The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 218

218.

“……Huh.”

The story was short.

It wasn’t like Do-hyun had grand eloquence; a few minutes were enough to summarize and explain the situation.

However, the shock conveyed in that short time was enormous.

“Have I ever seen such a crazy bastard? He caught that monster? And after catching the monster, he got something called the Eye of Truth or the Eye of Verity?”

“That’s right.”

“I was wondering why you were carrying Charlie around; you got it during the tutorial?”

Charlie answered the question, sounding incredulous.

-Indeed! It was a glorious moment to witness the birth of a great hero for the first time. How could I not pledge my loyalty after seeing that?

“…….”

-I believe my companion understands my heart well, as he knows the greatness of our lord.

“No, I’ve felt this before. Why does he talk to me like that? It’s unsettling. Did his personality change? No. I saw the broadcast; he was harshly criticizing me.”

-How dare I show a disrespectful appearance to my lord’s companion?

“That’s what he says.”

Do-hyun chuckled and nodded.

Looking at Charlie, he tilted his head slightly, as if wondering why he was asking such an obvious question.

To Charlie, Do-hyun’s sword, Aste, who was Do-hyun’s companion, was like the sky.

“……I see.”

However, Aste only showed a lukewarm reaction to Charlie’s response.

And for good reason…….

‘I got a lot of flak from that guy in the tutorial…….’

He said I was just a moron who only knew how to swing blindly and that I had nothing useful except for my tenacity.

I think he told me to stay behind and suck on my toes.

I’ve heard people tell me to lick their hands before, but it was the first time I’d been told to suck on toes.

If Aste hadn’t built up resistance to Kkukku’s scathing dissing, he might have become the second foot-eater.

‘No, that’s not the point.’

Aste, who was momentarily reminded of old memories that brought on PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder], quickly shook his head to clear his mind.

But even after thinking about it calmly, he was still dumbfounded.

‘This is crazy, really.’

Because everything he said was absurd.

The Iron-Blooded Mayongjong. That guy wasn’t a boss made to be caught.

It was literally a device to create an event where users would inevitably die on the battlefield, and the goddess would appear.

‘I thought there might be a hidden piece hidden…….’

Aste, who hadn’t achieved maximum favorability with Charlie, could only think about it.

Still, he could tell how much of a monster it was.

Later, Kkukku and Sword Saint evaluated that monster as an ‘imbalanced, broken, and fraudulent boss that you can’t beat even if you challenge it again.’

It was a boss that they confidently said even Kaiser couldn’t catch…….

“……You caught that?”

“Well, that’s how it went.”

People are so dumbfounded that they can only laugh in vain.

“Seriously…… you’re even crazier than I thought? How did you catch that? Kkukku was stomping his feet so much from when it was below 10% that he said there was no answer and cursed.”

“I barely caught it too. I would have died if I had made even a small mistake.”

“Huh, if those guys heard that, they’d foam at the mouth and run at you.”

Do-hyun briefly imagined their reactions at Aste’s words and let out a burst of laughter.

He could clearly see Kkukku rushing at him, saying he cheated, and the Sword Saint pretending to be calm, but his pupils would be shaking non-stop.

And Aste was similar.

“What the hell do they give you that the difficulty is so bizarre? A unique trait…… was it the Eye of Truth?”

“Eye of Verity.”

“That’s the same thing, you idiot. Anyway, that’s crazy. You can see the grade when you’re pulling cards.”

He didn’t show it on the outside, but he was quite shocked inside.

‘A trait that lets you do guaranteed draws? I’ve never heard of such a trait.’

A unique trait?

He had been playing for a year and eight months, but he could only laugh in vain at the grade he was hearing for the first time.

How does that guy always start as a latecomer and achieve such ridiculous achievements?

He was impressed again.

‘Anyway, he’s something.’

When God of Creation Online was launched, Aste was the most dismayed to see the trait system introduced.

Because his trait was unlikely to be good.

This couldn’t be covered with money, so he thought he was starting with a disadvantage compared to others.

On the other hand, Aste thought as he watched Kkukku and Sword Saint fly around excitedly.

Wherever he is and whatever he’s doing, there couldn’t be a better system for that guy, Kaiser.

Because the player with the best control he knew was that guy.

‘Wait a minute…… if you can see the grade, could it be?’

Aste, who had thought that far, asked with a doubtful look.

“……You don’t happen to see the enhancement hit points too, do you?”

“Oh, I see the critical points too.”

“Crazy…….”

This makes sense of how he overwhelmingly won against Leon in the enhancement battle.

You can’t lose if you can see the hit points and critical points.

It was absurd that there was such a cheat as guaranteed draws, but guaranteed enhancement was even more absurd, but the first thing that came to mind at this moment was this.

‘Kaiser without the bad luck?’

The only weakness of Kaiser was his bad luck.

A user who was unlucky enough not to even have a legendary skill.

Nevertheless, that monster who maintained the 1st rank until the end of the service has luck too?

‘This is the real balance collapse, not anything else.’

I was always curious during the Demonic Mercenary days.

If Kaiser had good luck, how far could he have gone?

He was 1st without a single legendary skill, so what would have happened if he had good luck?

‘I was always curious, but on the other hand, I felt sorry for him.’

Because he gave that guy a devil’s talent that defied common sense, and a devil’s luck that defied common sense in another sense…… I thought God was really fair.

But now that bad luck is gone. It’s not gone; it’s a guaranteed draw.

Not only that.

“What’s with you handling multiple weapons? Weren’t you a Weapon Master?”

“Oh, I got that too.”

“? Two traits?”

“No? I think I have about six?”

“……Six?”

He even has six traits when others only have one.

The moment he heard that, he felt dizzy, and soon Aste’s reason snapped.

‘……That look in his eyes is a little strange.’

The moment Do-hyun flinched at the familiar look.

As expected, Aste, whose eyes were turned over, was very excited and clung to him.

“Hey, can’t you really join the guild? I’ll treat you well.”

“Uh, no.”

“Ah, why! I’ll lend you all my weapons and support you with all my items. Just join. Kaiser with good luck? Ah, I can’t stand this!”

“No, please bear with it.”

“I’ll give you a directorship right away. No, a directorship is too stingy. Vice-Master call? Ah, no? Uh……. Alright, I’m in a good mood. You be the Master!”

“……Uncle. Aren’t you going too far? Calm down first.”

Do-hyun laughed in disbelief at the absurd proposal, but it was no use.

“Calm down? How do you do that!”

“Aigo.”

Aste was already a runaway cow himself.

Do-hyun sighed as he looked at the middle-aged man whose eyes were half-turned over.

Right now, that middle-aged man probably doesn’t even know what he’s saying.

‘Of course, he’s just throwing it out there with his eyes turned over.’

From long experience, the answer was to listen to it with one ear and let it flow.

That’s how Do-hyun was able to be freed after suffering from Aste’s clinginess for a long time.

* * *

“Ugh, that was tough.”

-You worked hard, Master.

-Lizariza.

Do-hyun, who came out of the guild room after almost an hour, sighed, and the guardians added a word each.

Jihad and Eliza seemed tired of it, while Charlie looked pleased.

-Indeed! A leader’s desire for talent is a natural desire. It’s all because our lord is so wonderful.

He seemed proud that even a companion coveted his lord.

Do-hyun replied as if it was nothing.

“……He’s just saying that. He wouldn’t accept me even if I really joined. Would he really mean it when he says he’ll give me the Master position?”

It was also a word to avoid being embarrassed, but it was true.

Maybe it’s because he’s a middle-aged man who’s had everything he’s wanted since he was young, but he sometimes does that when his eyes are turned over.

He also knows that I hate guilds.

More than anything, he’s a middle-aged man with a lot of affection, so he couldn’t be the kind of person who would bring in a colleague for his own benefit.

He was just joking.

-That’s why it’s even more amazing, Lord. Even though you have such a belief, it means that the Lord shines so brightly that you show such a figure.

“……Let’s put that aside.”

Do-hyun hurriedly changed the subject because he was about to clap again if he left it alone.

There was a perfect topic.

[Fifth Fragment of Fate (1)]

-Grade: Main Quest, Job Quest

-Description: The Central Empire, the Arnis Empire. The fifth fragment of fate lies dormant there.

Acquire clues to the fragment of fate.

-If the quest is successful: Linked to the linked quest ‘Fifth Fragment of Fate (2)’.

-If the quest fails: Disappearance of the Fifth Fragment of Fate (2) quest.

-Time limit: None.

“Now I can properly look for it.”

The fifth fragment of fate.

The quest itself was received as soon as he entered the Empire, but he didn’t have time to find out because he was involved with the Hero Guild.

But now the Hero Guild has been resolved.

Aste Picial said that no one would touch him for the time being, so he could focus on the main quest with peace of mind.

That’s how Do-hyun was about to move right away…….

‘As expected, the residents don’t know anything.’

As in the previous city, the NPCs [Non-Player Characters] didn’t know anything.

The Arnis Empire is a land larger than the sum of four cities, so he didn’t go around all of them, but if he couldn’t find even a trace after looking around for two hours, it was obvious.

“Excuse me…… can I get an autograph…….”

“I’m sorry. I’m busy right now.”

“Ah…… Yes. I’m sorry.”

The moment he resolutely refused the user who was asking for an autograph again, he looked sullen and was being scolded by his party.

“Hey, I told you. You’re not supposed to touch him during the quest.”

“I know. I should have gotten it earlier…….”

“Be careful just in case. They’re not saying anything now, but in the previous city, they said they’d fold you in half if you got into a fight.”

Do-hyun shook his head as he looked at those users.

It was the dozens of autograph requests already.

As he was walking around the Empire for two hours, users he encountered in various places came to talk to him.

At least those guys obediently backed down. Among them, there were many who slandered and cursed him behind his back for not giving them an autograph.

-……Lord, I will immediately cut off the necks of those disrespectful people and bring them to you.

“No, please bear with it.”

Whenever that happened, Charlie would often get angry and draw his sword, but Do-hyun didn’t feel anything.

It’s because he’s experienced it countless times in Demonic Mercenary.

Among those who say they are fans in front of you, there are few who are really pure fans.

They’re just doing that because it’s a hot topic right now.

Most of them are people who will lose interest over time, and most of them are people who will curse you as if they never showed you any favor if you show even a little bit of unkindness.

It can’t be helped that it’s a very shallow fandom.

‘Still, this is better. How am I supposed to clear the main quest if I deal with them? Anyway, that’s why I don’t join guilds.’

It was better to let those who were going to fall off fall off quickly in the long run.

It’s possible because there’s no need to manage the image.

Thanks to showing this attitude ever since he left the Babylon Guild, the number of users who talk to him has decreased a lot.

They still glance at him, but this much is bearable.

‘Hmm.’

Anyway, that’s that.

Right now, Do-hyun had two options.

To roam around the fields and hope that the Eye of Verity would find a clue.

Or to search the entire Empire and investigate the clues.

‘If I investigate, it’ll take about a week…… This is such a grind.’

The Empire was not only large, but it also had a variety of buildings, from all sorts of castles to magic towers and production buildings like blacksmiths.

Do-hyun, who clicked his tongue at the consistently unfriendly quest content, finished his 고민 [worry/deliberation].

‘Still, I should start with the investigation.’

He wanted to go to the field first, but he felt uneasy about it.

Do-hyun, who decided that it was orthodox to investigate the city first and then go to the field, took a step, this time heading to the left.

He thought he’d gone to the right a little while ago, so he’d investigate the opposite side this time.

Squeak-

That’s when he entered any store at random.

“Welcome…… um?”

“Hello, I was wondering if I could ask you something…… um?”

The moment he recited the predetermined lines without thinking, he heard a somewhat familiar voice.

When he raised his head, he saw an old man.

The merchant’s attire, wearing a shabby robe, was somewhat different from before, but he could recognize it at a glance.