Broken Ranker Devours Myths - Chapter 4

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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 4

Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Wukong (1)

 

 

 

[You have successfully solved all the riddles!]

[The Ritual has been completed.]

 

The message that appeared the moment Lee Hyeon climbed the Altar and offered the Wine Cup.

And then,

 

[The owner of the Royal Tomb prepares for resurrection.]

[The hidden form of the Royal Tomb is revealed!]

 

[Time remaining until the Royal Tomb is revealed]

[00:15:00]

[00:14:59]

…

 

“We did it!”

“Wow!”

The Hunters’ faces brightened with joy.

It seemed like the dangerous situation was finally over.

They were so grateful to Lee Hyeon for saving them from crisis.

‘We’re people who get called first-rate wherever we go…’

‘We were just showing off in front of a swan for nothing.’

‘How has someone like that not become famous until now?’

Perhaps because relief was setting in, they finally realized how amazing Lee Hyeon’s performance had been.

Excellent Crisis Assessment Ability,

Charisma that controlled the entire party with a single word,

Intelligence that solved riddles in one go, and Martial Prowess that overwhelmed monsters despite his injured body.

The phrase “master of both literary and martial arts” came to mind.

‘How can we recruit him to our Guild?’

While their eyes sparkled as they looked at Lee Hyeon, just like Im Won-young,

Meanwhile, Im Won-young couldn’t smile easily.

‘This is the end…?’

A feeling that it wouldn’t end here.

The difference was too stark compared to before.

Sure enough.

That was when it happened.

Rumble rumble rumble!

With violent tremors, the ground they were standing on began to crack.

“Wh-what is this!”

“The ground is splitting!”

“Be careful! The holes are too deep!”

The forest collapsed, and stone monuments fell like dominoes. Hills rose and eroded everywhere.

The Dungeon terrain… was changing.

At that moment,

Crack!

The entire Altar where Lee Hyeon stood rose high into the sky.

Crackle.

『This is my final command.』

“…!?”

“Command…?”

Suddenly, Lee Hyeon’s voice came from the Hunters’ brooches.

『The Dungeon will collapse soon, so I want everyone to escape from here. The exit direction is opposite to where the Zombie Monkeys are running…』

『What are you suddenly talking about, Hunter Jang? You want us to escape from here!』

Im Won-young snatched a Brooch from a nearby Hunter and shouted urgently.

She wanted to run to where Lee Hyeon was, but the earthquake was too severe to make it easy.

But Lee Hyeon remained calm.

『This Dungeon seems to be the type that automatically collapses once the Ritual is complete. Seeing how the Cemetery owner’s people were hurt and even used as sacrifices, what kind of reaction do you think he’ll show?』

The Hunters’ faces hardened. There were indeed self-destructing Dungeons from time to time.

『Then Hunter Jang too…!』

『The priest has the qualification to prove their faith. If even the priest runs away, the Cemetery owner’s anger will only grow greater.』

『…!』

『My role is to appease the Cemetery owner as much as possible. So I can buy time for my comrades to escape safely.』

Im Won-young was left speechless.

She wanted to ask why he had to sacrifice himself,

『And didn’t we make a promise? That I would clear the Dungeon so as many people as possible could escape.』

『…!』

『Please hurry. If we delay any longer, everyone will be in danger.』

Just as Lee Hyeon said, the earthquake was getting more severe.

The Boss Room’s foundation had completely collapsed, so the Hunters had now retreated to the outskirts.

“Team leader, we need to get out now.”

“We can’t let Hunter Jang’s sacrifice be in vain. Hurry!”

The Hunters also hurried over and grabbed Im Won-young’s shoulders.

『Don’t worry. I’ll somehow find a way to escape from here too. I’m a Guide, after all.』

Im Won-young’s lips trembled, then with a hardened expression she suddenly threw something to Lee Hyeon.

Lee Hyeon caught it reflexively and was startled.

It was a Red Jade Ring filled with heavy magical power.

‘A Sacred Relic…!’

『Please survive. I’ll also bring a Rescue Team back as soon as I get outside.』

『…I understand.』

Lee Hyeon nodded heavily.

Sacred Relics aren’t easily shared even among family members.

Yet entrusting it like this meant she was showing that much respect to Lee Hyeon.

Lee Hyeon was so grateful for Im Won-young’s kindness.

Im Won-young smiled brightly as she turned around. At that moment, her expression changed.

To a hardened face.

 

[00:11:47]

 

There wasn’t much time left.

“Everyone run to the Exit. All in assault formation.”

“Confirmed.”

“Confirmed.”

The Hunters began running in the direction Lee Hyeon had taught them.

The injured were carried on the back of the Jangsan Tiger that Im Won-young had summoned as it ran.

Im Won-young planned to return immediately with the rescue team once he got outside. He was the one responsible for this raid, after all.

Right now he had no choice but to entrust the clear to Lee Hyeon since he had to take responsibility for his team members’ survival,

but he didn’t want to commit the act of dumping all the burden from start to finish on him, an outsider.

“…”

Lee Hyeon didn’t take his eyes off them until they completely disappeared. The jade ring was on his left index finger.

“…Have they all left now.”

Standing in a high place, he could see at a glance the dungeon terrain that was constantly changing.

Lee Hyeon could finally breathe a sigh of relief and focus on watching the dungeon’s finale.

He didn’t want to share this moment with others.

It was an opportunity his hyung had given him.

‘It’s also true that there might be other dangers.’

Actually, Lee Hyeon felt a little sorry toward White Burn, if he was being honest.

After all, he was essentially stealing all the rewards from the that had belonged to them.

But without the Fiery Eyes, which were the key to the Boss Room, the Monkey Den was originally a dungeon that was bound to fail in its raid.

So he planned to repay them later with more than the results obtained here.

He didn’t want to repay the goodwill that they, and Im Won-young, had shown him with deception.

 

[00:00:02]

[00:00:01]

[00:00:00]

 

‘It’s coming.’

 

[Count finished.]

[The Royal Tomb is revealed!]

 

Below the ground of the Boss Room that had completely collapsed, there was another hidden area.

A Glass Chamber boasting tremendous width.

There, a giant golden monkey that seemed to be dozens of meters long was sleeping.

Grooooo!

“…!”

A tremendous magnitude of presence that made his heart sink just from looking at it.

It felt like he should bow his head.

His instincts whispered that he should kneel.

A being of that stature could never be a simple existence.

The overwhelming presence that only beings who had reached the heavens could show.

People call them by a name.

Gods!

“Son Wu… kong.”

The moment Lee Hyeon muttered the name of the cemetery’s owner,

Flash!

The golden monkey that had been sleeping in the Glass Chamber opened its eyes.

It felt like an illusion of a pillar of light shooting up to the sky.

And,

Whooosh…!

The golden monkey’s body scattered into small particles, then gathered in a whirlpool toward the altar where Lee Hyeon was.

The particles clumped together to form an elongated rod.

It was a staff that shone with brilliant golden light as if carved from the sun.

 

―Divine Iron of Stabilizing Heaven and Earth.

―Ruyi Golden Cudgel.

 

Lee Hyeon read the ancient Chinese characters written at the end of the rod and clenched his fist tightly.

Having pursued Son Wukong for so long, there was no way he wouldn’t know what this was.

Son Wukong’s symbol.

It was the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

 

[Ruyi Jingu Bang]

A Sacred Relic representing ■■■■ ■■■.

Originally a tool made by Taishang Laojun for Yu, who had achieved merit through controlling the Yellow River’s floods, but Son Wukong stole it from the Dragon King of the East Sea and made it his weapon. It’s also known to have been used by Pangu, the primordial giant.

-Type: Sacred Relic.

-Origin: Myth ‘Journey to the West’

*Having various legends, it has so many functions that even Son Wukong couldn’t fully unlock them all.

**Currently, most functions seem to be locked for some reason.

 

Lee Hyeon swallowed dry saliva.

Finally, the results of the past 4 years had come to fruition.

On the other hand, the doubt he had postponed earlier came to mind again.

This place was definitely a ‘cemetery.’

A cemetery honoring a dead king.

But why was Son Wukong buried in such a place?

No, more than that, why were the letters ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Wukong’ corrupted in the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s description?

‘Could there be more content to that I don’t know about?’

The moment doubt crossed Lee Hyeon’s mind,

Flash!

A small cluster of light burst above the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and a small Baby Monkey revealed itself.

A cute-looking monkey with pure white fur like an albino.

But strangely, Lee Hyeon felt afraid of it.

「It’s been such a long wait. I was bored wondering when someone with ‘qualification’ would come… Hm?」

The Baby Monkey was grinning as it looked at Lee Hyeon, then suddenly tilted its head.

Then it narrowed its eyes.

「You, who are you?」

 

* * *

 

Grooooo!

Unlike its cute appearance, a tremendous pressure that crushed the surroundings could be felt.

The same magnitude of pressure he had felt when seeing the giant golden monkey.

No, the magnitude might be the same, but the ferocity and violence were much more serious.

It acted as if it would devour Lee Hyeon immediately.

「Why does someone without ‘qualification’ have my ‘eyes’ and come all the way here?」

The Baby Monkey, Son Wukong, growled.

The fangs revealed between its small lips gleamed particularly cruelly.

Did it think Lee Hyeon had harmed someone with ‘qualification’ and stolen the Golden Eyes of Truth?

Lee Hyeon bowed his head before the pressure could intensify further.

“I pay my respects to Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Wukong. My name is Jang Lee Hyeon.”

“I’m not curious about who you are…!”

“I came to find the Great Sage on behalf of my original master’s dying wish.”

“Dying wish?”

A slight furrow appeared on Son Wukong’s cute brow.

The overwhelming pressure that had been bearing down on Lee Hyeon also lifted.

Lee Hyeon inwardly sighed and calmly explained the events he had experienced.

How much effort he had put in over the past four years to find traces of him.

Son Wukong’s furrow deepened.

“…So what you’re saying is that the original qualified person who received the ‘eyes’ sacrificed himself in your place, and you received the ‘eyes’ instead and came here. Is that what you mean?”

“That’s correct.”

“And the reason you sought me out is to lift a curse?”

“Yes.”

Son Wukong remained silent for a moment.

The shock of learning that the person he had been waiting for was dead and someone else had come instead was that great.

“It’s the truth. Ha, haha… So he died like that? Like that…”

Son Wukong’s Golden Eyes of Truth flashed and then dimmed. He had been checking whether Lee Hyeon was lying.

“You, do you happen to know what obligations come with having those ‘eyes’?”

“I don’t know. I only know that the Monkey Sages who gave me the Fiery Eyes had some purpose.”

Son Wukong let out a hollow laugh.

“This is screwed.”

“…”

“This wasn’t in the plan at all. Who would have thought that there… Damn it…”

Then he irritably scratched the back of his head.

For a moment, one of Lee Hyeon’s eyebrows twitched. It sounded like he was belittling Moon Su-chan’s death.

“Why that expression? Ah, you think I disrespected your hyung? Pahaha! You do have some loyalty after all, is that it?”

A laugh that could have been admiration or mockery.

“It’s not like that, so don’t worry. It’s just that the current situation is so fucked up. I’m the one who really wants to cry here.”

Suddenly, Son Wukong’s golden eyes filled with despair.

“With this, my revival plan is ruined before it even started. Haha…”

Revival?

Suddenly, the fragments of doubt that had accumulated in Lee Hyeon’s mind came together as one.

“This may be an impertinent question to ask suddenly,”

Lee Hyeon somehow thought that Son Wukong’s situation might be similar to his own.

“Were you perhaps murdered by someone?”

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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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