The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 237

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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 237
Chapter 237
“Damn it!”
Duke Winchilsey’s fury filled the office.
Those waiting outside to deliver their reports trembled at the sound of his voice.
In all the time they had served under Duke Winchilsey’s command, they had never witnessed him consumed by such rage.
They would have preferred to wait until his anger subsided before entering, but if the report was delayed and matters went awry, their very lives could be forfeit.
“Duke Winchilsey….”
“Come in.”
They had no choice but to knock on the door with their eyes squeezed shut.
The briefing session began.
Duke Winchilsey had issued numerous directives, so many people had come to deliver their reports.
Thus, starting from the left, they stepped forward one by one and began delivering their reports cautiously.
“The surviving mercenaries and pirates have all been transported by the Wyvern Knights from Kalbera Territory and are now imprisoned in the underground dungeons of the Imperial Palace.”
“I don’t need to hear about those fools. They know nothing anyway. What about that attendant?”
“The Imperial Palace is maintaining such strict security that we cannot confirm details, but based on the current situation, it appears certain that they are being held separately within the palace.”
“The seal—it hasn’t been broken, has it?”
“According to our sorcerer’s investigation, it appears the seal has not yet been released.”
“Can’t we just kill them as things stand? Detonate the seal immediately?”
“Due to the constraints placed on the seal to maximize its power, even the sorcerer cannot release it unless the subject themselves reveals the secret, according to our investigation.”
“Damn it, to think we must keep that failure alive. But soon enough, they’ll die on their own. If anyone but our sorcerer even attempts to release the seal, it will detonate.”
“That should be the case.”
How dare that attendant fail the mission and then brazenly survive, only to be captured by the Emperor.
I wanted to kill them immediately, but there was no way to do it.
The Emperor was maintaining such thorough security.
But that was fine.
No sorcerer beneath a duke could break the seal.
In fact, even the sorcerer who had cast it would find it difficult to undo, given how powerful it was.
“What about their family?”
“When we arrived, the Imperial Guard Knights had already been deployed.”
“The Imperial Guard Knights?”
“Yes. The Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard personally came and was already looking after Philip’s relatives, so we could not proceed with the operation.”
“Quick action. And the Emperor isn’t the type to be so considerate as to look after a hostage’s family.”
“Perhaps the Emperor intends to extract information by using the family as leverage?”
“That could be the case.”
It was unfortunate that the Emperor had taken Philip’s family, but it didn’t matter.
The seal would not be broken.
In other words, the truth that this was my doing would never be revealed.
Then came the next report.
“What about the Valencia Knight?”
It concerned the Valencia Knight.
Not only had he returned from a failed mission, having betrayed Duke Winchilsey’s expectations for the first time, but he had also been afflicted with a grotesque curse that covered his entire body in scales.
Because of this, they had summoned not only the sorcerer who had placed the seal but also the Empire’s most renowned curse-breaker to attempt treatment.
“Approximately half of his body has recovered, but the remaining half remains unhealed.”
“What? I summoned my own sorcerer and the Empire’s greatest curse-breaker!”
“According to both of them, it is a curse so powerful that it seems as though a god himself had laid it upon him. It will take considerable time, and even then, complete recovery may be impossible.”
“A sword? Can he wield one?”
“The curse is particularly concentrated in his palms and face. Until the curse is completely healed, the scales will make it difficult for him to function.”
It was futile.
Apparently, this was done by Baron Mir, but how in the world had Baron Mir managed to place such a curse?
It made no sense whatsoever.
More importantly, his strongest knight under his command—his First Knight.
The Valencia Knight, whom he cherished most, had become combat-ineffective.
“Damn it….”
Not only had the mission failed, but his First Knight had returned combat-ineffective.
The losses were too great.
Just as he was listening to another report.
The door suddenly burst open and the Guard Captain rushed in.
“Duke! This is grave!”
“How dare you enter so carelessly! Do you know where you are!”
“What is it?”
“The Imperial Inspection Unit has arrived!”
“The Inspection Unit? Why would the Inspection Unit….”
“I don’t know! They’re forcing their way in with a parchment bearing His Majesty’s seal!”
While the Guard Captain was still spouting his confused words.
Before Duke Winchilsey could even respond, the door swung open once more, and a group appeared.
Duke Winchilsey recognized them.
The Imperial Inspection Unit.
A special agency established to monitor corruption within the Empire.
Upon entering, they thrust a parchment toward Duke Winchilsey and declared:
“Duke Winchilsey. Is it true that you ordered the Valencia Knight to hire mercenaries and pirates to attack the Kalbera Territory!”
“What!”
He paid no mind to the fact that the Inspection Unit had not used honorifics toward him.
What troubled him far more was the content of the parchment.
There, written clearly, were the orders he had given to the Valencia Knight.
Only three people knew this fact.
Duke Winchilsey, the Valencia Knight, and Philip.
Philip’s seal remained intact, and Duke Winchilsey himself would never betray himself.
That left only one person.
“Valencia…!”
Currently, the only one receiving treatment for the curse was the Valencia Knight in the basement of the mansion.
* * *
“I heard the Empire is currently experiencing complete chaos.”
“To that extent?”
“Of course. The Empire’s political situation had been in a stalemate between the Imperial faction and the Aristocratic Faction, but this incident gave the Emperor justification to tear into the Aristocratic Faction.”
I was able to learn about what had happened in the Empire through Ena.
Since it involved a duke of the Empire, I had thought it was serious.
But being ignorant of politics, I never imagined the situation would balloon to this extent.
“The Emperor even provided proper compensation.”
“Compensation?”
“The ship construction requests increased significantly. The payment was also much more generous. They said they’d expand our base, and word came that the Baltika Maritime Fortress—I mean, the pirate island—would be formally expanded as well.”
“Then we won’t have to worry about the Territory for a while.”
“It’s far more than that! With things having progressed this far, the development of Kalbera Territory is practically inevitable. They say we’re already short on workers.”
Kalbera Territory was developing smoothly.
Thanks to recently opening the path to the Coastal Cave Hunting Ground and sharing the relevant recipes with the blacksmiths, high-level users had begun to flow in.
That wasn’t all.
Just as Ena mentioned, workers were in such short supply that both users and NPCs were gathering.
With the Territory expanding and roads widening at that pace, people were beginning to wonder if Kalbera Territory might become the capital of the Southern Continent, following Labelt, the capital at the center of the Continent.
Money was pouring in to the point where I no longer needed to invest my personal funds.
Back in First, I had never managed a Territory, so I wasn’t sure how things would go.
But things worked out far better than expected.
Well, Ena would handle Territory matters well going forward anyway.
The thing I needed to focus on now was.
“Have we received many recruitment applications?”
This.
Heukryeom Guild member recruitment.
Others called Heukryeom Guild an elite small-scale guild, but that was only because I had screened and admitted only talented individuals when I was pressed for time back then.
Whether it was clearing the White Aquatic Deity or managing the surrounding Territory.
The number of Heukryeom Guild members was far too insufficient.
Just looking at the guild members who were struggling, there was a need to replenish our ranks.
Of course.
“You said you’d conduct the tests yourself? Like last time.”
“Yes.”
This time too, I had no intention of admitting guild members just by reviewing their applications and experience.
I couldn’t trust what I hadn’t seen and experienced myself.
Even if it took longer, I wanted to cross blades with them directly.
For that very reason.
“I’ve filtered out those lacking in character or skill through the paperwork as much as possible.”
I needed Ena’s help.
Testing every single applicant would take an enormous amount of time.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel curious.
“By the way, how many people are coming?”
How many applicants in total would I need to test?
Just how many users would actually make the journey to Kalbera Territory to join the Heukryeom Guild?
Contrary to my worry that it might take time, what if fewer than ten people even showed up?
To my question, asked with such concern.
Ena smiled brightly and answered.
“Don’t be surprised. We’ve already received thousands of applications just through paperwork.”
“Thousands…?”
“I filtered them as much as I could, but even so, over a thousand remain.”
“Isn’t that far too many?”
“There are limits to what we can judge based on paperwork alone. Besides, having so many applicants will only invigorate Kalbera Territory further, won’t it?”
Thousands of applicants through paperwork alone.
Over a thousand applicants coming for the actual test.
It was far more than I had anticipated.
“When you think about it, it’s only natural. Guild Master, you don’t realize how famous you and our Heukryeom Guild have become.”
“I have some awareness of it.”
“No, Guild Master, you truly don’t understand. You’re far more famous than you think, and the same goes for the Heukryeom Guild.”
Ena said this and opened a system window to show me.
It was a feature that allowed access to the Second’s community within the game.
What was written there was.
[ Is Heukryeom Guild still the only one with territory? ]
All the large guilds were making such a fuss about it, but I haven’t heard any news of them actually getting one
– No way.
– I heard the Hwarang Guild’s guild master might receive a baron title, but that’s still not confirmed
– I heard the Royal Guild is pouring money into the Imperial Palace. They’re trying to become nobles through donations lol
– The Emperor seems to be pursuing an adventurer-focused policy, so it might happen, but it seems to take more time
– The Heukryeom Guild is impressive though. They’re the first guild to own territory.
– Honestly, it’s Mir who’s impressive, not the guild itself.
– Right lol Mir became a noble and received territory all by himself before even founding the guild
[ Mir seems to have broken through level 300 ]
Heard it through someone I know, pretty much certain
– Stop spouting nonsense lol Just a while ago he participated in the Beginner League where only players under level 200 could join, so level 300 makes no sense
– From what I heard, it seems his character was created less than a month before that
– Why are there so many lies here? People are writing such absurd things so seriously lol
– I heard about this and it’s real.
– Mir’s name is still in the Beginner City, and it matches about a month ago by Second League standards
– Is this actually true?
– Then is breaking through level 300 now also real?
– If it’s real, the leveling speed is insane. At this rate, won’t the rankings change in just a year?
The posts were filled with talk about the Heukryeom Guild and Mir.
Below that, the comments stretched on endlessly, and reading through them gave me an oddly complex feeling.
Especially how information about my level and what happened in the Kalbera Territory had spread—I couldn’t fathom it.
As I continued scrolling through them.
[ Mir is my friend and he definitely broke level 300 lol ]
Author: UniverseStrongestFist
Everyone seems so clueless that I’m telling you specially—my friend is so incredible that….
I could figure out how my reputation had spread.
The fortunate thing was that whoever was spreading it at least had the sense not to leak critical information.
Still, I’d need to address this separately later.
That was obviously Kang Ju-hyuk.
Well, Kang Ju-hyuk, to be precise.
“The really important thing is this.”
Next, what Ena showed me was.
[ Breaking News! Heukryeom Guild Now Recruiting Members! ] UP!
A post about the Heukryeom Guild.
I asked what the ‘UP!’ next to it meant.
“It means it’s a popular post.”
That was the answer I received.
And the post itself contained.
– What are the recruitment conditions?
– The Heukryeom Guild should be able to join the Five Great Guilds without issue after some time, but wouldn’t joining now be incredibly lucky?
– Five Great Guilds? The Heukryeom Guild will become the strongest guild lol I’m betting my fists on it lol
– I already have a guild, but would I be eligible to apply? Honestly, if I could get into Heukryeom, I’d quit immediately and rush over….
– Everyone, stop hyping it up, who said they’d accept you guys? lol
– Still, I should at least submit an application!
– I heard Mir doesn’t care about experience or credentials and only looks at pure skill?
– Oh that’s interesting lol
– Isn’t this a real opportunity?
– True, at first Mir’s level was low so it was a bit ambiguous, but now it’s a guild that doesn’t pale compared to the Five Great Guilds
– I heard the salary is insane too
– I can’t stand this!!!
With thousands upon thousands of comments pouring in, riding an explosive wave of popularity, it claimed the top spot among all popular posts.
Sitting confidently at the number one position.
Receiving the attention of countless users like this.
“Wow, so this is the Kalbera Territory.”
“Why are there so many people here?”
“I came for a Heukryeom Guild interview, but do you know which way to go?”
“Oh? I’m heading there for an interview too.”
“Wow, isn’t that person a ranker?”
“Are all these people here for the Heukryeom Guild interview?”
“We just came to watch.”
“How many thousands of people are there?”
The Heukryeom Guild’s recruitment test had begun.

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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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