The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 18

Episode 18

“Kaiser’s party is very famous. They are called the strongest party that has conquered impregnable bosses and dungeons.”

That was what a reporter said during an interview before Demrokh’s reputation took a nosedive.

What was their secret? What kind of trials did they usually undertake? What did they typically do?

To questions ranging from trivial updates to major inquiries, Dohyun answered calmly.

“We just hang out normally. We chat around a bonfire, and when we find a new dungeon, we try it out.”

“The secret? Well… I guess everyone just does their part well?”

*Isn’t* that role something that ordinary people can’t do? To the reporter’s unspoken question, Dohyun tilted his head, but perhaps because Kaiser’s image was so strong, people seemed to gloss over it without much issue.

Rather, there were fans who appreciated the trivial updates, saying they made the party seem more human.

As the interview was drawing to a close,

“Ah, I can’t help but ask this again.”

The reporter, meeting Dohyun’s eyes, spoke as if genuinely curious.

“I know that the basic composition of a party is one tanker, two damage dealers [characters focused on dealing damage], and one supporter like a healer.”

“Yes.”

Dohyun nodded in agreement.

It was the most basic and textbook composition.

Of course, it varied slightly depending on the party’s preferences.

Removing the supporter and adding more damage dealers, or consisting only of melee or ranged damage dealers, or strengthening the tanker by adding two supporters…

There were various party configurations, but one immutable law never changed.

“But what’s really unique is that Kaiser’s party doesn’t have a tanker. I know that it’s all composed of damage dealers… Is that even possible in a raid?”

The existence of a tanker was considered essential.

There might be a tanker in a solo team, but there was no *party* without a tanker.

No, it was practically unheard of.

“Since raiding without a dedicated tank is considered impossible… some fans are even calling it a glass cannon meta [a strategy focused on high damage output but low survivability]. A meta where you kill before you die.”

If you don’t have someone to draw the enemy’s attention, the raid itself cannot be properly executed.

Aggro management [controlling which character the enemy attacks], boss marking, pattern breaking.

The tanker played the most crucial role in the raid.

No matter how well the damage dealers deal damage and avoid attacks, it’s all for naught if those core functions aren’t fulfilled.

This was a fundamental principle, a matter of common sense, regardless of skill.

“So, there are a lot of complaints that people who followed Kaiser’s party are all trolling [intentionally disrupting the game].”

Like the reporter who smiled wryly, Kaiser’s party was both an object of admiration and a source of frustration for other players.

A troll-making machine that spawned countless imitators.

But they were also the strongest party, miraculously defeating bosses.

Why was that possible?

“Tanking… is important.”

“Yes.”

The reason was finally about to be revealed.

Even he, a veteran reporter, was nervous, wiping his hands at that historic moment.

What kind of method would they use?

As Kaiser, who had created countless metas, had he innovated again?

Numerous gamers, including the reporter, focused on the interview, waiting for Dohyun’s answer.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Dohyun spoke.

“So, I do it.”

“…Yes?”

“Tank.”

“…?”

The reporter was dumbfounded.

Kaiser was armed with all skill trees and items related to damage.

He was unrivaled in one-on-one combat and the damage dealer who dealt damage most precisely in raids.

He, who was called the pinnacle of damage dealers, was a tanker?

But Dohyun wasn’t lying.

“If a tanker is someone who fights one-on-one with the boss… I’m doing it.”

If a tanker is someone who cuts off attack patterns, grabs aggro, and withstands the boss’s attacks, then Dohyun was fully performing that role.

He cut off all patterns with concise attacks, naturally drew aggro, and avoided or deflected all of the boss’s attacks.

That’s why Kaiser’s role was a tanker.

“…”

Faced with the absurd claim, the reporter was speechless, like a mute who had swallowed honey.

Numerous rebuttals rose to his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice them.

If performing all of that *wasn’t* tanking, then what would you call it?

He was just a tanker who dealt damage well.

…A tanker who dealt a *little* too well.

* * *

Koo-uh-uh!

‘…How is this possible?’

ShieldGod was now experiencing the same absurdity that the reporter must have felt.

In actual combat.

Thwack!

Kuh-uh!

“Wow… he cut off the pattern again.”

“Wow. How does he cut it off without Bash [a common tanking skill]?”

“Cutting off the Mixer was legendary. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.”

The principle of cutting off the boss’s pattern was simple.

All bosses telegraph their attacks with a specific motion before a pattern is activated, and if you interrupt that motion, the pattern is canceled.

The motion is interrupted and not activated, but it is treated as if it was activated.

That’s why tankers put at least two or three hard CC [crowd control] skills in their skill set.

No position could play that role as well as a tanker, who stands at the forefront and is more durable than anyone else.

That was common sense and the basics.

‘…Is that a damage dealer?’

But now that common sense was being shattered.

He cut off all patterns exquisitely and beat them unilaterally, and when he thought aggro had been transferred, he dodged here and there and dealt damage again.

Then, he repeated the process of cutting off the pattern when he saw it coming.

‘…Patterns could be cut off like *that*….’

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Why did tankers equip themselves with hard CC skills?

To forcibly interrupt a pattern, you had to put the boss in a state where it couldn’t perform that pattern at the exact timing, but that was impossible unless you used CC skills.

But he was cutting off the pattern with such a concise stab?

Since it’s a pattern using a greatsword, it makes sense in principle to prevent the greatsword from being handled… but seeing it being executed in actual combat, it was just absurd.

‘…Is a tanker really necessary?’

Wasn’t the tanker the most important position in God of Creation?

If you have a damage dealer like that, who also plays the role of a tanker and deals damage better than most damage dealers, is there any value in the existence of a tanker?

For the first time, he felt skeptical about the position of tanker.

‘No. The tanker is not at fault.’

If there was a fault, it was with Kaiser, who was doing these ridiculous things.

He didn’t know how he’d been holding back, but he’d been fighting one-on-one like a fish in water since he cut off the Mixer.

At first, Kaiser took over temporarily because he was stunned after seeing the Mixer cut off, but now it seemed like he had become a sub-tanker.

He didn’t know if he should call this putting the cart before the horse….

Clatter- Thwack!

“Awesome.”

“Wow… look at him stabbing only the vitals. Should I give you the nickname ‘Between the Eyebrows,’ bro? You’re piercing right between the eyebrows.”

He felt strange looking at him doing one-on-one better than him.

-HP : [6,231 / 20,000]

Already reduced the boss’s health by 30%.

After being relegated to the back seat, the trial speed became faster.

It was much more effective to have him as a sub-tanker than to have him in charge, so it was hard to call this putting the cart before the horse.

‘The average clear time was 1 hour and 10 minutes, right?’

Has it been about 25 minutes now?

He couldn’t believe that they were showing this speed in less than 30 minutes.

It was amazing, but he had to stop admiring it now.

‘It’s almost phase 2.’

The Mutant Goblin Warrior enters phase 2 when its health drops below 20%.

And this phase 2 was the real deal.

Unlike now, when he only uses the Physical Enhancement trait, he starts using the remaining two traits.

Atrocious patterns that make you think the Mixer is cute.

That was why newbies shuddered at the Mutant Goblin Warrior and why it was nicknamed the Beginner Killer.

-HP : [4,103 / 20,000]

‘It’s almost here.’

Dohyun also knew that fact well.

Because he had reviewed the strategy before starting the game.

And the next moment.

[The Mutant Goblin Warrior’s health has dropped below 20%.]

[The Mutant Goblin Warrior manifests its traits.]

[The ‘Warrior’ trait is manifested.]

[All stats of the Mutant Goblin Warrior increase and become ‘Berserk’.]

[The ‘Mutant’ trait is manifested.]

[If you deal physical damage four times in a row, the entire party will be debuffed. If you deal magic damage three times in a row, you will receive all damage back.]

“Here it comes.”

“It’s already phase 2… I don’t think it’s been 25 minutes, but the strategy speed is crazy.”

Groans erupted from everywhere at the message that appeared when phase 2 started.

Mutant trait.

Unlike other consistent traits, it is a trait that grants different abilities to each boss.

Among them, the trait granted to the Mutant Goblin Warrior was a rule.

Also known as 007 bread [a reference to a game where players must alternate actions to avoid triggering a negative effect].

An ability that forces you to mix different attributes once every three attacks.

It sounds easy in theory, but when you’re actually doing the boss battle, it’s not easy to remember each one.

Also, if two party members attack at the same time on the third attack by mistake, hell begins.

It was close to impossible for newbies without job skills to attack the boss with ‘Berserk’ activated while struggling with all kinds of debuffs.

‘If you cast magic attacks three times in a row, you’ll be wiped out immediately.’

Also, to make things even more confusing, magic attacks start from the *third* time.

Even a well-coordinated party has no choice but to make a mistake at least once, but if it’s the first trial, it’s a wipeout.

An atrocious pattern that perfectly demonstrates why it’s a party dungeon.

“The real game starts now.”

“Everyone, let’s take turns attacking as we learned. It doesn’t matter if it takes a long time, so let’s stay as calm as possible.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”

“Then I’ll say the order again. Number 1 is me, number 2 is Kaiser, number 3 is Between the Eyebrows, and number 4 is Yubin.”

Everyone nodded at ShieldGod’s words.

Dohyun did the same.

As he said, speed was not important in phase 2.

He was going to take his time to attack the boss calmly, even if it took a while.

Until the message appeared in front of Dohyun.

[The boss’s physical abilities are increased due to the ‘Berserk’ effect of the Warrior trait, and the attack and movement speed of the users are reduced by 4%.]

[The ‘Hero’ trait prevents mental contamination.]

[Ignores the Berserk effect.]

[Immune to Mutant effects.]

“…Hmm?”

Dohyun’s gaze naturally turned to the Mutant Goblin Warrior.

‘Come to think of it, the Hero trait was immune to status ailments, right?’

There were too many other traits, and there was no situation where the Hero trait could be demonstrated, so he had forgotten about it for a while.

Even so, he didn’t know it would eliminate the boss’s debuff.

‘Then things change.’

Party-wide debuff after four consecutive attacks?

That ability no longer existed.

No, to be exact, it only applied to Dohyun.

“It’s in a berserk state, so stay as calm as possible. Got it? Don’t panic and attack by mistake, just think about avoiding it.”

“Of course.”

“Kaiser, do you have any objections?”

It seemed like the same message didn’t appear to them as it did to Dohyun.

That means he’s the only one who can be okay here.

Dohyun answered briefly, looking at them, who naturally turned their attention to him.

“Please wait a moment.”

“…Yes?”

“This is the fastest way.”

“What does that… Huh?”

“Kaiser! ?”

The party, who didn’t know what was going on at the sudden words, shouted in embarrassment.

Suddenly, Dohyun rushed towards the boss.

Only immune to debuffs?

‘That’s enough.’

Whether it’s a berserk state or not, it was enough to face the boss alone from the beginning.