The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 238

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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 238

Episode 238.

From the increase in all stats due to the title to the Adventure Log and even the message that swordsmanship proficiency had increased.

‘It’s been a while. My swordsmanship proficiency going up.’

After my swordsmanship proficiency reached level 28, it really hadn’t gone up at all, but now it increased by 2 levels at once.

Moreover, it wasn’t just swordsmanship proficiency that had risen.

Looking at the various proficiencies that had increased, Dohyun’s lips curved upward.

The proficiencies of other weapons had also risen to various levels like 22 and 24.

Among them, the Killer’s Dagger, a weapon he’d favored since the early days, was at level 26, and the scythe he’d used most recently was at level 16.

‘I have been using swords a lot lately. I should raise the others to the same level as swordsmanship.’

That way, he could display the true aspect of a weapon master who could wield the same powerful strength with any weapon.

‘Why did the Unbelievable Achievement pop up? It doesn’t seem like I achieved a ranking or the quest content changed.’

It was strange.

Unlike what he’d experienced before, he had simply done what was predetermined.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. It was difficult enough, and it’s good for me.’

Dohyun turned off the messages that were cluttering his eyes and ears and finally lowered his sword.

‘That was really damn difficult.’

It wasn’t an exaggeration – he really had barely survived.

The warning message that his health was below 10% cluttering his vision was proof of that.

With the Song of the White Lion that Dohyun wielded, he couldn’t handle the swordsmanship of the Guardian, a knight who had reached the supreme realm.

That’s why he had instinctively mixed in the first form of the Heaven-Defying Technique, Beginning…

‘That was the right answer.’

He had skipped over a process that would normally have taken at least a month and obtained the next form.

It was something close to a miraculous encounter, but this wasn’t mere coincidence.

[There is an overwhelming difference in caliber.]

[Despite harsh adversity, you do not retreat but advance, and the path to the next form opens.]

[You have glimpsed the realm of the next form.]

[You have acquired the 2nd form, Destruction.]

The message that had appeared when Dohyun mixed footwork into the Song of the White Lion.

‘Signature swordsmanship has training methods suited to each school.’

From swordsmanship that builds proficiency through the simple and crude number of sword swings to swordsmanship where proficiency increases as you master techniques.

‘There are so many different methods, so I was curious about the Heaven-Defying Technique’s training method, but who knew it would be like this.’

The Heaven-Defying Technique was swordsmanship for advancing purely forward no matter what adversity or disaster struck.

True to its origin story, it was a skill where proficiency increased when overcoming adversity.

In other words, this fight had such an absurd gap that it could be considered adversity.

[Excellent swordsmanship. I can see what will you hold when you grasp your sword. I think I can trust you.]

At the Guardian’s pleased voice, Dohyun raised his head.

The Guardian who met his eyes had a gentle atmosphere, unlike before.

But Dohyun, who was actually looking at the Guardian, had a somewhat blank expression.

‘If he hadn’t stopped his sword at the end, I would be the one lying down.’

The moment he broke through the sword strike and took one step forward.

The moment he awakened the 2nd form on the verge of death and unleashed its power.

When he barely broke through the fierce blizzard, he felt an overwhelming force he couldn’t handle brush past his neck.

A chilling sensation. That was definitely death.

He instinctively felt defeat, but the Guardian actually stopped without delivering a follow-up attack.

‘It was a test after all.’

Thanks to that, he didn’t have to waste a precious day in the World Quest due to a death penalty, so it was extremely fortunate.

But he couldn’t help feeling unpleasant about it.

However, Dohyun didn’t know.

That the Guardian was actually struggling to suppress his shock.

‘For a moment, I unconsciously tried to strike with sincerity.’

No, actually, from the moment that guy displayed his unique swordsmanship, he had been half-serious.

Though he had grown old and weak, for a knight who had reached the supreme realm to show such behavior to a Disciple still growing was excessive.

He had done it to measure him to the maximum because he intuited that something was hidden in that guy.

But that guy had surpassed it.

‘Did I feel danger… me…?’

For just a very brief moment, he had been overwhelmed in terms of momentum.

It felt like he would be devoured by fangs that seemed ready to tear through anything. He had even felt a chill at the swordsmanship he was seeing for the first time in his life.

And shamefully, he had almost made a mistake because of it.

It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time since reaching the supreme realm.

‘To think I felt that way toward such a greenhorn…’

Looking at the space that had become a mess as a result, the Guardian grinned.

Half of that was that man’s doing.

‘Interesting.’

But contrary to such sentiment, the smile drawn across the Guardian’s face was actually fading.

Because it was regrettable.

‘If only he had visited this place a little later…’

That such a talented individual with so much potential had come at too early a time.

If he had come just 3 years… no, even 1 year later.

‘Perhaps he could have put that thing to sleep.’

Though he felt regretful inside, the Guardian soon shook off his lingering attachment.

Hoping for that much was greed.

He was now the Guardian of this place. It would be right to put aside the lingering attachments from his lifetime.

‘As long as no one touches the seal, it should be fine.’

The Guardian, having cleared his distracting thoughts, approached Dohyun a bit closer.

It was to give him the promised reward.

[I am the Guardian. I have lost all the treasures from my lifetime. This is all I can give you.]

As he extended his hand, a ray of light emanated from the Guardian’s fingertips.

The light instantly spread, passing through the Guardian’s heart and brain before shooting upward.

At this, Dohyun also put away his blank expression and became curious.

He was looking forward to what kind of treasure he would receive.

Flash-

The light gradually grew larger, then at some point became as small as a dot.

Dohyun’s eyes widened in surprise.

The shrinking point of light shot out quickly, then settled on his hand and formed a small bottle.

It was then that a message appeared.

[You acquire the Guardian’s treasure as a reward.]

[You have acquired ‘Crystal of Obsession’, a potion whose source is the Guardian’s conviction and heart that never gives up.]

[This is a unique acquisition reward given to the first person to receive the Guardian’s recognition.]

[Upon acquisition, the Guardian’s treasure is permanently bound to Kaiser.]

‘…What?’

A unique legend?

His bewilderment was brief. Dohyun hurriedly checked the information.

[Crystal of Obsession]

-Grade: Legend (Unique)

-Description: A potion containing the conviction of a great king who had a heart that never gave up.

-Effect: Disappears when consumed, and the king’s conviction is absorbed into the body, allowing partial use of the power of obsession.

‘It really is a unique legend?’

It was only today that he had obtained the White Lion’s Legendary Sword.

With this, he had obtained two unique legends in just one day. Dohyun’s eyes filled with excitement as he gulped.

Like a child who received an unexpected gift, his eyes sparkled.

‘Your nostrils are flaring like crazy, but that’s a good thing, right Owner?’

‘Risa?’

‘Of course it’s good. It’s a Unique Legend!’

‘Risa.’

That made sense, since he had already gotten a proper taste of Unique Legend quality with the White Lion’s Legendary Sword.

In such a situation, with a second Unique Legend appearing, he couldn’t help but feel excited.

‘But isn’t that a consumable? I think you said before that equipment is better than consumables, Owner.’

‘Risa?’

‘Well, even if one hit is more powerful, most are usually one-time use, so that’s true but…’

Dohyun trailed off and checked the information again, then grinned.

‘Upon consumption, you become able to partially use the power of obsession… That’s basically like giving a trait, isn’t it?’

If it was this type of consumable, the story was different.

It wasn’t something that disappeared after one use, but an item that permanently granted abilities.

Dohyun opened the cap without hesitation and downed it in one gulp.

[You have consumed the Crystal of Obsession and gained partial power of obsession.]

[When showing obsession that never gives up, power will be unleashed and you will temporarily surpass your body’s limits.]

‘Look at that? It really is like a trait.’

Though conditional, the fact that it seemed close to a passive made it truly close to a trait-like effect.

Of course, it couldn’t compare to a real trait.

While it could be classified as a passive skill for convenience, traits weren’t something so simple.

‘Traits can transcend. There’s a world of difference between transcended and non-transcended traits.’

Just looking at the flame sword Berjhe used, originally it was said to be close to simple fire sword energy that imbued fire attributes.

Similar to how Dohyun applied darkness coating to his sword energy.

When that flame sword underwent transcendence, it displayed terrifying power.

‘Well, not everything becomes overpowered just because it transcends. Even Foot Eater, what you gain from transcending is the user’s feet transforming into the feet of animals they’ve eaten.’

The funny thing was that most skills became sealed after such transformation.

Being judged as half-monster, you couldn’t use most skills except for a few?

From beginning to end, it truly couldn’t be anything but a trash-like trait.

‘Well, enough of that.’

Dohyun emerged from his thoughts and focused on the Crystal of Obsession again.

At first glance, the effect of obsession had somewhat ambiguous aspects.

It was conditional, and he wasn’t sure exactly how much “surpassing the body’s limits” meant.

But Dohyun wasn’t disappointed. Rather, he smiled.

‘I’ll have to use it to know the details, but even if it’s ambiguous, I’m grateful enough.’

He had essentially gained a passive skill without filling up the limited skill slots or equipment slots, so what was there to regret?

Moreover, being a passive effect, there was no cooldown.

This difference would grow larger over time.

For players who had grown strong to their limits, such minor differences would determine victory or defeat.

‘This alone is worth more than a Unique Legend’s value.’

He was feeling satisfied with the rewarding compensation when it happened.

[A special event occurs as a linked event from obtaining treasure.]

[Special event, Truth of the Forgotten Tomb occurs.]

As the message appeared, the Guardian slowly opened his mouth.

[My conviction has been completely conveyed. With this, I have relieved myself of one duty I bore as Guardian.]

“Ah.”

[You are one who has inherited my conviction. You would be fully qualified to know why this place came to be and what is buried here.]

The Guardian’s eyes became infinitely heavy as he closed his mouth.

The eyes of one who had experienced countless storms. Also the eyes of one who had endured countless pain.

Just as his spine tingled from the feeling of partially understanding what kind of life he had lived.

[Do you know why this place is called the Forgotten Tomb?]

The Guardian spoke.

Dohyun answered without much thought.

“…Well, isn’t it because the Forgotten King is buried here?”

And saving that buried King was the content of the World Quest.

However, the Guardian shook his head at that answer.

[No, this place is not a tomb for the King.]

“Then…”

[In my prime… when not a half-fragment like me that fell away in the form of conviction, but when my main body shone most brilliantly. There was one calamity that even my main body, which had reached the supreme realm, could not overcome.]

Dohyun paused at content he had heard somewhere before.

Just as he was thinking about when he had heard it, Dohyun’s eyes widened as the conversation with the Spirit of the Lion King suddenly came to mind.

[It was so powerful that even fighting together with a companion and friend who had reached the supreme realm, we couldn’t win, so we had to choose to self-destruct together.]

“…Could it be?”

[Ho, it seems you already know. Well, if you’re someone who received recognition from me in another time, you might know.]

The worst and most vicious demon born from the abyss.

A terrible life form that coveted not flesh, but existence itself.

At the same time, one who fell into the abyss by self-destructing together with him.

[The Devourer of Existence. This place is the tomb where that thing is sealed.]

Long ago, the tomb where the abyss that nearly brought destruction to the Great Empire sleeps.

That was the true identity of the Forgotten Tomb.

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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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