The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 38

Part 38.

The name ‘Intruder’ was quite familiar.

It was bound to be.

It wasn’t a distant memory; it was a name he had seen just a few days ago in the secret dungeon he visited with BJ Marty during their collaboration stream.

It was highly likely that those intruders were also one of the three major races of Ellanis.

In that context, to find an intruder in a hidden field within a forest managed by elves, during a tournament hosted by elves?

Could this be a mere coincidence?

‘Not likely.’

Could it be that the intruders were, in fact, elves?

That thought crossed his mind, but Do-Hyun shook his head.

Just because they were discovered in a place managed by elves didn’t necessarily mean they were elves.

And…

[Intruder in the Land of Spirits]

– Grade: Sudden Quest

– Description: It seems there is an intruder in the contaminated Land of Spirits.

This is a place where no one should enter without the permission of the spirits. Find the intruders and reveal their identity.

– Quest Success: Linked quest will be generated.

– Quest Failure: Linked quest will be deleted.

Revealing their identity was the condition for clearing this sudden quest anyway.

It wouldn’t be too late to think about it after catching the intruder.

More than anything, there was a reason why he wasn’t hastily convinced that this intruder was an elf.

Wriggle.

-Wow, is it reacting now?

-Lee, Liza!

-It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this. Something unusual seems to be going on, Master.

‘The egg is reacting.’

Just what kind of being was this unidentified egg?

It hadn’t reacted even once since he defeated the Black Knight Garion.

So much so that Do-Hyun had almost forgotten about it for a while.

The only time that egg reacted, based on Do-Hyun’s experience, was in one specific case.

‘When it’s related to the Abyss.’ [A dark, chaotic dimension or realm often associated with evil or corruption in fantasy settings.]

He didn’t know if it reacted to other things yet because he lacked samples, but considering it didn’t react to the previous intruders, this was definitely an unusual situation.

‘It didn’t even react when we met the spirits.’

At the very least, the energy of this trace that the egg sensed was not that of elves, spirits, or humans.

This was highly likely to be one of two possibilities.

Either it belonged to another race that Do-Hyun had not yet encountered, or it was a being connected to the Abyss.

The former would be fortunate, but if it were the latter…

“Looking at the situation, it’s possible that the contamination of the Spirit Stone is also due to that guy.”

-This humble sword also thinks that’s plausible.

-I second that.

-Liza! LizaLiza!

-Eliza also seconds, no, bets two votes on it.

Seeing the unanimous agreement made him even more curious.

Just who could it be?

Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be an ordinary foe.

‘I’ll find out soon enough.’

Do-Hyun, with the eyes of a predator eyeing its prey, turned his steps.

This time, instead of turning them into dust without a trace like before, he intended to calmly subdue them and confirm their identity.

The problem was that he didn’t know the intruder’s location…

Ding-

That couldn’t be a problem for Do-Hyun.

[The Eye of Truth is activated.]

‘It’s over there.’

Because he had the Eye of God.

* * *

Inside a dark cave.

Tock, tock.

A man wearing a robe in front of a crystal ball placed in the center was revealing his anxiety, shaking his legs.

He couldn’t help but be anxious.

“Damn it, who the hell came in here?”

He could feel the energy of the monsters exploding like fireworks in the crystal ball in real-time, as if a jackpot had been hit.

When someone absorbed the traces he left behind?

Up to that point, it was possible.

‘Periel, it seems that she has finally made a move.’

He thought that the high-level spirit had finally found a suitable person.

As she was the one managing the spirits here, she would have eventually found an answer even in the midst of unreasonable circumstances.

But this was a different story.

Bang, boom-

The state of the monsters here can all be seen through this crystal ball.

It doesn’t exactly pierce through the monsters, but it reveals how many monsters there are.

But now, the black parts filling the crystal ball were constantly exploding.

This meant that someone was hunting the monsters…

‘…The speed is too fast?’

The speed was overwhelmingly fast.

The monsters here were not simple small fries.

If they were assigned to the outside forest, they could easily act as mid-boss level monsters.

More than anything, the strange thing was that it wasn’t the end.

‘It’s moving?’

The guy wasn’t just hunting monsters in one habitat.

At first, only the monsters about 60km away were dying…

Boom- Bang

Just when he thought the area was gradually expanding, the monsters 20km ahead were already disappearing.

He was stunned for a moment.

When he came to his senses, it was already 10km away.

‘It’s right in front of me?’

Was it just his imagination that it seemed to be heading straight here?

‘…It must be a coincidence.’

The man, Ivak, thought for a moment and shook his head.

This place was a hideout prepared by ‘that person’.

The barrier hiding the entrance to this place could never be found unless a fairy, who was a master of barrier magic, came.

In other words, no one other than those involved could find this place.

There was no way a fairy would enter this place.

‘How long has it been since fairies disappeared from the elves’ land?’

The two races, who had been friends in the distant past, had grown rapidly apart due to an incident.

Therefore, the reality was that they did not set foot on each other’s land.

Although the fairies were fickle, considering that they had been thoroughly adhering to this for over a hundred years, it meant that it had been established as a ‘rule’ among them.

‘They seem to be forming relationships with the apostles recently…’

He didn’t know if they were trying to entrust the share that the fairies used to help with, but he had confirmed that the apostles had recently made a great contribution to purifying the forest.

Those who were obstacles to the great one’s plan.

It was clear that either those apostles or the high elves had entered.

He didn’t know about the apostles, but the high elves were sometimes troublesome because they occasionally found the roots, but that was not the case here.

‘The roots here are different from the ones outside, they are secretly hidden by the influence of the barrier.’

Not even a high elf, let alone a high elf’s grandmother, could ever find it.

All they could do was rummage around and leave.

That much was fine.

‘Once they leave this time, it will be quiet for a while.’

Periel, who had lost her qualification as the owner of the land, could not bring outsiders here several times.

Whether they knew the location of this place or not, they would eventually leave without gaining much, meaninglessly hunting monsters.

If that was repeated a few times, Periel would no longer be able to exert her power.

As time passed, the moment the roots of contamination planted here were fully bloomed!

“The great one’s great plan will be realized!”

And that moment was not far away.

The roots planted at regular intervals were still small, but in three years they would all grow and intertwine, swallowing this place.

Then his mission would be over, and he would receive a revelation.

He would be directly granted a revelation name by that person and truly become that person’s man.

“Ah…”

It was an exciting thing just to imagine.

Even in this world, where there were many who would risk their lives for the sake of revelation, it was such an honorable thing that only a few actually received it.

“Keuheuhe, everyone must have ignored me. Just wait a little longer. The moment all the roots are in place, they won’t even be able to look up at me.”

He had lived in this dark cave for years, looking only at that moment.

Now that the wait was not far away.

The guy who was hunting monsters had already disappeared from his excited mind.

Why bother paying attention to the guys who would eventually leave without finding anything?

‘When I receive the revelation, I have to go find Orga first. He looked down on me just because he got recognized a few times. He doesn’t even know that I’m on a more important mission than him… When that time comes, he won’t be able to treat me carelessly either, right? Keuheuhe…’

He was having a good time imagining a rosy future.

But he didn’t know.

That there was no such thing as ‘absolute’ in the world.

That strange things that defy common sense often happen in the world.

He first felt it about 20 minutes later.

Crack-

“Not just Orga. That guy Vede too… Dare to… In the future, they won’t even be able to look me in the eye… Huh?”

He was muttering and imagining things that hadn’t even happened yet.

Suddenly, a faint crack appeared in the crystal.

“…The crystal cracked?”

It was unbelievable.

That crystal was the masterpiece of that guy Orga, whom Ivak had been cursing.

It was a special magic product made by a guy who was unparalleled in combat and magical engineering.

Unlike its appearance, it was not easy to break even if you tried to break it.

Crack crack-

This was cracking on its own?

There was only one reason for this.

‘Could it be…’

When the roots of contamination were removed.

This Orga’s crystal was connected to the roots of contamination in the Land of Spirits.

That was why it could detect the locations of the monsters that had been exposed to the roots for a long time and contaminated.

‘No way!’

But this had never happened in years.

Unable to believe it, he hurriedly checked the crystal, and Ivak’s eyes widened.

Crack crack- Crack-

“Wh, what is this…”

Numerous cracks were being drawn on the crystal.

The cracks that were being engraved one by one gradually began to take the shape of a spider web, and it was like watching the process of glass breaking in slow motion.

But that was just the point of view of an outsider.

“H, how many roots are being removed… Ah, ah…!”

For Ivak, who was moving away from his rosy future in real time, it was fear itself.

He was not only afraid, but he couldn’t believe it.

Who the hell was pulling out the roots of contamination like weeds?

At that moment, it was instinct that Ivak checked the location of the monsters.

‘…Was it this close?’

And that instinct soon began to send out warning signals.

The distance, which was clearly at least 10km, had become noticeably closer.

4km. No, 3km… 2km….

‘Ah, no, why is it getting closer and closer?’

The distance that was rapidly narrowing was so close that it could no longer be counted in kilometers.

Kwaang-!!

“Hi, hic!!”

Suddenly, the wall was broken with a heavy impact.

While coughing from the rising dust, Ivak glared at the broken wall with his eyes wide open.

The hazy vision began to clear little by little as the dust cleared.

‘Human…?’

There was a man holding a sword.

A middle-aged knight in white armor and a dwarf wearing a robe appeared behind him.

And….

-Liza!

“…Furball?”

-Liza? LizaLiza!

-Eliza is not a furball but a spider… Do you hate spiders? Everyone hates spiders? Okay. Eliza is not a furball but a guardian.

-Liza!

Even some strange monster.

It was then that Ivak, who was stunned by the bizarre combination he had never seen before, heard a mid-bass voice in his ear.

“I finally found it. Aww, there were so many roots that I went around in circles.”

It was the man wearing a mask and holding a white sword with a snowflake drawn on it, who had first appeared.

Ivak, who came to his senses at his voice, asked urgently.

“Roots? Don’t tell me you’re the bastard who removed all the roots… No, more than that, how the hell did you get in here!”

“How did I get in? Can’t you tell by looking? I walked in on two feet.”

“…?”

Leaving Ivak, who was stunned by the nonchalant answer, the masked man grinned.

“First, let’s take off that robe.”

-Master, isn’t that a dangerous statement?

“Don’t say weird things again, and summon Pain. Your mana should have recovered a bit by now, right?”

-Roger.

It was the moment when Do-Hyun and the intruder finally met.