The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 361

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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 361

Part 2, Episode 27.

[Using Sword Aura – Slash Strike.]

[Casting Second Form Destruction .]

Without any time to stop him, Heavenly Transformation was swung and simultaneously the slash strike and second form erupted.

In an instant, silence fell.

They could only watch as the darkness that burst from the slash strike filled the veil like a swarm of light, and the soundless impact shook the veil.

And at that moment.

Crack-

‘A crack?’

In the vision shrouded in darkness.

At the sound like a frozen glacier cracking, Marsiyan startled and turned his head.

[Eyes of Nature’s Detection]

Simultaneously, Marsiyan’s eyes flashed with green light, revealing the Horn of the Rupalos and Kaiser’s silhouette, and he doubted his own eyes at the scene that unfolded.

‘It’s, it’s cracking…!’

The Horn of the Rupalos was developing cracks.

Of course, the extent wasn’t large.

A crack so minute you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely.

However, one thing was certain: the minute crack was gradually growing larger, trying to devour the horn.

“What’s happening!?”

“Damn, I can’t see anything.”

“Wh, what is this!”

“Ah, come out! I can see even less now!”

Watching the Apostles who couldn’t even notice this change, let alone regain their composure, Marsiyan fell into an extreme dilemma.

‘Isn’t now the only chance to stop this?’

The Horn of the Rupalos was the only horn of a mythical creature in the world.

Even though it was merely a fragment, its value was by no means small.

It had been the case in the past, but now that the Rupalos had vanished, even fragments were not easy to obtain, making words unnecessary.

Crack- Crack-

If he were cleanly cutting it like that Apostle before, it would be one thing, but now he was smashing it with the momentum to destroy it completely.

In many ways, stopping him would be right, but…

‘…Can I even stop him?’

His stiffened body wouldn’t move easily.

This was instinct.

The instinct that if he jumped in now, he would never come out unharmed.

‘I got scared of an Apostle? Me, Marsiyan?’

And not just any Apostle, but a greenhorn who had just entered?

The fact that he, who had lived at least 100 years longer than that guy, had become frightened was too damaging to his pride.

This sensation. He had felt it before.

‘Just like… when The Man split the horn…’

No, it was similar to then but different.

Back then, just watching gave him the chilling sensation of having his throat cut, but now it was like being devoured by massive darkness, unable to take even a step.

How could that be a newly initiated Apostle?

‘That man is really…’

It was when Marsiyan was staring at him in a daze, feeling chills.

The crack that had been expanding its territory finally devoured the horn, and at that moment.

—-!

A sharp ringing sound like breaking glass was heard, then brilliant green light burst through the terrible darkness.

“Ugh!”

“Wh, what! Don’t tell me it broke?”

“Damn, now I can’t see because of the light, this is driving me crazy.”

“What’s happening!?”

For the players who didn’t know the situation, it was enough to drive them mad.

But to Marsiyan’s eyes, using ‘Eyes of Nature’s Detection’ which could see even silhouettes in any situation, it was clearly visible.

‘That is…’

The green light emitted as the horn shattered was seeping into Dohyun.

But that was only for a moment.

The brilliantly bursting light became even more intense, and Marsiyan, unable to endure it any longer, squeezed his eyes shut.

And while everyone was covering their eyes.

[You have destroyed a fragment of the Horn of the Rupalos.]

[The will of the Rupalos responds.]

[Conditions have been met.]

[Emergency Quest ‘Will of the Rupalos’ has occurred.]

[The will of the Rupalos wishes to show you something.]

‘…This is?’

Dohyun was looking straight ahead without even a slight frown.

The scene Dohyun saw was different from the others.

The moment he felt the sensation of the horn breaking.

Without even time to savor the joy, the above message appeared, and a new vision unfolded with brilliant light.

Whoosh-

This place was a forest.

A forest so beautiful that the forest he had seen before coming to the Elf Village would look ordinary in comparison.

The mystical atmosphere that would only appear in fairy tales looked dreamlike.

While the vibrant natural scenery contributed, the biggest role was played by none other than the massive tree standing tall in the center.

‘…The World Tree?’

That mystical aura that naturally made him think of a divine tree.

An impossibly massive size.

It was definitely the World Tree.

He had become the first player to see the World Tree’s sanctuary, which no one except those granted permission could approach.

His admiration was brief, as Dohyun’s eyes became mysterious.

‘…It’s a bit different from what I saw in the village.’

Back then, even though he was seeing it from an infinitely far distance, he felt overwhelmed.

But the World Tree he faced right before his eyes didn’t give him that feeling.

It somehow felt like it was withering away.

The strange thing was that wasn’t the end.

Swoosh-

A mystical horn well over 4 meters.

A strange mythical creature that, despite having an overwhelmingly massive size, gave a feeling of comfort instead of intimidation was lying under the shade of the World Tree, cradling something.

‘Rupalos.’

It was definitely the Rupalos he had only heard about in lore.

But Dohyun’s gaze wasn’t directed at the Rupalos, but beside it.

Because a woman with long wavy green hair was stroking the Rupalos’s head beside it.

Though her ears were hidden from view, she was comparable to the elves…

No, rather a woman so beautiful that the elves would look ordinary in comparison, and for some reason she had very sad eyes.

‘What is this…’

The withering World Tree.

The Rupalos lying beneath it with eyes closed, cradling something, and the woman stroking such a Rupalos with sad eyes.

He was momentarily dazed by the scene that clearly seemed to have some story behind it.

Soon after, Dohyun’s eyes widened.

“…!”

The woman who had been looking at Lupallo with sad eyes suddenly turned her head sharply.

She was no longer grieving.

As if nothing had happened, her clear eyes met directly with Dohyun’s.

[An unidentified woman senses your presence.]

[‘Elaine’s Necklace’ reacts.]

[You have obtained a clue related to the missing girl.]

[A linked Quest to the Emergency Quest ‘Save the Girl’ occurs.]

[This is a Quest deeply related to Lupallo’s will.]

[Emergency Quest ‘Lupallo’s Will’ merges with the linked Quest of ‘Save the Girl’.]

[The Missing Girl]

-Grade: Emergency Quest

-Description: The mysterious spirit Lupallo highly values your potential for destroying a fragment of its horn.

Lupallo thinks that you, who possess Elaine’s Necklace, might be able to find the girl.

Obtain clues about the whereabouts of the missing girl.

-Missing Girl’s Clue (0 / 1)

-Quest Success: Linked Quest occurs

-Quest Failure: Linked Quest deleted

‘…What?’

Dohyun’s face went blank at the completely unexpected situation.

…It seemed the missing girl was a more extraordinary person than he had thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Dohyun unexpectedly obtained the Quest.

The bright green light that had filled the veil stopped, and eventually even the dark veil that had trapped them disappeared. It had been over 5 minutes since then.

“My goodness.”

“Wow, crazy…”

“Unbelievable. Is this real?”

“Wow… Wow, holy shit, really wow…”

Many players still couldn’t leave this place.

Especially those standing at the front couldn’t close their mouths to an unseemly degree, but no one criticized them.

Everyone gathered here felt the same way.

“…The horn is broken.”

“Shit. He didn’t cut it, he shattered it! Into pieces!”

“Th-this is impossible.”

Did Kaiser just break Demroc’s record?”

“No, how exactly… So Kaiser is stronger than Demroc?”

It was inevitable.

The horn that had never been broken since Demroc was shattered into pieces as if crushed by a hammer.

Of course, due to its enormous size, the bottom part was intact, but the top was pulverized beyond repair.

Thanks to that, the horn fragment that had boasted a size of 50cm was now barely 10cm.

“…Can that even be used?”

“Looks like it needs to be disposed of.”

“This is really crazy… At this level, didn’t Kaiser hold back when he was causing trouble in the village earlier?”

“All the villains in the village almost died.”

Originally it was 1M, and when Demroc cut it in half, it became two horns which was actually better…

But that wasn’t a usable size anymore.

“What Area A, at this level shouldn’t they create a separate S Zone?”

“Holy shit, forget Raihas and everything else, Kaiser was the real deal.”

“Really. From now on, I need to keep my eyes down when I meet Kaiser.”

Was it because an unprecedented record was broken?

While Kaiser, the actual protagonist of the topic, had gone to his assigned Area A and was waiting for the tournament to begin.

Those who should have gone to their own areas for positioning were still lost in the afterglow.

But as time passed and the afterglow somewhat faded.

“But didn’t any light come out?”

“Right… Was it because it broke?”

“There was some. Something suddenly burst out inside the veil.”

“That was green light.”

“For just green light, wasn’t the intensity way too much? I really couldn’t open my eyes.”

“Still, it was green.”

“Hmm, with the horn broken and all, green light is strange.”

Some expressed puzzlement at the measurement ceremony that had many strange phenomena.

Before Kaiser broke the horn.

They had clearly seen green light burst out, which would at best assign someone to Area C, the most common result.

“Didn’t Demroc have golden light burst from the cut surface?”

“Right. The gif of the horn shooting beams is still circulating a lot.”

“Kaiser didn’t even have any light come out after cutting it, what’s up with that?”

“It is strange.”

Especially with Demroc as a clear example, the puzzlement could only grow.

Eventually, a greatsword warrior who couldn’t contain his curiosity stepped forward boldly.

“Hey, what are you doing! The tournament’s starting soon, let’s just go.”

“Ah, wait a moment. Anyway, the shitty Area C people will be crowded to death, so going now or later is the same. I need to satisfy my curiosity to feel better.”

“That’s true, but… what are you planning to do?”

Despite his companion’s restraint, the man who approached the horn without hesitation grinned and raised his greatsword high.

“I saw green light come out earlier, right? If I hit it now and see what light comes out, I’ll know something.”

“There’s an announcer nearby, that’s a bit…”

“Ah, whatever. It’s already broken, so what… If they haven’t stopped it until now, it should be fine.”

Normally, touching it outside the measurement ceremony for tournament participation would be forbidden, but perhaps due to the shock of the broken horn, Marsiyan was just standing there blankly without any reaction.

“See? Here I go!”

Gaining confidence from this, the greatsword warrior brought down his greatsword with all his might,

Whoosh-!!

The moment the greatsword that heavily cut through the air accurately struck the middle of the much smaller horn.

Crack-!

“…Huh?”

“Eh?”

“?”

At the impossible sound, both the greatsword warrior and all the surrounding players looked puzzled.

And that expression soon turned to bewilderment.

The horn they thought would stand firm had pathetically split in half.

Watching very faint green light flicker at the cross-section before disappearing, the greatsword warrior let out a hollow laugh.

“…Hah.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“What, was this thing broken?”

“Then Kaiser was originally assigned to Area C?”

“Geez, I knew it. I said it didn’t make sense!”

“…But for green light, it was overwhelming.”

“Right, it might not have been green light. But me breaking the stone doesn’t make sense. Whatever it was, there was an error, right?”

As is typical with damage control, once one person started voicing opinions, everyone began chiming in.

Among them was someone beating their chest as if they were wronged.

“Excuse me, Announcer. Shouldn’t the grades be readjusted?”

“…Hey hey. Let’s just go. They never change grades once they’re set. Don’t you remember when someone protested before and elf soldiers swarmed in?”

“Geez, tsk.”

“What do you mean don’t mess around when we meet Kaiser… I’m spreading word about all this.”

But that was all.

Those who lacked confidence to handle the Elf Legion just made loud noises from behind as they moved to their assigned areas.

And Marsiyan, watching their retreating figures, remained stiff as ever.

‘…Is there an error? Is the horn strange?’

It was ridiculous.

The Horn of the Rupalos was a horn that became harder in response to the opponent’s power.

This was possible because part of Rupallo’s soul was contained within the horn.

Of course, the measuring horn that was merely a fragment would contain at most a weak will holding some memories, but even that was sufficient.

‘…Rupallo is a spirit that has protected the World Tree since ancient times.’

Because such a spirit’s small will could perceive and absorb energy more accurately than anything else.

Even the woman who nearly cut through the horn with extreme swordsmanship, or that brutish giant with his club who devastated the surrounding area, couldn’t break the horn for that very reason.

In other words, that Disciple breaking the horn meant one of two things.

Either he displayed overwhelming power that transcended Rupallo’s judgment…

‘Or he’s a Disciple that even Rupallo’s will couldn’t properly perceive.’

Either way, it was chilling.

Above all…

‘What I saw at the end… that was definitely Rupallo’s form.’

Before closing his eyes, unable to withstand the brilliant light.

He had seen it faintly but clearly.

Some silhouette in the shape of a deer.

It was much smaller and more insignificant than what Marsiyan had heard about, but it was definitely Rupallo’s form.

‘After that. The horn lost its power.’

The faint green light that emerged when that Greatsword Warrior finally split the horn was merely the remnants of light that had remained inside the horn, briefly visible.

Though he didn’t know exactly what had happened, Marsiyan was certain it was no coincidence.

As he briefly pondered whether he should report this phenomenon he’d never seen before to the Elder.

Marsiyan, looking in the direction Kaiser had departed, gulped.

“…Today is really going to be a legendary tournament.”

And behind such Marsiyan.

The distracted Marsiyan failed to notice the black silhouettes that had been secretly observing this situation moving in the direction Kaiser had departed.

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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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