The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 101

Episode 101.

Kkukku-dak-kkukku. Commonly known as Ssamdak, or Fighting Cock.

The reason he was called Fighting Cock, despite his seemingly cute nickname, was simple.

“…Fighting Cock? Don’t even mention that crazy bastard.”

“In all my life, I’ve never seen such a reckless guy. Seriously, there’s no such thing as psychological warfare with him. He’s just a goddamn bulldozer!”

“It’s like he’s saying, ‘Let’s all die together,’ seriously.”

Extreme infighting.

He was a true berserker, diving in with his small frame and biting until he died.

There was even a joke that if someone were to create a berserker, they would use Fighting Cock as their motif.

There was no psychological warfare in a fight with such a Fighting Cock.

“That crazy Fighting Cock just charges in no matter what. Feints? He doesn’t know what those are.”

“He throws himself into close-quarters combat with all sorts of buffs. There’s no room for psychological warfare. It just becomes a dogfight.”

Only charging forward.

Whether there was one enemy, ten, or a hundred, Kkukku-dak-kkukku never backed down.

It was as if he would die if he retreated, focusing only on biting his opponent.

Looking at that, the word ‘mad dog’ seemed fitting, but…

“Hey, why do you keep staring? Wanna die?”

“…Huh?”

“Oh? Why is this bastard panicking? Come here.”

Fighting Cock earned his nickname because of Kkukku’s belligerent nature, always picking fights over the slightest annoyance.

“If you make eye contact, you’re dead, plain and simple.”

That’s how far the rumors went.

Looking at it this way, it seems like Kkukku-dak-kkukku is just a piece of trash who picks fights with anyone and commits PK [Player Killing], but half of that is true and half is false.

He definitely seemed to pick fights with just anyone, but when you looked into it, they all actually had ulterior motives or were villains.

Once, I was so curious that I asked him.

-How did you know? I just have a feeling.

-I can tell by looking at their eyes. There are just some eyes that are unlucky to have. Physiognomy [the art of judging character from facial features] is science, you know?

-……I see.

-Huh? Your eyes looked weird just now too? Eyes back to normal.

In the end, I couldn’t get a proper answer.

Anyway, Kkukku, who established a unique fighting style that could be called a ‘death stab,’ had skills that he used without fail, one of which was ‘Madness.’

‘A skill that makes you stronger as your health decreases per second.’

This was a double-edged sword.

If used incorrectly, it was just a suicide skill that only reduced health, but when a physical powerhouse like Kkukku used it, there was no buff as terrifying as that.

Moreover, Kkukku didn’t stop there.

‘He went even further and stacked five or six more on top of that.’

He surrounded himself with bizarre skills that coexisted with various debuffs and buffs, like Madness, and there were at least five of them.

That was the secret to the so-called Fighting Cock Mode, which gave birth to the word ‘crazy bastard’.

‘Even if the berserker concept is like that, there’s a limit…’

Usually, it’s one or two, and if you go beyond that, it’s called a suicide skill, but Kkukku was a monster who fought for over an hour while bearing more than five risks.

That was why Kkukku never backed down, no matter how many enemies came.

Once in Fighting Cock Mode, he would self-destruct anyway if he retreated, so wouldn’t it be better to kill at least one more?

And then, he would survive because of life steal or something.

-Originally, if you try to die, you live, and if you try to live, you die. Why, who was it… the Immortal Lord said that too.

-……Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

-Ah, right. Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

Kkukku, who smiled slyly, was not normal even in the eyes of his colleague, Kaiser.

If you called a guy who had more than half of his skill slots filled with that kind of stuff normal, that would be even stranger, wouldn’t it?

‘I wouldn’t take such a gamble, even if it were me.’

Whether Kkukku, who had been walking a tightrope for three years, should be called crazy or amazing…

He was truly a guy who had utilized the berserker concept to the extreme.

Anyway, the skill that Kkukku liked the most among the berserker skills was Madness.

‘He said it feels good to get stronger as his health decreases.’

I guess it would be good for a guy who always keeps his HP [Health Points] below 20%.

For that reason, I always looked at Kkukku with a cold look whenever he entered battle and turned on Madness first…

‘That came to me?’

Dohyun chuckled, never imagining that he would use that skill himself.

As an All-Master, he thought he would use the skills of his former colleagues, but he felt strange when it actually became a reality.

‘What would their reaction be if I met them later with all their signature skills equipped?’

Would they foam at the mouth and rush at him, saying that he was stealing even their skills now?

Dohyun could picture Sword Saint looking at such Kkukku with disdain and dissing him, and then the two suddenly fighting, and Uncle Bora bursting into a hearty laugh.

‘Everyone must have heard my news.’

There was such a commotion when he achieved first place in Raven, so if they were playing God of War, they would have definitely heard about it.

They can’t meet now because of the barriers between cities, but the day will come when they meet someday. Dohyun smiled and turned his steps.

‘I’ll use Madness well.’

Dohyun had been watching the crazy berserker who utilized Madness better than anyone else for over two years.

He could see at a glance how to utilize it and how to combine it with his skills.

So now it was time to focus on something other than skills.

“Let’s go now. We need to investigate.”

-Huh? What, it’s really over quickly this time.

-Liza!

“I told you, I have a good feeling.”

Jihad, who was staring at Dohyun, suddenly asked.

-Is it a card pull? Did you get something good? You look happy.

“Hmm?”

Dohyun paused and looked at Jihad.

The look in his eyes as he asked purely was so clear compared to when they first met. How did he know right away that he looked happy?

“Well, yeah.”

-Ah, too bad. It would have been fun if you got something bad.

“…Haven’t you been hit a bit lately?”

-Ah, no. Eliza, protect me.

Dohyun shook his head at Jihad, who grabbed Eliza in his robe pocket and stepped back.

He thought he had changed a bit, but he was still the same guy.

How long had they been bickering and walking? Dohyun, who quickly came out of the alley and found a suitable temple, loosened his body.

‘Gamilion will be waiting, so let’s finish this quickly.’

It was time to focus on the main quest.

* * *

To put it bluntly, he couldn’t get any plausible information.

“Who… Ah, a visitor… no, an Apostle. I’m sorry about earlier. The situation is what it is, ahem.”

“The Abyss, you say? I’m looking into it now, but I can’t find anything. He’s such a elusive guy…”

“The Destroyer Gaiman, you say? He’s a dangerous guy. We need to make sure citizens can evacuate immediately in case of an emergency. Ah, if you happen to encounter the Apostle, please evacuate first and then tell us about it. It’s dangerous.”

Instead, he only received warnings that it was dangerous, and,

“We’re trying to solve it while Lord Leved is away… I don’t know. Lord Leved needs to come. I’m worried.”

“Still, we have Lord Taxinel.”

“Well, we can trust Lord Taxinel. It’s a great relief that he was not on this mission. I didn’t think that loyal man wouldn’t go on a mission…”

“He had personal reasons. I remember he was upset… but it’s a good thing now.”

“High Priest Gildete must be preparing something too. Let’s wait for now.”

He could only eavesdrop on the conversations of the anxious priests.

It seemed difficult to get the information he wanted from them, who were just saying that it was a relief that someone was there and that they should trust and wait.

Dohyun, leaving behind the sounds of them chattering among themselves, scratched his head.

A phrase was floating in front of him.

-Brion Temple Investigation (2 / 3)

Verdic Temple and Zerdia Temple.

These were the quest items that were filled by visiting the two temples.

‘Why doesn’t anyone know anything?’

Even though they were temples that were quite large, if not as large as the Lair Grand Temple, he couldn’t get any information.

They were just scared, and no one was telling him any information.

‘Rather, Gamilion knows more.’

Is this really a city specializing in the Abyss that has produced three contractors of the Abyss!

Dohyun, who interpreted it that way even though no one said such a thing, was near the center when it happened.

“Successor, have you arrived?”

“Ah, Gamilion.”

He ran into Gamilion, who was walking from the central fountain.

It seemed that Gamilion had just finished his investigation and returned.

“Have you finished all the investigations?”

“No. I looked into Verdic Temple and Zerdia Temple, but no one knows anything. What about you, Gamilion?”

Gamilion shook his head.

“I’ve been to about four places, but there was no useful information. They were just saying to prepare for Gaiman’s attack.”

“Hmm, it’s similar to me.”

“Well… that’s understandable. Not much has been revealed about the Abyss. It’s natural to focus on the Destroyer in front of you.”

Gamilion, who said that, cast his gaze far away.

There was the Greased Grand Temple, the next largest grand temple after the Lair Grand Temple.

“Let’s go there one last time. Is it okay to go together this time?”

“I don’t mind.”

Dohyun replied casually.

Anyway, the purpose is investigation, so it doesn’t matter where he goes, and if he’s not satisfied, he can go to the Greased Grand Temple after visiting there, so what’s the point of being picky?

…That’s what he thought.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

Until he inadvertently looked to the side.

Gamilion asked as if he was strange at Dohyun’s appearance of staring blankly somewhere, but Dohyun couldn’t answer.

He was just staring blankly at a temple.

“That place is… the Lilar Temple. Do you have business there?”

Strictly speaking, it was large, but it was significantly smaller compared to the Greased Temple.

At the same time, it was the most famous temple for not building relationships with priests.

Of course, Dohyun would have no business in a place where even the priests don’t interact.

From the beginning, Dohyun didn’t even know what kind of temple that place was.

However, Dohyun couldn’t take his eyes off the Lilar Temple.

“…Gamilion, we don’t necessarily have to go to the Greased Grand Temple, do we?”

“It doesn’t matter… but why?”

It couldn’t be helped.

[Eye of Truth is activated.]

A red dot was visible beyond that temple.

It wasn’t the ghostly figure that appeared when someone was hiding.

Rather, it was something a little smaller and closer to an object… something very similar to when he saw a fragment of fate.

Dohyun’s intuition was strongly telling him.

‘There’s something there.’

There’s something in that place.

In the end, Dohyun turned his steps.

“Then let’s go there. I have a feeling.”

“…A feeling? What is that?”

“There is such a thing. I have a good feeling.”

It was an incomprehensible word, but Gamilion decided to follow him obediently.

As he said, the purpose was investigation, so it didn’t matter where he went, and if he was disappointed, he could visit the Greased Grand Temple after visiting there, so it was no big deal.

That’s how he arrived in front of the Lilar Temple with Dohyun.

“…There are no guards?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

There were no guards who should be guarding the temple.

Tilting their heads and opening the door, the inside was even quieter. Not only were there no users, but there were no priests.

The steps of the two people who felt something strange became faster.

Tak. Tatak.

Soon, the moment they passed through the hallway and arrived in front of a door.

‘It’s here.’

Dohyun opened the door without hesitation at the faint red light leaking from beyond the door.

Then he saw it.

“Kkeueueueuk… Keuk……”

A high priest who was being held in the air with his neck grabbed by a terrible darkness, and something that was lifting such a high priest.

[……]

Overall, it was a human silhouette, but the horns on its head and the ominous darkness that had consumed its entire body.

Red eyes gleaming in the darkness. The huge height of over 2m was proving that he was not human.

“What the…”

Dohyun muttered without realizing it at the unexpected situation, and the guy turned his head and looked this way.

Then he faced the guy’s ominous face. The mask of the Abyss that humans would instinctively feel fear.

Ting-.

[You have encountered the Destroyer Gaiman, a contractor of the Abyss who has broken the taboo.]

[Caution! You may lose your life.]

[Sudden Quest ‘Londric Rescue’ has occurred.]

[Londric Rescue]

-Grade: Sudden Quest

-Description: The Lilar Temple has been attacked by the Destroyer Gaiman. Rescue ‘Londric’, the high priest of the Lilar Temple, and hear the circumstances.

If you do not rescue him within the time limit, ‘Londric’ will die and the quest will fail.

-Reward upon clearing: A large amount of experience, Londric’s favorability, traces of the Destroyer

-Risk of failure: You may miss the Destroyer Gaiman and be framed.

-Time limit: 20 seconds

Even the countless messages that obscured his vision to the climax.

Dohyun rubbed his forehead at that fantastic triple combination.

‘……Seriously, what is this, like Conan [a reference to the anime Detective Conan, where the protagonist often encounters crime scenes]? Why are accidents happening everywhere I go?’

Dohyun had inadvertently faced the Destroyer Gaiman directly.