The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 255

255.

It was peculiar.

That was the best way to describe my first impression of the Sword Emperor.

Too benevolent a face and ordinary a build for someone who stood at the pinnacle of the continent with the sword.

His long beard and physique made him seem more like a scholar of calligraphy than a martial artist, yet his firm gaze was like that of a tiger.

It was as if a mountain lord was hidden within a pine tree.

‘He looks just like those old masters in martial arts novels.’

Like those old men depicted as reclusive experts or masters of the orthodox sects.

I could see why the Sword Demon was under that old man.

With an old man of that demeanor showing the epitome of swordsmanship, there was no way that martial arts fanatic wouldn’t fall for it.

On the other hand, I was also curious.

‘He’s not the type to become a disciple so easily.’

Even if he volunteered to become a disciple, he was the type to learn for a few days or months at most before leaving.

The fact that he had remained a disciple for at least half a year meant one of two things.

Either he hadn’t fully learned the old man’s swordsmanship yet, or there was still a mountain of things to learn.

Whatever the case, it was an exceptional situation, which piqued my interest.

“Beastly senses and excellent balance. Ho-oh, this is quite the outstanding child. The one next to him… his aptitude is terrible, but he possesses explosive power like his size.”

The Sword Emperor seemed just as intrigued, muttering as he looked at the Empress and Astre while surveying the training hall.

“……Is that a compliment?”

“Hey, compared to Charlie, who said that seeing you mercenaries with skills worse than a five-year-old, the mercenary group must be lacking in talent, and to just stay out of the way and lick boots, you’re practically an angel, old man.”

“…….”

“Didn’t you get the Three Calamities Sword Technique back then? When you posted about it, you only got teased for being an old man.”

“……Can you please stop bringing up that humiliating memory? Still, I drew a unique ability upgrade, so it’s not so bad.”

Astre, who had actually received the compliment, had a disgruntled look on his face, but he had no choice but to shut his mouth at the Empress’s words.

The memory he wanted to forget had resurfaced.

Charlie could only blink at the unexpected exposure.

-……? Me, you say?

Charlie, the person in question, had never heard of it before.

-Charlie… you’re a scary person.

-Rizariza…….

-……I don’t remember, but I formally apologize.

“So you’re not denying it…….”

-Ah, no.

-Rizariza…….

Charlie feigned ignorance and coughed, while Eliza patted Astre, who had become even sadder because of it.

It was then, as the Sword Emperor watched them act out their skit, that a strange light appeared in his eyes.

“……A demon? And one that has lived quite long. A youth who travels with two demons with unusual auras and a knight… how intriguing.”

His gaze, filled with astonishment as he looked at Charlie, Jihad, and Eliza, finally turned towards Dohyun.

The wrinkled corners of his eyes smiled kindly.

The tiger-like eyes within them alternated between Dohyun and the Sword Saint before slightly narrowing.

Dohyun tilted his head.

‘……What is it? This feeling of meeting a disapproving father-in-law?’

For some reason, he seemed displeased with my existence.

The Sword Emperor stared intently at Dohyun’s masked face before clicking his tongue.

“I wanted to see the face of the scoundrel who came from who knows where… are you going to keep wearing that drab mask?”

“Ah.”

Belatedly realizing that he was still wearing the mask, Dohyun hurriedly took it off.

The first to react were his companions.

“Oh, what? You look more decent than I thought?”

“Indeed. You don’t look much different from back at Dem Locke.”

“You look better now? You’re a bit different, too. Isn’t it because you guys transformed so shockingly?”

“Is that so?”

The Sword Emperor let out a displeased groan at the sight of his muttering companions.

“So, disciple. Is this scoundrel… no, this young man the one you often mentioned and smiled about? I recall you praising him as a genius of timing or psychological warfare.”

“Yes, Master.”

Was it just my imagination, or did the Sword Emperor’s eyebrows twitch at the Sword Saint’s expression, which seemed to be reminiscing about the past with a subtle smile?

‘……It feels like there’s an emphasis on ‘mentioned’ and ‘smiled’?’

From the way he spoke when he told me to take off the mask, and now this, Dohyun swallowed nervously, feeling uneasy.

The Sword Emperor, now openly distrustful, asked bluntly.

“Well, if that’s the case, then you must be the one who finished the Lion King’s trial.”

“……That’s right.”

“Amazing. Although you were only at the beginning of your realm back then, so there’s a big difference from now, even I had difficulty with the Lion King.”

“The Lion King, you say?”

“Wasn’t the final trial a life-or-death battle with the Lion King?”

Dohyun blinked at the Sword Emperor’s words.

It was the first time he had heard of it.

Even though he had taken a different route from the existing Hidden Piece, he thought he would only be fighting the Eternal Knight, but the Lion King?

‘Ah.’

In that moment, Dohyun exclaimed as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

He remembered that the Lion King’s trial was tailored to the challenger’s level.

Perhaps the Sword Emperor’s level was so high that the Lion King himself had appeared.

That meant he was about as strong as the Lion King back then… then what level is the current Sword Emperor at?

Whether Dohyun was the only one curious or not, the Sword Emperor suddenly asked.

“It seems your trial was different from mine. What was your trial?”

“……It was to withstand the swordsmanship of the Eternal Knight, who was the Lion King’s old friend and master.”

“Ho-oh?”

The Sword Emperor’s gaze towards Dohyun changed for the first time.

“To have been recognized by the Lion King’s master, even if he was just a walking corpse……”

The displeased look disappeared, and the Sword Emperor, muttering as if intrigued, placed his hand on his sword hilt.

“I’m curious. Which is superior, his sword or mine?”

“……?”

“Would you like to receive a blow? I’ll make sure you don’t die.”

“Excuse me?”

[Sudden Quest, ‘The Sword Emperor’s Curiosity,’ has been generated.]

[Endure the Sword Emperor’s strike and earn the Sword Emperor’s recognition.]

[Upon success, acquire the titles ‘One Recognized by the Sword Emperor’ and ‘The Sword Emperor’s Gift.’]

[Upon failure, the Sword Emperor’s favor will greatly decrease.]

‘……What?’

What am I supposed to endure right now?

While he was stunned by the sudden quest, the Sword Emperor began to draw his sword from its sheath.

Shiaaa-!

Then, the atmosphere changed.

Just the series of actions of drawing the sword.

It was just a simple motion that anyone could do, but his nerves were on edge and his gaze was focused.

In a world that seemed to be in slow motion, every single detail of the Sword Emperor’s appearance was visible.

The small breaths he took, his unwavering hands and face.

Even the mysteries of swordsmanship contained within.

‘……Pine tree.’

If the Forgotten King had captured the blizzard on the snowy mountains in his sword, the Sword Emperor was the pine tree of the forest.

The illusion of a pine tree swaying in the wind was fleeting.

Soon, the eyes, like those of a tiger standing atop a mountain and dominating the world, flashed for a moment.

“Crazy.”

Dohyun unconsciously cursed and took a stance.

A giant mountain was in front of him. It felt as if a giant mountain was trying to crush him.

He even felt a reverence, like a human realizing his insignificance before nature.

His feet were fixed to the ground like nails, unable to move.

[Reversing the Heavens Stage]

[Using the 1st Form, Beginning.]

He tried to take a step forward, but what greeted Dohyun was an even closer, immense disaster.

He felt it instinctively.

He couldn’t break through that with the 2nd Form.

[Encountered a sword strike of an incomparably high level.]

[You cannot withstand it with your current realm.]

Even the system was proving it.

He couldn’t even run away. All he could do was wait for death.

Paa-deuk.

‘Don’t make me laugh.’

But Dohyun gritted his teeth and took a step forward.

His pride wouldn’t allow him to accept it so easily, saying it was impossible.

And Dohyun had the power to ignite that will.

[Stubbornness reacts to the strong will to overcome.]

[The latent stubbornness within is activated.]

[As long as you don’t give up, stubbornness will empower your will.]

A faint wisp of energy helped Dohyun move forward.

Was this what it was like to strike a rock with an egg?

Containing an insignificant but firm energy, he leaped towards the infinitely vast mountain, and surprisingly, a miracle occurred.

[Breaking through the limits, the path to the next form opens.]

[You have seen beyond the next realm.]

[The image of the 3rd Form appears more concretely.]

What was vaguely revealed in the blurry vision was the sky.

The sun floating above the high sky. The forest reflected in that sun flourished, and the sea surged greatly. The beasts of the forest quenched their thirst, and giant fish devoured those beasts.

In all those changes, there was the sky.

Saaah-

The moment he realized this, he felt a different energy than before.

Without resisting that immense disaster-like sword strike, he simply melted into it as if embracing it.

Kwaaaang!

Unfortunately, that was the end.

The energy that was melting in eventually reached its limit, and in the end, it became a huge tsunami and was swept away.

The Sword Emperor’s sword struck down completely, and the world that had been passing by in slow motion returned to normal, and a tremendous explosion erupted.

—!!

“Keuheok.”

At the same time, Dohyun’s body couldn’t withstand the impact and flew away, crashing into the wall.

The wall he crashed into shattered and caved in, and Dohyun, who spat out blood, limply slumped down.

The cracks that had spread like a spider web throughout the training hall, starting with the Sword Emperor, finally reached Dohyun and created the largest crater.

-M, Master, are you okay!?

-R, Riza!!

-My lord! How dare you…!

Just as Jihad and Charlie, who were startled, were about to draw their swords.

The Empress reached out and stopped them.

When their eyes met, she slightly gestured with her chin and said bluntly.

“Look there.”

-……Ah.

Charlie, who quietly looked at where Dohyun was as she said, widened his eyes and then put down the hand that was holding the sword and straightened his back.

At the same time, the Sword Emperor’s voice, filled with surprise, was heard.

“Amazing. Although I adjusted it, to perfectly endure it like this.”

“……Does this look perfect to you?”

“It looks that way to my eyes. Your limbs are intact, and you haven’t fainted, have you?”

The Sword Emperor was sincere when he said that.

The previous sword strike was actually an attack intended to leave him half-dead. And the moment he struck, the Sword Emperor felt it.

‘That scoundrel…….’

He was clearly trying to counterattack beyond just blocking it.

Then, realizing that his realm was insufficient, he even showed the skill to deflect the sword strike when he thought it wouldn’t work.

‘Huh……. A cunning fellow. He acted like a simpleton, but he fights like a snake.’

But the Sword Emperor had a smile on his face as he muttered that.

He seemed to understand why his disciple had praised him so much.

“I will acknowledge you.”

“……?”

“But keep in mind. I’ve only acknowledged what’s nearby. You must strive even harder.”

Dohyun frowned at the voice that spoke as if he was doing him a favor, yet contained a faint wariness.

‘What is that old man talking about since earlier?’

He had been saying things that he couldn’t understand at all since earlier.

Dohyun, who casually ignored it and groaned, got up and frowned when he saw the message that appeared in front of him.

[Failed to perfectly parry.]

[Unable to completely deflect the attack, you take damage.]

‘I wouldn’t have been able to block it if I hadn’t mixed in a desperate parry at the end.’

The Sword Emperor acknowledged that he had blocked it, but even after doing this, his health was reduced by half. Could he really say he had blocked it?

He didn’t like that. More than anything, he was too disappointed.

‘That form I glimpsed. If I had fully unleashed it…… Sigh, I feel like I only got a taste and stopped, so it’s really unsettling.’

When he accepted even a part of it, a realm of a different level than before was unleashed.

Then what kind of power would he unleash when he fully accepted it?

Perhaps he could even block the current sword strike. No, he might even see beyond just blocking it…….

‘This is just a legendary signature swordsmanship…… It’s definitely not an ordinary legendary one.’

This much has already transcended the performance of a typical legendary signature swordsmanship.

Just thinking about what Reversing the Heavens would be like when all the forms were opened and it had its complete form made his heart flutter.

Perhaps the day would come when he could give the Sword Saint a taste of his swordsmanship.

It was when he couldn’t hide his excitement and was feeling thrilled.

Ding-

[Sudden Quest, The Sword Emperor’s Curiosity, has been cleared.]