The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 234

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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 234
Chapter 234
The opponent was undoubtedly stronger than me.
But strength alone didn’t mean there was no way to overcome them.
No matter how formidable a boss monster appeared, it always had a weakness, and if it didn’t, I could simply create one.
That was precisely what I had just done.
“Cough!”
The man gasped in pain.
With my legendary sword—capped at level 1,000—piercing through his chest, what else could he do?
Still, he had desperately twisted his body to evade the vital points, just as he had done against my arrows.
‘The armor.’
The armor the man wore.
It had drastically reduced the damage from my attack.
Originally, I had intended to leave him on death’s door with this single strike, but that armor had ruined my plan.
Of course, it wasn’t my plan that had truly failed—it was his.
“Resorting to such petty tricks until the very end! Even though you received a baron’s title despite your lowborn adventurer origins, do you feel no shame?”
The man, pushed back by my attack and barely managing not to fall beneath the lighthouse, gasped out those words while suppressing his pain.
From his tone and behavior, I could roughly deduce his identity.
“Are you a noble?”
“W-who said I was a noble! I am the great pirate captain of the Southern Region, Valen—Captain Valencia!”
“That’s odd. I’ve heard nobles rarely train to such an extent. Ah, then you must be a knight?”
“W-who—!”
“The way you speak so casually of a baron’s title suggests you’re a knight serving a noble of considerable rank.”
In truth, my deduction was only possible because of the man’s honest reaction.
He was terrible at lying.
Likely because he had never had reason to lie throughout his life.
“Ugh…!”
Did he realize that continuing this conversation would completely expose his identity?
The man fell silent.
He simply suppressed his groans and quickly assessed the situation.
He had approached me thinking I was an archer, took my arrows, and even suffered a devastating blow.
Though he was still stronger than me overall, he must have judged that fighting recklessly while suffering such a critical wound was dangerous.
Or perhaps he wanted to avoid his identity being completely exposed here.
“To think you possessed such skill. Time is short, so I’ll settle this another day.”
With those words, he leaped down from the lighthouse.
And then.
“Did you think I’d simply let you escape?”
I had no intention of watching him flee without resistance.
I needed to either subdue him here or at least ascertain his true identity.
Had he been in full condition, he would have been difficult to handle, but with that critical wound, he was entirely manageable.
Moreover, in my Black Flame state, catching up to him would have been effortless.
“If you wish to follow, then come. Unless you prefer to ignore the sight of your Territory crumbling to pieces.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
The man had spoken something strange.
My Territory crumbling to pieces?
Most of the pirate ships should have already sunk by now.
Following the man’s gaze, I turned my head to look.
“A Mana Ship?”
The pirate vessel that had been leading all the others.
The very ship this man had been aboard—a pirate vessel that was generating a defensive barrier as a Mana Ship—
was now channeling all its propulsive power and charging toward the Dock of Kalbera Territory, heedless of the waves.
Even as its hull shattered and its deck crumbled, it pressed forward without hesitation.
Moreover, as an All Master who had studied magic and possessed quite a high Wisdom stat, I could discern one crucial detail.
‘The mana is unstable.’
The mana surrounding the pirate ship was fluctuating erratically.
Not a natural instability, but an artificial one.
Having deepened my understanding of magic through lessons with the Blue Moon Knights’ Knight Commander, I could recognize it.
What kind of magic could produce such deliberate instability.
“Surely he doesn’t intend to detonate the Mana Ship?”
“You catch on quickly.”
A detonation.
He intended to rupture the energy installed within that pirate ship, inflicting damage upon the Dock, the vessels moored there, and the Territory’s residents.
The residents, sensing the ominous intent, were attempting to block the ship’s approach through concentrated fire, but it proved ineffective.
If I allowed this to continue, the damage would be far greater than I anticipated.
A sharp sound cut through the air.
“It seems you do possess some sense of responsibility as a lord. Though I doubt you’ll manage to stop the detonating vessel that’s already reached the Coastline.”
I had no choice but to halt my pursuit.
Having expended high-level, high-grade equipment extensively during the battle in the Age of Fallen Mythology, I lacked a weapon capable of eliminating the man in a single strike.
Even now, using Black Flame, I could somehow secure victory, but it would require considerable time.
And in that interval, the pirate ship would undoubtedly detonate at the Dock.
My immediate priority was not the man, but preventing the ship’s explosion.
However, I had no intention of allowing the man to escape unscathed.
“Luke, retrieve that for me.”
– Yes, Master.
I quickly affixed the item Luke retrieved to an arrow and—
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
—launched it toward the man.
And the man—
A metallic ring echoed out.
—naturally drew his blade and severed the arrow.
If he concentrated to the fullest, no ordinary ranged attack short of a Mythic-grade arrow would have pierced through his defense.
Knowing this, instead of drawing a superior arrow, I attached that item to the shaft.
Crack!
“Ugh! What is this?”
Something shattered along with the arrow, and the sinister blue liquid contained within splattered across the man.
That’s all I could accomplish here.
Now I had to rush and stop the explosion of that pirate ship.
* * *
“Resorting to cheap tricks until the very end.”
The Valencia Knight, now completely beyond Kalbera Territory, furrowed his brow.
His original objective had been to sever Mir’s head for his lord.
But an unexpectedly dishonorable tactic had distorted his plans.
Though truthfully, that wasn’t the only reason.
Had Mir been merely someone who knew cheap tricks, he could have overwhelmed him through sheer force.
The problem was.
“He was stronger than anticipated.”
Mir’s martial prowess.
With such archery skill, he even wielded swordsmanship at a respectable level.
And on top of that, he displayed mysterious abilities like conjuring new weapons from thin air, making him an exceptionally troublesome opponent.
Of course, if they had faced each other one-on-one in the Training Ground with honor, he was confident in a decisive victory.
But this time, going after Mir atop the Lighthouse had put him at a disadvantage from the start.
Thus, though he had failed to claim Mir’s head.
“Still… I’ve achieved the minimum objective.”
He had never trusted those crude mercenaries and pirates anyway.
With the money meant to hire them, he had instead gathered and installed additional magic stones for the Mage Ship.
The explosion of such a Mage Ship would be beyond imagination.
If it crashed directly into the Harbor and detonated, it might obliterate the Harbor and all the vessels positioned around it.
Though his contribution fell short of the original plan, it was sufficient to tarnish Mir’s reputation.
Moreover, he had gathered additional intelligence about Mir.
This much should allow him to maintain at least minimal honor before his lord.
‘But what exactly was that?’
The Valencia Knight, moving swiftly, raised his arm slightly.
Something that had shattered when he cut the arrow.
The liquid that had burst from within it.
Initially it had clung to his forearm, sticky, but it had vanished entirely before he could even wipe it away.
He had circulated mana through his body wondering if it was poison, but detected none.
His skin had tingled slightly, but the pain from his grievous wound had overshadowed any concern.
Dismissing it as insignificant, he continued running swiftly toward his lord.
“Kugh!”
Suddenly, a tearing sensation erupted across his skin.
I slashed away the arrow fired by Baron Mir, and the liquid that burst forth left a clear mark where it touched.
Startled, I hurriedly rolled up my sleeve to look.
“What is this! Scales, scales?!”
Scales were clinging to my arm.
Could they have attached when I was on the sea?
But the scales clung so intimately, as if they were growing from my arm itself, that the Valencia Knight denied reality and plucked them out.
Then.
“Screeeeeech!”
A terrible pain shot through me, as if fingernails were being torn out.
The problem was that this wasn’t the end.
Right beside where I’d plucked the scales, new ones were growing.
Two of them.
Unable to simply watch, I suppressed the pain and plucked out both scales, but.
“What, what is happening…!”
Four scales grew around that spot.
Unable to bear enduring that agony four more times, I despaired, and eight scales sprouted around them.
And so the scales continued to grow until.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
They began covering my entire body.
That’s right.
The object that Baron Mir had tied to an arrow and sent flying in that final moment was none other than.
[ Circe’s Jealousy ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form : Potion
Grade : Mythic
Restriction : –
Description : A cursed potion said to have been used by the witch Circe, disciple and priestess of Hecate, goddess of magic and sorcery, when she transformed Scylla into a sea monster in a fit of jealousy.
A Mythic-grade cursed potion.
Even as a Mythic item, it had limited utility since the curse manifested slowly after being splashed on an enemy and caused no direct damage.
But thinking it would be perfect for this moment, Mir had retrieved it and sent it flying.
In truth, the curse had no effect other than growing scales.
“My, my skin! My face! Aaaaagh!”
But for the Valencia Knight, it was a devastating curse.
Not only was his noble, dignified face covered in scales, but the scales growing from his palms made it difficult to grip his sword.
“Baron Mir…!”
The Valencia Knight raged.
How dare he inflict such a curse.
But he couldn’t return for revenge now.
First, he had to return to his lord.
To Duke Winchilsey.
If he were the liege lord, he would surely summon a curse-breaker to dispel the curse for his most cherished knight without delay.
However, he did not know.
That while ‘Circe’s Curse’ merely caused scales to grow and was not a potion that inflicted severe damage to the opponent.
It was a curse so formidable, befitting a Mythic-grade potion, that even ordinary curse-breakers would not dare attempt to dispel it.
* * *
After the man fled.
I immediately tried to dash toward the Harbor.
But.
‘Too late.’
The pirate ship.
No, the suicide vessel was already drawing near the Harbor.
Even if I were using Black Dragon Transformation, by the time I arrived, the suicide vessel would have already entered the Harbor and detonated.
Therefore.
‘I have to stop it here.’
Rather than rushing forward, I had to prevent the suicide vessel’s explosion from this very spot.
But it was impossible to block it through physical means using shields or the like.
Considering the breadth of the barrier I had manifested over the sea and the size of the suicide vessel.
The force of the explosion about to occur would surely obliterate at least half the Harbor with ease.
So there was only one method.
‘I have to destroy the core.’
The largest mana stone that would exist somewhere on that suicide vessel.
The source of the imminent self-destruction, and the mana core of the suicide vessel where the detonation formula was inscribed.
I had to pierce through it in a single strike.
There was no other way to prevent the suicide vessel’s explosion right now.
The problem was.
‘What weapon should I use?’
All of my most powerful weapons—my Mythic-grade armaments—were on cooldown.
That was because I had exhausted all my Mythic-grade weapons while conducting the Awakening Quest in the Age of Fallen Mythology.
So what should I do?
Without a Mythic-grade weapon now, what method could I use to shatter the suicide vessel’s core?
My mind spun faster than ever before, and the items I had collected since First flashed rapidly through my thoughts.
And not long after.
“Luke, let’s identify the core’s location first. Pull out the ‘Dragon’s Single Eye’ for me.”
– Yes, Master.
After recalling all the necessary items.
I immediately began retrieving them.

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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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