The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 144

144.

Was that all?

-Hmph! You’re not bad, but you’re still ten years too early!

-Go, Charlie, go!

Kuh-uh-uh-

Charlie’s fluid swordsmanship, allowing no approach, and the Undead’s meat shield also drew attention.

“Charlie fights really well… Is that aggro [short for ‘aggression,’ referring to the act of drawing enemy attention] control for real?”

“So that’s why he cursed at me so much in the tutorial. I can see why he clicked his tongue.”

“But how is Charlie really here?”

“…What’s that cotton ball?”

And something small was visible between them.

Fwick, fwick-

A tiny, cotton ball-like creature was bouncing around the heads of the two groups, diligently shooting out spiderwebs.

-Leeza!

-Hmph! Excellent!

-Leeza, Leeza!

Thanks to that, even though they were at a numerical disadvantage in the muddy fight, they were able to firmly hold the aggro.

“A spider… is it?”

“It’s kind of cute… Is there a Guardian like that?”

“Is Charlie a Guardian too, then?”

“Wouldn’t he be? Oh? Then what about that Necromancer?”

Everything was surprising, but the most surprising thing was Kaiser, who was fighting alone against the King of Outlaws.

To be exact, both Kaiser and the boss were amazing.

“No, but the Outlaw also fights really well. How is that a Black Wizard?”

“Even if it’s a Battle Mage concept, how can a mage be stronger than a top-tier melee combat user?”

“In the first place, the boss’s stats aren’t for this section. I’m telling you, it’s not meant to be caught.”

“…Then what about Kaiser, who’s fighting alone?”

“That’s… what about it?”

Everyone fell silent at the question posed by one user.

Then, they began to chatter about a new topic.

“Arthur fought with four people… How is that possible? Is his spec [character specialization] overpowered?”

“That seems right, but his control is just insane. No matter what, the Outlaw should be stronger, but how can he hold his own?”

“The video wasn’t edited after all… He’s proving it again like this.”

“One-man raid class… Is this a god?”

How could Kaiser possibly fight that ridiculous boss alone?

Just as they were concluding that Kaiser was a god, talking about it.

[The aura… of… death…]

The King of Outlaws, who had stopped, creating distance, took something out and raised his hand.

It was that pattern that everyone knew.

[Hidden Field Boss, King of Outlaws ‘???’ emits the aura of the underworld.]

[A terrible chill covers the surroundings. Avoid it.]

[You have touched the aura of the underworld. Your skin is contaminated, and you take damage per second in proportion to the distance.]

[Your feet begin to freeze due to the terrible chill.]

“Ugh!”

“Holy, X-!”

Suddenly, the ground froze, and the air turned cold, causing the surprised users to quickly distance themselves.

They were so surprised that those in the front even fell on their butts.

The reason they were so astonished, with their mouths agape, was not only because of the sudden activation of the pattern.

“Wow, that scared me.”

“No, why is it already activating?”

“What? Did he already shave off 20%? He shaved off 20% alone in less than 10 minutes?”

The pattern that shouldn’t have been activated yet was activated.

It was then.

“Uh? What’s that?”

“Huh?”

Before they could be surprised by that, an even more absurd sight unfolded.

* * *

[Hidden Field Boss, King of Outlaws ‘???’ emits the aura of the underworld.]

[Your feet begin to freeze due to the terrible chill.]

[Heroic Trait prevents status ailments.]

[Ignores the ‘Freeze’ status.]

Ignoring the message that appeared before his eyes, Do-hyun swung his sword.

Swoosh-

The sword sharply cut through the air.

The King of Outlaws, who naturally thought he would freeze, hurriedly retreated to avoid it.

He thought he was a skilled guy, but he never imagined that a mere being of this world could withstand the chill of the underworld.

However, he understood Do-hyun’s perfectly unharmed appearance from the status ailment.

[…He… possesses… the same… skill… as… that… guy.]

He had a similar experience in a fight against a human paladin in the past.

A guy who had pushed him quite a bit.

It must be a unique skill that only a few humans possessed.

That guy has it too.

But,

[Nothing… will… change.]

That’s all.

Just because he has a somewhat unique skill doesn’t mean anything will change.

[Summons a portion of the aura of the underworld.]

[Turns the surrounding land into the underworld.]

The chill is just a part of the underworld.

In that place, the chill was like the air or wind here.

The true horror of the underworld is that the land of the underworld has lost its vitality and been contaminated for a long time, causing terrible pain the moment you step on it.

The land of death that does not allow the existence of this world.

[…I’m… curious… how… long… you… will… last…]

It was a predetermined course for him to destroy himself.

The only difference was how long he would struggle.

He just had to watch the process leisurely.

Tatt! Swish-

Thwack!

Humans on the verge of death show resourcefulness.

Like that guy from before, the attacks became fiercer, so the wounds increased, but it was just a final struggle anyway.

There was nothing dangerous.

Whoong- Swish- Crack!

Thwack!

Yes, that was natural.

Crack-! Kwaduduk.

That was natural…

Swish, thwack, swish-

[…?]

The King of Outlaws tilted his head, feeling that the damage he was taking was gradually increasing each time they exchanged blows.

Something was wrong.

[…Why… are… you… unharmed?]

Already, more than 10 minutes had passed.

The weak human should have died a long time ago, and even the useful guys should be writhing in pain.

But that human was perfectly fine.

Not only did his skin color not change, but he didn’t feel any pain, and he showed no signs of self-destruction.

Rather, his movements became cleaner and sharper, as if he had caught fire.

“…What’s going on? Why isn’t Kaiser freezing?”

“It doesn’t even seem like he’s slowed down. Is there such an immunity skill besides the Heroic Trait in this section?”

“That’s not the problem. It seems like he’s not taking any continuous damage at all…”

“No, wasn’t Kaiser’s trait Weapon Master?”

“…What’s going on right now?”

It wasn’t his imagination.

Kaiser, fighting in a perfectly fine state, was visible to the users as well.

He looked as if he was not affected at all, making the aura of the underworld seem like a prop for a play.

“Status ailments aside, what is that? It seems like it’s been over 10 minutes, but why is he unharmed?”

“No… Is this even possible?”

“Isn’t it just me, or does the King of Outlaws seem flustered?”

“Real, I can feel the urgency in his gestures?”

A situation that could not be understood with common sense.

They stared at each other with blank faces, blinking their eyes, and then looked back at Kaiser.

Saaa-

The ground was covered in a terrible chill.

In the extreme land where you get slowed down just by touching your feet and take continuous damage.

Kaiser, he was fighting the Outlaw perfectly fine.

Ding-

A line of messages appeared before Kaiser’s eyes.

[The Physique of the Poison King is activated.]

[You have taken continuous damage from the same attack for a certain period of time.]

[The effect of Saturation is activated, and the damage is considered poison.]

[You are immune to poisons below Heroic grade due to the effect of Non-Invasion.]

The Physique of the Poison King received from the Dark King.

That was the reason why Do-hyun was free from this terrible aura of the underworld.

‘He said it would be helpful, so I expected it… but it’s more than I thought.’

From the first time he heard about the guy’s characteristics from the Lord, he thought that if he had this, he could deal with him enough.

No, it was a fight that only he could do.

With this, he had become a body that wouldn’t budge even with most poisons or continuous damage.

A thrill rushed in, but unfortunately, the aura of the underworld was not just that ‘most’ poison.

[The level of the aura of the underworld is high and cannot be completely blocked.]

[Takes 70% reduced damage from poison.]

It was a power that could not be completely blocked with the incomplete Physique of the Poison King.

[Health is below 40%.]

Thanks to that, his HP had already been cut in half.

What had been over 60% in about 10 minutes had become 40%.

He had only become able to last longer, but it was still unchanged that he would be at a disadvantage in a prolonged battle.

Kuh-uh-uh!

-Kuh… Master.

-Leeza, Leeza…

-Hmm…! Don’t worry, my lord. This humble sword can still hold out!

To make matters worse, their condition was not good either.

Unlike himself, who was resisting the poison, they had no way to withstand the aura of the underworld.

At most, it would be about 10 minutes from now.

When that time came, he would have to face the Outlaws alone.

-I will reduce… the number as much as possible, my lord.

Knowing that, Charlie activated the Sword of Light.

It was to kill as many Outlaws as possible before the limit came.

Fwick, fwick-! Fwick!

Eliza also spurred on shooting spiderwebs.

[Guardian Jihad Black summons Undead.]

[Summons an additional Lycanthrope Undead x1.]

[Uses Legion Manipulation to designate the Lycanthrope Undead as the existing Legion.]

Kuh-

Jihad seemed to have decided not to be picky, summoning the Undead he had been saving.

It was a guy he had been saving to control mana, even though he could add one more as he leveled up.

’10 minutes.’

He has to catch him within that time.

Otherwise, the possibility will become slim.

That’s why Do-hyun had raised the tempo, but even this was not easy.

“…But doesn’t Kaiser look dangerous?”

“It seems like he’s fighting evenly… but the Outlaw’s attacks seem more fatal?”

“Looking at it, he hasn’t allowed a big one even once. If he gets grazed wrong, he’s gone.”

“I’m getting goosebumps. It’s like watching acrobatics.”

The guy’s physical abilities were surpassing his own, and thanks to the occasional magic added, it wasn’t just once or twice that he was about to suffer a fatal wound.

Even allowing one proper attack would bring him close to defeat in an instant.

“Is that all it takes? There’s nothing special about the aura of the underworld or whatever.”

[…]

Do-hyun was bluffing based on the fact that his skin color wasn’t changing, in order to prevent the guy from stalling, even if only by chance.

Was it worth rushing in so desperately, raising the tempo like that?

[…I… don’t… know… what… skill… you’re… using… but… this… is… the… end…]

The guy stopped abruptly and reached out his hand.

The guy was emitting a black aura with a fierce momentum.

[Hidden Field Boss, King of Outlaws ‘???’s health has reached 50%.]

[Phase 2 is activated.]

It was a sign before what he had seen in the video began.

[…Feel… the… dirge… of… death…]

Along with a chilling voice that sounded like scratching a chalkboard, a message appeared in front of everyone.

[The Underworld’s Requiem is activated.]

[You will die instantly upon touching the Requiem.]

“…?”

“What?”

The moment they questioned the sudden message.

Kwaaaang! Kwang!

“A, avoid it!”

“Ugh!”

They were horrified by the chain explosion of dark pillars erupting from the ground in all directions.

It was said that they wouldn’t attack unless the Outlaws touched them first, but area-of-effect skills were an exception.

Just like how you take continuous damage when you touch the aura of the underworld, anyone who touches that will die instantly.

Kuh-uh-uh-

-Hee-ahk!

-Come here, quickly!

In reality, all the Undead who were wearing darkness were dying, and Charlie was frantically carrying the spider(?) and the robe party and running away.

The users who didn’t want to end up like that hurriedly retreated.

“…What happened?”

“Kaiser? What happened to Kaiser? Is he dead?”

“L, look over there!”

Soon, they secured a safe distance and saw it.

Kaiser, who had appeared behind the boss, breaking through that area-of-effect skill, was continuing to attack.

They were stunned and blankly stared at the sight, and then gasped.

They realized.

“Wait, then has that guy gone below 50% now?”

“Good heavens…”

“Arthur’s record has been broken…!”

That Arthur’s record had been broken in just about 20 minutes since the challenge began.

“…Then is this the first run now?”

“Crazy…”

“As expected, my choice to watch live without doing a direct quest was right!”

“Kaiser, he’s a god! Kaiser, he’s a god! Kaiser, he’s a god…”

“Everyone be quiet! We need to concentrate.”

That everything that was happening from now on was in an unknown territory.

That they were about to face that first moment.

Gulp.

Feeling their hearts pumping and sweat forming on their hands, they focused on the battle before them.

With unwavering eyes, as if not to miss even a little.