The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 149

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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 149
Chapter 149
The First Abandoned Mine was vast.
So vast, in fact, that even the dwarves of today had not fully mapped its geography, and none among them had ever reached its deepest depths.
Because of this, the abandoned mine was composed of far more diverse terrain than one might expect.
“Halt!”
“What happened to this place?”
“We’ll need to find another route.”
“I nearly fell.”
An invisible chasm yawned beneath the floor.
Rumble—
“How do we cross this?”
“We’ll have to ferry across one by one using golems.”
“Fine, let’s do that.”
An endless lava field, molten rivers flowing without cease.
“Unbelievable—there was a section like this left in the abandoned mine.”
“For something called an abandoned mine, there seem to be many things still unmined.”
“Perhaps over the long ages, mana has solidified and created new mineral deposits.”
“Once we defeat the Evil God, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to conduct another survey of the First Abandoned Mine.”
Brilliant spaces studded with gleaming crystals, mana stones, and luminite in every direction.
It was as though every mining terrain in the world had gathered in one place.
As Mir’s party defeated golems and advanced deeper,
“Phew, the rails are all laid—let’s take a brief rest.”
“You’ve all worked hard!”
The dwarves behind them had been laying railroad tracks.
The abandoned mine was far too vast to be conquered in a day or two, but thanks to those rails, supply concerns had vanished.
The arrival of golems to serve as materials or to join the battle had also accelerated.
After several days had passed,
[ Status Window ]
Name: Mir
Level: 247
Class: All Master
Strength+: 851 Agility+: 816
Vitality: 835 Intelligence: 809
Wisdom: 804
I had managed to reach level 247.
‘Even by my standards, this is an incredible pace.’
I had gained considerable levels from holding back the monster waves of beasts at the Red Beast Fortress and defeating the Evil God.
But here, continuously defeating golems far above my level, my experience was climbing steadily.
Others said that from the moment they reached level 200, leveling became extraordinarily difficult.
I was already approaching level 250 not long after that.
But that wasn’t all.
‘My stats are satisfactory.’
The rate of stat growth was truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary standards.
Thanks to the enhancement, every level brought a +3 increase to all stats—the All Master’s unique ability, Balanced Development.
Various elixirs, including the mythic-grade ‘Tyrant’s Life Essence’ I’d consumed recently.
Even Luke’s predation, now strengthened after reclaiming his teeth.
All of these combined meant my stats were rising at an absolutely insane rate.
If someone had seen my status window, they would have certainly reported it as a bug.
“Mir! Come eat!”
“I could prepare the meal myself.”
“Don’t say such things again. Your cooking is, well, um, no—we can’t ask a guest to cook for us.”
A brief respite.
I was treated to the dwarves’ cooking.
In truth, I wanted to put my high cooking skill to use.
But the dwarves kept stopping me and prepared the meal themselves.
The dwarves clearly have a different aesthetic sense than humans.
Then I saw what the dwarves had brought.
“Moeldum’s signature magma barbecue and mushroom soup!”
It looked more appetizing than I’d expected.
Well-grilled barbecue and steaming soup.
I’d thought the dwarves’ different aesthetic would make their cooking mediocre, but it looked far more delicious than anticipated.
“Mole meat grilled over magma and a soup made from mushrooms gathered in the mines! We ground in black salt unique to Moeldum!”
The explanation dampened my appetite somewhat.
But I couldn’t ignore the dwarves’ sincerity, and I needed to satisfy my hunger, so I took a large bite of the meat.
“Oh?”
“How is it? The chewy texture of mole meat and the umami of black salt. Isn’t it magnificent?”
“It’s delicious.”
Juices burst across my palate.
It was a bit salty, but that saltiness seemed to enhance the juices and elevate the flavor.
The mushroom soup was equally impressive.
The properly seasoned soup had a satisfying taste, and the various mushrooms provided different textures that added enjoyment.
It didn’t seem much different from human cooking.
I was puzzled why they rejected my cooking then.
“Luke, was it? Feed that familiar plenty! We prepared extra!”
“Luke, want some?”
– Thank you, Master.
Crunch! Crack-crunch-.
– I’m beginning to understand why other dragons favor dwarves. To think dwarves possessed such exceptional cooking skills.
“…I suspect that’s not the real reason.”
As time passed living together, the dwarves came to understand Luke’s existence.
Though they were initially frightened, they had now grown comfortable enough to prepare separate meals for him.
And as I finished eating,
“Mir! Do you have a moment?”
“Yes?”
“Well, we’re attempting to create a magical golem based on the Rune Golem, but we’re completely inexperienced in magic, you see.”
“Could you perhaps offer us some advice on magic?”
“The wild Rune Golems seem to use Shield, Rock Spear, and Ground Wave—we were wondering if there might be a better approach….”
The Blacksmiths had come to ask me questions.
While all dwarves were excellent craftsmen, they could not learn magic at all.
They knew how to process and refine mana stones, but they simply didn’t know which runes to inscribe or how to inscribe them.
I offered them magical advice to the best of my knowledge.
“Incredible! Truly!”
“By applying Ground Wave like your combat style to close-range attacks, we achieved far greater power!”
“And using Shield magic for offense—this is truly….”
Thanks to that, the dwarves’ golem-crafting skills advanced day by day.
Watching them, I felt a sense of pride bloom within me.
“It seems we’re approaching the depths.”
“Indeed.”
“This is the first time we’ve descended this far into the depths. Phew.”
And so we gradually made our way into the deepest reaches of the First Abandoned Mine.
With each step, the dwarves’ expressions filled with confidence.
“At this rate, whether it’s the Evil God or anything else, we’ll crush it without any trouble!”
“What’s an Evil God to us? With our Mir and the golems’ strength, it’ll be over in an instant!”
“Let’s finish this quickly and have a drink!”
“Yes! It’s been ages since we’ve had a proper drink because of this battle! Once we defeat the Evil God, we’ll drink through the night!”
At this rate, not much remained.
At this rate, it would be soon.
Such hope swelled among the dwarves.
And this was precisely the perfect moment for despair to arrive.
Whoooosh!
“Hm?”
“What light is that….”
“More importantly, that green glow—doesn’t it seem familiar?”
“That, that’s the Evil God’s….”
From the far end of the passage.
From the deepest depths of the First Abandoned Mine, which we thought we’d reach shortly, a green light erupted.
And with it.
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrack-!”
“A, a golem!”
“Everyone, arms up!”
Golems began ascending from the deepest chamber.
This much was manageable.
Golems had attacked us during rest periods more than once before.
With our current strength, I was confident we could topple any number of golems.
However, the golems surging toward us looked somewhat different from any we’d encountered thus far.
“That color!”
“Everyone, be careful! These don’t seem like ordinary golems!”
All the golems were emanating a faint emerald glow.
And I had encountered a golem in a similar state just before entering Moeldum.
‘Remnants of the Evil God.’
The golem that had blocked the Entrance to Moeldum.
It bore a similar form to that golem, which possessed the Evil God’s power woven into it, granting it a strength on an entirely different plane than other golems.
Brak, who stood beside me, understood this as well.
“It’s the Evil God’s remnants! They’ll be far more powerful than ordinary golems, so everyone stay alert!”
Brak raised his voice to warn those around us.
And in that same moment, I collided with the first golem.
Crash!
The battle had begun.
Had we only the Dwarf Warriors as before, there would have been no way to withstand golems infused with the Evil God’s power.
“Steel Armor unit! Restrain the enemies!”
“Steel Hammer, charge!”
“Steel Rune 3, providing support!”
But not now.
The Steel series—golems created by the dwarves themselves.
With them moving into action, even golems infused with the Evil God’s aura could be confronted and overcome.
Though the time was brief, it was the result of the dwarves mobilizing their full technological prowess and concentrating it upon these golems.
“Grrrrrrrr—.”
The golems continued to pour forward.
Under normal circumstances, I would have rushed out immediately to strike them down.
But not now.
‘The Evil God is moving.’
Until now, it had been difficult to say the Evil God was truly moving.
The golems weren’t properly infused with the Evil God’s power—they were merely influenced by it, spawning in greater numbers and becoming more violent.
But now?
The golems were clearly carrying the Evil God’s aura, attacking us with deliberate intent.
When I recalled the ‘Green Stone God’ I had faced at First.
It was unmistakable—the Evil God was now moving in earnest.
‘It must be beginning to sense danger.’
Though the Green Stone God’s recovery seemed swift, it likely hadn’t yet fully regained its strength.
Probably, even now, the Evil God was embedded deep within the innermost sanctum, concentrating on recovering its strength.
But the Dwarves and I had managed to reach right to the doorstep of that innermost sanctum.
The Evil God, judging that it could no longer focus on recovery, had begun to move in earnest.
‘If that’s the case.’
If the Evil God had begun to move.
Simply defeating the golems wouldn’t be enough.
If the green stone deity I remembered was anything to go by, it could create golems endlessly as long as there were sufficient materials nearby.
With an abandoned mine providing ample materials, defeating golems would only result in an endless tide of reinforcements.
Therefore.
‘I have to strike now.’
Now was the moment to defeat the Evil God.
If I dragged this out any longer, the number of golems would only increase, making it exponentially harder to bring down the Evil God.
“We begin the assault on the Evil God immediately!”
“N-now?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to defeat those creatures first?”
“It’s far too dangerous right now!”
The Dwarves’ faces twisted with concern at my declaration.
The suddenly empowered enemies were already overwhelming to contain, and now I was proposing we push through them, penetrate deeper, and confront the Evil God in the innermost sanctum itself.
It was an impossibly difficult proposition.
“No, this is our only chance! If we don’t strike now, we’ll be forced to hold back golems forever!”
My resolve was unwavering.
I had come here specifically to defeat the Evil God, after all, and had made a pact with the Elders to that end.
Perhaps because of the trust and faith I had built up until now.
“…Very well!”
“If Mir speaks with such conviction, there must be reason!”
“We’ll call for reinforcements from the rear! Bring every golem we can drag back!”
“Summon all the resting warriors! This is our final battle!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The Dwarves heeded my words.
Then they began pushing forward against the enemies in earnest.
Since golems would continue spawning anyway, the priority now was to push through them and reach the innermost sanctum by any means necessary, rather than destroying each one.
Stealth would have been ideal, but golems sensitive to ground vibrations wouldn’t fall for such tactics.
With that in mind, I pushed through the enemies and retrieved an item to aid my advance toward the innermost sanctum.
[ Horn Whistle of the Magma Dragon ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type : Mount
Grade : Legendary
Requirement : Level 800+, Riding Skill Lv 80, Vitality 3,000+
Description : A horn whistle capable of summoning and mounting a Volcano Drake, a creature said to dwell deep within volcanoes, sustaining itself on magma.
As I blew the whistle, its distinctive deep tone reverberated through the surroundings.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The ground beneath my feet trembled violently.
Boom!
“Roooooaaarrr!”
A crimson dragon whose very body seemed forged from stone and molten lava.
A Lava Dragon bearing the form of a drake with vestigial wings.
The Volcano Drake burst through the ground and erupted upward.
I immediately vaulted onto its back.
“Forward!”
“Roooooaaarrr!”
We surged toward the enemy in a devastating charge.

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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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