The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 1

Deus Ex Machina – Ragnarok.

Demrock for short.

Praised as the most perfect and detailed VR game ever, Demrock quickly captured the attention of gamers.

And it wasn’t just simple interest.

Despite being a VR game, its outstanding realism and artificial intelligence exceeded expectations, and it achieved the feat of topping the game rankings within three days of its release.

[Ragnarok: A cataclysmic event or final battle in Norse mythology.]

[Deus Ex Machina: A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.]

[Demrock Skill Recommendations]

[What is Gacha?: A type of vending machine or capsule toy dispenser, often used in video games as a mechanic for obtaining random items or characters.]

The real-time rankings on the green search window were always filled with Demrock.

As such, this game made money.

More precisely, it had a very high potential to make money.

At least, no game had received more attention than this one.

That’s why dark gamers appeared.

Those who make a living from games. The so-called ‘rice-farming’ users [players who dedicate significant time to repetitive tasks in a game to accumulate resources or progress].

‘This is going to make money.’

Dohyun was one of them.

It wasn’t like that from the beginning.

He just happened to be passing by and saw a Demrock advertisement on a giant screen and tried it out of curiosity.

He discovered a gaming talent he didn’t know he had and aimed to become a dark gamer.

Nevertheless, he could confidently say that he earned money from the game.

[Kaiser – Rank 1]

[Annihilation – Rank 2]

[Kkukku Chicken Kkukku – Rank 3]

[Sword Emperor – Rank 4]

[Purple Flavor – Rank 5]

[Judge – Rank 6]

…….

Despite starting later than other rankers, he stubbornly took the top spot.

Furthermore, he wasn’t just highly ranked.

His fraudulent physical abilities, genius combat sense, improvisation, and one-on-one skills that surpassed matchups—he lacked nothing.

That’s why he was called an unprecedented genius in the world.

Numerous people asked him.

How could he do that? How could they become like him?

Dohyun’s answer to such questions was always the same.

“Combat tips? Um… doesn’t it just seem obvious?”

“…Excuse me?”

“When the opponent attacks, if you dodge, there’s an opening. If you hit them then, you can definitely hit them without getting hit.”

“…….”

The interview video uploaded under the name ‘God’s Deception’.

This video, in which Kaiser answered a user asking for combat tips, was now a well-known anecdote to anyone who knew Demrock.

You might be angry at the extreme deception, but Kaiser’s appearance, as if he genuinely didn’t know why they were asking, made everyone unable to get angry.

-If it’s Kaiser, that’s possible…….

-ㅋㅋㅋ Right, if you dodge and hit, you can hit without getting hit. Who doesn’t know that?

-If it were someone else, I’d swear at them, but I can’t argue with what Kaiser says.

-Kaiser is a god. Kaiser is a god. Kaiser is a god. Kaiser is a god…….

-God is Kaiser. God is Kaiser. God is Kaiser. God is Kaiser…….

-Ugh, these Kaiser fanboys are at it again.

Rather, they were even more enthusiastic about Kaiser.

The reason why people cheered for him, who reigned as the god of Demrock, was not only because of his overwhelming genius.

Of course, that was his biggest trademark, but there was another decisive reason why many users viewed Kaiser favorably.

[New Skill Tree Created by Kaiser]

[Kaiser! Creates Another New Meta!]

[Even Dog Dung Has Its Use! Kaiser’s Unique Way of Using Skills That No One Looked At as OP Skills…….]

[Kaiser’s Training Guide]

[Legendary Boss Kabaurnel! Kaiser’s Strategy is…….]

It was the numerous strategy guides he uploaded.

Although most of them were incomprehensible strategy guides such as ‘Dodge here and hit’, ‘Just hit around here’, at least the skill tree was real.

And that skill tree was like rain in a drought for the users.

-Kaiser’s new skill tree is up.

-Oh, awesome. He made it with non-mainstream skills again this time. I was wondering where to use Bite, but he’s applying it here? Just God…….

-Seriously, this game would have failed a long time ago if it weren’t for Kaiser.

-But seriously, why do you have to draw skills by chance to create a skill tree?

-It’s like garbage, but it’s strangely addictive.

-Yeah, that’s gambling addiction. Go to the hospital.

In this luck-based garbage game where even skills are drawn by chance, his skill tree was innovation itself.

There was even a saying, ‘Trust and use Kaiser’s skill tree’.

A talent given by God.

The incarnation of VR games.

The one who creates the meta [most effective tactics available].

A genius.

Numerous modifiers were attached to his name.

Truly days worthy of being called his heyday.

But everything has an end.

Demrock, which was burning without knowing the end, would surely collapse one day, and Dohyun was also aware of that fact.

‘No, this is too much.’

But he didn’t know that day would come so soon.

The first problem occurred eight months after its release.

A fatal problem occurred in Demrock.

-No, wtf [what the f***], why is everything a gacha system? Isn’t it too much that even items are all gacha?

-I agree. Even the probabilities are all garbage.

The fact that all systems were made up of gacha.

Everyone already knew that the moment it was released.

But it was so popular, and everything else was so great that everyone put up with it.

The problem was the raid.

-Isn’t the reason to play games to do raids?

-The flower of RPG [role-playing game] is raid!

As with most VR games, the raid itself was not something that could be done easily.

You had to have your item settings, level up, and have control.

Furthermore, you had to have some connections to do the raid.

It was truly the flower of RPG.

-You can’t give raid rewards like this.

-Have you ever spent millions of won to set up items and get five consecutive bricks as raid rewards?

But this damn game messed with that raid too.

You have to do raids to get stronger, but to do those raids, you have to have pretty good equipment.

And the reward you get from that raid is a brick?

There would be no greater sense of futility as a gamer.

-I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t know that high-level content would be like this.

-Raids are still better. I worked my ass off to fill up the NPC’s [non-player character] favorability, but why is the reward a gacha, seriously…….

-That’s why gold diggers are scary.

-There aren’t any black cows [players who spend excessive amounts of money on a game] still giving their liver and gallbladder to get bricks, right?

To make matters worse, the subsequent content was either below expectations or of the kind that backstabbed in this way.

If you actually experience this, all the affection you have will be gone.

“Fucking garbage game!”

In the end, many users left the game.

From those who played the game for money to general users.

Within a year of its release, the ranking plummeted, and after two years, it had become a stagnant game where it was harder to see newbies than picking stars in the sky.

And after three years, even the remaining stagnant water became difficult to see.

A game that no longer makes money.

A game that makes you hear the sound of a black cow if you say you play Demrock.

A game that always appears in the picture of washing hands instead of shaking hands [a metaphor for cutting ties or disassociating oneself from something].

A game that is so stagnant that it has been diluted!

‘Why are you playing this damn garbage game?’

But even while saying that, Dohyun didn’t quit.

It was something he couldn’t understand himself.

Whether it was because he had grown fond of it over the past three years, or whether it was similar to looking for cigarettes even though he knew they were harmful.

Even though he started for the money, he stayed longer than anyone else.

But now that’s the end.

[Hello. This is Deus Ex Machina – Ragnarok.]

[The service will be terminated in 30 minutes.]

“…….”

Looking at the notice that popped up, he heard a chuckling voice.

“I’ve shouted dozens of times that I hope this shitty garbage game fails… but now that it’s really failing, it feels strange.”

Looking to the side, he sees a burly Apro muscle pig with purple skin.

It was ‘Purple Flavor’, one of the hardcore users.

An uncle who has never been absent from the first day of release until now.

An uncle with outstanding passion to the point where the stagnant people who were close to each other jokingly made him an attendance award in front of a bonfire.

His game skills are terrible, but he is a templer [a dedicated and supportive player] with unbelievable capital and grinding.

‘There were many rumors that he was a building owner. He kept saying no until the end…….’

He was such an uncle, but he looks quite bitter squatting in front of the bonfire.

A man with a dignified swordsman image, ‘Sword Emperor’, who was putting his hand over the bonfire, nodded at his muttering.

“I agree. It’s fun except for the luck-based garbage game, but I don’t know why it’s failing.”

“Isn’t that the problem? Even if a tiger dies, it leaves its skin, but it’s too much for a dragon to leave a brick [a reference to the disappointing raid rewards].”

“……Did you have to ruin the mood like that?”

“What, it’s not wrong. Can’t I curse a garbage game that’s about to disappear?”

The person wearing a masquerade mask and wearing a suit, ‘Kkukku Chicken Kkukku’, is arguing with Sword Emperor.

He is famous for his unstoppable attitude like his tone, but his physical abilities are so unbelievably good that he eats everything [overcomes all challenges].

“Aren’t you going to take off your mask until the end?”

“……Shut up. You should stop with that concept tone. You’re actually in your 20s, but it’s cringe [awkward or embarrassing].”

“You still don’t have any dignity in your tone.”

“What? Are you saying let’s have a fight for the first time in a while?”

“Tsk. All you know is fighting…….”

Dohyun is keeping the first place, but they were already top-ranked rankers when Dohyun first started the game, so they are so stagnant that they are rotten [have been playing for too long and are stuck in their ways].

The actual combat power is not much different.

Thanks to that, I received a lot of help…….

Dohyun, who was looking at them bitterly, spat out.

“It’s a shame.”

“…….”

Silence fell for a moment.

Just sitting around the bonfire, making profound expressions as if recalling something.

The first to open his mouth was Purple Flavor.

“Well, it’s a shame for you. Because you researched this game more than anyone else.”

“It was always amazing to see you fight. I understand the principle theoretically, but I wondered if this made sense… It’s not for nothing that the word God’s Deception came out.”

“Well, we also benefited from that guy’s skill tree. Usually, if it’s the head, it’s the head, if it’s physical, it’s physical, but how can you have everything?”

When they opened their mouths one by one, Kkukku Chicken Kkukku, who was agreeing, burst into laughter as if something came to mind.

“But God is fair. Your luck is the worst among us. Hehe.”

“Well, only low-grade skills came out… Maybe he researched to survive?”

“Does it make sense that a guy without a legendary skill is ranked 1st? If that guy’s luck was a little better, he wouldn’t even be eating with us [associating with us]?”

“I failed to strengthen ten times in a row and shouted that the world was oppressing me! People should have seen that. Maybe it would have been circulating in the community under the name ‘God’s Scream’?”

“Puhahat! When you look at it, that guy is the worst guy.”

“Ahem… It was the worst luck I’ve ever seen.”

Even Sword Emperor, who was listening silently to Purple Flavor Uncle’s hearty laughter, nods.

Dohyun had a calm face even in the chatter that he didn’t know whether he was praising or cursing like them.

I’ve heard those sounds a lot.

As it was a gacha game, the story of Dohyun’s amazing luck was constantly mentioned.

I was angry at first, but at some point, I laughed when I heard it, but now I feel complicated for some reason.

Is it because it’s the first game I’ve ever played, or is it because it’s the first time I’ve ever held on to something like this……?

Is it because I think that such a game is completely over?

‘I don’t know either.’

About 10 minutes after having such meaningless conversations.

[Hello. This is Deus Ex Machina – Ragnarok.]

[The service termination will proceed as scheduled. Thank you for being with us until the end.]

Looking at the additional message that popped up, the stagnant people got up from their seats one by one.

“……Now it’s really the end.”

“You’ve worked hard. In a luck-based garbage game where there are only two digits of concurrent users.”

“If we have a chance to see each other later, let’s meet in a God game then.”

Starting with Sword Emperor, Purple Flavor and Kkukku Chicken Kkukku logged out in order.

In an instant, he was alone.

Just being left alone in front of the bonfire made me feel even more depressed.

Swoosh.

Dohyun’s vision, which had been looking at the night sky for a while, was dyed with a darker darkness.

Listening to the sound of the VR machine turning instead of chirping, Dohyun stroked the switch of the VR gear he was wearing on his head.

Click.

[This is a terminated service.]

“…….”

Only after seeing that phrase did Dohyun take off his helmet and let out a short sigh.