The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 223

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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 223
Chapter 223
“Thank you so much, Guild Master!”
Buff spells like Strength, Haste, and Stone Skin, along with totem-based buff skills.
The ancient sea creatures had such high monster levels that hunting them alone would normally be impossible.
But with the buffs in place, the conditions were finally favorable.
Now it came down to pure skill.
“Everyone remember the formation? Let’s get ready!”
“Here they come!”
Gaspacio was the first to charge forward.
A guild member wielding a greatsword and clad in heavy plate armor.
Clang!
A violent collision.
Yet the ancient sea creature quickly recovered its stance despite the impact and unleashed a secondary attack toward Gaspacio.
Under normal circumstances, such an attack would have been impossible to counter.
“Hngh!”
But Gaspacio no longer relied solely on his greatsword.
He leveraged the inherent solidity and weight of his heavy plate armor, driving his shoulder forward to ram the ancient sea creature.
A follow-up greatsword strike.
Not only could he deal significant damage here, but he also intercepted the ancient sea creature’s counterattack aimed at the opening after his blade swing.
Crack!
He deflected it with a punch from his iron gauntlet-clad fist.
Crunch!
He stomped with the sturdy steel boots of his heavy armor, blocking the next attack before it could land.
Thud.
Then he brought his greatsword down for the finishing blow.
Had this been before, dispatching such a powerful monster as an ancient sea creature so quickly would have been impossible.
But by refining my combat techniques according to Mir’s advice, my weaknesses had disappeared and my combat power had grown tremendously.
And Gaspacio wasn’t the only one who felt this change.
“Wow, I really do feel much stronger after switching to the magic setup. I always thought the archer configuration was the best, but….”
Jane, the magic archer, had changed all her equipment according to Mir’s advice, and she could clearly feel how much stronger her attacks had become.
Fighting like this made her regret how inefficiently she’d been hunting monsters with her previous equipment.
Whoosh!
“That was close….”
Hallow, the mage, was able to dodge the ancient sea creature’s attack and immediately counterattack thanks to practicing instant casting as Mir had instructed.
Without Mir’s guidance, he might have lost his life to that first strike, and even if he’d survived, he would have suffered a fatal wound that would have canceled his spellcasting.
All six guild members, including Kang Ju-hyuk, could feel the increase in combat power from Mir’s advice.
“Just by following some advice, combat has become this much easier?”
“Our survival rate has increased significantly as well.”
“Though the Guild Master did cast buffs on us, considering the skill levels and item levels, we should have struggled against ancient sea creatures….”
“At this rate, we could handle even more than ten of them on our own, don’t you think?”
“Alright, let’s go!”
From that point on, the real hunt began.
The Ancient Fish-Men were certainly formidable monsters, but they couldn’t stop the Heukryeom Guild’s advance.
As time passed, the guild members grew more accustomed to real combat, and even when twenty Ancient Fish-Men rushed at them simultaneously, they demonstrated powerful teamwork and could fell every monster without sustaining significant casualties.
And so, as their confidence continued to build,
“It’s the boss monster!”
“Let’s try taking it on ourselves!”
“We can do this!”
“Let’s go!”
Before long, they found themselves facing the Coastal Cave’s boss monster.
* * *
The Coastal Cave’s boss monster.
The Ancient Fish-Man King.
This boss monster, which appeared commanding the other fish-men, was naturally formidable.
“Feel the power of the great sea.”
“I shall drown you.”
“You too shall eventually sink with us….”
It unleashed tidal waves with devastating area-of-effect attacks that were difficult to evade, and wielded a sharp trident without restraint.
The attacks utilizing the seawater that had flowed into the Coastal Cave to its fullest were quite troublesome, but.
Splash!
The ‘Coastal Boots’ that the guild members wore prevented their speed from slowing even when stepping through the shallow seawater that filled the cave floor due to the tidal waves.
In fact, their movement speed only increased.
Whoosh!
The surging tides and whirlpools.
The water-based attacks were also greatly diminished in power thanks to the water resistance of the ‘Wave Cloak’.
Above all else.
Crackle!
Lightning flowing from the ‘Thunder Ring’ with each attack.
That lightning struck precisely at the Ancient Fish-Man King’s elemental weakness, and accumulating electrical damage beyond a certain threshold even inflicted the paralysis status effect.
However, the Ancient Fish-Man King, befitting a high-level boss monster, displayed considerable strength.
“Huff, huff.”
“It’s finally over….”
Thump.
Only after nearly an hour of combat were we able to defeat the Ancient Fish-Man King.
To be honest, from my perspective, the pattern analysis was insufficient and the critical strikes weren’t executed properly, leaving much to be desired.
‘It will improve gradually.’
This isn’t something my advice alone could resolve immediately.
It’s only possible through accumulating real combat experience against various monsters and continuing to deliberate and research.
Still, what can I say.
“Everyone, rest while you listen.”
“Yes, Guild Master!”
“First and foremost, when the Ancient Sea King Regent initiated the tidal wave, simply standing by and observing was foolish. We should have been preparing a counter.”
“Ah….”
“Close-range attacks won’t work, but even simple ranged attacks are better than nothing. You accumulate more damage, and with luck, you can disrupt the casting itself.”
I needed to give proper feedback.
I analyzed their battle against the Ancient Sea King Regent as thoroughly as I could, drawing on everything I knew.
If they listened carefully and concentrated, this experience would help them even when facing other boss monsters in the future, not just the Ancient Sea King Regent.
“Still, considering you were adapting my advice to actual combat for the first time, you all performed far better than I expected. Even with my buffs, your levels and skill levels were insufficient, yet you managed to defeat a boss monster—that alone is a remarkable achievement.”
“Th-thank you!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Guild Master!”
After wrapping up perfectly.
I paused to consider.
We hadn’t come here merely to hunt; we’d come to the Coastal Cave to map out the hunting grounds.
We’d only just conquered one fork in the path, so I needed to understand what the other forks felt like.
If the guild members were exhausted, I’d planned to explore alone to gain levels and map the terrain myself.
“No! We can do more!”
“We set aside plenty of time for today!”
“Hey, Mir. Let’s try the next fork without buffs—just us.”
“You sure?”
“If it gets dangerous, we’ll retreat immediately. We gained some know-how from that last hunt, and I want to try handling it ourselves as much as possible.”
“Sounds good.”
Kang Ju-hyuk and every guild member wanted to push forward.
I nodded in agreement and headed toward the next fork.
At first, I simply refrained from casting buff skills, but I continued following them and providing combat feedback.
Without the buffs, they certainly struggled far more than before.
“Hah!”
“We can do this!”
“We’ve got to pull our weight!”
They steadily began conquering the Coastal Cave, one section at a time.
Watching them, I couldn’t help but feel immensely proud.
After clearing even the boss hunting grounds, the guild members’ confidence had grown even stronger.
“From now on, we’ll really go on our own!”
“Understood. Then I’ll go check out the other forks.”
“Yes!”
We decided to separate completely from that point on.
The guild members worried about me, but honestly, watching their combat had completely dispelled even my faint concerns.
The Coastal Cave’s monsters were troublesome, but if they equipped items suited to the cave’s nature properly, the difficulty actually dropped dramatically.
“Hey, Mir. If things get dangerous, call us anytime! We’ll come running right away!”
Perhaps it was because they’d succeeded in conquering a fork without my help?
Kang Ju-hyuk had grown confident enough to worry about me.
Even though I’m strong, he was concerned about me tackling this fork in the path alone.
But still.
“Don’t worry about me—just be careful yourself. If it gets dangerous, run away immediately.”
My concern was actually directed at them.
While Kang Ju-hyuk and the guild members were skilled, the monsters here were higher level than they were.
The fork we’d just passed could have been dangerous if we weren’t careful.
Without my buff skills, they’d definitely face hardship.
So.
– I cast the 3rd Circle Wind Magic “Haste”.
– I cast the 3rd Circle Fire Magic “Strength”.
– I cast the 3rd Circle Earth Magic “Stone Skin”.
“Hey, you don’t have to buff us.”
“Besides, once the duration ends, I won’t be able to cast it again anyway. And since we need to explore all the forks, we should conserve your stamina as much as possible.”
“Thanks! Let’s get going!”
I cast one final round of buff magic on Kang Ju-hyuk and the guild members.
Especially on Lagia, who had the lowest level among them, I concentrated extra hard.
After exchanging farewells, they entered the third fork that hadn’t been explored yet, and.
“Let’s go.”
I entered a new fork myself.
The moment it appeared, baring its teeth at me, the monster was.
[ Sunken Pirate Specter ]
A humanoid monster in the form of a pirate.
Humanoid, aquatic, undead-type monster, you could say.
“An intruder!”
“U-undoubtedly here to steal our treasure.”
“The treasure is ours! Attack!”
They rushed at me wielding rusted cutlasses.
Judging by their movements, they were around level 400, early stage.
Seeing this.
‘So the monster types and levels differ slightly depending on the fork.’
I could understand the characteristics of this hunting ground, the Coastal Cave.
The ancient merfolk from the first fork were around level 400, mid-early stage.
The decayed coral golem from the second fork was around level 400.
And seeing that the sunken pirate specter before me was early level 400, it all made sense.
While it might seem troublesome, there was no better hunting ground than this.
As such, I needed to record the monsters and levels appearing in each fork and report them to Ena.
That way, Ena could organize the information and guide users accordingly.
But first.
“Luke, pull out an electric attribute weapon. You know what to do—use your judgment.”
– Yes, Master.
I’ll start by cutting down these Pirate Guide wraiths that are lunging at me.
[ Crimson Lightning Demon Blade ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type: Sword
Grade: Epic
Restrictions: Level 400 or higher, Sword Mastery Lv 40 or higher, Lightning Resistance Lv 20 or higher
Description: A demon blade that was struck by lightning for countless ages while embedded atop the Demon Realm’s peak, absorbing its power. It can unleash the Demon Realm’s crimson lightning, but the scarlet current also surges back into its wielder.
A red demon blade boasting a jagged blade that resembled lightning itself.
The moment I grasped the hilt, a tingling current surged through me and electrical damage coursed through my body, but—
– I’ll bear the current, Master.
The enhancement I’d gained from absorbing the Black Flame Dragon’s bone marrow earlier wasn’t merely a matter of physical attack or defense power.
Poison immunity, paralysis immunity, fire resistance, and more.
My various immunities and resistances had all increased.
Thanks to that, I could easily ignore the demon blade’s side effects.
Crackle!
“Grraaah!”
The Pirate Guide wraiths that lunged forward were effortlessly cleaved apart.
And so, not long after.
Within the desolate Coastal Cave that had seen no visitors for centuries, thunder and lightning began erupting forth.

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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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