The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 210

This place was still, by all definitions, a forest.

And yet, the sounds that should naturally exist in a forest were missing.

“......”

Seong stopped in his tracks and carefully observed his surroundings.

He closed his eyes to focus on any movement—

But there was nothing.

No presence.

No chirping of insects.

No rustling of leaves in the wind.

No sign of any living thing.

A forest, which should have been full of life—

Was completely silent.

Seong opened his eyes again, intrigued.

The forest path stretched ahead in a straight line.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"A forest completely devoid of life, huh?"

A Forest Shrouded in Darkness.

And somewhere in this place—

The tall, thin man and the face man were waiting.

Seong had some ideas about what they could be—

But he needed to see for himself.

For most people, this place would be terrifying.

But Seong had been friends with ghosts since childhood.

This kind of eerie atmosphere?

It barely fazed him.

The unsettling mix of childish innocence and horror in Helena’s journal entries had been a little creepy.

But a place like this?

Not at all.

Seong walked through the forest for a while.

Eventually, a message appeared before him.

[You have entered the Hidden Field: 『Forest Shrouded in Darkness』.]

The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.

[You are the first to discover this Hidden Field!]

[First Discovery Rewards will be granted.]

[Your vision in 『Forest Shrouded in Darkness』 has increased by 50%.]

[Rewards from 『Forest Shrouded in Darkness』 will be increased by 50%.]

[First Discovery Rewards will remain active until you clear the dungeon for the first time.]

[『Forest Shrouded in Darkness』 is designed as a labyrinth.]

[It is an extensive and vast field.]

[Escape safely.]

A Hidden Field.

Seong had suspected as much—

But to actually confirm it was a different story.

And then there was that final message...

Escape safely.

So the mission here wasn’t about defeating something.

It was about escaping.

"Something in this forest lured Helena here when she was a child."

And she had seen the tall, thin man and the face man here.

That much was recorded in her journal.

"So, the goal is to escape, huh?"

The field was massive, according to the system messages.

Seong cracked his neck and stretched his limbs.

A good warm-up.

His body was already loose from the previous battle—

But some extra stretching helped clear his mind.

"Let’s see just how big this place really is."

The forest path continued onward.

Seong bent his knees slightly—

And kicked off the ground.

BOOM—!!!

A deep footprint was engraved into the ground.

Dirt and debris erupted into the air as the sheer force of his leap shook the earth.

Seong shot forward like an arrow.

Wind and scenery blurred past him.

The forest receded behind him at an astonishing speed—

But nothing stood out.

"Not yet?"

Despite moving at a terrifying pace—

There was still nothing.

Even the end of the forest path was nowhere in sight.

The trail twisted and turned, becoming increasingly maze-like.

Tall trees formed dense walls on either side.

It didn’t feel like a traditional dungeon—

But the labyrinth-like layout was clear.

Seong frowned slightly.

Every time he rounded a bend, he kicked at the trees out of curiosity.

But—

No damage.

Not even a scratch.

The force of his kick should have been enough to splinter wood—

But there was zero effect.

"I can’t break through them."

That meant this path was systematically restricted.

There was no point in trying to break the walls down.

His only option was to follow the path and face whatever lay ahead.

As he ran—

A sound finally reached his ears.

The first noise he had heard since entering the forest.

It hadn’t suddenly appeared—

It had simply grown louder as he got closer.

Seong immediately gripped his sword.

He braced himself—

And accelerated.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Each step shattered the ground beneath him.

His speed continued to build—

Until he became a streaking blur, heading straight for the source of the noise.

A faint light flickered ahead.

Seong narrowed his eyes.

"There it is."

He prepared to attack the moment he saw it.

He burst through the final stretch of forest—

And entered an open clearing.

Seong’s mind immediately shifted into battle mode.

A boss room?

Where’s the boss?

He scanned the area—

And then froze.

"???"

DUNGA, DUNGA!

WOOONG! DOONG! DOOOONG!

The deep echoes of war drums rumbled through the air.

At the center—

A massive bonfire blazed.

Surrounding it—

Were figures dressed in wooden masks, leafy garments, and strange headdresses.

They danced in circles around the fire.

"HYAAH!"

"HORAYA!"

"HEEYAP!"

They shouted in rhythmic chants as they moved.

At first glance, it seemed like some kind of ritual.

But then—

"WAHAHA! EAT AND DRINK!"

"TODAY IS A FESTIVAL!"

"THE DAY OUR NOBLE LORD ARRIVES!"

"THE LORD HAS COME!"

Laughter filled the air.

People raised their cups, drinking merrily.

Those dancing around the fire seemed completely lost in celebration.

Seong loosened his grip on his sword.

"Wasn’t the mission supposed to be escaping the forest?"

And wasn’t he supposed to face the tall, thin man and the face man?

He had expected a battle—

Not a village partying around a bonfire.

What the hell was this place?

"HUH?! HEY!!! SOMEONE JUST SHOWED UP!"

"WHAT?!"

“Whoa!? It’s real!”

“A visitor in our village!?”

“Hahaha! This is a celebration! A true blessing!”

“How many years has it been since the Lord visited us?”

“At least three thousand years!”

Was this really happening?

Seong stared blankly at the villagers as he listened to their words.

Could they be monsters?

No, that didn’t seem likely.

The markers floating above their heads were NPC indicators, not monster indicators.

So they weren’t monsters.

And they didn’t seem to be Face Man or the Tall, Thin Man either.

There were not just men here—there were women too.

This was an actual village, inhabited by both men and women.

As Seong hesitated, still caught off guard by what he was seeing, a system message appeared before him.

[You have arrived at 『Tree Drum Village』 within the Hidden Field 『Forest Shrouded in Darkness』.]

[『Tree Drum Village』 is a Safe Zone.]

[This is a logout-enabled area.]

“...?”

A Safe Zone?

So this was a village.

Seong still looked uncertain, but the villagers welcomed him warmly.

“Welcome!!!”

“Hahaha!!! A guest arrives on the same day as the Lord!!!”

“This is truly a celebration!!!”

“Hahaha!!! Eat, drink, and enjoy!!!”

“Today is a festival day!”

The people cheered even louder.

Still bewildered, Seong allowed himself to be dragged along by some of the villagers.

As he moved, he got a better look at the village.

All of the houses were made entirely of wood.

Not just the buildings—every item in sight was made of wood.

But something about them was off.

It wasn’t as if the houses had been built out of wood.

Rather—

"The trees grew into the shape of houses?"

The trees had naturally formed into houses, rather than being carved into them.

Even the furniture and tools seemed to have grown into their shapes.

At the far end of the village, the largest structure stood—a massive wooden statue.

A towering tree had grown into the shape of a person.

And strangely enough—

Seong recognized the figure.

A statue of a young girl, her hands proudly on her hips, her chin lifted in confidence.

Even though the figure looked young, Seong could tell who it was.

"Helena?"

He had assumed they meant Helena when they spoke of the Lord’s arrival—

But to actually see her statue here?

What was this place?

As Seong stared at the statue in confusion, the journal in his hands suddenly flipped open on its own.

『The Dark Forest is fun!

Drums over here!

Drums over there!

I won’t «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» get lost!

No Face Men or Tall, Thin Men here!

Drum, drum!

Drumming together!

Tree Drum Village is the best!!!

But... if I leave here, I think I’ll see them again.』

A new page had appeared.

What was this supposed to mean?

So Helena had entered the Dark Forest—

Seen the Face Man and the Tall, Thin Man—

Then followed the sound of drums and arrived at this village?

And the last line...

"If I leave, I think I’ll see them again?"

Seong hadn’t seen anything before arriving here.

So were they waiting outside?

A trap?

Was this a setup?

Had the safe zone been created just to lower his guard before springing a trap?

Just as Seong began to think something was off—

[You have cleared the 『Overlord』 Story Quest: 『Forest Shrouded in Darkness』.]

[A new 『Overlord』 Story Quest: 『Tree Drum Village』 has been created.]

『Tree Drum Village』

→ A fun and exciting village filled with drums.

→ You can rest safely here.

→ But there are still some mysteries left—ask the villagers for more information.

The quest had changed.

Seong scratched his cheek.

"So I really can rest here, huh?"

There was no trap.

This place was meant for gathering information.

The village was ancient—

And judging from the villagers' words, they remembered when Helena had been here.

Maybe they could tell him more about her past.

But more importantly—

"Helena is over three thousand years old, huh?"

Seong had uncovered one of her secrets.

He would have to ask her about this later.

As he settled into a seat, guided by the villagers, a large man approached him.

He was wearing an aged wooden mask and wooden robes, his muscular frame towering over the others.

The man greeted Seong with a booming voice.

“Welcome to Tree Drum Village!”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Hahahaha!!! You arrived at the perfect time! Today is the festival celebrating the Lord’s arrival!”

“...By ‘Lord,’ you mean the person in that statue, right?”

“Hahahaha!!! You know well! That’s right!!! The great and adorable Lord, Helena! Today is the day we commemorate her arrival!!!”

Even at such a young age, Helena was called a great ruler?

Then again, considering the power she had demonstrated, it wasn’t surprising.

Maybe he should start asking some questions.