The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 323
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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 323
Episode 323.
“…Uh.”
“Hmm…”
How should I explain this?
Bang! Crash! Boom!
Kraaaah!!!
Outside the Abyss Veil.
The Players who had been anxiously watching the battle unfolding inside had peculiar expressions.
It wasn’t a negative look.
Rather the opposite.
“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?”
“Why does Garion look pitiful?”
“He’s getting beaten to death?”
“Wow, he’s really beating him up thoroughly.”
Was it because of the collaboration between Lightning Dragon Descent and acceleration?
Watching Dohyun push forward at tremendous speed was satisfying enough to clear their minds.
[Using Ice Current.]
[The effect of Ice Current is amplified by the White Lion’s Snowflake Sword effect.]
Even using Ice Current on top of Sword Aura made it truly flawless.
[This is absurd! How can one Disciple wield so many powers!]
“Do you have time to open your mouth? Take some more hits.”
[Kraaaaaaah!!!]
Thanks to this, it was absolutely hellish for Garion.
Dohyun had become noticeably faster, making it difficult to block or dodge, and the Ice Current made his body sluggish as if gravity had doubled.
Every time he inhaled and exhaled, the cold air pierced his lungs.
The fraudulent combat style of slowing the opponent while speeding himself up was annoying enough, but when trying to counter with swordsmanship, Dohyun freely wielded all kinds of sword techniques.
[Using Bairan’s Swordsmanship.]
Swish- Thunk!
Garion’s swordsmanship was countered with the same Bairan’s Swordsmanship.
[Using the Forgotten King’s Swordsmanship.]
Grrrrr…!
When he tried to push with force using his spec advantage, the ghostly approaching blizzard and White Lion would interfere.
When he somehow managed to find an opportunity?
[Using Parrying.]
[Perfectly deflecting the attack.]
[Using Ego.]
Bang! Crash!
As if waiting for it, Dohyun would deflect the attack or use Ego to break his balance before landing a counter.
Rather, the moment he found an opportunity became the timing when he received an even bigger attack.
Creating distance was also impossible.
Crackle-
When he leaped backward thinking it wouldn’t work, Dohyun would catch up instantly using Lightning Movement and Back Attack.
In the end, all Garion could do was tearfully engage in a frontal confrontation…
No, get beaten like a dog on a hot summer day.
Was this what it meant for each attack to contain killing intent?
The Players couldn’t help but be curious about the intense barrage of punches filled with sincere emotion.
“Kaiser’s trauma… This is precious.”
“What kind of trauma could it have been? At this level, it’s like Garion was actually the enemy of his parents.”
“Isn’t that crossing the line?”
“Ah, then cancel… no, I mean that’s just how it looks, you bastard.”
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely a tremendous memory.”
Would those Players making serious deductions among themselves know?
“…You shouldn’t have done that.”
[…What?]
“How was I living happily after forgetting… Do you know what you get when you draw 10 consecutive common skills? They give you a Random Skill Gacha Ticket. The version with increased probability. If you get common skills even from that, they give you a title called ‘Human Abandoned by God’?”
[…?]
“And what about the bricks? Break 10,000 and they give you the Demolition King title. They make various effects burst when you break bricks? Demolition King play wasn’t just play! Hahaha… No, forget it Kaiser. You’re the man who reached +15. The owner of 4 Legend skills.”
That the trauma would actually be of this kind.
Watching Dohyun beat him up while constantly spouting incomprehensible words, a voice filled with bewilderment echoed in Garion’s mind.
-What is this about? Is that the state of someone fallen into trauma? That’s not someone who became strong, but someone who went completely insane!
Garion expressed fierce agreement with the Draconic Abomination’s words.
‘Damn, I have no idea what he’s been babbling about. What’s all this about drawing and demolishing!’
Why break bricks, why tear cards?
What’s so proud about breaking 10,000 of them, why is he beating me like I’m the enemy of his parents – everything was just unfair.
Grrrrrrr…
That wasn’t the only incomprehensible thing.
‘The Lion King’s swordsmanship…? No, it’s similar but different. More fundamental than what’s been passed down… How can that guy use that swordsmanship?’
Though slightly different, it was definitely the Lion King’s swordsmanship that had only been passed down in legends.
Someone who learned Bairan’s swordsmanship, called the reincarnation of the Lion King, was using swordsmanship presumed to be the original version of the Lion King’s techniques.
Though everything was incomprehensible, what mattered now wasn’t such things.
[Life force is below 10%.]
His life force was already starting to hit rock bottom.
Considering it took less than 10 minutes for 5% to wear down after that guy got serious, he could last at most 30 minutes.
“Waaaaaaah!!”
“Insane! That’s insane!”
No anxious Players could be seen anymore.
They were just letting out heated cheers like spectators watching an undefeated colosseum champion.
Bang! Crash! Crash!
Did he gain strength from their cheers?
The sound of pummeling Garion gradually gained more force, and at some point Garion couldn’t even dare to counterattack, just crouching and taking the hits.
Overwhelming.
No other words were needed.
‘…Why. Why am I losing?’
He was superior in strength, experience, and mana.
Not only that.
He had fused with the Draconic Abomination of the Darkness and gained part of the Draconic Abomination’s power.
Just because execution didn’t work and authority didn’t take effect, there was no reason anywhere for him to lose.
But why was he being pushed back so much?
‘Ah…’
There was only one answer.
Skill.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, that guy’s skill far exceeded his own.
In psychological warfare, in tactical exchanges, in the ability to utilize what he had.
He was outmatched in everything, and that meant losing the upper hand in offense and defense, creating this result.
‘Even Master, who was called the greatest talent, couldn’t surpass me.’
Talent worthy of being recorded in history.
He thought he possessed the same talent as the Lion King.
No, he even thought he might be superior to the Lion King.
He considered it his only blessing to have the talent to take revenge on the imperial family who were like the sky, on the entire Empire.
‘And I’m being pushed back in skill… in talent?’
If that’s the case…
What the hell is that guy?
How should he explain that guy who overwhelmingly pushes back someone with talent that would be recorded in history?
Surprisingly, the answer came quickly.
‘…That’s not talent.’
It can’t be defined by such a trivial domain.
That’s something beyond talent.
‘Monster…’
Garion, who had been muttering quietly, let out a sigh as he watched Dohyun extend his sword.
-Garion, are you a monster? How on earth do you accomplish such things?
-I heard there’s a knight with monster-like skills hiding among the enemy… so that was you.
-Garion, my brother and friend. The genius isn’t me, but you.
Though he lived hiding his strength, there weren’t none who came to know his talent.
They would always say when looking at him.
Monster-like talent, they said.
…It wasn’t true.
‘What kind of monster am I?’
When a real monster is standing right there.
Like facing a massive mountain.
Garion, standing before insurmountable talent for the first time, could finally understand the emotions of those who had died to him.
Because he was probably making the exact same eyes as they had shown back then.
If there was one difference, it was that he wasn’t dejected or discouraged like they were.
‘I see.’
He simply accepted it.
That he couldn’t defeat that monster.
That to catch a monster, one must become a monster.
“Is he really going to catch it?”
“Kaiser is doing this?”
“Kaiser punch! Kaiser punch! Kaiser punch! Kaiser punch!”
“Wooooahhh!!”
The sound of everyone shouting Kaiser’s name with one heart echoed in his ears.
And within that.
‘Draconic Abomination.’
-…I’m listening.
Garion spoke quietly.
‘I demand complete fusion.’
-…
The voice stopped.
A brief silence followed, and the Draconic Abomination’s eerie voice broke the silence.
-…Fusion requires time. Are you saying you want forced fusion, breaking this rule?
‘That’s right.’
-You know the price.
‘Yes. Take it.’
And soon a bitter laugh was contained in the eerie voice.
-Kuh… Kehehehe… Kahahaha!!
The laughter that started in Garion’s head quickly expanded its territory, soon echoing thunderously throughout the entire veil.
“What, what? All of a sudden.”
“Ugh… gives me chills.”
“That voice is really chilling itself.”
“Did that bastard finally lose his mind? Why is he laughing while getting beaten?”
The Players expressing their displeasure was only momentary.
An anomaly occurred.
[I’ve received your lifespan well, Garion. The contract is established.]
The moment the bizarre voice echoed quietly throughout the entire veil.
Grab-
Dohyun’s sword was caught for the first time.
As if he had never been frantically beaten, Garion caught the blade with his hand too easily and slowly raised his head.
“…!”
At this, Dohyun stopped muttering and widened his eyes.
Garion’s face was gone.
In the space where his face should have been, only thick darkness remained.
Riiip-
The empty darkness tore lengthily, and soon eyes and mouth like those of a reptile were drawn.
Without time to hesitate at the bizarrely grotesque phenomenon, heavy impact was transmitted throughout his body,
Kwaang-!
[You have taken severe damage.]
[Life force is below 50%.]
-Master!!
When he came to his senses, he had been thrown far away and crashed into the wall.
“Huh?”
“No, what’s happening again all of a sudden!”
“What’s going on? What happened?”
Hearing Charlie’s urgent cry and the Players’ murmuring, Garion cracked his neck with a snap.
The moment he raised his head after lightly loosening his body.
[Ahh… what good power this is.]
A chilling voice that wasn’t human echoed, and simultaneously the murmuring stopped.
What appeared before them, now quiet as dead mice, was a single message.
[Black Knight Garion enters forced fusion at the cost of his remaining lifespan.]
[Entering hidden phase.]
[Synchronization rate with the Draconic Abomination of the Darkness reaches 40%.]
[The speed at which synchronization rate rises increases exponentially.]
[Synchronization rate with the Draconic Abomination of the Darkness is 41%.]
[Black Knight Garion wields more fundamental powers of darkness, with physical abilities and magic power greatly increased.]
…
“Crazy…”
“…We’re screwed.”
* * *
Bang! Kwaang! Bang!!
Inside the Abyss Veil.
This place that had been filled with heated cheers now had no commotion audible whatsoever.
Only heavy thunderous sounds echoed.
[Life force is below 30%.]
[Prolonged exposure to dark energy begins erosion.]
[Poison King constitution activates. Treats continuous damage from dark energy as poison and becomes immune to damage.]
[Unbreaking Stone effect reduces damage taken by 20%.]
[Defense increases from taking consecutive damage.]
[You are overcoming great adversity. All options of the Heaven-Defying Robe are amplified.]
It couldn’t be helped.
Because Dohyun’s figure that had been driving forward with great momentum was no longer there.
Crash! Bang!
[Kuhh… Kuhuhuhuh… Kahahahahaha!!!]
“Ugh…”
Right now, Dohyun was struggling just to barely deflect the relentless barrage of attacks pouring down on him.
[Synchronization rate with the Draconic Abomination of the Darkness surpasses 50%.]
…
[The gap with the target is overwhelming.]
[The target is immune to ice currents.]
[The target is unaffected by Ego.]
‘Now nothing works at all.’
Still, when it first broke through 40%, it wasn’t this bad.
Though not as much as before, it was still slightly affected by Ego, making offense and defense somewhat easier.
But after breaking through 45%, it stopped working, and now at 50%.
Forget Ego – no matter how much he pounded the armor, it was hard to land even one proper effective hit.
[Parrying succeeds.]
[Due to the overwhelming gap with the target, perfect parrying is impossible.]
[Failed to completely deflect the attack.]
At least he was holding on thanks to parrying, but even this might not last much longer.
Without Reverse Heaven’s Garment, he would have been beaten to a pulp already.
[Synchronization rate with the Draconic Abomination of the Darkness surpasses 51%.]
[Black Knight Garion’s life recovery speed increases.]
[Black Knight Garion’s defense increases.]
…
[Black Knight Garion’s abyss energy grows denser.]
‘He’s a complete monster.’
Even in the midst of this, Garion was getting stronger in real time.
[Kahahaha! Power overflows! If this is only half, when I reach perfect form, no one will be able to block my path. Even the Seven Rivers won’t be fearsome! Ah, the moment of my desire has arrived.]
Garion’s eyes were half-rolled back as he burst into laughter with utmost satisfaction.
There was no longer any trace of humanity in that creature.
An appearance similar to the Iron Blood Draconic Abomination he’d seen during the tutorial.
The only differences were that its entire body was stained with darkness and its size was still less than 4 meters?
“Can we even kill that thing?”
“No way, is it really getting stronger in real time?”
“I don’t think it’s a boss meant to be killed in the first place. Since the quest is to hold out until the Seven Rivers arrive, maybe we can do it if we just endure?”
“There’s still about an hour left though, will that work?”
“No, setting that aside, if 50% is like this… when it reaches 100%, even the Seven Rivers might not be able to kill it.”
“Come on, it’s the Seven Rivers though?”
The players were right.
‘Now I know for certain. That’s not a boss meant to be killed.’
Preventing the 1st Prince from becoming a sacrifice until the Seven Rivers arrive.
Just as that was the quest’s content from the beginning, Garion was designed as an unkillable boss.
They were only able to push him this far because of the variables of Charlie’s Dawn Light and Heavenly Transformation’s option devouring.
‘Maybe pushing him was the bigger problem.’
That shouldn’t have happened.
Even in the original quest progression, when the Seven Rivers arrived, Garion probably wouldn’t have been perfectly fused with the Draconic Abomination of the Darkness.
Rather, thanks to Dohyun and Charlie’s efforts, the difficulty had only become even harder.
[Black Knight Garion’s life force is below 10%.]
The fact that his life force was still stuck at 10% was proof of that.
It wasn’t that Dohyun had done nothing.
The creature’s recovery speed was just absurd.
If he hadn’t done his best to occasionally land counters, he would have seen the life force actually increasing instead.
‘Tch.’
Originally, Dohyun hadn’t planned to push this frantically either.
He had intended to proceed with the strategy slowly and calmly, so the Seven Rivers could intervene if necessary.
If only the rage button hadn’t been pressed.
‘That was force majeure.’
It wasn’t an excuse – he really had lost his reason for a moment.
To make him this angry, what a truly vicious creature it was.
Anyway.
[Kaiser, pitiful disciple who has become the sole hope. How does it feel to face such a massive wall?]
“…”
[Despair, and despair again.]
The situation was already twisted beyond repair.
Looking at Garion with his mocking smile, Dohyun calmly assessed the situation.
’58 minutes until the Seven Rivers arrive…’
Practically an hour.
Enduring this long time would be impossible.
Dragging it into a prolonged battle was the worst strategy.
Judging by the speed of the synchronization rate increase, time favored that creature.
If 50% was this much, what about when it reached 70%?
By then, he couldn’t be sure if he could properly endure even a single exchange.
‘…I should settle this now instead.’
Paradoxically, the weakest timing for that creature was right now.
Now, while Dohyun’s condition was even slightly better, he had to kill it.
Killing an unkillable boss.
There was no other method left.
“It’s over.”
“Still, he fought well… it was a good loss though.”
“I don’t know what’ll happen to the Empire starting tomorrow.”
“We should hurry and reach max level then head to the New Continent.”
“Good work, everyone.”
Since the players weren’t unaware of this, they were patting each other’s shoulders with resigned feelings.
-…I’m sorry, Master. It’s because I’m lacking. If only I had been a little stronger… If I wasn’t lying here so pathetically…
Charlie also hung his head low, clenching his fist in frustration.
At this moment, no one held any expectations.
Except for one person.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Other than Dohyun himself.
[…Laughing? Don’t you understand the situation?]
Seeing Dohyun’s grinning face, Garion frowned in displeasure.
[Black Knight Garion spreads his dark authority – Two Pairs of Wings.]
Swoosh-
From the two pairs of black wings spread behind his back, an ominous energy incomparable to before could be felt.
It was such overwhelming majesty that even the players outside the veil sighed, but Dohyun didn’t drop his smile.
Grin.
Rather, he drew an even deeper arc at the corner of his mouth.
His gaze wasn’t directed at Garion.
But somewhere closer, beside him.
[Ring of Sealed Unique Magic]
[Grade: Legend]
[Description: One of the five kings of the brilliant ancient humanity.
A ring sealed with unique magic that only Lusir El Reyhard, the Demon King, used to wield.
Tremendous power can be felt from it, but the ring is unstable and seems like it would break after one use.]
[Unique Magic: One of the Demon King’s unique magics sealed in the ring will activate randomly.]
-The ring’s condition is unstable and will be destroyed after one use. (0 / 1)
An old ring sitting in the inventory.
‘The time has come to use this.’
The Demon King, Lusir El Reyhard.
It was the moment when her unique magic was about to be unleashed across the eons of time.
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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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