The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 54

54.

Dohyun paused, startled by the sudden message.

For a moment, he was completely bewildered.

‘Slayer? Location?’

But after a brief pause, Dohyun quickly understood.

The second ability of the Slayer trait.

He remembered the effect that allowed him to locate monsters with the Slayer title.

It was an effect he had almost forgotten because he hadn’t needed to use it until now.

It was like taking a roundabout route to Seoul; he was finding the location through a different method than the Eye of Truth he had hoped for.

‘But why now?’

He wondered why it had appeared at this specific moment.

Given the prerequisite of having a Slayer title, he didn’t possess a Spider-type Slayer title.

Only one hypothesis came to mind.

‘Could it be…’

The only Slayer-related title Dohyun had was the legendary title, ‘The First Slayer.’

‘Is it applying the Slayer effect to all bosses, not just the ones I’ve devoured?’

When he checked the hidden information during the Jihad [holy war or struggle], he thought the effect was applied simply because he had devoured a goblin.

That seemed more balanced.

…Yes, that would be more reasonable.

‘Is this game even balanced? Even if it’s legendary, is this even possible?’

He wouldn’t have known, not having obtained many legendary items before.

Legendary items were rare even in Dem Locke, so he never imagined it would exhibit such overpowered performance.

‘Or is it? If you think about it, the effect can only be properly utilized if you have the Slayer trait…’

A kind of synergy effect.

Looking at the Slayer trait or the First Slayer title individually, they were understandable enough…

But when these two combined, it became an ability that could only be described as a cheat.

If you consider it a conditional cheat, it’s balanced…

‘Hmm, not really. It’s still a cheat.’

Does having a story excuse a criminal?

No matter how you sugarcoat it, it was a cheat. And a cheat that would be incredibly helpful in the current situation—a cheat among cheats.

[Would you like to confirm the location of the field boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’?]

‘Yes.’

Upon agreeing, the minimap at the bottom of the screen changed.

A large dark red dot was added to the minimap, which previously only showed Dohyun’s location as a blue dot on a small square map.

‘Huh?’

But the location was a bit strange.

‘Why is it overlapping with me?’

The blue dot representing Dohyun.

That dot and the dark red dot were overlapping.

And then he saw it.

[Eye of Truth is activated.]

Twitch.

A large red silhouette, which hadn’t been there until just now, was twitching beneath the ground.

It clearly had the shape of a spider.

Something red was slowly moving to the left…

‘Could it be?’

Hoping against hope, Dohyun instinctively used a skill.

‘Backstab.’

[Backstab is used.]

As the skill was used, Dohyun’s figure disappeared.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Why?”

The warrior user next to him flinched, and the mage user, who seemed to be his companion, tilted his head.

The warrior user looked around and cautiously said.

“No… there was a man standing alone next to me until just now, but he suddenly disappeared.”

“He probably gave up and logged out. Seeing him standing alone while trying to catch the field boss, he probably couldn’t find a party.”

“Maybe… Ah, come to think of it, there was a kid next to him.”

“A kid? This is an 18+ game. It’s probably just a short woman. Anyway, that’s not important right now. 30 seconds left, focus.”

“Oh, okay. Right.”

The field boss in Raven, with its fierce competition, also had many people giving up.

So, they didn’t pay much attention and focused all their attention on the spider web.

The remaining time was now 10 seconds.

They had to concentrate because they didn’t know where it would appear.

[Time remaining until field boss respawn: 00:00:00]

As the seemingly eternal 10 seconds passed, the moment the respawn time arrived!

The eyes of the users, including them, scanned everywhere.

“Where is it!”

“It’s not in the east! Is it there?”

“No, it’s not here either…”

“Huh? It’s not in the west either.”

“Eh? It’s not in the north either?”

And they fell into confusion.

The field boss hadn’t appeared even though the respawn time had arrived.

Speechless, they stared blankly at the spider web like marionettes with severed strings.

It was the moment when the field boss was stolen for the first time in Raven.

* * *

And at that time.

[Backstab is used.]

[A mark is created.]

-……Eliza?

The Spider Queen Eliza, who had stopped moving due to the sudden presence felt from behind, paused.

In her eyes, she saw a human.

A man wearing predominantly red clothing with some blue paint, holding a moderately thick iron sword.

“Wow… it worked?”

It was Dohyun.

He used it hoping it might be possible since he could see the silhouette, and the skill actually worked.

It was unbelievable even as he saw it.

He had used a movement skill across the ground, not in the same space.

‘It’s theoretically possible.’

The range of Backstab is a visible target.

And Dohyun saw him in the form of a red silhouette.

If you only consider the conditions, it perfectly matched. Of course, it was an absurd theory in general.

‘Heh… I’m probably the only one who’s used Backstab like this.’

Even Dohyun, who had succeeded himself, felt awkward.

Still, he roughly grasped the principle.

Apparently, as the Slayer allowed him to see the boss’s location, the hidden monster’s judgment was considered an invisibility judgment, and the Eye of Truth was activated.

And Backstab was used on the revealed monster.

-Master, how did you do it?

“It’s complicated to explain, just know that it’s awesome.”

-Okay.

Jihad nodded at the vague answer.

Although he answered vaguely, Dohyun couldn’t think of a more appropriate explanation.

[You have encountered the field boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’ of the Western Forest.]

[Upon defeating her on the first encounter, the ‘Devour’ effect is activated.]

[You have entered the passage of ‘Spider Queen Eliza’ for the first time.]

[Benefits are applied to the first discoverer.]

[The density of the essence orb of the field boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’ increases.]

[Drop rate increased by 30%.]

[Experience increased by 30%.]

[The location has suddenly changed, and the Guardian is summoned to the current location.]

‘If this isn’t awesome, what is?’

All stats increased with the first discovery reward, and the drop rate and essence orb rewards were also increased.

It wasn’t a guaranteed equipment item reward like before, but he was satisfied because the increased density meant better rewards upon harvesting.

‘The stats I raised with the first reward alone are pretty good.’

There probably isn’t anyone in this section who has received more than Dohyun.

-Eliza!

Dohyun snapped out of his thoughts as the Spider Queen Eliza, who had been cautiously wary, let out a shriek and looked at him.

The first impression he had upon looking at her was one thing.

‘Damn big.’

An overwhelming size that made him wonder if it was really a spider.

It was probably comparable to a playground slide, and he thought the giant tarantula he had seen in a foreign movie in the past wasn’t as big as this.

The next thing he felt was that it wasn’t as gruesome as he thought.

Was it because of the pure white fur and majestic size?

The fur was longer and softer than he thought, so the creepy feeling unique to insects was lessened.

-Eliza, Eliza!

However, unlike her luxurious appearance, her eyes were dyed red and shone fiercely, giving her a dangerous feeling.

Perhaps it was because she kept shouting Eliza like someone on drugs, despite being a spider.

[HP: 40,000 / 40,000]

‘40,000… I can experiment enough.’

A sufficient number to check the performance of the newly acquired skills and items.

Dohyun smiled and swung Bastard’s training sword once in the air.

He liked the sharp cracking sound that was heard as he cut through the air.

‘This is more familiar after all.’

Dohyun had handled all kinds of swords, but the one he had handled the most was a quick sword of this size.

-Eliza!!

The Spider Queen Eliza made the first move.

She slammed down the two front legs of her eight legs at the same time, and the speed and power were considerable.

Crack-!

Dohyun dodged to the side, and the legs pierced into the ground like awls.

However, Eliza used what was stuck in the ground as a support to pull her huge body forward and charge.

Thwack! Thwack thwack! Thwack!

Several sharp awls kept stabbing at Dohyun, but Dohyun was relaxed.

Enough to check her information window.

[Spider Queen Eliza]

-Title: Elite Field Boss

-Type: Spider

-Traits: Steel Spider Web, Venom, Spider Sense

-Description: The ruler of the Western Forest, Spider Queen Eliza.

A clever hunter, she has the characteristic of driving prey to where she wants and dealing with it in one fell swoop.

In addition, it is difficult to catch her alone due to her powerful venom, spider webs that are stronger than steel, and the sharp senses unique to spiders.

‘Is this the sharp sense they’re talking about?’

She certainly had excellent reflexes.

Unlike other bosses, Eliza was dodging the sword that Dohyun occasionally swung at her forelimbs.

Even if her agility seemed high, it wasn’t the speed of seeing and reacting.

The level of predicting and avoiding the attack path.

At this rate, wouldn’t it be difficult for most melee dealers to deal damage properly in a one-on-one fight?

Of course, at best, her evasion power was better than other bosses.

Whoosh- Crack!

-Eliza, Eliza, Eliza!

She also couldn’t hit Dohyun even once and only retreated.

She bared her fangs containing venom when he came inside, and slammed down her awl-like feet when he retreated, but Dohyun didn’t allow a single direct hit.

It was when they couldn’t hit each other’s attacks and only retreated.

‘This should be enough.’

Dohyun looked around and nodded.

Then he immediately used a skill.

[The mark disappears.]

-……Eliza?

Eliza paused as Dohyun suddenly disappeared from her sight.

But soon her sensor reacted, and she tried to avoid the attack coming from behind.

Thud.

Until she was blocked by the low ceiling and fell.

Eliza, who bounced off the ceiling and rolled on the floor as soon as she jumped up, looked very embarrassed.

Dohyun raised the corners of his mouth as he watched her.

‘As expected.’

The reason why Dohyun didn’t fight in earnest and kept luring her?

It was to utilize the terrain.

Unlike the high-ceilinged spider web, this place was a somewhat narrow and low passage. And the size of the passage was not constant.

The passage where he first encountered her seemed somewhat high, so he lured her here to prevent her from moving properly.

In other words, she was a rat in a trap.

-Eliza, Eliza, Eliza!

Eliza was angry as if she realized that fact, but she soon had no choice but to calm down.

Because the figure of a golden dragon was seen behind Dohyun, who belatedly turned around.

[Rising Dragon Kick is used.]

[Due to the set option effect, an additional 6% damage is dealt.]

The dragon behind him came down along his leg and wrapped around his foot, and the back kick that flew in the blink of an eye blew away Eliza’s huge body.

It was the power of the Rising Dragon Kick based on overwhelmingly high strength.

Bang- Thud!

Eliza, whose body flipped over and flew away, crashed into the wall and raised dust.