Broken Ranker Devours Myths - Chapter 5

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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 5

Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Wukong (2)

From the moment he realized that the owner of the Royal Tomb was Son Wukong, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was strange.

In the conclusion of Journey to the West, Son Wukong becomes a Buddha high enough to rival the Jade Emperor and Buddha Shakyamuni.

Buddha is also a god.

And gods do not die.

That is why they are immortals.

However, the death of a god wasn’t entirely impossible.

‘If he suffered greatly in a conflict with other gods and his status fell, or if the myths that formed his existence scattered… it’s theoretically possible.’

And Lee Hyeon had directly witnessed the process of a god’s death.

‘The first 5-star dungeon outbreak incident.’

Six years ago, when Lee Hyeon had just joined the Thunder Unit, a 5-star dungeon appeared in South Africa.

A that had only been theoretically possible until then had occurred.

‘At the time, Europe and America practically ground their personnel to dust just to barely seal the Gate.’

The dungeon sealing operation only ended after four of the nine Top Rankers in the world stepped forward.

Lee Hyeon, who had been dispatched as part of the Peacekeeping Force, was also there.

‘It was also the moment when I seriously thought I should become a ranker, that I wanted to properly stake my life as a hunter.’

The desire to stand on the front lines with humanity’s strongest.

And the ambition to someday surpass even them and compete with divine beings.

Though he had to temporarily set aside his dreams after meeting the Snow Queen,

the passion he had harbored then still remained as an ember in a corner of his heart.

‘Come to think of it, one of the nine who stepped forward then seemed to be Team Leader Im Won-young’s grandmother.’

Anyway, if Son Wukong had also died for some reason like that incident,

it made sense that Son Wukong would be laid to rest in such a tomb.

In other words,

‘The Son Wukong here is like the remnants of Son Wukong whose status had fallen…’

Actually, thinking about it that way, Son Wukong seemed to have a somewhat smaller presence compared to his fame.

[You have realized part of the secret that ■■■■ was hiding. The ability of ‘Sacred Relic: Golden Eyes Mirror’ increases slightly.]

「Who says I got beaten?! If those bastards hadn’t suddenly stabbed me in the back…!」

Son Wukong flared up but then seemed to realize his mistake and belatedly shut his mouth,

but Lee Hyeon could now be certain.

Son Wukong had been defeated by someone.

That very Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Wukong.

If that was the case,

“This tomb and its arrangements were created by the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain to revive the Great Sage as a god. The Golden Eyes of Truth was a tool given to an apostle who would help with the revival.”

「…」

When the myths that constitute a god scatter, their status naturally falls and they become mortals.

Probably apostle Moon Su-chan’s duty was ‘Son Wukong’s revival’ or ‘his return to godhood.’

The more the arrangements planned for Moon Su-chan progressed, the more the scattered myths would gather.

In other words, completing the arrangements would mean completing Son Wukong’s revival.

‘In that sense, the Golden Eyes of Truth is a very suitable sacred relic. You need good eyes to find scattered myths.’

It showed how much thought the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain had put into this.

‘But such an apostle has disappeared.’

It was natural for Son Wukong to show such an irritated reaction.

‘But who exactly killed Son Wukong?’

Even before becoming a Buddha, Son Wukong was strong enough to clash with the Jade Emperor’s Heavenly Army and remain unharmed.

It didn’t seem like just any ordinary being could have reduced Son Wukong to this state.

Lee Hyeon found an opening to exploit right at this point.

“May I ask who the enemies were that harmed the Great Sage?”

Son Wukong remained silent for a moment.

He openly displayed his displeasure.

「Why? What will you do if you know? Are you planning to mock how pathetic I’ve become?」

“Of course not. Couldn’t I be of help?

「You? With what ability?」

Though his tone was clearly sarcastic, Lee Hyeon answered calmly.

“I may not be the person chosen by the Great Sage’s servants. But I came this far purely through my own abilities. I think that’s sufficient proof of my capabilities.”

「…」

“So wouldn’t there be areas where I could be of help?”

Son Wukong frowned, but couldn’t refute those words.

Because it was all true.

Lee Hyeon wasn’t even the original owner chosen by the Golden Eyes of Truth.

Finally, after a long silence,

Son Wukong’s voice came out low.

「…The chief gods. The Jade Emperor, Zeus, Odin and the like made me this way.」

“…!”

But the meaning behind it was anything but light.

「If those bastards hadn’t disguised their malice as goodwill and set traps, if I had properly assessed the situation and prepared, I wouldn’t have had to suffer such humiliation.」

“…”

「They trampled everything. My existence, my territory, my kingdom, my people, my friends, my brothers, everything.」

Lee Hyeon pressed his lips tightly together.

The resentment seeping from Son Wukong’s twisted lips was so heavily suppressed it was heartbreaking.

「Tripitaka always said so. That everything is emptiness and therefore meaningless. But not to me. They were everything that filled my empty heart. I can never, ever forgive them.」

“…”

「So I ask you, boy. Even after hearing this, how can you be of any help to me? If you brought up such a question out of mere curiosity, I won’t for…!」

“I think I might be able to help a little.”

「What?」

At that moment, Son Wukong could see it.

The corners of Lee Hyeon’s mouth, who had been listening seriously and quietly, twisted upward.

He was enjoying this.

“One of the traitors who harmed both me and your apostle was an apostle of the Jade Emperor.”

「…!」

Lee Hyeon, reflected in Son Wukong’s slightly widened golden eyes, was blazing like fire.

“And I know about their activities. If you use me, wouldn’t it be helpful to the Great Sage as well?”

Suddenly, another saying of Tripitaka flashed through Son Wukong’s mind.

That karma is as dense as heaven’s net, so everything must eventually be connected…

Could it really be mere coincidence that someone connected to his enemy, the Jade Emperor, had a grudge against this boy here?

Destiny.

Those two characters settled deep in Son Wukong’s heart.

Son Wukong couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“You’re saying it’s fine to command you with words?”

“Yes. In exchange, please heal my body.”

“Make a deal?”

“That’s right.”

“Your confidence is remarkable. Then let’s see. Whether you’re qualified to say such things.”

Son Wukong leaped down from the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

“Receive this one’s selection. If you do, I’ll acknowledge you. As my new apostle.”

Lee Hyeon nodded and slowly approached the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

“By the way, this one’s personality is quite nasty. It might be very different from the docile Fiery Eyes.”

[‘Event: The Ruyi Jingu Bang’s Choice’ has occurred!]

[The spirit of ■■■■ wishes to give you a temporary Quest to make you an apostle.]

[From now on, pass the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s test and receive its selection.]

[Success: Apostleship of ■■■■.]

[Failure: Injury.]

Lee Hyeon was well aware that fatal accidents occasionally occurred during the process of receiving a Sacred Relic’s selection.

Moreover, a Sacred Relic with such great legend as the Ruyi Jingu Bang would be even more severe.

But if he hadn’t had such resolve, he wouldn’t have come this far.

The moment Lee Hyeon took a deep breath and placed his hand on it,

Kiririk!

Suddenly the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s form crumbled smoothly, then climbed up Lee Hyeon’s hand like a snake.

Clank!

On Lee Hyeon’s hand. A golden bracelet had somehow taken its place.

And,

“…Gasp!”

An enormous amount of Divine Power poured into his body.

The feeling was similar to when he first received the Golden Eyes of Truth implant, but the nature was incomparably rougher.

It felt like his body would shatter immediately.

Lee Hyeon realized this was the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s ‘test’.

Thud, thud, thudthudthud!

In an instant, both eyes became bloodshot red.

‘Like hell I’ll lose!’

But Lee Hyeon gritted his teeth and struggled to control the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s Divine Power in the direction he wanted.

Lee Hyeon too had once reached ranker level. He was confident in Mana Control at least.

‘But the way I originally handled it won’t work. Divine Power is a much higher concept than mana. Then…!’

Lee Hyeon, remembering something, lit up the Golden Eyes of Truth once more.

Hwaaaak!

At the same time, the flow of mana circulating around Son Wukong became visible at a glance.

‘I’ll imitate the original!’

[Attempting Divine Power Control based on the absorbed karma of ■■■■!]

“Oh, look at this? You’re imitating me?”

While Son Wukong was briefly impressed,

Kwaddeuddeuk!

The Divine Power was also startled and showed an agitated reaction. The more this happened, the more Lee Hyeon attempted greater control.

At the moment when a tense standoff with neither side yielding an inch was achieved,

Flash!

[‘Sacred Relic: Tiger God’s Protection Charm’ activates!]

Suddenly red light flowed from the jade ring Im Won-young had given him and seeped into his body.

‘The treasure Team Leader Im gave me…!’

[Tiger God’s Protection Charm]

There’s an old superstition that people eaten by tigers become vengeful spirits and follow the tiger even after death, being used to protect the tiger.

Naturally, generals and great figures who possessed outstanding martial prowess would become even more excellent warriors to protect the tiger.

-Type: Sacred Relic.

-Origin: Legend ‘Mountain Lord Traditional Folktale’

[4 Gulgak and 1 Iol residing in the Sacred Relic wish to help you according to the Tiger God’s command.]

The vengeful spirits embedded in the ring had stepped forward to help Lee Hyeon.

Though they were merely low-grade compared to the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s Divine Power, being Sacred Relics they were still a great help to Lee Hyeon,

‘Go in!’

Control completely passed to Lee Hyeon.

Bang!

Paaaaa!

Divine Power spread gently along the widely laid mana circuits.

“I can’t fully acknowledge you yet, but I’ll watch the situation a bit more for now, something like that?”

Son Wukong laughed pleasantly.

Lee Hyeon had truly proven himself just as he had said.

[‘Sacred Relic: Ruyi Jingu Bang’ has read the karma of ■■■■ planted in you and selected you as ‘Temporary Chosen One’.]

…

[Accumulate more karma of ■■■■ and complete the event to be reborn as an apostle of ■■■■. The more karma of ■■■■ you recover, the more hidden functions of the Ruyi Jingu Bang you can use.]

[Temporary apostle authority has been granted.]

[Physical Recovery begins.]

‘Could it be?’

The moment Lee Hyeon’s eyes widened,

[The Ruyi Jingu Bang uses Divine Power to dispel the Snow Queen’s curse ‘Ring of Extreme Cold’.]

[Treatment commencing: 1, 2, 3%…].

“…!!”

Lee Hyeon was amazed at the changes occurring in his mana circuits as his fatigue disappeared.

What had been merely untangling twisted circuits even when gradually absorbing Son Wukong’s karma was now restoring function…!

He could even feel the damaged core being restored.

Though a very small amount, mana began to flow like a thin stream through the dried circuits.

‘Ah.’

It was mana regained after 4 years.

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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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