The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 264

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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 264

Episode 264.

Her momentary confusion at his confident gaze was brief.

‘What kind of nonsense is this… He’s completely lost his mind.’

Sina soon snorted dismissively.

If it could be changed so easily, why would it be called a habit in the first place?

Just as erasing scars is difficult even with significant resources and effort, habits are something that may or may not change even with years of effort.

‘Even physical monsters like the Empress, Cheonma, and Demroc have habits.’

Even they couldn’t change them immediately just by deciding to.

Especially in the Empress’s case, despite having superior physicality to anyone else, she was certain it would be impossible.

Because this wasn’t a matter of physical ability.

“You’re going to change such habits in an instant? Your bragging should have limits… If you thought you could buy time, you misjudged.”

“Well. You don’t know until you try, right? I’m not the type of fool who gives up before even trying.”

Even seeing her face full of mockery, Dohyun simply smiled.

“And…”

He added one more thing.

“I have a feeling it’ll work.”

“Ha.”

She clicked her tongue as if exasperated and gripped her dagger.

‘To think I judged such a fool as skilled… My instincts must have really deteriorated.’

If it were just bragging, she could let it slide, but this man was serious.

The more they talked, the more foolish she felt for dealing with him.

If he couldn’t grasp his place, she’d just have to educate him until he did.

“Fine. Let’s see you do it well. If you can.”

Lowering her stance to gain explosive propulsion, she looked like a wildcat.

Her movements were so fluid one might think that’s how wildcats moved.

However, her two eyes glaring fiercely at Dohyun gleamed as savagely as those of a predator.

[The ‘Maintain’ effect applied to Ghost Kill Dark Annihilation has one use remaining.]

[The ‘Maintain’ effect will disappear after the next attack.]

‘Two chances. That’s enough.’

She hadn’t set many status ailment skills, the assassin’s main strength, in her skill slots.

It was widely known that he possessed Hero characteristics.

‘People think assassins only specialize in ambushes and status ailments.’

If that were all there was to it, they wouldn’t have earned the reputation of being specialized for PvP.

Assassins had many hidden damage amplification skills.

Mainly types that amplified single strikes, so while not very useful in raids, PvP was a different story.

For assassins who primarily used stealth, enhancing the first attack boasted tremendous performance.

[Using Hero skill ‘Decisive Finish’.]

[Deals 300% increased damage for the first strike only.]

[Using Hero skill ‘Piercing Dagger’.]

[Deals damage that completely ignores defense for the first strike only.]

[Ghost Kill Dark Annihilation effect deals 500% increased damage upon successful hit.]

[Judged as higher-grade skill, damage amplification amounts stack.]

Especially a strike using Ghost Kill Dark Annihilation would be truly a one-hit kill.

“How murderous.”

Dohyun chuckled at the obviously extraordinary momentum.

Sina frowned while maintaining her lowered stance.

He’s laughing in this situation?

‘Let’s see how long you can keep laughing.’

Gritting her teeth, she lowered her stance to the limit.

Watching her crouch so close to the ground that even track athletes couldn’t manage such a position, Dohyun also slowly took his stance.

Step.

He adjusted his stride and gripped his sword again.

Steadying his breathing and facing her directly, there was no sign of evasion anywhere in his posture.

‘He’s going for a head-on confrontation? Against a strike that even Demian dodges rather than blocks?’

It was absurd but fitting for Kaiser.

He never backed down from any adversity.

That’s why it was laughable.

‘Of course. Change, my ass…’

That guy was still the same as always.

And that consistency would be the cause of his downfall.

‘With that stance, he’ll definitely parry to the left… twist his body just before impact.’

Based on her analysis of his data, Sina’s thigh muscles swelled as she finished her assessment, and victory gleamed in her eyes.

Whoosh!

But then, as she kicked off the ground and shot forward like a cannonball.

Her eyes widened in shock.

As the distance closed, she could finally see it.

‘…He’s adjusting his stance?’

A very brief moment. Just an instant, but she definitely saw it.

Dohyun gradually correcting his stride and changing his momentum.

No, it wasn’t just adjusting his stance.

Whooo…

His breathing, inhaling and exhaling.

The personal breathing pattern that every swordsman possessed was different.

Even his grip on the handle was similar yet different, and his gaze meeting hers had changed from before.

Even his attitude toward the sword felt different.

‘…Sword Master?’

Why did Sword Master, that woman, come to mind at this moment?

It was probably because this man reminded her of that woman to a surprising degree.

Her thought was correct.

Grin.

Dohyun was actually imitating Sword Master.

She was a master of neutralization.

Nothing was more suitable for this situation than her swordsmanship.

‘Changing habits. It seems difficult if you think about it vaguely. But what if there’s a clear image to change into?’

His body remembered, accumulated through thousands upon thousands of sparring sessions.

When to exhale, how to grip the sword. When to step forward and when to swing the blade. How to stride and what attitude to take toward the sword.

All of her habits were so vivid he could easily recall them even now.

“You said habits are like scars? Then no one has seen her scars more often than I have.”

He simply thought of her and moved as his body remembered.

With just that, Dohyun had become Sword Master from their 8,103rd sparring match.

Sina’s eyes filled with shock.

‘…I can’t see anything.’

It wasn’t bragging.

She couldn’t see or predict anything from him.

He had truly discarded all his habits and donned everything of someone else anew.

‘What kind of impossible thing is this!? I, I need to change direction…’

If she continued like this, she’d be the one caught off guard.

If she entered unknown territory, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

She had to change direction…

‘Ah.’

It was already too late.

Because Dohyun’s sword was faster than the speed of retreat.

‘Damn…!’

Seeing the sword aimed at her head, Sina urgently activated her skill.

[Using Backstep.]

[Mark is created.]

She barely escaped the crisis by using Backstep in desperation, but as if he had anticipated it, he spun backward and swung Cheonbyeon, which had somehow transformed into a dagger.

‘The attack I used?’

The only way to avoid it was to roll like Dohyun had done earlier.

But she had no alternative to block the throwing knife that would obviously follow by adjusting its angle.

[Mark disappears.]

In the end, she used Backstep again and tried a side kick, but Dohyun leisurely twisted his body to dodge it.

Sina’s mind raced quickly.

‘If it’s the Sword Master, I’ve analyzed him before. If I remember correctly, he definitely had a habit of prioritizing neutralization over attack. Then the reaction coming now must be deflection…’

She was the master of a Top 10 Guild.

As if proving that she hadn’t carelessly earned that position, she completed her analysis in an instant, but,

‘Let go of the dagger just before impact.’

Unfortunately, that analysis couldn’t shine.

Thwack,

Whoosh-!

“Huh? Why is this…?”

She had expected him to deflect and subdue, so she let go and stepped back forcefully, but what was this?

Instead of deflecting, wasn’t he charging roughly and striking down?

Nowhere in that appearance was there a Sword Master.

Rather than a Sword Master, it was more like…

“…Empress?”

“If we’re talking about the number of sparring sessions, I’ve done it more often with that woman.”

Dohyun grinned as if saying ‘bingo’ and muttered regretfully.

“Since it’s my first time trying this, I was just starting to get the hang of it…”

‘First time? This?’

Abandoning all one’s habits and imitating someone else.

Was it such an easy task that someone attempting it for the first time could pull it off?

As the sword blade cast a deep shadow blocking the sun and struck down, Sina’s eyes trembled.

Idiot and below expectations? Can’t grasp the situation?

‘…Mon, monster.’

The one who couldn’t grasp the situation was herself.

When she realized this, she had already been cut in half by Dohyun’s strike.

[You have defeated Player ‘Sina’.]

[Since the opponent is judged to have attacked first, your karma value does not increase.]

After confirming the message, Dohyun finally relaxed his stance and sheathed Cheonbyeon.

-Owner!! I believed in you!!

-As expected of our Master.

-Rizariza!

-You’re so amazing, Owner. So, couldn’t you untie this snare?

-Riza!

The reaction was more intense than usual today, and it seemed the snare hadn’t naturally loosened since it wasn’t a skill.

When he dismantled the snare, if only to see Eliza looking at him with sparkling eyes, an unexpected reward was given.

[You have obtained Snare of Binding.]

[Snare of Binding]

[Grade: Hero+]

[Description: A snare that can bind any target as long as conditions are met. The bound target cannot free themselves from the binding.

However, the bound target takes no damage while tied by the snare.

[Binding: Different conditions are assigned to each target, and once conditions are met, anyone can be bound.]

“Oh, this is a better reward than expected?”

-Ahem! I was tied up for this purpose all along!

-Rizariza!

“Right, well done, Eliza.”

-What about me? Huh? Why aren’t you saying anything about me? Excuse me? Hey?

Dohyun pushed away Jihad who was leaning his head forward and had a satisfied expression.

He had been disappointed about not getting an essence orb, but who knew he’d receive such a gift.

‘This is much better than an essence orb.’

Despite being Hero+ grade with only one option, that one option was worth as much as two or three other options.

[Using snare on Guardian ‘Jihad Black’.]

[The conditions to bind the target are two: ‘Have higher stats than the target’ and ‘Bind two life forms simultaneously’.]

“So it’s like this. The conditions aren’t necessarily just one.”

-…Owner, that snare is glowing. You’re not planning to use it on us, are you?

-Ri, Riza?

“Come on, no way. Of course not.”

This time the conditions weren’t difficult, but depending on the target, ridiculous conditions might appear.

It was a tricky option, but still excellent enough.

Because it could be a joker card depending on the situation.

When he opened his inventory and found a sparkling green orb in the corner and clicked it, delayed messages appeared.

[Whisper from friend ‘Ast’.]

[Whisper from friend ‘Ast’.]

[Whisper from friend ‘Ast’.]

“Auntie?”

What’s this auntie up to?

And not just one, but three messages.

[Ast: Hey, we’re in a meeting right now but the atmosphere is ominous.]

[Ast: Be careful. Especially watch out for Aegis, Leonore, and Cheonoechen. They seem to be plotting something. Anyway, why do you always have so many enemies?]

[Ast: This won’t do. I’m having guild members tail them and will tell you immediately if anything strange happens.]

“Hmm. Top 10 Guilds…”

Though he had casually checked the messages, the content was more serious than expected.

Dohyun, who had been pondering this, exclaimed.

“Sina? Come to think of it, the Bloodshed Guild master’s name is Sina, isn’t it?”

-Bloodshed Guild… could that be one of the Top 10 Guilds?

-What, Charlie knows about it?

-They’re practically celebrities in the Empire, so how could I not know.

Indeed, unlike Jihad who only picked up information about things that interested him, Charlie listened to information with open ears.

‘Top 10 Guilds are watching me… Then was Bloodshed also targeting me? No, if that were the case, they would have brought officers.’

Or not?

Considering that fraudulent stealth ability, they might have judged it better to move alone.

Whatever the case, it was certain that the Top 10 Guilds were targeting him.

‘Didn’t they say they were heavy-bottomed folks? They seem too light to me.’

He had somewhat expected this since he had caused such a spectacular scene at the Forgotten Tomb, but who knew they would move this quickly.

Though he spoke in a playful tone, this was a serious matter.

‘Sigh, this is going to be quite tough.’

Bloodshed Guild was an assassination guild. As such, Sina’s specialty was assassination.

From that fraudulent stealth to the thorough preparation and even the style of analyzing habits.

Honestly, if he hadn’t followed his comrades’ lead, it would have been extremely dangerous.

No, before that, if he hadn’t had the Eye of Truth, he might have already died in the first ambush.

‘In other words, that woman must be the weakest in terms of pure force.’

Indeed, even in public evaluations, while her assassination skills were acknowledged, there were many opinions that her pure combat power was too weak to be called a Top 10 Guild.

Well, that was only natural.

Having such fraudulent assassination abilities and being strong in combat too would be even more game-breaking.

‘…It’s dangerous right now. I need to grow faster.’

Just relying on the new armor he would obtain wouldn’t be enough.

Still, wouldn’t he be able to compete a bit better if he reached at least level 90?

At minimum, if he could gain something through this labyrinth investigation, he’d feel more at ease.

“…Let’s go. We need to move quickly.”

-That would be good, Owner.

-Rizariza.

-Yes! This humble sword thinks the same, Master.

Leaving behind the agreeing guys, Dohyun started walking.

Fortunately, the labyrinth the map indicated was nearby.

He planned to enter the labyrinth directly like this.

[RCD video recording in progress.]

‘…It would be better not to upload this video for a while.’

It might unnecessarily give the Top 10 Guilds justification to move or fan the flames.

But Dohyun didn’t know.

When Dohyun, having finished his judgment, moved farther away and left the place where Sina had died.

Rustle-

That a man hiding in the thicket had raised his head.

“Wow… jackpot.”

With sparkling eyes, he alternately looked at Sina’s corpse scattering away and Dohyun’s figure becoming a dot in the distance, then swallowed and took a photo.

“This is a major incident!”

Restraining his itching desire to immediately post about it on the community.

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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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