The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 99

99. The Destroyer Gaiman.

More than ten minutes had passed since that name was mentioned, and the meeting, which could only be described as a crucible of shock, had ended.

However, no one got up from their seat easily.

They seemed quite shocked, remaining blank for a while before getting up one by one after about ten minutes.

“The Destroyer has reappeared… Why? We certainly took measures to ensure he could never return.”

“…The timing is strange too. I suspect he took advantage of Lord Leved being away.”

“How did he even know?”

“Oh… This is a big problem.”

“Let’s get up first.”

They expressed their concerns with a word each as they left.

Watching the high-ranking priests, at least those above the level of high priests representing Brion, act like that made Dohyun extremely curious.

‘Just what kind of guy is Gaiman?’

Judging by the grand title of Destroyer, he seems like a formidable foe…

It was frustrating that they wouldn’t tell him and were just talking among themselves.

He had been concentrating, hoping to glean even a little information from their conversation, but it seemed even that would be difficult now.

“This is not the time for any of you to be like this. Now is the time to implement what we have been preparing for.”

“…You are right, High Priest Gildete.”

“Indeed, this is not the time. We were careless.”

“Everyone, please hurry. I would also like to ask for your understanding. We must ensure that no confusion arises. And could our elders inform the priests of this news?”

As if they had never been anxious, they suddenly became united and began to leave quickly.

From the high priests to the elders and high priests of other temples.

As everyone left, burning with enthusiasm, an elder belonging to High Priest Lyre cautiously asked.

“Shouldn’t we call Lord Leved, High Priest?”

“…The Holy Knights are still on a mission, so it will take time for them to return. We must come up with a plan. We can’t rely too much on Lord Leved, can we?”

“That is very true.”

“We haven’t been idle either. Let’s take this opportunity to cut off the root.”

“…First, we will step down. Please don’t worry too much, High Priest.”

With those words, they bowed their heads and left through the door.

Dohyun, who was left awkwardly standing in the center without knowing what was going on, scratched his head. Gildete, who had been moving busily, paused and said.

“Ah, I apologize for the suddenness. As the matter is what it is, we can’t move rashly. Would it be alright if we come up with a plan and contact you later?”

“…I understand.”

Dohyun had no choice but to nod.

Ding-.

[The forced linked quest ‘Emergency Meeting’ is in progress.]

[Emergency Meeting]

-Rank: Rare+

-Description: A fallen priest who broke the taboo and made a contract with the abyss.

He has reappeared in Brion.

With the strongest force, the Lyre Holy Knights, and Lord Leved away, disaster will strike if the Destroyer Gaiman attacks the city.

Stand by while the priests of Brion come up with a plan.

-Time Remaining: 02:00:00

-Quest Success: Linked quest ‘???’ created.

-Quest Failure: You never know what might happen.

[A forced linked quest is currently in progress. You are forcibly linked until all quests are completed.]

Without any explanation, a quest to stand by had appeared.

It was a shame, but what could he do?

With the quest active, there was no way to resist.

Above all, the phrase ‘You never know what might happen’ was deeply unsettling. If the text said that much, there might be some truly bizarre failure risk.

‘Still, 2 hours isn’t too bad.’

It was a waste to spend 2 hours, but this was reasonable.

In Demlock, there were many quests that made you wait a whole day.

‘Gamilion went out a little while ago, right?’

He had said to meet after the meeting, so he should be outside.

It was good timing since there were many things to talk about.

Dohyun, deciding to think positively, headed for the door.

That was when he came out, leaving his lingering feelings behind.

Swish.

As expected, he felt a presence.

However, the person standing in the hallway was not who Dohyun expected.

“You’ve come.”

“Hmm?”

A cold, sharp voice that was now familiar.

It was Zerdic.

‘…What is this? Déjà vu?’

Zerdic waiting in the hallway as soon as he came out of the meeting was quite familiar.

Wondering what was going on again, he stared at him, and Zerdic met his gaze.

Just when he thought another pointless staring contest was about to begin, the guy quickly opened his mouth.

“…Sorry.”

“?”

But he spoke so faintly that it was hard to hear.

Dohyun tilted his head, and Zerdic frowned, cleared his throat once, and said again.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

…Did I hear wrong?

It was already hard to understand why he was suddenly apologizing, but the fact that the person making the apology was that annoying guy made it even stranger.

“I’m talking about rashly suspecting you of being a stranger.”

Zerdic added an explanation, as if his expression had revealed it.

“I had some doubts about you until the last measurement. It was such an important matter to me that I needed certainty.”

“Ah.”

“…But that doesn’t justify suspecting you arbitrarily. I am sincerely sorry to you. The same goes for your companions.”

Watching Zerdic’s behavior, Jihad blinked.

‘Master, what’s wrong with him? Did he eat something wrong?’

‘…You took the words right out of my mouth.’

He was honestly apologizing, showing a side he had never shown before, which made Dohyun feel even more uncomfortable.

Dohyun preferred it when he was picking a fight, so it was even more so.

In the end, Dohyun, unable to bear the awkwardness, replied appropriately.

“Um… well, yeah. I guess so.”

“…Are you understanding? You are very generous.”

He had only answered because he wanted to move on quickly, but perhaps Zerdic had taken it differently.

The guy, whose eyes were shining, let out a small exclamation.

[Zerdic’s favorability has increased.]

[The effect of the title ‘Favorability Max from the Start?’ is activated. Favorability increases even more.]

So that guy could have his favorability increased too.

Having only seen him acting like an angry boss, this phrase was incredibly surprising. Perhaps Gildete’s words that he wasn’t a bad person at heart were true.

Dohyun, feeling embarrassed after seeing Zerdic’s different side, was at a loss for words.

“You should step away at this point.”

“…What?”

“He is not someone you can handle. You will lose a lot.”

The words came out of nowhere. It was truly absurd.

His favorability had increased, but suddenly he was saying that he couldn’t handle it and should step away. What kind of rude words were these?

Just as Dohyun was about to say something, Zerdic continued, preemptively.

“I know that the apostles are immortal. But I also know that apostles lose something every time they die. Don’t bother enduring the sacrifice.”

‘Is he talking about death penalties?’

Even if he didn’t know exactly what they lost, it seemed that even the NPCs knew about the existence of penalties.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Even if it wasn’t a death penalty, considering the quest failure risk, the impact would be significant.

However, why was he worrying about that…?

“This is the best advice I can give you right now. I hope you don’t dismiss my words and think deeply about them. Then, I’ll be on my way.”

“…Huh?”

Zerdic left without looking back after saying those words.

-He’s a strange guy…

-Rizariza……

“I agree.”

Dohyun agreed with the words of the two guardians.

He seemed different when he was apologizing, but seeing him leave after saying only what he wanted to say until the end, he must be that annoying guy after all.

It was unsettling, but it wasn’t important right now, so Dohyun quickly erased it from his mind.

Instead, he said firmly but quietly.

“Gamilion, come out.”

A sudden call.

Dohyun’s voice, echoing alone in the empty hallway, felt hollow.

-Master, what are you suddenly doing…

Just as Jihad was about to say something about Dohyun’s strange behavior.

Suddenly, the wall of the hallway rippled, and an old man wearing worn-out priestly robes appeared.

It was Gamilion Adran.

“I have been waiting.”

-Heek? Wh-what is it? Were you hiding?

-Riza!?

Jihad and Eliza, startled, quickly hid behind Dohyun.

Regardless, Gamilion Adran calmly bowed to Dohyun.

He seemed somewhat impressed.

“As expected, you are the successor. You knew from the beginning.”

“Yeah, well…”

He had been seeing a ghostly red silhouette standing by the wall for a while now.

He probably came to find him but hid when he saw Zerdic.

‘He seems strong when I see things like this.’

If it was stealth that Zerdic didn’t notice, wouldn’t it be an excellent stealth ability?

…Or not?

It was nonsense to discuss combat power based on stealth ability alone.

Before that, it was strange how he could use stealth when he didn’t look like an assassin, but that wasn’t important right now.

“I think we have a lot to talk about.”

“Hehe, ask me anything.”

Gamilion smiled at Dohyun’s words.

Dohyun paused and organized his thoughts.

There were so many questions that he needed to think about what to say first.

Why he was here, what High Priest Herti was, whether he was related to the abyss, whether he knew about Gaiman…

‘This must be it first.’

Dohyun, having finished his 고민 [Korean: worries], opened his mouth.

“I caught all thousand of them.”

There were many things to ask, but the most important thing was the main quest.

He had heard about Gaiman from Zerdic, so his curiosity had been somewhat resolved.

The rest could be discussed later.

“Oh? That’s faster than I expected. Should I say that you are indeed the one who carries on his will?”

Gamilion, stroking his thin goatee, was truly impressed.

‘Did he already catch all those orcs?’

He had expected that the one who followed in his footsteps would be able to complete it smoothly.

But the successor was still only at the stage of taking his first steps, as he had said.

He thought it would be quite difficult, but what was this?

It was faster than expected.

‘Even more surprising is that the 귀인 [Korean: noble person] that High Priest Gildete mentioned was the successor….’

What was even more surprising was that he wasn’t just focused on catching monsters.

To have this kind of speed even though he was doing two quests at the same time….

He had been inwardly doubtful when he heard that the 까다로운 [Korean: picky] Cassiar had immediately recognized him as the successor, but he was now somewhat convinced.

Clap.

Gamilion, smiling, clapped once.

“Hmm?”

“Take it.”

Then, on Gamilion’s palm, which he held out, was an old, worn ring.

The ring was red in places, as if blood had hardened.

[You have cleared Gamilion’s test.]

[As a reward, you have obtained a lot of experience and Gamilion’s Ring.]

‘Huh? A reward?’

At that moment, the 잡념 [Korean: stray thoughts] that he had been curious about disappeared without a trace.

What occupied Dohyun’s brain now was only that old-looking red ring.

It looked like an antique, with an unremarkable appearance.