The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 23

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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 23
Chapter 23
The attack landed cleanly.
The vivid impact I felt when I swung the Heavenly Flame Halberd was confirmation enough.
However.
‘Was the level higher than I expected?’
I couldn’t finish the Murderer in a single blow.
Then again, no matter how powerful the Heavenly Flame Halberd was, it was still weakened to match my current level.
My level was 10.
Having just graduated from the City of Beginnings, if my opponent’s level was higher, even the strongest attack couldn’t end them in one strike.
[ The summoning of ‘Granny’ is being cancelled due to an attack made while mounted. ]
A unique skill of the Rider class.
Without the Riding skill, you cannot attack while mounted on a steed.
Because of that, Granny was immediately unsummoned the moment my attack connected.
The Murderer, regaining his senses, was desperately wrapping bandages around his wound, but naturally, I had no intention of waiting patiently for him to finish.
[ Beast’s Fang ]
An opponent already on death’s door.
There seemed no point in wasting cooldown on a powerful weapon, so I drew a weapon appropriate to my level instead.
Then I immediately charged toward the Murderer.
The Murderer, desperately wrapping bandages around his wound, panicked and stopped, drawing a dagger instead.
“You arrogant bastard! It looks like you’re just prancing around with good equipment support, but did you think I’d keep taking hits just because I let my guard down once?”
The fact that he survived even after taking a critical hit from the Heavenly Flame Halberd suggested there was quite a level gap between us.
However, watching the Murderer charge at me so recklessly just moments ago, I had felt something.
‘Weak.’
This Murderer.
His skill was pathetic.
The very fact that he came here targeting beginners who didn’t even match his own level said it all.
Against an opponent like that, I could win without needing better equipment.
I wanted to verify that fact.
“I’ll crush you underfoot!”
The Murderer charged at me.
Drawing a dagger that looked quite decent for his level.
His attack power was certainly higher than mine, and judging by his charging speed alone, his agility stat seemed far superior.
Yet I had no intention of dodging.
‘In First. No, in Second, fights are decided by stats like attack power and abilities….’
The weapon in my hand.
Not a rare-grade weapon, nor a high-level one.
Just an ordinary advanced-grade weapon suited to my current level.
With that blade.
‘But that doesn’t mean all fight outcomes are determined by stats alone.’
Ting!
I parried the Murderer’s dagger as it came sweeping toward me.
My attack power fell short of completely deflecting it, but I could certainly alter its trajectory.
With an opening now exposed, I raked my beast fangs across the Murderer’s elbow.
“Ugh!”
A pained groan escaped the Murderer’s lips.
True to his rogue nature, he hastily created distance between us.
Accustomed to self-healing, he wrapped his elbow with a quick bandage before charging at me again.
This time, as if determined not to be careless, he even activated a mobility skill.
The Murderer’s form vanished from my sight.
‘Concealed Dash.’
I had conquered every element of First.
A beginner skill like that was easy to read just from the preparatory stance.
And considering the skill description and movement distance I remembered from Concealed Dash.
‘Right here.’
Thunk!
“Cough! H-how did you—!”
Predicting where the Murderer would reappear wasn’t particularly difficult.
Just as he arrived beside me to launch a surprise attack, I struck first instead, and the bleeding Murderer retreated backward.
The ensuing battle followed the same pattern.
Thunk, squelch!
Ting!
“Did you fake your level, you freak!”
“Who are you calling a freak? You’re the one who goes around attacking beginners.”
The Murderer’s attacks couldn’t touch me.
Each dagger swing bounced off or missed entirely.
In contrast, my attacks struck relentlessly at the Murderer’s weak points with precision.
Level, equipment level, stats—
Every factor was against me, but in experience and skill, I was far superior.
“S-stop! I yield! Please stop!”
Subduing the Murderer wasn’t particularly difficult.
Besides, I’d landed a critical hit with Heavenly Wheel Extreme early on, so the battle was easy from the start.
“Why were you pretending to be a beginner and passing through here anyway? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have attacked you!”
The Murderer sheathed his dagger and raised both hands in surrender.
“I don’t know what hobby this beginner cosplay is, but I’ll offer an apology. Let’s call it even here.”
With that, he pulled out a money pouch from his item window.
Just looking at it, it was clearly heavy with a substantial amount of gold inside.
As I stepped forward silently, the Murderer grinned and thrust the bundle of money toward me.
Toward such a person.
Scrape!
“Grraahhh!”
I swung my weapon.
The creature hadn’t anticipated my attack and took the full brunt of it without any defense or evasion, staggering backward.
Then it opened its mouth with a panicked expression.
“You madman, why are you doing this! Is it because you need gold? I’ll give you more, so let’s talk this through!”
My answer to that question was already decided.
“Why should I?”
“What?”
“You’re the Murderer. If I kill you anyway, all your gold will drop, so why should I stop and take your offer?”
The Murderer system existed in First as well.
Though the user population was small there, and even fewer were worth targeting me.
But I understood the fundamentals of the Murderer system well.
“Besides, when I kill you, not only will your gold drop, but your items will too. Why would I spare you?”
The very reason users didn’t commit murder despite having the freedom to kill other users was this Murderer system.
Upon death, all currency drops, and depending on your Murderer rating, items drop as well.
Moreover, depending on your Murderer rating, you could be imprisoned or even banned from logging in.
It was extremely rare for a user to attack another user while bearing such heavy penalties.
“Th-that’s it! This isn’t enough, is it? Fine, when I go back, I’ll bring you even more, so let’s end this!”
“How am I supposed to trust you?”
“I… no…”
“You want me to wait for someone who just drew a blade on me? You might come back with an ambush instead of gold?”
How could I trust those words about bringing more money?
From my perspective, it was best to eliminate this threat and secure the gold right here.
Killing the creature on the spot was the optimal choice.
As I spoke, the creature realized I was someone money couldn’t sway, so it tried a different approach.
Whoosh.
It pulled back one side of the vest it was wearing.
Then, a certain emblem appeared on the upper garment that had been hidden by the vest.
A crimson skull-shaped emblem.
The creature pointed to this emblem and spoke with confident laughter.
“You know what this emblem is, right? It’s the famous Red Skull!”
However.
“…What is that?”
“What? You don’t know Red Skull?”
How would I know that?
Second was similar to First, and I had studied the changes diligently.
But I hadn’t memorized every single emblem like this.
The panicked Murderer hurried to explain further.
“You don’t know Red Skull, the greatest dark Guild in Second? Our Guild is where assassins gather—even rankers fear getting entangled with us!”
“Ah, so…”
“Now do you understand? The dignity of our Guild?”
“You mean a criminal organization?”
“A, a criminal organization?! It’s an Assassin’s Guild!”
“Which is exactly what a criminal organization is. So what’s the problem with you being part of one?”
“My brother is the Guild Master of Red Skull! If you kill me, do you think my brother will let you off easy? The finest assassin in Second?”
Hearing this much, I could piece together the situation.
No wonder he seemed so confident despite his level.
He had a powerful backer, it seemed.
But.
“And?”
And what exactly was he getting at?
Was he asking me to spare him because his brother was the greatest assassin?
But.
“What do you mean ‘and’! If you kill me, your nickname gets added to our Guild’s assassination list! You’ll never be able to play the game normally again!”
“Oh, my nickname gets added to an assassination list?”
“That’s right! So right now, you should let me go—”
“So, what’s my nickname?”
“What?”
“What’s my nickname?”
“Well, obviously—”
How would he even know my nickname to add it to an assassination list?
The man, flustered by my question, glared at my face with eyes gleaming with power.
True to his rogue-class profession, he seemed to be using a skill to extract information about other players.
But.
“Wh, what?! Why can’t I see it!”
Of course he couldn’t.
The ‘Cloak of Secrets’ I was currently wearing—a type of overlay equipment.
I wore it to hide my flashy gear and avoid standing out, but the Cloak of Secrets had far more to offer than that.
It was a Legendary-tier item that blocked skills like the one this man was using—skills designed to peek at others’ information.
There was no way a rogue who appeared to be under level 100 could see through such an item.
“Y, you think we can’t find you without your nickname? I don’t know how you’re hiding, but if we circulate your description, we’ll find you in no time! Our Guild’s tracking ability is the best in Second!”
“Is that so?”
A description.
At those words, I smiled and touched the ‘Ring of Deception’ on my finger.
Then my face rippled and transformed into an entirely different one.
“Wh, what?!”
That’s right.
The ‘Ring of Deception’ I was wearing, like the Cloak of Secrets, not only concealed my nickname but also subtly altered my appearance.
In other words, my current face wasn’t my real face to begin with.
I never expected that the Ring of Deception, which I’d equipped to hide my identity after an Achievement was suddenly broadcast across all of Second, would prove this useful.
Somehow, I’d managed to be of use.
In the end, the creature—unable to discern my name or face—contorted its expression in panic.
Watching that visage.
“Try to find me if you can.”
Schwick!
“Gahhk!”
I severed its throat.
The creature, whose stamina was already hanging by a thread, perished instantly from my final strike.
Simultaneously, System Messages cascaded before me.
[ Your level has increased. ]
[ Your level has increased. ]
….
Level-up messages continued to flood my vision.
It seemed my level had risen quite substantially.
The experience gain was far more generous than anticipated.
Five levels from a single Murderer—not even a boss monster.
Thanks to that.
[ Achievement Unlocked: Explosive Growth ]
Condition: Gain 5 or more levels at once
Reward: Increased experience gain
“Oh, I’ve already obtained this?”
I’d managed to unlock an Achievement.
The Explosive Growth Achievement, which boosts experience gain, becomes more efficient the earlier it’s acquired in the game.
I hadn’t expected to obtain it this quickly.
Moreover, the harvest from hunting the Murderer didn’t end there.
“What items dropped?”
Now that the hunt was complete, it was time to collect the spoils.
First, gold.
All the gold the Murderer carried had dropped, though the amount wasn’t substantial—true to form for a Murderer who deposited most of their wealth in storage as insurance against death.
The important part was the items.
“A rare-grade dagger?”
The short blade the Murderer had wielded.
In truth, as someone possessing mythic-grade items at level 1,000, it held no appeal—but selling it would generate enough living expenses.
I collected all the miscellaneous items as well.
Having just graduated from the City of Beginnings, every coin mattered to me.
But most importantly, this.
[ Proof of the Bloody Wolf ]
This was the crux of it.
A form of ‘evidence,’ one might say.
Present this proof to the Guard Corps in each city after slaying a Murderer, and they would pay a bounty proportional to the Murderer’s rank.
Conversely, the Murderer who lost his token would face an extended lockout period from the game.
I wondered just how much a bounty on the Murderer—who had done nothing but hunt beginners—would fetch.
But securing funds for activities in the metropolis was a worthwhile gain nonetheless.
After collecting all the rewards,
“Let’s go.”
“Screeeech!”
I set my course once more toward the great city of Labelt.
Not long after,
[ The Heart of the Continent, Labelt ]
The city that could be called the center of Second.
The sprawling metropolis of Labelt began to come into view.

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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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