The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 115
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 115
Chapter 115
Crack!
A place where electrical currents permeated the entire peak, and lightning struck randomly across the field.
With the addition of finicky electricity-attribute monsters, it was known as an unpopular hunting ground that users avoided.
Lightning Peak.
A visitor had arrived there after a long time.
“Ugh, this is seriously no joke, right? Just standing still causes electrical damage, and if it accumulates, I get paralyzed. No wonder nobody comes here!”
His nickname was Belbel.
He was currently undertaking a rare-grade hidden quest.
Despite the high difficulty befitting a hidden quest, he had climbed all the way to the final stage through sheer effort.
But the item he had to obtain last was.
“A Lightning Spirit Stone? This is too much!”
A Lightning Spirit Stone.
Of course, Lightning Spirit Stones didn’t only drop at Lightning Peak.
However, among the hunting grounds where Lightning Spirit Stones appeared, Lightning Peak had the lowest entry level requirement.
That’s why he had come here, but the hunting difficulty of Lightning Peak was far higher than he’d heard.
“If there were any listings, I’d just buy it with money!”
Rather than hunting at Lightning Peak, it would be better to buy a Lightning Spirit Stone even if it was expensive.
But since Lightning Peak was an unpopular hunting ground, there were almost no listings available.
Demand wasn’t high either, so few people even bothered trying to obtain one.
Crackle!
“Ow, that stings!”
So I had no choice but to obtain it myself.
No matter how much I fought, I couldn’t adapt.
A creature made entirely of electricity.
Throughout my time on the peak, electricity coursed through my body, and my attacks couldn’t land properly on the monsters.
But what else could I do?
“Argh!”
I decided to hunt monsters as hard as I could to complete the quest.
But then.
Hiss—.
Growl.
Screech?
“What, what is this? Why are there so many?”
The situation had taken a turn for the worse.
While hunting while avoiding the troublesome monsters, at some point ten monsters had swarmed toward me.
Thinking this was hopeless, I tried to flee.
Crackle!
“Huh?”
Monsters were swarming behind me as well.
I couldn’t understand why this situation had unfolded at all.
I had only wanted to obtain a single Lightning Spirit Stone.
And now I had to die like this!
“If only it weren’t a Hidden Quest!”
As I cried out and instinctively crouched down upon seeing the monsters preparing their assault.
Scrape!
“…What?”
A strange sound reached my ears.
The sound of someone attacking a monster.
There was no way a person could be at Lightning Peak, famous as an unpopular hunting ground.
Suppressing my fear, I struggled to lift my head.
Boom!
“Wow….”
A user clad in armor made of bright golden feathers.
That user was weaving through the monsters, their cloak billowing like fluttering wings.
And each time they did.
“Shhhhh-!”
The monsters of Lightning Peak, notorious for being composed entirely of electricity and difficult to deal with, were falling helplessly one after another.
Even Belbel, who was already approaching level 250, would struggle to face more than two of these monsters simultaneously.
Yet this user was slaughtering such vast numbers of them.
It was an unbelievable display of combat power.
Thud.
As I marveled, all the monsters had fallen.
And then, I saw it.
The Lightning Spirit Stone that dropped from the last monster the user had defeated.
Gathering my courage, I called out.
“Hey, you there!”
The user’s eyes as they turned were incredibly cold, but I couldn’t simply abandon the Lightning Spirit Stone.
“The Lightning Spirit Stone! Could I purchase it from you? I’ll pay above market price! Please, I’m begging you!”
Would they ignore me?
If they did, would I have to hunt those monsters again in this absurd hunting ground?
In that tense moment.
“Very well.”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, I received a positive response from that user.
“However, I would appreciate it if you would leave this hunting ground immediately and not speak of me to anyone.”
“Of course! I’ll never return to a place like this again!”
To obtain the Lightning Spirit Stone on such terms!
There was no reason to refuse.
He exhausted his gold to purchase a Lightning Spirit Stone and departed from the peak.
Watching his retreating figure.
Whoosh!
That player.
Mir set out to hunt once more.
* * *
Lightning Spirit Stone.
Having hunted monsters at Lightning Peak, I had already obtained over ten of these items, so there was nothing to regret.
The price was generous as well.
Most importantly, what I appreciated most was being able to hunt leisurely without interference from others, regardless of the Lightning Spirit Stones or anything else.
Crackle—.
Another monster appeared.
A monster in the form of armor made of electricity.
Just as it appeared to be armor, despite being composed of electricity, it was a monster with surprisingly high defense.
“Then.”
– I use the 2nd Circle earth magic ‘Stone Ball’.
Accordingly, instead of an ordinary horizontal slash, I employed magic.
Stone Ball—earth attribute magic capable of inflicting far greater damage against electric attribute monsters.
True to its original name, it’s magic that creates a spherical rock and hurls it at my enemies.
– Through the effect of Arcane Blade, the Stone Ball magic is imbued into my weapon.
A skill I learned from Raymond Mistborn, the Knight Commander of the Blue Moon Knights.
Arcane Blade.
As the effect took hold, the magic itself that was created fused with my weapon.
The ‘Thunderbird’s Claw’ dagger turned brown, and its surface transformed into a rocky texture.
Having used it multiple times while hunting here, I could now clearly understand the power of Arcane Blade.
‘It applies the magical attack power and magical damage of the magic used on the weapon I’m holding directly.’
In other words, when I attack an enemy with a weapon granted Stone Ball through Arcane Blade.
Crack!
I could simultaneously inflict both the attack power of Thunderbird’s Claw and the magical attack power of Stone Ball.
The monster, struck precisely at its vital point by the Thunderbird’s Claw that absorbed lightning and dealt massive damage, combined with the earth magic attack that was its natural opposite, let out.
“Uuugh….”
A whimpering sound as it gradually vanished.
[ Your level has increased. ]
“Excellent.”
I checked the time.
My appointment with Simons was tomorrow.
In other words, I needed to reach level 200 by today.
In that situation, my current level was exactly 199.
In that short span, I had raised 8 levels from level 191 to 199.
Now that only 1 final level remained.
“Shall we hunt the boss monster?”
I decided to hunt the boss monster of Lightning Peak.
In truth, I possessed more than enough power to hunt it regardless of level differences, but due to the nature of Lightning Peak, the number of monsters decreased whenever the boss fell, so I had refrained from hunting it until now.
Now, with only a single level remaining until I reached level 200.
If I defeated the boss monster alone, I felt certain I would achieve level 200.
“Tssss!”
“Groooah—.”
I cut down the monsters blocking my path as I ascended toward the peak’s summit.
Thanks to hunting only the monsters of this peak until now, I had become masterful at hunting these creatures.
I could strike their weak points with precision even with my eyes closed.
Upon reaching the summit.
“There it is.”
I discovered a single longsword standing solitary atop the peak.
Uninformed players often gazed upon that blade with curiosity and approached it recklessly.
But I knew the truth.
That longsword was the boss monster of this hunting ground.
Such forms of boss monsters were common in First as well.
As proof, the moment I took several steps closer.
Crackle!
Lightning descended from the heavens and struck the longsword.
Rather than being absorbed into the ground through the blade, the lightning took the form of a knight, drawing the sword.
That was none other than.
[ Voltar, Knight of Lightning ]
The boss monster of Lightning Peak.
The reason I was familiar with this boss monster was because First possessed elemental knights in similar fashion.
Pyizar, Knight of Flame.
Frisshel, Knight of Ice, and others.
In fields where elemental power was exceptionally potent, such forms of boss monsters frequently appeared.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
“Receive the judgment of lightning.”
Whoosh!
The moment I lunged forward, Voltar too charged toward me, wielding his lightning blade.
In response, I drew forth a long steel spear.
[ Steel Lance ]
Imbuing it with magic.
– Skill ‘Silver Shot’ activated.
I hurled it toward Voltar.
Normally, one should not wield a metal weapon against a boss monster that manipulates electricity like Voltar, but since I had infused it with earth magic, it posed no problem.
The steel spear flew true and struck Voltar, but it failed to pierce his electrical armor and bounced away, embedding itself in the ground.
Nevertheless.
[ Hard Iron Spear ]
[ Iron Cavalry Lance ]
[ Sturdy Trident ]
….
I continued attempting to hurl spears at Voltar.
Of course, as befitted a boss monster, Voltar had grown accustomed to my throws.
Ting!
He deflected the spear with his greatsword and accelerated his assault.
And then.
Crackle!
He swung his greatsword and unleashed a shockwave of electrical energy toward me.
“Luke.”
Whoosh!
[ Steadfast Shield of the Earth ]
I drew forth the shield.
A shield composed of earth attribute—the antithesis of lightning.
Earth attribute naturally resisted electrical damage, and when combined with the resistance granted by the Thunderbird Feather set I wore, the effect was formidable.
Pssssh—.
The electrical shockwave Voltar had launched dissipated.
However, the raw physical force contained within the shockwave was extraordinarily potent, leaving my arm tingling with numbness.
“Do not evade. Face it with honor—the judgment of a knight. The judgment of lightning.”
The pattern repeated thereafter.
I not only hurled spears but wielded the long lance like a disposable weapon in close combat, pressing my assault against Voltar.
I evaded his attacks whenever possible and blocked his troublesome electrical strikes with the Steadfast Shield of the Earth.
“Is this your limit? You lack the qualification to withstand judgment….”
“No.”
Just as Voltar prepared a final blow with evident disinterest.
I drew a deep breath and steadied my stance.
I planted the shield I had been holding in the desired location one last time, then returned it to Luke.
“You’re already finished.”
“…Receive the judgment of lightning!”
Voltar raised his greatsword high.
Lightning erupted from the blade, spreading in all directions as it sought to strike me down.
But.
Crackle!
Most of the lightning Voltar unleashed struck the spears planted in the ground and was absorbed into the earth.
That’s right.
I had not been carelessly selecting iron spears to hurl.
I had embedded iron spears throughout the summit of Lightning Peak, using them as lightning rods.
With this, a considerable portion of his vaunted lightning attacks would be rendered ineffective.
“From now on, it’s close combat.”
Voltar continued hurling lightning attacks, but most of them were absorbed and dissipated by the iron spears I had driven into the ground.
I wove between the spears, dashing forward.
[ I activate Black Flame Transformation. ]
[ I borrow the power of the ‘Black Flame Dragon, Lucknir Desperato Ignockton’. ]
I activated Black Flame Transformation.
However, there was one difference from usual.
Normally, even when using Black Flame Transformation, only traces of black flames would cling to my body.
No further transformation would occur.
‘Fangs?’
Around my mouth after activating Black Flame Transformation.
A faint silhouette of dragon fangs formed from black flames materialized.
The efficiency of the stat increases from Black Flame Transformation seemed to have risen subtly as well.
Likely, this change occurred because Luke had absorbed the ‘Black Flame Dragon’s Fangs’.
With even greater satisfaction, I smiled.
Thwack!
I drove the Thunder Bird’s talons into Voltar.
Then I stepped back, evading the discharge Voltar unleashed.
[ Stone Spear ]
– I activate the skill ‘Silver Shot’.
I unleashed my spear technique.
Naturally, I wielded earth-attribute weapons—the most effective type against creatures with electrical properties.
“The judgment of lightning…!”
“That won’t work anymore.”
Even after that, Voltar spewed lightning in all directions, but most of it was blocked by the iron spears I had planted.
In a situation where lightning rods were embedded all around, there was no way to properly unleash a lightning attack.
With lightning rods embedded across the field like this, my victory was already assured.
“Well, it would’ve been troublesome if the artificial intelligence were just a bit smarter…”
In truth, this strategy was only possible because this was an enemy with relatively low intelligence.
A monster with higher artificial intelligence would have recognized that the spears embedded in the peak served as lightning rods and removed them first.
But Voltar’s artificial intelligence wasn’t particularly high.
[ Earthquake Claymore ]
– I activate the 2-Circle earth magic ‘Stone Ball’.
– Through the Arcane Blade effect, the Stone Ball magic is imbued into the weapon.
– I activate the skill ‘Black Insect Flash’.
In a single strike combining the power of item, magic, and skill.
Crack!
“The judgment of lightning…”
[ Your level has increased. ]
It lost form and vanished.
With this, I had achieved level 200.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————