The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 302

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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 302

Episode 302.

Rior de Arnis.

The 1st Prince of the great Arnis Empire, and a man who strikes fear into everyone.

The story of how he cut off someone’s arm simply because they displeased him was now famous enough that no player was unaware of it.

So much so that when people think of the 1st Prince, the first name that comes to mind is “tyrant.”

However, despite all the rumors, there were virtually no players who had actually conversed with the 1st Prince.

“It’s the tyrant 1st Prince…”

“Wow… first time seeing him in person.”

“Shh, watch your mouth. If he hears you, you’ll lose at least one arm.”

“He’d use violence in the city? Is that even allowed?”

“What can you do? In the Empire, they are the law.”

But now.

That tyrant is right before their eyes.

Under the gaze of countless onlookers, accompanied by numerous guards.

Thud, thud.

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

With each echoing footstep, the noisy commotion gradually subsides.

Soon, in the chilled silence, only heavy footsteps and the clanking of armor could be heard echoing.

Dohyun nodded his head at this.

‘So that person is the 1st Prince Rior.’

Certainly.

The aura he gives off is completely different from the frail 2nd Prince.

His sharply honed presence is more like a warrior than a prince.

‘I guess it’s not for nothing that he’s considered the leading candidate for the next emperor.’

No matter how much one possesses the qualities of a wise ruler, a strong and charismatic tyrant would be better than a sickly and weak emperor.

Of course, that’s just from the Imperial Household’s perspective – who knows how the citizens feel about it.

“Ah.”

It was then.

Perhaps due to the unexpected appearance of the tyrant.

A player who was somewhat slow to assess the situation was staring blankly and missed the timing to get out of the way.

The distance to the 1st Prince had closed to right in front of him.

“Hey, you crazy… hurry up and come here!”

At this rate, it was obvious he would end up blocking the path, so what appeared to be a companion urgently grabbed his arm, but,

Bump.

“…Ah.”

“What are you?”

Unfortunately, it was a step too late.

Not only did he block the path, but he even bumped shoulders slightly.

The player who belatedly came to his senses gasped as soon as he looked up.

The 1st Prince with a furrowed brow and guard soldiers with menacing faces were looking down at him.

“Damn… that guy’s screwed.”

“Why was he spacing out like an idiot?”

“Isn’t he going to see blood as soon as he returns?”

“Tsk, at least he’ll have something proper to report about his return.”

The player’s complexion turned pale at the murmuring sounds.

It would be fortunate if it was just bloodshed.

If he got on the wrong side of that tyrant and ended up imprisoned, he wouldn’t be able to play the game properly for months.

He might even face a situation where he’d have to quit the game.

You might think it’s an overreaction for just bumping shoulders once, but considering that tyrant’s reputation, it wouldn’t be strange if something worse happened.

‘I should beg. If I beg, maybe he’ll settle for just cutting off an arm!’

That was the only thought that came to mind.

Pride and everything else aside, he was about to prostrate himself flat when.

“…Tsk. Move along.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…Huh?”

Contrary to expectations, the 1st Prince merely clicked his tongue.

He continued his procession, ignoring the situation without taking any particular action.

The player, who had been about to prostrate himself to thin air, was left bewildered.

“What? Nothing happened?”

“What’s gotten into that tyrant?”

The watching players were equally surprised.

To bump shoulders with that vicious tyrant 1st Prince and still survive with all limbs intact.

It was far too different from what they expected.

‘That was unexpected.’

Dohyun found it equally unexpected, so it wasn’t incomprehensible.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there actually no player who got their arm cut off?”

“You’d have to encounter him to get it cut off.”

“Hmm, maybe he doesn’t cut them since they’ll just respawn anyway?”

“Crazy people are originally moody. Maybe he just wasn’t in the mood to cut. He’s probably on his way to meet the Emperor.”

“Whatever the case, that guy was lucky. Bumping shoulders and not suffering any consequences.”

“You never know. He might disappear from the city soon.”

The players who had been murmuring for a while also gradually dispersed once the 1st Prince completely disappeared from view.

Soon, only Dohyun and a few players remained in this place.

Only then did Jihad, who had been reading the situation, carefully ask.

-How was it, Owner? Any reaction?

-Rizariza.

-…

Charlie also had a stiffly hardened face that seemed both serious and curious.

Meeting the gazes of his companions at a glance, Dohyun slowly lowered his eyes to the insignia in his hand.

Then he shook his head.

“…No.”

-Huh? What, so the 1st Prince isn’t the one either?

-Rizariza?

Dohyun shook his head once more.

“No. The distance was too far.”

The insignia reacts when the previous owner is within 5 meters.

In other words, he needed to be within 4 meters to be safe.

Having arrived late and with countless crowds to push through, it was difficult to close the distance that much.

-Then what do we do?

“It doesn’t matter.”

But Dohyun was unconcerned.

He had only come because of the commotion anyway – there was no need to confront the 1st Prince here.

Unless he was absent or ill.

He had received the Emperor’s promise that he could meet the princes whenever he wanted.

‘A tyrant… he didn’t seem like one though.’

Maybe he’s trying to avoid troublesome matters because he has something to hide.

Maybe the rumors got distorted.

Or maybe it’s moodiness like the players said.

He couldn’t tell yet, but one thing was certain.

[The Eye of Truth activates.]

‘His whole body was red.’

The 1st Prince, like the 2nd Prince, had his entire body stained red from within.

It was all incomprehensible,

‘Whatever it is, I’ll find out when I meet him.’

Soon I would know.

* * *

His judgment was quick, and his actions were even quicker.

The moment he confirmed the 1st Prince had entered the Imperial Capital.

Dohyun went straight to the Audience Chamber without hesitation and requested the Emperor to let him meet the 1st Prince.

“Right after returning from a subjugation mission, requesting a meeting without even resting from fatigue…”

“…”

“Normally this would be improper, but you have sufficient qualifications for such a request. I’ll allow it.”

Though the request might have seemed rude, the Emperor readily granted it.

After all, this was the Disciple who had brought the first clue about the 2nd Prince’s illness that had shown no progress.

Thus Dohyun was able to meet the 1st Prince directly.

“You summoned me, Your Majesty.”

“This isn’t a formal occasion, so you can speak comfortably.”

“…What did you summon me for?”

And this was less than 5 minutes after the conversation had begun.

The 1st Prince looked displeased. He was annoyed at being called just when he was about to rest from his fatigue.

“This is the Disciple who brought clues about your brother’s illness.”

“…This man?”

But the moment the 1st Prince heard the Emperor’s words, interest sparked in his eyes.

His gaze scanning Dohyun seemed like he was trying to assess his combat power.

“In exchange, I promised to create an opportunity for him to speak with you both. Since you just returned, I called you first.”

“…I understand. That man seems to have earned such qualifications.”

The 1st Prince nodded and approached Dohyun without hesitation.

Soon he came within arm’s reach and extended his hand.

“Rior de Arnis.”

“Kaiser. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Those behind you are…”

“My Guardians.”

At the brief explanation, the 1st Prince didn’t ask further.

Disciples traveling with Guardians was a well-known fact even to NPCs like them.

He had only asked because it was an unusual combination for Guardians.

“So, you wanted to meet me?”

“…Yes.”

“30 minutes. That’s the time I can spare for you. You can ask anything you’re curious about. If you understand, let’s move to my chamber.”

Though his face and tone were sharp, there was a strange sense of goodwill.

Had bringing clues about his brother’s illness earned him some favor?

I’d heard their relationship wasn’t very good, so this was unexpected.

‘Still, they are blood brothers after all?’

Perhaps the rumors had been exaggerated.

‘Rumors…’

So when they arrived at the 1st Prince’s chamber.

Dohyun decided to make that his first question.

“Different from what you heard… Did you hear I was a cruel tyrant without blood or tears?”

“…”

The 1st Prince chuckled and answered as if he had nothing to hide.

“I think one must sometimes become a tyrant when necessary, but I don’t have such twisted hobbies as collecting arms or torturing people.”

“Then why…”

“Why do I leave the rumors alone? Because they benefit me. Sometimes there’s no better tool than using fear.”

Dohyun was inwardly impressed.

A tyrant? A bloodthirsty madman?

It was all nonsense.

The 1st Prince was a man with the broad capacity to even utilize false rumors.

“With Iden… there has been some distance since he fell ill, but I don’t think our relationship has hit rock bottom to the point of drawing swords.”

“I see.”

“Honestly, I don’t know why such rumors spread either.”

His subsequent answer about his relationship with the 2nd Prince also turned out to be false rumors.

That took 5 minutes.

“Nothing else to ask?”

“Hmm…”

“Strange. When our eyes first met, you looked like you wanted to dig into everything about me, yet you have so few questions.”

Even with the 1st Prince’s direct observation, Dohyun had nothing proper to say.

Of course he didn’t.

[Old Golden Insignia]

‘…Why isn’t this reacting?’

‘What does this mean, Owner? Is the 2nd Prince the culprit?’

‘Rizariza?’

I had thought the 1st Prince was the most likely suspect.

But when it came down to it, the 1st Prince wasn’t the traitor.

He wasn’t even a tyrant – he seemed to have sufficient qualifications to become Emperor.

‘…Then is it really the 2nd Prince?’

If not the Emperor, and not the 1st Prince, there was only one answer.

Then was that clueless expression I saw before an act of sophisticated psychological warfare?

I was thinking it showed the restraint befitting a mastermind.

Creak-

“Did you complete the subjugation mission well, Brother Rior… Huh?”

“Hmm?”

The door opened and a familiar face entered.

Actually, it was ambiguous to call it familiar, but in this situation, it was the most welcome face of all.

“Iden, what brings you here? You’re not in good health.”

“This much is fine. I heard you returned from a mission, so I thought I’d see your face after so long… How interesting that Kaiser is here as a guest.”

The man who opened the door and entered was none other than the 2nd Prince.

It was Iden de Arniss.

“You know him?”

“We had a brief conversation when he came to see Father before. I also heard he’s the one who brought clues about my illness. I wanted to express my gratitude, and it’s good to meet like this. Thank you, Kaiser.”

Saying this, Iden turned his gaze to Dohyun and expressed sincere gratitude.

Though it was gratitude from His Highness the Prince, Dohyun couldn’t concentrate.

All his attention was focused on the insignia in his hand.

[Old Golden Insignia]

‘No reaction?’

The moment he entered the room, the distance requirement was already satisfied.

The distance from the door to the table was less than 4 meters.

Yet if there was no reaction, what was I supposed to think?

I wondered if there were more of the Emperor’s bloodline I didn’t know about, but no matter how much I thought, there weren’t any.

The two princes had lost their mother, the Empress, two years ago according to the setting.

‘Or does the Emperor have a half-sibling somewhere?’

For a moment, that thought crossed his mind, but even if that were true, it didn’t make sense.

If there were illegitimate children, they wouldn’t be in the Imperial Palace given the circumstances, so what were the odds they’d possess an old imperial bloodline insignia?

And if he had to find that, the difficulty level would be absurd.

‘At this point, isn’t this a system error?’

Just as he was seriously starting to think that.

“Why aren’t you going in and standing out here, Your Highness the 2nd Prince?”

“Ah, you were there. Right.”

“Huh, when you were urging me to come see it together, and now you forget about me? Isn’t that too much?”

Someone appeared behind the 2nd Prince through the open door.

At the same time, Dohyun’s eyes widened.

Ding-

[The old golden insignia is reacting.]

The insignia was reacting for the first time.

“Ah, Sir. Please introduce yourself. This is the person who obtained clues about my illness.”

“Oh, this person?”

A middle-aged man in splendid armor turned his head, and their eyes immediately met.

Then the man walked over with heavy steps and extended his hand.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Garion van Rodman, Commander of Arren Castle’s Knight Order and Lord of the castle.”

The moment he heard that greeting, Dohyun’s gaze turned toward Charlie.

He didn’t know why he looked at Charlie first.

His head moved instinctively before his brain could process the thought.

-….

And Dohyun saw it.

Charlie making a face he had never seen before, not even once.

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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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