Broken Ranker Devours Myths - Chapter 33

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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 33

Mountain God (3)

 

 

 

Mo Jeong-gyeon was extremely curious about what kind of hunting dog her granddaughter had chosen for the first time.

A former Ranker who wanted to hide his identity…

She was one of the few people who knew almost all the inside details of the Gangneung incident.

So Mo Jeong-gyeon decided to observe Lee Hyeon from a distance first.

Just how strong a wild nature would this fighting dog returned from hell possess?

And if it did, how vicious would the poison it carried be?

Would that poison ever turn to bite its own master?

Or would it have the skills to match?

She wanted to confirm everything.

And,

‘He smashed Executive Director Jeong’s son’s head in one blow? While exhausted after clearing a long-standing unsolved dungeon?’

His actions completely overturned all of Mo Jeong-gyeon’s predictions.

‘The day he returns as a Ranker isn’t far off. And with skills far superior to before at that…’

He hid himself as much as possible, but when it was time to step forward, he showed a strong will to do so without hesitation.

She liked this aspect.

A hunting dog without wildness wasn’t a hunting dog after all.

Especially considering who might be behind Executive Director Jeong.

‘Did he cause trouble without knowing the backing, or did he know and still do it?’

If he did it unknowingly, he would know how to read the situation, and being simple, her granddaughter could use him.

But if he knew and still did it?

‘He can’t be used as a hunting dog. A wolf cannot become a hunting dog.’

If forced, it might bite its own master instead.

So,

Mo Jeong-gyeon intended to directly confirm whether Lee Hyeon was a hunting dog or a wolf.

If the former, she would give generously.

But if the latter?

‘I’ll have to dispose of him. So he won’t be a hindrance.’

One corner of Mo Jeong-gyeon’s mouth twisted.

‘Now, child. Which one are you exactly?’

 

* * *

 

The moment Lee Hyeon approached Mo Jeong-gyeon, he felt tremendous pressure.

‘Massive.’

With each step he took, Mo Jeong-gyeon seemed to grow even larger.

Even though she was clearly staying in the same spot.

Just quietly holding her long bamboo pipe, yet the pressure was tremendous.

‘This person… the Mountain God.’

It was completely different from when he had seen her from afar long ago.

His breath was stifled.

No, it was more than just stifled.

It felt like being crushed under a massive mountain slope.

Wasn’t this how Son Wukong felt when crushed under Five Elements Mountain?

A Top Ranker, one of only 9 people among tens of millions of Hunters worldwide to reach that position.

And among them, said to compete for the top seat.

But at this moment, Lee Hyeon could instinctively be certain.

‘Even if you brought all the other 8 Top Rankers together, they absolutely couldn’t handle this one person.’

No wonder even Son Wukong was feeling similar pressure.

「Has a god descended? No, that’s not it. If so, there would definitely be constraints of causality. If not that, then an avatar…? But for an avatar, there’s no soul connected anywhere… What the hell…」

Son Wukong looked confused, unable to identify Mo Jeong-gyeon’s true nature even with his Golden Eyes of Truth blazing.

That meant Mo Jeong-gyeon truly possessed a status equivalent to divinity.

Thump, thump…

Lee Hyeon tried to regulate the pressure pounding his heart with long breaths.

 

[‘Dueoksini’s Deep Breath (A)’ gradually restores your body’s senses to normal.]

[‘Sacred Relic: Ruyi Jingu Bang’ and ‘Sacred Relic: Golden Arhat Mask’ jointly respond to external pressure. The heightened mental barrier blocks external interference.]

 

Although he couldn’t properly operate his mana circuits due to the magic control device,

circulating even a handful of mana made breathing much easier.

Though the massive pressure remained the same.

‘I don’t know why such a person suddenly wanted to see me, but… she probably doesn’t have only good intentions. Let me keep my wits about me.’

The Guild Leader wouldn’t have moved personally just because one team leader was caught.

There was something more.

‘The Fortuna Dice total is 9. Nothing half-hearted.’

Lee Hyeon decided to push forward without hiding anything about himself.

“I pay my respects to the Guild Leader. I am Jang Lee Hyeon from Z-Team of the Dungeon Strategy Department.”

Because Lee Hyeon bowed his head, he missed the flash of interest that crossed Mo Jeong-gyeon’s eyes.

“Yes. Nice to meet you. Ah, you won’t feel bad if I speak casually, will you?”

“You look like you’re my age, so I momentarily doubted if you were really the Guild Leader.”

“Hohoho. I know you’re saying that to make me feel good, but it does feel quite nice.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon smiled slightly and gently.

But Lee Hyeon wasn’t fooled by that appearance.

Instead, he sharpened his guard even more.

“This is our first time meeting, right?”

“I’ve seen you from afar before.”

“Hmm?”

“In South Africa…”

“Ah, when we caught Rabu? You were there?”

The 5-star dungeon that erupted in the South African Republic, .

The lesser god Rabu who escaped from there was slain by four Top Rankers.

Mo Jeong-gyeon was at the center of it.

Lee Hyeon had been watching from a distance.

“Seeing the Guild Leader then was when I first resolved to become a Ranker.”

“Despite your appearance, you’re quite skilled at flattery.”

“It’s not flattery. It’s sincere.”

Even now, Lee Hyeon could vividly recall that day if he just closed his eyes.

The ferocity of becoming a house-sized tiger and tearing a god to shreds…

“What kind of inheritance do you have?”

“Dokkaebi.”

“Be more specific. There are many types of goblins, aren’t there?”

“It’s Dueoksini.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon’s smile deepened.

“The king of goblins? Do you happen to have the Breath of Dueoksini?”

“You know about the Breath of Dueoksini?”

“Of course I do. I was the one who gave it to Lee Gun-san.”

“…!”

This time it was Lee Hyeon who was surprised.

Lee Gun-san.

He was his mentor.

The one who had directly founded the Thunder Unit and then closed it down again.

“You know General Lee?”

“I know him. Very well. I even know how many pairs of underwear he has.”

“…?”

“He was my ex, you see.”

“!?”

“Pahaha! Just kidding, just kidding. We’re actually childhood friends from the same neighborhood. Though I’m actually a bit older, after we grew up it didn’t seem to matter much.”

“…”

Lee Hyeon was getting confused about how many times he’d been shaken today.

She was someone who knew how to toy with people at will.

‘To think that it was the mountain god who obtained the Breath of Dueoksini…’

Was this how connections worked?

The world was truly small.

“Curious about why I called Section Chief Jang?”

“At first I thought it was because of something related to Team Leader Jeong…”

“But then?”

He lifted his slightly lowered face.

Whoosh!

His eyes were flickering with golden light.

 

[‘Sacred Relic: Golden Eyes Mirror’ reads the killing intent settled in the opponent’s heart!]

[Combat Sense (C) sharpens your senses. Proficiency has greatly increased, reaching B-grade.]

…

 

“Didn’t you call me to confirm whether I might be a hindrance to your granddaughter?”

Mo Jeong-gyeon twisted her lips without answering for a moment.

Smart.

He actually knows how to see through the hidden truth behind things.

She was beginning to like Lee Hyeon.

About 20%.

But…

“Similar. So you’ll need to appeal your strengths well. I don’t want to crush a talent my granddaughter brought with my own hands.”

“I won’t make excuses for my rough methods.”

“Oh?”

“I simply killed someone who deserved to die.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon burst into hearty laughter.

Usually when faced with this kind of pressure, people would be busy making excuses or arguing self-defense.

Lee Hyeon boldly revealed himself.

“Who decides that standard?”

“I decided it.”

“What gives you the right?”

“I was the person in charge of the dungeon strategy at the time.”

“That’s strange? I clearly remember that Z-Team’s leader was Team Leader Jeong Sun-il?”

“The strategy proposal was submitted under my name. According to company regulations, even if there’s a superior in the strategy team, the responsibility for the strategy project itself belongs to the primary planner.”

Usually strategy proposals are written and reported by teams, so the primary planner’s name is also stamped with the team leader’s name.

Therefore, very few people in the company remembered this, but Lee Hyeon seized on exactly this point.

“If you have doubts about my responsibility and judgment at the time and wish to discipline me, I’ll accept it gladly. But there was absolutely no way I could leave alone an A-grade expert whose mental contamination had become severe enough to swing a sword at his colleagues.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon liked Lee Hyeon a bit more.

About 40%.

“Then couldn’t you have just subdued him? Section Chief Jang, you seem to have sufficient skill for that.”

“I had just cleared the dungeon and had no remaining stamina.”

“Lie.”

“…”

“You don’t think you can fool my eyes, do you?”

“Then…”

Lee Hyeon smiled bitterly.

He had hoped, but.

It was as expected.

A god could not be deceived.

A light sigh.

And then,

Suddenly, Lee Hyeon’s eyes changed completely.

“I’ll tell you that I simply wanted to kill him.”

50%.

Mo Jeong-gyeon felt like she could finally see Lee Hyeon’s true nature.

Gooooo!

 

[An enormous presence is revealed!]

 

Simultaneously, a tremendous storm of presence opened.

Lee Hyeon’s shoulders were crushed by the heavy air. His body shook violently as one knee was forced to hit the ground.

『Did you think you could do whatever you wanted like a ruffian just because people around you pampered you? Do you think this is your playground?』

The god’s voice added tremendous force to the storm of presence.

He thought he might be crushed at this rate, but

Lee Hyeon forced himself to lift his head.

‘This level of intimidation…!’

In the Monkey Den. He had felt this when he first met Son Wukong too.

Red veins appeared around his golden eyes.

“I have never… thought of it as a playground. Rather, I thought of it as… a place of survival.”

『…』

“To survive… one must struggle. So I eliminated those who might… become obstacles. For me… and for Team Leader Im.”

『…!』

“Guild Leader, aren’t you also… testing me for that purpose…? To judge whether I can be used as a blade or not… Ugh.”

Lee Hyeon could no longer endure and was on the verge of his remaining knee hitting the ground as well.

At that moment,

 

[The storm of presence subsides.]

 

The intimidation disappeared as if it were a lie.

Haah…

Haah…

Lee Hyeon lifted his head with effort while breaking out in cold sweat.

Mo Jeong-gyeon was holding a long bamboo pipe in her mouth.

Her expression made it hard to tell whether she was smiling or not.

Through her disheveled clothing, her decadent beauty seemed to radiate even more intensely.

Whooo-

White smoke billowed and spread.

Lee Hyeon instinctively knew he had to make his final point here.

“At the very least, I won’t be a hindrance to Team Leader Im. Both the team leader and I are looking in the same direction.”

“You’ll gladly become a blade?”

“Use me as you wish. It was similar when I was in the military.”

“What if our directions diverge?”

“I’ll leave on my own accord.”

“How can I trust you?”

“My principle is to always repay kindness with kindness. If I fail to uphold that principle,”

Lee Hyeon caught his breath once more.

His eyes blazed brightly.

Like will-o’-the-wisps had been lit.

“Then take my life. I’ll gladly offer my head at that time.”

His gaze was firm.

As if it would never be extinguished.

Mo Jeong-gyeon’s lips curved into a wider twist.

100%…

Mo Jeong-gyeon lowered her long bamboo pipe.

Thud!

“Get out.”

Lee Hyeon couldn’t read Mo Jeong-gyeon’s thoughts, but he could tell he had at least passed this urgent test.

“Rest well.”

Lee Hyeon bowed his head and left the room.

The sweat on his hands… still wouldn’t dry.

Relief at being alive.

Yet at the same time,

‘Someday I too will be. Like that.’

A new goal had formed.

 

* * *

 

Mo Jeong-gyeon put lit leaves back into her long bamboo pipe and placed it in her mouth.

Whooooo-

“Use yourself as a blade…? He speaks such insincere words so well.”

Lee Hyeon himself might have meant it sincerely at the moment.

But Mo Jeong-gyeon knew.

That such a person could never be used as a blade.

The bearing of one who would become a swordsman, no, a master who would command such swordsmen.

“I was curious whether he was a hunting dog or a wolf… but instead a tiger cub has wandered in.”

And it wasn’t an ordinary tiger either.

A white tiger.

‘White tigers have trouble surviving because their white fur makes them too conspicuous. But once they’re fully grown, the story changes. Having overcome such tremendous environmental constraints, they boast clever minds and fierce temperaments.’

Mo Jeong-gyeon was extremely pleased with Lee Hyeon.

Beyond 100% to 120%.

He was exactly to her taste.

But precisely because of that, she was troubled about whether to dispose of him.

“Two tigers cannot exist on the same mountain…”

If he became a full-grown white tiger and took over the inner chamber, that would be quite troublesome.

Unless,

“It might be different if the territory expanded to a mountain range.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon’s lips twisted.

Various thoughts were racing through her mind.

Just then,

Thud thud thud!

“Grandmother!”

Suddenly it became noisy outside.

Whooo-

Mo Jeong-gyeon exhaled smoke while letting out a hollow laugh.

“Who on earth does he take after to be so ungentlemanly.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon turned her head toward Im Won-young, who was striding in.

There was much to discuss.

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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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