The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage

Apostle of the Bloodline?

Seeing the reaction of the Lord of Blood, it was clear that the vampire was definitely involved.

A vampire user.

It would be troublesome if I absorbed them.

As Seong thought this, a new message appeared before him, as if to reassure him.

[The conditions have been met, and the Almighty-ranked skill, ”Lord of Blood,” is evolving.] [The new effect of ”Lord of Blood” has appeared.] [You can now form a contract with the ”Apostle of the Bloodline” using ”Lord of Blood.”]

Not absorption, but a contract.

I don’t fully understand what this means yet.

I can’t make a rash decision about it.

The battle is still ongoing, after all.

It seems like it would be better to wait until the fight is over.

Especially since Embris is still in shock from learning that Seong is the Demon Lord.

Perhaps because of this?

Laflesin, who had somehow escaped the grip of the abyss, was attempting to strike Embris with a tendril-like arm.

Embris belatedly noticed the attack and tried to defend himself.

It was too late to avoid it, though.

Snap!

As Seong snapped his fingers, the manipulation of fate activated, and a golden aura wrapped around his body.

Along with the golden aura, which resembled a banner, a black orb appeared above Laflesin’s head.

The black orb, as if foretelling Laflesin’s ominous fate, devoured the surrounding darkness, and that ominous fate soon became reality as it poured down upon Laflesin’s flower-like head.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaa———!!!

The wave, which poured out all that was unholy, was more than enough to melt Laflesin’s petals.

Laflesin, drenched in that malevolent force, let out a pained cry.

“Keieeeek...!”

The tendril-like arm of Laflesin, now weakened by the agony, slowed down.

Unable to avoid the attack, Embris was given a chance to dodge.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga.

The tendril, losing strength, scraped across the ground, leaving a long gouge in the earth.

Even though it had weakened, Laflesin was still a raid boss.

Had the tendril hit directly, the damage would have been catastrophic.

Seong, getting distracted and careless during the battle, had made a critical error.

That was grounds for being disqualified as the party leader.

“Embris!”

“Are you okay?!”

“Stay sharp!”

With the support of his allies, Embris regained his composure.

Although he knew that Seong was the Demon Lord now, he still thought,

‘There’s plenty of time after the battle.’

He wanted to meet Seong in person, but more than that, he wanted to confirm whether vampires had any weaknesses or if they were his natural enemy.

But so far, he had not felt anything out of the ordinary.

For now, he needed to focus on the battle before him.

With that thought, Embris readied himself.

Seong, on the other hand, took a step back.

Normally, he would have unleashed his full power without hesitation, but

‘I need to see what this is about.’

The Apostle of the Bloodline.

It could be a class, or perhaps a skill like Lord of Blood.

Whatever it was, he needed to check it out.

After this, Seong decided that unless it was an emergency, he would stay out of the fight for now.

By stepping back and providing support, Seong made things much easier for Embris’ and Joonu’s party.

As Laflesin’s attacks continued, Seong strategically used debuffs and skills to disrupt the flow of the battle at just the right moments.

Embris, instead of feeling frustrated, took full advantage of the opportunity to show off his strength.

Although he wasn’t sure what Seong’s intentions were, it seemed like Seong wanted to see his abilities firsthand.

‘If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, it’ll be awkward, but...’

With that thought, Embris used all the power of the Apostle of the Bloodline.

Sometimes he fired beams of blood, and at other times, he summoned bat monsters to attack.

He displayed a variety of stylish, blood-powered techniques, taking full control of the battle.

Seong observed these techniques with his chin resting on his hand.

‘Definitely...’

While Seong watched, Helena, who was assisting with Embris and Joonu’s party, asked,

“What do you think?”

“Hmm?”

“Isn’t that the Apostle of the Bloodline?”

Just as expected, Helena already knew.

Seong, who hadn’t said anything about his distraction, nodded in response, knowing she must have realized the same thing.

“I can tell he handles blood very well. A little disappointing, though.”

“Hmm? So, are you going to make the contract?”

Having already confirmed the possibility of a contract during the fight, Seong could respond to Helena’s question.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to ask.”

The battle continued.

Even in phase two, Embris’ and Joonu’s parties had an easier time fighting thanks to Seong’s support.

Naturally, both parties were in awe.

Joonu’s party, being new to hidden raid bosses, was especially shocked.

“Crazy, is this really a raid?”

“This is too easy...”

“We don’t even feel the usual suffocating pressure!”

“Not only does he fight well, but his support is amazing...”

“Isn’t it because he’s so strong that he’s a good supporter? He just reads the flow so well.”

“Ugh, the Demon Lord... I’m glad I became a fan.”

“Unbelievable.”

The members of Joonu’s party couldn’t help but be impressed.

This battle felt easier than most regular raid bosses.

Even though it was a hidden raid boss, it didn’t feel that difficult, and they were able to get the hang of the battle’s flow, which was a bonus.

They were experiencing an incredible amount of growth thanks to Seong.

Just like Joonu’s party, Embris’ party was equally stunned.

“A hidden raid boss this easy...”

“The Demon Lord really is on another level...”

“Embris wasn’t wrong when he said he wanted to meet him.”

“I said I wanted to meet him, not that I was looking forward to it!”

Embris’ party, who had fought hidden raid bosses before, were even more shocked.

They knew how powerful the hidden raid bosses they had previously faced were.

They had even failed a challenge once.

Yet, this raid boss seemed stronger than any of those, but it wasn’t difficult at all.

It was clear just how vital Seong’s support was.

And then...

“We’re never going to top the contribution chart, are we?”

“No way...”

“With his supporting ability, there’s no way.”

“Even with his occasional damage, he’s outperformed us.”

Even Seong’s main summons weren’t doing anything, making his contributions overwhelming.

The difference in power was just too vast.

They had never imagined such a gap.

At this point, the competition was out of their minds.

They weren’t focused on winning; they just needed to finish the fight and defeat Laflesin.

So, when Laflesin gave one last, desperate cry as Seong blocked its final attempt, they knew the end was near.

“Keieee... eh... eh.”

As Laflesin’s body collapsed, the message confirming its defeat appeared.

Contribution 1st place?

The user with the highest contribution is 『Seong』.

Of course, it was Seong.

Everyone received experience rewards based on their contribution ranking.

They also received special items from Laflesin.

Seong received one unique-grade material item and two unique-grade equipment items.

Even so, honestly, he didn’t feel like he needed them.

By now, even defeating hidden raid bosses without leveling up was more disappointing than anything else.

But that was something for later.

Anyway, it was the first time they had done a raid as a party.

“Great job, everyone.”

When Seong said that, Joonu’s party and Embris’ party nodded at each other.

Why was he saying that?

For a moment, Seong tilted his head, and when Embris and Joonu came up to him, they handed him the best rewards they had received.

Both were unique-grade items.

“???”

Seong looked confused, so Joonu spoke first.

“Honestly, we couldn’t have done it this easily without you, Seong-nim.”

“...That’s right. Plus, if you wanted, you could’ve taken everything for yourself.”

“Oh.”

It wasn’t wrong.

So Seong nodded and accepted the items.

“I’ll accept these with thanks.”

“We should be the ones thanking you. Honestly, if it had just been our party, this hidden raid would’ve been tough. It doesn’t seem like anyone here is that weak, though.”

Joonu, feeling the difference in skill compared to Embris, said that and awkwardly laughed before continuing.

“Then we’ll be heading back first since we took some damage. See you later.”

Since they had to return /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to the Moor Summit to complete the quest anyway, Joonu’s party hurriedly packed their things and left.

Embris’ party also prepared to leave.

But then, just as they were about to go, Seong blocked Embris’ way.

What was going on?

Embris looked at Seong with a puzzled expression.

Seong looked back at Embris and asked.

“Is it okay if we talk for a moment?”

“Y-Yes?”

At that moment, Embris’ mind was racing.

Had he made some mistake?

Was it because of that moment when he spaced out during the battle?

Or perhaps because he had tried to pretend they’d met before?

Any of those could be a mistake.

As Embris fumbled for words, Seong glanced at Embris’ companions behind him and said.

“Well, just in case, should we talk alone?”

Alone?

What was this about?

Embris’ companions smiled awkwardly and nodded, stepping aside.

“Embris, you’ve got this!”

“We believe in you!”

“Fighting!”

“W-Wait, what are you guys saying!!!”

Embris shouted, but his hands were shaking in nervousness.

As his companions had said, he didn’t feel strange emotions, but the fear of making a mistake was stronger.

What should he do if Seong got angry?

Just as that thought popped into his head, a strange message appeared in the air in front of Embris.

[The Master of All Bloodlines, 『Lord of Blood』, wishes to make a contract with 『Apostle of the Bloodline』.]

“??????”

Embris blinked, looking utterly confused.

What was this?

The master of all bloodlines?

Lord of Blood?

How did it know that his class was the Apostle of the Bloodline?

His mind was in chaos.

As Embris stood bewildered, Seong quickly explained.

“It’s one of the skills I have. As you can see, it’s a skill with the title of ruler of vampires.”

“Ah??? So, that’s why you ranked first in the event!?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Embris swallowed nervously, now understanding the overwhelming numbers from the event.

If Seong was the ruler of all vampires, then those numbers made sense.

But then, what was this contract?

[Upon accepting the contract of 『Lord of Blood』, 『Apostle of the Bloodline』 will give a portion of all future experience points to the owner of 『Lord of Blood』.]

[Additionally, you must comply with the summoning of 『Lord of Blood』 without question.]

What was this unfair contract?

It seemed like something he would never accept.

But the following message made Embris’ eyes widen in shock.

[Additionally, upon accepting the contract, 『Apostle of the Bloodline』 will receive an additional 50 stat points from 『Lord of Blood』.]

[Furthermore, the original power of 『Apostle of the Bloodline』 will awaken upon accepting the contract.]

[Finally, whenever 『Lord of Blood』 grows, 『Apostle of the Bloodline』 will also benefit from that growth.]

Embris glared at the message, then turned to Seong, his heart racing.

Seong, unsure if the terms were displeasing, cautiously asked.

“Is something wrong?”

“Sign the contract? Is that all?”

“Yes?”

Embris was burning with enthusiasm.