The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 173

173.

One Week.

For some, it’s a short time, and for others, it can feel like an eternity.

It was a period that could vary greatly depending on the person, and Dohyun knew he’d firmly choose the latter if he had to pick between the two. This past week had felt incredibly long to him.

To be precise, it wasn’t the time itself, but the seemingly endless quest that dragged on and on.

“Oh, you’ve already gathered them? Great, then the next ingredient is…”

“…Again?”

“Again? There’s still a long way to go.”

“…”

No sooner had he managed to gather the required materials than he was given the next quest, as if they’d been eagerly awaiting his return.

The first quest was manageable, at least.

He could sell some of the items at the store, and they were easily obtainable junk items and materials, acquired simply by defeating the boss.

It was the second quest that started to become truly irritating.

That’s when he began raiding the Troll colonies in earnest.

“Oh, great. You got them. Then let’s raid another colony this time.”

“…Why?”

“We raid them because we need to. Don’t you want the information?”

“Haa.”

As if they had developed a taste for it, they made him raid colonies three times in a row after that.

And that wasn’t all. The sheer quantity of materials they wanted him to gather was staggering.

Every single one had a name he had never encountered before, and unsurprisingly, they weren’t even listed on the auction house.

In the end, he had to grind [repeatedly perform a task to gain a reward] to obtain them himself.

The most absurd of them all was the 5th quest.

“Okay, then the next ingredient is Cartimac, which is considered a very rare gem… Collectors call it a priceless gem. Bring it from the Troll colony.”

“The Trolls have that? Why? Why?”

“How would I know? Maybe they collect gems as a hobby. They like to collect all sorts of junk anyway.”

Was the Troll colony some kind of Doraemon’s pocket [referencing the popular Japanese manga character Doraemon, who has a magical pocket that contains various gadgets]?

They weren’t dragons or goblins, but these macho-looking guys were collecting gems.

It was absurd, but Dohyun got it anyway.

In that way, he successfully completed seven quests, feeling like he was experiencing the twelve labors of Hercules [referencing the Greek mythological hero Hercules, who had to complete twelve difficult tasks].

‘If I didn’t have the Eye of Truth, it might have taken me months…’

Dohyun, who had gone through all that, could understand why they said fifteen days was a short time.

Even Dohyun himself wouldn’t have been confident if he didn’t possess the Eye of Truth.

Anyway, Dohyun did it.

[Angela’s Secret]

-Grade: Heroic

-Description: The wandering NPC [Non-Player Character], Ruriel, is willing to tell you about Angela because you have met all of her conditions.

Follow her to hear the full story.

-Reward for Completion: 300 gold, a certain amount of experience, follow-up quest

-Risk of Failure: The wandering NPC, ‘Ruriel,’ thinks you are a very strange person.

-Time Limit: None.

He had finally earned the right to hear the secret about Angela.

That wasn’t the only gain.

[Player: Kaiser]

[Level: 67]

[HP: 7,650 / 7,900]

[MP: 3,760 / 5,040]

[Stamina: 630 / 1,240]

[Class: The Last Adventurer [Heir of Kasiyar]]

[Titles (12)]

-Maximum Favorability From the Start?

-The First Slayer

……(Expand)

[Stats]

[Strength: 140(+116)]> [Agility: 150(+116)]>

[Constitution: 5(+130)]> [Sense: 60(+104)]>

[Magic: 90(+105)]>

Remaining Points: 32

The section from level 60 is notoriously difficult to level up in, often called the Devil’s 70th Floor.

He had broken through to the 67th floor in just one week, something that would normally take months.

It was all thanks to the terribly numerous grind quests.

If anyone heard this news, they would naturally say, ‘Hey, if you’re going to lie, at least put some effort into it.’

But Dohyun felt it was natural.

‘I deserve this much.’

It was like receiving experience that would normally be divided over several months all at once.

Isn’t it natural that the amount is the same whether you attach 5,000 doll eyeballs for three months or 5,000 eyeballs for a week?

The overwhelming hunting speed that made it possible also played a part.

‘Still, the growth is faster than I thought.’

Considering that it hasn’t even been two weeks since he came over to Fratel, it was a faster pace than he had expected.

He never imagined he would hear about Angela only after reaching this level.

Well, none of that mattered now.

Step, step.

Now, all that was left was to really listen.

“Unexpected? You were urging me so much until just now, but you haven’t urged me once while walking.”

Ruriel looked at Dohyun, surprised that his composure revealed his mindset.

“Aren’t you curious? Where I’m taking you?”

“I’ll know when I get there.”

“Hmph~”

Dohyun answered indifferently.

Then, Ruriel, who had been humming for a moment, shrugged her shoulders and lost interest. She figured that was probably right.

‘It’s a lie if I’m not curious.’

In fact, he replied as if he wasn’t interested, but he was indeed curious.

He felt like he had been walking for 20 minutes already, but he still hadn’t arrived.

-Huk, huk… Master… P, please slow down…

-Hmm… Where does that young girl get that stamina…

-Liza! Lizaliza!

It was 20 minutes in name only, but considering that he was going at a fairly fast pace even by Dohyun’s standards, it was a considerable distance.

In reality, Jihad was in terrible pain, and his rough breathing never seemed to subside.

Eliza was cheering him on from Jihad’s pocket.

‘I guess the rumor that she has the specs of a Knight Commander isn’t a lie.’

To maintain that speed without losing her breath once.

That’s why he was even more curious.

Where exactly is that girl, who is full of unusual things at first glance, taking him?

She said she would tell him about Angela, but what is she trying to show him by walking for more than 20 minutes?

Thud, thud.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t solve that curiosity right away.

“We’re a little more than halfway there now.”

“…Halfway?”

“The road is a bit tricky, so I had no choice but to go around.”

Jihad’s expression turned into that of a person who had lost his country at the words that they were only halfway there, but Dohyun’s expression brightened.

“It’s boring to just go without saying anything… You asked about Angela, right? I’ll tell you to some extent while we go.”

Ruriel, who was going back to a road he had never seen before and cutting through the bushes, began to tell the story about Angela that he had been curious about.

The story was more interesting than he thought.

Enough to focus solely on the story without paying attention to the rough road.

“That’s all I can tell you. We’ve arrived, so see for yourself.”

Thanks to that?

Dohyun and his party were able to reach their destination a little faster.

But when they arrived at their destination and witnessed what was in front of them,

Dohyun couldn’t help but be genuinely surprised.

“This is…?”

What he saw in front of him was something completely different from what he had expected.

* * *

Angela Bee Mariel.

The deceased wife of Gilberun, the greatest wise ruler in history, and a great woman who was also called a saint.

She is the name of a woman who is admired so much that some say they respect her even more than Gilberun.

But unlike what people know, her origins were humble.

The eldest daughter of the fallen noble family, Remra.

A woman who only had the title of nobility, but was virtually no different from a commoner.

Perhaps a woman from a family with fewer assets than a commoner.

That was the identity of Angela Bee Mariel.

Originally, she was in a position where she could not stay near the king, but she was able to become the queen because of a fateful meeting.

When she was in the Remra family.

She never revealed it to anyone, but Angela Bee Mariel had a special ability.

“The ability to see the flow of mana and the source of the soul.”

She had the qualifications of an Inducer, which was said to appear only once every hundred years.

And King Gilberun was a man who possessed the vessel to become the greatest king in history, having received the purest blood of the royal family.

He was born with an overwhelming amount of mana unique to the royal family, even without training.

But unlike the expectations of many, his overwhelming mana became poison to him.

It was impossible to finely control the amount of mana that was too much for an individual to handle.

A moron with a lot of mana.

A guy who only looks good on the outside but is rotten on the inside.

Congenital mana control disorder.

Adjectives close to ridicule always followed like a tag.

The eldest daughter of a fallen family who was born with the vessel of an Inducer but was hiding the vessel.

A crown prince with an overwhelming amount of mana but suffering from mana control disorder.

Wouldn’t the meeting of these two people be called fate?

They complemented each other’s weaknesses.

Gilberun protected Angela’s family and gave them a new castle, and Angela controlled Gilberun’s mana flow.

“Everything must have been perfect and happy.”

It was truly a success story.

As if the heavens had given each other a destined partner.

They overcame all adversities and gained people’s recognition, and were admired for their unique, benevolent yet charismatic character.

They thought they would continue to live happily like this.

“Until they got that.”

Until they accidentally found a necklace with a strange energy one day.

That’s the story Ruriel told.

The problem was after that.

Swish.

Ruriel, who clicked her tongue and finished speaking, stepped aside to reveal something.

“…A woman?”

It was a woman.

A beautiful woman estimated to be in her 30s with fair skin and blonde hair.

She had a more delicate and innocent image than the typical Western beauty, but that point was even more eye-catching.

‘Sleeping Beauty or something? Why is she lying down in a place like this?’

That would be even more so because she was lying straight in a transparent glass tube.

No, putting all that aside.

He just couldn’t help but wonder what this was, even just by looking at it.

‘I thought she would show me a hidden item or a hidden field, but what is this…’

A forest where it is difficult to find even if you know the way, and where no human presence is felt.

A woman sleeping in a transparent glass tube in the middle of such a forest?

It was a mysterious sight, but from a different perspective, it was a creepy sight.

Ting-

But what surprised Dohyun more than anything else was something else.

[The Eye of Truth is activated.]

“…?”

As soon as a cheerful notification rang, a red light was emanating from the woman.

At this point, Dohyun couldn’t help but become more and more certain of the assumption that had been unconsciously rising from a while ago.

‘No way. It can’t be.’

He tried to deny it, but ominous premonitions never failed.

As if proving that famous saying, a message popped up.

[You have discovered the woman in eternal slumber, ‘Angela Bee Mariel’.]

“…”

The identity of that woman.

It was none other than Angela.

-This is crazy…

-L, Liza…!

-Hmm…!?

Jihad opened his mouth wide at this shocking fact, and Eliza, who was peeking out of Jihad’s robe pocket, froze.

Charlie also had a dumbfounded expression as if he was shocked.

Dohyun was no different from him, but the shock didn’t end there.

[You have found the key to the fourth fragment of fate.]

[Only she will be the key to restoring the ‘Broken Necklace of Truth’ to its original form.]

“…Huh?”

That was all he could say.