Ranker Who Shatters Myths - Chapter 291

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

Devours Myths

Chapter 291

Blood Pact (1)

「Indeed, Tiamat is quite the formidable one, kekeke! Truly, what magnificent magnanimity! Our narrow-minded senior brother should learn from this! Kekekekeke!」

A place where bookshelves of endlessly towering height and width stood densely packed like a jungle.

Though it resembled a library in appearance,

the Dragon’s Library Hokma boasted such a vast scale that it could never be called just a library.

In this place where all kinds of treasures collected by Tiamat over eons of time were scattered about,

Lee Hyeon and Sha Wujing were strolling.

[You have used the additional reward ‘Hokma Access Pass’ given by Tiamat!]

[HOKMA]

The most beloved treasure of dragons, known for loving shiny treasures, is actually truth and providence.

While they usually monopolize the results of their observations and research alone, some like-minded dragons agreed to gather knowledge in one place for the pursuit of greater truth.

This library is precisely a collective embodiment of such ancient dragons’ will, and a treasury.

The management of this place is currently handled by Tiamat.

-Origin: Legend ‘Tree of Sephiroth’

[For the next 24 hours, you can freely roam around Hokma to examine and try out treasures.]

[However, you can only take out exactly 1 treasure.]

[This is a location where re-entry is impossible. Refunds or exchanges of chosen treasures are also difficult. Please choose carefully.]

Hokma, both library and treasury.

Being able to browse this place,

and being able to choose one of the treasures within was an incredible opportunity.

It wasn’t for nothing that even Tiamat’s children had coveted this.

But Lee Hyeon had refused the Hokma reward and instead proposed a blood pact.

Sha Wujing’s current status was as an envoy of 【Sipjeon City】.

His main purpose was to form alliances with societies they encountered while traveling the world with Lee Hyeon, or with Logoi who wandered without belonging to any society.

-We did repel those 【Heavenly Sect】 bastards, but you know we’re still lacking to actually wage war against the 【Heavenly Sect】, right?

-We did divide them and leave the Divine Faction alone for now.

-But they’ll likely unite again soon. They’ll want to capture me somehow.

-So,

-let’s gather as many like-minded ones as possible.

【Sipjeon City】, having regained its status, was certainly strong.

The Seven Great Sages and the Four Dharma Kings were remarkable beings. Enough to disrupt the order of the Heavens.

But that was all.

There were still many areas lacking to oppose the entire Heavenly Realm.

So Son Wukong conceived of one massive alliance.

Considering the serious situation of temporary alliances and individual survival in the Heavens, it wouldn’t be easy,

but Son Wukong judged that like-minded ones would somehow emerge.

-Of course, there’s no benefit in rushing, so let’s start slowly.

-Everyone should first restore their scattered subordinate forces. I’ll also try to gather the monkey troops somehow.

-In that sense, second brother should recover the seas while increasing the collective, and also…

-Anyway, everyone keep this in mind.

-What’s important to us isn’t scale or speed.

-It’s how much we can trust each other.

-Let’s only gather people who can strengthen each other in the chaos to come.

-The waves that will crash upon us will only grow higher.

When he first heard those words, the first place that came to mind was the Dungeon Giants.

Though they were merely inferior versions of the giant race that were Logoi, they still possessed that seed.

If the opportunity arose, they could somehow grow.

The next place he thought of was Sahŭn.

If it was one trying to newly hatch as a dragon, awakening as a Logos someday would also be possible.

And…

‘I wanted to make contact with 【Sebusha】 if possible. Thanks to brother Suchan, it worked out well.’

Sha Wujing also judged Tiamat to be trustworthy after quietly observing her.

The blood pact proposal came about through exactly that process.

However, there were also worrying aspects.

What if Tiamat found it unpleasant?

No matter how much she had lost her heart, a dragon was still a dragon.

Once an enemy god who possessed such supreme status that she could bring about the world’s destruction, she might say she’d handle things alone,

-What nonsense are you spouting…

-I wondered what amazing thing you’d bring to refuse my reward, but you’ve brought something completely useless.

-We’re already under the same roof.

Tiamat waved her hand dismissively with a languid attitude.

We’re already one family.

So what need is there for some blood pact agreement?

That’s what she was saying…

-Why are you looking at me with those eyes?

-What? Have you perhaps fallen for me in the meantime?

-Forget it. As I said, I don’t chase after trains that have already departed. Hohohohoho!

Lee Hyeon expressed his gratitude several times over.

And having arrived here with the Hokma access pass that was practically forced into his hands.

-Browse to your heart’s content.

-Who knows? There might be something perfect for you.

In the glance Tiamat sent, there was also a silent message urging him to definitely find a treasure.

‘Really… I would have regretted it if I hadn’t come here.’

And Lee Hyeon soon understood why Tiamat had tried so hard to force him into Hokma.

This place

was heaven.

[‘Sacred Relic: Golden Headband’ spins violently, causing thought acceleration to reach maximum!]

The Golden Headband appeared above Lee Hyeon’s head, glowing white-hot.

Thanks to this,

Lee Hyeon was able to fully enjoy this vast library in the greatly slowed world.

“But I’m not sure if it’s really okay to do this. It feels like cheating…”

Lee Hyeon glanced at the countdown message.

[23:46:33]

It felt like half a day had already passed since entering Hokma, but barely 15 minutes had actually gone by.

This meant Lee Hyeon was using time efficiently with his thought acceleration.

So he felt a bit uneasy about it, but,

「Kekeke! You think Tiamat wouldn’t have considered such things? Rather, that’s precisely why she gave a generous 24 hours, isn’t it?」

“I suppose so?”

Lee Hyeon smiled slyly as he pulled out a book that caught his eye.

「This way, the reward becomes not one but hundreds. Kekeke!」

A scroll made of finely processed leather.

Swoosh!

When he unrolled it left and right, characters he’d never seen before came into view.

However,

[Noeancheongjeong activates to read the thoughts inscribed in the book. Meaning decoding and acquisition occur simultaneously.]

Lee Hyeon could easily and quickly scan through its contents.

―What we commonly call the world means an ‘island.’ An island with a unique ecosystem, completely isolated from the outside…

「It would be great if I could read along too, tsk! That’s quite regrettable.」

Unlike Lee Hyeon, all the characters on the scroll appeared filtered to Sha Wujing’s eyes.

The more he tried to force himself to read, the more his dignity wavered. This meant strong security magic was cast throughout all of Hokma.

It meant the will of Tiamat and her friends, the Librarians, was that formidable.

Crack!

Even just bringing his hand close to a bookshelf as a joke immediately generated magical current, so all he could do was smack his lips.

「Still, if the Chosen One takes as much useful knowledge as possible, there’s nothing more to say. Kekekeke!」

No matter how much he used thought acceleration, he couldn’t take all of Hokma’s knowledge.

So Lee Hyeon focused on just two categories.

One was the Outer Sea.

He wanted to know the exact concept of the Outer Sea, which he couldn’t access due to filtering no matter how much he encountered it.

And the other was,

‘Martial arts.’

There were truly many different types of martial arts inside.

There were even those of extinct ancient gods that Son Wukong might not know…

There were even excellent martial arts comparable to Tandava (=Dance of Shiva), though their origins were impossible to determine.

So he planned to first master the concept of the Outer Sea, then immediately move to the martial arts category.

‘But there are too many other interesting things to see.’

Particularly, there weren’t just conceptual books that simply conveyed knowledge, but many that could be called of individuals.

All containing content about legends.

「Kekeke! Dragons originally quite enjoy collecting stories. The ‘treasures’ they love include not just actual gold and silver, but also narratives.」

“Then all the biographies here are…!”

「Those who were once called ‘heroes.’」

“…!!”

「There must be many who challenged immortality but ultimately failed to achieve it and perished, right? All such things remain in that form. Among them are countless cases where they were forgotten from people’s minds and left no legends.」

“…”

Lee Hyeon swallowed dryly.

To completely disappear from other people’s memories.

It was a result he found hard to imagine for himself right now.

But he thought it would be sad if he knew about it.

「But it’s not something to only feel sad about. Among them were many friends who were happy, saying they lived without regrets. Kekeke!」

Sha Wujing corrected Lee Hyeon’s thoughts.

“I must see these too…”

「Kekeke! If you have plenty of time, it wouldn’t be bad. Seeing the rise and fall of heroes would provide much to reference.」

Sha Wujing smiled and sent a subtle glance.

「Come to think of it, the Chosen One is also walking such a hero’s path. If you succeed in gaining immortality, you’ll leave legends for ages, but if you fail, won’t you perish gloriously?」

Lee Hyeon nodded heavily.

It seemed…

The library exploration he thought would be leisurely would have more to do than expected.

* * *

‘I still can’t know everything, but since my access level increased with the third awakening… I should be able to grasp the general framework.’

So the first book he picked was titled ‘Introduction to the Outer Sea.’

Thanks to this, Lee Hyeon felt his eyes light up.

‘This world is like an island? Are they assuming it’s really like an ocean, as the name Outer Sea suggests?’

If this were true, it would mean other worlds like this one were scattered sparsely throughout the Outer Sea.

‘Come to think of it…’

A voice came to mind.

-I am the 36th Prophet of the Church and Knight Commander of the Imperial Knight Order of the ■■■■ Empire, Aeldari. Let’s properly compete next time we meet.

The Prophet’s revealed identity.

What if the ‘■■■■ Empire’ mentioned here referred to another world, not this one?

‘It’s really isekai. If I get hit by a reincarnation truck here, can I go to another island?’

Lee Hyeon continued reading while having pointless thoughts.

【…Islands are never connected to each other. So each island remained isolated while blooming various civilizations…】

【…The civilizations derived here split again into numerous ■ ‘branches,’ and these stories again form ‘narratives’ as transcendent■ beings■ appear…】

【…However■■ transcendent■■ ■■ always prepare■■ for the ‘tide’■ that might■■ strike the island at any time…】

【…Some■ ■ try to■ stop the tide■■ somehow■■, ■■ there are also ■■ who deliberately■■ cause ■■ ‘tsunamis’ to■■ devour islands, so these must be ■■■…】

【…■■ warning■■ as time passes, the tide■■ ■■’s size■■ ■■ grows■■ making it■■ ■■ to ■■ the ■■…】

Actually, after reading a few more pages of the introduction, filtering began to appear bit by bit, and later it grew tremendously to fill entire pages.

However,

After consecutively reading dozens and hundreds of books related to the Outer Sea following the introduction, he could roughly form a general concept.

Just by connecting fragmentary information like a mosaic, one could derive the general framework to some extent.

The facts organized this way were as follows:

1. The various universes and dimensions that make up this world are surrounded by a metaphysical space someone calls the ‘Outer Sea,’ scattered sparsely like ‘islands.’

2. Each island is completely isolated, unable to communicate with others, always becoming civilizations with independent ecosystems.

3. However, there is one common point that applies uniquely to each island: stories and narratives.

4. There are people who can engrave their karma into the laws of the world. Each island calls them ‘heroes’, and such heroes eventually realize immortality and awaken as ‘Logos’.

5. Logos are immortals and transcendents. And they are given the qualification to go ‘outside’ the island, avoiding the interference of the Outer Sea.

‘Logos are given the qualification to go outside the world…’

Lee Hyeon felt his eyes flash with interest at this part.

The fact that there were worlds with various civilizations besides this Earth. It was as exciting as watching a sci-fi movie, and he was curious about what kind of powers might be passed down over there.

In theory, being able to go out to the Outer Sea meant you could also reach other islands.

‘But most of the Logoi I know were afraid to go outside their islands. The Great Sage was the same.’

6. However, you cannot easily go outside the island. This is because the Outer Sea is inhabited by various monsters that lack reason or have incomplete narratives.

7. These monsters always enjoy observing the inside of islands, and they enjoy destroying them even more. So they sometimes deliberately cause ‘high tides’ and ‘tsunamis’.

8. The Logoi of each island strive to somehow prevent such high tides and tsunamis. This is because if the island’s ecosystem is destroyed, the narrative naturally disappears, the traditions are extinguished, and their own existence vanishes.

9. So they try their best to protect the island, but occasionally there are islands that experience internal strife and fail in their defense. In such cases…

‘The world meets its end.’

Lee Hyeon’s eyes suddenly widened as he reached this conclusion.

Blue-white lightning sparks roughly burst from the corners of his eyes.

Flash!!

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