Ranker Who Shatters Myths - Chapter 104

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

 

 

 

The Broken Ranker

Devours Myths

 

Chapter 104

Tower of Five Elements (4)

 

 

 

Six-Eared Macaque.

A monkey demon said to know events a thousand li away when standing in one place, and to be wisely enlightened about all things through keen observation.

He was diligently beating a drum while wearing a butterfly mask.

He was observing Lee Hyeon from among the musicians, not the nobles or dancers.

‘I wonder if he’ll be able to find me?’

He was truly curious about this human called Lee Hyeon.

It was already amazing that a mere ordinary human, not a demon, had been chosen as Son Wukong’s apostle,

but it was also impressive how he overcame the disadvantage of sensory deprivation and safely climbed the floors.

These were things that normally couldn’t be accomplished with a frail human body and mind…

‘I was worried when a new apostle came in place of the originally predetermined one. How truly fascinating.’

Six-Eared Macaque let out a hollow laugh.

‘Actually, if that was all, I wouldn’t even think this way. He also added Sha Wujing and Bull Demon King’s apostle trials, didn’t he? What kind of human is this exactly?’

Adding apostle trials doesn’t simply mean combining the number of different tests.

The difficulty multiplies.

In other words, Son Wukong’s apostle trial, which became the main axis, had its difficulty increased by 8 times.

Naturally,

the 4th floor mission ‘Find the Real One’ became that much harder as well.

‘The toxicity of the deadly poison became much more vicious than I expected. The combinations became that much more difficult too.’

The strategy for the 4th floor mission is quite simple.

Taste the food and alcohol little by little, and remember the aftereffects.

Each food and drink contains different poisons, and the symptoms they show are all different.

And everyone in the banquet hall is in a state of having consumed such food and alcohol.

You just need to carefully check each person’s reactions and find Six-Eared Macaque.

‘But my clones didn’t eat just one type of food. There are often cases where they ate three or four together, so combinations must be studied too.’

If there are many types of food and you have to consider combinations too?

The number of possibilities explodes to infinity.

The problem is that no hints are provided about what food Six-Eared Macaque consumed.

This too must be deduced through several situational inferences.

That’s why this mission absolutely required steady patience and keen analytical skills.

‘But can he maintain such patience while constantly tasting these vicious deadly poisons? With overlapping status abnormalities, sensitive brain activity won’t be easy either.’

Moreover, with the difficulty exploding like this, he couldn’t even imagine how great the hardships Lee Hyeon would face would be.

‘It would have been better if he hadn’t been greedy and had seriously taken on just this one. What a pity, such a pity.’

Six-Eared Macaque smiled bitterly while recalling the Spiritual Stone Monkey’s praise.

‘Right. Originally, apostle trials give you several chances anyway. Even if it doesn’t go well this time, he can study it well and challenge again next time.’

Six-Eared Macaque was already treating Lee Hyeon’s failure as a foregone conclusion.

However, for now he was planning to focus on observing him…

‘Hmm?’

Six-Eared Macaque tilted his head for a moment.

He saw Lee Hyeon suddenly put an entire piece of cake in his mouth.

‘Oh no! He shouldn’t do that!’

Six-Eared Macaque sighed with a pitying heart.

If he eats that much, he’ll suffer from tremendous poisoning symptoms.

Was he hungry?

‘Well, he did climb all those floors at once without rest for several days, so he must be tired. But still… how unfortunate.’

Perhaps he dismissed such poisons as nothing special.

‘I thought he was a wise friend with good judgment. Does he have a personality where arrogance blinds his eyes?’

On one hand, this was accompanied by a downgrading of his evaluation of Lee Hyeon.

It was too careless a behavior.

Sure enough.

“Urgh!”

Lee Hyeon suddenly clutched his heart with a pained expression.

‘He must have unluckily consumed a blood poison type. If he’s not careful, he could get a myocardial infarction, so it’ll be tough. Of all things to choose… He’ll have to aim for the next opportunity… Huh?’

To pick one of the top ten deadliest poisons in the banquet hall from the start. His luck was absolutely terrible.

But Lee Hyeon’s expression suddenly became fine, and he grabbed a snack that was nearby.

“Cough!”

A pained expression again.

And when he became fine again, he grabbed a cookie that was nearby.

“…??”

Question marks appeared above Six-Eared Macaque’s head.

Because Lee Hyeon kept repeating the same action.

Eat food, suffer, eat again, suffer again.

When he felt his throat was blocked, he downed alcohol in one gulp.

Before long, all the abundant food and alcohol that had been on one table had completely disappeared.

‘…Does that apostle also have tastes very similar to the king’s?’

The food Six-Eared Macaque had prepared for the banquet was all things that the ‘sweet tooth’ Son Wukong would like.

But still, how could he consume all those deadly poisons and be fine?

He wondered if he might have poison immunity,

but

Pssss-

A terrible stench lingered where Lee Hyeon passed, and his skin repeatedly turned red and blotchy several times.

It meant his detoxification was as fast as his poisoning.

‘Ruyi Jingu Bang! It’s the Ruyi Jingu Bang! He’s utilizing the Super Recovery function!!’

Six-Eared Macaque belatedly realized that the Golden Bracelet on Lee Hyeon’s arm was a transformation of the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

‘…But Super Recovery shouldn’t be something you can use so freely like that, right? Is he using Divine Power by breaking it into small pieces? Ha!’

Six-Eared Macaque was simply amazed by the fact that Lee Hyeon was ‘handling’ the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

The Ruyi Jingu Bang wasn’t just some ordinary Sacred Relic.

A spiritual object with its own consciousness.

It had existed since the creation of the world, and the individuals who became its owners were all tremendously remarkable.

Just considering the accumulated power within it, it far surpassed even its owner, Son Wukong.

Because of this, even Son Wukong had struggled in his youth to appease the occasionally disobedient Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Yet Lee Hyeon was borrowing even a little of its power.

‘What on earth is going on!?’

Six-Eared Macaque’s amazement didn’t stop there.

‘He’s not just utilizing the Ruyi Jingu Bang! He’s neutralizing deadly poisons with Sha Wujing’s Sacred Relic, or rather casting various curses on his own body for detoxification, and burning away all unnecessary toxins with Bull Demon King’s Sacred Relic!’

Six-Eared Macaque narrowed his eyes.

‘And he’s using the Golden Headband for the calculations needed to use all those Sacred Relics at once… His use of Sacred Relics is extremely skillful.’

Thanks to this, even when Lee Hyeon fell into severe poisoning, he could quickly detoxify and steadily build up various resistances.

“Ha! Those weren’t poisons I arranged for that purpose…?”

Six-Eared Macaque let out a hollow laugh watching the poisons he had painstakingly obtained while wandering around the world disappear in an instant.

‘But what’s even more surprising is that guy’s patience and endurance. No matter how quickly he detoxifies it, the pain must be unavoidable, right? How can he possibly handle all of that?’

Rather, Lee Hyeon was smiling.

As if this moment was so fun he could die.

‘……Still, his growth rate is insane. Not only is his resistance increasing, but his muscle mass and bone density are also reaching different levels.’

Beolmosesu.

The purification the body undergoes when receiving a fate (命) that transcends karma (業).

Lee Hyeon was experiencing this once again.

‘Ha!’

The Six-Eared Macaque let out a hollow laugh as he watched Lee Hyeon walk past the fourth table to the fifth table.

And…… now his hands were starting to tremble.

‘If he keeps eating…… I’m going to go broke?’

Doesn’t that guy ever get full?

It seemed like he had forgotten about the mission to find himself.

 

* * *

 

[Congratulations! You have consumed various types of deadly poison!]

[Poison Immunity (S) has been generated.]

[All resistances have risen to A-grade.]

[The trait ‘Indomitable’ is enhanced.]

[Your body is strengthened by experiencing the trait ‘Beolmosesu’ once more.]

……

 

[All ability coefficients have increased by 5.]

[Magic Power coefficient has exceeded 200 and is ready to add new additional functions.]

[Strength coefficient has exceeded 200 and is ready to add new additional functions.]

[Prepare to unlock new additional functions.]

[Existing additional functions of Magic Power and Strength are enhanced.]

……

 

Lee Hyeon smiled as he saw the new changes in his Strength and Magic Power stats, which he had put the most effort into.

‘I’ll organize this on the 5th Floor for now……’

Lee Hyeon licked his lips as he looked at the banquet hall that had somehow become completely empty of alcohol and food.

‘It would have been nice to stay a little longer. What a shame.’

He didn’t know when he’d be able to train this comfortably(?) again.

It would be great if all Apostle trials were like this.

Still, the efficiency of the poison training(?) had dropped significantly, so he had no regrets.

Thanks to that, Lee Hyeon could comfortably stand before the master who was standing there with a blank expression.

“Thank you for the gift you gave me.”

“……Originally, this banquet hall wasn’t prepared for that purpose,”

The Six-Eared Macaque let out a hollow laugh as he lowered his butterfly mask.

“But I’m glad to hear it was of some help.”

The Six-Eared Macaque smiled lightly.

“Certainly, Yeongmyeong was right. You have more demonic qualities than demons like us.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“If it’s a compliment, then it’s a compliment. It means breaking free from existing frameworks.”

The Six-Eared Macaque’s smile deepened.

“And becoming a successor to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven requires greatly breaking free from existing frameworks.”

The Six-Eared Macaque was now curious about where Son Wukong had brought such an apostle from.

No, should he say the originally designated apostle was remarkable?

For sending such a precious talent to them.

‘……Still, if that child had grown as well, he could have become a vessel that grows into a great tree. What a shame. If he had stood alongside this child, it would have made a very beautiful picture.’

The Six-Eared Macaque still remembered the original apostle’s name precisely.

Moon Su-chan.

In fact, he couldn’t forget.

……Because the Six-Eared Macaque was the one who met young Moon Su-chan, was charmed by his temperament and nature, and actively recommended him as an apostle.

Now it had become a distant past,

A story from the past that the new apostle Lee Hyeon would never know.

“There’s nothing more unsuitable for the Great Sage Equal to Heaven than being bound by rules that who knows who established?”

“That’s true.”

“Well, congratulations. Now only the final gateway remains.”

Clap!

The moment the Six-Eared Macaque clapped,

 

[You have received recognition from the 4th Floor’s gatekeeper, the Six-Eared Macaque.]

[You have passed the fourth trial.]

[The gateway to the 5th Floor opens.]

 

Creak-

The door on the opposite side of the banquet hall opened.

“The King himself will be presiding over the final gateway.”

The Six-Eared Macaque said while erasing the image of young Moon Su-chan who used to smile so brightly from his mind.

“As you know, he’s quite moody and selfish. He’ll be even worse on the final floor. He won’t easily hand over that position, but,”

The Six-Eared Macaque smiled broadly as he looked at the human touched by Moon Su-chan’s karma.

“You seem like you’ll accomplish it without much difficulty. Keep up the good work until the end.”

“Thank you for your words. Then.”

Lee Hyeon gave a slight bow and passed in front of the Six-Eared Macaque.

The Six-Eared Macaque gazed endlessly at his retreating figure.

It seemed like the image of Moon Su-chan playing under the sunlight briefly overlapped with it.

 

* * *

 

[You have entered the 5th Floor.]

 

As soon as Lee Hyeon heard the message, he immediately infused his intent into his eyesight.

 

[The Golden Headband focuses thought and consciousness on vision.]

[Vision awakens among the sealed senses. You have achieved all of the first conditions for achievement. (5/5)]

[The Fiery Eyes open!]

 

The moment his eyes came into focus, light flashed wildly like lightning above Lee Hyeon’s eyes.

At the same time, the Fiery Eyes automatically opened wide.

Lee Hyeon staggered from the sudden enormous amount of cognitive information, but,

 

[The Golden Headband spins fiercely, accelerating thought speed!]

[The overheated nervous system calms down. Cognitive information is organized and a new form of mental map opens.]

[The trait ‘Demon’s Senses’ has opened.]

 

[Demon’s Senses]

You can see the field of vision that demons see with their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hands.

-Origin: Myth ‘Journey to the West’

 

Lee Hyeon soon regained his balance and looked at his newly adjusted vision.

The entire world was shining in rainbow colors.

‘……What the hell is this?’

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

Various spectrums of light were scattered everywhere.

A form added on top of the existing image.

It seemed like it was trying to show Lee Hyeon something.

“How does it feel to open your eyes anew?”

A voice came from behind.

Only then did Lee Hyeon realize he was standing in an empty white space.

He turned around.

Son Wukong.

A handsome man with long white hair flowing down was walking over with his hands clasped behind his back, his elegant robe fluttering.

The human form he occasionally showed.

Despite having seen this appearance several times, today he somehow felt very unfamiliar.

‘No. Rather, is he familiar? I feel like I’ve seen a similar scene somewhere……’

Lee Hyeon buried the memory that wouldn’t come to mind clearly and nodded.

“It’s fascinating.”

“It would be. You’ve stepped one foot into the realm beyond human with a human body. Sit down. Let’s sit and talk.”

When Son Wukong unclasped his hands and waved them, an antique-style table and chairs appeared. There was also coffee and refreshments.

As he naturally pulled out a chair and sat down, Lee Hyeon also sat in the chair across from him.

The final test was beginning.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————