The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 69

Part 69.

Something felt off.

When I touched the Queen’s hand, I didn’t feel any rings on her fingers.

‘I thought she had it hidden somewhere…’ I mused.

Whether the Queen lost the ring when she fell, or it was taken from her, it seems it ended up in that robed figure’s hands.

I mean, she’s been lying there for over 100 years, so it would be more amazing if she still had it intact.

At this point, my curiosity was piqued.

‘Just what is that guy in the robe?’

He wears the same robe as the invaders and always appears when disaster strikes Elannis.

Now he even has the key to the Fragment of Fate?

I don’t know what he is, but all the circumstances point to him being the mastermind.

None of the guys who mess with the Fragments of Fate are good guys.

And whether he’s the mastermind or not, as long as he has the key, Do-hyun is destined to clash with him.

However, there’s a problem…

‘Where do I find him?’

I don’t know his face, and I don’t know any definite characteristics about him.

Seeing him always wearing the same robe as the invaders, it seems likely that he’s related to them…

‘Will I find any clues if I keep digging into the invaders?’

When I think about it, those invaders are also unusual.

From entering the Tomb of Information hidden in the mainland to polluting the Elves’ territory and the Land of Spirits.

And even turning the Dark Elf hero Astra into Eternal Night.

‘…Thinking about it, aren’t these guys the most likely culprits?’

They even wear the same clothes, so there’s little room for doubt.

My mind was leaning more and more towards the invaders being the mastermind when…

“…Ahem.”

“Ah.”

I turned my head at the sudden cough and saw Alowyn looking restless. He seemed as anxious as someone who desperately needed a bathroom break, as if he was having a hard time waiting.

“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment…”

“Ahem, I’m fine. So… can you tell me what you saw?”

Do-hyun slowly recalled his memories and began to speak.

“A mystical deer presumed to be the World Tree and Rupalo [a guardian spirit of the forest], and a woman sitting next to it… a sky shrouded in darkness and a burning forest. A war broke out, and screams filled the air from nymphs, elves, and various other races.”

“…What?”

“There was a man in a robe at the center of it.”

“A man in a robe…?”

Do-hyun spoke carefully, seeing Alowyn’s puzzled face as if he was hearing it for the first time.

“…Actually, the reason I wanted to meet the Queen was to resolve the misunderstanding between the Elves and the Dark Elves. Or rather, to find out the truth, whether it’s a misunderstanding or not.”

“Misunderstanding? Everyone knows that the Dark Elves betrayed us, don’t they?”

Do-hyun shook his head firmly at his words, as if they were strange.

“I met Astra.”

“…? He should already be dead, so how…?”

“He was buried in the Forgotten Land of Contamination as Eternal Night. And there… there was a robed man there too.”

“Is that true! Then we must go and capture him immediately…”

Do-hyun calmed him down as he glared with his eyes as if he would eat him alive, and continued.

“No. It’s a different person from the one I saw in my memory.”

“…What does that mean?”

“Actually, that’s not the first time I’ve seen a robed man.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. The first place I met them was the Tomb of Information… they were called invaders there. There were three of them there.”

“The Tomb of Information…! Amazing. You’ve been there? If they called them that there, then it must be true. What else did you see there?”

At his interested words, Do-hyun told him everything he saw in the Tomb of Information.

From the fact that the invaders he saw there were from the different races of Elannis, to the altered history he read in the Tomb of Information.

And even Astra’s position as Eternal Night and the Elven Elder’s position.

Alowyn’s expression became more serious as he listened to everything.

“…I’ve never heard any of this before. It’s shameful that we didn’t know anything even though such things happened.”

Alowyn’s face was really red, as if he wasn’t just saying it.

‘Well, this wouldn’t have happened when Aridna was awake.’

Thanks to her eyes that could see everything in the world, the nymphs knew almost everything about social affairs.

It was like using the internet alone in the Roman era.

While I was thinking about that, Alowyn, who had calmed down to some extent, calmly organized the situation.

“Hoo… it seems certain that the robed men are plotting something. The fact that things have progressed so meticulously means that it must be a group, not an individual. Our nymphs will also look for them. Can you lend us your strength?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you so much.”

Since Do-hyun had no reason to refuse, he readily accepted, and a cheerful notification rang.

[Alowyn Rassed, the representative of the noble Nymph Queen, has become an ally of the Nymphs temporarily.]

[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]

[The effect of the title ‘Maximum Favorability from the Start?’ is activated. Favorability increases even more.]

[Alowyn Rassed’s favorability increases.]

‘An alliance…’

Somehow, the nymphs, not the elves, had become allies.

Even though it was temporary, I could trust them since we had the same goals.

Well, that’s all.

They couldn’t be allies like Gamilion.

I subtly mentioned the Key to the Fragment of Fate while talking about the past events, but they didn’t seem to know anything about it.

‘Well, there’s no harm in being allied.’

I also managed to increase Alowyn’s favorability, which is said to be difficult.

Maybe I’m the first to do it at this point?

It was then that Do-hyun was having useless thoughts.

“More than that… you said you saw Rupalo and a woman under the World Tree?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… I don’t know much about the woman, but if Rupalo was there, it must be Rupalo’s Forest. Is there a clue there?”

Perhaps this wasn’t enough, Alowyn frowned as if he was suffering from a headache and asked again.

“Didn’t the World Tree say that a path would open if he fulfilled his promise? There must have been a definite clue to wake up the Queen.”

“Hmm… a clue…”

Do-hyun also seriously pondered.

Because Do-hyun had the same thought as Alowyn.

Then, at that moment.

“Ah, come to think of it, I saw a woman.”

“A woman?”

“In that place where the sky was dyed with darkness and the forest was burning. A woman with a greatsword appeared and split the sky dyed with darkness. However, I couldn’t see her face properly because I saw her from afar… Representative?”

“Goodness…”

Do-hyun stopped talking and looked at Alowyn.

As the story progressed, Alowyn’s face was flushed with excitement, and he was trembling all over.

He reacted like someone who had seen something unbelievable.

That wasn’t the end.

“Ah… I see. So, Her Majesty finally found her.”

“…Representative?”

As if unable to control his emotions, a transparent liquid flowed from his trembling eyes.

Something that was hard to tell whether it was joy, sadness, or bitterness.

Do-hyun closed his mouth and waited for him.

“Ah, there is only one woman who splits the sky with a greatsword.”

“Who is it?”

After a while, he regained his composure and took a breath, then opened his mouth with a slightly choked voice.

“Akrana’s strongest warrior.”

The strongest in the history of the Nymphs, and the only legendary figure who reached the pinnacle as a woman.

Akrana’s Messiah and greatest hero.

A woman who is said to have changed the outcome if she had been there that day.

“Lucia Grandel.”

She was the Messiah and hero of the Nymphs that everyone acknowledged.

[You have heard about Lucia Grandel, the strongest warrior in Nymph history.]

[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]

“…!”

Do-hyun’s eyes widened at her name.

The Guardians were the same.

‘Master, isn’t Lucia the name of that missing statue we saw in the village?’

‘Lizariza!’

‘…That’s right.’

‘Indeed… she seemed like an unusual person.’

She was also a person I saw in the Tomb of Information.

I had heard about her several times while investigating the Queen and the Emperor from the NPCs [Non-Player Characters], so I thought she might be quite strong…

“Even when the Elves were at their peak, they avoided the battlefields she participated in. Perhaps even hundreds of years from now, a warrior like her will not appear.”

I never imagined it would be this much.

‘The Elves’ power at the time was enough to challenge the Fairy Race… how strong is she if the Elves avoided her?’

Doesn’t this mean that no Elven warrior could handle her in terms of individual power?

She was truly an irregular.

‘Wow… isn’t she stronger than that Sword Emperor grandpa, Master?’

‘I don’t know. I can’t imagine that old man losing either. He’s such a monster.’

‘Ah, that’s true.’

‘Lizariza…’

Eliza shook her head as if she was tired of just thinking about the Sword Emperor’s appearance, who smiled and destroyed the training grounds.

Well, she’s the strongest warrior of the Nymphs…

I don’t know about swordsmanship skills.

If we only consider simple force, she wouldn’t be inferior, would she?

‘I want to meet her someday.’

Then there would be a more definite comparison.

I had such thoughts for a moment, but what’s important now is not who is stronger.

“When she went missing, ‘it’ appeared. She usually liked to travel alone, so the people thought she was alone and suffered…”

“…”

“I don’t think so. I know her because I’ve been watching her by her side. She’s not someone who can be easily defeated. The fact that she didn’t move means that she’s in a situation where she can’t move.”

For example, her body is not in good condition due to overexertion like the Queen, or she is trapped somewhere…

Alowyn’s voice, saying that with a serious face, contained strong conviction.

A figure who believes in her strength more than anyone else.

“And Her Majesty also thought the same.”

“…”

“Her Majesty tried to find her until the last moment before she collapsed. But I thought she had failed to find her… ah, what a painful thing. How painful would the 100 years have been that she found her but couldn’t say it?”

Alowyn’s eyes, looking at Aridna lying in the glass tube with her eyes closed, were filled with sadness.

The drooping eyes and frowning eyebrows seemed to be blaming himself.

He closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and said.

“We must find her. If the last time she appeared was in the forest where Rupalo was… there must be something there.”

Alowyn’s eyes, saying that, were no longer filled with sadness.

A firm eye with a strong determination.

“But if I move, I will attract too much attention. In the current situation where I don’t know where the invaders are hiding, I can’t let my guard down even a little. So… could you please go to Rupalo’s Forest?”

“Of course.”

A request that I have no reason to refuse.

Do-hyun readily accepted, but there was one problem.

“Where do I have to go to Rupalo’s Forest?”

“I don’t know.”

“…Pardon?”

“…Rupalo is a unique spirit. Very few people know the location of that place. Now that Her Majesty has collapsed, it’s safe to say that no one among the Nymphs knows.”

“No, what does that mean…”

In fact, no one knew the way to Rupalo’s Forest.

I have to go to Rupalo’s Forest to get clues about Lucia Grandel, or get clues about the Queen, but what if I don’t know the way?

I’m so dumbfounded that I can’t even laugh.

“…Are you saying that I have to find out the location of that place?”

“That can’t be.”

But Alowyn didn’t say that without thinking.

“I know a place where someone knows the location.”

“…Didn’t you say that no one knows the location of Rupalo’s Forest?”

“Hmm? Well, I said there aren’t any among the Nymphs.”

He shook his head and said with a smile.

“It just so happens that he’s staying here in Akrana… he must know. Because he’s a mysterious person who knows more than anyone else.”

“Who is it?”

“Maybe you know him too? He’s quite famous even among the Apostles [powerful players].”

Saying that, he took a breath and added as if spitting it out, and soon Do-hyun’s eyes widened.

“Brillion Rasha. The world calls him that.”

I had no choice but to do so.

“The Great Sage.”

The Great Sage, Brillion Rasha.

A figure even more famous among users as a Transcendent NPC.

“I’ll tell you his location. If you take this, you’ll be qualified as my representative. Meet him and hear the location of the forest.”

Ding-

[Sudden Quest ‘The Great Sage Rasha’ has occurred.]

[The Great Sage Rasha]

-Grade: Sudden Quest

-Description: The Great Sage Brillion Rasha.

He wanders around the world and knows everything, so he will also know the location of Rupalo’s Forest.

Find him, who is also in charge of the transcendence of the Apostles who have met the qualifications, and hear the location of Rupalo’s Forest.

-Clear Condition: Must be found before the Great Sage moves his residence.

-Quest Success: Acquire a map with the location of Rupalo’s Forest, ???

-Quest Failure: ???

‘Crazy…’

Do-hyun barely swallowed the swear word that was about to come out.

Transcendent NPCs are famous for changing their location almost every day.

Of course, now that time has passed.

Even if I thought he would be in Akrana, the location was different from what the Association President said, so I had half given up.

‘I’m going to find out like this? This is awesome.’

The opportunity for transcendence that everyone dreams of if they are a user who has entered the New Continent.

It was the moment when what Do-hyun had always been curious about rolled in on its own.