The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 162

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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 162

Episode 162.

“Oh, you’ve already gathered everything? Thank you so much~ This is just a small token of my appreciation, so please accept it!”

[You have cleared the quest ‘High-Quality Troll Hide’.]

[You receive 70 gold, a certain amount of experience, and a high-quality troll hide top as rewards.]

“What? You’ve already wiped out the entire troll colony? You’re quite skilled! Let me see… This is my necklace, please take it! It’s a reward for an excellent hunter!”

[You have cleared the quest ‘Troll Colony Cleanup’.]

[You receive 90 gold, a certain amount of experience, and Jepak’s Necklace as rewards.]

[The effect of the title ‘Max Favorability from the Start?’ activates. Favorability increases even more.]

[Jepak’s favorability has increased.]

“You brought back a mutant troll? …It’s true, this concentrated blood is definitely from a mutant.”

“…”

“Hmm, I gave you this request half-doubtingly… but you’re quite skilled. Skilled hunters are always welcome. If you need anything, feel free to talk to me anytime.”

[You have cleared the quest ‘Mutant Troll’.]

[You receive 100 gold, a certain amount of experience, and an Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket as rewards.]

[The effect of the title ‘Max Favorability from the Start?’ activates. Favorability increases even more.]

[Bezel’s favorability has greatly increased.]

[Favorability is high. You can approach him comfortably anytime without being turned away.]

[You have leveled up.]

Having completed all the quests, Dohyun left Bezel’s house with a smile on his lips.

In front of him, his status window was displayed.

[Player: Kaiser]

[Level: 58]

[HP: 7,350 / 7,780]

[MP: 1,740 / 4,470]

[Stamina: 630 / 1,150]

[Class: Last Adventurer 【Successor of Kashiyar】]

[Titles (12)]

-Max Favorability from the Start?

-First Slayer

…(Expand)

[Stats]

【Strength: 130(+116)】 【Agility: 130(+116)】

【Vitality: 5(+130)】 【Perception: 50(+104)】

【Magic Power: 70(+105)】

Remaining Points: 29

‘Wow…’

No matter when he looked at it, these stats were truly amazing.

No wonder he could achieve such ridiculous speed.

With these overpowered stats, activating Thunder Dragon Descent and Ice Current, plus commanding an undead legion with Suffering as a legion commander, his hunting efficiency was absolutely insane.

Honestly, at this rate, graduating in one month instead of two months didn’t seem like such a far-fetched story.

‘I didn’t expect to level up too.’

Was it because he continued hunting even after reaching level 57 since Thunder Dragon Descent still had duration left?

After completing the quests, he leveled up once more to 58.

Thanks to this, he was pleased that he could allocate his stats to exact multiples of 5.

-Burned… completely… white… Ugh…

-Mm. Very excellent. I can still vividly see how you assisted your lord. We should all learn from you.

-Risa risa.

Unlike Dohyun, Jihad was groaning in a half-dead state.

It was the aftermath of Dohyun, who had gotten addicted to legendary skills, hunting non-stop as much as his stamina allowed.

Even though he had improved a lot from before, Jihad was still suffering from mana shortage, so continuously pouring out mana without rest was quite exhausting.

‘Hmm… Did I overwork him too much?’

Though he felt somewhat sorry, Dohyun couldn’t help it.

His first legendary skill in life was truly a new world, and he was too busy venting five years of frustration to pay attention to his surroundings.

Still, there were gains.

He could more clearly understand Thunder Dragon Descent and his current limitations.

‘The mana consumption of Thunder Dragon Descent is ridiculous.’

It wasn’t called a legendary skill for nothing – it consumed about as much as using Ice Current and Darkness Shroud simultaneously.

On top of that, with various buff skills active, it was even more demanding.

Even with the ‘Benevolent Light’ effect from the King’s Seal, it wasn’t enough – that said it all.

Actually, that made him wonder if he should invest more in mana stats, but…

‘That seems like too much of a loss.’

No matter what, without any offensive magic skills, he couldn’t make excessive investments just for the mana pool.

Honestly, his pure magic power stat was 70 now, and with various effects combined, it reached 175.

This should be higher than most mages of the same level.

There was a reason why martial artists in Demroc were sensitive about mana-related equipment.

If Thunder Dragon Descent became stronger based on mana stats, he would invest without hesitation.

It was good yet regrettable that it scaled with strength, agility, and perception instead, as if they couldn’t ruin the martial artist concept.

‘I shouldn’t just complain about Jihad.’

It seemed he’d need to look for more items related to mana pool or mana recovery later.

“Oh, it’s Kaiser!”

At that moment, Dohyun snapped out of his thoughts at a voice from somewhere.

“Wow… He was hunting non-stop and finally came to the city.”

“Huh? Wait. If he’s coming to the city now… could it be?”

Players had gathered around him, looking at Dohyun with disbelief.

Between gazes of expectation and doubt, Dohyun walked confidently.

He was used to such attention by now.

-Ahem!

Then Jihad, who was serious about receiving attention, straightened his back and walked along, striking a somehow irritating pose.

-Risa!

Eliza peeked her head out from Jihad’s robe pocket with a smile.

And on Dohyun’s left, opposite to those two, Charlie walked with a stern face, loyally guarding him.

There was a reason why those guys were suddenly acting differently than usual.

“Wow… Those are the Guardians, right?”

“They have some presence. That robed dwarf looks a bit shabby though…”

“No way. There are rumors that robe commands the Outlaw King as a legion commander.”

The players were whispering.

“What? Does that make sense? Isn’t that totally overpowered then?”

“There’s a Guardian that completely outclasses all existing Pratel players? Wow…”

“At that level, it must be a divine beast, right? What species could it be? It’s always covered up, so I can’t tell.”

“What necromancer-type divine beasts are there?”

“But why does Charlie always have such a stern expression? He was always frowning at me.”

“That’s because you… never mind.”

“Still, seeing Charlie again brings back memories. Being a former knight commander, he must be reliable.”

The subject of their discussion was Jihad and Charlie.

Now it wasn’t just Dohyun, but the Guardians were also drawing quite a bit of attention.

-Ahem!

-Mm!

No wonder those guys were walking with such awareness.

Jihad was one thing, but seeing even Charlie act like this was unexpected and made him chuckle.

When I first obtained them, I wondered what kind of Guardians these were.

Now I didn’t envy other divine beasts… well, not entirely, but they had become quite useful.

Thud.

“Would you please place your hand on the orb?”

Upon arriving at the entrance of the royal palace, a guard who was watching the door held out an orb.

It was the same measuring orb that had previously filtered out troublesome players.

[58]

Without hesitation, I placed my hand on it and a number appeared, causing the guard to nod.

“Confirmed. What brings you here?”

“I would like to see the king.”

“…Please wait a moment. Ah, he says it’s fine now. Please go inside.”

Leaving the guard who stepped back behind him, Dohyun vigorously opened the door.

‘Let’s see the face of this secretive king.’

* * *

“The king, you say…? Hmm… It’s difficult to speak of. He is a magnificent person.”

“I don’t want to carelessly speak to outsiders.”

“Lord Gilberun is someone who earned everyone’s respect. When ‘that person’ was here, things were very different from now… Ah, this won’t do. I’ve said something unnecessary.”

When receiving quests and asking NPCs about the king, similar reactions usually came back.

A respectable king.

A magnificent king.

The greatest wise ruler in history.

Everyone answered as if they had made a promise, but Dohyun felt something strange.

‘Their expressions really do turn strangely dark.’

These were modifiers that should make residents incredibly proud, but the faces of the residents giving these answers were shadowed.

Like people hiding something.

‘So this is why they said it was strange.’

Indeed, it was enough to stimulate a Korean gamer’s sensibilities.

Even Dohyun himself caught a strong whiff of a hidden piece. That’s why he was even more curious.

Despite advertising so obviously “I’m a hidden piece!” no one had properly cleared it.

‘I’ll know when I meet him.’

He was curious, but there was no way to know just from rumors.

That’s why he had looked forward to meeting him directly for the past few days, and now that moment had come.

[You have encountered ‘Gilberun’, the Lord of Pratel.]

[Through Gilberun’s goodwill, 10 minutes of conversation has been granted.]

[This will be recorded in the Adventure Log.]

“So, you came looking for me?”

A heavy voice. But for some reason, no strength could be felt in it.

Kind eyes but firm lips that contrasted with them.

A high nose and large, elongated ears.

A warm impression, but somehow an appearance that was difficult to treat carelessly.

“What brings a disciple to seek me? Is it for the same reason as the previous disciples?”

“Yes. I wanted to see in person the king called a wise ruler.”

“A wise ruler… I wonder if I’m even qualified to be called that anymore.”

Dohyun tilted his head at the sight of the king sitting on a somewhat crude throne asking questions.

‘He looks more normal than I heard?’

I had heard his mind was strange, so I wondered if conversation would even be possible, but he looked more normal than expected.

Of course, he seemed somewhat dispirited and weak, but that could happen when tired, couldn’t it?

However, that thought changed as the conversation continued.

“Well. I’ve never thought about it.”

“That could be the case.”

“I don’t really know. If you’re curious, I’ll introduce you to someone to ask.”

“Well… time is limited, after all.”

“There’s nothing particularly like that.”

What do you think about the disciples?

Do you have any worries?

You can tell me if you have any requests.

What was the reason for using the orb as an entry condition for disciples…

No matter what questions he asked, Gilberun only spoke predetermined answers without delay in a bland tone and manner.

It wasn’t that he found Dohyun bothersome either. There were simply no emotions contained in his words.

Should I say it felt like something essential was missing?

‘…So this was it.’

I had felt something was strange throughout the conversation, but now I understood.

In Gilberun’s attitude toward the world, no attachment to life could be felt. That’s why no matter what was said, the answers that came back had no soul.

“The promised time has ended, Your Majesty.”

“Is that so? Sorry, I have work piled up. Let’s end our conversation here.”

And so 10 minutes passed without any gain.

The name tags floating above the heads of the knights protecting the king who was giving meaningful looks were all close to black with blood-red color.

Each of them must be tremendous experts.

‘This is why I couldn’t gain much.’

The residents won’t talk, and the king only gives soulless answers.

If I tried to force it or cause a disturbance, I’d be caught by those strong knights.

If caught like that, it was terrifying to imagine how long I’d rot in prison on charges of trying to harm the king.

‘Owner… are you going to leave like this?’

‘I have no choice.’

It was right to get up at this point.

Even though I obviously knew it was a hidden piece, I had to get up like this, which was maddeningly regrettable, but I couldn’t get caught.

‘They said I need to clear the Guard Knight quest to meet the king again.’

I had no choice but to look forward to that time and focus on growth in the meantime.

And Dohyun’s entry into the castle wasn’t solely because of the king. He planned to look for that first.

“…Please rise.”

The subtle pressure from the dignified Guard Knight was gradually becoming heavier.

Having finished organizing his thoughts, Dohyun straightened his knees and stood up.

That was the moment.

[Eye of Truth is activating.]

“Huh?”

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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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