The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 91

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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 91

Chapter 91.

Darkness Shroud.

Literally a skill that wraps the body or weapons with mana imbued with attributes, it’s one of the few close-combat skills available to Dark attribute mages.

Flame Shroud, Earth Shroud, Wind Shroud, and so on…

It was a fairly famous skill with various versions.

‘Among Hero-grade skills, it’s almost the only close-combat skill.’

Befitting its Hero grade, it was a signature skill exclusive to mages that boasted excellent performance even among the few close-combat skills available.

However, despite this position, the Shroud skills didn’t have a good reputation.

“Good performance, decent cooldown considering the duration… everything’s good. Everything is good, but…”

“…Do we really need to use this?”

The problem was the nature of the mage profession itself.

True to being called the epitome of ranged DPS, mages have exceptional firepower.

Therefore, party members usually protect the mage, while the mage safely pours out damage from the back.

There’s no reason for such a mage to even consider close combat.

“If we had plenty of skill slots, maybe, but when they’re already lacking, why bother?”

“Honestly, if a mage gets into close range, it’s already over. It’s better to put in skills useful for escape rather than shroud skills for fighting up close.”

“Maybe for PvP.”

Those who enjoy the arena or PK sometimes arm themselves with close-combat skills, but that’s only for PVP (Player vs. Player).

Most mage players enjoy PVE (Player vs. Environment), so there was no reason to adopt ‘Shroud’.

Mages shine brightest at long range.

‘But I’m different.’

However, Dohyun isn’t a mage.

He’s Godose’s only All-Master, armed with close-combat skills from various professions. For him, ‘Shroud’ was seasoning that would help him excel even more in close combat.

It would be the MSG in kimchi stew.

‘At least no one will use this skill more effectively than me.’

It wasn’t a guess but certainty.

Though it’s a mage skill, ‘Shroud’ was a skill that couldn’t display its full effectiveness when used by mages.

It’s not for nothing that “What if other professions got this?” always comes up in skill discussions.

While it wasn’t the skill Dohyun wanted, as an All-Master, it was something to welcome with open arms.

‘It’s good, but…’

However, Dohyun’s expression was slightly ambiguous.

It’s a good skill. It seems like it would be useful for his existing skills while maintaining his current combat style.

Everything was definitely good, but…

‘I was expecting flashy magic…’

The flaw was that it was too different from what he had expected.

Since it was his first magic skill, he had secretly hoped for flashy and beautiful magic skills, but this didn’t seem very magic-like.

‘How is this different from just getting a buff?’

It was essentially like going from a knight to a dark knight.

Though he couldn’t hide his disappointment, true to Dohyun’s performance-focused nature, he quickly shook off his regretful feelings.

There were still many opportunities to gain skills.

He could get flashy magic anytime.

‘Let me try it first.’

Dohyun decided to test the skill before completing the quest and exited the Rock Forest Mountain Range.

Then, along with thick mist, he soon saw a group of orcs.

Squeal-!

Almost simultaneously with spotting them, the orcs also noticed him and charged forward making their characteristic sounds.

Watching them, Dohyun gripped Cheonbyeon.

[Cheonbyeon transforms into ‘Bastard’s Training Sword’.]

And Cheonbyeon, which had transformed into Bastard’s Training Sword, transformed once more.

Like black paint spreading, the smooth silver color darkened and was soon dyed in darkness as black as pitch.

As if that wasn’t enough, the darkness that emerged and writhed looked infinitely ominous.

[You have used ‘Darkness Shroud’ on Cheonbyeon.]

[A 40-second cooldown is applied to target ‘Cheonbyeon’.]

[Mana is consumed every second.]

This was the effect of Darkness Shroud.

A threatening effect worthy of a Hero skill. And it wasn’t just the effect.

[Cheonbyeon is shrouded in darkness, gaining the properties of darkness.]

[Darkness is simply quiet and pierces through essence.]

‘Hmm…’

After checking the description, Dohyun swung Cheonbyeon through the air several times.

No sound of cutting through air could be heard. He could definitely feel the sensation of the sword slicing through the air, yet only silence was maintained.

“It feels strange since there’s no sound.”

It was like playing with the sound muted.

No, it felt even more supernatural than that.

Though he couldn’t explain it precisely in words, being the only one muted in a world full of noise created a considerable sense of disconnect.

-Whoa, what’s that cool thing, Owner?

-Risa risa!

It must have looked quite impressive, as Jihad and Eliza were watching with sparkling eyes.

The effect of black energy swirling around probably contributed to stimulating their curiosity.

-Awesome!

-Ri-risa!

Every time he swung the sword and moved, the darkness rippled, and their reactions grew noticeably more enthusiastic.

The key point was that no sound was made throughout all of this.

‘Assassins would go crazy for this.’

On a dark night, this distinctive effect wouldn’t be very noticeable either.

With this level of stealth plus stealth skills, it would be hard to fail at ambushes.

–!

Squeal…?

Or in thick mist like this.

The orc’s eyes wavered as it looked down at the sharp pain suddenly felt in its left chest. Its eyes were full of questions.

What is this? It didn’t even hear the sound of being stabbed?

The creature’s eyes, which seemed to be asking that, soon held a faint light before fading away.

[You have defeated an Orc.]

[Swordsmanship proficiency has increased.]

[Swordsmanship proficiency has reached LV13.]

Squeal!?

The charging orc hesitated at the sudden death of its companion.

It was instinct. It felt something alien about a death without even a scream.

The orc, feeling an inexplicable chill, looked around nervously.

Excellent senses befitting a monster with warrior blood.

However, even with this instinctive response, nothing could be sensed in the surroundings.

Only its companion lying helplessly in the thick mist was visible; nothing else could be seen or heard.

At that moment.

Thunk-.

Squeal…?

Suddenly its throat and windpipe were pierced.

Feeling breathless and blood welling up, the orc died.

Without knowing why it had to die until the very moment of death.

Swish.

And behind them, Dohyun, the one responsible for their futile deaths, revealed himself.

Along with Dohyun’s sword, his entire body was dyed black, with dark energy rippling slightly, making him look like an incarnation of darkness itself.

[You have used Shroud of Darkness on yourself.]

[Player ‘Kaiser’ has a 40-second cooldown applied.]

[Mana is consumed every second.]

It was the effect of Shroud of Darkness.

By shrouding even his clothes in darkness, his garments made no sound even when they fluttered as he moved.

Originally, he had planned to use it on his shoes as well, but fortunately that wasn’t necessary.

[The option of ‘Stealthy Leather Shoes Made at a Special Workshop’ activates.]

[Your footsteps cannot be heard when walking.]

The shoes he had obtained this time were doing their job perfectly.

The mist that made the orcs’ reckless charges so powerful had now become a dagger aimed at their throats.

“Wow…”

Dohyun, who had made good use of that dagger, was amazed.

He couldn’t help but be.

“This is insanely cool. This is what assassination should be.”

Even from his own perspective, it was the epitome of assassination.

With just a bit of exaggeration, it was perfect enough to be featured in a textbook.

If there were an assassination manual, it should be based on this!

‘I seem to be getting closer to being an assassin, but whatever.’

All the Hero skills were specialized for assassins, plus constant stealth albeit weak, and shoes that silenced footsteps.

At this point, wouldn’t it be fair to call him an assassin rather than a swordsman?

He had that thought for a moment but soon dismissed it.

What did it matter? As long as it was cool and powerful.

-O-Owner. Me too! I want to try that too!

-Risa Risa!

Those guys couldn’t take their eyes off this coolness and were making a fuss.

“How would you guys use this? It’s my skill… Huh?”

He was chuckling and waving his hand dismissively when it happened.

Suddenly, a memory that flashed through his mind made Dohyun pause.

‘Wait a minute.’

Since shrouding skills were naturally more useful for melee characters than mages, they were naturally being forgotten by people.

But there was a mage who had shown a special way to use it.

‘Wasn’t there someone who used it on a Guardian?’

Specifically, using Flame Shroud on a Guardian salamander.

How could someone use a shrouding skill that couldn’t be used on others on a Guardian?

The answer to this question was simple.

-Guardians are judged as belonging to the user, not as others.

Therefore, Guardians are not the user themselves, but they’re not others either.

It was a brilliant move that exploited a loophole in the skill settings.

Thanks to this, he was able to create a salamander that breathed stronger flames, and this became an issue, making it briefly popular to enhance Guardians using shrouding skills.

‘Though it quickly fell out of favor.’

Unfortunately, it never became a mainstream build.

While the idea itself was good, the problem was that Guardians themselves couldn’t exert much power in the late game.

Even when enhanced, they couldn’t even fill one person’s worth of contribution.

So wasting a precious skill slot just to slightly enhance a Guardian was a huge loss.

As a result, it eventually became a joker card that only mages who handled divine beasts would occasionally adopt.

‘That means…’

Dohyun’s gaze turned toward Jihad.

While all that happened in Demroc, this was Godseeker with basically the same skill system.

Wouldn’t the same thing apply here?

“Hey, quickly summon some undead.”

-Huh? Why?

“You said you wanted to try this too.”

-Really? Got it, Owner. I’ll summon them quickly.

Jihad’s previously indifferent body became busy.

His urgency, as if worried Dohyun might change his mind, was palpable through his actions alone.

He must have really coveted Shroud of Darkness.

‘Well, it is a perfect match.’

Not just talking about appearance, but for Jihad who handled black mana, Shroud of Darkness would be a perfect fit, wouldn’t it?

But thinking about it that way, it was peculiar.

‘It doesn’t seem to be dark attribute, so why is his mana black?’

Originally, mana is born with something called attributes.

And the color of mana is determined in proportion to those attributes.

Fire attribute means red mana, water attribute means blue mana, handling divine power means light mana, dark attribute means black mana… and so on.

That was the setting of this game.

But Jihad, as if twisting that setting, showed no characteristics of any attribute.

His mana was just purely black in color.

‘Maybe it’s related to his clan.’

That was probably the most likely candidate.

Like an onion, the more you peeled away, the more peculiar aspects kept appearing endlessly, making him a guy whose identity became more curious the longer you spent time with him.

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ summons undead.]

[Summoning Red Goblin Undead of the Forest ×2, Blue Goblin Undead of the Forest ×1, Orc Undead ×1.]

-Owner! I summoned them!

While having such thoughts, Jihad, who had splendidly completed the summoning, lit up his eyes.

The guy was looking up with eyes shining like a nephew expecting Christmas presents in childhood.

Looking at such a guy, Dohyun nodded his head.

“I’ll use it.”

-Yeah!

Whether it would work or not.

After a moment of tension, Dohyun activated Shroud of Darkness.

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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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