The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 16

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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 16

Chapter 16.

-Shield Master LV9

-Miganddeok LV9

-Yubinkkung LV9

-Kaiser LV9

They had risen a whopping 5 levels to reach level 9.

Of course, not all level 9s were the same.

Compared to them who gained 25 points, Dohyun had gained 35 points.

He had already gained a 10-point advantage even though it was still early on.

[Player: Kaiser]

[Level: 9]

[HP: 1,170 / 1,200]

[MP: 120 / 250]

[Stamina: 100 / 230]

[Class: Last Adventurer 【Disciple of Kashiyar】]

[Titles (2)]

-Max Favorability from the Start?

-First Slayer

[Stats]

【Strength: 28(+ 22)】 【Agility: 27(+ 20)】

【Vitality: 5(+ 19)】 【Perception: 16(+ 18)】

【Magic Power: 5(+ 18)】

Remaining Points: 0

So Dohyun once again invested 14 points in Strength and Agility, and 7 in Perception.

He still hadn’t felt any problems with his vitality.

‘To think these are level 9 stats… This is pretty broken.’

No wonder the goblins melted away so easily with critical hits.

That wasn’t the end of it.

[Swordsmanship Proficiency LV 6]

[Dagger Proficiency LV 3]

[Blunt Weapon Proficiency LV 4]

[Poison Needle Proficiency LV 2]

By hunting while using “Four Weapons, My Weapons,” his proficiency had risen evenly across all weapons.

Even considering his skill, this was an abnormally fast pace.

This explosive proficiency growth was only possible because he was a Weapon Master.

Combined with First Slayer and the necklace, it was inevitable that massive damage would result.

After all, damage increased as proficiency rose.

[The effect of Level 6 Swordsmanship Proficiency increases sword-related damage by 6%.]

‘Nice, very nice.’

A whole 1% per level at that.

They said it was normal to reach proficiency levels 3 to 4 before graduating from the beginner city, but Dohyun was already at level 6.

Even his non-main weapons were at levels 3 to 4.

Weapon Master wasn’t called overpowered for nothing.

Now that he was in actual combat, he could feel that both Sleeping Dragon and Weapon Master were excellent traits.

“I think we’re pretty good at this now? Did you see how we hit every single shot?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s only because Kaiser and Shield Master grabbed all the aggro. Don’t you remember how your mistake at the beginning almost got us all killed?”

“Oh come on. Why bring up ancient history? I’m not that greenhorn Miganddeok from back then. Besides, you were firing mana bolts at corpses too.”

“…That was confirmation kills.”

“Yeah right, confirmation my foot. You were shooting at guys who’d been dead for ages. Kaiser bro, you saw it too, right?”

Glancing to the side, he could hear his party members chattering away.

Now that they were easily slaughtering goblins, their confidence had risen considerably, and their initial helpless appearance had completely disappeared.

Shield Master laughed awkwardly as he watched Yubinkkung and Miganddeok bicker.

“Haha… Those guys are a bit immature, aren’t they? They always fight over trivial things.”

“I understand.”

Dohyun answered as if it was nothing, then added:

“…I’m used to it too.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

Dohyun shook his head and chuckled.

‘I guess people are the same everywhere.’

Two companions bickering like sworn enemies, and himself and another companion watching it like children’s quarrels.

Somehow it felt like déjà vu was unfolding.

That was probably why.

This party didn’t feel entirely awkward to him.

‘More importantly…’

With this, the Green Goblin Quest was completely cleared.

Now there was only one Quest remaining.

“Well then, shall we go now?”

At Dohyun’s casual remark, Yubinkkung and Miganddeok, who had been bickering, froze.

Then Miganddeok scratched his head while Yubinkkung fidgeted with her staff with worried eyes.

“…We have to go. We have to, but… Whew. I’m getting nervous.”

“They say it’s a newbie killer… Will we be okay?”

“With my current form, I feel like I could punch right through someone’s forehead…”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Listening to their conversation, Dohyun glanced at his Quest window.

[Variant Goblin’s Blood]

-Grade: Rare

-Description: This is a Quest requested by the long-lived alchemist ‘Kalde’.

He has recently been eyeing variant goblins and seems to have found some kind of clue.

For his sake, let’s obtain fresh blood from the ‘Mutant Goblin Warrior’ residing in the Arde Forest Caves.

-Defeat Mutant Goblin Warrior (0 / 1)

-Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Blood (0 / 1)

-Clear Reward: 1 Gold, a certain amount of experience, silver ring crafted by Kalde.

-Failure Risk: Kalde’s favorability may decrease.

-Time Limit: None.

‘This should be interesting.’

Mutant Goblin Warrior.

It was the first elite boss monster that users encountered in Godose.

* * *

[How do you kill the Mutant Goblin Warrior?]

[Godddong just failed his third attempt. Is this thing actually meant to be killed?]

[You can kill it if you just follow the strategy guide.]

[No… I’m definitely following it but it’s too brutal. Does it make sense that one mistake kills everyone?]

[Well, I did struggle a lot with that guy when I was a newbie too.]

Mutant Goblin Warrior. Also known as the newbie killer.

This creature, called more often by the name “newbie killer” than its actual name, was an iconic figure in Arde.

Not only was it the first elite boss that newbies faced, but it was also famous as the dungeon where players first experienced total party wipes.

A dungeon where you absolutely die on your first attempt.

A preview taste of raiding.

Infinite Tsuku*mi.

Arde’s Tomb.

Among various epithets, not a single one held any hope for this dungeon.

This place called the ‘Habitat of the Mutant Goblin Warrior’, boasting truly extreme difficulty, never ceased to echo with wails.

“Shit!”

“No way… wow, seriously, this kills you?”

“I want a shotgun, seriously.”

To be precise, there were more curses than wails.

Users emerging from the dungeon warp all seemed to have made a pact to start cursing first before anything else.

Their faces were filled with bewilderment.

“Tsk, must be their first try.”

“Looks like they died in phase 2?”

“Can’t expect to get full on the first spoonful.”

And every single one of these groups was a first-try party.

Even those clicking their tongues now had shown the exact same reaction, as this dungeon gave such a huge shock to first-time experiencers.

The reason newbies were so shocked was simple.

“Insane difficulty!”

“Did they make this expecting us to clear it!”

“Damn, they should’ve just made it soloable. I want to punch someone every time a party member makes a mistake.”

Difficulty incomparably higher than when hunting goblin groups.

And specific patterns requiring teamplay.

When these two combinations merged, it truly created hell.

Parties that had been confidently slaughtering goblins got mowed down like corn, and those who had been close started asking about each other’s parents’ well-being.

Some even said they’d rather do group projects, showing just how much resentment there was.

You played perfectly?

You still die if a party member makes a mistake.

Countless newbies poured curses on this dungeon that forcibly demanded team coordination, and had no choice but to burn with fighting spirit, demanding that Godose’s management team come out, whether they were aliens or whatever.

Still, experienced users sometimes gave positive reviews.

“Looking back, clearing that guy back then really helped a lot.”

“All the higher-tier content has high difficulty, and parties that can’t clear this wouldn’t make it that far anyway.”

“It’s better to get hit early, so just build patience and come back… what else can you do.”

“There’s no death penalty in Arde anyway, right?”

Later, even if you wanted to practice, you couldn’t do it properly because of the fear of death penalties.

But in Arde, no matter how many times you died, there was no penalty.

So you just had to think of it as building skills and take it step by step.

You’d only be pissed in the moment, but once you cleared it, you’d feel proud.

Most importantly, you could filter out trolls in advance through this process.

Wouldn’t it be more infuriating to get wiped by a party member’s mistake during boss tries later and receive death penalties?

That was the problem.

“You haven’t fought the Mutant Goblin Warrior?”

“Um… sorry, but you can’t join our guild.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to party with a troll. How do I know if you’ll suddenly bail?”

Even companies prefer experienced hires over new graduates when possible, so why would games be different?

In fact, games were worse than reality.

People played games to relieve stress, so no one wanted to bring along anxiety factors.

With death penalties added on top, there was even more to be picky about.

For them, having a record of giving up on the Mutant Goblin Warrior was like having a red mark.

Couldn’t you just lie?

Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible in Godose either.

“Could you show us your Adventure Log?”

“Looking for ranged DPS for elite boss try party. Only accepting those with 3+ boss clear records.”

Adventure Log.

A massive chronicle that users filled as they enjoyed Godose.

Collecting unique and rare materials, clearing specific quests, exploring various regions – enjoying adventures filled the Adventure Log.

The problem was that defeating bosses was also recorded in the Adventure Log.

It might be different later when you had records of various bosses accumulated, but when looking for boss tries in the next city, most wouldn’t include you in parties if you had no records.

Moreover, unlike Arde, the next city’s boss absolutely had to be cleared.

So without connections, you had to grit your teeth and clear it.

“They say frogs forget they were once tadpoles, but what’s so good about it anyway?”

“I’m so pissed right now!”

“Ugh, I want to clear this and graduate quickly! I want to throw some fireballs too!”

Because of this, newbies who had to clear it right now were in a real bind.

Watching them, Yubinkkung flinched and trembled.

“…It must be really difficult.”

“Well… it is famous. In a bad way.”

“Can we clear it?”

“We have our secret weapon, Kaiser hyung.”

“That’s exactly the problem. If we make mistakes, everyone dies, so we’re just causing trouble.”

“…You’re right.”

And Shield Master and Miganddeok weren’t much different.

They had heard of its infamy, but seeing it in person, the intimidation was beyond their expectations.

However, Dohyun just calmly observed the surroundings.

Listening to the angry people making noise, Dohyun chuckled.

‘Of course. They must have pulled some tricks here too.’

Total wipe if even one party member makes a mistake.

After seeing the beginner support benefits, he thought Godose might be decent, but they didn’t disappoint his expectations.

That wasn’t all.

[Habitat of the Mutant Goblin Warrior]

-Grade: Rare

-Type: Party Dungeon

-Trait: Single Boss

-Description: The dwelling place of a brave warrior and legend among Green Goblins who was cursed and left the tribe.

[Entry Limit: 4 people]

[Entry Level Limit: Below LV 10]

The dungeon was also a party dungeon, preventing solo play.

‘You have to enter with exactly 4 people, so complaints are inevitable.’

Moreover, it wasn’t 4 people or fewer, but exactly 4 people.

It was a dungeon that could only be cleared when exactly four party members executed patterns without mistakes.

And these were newbies who had just been hunting goblin groups.

It was truly a malicious system that seemed to know exactly how to make users suffer, but it wasn’t surprising.

A mere party dungeon?

‘It was daily routine in Demroc.’

It was now a dungeon as familiar as breathing.

Kaiser had encountered countless party dungeons and conquered every single one of them.

Let alone a dungeon with strategy guides already available…

“Shall we go in too?”

“Ah, yes…! I’m ready.”

“Phew… I’m nervous.”

“I read the strategy guide over ten times! I’ll try not to make mistakes!”

Leaving behind his companions who had stiffened with tension, Dohyun stood in front of the entrance.

Then, when he glanced at Shield Master, Shield Master belatedly came to his senses and hurried over.

“Ah…! I’ll enter now.”

In party dungeons, basically the party leader has to enter first for the notification to appear.

As he stepped into the warp, a message appeared.

[Party leader ‘Shield Master’ is attempting to enter the Habitat of the Mutant Goblin Warrior.]

[Do you agree?]

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Uh.”

Dohyun and the rest of the party accepted.

[Confirming entry members.]

[Confirmed.]

[Confirming entry level.]

[Confirmed.]

[Entering the Habitat of the Mutant Goblin Warrior.]

‘Should I loosen up my body a bit after so long?’

Feeling his vision flip along with the message, Dohyun smiled.

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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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