The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 138

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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 138
Chapter 138
That night.
“Come on, bring it all out!”
“Alcohol, meat! Everything!”
“Drink it all up!”
A festival had erupted at Red Beast Fortress.
They brought out every bottle of alcohol that had been forbidden during their usual constant vigilance, preparing everything in abundance.
And for good reason—the scouts who had investigated the Ruined Plains immediately after Red Lion fell had returned with remarkable news.
“The number of beasts in the Ruined Plains has decreased dramatically.”
“In fact, even if we leave it as is, there appears to be no risk of the barrier being attacked for several years to come.”
“The Red Lion Plains are the same. All the beasts have scattered in every direction, leaving the Red Lion Plains completely empty, and most importantly, the color has returned to all the beasts.”
This was the report they had brought back.
With the fall of the Red Beast God, Red Lion, peace had descended upon both the Red Lion Plains and the Ruined Plains.
Though truthfully, it was less peace than the restoration of the natural food chain.
In any case, thanks to this, the soldiers of Red Beast Fortress could finally taste freedom after so long.
“A festival!”
With the permission of Lionheart Marquis, they were preparing the celebration.
I too wanted to enjoy the festive atmosphere, so I stepped forward to prepare food myself.
“No, no!”
“Sage, you should just rest over there!”
“We’ll prepare the food for you.”
“It’s fine, really—”
“No, absolutely not! We’d feel terrible! Please, just sit comfortably and wait while we take care of everything!”
The soldiers rushed over in a panic and blocked my way.
Apparently, having a sub-marquis like me prepare the food made them uncomfortable.
If I insisted on cooking in this situation, it would only make them feel worse, so I reluctantly took my seat.
Then Lionheart Marquis approached and sat before me.
“Thank you, Mir. Without you, Red Beast Fortress would have fallen already. Not just myself and my soldiers, but the Empire itself might have been in danger.”
“It was thanks to your help.”
“No, we’re the ones who received aid. At first light, I’ll record your achievements in detail and report them to the Imperial Palace. I stake the honor of the Lionheart Family on it.”
My words about owing thanks to them were sincere.
Without the soldiers of Red Beast Fortress helping, I couldn’t have brought down Red Lion so quickly.
However, the Marquis had transferred all the achievements and merits from this battle to me.
[ Quest ‘Protecting Red Beast Fortress’ has been completed. ]
Reward: Respond to the Imperial Palace’s summons to receive your reward.
The quest completion message appeared.
The reward couldn’t be claimed immediately—it seemed I would receive a summons only after the Marquis’s report reached the Imperial Palace and was reviewed.
‘Protecting Red Beast Fortress’ was an Epic-tier Quest, so I expected to receive quite a substantial reward this time.
After all, I had protected Red Beast Fortress, which could be called the Empire’s vital region.
“Come on, everyone grab some meat! Raise your glasses!”
“Drink! Down it all!”
“Kahahaha!”
Before I knew it, a festival had begun at Red Beast Fortress while I conversed with the Marquis.
Truth be told, the festival wasn’t much to speak of.
Just eating and drinking.
That was all, yet the soldiers seemed to be enjoying themselves more than at any other celebration.
Well, these were men who had maintained constant vigilance and tension while defending Red Beast Fortress, never knowing when or how fiercely monsters might assault them.
For the first time, they could finally shed that tension completely, so their joy was inevitable.
“Sage! Please try this!”
“Our cook made it, and it’s absolutely exquisite.”
“For meat dishes, it might even surpass the Imperial Palace’s chefs?”
“The most readily available ingredients at Red Beast Fortress are various beast meats, after all!”
The soldiers brought me meat as well.
The dish looked appetizing at first glance, so I took a large bite.
“Oh?”
“How is it! My masterpiece!”
“It’s delicious. I thought beast meat would be tough, but it’s not.”
“That’s my secret! Making tough beast meat as tender as cotton candy!”
“And there’s no gamey taste at all.”
“I masked it with spices that only grow in the Ruined Plains!”
Rich umami exploded across my palate along with the meat’s juices.
As far as meat dishes went, it seemed even more delicious than what I’d eaten at the Imperial Palace.
As I ate in admiration.
A flicker.
Black flames wavered beside the meat.
I’d been so absorbed in the deliciousness that I’d forgotten to set aside food for Luke.
“Could you bring a bit more of this?”
“Of course! We have plenty of meat, so eat as much as you’d like!”
“You hear that, Luke? Eat your fill.”
– Thank you. Master.
Flicker!
“How is it?”
– Indeed, I have never tasted meat this delicious before!
As I set the dish before him, Luke’s black flames danced and wavered, expressing his emotions.
A black flame dragon enjoying meat dishes.
It was so endearing that it made me forget Luke’s original form that I’d defeated back in First.
“Wahahahaha! This is so much fun!”
Jackal, the captain of the Steel Claw Mercenary Band, sat beside me and raised his glass.
Though the mercenaries had only recently joined Red Beast Fortress, they were already raising their glasses with the soldiers as if they were old friends.
“Come now, everyone raise a glass!”
“To the Red Beast Fortress!”
“To Lionheart Marquis!”
“To Mir the Sage!!”
Since the Red Beast Fortress had come into existence, the most raucous celebration continued unabated for some time.
* * *
After the festivities had concluded.
I climbed atop the ramparts of the Red Beast Fortress and began finishing the work I hadn’t been able to complete earlier.
“First, let me select an ability.”
The reward from the Main Scenario Quest for defeating the evil god.
With that reward, I could enhance one of All Master’s abilities.
In truth, I had already considered which ability to enhance while enjoying the festivities.
Each of All Master’s abilities was worth using.
But the ability I had chosen was.
[ God of All Weapons ]
This one.
An ability that relaxed the equip restrictions on all equipment items.
Deceptively simple, yet with this ability, I could equip higher-level items and strengthen my combat prowess.
Moreover, when using something like a 1,000-level Mythic-grade weapon, enhancing God of All Weapons could reduce its penalties even further.
[ You have selected ‘God of All Weapons’ from All Master’s abilities. ]
[ ‘God of All Weapons’ is being enhanced. ]
[ God of All Weapons : Relaxes equip restrictions on all equipment items. (Level 20) ]
The equip restriction relaxation level of God of All Weapons had doubled.
With this, not only would the tier of items I could immediately equip increase, but penalties from using higher-level items would also diminish.
With this, the Quest reward was settled.
What remained was.
“Luke, show me the items that Red Lion dropped.”
– Yes, Master.
The Red Beast God.
Items obtained from defeating Red Lion.
Since I had obtained ‘Black Insect Severance,’ a Mythic-grade piercing skill, from defeating the Black Worm God, I had hoped a Mythic-grade skill would appear this time as well.
And indeed it did.
“It appeared!”
Once again, I was able to obtain a Mythic-grade skill book.
[ Tome of the Evil God – Crimson Bloodclaw ]
( Non-tradeable )
Form : Skill Book
Grade : Mythic
Restriction : Those who have defeated the Red Beast God, All Master
Description : A slashing attack formed from the movements of the Red Beast God.
If the Black Insect God’s attack was a piercing strike, then the Red Lion’s attack appeared to be a slashing one.
I wouldn’t know for certain until I used it myself, but given that it was a mythic-grade skill, the Red Lion’s power was undoubtedly formidable.
With satisfaction, I opened the skill book.
– You have acquired the skill ‘Red Lion (赤野血爪) Lv 1’ by using the ‘Demon God’s Grimoire’.
The Red Lion skill was acquired immediately.
And then.
[ You have acquired an advanced skill above Heavy Strike. ]
[ The skill experience of Heavy Strike is absorbed into ‘Red Lion’. ]
[ The skill level of ‘Red Lion’ has increased. ]
As the Heavy Strike skill was absorbed into Red Lion, its skill level rose dramatically.
I had thought that even for a mythic-grade skill, it would take considerable time to raise its level.
But thanks to the Heavy Strike skill being absorbed, it had become immediately combat-ready.
This alone was a substantial reward, but the important part was.
– There is one more thing.
Unlike the Black Insect God encounter, this time an additional item had dropped.
The item that appeared before me along with the black flames was.
[ Red Beast God’s Lion Hide ]
Type: Material
Grade: Mythic
That was it.
“Excellent!”
The Red Beast God.
In other words, the Red Lion’s hide.
It wasn’t a proper equipment piece like a weapon or armor, which was unfortunate, but where was I?
“A mythic-grade material!”
A mythic-grade material, no less.
While not an equipment item, processing mythic-grade materials could yield mythic-grade equipment.
Moreover, unlike my current items, this wasn’t a non-tradeable item, was it?
Even if I could equip non-tradeable mythic-grade items whenever I wanted, it didn’t matter.
If I crafted a mythic-grade item from this and put it up at the Auction House?
‘Wouldn’t it sell for quite a high price?’
I might be able to earn far more than what I’d made selling orc items.
I didn’t know the market price, but mythic-grade items were extremely rare even in First.
In truth, selling the material itself would fetch a high price given its mythic grade, but.
‘Crafting it into a finished item would definitely sell for much more.’
Generally, finished products always sold for more than raw materials.
And I was the All Master.
I could freely use all production-class skills, and recently my production skills had even begun scaling with my All Mastery level.
Adding the expertise I’d accumulated in First to that?
Crafting mythic-grade equipment from mythic-grade materials was entirely within my capabilities.
However.
‘I need to find a smithy.’
No matter how capable I am, processing mythic-grade materials requires an optimal location.
I have Hephaestus’s Hammer, a mythic-grade hammer with a 1,000 level restriction, but crafting requires more than just a hammer.
For ordinary crafting, a hammer alone would suffice, but processing mythic-grade materials demands a proper smithy.
A smithy capable of producing extraordinarily intense heat.
Without it, the success rate plummets and the final product’s stats suffer accordingly.
‘Even though it’s leather, I’ll ultimately need to use a blacksmith’s skill to process it. A smithy is essential.’
With this, my next plan crystallized.
Once I escape Red Beast Fortress, I’ll need to seek out a superior smithy.
The Empire certainly has fine smithies, but they won’t suffice for my purposes.
Given this is a fantasy world, when it comes to Second’s finest smithy, naturally it would be—
‘Dwarves.’
A dwarven smithy.
Having now organized all the rewards I’d obtained and determined my next destination, I rose from my seat with satisfaction.
“Magnificent.”
Beneath the night sky, the expansive Ruined Plains stretches before my eyes.
Though it was undoubtedly a fierce battlefield until daylight, now it appears breathtakingly beautiful.
Gazing upon that sight—
“This is exhilarating.”
I found myself thinking anew that starting Second was truly the right decision.

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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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