The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 57

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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 57

Chapter 57.

Flinch.

-Wh, what? Something feels chilly…

-Liza?

Perhaps sensing that unpleasant gaze, Jihad flinched and trembled, causing Eliza to tilt her head curiously.

Eliza’s eyes were filled with worry as she looked at him.

Jihad shook his head saying it was nothing, then suddenly stared intently at Eliza.

Her tiny body that might be about 5cm at most.

Her fluffy, pure white fur and plump bottom were so adorable that you’d wonder if this was really an insect.

Thanks to this, at first glance, she looked like a small ball of fluff rolling around.

Unlike other spiders, she had only 2 eyes, and they were the same green color as his own.

-Exactly the same…

She was completely identical to when they had met before.

Jihad’s eyes welled up with tears as memories of their time together in the cabin came flooding back.

Since they had finally reunited, he couldn’t just drown in tears, so he tried not to show it and changed the subject.

-I thought after 150 years you’d have grown that big, but you hadn’t? You can even parasitize now?

-Liza! Liza liza!

-As I thought, my eyes weren’t wrong. You really are a special spider!

-Liza!

Eliza puffed out her chest proudly as if to say “you’re just realizing that now?”

…Though whether that could be called a chest was questionable, but her posture was exactly like that.

What was even more fascinating was that when Eliza came out, the Spider Queen’s corpse that had been colored like Eliza turned black.

-Is that a characteristic of parasitism?

-Liza…

-Ah. Is it because your proficiency is still lacking? Interesting. You’re not hiding anything else, are you?

-Li… za!

-Keke, alright. So are you fully grown now?

Eliza shook her head from side to side.

Then she put her front legs on her hips and lifted her chin, looking exactly like a child showing off.

-Really? Then what’s your lifespan like? I’ve never heard of a spider that lives this long…

-Liza liza.

-What? You’re saying I’m not an adult either? How did this little one figure that out?

-Liza!

Dohyun didn’t bother to interrupt the two who were catching up after meeting again after so long.

No matter how oblivious Dohyun might be, even he could tell that butting into their conversation right now wouldn’t be appropriate.

There didn’t seem to be any opening to join in anyway.

So Dohyun focused on something else.

‘Sky spider web and parasitism… different characteristics?’

What had originally been steel spider web was now listed as sky spider web, and other traits like deadly poison or spider sensor had disappeared.

This seemed to be Eliza’s original unique characteristic.

‘Is it related to parasitism?’

It seemed likely that she could use the characteristics of whatever monster she parasitized.

He didn’t know what the range of possible parasitism was, but since it worked even on field bosses, its performance was definitely solid.

But he couldn’t think of it that simply either.

‘Her stats might have been downgraded like Jihad’s.’

Especially since she had come under Jihad’s command, there was no telling how much she might have been downgraded.

Just as he was already thinking about how to utilize Eliza.

A small voice reached his ears.

-Liza!

“Hm?”

Before he knew it, Eliza had climbed up onto his shoulder.

He hadn’t even noticed when she climbed up… did you need to be this level of class to parasitize and move around?

-Liza liza!

“?”

She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but he couldn’t understand her.

Eventually Dohyun looked at Jihad.

Understanding Dohyun’s gaze requesting translation, Jihad answered with a pleased expression.

-She says thank you, Owner.

“Ah.”

-I’m more grateful though… Anyway, she says she wants to repay you and asks you to follow her?

“Repay?”

-Liza!

Eliza nodded her small head as if to confirm.

Her bright, sparkling eyes were filled with anticipation, and somehow the one trying to give the reward seemed more excited.

Unable to disappoint those expectations, when Dohyun said he understood, Eliza jumped and climbed onto Jihad’s head.

-Liza!

-She says to go this way, Owner.

“Lead the way.”

Dohyun ended up following Jihad, who had suddenly become their guide.

Had they walked through the long corridor for about 10 minutes?

After the corridor repeatedly narrowed and widened several times, Dohyun was able to reach their destination.

It was a large room.

“Wow…”

It was an overall round space that was even larger and more ominous than the spider nest.

The air was also cool, and everything was black and sticky, making it feel like being inside a refrigerator.

He had never heard of such a place existing in Raven.

What revealed the identity of this place wasn’t Jihad or Eliza, but a system window.

[You have discovered a hidden location.]

[You have discovered the Spider Queen’s Egg Hatching Chamber.]

‘Egg Hatching Chamber?’

Just as it said, round eggs were stacked in towers all around.

And small spiders filled the surroundings.

They were much larger than ordinary spiders, but smaller than the giant spiders of the forest – an ambiguous size.

Name tags floated above these creatures.

[Spider Queen’s Offspring]

‘Wait, the Spider Queen’s offspring?’

The moment he checked their information with a hunch, Dohyun’s eyes widened.

[Spider Queen’s Offspring]

-Title: Field Boss

-Type: Spider

-Characteristics: Not yet manifested.

-Description: Eliza the Spider Queen, ruler of the Western Forest.

These are the offspring of the Spider Queen that became Eliza’s host.

Though still young with most abilities not yet unlocked, when they reach adulthood they will reveal themselves in the forest as proper field bosses.

‘They’re field bosses?’

Those small creatures carried the title of field boss.

And every single one of them without exception!

‘Huh? Wait a minute.’

At this moment, Dohyun’s mind flashed with realization.

The content of Raven’s graduation Quest First Trial is defeating field bosses.

The field bosses mentioned here didn’t only refer to ‘Spider Queen Eliza’. The text stated that grades would be determined proportionally to the number of field bosses defeated.

It was just that defeating the official field boss Spider Queen Eliza was mandatory for clearing.

‘It’s essentially a trial designed to defeat Eliza, but…’

Players didn’t pay much attention to this text.

There was no need to in the first place.

Spider Queen Eliza was the only field boss in Raven.

It was just a matter of how good a grade you could achieve when defeating Eliza.

…Yeah, that was the accepted theory.

“…So what happens if I defeat these guys too?”

Those were also spider queens, technically speaking.

But clearly different entities.

Would defeating them be recognized as different field bosses?

The way to find out was obvious.

‘Let’s defeat them.’

Dohyun gulped and gripped his training sword.

It was the moment a massacre would unfold in the Egg Hatching Chamber.

* * *

[You have defeated a Spider Queen’s offspring.]

[You have defeated a Spider Queen’s offspring.]

…

[You have defeated a Spider Queen’s offspring.]

Ignoring the parade of messages, Dohyun looked around.

The spiders that had been swarming everywhere were now cleanly gone without a trace.

Only those still in egg form that hadn’t been born yet remained scattered about, looking like decorations.

The reason he didn’t bother defeating those was simple.

[Spider Queen’s Egg]

-Description: A Spider Queen’s egg. It has not yet hatched.

[Spider Queen’s Eggs cannot be attacked.]

‘Damn. These won’t work.’

Godseeker had blocked them with a system restriction preventing direct attacks.

Dohyun tried putting them in his inventory as a consolation, but since they wouldn’t go in, he cleanly gave up.

Then what exactly were those used for…

A theory about that question came to him sooner than expected.

‘Could it be that field bosses respawn through these eggs?’

It was just speculation, but it seemed credible somehow.

There would be no reason to block them so thoroughly otherwise.

If this was true, it was a fascinating setting, but Dohyun wasn’t the type to attach great meaning to such unhelpful details.

And now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

Ding-.

Would defeating the Spider Queen’s offspring really affect the graduation Quest?

He could now find out the answer.

[You have completed the First Trial field boss hunt.]

[Confirming defeated field bosses.]

[Confirmed as Hidden Field Boss hunt × 1, Field Boss hunt × 34.]

[Defeat of Raven’s official field boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’ confirmed.]

[You have passed the First Trial.]

[Measuring rank.]

…

‘This actually works.’

What was surprising was that it even included defeating Karuk previously in the grade.

It seemed to count field bosses defeated while in Raven.

Thanks to this, while others barely defeated one, Dohyun could count as having defeated a whopping 35.

And not just regular field bosses – seeing them classified separately as hidden field bosses meant they would definitely help his score significantly.

[This is an unbelievable achievement.]

[Measurement time will be somewhat delayed.]

Had even the AI managing Godseeker’s system not anticipated such a case?

The rank wasn’t measured immediately, taking its time.

‘Well… even I find this situation absurd.’

Without a doubt, there probably hadn’t been such a case in Godseeker’s history.

As he waited with a somewhat nervous heart, about 10 seconds passed before the long-awaited notification rang.

[Score calculated considering solo clear, Hidden Field Boss defeat × 1, Field Boss defeat × 27, shortest clear time record broken, hidden piece confirmed… etc.]

[You have achieved S-rank with 1,471 points.]

[The First Trial’s maximum rank is S-rank, so you cannot be assigned a higher rank. You will receive enhanced rewards.]

[You are the first to achieve S-rank in the First Trial.]

[You have recorded 1st place in rankings.]

[Changes have occurred in the First Trial rankings.]

[You have acquired the title ‘First S-rank’.]

[You have acquired the title ‘Top Graduate’.]

[The effect of Throne of Time Attack activates. All stats increase by +5.]

[S-rank rewards are granted.]

…

[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]

‘Wow.’

So many notifications that it made his head spin.

Dohyun gaped in bewilderment at rewards on a completely different level from when he graduated from Arde.

‘How many rewards is this in total?’

He had expected it wouldn’t be ordinary, but to this extent?

As Dohyun stood frozen stiff at the parade of so many messages he couldn’t even keep track of them all.

-Liza!

“Ah.”

Dohyun came to his senses at the cheerful voice and turned his head.

Eliza had climbed onto his shoulder and was wiggling her bottom.

Like a cat purring and raising its rear end.

“Thank you, Eliza. This was a reward beyond my imagination.”

She had enabled him to defeat a whopping 35 field bosses – could there be any greater reward than this?

Dohyun felt genuinely grateful.

But Eliza, who received those feelings, tilted her head as if asking what he was talking about.

-Liza?

-Master, Eliza says she hasn’t given you a reward yet?

“? What do you mean?”

-Liza liza!

Eliza jumped down from his shoulder and climbed back onto Jihad’s head.

Then she pointed in one direction.

-Liza!

-She says what she was trying to reward you with is over there.

“…Huh?”

And Dohyun’s eyes widened as he looked in that direction.

There was a small box placed there.

An old box that seemed to show traces of time spanning at least several hundred years. However, Dohyun’s gaze wasn’t directed at that.

‘That thing….’

The small, elongated gem placed next to that box.

It was a mysterious gem that shimmered beautifully as if it contained every color, but to Dohyun’s eyes, it appeared as only one color.

[Eye of Truth activates.]

“What is this?”

Dohyun, who had approached and picked up the gem that had become a bright red dot, lost focus.

Messages were overlapping above the gem.

[Adventurer’s vessel confirmed.]

[Conditions have been met.]

[You have acquired the first Fragment of Destiny.]

[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]

[Hidden conditions met, new route opens.]

[Class Quest ‘Inheritance of Destiny’ has been created.]

“…Huh?”

It seemed like he had picked up something quite extraordinary.

—————
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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