The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 138

138.

“[What nonsense are you spouting? Arragini is the gatekeeper here. There’s no way to take him out. Not even I could manage that.]”

-Th, that’s…….

It was the Dark King’s certification, so it had to be true.

Jihad’s voice grew louder at the shocking news.

-So, we have to die like this? After guarding this place our whole lives, we’re buried alive without seeing the light of day? Is that the gatekeeper’s role!? That’s too much!

-Liza! Lizaliza!

Perhaps it was because Jihad had been trapped in the secret dungeon.

He seemed unusually sincere today.

It was the first time Do-hyun had seen him protest so much, and he wondered if he should step in to help.

“[You don’t need to worry about that. This guy isn’t the real one.]”

-Liza……?

The Dark King smiled slyly and said.

“[This guy is Arragini’s shed skin. There’s no life in him. It’s just a husk that Arragini has shed. He merely shares thoughts and senses, connected to the main body.]”

In other words, even if the dungeon collapses and the husk dies, it’s just the old shell disappearing.

This also meant that it showed such destructive power and toughness with just a shell.

‘Considering the characteristics on top of that……. Is this the ancient species, a divine beast?’

Do-hyun was taken aback by the strength that was clearly at the top tier of divine beasts.

Perhaps sensing Do-hyun’s thoughts.

“[If this guy were the real deal, you wouldn’t have lasted even 10 seconds.]”

Jihad and Eliza scratched their heads simultaneously, embarrassed by the Dark King’s smirk.

-Ahem. Well, you should have said so……. I was mistaken.

-Li, Liza……!

-Um……!

Unlike them, who were embarrassed and had lost their earlier momentum, Arragini’s eyes were still sparkling.

He even looked like he was about to cry.

Arragini, gazing at them with affectionate eyes, handed something to Jihad.

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ has acquired ‘Arragini’s Cherished Scale’.]

[Arragini’s Cherished Scale]

-Grade: Heroic

-Description: A scale from the ancient divine beast Arragini.

Among the husks shed through Arragini’s transformations, this is the highest quality scale. It is used among snake-type divine beasts as a symbol of friendship.

-Wow! What’s this, Arragini?

Shh! Shh!

-Seriously?

Shh shh!

-Lizaliza!

After a conversation that Do-hyun couldn’t understand, Jihad and Eliza’s expressions brightened noticeably.

Then, they hugged tightly.

Do-hyun, who had been watching the scene from a few steps away, scratched his head.

‘……Don’t they consider them a different race?’

Clearly, the title ‘One Who Discovered Forgotten History’ said he could communicate with other races, but he couldn’t understand their conversation at all.

It seemed that monsters and divine beasts were not included in the category of other races.

Fortunately, the Dark King was there.

“[They seem quite moved. To give away one of his most cherished scales. Well…… it’s probably the first time a friend has shown such sincerity to his shed skin.]”

“Ah.”

“[That guy is big, but he’s soft-hearted. Look, he’s coming to say goodbye.]”

As the Dark King said with a smirk, Arragini, who had finished greeting the others, was approaching.

Shh- Shh!

Arragini, who approached Do-hyun, said something and bowed his head.

-He says he’s looking forward to the day we meet again, Master.

Jihad was now translating smoothly, catching on quickly.

Do-hyun reached out and placed his hand on Arragini’s forehead.

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it too. Sorry for hitting you.”

Shh! Shh!

-He says it’s okay because he doesn’t remember since he wasn’t connected mentally yet. He was just surprised and confused because it hurt as soon as he opened his eyes, so don’t worry.

Shh shh!

After exchanging a few more words with Jihad’s translation, a message appeared.

[The effect of the title ‘Maximum Favorability From the Start?’ is activated. Favorability increases even more.]

[The favorability of the ancient divine beast ‘Arragini’ increases significantly.]

[You have a high level of intimacy with Arragini.]

[A friendly relationship is formed with Arragini.]

‘It’s activated on a divine beast too.’

Was it because they were intelligent spiritual beings?

Do-hyun, who was amazed by the unprecedented situation, nodded.

He had somehow formed a friendly relationship with a divine beast, so it was a good thing.

‘I don’t know if this will mean anything…….’

It was better than being in an adversarial relationship, so he decided to let it go.

[The dungeon is collapsing.]

[You will die if you do not escape within the time limit.]

[10…….]

The message appeared at that moment.

Rumble rumble-

-Li, Liza!

Eliza, startled by the actual collapse of the walls, went into Jihad’s robe pocket.

Unfortunately, it was really time to say goodbye.

[9…….]

[8…….]

The countdown was ticking.

-……Take care, Arragini. Let’s definitely hang out properly next time!

Shh shh!

-Lizaliza!!

-Um! Take care! Let’s look forward to the next time.

Shh shh!

-He says take care too, Master. Thank you for making good friends……. Sniff, thank you too. Arragini!

Watching the guys having a tearful farewell, Do-hyun thought to himself.

‘……Didn’t they try to kill each other until just now.’

Whether they were overflowing with emotion, had good social skills, or didn’t hold grudges…….

It was probably all three.

[6…….]

[5…….]

Anyway, as they greeted each other and stood in front of the warp leading out of the dungeon, the Dark King, whose form was now becoming increasingly transparent, raised his hand.

[3…….]

[2…….]

“[I don’t know if you’ll be able to handle those guys… but well, I believe you’ll do well. At least our descendant won’t get beaten up wherever he goes.]”

Shh-

[1…….]

“[Then, good luck…….]”

With those words, the King’s Tomb collapsed.

And Do-hyun warped away.

* * *

[Collapsed dungeon. Cannot enter.]

“……So it’s like this.”

Do-hyun, who had been instantly transported to the secret space, tried to touch the dungeon just in case, but he couldn’t enter.

Even the information about what kind of dungeon it was had been erased.

Only the trace that a dungeon had existed remained, so anyone who discovered this place in the future would probably be quite annoyed.

-Sniff…… Arragini…….

-Lizaliza…….

“……Are you that sad?”

-Of course! That look in his eyes as he smiled and saw us off until the end! How can I not be sad after seeing that! You emotionless person!

“This guy is talking back these days.”

As he lightly tried to flick his forehead, Jihad screamed and hid behind Charlie.

-A vassal must gladly accept the lord’s punishment!

Of course, Charlie, who said that, couldn’t quickly dodge and hide, but he didn’t bother to hit him and just shook his head.

He had to get going now.

‘Jin Rudel.’

He had to find him and complete the quest to see the Lord as soon as possible.

The forest was quite large, so it would take some time to get to where he was.

But Do-hyun, who came out of the cave and into the forest, was able to find Jin Rudel sooner than expected.

-Oh, what’s this? We’re running into each other here. Wow, I just got here, how did we run into each other here?!

He is a hidden NPC [Non-Player Character] who runs around the forest.

His range of activity was the entire forest, so there was no need to go back to where he was before.

Whether he was lucky or not, he ran into him not long after leaving the cave, and he was still talkative.

-You couldn’t have gone already……. Are you perhaps bad with directions? I can’t draw you a map. I’ll explain it once, so listen carefully…… Huh? What did you say? You’ve already brought it back!? No way, that can’t be. Don’t tell me you’re trying to trick me. No passing dog would believe that…… Ack! That backpack! Could it be……!?

Jin Rudel made a fuss, so when he handed him the backpack, he foamed at the mouth.

After checking inside the backpack, he nodded, muttering ‘It’s real…… it’s real……’ repeatedly.

[You have cleared the quest ‘Jin’s Request’.]

[As a reward, Jin Rudel’s favorability increases and leads to a linked quest.]

[The effect of the title ‘Maximum Favorability From the Start?’ is activated. Favorability increases even more.]

[Hidden NPC ‘Jin Rudel’s favorability increases significantly.]

‘……I wish this guy’s favorability wouldn’t increase.’

The nightmare of Zrinna, whose mouth became even more reckless when her favorability increased, came to mind.

As expected, Jin Rudel’s mouth had a motor attached.

-Goodness……. To come back in such a short time. Where was this? Was it safe where I hid it? Huh? There was also a secret dungeon in the secret space? Huh? Something like that exi…… Ack, could that be the path to the underground where that monster is?

As he roughly answered while ignoring him, he saw a somewhat interesting reaction.

Jin Rudel knew about the King’s Tomb.

-It’s a big deal if you touch that monster! If a guy like that appears outside, the city will be turned upside down! Huh? You cleared the dungeon, so there’s no chance it will appear now?

When Do-hyun nodded, Jin Rudel covered his mouth with a thud.

-Goodness. Then did you perhaps catch it? In this short amount of time?

Perhaps he was satisfied with Jin Rudel’s excellent reaction, which properly showed what a mouth-covering was.

Charlie nodded with a satisfied smile.

-Um! There is no impossibility for the Lord. You are one who knows how to send admiration to someone worthy of admiration.

-Wow, crazy……. Was the monster here instead of underground? Are you going to beat up outlaws too at this rate? Ah, is that too much? Haha. Anyway, you’re really amazing.

Ding-

[The effect of the title ‘Maximum Favorability From the Start?’ is activated. Favorability increases even more.]

[Hidden NPC ‘Jin Rudel’s favorability increases significantly.]

After ignoring the favorability that rose again and talking a few more times.

As he listened to it with one ear and ignored it, a quest soon appeared.

[Linked quest ‘Uncle’s Item’ has been created.]

[Uncle’s Item]

-Grade: Rare+

-Description: Jin Rudel, who has become a wandering spirit.

He says there is something he must deliver to his nephew, the Lord.

He came down for that purpose, but instead of him, who became a ghost after an unfair death, let’s deliver the item to the Lord.

-Deliver to the Lord (0 / 3)

-Quest Success: Jin Rudel’s favorability increases, the Lord’s favorability increases, linked quest ‘The Truth of the Castle’ is created.

-Quest Failure: Linked quest is impossible and quest is deleted.

-I hope you can deliver it for my clumsy uncle. Ah, please tell him about the outlaws and me when you deliver it. He needs to know how the situation is going, he’s the Lord now.

Then Jin Rudel hands over the item and a letter.

-Thank you.

As he accepted them and nodded, a calm thank you came back, unlike him.

It was dry, but rather, the sincerity was felt more because of it.

“I’ll be back.”

-Yes, please be safe.

Do-hyun turned away without regret.

There was no way he would get lost.

The castle was so huge that it could be seen at a glance from the forest.

“Oh? It’s Kaiser.”

“Looks like he’s coming back from hunting. Is something wrong? The atmosphere seems a bit heavy?”

“I wonder if he’s just going to dispose of the junk items again and go back to the hunting grounds.”

“It’s amazing to see him every day for the past few days. It feels like I’m staying in the same accommodation as a celebrity.”

As soon as he entered the city, attention was focused on him, but Do-hyun moved without hesitation.

Each time, the users parted to the sides.

As always, countless eyes followed him like he was a zoo monkey.

That’s probably why.

“Oh?”

“Huh?”

Today, Do-hyun wasn’t ignoring the other NPCs and was going straight ahead, which they could all see.

They were able to see Do-hyun standing in front of the castle and greeting the guards right away.

“What, why is he standing in front of the castle again?”

“Is he re-challenging for the second time? Did he get a hidden quest or something?”

“No way, he was just hunting. No one saw him doing anything else. At most, they said he went to catch the Shadow Lycanthrope for the last time?”

“Wow, a Shadow Lycanthrope on a full moon? The real macho King God Kaiser has no backing down.”

Thanks to that, even more users were talking about Kaiser.

Numerous gazes were filled with strange expectations, curiosity, and questions.

But among them, almost no one thought he would actually enter the castle.

A secret-filled castle that had never allowed a user to approach even once.

Kaiser had already been rejected once, so they didn’t think he would be able to enter again in a few days just because he came back from hunting.

It was more logical to think that Kaiser was being stubborn.

“Yeah, that’s right. No matter how much of a Kaiser he is, what’s not possible is not possi…… Huh?”

“Huh……?”

“That, could it be…….”

But it was at that moment.

When Kaiser handed something over, the attitude of the guard, who had always been consistent with his iron wall, suddenly changed.

The guard, who had received and checked what it was, was startled and opened the door.

Squeak-

Thud.

Then the guard and Kaiser went inside the castle.

The users, who were staring blankly at the scene, blinked at each other.

The reaction came out a beat late.

Because something so unbelievable had happened, it took time for the brain to properly recognize the situation they were seeing.

“Crazy!!”

“Wow, F, wow……. Wow, wow…….”

“Wow…… What the f!”

But the reaction that came out somewhat late was more intense than ever.

It was that unbelievable.

The users, who couldn’t even speak properly due to excitement, just spat out curses like language-deprived apes for a while.

Looking at the closed castle gate, they soon shouted with one heart.

“Shit, Kaiser did it again!!!”

“Kaiser, he is a god! Kaiser, he is a god! Kaiser, he is a god! Kaiser, he is a god!!!”

“Wow!!!!”

Kaiser.

He was about to write a new history in Sargis.