The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 362
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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 362
Part 2, Episode 28.
Apice Forest.
A forest that alien races not permitted by the elves cannot approach due to its structure requiring passage through the Elf Village.
Even the Apostles who had begun exchanges could not access this place.
But once a week.
[Your participation in the Tournament of the Supreme Apostle has been confirmed.]
[You have entered Apice Forest.]
[Your currently assigned location is Area A.]
[Time limit is 3 hours.]
[Accumulate as many purification points as possible.]
[The methods to obtain purification points are….]
….
When the weekly content Tournament of the Supreme Apostle was held.
Only then were the Apostles uniquely permitted entry.
“So this is Apice Forest.”
-Wow! This has such an amazing atmosphere, Owner?
-Risa! Rizariza!
-Hmm…!
Upon arriving at Area A like that, Dohyun chuckled softly while watching the excited Jihad and Eliza.
Charlie was also crossing his arms trying to act dignified, but he kept looking around curiously.
Normally he would have scolded them not to make such a fuss, but this time he decided to let it slide.
‘It is pretty amazing though.’
Dohyun felt similarly to them after all.
The sight of the forest growing wild as if untouched by human hands was truly a scene that could appear in a fantasy movie.
An overall large and ancient forest with hardly any proper paths, making it treacherous.
It was structured so that one had to push through the thickets and find their own way.
Yet it didn’t feel eerie, probably because all the nature was fresh and vibrant without anything withered.
‘I heard not all of Apice Forest is like this.’
Only Areas A and B, which are barely touched by human hands, are like this.
From Area C onward, it’s well-maintained and generally flat rather than steep.
‘Because there are many dangerous monsters.’
It’s also the farthest from the village, and since there’s no need to take on the risk, they simply don’t bother with it….
‘Contrary to what I heard, there’s nothing here so far.’
Now that he’d actually entered, his impression was that it was more peaceful than expected, unlike what he’d been told.
Well, the main objective is to accumulate many purification points in 3 hours, so it would be strange if there were already many places to purify from the start.
He’d probably find something if he went deeper.
‘More importantly….’
Dohyun’s eyes darkened as he looked around.
It was because of the Quest window floating before his eyes.
[The Missing Girl]
-Grade: Emergency Quest
-Description: The mysterious spirit Lupallo highly regards your potential for destroying a fragment of its horn.
Lupallo thinks that you, who possesses Elaine’s necklace, might be able to find the girl.
Obtain clues about the whereabouts of the missing girl.
-Clues about the missing girl (0 / 1)
-Upon Quest success: Chain Quest occurs
-Upon Quest failure: Chain Quest deleted
The strange scene and Quest that had appeared when he broke the horn.
‘I never thought I’d get a chain Quest like this.’
He never imagined he’d obtain a chain Quest here about the girl who had disappeared leaving only the necklace behind after he’d gone through the trouble of saving her.
Much less that the girl would be connected to Lupallo or the World Tree.
Since this was content that hadn’t been officially revealed, there was a high possibility that Dohyun was the first to obtain this Quest.
‘Seeing how the spirit called Lupallo is actively searching, there’s definitely something there.’
What could the girl’s true identity be?
What was that scene that Lupallo’s will had shown?
Everything was full of questions, but his anticipation was as great as his curiosity.
‘If I’m lucky, there might be clues here.’
Wasn’t the timing exquisite that he’d obtained the chain Quest just as he was participating in the tournament?
Above all, Dohyun had the Eye of Truth.
Since this was a place he couldn’t enter except when the tournament was held, he planned to search very thoroughly.
Of course, he wasn’t planning to only look for clues.
‘I have to win too.’
To catch two rabbits, he needed to go beyond doing his best and use his time efficiently.
Having made his decision, Dohyun shouted.
“Let’s go, guys.”
-Yes, Master.
-What are you planning to do first?
-Risa!
Watching them stop their wandering and run over, Dohyun grinned.
“We need to accumulate purification points.”
First, he’d secure stable points.
He could find clues during that process, or it wouldn’t be too late to find them afterward.
-Ah. So we’re hunting monsters, Owner?
-Rizariza?
“No.”
Dohyun shook his head.
Monsters?
He would hunt them.
But the number of monsters was limited, and the purification points obtainable from them were also the least.
Rather than that….
‘Spirits.’
Receiving Quests from spirits that appear when you accumulate a certain amount of purification points.
That was the method to get the biggest points and the general route, but there was another route here.
‘Surprising the spirits.’
Whether through overwhelming hunting skills or quickly fulfilling their requests.
For whatever reason, if you surprised a spirit, you’d get tremendous bonus points.
But Dohyun had no intention of using such a troublesome route.
‘As long as I surprise them somehow, that’s all that matters, right?’
Pure spirits are like children.
And children, when you suddenly appear and shout “Boo!” to surprise them, nine out of ten will be startled.
Unless you were an elf or fairy with high nature affinity, finding spirits that were deliberately hiding was nearly impossible….
[Eye of Truth activates.]
‘One at the tree pillar at 12 o’clock, two in the thicket at 9 o’clock. Four on the tree at 4 o’clock….’
Dohyun had the godly Eye of Truth, a legendary cheat ability.
Seeing the tiny red silhouettes glowing brightly here and there, Dohyun raised the corners of his mouth.
-Huh? That sneaky expression. It’s his expression before getting something for free?
-Rizariza?
-Hmm! It seems Master has thought of some innovative method.
-No way. That’s definitely his cheating expression.
Dohyun ignored the sound of the quick-witted Jihad pointing and chattering, looked toward the tree at 4 o’clock, and muttered quietly,
[Using Back Attack.]
[Moving behind the lower spirit ‘Repharm’ of the hundred-year tree.]
[A mark is created.]
“Wah!”
-Kyarreuk, kya… rhiiik!?
-Oh my!!
The small spirits who had been having fun, suddenly screamed in terror at Dohyun’s masked face that appeared behind them.
The spirits clutched their chests as if their hearts were pounding and stared at Dohyun with stunned faces.
-Wh, wha… what…!
-Huh, huiak?
They couldn’t speak properly, stuttering and only pointing their fingers – it was exactly like children, but Dohyun had no time to pay attention to the spirits.
[You have startled the lower spirits to the point of terror.]
[Many bonus points are awarded.]
[40 points added.]
‘Oh? They’re giving more than I thought?’
The points earned from killing one monster in Area A were roughly 8-12 points.
He had gained in one go the score that would require killing 4-5 monsters.
Dohyun’s expression became even more sinister as he raised the corners of his mouth,
“Wah!”
-Kyaaak!
-Kyarraak!
Starting from that, a man’s short shouts and the spirits’ terrified screams echoed throughout the forest.
It was the moment of providing the spirits with a free haunted house experience.
* * *
How long had it been since he possessed the haunted house part-timer and went around startling spirits?
Around the time he thought he must have shouted “Wah!” at least 100 times.
The spirits’ reactions had changed greatly from before.
-Kyarreuk!
-Kyarreuk! Good! Fun!
-Hehehe. First human to play with us.
-More! More!
Unlike the beginning when they trembled in terror, now they had reached the point of enjoying that heart-pounding thrill.
-…Is that right? They’re loving it to death?
-Indeed. Now they don’t even seem surprised anymore.
It was the same principle as amusement rides being scary at first but becoming fun once you ride them.
Now they recognized it as a form of play, and the spirits were very excited about experiencing human pranks for the first time.
What was even funnier was…
-Rizariza! Riza!
-Kyarreuk! Furball! Feels good!
-Furball, how old are you?
-Riza? Rizariza!
-Don’t know your age? That’s okay! We don’t know our ages well either!
Perhaps curious about the spirits having fun.
Eliza, who had been watching cautiously, began to subtly join in, and eventually became best friends with the spirits.
-…Why is she acting like that over there? She did the same with the elves.
-Isn’t it nice to see? Eliza seems to have made many more friends since coming to this place.
Eliza, who would be second to none in terms of purity, and the lower nature spirits called the crystallization of innocence.
It was a relationship where the chemistry had to work well.
Perhaps he was secretly envious of that.
Jihad also subtly approached the spirits, but each time the spirits would scream in terror and run away…
-Why won’t they accept me?
-You are… well. You’re an outstanding lord, so that’s why. Young spirits might find lords frightening.
-…Kehem! If that’s the case, well~ this great lord with a big heart should understand. Ahem!
Charlie, who took care of the dejected Jihad each time, was very reliable.
Anyway, after everyone spent a satisfying time like that, Dohyun came down after finishing with the last lower spirit on the tree and checked the message window.
[The lower spirits are enjoying themselves.]
[Bonus points are limited due to repeated score acquisition.]
[Lower spirits recognize it as play and are no longer surprised. No additional bonus points will be given.]
‘Tsk. Is this the limit?’
At some point, the 40 points that were being given started dropping to 30 points, 20 points, 10 points, and now no bonus points are awarded at all.
It seems they’ve blocked severe exploits to some extent.
[Current Purification Points Acquired: 4,500 points]
‘Still, this much isn’t bad.’
Actually, it wasn’t just not bad – it was practically getting something for nothing.
There had never been a single player in history who acquired 4,500 points in less than 30 minutes.
Considering that the previous tournament winner’s score was 6,420 points, he could be called not just a stable but an overwhelming championship candidate, but it was still too early to be relieved.
‘This tournament has particularly many famous players participating. It would be safe to secure up to 8,000 points.’
He could easily secure that by hunting monsters and fulfilling the spirits’ requests a few times during the remaining time.
The only disappointing thing was that even when he talked to the spirits, they only asked him to play more.
‘Do I need to hunt many monsters and show behavior that would make spirits want to make requests to meet the conditions?’
If that was the case, it could be called Dohyun’s specialty, so it wouldn’t be difficult.
While making such judgments.
-Riza!
“Eliza. Did you have fun playing?”
When he asked while patting Eliza who landed on his shoulder with a thud, she rubbed her cheek against his index finger as a sign of affirmation.
Dohyun chuckled at that.
‘The ones living here all treat Eliza warmly.’
Does it have something to do with Eliza’s race?
Seeing how elves, spirits, and gentle animals all welcomed Eliza warmly, there seemed to be something there.
On the contrary, they extremely avoided Jihad…
‘I don’t know if it’s because of his appearance or if it’s related to his race.’
His job happened to be Necromancer and he had the ultimate villainous face, so it was hard to judge.
That’s when it happened.
-It was fun, human!
-Play with us again next time!
-Kyarreuk. Let’s play again, furball!
-Riza!
The spirits said goodbye with satisfied faces and left.
And Jihad, who had been watching that scene from afar with envious eyes, approached while pretending to be nonchalant.
-…What are you going to do now, Owner? Going to hunt monsters?
True to being strangely perceptive in this area, Jihad immediately guessed the next destination, but Dohyun shook his head.
Originally, he was thinking of hunting monsters, but…
“I guess I need to catch something else first.”
-What kind?
Instead of answering, Dohyun quietly gripped Cheonbyeon and the corners of his mouth rose sinisterly.
It was truly a curious thing.
“Why do these villains do the same things in every game?”
Dohyun’s eyes sank low as he said that.
Dohyun’s eyes could see it.
[Eye of Truth activates.]
Red silhouettes in human form that had been increasing one by one from the moment the spirits departed, instantly surrounding the area in great numbers.
Holding various weapons, they were all emanating thick killing intent.
‘Should I start by taking out those bastards first.’
The villain hunt was beginning.
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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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