The Black Mage's Second Target
A village came into view in the distance, and only then did they stop advancing.
"That's Misto Village."
Misto Village, part of the Hamma Kingdom.
Mu-hyuk knew of it too.
"A perfect place to kick off the destruction. Heh heh."
Only then did he grasp the bastard's intentions.
The destruction of Misto Village.
At the same time, a fragment of memory surfaced.
Ah...!
Episode 1 had changed in many ways, but some parts remained the same.
In his past life, the black mage Zikera's first village to destroy had been this one—Misto Village. That's how Mu-hyuk knew the bastard's next destination.
Good. Now just die and spill it!
The only issue was when Zikera would experiment on him.
"Watch closely."
At that moment, Zikera's massacre began.
Kieeeek!
A massive horde of chimeras appeared out of nowhere and launched their assault on Misto Village.
The NPCs living there, and even users, began dying gruesome deaths.
"Heh heh heh. How's that?"
"You mad bastard."
"That blood will make them look up to me from below."
The grating metallic rasp was especially repulsive today.
The feast of destruction continued.
Thirty minutes. Then an hour.
"It's over."
The sizable village had been reduced to ashes.
Swoosh.
Zikera swung his hand, unleashing a purple aura that enveloped every chimera. The beasts wandering the ruins vanished completely.
"We're heading back."
"......"
Zikera cast Fly and shot into the sky. Mu-hyuk floated lightly beside him, lying supine in midair as they traveled together.
He checked the sun's position.
Should we hit one more spot?
Pondering, he glanced at Mu-hyuk and grinned.
Right—with you here.
He decided to rush and wrap up some unfinished research.
That way, he could create even superior chimeras.
His future plans would go much more smoothly.
Dreaming of what lay ahead, Zikera accelerated.
A short while later.
Arriving at a new hideout, Zikera bound Mu-hyuk to a stone bed.
Once again, Mu-hyuk became the test subject.
"Hold."
Liquid trickled down his throat.
His body grew unbearably heavy.
All stats reduced by 20%.
Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed.
Thank god for the 30-minute limit; otherwise, this debuff was so brutal he might've logged out and stormed Illusion HQ.
Zikera checked Mu-hyuk's physical stats to gauge the debuff's effect, then waited patiently for his abilities to return.
"Back to normal."
New liquid churned inside him.
You consumed the Potion of Dark Evolution.
A random skill has been corroded.
Powerful Arrow Shot skill level has dropped by 3.
To think a skill level could drop.
The unexpected turn left him flustered first.
Then came the emptiness of wasted effort vanishing into nothing.
Finally, the dagger of endless rage sharpening deeper in his chest.
And at last, it all sank deep, feigning indifference.
Only after several more experiments could he finally die.
Hiss.
Emerging from the capsule, he immediately called Sung Min-woo.
It rang but went unanswered.
Kang Ji-yeon?
Her line rang out too.
"......"
The deliberation was brief.
He logged straight into the Illusion homepage and started posting.
Hello. This is Mu-hyuk, currently captured by Zikera.
If you watched Illusion TV, you know his tricks trapped me—my character won't delete, so I'm stuck as a test subject.
Today, I witnessed him destroy Misto Village with my own eyes. I also overheard his next target.
I hope quest participants relay this to the nobles.
Zikera's second target: Carben Kingdom, famous for mages—the largest village there, Warden.
Screenshot attached as proof.
He attached the screenshot and hit enter.
"Whew."
This would expose K.Mu as Mu-hyuk, but he didn't care.
He'd never done anything evil or shameful worth hiding.
Please... stop him.
He watched the reactions earnestly.
*
Mu-hyuk's post racked up views quickly.
Comments piled up fast.
Refresh.
He hammered F5, checking new replies.
"Good, mostly positive."
Barring a few, yeah.
Vrrr.
Sung Min-woo's call came in.
"Yeah."
(You called.)
"Had something to tell you."
(What?)
"You know Misto Village got wrecked?"
(Yeah, total chaos over it.)
"Next target's Warden Village in Carben Kingdom."
(What? Warden? For real?)
"Yeah, overheard it while captured."
(Holy shit. Gotta tell Duke Amur right now!)
"Yeah, do it."
(OK, logging back in!)
"Cool."
Mu-hyuk hung up, relieved.
Did everything I could.
With this intel, they should stop it.
If not...
Then they're total idiots.
Now wait.
He headed to the living room and sank into the sofa.
"Back?"
"Yeah."
"Dinner soon—hang tight."
"I'll watch TV."
"Sure, sweetie."
He flipped on the TV, channel surfing.
"To break Episode 1, top rankers gathered—but things got hectic suddenly, right?"
"Yes, some users rushed to the nobles."
"Something to report, maybe?"
"Who knows. We'll have to watch."
"Fingers crossed it turns out well—no more casualties. NPCs or not, they think and feel. In Illusion, they feel human to me. Am I too sentimental?"
"Not at all. Debates rage on. Some say 'just NPCs, chill.' Others insist talking to them proves they're more. Most rage at needless deaths of living beings—so your take's spot on, Haran."
"Thanks."
"Oh, users from the nobles are back."
"I'll ask!"
MC Haran approached a user.
"Hi!"
"Oh, hi."
"I'm Haran, MC for Illusion Explorer."
"Big fan."
"Quick questions OK?"
"Shoot."
"Self-intro first!"
A man in fancy armor grinned at the camera.
"Kalchi, top 5,000 ranker."
"Kalchi—fun ID. Anyway, things look chaotic. Mind explaining?"
"Mu-hyuk's homepage post."
"Mu-hyuk?"
"Listed Black Mage Zikera's next target."
"No way?"
"Yeah, just told the nobles."
"They buy it?"
"One or two? Maybe not. But top rankers all chimed in—they nodded."
"So..."
"Yeah, heading there early to hide."
"Phew, awesome!"
"Looks like we're off. Bye!"
"Thanks for the interview. Good luck!"
MC Haran returned.
"Good talk?"
"Yeah, they're moving—let's follow!"
"Great!"
Mu-hyuk watched, unconsciously clenching his fists. Tension gripped him—he wanted it that badly.
Die, Zikera. Die.
He stayed glued to the TV.
"After chasing hard, we're now at..."
"Warden Village, Carben Kingdom's biggest."
"See the NPCs and users?"
"Spreading out."
"Mages suppressing presence, spirit mages going invisible. Illusions of trees and rocks hiding NCP and user spots perfectly."
"What's that mage doing?"
"Using an item?"
Light burst from his staff.
"What is it?"
"Let's ask!"
The answer came quick.
"Whoa, this item blocks mana flow detection in range."
"They'll never find us now."
"Impossible. When the black mage shows..."
"You know what happens."
The two MCs smiled.
"Let's await that moment!"
Soon, the crew vanished too—invisible.
Time dragged in silence. Doubt crept in—would he even show?
Whoosh.
A faint shape appeared far off.
He's here...!
The moment everyone thought it.
Whoooosh.
Purple energy swirled, chimeras spawning everywhere.
"Tear it down."
Zikera's grating rasp echoed.
Kieeeek!
The chimeras charged Warden Village.