The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 81

81.

‘I really need to do something about this mana.’

Now that I’ve decided to raise Jihad as Zieg, I need to either increase his total mana or drastically improve his recovery.

It would be a waste to let such potential rot.

‘It would be great if the Guardian could also use mana potions…’

Whether it’s because of balance or just setting quirks, Jihad doesn’t seem to get much effect from mana potions.

Thanks to that, the potions I received from Linda at Raven are still left over.

It’s a shame since Doyun, with his overpowered stats, doesn’t lack mana.

‘Still, I did gain something.’

I was satisfied that I properly confirmed Jihad’s potential, but Jihad didn’t seem to be.

Looking at him all gloomy and dejected.

The sly grin he had on his face just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

-Lizariza…….

-It’s okay, Eliza. That’s just how I am. I’m just a porter… Maybe I wasn’t born to be Zieg, but to be Dobyung.

-Liza!? Lizariza!

-I want to be alone for a bit, Eliza.

-Liza…….

Eliza’s expression next to him, fidgeting, is pitiful.

Doyun shook his head and did as Jihad wanted.

“Eliza, shall we try using your other ability?”

Eliza has two traits. I haven’t checked one of them yet.

I was planning to check it out this time.

-Liza…… Liza!

Eliza, who perked up her head, jumps.

Then, she subtly looks at Jihad, and when Jihad nods, she scurries over and pats her chest.

-Liza!

“What did you say?”

-Sheesh, follow me.

“Oh, what. Are you going with me too?”

-Yes.

-Liza!

Jihad, who butted in, recovered in no time.

It was bitter that he had become a porter again, not long after he had stepped up to prove his abilities, but he hated being alone more.

Doyun didn’t bother to argue and moved on.

Whirr, whirr-.

Eliza, who had a beaming smile at Jihad’s joining, looked around.

It was to search for a suitable target.

Just in time, Eliza, who discovered a huge silhouette beyond the fog, scurried towards it.

Following behind, I saw an orc sitting on a rock, resting.

Whether he was kicked out of the group or just away for a while, being alone made him the perfect test subject.

-Her abilities aren’t the same as before, but she says it’ll work against these guys.

“Oh, then give it a try.”

-Liza!

-She wants you to wound him, even if it’s small.

“Okay.”

It seemed there was a condition that it could only parasitize a wounded target.

Well, usually in reality, infection or parasitism occurs through wounds, so it wasn’t a strange condition.

It’s also reasonable in terms of balance.

[Thousand Transformations is transformed into ‘Assassin’s Dagger’.]

Shwaak-! Pow!

Squeak!?

The orc, startled by the suddenly flying Thousand Transformations that pierced his thigh, tried to get up but stumbled.

‘Did he die, perhaps?’

Just in case, I looked and the guy was tossing and turning with groans.

He seemed panicked by the sudden large damage.

It was worth attacking with a dagger, which had the lowest attack power, without using Striking.

-Liza!

And Eliza didn’t miss that gap.

Sss-.

Eliza naturally approached the wound and inserted a spider web without the orc noticing.

[Eliza’s trait ‘Parasitism’ is activated.]

[Attempting to ‘Parasitize’ the orc.]

‘So it’s like this.’

I thought she would go inside the wound and struggle, but I was embarrassed that it was more technical than I thought.

Well, no matter how small Eliza is, she is clearly a living creature.

I guess there’s no way this guy wouldn’t notice if that white fur ball went inside his body.

Phew- Phew-.

Just when I thought she was inserting the spider web deeply, Eliza suddenly stopped.

Like that for a few seconds.

[Eliza has succeeded in ‘Parasitism’.]

With the message, the orc’s movements, which had been tossing and turning, stopped.

There was no particular effect.

It’s just that the orc’s left hand, which had been a deep green color as if dipped in a swamp, had faded to pure white up to the wrist.

-Liza! Lizariza!

-Congratulations, Eliza. I believed in you.

The orc…… no, Eliza, seemed excited that she succeeded at once.

Everything is good, but it was unbalanced to make a cute voice with such a hideous face.

I guess you can’t imitate the voice when you parasitize.

“But there’s less change than last time?”

When I glanced at his left hand and asked, Eliza, who had become an orc, replied in a cheerful voice.

-Liza! Lizariza!

-She says this is random because she can’t help it. But on average, the lower the rank, the less the change.

“Oh?”

It was quite a suitable balance.

It’s not a lie, but really, at first glance, you can’t tell if this is an orc or a parasitized orc.

Usually, there are no users who stare at the left hand when hunting.

Since it’s the left hand, if you hold a double-edged ax, it goes down and is naturally covered, so that’s another reason.

-Liza!

It seemed that it wasn’t just from a human perspective.

Furthermore, Eliza was confidently walking towards the orcs beyond the fog.

“Oh, wait a minute, Eli…….”

Doyun, who was trying to stop her urgently, paused at that moment.

The orcs who made eye contact with Eliza all averted their eyes as if it was nothing special.

Among them, there were orcs who tried to talk, squeaking.

They quickly lost interest in Eliza, who easily ignored them, and showed no intention of attacking.

Squeak? Squeak!

Instead, Doyun became the target.

They belatedly discovered Doyun, who hadn’t even made eye contact, and were trying to charge mindlessly.

And at that moment,

Thwack!

Squeak!?

The orc, who was suddenly hit in the back of the head, raised his head with a bewildered face.

Near him, he could only see the orc he had seen earlier.

Squeak……?

What? Did you hit me?

The pupils of the guy looking at Eliza with such eyes were shaking.

He looked like someone who was experiencing something unbelievable. In that gap, Doyun quickly ran and dealt with the orc.

[You have defeated an orc.]

[You have acquired the quest material ‘Orc’s Concentrated Blood’.]

-Liza!

“Yes. Good job, Eliza.”

This time, Jihad’s translation was not needed.

The way she pointed at herself with her finger and shouted was saying, ‘I did well!’ to anyone who saw it.

Eliza giggled at the praise.

Because she smiled with that fierce face, it looked like the face of a kidnapper before kidnapping a child, so Doyun didn’t praise her more and turned his head.

A smile was on Doyun’s lips.

‘It’s better than I thought?’

The effect of parasitism was better than I thought.

Even though there were preconditions, it wasn’t a bad level, and once parasitized, the duration didn’t seem that short.

I don’t know if the mana pool is bigger than I thought, or if it doesn’t consume mana.

Jihad seemed to think the same, and had a bitter face.

-……You’re better than me, Eliza.

-Liza?

-Yes, it’s good that even you are being used well. Yeah. I’ll go pick up items or something.

-Liza? Lizariza!

In Jihad’s position, who was suffering from a lack of mana, Eliza’s aspect must have been more impactful.

Still, Jihad’s expression wasn’t too bad, and he seemed to be half-joking.

It seems that he has now accepted it to some extent.

‘Eliza’s hitting feel is good.’

The way she was flustered as if it wasn’t like that was quite funny.

Maybe they played like that since they lived together in the old days.

-Liza!

After making noise for a while, when the situation was somewhat settled, Eliza shouted bravely.

Naturally, Doyun’s gaze turned to Jihad. Then Jihad now skillfully translated.

-She says she’ll patrol and take care of the guys trying to ambush you, so hunt comfortably.

-Liza!

Eliza nodded, agreeing.

Doyun chuckled and nodded.

In fact, it didn’t matter if they ambushed him or not, but wasn’t it too admirable to think that way?

“Okay, I’ll ask you.”

-Liza!

-Roger!

“You don’t have to translate things like that.”

-Roger!

Doyun, who had been watching Eliza’s back getting farther and farther away for a while, picked up Thousand Transformations again.

‘I’ve obtained two concentrated bloods now.’

I have to get 48 more in the future.

Considering that I’ve caught quite a few, but only have two, I’ll have to catch 150-200 more in terms of probability to fill it.

No, considering Doyun’s luck, he might have to catch more.

Well, it didn’t matter.

[Defeat monsters near Brion (278 / 1,000)]

‘I can clear the main quest at the same time, so there’s nothing bad about it. Anyway, it seems like my level doesn’t go up well anymore.’

Whatever it is, it will be filled before catching a thousand.

As he looked around to find orcs to hunt, he soon found two orcs.

They were standing far away, perhaps because they hadn’t been targeted yet because they were still obscured by the fog.

‘If you don’t come, I’ll have to go in first.’

Doyun, who smiled, was about to transform the shape of Thousand Transformations.

“Ugh!?”

“?”

-Huh?

Doyun, as well as Jihad, paused and tilted their heads at the sudden loud shout from behind.

Was there a user behind?

Before such thoughts could arise, his head instinctively turned.

Then he saw it.

[Guardian ‘Eliza’ has been damaged by player ‘Duke’.]

[You have been preemptively attacked by player ‘Duke’. Self-defense is recognized.]

[Karma will not increase even if you kill the opponent.]

“……Huh?”

Completely unexpected messages.

* * *

Duke, he is originally an open beta user who started as soon as God of the Century was released.

A user who has built a position for over a year, so-called vanguard.

As such, he was confident in his skills.

Although the ranking barely made it into the top 100,000, being in the top 100,000 in a game enjoyed by 1 billion people was a huge ranking.

Just by ratio, isn’t it the top 0.01%?

Ranking is not necessarily an indicator of skill and strength, but it is true that it is somewhat proportional.

A ranking that can be flaunted anywhere.

The man who broke through the area called a ranker was Duke.

‘Damn it.’

It was Duke’s pride and also his reverse scale [something that angers him easily].

The pride of becoming a ranker in the world’s most popular game, and the despair that comes from feeling a wall that he can’t climb beyond that.

Those two always stimulated Duke’s heart.

‘No matter what I do, I can’t go up. What is it? What’s the problem?’

Even if he poured all the money he earned as a ranker, this was the limit.

No matter what he did, his ranking didn’t budge like a firmly embedded rock.

It wasn’t just the ranking.

He felt that the strength and position that he actually felt had stagnated from some point.

‘What’s the problem? There’s no one here who invests more than me!’

They are busy spending money, not as eager to raise their rankings as he is.

He is putting in 5 times the effort when others put in 1 effort.

Duke sincerely thought so.

All the people who associated with him and became close to him were full of guys who were satisfied with their current position and complacent.

On the other hand, Duke did not hesitate to invest money as well as effort.

But even so, Duke was eventually shoulder to shoulder with those who had not made any investment.

‘…….’

No, the expression that he was barely holding on was more accurate.

Only by making such efforts could he stand shoulder to shoulder with his acquaintances.

If he didn’t even do this, he would soon be pushed out of the top 100,000.

In other words, this was his limit. It was just that Duke himself didn’t want to admit it.

‘If I can’t go any higher, I’d rather start over.’

Some may say it’s foolish.

No, it would be full of guys who would click their tongues and say it’s ignorant beyond being foolish.

But Duke hated being stagnant so much.

To be exact…….

‘I can’t stand the fact that guys who are worse than me are above me.’

No matter how he looked at it, he seemed to be doing better.

He seemed to have better control!

They were higher than him, and the distance was widening in real time.

Duke thought the reason was ‘trait’ and ‘god draw’ [lucky character creation roll].

He was a lancer with a rare Ascended God and ordinary traits among the rankers.

‘Damn it, if I had known this would happen, I would have retried until I drew something good back then.’

Now, the importance of traits and unique abilities has spread widely, and it is a trend to grind to get them, but it was not like that in his time.

It was more important than anything to start the game as soon as possible and get ahead.

Thanks to that, only those with monstrous talent and money were able to suck honey [easily gain advantages]. Those like him had reached their limits and had to stop forcibly.

It was too unreasonable.

Because of this, Duke boldly deleted the character and started over.

‘Fucking…… I’m screwed.’

And regretted it.