The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 29

Part 2, Chapter 27.

[Sword Aura – Uses Slash.]

[Initiates Second Form – Rupture.]

Before anyone could stop him, Chunbyeon was swung, and the Slash and Second Form erupted simultaneously.

A moment of silence followed.

All they could do was watch as the darkness from the Slash filled the barrier like a halo of light, and a silent impact shook the barrier.

And at that moment.

Crack-

‘Crack?’

In the darkness-obscured vision.

Marcian was startled by the sound, like ice cracking on a frozen glacier, and turned his head.

[Eyes of Sensing Nature]

At the same time, Marcian’s eyes flashed with green light, revealing Rupalo’s horn and Kaiser’s silhouette, and he doubted his eyes at the sight that unfolded.

‘I, it’s cracking…!’

Rupalo’s horn was cracking.

Of course, not by much.

A subtle crack that would be hard to notice without focusing.

However, one thing was certain: the subtle crack was gradually growing, trying to engulf the horn.

“What’s going on!?”

“Damn it, I can’t see anything.”

“W, what is this!?”

“Ah, get out! I can’t see anymore!”

Marcian fell into a severe dilemma, watching the Apostles who were not even aware of this change and couldn’t come to their senses.

‘Isn’t now the only chance to stop it?’

Rupalo’s horn is the only one in the world.

Even if it’s just a fragment, its value is by no means small.

As in the past, it was not easy to obtain even a fragment now that Rupalo had disappeared, so there was no need to say more.

Crack- Crack-

If it were cutting it neatly like that Apostle, it would be one thing, but now it’s smashing it with the momentum to destroy it.

In many ways, it was right to stop it, but…

‘……Can I stop it?’

His stiff body did not move easily.

It was instinct.

The instinct that he would not be safe if he jumped in now.

‘I’m scared of an Apostle? Marcian is?’

Not even just any Apostle, but a rookie who just started?

The fact that he, who had lived at least 100 years longer than him, was intimidated was too much of a blow to his pride.

He had felt this sensation before.

‘It’s like… when that man split the horn…’

No, it’s similar but different from then.

Back then, it was a chilling sensation as if his neck had been cut off just by looking at it, but now he can’t even take a step, as if swallowed by a huge darkness.

How could that be an Apostle who just started?

‘Who the hell is that man…’

It was then that Marcian, who was momentarily horrified, was staring blankly at him.

The crack, which had been expanding its domain, finally engulfed the horn, and at that moment.

—!

A sharp ringing, like glass breaking, was heard, and a bright green light burst out from the terrible darkness.

“Ugh!”

“W, what! Did it break?”

“Ugh, now I can’t see because of the light, so I’m going crazy.”

“What’s going on!?”

For users who don’t know the situation, it’s frustrating.

However, Marcian, who uses ‘Eyes of Sensing Nature’ that can see even in the form of silhouettes in any situation, could clearly see.

‘That is…’

The green light emitted from the broken horn was permeating Do-hyun.

But that was only for a moment.

The brilliantly emitted light became even stronger, and Marcian, who could no longer bear it, closed his eyes tightly.

And at that moment when everyone was covering their eyes.

[You have destroyed a fragment of Rupalo’s Horn.]

[Rupalo’s will reacts.]

[Conditions have been met.]

[Sudden Quest ‘Rupalo’s Will’ has occurred.]

[Rupalo’s will wants to show you something.]

‘……What is this?’

Do-hyun was looking straight ahead without the slightest frown.

The sight that Do-hyun was seeing was different from the others.

The moment he felt the horn breaking.

Before he could enjoy the joy, the above message popped up, and a new vision unfolded with the bright light.

Saaa-

This was a forest.

A forest so beautiful that the forest he saw before coming to the Elf Village looked ordinary.

The mysterious atmosphere, like something out of a fairy tale, looked dreamy.

It was thanks to the vibrant natural scenery, but the biggest role was played by the huge tree standing tall in the center.

‘……World Tree?’

The mysterious energy that makes you think of a sacred tree.

An incredibly huge size.

It was definitely the World Tree.

He was the first user to see the World Tree’s sanctuary, which no one but those who have been granted permission can access.

As he was admiring it, Do-hyun’s eyes became subtle.

‘……It’s a little different from what I saw in the village.’

At that time, even though I was seeing it from a distance, I felt overwhelmed.

But the World Tree in front of me didn’t feel like that.

A feeling that it was somehow withering.

What was strange was that it wasn’t the end.

Swish-

A mysterious horn that is more than 4M tall [approximately 13 feet].

Despite its enormous size that overwhelms you the moment you see it, a mysterious spirit that makes you feel comfortable instead of intimidating was lying under the shade of the World Tree, holding something in its arms.

‘Rupalo.’

It was definitely Rupalo, who I had only heard about in the settings.

However, Do-hyun’s gaze was directed next to Rupalo, not at Rupalo.

It was because a woman with long wavy green hair was stroking Rupalo’s head next to him.

I couldn’t see her ears because they were covered, but she was comparable to the elves…

No, rather, the woman, whose appearance was so beautiful that the elves seemed ordinary, had very sad eyes for some reason.

‘What is this…’

The withering World Tree.

Rupalo, who was lying under it with his eyes closed, holding something in his arms, and a woman stroking Rupalo with sad eyes.

I was stunned by the scene that seemed to have a story at first glance.

Soon after, Do-hyun’s eyes widened.

“……!”

The woman, who was looking at Rupalo with sad eyes, suddenly turned her head.

She was no longer sad.

The clear eyes, as if nothing had happened, met Do-hyun’s eyes straight on.

[An unidentified woman senses your presence.]

[‘Elaine’s Necklace’ reacts.]

[You have acquired a clue related to the missing girl.]

[A linked quest for the sudden quest ‘Save the Girl’ has occurred.]

[This is a quest deeply related to Rupalo’s will.]

[The sudden quest ‘Rupalo’s Will’ is combined with the linked quest ‘Save the Girl’.]

[Missing Girl]

-Grade: Sudden Quest

-Description: The mysterious spirit Rupalo highly values your potential for destroying a fragment of his horn.

Rupalo thinks that you, who possess Elaine’s necklace, may be able to find the girl.

Acquire clues about the whereabouts of the missing girl.

-Clues to the missing girl (0/1)

-Quest success: Linked quest occurs

-Quest failure: Linked quest deleted

‘……What?’

Do-hyun’s face went blank at the unexpected situation.

……It seemed that the missing girl was more unusual than he thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Do-hyun unexpectedly acquired the quest.

More than 5 minutes had passed since the bright green light that filled the barrier stopped and the barrier of darkness that had trapped them disappeared.

“Oh my god.”

“Wow, crazy…”

“Oh my god. Is it real?”

“Wow… wow, wow, seriously wow…”

Many users were still unable to leave this place.

In particular, the users standing at the very front were unable to close their mouths to a somewhat unsightly degree, but no one cursed them.

Because everyone gathered here felt the same way.

“……The horn is broken.”

“Damn it. Not cut, but smashed! Into pieces!”

“T, this is ridiculous.”

“Did Kaiser break the Annihilation record now?”

“No, how the hell… then is Kaiser stronger than Annihilation?”

It couldn’t be helped.

The horn, which had never been broken since Annihilation, was shattered like it had been crushed with a hammer.

Of course, the bottom part was fine because of its large size, but the top was powdered to the point where it was difficult to put it together.

Thanks to this, the fragment of the horn, which boasted a size of 50cm [approximately 20 inches], was now only 10cm [approximately 4 inches].

“……Can we use that?”

“I think we should dispose of it.”

“Seriously crazy… At this point, Kaiser was being nice when he was wreaking havoc in the village earlier.”

“All the villains in the village would have died.”

Originally, when Annihilation split the 1M [approximately 3 feet] horn in half, it was like having two horns, so it was even better…

That’s not a size that can be used anymore.

“What A area, shouldn’t we create a separate S area at this point?”

“Wow, Raihas or whatever, Kaiser was the real deal.”

“Really. I’ll have to lower my eyes when I meet Kaiser in the future.”

Was it because the unprecedented record was broken?

The protagonist of the topic, Kaiser, was waiting for the competition to begin in the assigned A area.

They, who should have gone to their area to take the lead, were still immersed in the afterglow.

But as time passed, did the afterglow fade to some extent?

“But didn’t the light come out?”

“Is that… so? Is it because it’s broken?”

“It did come out. Suddenly, some light burst out from inside the barrier.”

“That was green light.”

“It wasn’t just green light, the intensity of the light was too much. I really couldn’t open my eyes.”

“It’s just green anyway.”

“Hmm, it’s strange that it’s green in a situation where the horn is broken.”

There were also those who expressed doubts about the measurement, which had many somewhat strange phenomena.

It was because they had clearly seen the green light, which could be said to be the most common, that would be assigned to C area at best, before Kaiser broke the horn.

“Didn’t golden light burst out from the cut surface of Annihilation?”

“That’s right. It’s still circulating a lot as a meme of shooting a beam from the horn.”

“Kaiser didn’t even seem to have any light after cutting it, what is it?”

“It’s strange.”

In particular, because there was a clear example of Annihilation, the doubt could only grow bigger.

In the end, a warrior user with a greatsword, unable to bear the question, strode forward.

“Hey, what are you doing! The competition is about to start, let’s just go.”

“Ah, wait. Anyway, the C area is going to be crowded with people, it’s the same whether we go now or later. I have to satisfy my curiosity to feel refreshed.”

“That’s true… what are you going to do?”

The man, who approached the horn without hesitation despite his colleague’s dissuasion, smiled and raised his greatsword high.

“I saw green light earlier, right? If I hit it now, I’ll know what kind of light comes out.”

“There’s a host next to you, that’s a bit…”

“Ah, I don’t know. What’s the point in the midst of breaking it… If you haven’t stopped me so far, it’s okay.”

Originally, you shouldn’t touch anything other than the measurement for participating in the competition, but Marcian was just standing blankly without any reaction, perhaps because of the shock of the horn being broken.

“Did you see? I’m going!”

The greatsword warrior, who gained confidence in it, swung his greatsword with all his might,

Whooong-!!

The moment the greatsword, which heavily cut through the air, accurately hit the middle of the very small horn.

Crack-!

“……Huh?”

“Huh?”

“?”

The greatsword warrior and the surrounding users all had puzzled faces at the sound that couldn’t be heard.

And that expression soon changed to embarrassment.

The horn, which they thought would hold out firmly, was broken in half in vain.

The greatsword warrior let out a hollow laugh as he watched a very faint green light flicker and disappear on the cross-section.

“……Huh.”

“It’s absurd.”

“What, was this broken?”

“Then Kaiser was originally assigned to C area?”

“Come on, that’s right. I said it didn’t make sense!”

“……But it was overwhelming for green light.”

“Yeah, it might not have been green light. But it doesn’t make sense that I broke the stone. Wouldn’t that mean there’s an error?”

As is the case with water riding [when one person starts something, others follow], once one person started giving an opinion, everyone started adding a word.

Among them, there were also people who patted their chests as if they were unfairly wronged.

“Excuse me, host. Shouldn’t we readjust the grade?”

“……Hey, let’s just go. They never change the grade that has already been set. Don’t you remember the elves soldiers who gathered when someone protested before?”

“Come on, tsk.”

“I won’t mess with Kaiser… I’m going to spread all this [gossip].”

But that was all.

They, who didn’t have the confidence to handle the elf army, were making loud noises from behind in vain and moved to the assigned area.

And Marcian, who was watching their backs, was still stiff.

‘……There’s an error? The horn is strange?’

That’s ridiculous.

Rupalo’s horn is a horn that becomes stronger according to the opponent’s power.

The reason why this is possible is because a part of Rupalo’s soul is contained in the horn.

Of course, the horn of the measurement, which is only a fragment, contains only a weak will with only a part of the memory at best, but that alone is enough.

‘……Rupalo has been a spirit guarding the World Tree for a long time.’

The small will of such a spirit accurately grasps and absorbs energy more than anything else.

That was the reason why even the woman who almost cut off the horn with extreme swordsmanship and the ignorant giant woman with an iron club who devastated the surrounding area could not break the horn.

In other words, the fact that that Apostle broke the horn means one of two things.

He exerted an overwhelming power that transcends Rupalo’s judgment…

‘Or an Apostle that even Rupalo’s will cannot properly grasp.’

Whatever it was, it was chilling.

Above all…

‘The last thing I saw… was definitely Rupalo’s shape.’

Before he couldn’t stand the brilliant light and closed his eyes.

He saw it faintly but clearly.

A certain silhouette in the shape of a deer.

It was much smaller and insignificant than what Marcian had heard, but it was definitely Rupalo’s shape.

‘After that. The horn lost its power.’

The faint green light that the last greatsword warrior broke the horn and came out was just a temporary glimpse of the remnants of light remaining inside the horn.

He didn’t know how it happened, but Marcian was sure it wasn’t a coincidence.

He was also wondering whether to report the phenomenon he saw for the first time to the elders.

Marcian, looking in the direction Kaiser had left, swallowed hard.

“……Today is going to be a truly legendary competition.”

And behind Marcian.

Marcian, who was distracted, did not see the black silhouettes moving in the direction Kaiser had left.