The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 295

295.

Do-hyun handed over a sword.

[Yusubi Fire Sword]

[Grade: Legend]

[Description: The fire hidden behind softness is more deadly than a fierce storm.

This sword pursues a strike hidden behind softness, making it most suitable for those who wield elegant swordsmanship.

It will amplify the wearer’s lacking attack power.]

[Level Restriction: 70]

[Equip Restriction: Knight, Swordsman class]

[Physical Attack Power: 1681~1787]

[Durability: 100 / 100]

[Yusu (Flowing Water): Allows the user to wield swordsmanship as natural as flowing water, and the more it is used, the deeper the water energy becomes.]

[Bihwa (Secret Fire): Can be activated when the water energy of Yusu reaches a certain level, unleashing a powerful fiery flash.]

A reward obtained after defeating the Forgotten King.

He had kept the Yusubi Fire Sword until Charlie reached the Guardian equip restriction level of 40, and now he was finally handing it over.

Do-hyun, who already had the White Lion’s Seolhwa Sword, didn’t particularly need it, so he gave it without much thought…….

-To bestow such a magnificent sword upon a humble and insufficient swordsman like me… This Charlie is deeply moved, my lord. To repay this grace, I will not cease to strive and work hard, whether it rains or a typhoon blows.

“Oh… Okay. I’m glad you like it.”

It seemed Charlie didn’t take it that way.

His already full loyalty had reached a saturation point and gone berserk.

Looking at his eyes, so overwhelmed with emotion that they were flooded, was a bit burdensome, but it was a natural reaction for Charlie.

‘For the lord to bestow a sword upon his knight is a sign of acknowledging him as a knight. What an honorable thing this is!’

Moreover, the sword’s appearance is extraordinary.

At first glance, it seems soft, but when you draw and grip the sword, it feels rough, like flowing flames.

Even if he were given a wooden sword, saying he picked it up on the way, he would cherish it as his favorite, but this is such a magnificent sword.

Not just Charlie, but even Charlie’s grandfather would be moved.

‘I must repay this trust. I should talk to that woman often, as I gain much insight from conversing with her.’

‘Well, it’s rewarding to see him so happy.’

Do-hyun was pleased, unaware of the chilling thoughts Charlie was having.

Anyway, that’s enough of the impressions.

“Try using it once.”

-Yes, my lord!

Now it was time to put it into practice.

Fortunately, there was a suitable sandbag.

Swish- Swish-

Swish-

Just in time, a swarm of bugs was approaching.

It was a large army that was in no way inferior to the previous one.

But it didn’t seem to have increased much, so it seemed that this number was the maximum size of the army in this dungeon.

‘……It’s not a pretty sight.’

Do-hyun frowned at the disgusting sight, and Charlie stood in front of him.

He looked quite impressive with the Yusubi Fire Sword drawn.

Clack!

Goton was about to step forward, as if to help.

-Fall back, Goton.

Goton?

Jihad, who had suddenly intervened, immediately used Summon Release.

Goton, with resentful eyes at his futile departure, disappeared.

Jihad subtly averted his gaze.

-Ahem, it’s definitely not because I’m stingy with mana. It’s because I’m worried you’ll jump in without thinking.

-Liza……?

Goton…

Eliza and Goton tilted their heads as if to say, ‘Is that right?’

Do-hyun shook his head, looking at Goton’s empty spot after his futile disappearance.

‘I shouldn’t be too short on mana with just this much now.’

Looking at Jihad, who seemed genuinely relieved, it didn’t seem intentional.

It was probably a habitual mana management thing.

It was understandable.

He had been suffering from mana deficiency ever since he became a Guardian.

Swish-

Thud!

Charlie dashed towards the swarm of bugs that had approached to a certain distance in the meantime.

The change of sword didn’t change his method.

He still activated the Armor of Protection and Strong Will to block fatal wounds, and roughly endured the other attacks while fighting.

However, the process was clearly different from before.

Slash-

Swoosh-

Charlie’s sword, which was limited to blocking the front, now covered a wider range.

More precisely, it wasn’t the sword.

Every time the sword moved, something blue followed behind it, deflecting the attacks.

It was as if a curtain of water had been spread out.

[The Yusu (Flowing Water) effect of the Yusubi Fire Sword is activated.]

[You can now wield swordsmanship as natural as flowing water, and the more you use swordsmanship, the deeper the water energy becomes.]

It was the effect of the Yusubi Fire Sword.

Numerous bugs were attacking from all directions, but Charlie remained unshaken, simply blocking, cutting, and deflecting as naturally as flowing water.

It was perfect swordsmanship that didn’t seem like it was being used for the first time.

‘It suits him better than I thought?’

It was a perfect weapon for Charlie, who was in charge of aggro [drawing enemy attention] with his elegant swordsmanship.

[The water energy becomes even deeper.]

Squeak- Swoosh-

-Uh, uh?

Even though his attack power had increased, Charlie’s foundation was still that of a knight.

And since he was in charge of aggro, he couldn’t carry out a quick massacre.

And that was the only escape route the bugs were aiming for.

-T, they’re starting to gather? Master, isn’t that dangerous?

-L, Liza!

Perhaps realizing that they couldn’t break through Charlie, the bugs began to gather in one place, increasing their size.

But they didn’t really get bigger.

They were just lined up in one place, creating the illusion of seeing something huge.

It was an instinctive judgment to threaten by increasing their size, but…….

[The water energy has reached a certain level or higher.]

[You can activate Bihwa (Secret Fire).]

Unfortunately, that instinct became poison.

-Huuu!

The moment Charlie gripped the sword with both hands, his eyes flashing,

[Bihwa (Secret Fire) is activated.]

Whoosh-!

Fierce flames erupted and soon flew away like a hawk.

—–!

The highly condensed flames contained scorching heat, burning the surroundings, and easily melted and pierced through the bugs upon contact.

It was truly a single flash that burned everything in a straight line.

The hawk of fire burned all the bugs and stopped only after going about 5 meters further.

[You have defeated a Mutant Cave Bug.]

[You have defeated a Mutant Cave Bug.]

…….

[You have defeated a Mutant Cave Bug.]

[You have exterminated all the bugs in the Cursed Cave.]

“Crazy…….”

What unfolded was only the floor that was half-melted in the direction the flash had been unleashed, and the bugs that had turned to ashes.

It was the moment when Charlie, who had no proper dealing skills other than the Sword of Light, gained a new dealing skill.

And it was an area-of-effect dealing skill that exceeded expectations.

* * *

[You have entered the Cursed Cave.]

Even after Charlie’s splendid debut with the legendary weapon, Do-hyun continued the repeated subjugation.

The Cursed Cave was a free dungeon that could be entered solo.

And in the process, Do-hyun never drew his sword.

Swish- Swish-

“Go, Charlie!”

-Yes, my lord!

When the swarm of bugs, with their visuals that he couldn’t get used to no matter how many times he saw them, came rushing in, Charlie wielded the Yusubi Fire Sword and rampaged,

Roar- Roar-

Clack. Clack.

Goton and the Undead Legion followed, adding firepower.

There was no need to use Legion Rampage.

If left alone, they would automatically use the Swamp of Agony to slow down the bug swarm and then go on a rampage.

-Good job, good job~

-Liza Liza!

“Fighting.”

All Do-hyun had to do was stand next to Jihad and Eliza, acting like a cheerleader and cheering them on.

If he followed slowly like that,

[Your level has increased.]

‘Kuh, this is it.’

His level went up.

He was already level 93.

The level that was said to be ridiculously hard to raise from level 90 had risen after just a few subjugations.

Logically, this didn’t make sense, but Do-hyun had learned something from subjugating the Cursed Cave several times.

‘The experience was low when it was a party dungeon.’

When entering solo, the difficulty increased grotesquely as he had to catch all those bugs alone.

And the experience was just as high.

He got all the experience that had to be shared, plus additional experience.

Moreover, there was no need to gather mobs, as they automatically swarmed in, making it the perfect hunting ground.

But the biggest beneficiary of this subjugation was someone else.

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’s level has increased.]

[Guardian ‘Charlie’s level has increased.]

‘These guys are really growing explosively.’

The levels of those who didn’t level up well had already risen by 3.

[Jihad LV 44]

[Charlie LV 44]

To be exact, only Charlie had risen by 3 levels, and Jihad had only risen by 2, but 2 levels was still amazing.

Even the Divine Beasts didn’t gain experience well as they approached level 50.

No matter how good the experience was here, this phenomenon couldn’t have happened without the Proof of Bond.

But it was a bit strange.

‘Now the two of them are the same level.’

Even though Charlie had been catching higher-level monsters since he was a low level, so he had grown relatively explosively…….

‘Still, Jihad’s level was much higher, so how could he be caught up to this extent?’

Unlike users, Divine Beasts were said to have different experience requirements for leveling up for each individual, so maybe that was the reason.

‘Anyway, he’s a handful.’

He consumes a lot of mana, so I have to equip him with mana-related items.

He needs a lot of experience too.

I have to keep turning his heart back so he doesn’t switch to Poke [betrayal].

Even now, I have to be careful so he doesn’t stab me in the back or run away because of his Opportunist trait, although I’ve fixed it.

‘Looking at it like this, the difficulty of raising him is hell.’

Divine Beasts are said to be originally picky, but I wonder if there are any Divine Beasts as picky as him.

Is it because he’s next to Charlie that he’s being compared more?

Charlie is such a loyalist, and he’s not difficult or picky to raise.

[The water energy has reached a certain level or higher.]

[You can activate Bihwa (Secret Fire).]

Whoaaaa-!!

“Ugh.”

Do-hyun, who had escaped from his thoughts due to the intense heat, looked disgusted.

Perhaps it was because he had only had the Sword of Light, which could only be used once as a dealing skill, but now that he had a powerful area-of-effect skill, he had become completely addicted to it.

As soon as he filled up his water energy, Charlie would use Bihwa as if he had been waiting for it.

It was flashy and fun to watch, so it wasn’t bad, but there was another problem.

-Wow…… I want to have it too.

-Liza Liza…….

-Don’t we have one, Master? You’re not discriminating against us, are you? You’re cherishing us equally, right?

-Liza? Liza Liza!

It was so flashy that Jihad and Eliza expressed their envy.

It was like raising children.

Do-hyun couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of them even showing their disappointment.

‘Is that why you shouldn’t only take care of one child when you’re taking care of them?’

It was the same as when you bring only one toy for two nephews during the holidays and it turns upside down.

-You, you got it before Charlie, didn’t you? Who gave you that robe and magic orb?

-T, this was originally mine…….

-Uh-huh, your tongue is long. There’s an order to everything. It was Charlie’s turn this time.

-……Okay.

At least Jihad could get away with it because he had the robe…….

-Liza!

Eliza, who was looking up with expectant eyes, had no excuse.

It was because he hadn’t done anything for Eliza.

‘Rather, I took from her.’

He had taken the bracelet, which was Eliza’s only equipment and protective collar.

In this situation, Do-hyun had only one thing to say.

“……I’ll take care of Eliza when we go to the city too.”

-Liza? Liza Liza!

Eliza, who raised her head in surprise, expressed her excitement by wiggling her butt.

It was like a child who had been promised a birthday present.

‘……What do spiders usually wear?’

I should search if there are people who raise spiders as pets when I log out.

It’s such a fuzzy lump that it’s ambiguous to call it a spider, but it’s better than not looking into it.

[You have exterminated all the bugs in the Cursed Cave.]

[You have cleared the dungeon.]

[Moving out using warp.]

‘Ah, already?’

Do-hyun, who had finished another subjugation while worrying, took another step.

[Entering the Cursed Cave.]

‘How many subjugations is this now?’

I think it’s been over ten times.

It’s hard to get an accurate count because it’s progressing at such a fast pace.

‘It should be about time…….’

Ding!

An alarm-like notification hits his eardrums as if to mock his thoughts.

Do-hyun’s lips curled up bitterly.

[Due to repeated subjugation, something unusual is happening.]

‘Finally.’

The moment he had been waiting for had arrived.