The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 13

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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 13
Chapter 13
The moment the examinee manifested magic.
The Sage Instructor couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment, his mouth falling open wide.
“Whoa… Your mana affinity is certainly high, but for an examinee who hasn’t even formed a single circle to manifest a third-circle spell…!”
“Master, isn’t that because of that ring? The ring looks incredible.”
“It’s certainly a remarkable ring, but no matter how powerful it is, manifesting magic through mana control is entirely the user’s skill! That ring merely supplements the insufficient mana and mental fortitude. Manifesting that spell is purely the examinee’s own ability!”
“Okay, okay, calm down, Master.”
“How can I calm down! The examinee is creating such a massive and perfect Fire Lance!”
The examinee had already succeeded in manifesting the Fire Lance.
But unsatisfied with that alone, I continued enlarging the Fire Lance further.
Seeing the Fire Lance blazing ferociously as if hunting for prey, the Sage Instructor shouted urgently.
“There, hit that target! Now that you’ve manifested such magic, you’d naturally want to test it!”
The examinee nodded at his cry and, the moment the ring’s light extinguished, hurled the completed Fire Lance.
That instant.
The room filled with scorching heat.
Boom—!!
A violent explosion of flames erupted.
Thanks to that, the ‘target’ the Sage Instructor had pointed to was obliterated beyond recognition of its original form.
“Ah, truly you must walk the path of the Sage! Magic is the pinnacle of mystery symbolizing this age! Come, join hands with me and transcend even dragons through the power of magic…!”
“Ah, Master! Stop it! It’s my turn now.”
Setting aside the rambling Sage Instructor, the Dark Assassin Instructor stepped forward.
Then, with a menacing smile, she spoke.
“My test is nothing like those—it won’t be easy at all.”
* * *
An hour later.
“Shadow King, Shadow King! You absolutely must become the Shadow King! Not becoming the King of Darkness with that talent is a sin! A sin!”
“Nonsense! You must walk the path of the Sage! Absolutely, positively!”
“Archer. Definitely archer.”
The Dark Assassin Instructor was naturally clinging to the examinee between the Archer and the Sage Instructor.
And for good reason—I had just effortlessly passed the ‘absurd difficulty’ test the Shadow King had set.
A comprehensive evaluation of speed, stealth, and judgment.
The highest difficulty test she could possibly prepare.
So this reaction was inevitable.
The reason was actually simple.
Movement speed could be achieved with good boots, and stealth with a good cloak.
Of course, the Dark Assassin Instructor marveled at how, even with good items, I perfectly controlled that speed and maximized stealth, and more importantly, my judgment in emergencies was a supreme talent unrelated to items.
“This is the final test, then?”
Regardless.
I prepared for the final test.
I had arrived at the Tower 3rd Floor.
This was where the examination for advancing into various close-combat professions, including Swordmaster, was conducted.
“Finally, it’s my turn!”
The final examination hall was rougher in appearance compared to the other test chambers.
Across a floor filled with sand and earth stood wooden frames lashed together in crude cross shapes that could barely be called training dummies, scattered sparsely throughout the space.
Along the walls were various types of wooden practice weapons mounted in neat rows.
That was all.
Compared to the Archer’s examination hall with its opening walls, the Sage’s test chamber dense with mana, or the Dark Assassin’s intricate obstacle course, this place seemed remarkably ordinary.
‘But despite appearances, the variety of tests here was quite extensive.’
From what I remembered alone, there was striking a wooden sword a hundred times.
Felling wooden logs with a wooden axe.
Thrusting a spear a hundred times at X-shaped marks drawn on the wall, and so forth.
Different tests were conducted depending on the weapon.
In fact, this was the place where I had undergone the most examinations when I became a Weapon Master.
And now.
What kind of test would be conducted for my job change examination to become an All Master?
“Your test is this!”
Thud.
The Swordmaster Instructor tossed a bag toward me.
When I opened it and poured out the contents, various types of practice weapons spilled forth.
Wooden swords, wooden spears, wooden sticks, clubs, and more.
It was such a diverse collection of practice weapons that one could say there was nothing missing.
Immediately after, the Swordmaster Instructor announced the details of this examination.
“A sparring match with me!”
A sparring match with the instructor, no less.
I didn’t know exactly how strong the instructor was, but no matter how I thought about it, he was far from ordinary.
He had easily surpassed the level of the City of Beginnings, and perhaps had even exceeded level 100.
A sparring match with such an instructor.
“Do I need to win?”
“It would be nice if you did! But that’s too much to ask. Just land a proper effective strike!”
An effective strike.
That was a somewhat ambiguous answer.
Even with the term “effective strike,” some people would consider any hit anywhere on the body as effective, while others would only recognize vital points like the neck or heart as valid targets.
Before I could ask about this.
The Swordmaster Instructor provided additional clarification.
“However, there is a condition!”
“What condition is that?”
“You cannot use any items you possess—you may only use the practice weapons here!”
That was quite a disadvantageous condition.
The reason I had been able to pass these unreasonable tests so far was because I could use the items I had collected from First.
Yet he was telling me not to use items and to land a solid hit instead.
With no idea how strong the Swordmaster Instructor truly was, these conditions felt impossibly difficult.
But.
‘There’s no giving up.’
Just like before, I had no intention of surrendering.
And besides.
Even without using items, I had one last trump card up my sleeve.
“That’s the spirit! If you’re going to bare-knuckle it and face the world head-on, you need that kind of audacity!”
The Swordmaster Instructor was using a practice weapon as well.
He kicked the wooden sword off the ground and caught it with effortless grace—a motion that spoke of considerable mastery.
Since he oversaw the job change trials for most melee combat classes, the Swordmaster Instructor undoubtedly knew every weapon technique worth knowing.
Watching him like that.
Tap.
I kicked the wooden spear off the ground and caught it myself.
Without any spear skills, my body remembered the combat stance from First, and I faced the Swordmaster Instructor with renewed focus.
“Ugh.”
“We might’ve gone too far, but asking you to beat the Instructor is ridiculous!”
“That’s dirty.”
“Ahem. Well, if you pass here, we really do have to promote you to All Master, don’t we?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
….
“Muscle man, fighting!”
No one had given a signal.
Neither I nor the Swordmaster Instructor had opened our mouths.
Yet, as if we’d synchronized beforehand.
Whoosh!
The Swordmaster Instructor and I moved simultaneously.
“Hahahaha!”
The Swordmaster Instructor charged at me, and I retreated backward, extending my spear forward.
The fundamental principle of spear combat is using superior reach to prevent the enemy’s approach.
Once the opponent gets too close, spear techniques become difficult to employ.
Of course, I knew how to handle such situations.
But against an Instructor of all people, I doubted such basic countermeasures would prove effective.
Rather than fixating on one weapon and relying on defensive techniques, the answer was to maximize the strengths of various weapons.
Clang, clang, clang!
Three attacks unfolded in rapid succession.
The Instructor parried my thrusts and sweeps with his wooden sword so effortlessly it was almost contemptuous, blocking my advance entirely.
As he finally batted my wooden spear aside and pressed in close, I threw the spear to block his path and quickly picked up new weapons.
“Bow, magic, stealth, and now weapon mastery too! Truly impressive!”
I looked up, and the Instructor was right in front of me.
I deflected the Swordmaster Instructor’s blade as it came slashing diagonally, attempting a counterattack.
Clang!
The Swordmaster Instructor blocked my counterattack with the pommel below the hilt and seamlessly continued into the next strike.
If I hadn’t desperately halted my attack and ducked my head, I would have already taken the hit.
‘It’s not just technique—the gap in physical ability is too vast.’
My current physical abilities were far from lacking.
Though I was only level 10, my stats alone were close to those of a level 40 character.
Yet even with those stats, I struggled to keep pace with the Swordmaster Instructor’s movements.
Each time I blocked an attack, my wrists tingled and my body was pushed backward.
Retreating only meant being caught up in a single step, and despite displaying such movements, there was no sign of fatigue whatsoever.
Regardless of skill, at this rate I would be overwhelmingly defeated by sheer weight class.
Therefore.
I decided to deploy my hidden trump card immediately.
“Luke.”
– Yes, Master.
“Lend me your power.”
– I’ve been waiting.
My entire body erupted in black flames.
This wasn’t Luke simply producing equipment as I normally requested.
The surging black flames didn’t fade away immediately; instead, they lingered softly and began infusing my body with strength.
Along with it came a System Message.
[ Blackflame Transformation activated. ]
[ Borrowing the power of ‘Black Flame Dragon, Luke Nirvath Desperado Ignoctane’. ]
That’s right.
This was Luke’s second ability.
Lending me the stats accumulated by devouring monster corpses.
Though the duration wasn’t particularly long, it allowed me to fight with all my stats dramatically increased for a brief period.
Since Luke’s stats grew stronger the more monster corpses he devoured, this ability would become increasingly powerful over time.
Even in First, where I’d contracted with Luke late, this ability to borrow his power had proven quite useful.
Whoosh!
The moment I activated Blackflame Transformation, I charged directly at the Swordmaster Instructor instead.
The time I could borrow Luke’s power was limited.
So I had to settle this within that window.
“I didn’t expect you had another hidden move! Impressive!”
I’d wondered if the instruction against using items might apply, but fortunately this situation seemed to be permitted.
After all, this didn’t look like item usage by any stretch of the imagination.
As I charged forward, I issued an instruction to Luke.
Luke had no independent combat ability, but he retained his existing capabilities.
“Luke, gather all the weapons around here.”
– Understood, Master.
The practice weapons scattered across my path of advance were absorbed into Luke.
I’d been told not to use items, but there were no restrictions on using practice weapons.
Thanks to that, there was no need to bother picking up weapons.
“Give me the strongest one.”
– I shall prepare a greatsword for you.
From the black flames blazing in my hand, a practice greatsword I’d just obtained materialized.
Now the real battle begins.
The ‘switching’ technique utilizing Luke’s power.
This was my unique combat method—the very reason I could completely dominate First.
Then, as I swung the greatsword with all my might, the Swordmaster Instructor confidently met my blade with his own.
“Show me more, more power! Examinee!”
Crash—!!
The Swordmaster Instructor’s wild, ferocious grin seemed far more suited to a berserker.

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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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