The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 22

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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 22

Chapter 22.

Backstreets of Novice City Arde.

In this place called the most secretive location in Arde, there stands a single small door.

A door so small that an average adult male would have to duck his head and squeeze through to barely enter.

Though it’s a rather unpleasant door that gives off an eerie feeling with its worn and tattered appearance, the story changes once you go inside.

“Oh… it’s different from outside?”

“It’s just like magic. How can it be so different?”

It wasn’t that the space itself had completely changed or that the size looked different from outside versus inside.

However, the atmosphere was completely different.

Unlike the crumbling exterior, a luxurious scenery unfolded that made you wonder if this was truly the same space.

Everything that should be in a small space was there, yet it didn’t feel cramped at all.

Rather, this small space enhanced the atmosphere even more, showing what might be the pinnacle of space utilization.

‘It’s not just empty words that people in construction get a lot of inspiration from Godose.’

And that wasn’t limited to just construction, but various people in literature as well.

As Godose was called another world, its elaborate and realistic yet otherworldly scenery different from the modern world opened up new perspectives.

With as many non-combat classes as combat classes, Godose was contributing greatly to the modern world.

“I’ve brought the Variant Goblin’s blood!”

“Hmm. This is definitely Variant Goblin blood. You may go.”

Just then, someone seemed to be clearing a quest as figures could be seen bowing their heads and leaving.

At that moment, a man wearing a robe gestured lightly but then paused.

“Ho, there are many useful ones today.”

Sensing Dohyun’s party’s arrival, the man, Kalde, raised the corners of his mouth.

Whether it was due to the room’s atmosphere or the robe that half-covered his face, even his smile somehow felt sinister.

“That person gives me a bad feeling somehow.”

“I know… He looks like he’d research dark magic.”

“Shh. You shouldn’t judge just by appearances.”

While his companions whispered quietly upon seeing Kalde, Dohyun stared intently at him.

The moment their eyes met, Kalde tilted his head.

“Hmm? Didn’t you guys stop by earlier?”

“Yes.”

“What, you’re not here to give up, are you? There are plenty of people to save, but I need a lot of blood for research… Huh? What’s this.”

As Kalde frowned and was about to express his displeasure, Dohyun extended his hand.

In his hand was a small glass bottle. Upon confirming it, Kalde’s eyes widened slightly.

“This is… Variant Goblin blood?”

“Yes.”

“Huh… You already brought this? It’s been about 40 minutes?”

Kalde seemed genuinely surprised as he said this.

It was only natural.

Even assuming a first-try clear, it was a dungeon that took over an hour on average.

Moreover, true to its nickname as the graveyard of newbies, the ‘Habitat of the Mutant Goblin Warrior’ was a dungeon that required countless tries to barely defeat.

There was a reason it had no time limit.

It meant to come back whenever you obtained it, so Kalde often couldn’t remember each client’s face.

Many people took the quest, but those who brought back the item came much later, causing confusion.

Except for special cases like this one.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this… Amazing. To catch that variant so quickly.”

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

[Kalde’s favorability has increased.]

‘Oh, this?’

They said it wasn’t easy to raise Kalde’s favorability, but he gained an unexpected harvest.

Well, even with the slightly increased favorability, he probably couldn’t do much, but at least he wouldn’t hear bad words.

Indeed, Kalde looked very satisfied.

Judging by how he approached with a rare, faint smile.

“I’ll give you the reward as promised. It was perfect timing, so my research will proceed faster thanks to you.”

Ding-.

[You have cleared the quest ‘Variant Goblin Blood.’]

[You receive 1 gold, a large amount of experience, and a silver ring crafted by Kalde as rewards.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

As he instantly gained 2 levels reaching level 12, a quest appeared as if it had been waiting.

[You have met the conditions.]

[A warp to the Main Continent opens.]

[To use the warp, you must pass the Continental Trial.]

[Newbie Graduation]

-Grade: 0th Trial

-Description: You have earned the qualification to graduate from Novice City Arde.

You can move to the Main Continent through the warp at the city’s edge.

-Clear condition: Reach level 12

-Clear reward: Low-grade Skill Draw Ticket

-Time limit: None.

The so-called graduation quest.

A quest that inevitably appeared to users who reached each city’s graduation level, and this quest had to be completed to move to the next city.

True to names like trial and such, increasingly difficult quests often appeared as you progressed.

Accordingly, ranks and rankings were divided based on graduation performance, with differential rewards given…

[You have passed the 0th Trial.]

[The 0th Trial does not record rankings.]

[You can now move to the Main Continent.]

[You have obtained a ‘Low-grade Skill Draw Ticket’ as a reward.]

‘Novice City definitely considers convenience.’

It was an irrelevant story here in Arde.

Simply taking a warp and moving was something even a newborn could do.

“Finally…!”

“Everyone worked hard. Kaiser… you really worked hard too!”

“You worked hard.”

Still, being their first graduation, the party members seemed somewhat excited.

Well, they could finally move to the Main Continent, so how could they not be thrilled?

‘Finally, the Main Continent.’

The stage where all content opens, and unlike Novice City, a global stage where all races gather together.

Countless adventures and mysterious otherworldly scenery unfolding on a vast continent incomparable to Arde.

Only after stepping on the Main Continent could you truly feel what Godose was about.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

How fun would it be on the Main Continent, the main stage?

Unlike the somewhat gloomy Demroc, this was a future era with advanced civilization, making it even more anticipated.

The emotion he felt when first starting Demroc was now tickling Dohyun’s heart. He was unable to calm his excitement when it happened.

“With your level of skill… it should be fine.”

Kalde, who had casually muttered while passing by, approached closer.

The excited party members paused and looked at Kalde.

Kalde was famous for waving his hand dismissively as if annoyed after giving rewards.

There were even a few users who picked fights because of that attitude, showing just how much he looked down on users.

Of course, after some people had their rewards confiscated again for doing so, such people were no longer seen.

And there was something they always said.

‘Ridiculously strong, wasn’t it.’

So strong that it was questionable whether he was really an alchemist.

Even though they were now beginners who had reached level 12, the fact that four of them got beaten without being able to do anything meant they couldn’t dare to oppose him.

The house he lived in and various other things made him an NPC shrouded in mystery…

Since his name wasn’t particularly well-known even on the Main Continent, people didn’t show much interest.

‘What’s going on?’

Anyway, it was indeed puzzling that such a person was showing up with business.

What was even more puzzling happened after that.

“Take one each.”

“Huh?”

“This is…?”

He had somehow approached right in front of them and handed something to Dohyun and his companions one by one.

It was a letter.

No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say it was a postcard that looked like a letter.

At that moment.

Ding-.

[You have obtained a reward by fulfilling special conditions.]

[You obtain a postcard with Kalde’s handwriting.]

[Postcard with Kalde’s Handwriting]

-Grade: Rare+

-Description: A postcard with Kalde’s handwriting.

‘…Special reward?’

Dohyun, who had paused at the suddenly appearing message, nodded his head.

Among Demroc’s quests, there were occasionally quests that included hidden conditions.

And special rewards were given only to those who fulfilled those conditions. Naturally, Godose, which borrowed many things from Demroc, also had this system.

‘It must be a reward given to users who ranked within the time limit.’

It made sense why rankers were so fiercely competing for rankings with their eyes blazing.

Since this was also a kind of hidden piece, the reward was quite substantial.

‘I don’t know what this will be used for, but…’

Since it was a special reward and also Rare+, he thought it might be useful someday.

Items of this type were often used as materials for something.

“Wow… What? It’s Rare+?”

“The title and item alone were more than enough, but what kind of jackpot is this.”

Yubinkkung and Miganddeok also seemed surprised as they widened their eyes and checked their system windows.

When their eyes met, they hurriedly looked surprised and glanced around nervously.

Then Shield Master was the first to approach.

“…Thank you.”

“Excuse me?”

Despite Dohyun’s reaction as if wondering why he was thanking him, he continued speaking without concern.

“Thanks to you, I obtained many rewards beyond what I deserved. And…”

Shield Master, who had stopped speaking at this point, made eye contact with Dohyun.

In his clear gaze, he could feel pride, gratitude, and some inexplicable sense of elation.

When Dohyun tilted his head at his appearance that seemed to be hesitating about something, he added as if to say that wasn’t it.

“…I was truly grateful. In many ways.”

“That’s right. We’re really grateful.”

“If you ever need our help later, please let us know, hyung! We’ll drop everything and come!”

The party members, including Yubinkkung and Miganddeok, joined in and kept expressing their gratitude.

From their gazes and tone, he could feel not just sincerity but even admiration.

It was too excessive to be just gratitude for obtaining rewards.

‘Why are they suddenly acting like this?’

For Dohyun, who didn’t understand their change of heart, it was just burdensome.

When he avoided their sparkling eyes and nodded appropriately, their faces instantly brightened.

After appropriately responding to them talking to him like baby birds, Dohyun turned his gaze.

What his eyes focused on was the card pack.

[Would you like to use the Low-Grade Skill Draw Ticket?]

‘Finally, the moment has come.’

The skill draw, called the highlight of Godose.

And it was also the moment Dohyun had been waiting for most since leaving the Pantheon.

When Dohyun grinned and used the draw ticket, a gentle beam of light burst forth and ten cards appeared.

‘The difference is quite significant.’

After seeing the Pantheon cards and then looking at the skill card pack, it definitely looked shabby and lacked presence, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

When Dohyun stared intently at the cards, a message soon appeared and changes occurred.

[Eye of Truth activates.]

‘Yes…!’

Once again, the Eye of Truth activated and he could see the colors of the cards.

There weren’t any brilliant colors like before.

Just a brown color like dead wood was stimulating Dohyun’s eyes.

Since low-grade skill draw tickets only produced common grade cards, it was natural. But even so, Dohyun couldn’t contain his excitement.

‘As expected, the effect activates when drawing skill cards too.’

This proved that the Eye of Truth’s effect wasn’t limited to god draws, but applied to all draws.

How could he not be happy when he could do guaranteed draws on all future draws.

‘Skill draw tickets are said to only show cards related to one’s profession.’

This was why Godose didn’t get completely cursed out despite being terrible with RNG luck.

Although it was damn difficult to get high-grade skills because skill draw tickets were non-transferable, at least they gave usable skills.

Swordsman professions got sword-related skills, mages got magic-related skills, and production classes got skills suited to them…

So what kind of skill would appear for Dohyun?

Swoosh.

When he reached out with an excited heart, the card soon flipped over with a subtle brown glow.

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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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