The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 13

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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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Episode 13

Chapter 13.

He said I’d receive it soon, but I never imagined it would be given in this way.

In Demroc, you could only receive quests by talking one-on-one with NPCs…

‘Is this also the power of artificial intelligence?’

NPCs have intelligence not much different from users.

Since they’re going to give quests to users anyway, they must find it just as bothersome to hand out requests individually.

I was momentarily dumbfounded by such an innovative method, but I don’t dislike it.

Why would I dislike something that saves time?

“Huh? Awesome, I got a quest.”

“Wow, so sweet. We don’t have to wait in line.”

“They said Dante was a real man, and I acknowledge it. This is what gaming should be!”

“Let’s quickly get all the quests and go hunting!”

The users seemed to think the same way as they hurriedly left the cabin.

Dohyun was included among them.

After quickly receiving the essential quests that still needed to be obtained, he was able to get a total of 3 quests.

[Collecting Goblin Leather]

[Variant Goblin’s Blood]

All were quests that could be done alongside goblin cleanup.

Now the preparations were complete.

Exiting through the main gate of the city outskirts into the field, a refreshing forest spread out.

And above it, countless goblins and users gathered densely.

“Looking for party members!”

“Anyone want to collect leather together!”

“Looking for people to go all the way to level 12 together. We have two spots left now.”

Among them were users attempting to solo, but most were looking for parties.

Since they were going to follow the strategy guide to level 12 anyway, partying was faster and safer.

Dohyun, who had been looking around, also drew his sword from his inventory.

[Old Iron Sword]

[Grade: Common]

[Description: An old iron sword given to users who completed the tutorial.]

[Level Requirement: 1]

[Equipment Restriction: Swordsman class]

[Physical Attack Power: 40~60]

[Durability: 50 / 50]

An iron sword given as a tutorial reward instead of the crude sword.

Though the stats were modest, this was sufficient for level 1. It was much better than the crude sword, wasn’t it?

‘I want to test various things too.’

Since he had gained quite a lot, after all.

It was when he was about to search for goblins to hunt.

“Excuse me.”

A man approached him.

He was a user with a fairly large build but an honest impression, holding a thick wooden shield.

Making eye contact, he wore an awkward smile and spoke quickly.

“I see you just arrived, we have exactly one spot left, would you like to join us? We’ll have the same quests anyway. Oh, you’ve received all three essential quests, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s party together. We’re going to rush to level 12, and a 4-person party is the standard for that, right?”

Behind him, two more users approached.

A young man with a relatively small build and a young woman with cute short hair.

“That’s right! There’s party bonus experience until level 12!”

“Let’s hunt together.”

As party members, they each added a word to persuade him, and Dohyun had no choice but to nod.

‘That’s true.’

The beginner city Arde.

True to its name, this place was generous with beginner support.

From quest acquisition difficulty to monster numbers and respawn rates. It was comfortable in every aspect, but the best benefit among them was the party bonus experience.

A system supporting users below level 12, up to 4-person parties.

With this benefit providing bonus experience, the experience gained from hunting became not much different from soloing.

As long as the contribution of hunting together was recognized, experience was calculated even for monsters hunted by party members.

‘Monsters are also abundant.’

That was why there were so many users forming parties in this place.

Here, you’d be a fool not to party.

The beginner city Arde was truly an extension of the tutorial, just as written in the strategy guide.

Looking at things like this, it really was a different game from Demroc.

Benefits? Adaptation?

Demroc had none of that stuff.

Demroc was a game that threw you into enemy territory from the start and told you to find the village yourself.

‘Well, that’s probably why all the Demroc veteran users are playing combat classes in Godose.’

Dohyun chuckled and answered.

“Sounds good. Let’s party.”

“Nice! You made a good choice!”

“Phew… we needed one melee dealer, so that’s a relief.”

“That’s why I keep asking why everyone chose ranged classes.”

“Men should be archers, obviously.”

“In virtual reality, what’s more exciting than casting magic? I really wanted to try magic.”

Upon accepting, they welcomed him with bright smiles.

They appeared to be in their early twenties and seemed to be friends, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

During their conversation, Dohyun glanced at their weapons.

‘One archer, one mage, one tank…’

It seemed they had quickly approached Dohyun, who was holding a sword, because they lacked a melee dealer after forming their party.

They were radiating the pure energy of newbies, getting so excited just from completing their party.

“I’ll send the party request then.”

“Yes.”

[‘Shield Master’ has requested to join the party.]

[Do you accept?]

After clicking confirm, a semi-transparent hologram window appeared in the lower left.

[‘Shield Master’s party has been formed.]

[Party Leader]

-Shield Master 【LV 1.】

[Party Members]

-Miganddeok 【Lv 1.】

-Yubinkkung 【Lv 1.】

-Kaiser 【Lv 1.】

They were truly distinctive nicknames, befitting game usernames.

Names that clearly revealed what class they wanted to play. Dohyun wasn’t the only one who reacted to the nicknames.

“Huh? Kaiser?”

Shield Master reacted upon seeing Dohyun’s name.

‘Ah, they said many rankers were Demroc veterans.’

Most of them carried over their names from their Demroc days.

Though it’s forgotten now, it was natural for them to react to the name Kaiser.

However, it was a bit different from the reaction Dohyun had been expecting.

“Oh, Kaiser-nim. You’re a Kaiser fan?”

“Kaiser? Who’s that? Is he famous?”

“Ah, yeah. He was rank 1 back in the Demroc days. You know Godose is based on Demroc, right? That’s probably why he has quite a thick fanbase.”

“Still, Kaiser fans are rare these days, so you must be a true fan. Even naming yourself Kaiser and all.”

“….”

The party members chatted casually, not thinking for a moment that Dohyun could actually be Kaiser.

They were treating Kaiser like some relic that had disappeared into history.

Seeing their reaction, Dohyun scratched his head.

‘…Well, this is about right.’

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t hoped for something, but this was Kaiser’s current position.

Though maybe it was some consolation that he apparently had a thick fanbase.

‘But if what they’re saying is true, there might be a lot of people with the same nickname as me.’

Maybe there could even be a situation where he partied up and a party member was named Kaiser.

What would it feel like to meet a fake Kaiser, Dohyun wondered with a chuckle, when Shield Master, having finished his preparations, shouted out.

“Alright then, shall we go hunting?”

“Let’s go hit level 12 real quick.”

“Let’s go!”

It was the beginning of proper hunting.

* * *

They could find prey right away.

With goblins everywhere, there was no need to go far.

The group positioned themselves in front of about five goblins gathered together and took their respective positions.

“I’ll be in front first. Kaiser-nim, if you could stand next to me and play the role of sub-tank and dealer, that would be great. Miganddeok and Yubinkkung, please deal good damage from the back.”

“Okay~ I’ll stick it right in Miganddeok.”

“Yeah yeah! Leave it to me!”

Shield Master, who seemed to have studied hard, commanded well despite this being his first hunt.

It was truly textbook hunting positioning. It lacked character, but it was flawless basic positioning.

‘Not bad.’

So Dohyun followed without complaint.

Shield Master, seemingly satisfied, nodded proudly and slowly moved forward with his shield.

The moment the distance to the goblins became about 4 meters.

Kikik? Kik!

The peacefully standing goblin reacted and immediately swung the dagger in its hand.

A typical aggressive monster that attacks first when you enter a certain range.

A beginner might panic, but Shield Master calmly raised his shield to block it.

Not stopping there, he pushed upward and then swung his shield.

Clang!

[‘Shield Master’ has inflicted a status effect on the Green Goblin.]

[Green Goblin is stunned for 1 second.]

“Bash landed! Everyone attack!”

It was Bash, the basic skill of shield weapons.

Though only a 1-second stun, 1 second was more than enough time in combat.

Hitting a moving enemy was difficult, but a stationary enemy was no different from a punching bag.

“Miganddeok!”

“Going in!”

Miganddeok shot an arrow and Yubinkkung fired a mana bolt as if they’d been waiting.

The Green Goblin that was instantly focused down collapsed, and the fellow goblins nearby were startled and rushed in.

Kirik! Kiik!

Kiiik!

Their target was none other than Shield Master.

They were expressing their anger at losing a comrade to Shield Master, who was closest.

He urgently raised his shield and blocked as much as he could, but he was just a level 1 user who had just changed classes.

Unable to handle the pressure, he gradually began to get pushed back.

“Urgh… This is tough, kill them quickly!”

But in Yubinkkung’s case, mana bolt was her only means of attack.

Though it had a short 8-second cooldown and was powerful, it was currently on cooldown so it was no help. Miganddeok’s arrows alone had their limits.

What they needed now was a melee dealer.

Slash! Scrape-!

Kieeek!

Dohyun quickly approached and slashed a distracted goblin, causing it to foam at the mouth and charge at him.

It judged him threatening after taking big damage while off guard.

But Dohyun ignored it and hit another one.

Thud!

Kiek!! Keek!!

The angry goblins rushed at Dohyun, but Shield Master landed a ‘Bash’ at just the right timing.

[‘Shield Master’ has inflicted a status effect on the Green Goblin.]

[Green Goblin is stunned for 1 second.]

While the one that got hit in the back of the head hesitated, arrows came flying.

Even if they didn’t all hit, arrows were sticking into arms and legs.

With aggro being split and disrupted from both sides while arrows flew from behind, the goblins were in complete chaos.

“Kaiser-nim, nice!”

It was natural for Shield Master, who had it easier thanks to this, to give a thumbs up.

At this rate, they would easily kill them….

[You have defeated a Green Goblin.]

[You have defeated a Green Goblin.]

[Through contribution distribution, ‘Shield Master’ has obtained Green Goblin leather.]

“…Huh?”

Shield Master momentarily froze at the two goblins that died much faster than expected.

Come to think of it, attacks suddenly weren’t coming in either.

‘What?’

Feeling something was strange, he lowered his shield and saw it.

Dohyun standing on top of two fallen goblins, and the goblins with all their aggro drawn to Dohyun.

“…What the hell.”

Why was the aggro on that man who had just hit them once each, instead of on himself as the tank or the ranged dealers?

This situation was one of two things.

Either he had an aggro skill or he had dealt an instant burst of damage that was completely unbalanced.

At not even level 10 yet, having an aggro skill didn’t make sense.

‘…Then that means this person hitting them once each dealt more damage than all of us combined?’

Enough to draw all the aggro?

…Does that make sense logically?

It was when his brain had momentarily stopped from the incomprehensible situation.

“Behind, behind!”

“…Huh?”

Shield Master came to his senses at Miganddeok and Yubinkkung’s shouts and turned around. At the same time, his eyes widened.

Green skin reflected in his pupils.

Kiryuk, keryuk!

Kekeke!

It was a group of no less than ten Green Goblins.

“…Shit.”

With three still remaining, ten more are coming?

No, we didn’t even invade their territory, so why are the goblins suddenly swarming over here causing chaos?

That question was resolved the moment he saw their appearance.

“…Arrow.”

A familiar arrow was embedded in one of their arms.

It seemed that several stray arrows Miganddeok had shot in excitement had hit them.

It was a mishap that occurred because there were so many goblins in the area.

‘…This is exactly why I was trying to hold aggro and hunt carefully, damn it!’

They have the habit of not attacking unless you come within 5 meters.

That’s why you could hunt safely even with many goblin groups nearby, but there was one more special situation that made them react.

Precisely when they received a ranged attack.

Only then would they come running to find the user who attacked them, no matter how far away they were.

“S-sorry… I must have shot wrong. Really sorry. I’m sorry, Kaiser sir. Ah… why am I really like this?”

“No, what do we do? Shouldn’t we run away?”

Miganddeok, the cause of the situation, had turned pale and was babbling incoherently, while Yubinkkung was stamping her feet anxiously.

It was a situation where Shield Master, the party leader, needed to give some kind of instruction.

However, no matter how much he had mastered the theory, this was his first real combat too.

Moreover, he never imagined such a disaster would happen from his very first real battle, so he couldn’t make quick situational judgments.

“Uh…”

Kireuk! Kereuk!

While he stood there dumbfounded for a moment, the goblin horde had already approached within arm’s reach.

Only then did Shield Master snap back to his senses and urgently shout.

“We can’t handle this. I’ll stun them first, so run…!”

But before his order could be fully given.

Thud!

“Huh?”

“Wh-what…!”

With the sound of kicking off the ground, something quickly rushed past him.

A swordsman with black hair flowing.

It was Kaiser.

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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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