The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 135
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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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Chapter 135
Episode 135.
Divine Beast.
A spiritual being possessing high intelligence and mystical power, not some mere monster.
Divine beasts, the ultimate guardians and the final goal of tamers, were all noble beings without exception.
‘Though I classified Jihad as a divine beast… it’s ambiguous to call him a true divine beast.’
Jihad was just a unique irregular existence.
True divine beasts were supposed to boast tremendous power that defied human common sense.
They were beings who had lived for at least hundreds of years, or as long as thousands of years.
‘Beings like the Azure Dragon or White Tiger.’
Even they were only in the upper ranks among divine beasts, not the highest tier, so how much more so for others.
Divine beasts were respected even by the Empire’s NPCs.
‘Now I’m fighting a divine beast of all things.’
That’s why he never imagined the day would come when he’d fight such a divine beast.
And it wasn’t just any divine beast either. It was an ancient king’s divine beast. Since it was his first time seeing this divine beast, there was no released information, but being an ancient king’s divine beast, it couldn’t possibly be weak.
No wonder it seemed too easy compared to the secret dungeon’s notorious reputation.
[Arragini]
-Title: Ancient Divine Beast
-Type: Snake
-Trait: Currently in a sealed state.
-Description: This is the shed skin of a divine beast that has lived for a very long time since ancient days.
A divine beast that guarded by the king’s side, possessing mystical power, a strong body, and poison.
However, since this is not the main body but shed skin, it cannot use mystical powers and cannot display its full strength.
Still, this game wasn’t completely heartless.
That gigantic being was not a complete divine beast, but a divine beast’s shed skin.
Well, asking him to face one-on-one the divine beast that guarded an ancient king’s side in this section would be no different from telling him to just die.
Of course, that didn’t mean the balance was fair right now either.
Kuwoong.
The overwhelming pressure felt even though it was just shed skin was tremendous.
Gaemin the Destroyer was at least a size where an even match was possible, but this was nothing short of a kaiju battle.
It reminded him of the time with the Iron-Blooded Demon Dragon because of the size.
Ssaa-
The creature flashed its reptilian golden eyes.
Its gaze looked somewhat cloudy, feeling like a corpse, which made it even more eerie.
The way it flicked its tongue made it seem like one mistake would get him swallowed into that huge mouth.
That wasn’t all. Each of those black scales was larger than Dohyun’s face.
At that level, wouldn’t it devour everything with just physical abilities alone, regardless of seals or whatever?
‘This crazy game really… what’s with this scale every time.’
Anyway, whenever it gets involved with the Main Quest, the difficulty goes insane.
Since this was originally a Main Quest that should have proceeded three years later being forcibly pulled forward, it was perhaps natural, but even considering that, it was insane difficulty.
‘I need to dissect the brains of whoever made the Main Quest.’
It was a situation that naturally brought out curses, but Dohyun did his best to activate positive thinking.
‘Stay calm. It’s not all bad.’
Whether Demroc or Godose, they were luck-based shit games, but one thing was certain.
High risk, high return.
If the risk was big, what came back would be equally big, so if he defeated such a monster, tremendous rewards would surely appear.
[Cheonbyeon (Thousand Changes) transforms into ‘Brilliant Taksinel’s Blue Sword’.]
‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’
He had already gained enough even now.
There would be no loss even if he couldn’t complete it, but who knows.
Maybe he’d get legendary-grade rewards after defeating that thing!
Giving up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for that slim possibility wasn’t in Dohyun’s dictionary.
Taat!
First strike wins!
Following that rule again as he charged, Arragini swiftly turned its body.
Kwagagagak-
A simple tail swipe motion.
But that alone carved up the ground.
[Using Backstab on Arragini.]
[A mark is created.]
Kkaang!
He instantly aimed for the back in a surprise attack, but penetrating the hard scales was beyond his capability.
Still, the damage wasn’t completely absent.
Hwirik-!
Arragini sharply twisted its body.
Like a snake, despite having that gigantic bulk, it gracefully twisted its body at an impossible angle, and when he came to his senses, it had completely surrounded Dohyun with its body.
Kwaak-
Arragini began coiling up just like that.
The coiling performed at tremendous speed had enough force to crush even steel.
But Arragini’s expression wasn’t particularly satisfied.
[Reusing Backstab.]
[The mark disappears.]
Dohyun had barely escaped using Backstab.
Moreover, right after that, he had stabbed his sword several times, slightly damaging the scales.
Shisik-
Was Dohyun’s dodging here and there while launching small attacks annoying?
Arragini didn’t move immediately and watched Dohyun with its reptilian eyes.
Dohyun was the same.
‘It would have been dangerous if the timing had been even slightly late.’
Was this what they meant by a close call?
Even without experiencing it, he could be certain.
If the timing had been slightly late and he couldn’t utilize Backstab’s invincibility frames and took a direct hit, it would have been at least critical injury, or even death at worst.
This wasn’t just fearful rambling.
[HP is below 80%.]
Just from the minor grazing from the impact’s aftermath, 20% was already worn down.
‘I need to be careful.’
Now he couldn’t use Backstab for 50 seconds.
During that time, he had to dodge with Charge Slash or pure movement. The fortunate thing was that the creature didn’t move easily either.
“…Jihad, Charlie.”
-Yes, my lord.
-Got it! Kids, appear.
At Dohyun’s serious voice, Charlie stepped forward.
Then Jihad immediately raised black mana and summoned 8 undead from the ground.
[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ summons undead.]
[‘Red Goblin Undead of the Forest x2, Blue Goblin Undead of the Forest x1, Orc Undead x3, Lycanthrope x2 entities are summoned.’]
[Using Legion Control, all are judged as one entity.]
[50% or more of the legion’s undead are judged as monsters from lower cities. Mana consumption is reduced.]
[‘Using Darkness Shroud on the Undead Legion.’]
Grrrrrr- Grr-
The situation instantly became 10 vs 1.
[Intruders… Danger… Eliminate….]
At that, Arragini, who had been examining them searchingly, became excited and tried to charge forward while flicking its tongue.
But the undead were faster than that.
The ones scattered in all directions grabbed Arragini’s tail and nape.
Hissss…!
That guy’s strength was its powerful force unleashed through elasticity with excellent flexibility.
This was to prevent that in advance.
Grroooar-
Among them, the lycanthropes were indeed outstanding.
The ones shrouded in darkness properly grabbed the nape with the strength from their thick forearms.
-Owner, we’ve got it!
-Well done! Truly excellent undead! Truly the makings of a monarch!
-Kehem!
Even in this situation, Charlie, who didn’t miss praising them, rushed in and swung his sword.
Dohyun was the same.
However, even though they had grabbed it, since its size was what it was, they couldn’t hold it perfectly, so they had to repeat hit-and-run tactics.
But that was enough.
[Using Sword Aura.]
[Using Shrouding in Darkness on Heavenly Transformation.]
Using Striking.]
Thunk, clang-!
When Dohyun immediately applied the triple buff since he couldn’t miss the damage opportunity, the sensation was definitely different from before.
‘It’s gradually penetrating.’
Even if it wasn’t a fatal wound, damage was definitely going through.
It was truly a honey-like free damage time, but unfortunately that sweet moment was short.
Shriiiiek-!
Gr, grroooar!
As the two alternately swung swords and retreated repeatedly, the struggling Arragini got angry and spun its body around.
The undead who couldn’t handle that force fell away like autumn leaves.
Thud-!
[Red Goblin Undead of the Forest is being reverse-summoned.]
….
[Blue Goblin Undead of the Forest is being reverse-summoned.]
The relatively weak goblin undead couldn’t handle it and were reverse-summoned.
Even the sizeable orc and lycanthrope undead were groaning while stuck against the wall, but perhaps they were higher-tier entities after all.
Grroooar!
The guys who quickly got back up joined the battle.
How many times did they repeat the undead drawing attention while Charlie and Dohyun alternately dealt damage?
Shriiiik-!!
The guy’s movements became larger as he couldn’t stand it anymore.
Moving freely through the dungeon with that huge body was a powerful weapon in itself, but conversely, Dohyun’s expression gradually became more relaxed.
As always, the larger the opponent’s movements, the easier they are to predict.
‘Now I’m getting used to it.’
Since he had been facing only small-sized enemies recently and was now facing such a super-large monster, he couldn’t adapt a bit at first.
But now it was clearly visible.
When attacks would come, and how far he needed to retreat to barely dodge them.
And even where to stab for effectiveness.
Shriik! Shk!
A large snake that had all its traits sealed and was just rampaging with only its physical abilities was no longer threatening to Dohyun.
Especially with the legion and Charlie to draw aggro.
-Excellent, my lord!
Grroooar!
The guy no longer let the undead grab its body, but they were drawing enough attention.
-Risa! Risarisa!
“Yes, you did well too, Eliza.”
Eliza was also shooting webs while riding on Dohyun, so from that guy’s perspective, it must have been annoying to death.
Whoosh- thunk!
[Arragini’s life force is below 70%.]
[Mana is below 50%.]
‘It’s damn tough though.’
The problem was that the guy’s toughness was beyond imagination.
Even though he had been hitting it desperately while wearing sword aura, he had only shaved off 30%.
In terms of life force alone, it was definitely the top among all the bosses he had met so far.
‘At this rate, my mana will run out first.’
[Mana recovery increases by 200% due to the effect of Benevolent Light.]
Thanks to the Holy King’s Emblem, he was holding on with recovery power, but at this rate, his mana would obviously hit bottom.
‘This won’t do.’
From here, pace control was key.
He was easily dodging the guy’s attacks, but it would be a long battle, and if mana was insufficient, it would ultimately be hard to catch.
If he made a mistake and took even one direct hit from the guy’s attack, the tide of battle would turn.
He needed to land one big hit before that.
“Charlie.”
-Yes, my lord! You fool! This side is open!
When Dohyun gave the signal after making his decision, Charlie, who understood perfectly, rushed at the guy.
Charlie’s sword was clearly different from before.
Flash-
A sword that emitted dazzling light and contained powerful energy.
[Guardian ‘Charlie’ uses Sword of Light.]
It was that sword he had seen during their first reunion.
Hisss-!
Did it instinctively feel threatened?
Arragini looked at Charlie with murky eyes and quickly coiled up.
It was the posture shown when taking a defensive stance.
When it took that posture, it would protect all vital points, but there was exactly one part it couldn’t protect.
‘Now.’
When the guy coiled up, its lowered face inevitably faced backward.
[Reusing Back Attack.]
[The mark disappears.]
[Can deliver a powerful strike.]
What if he used Back Attack then?
Hiss…ik?
The place where the most vulnerable vital points of any living creature are gathered.
Dohyun appeared before Arragini’s eyes and swung his sword with a grin. Then, from Dohyun’s sword imbued with sword aura, blue energy surged forth.
Flash-!
That energy soon took on a single form.
One graceful life form.
It was a peacock.
[Using ‘Blue Peacock’ of the Brilliant Taksinel’s Blue Sword.]
[Delivers a powerful strike proportional to the damage stacked on the mark.]
The second option on the Brilliant Taksinel’s Blue Sword.
That was the moment it activated.
Swoooosh-!
A massive blue peacock over 3M spread its wings and flew toward the man.
-Wow….
-Ooh….
At its elegance, not only Jihad but even Charlie momentarily stared in awe.
The blue peacock that had been Taksinel’s symbol during his time as Vice Captain of the Great Order of Laire Knights had descended here.
-Gasp!
Being captivated by it was only momentary.
Charlie, who quickly came to his senses, swung his sword of light.
With a sword of light from behind and an enhanced blue peacock from the front, caught in a dilemma, Arragini could only stand there dumbfounded and motionless,
Kwaaaaang-!
Soon a massive explosion erupted.
Shiiiiik-!!
A message rang out along with a scream filled with pain.
[Arragini’s health has dropped below 50%.]
They had succeeded in breaking through that solid defense and cutting down 20% in an instant.
The man fell over, forgetting even to coil up from the tremendous power.
This alone was incredible power, but sadly for the man, there was still one shot remaining.
[Using Sword Aura – Slash.]
The flower of Sword Aura, Slash!
Currently the highest burst damage skill Dohyun possessed.
It was the moment he was about to bring down a darkness-wrapped slash toward the man’s eyes.
Ding-
‘…Huh? Ding?’
Dohyun momentarily hesitated at the cheerful notification that suddenly rang out.
Then a message appeared.
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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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