The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 212

212.

“He doesn’t even have the Latent Dragon trait, so how is he so strong?”

“No, even with the Latent Dragon trait, this is too much… He’s only in his early 70s.”

Even with all the high-tier gear, his strength was incomprehensible, raising questions.

But the most striking thing was Kaiser himself.

“…Verze has an overwhelmingly advantageous fight. Yet, he hasn’t landed a single direct hit?”

“100% parry success rate… He’s deflecting all the big skills.”

“That monster… No wonder the guild members were so helpless and got wiped out.”

“If it weren’t for Kaiser, the game would have ended a long time ago.”

Every move is admirable, but that’s all it is.

“Still… Master will win, right?”

“Well, he probably will.”

“The gap is too big. If he had grown a little more, maybe, but it looks like he’ll win easily.”

This fight, which seems even at first glance, is only superficially so.

Kaiser was clearly taking more damage.

Seeing this, Jihad said with an anxious voice.

-…Isn’t Master at a disadvantage? He’s getting hurt little by little.

-Lizariza….

-Right? It seems too fierce. Shouldn’t we help?

She was worried about her master, who was fiercely engaged in close combat.

Charlie, who was listening to Jihad’s anxious words, said solemnly.

-Does it really look that way to you?

-Then how else would it look?

-Look again carefully.

-Hmm? Hmmm….

At Charlie’s firm and solemn voice, Jihad opened her eyes wide.

Still unsure, she squinted and then exclaimed, “Ah!”

-Now you see it too.

-…Yes. I see it.

Charlie asked with a satisfied, subtle smile, and Jihad nodded.

Abandoning her impatience and calmly observing, Jihad could see it too.

How firm and relaxed her master’s eyes were. There was not a hint of defeat in them.

That was the reason.

Clang! Bang!

‘…It’s unsettling.’

Unlike the guild members’ assessment, Verze was feeling unpleasant.

In the 10 minutes of fighting that guy, he hadn’t lost in a single strength contest, and he was inflicting damage little by little.

Verze himself wasn’t unharmed, but he was in much better shape compared to that guy.

He still had 70% of his health left.

[Health is below 50%.]

[Be careful.]

On the other hand, Kaiser’s health had dropped below 50%.

It wasn’t an overwhelming difference, but it was true that he was at an advantage.

But Verze didn’t like that at all.

‘I could only create this much of a difference?’

No matter how many levels that guy had gained in a day, there should be at least a 25-level difference.

Yet, it was ‘only’ this much of a difference.

But more than anything, it was that guy’s eyes that were unsettling.

‘What is it? What are you so relaxed about, Kaiser?’

That guy was losing.

But strangely, looking at those clear, alive eyes, it felt like he was the one being chased.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

Unlike that guy, who was calmly taking attacks without ever losing his composure even while being pushed back, he was becoming increasingly hasty in his movements.

‘…Ah.’

At that moment, Verze realized.

‘I see.’

Why he was being so impatient.

Kaiser, he had never allowed a direct hit.

No, in fact, he had never succeeded in an attack itself.

The only times that guy had allowed even minor attacks were when he needed to counter.

On the other hand, what about himself?

There were a few times when he barely managed to avoid that guy’s attacks.

The meaning of this difference was clear.

‘…This fight is flowing according to that guy’s pace.’

Despite having a large gap, he had lost the initiative.

He was instinctively feeling that, which was why he felt uneasy.

If he were just a little weaker, if the gap between him and that guy were just a little smaller….

What would have happened then?

‘I thought I had caught up… Was there still this much of a skill difference?’

And as the battle continued, even those who had been saying Verze was at an advantage began to express doubts.

The viewers were the same.

-What? How big is the gap between Verze and Kaiser… Isn’t it too close for comfort?

-I thought Verze was more advantageous until just now… What’s going on? Am I the only one who thinks Kaiser looks more relaxed?

-Does he have some hidden card?

-Honestly, Kaiser seems to be fighting better?

-Verze is washed up lol

-Washed up 인정 [acknowledgment, in Korean slang] ㅋㅋㅋ This is just Kaiser being crazy.

The atmosphere in the chat was gradually changing as more and more people felt a sense of incongruity.

Then, Verze suddenly stopped.

“Hehe… Puhahah!”

Seeing him laugh like a madman, Dohyun frowned.

‘That bastard seems to be having another *chuunibyou* [Japanese slang for someone who acts like a delusional teenager] moment.’

Although he seemed to be restraining himself here, Dohyun had seen it countless times during the Demonic Mercenary days.

The way that guy would get caught up in hero fantasies, talking and acting like a hero from a novel.

If the Sword Saint was in the historical drama concept, that guy was in the knight concept.

His character customization was also like a typical fantasy hero… I thought he was doing all sorts of things back then, but it seems better now.

Seeing him like that with his gigolo-like handsome face just makes me dislike him even more.

“I really didn’t expect it to be this much.”

“…I didn’t know you’d be this much either.”

Verze, having exchanged the same words with different meanings, ignored Dohyun’s words and continued.

“Very well. I admit it. Your skills haven’t rusted at all. You’ve consistently been several moves ahead of me.”

“……”

“I’m almost envious. What kind of world do you see….”

He was about to listen quietly, wondering why that guy was saying something right for once.

A strange sense of incongruity was felt.

‘It doesn’t sound like a compliment.’

Because rather than frustration or admiration, he felt an atmosphere from that guy that seemed to say, ‘So what?’

“So thank you. For your arrogance.”

As expected.

The guy revealed his true colors with a bitter smile.

“If more time had been given, this picture wouldn’t have come out. That arrogance that made you throw away that opportunity will lead you to ruin.”

Seeing Dohyun, who was expressing doubt as if he didn’t understand, Verze slowly walked forward.

The closer the distance, the darker the bitterness in his smile became.

“You must know. The gap between someone who has reached level 100 and someone who hasn’t.”

“……”

“When you reach level 100, you get one more skill slot. That alone will inevitably create a significant gap.”

Having one more skill slot means you can use one more skill.

Even though it seems trivial, this makes a huge difference in DPS [Damage Per Second].

Step, step.

But Verze could say for sure.

“And you must know that there is a realm that only those who have reached level 100 can reach.”

Compared to the realm he was about to enter, having one more skill slot would seem cute.

Swish.

At that moment, Verze, who had reached close range, slowly extended his sword.

Then, an abnormal phenomenon occurred in the sword that was covered in intangible sword energy.

Whoosh-

Just like when Dohyun was clad in darkness.

Whoaaaa-!

No, an even more intense energy spread out, incomparable to that.

That energy became red flames, instantly covering the entire sword.

As if that wasn’t enough, heat haze rose around it because of the flames that were burning as if they would fall off at any moment.

[Activating Trait (Transcendence) ‘Sword of Burning Will.’]

[The power of fire dwells in the sword in proportion to the user’s will. The will of fire will never be broken and will help achieve the goal.]

[When cut by a sword imbued with the will of fire, the fire of will ignites.]

[All stats, damage, and speed are greatly increased in proportion to the will of fire, and continuous damage is inflicted on the enemy.]

[You can only strike once, and when you strike, the flames will devour everything.]

-It’s up, the Fire Sword!

-That broken trait, seriously.

-Wow, he’s already using that.

-It’s really over now….

Verze’s trademark, and the ability that allowed him to overcome his weaknesses, which had shown a somewhat weak appearance in one-on-one battles.

‘It’s the ability that brought me to this place.’

One of the two things that made Verze who he is today.

And something Kaiser had not yet experienced.

This difference would lead Verze to victory.

Verze, holding the Fire Sword and taking a stance, smiled and said.

“The max level above the max level… I’ll show you what ‘Transcendence’ is.”

* * *

Transcendence.

When an Apostle who has reached the max level completes the trials of all continents and grows to the limit.

A system to leap to a realm beyond that.

‘A system that didn’t exist in Demonic Mercenary.’

Like Traits, it was a newly introduced system when coming over to God of Second Evolution, and he was very interested when he first heard about it.

‘Unlike Demonic Mercenary, the max level is set at 100, so I wondered how they would adjust the balance… I thought they used a pretty novel method.’

God of Second Evolution took many systems and settings from Demonic Mercenary, but as it was a sequel, there were many new elements.

The fact that the max level was set at 100 and Traits were like that….

Among them, there were a few that particularly piqued Dohyun’s interest, and one of them was Transcendence.

Transcendence is, as the word suggests, breaking through something beyond its limits.

Naturally, it was not easy to meet the conditions, and even if you did, the level would vary depending on the process of the Transcendence formula.

‘You can do this several times….’

And this Transcendence does not end in one go, but is divided into stages.

Those who are around the top 10 guild masters have experienced at least two Transcendences, and there were even those who had more.

Anyway, the first stage of such Transcendence is….

‘Trait Transcendence.’

The reason why Verze has such an overwhelming Trait, and the reason why there is an overwhelming gap between the top 10 guilds and the top 100 guilds.

The difference of one Transcendence created a tremendous level difference.

Whoosh-

“You, who haven’t even experienced Transcendence, can’t possibly handle this.”

In that sense, it was close to impossible for Kaiser, who had not even reached the max level yet, let alone Transcendence, to win.

[The duration of Lightning Dragon Advent has ended and is 解除 [cancelled, in Japanese].]

To make matters worse, the duration of Lightning Dragon Advent ended at a perfect timing.

-What’s Kaiser going to do?

-Seriously, isn’t it too much to bring out a Transcendence Trait against someone who hasn’t even reached the max level?

-Where does that exist? It’s his ability. Then what, is he supposed to fight without using Traits at all?

-If it’s like this… It’s over.

It was natural that the public sentiment of the viewers, who had been somewhat divided after watching the breathtaking battle, leaned towards Verze at once.

Because this was a level where they could no longer have hope.

Step, step, step, step.

The elite combatants surrounding him narrowed the encirclement with bitter smiles, as if they had already won.

-…Can we win this too, right?

-Ahem… I believe in my lord.

-Liza?

Even Charlie was subtly avoiding Jihad and Eliza’s eyes.

At that moment when everyone was expecting Kaiser’s defeat.

Only Dohyun had a calm face.

‘Transcendence?’

It’s amazing. Honestly, it’s amazing and I’m envious.

Because it’s a realm Dohyun has never experienced.