The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 174

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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 174

Episode 174.

They say when a person falls into shock, their thought processes come to a halt.

Dohyun was feeling the absolute truth of those words. For a moment, time seemed to stop and no thoughts came to mind at all.

One second, two seconds like that…

“Ah.”

Just under three seconds later, Dohyun came to his senses and blinked his eyes.

He could see Luliel tilting her head and looking at him as if asking what he was doing.

Soon after grasping the situation, she provided an explanation.

“Ah, I didn’t tell you who that was. No wonder you’re confused.”

“…”

“You probably expected it to some degree, but yes. That sleeping woman is Angela, whom you’ve been searching for so desperately.”

It was the final nail in the coffin.

With this undeniable truth, Dohyun took a moment to organize his thoughts.

No, he tried to organize them.

‘No, I can’t organize them.’

If only his brain, pickled in bewilderment, would function properly.

Still, after working his brain hard, he was able to summarize the current situation to some degree.

‘So Angela is dead but not really dead, and for some reason she’s sleeping in this forest? At the same time, she’s the key and medium that will let me obtain the Fragment of Fate.’

‘That’s… what it seems like, Owner?’

‘That was an excellent situation summary, my lord.’

‘Risa risa!’

It was good that he’d obtained a clue to get the Fragment of Fate as he’d hoped.

‘But why does it have to be Angela as the key?’

Since Sargis, he knew that Fragments of Fate were usually broken and needed a medium to serve as a key to restore their original form.

But what did it mean for that to be a person?

And not just any person, but someone known to be dead – a sleeping queen in the forest.

No, did the king even know about this fact in the first place?

Considering the fuss he made just from touching the necklace, it was puzzling.

“How could he not know? This barrier chamber was personally created by the White Tower Master at the king’s request. There’s no place safer than here.”

“Ah.”

Apparently that wasn’t the case.

When he approached the glass chamber and tried to touch it, there was a crackling sound and his hand was repelled.

[Protected by a powerful barrier.]

[Prolonged contact may cause fatal damage.]

[Unauthorized removal requires very high-level barrier dispelling abilities and magical knowledge.]

‘The performance is certainly solid.’

It was well-known that the White Tower Master had no equal when it came to creating magical items.

There were also many stories about his excellence in barrier magic, and this seemed to be a special glass chamber combining both skills.

But that wasn’t what was important right now.

“…More importantly, why is Angela in a place like this?”

Why was she sleeping in such a place?

And why were they going so far as to protect her here with a special barrier?

That was the mystery.

“She’s under a curse.”

“…A curse?”

“A curse that puts her into eternal slumber. She’s probably living in a dream world right now.”

As she said this, Luliel’s expression became bitter as she looked at the sleeping Angela.

“It’s the fate of one who violated a taboo…”

“A taboo?”

“This doesn’t seem like something I should talk about. It would be proper for the parties involved to bring it up.”

“…Proper. Hmm. Right.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? You have a face like you’re surprised that the word ‘proper’ came out of my mouth?”

“No way.”

…That brat is sharper than I thought.

Was it intuition honed by long years of giving advice?

Dohyun coughed and played dumb, changing the subject.

“More importantly, when you say the parties involved… could it be the person I’m thinking of?”

Luliel looked at him with suspicious eyes, but fortunately went along with Dohyun’s intention.

She nodded and looked south.

The direction where Pratel, the Dream City, lay. More precisely, the direction where the royal palace lay beyond it.

“King Gilberun, called the greatest wise ruler in history. He’ll tell you the rest.”

“I see.”

Dohyun, who had been silently nodding, paused.

After thinking for a moment, Dohyun soon spoke in a reluctant tone.

“Hmm… I think that might be a bit difficult.”

“Huh? Why? He’s not the type to discriminate against Disciples or refuse to meet people.”

“I got kicked out.”

“…?”

Luliel tilted her head with a face that said ‘what kind of nonsense is that?’

To her, Dohyun gave a brief summary explanation.

What had happened and how he came to be expelled.

After hearing the entire process, Luliel let out a hollow laugh.

“How remarkable. How did you find that? Frankly speaking, even the White Tower Master himself wouldn’t be able to find it in one try since there wouldn’t even be a trace to sense.”

“I have good eyes.”

“…Having good eyes doesn’t really explain it, does it?”

His eyes were indeed very good.

They were the only eyes of their kind in Godseeker, with a unique trait no less. Luliel scratched her head and turned around as if she didn’t understand.

“Fine. Just follow me. It’ll work out if we explain properly.”

“He didn’t… look like he would.”

Dohyun recalled the faces of Gilberun and the Knight Commander when he was expelled and clicked his tongue.

Their faces had been cold enough to freeze, beyond just being chilly.

But Luliel was simply nonchalant.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What, do you have a method?”

“It’s not really a method. I, Luliel, will vouch for you.”

Grinning like that, she spoke boldly.

“So just trust me and follow.”

At that confident bearing, Dohyun nodded.

At this moment, Luliel was nothing but a ray of light.

However, it didn’t take very long for that thought to be shattered.

* * *

The rear gate of the palace.

An entrance not permitted to players.

“No, I’m vouching for him, I tell you. Just go report to the king first. This is really frustrating.”

“…It’s not allowed. Right now, His Majesty needs stability. Especially that person… it would be difficult to let him in.”

Seeing the guard glance sideways at him and speak coldly, Dohyun covered his face.

‘I knew it would be like this…’

What had possessed him to trust that stubborn little girl?

“Didn’t you tell me to just trust you?”

“No, this isn’t right…”

“Sigh.”

“You just thought of me as some kind of troublemaker, didn’t you?”

How does she even know such words?

When Luliel, who had a hundred times more sense than others, rolled her eyes, Dohyun quietly turned his head away.

Eventually, Luliel’s tongue moved rapidly, half embarrassed and half annoyed.

“Why won’t it work? Don’t you know me? You must have seen me go in here before.”

“I know. Aren’t you the one who goes around everywhere giving unsolicited advice to the guards… Ahem. I mean, offering advice. Even so, today won’t work, so please come back another day.”

“Unsolicited advice? Did you just say unsolicited advice? Is that what you call it?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Ha. You were all so frustratingly slow that I couldn’t help but give you some advice. That’s all for your own good. Do you think I do it for my own benefit?”

Watching Luliel spout famous lines that could be included in a handbook for know-it-alls without blinking an eye, Dohyun was genuinely amazed.

‘Wow…’

Are know-it-alls timeless?

It was amazing how everything she said and did was exactly the same.

“Ah, so talkative. You’re new, aren’t you? You have no sense, no sense at all. Hey, back in my day, before even exchanging a word, ah, we would figure out who this person was.”

“…Stop it, Luliel. You’re being unseemly. Look how far away Jihad has moved.”

-My lord, I will always stay by your side!

“No. You can stay away at times like this. You need to manage your image too.”

She spoke so boldly that I thought she had some tremendous power.

But she was just being treated like a typical neighborhood know-it-all.

The only difference was that she was just a know-it-all with some strength.

“I don’t know which noble family’s daughter you are, but no matter what, today won’t work.”

“No, just call the king! Or at least call Lak.”

“…Do you have a personal relationship with the Knight Commander?”

Just when I couldn’t watch anymore and was about to take her away.

The guard hesitated at the name Lak. His indifferent expression had become rigid.

Knight Commander, Hyde Lakdrier.

There were few who were allowed to call him by the intimate name Lak.

Just as the guard was getting an ominous feeling in his head.

Creak-

“It seems someone has come to see me.”

“…I thought there was only one person who would cause such a commotion… It really is Lady Luliel.”

The door opened behind the guard, and the heavy voices of two men could be heard.

Voices I had heard once but remained strongly in my memory.

“…Huh?”

“The king…?”

It was King Gilberun of Pratel and Knight Commander Hyde Lakdrier.

“Lak!”

“Eek…!”

Luliel’s complexion brightened noticeably, while the guard’s face turned pale blue.

* * *

Fortunately, Luliel wasn’t just some crazy know-it-all girl.

“I received a report that a young girl was causing a disturbance at the rear gate, so I wondered if it might be… It really was Lady Luliel.”

“…Is that truly the one you wish to vouch for?”

“That’s right, don’t you trust my word?”

The two people, who surely didn’t have good feelings toward Dohyun, were convinced by Luliel’s single word.

That wasn’t the end of it.

“Hmm… Could that be possible?”

“Lady Luliel’s guarantee is trustworthy.”

When was it that they had driven him away, but now they let Dohyun into the royal palace for the sole reason that Luliel had brought him.

They even allowed him access to Alheon Hall, where he had first met the king.

This was all thanks to Luliel’s position.

“If we don’t trust the prophet’s guarantee, whose word should we trust?”

“You speak truly.”

[You have heard the title of the wandering NPC ‘Luliel’ for the first time.]

[It will be recorded in the Adventure Log.]

Wandering NPC, Luliel.

She was the one and only being called a prophet in Pratel.

‘Wow, I didn’t expect this.’

I expected her to be someone special since everything about her was extraordinary, but I never thought she’d be someone who could speak casually to the king.

She wasn’t above the king, but felt equal to him, which was still amazing.

It seemed that not only players were unaware of this fact.

Looking at the guard’s reaction, her identity seemed to be a secret even from NPCs.

‘The guard’s expression was quite a sight.’

He turned so pale that he looked blue, as if he’d seen a ghost.

Well, from the guard’s perspective, it must have been like a bolt from the blue.

He was just doing what he was supposed to do, but the girl he thought was just some know-it-all noble daughter was actually someone even the Knight Commander couldn’t treat carelessly.

Could he have possibly imagined this?

‘What happened to that guard, Owner?’

‘Hmm. Thinking back to my experience, he probably got thoroughly scolded by his direct superior.’

‘That’s the same in any era.’

Well, this place with a medieval fantasy setting would be worse, not better.

At least Luliel, though eccentric, was quite generous.

She didn’t make any bad comments about the guard and coolly let it pass, saying it didn’t matter.

For her, it was just frustrating, but there were no hard feelings.

Well, whatever happened to that, that’s that.

There was a separate reason why they let Dohyun in based on Luliel’s single word of ‘guarantee.’

“More importantly… Being guaranteed means he’s the vessel of the prophesied disciple, doesn’t it, Lady Luliel?”

“Of course. He passed all my tests too. He brought all the materials as well.”

“Indeed…”

“He was lucky. I was frustrated because I couldn’t see anyone with promise, but I felt good energy from him.”

“…?”

Dohyun expressed confusion as he watched them chatter among themselves about things he couldn’t understand.

Prophecy? Promise?

What was all this about?

At times like this, staying quiet would at least get you halfway there.

“Finally… Has the time finally come?”

Following that saying, as he listened quietly, Gilberun showed an excited expression he’d never seen before.

With bloodshot eyes as if looking at an enemy, he muttered with a trembling voice.

“Luidera, the time to drive away that nightmare and obtain the spark of purification.”

Hearing that muttering, Dohyun perked up his ears.

‘Luidera?’

It was a name he’d never heard before.

At least there was no such name among the known bosses or NPCs in Pratel.

If there had been such a name among the officially known bosses, he couldn’t have missed it, and he was certain about NPCs since he had thoroughly searched every corner when looking for Angela.

That meant…

‘Hidden piece!’

It meant he had discovered another hidden piece.

“Who is Luidera?”

“Ah, it seems Luliel hasn’t explained it yet.”

“I thought it would be better for the person involved to tell you.”

“I see… That makes sense too.”

When I finally couldn’t hold back and asked, Gilberun opened his mouth, saying there was nothing to hide.

“A terrible collection of nightmares that feeds on dreams and grows. The name of the witch awakened by my misguided greed.”

Ding-

As soon as those words ended, a notification rang out.

[You have heard the name of Luidera, the terrible nightmare and witch of dreams.]

[It will be recorded in the Adventure Log.]

[You have learned of the hidden raid boss in Pratel.]

‘Hmm… Right, this time it’s a raid boss… Huh?’

Dohyun, who had been reading the text with interest, suddenly closed his mouth.

‘Wait, what kind of boss?’

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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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