skill.

→ Unleashes a hidden blade of darkness from within the shadows, dealing 500% damage.

‘Oh?’

A simple but extremely powerful skill.

With only a 30-second cooldown, its damage multiplier was incredible.

More importantly—

It covered his biggest weakness from the Carmen fight: Single-target burst damage.

‘I just got my new main skill.’

His existing attacks, like Mark of Death or Cursed Bullet, were strong—

But they were stack-based.

What he needed was a direct strike, like this.

Satisfied, he moved on to the next Skillbook—

The one he had obtained from Kyoku.

『Dark Mire of Shadows』

→《Unique》

→[Lv Max] [Complete Form]

[Duration Effect] [Active]

[Cooldown: 1 hour]

[Duration: 1 minute]

→ Dark Magic-exclusive skill.

→ Converts the surrounding area into a Mire of Shadows.

→ While standing in the Mire of Shadows:

This was extremely strong.

A buff and debuff combined into one effect.

The +30% power boost for Dark and Shadow skills was excellent—

But at the same time, all other skills were weakened.

This restriction was likely why it was still Unique-tier rather than Legendary.

Regardless—

Now he had two shadow-related skills.

If he wanted, he could build around Shadow Magic.

However—

‘That would make Fate Manipulation useless.’

A shadow build was tempting, but he needed to focus on probability-based skills.

Luckily—

At Level 129, he was just about to unlock Overlord’s Grimoire.

And that meant—

He could finally select the probability-based skill he needed.

Seong opened the Overlord’s Grimoire.

“Give me a probability-based skill with high damage.”

[Searching for probability-based skills with high damage.]

[Analyzing your current abilities for compatibility.]

[Matching skills found.]

[Displaying list.]

Available Skills:

...

...A long list appeared.

Some of these names sounded ridiculous.

But among them—

Seong chose one skill.

[Through the power of the Overlord’s Grimoire, you have obtained the Unique-tier skill, 『The Black Orb of Fate』.]

The Black Orb of Fate.

At first, he picked it because the name matched his 『Fate Manipulation』 skill—

But that wasn’t the only reason.

It had the highest damage multiplier of all the listed skills.

『The Black Orb of Fate』

→《Unique》

→[Lv Max] [Complete Form]

[Instant Effect] [Active]

[Cooldown: 30 minutes]

→ Dark Magic-exclusive skill.

→ 15% chance to activate when casting a skill.

→ Upon activation, summons a Black Orb of Fate around the target.

→ The Black Orb of Fate will hover above the target and unleash a Dark Baptism, dealing 2,000% damage before disappearing.

The damage scaling was almost on par with Legendary skills.

The downside was the low activation rate—

But with Fate Manipulation, that problem didn’t exist.

‘This skill is insane.’

With this, he could even build a probability-based strategy.

As long as Fate Manipulation was active—

His probability-based skills would always trigger.

With that realization—

Seong decided to focus on probability-based skills when using Overlord’s Grimoire in the future.

For now—

He had acquired everything he needed.

And as always—

There was only one thing left to do.

“Let’s go test this out.”

It was time to return to the labyrinth—

And wipe it clean.

4.

The labyrinth was less of a field and more akin to a massive dungeon.

An open-type dungeon, to be precise.

One where all players could participate freely.

But that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Even though it functioned like one large dungeon, it was still classified as a field.

That meant—

Multiple boss monsters coexisted within it.

And since these bosses were shared across all players, conflicts often broke out.

There were even ambushers—players who lurked in the shadows, waiting to steal the last hit on a boss.

They weren’t necessarily villains by the game’s notoriety system, since they weren’t targeting other players—

But they were still massive nuisances.

One such infamous party was Marine’s Party.

A group of players who specialized in boss kill-stealing.

"If they had enough damage, they would’ve killed it themselves."

That was their usual excuse whenever someone complained.

The very definition of scumbags.

Of course, Marine’s Party wasn’t strong enough to take down bosses alone—

Which was precisely why they resorted to this strategy.

But that didn’t make it any less scummy.

And now—

They were lying in wait, hidden near their next target.

Suddenly—

Footsteps echoed through the labyrinth.

"Oh? Someone’s coming."

"Heh, get ready."

"Wait... but isn’t that just one person?"

"Huh? A solo player?"

Listening carefully—

They realized it was a single set of footsteps.

A brief moment # Nоvеlight # of confusion passed between them.

‘Did their party wipe out?’

‘Then why would they still be coming this way?’

But since they were already hidden, there was no reason to leave.

So they remained silent, waiting.

Soon—

A lone player entered their ambush zone.

A figure clad in a black robe, wearing a mask.

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Nothing particularly unusual.

Masked accessories were popular due to their stats, and they also added a mysterious touch to one’s appearance.

However—

"Why are they alone?"

"No idea."

"Maybe their party got wiped?"

"Wouldn’t they have just turned back, then?"

They couldn’t figure it out.

A solo player coming this far alone?

That was practically suicidal.

Even strong players always formed parties in the labyrinth.

Without teammates, they would eventually get overwhelmed by traps or waves of monsters.

Still—

They didn’t dwell on it too much.

At the end of the day—

Their only job was to steal the last hit.

So they watched.

The masked player walked up to the boss and began casting a spell.

"Whoa. He’s actually soloing it?"

"But the Blood Bat Gargoyle is a tanky boss. No way he can kill it alone, right?"

"This guy's an idiot. Should we just leave?"

"Let's wait. Maybe he's one of those overgeared whales."

Blood Bat Gargoyle.

A boss known for its high HP and strong defenses.

Its damage wasn’t particularly threatening—

But its absurd endurance made it a pain to fight.

That’s why players often hunted it in groups.

And yet—

This fool was trying to fight it alone?

It was obvious he’d fail.

So Marine’s Party settled in, waiting for their perfect opportunity.

The masked player raised his hand.

A dark bullet of energy formed in his palm.

Marine’s Party scoffed.

"Oh, he's really going for it."

"Wait—he's using a projectile attack?"

"Hah. This guy has no idea what he's doing."

"Still clueless players in this day and age?"

The Blood Bat Gargoyle had a special trait.

It had high resistance to projectile attacks—

Including magic projectiles.

That meant—

This guy was wasting his mana.

The boss was just going to tank it like nothing.

They were just about to write him off as a complete amateur—

When—

BOOOOM—!!!

The dark bullet exploded, shaking the entire chamber.

A deafening blast sent the Blood Bat Gargoyle flying several meters back.

The gargoyle screamed in agony, writhing on the ground.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!"

A high-frequency shockwave rang through the air, forcing Marine’s Party to clutch their ears in pain.

What kind of insane damage was this!?

"What... what the hell just happened!?"

"I-I don’t know!"

"There’s no way that was a normal attack!"

"That was a projectile—how did it hit that hard!?"

They stared at the masked player in horror.

Marine, their leader, forced a smirk.

"Pfft. Must’ve been his strongest skill."

"Oh... yeah, that makes sense."

"Yeah, he probably just opened with his ult."

"Makes sense, yeah. Totally."

They were desperately trying to convince themselves.

Meanwhile—

The Blood Bat Gargoyle had recovered and was now charging at the masked player.

A huge mistake.

He was a dark mage—

And the gargoyle had just rushed straight into his territory.

CHHK.

A wave of darkness spread beneath the masked player’s feet.

A black mire swallowed the ground—

A Shadow Swamp.

The Blood Bat Gargoyle stopped in its tracks, suddenly feeling uneasy.

Its instincts screamed at it to retreat.

But it was already too late.

From the blackened shadows—

A blade of darkness shot out, slashing deep into the gargoyle's torso.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!"

The gargoyle screamed in agony.

And then—

A golden aura radiated from the masked player.

As he raised his hand—

A black orb materialized above the gargoyle’s head.

The Black Orb of Fate.

A moment later—

It fired a beam of darkness—

A blast that resembled a dragon’s breath.

"BOOOOOOOOM—!!!"

The Blood Bat Gargoyle was reduced to ash in an instant.

Without even breaking a sweat, the masked player had annihilated the boss.

Marine’s Party was paralyzed.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then—

"S-Should we... run?"

"Yeah. Definitely."

"Good call, leader."

"FAST. BEFORE HE NOTICES."

They turned and sprinted away at full speed.

Meanwhile—

The masked player—no, Seong—nodded to himself.

"All of them are pretty good skills."

Satisfied with his new abilities, he turned toward the fleeing party.

"...Why are they running?"

Of course—

He had known Marine’s Party was hiding there the entire time.

With a small shrug, Seong shook his head.

"Weird people everywhere."