The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 167

167.

[Time Remaining Until Field Boss Respawn: 00:01:03]

[A field boss will respawn shortly.]

“Huh?”

Do Hyun paused, surprised by the unexpected notification.

‘Come to think of it, I did see a message saying there were 5 minutes left when I first started searching for monsters,’ he thought.

Time had already passed, and only 1 minute remained.

[Condition met.]

[The ‘Slayer’ trait is activated.]

[The location of the boss nearby has been confirmed.]

[The hidden location of the field boss ‘Forest Troll King’ is revealed.]

And around this time, the Slayer trait would inevitably activate.

But the location was closer than he thought.

‘Right next to me?’

It was literally right next to him.

A location that would take 30 seconds to reach if he ran, not even a minute.

Considering how vast the blue forest was, it was an incredible coincidence.

With bad luck, even with the Slayer trait, it was common for the boss to respawn 20 or 40 minutes away.

‘Well, I have no choice.’

With this kind of coincidence, it felt like it was begging to be caught.

He was originally going to get the trembling tree root leaves and blue leaves first, but this changed things.

‘I can’t even see those blue leaves or whatever they are.’

Since he had to catch it anyway.

It would be better to get the Troll King’s fangs first.

Having made his decision, Do Hyun immediately moved.

The distance was really close, and he was able to arrive just in time by walking at a moderate pace.

[Field Boss, ‘Forest Troll King’ has respawned.]

Kuaaaaah!!!

The field boss appeared just in time and roared.

The boss was distinctly different from ordinary trolls.

It had two heads and boasted a massive, muscular body that made ordinary trolls look like babies.

“Looks like I’m in first place.”

-You’re lucky. I heard the apostles take turns.

-Yeah. If you cut in line, you’re dead.

There were times like this with Dem Locke as well.

Standing around without much expectation and getting lucky.

At times like that, he would get angry, wondering if his luck with draws, drops, or even enhancements was just mocking him, but if he didn’t have that, he might have seriously quit.

Smirk.

Do Hyun smirked at the old memories and was about to grip Chunbyeon [his weapon] and put strength into his thighs when…

“Uh? What, there’s someone here?”

“Huh? Weren’t we the closest team? We were 2 minutes away?”

“Damn it, I guess there was a user with the Slayer trait closer.”

“This is bad. The team leader said we had to secure the first spot…….”

Rough breaths and urgent voices came from behind.

But the voice soon turned irritable. It seemed they were annoyed that their run had been in vain.

“Who the hell is so lucky?”

“Let’s see their face…… Huh? It’s Kaiser?”

“What bullshit…… Huh?”

“Those guardians and the dark armor……. Wow, it’s really Kaiser.”

Do Hyun instinctively turned his head, and the guys who met his eyes covered their mouths.

They couldn’t have imagined it would be Do Hyun, and they looked quite surprised.

And Do Hyun was just as surprised.

‘……That mark.’

The guild mark proudly displayed on their chests was familiar.

It couldn’t be helped.

A mark depicting a man holding a sword high under a flag.

It was a guild that boasted a high status among the top 100 guilds, and the guild that Verze was the leader of.

It was the Hero Guild’s mark.

‘The rumors must be true.’

He had heard rumors that the Hero Guild was controlling bosses in Fratel [the game world].

Many users were experiencing discomfort because of it, but it wasn’t illegal control, so users had no grounds to complain.

‘They say they organize Slayer trait holders into teams and have them move around.’

Scattered here and there, the closest team would take the spot when a boss respawned.

Since they were using legitimate methods, there was nothing to say.

“Ah, what. Someone’s already here?”

The appearance of the Hero Guild, with whom he had recently had some dealings, was surprising, but there was something even more surprising.

“I think we came quickly this time, but the Hero Guild took it again.”

“How are they so fast every time? It’s so unfair, should we join a guild…….”

“We have a guild too. Jonghyun, I told you to join quickly.”

“No, ‘King God General Kaiser Punch’ is too much. Why did you make the guild name like that?”

Behind the Hero Guild, a group appeared.

No, to be exact, it was two groups.

“Huh? Oppas [Korean term for older brothers/male friends], did you guys come to catch the field boss too?”

“What, is that Hyun-ah? We’re all meeting here. We came to catch it, but someone took it first.”

“……Who are you?”

“Ah, well……. Some oppas I know.”

“Ah, hello!”

Behind the familiar group, another group with familiar faces joined in.

They couldn’t help but be familiar.

They were the four members of the group chat who wished for his death, and Hyun-ah and her friends, whom he wanted to beat up even if he saw them.

‘……What the hell is this combination.’

Do Hyun, dizzy from the amazing grand gathering, denied reality.

The moment the guys turned their heads, Do Hyun quickly turned his head.

Perhaps because he wasn’t just the number one in Dem Locke, he displayed an amazing 0.0001-second reflex that would make Myeolsal cry, but it seemed he was a step late.

“Huh?”

Because he heard Hyun-ah’s familiar voice.

The voice, which was close to an exclamation as if surprised, soon turned to astonishment.

“Huh, isn’t that Kaiser?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Why is Kaiser suddenly here…… Huh? It’s real?”

“Wow, daebak [Korean slang for awesome/amazing]. I’m finally seeing Kaiser in person?”

“Hey, hey, move aside. Let me see his face. The protection of portrait rights and copyrights has become so strong that we haven’t been able to see his face.”

“What can we do? It’s virtual reality, so there are limits to customization, and they say it’s because of the risk of retaliation.”

With Doo Hyung and Jonghyun’s group joining in, Do Hyun closed his eyes tightly.

‘Ah…….’

Was he going to get caught like this?

While feeling like he was screwed, he felt wronged when he thought about it.

What sin did he commit that he had to hide?

It wasn’t like he was trying to hide that he was Kaiser, they were the ones who were praising him on their own!

‘Yeah, I’m innocent…… Damn it. I don’t know.’

Half of him felt like letting it be, and half of him was afraid of the aftermath.

“Huh?”

He made eye contact with the guys.

Do Hyun was about to open his mouth to make the first move, but Hyun-ah was faster.

“Ah, what. He’s covering his face.”

“That’s right. Too bad……. Did he always wear a mask?”

“That looks like a mask sold by a Fratel merchant. Looks like he got it this time?”

“Well……. He’s too famous. It’s understandable that he’d cover his face.”

Do Hyun paused and put his hand on his face.

He felt the rough texture of the crude mask.

Only then did Do Hyun remember that he was wearing a mask and let out a sigh of relief.

‘Wow……. I’m glad I got the mask.’

To be honest, he had considered this situation when he bought the mask.

Since his friends and Hyun-ah were all gathered in Fratel, it wouldn’t be strange to run into them anytime.

Rather, it was amazing that he hadn’t run into them for the past few days.

That’s why he bought it as soon as he reached level 58, when he could wear a mask, but if he hadn’t bought the mask now…….

‘Ugh, goosebumps.’

Do Hyun shuddered once, feeling chills just thinking about it.

Perhaps to sympathize with Do Hyun.

Kuaaaaah!!!

[Field Boss, ‘Forest Troll King’ unleashes ‘Fear’.]

[You have heard the ‘Fear’ of a king of a race.]

[All stats are reduced by 10%.]

[All speeds are reduced by 10%.]

[You are immune to mental contamination due to the effect of the ‘Hero’ trait.]

[Fear is nullified.]

The Forest Troll King unleashed Fear with a thunderous roar, and the Hero trait blocked it.

Only then did people take their eyes off Kaiser and focus on him.

“Looks like it’s starting.”

They sensed the start of the battle with the field boss.

Do Hyun, who felt much more at ease thanks to that, gripped Chunbyeon, which had turned into a blue sword.

‘Let’s catch this guy first and think about it.’

It was a very embarrassing situation, but now was the time to focus on the battle.

* * *

The battle wasn’t difficult.

Kuaaaaah!!!

[Field Boss, ‘Forest Troll King’ uses ‘Rage Strike’.]

[Parrying is perfectly successful.]

[Rage Strike is completely deflected.]

The field boss here, the Forest Troll King, was a melee-based boss.

Among them, he was closer to a berserker who lost his mind and rampaged, mixed with an axe warrior.

It felt similar to Karuk, the hidden field boss of Raven.

It was right to see him as a higher version of that guy.

‘This kind of guy is easy.’

And Kaiser was the best at dealing with that kind of guy.

The thoughts of such an ignorant guy were obvious.

Destroy.

The combat pattern of a guy who rolled with this one thought was so obvious that he could predict three moves ahead.

[Parrying is perfectly successful!]

[Rage Strike is completely deflected.]

Thanks to that, he was able to use parrying like eating a meal.

There was no need to retreat.

He could easily dodge by bending his body, or counter the attack by stepping forward or diagonally.

Then, he would parry powerful patterns that couldn’t be deflected with normal attacks without fail.

Kuaaaa!!

[Field Boss, ‘Forest Troll King’s health is below 50%.]

The Forest Troll King was beside himself with joy at the one-sided beating.

[Phase 2 is activated.]

[Warrior trait is activated.]

[The physical abilities of the Field Boss, ‘Forest Troll King’ are greatly increased.]

The warrior trait, a staple trait of warrior-type field bosses.

There was nothing different in Phase 2, where a trait that was as common and powerful as being called Ttoreeo [Korean slang for being overpowered] was activated.

No matter how fast he became, he was slower than Do Hyun, and no matter how powerful an attack he made, he wouldn’t get hit.

To Do Hyun, he was just a slightly faster punching bag.

At this rate, it was such an easy and simple battle that he could finish it in 5 minutes, but…….

“Wow! Daebak! The control is crazy!”

“So cool……. I have to brag to the Kaiser Church today. That I saw Kaiser Oppa’s battle right in front of me.”

“Me too, me too!”

“Why is Hyun-ah so quiet…… Pfft, guys, look at Hyun-ah. She said she wouldn’t even join such a cafe, but she can’t take her eyes off him.”

The problem was the fuss coming from behind.

From the sounds of Hyun-ah and her friends chattering,

“Kiya……. It’s really amazing. How is that human control? None of the tactics are being followed.”

“Would a god follow human tactics? You ignorant Jae-yeol.”

“Oh, Jonghyun, what’s with you, saying something right for once. Do you finally know the true value of my guild name? How about it, do you want to join too?”

“W, would you?”

“Wow, Do Hyun is really pitiful that he can’t see this.”

Even the sounds of his friends praising him.

Even though countless users were surrounding him, the familiar voices were especially clear.

They were always busy admiring and praising him for everything, but perhaps because those guys were the ones doing it, he felt a sense of revulsion that made him want to gag.

‘……Let’s finish this quickly and get out of here.’