The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 106
Chapter 106
On the way to the Imperial Palace.
The Guard Captain and a Butler accompanied me, one on each side.
Then the Butler began to speak.
“Once you enter the Audience Chamber, you must keep your gaze lowered. Under no circumstances are you to look upon His Majesty’s draconic form until he grants you permission.”
He started instructing me on proper etiquette.
The Guard Captain standing beside me radiated an atmosphere suggesting he would behead me if I forgot even a single rule of conduct.
Well, they probably weren’t expecting proper noble decorum from me anyway.
Considering that I was an adventurer—in other words, a user—the etiquette he taught didn’t feel particularly difficult.
‘The scale wasn’t quite this grand, but I’ve met plenty of kings back in First.’
What didn’t exist in First were users, not NPCs.
To complete Quests, I had encountered countless emperors, kings, lords, and clan chiefs.
As my level increased and my strength grew, those encounters became even more frequent.
In that sense, the etiquette the Butler taught me shared many similarities, making it easy to remember.
‘No matter which country, the principle remains the same—you bow your head before the king.’
Of course, that wasn’t all.
After the etiquette instruction came the matter of attire and inspection.
“Commoners don’t have a fixed dress code. However, you must wear clothing that is as neat and dignified as possible.”
“Could you explain in more detail?”
“The basic requirement is to wear long-sleeved garments layered so that no skin is exposed. Most importantly, you must avoid any flashy decorations or ornaments that might dazzle His Majesty’s eyes. Furthermore….”
A lengthy explanation followed.
He then guided me to a changing room, but truthfully, there was no properly fitting clothing among what had been prepared for commoners.
There were only neutral-toned garments designed to suppress the wearer’s individuality so as not to offend the Emperor’s sensibilities.
The oversized clothes, made to fit anyone, looked uncomfortable to wear at a glance.
“Luke, could you pull out the Damascus Kingdom uniform for me?”
– Yes, Master.
I decided to wear one of the pieces of equipment I possessed.
[ Damascus Kingdom Uniform ]
Damascus—an ancient kingdom whose very existence had already vanished in Second.
I put on the uniform, recalling that its appearance matched the impression I had just received from the Butler.
However, despite the uniform looking neat, it was covered with medals and ornaments proving my Achievements.
“Remove all of these. The kingdom’s insignia too.”
– Yes, Master.
The medals and symbols of a vanished kingdom held little importance to me.
As Luke’s black flames swept across my body, all the insignia and medals of the Damascus Kingdom disappeared, leaving only the kingdom’s characteristically clean, neutral-toned uniform.
Then I turned to face the Butler.
“Will this suffice?”
“I didn’t expect you to prepare your attire so thoughtfully. I’ve heard that adventurers lack propriety, so it seems my prejudice was quite severe.”
The Butler appeared satisfied with my appearance.
However, that wasn’t all I needed to prepare.
Only after completing several more preparations could I finally arrive before the Audience Chamber.
“Disarm yourself.”
At the Guard Captain’s command, the Butler extended his hand, but instead of handing my weapons to him, I dropped them to the floor.
Luke then summoned black flames, naturally receiving my weapons within them.
“Should you attempt to draw a weapon in the presence of His Imperial Majesty, I will sever your head on the spot.”
The Guard Captain’s words carried a chilling edge as he spoke.
Regardless, I nodded and completed my preparations.
The burden of meeting the Emperor of the continent?
I felt none of it.
During my time in First, I had encountered and traveled with several kings, chieftains, and lords.
Many among them had even bowed their heads before me, begging me to save their nations.
“Please, enter.”
The doors to the Audience Chamber opened.
The Emperor of the Baltika Empire revealed himself.
* * *
The 22nd Emperor of the Baltika Empire, Drakeon Baltika.
He was the youngest man to ever ascend to the imperial throne among all emperors of the Baltika Empire.
When he took the throne, he was merely twelve years old.
Because of this, many appeared seeking to exploit the young emperor.
– I-I’m terribly sorry!
– Please, spare my life….
– I c-can’t breathe. I can’t breathe… Gasp!
Yet the Emperor was not played with by them.
A power that manifests only in those who inherit particularly densely the dragon blood known as the noble lineage of the Baltika Empire.
Dragon Fear.
The current Emperor was born with this power.
Before Dragon Fear, no one could deceive the Emperor, and none dared raise their head in his presence.
Thanks to this power and his brilliant wisdom, at twenty-four years old, he is now called the greatest emperor the Baltika Empire has ever known.
Drakeon Baltika.
“The birth of the Orc Lord and the adventurer who defeated it….”
He had learned of my existence.
The birth of the Orc Lord that even the Empire’s most renowned analysts had failed to detect.
This was an extraordinarily grave matter.
The Orc Lord grew more dangerous as time passed and more orcs gathered to it.
Had it not been for me, the Empire would have had to defend against an invasion of over a hundred thousand orcs.
“Moreover, despite being an adventurer, both the Capital Defense Commander and the Hunter Master revealed their desire for such talent.”
After learning of my existence,
the Emperor himself had investigated me.
An adventurer who graduated from the City of Beginnings by achieving the highest score ever recorded on the final examination known as the graduation test.
I received early promotion from the Hunter Guild and single-handedly conquered Dungeons at the E to D-rank level.
After that, I suddenly appeared with tremendous growth, reaching a level of skill where even the Hunter Master recommended me as a disciple.
And considering the Orc Lord on top of that….
“I’m eager to meet him.”
A smile played across the Emperor’s face.
Whenever he met someone who caught his fancy.
The Emperor had a habit of using Dragon Fear on that person.
He would start from the very lowest stage of Dragon Fear and test how much of it his opponent could endure.
For instance, the current Guard Captain had withstood the eighth stage of Dragon Fear that he had anticipated.
“I’m curious how much of my fear this adventurer Mir, who has caught the Hunter Master’s interest and defeated the Orc Lord, will be able to withstand.”
“Your Majesty, adventurer Mir has completed preparations for the audience.”
“Let him enter.”
With the Emperor’s command, the door opened.
Mir, dressed in a neat uniform, entered the Audience Chamber with confident strides.
* * *
‘So this is the Audience Chamber.’
The first thing I saw upon the door opening was, as expected, the current Emperor of the Baltika Empire.
Drakeon Baltika.
He wore ornate garments—a crown and cloak that exuded a distinctly medieval Western aesthetic—yet his face appeared younger than expected.
That said, he didn’t seem approachable.
If I had to describe it.
‘Confidence?’
Boundless confidence.
He emanated an aura that could be aptly described as arrogance.
Next, I noticed the murals carved into the vast walls of the Audience Chamber.
A colossal golden dragon.
As an artistic work meant to express the Emperor’s majesty, it was rendered with enough grandeur to instill awe in all who entered the chamber.
‘Hmm?’
Yet it felt strangely familiar to me.
That mural.
Rather than being drawn to resemble reality, it was rendered somewhat abstractly to showcase the Emperor’s majesty, but….
‘The Golden Dragon…?’
Somehow, it resembled the final boss monster of First that I knew.
The Golden Dragon of Greed.
I wanted to examine the Audience Chamber further due to this curiosity.
“Lower your head.”
The Guard Captain’s voice came from beside me.
Committing further disrespect before the Empire’s Emperor could result in more than just losing my head to the Guard Captain—I might even face an execution order. So I quietly lowered my head.
Then I recalled the greeting I had learned beforehand from the Butler.
“Adventurer Mir pays respects to His Majesty, the Emperor of the Baltika Empire.”
I thought I’d have a moment to compose myself.
The moment my bow concluded, the Emperor’s voice reached my ears.
“Yes, so you are Mir. Upon hearing that you had slain the Orc Lord and his entire army, I simply had to see you for myself.”
His response was far more favorable than I had anticipated.
However, what followed from the Emperor contradicted everything the Butler had taught me about proper etiquette.
“I wish to see your face directly, so raise your head.”
The Butler had instructed me.
Under no circumstances should I ever raise my head to gaze directly upon the imperial countenance.
Yet now, the Emperor was commanding me to do precisely that.
I glanced sideways toward the Guard Captain.
A nod.
The Guard Captain gave a subtle nod of approval.
Just as I was about to raise my head.
– You have fallen into the abnormal status ‘Fear’ due to extreme oppressive force.
– You have fallen into the abnormal status ‘Rigidity’ due to extreme oppressive force.
My body stiffened completely alongside the System Messages.
What in the world was happening?
I never expected something like this to occur in the Audience Chamber, but drawing upon my experiences in First, I steadied myself with deliberate calm.
The first thing I needed to determine was who had unleashed this ‘oppressive force’ that inflicted these abnormal statuses upon me.
‘The Emperor.’
Identifying this was simple enough.
The oppressive force emanated from directly ahead, where only the Emperor sat.
That left two remaining questions.
Why was the Emperor releasing this oppressive force upon me, and how could I break free from it?
– Master, are you alright? I can immediately——.
Luke, sensing my distress, spoke first.
It was the same situation as when the Hunter Master had unleashed his killing intent before.
At that time, I had escaped the Hunter Master’s killing intent by borrowing Luke’s power.
But.
‘If I borrow Luke’s strength, the Guard Captain won’t remain idle.’
Black Flame Transformation was undoubtedly a formidable ability, but to an uninformed observer, it would appear far too suspicious and conspicuous.
If I attempted such a thing, the Guard Captain might very well sever my head on the spot.
‘Should I simply endure this?’
He tells me to raise my head, yet simultaneously unleashes oppressive force to paralyze me.
What kind of cruel jest was this?
No, before that—the Emperor hadn’t appeared particularly strong.
How could he possibly manifest such overwhelming oppressive force?
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
‘Wait.’
I felt a strange sensation wash over me.
This oppressive aura.
Somehow….
‘Why does it feel familiar?’
It was familiar.
Extremely so.
It felt as though I had experienced this exact oppressive aura hundreds of times just recently.
But how could that be?
No, wait.
I thought I knew what this was.
This sensation.
‘The Golden Dragon.’
The final boss monster of First.
It was the same dragon fear I had felt from the Golden Dragon of Greed.
With that thought, the dragon fear of the Golden Dragon I had felt for the last time in First came vividly to mind, and I could now confirm that what I was experiencing was of the same nature.
In that moment.
– Resisting abnormal status ‘Fear’.
– Resisting abnormal status ‘Paralysis’.
I managed to break free from the abnormal statuses.
The abnormal status level wasn’t particularly high to begin with, and having overcome the Golden Dragon’s dragon fear countless times, this oppressive aura didn’t feel overwhelmingly strong to me.
However.
– Falling into abnormal status ‘Fear’ due to extreme oppressive aura.
– Falling into abnormal status ‘Paralysis’ due to extreme oppressive aura.
The moment the abnormal statuses lifted, an even more intense oppressive aura began pressing down on my shoulders.
‘I see.’
While I was experienced in dealing with dragon fear, at my current level—not even having reached 200—it was difficult to completely overcome the Emperor’s dragon fear.
Therefore.
I issued a command to Luke in a voice so quiet that no one around us could hear it.
“Luke, equip the Golden Dragon’s Greed for me. Do it discreetly so no one notices.”
– Yes, Master.
I was currently in a position kneeling on one knee toward the Emperor.
My left hand rested horizontally across my knee, while my right fist touched the ground.
In particular, my right hand was concealed within the long sleeves characteristic of the Damascus Kingdom uniform.
And so Luke.
Whoosh—.
Generated an extremely faint black flame from within the uniform’s sleeve and equipped the Golden Dragon’s Greed on my wrist.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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