The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 87

The Return of the Legendary Ranker 2, Episode 87

Chapter 421

Part 2, Episode 87.

Tower of Disaster, 10th Floor.

This place was a battlefield itself.

Swish-! Thud!

Crack! Slash!

Nearly a thousand people, all tangled together, killing each other to get into the limited raid party of 30.

If this isn’t a battlefield, what is?

“Uwaaaagh!”

“Die!”

“Kill that bastard first! Everyone, gather around!”

At least siege warfare has the structure of invading a castle.

This was a free-for-all bloodbath on flat ground with nowhere to hide.

A truly hellish scene.

“These crazy bastards… If we all die like this, what’s the point of the raid!”

“There’s no guarantee you’ll clear it even if you get into the 30! If you die like dogs, all your invested equipment will be looted! Why are you doing this sh*t?!”

“Yeah, I’m saying the same thing!”

Some users, feeling a sense of futility, put down their swords and shouted.

In God of Creation Online, items drop when you die from PK [Player Killing].

If they just blindly fought and died, only the weapons they invested all their money in would drop. They wondered why they had to fight such a meaningless battle.

“I’m giving up. I’ve poured so much in, what if I lose my weapon because of bad luck?”

“There will be other chances.”

“From the start, 70 people got wiped out in 10 minutes. Will it be any different with 30 people going in?”

“…Do you think so?”

“Honestly, it’s kind of true.”

As the users who were having a fit over this ridiculous brawl stood up, the atmosphere became strange.

They were fighting because the fight had already started, but deep down, they were wondering if this was the right thing to do. One by one, they started to gauge the situation.

However, this atmosphere didn’t last long.

“I’m going to get ou… Ugh!”

Thud-!

In the end, the moment a user who was gauging the situation voiced their opinion.

“…Cough. That bastard ambushed me cowardly!”

“Shut up, it’s fine as long as you don’t die. When else would I clear the 10th floor if not now? This is our chance with no outlaws around.”

“Yeah, I’m here to farm items. Dropped items are so sweet~”

“If you’re going to give up anyway, can you just die quietly? I’ll clear it well with your items.”

The users who had no intention of ending this fight launched a surprise attack, instantly seizing control of the atmosphere.

“Those son of a b*tches…! Alright, let’s see you die.”

“Even if I die, I’ll take you with me.”

And so, once again.

No, it was about to continue with an even more ferocious atmosphere than before.

Thump-!

“Whoa, what’s going on?”

“That scared me.”

“What, what is it?”

Suddenly, the users instinctively lowered their bodies as if the ground was shaking.

At the same time, their gazes turned to the same place as if they had made a promise.

Because there was only one reason why the ground would shake here.

“The monument, check the monument first.”

“…What, the monument is fine?”

“Then why is it shaking…?”

As if they didn’t know why, everyone was just staring blankly at the monument.

A user suddenly remembered something and spoke urgently.

“No, wait a minute. Why is the monument okay? Does that mean Kaiser isn’t dead yet?”

“Huh?”

“…Could it be.”

For a moment, there was silence.

“Hey, now that I think about it, did the death message pop up?”

“…I don’t think it did.”

“One, two, three, four… What, really?”

“It’s been 20 minutes? 70 people couldn’t last 10 minutes, and just two people have been holding out for 20 minutes?”

Before they knew it, they had stopped fighting and were all talking together.

They hadn’t thought about it because they were focused on fighting, but they had assumed that even Kaiser would have died.

But now, contrary to their expectations, they were still raiding.

“…Then there’s no reason for us to fight each other, right?”

“….”

“….”

The moment someone said that, silence fell.

If Kaiser and Astra succeeded in clearing the 10th floor like this, wouldn’t they be the only ones left chasing chickens [getting all the rewards]?

“H, hey. There’s no way they’ll actually clear it, right?”

“Yeah. They’re just holding out for a little long…”

Dding-!

[The one chosen by the God of Death, Avison, has been laid to rest.]

[The master of the 10th floor has been defeated.]

“….”

“….”

No sooner had they thought, ‘No way,’ than the system message hit them with the facts, and silence fell for a moment.

“What the f*ck? What’s been defeated?”

“What have we been doing all this time, then?”

“How can two people clear it? Even if it’s Kaiser and the owner of the armory, this doesn’t make sense!”

“Is this even a game?!”

Soon, the silence erupted into an uproar unlike anything before, as if it had been gathering momentum.

The condition for clearing the 10th floor was to defeat the master of that floor.

In other words, they hadn’t contributed anything to the raid and were now in a position to pray that they would be among the 300.

No, in fact, even that was doubtful now.

“Will we even be selected in the 300 since we didn’t do anything?”

“300 is the maximum number, not the minimum.”

“Still, usually at least 100 people went up, so surely not everyone will be dropped.”

“That’s when everyone participated in the raid, and this is the first time something like this has happened, right?”

“I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

As the conversation went on, they became more and more confused.

—!

Suddenly, a loud alarm like a fire alarm struck their eardrums.

The cause of the alarm was the door in the center of them.

The only entrance to the place where the master of the 10th floor was, the huge black door.

Whoosh-!!

“Ugh!”

“Kyaaak!”

It seemed like a creepy black aura was leaking out of it, and then suddenly, a powerful shockwave swept through the area.

“W, what is it?!”

“What’s happening again?!”

“There’s no damage. It was just like wind pressure.”

“What’s going on?”

The surprised users lowered their posture and looked around in a flurry, and soon they could see it.

A message floated above everyone’s head equally.

[Hidden conditions have been met.]

[Warning! An existence outside the regulations has descended into Avison’s domain.]

[All systems of the Tower of Disaster will be temporarily paralyzed.]

[A disaster may occur if a player attempting the challenge dies.]

“…What?”

“What the hell is this…….”

As the incomprehensible messages appeared, the monument in front of the door turned black and vanished into ashes.

Saaaah-

From the jet-black door adorned with a skull and scythe, an endless darkness seeped out.

Though they didn’t know what it was, an inexplicable sense of dread crept up, consuming their entire bodies.

Stumble.

Their instincts screamed.

Do not approach.

As they backed away, they saw the message and murmured as if possessed.

“Hidden condition…… a hidden piece?!”

“Following the named boss, another hidden piece has opened?”

“What does ‘an existence outside the regulations has descended’ mean? Why does a disaster occur if we fail?”

This was the second hidden piece to appear in this place alone.

In response, the users stopped fighting and huddled together, staring at the door with trembling eyes.

“……What on earth is happening inside there?”

Avison’s domain.

Something incomprehensible was happening within.

* * *

God.

A great existence worshiped by the human NPCs [Non-Player Characters] of the main continent, also known as the stars in the sky or constellations.

But Do-hyun knew.

That the so-called gods were the root cause of destroying the boundless potential of ancient humanity and making them weak.

‘Kashiyar and the Five Kings are the ones who oppose those gods.’

And Do-hyun, as their successor, was currently the only human adversary.

Gods and the Abyss.

Fighting against them all was Do-hyun’s path and destiny.

However, he only knew it through the story.

Despite being the primary enemy in his profession, he had never deeply contemplated how strong or what kind of existence the gods were.

‘Well, there was no chance to meet…….’

The fact that all the enemies he had encountered so far were from the Abyss, and that those Abyss beings were all impactful, greatly contributed to him forgetting about the gods.

And now.

[You have encountered the God of Death, ‘Demiseus,’ worshiped by all the swamp’s dead.]

[The God of Death, Demiseus, is watching you.]

[Warning! An existence outside the regulations.]

[You are overwhelmed by an unbearable aura.]

[All stats are reduced by 30%.]

[All speeds are reduced by 30%.]

[All detailed abilities are reduced by 30%.]

[The trait ‘Hero’ prevents mental contamination.]

[The trait ‘Hero’ has failed to prevent mental contamination.]

As if to instill a sense of urgency in Do-hyun, the god himself had descended.

-Keh, Keheuk! What kind of constellation appears! They say the stars watch over everything, why aren’t you watching and coming out yourself!?

-That guy is the heinous god who humiliated humans……! I can never forgive him.

-Lizariza!

“This is insane…….”

In response, Do-hyun’s expression hardened, and Aste already had curses written all over his face.

“What the hell is going on? What god descends? Do we usually fight gods when we’re doing the main quest?”

“If that were the case, I would have quit the main quest. I’m also flustered because it’s my first time, so be quiet.”

Warning sounds rang incessantly in his head, and he struggled to stand, overwhelmed by the immense energy.

The skin all over his body screamed for him to run, constantly raising goosebumps.

This was just the phenomenon that occurred from him merely being watched.

‘They want me to win against something like that?’

Curses involuntarily spilled out.

He had met countless enemies while doing the main quest, but this was different.

That was not an existence that a human could defeat.

That being had far surpassed the category of living things.

-Death.

That’s what it would look like if that word took shape.

It felt like facing death itself.

An indescribable sense of powerlessness and ominousness made him wonder if this was really virtual reality.

Most terrifying of all…….

[The vessel is not intact and cannot withstand it.]

[Due to the incomplete descent, the form of the God of Death (Demiseus) is not complete.]

[The God of Death (Demiseus) has descended only a part of his true self and cannot exert his full influence.]

[Ah…… is this the limit…… I expected it, but it’s still a useless vessel.]

‘……This is just a part?’

If this was just a part of his true self, how terrifying would the complete form be?

‘They call it divine power. Where does it look divine?’

Whether it was because he was the God of Death or because all gods were like that, he couldn’t find any sense of divinity even if he searched with a magnifying glass.

Rather, he would believe it if they said it was the Abyss.

In fact, it was a similar pressure to when he faced the immortal master, a powerful being from the Abyss, in Brion.

‘This hopeless and pathetic presence, I tell you.’

Still, the situation was better than then.

[You have encountered a god who is rejected and called death itself.]

[You have encountered the ruler of the dead, the God of Death (Demiseus).]

[The job ‘Successor of Kashiyar’ reacts to the long-standing enemy.]

[The fragment of fate resists the energy of the God of Death (Demiseus).]

[All status abnormalities are removed.]

[The effect also applies to party members.]

Whether it was because he was a long-standing enemy or not, the fragment of fate reacted and shook off the energy that had been pressing down on his body.

‘……Wow, I feel like I can live now.’

Thanks to that, he took a breather and felt the handle of the Cheonbyeon [Presumably a weapon] he was tightly gripping become damp.

It felt like he had been submerged deep beneath the water and then pulled out.

“Keueung…… I almost died.”

-Huaa, huaa…… I, I can breathe.

-Lizariza…….

-Kueuk, I’m sorry for showing such an unsightly appearance. My lord.

The old man and the guys were the same, taking deep breaths.

But unfortunately, this was just the beginning.

[A sudden job quest has occurred due to encountering a long-standing enemy, a god.]

[Sudden job quest ‘Protect the Key’ has been created.]

[Protect the Key]

-Rank: Sudden Job Quest

-Description: The rejected god and god of death…… The God of Death (Demiseus) has descended through an incomplete vessel.

Demiseus’s goal is to get the key.

Protect the key from Demiseus until his descent is over.

-Time Limit: The vessel of the God of Death (Demiseus) can withstand it for 1 minute.

Survive for 1 minute without losing the key.

-Quest Success: You will survive safely, and a linked job quest will be created.

-Quest Failure: A disaster will strike the continent due to the stolen key, and a continent quest will be created in Elannis.

He had to endure for a whole minute against that monster.

It was a sigh-inducing situation, but there was no choice. If he didn’t endure, he would lose the key and a continent quest would occur.

But if he succeeded?

‘Linked job quest…….’

Job quests usually inform you about the foundation of the job and give you rewards related to it.

Perhaps he would learn more about Kashiyar or the Five Kings.

It was information that even the information graveyard didn’t tell him, and it could be of great help in the upcoming main quest, so he couldn’t give up.

“……Okay, let’s do it.”

Do-hyun’s eyes flashed like a beast.