The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 75

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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 75

Chapter 75.

‘The Abyss…!’

What is the Abyss?

Aren’t they the decisive beings that made humanity lose in the war against the gods?

Beings so dangerous and fearsome that they were erased from history.

Now that even the original humanity has disappeared, I heard that very few in Godseeker know clearly about the existence of the Abyss.

That wouldn’t be much different for players either.

‘They’d only know about the Iron-Blooded Demon Dragon at most.’

You do encounter beings of the Abyss in the tutorial, but even that’s only for those who progressed through the hidden piece.

Regular players don’t even know what kind of existence the Iron-Blooded Demon Dragon is.

It’s the same even for those who know its true identity.

‘They’d just think, “Oh, so there’s something called the Abyss,” that’s about it. I was like that at first too.’

Most people probably don’t know much about the Abyss.

Even Dohyun only heard about it after becoming Kashiyar’s successor.

But how long has it been since he learned the truth about the world, and they’re already appearing?

‘How is the timing like this?’

At this point, it’s such incredible timing that it makes me wonder if someone already set up the board.

No, before that, why is that name coming up here?

This is none other than a temple.

And it’s just a temple located in the second city of the Main Continent at that.

Though it’s a Grand Temple whose fame has reached even the Empire, I never expected something about the Abyss to come up.

It was even more bewildering because this was the content that the Quest suddenly changed to.

‘It changed after the valedictorian reacted. It’s a kind of hidden piece….’

It seemed to be a synergy Quest that occurs when a player with the ‘Valedictorian’ title obtains the Quest item called ‘Ominous Aura’.

There are often Quests like this.

Quests that set various difficult conditions and seem to mock you, saying “Try to get it if you can.”

‘Hah, to stumble upon this like this.’

Should I call this simply good luck, or the power of the Eye of Truth….

Whatever it was, it was good news for Dohyun.

Since it’s a hidden piece, the rewards would be amplified too.

I was momentarily curious if Gamilion also knew about the traces of the Abyss in Brion, but decided to focus on the present for now.

‘They said earlier that dealing with these traces is a duty, right?’

That means they’re among the ‘few’ who know about the Abyss….

It was somewhat puzzling.

‘If you think about it, the Abyss was created when the gods invaded… don’t they know that far?’

Well, I heard that current humanity blindly believes in and follows the gods.

Since the truth of human history was erased, it would have spread with the Abyss being the villains and the gods being benevolent father figures.

Thanks to that, the gods’ influence and power have only become more solid.

“The Abyss that existed since the beginning of time—their danger was so great that even the omnipotent gods were wary of them. Because their power of erosion was not ordinary. Therefore, the benevolent god Lyir gave us the duty to erase their traces so that the lambs would not be deceived.”

It was as expected.

Listening to Gildeti’s words about benevolent gods and primordial beings, Dohyun nodded appropriately.

Knowing the truth, the shameless attitude of the gods was astounding, but anyway, the Abyss was everyone’s enemy.

So it wasn’t exactly wrong either.

“Therefore… hmm.”

Did he show signs of being somewhat indifferent?

The Caretaker paused and looked at Dohyun with a strange glint in his eyes.

“Usually people would be shocked… you know about the Abyss?”

“…I’ve heard roughly about it.”

“…! A foreigner knows about the Abyss!? Has it already spread that far…!”

When Dohyun readily admitted it, a shout erupted from behind.

It was that blond knight from earlier.

Is this what they mean by eyes rolling back? Dohyun clicked his tongue inwardly at the sight of Jerdick huffing with excitement.

‘What a personality….’

Before Dohyun could frown after barely holding back the words “fucking annoying,” restraint immediately came.

“Jerdick.”

“…I apologize.”

Seeing how he immediately backed down like that, his nature doesn’t seem to be bad….

Or is it?

Rather, acting like that makes him seem mentally unstable.

You know, don’t people with bipolar disorder act like that?

Even a mere merchant would avoid someone acting like that, but it was more concerning since he was acting like this with a red name tag.

“…I’ll step outside.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

“Yes, excuse me.”

Count Jerdick said he would leave on his own, as if he could hear those thoughts.

As he was about to pass by Dohyun’s side, he muttered quietly.

“…Sorry for showing you something unseemly.”

“?”

Dohyun’s expression became strange as he instinctively looked at Jerdick.

It was unexpected.

He never thought he would apologize. Regardless, Jerdick passed by quickly, opened the door, and went outside.

“Tsk, pitiful thing.”

The Caretaker clicked his tongue sympathetically while looking at the spot where Jerdick had left.

The Caretaker looked very sorrowful.

“He’s originally a brilliant child. It’s just that his eyes roll back whenever the Abyss is mentioned… Please understand.”

“There seems to be some story behind it.”

Though it was a casual remark, at this point I was genuinely curious.

What on earth could it be that makes him go into sudden acceleration like a panic button being pressed whenever the Abyss is mentioned?

“I cannot freely discuss that child’s circumstances… but he’s a child who lost much to the Abyss at a young age. He’s a child who moves forward with the sole determination to erase the Abyss from this world.”

“…Has the Abyss appeared before?”

“The Abyss appears anytime, anywhere. By using the bodies of those who have been eroded.”

“Ah.”

Now that I heard it, I remembered.

The Iron-Blooded Demon Dragon I met in the tutorial was also a creature summoned by a summoner who had contracted with the Abyss.

But what Gildeti was talking about was slightly different from that.

“Beings of the Abyss can basically only survive in the Abyss. Therefore, they scatter their traces everywhere and manifest through the bodies of those eroded by them. In this case, they’re relatively easy to control… but the problem is the contractors.”

He sighed and continued.

“They exist occasionally. Fallen ones who contract with the Abyss.”

“Things that gave up being human.”

It was then that Taksinel, who had been silent all along, added.

“Those who give part of their body to the Abyss to coexist in exchange for gaining strong power… it’s a phenomenon that often appears among high-ranking priests or mages. Foolish beyond measure. They’re walking a path with a predetermined ending of destruction. Because of that stupid choice, Jerdick’s family… tsk.”

Taksinel, who had been getting increasingly agitated, stopped speaking and clicked his tongue.

But that was enough.

‘So he lost his family to those contractors.’

It’s a common story.

The story of a knight who lost his family to enemies and burns with revenge. But it seems it wasn’t like that for Jihad and Eliza.

‘Ah, so that’s why his attitude was like that…. Damn, now I feel sad for no reason. Why does he have to have a backstory and all.’

‘Liza… Liza Liza!’

‘…He’s surprisingly sentimental.’

Seeing him wipe his nose as it tingles with emotion.

Despite his villainous appearance, he was actually quite tender-hearted.

As for Eliza… well, she had lost her owner for 150 years, so that was understandable.

Thinking about it, was Jihad in a similar situation?

‘No, that bastard had been living in oblivion all this time.’

While he was momentarily lost in other thoughts, Gildeti continued speaking.

“Still, he’s an admirable child. Without giving up, he achieved the accomplishment of becoming Brion’s youngest knight at 14, and now at 19, he’s become the Caretaker’s escort knight. It’s not for nothing that Sir Lvebed has marked that child as a candidate for the next Knight Order commander. Isn’t that right, Sir Taksinel?”

“…Though he still has many shortcomings, his potential is certainly there.”

Though Taksinel answered reluctantly as if displeased, there was unmistakable pride hidden within his words.

This made Dohyun’s perspective on Jerdic change as well.

‘Youngest knight and future Knight Order commander… So that’s why he was red.’

Regardless of his current strength, he was undoubtedly an NPC with tremendous talent.

Brion, and especially the Laire Order of Knights of the Laire Grand Temple, was one of the strongest knight orders with tremendous renown.

The reason this was possible was none other than the existence of Knight Order Commander Lvebed.

‘Something about cutting a tsunami with a single sword? I think the community went crazy over it.’

Just once, Lvebed had demonstrated his martial prowess in front of players during an event, and the power he showed then was still being talked about even a year later.

Lvebed’s name appeared frequently enough in the strongest NPC discussion threads that he’d browse for fun…

Though not one of the Seven Strongest, it was safe to consider him a powerhouse on par with them.

Since he was material capable of replacing that position in the future, wouldn’t his potential be truly tremendous?

“I’ve talked too much.”

Gildeti’s voice brought Dohyun out of his wandering thoughts.

Gildeti extended his hand toward him.

“Traces of the Abyss are always top priority for disposal. We’ll be handling this, so could you check if there are any corrupted monsters?”

“Understood.”

“Creatures whose corruption has progressed considerably will clearly bear the appearance of mutants. But those still in progress won’t show signs, so please bring back their blood.”

Ding-.

[Will you accept the linked Quest ‘Searching for Traces of the Abyss’?]

[Searching for Traces of the Abyss]

-Grade: Rare+

-Description: Traces of the Abyss are extremely dangerous and provocative.

When monsters with low intelligence consume them, they become instantly corrupted and display extreme aggression, which leads directly to danger for citizens.

Gildeti wants to find out why these traces appeared.

Search for any monsters that may have become mutants and obtain orc blood.

-Concentrated Orc Blood (0 / 50)

-Explore Foul-Smelling Rock Forest (0 / 1)

-Quest Success: Increased favorability with Gildeti, Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket, linked Quest ‘???’ generated.

-Quest Failure: Linked Quest unavailable.

‘Kugh… Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket!’

The grade had risen to Rare+, and the reward had changed dramatically as well.

The reward had been upgraded from a Basic Skill Draw Ticket to an Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket!

A smile spread across Dohyun’s lips.

‘This feels good.’

If it was already an Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket, the final stage would surely offer even greater rewards.

Moreover, he liked the content of this quest too.

For Dohyun, who needed to kill a thousand monsters while progressing the main quest, this was a quest that killed two birds with one stone.

In that sense, compared to before when he had to tediously gather materials, having to collect lots of blood now was actually better for Dohyun.

“Understood. I’ll find out right away.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

After exchanging greetings and stepping outside the door, a cold voice reached his ears.

“Hey.”

“?”

When he turned around, he saw a familiar face.

The handsome man with glossy blonde hair, Jerdic, was leaning against the wall.

‘What now?’

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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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