The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 35

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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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Episode 35

Chapter 35.

Even when he looked around in confusion, Kaiser was nowhere to be seen.

Thinking he might have entered first, he went deeper inside, but it was the same.

“No, shit… What the hell!?”

The guy who was definitely there until just before entering the boss room suddenly disappeared?

It was enough to make a ghost weep.

Image or whatever, this was a situation where curses had to come out first.

Kirik- clank.

Kii-.

To make matters worse, elite soldiers approached making metallic sounds.

At this rate, he would inevitably draw their aggro.

“Where did this bastard go! Did he bail or what!?”

“No, it shows he’s still connected though?”

“Then what? Don’t tell me he used dungeon emergency escape?”

Emergency escape.

A convenience function that could only be used before entering the boss room to forcibly escape the dungeon.

Though there was a penalty of life force being reduced to 30% for 2 hours, since this was a decent penalty, quite a lot of people used it frequently.

The penalty would also disappear if you went to an NPC and drank a special potion.

However, this function couldn’t be used when a boss raid started.

It was to prevent trolling since suddenly disappearing during a boss try would put most parties in danger of total annihilation.

In other words…

“This bastard… he was onto us.”

“Ah, no wonder he dodged all the attacks.”

“It’s because you shot too obviously! Ah shit…”

“What are you saying! You told me to shoot!”

“Is this the time for us to fight among ourselves? Get your heads straight, you bastards.”

It meant that bastard had noticed their plan.

Now that it had come to this, there was no choice.

If they didn’t want to receive a death penalty, they had to grit their teeth and clear the dungeon.

“Let’s deal with the elite soldiers first. I’ll mark the boss, so please handle the rest.”

“Damn… got it.”

Fortunately, they were all skilled players who had reached graduation level.

With even a mage present, as long as they didn’t make mistakes, it was definitely clearable.

Dash!

The first to step forward was Bastard Sword.

It was to draw the elite soldier’s aggro.

[Unique ability ‘Showdown’ activates.]

[Defense and life force increase by 50% until a conclusion is reached with the designated target.]

‘Tsk. This got annoying.’

Unique ability Showdown.

An ability of the Hero God that displayed considerable power in tanking.

Because of this ability, Bastard Sword could confidently take on the role of sub-tank despite being a swordsman.

Kirik…

The moment the Red Goblin elite soldier hesitated upon seeing Bastard Sword suddenly appear, Bastard Sword struck first.

[Bastard Sword has used ‘Triple Slash’.]

A basic skill that slashes upper, middle, and lower three times in quick succession.

Though it was an ordinary basic skill, Bastard Sword’s Triple Slash was different from others.

[Trait ‘One More Hit’ manifests.]

[Attack count increases, delivering an additional strike.]

A trait that adds one more hit to any skill.

Because of this, he could deliver a quadruple slash instead of triple slash. The elite soldier’s eyes turned blood red after unexpectedly taking one more hit to a vital spot.

Kirik! Kiek!!

[Red Goblin Elite Soldier recognizes ‘Bastard Sword’ as an enemy.]

[Trait Obsession activates.]

[Aggro will not be released.]

Not to be outdone, Bastard Sword attacked the elite soldier next to him as well.

Then that one also had its aggro caught by Bastard Sword.

Like a bull going crazy at the sight of a red cloth, a scene unfolded where they only chased Bastard Sword.

“Aggro’s handled here!”

“Okay. Now I’m going in to mark too.”

Only then did the Paladin move.

Leaving Bastard Sword and That Bastard behind and going deeper inside, a goblin so large that the elite soldiers looked cute in comparison appeared.

Kiii…

Similar height and build to the Paladin who was over 180cm tall.

However, with a body full of fat rather than muscle and the characteristically vile expression of goblins, it had an appearance that made one frown.

Still, only the two eyes that shone brightly were chilling.

[Goblin Chieftain]

-Title: Rare-grade Dungeon Boss

-Type: Goblin

-Traits: Coward, Selfish Defense, Revenge

-Description: Chieftain of the great goblin tribe.

Only goblins who inherited the bloodline of the greatest goblin warrior from ancient times could become chieftain.

However, the current chieftain’s bloodline had become much diluted, unable to hide his innate cowardly nature, and he couldn’t even manage his weight as he hesitated to step forward.

But even such a one was still the tribe’s chieftain. One who knew how to rage for his comrades.

This was the Goblin Chieftain.

Kiiiii!

He was raging as described in the explanation.

[All Goblin Scouts have died.]

[All Goblin Soldiers have died.]

At the death of his comrades.

At his own weakness that drove his comrades to death.

[Trait Revenge activates.]

[All abilities of the Goblin Chieftain increase and combat instincts boil until all ‘Human’ races in the dungeon are destroyed.]

And at the humans who were the source of all this.

“Look at those eyes.”

Originally, the coward trait was close to a penalty trait.

Literally, because of a weak spirit, being too scared to even fight properly was what made a coward.

It was an unbelievable trash trait for a rare-grade boss to have, but when combined with the revenge trait, it displayed tremendous synergy.

A trait that made one stronger during revenge in proportion to the number of dead comrades and the target’s angry emotions.

The constant self-deprecation for being a coward who led all comrades to death soon turned into rage, returning as tremendous power.

Kwang! Bang!

“Kugh…!”

The force pounding the shield was extraordinary.

It was just wildly throwing down punches without any particular technique, but even that alone was overwhelming to block.

Still, he was confident in enduring.

The combat patterns were simple and nothing special compared to Arde’s Goblin Warriors.

There was no need to break patterns, just endure, so while it was somewhat burdensome, it wasn’t difficult.

[Unique ability ‘Endurance’ activates.]

[Damage taken while maintaining the same posture decreases.]

[Trait ‘Immovable Body’ is manifesting.]

[Your body becomes heavier and the probability of being knocked back is significantly reduced.]

And that was his specialty.

Although it was a lesser deity, he had drawn the Immovable God of the old village, which received fairly high praise in the tank community, and even his trait was specialized for endurance.

“I’m holding on, so hurry up and kill it!”

“Got it…!?”

It was the moment That Bastard was about to start casting while giving a spirited reply.

He froze while staring blankly into the air and shouted as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You, you bastard, why are you here…!?”

That shout was so loud that it was enough to draw the attention of the two people who had been focused on the mark.

“What’s so… huh?”

“What, why is he…?”

The moment they turned their heads, the two had no choice but to freeze.

Because it was truly unbelievable.

Step, step.

Footsteps could be heard from beyond the boss room door.

The identity of the person who walked leisurely as if going for a stroll was none other than Kaiser, Dohyun, whom they had been desperately searching for.

“Dodging all attacks my ass… you couldn’t even hit me when I stood still.”

Coming to their senses at his grumbling words with a sullen face, they shouted.

“You, how did you!”

“You definitely weren’t visible, so why are you coming from there!?”

“Is this bastard really using hacks?”

Dohyun chuckled at their outcries.

He had already confirmed their true nature, but perhaps because of the situation, the sight of them not even wearing masks anymore was quite amusing.

‘So my prediction was right after all.’

How is it that such premonitions are never wrong…

This is why Dohyun had no choice but to completely trust his instincts for detecting such hostility.

His accuracy rate so far was over 90 percent.

‘It was good that I hid using backstab for now.’

Backstab is a skill that moves you behind a target.

Objects are not included in those targets.

Then what about corpses?

They’re no longer living beings, but they’re not exactly objects either, so wouldn’t it be possible?

With that thought, just as he was about to enter the boss room, Dohyun used backstab on a goblin soldier’s corpse.

‘I really didn’t expect it to work on a corpse.’

The result was a success.

Thanks to that, Dohyun quickly disappeared from their sight and hid around a corner in the corridor, then returned to the boss room when he thought it was about time.

Observing the situation from behind like that was quite a spectacle.

As soon as he hid, they were cursing profusely and revealing their entire plan.

“Really calling it hacks… It sounds like you heard that from someone.”

“No, that’s not…”

And even that reaction.

It was certain. This guy was connected to someone who held hostility toward him.

And such a person was obvious.

“Was it Assassin Boy? Are you his friends?”

“…”

Because those guys were the only ones who currently held hostility toward Dohyun.

Seeing that he couldn’t answer, it seemed to be correct.

He heard that guy was being hunted down, but to commission revenge even in the midst of that – he really wasn’t a normal person.

‘Well, that’s probably why he posted such things on the bulletin board.’

Should this be called stupidity, or should it be said that his venom was extraordinary…

Still, those guys didn’t seem to be stupid.

“W-wait a minute. We won’t deny that we’re your enemies. But you need to help us first to clear the dungeon.”

“…”

Bastard Sword’s feet were tied up by the elite soldiers, and the Paladin was tied up by the Goblin Chief.

Only That Bastard remained, but mages are weak in one-on-one combat.

Meanwhile, the opponent wasn’t some nobody but a swordsman with tremendous damage.

Recognizing that they were at a disadvantage, they immediately started with negotiations.

‘Unexpected.’

Did they interpret his staring at them out of curiosity as something else?

Clang!

Kieee!

“Ugh…”

The Paladin holding his shield high and Bastard Sword desperately blocking the attacks of the two elite soldiers.

Looking at the two of them, That Bastard gulped and continued speaking calmly.

“As you know, a mage is essential here. And a tank to handle aggro is the same.”

“Mm.”

“So let’s join hands for now. We’re handling all the aggro anyway, so even if we wanted to harm you during the raid, we couldn’t. There’s no reason to either.”

It was a valid point.

Unless they were crazy, they wouldn’t attack Dohyun in a situation where aggro was heavily focused on them.

It was also true that they needed a mage to clear due to the trait ‘Selfish Defense.’

Joining hands now would be the wise decision.

“I don’t want to.”

That is, if it were a normal case.

“What… guhk!?”

Thud-!

That Bastard raised his trembling hands to the warm sensation he felt around his chest.

A massive greatsword was embedded there.

Raising his head, he looked at Dohyun holding the greatsword right in front of his nose and moved his lips as if he couldn’t believe it.

Crack-!

[You have killed player ‘Strongest 10th Class Great Mage Gujapchae’.]

[Player ‘Strongest 10th Class Great Mage Gujapchae’ is confirmed as ‘evil’. Recognized as self-defense, karma value does not increase.]

‘As expected, he’s evil.’

Seeing how sensitively he reacted to death penalties, he had suspected as much, and fortunately he was right.

He was prepared to accept a slight increase in karma value if necessary, but there was no need for that.

Thanks to that, Dohyun was calm, but the other two weren’t.

“Gujapchae!? Crazy… you killed the mage?”

“That fucking bastard! Are you trying to get us all killed or what!”

The Paladin and Bastard Sword screaming in shock.

Seeing them express anger while struggling to maintain aggro, they seemed quite furious.

Looking at those two, Dohyun smiled slightly.

“Do you know what my principle is?”

“What are you talking about, how is that crap important right now!”

Even at their angry reaction, Dohyun didn’t care.

“I never join hands with bastards who tried to stab me in the back. Whether I live or die, if I join hands with those guys, the ending is bound to turn out shitty.”

He had experienced this painfully during his Demroc days.

Living peacefully in modern times, Demroc was the first game he played.

He had talent and even reached 1st place, but that didn’t mean the process was just smooth sailing.

There were countless bastards trying to take advantage of Dohyun, who was naive about the gaming world.

In the early days, he was fooled a few times.

From merchants who scammed in unimaginable ways to those who poisoned buff food or disguised themselves as party members to attempt assassinations.

‘I had gotten sick of it all.’

Among them were also those who claimed it was an emergency situation and suggested forming a temporary alliance.

At the time, it seemed reasonable given the circumstances, so he accepted.

And on the day they drove off the enemy, a Large Guild immediately came rushing in.

It was a guild organized by the very person he had formed an alliance with.

From the beginning, that bastard had planned to eliminate both the enemy and Dohyun.

After navigating through such a treacherous world for several years, Dohyun came to realize something.

‘Yesterday’s enemy is today’s enemy too.’

Yesterday’s enemy is today’s companion?

No such thing existed. That was just something that only existed in proverbs.

Once an enemy, always an enemy, and they were beings who couldn’t coexist under the same sun.

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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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