The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 255

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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 255

Episode 255.

Mysterious.

That was how I could describe my first impression of the Sword Emperor.

For someone who stood at the pinnacle of the continent with his sword, he had too kind a face and ordinary build.

His long beard and physique seemed more suited to one who studied calligraphy rather than martial arts, yet his firm gaze was like that of a tiger.

He gave the impression of a mountain lord hidden within a pine tree.

‘He looks exactly like a master grandfather from a martial arts novel.’

You know those elderly masters described as righteous sect experts or hermit masters.

I could understand why that Sword Master fellow had entered under this old man’s tutelage.

When an old man with such an impression demonstrated the extremes of swordsmanship, that martial arts fanatic couldn’t help but fall for it.

On the other hand, I was also curious.

‘He’s not the type who would normally become a disciple.’

Even if he volunteered to be a disciple, he was the type who would learn for just a few days or months and then leave.

The fact that he remained as a disciple for at least over half a year meant one of two things.

Either he still hadn’t fully learned that old man’s swordsmanship, or there was still a mountain of things to learn.

Whatever it was, it was an exceptional situation, so it piqued my interest.

“Beast-like senses and excellent balance. Ho, what a remarkable young lad. The one beside him… has terrible aptitude but possesses explosive strength like his build.”

The Sword Emperor seemed equally intrigued, as he looked around the sparring room and muttered while observing Empress and Ast.

“…That’s a compliment, right?”

“Hey, compared to Charlie who said you should suck your thumb since you’re getting in the way, seeing how you do mercenary work with skills worse than a five-year-old shows that mercenary group must be quite lacking in talent – he’s an angel, Auntie.”

“…”

“Didn’t you get the Three Calamity Sword Technique back then? When you posted about it, people just mocked you asking if you were an old man.”

“…It’s humiliating, so stop bringing it up. At least I got a unique ability upgrade so it’s somewhat livable now.”

Though Ast, who actually received the compliment, had a sour expression, he had no choice but to shut his mouth at Empress’s words.

A memory he wanted to forget had surfaced.

Charlie could only blink at this unexpected expose session.

-…? You mean me?

Charlie himself was hearing this for the first time.

-Charlie… what a scary person.

-Rizariza…

-…I don’t remember, but I formally apologize.

“You’re not denying it though…”

-N-no, that’s not it.

-Rizariza…

Charlie coughed awkwardly while playing dumb, and Eliza comforted the even more saddened Ast.

It was then that the Sword Emperor’s eyes gleamed with interest as he watched them filming their comedy routine.

“…Demons, are they? And quite old ones at that. A young man traveling with two demons born with heterogeneous auras and a knight… How interesting.”

His gaze, which had been looking at Charlie, Jihad, and Eliza with apparent surprise, finally turned toward Dohyun.

Kind, wrinkled eyes that smiled gently.

The tiger-like eyes within them alternated between looking at Dohyun and Sword Master, then slightly frowned.

Dohyun tilted his head at this.

‘…What’s this? This feeling like I’m meeting a displeased father-in-law?’

For some reason, it seemed like he found my existence disagreeable.

The Sword Emperor stared intently at Dohyun’s masked face, then clicked his tongue.

“I wanted to see what kind of rascal had rolled in from where… Are you going to keep wearing that gloomy mask?”

“Ah.”

Dohyun, belatedly realizing he was still wearing his mask, hurriedly removed it.

The first to react were his companions.

“Oh, what? You look more decent than I thought?”

“Indeed. You don’t seem much different from your Demroc days.”

“You look better now though? A bit different too. Isn’t it because you guys transformed so shockingly?”

“Is that so?”

The Sword Emperor made a displeased grunt at his companions’ whispering.

“So, my disciple. Is this rascal… no, is this young man the one you often mentioned while smiling? I recall you praising him as a genius of timing and psychological warfare.”

“Yes, Master.”

Was it my imagination that the Sword Emperor’s eyebrows seemed to twitch at Sword Master’s gentle smile as if recalling the past?

‘…It feels like there was emphasis on “mentioned” and “smiling”?’

His tone when telling me to remove my mask was the same, and as Dohyun swallowed nervously at the uncomfortable feeling.

The Sword Emperor, now openly showing distrust, asked bluntly.

“Well then, you must be the one who completed the Lion King’s trial.”

“…That’s correct.”

“Remarkable indeed. Though he was only at the beginning of his realm back then, quite different from now, even I found the Lion King challenging.”

“The Lion King, you mean?”

“Wasn’t the final trial a life-or-death battle with the Lion King?”

Dohyun blinked at the Sword Emperor’s words.

This was news to him.

Even if he had taken a different route from the existing hidden piece, it should have been fighting an Eternal Knight at most, but the Lion King?

‘Ah.’

At that moment, Dohyun gasped at a sudden realization.

He remembered that the Lion King’s trial proceeded according to the challenger’s level.

Probably because the Sword Emperor’s level was too high, the Lion King had personally stepped up.

Even back then, his skills were comparable to the Lion King’s… So what level would the current Sword Emperor be at?

It wasn’t just Dohyun who was curious, as the Sword Emperor suddenly asked.

“It seems you had a different trial than mine. What kind of trial was it?”

“…It was withstanding the sword strikes of an Eternal Knight who was the Lion King’s longtime friend and mentor.”

“Ho?”

For the first time, the Sword Emperor’s gaze toward Dohyun changed.

“Though merely a walking corpse, to have honorably passed the test from that Lion King’s mentor…”

The displeased expression disappeared, and it was then that the Sword Emperor, muttering with apparent interest, placed his hand on his sword hilt.

“I’m curious. Which would be superior – his sword or mine.”

“…?”

“Would you try receiving it once? I’ll only go hard enough not to kill you.”

“Excuse me?”

[Emergency Quest ‘Sword Emperor’s Curiosity’ has occurred.]

[Withstand the Sword Emperor’s strike to earn the Sword Emperor’s recognition.]

[Upon success, you will obtain the titles ‘One Recognized by the Sword Emperor’ and ‘Gift from the Sword Emperor’.]

[Upon failure, the Sword Emperor’s favorability will greatly decrease.]

‘…What?’

What am I supposed to withstand right now?

While I was dazed by the sudden emergency quest, the Sword Emperor began drawing his sword from its sheath.

Whoooosh-!

Then the atmosphere changed.

Just the simple process of drawing a sword.

It was merely a simple motion anyone could do, yet it set my nerves on edge and drew my focus.

In a world that seemed to move in slow motion, every detail of the Sword Emperor’s form was clearly visible.

His quietly exhaled breath, his unwavering hands and face.

Even the profound principles of swordsmanship contained within.

‘…Pine tree.’

If the Forgotten King had contained a snowstorm atop snowy mountains in his sword, the Sword Emperor was a pine tree of the forest.

The illusion of pine trees swaying in the wind lasted only briefly.

Soon, eyes like those of a tiger standing atop a mountain peak and surveying the world flashed with intensity.

“Crazy.”

Dohyun unconsciously spat out a curse as he took his stance.

There was a massive mountain before him. It felt as if a gigantic mountain was approaching to crush him.

He felt a reverence like that of a human realizing their insignificance before nature.

His two feet were fixed to the ground like nails, unable to move.

[Heaven-Defying Technique ]

[Using First Form: Beginning .]

He struggled to take a step forward, but what greeted Dohyun was an even closer massive disaster.

He felt it instinctively.

That couldn’t be broken through with the Second Form.

[You have encountered a sword strike of an incomparably high realm.]

[Your current realm cannot handle it.]

Even the system was proving this.

He couldn’t even run away. All he could do was wait quietly for death.

Crack.

‘What nonsense.’

But Dohyun gritted his teeth and took a step forward.

His pride wouldn’t allow him to meekly accept something as impossible.

And Dohyun had the power to fuel that will.

[Your strong will to overcome resonates with your obsession.]

[The obsession dormant within you activates.]

[As long as you don’t give up, your obsession will empower your will.]

A faint handful of energy helped Dohyun move forward.

This must be what throwing an egg at a rock felt like.

Carrying a pitifully small but firm energy, he leaped toward the infinitely massive mountain, and miraculously, a miracle occurred.

[Breaking through your limits and advancing, the path to the next form opens.]

[You have seen beyond the next realm.]

[The image of the Third Form becomes slightly more concrete.]

What briefly appeared in his blurred vision was the sky.

The sun floating high in the sky. Forests flourished in its reflection, and seas surged greatly. Forest beasts quenched their thirst, and massive fish devoured such beasts.

In all those changes, there was the sky.

Whoosh—

The moment he realized this, he felt an energy different from before.

Instead of opposing that massive disaster-like sword strike, it simply melted into it as if embracing it.

Crash!

But unfortunately, that was the end.

The melting energy eventually reached its limit and was ultimately swept away like a massive tsunami.

As the Sword Emperor’s sword fully descended, the world that had been passing in slow motion returned to normal, and a tremendous explosion erupted.

—!!

“Cough.”

Simultaneously, Dohyun’s body couldn’t withstand the impact and flew into the wall.

The wall he crashed into didn’t just crack but was deeply dented, and Dohyun, who coughed up blood, soon collapsed limply.

The cracks that spread like spider webs throughout the sparring room starting from the Sword Emperor finally reached Dohyun, creating the largest crater.

-O-Owner, are you okay!?

-R-Risa!!

-Master! How dare they do this to Master…!

Just as the startled Jihad and the enraged Charlie were about to draw their swords.

Empress reached out her hand to stop them.

When their eyes met, she gestured with her chin and spoke casually.

“Look over there.”

-…Ah.

Charlie, who had been silently looking toward where Dohyun was as she said, widened his eyes and then released his grip on his sword and straightened up.

At the same time, the Sword Emperor’s voice carried clear surprise.

“Remarkable. Though I held back, to receive it so perfectly.”

“…Does this look perfect to you?”

“It does to my eyes. Your limbs are intact, and you didn’t even lose consciousness.”

The Sword Emperor speaking thus was sincere.

The sword strike just now was actually delivered with the intention of bringing him to near-death. And the moment he delivered the strike, the Sword Emperor felt it.

‘That little bastard…’

He had definitely tried to counterattack beyond just blocking.

Then, sensing his realm was insufficient, he showed the experience to deflect the sword strike when he realized it wouldn’t work.

‘Hah… What a cunning fellow. Acts like thunder but fights like a snake.’

But there was a smile on the Sword Emperor’s lips as he muttered this.

He could understand why his disciple had praised him so endlessly.

“I acknowledge you.”

“…?”

“But remember this. I’ve only acknowledged that you’re close. You must strive even harder.”

Dohyun frowned at the voice that carried faint wariness while speaking as if showing mercy.

‘What’s that old man been talking about since earlier?’

It had been nothing but incomprehensible words from the start.

Half-listening and groaning as he got up, Dohyun looked at the message that appeared before his eyes with a blank expression.

[Perfect parrying fails.]

[Unable to completely deflect the attack, you take damage.]

‘If I hadn’t hastily mixed in parrying at the end, I couldn’t have blocked it.’

The Sword Emperor acknowledged that he had blocked it, but with half his life force depleted, could this really be called blocking?

That didn’t sit well with him. More than anything, it was too disappointing.

‘That form I glimpsed briefly. If only I could have fully unleashed it… Sigh, I feel like I could grasp it, but it feels unsatisfying like I only got a taste.’

When he partially accepted it, a realm of a different level from before was unleashed.

Then what kind of power would be unleashed if he fully accepted it?

Perhaps he could even block the current sword strike. No, beyond blocking, he might be able to see even more…

‘This is just a legendary-grade signature sword technique… It’s definitely not an ordinary legendary grade.’

This level had transcended the performance of typical legendary signature sword techniques.

Just thinking about what the Heaven-Defying Technique would be like when all forms were unlocked and it took its complete form made his heart race.

Perhaps the day would come when he could land a blow on the Sword Master with swordsmanship.

He was unable to hide his excitement and was feeling thrilled when.

Ding—

[You have cleared the sudden quest: Sword Emperor’s Curiosity.]

[As a reward, you obtain the titles ‘One Acknowledged by the Sword Emperor ‘ and ‘Gift of the Sword Emperor ‘.]

[Due to the effect of the title ‘Max Favorability from the Start?’, favorability increase rate rises.]

[The Sword Emperor’s favorability increases slightly.]

‘…What do you mean it increased slightly even with the title effect? How much was it supposed to increase originally?’

He couldn’t help but laugh, but it was fine because there were sweet rewards.

Just from their names, they were clearly not ordinary things.

Especially that last Gift of the Sword Emperor was what he was most curious about.

‘Well then, shall I check the rewards?’

Dohyun grinned and accessed the information.

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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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