The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 264

264.

Her confident gaze faltered for a moment.

‘What nonsense… he’s completely lost it.’

Sina scoffed.

If it were so easily changed, why would it be called a habit?

Just as erasing a scar requires significant resources and effort, habits are something that may or may not change even with years of effort.

‘Even physical powerhouses like the Empress, the Heavenly Demon, and Myulsal have habits.’

Even they wouldn’t be able to change them immediately just by deciding to.

In fact, in the Empress’s case, even though she surpasses everyone else in terms of physical ability, I could be certain it would be impossible.

Because this isn’t just about physical ability.

“You’re saying you can change such a habit in an instant? You should temper your boasting… if you were trying to buy time, you miscalculated.”

“Well, shouldn’t we find out? I’m not a fool who gives up before even trying.”

Even at the sight of her scornful face, Dohyun simply smiled.

“And…”

He added one more thing.

“I have a feeling it’ll work.”

“Ha.”

She clicked her tongue as if she was dumbfounded and tightened her grip on her dagger.

‘To think I judged such a fool as skilled… my senses must be failing.’

If it were just boasting, I could dismiss it, but this man is serious.

The more I talk to him, the more foolish I feel.

If he doesn’t understand his place, then I’ll just have to teach him.

“Fine. Go ahead and try. If you can.”

Lowering her stance to gain explosive momentum, she resembled a wildcat.

She looked as flexible as a wildcat might. However, her eyes, fiercely glaring at Dohyun, shone sharply like those of a predator.

[The ‘Sustain’ effect applied to Ghostly Killing and Dark Destruction has one use remaining.]

[The ‘Sustain’ effect will disappear after the next attack.]

‘Two chances. Enough.’

The assassin’s main crowd control skills weren’t set in the skill slots as much as possible.

It’s widely known that he possesses a Heroic Trait.

‘People think assassins are only specialized in ambushes and crowd control.’

If that were all, they wouldn’t be considered a job specialized in one-on-one combat.

Assassins have many hidden damage amplification skills.

They mainly amplify damage for a single strike, so they’re not very useful in raids, but it’s a different story in one-on-one combat.

For an assassin who mainly uses stealth, enhancing the first attack is incredibly powerful.

[Using Hero Skill, ‘Sure Finish’.]

[Deals 300% increased damage on the first strike.]

[Using Hero Skill, ‘Piercing Dagger’.]

[Deals damage that completely ignores defense on the first strike.]

[Due to the effect of Ghostly Killing and Dark Destruction, deals 500% increased damage upon attack.]

[Determined to be a higher-grade skill, damage amplification is applied cumulatively.]

Especially an attack using Ghostly Killing and Dark Destruction would be a one-hit kill.

“That’s intense.”

Dohyun chuckled at the extraordinary aura, even at a glance.

Sina frowned, still in her lowered stance.

‘He’s laughing in this situation?’

‘Let’s see how long you can keep laughing.’

Gritting her teeth, she lowered her stance to the limit.

Watching her, so close to the ground that even track athletes couldn’t lower themselves this much, Dohyun slowly took his stance.

Thud.

Matching his pace, he gripped his sword again.

Adjusting his breathing and facing her directly, there was no sign of evasion anywhere in his posture.

‘He’s going for a head-on fight? An attack that even Damian avoided?’

It was absurd, but it was like Kaiser.

He never backed down from any adversity.

That’s why it was funny.

‘I knew it. Changing, my ass…’

He was still the same as ever.

And that consistency would be the cause of his downfall.

‘With that stance, he’ll definitely parry to the left… twisting his body right before impact.’

Having made her judgment based on the data she analyzed, Sina’s thigh muscles bulged, and a look of triumph settled in her eyes.

Bang!

But the moment she kicked off the ground and shot out like a cannonball.

Her eyes widened.

Only when the distance closed did she finally see it.

‘…He’s adjusting his stance?’

A very short time. A fleeting moment, but it was clear.

Dohyun was slightly adjusting his stride and changing his momentum.

No, it wasn’t just the adjustment of his stance.

Whoosh…

The way he inhaled and exhaled.

The unique breathing that every swordsman has was different.

Even the way he gripped the hilt was similar but different, and even the look in his eyes as he faced her was different from before.

Even the mindset with which he faced the sword felt different.

‘…Sword Saint?’

Why did the Sword Saint come to mind at this moment?

Perhaps it was because he was surprisingly reminiscent of her.

That’s exactly what it was.

Smirk.

Dohyun was indeed imitating the Sword Saint.

She was a master of incapacitation [rendering someone unable to act or move].

In this situation, nothing was more suitable than her swordsmanship.

‘Change habits. It’s difficult if you think about it vaguely. But what if there’s a clear image to change to?’

His body remembers the thousands upon thousands of sparring sessions.

When to exhale, how to grip the sword. When to step forward, when to swing the sword. What stride to take, what posture to adopt when facing the sword.

All her habits were so vivid that he could easily recall them even now.

“They say habits are scars? Then no one has seen her scars more often than I have.”

He simply recalled her and moved as his body remembered.

With that alone, Dohyun had become the Sword Saint from their 8,103rd sparring session.

Sina’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

‘……I can’t see anything.’

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

She couldn’t see or predict anything from him.

He had truly abandoned all his habits and completely adopted someone else’s.

‘What is this nonsense!? I have to, have to change direction…….’

If she continued like this, she would be countered.

If she entered the unknown, she wouldn’t be able to compete.

She had to change direction…….

‘Ah.’

It was already too late.

Dohyun’s sword was faster than her turning speed.

‘This……!’

Seeing the sword aiming for her head, Sina urgently activated a skill.

[Using Backstab.]

[Mark is created.]

She barely escaped the crisis by using Backstab in a hurry, but as if he had predicted it, he spun around and swung the Celestial Change, which had already transformed into a dagger.

‘The attack I used?’

The only way to avoid it was to roll, just like Dohyun had done earlier.

But she had no alternative to block the dagger that would inevitably follow, adjusting its angle.

[Mark disappears.]

In the end, she used Backstab again and desperately tried a side kick, but Dohyun easily twisted his body to avoid it.

Sina’s mind raced.

‘I’ve analyzed the Sword Saint before. If I remember correctly, she definitely had a habit of prioritizing incapacitation over attack. Then the reaction now will definitely be deflecting…….’

She was the master of a top 10 guild.

As if proving that she didn’t get there by chance, she completed her analysis in an instant, but,

‘Let go of the dagger just before impact.’

Unfortunately, that analysis couldn’t shine.

Thud,

Whoosh-!

“Huh? Why is this……?”

She clearly expected him to deflect and suppress her, and she stepped back forcefully while releasing her hand, but what was this?

Instead of deflecting, he was rushing in aggressively and striking down?

There was no Sword Saint in that 모습 [Korean: appearance, figure].

Rather than the Sword Saint…….

“……Empress?”

“I’ve sparred with that one more often, if you’re just counting the number of times,” Dohyun said, smirking as if he had hit the jackpot, then muttered regretfully.

“It’s my first time trying this, and I was just starting to get the hang of it…….”

‘First time trying it? This?’

Abandoning all her habits and imitating someone else.

Was it easy enough for someone trying it for the first time to pull it off?

Sina’s eyes trembled as the sword blade, casting a dark shadow, came down.

A moron, below expectations? Not understanding her place?

‘……Mo, monster.’

She was the one who didn’t understand her place.

By the time she realized that, she had already been cut in half by Dohyun’s strike.

[Player ‘Sina’ has been defeated.]

[It has been determined that the opponent made the first attack, so your Karma stat does not increase.]

Dohyun, having confirmed the message, finally released his stance and put away the Celestial Change.

-Master!! I believed in you!!

-As expected of our lord.

-Lizariza!

-You’re so, so amazing, Master. So, can you please untie this noose?

-Liza!

It seemed like their reaction was more intense than usual today, probably because the noose didn’t come off naturally since it wasn’t a skill.

Just to see Eliza’s sparkling eyes, let’s dismantle the noose. An unexpected reward was given.

[Acquired the Noose of Restraint.]

[Noose of Restraint]

[Grade: Hero+]

[Description: A noose that can restrain any target as long as the conditions are met. The restrained target cannot release the restraint themselves.

However, the restrained target does not take damage while bound by the noose.

[Restraint (拘束): Different conditions are applied to each target, and if the conditions are met, anyone can be restrained.]

“Oh, this is a better reward than I expected?”

-Ahem! I was tied up for this!

-Lizariza!

“Yeah, you did well, Eliza.”

-What about me? Huh? Why aren’t you saying anything about me? Hello? Hey?

Dohyun pushed away Jihad, who was sticking his head in, with a satisfied look.

He was disappointed that he didn’t get a spirit orb, but he never expected to receive such a gift.

‘This is much better than a spirit orb.’

Even though it was a Hero+ grade, it only had one option, but that one option was worth as much as two or three other options.

[You are using the Noose on the Guardian ‘Jihad Black’.]

[The conditions for restraining the target are twofold: ‘Have higher stats than the target’ and ‘Bind two living beings simultaneously’.]

“So, it’s like this. It seems like there’s more than one condition.”

-……Master, that noose is shining. You’re not going to use it on us, are you?

-Li, Liza?

“Hey, come on. No way.”

The conditions weren’t difficult this time, but there might be ridiculous conditions depending on the target.

It was a tricky option, but it was still excellent.

It was a card that could be a joker [a wild card or unexpected advantage] depending on the situation.

Opening his inventory, he found a sparkling green orb in the corner. Clicking on it, a flood of messages appeared.

[Whisper from friend ‘Ast’:]

[Whisper from friend ‘Ast’:]

[Whisper from friend ‘Ast’:]

“Old man?”

What’s up with this old man?

There were even three of them.

[Ast: Hey, the atmosphere is strange during the meeting right now.]

[Ast: Be careful. Especially watch out for Aegis, Leon, and Cheonoecheon. It seems like they’re plotting something. Why do you always have so many enemies?]

[Ast: I can’t let this go. I’m going to have guild members monitor them and tell me immediately if anything happens.]

“Hmm. One of the top 10 guilds…….”

The message he casually checked was more serious than he thought.

Dohyun pondered over it and then exclaimed.

“Sina? Come to think of it, the Bloodshed Guild Master’s name is Sina, isn’t it?”

-If you’re talking about the Bloodshed Guild… are they one of the top 10 guilds?

-What, Charlie, you know about them?

-They’re practically celebrities in the Empire [a well-known and influential group]. How could I not know?

Unlike Jihad, who only picked up on things he was interested in, Charlie listened to information with an open ear.

‘One of the top 10 guilds is watching me… so, was the Bloodshed Guild also targeting me? No, if that were the case, they would have brought their executives with them.’

Or maybe not?

Considering that fraudulent stealth, he might have judged that it was better to move alone.

Whatever the case, it was certain that one of the top 10 guilds was targeting him.

‘Weren’t they supposed to be heavyweights? They seem too light [referring to their approach being less significant than expected].’

He expected it to some extent since he had made such a splash in the Forgotten Tomb, but he never thought they would move so quickly.

He spoke in a playful tone, but this was a serious matter.

‘Sigh, this is going to be tough.’

The Bloodshed Guild was an assassination guild. As such, Sina’s main focus was assassination.

From her fraudulent stealth to her thorough preparation and even her style of analyzing habits.

Frankly, he would have been in great danger if he hadn’t followed his companions.

No, if he didn’t have the Eye of Truth, he might have already died in the first ambush.

‘In other words, that woman is the weakest in terms of brute force.’

In fact, in the world’s evaluation, her assassination skills were recognized, but many said that her pure combat power was too weak to be one of the top 10 guilds.

Well, that was only natural.

If she had such fraudulent assassination skills and was strong in brute force, it would have been even more of a balance collapse.

‘……It’s dangerous right now. I need to grow faster.’

It’s not enough to just rely on the new armor he’ll get.

Shouldn’t he at least reach level 90 to be able to compete a bit?

At the very least, if he could get something out of this dungeon exploration, he would feel more at ease.

“……Let’s go. We need to move quickly.”

-That would be good, Master.

-Lizariza.

-Yes! This humble sword also thinks so, my lord.

Leaving the chattering guys behind, Dohyun moved his steps.

The dungeon that the map pointed to was nearby.

He intended to enter the dungeon right away.

[RCD video recording in progress.]

‘……It’s better not to upload this video for the time being.’

It could give the top 10 guilds a reason to move or fuel the fire.

But Dohyun didn’t know.

As Dohyun, who had made his decision, moved further away and left the place where Sina died.

Rustle-

A man hiding in the bushes raised his head.

“Wow…… amazing.”

With sparkling eyes, he alternated between looking at Sina’s body, which was scattering away, and Dohyun’s back, which was becoming a dot. He swallowed hard and took a picture.

“This is a big deal!”

He barely held back the urge to spread the word on the community right away.