The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 102

102.

I thought we were getting off easy for once, but what is this commotion?

Gamilion, who had been stunned by the unexpected encounter with the Destroyer, cautiously asked,

“……Didn’t you say you had a good feeling?”

“Ahem, did you think I knew this would happen?”

“You found the Destroyer faster than anyone else, which no one else could find, so I guess you could say you had a good feeling. It’s just that it’s a murder scene…….”

“…….”

A scathing fact bomb that left Dohyun speechless.

But Dohyun also felt wronged.

It’s not like a kid wearing a bow tie is following him around, so why do incidents happen everywhere he goes?

But what was most unfair was something else.

[Eye of Truth is activated.]

‘No, why is it activating when it sees a monster’s heart?’

A strange red light emanated from near the monster’s heart.

That red color was clearly what led Dohyun here.

To think that what he was excited about, thinking it was a fragment of fate, turned out to be a monster’s heart. This is not some deep-sea anglerfish; what kind of absurd thing is this!

Did the Contractor of the Abyss have a heart made of special jewels or something?

“……Well, I have a lot of questions, but let’s take care of that first.”

“Good idea.”

Dohyun sighed at Gamilion’s words and nodded.

He had many questions, but now was not the time.

[Remaining time: 00:00:18]

He had to save the High Priest from that monster within 20 seconds.

[Using ‘Darkness Coating’ on Thousand Transformations.]

[Mana is consumed per second.]

[Using ‘Striking’ increases attack power by +40.]

As Dohyun coated Thousand Transformations with darkness, Jihad and Eliza, who now knew what to do, took their stances.

Jihad raised black mana to summon the undead at any moment, and Eliza hid in Jihad’s robe, waiting for a chance to spew spiderwebs.

“Be careful. He is the one who survived an encounter with Lord Leved.”

Dohyun nodded instead of answering.

He felt it instinctively. The monster’s strength was not something to be taken lightly.

But it didn’t matter.

Dohyun’s goal was to save the High Priest.

He didn’t have any information yet, but he thought he could handle it alone.

Squeeze-.

A very slight amount of time, a tense feeling lingered,

“Kkeueuk…… Keuk…….”

In the silence, only the High Priest’s hoarse moans as he was being strangled flowed out.

Thud!

Dohyun kicked off the ground roughly.

At the same time, the form of Thousand Transformations changed.

[Thousand Transformations transforms into ‘Bastard’s Training Sword’.]

[The effect of Swordsmanship Proficiency LV14 is applied.]

Sword. The weapon with the highest proficiency among Dohyun’s weapons.

It was a weapon he chose, giving up the range of a spear, to inflict the strongest possible damage with the first strike buff effect.

‘I have to inflict as much damage as possible with the first hit.’

In a situation where he had to save him within 17 seconds, it was Dohyun who would be at a disadvantage if the fight dragged on.

But then it happened.

[A mark is created.]

The moment he used Backstab to appear behind the monster and swung an attack.

Thud.

The monster, who frowned with ominously glowing red eyes, obediently released the High Priest and stepped back.

Thanks to this, Dohyun’s attack cut through the air in vain, and when he turned around, the monster was already gone.

‘Stealth?’

No, the Eye of Truth is not activated.

[You cannot use Backstab because you have disappeared from sight.]

It was the same even when he tried to use Backstab a second time.

The monster had truly disappeared.

It had only been 5 seconds from when the quest appeared to when the monster disappeared.

Dohyun, who had been holding his breath, tilted his head as he exhaled, and Gamilion approached him and said,

“……It ran away.”

“I guess so…….”

It was a good thing in the end…… but what is this emptiness?

It was an emptiness that came from questions rather than regret.

‘Why did it run away?’

If it had at least tried to fight before running away, he wouldn’t know, but the monster ran away as soon as Dohyun rushed in.

Like a thief caught stealing.

There could have been a counterattack, but instead, it disappeared, so it didn’t make sense, but Dohyun snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a moan.

“Kkeueu…….”

“Ah, right. High Priest.”

“High Priest Rondrick, are you alright?”

Gamilion hurriedly picked up Rondrick, who had collapsed on the floor, and quickly pushed mana into him to open his energy channels. Then, High Priest Rondrick’s complexion improved slightly.

He was speaking with a cracking voice, as if mumbling with difficulty.

“Destroyer…… suddenly attacked…… killed everyone…… different from before…… danger, keueuk.”

Rondrick’s body slumped as he uttered incomprehensible words.

-D, dead, Master?

-L, Liza!?

Gamilion, startled by Jihad and Eliza’s shock, checked Rondrick’s pulse and shook his head.

“He’s alive. He’s just lost consciousness.”

“Ah.”

-Hoo…… I was so scared.

“Tell me about it.”

Dohyun and Jihad breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Dohyun, watching Jihad sincerely relieved, asked.

“No, but you’re the guy who goes around blowing up the undead, why are you acting like that?”

-The undead are already dead. This is different.

“Um…… you’re not wrong.”

-Right?

Still, it felt a bit out of place for a necromancer to act like that, but there was no logical way to refute it.

It’s meaningless to desecrate corpses because they’re monsters, and isn’t it strange to apply human moral standards to that guy, who is also a monster if you think about it?

It was at that moment.

[You have cleared the sudden quest ‘Rescue Rondrick’.]

[As a reward, you will receive a large amount of experience and Rondrick’s favor.]

[Your level has increased.]

‘Level up already?’

Dohyun was startled by the message blocking his view.

That’s because it hadn’t been long since he leveled up.

Considering that it usually doesn’t go up easily as you get closer to the graduation level, he must have received a huge amount of experience.

The reward for a sudden quest was a bit stingy, but it didn’t betray his expectations.

‘So, is this level 34? There’s only one level left until graduation.’

To be ahead of the graduation level in Brion in just two days, where others spend a month…….

This shows how generous the main quest and this hidden linked quest were.

Aside from the rewards, it was truly a bundle of experience.

‘Yeah, this is why you break hidden pieces [complete hidden quests].’

It was when Dohyun was satisfied.

“Hmm? This is…….”

Gamilion’s eyes narrowed as he found something in Rondrick’s arms.

Dohyun also snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze towards it.

It was a small iron tag.

“……It’s a High Priest’s tag, proving that he is a High Priest.”

“Uh…… is that the original color?”

A High Priest’s tag that everyone who follows the will of God in Brion carries around.

A very ominous energy was emanating from it.

* * *

High Priest’s tag.

Like a royal pass or an identification tag, it was a type of identification tag given only to those who have risen to the position of High Priest in Brion.

However, that doesn’t mean that it only serves to prove one’s identity.

“The High Priest’s tag of Brion is not just an identification tag.”

“Then what is it?”

“It is a tag that only High Priests can have, and it contains the divine power of the High Priest who has it. Therefore, it also serves as a measure of the High Priest’s faith.”

A special device is installed to contain the divine power of the wearer of the High Priest’s tag.

The higher the level of the High Priest, the clearer and purer the color, and in the case of some High Priests, a subtle light emanates from it.

High Priest Rondrick is not that high in level, but he is still a High Priest.

Saa-.

However, the tag, which should be boasting a sacred appearance, was dyed black and gave off a murky feeling.

“……Then what is this?”

-It’s terrible, Master.

-Liza…….

Jihad and Eliza stepped back in horror as if they had seen something dirty when Dohyun pointed to the High Priest’s tag.

It must have felt like food waste to the two who are sensitive to energy.

Gamilion also frowned slightly as if he wasn’t very happy, but he calmly answered the question.

“I said that the High Priest’s tag contains the divine power of the wearer. In other words, it also shows up on the High Priest’s tag when the High Priest falls [corrupted]. Therefore, the High Priest’s tag also serves as a preventive item to prevent people from making contracts with the Abyss rashly.”

“……Does that mean?”

“Yes. This is…… the High Priest’s tag of someone who has contracted with the Abyss.”

With those words, a message appeared.

[You have cleared ‘Abyss Investigation’.]

[You have acquired the Destroyer’s trace ‘Contaminated High Priest’s Tag’.]

[Contaminated High Priest’s Tag]

-Grade: Rare+

[Description: A High Priest’s tag that proves that he is a High Priest. However, it is extremely contaminated for some reason.]

“I don’t feel anything from High Priest Rondrick that he has a contaminated High Priest’s tag. He’s just an ordinary clergyman.”

And before the message could disappear, Gamilion’s serious voice was heard.

“This means that someone deliberately put the High Priest’s tag in his arms…… It’s probably the Destroyer; that guy’s doing.”

“Why bother…….”

“The High Priest’s tag has a chronic problem in that when it is taken off, no one knows who the owner is except the owner. Divine power is ultimately the power of God. There’s no way to tell.”

“Ah…….”

“In this case, it seems that he wanted to frame him.”

Only then could Dohyun understand why that guy backed off so coolly.

The monster’s purpose was to make High Priest Rondrick a Contractor of the Abyss in the first place.

Since he was caught in the process, there was no reason to spend time creating variables.

That’s why Gamilion was horrified.

“Things are not going well. The judgment of someone who has been invaded by the Abyss is too rational and meticulous.”

Originally, a Contractor of the Abyss is more like someone who has allowed the Abyss to invade him.

They resist with high-purity divine power to maintain their human spirit and form to some extent, but even then, they are just monsters with the intelligence of a child.

In the end, they are swallowed up by endless desires and destructive urges.

On the other hand, the monster showed more meticulous and rational judgment than most humans.

“……He’s aware of all our movements.”

What this meant was clear.

“It seems that the Destroyer Geyman is maintaining his human intelligence.”

“……Oh my god.”

If that was true, it was terrible.

The monster has the High Priest’s tag and is able to track where they went after the meeting, which only the High Priests and the priests of the Lair Temple know.

The priests of the Lair Temple should be excluded.

They didn’t have the high divine power to maintain their reason.

“In all likelihood, it’s an Elder or a High Priest.”

To meet all these conditions, the conclusion is that he is at least an Elder or a High Priest.

“But they were all human, right? And they weren’t caught by the detection orb.”

“It seems that he can completely maintain his human form and mana. He released human mana, so of course he wouldn’t be detected…… Oh, so that’s why he was able to escape without being caught 10 years ago.”

In other words, the Destroyer Geyman attended the meeting and roamed the streets of Brion in human form.

“Does that make sense? What is it, some kind of symbiote? What’s with the detachable thing?”

-Master, you’re making weird jokes that only you know again.

-Lizariliza [Liza is saying ‘Liza, Liza’].

Dohyun chuckled at the story.

How on earth are you supposed to catch a guy like that? He was a guy who could never be found if he was determined to hide.

‘Um? Wait a minute.’

But suddenly, he thought it was strange.

“It’s strange. Why would such a guy bother to show up again? He could just keep hiding.”

“Well…… the movements of the Abyss have been unusual lately…….”

Gamilion, who was answering as if it were natural, closed his mouth.

After thinking for a while, what came out of his mouth was a very short question.

“……Um?”