The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 16

16.

-ShieldSupreme LV9

-EyebrowAim LV9

-YubinCute LV9

-Kaiser LV9

They leveled up by 5, reaching level 9.

Of course, not all level 9s were created equal.

Compared to the others, who gained 25 stat points, Do-hyun gained 35.

Even in these early stages, he already had a 10-point advantage.

[Player: Kaiser]

[Level: 9]

[HP: 1,170 / 1,200]

[MP: 120 / 250]

[Stamina: 100 / 230]

[Class: The Last Adventurer [Apostle of Kasiar]]

[Titles (2)]

-Popularity Max From the Start?

-The First Slayer

[Stats]

[Strength: 28(+ 22)] [Agility: 27(+ 20)]

[Constitution: 5(+ 19)] [Sense: 16(+ 18)]

[Magic Power: 5(+ 18)]

Remaining Points: 0

Do-hyun invested 14 points into Strength and Agility, and 7 into Sense.

He hadn’t felt any issues with his Stamina yet.

‘These are level 9 stats… pretty gangster-like,’ he thought.

No wonder the goblins melted away with a single critical hit.

This wasn’t the end of his gains.

[Swordsmanship Proficiency LV 6]

[Daggersmanship Proficiency LV 3]

[Blunt Weapon Proficiency LV 4]

[Poison Needle Proficiency LV 2]

His proficiency increased evenly as he hunted with various weapons.

It was an abnormally fast rate, even considering his skill.

This proficiency level-up was possible because he was a Weapon Master.

Combined with the First Slayer title and the necklace, he was capable of explosive damage.

Because damage increases with proficiency.

[Swordsmanship Proficiency Level 6 increases sword-related damage by 6%.]

‘Nice, nice.’

That’s a whopping 1% increase per level.

It was common to reach proficiency level 3 or 4 before graduating from the beginner city, but Do-hyun was already at level 6.

Even weapons that weren’t his main ones were at level 3 or 4.

It wasn’t for nothing that Weapon Master was called overpowered.

Once he put it into practice, he realized that both Latent Dragon and Weapon Master were excellent traits.

“At this rate, we’re pretty good, right? Did you see me hit them every time?”

“Yeah, no. It’s because Kaiser and Shield are drawing all the aggro [drawing the enemy’s attention]. Don’t you remember when you messed up and almost wiped us out?”

“Ahem. Why bring up the past? I’m not the newbie EyebrowAim from back then, okay? And you were shooting mana bolts at corpses, weren’t you?”

“……Finishing them off.”

“Yeah, right. Finishing them off? You were shooting at a guy who’d been dead for ages. Kaiser, you saw it too, right?”

Glancing to the side, Do-hyun could hear his party members chattering.

Now that they were easily slaughtering goblins, they had gained a lot of confidence. The hesitant looks they had at the beginning were gone.

ShieldSupreme chuckled awkwardly as he watched YubinCute and EyebrowAim bickering.

“Haha… they’re a bit immature, aren’t they? They fight over the smallest things every time.”

“I understand.”

Do-hyun replied casually and added,

“……I’m used to it, too.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

Do-hyun shook his head and chuckled.

‘People are all the same, I guess.’

Two companions bickering like enemies, and himself and another companion watching them like they were children fighting.

It felt like déjà vu [the feeling of having already experienced the present situation].

Perhaps that’s why.

The party he was with didn’t feel so awkward.

‘More importantly…….’

With this, the Green Goblin quest was complete.

Now there was only one quest left.

“Shall we go now, then?”

At Do-hyun’s casual words, YubinCute and EyebrowAim paused.

Then, EyebrowAim scratched his head, and YubinCute fidgeted with her staff, looking worried.

“……We have to go. We have to go, but… *inhale* I’m a bit nervous.”

“They say it’s a beginner killer… will we be okay?”

“With my current form, I feel like I could pierce through his eyebrows…….”

“Yeah, no.”

Listening to their conversation, Do-hyun glanced at the quest window.

[Variant Goblin’s Blood]

-Rank: Rare

-Description: This is a quest requested by the alchemist ‘Calde,’ who has lived for a long time.

He has recently been eyeing variant goblins and seems to have found a clue.

For him, bring back fresh blood from the ‘Variant Goblin Warrior’ residing in the Arde Forest cave.

-Defeat the Variant Goblin Warrior (0 / 1)

-Variant Goblin Warrior’s Blood (0 / 1)

-Reward for Completion: 1 Gold, a certain amount of experience, a silver ring crafted by Calde.

-Risk of Failure: Calde’s favor may decrease.

-Time Limit: None.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

Variant Goblin Warrior.

He was the elite boss monster that users first encountered in God of Second Earth.

* * *

[How to catch a Variant Goblin Warrior?]

[God-Bug I failed the third try now. Was this made to be caught?]

[You can catch it if you just follow the strategy.]

[No… I’m sure I’m doing it, but it’s too hard. Is it okay to die if you make even one mistake?]

[Well, I had a lot of trouble with that guy when I was a newbie.]

Variant Goblin Warrior. Also known as the Beginner Killer.

More often called Beginner Killer than its original name, it was a symbolic figure in Arde.

It was not only the first elite boss that newbies encountered, but it was also famous as the dungeon where they experienced their first wipe [a situation where the entire party dies].

A dungeon where you die no matter what on your first try.

A sneak peek at future raids [a challenging, multi-stage encounter in a game].

Endless Tsukuyomi [a reference to a powerful illusion technique in the Naruto anime series, implying inescapable torment].

The Tomb of Arde.

A dungeon with not a single hopeful modifier among the various modifiers.

This place, the ‘Habitat of the Variant Goblin Warrior’, which boasts extreme difficulty, was always filled with wailing.

“Damn it!”

“No… wow, no, is this dead?”

“I really want to rage quit [quit in anger], seriously.”

More precisely, there were more curses than wails.

The users who appeared from the dungeon warp all spat out curses as if they had promised to do so.

Their faces were full of bewilderment.

“Tsk tsk, was that your first try?”

“Looks like they died in phase 2?”

“You can’t expect to be full on your first try.”

And all ten of them were first-try parties.

Even those who were clicking their tongues now showed the same reaction as them, because it was a dungeon that gave a great shock to those who experienced it for the first time.

The reason why newbies are so shocked was simple.

“Crazy difficulty!”

“Did you make this to be broken!”

“Wow, I wish you could just do it solo. I want to punch my party members in the face every time they make a mistake.”

The difficulty was incomparably higher than when catching goblin groups.

And a specific pattern that requires teamwork.

When these two combinations were combined, it was literally hell.

The parties, who had been confidently slaughtering goblins fairly well, were being torn apart like corn, and those who had been friendly were busy asking about each other’s parents [a euphemism for cursing each other out].

There were even those who said they would rather be given a group assignment, so there was no need to explain how much resentment there was.

Did you play perfectly?

You still die if your party member makes a mistake.

Numerous newbies were cursing at the dungeon, which forcibly required teamwork, and had no choice but to burn their fighting spirit, telling the God of Second Earth management team to come out, whether they were aliens or whatever.

Still, experienced users gave favorable reviews.

“When I think about it later, catching that guy back then helped me a lot.”

“All the top content is difficult, and if you’re a party that can’t catch that, you can’t come this far anyway.”

“It’s better to get hit early, so you just have to build up your patience and come… is there any other way?”

“Anyway, there’s no penalty for dying in Arde, right?”

Later, even if you want to practice, you can’t do it properly because you’re afraid of the death penalty.

But in Arde, there is no penalty no matter how many times you die.

So, you can just think of it as improving your skills and do it step by step.

It’s only frustrating at that moment, but once you break it, you feel proud.

More than anything, you could filter out trolls [players who intentionally disrupt the game] in advance during that process.

Wouldn’t it be more frustrating if you were penalized with a death penalty later because your party member made a mistake while trying to catch a boss like that?

That was the problem.

“You haven’t caught a Variant Goblin Warrior?”

“Um… I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can join our guild.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to party with trolls. How do I know you won’t suddenly leave?”

Companies want to hire experienced people rather than new recruits if possible, so is the game any different?

Rather, the game was even worse than reality.

No one wanted to bring in an element of anxiety when they were playing games to relieve stress.

With the addition of the death penalty, there were even more things to consider.

For them, the history of giving up on the Variant Goblin Warrior was nothing short of a red line [a boundary that should not be crossed].

What if you cheat?

Unfortunately, you can’t do that in God of Second Earth.

“Can I see your Book of Adventure?”

“Looking for ranged dealers for elite boss try party. Only accepting those with 3 or more boss clear records.”

Book of Adventure.

A huge book that users fill as they enjoy God of Second Earth.

The Book of Adventure is filled as you enjoy adventures, such as collecting unique and rare materials, clearing specific quests, or exploring various regions.

The problem is that even catching a boss is recorded in the Book of Adventure.

You might not know if you have a record of several bosses later, but when you’re looking for a boss try in the next city, most people won’t let you join the party if you don’t have a record.

Even the next city boss must be caught unlike Arde.

So, if you don’t have any connections, you have no choice but to grit your teeth and break it.

“I can’t believe you can’t think of tadpole days [a reference to one’s humble beginnings], but what’s so good about it?”

“I’m so frustrated right now!”

“Oh, I want to break it quickly and graduate! I want to cast a fireball too!”

As a result, the newbies who have to break it right now were in a state of dying.

YubinCute trembled as she watched them.

“……It must be very difficult.”

“Well… it’s famous. In a bad way.”

“Can we break it?”

“We have a secret weapon, Kaiser.”

“That’s why it’s more of a problem. We all die if we make a mistake, so we’re just causing damage.”

“……That’s right.”

And ShieldSupreme and EyebrowAim were no different.

They knew the notoriety, but the pressure was more than they expected when they came in person.

However, Do-hyun was just calmly looking around.

Do-hyun chuckled as he listened to the angry people talking.

‘That’s right. They’ve been playing tricks here too.’

Wiping out if even one party member makes a mistake.

He thought God of Second Earth was still decent after seeing the beginner support benefits, but it doesn’t disappoint.

Not only that.

[Habitat of the Variant Goblin Warrior]

-Rank: Rare

-Type: Party Dungeon

-Characteristic: Single Boss

-Description: This is where the warrior, who was a brave warrior and legend of the Green Goblins, was cursed, left the tribe, and settled.

[Entry Limit: 4 people]

[Entry Level Limit: Below LV 10]

The dungeon was also a party dungeon, so they couldn’t even do it solo.

‘You have to enter with 4 people full, so there’s no choice but to have a lot of complaints.’

Even the number of people was limited to 4, not less than 4.

It was a dungeon that could only be broken if exactly four party members did not make mistakes and attacked the pattern.

Newbies who have just caught goblin groups.

It was a vicious system that could only be seen as knowing how to make users suffer, but it was nothing new.

That party dungeon?

‘It was everyday life in Dem Locke.’

It was a dungeon that was as familiar as breathing now.

Kaiser had encountered countless party dungeons and broken all of them.

Even a dungeon with a strategy…….

“Shall we go in too, then?”

“Ah, yes……! I’m ready.”

“Hoo…… I’m nervous.”

“I’ve read the strategy more than ten times! I’ll try not to make any mistakes!”

Leaving behind the stiff party members who were very nervous, Do-hyun stood in front of the entrance.

Then, when he glanced at ShieldSupreme, ShieldSupreme, who belatedly came to his senses, rushed over.

“Ah……! I will enter.”

Basically, the party leader must enter the party dungeon for the notification to appear.

As he stepped into the warp, a message appeared.

[Party leader ‘ShieldSupreme’ is trying to enter the Habitat of the Variant Goblin Warrior.]

[Do you agree?]

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Uh.”

The party members, including Do-hyun, agreed.

[Checking the number of entrants.]

[Confirmed.]

[Checking the entry level.]

[Confirmed.]

[Entering the Habitat of the Variant Goblin Warrior.]

‘Shall I stretch my body for a while?’

Do-hyun smiled as he felt his vision reverse along with the message.