The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 296

296.

[The structure of the Cursed Cave changes.]

[The dungeon type temporarily changes from ‘Subjugation’ to ‘Boss Subjugation.’]

[A unique presence stirs.]

‘Conditional Boss.’

The boss of the Cursed Cave that only appears on the 13th entry.

He had finally appeared.

For Do-hyun, who had a reason to catch him, it was no exaggeration to say he had been waiting for this moment.

He had to catch him for ‘that.’

‘Yeah. Nothing is more important than that.’

Considering it only appeared after more than ten entries, it meant it hadn’t been reset for long.

It was incredibly unlucky, but thanks to that, he got a good amount of experience, so it was all good.

Anyway, the condition was met, so all that was left was to catch the boss.

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ summons the Undead.]

[Using Legion Manipulation, they are all judged as one entity.]

[Over 50% of the Undead in the legion are judged as monsters from the lower city. Mana consumption is reduced.]

[The 1st Legion Commander, ‘Agony,’ is summoned.]

Clack, clack.

Groooan-

Seeing the Undead Legion appear without fail, Do-hyun shouted boldly.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

-Roger!

-Lizardi!

-Yes, Master. We will serve you quickly with all our might.

Clack, clack.

The subjugation that began was the same as before.

Even though the structure had changed, it was still a cave.

The only differences were that swarms of bugs came from the two forks in the road and that you had to find the correct path among the forks.

-Go, Clacky!

-You disgusting bugs! How dare you covet us!

Clack, clack!

No matter how much the bug swarms increased in number, they couldn’t overcome Charlie and the Undead Legion’s wall and self-destructed.

[The Eye of Truth is activated.]

[Hidden traps are revealed.]

“It’s here.”

-Master’s insight is always amazing.

-I wonder what explorers live off of.

-Lizardi.

Choosing the right path was a piece of cake for Do-hyun, who had the Eye of Truth.

It would have been more difficult if there were no traps at all.

It was a bad move to make the difficulty harder, as expected of Dem Locke’s next work.

Kieek! Keek!

Whoosh- Thud! Crack!

After breaking through like that several times at lightning speed.

A path appeared that led straight instead of the forks that were divided at every opportunity.

A long path without bug swarms or traps.

About a minute passed?

[By subjugating 90% of the bug swarms in the cave, the owner of the cave reveals deep anger.]

[Caution. It may be harmful to your heart.]

[Those with weak stomachs may need to prepare themselves.]

A giant cavity appeared, and a warning message sounded at the same time.

It was truly a correct warning.

KIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

A scream that tore the ears struck the eardrums.

It was a disgusting and alien sound that ghosts in horror movies would make.

The being that revealed itself was beyond a horror movie.

[You have encountered the boss of the Cursed Cave, ‘Queen Hybrid Bug of the Cave.’]

[Queen Hybrid Bug of the Cave]

-Title: Elite Boss

-Type: Hybrid Bug

-Traits: Tenacious Survivability, Agile Movements, Deadly Poison

-Description: An unfortunate queen bug who was cursed by chaos alone in the Cursed Cave.

The forms of various races are mixed, and the balance of the body is broken, causing the inside of the body to rot severely.

It only appears when the curse of the Cursed Cave, which can move relatively smoothly, intensifies.

The ability itself is ordinary.

If you think of it as an event boss that requires satisfying special conditions, you might even think, ‘Is this all there is?’

But the queen bug, whom I faced directly, was more terrifying than any other boss.

“This is insane……!”

-Ew, what is this dirty thing!

-Lizardi…….

-Ugh…….

If the cave bugs I had seen so far were in the form of centipedes, spiders, and cockroaches, then he was a mixture of those three.

Moreover, the size was that of an adult man, and the flesh that was faintly revealed between the carapaces was rotting.

‘A centipede’s body with a cockroach…… Ugh, I can’t even look at it because it’s so disgusting.’

But what was more terrible than the appearance was the smell.

The stench of a garbage can overturned on the street in the middle of summer, with heat haze rising, felt like it was being carried through the humid air.

Do-hyun couldn’t help but realize that he couldn’t bear it without covering his nose.

‘I see why there are no people here.’

Who would try to catch such a boss, no matter what ‘that’ was?

It was something that required a very firm will.

‘I had a bad feeling since the bug swarm, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.’

Do-hyun, who felt like a hero being tested for qualifications, clenched Chun-byeon [a type of weapon] tightly and commanded with a determined look.

“……Charlie. I’m counting on you.”

-Master?

Charlie’s eyes shook non-stop as if there was an earthquake.

His blue eyes, like his pale complexion, were pitiful.

It was the first time he had seen Charlie like this after a long time, but there was no choice.

That’s how life is.

“It’ll be okay since there’s the Undead Legion.”

Clack……?

-…….

-F, fighting.

Agony, who was quietly caught up in the set, looked at Jihad, but Jihad just raised his small fist and cheered.

There were no allies for them here.

……Clack.

Agony, who was subtly looking around, took a step back and gestured.

Groooan! Groan!

Fortunately, the Undead Legion, who were almost devoid of reason, boldly stepped forward.

It was a secret that the highly intelligent Outlaws subtly stuck behind Agony.

In the end, Charlie, who had been hesitating, closed his eyes tightly and jumped in.

That’s how the battle began.

KIEEEEEEE!

“Ugh, I can’t watch.”

-M, me neither…….

When Charlie swung the Flowing Star Sword, turbid fluids splattered, and a foul smell spread.

Swish- Swish-

Groan-

Every time the Undead Legion and he engaged in a fierce physical fight, a unique swishing sound was heard.

Do-hyun turned his head away from the hideous battle that he couldn’t bear to watch.

How many times did the sound of breaking the carapace, piercing the flesh, and splattering fluids echo?

‘Ah, I feel sick.’

Just as his stomach was starting to feel nauseous.

KIEEEEEEE!

Thud.

With a terrible death cry as the last, the boss finally fell.

Only then did Do-hyun, who had been holding his breath, exhale and turn his head, letting out a hollow laugh.

[You have defeated the boss of the Cursed Cave, ‘Queen Bug of the Cave.’]

[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]

[You have succeeded in defeating the boss without directly influencing it.]

[Acquire the title, ‘Defeated the Boss Without Lifting a Finger?’]

[Defeated the Boss Without Lifting a Finger?]

-Rank: Hero

-Description: You have earned credit for defeating the boss without lifting a finger.

You have excellent subordinates, or are you an incredibly opportunistic person?

-Effect: Defense +30% increase until attacking the boss.

All stats +5

“It works like this?”

He had cowardly entrusted it to the Guardians because it was too disgusting.

To think that this was the acquisition condition for the Hero title.

‘Isn’t the modifier Hero too out of place?’

Well, the acquisition difficulty was certainly high.

No matter how much you bring a Divine Beast, it’s hard for a user not to touch the boss at all to catch it.

He himself hadn’t been able to get it until now.

-……I’m back, Master.

Clack. Clack.

Then Charlie and Agony approached.

They were exhausted.

It was a one-sided massacre, so there were no injuries, but they had suffered severe mental wounds.

It was like someone who had been drinking for days after the pain of a breakup.

“……You really did your best.”

-……Yes.

“You worked hard. Thank you, really.”

-……Yes.

Charlie wore a bitter smile.

The fact that his favorability didn’t drop even in the midst of all this was a true model of a loyal subject.

Do-hyun reached out to pat Charlie on the shoulder.

‘……Hmm. No.’

He couldn’t bring himself to touch the armor covered in fluids.

The foul smell had disappeared when the boss died, but now, just looking at the fluids reminded him of the smell.

-……Master? Is there a problem…….

-No. You worked hard.

In the end, he was about to move on by expressing his gratitude inwardly.

Agony suddenly intervened.

Clack. Clack.

Was he expressing that he had participated too?

When Clacky clacked, he gestured to Jihad, and Jihad tilted his head.

-Clacky, didn’t you just gesture from behind?

Clack?

-No, I saw it.

-Lizardi.

Clack?

Agony was consistent with his denial.

Looking at that shameless appearance, who would think he was the unfortunate king who bore all the pain of the race?

They say you have to make good friends. Did he get influenced by Jihad?

‘Well, I guess that means they’ve gotten that much closer.’

They were always bickering, but it was visible to the eye that they had become much closer than before.

-Is it all over now, Master? Nothing weird is going to come out again, right?

-Lizardi.

“This is the end.”

-T, then let’s get out of here quickly. I’m sick of bugs now.

-……I agree.

The guys who were thoroughly fed up with this incident urged him.

Do-hyun also didn’t want to hear the ‘B’ word for bugs for the time being, so he understood their feelings, but he had no choice but to shake his head.

-W, why……?

-Ah…….

He felt sorry for Jihad and Charlie, who had faces as if the sky was falling, but there was no help for it.

From the beginning, there was another purpose for coming here.

‘Yeah. I came here to do ‘that’.’

And now.

The time had come to achieve that goal.

“Do you know what this place is called?”

-What else? The Cursed Cave. This place is really cursed. There’s no way it could be like this otherwise.

“That’s right. It’s in the top 5 most avoided dungeons in the Empire.”

-No, did you come to such a place, Master?

“I didn’t know it would be this bad either.”

If this place was only in the top 5, what were the other candidates doing?

He had such a question, but that wasn’t important.

“Among some users, this place is called something else.”

-Bug Lair? A place to come when you want to throw up? Or a place to come when life is boring?

“No.”

Do-hyun shook his head firmly and raised the corners of his lips into a smirk.

Those words weren’t wrong either.

But for some users, this place was quite a hot spot, so it was called by another name.

A name that makes even normal people go crazy.

A place that is a club itself for people in the GoS [Gacha of Skills] community channel.

“Jackpot Spot.”

-……Huh?

-Liza?

Leaving them behind, stunned by the unexpected word, Do-hyun opened his inventory.

In one corner of it were three beautiful card packs.

[Random Skill Gacha Ticket]

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’s Random Skill Gacha Ticket]

[Guardian ‘Charlie’s Random Skill Gacha Ticket]

“This is the hidden jackpot spot that only honorary members of the Gacha Gallery know.”

-……Then, could it be that the reason you came here is?

“That’s right. I’m going to do some card gacha [a lottery-like system for obtaining skills].”

-Good heavens.

Ignoring the shocked Jihad, Do-hyun took a deep breath.

How much he had been looking forward to when he first heard about this place from the Gacha Gallery.

He endured the desire to do card gacha right away for this moment and mingled with all those bugs.

‘Ah, what if three Legend grades come out?’

Kaiser 23rd.

He was a man who was more serious than anyone else about card gacha.