The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 17

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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 17
Chapter 17
The Tower of Beginning was packed with users who appeared quite experienced.
Well, calling them experienced was generous when they were all level 10 users, but they were at least the highest-leveled users in the City of Beginnings.
“Looking for party members for the trial! I’m a shield bearer. Leave the tanking to me!”
“Seeking a Sage. This is a challenging trial party. Equipment must be at least ‘Advanced’ grade or higher.”
“Selling health recovery potions!”
“Equipment repair services available.”
All those users were shouting at the top of their lungs, as if competing to see whose voice could carry the furthest.
It looked exactly like watching a marketplace.
‘This is something new.’
First had so few users that I’d never witnessed anything like this.
Come to think of it, this was the perfect place for all the users from the City of Beginnings to gather and make noise.
Since all the users taking the graduation exam converged here, there were plenty of items to buy and sell.
Moreover, the trials were fundamentally designed around four-person party hunting.
You could do it solo, but the trial’s difficulty was too high to attempt alone.
Because of that, everyone seemed busy searching for party members to take the graduation exam with.
As I looked around with curiosity,
“Excuse me, what’s your class? We’re looking to challenge the trial as a party. Would you like to join us?”
Someone approached me.
They must have assumed I was also a user here searching for a party for the graduation exam.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“You already have a party? Our party is really solid. We failed once, so this time we’ve prepared thoroughly.”
I brushed past the man who kept trying to persuade me and moved forward.
The Tower of Beginning had four doors.
In order: Lower, Middle, Upper, and Highest.
Four doors.
As I stood before them, the Tower Guide, who had been waiting for beginners, approached and spoke to me.
“Hello. This is your first time, isn’t it? I’ll explain the Tower of Beginning to you now.”
“Thank you.”
I already knew about the Tower of Beginning well enough without an explanation, but this was Second, not First.
There might be differences, so I listened carefully to what the Tower Guide said.
“The four doors you see are divided by trial difficulty in order. Lower is the easiest difficulty, and Highest is the hardest.”
I wondered if there might be any changes, but everything the Tower Guide said was something I already knew.
That Lower difficulty was easy, but even with perfect performance, the maximum grade was C.
In order, Middle had B grade as the maximum, Upper had A grade, and Highest had S grade as the maximum.
“I’d recommend starting with the Lower difficulty and challenging it slowly with a party! You get five attempts, after all.”
“Five attempts?”
I found the difference from First.
In First, there was no set limit on attempts, so I challenged it over hundreds of times to achieve the highest score.
Second had a limited number of challenge attempts.
Well, I figured five attempts would be more than enough for me.
“I’ll enter from the Lower Trial.”
“That’s a good idea! Oh, have you already prepared your party?”
“No.”
“What? You’re not planning to enter alone, are you?”
“Yes.”
The Tower Guide was taken aback by my confident answer.
Well, that was understandable.
After all, I was saying I’d tackle the graduation trial—which was designed with parties in mind—completely solo.
But I had my reasons.
‘I’ve never been comfortable with party hunting in the first place.’
Beyond my personal preference, the scarcity of users back in First meant my playstyle had been honed entirely around solo combat.
The very concept of hunting alongside others felt foreign to me.
And there was another reason.
‘If I’m with others, it’ll be difficult to use items or borrow Luke’s power.’
The abilities I possessed.
The items in Luke’s subspace and things like Black Flame were far from ordinary power.
If I openly wielded such strength in front of party members, I’d definitely attract unwanted attention.
And as the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
Revealing my power prematurely, before I was truly strong enough, would only invite trouble.
Finally.
‘At least up to the Upper difficulty, I shouldn’t have any problems.’
Given First’s characteristic lack of users.
I had soloed the graduation trial and even passed the Upper difficulty graduation exam entirely alone.
But now?
I possessed every item from First, had already contracted with Luke, and had even obtained the hidden class “All Master.”
There was no reason I couldn’t do this.
Seeing my resolute demeanor, the Tower Guide’s confusion melted into understanding, and she nodded.
“Proving your own strength and scouting the trial beforehand by challenging it alone is actually an excellent choice! I’m rooting for you! Just head through this way!”
Following the Tower Guide, I arrived at the entrance to the Lower Trial.
Standing before the door, I made final preparations to my equipment.
My armor was already fully equipped. All that remained was my weapon.
It might not be identical, but if the Lower Trial was what I expected it to be…
“Luke, staff form.”
A soft shimmer filled the air.
This would be perfect.
Grasping the staff that had manifested alongside Black Flame, I stepped directly through the door.
This door was not a physical barrier.
With spatial magic installed, crossing its threshold would transport me to the upper levels of the Tower of Beginning as seen from outside.
My vision flipped in the familiar manner, and the white expanse gradually receded, revealing the space beyond.
And so I arrived at my destination.
[ Tower of Beginning, Lower Trial ]
“It’s identical to First.”
The space was constructed almost entirely of stone, and rather than feeling like a Dungeon, it resembled the examination hall of the Advancement Office.
An artificial quality that anyone could recognize as human-made, you might say.
While I said it was identical to First, it wasn’t entirely the same.
The Lower Trial I experienced during First felt far more ancient.
Here, there was no trace of age—it felt as though it had been constructed recently.
As I reminisced about my experiences in First with these thoughts in mind.
[ The trial begins. ]
[ Defeat all enemies in the trial. ]
Along with the System Message announcing the trial’s commencement.
I was able to spot a puddle of water pooling in the distance.
It was far too opaque to be called an ordinary puddle, and more than that.
Squelch.
The moment I saw that puddle begin to move as if alive.
“Found it.”
Whoosh!
I immediately dashed toward the puddle.
By the time I reached it, I could discern why the puddle had been writhing.
The puddle itself was composed of countless slimes.
Water Slimes, as the monsters were called—creatures whose bodies were as fluid as water itself, moving at tremendous speed, making them quite formidable opponents.
Normally, the moment the trial begins, this Water Slime rises and splits into dozens of individual slimes to attack the challenger.
But I had already confirmed this and rushed over swiftly, arriving before the slimes could separate.
Immediately.
Squelch.
I thrust the end of the staff I held into the puddle.
“Squeak?”
The distinctive deflating sound of a slime escaped.
It must have been bewildered—suddenly I came rushing in and stabbed a blunt staff end into it rather than a blade.
But this staff was no ordinary weapon.
[ Lightning-Struck Branch ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form: Staff
Grade: Rare
Restriction: Level 20 or higher, Sage-class profession
Description: A staff crafted from a lightning-struck branch that maximizes the power of lightning magic.
A staff imbued with lightning attribute.
Normally, it could only be equipped by those who had advanced into a Sage-class profession, but my job, ‘Omni Master,’ effortlessly ignored such restrictions.
The level restriction applies equally.
Of course, the staff itself cannot unleash lightning on its own.
This staff merely amplifies the power of electrical magic.
And my class is All Master.
I can freely wield swords, spears, axes, and indeed every form of magic in this world.
Most crucially, among the items I brought from First, there exists a ‘skill book’ that allows me to learn nearly every magic that exists in First.
[ Lightning ]
( Non-tradeable )
Type: Grimoire
Grade: Intermediate
Restriction: Level 10 or higher, Sage-class profession
Description: A fundamental grimoire for learning Lightning, the first-circle electrical magic that forms the foundation of lightning-attribute magic.
And I had prepared myself by learning this magic beforehand for this very moment.
Lightning.
A basic spell that merely conjures electricity above my palm, but when wielding a ‘conductor’—a lightning-struck branch thrust into the mass of slime—the effect transforms entirely.
Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!!
A deep, rumbling growl—
The power of first-circle electrical magic, Lightning, reached its zenith.
Especially for Water Slimes, whose weakness was electricity, there was no escape from electrocution.
Moreover, the slimes remained merged in the form of a puddle, did they not?
The slimes gathered like a pool of water were helplessly struck by a chain reaction of electrical current.
My high Intelligence stat, the formidable magical attack power of the rare weapon restricted to level 20, and the slimes struck directly by their weakest attribute—
Sizzle—
Their cores burned away without enduring even a few seconds.
[ Achievement Unlocked: Early Graduate ]
Condition: Fastest clear of the Tower of Beginning, Lower Trial.
Reward: Movement Speed +5%
An achievement notification materialized before my eyes.
* * *
Meanwhile.
As Mir entered the door to challenge the Lower Trial, the Tower Guide watched his retreating figure with a pitying expression.
“A staff, you say? A Sage, then? A Sage entering alone would face far too dangerous a trial.”
It was not uncommon for individuals like Mir to enter trials alone.
Some underestimated the Lower Trial, others struggled to form a party, and some sought to test their own abilities.
A few even recorded content for personal broadcasts, showcasing their prowess by clearing trials solo.
However, the challenger who had just entered was a Sage.
Those who typically cleared trials alone were mostly close-combat classes.
Sages required allies to shield them while they cast, making solo attempts nearly impossible.
Usually, such individuals failed the trial before long and returned with slumped shoulders.
And true to form.
Click.
The challenger had emerged from the trial in less than a minute.
The Tower Guide spoke up to console the challenger.
“It’s alright. Sages typically struggle fighting alone, after all.”
“Pardon?”
“If you form a party with others here, you should be able to pass the trial easily! From what I’ve observed, the Sage class is quite popular!”
Yet despite her reassurance, the challenger’s expression was filled only with confusion.
As if asking, ‘What are you talking about?’
The Tower Guide found herself tilting her head in bewilderment as well.
The challenger’s expression didn’t resemble that of someone who had failed the trial and been ejected at all.
“Challenger?”
What was happening here?
Before the perplexed Tower Guide, the challenger’s record materialized.
[ Trial Cleared ]
[ Trial Rank : C+ ]
[ Clear Time : 9 seconds ]
“Eh?”
They had cleared the trial.
Moreover, with a C rank—the highest grade obtainable from a lower-difficulty trial.
No, not even an ordinary C rank, but a C+ rank.
Yet what truly astonished her was the clear time listed at the bottom.
“N-nine seconds?”
The trial had been cleared in under ten seconds.
And this was—
“Nine seconds?!”
The shortest clear time she had witnessed among all the countless challengers she had guided through the Tower of Beginning.
No, it was more than that—a time so thoroughly, utterly nonsensical that words alone could not capture it.

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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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