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

Part 18.

My heart is fluttering, giving me a strange feeling.

It feels like my heartbeat is louder than usual, and there’s a stuffiness somewhere.

Is this what it means to have a heart full of emotions?

‘……Not bad.’

Do-hyun wasn’t aware.

He thought he had a chic expression, but from his eyes to the corners of his lips.

A faint smile was spreading across his face.

“Kaiser! Kaiser! Kaiser! Kaiser!”

“Woooooah!”

“Oh, Almighty…!”

“Kamen……”

From the very back to the people surrounding him, and even the Kashin Church, whom he thought were nothing but lunatics.

He was slowly looking around, engraving each moment in his mind.

“Oh, Almighty!”

“……?”

Just as his gaze was halfway past the Kashin Church.

Do-hyun’s eyes stopped at one place.

More precisely, on one person.

“……?”

A man who wasn’t wearing a mask, dressed in a shabby black robe, constantly shouting ‘Almighty.’

He was a face Do-hyun knew well.

He had seen him just yesterday.

‘……Mr. Marty?’

BJ Marty.

The man who had been with him on the hidden quest until yesterday was now a member of the Kashin Church, cheering wildly for him.

Seeing him cheering more enthusiastically than anyone else gave him a strange feeling.

It was hard to explain what emotion it was, but he could confidently say it wasn’t a positive one.

‘No, why is Mr. Marty over there?’

Do-hyun, holding his forehead, quickly turned his head when their eyes seemed to meet.

“Oh, Almighty!!! I will follow you soon!!”

-Um! My eyes were right, as expected. A very excellent young retiree, my lord.

“……Be quiet and pretend you don’t know him.”

The Emperor chuckled at Do-hyun’s attempt to ignore the even more frantic Marty.

“It’s good to see you’re so popular, hero.”

“He’s in his prime.”

“Hahaha, it’s the first time I’ve seen that rascal so flustered.”

“…….”

As he twitched his eyebrows at the First Prince and Sword Emperor, who were each adding a word, they laughed twice as hard, finding it funny.

As he was sighing, an old man in a shabby robe peeked out from behind them.

“You still look good, though.”

“What, Gamille…… were you here?”

“Yes.”

Not remembering what his identity was here, he vaguely glossed over it, and Gamillion smiled knowingly.

There were too many eyes to have a conversation, but it didn’t matter.

They had already talked a lot yesterday.

-I am bound to this place. When you arrive in the New World, meet the Elf Elder first. He will know where the Fairy King is.

From what to do when he gets to the New World,

-An alien race that infiltrated the secret dungeon, aiming for information… and Astra’s arrow, too. Things are not going well. There must be more forces in Ellanis. If you encounter them again, extract information then.

To the story about the intruder.

-I’m really proud. When I first met the Successor, you had a long way to go, but now you’re about to meet the Fairy King… Kasiar will also be proud of you.

-……Well. I don’t think that guy I met would be like that.

-I think so too.

-?

To other trivial chats.

He spent all the remaining time after clearing the hidden quest talking to him.

Since he wouldn’t be returning to the mainland for a while, he wanted to say everything he had to say now…….

Come to think of it, it was the first time he had talked to him for so long.

“You will do well. I’ll be rooting for you.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Do-hyun, who chuckled at Gamillion’s nonchalant acting, bowed his head to the Emperor and his party for the last time.

“I’ll see you next time. Thank you so much for today.”

“It’s a matter of course. Don’t forget. You are our empire’s eternal benefactor and friend.”

“If the day comes when you need help, we will save the hero without hesitation.”

“Have a good trip. You’ll have to work hard. My disciple’s skills have improved a lot.”

The two royals, who promised strong backing, and the Sword Emperor, who ended with boasting about his disciple like a proud old man.

And the cheering residents and the Kashin Church.

Do-hyun turned and walked away, receiving countless greetings.

[You have boarded the ship to Ellanis.]

[The ship departs.]

The message popped up with good timing as he boarded the ship.

Do-hyun, watching the pier gradually moving away with its unique whale-like sound and the people getting noticeably smaller, slowly raised the corners of his lips.

Smirk.

The first impression is important, and wouldn’t this be an excellent start?

* * *

-Wow, the ship is so big. Are we really on the sea?

-Liza!

-Hmm, is this what they call a ship? To be able to move this huge size with magic, it’s a mysterious thing.

-Lizariliza!

Do-hyun wiped his dry face at the sight of the guys who hadn’t been still for a moment since boarding the ship.

‘……I wish they would stop doing things that attract attention.’

Seeing them so excited, he couldn’t bring himself to stop them.

Unlike Do-hyun, who had seen many ships in modern times, everything was new to them as it was their first time floating on the sea.

Well, a ship in the world of God of Seoul, where magic is the main thing.

It was amazing that this was possible without scientific technology.

‘It seems better than modern ships?’

An engine that was as refreshing as if it had a Turbo S mark on a car [high-performance engine].

Nevertheless, it maximized the ship’s swaying, providing a comfortable ride and convenience options to prevent seasickness.

Even a barrier that protects against external shocks to some extent.

‘Is this the class of a high-end cruise decorated with the White Magic Tower’s state-of-the-art magical devices?’

The only flaw was that the ship wasn’t that big and the facilities felt old-fashioned.

Still, he was satisfied, but there was a reason why Do-hyun couldn’t watch comfortably.

“Kaiser is over there. Even his pensive look while looking at the sea is cool.”

“Did you see him at the pier earlier? I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

“A man whom the Emperor personally sees off, keuh…….”

“The Sword Emperor and the First Prince also came. It seems like all the main figures in the Empire are here.”

“The Kashin Church also looks cool when they’re seriously doing that.”

“I admit it. The romance is amazing.”

The aftermath of receiving such a splendid send-off, which wasn’t even the case when a celebrity walked the red carpet at an awards ceremony, had an impact even inside the ship.

Now, it’s been about an hour, so they’re just glancing at him.

When he first entered, everyone’s mouths were wide open, and they couldn’t take their eyes off him.

No matter where he went, at least 30 eyes followed him.

Considering that the total number of people here seems to be around 40 to 50, it was no exaggeration to say that most of them did.

‘Well, even I, the person involved, was so surprised…….’

How would those people who were leisurely on the ship and suddenly saw such a sight feel?

Thinking about it, he understood their feelings.

‘Water is water, fire is fire [accepting things as they are]. Let’s go with that.’

This was the reason why Do-hyun chose to be in a state of nothingness while looking at the sea.

But this wasn’t as bad as he thought.

‘The scenery is good.’

Is it because it’s a fantasy world?

The sea reflecting the sunlight was so beautifully shining that it was a sight to behold.

It was not at all inferior even when compared to the beautiful seas of foreign countries that he sometimes saw in videos.

Rather, he preferred this side because of the added fantasy elements.

‘Come to think of it, is this the first time I’ve seen the sea here?’

It’s been over half a year since he started playing the game, and he’s only seeing the sea now.

He must have been running too hard in the meantime.

Just staring blankly at the sea like this made him feel at ease.

-Eliza, does the spider web reach that rock?

-Liza!

-Of course it reaches? Hey, the distance is so far? Think again.

-Liza…… Liza!

-Hmm, it looks difficult to me too.

-Liza? Lizariliza?

The voices of the guys seriously discussing something truly useless.

Splash-

Swish-

The sound of the gentle sea waves.

And the murmuring voices of the surrounding passengers.

Closing his eyes, all of this felt like sleep music, a feeling he was experiencing for the first time in God of Seoul.

‘The feeling of this hammock swaying naturally is also good.’

Yeah, how can a person always be involved in incidents?

Once in a while, this is not bad…….

Crash-

……Not bad.

“Aigoo!! My shoulder!! My shoulder is dislocating!!”

“Hey, are you okay? Oh no, your health has been reduced by 2,000! How hard did you hit him?”

“Did everyone see that? That bastard hit me first. This is self-defense.”

“Oh, shit.”

Do-hyun, who was trying to enjoy the peace with gritted teeth, finally sighed and got up from the hammock at the disturbance that was like cold water being poured on him repeatedly.

It wasn’t to see what the commotion was about.

He was already burdened by the attention he was getting.

He had no intention of stepping up like a hero to solve it, and he wanted to feel this peace a little more now.

‘If I miss this moment, I don’t know when I’ll be able to do this.’

Do-hyun’s gut was telling him.

There were already many things involved, such as intruders, the World Tree, and the main quest.

When he arrived in the New World, he would be busier, and there would be no peaceful days.

He was about to move in the opposite direction from where the sound was heard.

Thud-!

Kwaang!

As soon as he heard a heavy impact sound, something flying like a cannonball brushed past Do-hyun and crashed into the wall.

Surprisingly, it was a person.

It was also the huge man who was causing the commotion over there.

‘That means…….’

Glancing to the side, as expected.

‘Haa…….’

He saw the users who were looking at this place with blank faces, just like the menacing-looking men who were looking at this place with dazed faces.

“What is this…….”

“What just happened? I’m sure that guy didn’t hit him?”

“He hit himself and flew away?”

“Was he a user? No, he can’t be a user…… this is 18+ [referring to the game’s rating, implying the violence is too extreme for a user-controlled character to inflict].”

Listening to the users’ whispers, he understood the situation without even looking.

‘Judging from the circumstances, those menacing-looking men seem to be the huge man’s colleagues who crashed into the wall.’

It seemed that the small hooded girl surrounded by the menacing men was the one who sent the huge man flying.

So far, it’s okay.

The problem was what happened next.

“I let this bastard off because he was young, but how dare you……!”

“Hey, be careful! That kid has something. If you attack recklessly, you’ll end up like that guy…….”

“Kyaaak!”

“Fly away…… huh?”

Unlike before, when she sent the huge man flying in one shot, this time the girl was caught helplessly by the wrist.

The face that was faintly revealed beyond the hood was very young, and her eyes were shaking violently, making it clear that she was very flustered.

“N, no way…… Kyaaak!”

“What do you mean no way? Was that the power you used to push me away as soon as you touched my shoulder earlier? I don’t know what’s going on, but something doesn’t seem to be working?”

“This little brat was playing with us…… I’ll let you live. But we’re taking one of your arms.”

Saying that, the menacing man took out a dagger from his waist and smiled fiercely.

‘Wow.’

Those who looked like textbook bandits in fantasy were saying those lines, and it couldn’t have been a better fit.

‘Is physiognomy really science…… um?’

Do-hyun, who was seriously thinking of a famous saying, lowered his gaze at the feeling of something hitting his foot.

There was a thin necklace that seemed to be made by weaving plants.

A shape that anyone could easily make.

But the moment he saw it, Do-hyun’s eyes widened.

[The Eye of Truth is activated.]

‘Red [indicating a quest item or important object].’

He picked up the necklace at a speed close to instinct, and a cheerful notification rang.

[You have acquired ‘Elaine’s Necklace’.]

[You have met the conditions.]

[The sudden quest ‘Save the Girl’ has occurred.]

[Save the Girl]

-Grade: Sudden

-Description: A young girl trying to go to Ellanis alone is being threatened by thugs.

Save the girl from the menacing men.

-Quest Success Reward: Elaine’s Necklace

-Quest Failure: Linked quest deleted

-Failure if any part of the girl’s body is damaged.

‘……Huh?’

It was the most absurd moment he had ever acquired a sudden quest while playing God of Seoul.