The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 220

220.

The Empire has what are known as the three major powers:

The Imperial Knights, the Magic Tower, and the Knightly Order.

These three organizations support the Empire and maintain a balance of power.

Looking at each organization individually, the Imperial Family, with three of the Seven Rivers [individuals of immense power and influence], including the leader of the Imperial Knights, was the strongest, but…

“Just looking at the Magic Tower, there are six [of the Seven Rivers], which is not something to ignore.”

“The Knightly Order has five.”

“Considering the First Prince’s personality, if the balance wasn’t maintained, it would have been a pure dictatorship.”

“It’s not like the Magic Tower and the Knightly Order don’t have any of the Seven Rivers either…”

This was possible because the Magic Tower and the Knightly Order had overwhelmingly large numbers of members.

Of course, it was true that the Imperial Family had much greater power and standing, even if they were just maintaining balance.

However, it was significant that even an Emperor who didn’t know the limits of the sky [an arrogant or overconfident ruler] couldn’t ignore the positions of the Magic Tower and the Knightly Order.

That was why users flocked to them.

“If you just get noticed, you can turn your life around.”

“It’s not for nothing that guilds are chasing after them with their eyes burning.”

“It’s hard to get recognized, but if you do, you get a free pass to any guild.”

“If you’re directly under the Magic Tower or the Knightly Order, even the top 10 guilds can’t mess with you easily.”

From special quests unique to each power to facilities perfect for testing abilities, and even strong connections.

There was no reason to refuse.

This was especially true considering the nature of God of Seven, where it was difficult to play the game without the protection of a faction.

The Imperial Family was not a place that users could enter just because they wanted to, so those who didn’t fit in with guilds had no better option than the Magic Tower or the Knightly Order.

And among them, the Magic Tower was particularly popular.

“I heard you can get skills if you join the Magic Tower?”

“They give you a guaranteed attribute skill, why wouldn’t you go?”

“A guaranteed attribute hero-grade skill after just two months? Wow, that’s awesome!”

Unlike melee classes, which were not greatly affected by attributes, mages needed skills that matched their main attribute above all else.

Moreover, the gacha ticket [randomized reward system] given by the Magic Tower was a hero-grade skill!

It wasn’t random, but guaranteed, so it couldn’t help but be popular.

Buzz buzz-

The Red Magic Tower.

This place, which had an eternal rivalry with the Blue Magic Tower, was also the same.

Whoosh-

Bang!

“Nice! More than half of the completion is done!”

“I wonder what skill I’ll get.”

“I focused on Fireball, so I think it’ll be based on that.”

Numerous fire-attribute magic users came to do chores and practice magic.

They were literally ‘honing’ their magic.

It was because of the Magic Tower’s special system.

[Complete your own magic.]

[Completion: 51%]

It was a system that only users who visited the Magic Tower could obtain, and it allowed them to acquire a kind of signature magic.

Unlike other magic skills that came from gacha, it was literally about completing your own magic.

It was something that all users dreamed of, so they couldn’t help but be fascinated by it, regardless of performance.

“That guy is making fire come out of his feet. What is he going to use that for?”

“Fire… Flower Firefighting? What is that? Oh, damn, that guy is shooting fire from his eyes! No!? That guy is trying to drink fire?”

“Oh, don’t panic. Those guys are Koreans.”

“Koreans? Koreans’ way of thinking is always unique.”

“Being innovative is good, but sometimes it’s too much. You have to choose a simple and powerful method.”

Someone was making fire come out of their feet.

Someone was shooting eye beams made of fire.

And someone else was drinking that fire.

Like this, while there were various bizarre and innovative magics, there were also those who practiced orthodox magics.

“…Have you seen such fools? They’re throwing away a guaranteed hero rank for mere romance?”

“You have to draw the most efficient skill possible!”

“That’s why romantics are… They can’t even eat when given a chance, tsk tsk.”

“Romantics? What do profit-seekers know? Magic is romance, you bastards!”

“Do you even know romance?”

Romance or efficiency.

Standing at two crossroads, they constantly ostracized each other and walked their own paths.

“Ah, I want to get my skill quickly too.”

“Just wait a little longer. You’re already at 81%, man. I’m still at 30%. Ugh, it’ll take at least a month and a half.”

“That’s why I told you to visit the Magic Tower as soon as you entered the Empire. You should get this no matter what, since it’s given even if you’re not affiliated.”

But still, the most common were those who wanted to get their skills quickly and leave, whether it was for romance or efficiency.

They were just visiting to get their signature skill.

They didn’t want to be affiliated with the Magic Tower.

“It’s not that I don’t know it’s good to be affiliated with the Magic Tower… but honestly, it’s tough. It’s not even graduate school.”

“Unless you’re a disciple of the Magic Tower Lord. It’s a bit much to kick your guild and join…”

“Oh, I saw them doing all sorts of chores and even enforcing military discipline!”

“Why do I have to be disciplined while playing a game? That’s not right.”

For that reason, the Magic Tower was always bustling with countless people, including Magic Tower-affiliated NPCs and users, as well as users who were just visiting.

There was a place with the opposite problem of the Magic Tower, which was worried about being overcrowded…

“Ugh, why did I choose a melee class? What a hardship this is!”

“Tell me about it… I hate how mages safely get protected and just throw skills during raids, and they’re having an easy time in the Magic Tower too.”

“A man, huh? Should be at the forefront with knightly spirit. Tsk tsk.”

Hayden Keep, one of the Empire’s five Knightly Orders.

Like other Knightly Orders, this place was still empty today.

And that empty place was filled with the heavy striking sounds of wooden training dummies and the blood and sweat of those sparring.

Bang! Crack!

Snap.

“Get up! Are you trying to become a knight with just this much!”

“How long are you going to rest? 20 seconds is a long rest. Rejoin the training.”

“Damn it…”

“I’m enduring it because I don’t want to waste the 3 months I’ve endured.”

Then, Avir, the swordsmanship instructor and vice-captain of the Hayden Knights, shouted at the users who had fallen during sparring.

As a knight who wielded advanced aura [a powerful energy field], he boasted tremendous power.

Because of his excellent knightly spirit, the atmosphere here was distinctly different from that of the Magic Tower.

“Nothing can be obtained without blood and sweat.”

“Do you think everything will be solved if you lie down and wait? Rest is enough when you’re dead. Then you won’t be able to get up even if you want to.”

“Strive, persevere. And seize what you want!”

“Apostles [new recruits], you cannot belong to our Knightly Order with such weak spirits. It’s not like we don’t have enough talent to hold onto those who don’t want to be here. If you’re dissatisfied, get out!”

Unlike the Magic Tower’s policy of valuing the recruitment of talent the most, the Knightly Order valued effort stained with blood and sweat the most.

In a way, it was an outdated tradition.

As a result, it was naturally difficult to obtain a signature skill.

“Ugh! Why did I come to the Knightly Order?”

“Knightly Order? Why go to a place that doesn’t give you signature skills?”

“You have to roll for at least 6 months, and if you’re unlucky, more than a year, who would go? Anyone who goes is crazy.”

“But thanks to that, the efficiency of the signature skill is higher than the rank.”

“Well… and when you think about it, there’s that ‘method’ too.”

“Eh, honestly, no one can even think of doing that.”

As a result, users’ footsteps were bound to be cut off, and those who entered the Knightly Order were those who wanted to belong to the knighthood rather than a guild.

But even that was too difficult, and the determination that users had at first had already disappeared.

‘…3 months. Let’s just endure for 3 months.’

‘Let’s just hang in there until this promotion test. You never know. Maybe I’ll get promoted and escape this hell.’

‘Being a perennial trainee sucks.’

They were just waiting for the moment when the last lifeline would come down, because they didn’t want to waste what they had endured, or they were just looking forward to the upcoming promotion test.

Of course, those with such ambiguous minds quickly fell off, so the Knightly Order always lacked users.

That’s how they were enduring the hellish training today.

“Hey, what is Kaiser doing now?”

“I know, he’s been quiet since the fight with the Hero Guild.”

“I heard he’s walking around the Empire talking to NPCs? Is he on another quest?”

The trainees spend all day hitting wooden training dummies.

They hit them in the morning, get beaten by the instructor during sparring at noon, and hit the wooden training dummies again in the evening.

Naturally, it was incredibly boring, and for them, who had to create even nonexistent conversations, there was no more suitable topic than Kaiser.

He was a figure who had made a spectacular debut in the Empire.

What they were most curious about was Kaiser’s next move.

“As soon as he entered the Empire, he defeated Leon in a reinforcement battle, and half-destroyed the Hero Guild… so what will he do next?”

“It’s a really crazy move. If he’s doing this as soon as he enters, will he fight the top 10 guilds next?”

“Only Kaiser has that possibility.”

“Come on, even Kaiser can’t beat the top 10 guilds, man.”

As Kaiser had shown a spectacular stage as soon as he entered the Empire, it was not strange to imagine anything for his next move.

Was that why?

The guesses were made in quite a wide range.

“I heard he keeps going in and out of Babylon, maybe he’s looking for a chance to enter Babylon?”

“I heard there’s a vacancy in the top 100 guilds, maybe he’s trying to create a guild altogether?”

“Or maybe he’s going to the Imperial Family or the Magic Tower?”

“Why would he go to the Magic Tower? He’s not a mage.”

“Oh, that’s right. Or there’s a rumor that he’s clearing the main quest, so now that he’s come to the Empire, he’s going to clear the quest in earnest?”

“This is a bit plausible… Oh, hey. Your sword is about to break. Go change it.”

“Ah, okay.”

It was then.

While one person went to replace his worn-out sword, a man who had been listening quietly suddenly chimed in.

“Or maybe.”

As everyone’s attention focused, he said with a serious face.

“He’s only done unexpected things every time, maybe he’ll visit our Knightly Order.”

“…Crazy.”

“You’re not normal either, why would Kaiser come to the Knightly Order? What’s he lacking?”

“Why, Kaiser doesn’t have a faction. There are many rumors that he’s an All-Master, but he’s still melee-based, so it’s not impossible.”

“Come on, even that’s a bit too much. Why? Just say he’s going to stop by here right now and hit wooden training dummies with us all day?”

Of course, the user’s words were quickly ignored.

That’s how everyone was laughing it off as a joke.

“So, hehehe. If that’s true, I’ll call you hyung [older brother in Korean]…”

“Huh, gasp!”

“Crazy…! Awesome!”

“…Damn it, what?”

The commotion coming from behind drowned out the man’s voice.

Because the population was so small, even a small increase in volume felt louder.

Frowning, he and his party turned around.

“Gasp…! ?”

“Wow, that, that’s him, right?”

“…I think so? No, crazy. Why is this real?”

Soon, they couldn’t help but show the same reaction as the others.

No, it was an even more intense reaction than them.

“K, Kaiser…?”

“Kaiser came to the Knightly Order!”

Kaiser, he really appeared at the Hayden Keep where they were at this moment.

* * *

Buzz buzz-

‘Ugh, it’s noisy.’

Dohyun sighed at the countless gazes and whispers surrounding him.

‘That’s why I wasn’t planning on visiting the Magic Tower or the Knightly Order for the time being.’

Signature skill?

It was quite interesting, so he was going to get it someday, but not right now.

It was a skill that he could get anytime anyway.

Right now, he was going to focus on growth, let the interest die down a bit, and come when he had raised his level to some extent.

If that was the case for the Magic Tower, then the Knightly Order was out of the question.

‘It’s known that you have to dedicate half a year to get it here.’

Even that was the minimum.

The minimum was half a year.

Was Dohyun crazy enough to waste that time just to learn one signature skill?

It would be several times more profitable to clear even a toenail’s worth of the main quest.

But life is not always as planned.

The Magic Tower and the Knightly Order.

He had to choose one of the two options because of that main quest, and Dohyun chose the Knightly Order.

In fact, it was a choice that someone might find surprising.

‘The Magic Tower is faster than the Knightly Order.’

Apart from simply obtaining a signature skill, the Magic Tower was faster in every way.

It was because the Magic Tower Lords were all greedy for talent.

‘But still, it takes several months after all.’

However, it was only faster compared to the Knightly Order, and there was a basic procedure, so it still took time.

Dohyun didn’t want to waste even that time, and that was why he came here.

He had to use ‘that method’, and this was the only place to do it.

“Hmm, it seems like we have a celebrity. Let’s suspend training for a while. Ah, keep hitting the dummies.”

“…Yes.”

Avir, the swordsmanship instructor who discovered Dohyun, stopped the training and approached, extending his hand.

“Nice to meet you, what is your name?”

“I’m Kaiser.”

Shaking hands, Dohyun checked the name tag floating above his head.

[Avir]

A name that was dyed black with red [indicating a powerful enemy].

And the tremendous power transmitted through his hand.

As expected of a knight who was the vice-captain of the five great Knightly Orders, he was the owner of tremendous power. There was a reason why the users, who were full of crazy people, couldn’t say a word.

‘Tremendous energy, Master. He is quite skilled.’

‘Ugh… I don’t like this heavy energy.’

‘Lizariza.’

Even Charlie and Jihad, who had grown to some extent, were shaking their heads.

Then Avir, who had just let go of his hand, asked.

“So, Kaiser. What brings you here? Do you want to receive training?”

“No.”

Dohyun shook his head firmly.

Avir’s eyebrows twitched for a moment at the refusal without a shred of hesitation, but Dohyun continued to say what he had to say without paying attention.

“I want to take the test of the Great Lion King.”

“…What?”

At that, Avir’s eyebrows, which had stiffened for a moment, narrowed even further.

That wasn’t the end.

“This crazy…!”

“Wow.”

“No, wow… is he going to take that?”

“…Did I just hear wrong? Is this real?”

Behind him, this time, the voices of users filled with astonishment were heard, even frowning openly.

It was inevitable.

The test that no one had passed for half a year was the test of the Great Lion King.