The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 20

Part 2, Episode 20.

* * *

Time flew by; two days had passed since clearing the sudden quest.

During that time, Do-hyun searched the entire ship.

It wasn’t just a figure of speech; he really searched every inch of the ship.

He even sneaked into restricted areas when the captain and crew were asleep, looking through every possible space where a girl could hide.

But still, he couldn’t find the girl.

“No, how is this even possible?”

It’s not like he hallucinated her.

The person who gave him the sudden quest and even dropped a necklace disappeared without a trace from the ship?

‘It’s like a fairy tale gone wrong; this is truly bizarre.’

After searching every place on the ship, Do-hyun finally accepted it.

From the beginning, the girl disappearing after leaving the necklace was part of the quest.

He didn’t know how she disappeared without a trace, but he couldn’t understand it any other way.

‘I should have known the reward would just be the necklace.’

He thought he had gained a lucky opportunity, but he felt deflated.

It was a frustrating situation, but the moment he saw the necklace he received as a reward, his sigh disappeared.

[Elaine’s Necklace]

[Grade: ?]

[Description: A necklace containing mysterious power, the only trace left by a young girl. Perhaps she is desperately looking for it now.]

[Equip Restriction: The one who received the necklace as a gift from Elaine]

[Absolute Counterattack: When attacked, it returns the attack to the attacker. May fail if the attack is too powerful for the necklace to handle.]

‘It returns attacks… is it like the Mirror of Reflection?’

The graduation quest reward that played a big role against the Forgotten King.

Even as a one-time use item, it was powerful, but this one seems to have no usage limit or cooldown.

He didn’t know how much damage the necklace could handle, but it was definitely a cheat item.

The grade is also a question mark.

‘Who is Elaine to give such a thing as a gift? And what is that girl’s identity?’

He didn’t know Elaine, but judging from the circumstances, the girl seemed to be a non-player character [NPC, a character controlled by the game rather than a player] of a different race.

He didn’t get a good look at her face, but despite her young appearance, she had a subtle air of nobility.

Receiving such a gift and disappearing without a trace like this…

She was definitely not an ordinary girl.

He unintentionally received something amazing, but he couldn’t just be happy about it.

[You are not the permitted owner of the necklace.]

[You cannot equip the necklace.]

He couldn’t even put it around his neck, let alone use its abilities.

But Do-hyun didn’t give up and found a way to wear it, eventually managing to wear it on his wrist as a workaround.

Of course, that didn’t mean the ability was activated, but Do-hyun was satisfied.

His goal wasn’t to activate the option in the first place.

[Eye of Truth is activated.]

“Hmm, I still don’t know why it keeps appearing red.”

If the Eye of Truth is reacting, it means something is definitely hidden.

He looked here and there, touched it this way and that way, but there was no change.

‘Could it be hiding nearby and reacting to the owner?’

The thought flashed through his mind, but he thoroughly confirmed it was a wild guess over the past two days.

After giving up with both hands raised, he blankly entrusted himself to the hammock, which was now.

‘Sigh, I don’t know.’

It seems certain that there is something in the necklace, so if he adventures in the New World, wouldn’t he find something?

He was entrusting himself to the hammock and listening to the sound of the waves.

[We will arrive at the dock shortly.]

-Wow!! Master, Master! Do you see that? We finally arrived!

-Liza! Liza Liza!

-Indeed… Even from a distance, it’s overwhelmingly large. I can’t even grasp where the island begins and ends.

The ship was now preparing to dock.

With that, Do-hyun, who had been attached to the hammock for two days, got up, stretched his neck, and went to the bow of the ship.

Do-hyun smiled slightly as he looked at where the excited Guardians were pointing.

“Finally arrived, huh.”

The first New World and the continent called the Fairy King’s Island.

It was the moment Do-hyun finally entered Elanis.

* * *

Fairy King’s Island, Elanis.

The users who set foot there for the first time all say the same thing.

“It’s the island that best expresses the word fantasy.”

“There’s something about it that makes people excited.”

“It’s overwhelming.”

“The paradise of adventure is what they’re talking about here.”

Fantasy.

The paradise of adventure. An exciting, unknown world.

Even the users who were used to enjoying fantasy in the main continent, whose hearts had dulled from the fresh shock they received during the initial tutorial, were brought back to their original intentions.

That is Elanis.

-Wow…

-Li, Liza…!

-Goodness.

“Wow.”

The moment they entered.

Do-hyun and the Guardians showed the same reaction as if they had promised.

It couldn’t be helped.

Unlike the lush forests they had seen so far, it was a beautiful natural forest that seemed to have jumped out of a fairy tale.

Giggle. Hehe.

Young elves ran around in the forest, and sparkling reindeer drank from the pond.

And beautiful female elves gently stroked those reindeer.

The animals here were not monsters.

They were all part of nature and friends of the different races.

Would there be anyone who wouldn’t be amazed by this sight, where even if a fairy descended, it wouldn’t feel out of place?

He could be sure that there wouldn’t be anyone.

“Wow, this is real fantasy.”

“This is crazy.”

“Wow… so pretty.”

“The forest? Or the elf sisters?”

“Of course the latter… no, both!”

The reactions of the users who got off the cruise with Do-hyun were proof of that.

They were staring blankly for several seconds.

-Hehe.

The female elves at the pond, who happened to make eye contact, gestured.

It was such a small gesture that you wouldn’t know unless you focused, but there was no user here who would miss that movement.

“Wow…”

“Wow…”

“Ah.”

They just entered the forest as if possessed, uttering unknown exclamations.

As they entered the forest, the scenery of nature became more detailed.

They even felt like they had become one with nature.

“Oh my god, you’re so pretty.”

“Ah, let go. That sister seduced me.”

“Shut up. She seduced me, not you.”

“Take me, sister.”

“Anyone can see you’re older?”

“She’s an elf, so she’s naturally older than me, you idiot.”

“Ah.”

There were users who talked to the elves, and there were those who made a fuss from afar.

But they couldn’t get any closer than that.

Wriggle.

Tadat-.

The animals, which had been calm when they were with the elves, ran away as soon as they saw the users.

Looking closely, the elves didn’t react much differently.

They didn’t ignore or run away.

However, if some users tried to narrow the distance even a little, they would retreat sharply and maintain a certain distance.

That was the same regardless of gender.

“Ah…”

Do-hyun, who was walking behind, nodded as he watched the users sincerely express their disappointment.

‘It feels like they’ve memorized a manual.’

Like a guide memorizing a customer service manual.

They were giving appropriate kindness and appropriate responses, but they were clearly forming a line to prevent humans and elves from mixing and guiding the way.

They say they succeeded in interacting with the elves, but it doesn’t seem like they became close.

However, there was only one exception…

No, only one creature.

-Liza Liza! Liza!

Giggle.

-…Master, why do they play so well with Eliza?

“Is it because she’s not human?”

-Then what about me? I’m not human either…

“You’re… not.”

Do-hyun, who scanned Jihad up and down, shook his head before answering.

Jihad’s expression became strange.

-…? What’s with that reaction? I feel strange.

“It’s your imagination.”

-No. Your eyes definitely looked strange.

Anyway, he’s disgustingly quick to notice things like this.

How long had he been walking, ignoring Jihad, who kept muttering something?

At some point, he gradually felt like he was leaving the forest, and soon he was able to arrive in front of a village with a huge fence built like a fortress.

Nod.

Male elves who appeared to be guards checked the number of people on this side and opened the door.

As they entered the village, the elves waved their hands as if they had been waiting for this moment and coolly disappeared.

But most users didn’t care about them.

To be exact, it was right to say that they didn’t have time to do so.

“Wow, this is crazy.”

“It’s like entering the Lord of the Rings.”

“Amazing…”

“It’s so mysterious.”

Their hearts were already deeply immersed in the scenery inside the village.

That was the same for Do-hyun’s group.

-Liza! Liza Liza!

-Wow, cool.

-Indeed… It’s a mysterious sight. Humans and elves intertwined together.

“Right. It feels strange.”

This place was completely different from human villages.

It felt like they had built their homes while maintaining the appearance of the forest as much as possible.

They built houses using huge trees as roofs, built facilities using nature as a playground, and sold goods by setting up tents under the shade created by nature.

“How much is this herb?”

-10 leaf coins. If it’s credit, give me 100 credits.

“Is the village chief doing well?”

-Don’t even mention it. The elder has been away for a long time, so he seems to have a headache.

“Where is Deuel? I’m here to deliver what I was asked to.”

And users were naturally mingling and living in their homes.

The sight was quite colorful and unique, but what caught the eye even more was the huge tree visible beyond the fence surrounding the village.

It was clearly very far away, but it was an immeasurable size.

At the same time, it had a mysterious energy that seemed to take your breath away just by looking at it.

“…World Tree.”

It was truly a divine tree.

Seeing the World Tree in person, the title was not an exaggeration.

Seeing the World Tree, he realized that he had come to Elinas.

He was admiring it when it happened.

-…Master. I don’t think this is the time for that.

-Liza Liza.

Jihad made an uneasy voice, and Charlie quietly placed his hand on his sword.

Looking ahead, he could see the reason.

Saa-.

The village had become quiet.

Like when you become aware of a dream, the users in the village stopped what they were doing and were all looking this way.

“…It’s Kaiser.”

“I’ve only heard rumors; I didn’t think I’d see him in the New World.”

“He took back first place after kicking out Myeolsal, right?”

“When he left the Empire, the Emperor and residents all came out to see him off.”

“It’s just an Empire level, right? It’s a different level from the New World.”

The guys who were buzzing were reacting with interest, but they weren’t just showing interest.

From the group in the alleyway with murderous intent at a glance to the group sharpening their weapons and not taking their eyes off Do-hyun.

And even the men with subtle faces as if they were measuring something.

Clang- Sreung.

Sss.
A strange sense of caution and tension lingers.

Do-hyun chuckled at the reactions that were unknowingly prickly.

This feeling.

It was familiar and very old.

‘Look at these guys. They’re not letting up?’

Hostility.

Was it because he had caused so much chaos in the Empire?

Do-hyun smiled at the sharp sensation he felt after a long time.

The reason why such a reaction is coming back now is not because the users of the New World are rough, nor because criminals are overflowing.

There is only one reason.

‘They think they can handle it.’

And breaking the heads of those guys was Do-hyun’s specialty.