The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 74

74.

Lair Grand Temple.

A prestigious institution that has produced the greatest high priests and holy knights in history, dedicated to the ancient god Lair.

Even the ambitious Empire wouldn’t dare to touch Brion, let alone this temple of God.

More than just a temple, the Lair Grand Temple was practically a force to be reckoned with in Avartel.

True to its name, the interior was extraordinary.

-Wow… Master, what is all this? Why is it so big?

-Liza…….

The moment Jihado and Eliza stepped inside, they were so amazed that their jaws dropped.

It was a corridor that overwhelmed anyone who saw it.

A scene that looked as if a master craftsman, whose name would go down in history, had painstakingly created it with unwavering faith.

Every decoration was like a work of art.

Whether it was the walls or the ceiling, Do-hyun couldn’t help but admire the sacredness of it all.

‘It’s amazing.’

He had heard about it, but seeing it in person was twice as impressive.

It felt like the more cities he visited, the more there was to see. No wonder it didn’t just stay a game but swallowed the world.

“This is the place. Please have your conversation.”

“The Grand High Priest is waiting inside.”

After a few minutes of walking and looking around.

When they reached an entrance, the priests bowed and stepped back.

It was definitely a more ornate door than the others.

Creak.

As he opened it and stepped inside without hesitation, all eyes turned to him.

As expected of the holy city, the interior felt so sacred that he could feel the divine power even though he shouldn’t have been able to.

And before he could even feel that sacredness, a heavy killing intent pressed down on him.

“Are you the one who brought ‘that’?”

The owner of the cold voice was a young knight.

A blond man standing behind a wrinkled old man with a long white beard, who seemed to be the Grand High Priest, had an unusual aura.

The emotionless voice was made all the more eerie by his lukewarm expression.

But what caught Do-hyun’s attention even more was something else.

[Sir Zerdic]

‘……Red?’

The color of the name tag floating above the blond man’s head.

It was red.

‘Why does an NPC [Non-Player Character] have a color? Is it because he’s a knight?’

In the case of production NPCs such as merchants or alchemists, or ordinary residents, their name tags are not colored.

The color of the name tag could be seen as a kind of indicator of combat power.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had encountered a knight properly while playing God of Seoul.

‘Red, huh…….’

The greater the difference in level or combat power, the redder the color, and the lower the level, the more achromatic it is.

If it was that deep red, it meant that his level was far higher than Do-hyun’s.

‘……Master.’

‘Liza…….’

As a guardian whose characteristic was being strong against the weak, Jihado was the first to read the situation and cautiously signaled.

Do-hyun nodded at the same reaction he had when he met Gamilion.

‘Is it true that knights are that strong?’

When discussing the strongest in God of Seoul, most people refer to the Ten Great Guilds, including Extinction, and players of that level.

But if you were to ask who the real strongest in God of Seoul are?

That would be none other than the NPCs.

Unlike the users who had only been around for a year and a half, the residents of Avartel had built up their power and influence over many years.

It was only natural that they were strong. No, they had to be strong.

‘If NPCs are weaker than users, there’s no way the balance can be maintained.’

Users are immortal to begin with.

If they decided to cause a riot in the city, it would be a disaster, but what if there was no power to control them?

It would probably be a completely different game than the current God of Seoul.

For this reason, NPCs such as knights, mages, and autonomous defense forces had relatively stronger powers than the users residing in the city.

Among them, the strength of those called the Seven Strong was said to be beyond the reach of users.

‘They even catch dragons, so…….’

They were like the sword masters in fantasy novels or the top ten masters in martial arts stories that you often see.

Even without going as far as the Seven Strong, just being a ‘knight’ meant they possessed tremendous power.

It was just that they were greatly downgraded due to the nature of the tutorial.

Usually, a knight can cut down orcs like they’re nothing, and the leaders of famous knight orders can slaughter raid bosses single-handedly.

‘Master…….’

‘Yeah.’

The smile disappeared from Do-hyun’s face.

It was his habit when he was focused.

He didn’t know how strong the knights of Brion were, but Do-hyun was confident in his own stats, so he had no intention of just letting them have their way.

Just as a somewhat strange atmosphere was forming.

“Stop.”

A heavy voice was heard.

It was a middle-aged man standing behind the blond knight, leaning against the wall.

His name tag, which read ‘Taxinel,’ was also red.

“He is a guest, show some respect.”

“……I apologize.”

Then, as if it were a lie, the blond knight calmed his killing intent.

What took its place was regret.

“……That wasn’t my intention. Please forgive me.”

His tone was a bit rude, but it was clear that he was sorry.

Do-hyun frowned at this, and the old man sitting in front of him smiled kindly and apologized on his behalf.

“Haha, I’m sorry. Sir Zerdic probably didn’t mean it. It seems that what the esteemed guest brought is very sensitive to him…… Please understand.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t know what it was, but since it wasn’t intentional, Do-hyun sat down and agreed appropriately.

For him, the progress of the quest was the priority.

Fortunately, they seemed to want the same thing as Do-hyun, so they quickly moved on to the main topic.

“We do not know who the esteemed guest is or what he does. We only sense that you are a stranger.”

“…….”

“But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you brought this.”

With that, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and picked up ‘that’ in a small box.

A substance that looked like solidified black liquid.

That alone made it look very ominous, strangely wrapped in a handkerchief.

“Do you know what this is?”

“……I don’t know.”

Do-hyun answered honestly.

To get a quest from NPCs, it’s good to pretend to know to some extent, but you have to know when to stop.

It would be a loss to pretend to be knowledgeable when you have no idea what it is.

Fortunately, the Grand High Priest didn’t seem to expect an answer, so he continued without much concern.

“Haha, I see. I can’t tell you the details because it’s confidential, but removing this is our temple’s destiny.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Where did you find this?”

It was a little uncomfortable that they didn’t tell him what it was, but Do-hyun didn’t care much.

It was thanks to his frequent experience with secret-filled quests in Demlock.

Considering that there were even those who gave quests without revealing their identities, this was nothing.

“I found it in the Bitter Rock Forest. It was buried in a rock.”

“……In a rock?”

“Yes. It was buried with blood, so it would have been difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.”

Still, he didn’t forget to appeal to them.

He had to emphasize that not just anyone could find it to get a better deal.

But the power of that appeal exceeded expectations.

“……You found this buried with blood in a rock? Are you a priest?”

“No.”

“Or did you use some equipment…….”

“I just happened to see it while passing by.”

“Huh.”

The Grand High Priest, Gildete, let out a hollow laugh as if he was truly amazed.

“You’re not a priest, and you don’t have any equipment, but you found it…… I don’t sense any divine power, so it must be true.”

“Perhaps magical energy…….”

“Stop. You know that if he did, the Grand High Priest would have noticed.”

At Taxinel’s firm words, Zerdic took a step back.

He was right.

If Gildete couldn’t sense magical energy, then no priest or saint in the world would be able to recognize it.

He had an absolute position when it came to sensing magical energy.

But that made it even harder to believe.

“Don’t be too hard on him, Sir Taxinel. I understand why you can’t accept it. In that sense…… are you an explorer?”

“I’m not an explorer, but I have some skills in that area.”

“Oh, I see. So that’s it…… You’re modest, haha.”

Gildete seemed to have understood for some reason.

The way he looked at Do-hyun changed. Do-hyun was puzzled by the feeling that he was looking at a master in a field.

“Even high priests and famous explorers have to work together and put in a lot of effort to barely find it, but you found it easily and say ‘some’ skills? Haha, you’re joking.”

“……?”

“If our priests heard that, they would feel ashamed.”

“……??”

Do-hyun grabbed his head as he tried to understand the increasingly incomprehensible story.

‘Wait a minute, so…….’

Let’s sort it out.

So, this ‘ominous energy’ quest item is actually a very difficult clue that no one can find?

So much so that you need to have excellent divine power and search skills to barely find it.

‘And I just brushed it off with the Eye of Truth.’

It makes sense now.

In other words, the Eye of Truth did what the Eye of Truth does. The crazy power balance trait that gave balance to the dogs showed its fraudulent nature again.

‘I thought it was nothing special because it was a rare grade…….’

It turned out to be a big fish.

In this case, it’s a rare grade at first, but the grade tends to inflate as you progress through the linked quests.

‘At this rate, it’ll be at least rare+…… maybe even hero grade?’

Probably by the time you get to the last linked quest, it will likely rise to hero grade.

He never expected that a quest item he didn’t expect much from would bring such a big catch.

Do-hyun’s eyes lit up with anticipation. He couldn’t wait to hear what would be said next. As if to meet his expectations, Gildete quickly brought up the main point.

“It’s fortunate. We were running out of materials to deal with this…… Would you mind doing me a small favor?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cheerful notification rang.

[You have cleared the quest ‘Ominous Energy.’]

[Gildete’s favorability has increased.]

[Due to the effect of the title ‘Favorability Max From the Start?’ favorability increases even more.]

[Linked quest ‘Material Search’ has been created.]

[Material Search]

-Grade: Rare

-Description: The Lair Grand Temple is currently lacking materials to deal with the ominous energy. Let’s get the materials that ‘Gildete’ wants for smooth processing.

-Concentrated Orc Blood (0 / 5)

-10-year-old Trapilca Root (0 / 1)

-Red Divine Herb (0 / 3)

-Quest Success Reward: Gildete’s favorability increases, Lower-Grade Skill Gacha Ticket, Linked Quest ‘Processing Stage’ created.

-Quest Failure Penalty: Linked quest unavailable.

‘Good, there are more linked quests.’

What’s more, this reward is a Lower-Grade Skill Gacha Ticket.

Considering it’s a free quest, it’s a sweet reward.

However, the only downside is that it’s a typical grind quest.

Originally, he would have complained about the annoying content, but even that was too exciting for Do-hyun right now.

‘Is this when I can finally find the herb?’

It was time to check the effect of the Eye of Truth more clearly.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it was a win-win situation for Do-hyun, who had to catch orcs anyway because of the main quest.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll get it right awa…….”

“……Wait a minute.”

Do-hyun, who was itching to go out into the field right away, was about to get up to leave.

Suddenly, Gildete erased his kind smile and his face changed.

As if he had discovered something unusual, his gaze met Do-hyun’s with a strange look, and his gaze became clearer and clearer.

A strange sensation as if he was looking inside.

“Why all of a sudden…….”

“……You’re no ordinary guest? No, even if you only consider your search skills, you’re not ordinary…… Huh, to think such a guest would come.”

“Yes?”

Gildete, who had been spouting incomprehensible words, straightened his back and adjusted his posture.

Then, in a more serious voice, he spoke in a low voice.

“You were the top graduate.”

“……Huh?”

“God gives trials to the apostles. If you are the one who passed the trial of the first city, Raven, with the best score…… I can believe it.”

[The title ‘Top Graduate’ is reacting.]

[Hidden conditions are met.]

[Linked quest ‘Material Search’ is transformed into ‘…….’.]

‘……What?’

Do-hyun was stunned by the sudden situation.

Before he could even grasp the situation, Gildete continued.

“To do that, I have to tell you this first. The identity of what you brought…… Aren’t you curious?”

“Ah…….”

Do-hyun, who was momentarily stunned, couldn’t answer properly.

But Do-hyun’s answer was not necessary.

He was just reciting the set lines.

“The most ominous energy in Avartel, the footprints of terror, the worst and most heinous existence, the terror of the underground…….”

“…….”

“This, which is called by various names, is the trace of ‘that.’ We call ‘that’ this.”

Gildete, who had said that far, stopped without continuing right away.

Behind him, Zerdic was clenching his fist tightly. In the meantime, Gildete took a breath and said in a low voice.

“Abyss.”

“……!”

Do-hyun’s eyes widened at the familiar word.

It was the moment when the terror that almost brought Avartel to ruin, the Abyss, was mentioned.