The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 157

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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 157

Episode 157.

‘Since the quest is to fulfill the lost dreams of the residents.’

The 4th Trial. Pratel’s graduation quest.

Its content was to fulfill the lost dreams of the residents.

It was natural that the top-tier rankers, who could be said to be fundamentally about combat, were struggling.

When would they have ever fulfilled someone’s dreams in their lifetime?

‘Adventure King Barion is specialized in this kind of thing though.’

He was someone who would do anything to fill his Adventure Log.

Having played that way his entire life, fulfilling residents’ dreams in their stead would be a piece of cake for him.

It was also an opportunity that made Barion’s dignity as the Adventure King even more solid.

‘I’m not confident this time either.’

Dohyun wasn’t eloquent, nor did he have the personality to put effort into human relationships with NPCs like Barion.

Though it was regrettable, there was no need to desperately cling to an area he wasn’t confident in.

As far as Dohyun knew, Pratel’s graduation reward wasn’t that great anyway, and there was something more important.

[Main Quest ‘Fourth Fragment of Fate (1)’ has occurred.]

[Fourth Fragment of Fate (1)]

-Grade: Main Quest, Job Quest

-Description: The dream city Pratel. The fourth fragment of fate sleeps there. Obtain a clue to the fragment of fate.

-Quest Success: Links to follow-up quest ‘Fourth Fragment (2)’.

-Quest Failure: Failed to obtain the fourth fragment of fate.

-Time Limit: None.

The fourth fragment of fate that should be in Pratel.

He had to obtain it.

-Do we have to go on another fragment-hunting journey this time too, Owner?

-Risa risa.

“No.”

Dohyun shook his head.

“I have a place in mind.”

-As expected of my lord. To figure it out right upon entering the city, I am simply in awe of my lord’s amazing insight.

-…That guy isn’t really normal either.

-Risa risa…

Jihad clicked his tongue at Charlie, who was still the same reaction bot as always, and asked again.

-So where is it?

Dohyun didn’t bother to answer. Instead, he just gestured with his chin toward the front.

There was a massive castle there.

-The castle…? You’re saying the king has it?

“I’m not certain, but the probability is high.”

It was something he had learned from experience so far.

Fragments of fate were main quest items.

Naturally, they couldn’t be obtained easily, and were hidden in places that were generally difficult to access.

And in Pratel, such a place was obvious.

‘The king.’

Gilberun, the lord and king of Pratel.

Wouldn’t the castle where he resided be a likely candidate?

-Hmm… That’s right. Looking back, they were all in places like that.

“Right?”

-Risa!

And unlike Sargis, Pratel didn’t restrict entry to the castle.

Gilberun had the setting of being a king who was once called the greatest wise ruler in history. As such, he didn’t coldly drive away apostles or residents who wished to enter the castle.

If you wanted to meet the king, you could meet him anytime as long as you made an appointment in advance.

There was just one condition.

“I’m sorry, but you don’t seem to have sufficient qualifications as an apostle. It appears your training as an apostle is still lacking.”

“Excuse me?”

“Idiot, your level is too low. They’re telling you to come back after reaching the required level.”

“Ah.”

As was common in RPG game settings, you needed to reach level 57 to enter the castle where the king resided.

They said it was a law created because too many apostles were requesting meetings.

There were opinions about how they measured this, but such worries were unnecessary.

The White Mage Tower, famous for creating magical products.

Since the tower master there had created a measuring orb that could determine a player’s level, there were no errors.

“No, I’m level 57! I’m qualified!”

But there were always troublemakers everywhere.

“…I’m sorry, but our measuring orb is a magic orb personally created by the White Mage Tower Master of the Empire. There can be no significant error.”

“No, no! I’m level 57! So are you saying I’m lying!?”

“Hey you fool. Stop embarrassing yourself. Hurry up and follow me. Don’t you see them calling the guards? Sorry! We’re sorry!”

Watching someone who was about to be dragged away for arguing with the guard barely being taken away by their friend, the people around clicked their tongues.

“There are always troublemakers like that.”

“Ugh, it reminds me of when I worked part-time and makes me angry. Why do they act like that?”

“They’re just trying to test it once.”

“Well… once you enter the castle, it’s a quest honey pot. It’s understandable they’d want to get in quickly.”

“But if they get caught doing something wrong, they’ll have to stay in a cell for a week. Hehe.”

Dohyun, who had been listening to their conversation, turned around.

-Just leaving?

“We have to. We can’t get thrown in jail. We can’t waste time.”

-This humble sword thinks the same, my lord.

-Risa risa.

Since he could enter once he reached the required level anyway, there was no need to force it.

And he couldn’t be certain it was inside the castle.

It might be somewhere else, so he decided not to think about it urgently for now.

As those players had chattered, there would be plenty of time to spend in Pratel.

Since things had turned out this way, he thought he’d leisurely enjoy some hunting.

‘I should also test the performance of the new skill I drew and that guy.’

Dohyun grinned and headed toward the field without hesitation.

* * *

Though he had spoken so boldly, Dohyun didn’t head straight to the field.

Just in case, he first talked to residents and asked about the fragment of fate.

‘Right, there’s no way they’d know.’

Naturally, there was no gain.

It was as expected.

If mere city NPCs knew about it, it wouldn’t be a main quest item.

He just wanted to be thorough since it would feel unsettling to pass by without asking.

Still, it wasn’t completely without gain.

[Troll Colony Cleanup]

-Grade: Rare

-Description: It’s said that trolls have been forming colonies in the Blue Tree Forest lately, causing trouble. Guard ‘Jepak’ wants someone to reduce the troll colonies.

-Blue Tree Forest Troll Colonies (0 / 2)

-Clear Reward: 90 gold, a certain amount of experience, Jepak’s Necklace

-Failure Risk: May incur the wrath of the trolls.

-Time Limit: 60 hours

[Quality Troll Hide]

-Grade: Normal+

-Description: The merchant ‘Benny’ who runs a tailoring shop in Pratel is backed up with custom orders and needs a large quantity of quality troll hide.

Let’s bring her some quality troll hide.

-Quality Troll Hide (0 / 40)

-Clear Reward: 70 gold, a certain amount of experience, Quality Troll Hide Upper Garment

-Failure Risk: Benny’s favorability may decrease.

-Time Limit: 48 hours

[Mutant Troll]

-Grade: Rare

-Description: Recently, as troll populations have increased significantly, mutant trolls are said to appear occasionally.

The prevailing theory is that they entered the Dream Forest and were cursed by dreams, but it seems more investigation is needed.

Let’s hunt the powerful mutant troll that appears in the Blue Tree Forest and obtain its blood.

-Mutant Troll Blood (0 / 1)

-Clear Reward: 100 gold, a certain amount of experience, Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket

-Failure Risk: Hunter ‘Bezel’ may be disappointed in you.

-Time Limit: 80 hours

Since I’ve obtained several quests that will help with rapid growth.

Two rare-grade quests no less. One of them was a quest that gave an intermediate skill draw ticket like sweet rain.

Anyway, I’ve done everything I could, so Dohyun felt at ease and looked around.

True to its name Blue Tree Forest, the surroundings were filled with trees that had a blue tint.

Even the hunting ground had a somewhat dreamlike feeling that was quite beautiful, but it didn’t seem that way for the players.

“Hey, hey! Form up quickly!”

“If the trolls surround us, there’s no answer, don’t let them surround us!”

“The tank needs to hold at least three. There’s no choice! Try a little harder!”

“Aaaaah! Save the mage!”

“Damn it, why can’t you dodge that! Ugh!”

“No, the color was so similar I didn’t know it was a troll…”

Their minds were confused by the trolls that used those blue trees as camouflage for ambushes.

These things that were already troublesome with high health and fast recovery weren’t content with gathering in groups but also ambushed?

“This game is really fucking annoying!”

“Who would have thought the day would come when I’d praise monsters.”

It was truly a pattern that made praise come out naturally.

Still, if you were a player who made it to Pratel, you were a veteran who had experienced all kinds of battles.

It was only confusing at first, but after experiencing it a few times, this much was easy.

Unlike low levels, their basic specs were different from the start.

“Nice!”

“Left side, there’s a troll hiding. Be careful.”

“Roger. Ah, one’s jumping to the right. Watch out!”

When they were busy fighting frantically like that.

When Dohyun appeared in the center, it became quiet for a moment. Then they glanced around and whispered quietly.

“…It’s Kaiser.”

“Did Kaiser come out hunting too?”

“If he just arrived, he’s level 49, so of course.”

“But wait, he’s level 49 and hunting trolls alone? Is that possible?”

“He even caught an Outlaw, so what can’t he do. And each of the Guardians seems stronger than most players.”

“…That’s true. I guess he’ll use the Undead and Charlie as meat shields to hunt.”

Their speculation was reasonable.

Dohyun would have hunted that way originally too.

But this time was different.

“Everyone stay back for a moment.”

-Why? Don’t you need us to gather monsters?

“Yeah. I have something to check.”

The new skill he obtained this time.

To confirm its true value, fighting one against many was optimal.

Dash!

…Gruk?

When he suddenly ran without warming up, the trolls that were stuck to the trees were startled and stepped back.

They were surprised because something suddenly came running.

However, the ones who confirmed that the target was just a single human male roared and charged as if nothing had happened.

Grooaar!

Groar!

Their number was six.

It was a worthwhile number since he deliberately ran to where many were gathered.

“Huh? What, is he trying to hunt alone?”

“Eh? Isn’t that a bit reckless?”

“It’s Kaiser, so he must have some plan.”

If it had been another player, they would have been horrified thinking it was a suicide attempt.

So the players temporarily stopped hunting and watched Dohyun.

They were curious about what kind of performance he would show.

Whoosh-!

As if to shatter those expectations, a troll’s club swung down fiercely.

Made from blue tree logs, it was the troll’s special club attack that boasted considerable power.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Such club attacks poured from all directions.

When they got close enough that their heads would touch if they got a little closer.

[Ice Current is activated.]

[Mana is consumed per second to cool the air currents in a certain range.]

About a 3-4 meter radius perhaps.

The area around Dohyun froze cold and the trolls’ club attacks became noticeably slower.

[Gives status ailment ‘Slow’ to enemies in range.]

[Attack speed and movement speed of enemies in range are reduced.]

It was quite a spectacle.

Dohyun, who was the only one fine in the slowed world, slightly turning his body to dodge, looked like a scene from a movie.

“That’s impossible! That’s Ice Current!”

“The one Lepiass uses often?”

“No, what exactly is his class? Is he an all-master? Why does every skill he use belong to a different class?”

“Backstab and Ice Current and Parrying and Darkness Cloak… It’s really dizzying.”

Naturally, sounds of shock burst from the players’ mouths.

It was something that didn’t make sense logically.

Just how many different classes did the officially known skills belong to!

Regardless, Dohyun didn’t stop.

Gr, grooaar-

Groar…!

The trolls seemed quite flustered by their slowed bodies and flailed about.

And Dohyun leisurely dodged attacks and approached between them.

The already slow attacks were getting even slower as time passed.

Now it was a situation where they couldn’t escape even if they wanted to.

Groar…

The trolls sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late.

[You have applied ‘Slow’ to the same target for a certain period of time.]

[Prolonged exposure to Ice Current causes the status ailment ‘Frostbite’.]

Starting with the arm closest to Dohyun, it began to freeze gradually.

As the arm completely lost sensation and the blue skin turned purple, Dohyun lightly swung his sword.

However, that power was anything but light.

[You deal additional damage by attacking a frozen enemy.]

[You deal additional damage by attacking a frozen enemy.]

[You have defeated a Troll of the Blue Forest.]

With just a few sword strikes, its life was cut short with pathetic ease.

The same went for the other trolls.

“Good Lord…”

So leisurely.

Watching Dohyun take down six trolls in the blink of an eye, the observing players briefly thought.

‘Trolls die from just a few sword strikes?’

‘There’s even a follow-up. Slowing them down and immediately closing in… Ugh. That’s chilling.’

‘Crazy… Now they can’t even escape.’

Each had slightly different thoughts, but the conclusion was the same.

‘…Let’s absolutely never mess with him.’

‘Yeah…’

‘No, don’t even look at him. If you annoy him, he’ll tear you apart.’

‘Uh, uh… I didn’t see anything. I didn’t see anything at all.’

Absolutely never mess with Kaiser.

It was a moment when the rumors about Kaiser swelled even more.

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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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