The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 76

76.

He’d said he’d be out, so I wondered where he’d gone, but it turned out he was waiting in the hallway.

And he called out to me as soon as I came out…

‘Was he waiting for me?’

I couldn’t see it any other way.

Why would the guy who was so eager to argue with me be doing that?

I felt uncomfortable, but also curious.

Jerdic narrowed his brow as I stopped walking for a moment and met his eyes.

It was just a minor change in expression, but it was like a scene from a painting.

‘……He is handsome.’

He still has a youthful face, but thinking about what Hyun-ah said, wouldn’t he be breaking a lot of girls’ hearts even now?

“……Are you going to the Fishy Rock Forest?”

A cold voice, unfitting for his pretty face, squeezed out from his lips.

To that, Do-hyun coolly replied.

“Yeah.”

I knew the circumstances, but there was no reason to use honorifics when he was speaking informally.

And that guy is, at most, 19 years old.

Do-hyun, who is 23, should be receiving honorifics in return.

Of course, that’s what Do-hyun, who grew up in Korea with strong Confucian values [emphasizing hierarchy and respect for elders], thinks. From Jerdic’s point of view, it might be natural since he’s a knight.

Whatever the case, could it be that he didn’t expect me to speak informally? Jerdic paused for a moment, then nodded.

“……I see.”

“Yeah.”

A silence fell. For several seconds.

‘What is it?’

If he has nothing to say, can’t he just leave?

Why did he suddenly stop me and then say nothing?

I’m already dying from a lack of 10 hours of playtime… Feeling my patience wearing thin, Do-hyun was about to turn away when Jerdic suddenly asked.

“How do you know about the Abyss? Have you ever met a contractor… No, let me rephrase that.”

“?”

“Have you ever met a contractor whose entire body is consumed by the Abyss? One with a half-broken horn on their forehead.”

“No.”

Do-hyun answered immediately.

The only being of the Abyss he had met was the Iron-Blooded Mayongjong. He did see a summoner, but that guy wasn’t exactly human either.

Jerdic, who had been looking into my eyes, nodded.

“……I see.”

His cold voice sounded even lower for some reason.

But the voice that followed soon returned to its previous cynical tone.

“I understand. Good luck.”

“You too.”

Jerdic turned around and walked away without even hearing my reply properly.

‘How curt.’

Was he waiting there just to hear that one answer?

Thinking about that made me feel strangely amused, but also a little uneasy.

But that was only for a moment. Do-hyun, who had been watching Jerdic’s back, soon turned around as well.

Jerdic was no longer on his mind as he walked out of the hallway.

To be exact, he didn’t have time for that.

‘I need to go out and hunt quickly. Ah, wait a minute. If I go out, will those small fries stick to me again? That’ll be a bit annoying then.’

There were too many things targeting Do-hyun to even care about something like that.

The moment I go out, all eyes will be on me.

I came in receiving all the attention, and if I go out to the field from the Grand Temple, they’ll think they’ve got me and follow me.

If it’s just one or two, I can deal with them quickly, but it would be a different story if they kept coming like a string of sausages.

I wouldn’t be able to properly proceed with the quest then, would I?

‘Sigh… What should I do? Is there a good way?’

I couldn’t bring myself to leave the Grand Temple and was lost in thought.

-Master, what are you doing not going out?

“Wait, I have a headache right now.”

-Why?

“It’s too annoying to deal with them all one by one, and it’s uncool to avoid a fight… Sigh, it would be perfect if I could hunt secretly… It would be great if I could get an invisibility skill… Huh?”

Do-hyun paused and turned his head sharply.

Jihad was startled by his master’s sudden turn and asked.

-……Why, why? Why are you suddenly being so creepy?

Do-hyun’s eyes gleamed as he looked up at the anxious Jihad.

More precisely, it was at what he was wearing, not Jihad himself.

Eventually, Do-hyun blurted out.

“Hey… can you take that off for a second?”

-……Huh?

The tempting form visible in Do-hyun’s eyes.

Its identity was none other than the Black Goblin Shaman’s Robe that Jihad was wearing.

The special options attached to the robe came to mind.

There were a total of two options attached to the robe.

One was a substantial option that increased the power of magic-related skills by 6%, but what caught Do-hyun’s eye now was not that.

‘There was definitely a face recognition interference option attached, right?’

At the time, I thought, ‘Why is this kind of option attached?’ and handed the equipment back to Jihad.

Ironically, there was no better option to overcome the current situation.

Hasn’t its performance been proven by the fact that Jihad, wearing that, has never had his identity exposed?

The fact that the robe itself is a good outfit for concealing one’s identity must have also played a part.

‘With that… I might be able to slip out secretly?’

I’ll stand out once I go out to the field and start hunting, but that’s something to think about later.

In any case, it would be enough to make that process easier.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and take it off!”

-……What?

That’s what I meant when I said that, but Jihad’s reaction is strange.

As Do-hyun strode towards Jihad, Jihad flinched as if he was in trouble and began to back away.

-Ah, no, Master. I respect Master’s tastes… but I’m not really into that… Wouldn’t all men hate that? And we’re different races to begin with…

“No, what are you talking about? Stop talking nonsense and take it off quickly!”

-Ugh, ugh! Ah, no!

Do-hyun, ignoring Jihad’s nonsense, tries to snatch the robe.

And Jihad, for some reason, desperately resists.

-This, this kind of thing can’t be tolerated in our genre…!

“What are you talking about since a while ago? Stop wasting time and give it to me quickly!”

Even if it’s the Grand Temple, there were bound to be high-ranking NPCs [Non-Player Characters] like high priests, and there was no way they wouldn’t hear this commotion.

“What’s going on? And who are those people?”

“Well… I heard they’re honored guests invited by the Grand Priest.”

“Shouldn’t we stop them? No matter how honored they are, a disturbance in the Grand Temple is a bit…”

As the commotion suddenly broke out in the hallway, the number of onlookers among the priests began to increase.

Eventually, Eliza, unable to watch any longer, stopped the two.

-Liza! Liza Liza!

-Huh?

Do-hyun, unable to understand Eliza’s words, didn’t react, but fortunately, Eliza’s words had an effect on Jihad, who understood them better than human words.

As soon as Eliza finished speaking, he stopped struggling.

-Ah, I thought…

Jihad realizes that he misunderstood and nods.

But that doesn’t mean he’s willing to hand over the robe willingly.

-……They say the worst thing is to give something and then take it back, Master.

“What do you mean take it back? I’m just asking for it for a moment.”

-If you take it, you’ll keep wearing it because it’s useful. Then what about me? You said that if my identity is revealed, it would be annoying.

“……Hmm.”

It was a logical rebuttal, unlike Jihad.

If I wear that robe, Do-hyun’s identity will be concealed, but instead, it will be revealed that Jihad is a black goblin guardian that no one has ever seen before.

I won’t be able to avoid attracting attention.

I’m wearing the robe to avoid attention, but it would be useless if that happens.

“Can’t be helped. Go into the Guardian Room for a moment.”

-……What? Master, are you abandoning me now!?

“What do you mean abandon? You like it there too. Your complexion gets brighter every time you come back.”

-No, that’s true, but I don’t want to go in alone… And you said that my growth would be slower if I go into the Guardian Room.

That’s what he said.

The reason why Do-hyun hadn’t sent Jihad to the Guardian Room and had bothered to bring him around, even returning the robe, was for smooth growth.

‘Once I reverse summon him, the re-summon waiting time is 8 hours.’

If I cancel the summon and re-summon him every time I visit a city, I won’t have time to raise experience.

That’s why people who raise guardians usually bring them around even in cities.

They also try to be careful not to die and be reverse summoned as much as possible when hunting.

‘I don’t know why they created this system.’

It’s a system that clearly shows the intention to give penalties.

Well, I understand.

Maybe if there wasn’t a system, there would be more users who would roughly find and use several guardians than there are now.

They must have wanted to establish the identity of the guardian’s owner, the tamer, even in this way.

‘Still, thanks to bringing him around persistently, Jihad’s level is already 8.’

Experience is experience, but the automatic pet function that picks up items remarkably well was the real deal.

So much so that I thought he had faithfully fulfilled his role just by picking up items.

It would be a loss not to use that amazing handiwork.

“Hmm… What to do.”

-Master, think carefully. There’s also a saying, ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ [being too concerned with saving small amounts and thereby wasting larger amounts].

“How do you even know that saying?”

-You learn it after living for over 150 years.

“Hmm…….”

Should I just go for it and rush into the hunting ground?

Or should I accept some losses and reverse summon?

Do-hyun was 고민하고 [agonizing] more carefully than ever at a crossroads where he wasn’t satisfied with either choice.

-Liza!

-Huh? Eliza, why… Oh? Ah! That’s right, we had that, didn’t we?

-Liza Liza!

-Yeah, that would be perfect.

The two guardians suddenly chatter, agreeing with each other.

Curious, Do-hyun asked.

“Why, what is it?”

-Ah. I don’t think you need to give the robe, Master. We found a better way.

“How?”

Like this suddenly?

I tilted my head at the incomprehensible words, but Jihad didn’t bother to answer.

Seeing is believing.

With the ambition to just show it directly rather than explain it, Jihad, who received something from Eliza, held out his hand to Do-hyun.

“This is… a leash?”

Its identity was a necklace.

The necklace that Eliza wore when the Guardian Room was combined.

I heard that she used it as a leash when taking a walk, but why are you suddenly giving me this?

-It’s something I always carried with me when I went for a walk… but it’s not just a simple leash.

“Then?”

-It’ll be faster to see it directly.

As I took the necklace, a message appeared.

[You have acquired ‘Eliza’s Bracelet’.]

[Eliza’s Bracelet]

[Grade: Heroic]

[Description: A bracelet that Guardian Eliza used to cherish.

It is an accessory that she wore for fear that others would covet and kidnap Eliza, who is a unique species.

A ‘slight stealth’ effect is applied, making it easy to hide one’s identity.]

[Usage Restriction: Eliza, Eliza’s owner]

[Durability: 26 / 50]

[Special Option: You can use ‘Slight Stealth’ when wearing the bracelet.

Stealth is canceled when it touches something, and it is easily detected by abilities such as clairvoyance or detection. (Reuse cooldown: 300 seconds)]

[Special Option: Eliminates the mana consumption required when using ‘Slight Stealth’.]

“Huh?”

The moment I checked the options, the sound ‘huh’ popped out of my mouth.

It was an absurd option.

In fact, ‘Slight Stealth’ itself is not a very great ability.

Its effect is insignificant compared to normal stealth, and it is too easy to be detected.

‘It can even be caught by an explorer’s search skill…….’

You had to assume that it would be detected by most detection abilities.

In addition, there are more rulings that cancel stealth, so it couldn’t help but be a skill like a useless thing that is difficult to use in practice.

However, the second option of this bracelet more than covers all of those shortcomings.