The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 145

145.

The battle was fierce.

—!

Those trying to widen the distance versus those trying to close it.

In the process, countless attacks and defenses were exchanged, resulting in a blood-soaked battle.

Dohyun, who had manifested black Sword Aura, launched an attack.

Kwaang!

But the King of Outlaws didn’t just stand there and take it; he stretched out his hand and caused several pillars of darkness to rise from the ground.

[Contact with Requiem results in instant death.]

[If your stats are higher than the caster’s, you will not die.]

“……Tch.”

Each one a fatal attack if it even grazed him.

No, Dohyun had no choice but to evade the fraudulent attack that went beyond fatal and resulted in instant death, clicking his tongue.

In the meantime, the King of Outlaws widened the distance again.

“Wow……. He’s dodging all those instant-kill attacks. How is he dodging them all? It’s like he knows them in advance.”

“Is this battle even appropriate for this section? Seriously, Kaiser is a legend.”

“Be quiet. This is important.”

A tremendous speed battle that was hard to follow with the eye.

The users, unable to contain their admiration, whispered among themselves before immediately shutting their mouths at the sharp words that followed.

That was the kind of battle it was. The battle unfolding before their eyes.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that they wouldn’t see again in Sargis, or so they thought, making them feel like they would lose out if they missed even a moment.

In other words, it was that close of a fight, but for Dohyun, it was a matter of life and death.

‘Isn’t this too much of a cheat?’

What was the point of closing the distance with such a fraudulent wide-area instant-kill skill that allowed him to easily widen the distance again?

The moment Phase 2 was activated, he no longer engaged in proper head-to-head combat with Dohyun.

Swoosh-!

[Trying…… so hard…….]

Having easily dodged the Ever-Changing Thorns thrown as soon as the distance was widened, he laughed as if it was pathetic.

Regardless, Dohyun reached out again.

Whirlick-

[Ho…… oh……?]

Could it be that he didn’t expect it to come back like a boomerang?

He was impressed, but that was it.

At his level, such tricks couldn’t inflict any damage.

Swish- Whizz-!

[Kuh…… Kuk……, now…… you…… can’t even…… hit…… properly…….]

No matter how many times he threw the Ever-Changing Thorns, it was the same.

In the end, he had no choice but to close the distance directly.

-Ugh!

-Huiyaak!

Guh, guh!?

Fortunately, the good thing was that his Requiem didn’t distinguish between friend and foe.

[Eva…… de……!]

[The…… King…… is…… using…… Requiem…….]

Thanks to that, Jihad and Charlie, as well as the Outlaws, were busy scrambling to avoid it whenever the pattern was activated.

Now, they weren’t even engaging in proper combat.

They were just cautiously fighting, and when the pattern was activated, they would leave like ghosts.

Thanks to that, the Outlaws weren’t recklessly attacking Dohyun.

[Your health is below 20%. Be careful.]

[Guardian Charlie’s health is below 20%.]

[Guardian Jihad Black’s health is below 20%.]

But even so, the situation wasn’t good.

Dohyun’s health, as well as theirs, was nearing the bottom.

‘Is this even possible, even after investing 30 stats?’

He had a total of 40 stats that he hadn’t invested while leveling up.

The reality that it was hard to even contend, even after investing 30 stats before entering the battle, was astonishing.

No wonder that other guy, Ader, couldn’t even make a dent.

‘I have no choice.’

Dohyun clicked his tongue and quietly moved his fingers.

[……Why…… don’t…… you…… just…… give…… up……. It’s…… pathetic…… to watch…….]

What he needed now wasn’t more health to endure for a longer time, nor the power to unleash greater strength.

Just for a very brief moment.

A speed that he could miss for even a second.

The timing to screw over the guy who was adapting to the current rhythm and being careless.

Swoosh.

It was the moment the guy, who had arrogantly straightened his back while watching Dohyun close the distance, was about to flick his hand again.

‘……Now!’

[Invest 10 stats into Agility.]

[Use Madness.]

[For 90 seconds, health decreases by 1% per second, and stats and all speeds increase in proportion to the current health percentage.]

Dohyun, who had been waiting for this moment, invested his stats and activated Madness at the same time.

Then, as he put strength into his thighs, his figure instantly disappeared.

Taat!

[……!?]

The King of Outlaws was greatly taken aback and stepped back.

He had been adapted to Dohyun’s movements, but when he suddenly unleashed an unexpected speed, he missed the movement.

—-!

[Kuh…… Aaaaa……!!!]

The result was devastating.

He had allowed the biggest critical hit since Phase 2 was activated.

[Use Sword Aura – Cleave.]

[Hidden Field Boss King of Outlaws, ‘???’s health is below 30%.]

He had been properly hit by the darkness-clad cleave [a powerful sword attack].

Dohyun’s scheme had worked perfectly!

“Oooo!?”

“Wow, what’s with that black cleave? It’s so cool…….”

“Huh? Isn’t that Madness?”

“I don’t know, is that important right now? Is this a comeback!?”

Cheers erupted from behind at the spectacular strike.

It was because he had landed a proper blow for the first time, after watching Kaiser being pushed back the whole time, making them nervous.

‘Nice!’

He had held back from investing the remaining points right away for this.

Leaving points to supplement the stats that felt lacking while fighting was a basic strategy used by users with the Latent Dragon trait.

Kkwak-

He was confident that he had used that strategy most excellently.

Dohyun clenched his fist with excitement, but now wasn’t the time for this.

‘I have to push as much as possible now that I’ve seized the momentum.’

How did he get this opportunity?

The time he could endure was at most about 5 minutes.

He had to unleash everything he had now.

And that was what Dohyun was best at.

He was more confident than anyone in not missing an opportunity once he had seized it and tenaciously biting down.

“Jihad, Charlie.”

-Yes, Master!

-Got it!

-Liza!

The guys who understood the signal abandoned the Outlaws they were fighting and ran with all their might.

They were reminded of the battle with Destroyer Gaiman.

Geueooo-!

-Haap!

He used the Sword of Light, and it was a pity that there were only four Undead left, but it didn’t matter.

It was enough if they could hold him for even a second longer.

[Co…… me…….]

[Don’t…… let…… him…… go…….]

Perhaps sensing the crisis.

The Outlaws immediately followed behind the guys who were running, but Dohyun grinned.

Tuk.

[……?]

[Some…… thing…… on…… the…… feet…….]

[……Thread……?]

The moment they confirmed that the thing caught on their ankles was a black thread.

[Activate Fuse – Explosion.]

—-!!!

A silent explosion occurred along with a line of messages.

It was the Fuse that Dohyun had been attaching while throwing Ever-Changing Thorns during the battle.

And the end of that thread was…….

[……Thi…… is……?]

The King of Outlaws looked at the end of his robe.

To be exact, he felt something out of place when he hit a small stone while stepping back.

It was a thread.

A thread emitting a black light and exploding silently.

“That was damn hard.”

The reason he had been throwing Ever-Changing Thorns even though they weren’t working.

The reason he had been holding back from raising his Agility while risking danger.

The reason he had been hiding the fact that he would use the Fuse in case he became aware of it, and pushing him all the way here while struggling.

“Checkmate, you bastard.”

Everything was a setup for this moment.

Seeing Dohyun, who was smirking slyly, the King of Outlaws, stained black, expressed unbearable anger.

But that anger couldn’t be properly conveyed.

[No…… Defen…… se……!]

—–!!

The explosion that occurred at the same time covered him.

‘Now’s the time, hit him quickly!’

‘Yes, Master!’

‘Trust us!’

‘Lizariza!’

The guys who wouldn’t miss this opportunity plunged into the smoke with Dohyun.

No matter how strong he was in close combat as a Battle Mage, he was still a Mage in the end.

He was bound to be most vulnerable when several people ganged up on him.

Moreover, if he was in a state of being relentlessly driven like now, there was no need to say more.

Ppak! Ppak!

Peok! Pook-

Geueooo! Geueo!

Jihad’s Undead’s one-sided beating and Charlie’s fluent metathesis [rapid transformation].

On top of that, Dohyun’s fierce vital point stabbing with Madness activated.

A red-eyed madman, darkness-bearing Undead, and a former Knight Commander were beating up one target.

……It was somewhat unsightly, but ganging up was originally unsightly.

It was when they were giving it their all and beating him up like that.

[……Kuh…… Aaaaa…… Aaa!!]

A scream that was cut off.

Rather, the users covered their ears at the more chilling and gruesome noise.

It was a roar that made them frown involuntarily.

However, Dohyun was the opposite.

“……!”

A message was floating in front of his wide eyes.

[Hidden Field Boss King of Outlaws, ‘???’s health is below 20%.]

[Phase 3 is activated.]

[King of Outlaws, ‘Pain’ opens his eyes.]

At the same time, he saw it.

A red light gleaming through the smoke.

It was the moment when the veiled Phase 3 was activated for the first time.

* * *

Originally, they were strangers.

Ghost soldiers dwelling in the underworld managed by Hades, the god of the underworld.

They could not belong anywhere, as they wandered around on horseback in the underworld, where the area was already determined.

They had no name.

No one would give them a name, as they were born without parents, a place to live, or a body.

-Ghost soldiers have appeared! Run away!

-How dare a primitive race come here……!

-I’ll plunge you into…… the hell of fire…….

Some feared them, some despised them, and some were hostile to them.

There was no space for them anywhere.

It was natural.

They were impurities of the underworld. They were just those who should not have been born.

There was no one who would like impurities.

-Dirty strangers. I will exterminate them today!

-How dare you trespass on my territory without knowing your place…… You have a lot of guts.

-Strangers? Where are the dirty impurities going!

-There is no space for you here. I will show you mercy, so leave.

Nowhere in the vast underworld did anyone welcome them.

Kuaaak! Keoheok!

They wandered around for a thousand years.

And that many of their comrades were sacrificed.

They were born in the underworld, but to the beings of the underworld who valued the area, they were just strangers.

Beings who did not belong anywhere.

A destiny that could only be rejected by everyone.

Dirty impurities.

A race whose lives were a nuisance.

Those words followed them like tags, and they had to fight with countless people.

Sometimes, they were caught by the ‘Lords’ and were devastated.

-Why……, do you…… kill us. Why…… are we…… rejected…….

To that cry, he said.

-Well. There’s no particular reason. It’s just that I wasn’t in a good mood.

-Ah, if I had to pick one, it’s that I hated seeing ignorant races without even a name acting up.

……Just.

We had been suffering for just that reason.

If we had to be rejected because we had no name.

If we were an ignorant race that had to live in pain for the rest of our lives.

-Okay…… good…… then……. If…… the…… world’s…… law…… is…… like…… that…….

That name. I will take it.

-I will call myself ‘Pain’.

But I don’t intend to just take it.

The beings of the underworld have power in their names.

[The gate of the underworld looks into your life.]

[Your name is recognized.]

[You will live a life worthy of your name.]

The pain of losing comrades.

The pain of being rejected by everyone.

The pain of living as dirty impurities, with everyone throwing stones and stabbing knives.

-That…… all…… pain……. I…… will…… take…… it…….

It is enough for one to feel the pain.

Because their anger, which has taken on all the pain, will be borne by them.

And that day, the Outlaw was born.