The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 239

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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 239
Chapter 239
After the test began.
As the magitech weapons’ spells began pouring into the Test Chamber, Kang Ju-hyuk, standing beside me, spoke up.
“Hey, isn’t this game way too unfair?”
“What is?”
“I get that you said you’d adjust for fairness, but this test is still way too advantageous for tanks.”
As Kang Ju-hyuk said this, he pointed at someone.
One of the test-takers—clad in full steel armor and wielding a tower shield—looked like a textbook tank.
His defense was impressively high, and the moment the test started, he simply held up his shield and stubbornly held his ground.
“Honestly, a tank could just stand there like that and win.”
He was right—the tank’s defense was exceptional.
Unlike the other test-takers scrambling about frantically, he could pass the test simply by standing in place with his shield raised.
But.
“Forgot? The instructions I gave the archers.”
“The archers? What did you tell them?”
I’d already anticipated a situation like this.
And I had no intention of letting someone pass so easily just because they stood motionless like a tank, thinking nothing of strategy.
“If there’s an easy target to aim at—one standing still—prioritize firing on them.”
“Huh? Then…”
The moment I finished speaking.
The gunners on the ship firing into the Test Chamber subtly adjusted their magitech weapons.
Then the magitech weapons that had been bombarding the test area broadly.
Boom-boom-boom!
Began concentrating their fire on the tank.
No matter how much of a tank he was, sustaining this level of concentrated bombardment continuously was impossible.
Even a tank needed time to catch his breath, drink potions, and recover skill cooldowns.
Eventually, the tank Kang Ju-hyuk had pointed out rapidly lost health under the concentrated fire.
Just before his health depleted entirely, he panicked, dropped his defensive stance, and tried to flee his position.
Crash-boom!
“Ugh!”
His reaction came too late.
He fell under the concentrated barrage.
“Wow, you can do that?”
“From the start, I had no intention of recruiting someone who just holds a shield and stands around, even if they’re a tank.”
The notion that a tank’s job was easy—just standing in front with a shield—was a misconception.
Since they had to directly absorb monster attacks from the front, tanking was an incredibly demanding role.
Even as a tank, one had to dodge or deflect monster attacks as much as possible while conserving health.
And depending on formation, repositioning had to be swift.
Especially as levels increased, many monsters employed attack patterns that were difficult even for tanks to block, making stationary defense an unsustainable strategy for survival.
Therefore, we don’t need a tank like that.
“Still, they’re all doing better than expected.”
“We should pass them at this level. It’s a test where you just need to endure.”
“No, it’s not quite that simple. Regardless of anything else, we’re probably the first Guild in Second to conduct an entrance exam like this.”
The examinees were each exerting their abilities to the fullest, fighting for survival.
Some, like that tank from earlier, relied on their defense and endured the bombardment.
Others focused on evasion with swift movements and keen spatial awareness, dodging the artillery fire.
Still others hid behind fellow examinees or pooled their strength with others to increase their survival rate.
Among them, there were individuals who stood out particularly.
“That’s stealth.”
“What? Where?”
“Over there. In the corner of Zone 3.”
“I don’t see anyone.”
“They’re good at stealth. If you focus on the shadow beneath that wall, you’ll sense something off about it.”
“Oh wow, you’re right! But isn’t that a bit lacking? Just hiding and staying still.”
“It’s not just hiding and sitting idle. They’ve finished analyzing the bombardment pattern and found a spot where the shells don’t reach, using stealth to evade the gunners’ sight.”
“Is that so?”
An examinee avoiding attacks through stealth.
What’s remarkable isn’t simply concealing their body, but having completed the analysis of the bombardment pattern.
They’d precisely identified an extremely rare point within the divided test zones where the artillery fire couldn’t reach.
And they were thoroughly employing their stealth skill to avoid detection.
The second one was.
“Graaaagh-.”
Clatter.
Boom!!
“Wow, is that a Necromancer?”
“Looks like it.”
A Necromancer.
They were summoning lower-tier undead with short cooldowns and low mana consumption—skeletons and zombies—using them like disposable shields against the incoming fire.
It might seem simple, but it’s actually quite difficult.
Perfectly controlling lower-tier undead to completely block incoming artillery required considerable concentration and manipulation skill.
As many examinees moved in various ways, enduring the bombardment.
I was examining each zone from Zone 1 in order, and the moment I looked at the final Zone 10, I couldn’t help but be startled.
“Huh? That person….”
“What, you just noticed?”
And for good reason—there was a user I recognized, displaying an overwhelmingly distinctive presence as they blocked the shells.
* * *
Many spectators had gathered at the Heukryeom Guild’s test chamber.
Users who had been hunting around the Kalbera Territory.
Users who had applied to the Heukryeom Guild but were rejected at the document screening, coming to see just how impressive the people who made it were.
Mir and the Heukryeom Guild, the Kalbera Territory—this place brimmed with headline-worthy topics. Even content creators and journalists had flocked here, hoping to capture newsworthy material.
The moment the trial began, all those spectators.
“Ooooh!”
“It’s a Guild recruitment test, but they actually built a Colosseum-like Test Chamber for us to watch! This is insane!”
“Isn’t this basically a second Second Crown?”
“The scale is unreal!”
“A Guild recruitment test where you have to survive ship bombardment? This is incredible!”
“I’m so glad I came, seriously.”
The roaring cheers were unavoidable.
Over a thousand applicants for a newly founded Guild—not even one of the Five Great Guilds—less than a month old.
And these were the selected few after filtering through thousands of applications.
For such candidates to undergo a proper trial in a legitimate Test Chamber, facing ship bombardment as their test.
The applause was inevitable.
News of the trial spread rapidly in all directions.
“Hehehehe.”
Ena, watching from the sidelines, smiled quietly to herself.
This alone would send the reputation of Mir, the Heukryeom Guild, and the Kalbera Territory soaring endlessly.
“Isn’t that person a ranker? Around rank 500, I think?”
“I thought Danggang-cham was affiliated with the Gem Guild, but they’re here. Did they leave the Gem Guild, or are they in the process of joining?”
“Oh, that kid is famous. A YouTuber with 500,000 subscribers! Are they live-streaming the test right now?”
“Yeah, they’re broadcasting live.”
“Wow, that’s crazy. The people enduring this while being broadcast are really impressive.”
“Right? I would’ve failed ages ago.”
“It looks like half the applicants have already been eliminated?”
“Well, surviving that with average skill would be nearly impossible.”
It wasn’t just the sheer number of applicants.
Thanks to the reputation of Mir and the Heukryeom Guild, many famous figures had gathered here.
Renowned rankers, famous content creators, and the like.
So the spectators cheered, shouting the nicknames of their favorite applicants, much like during the Second Crown.
Though it was called a Guild recruitment test, the atmosphere was truly that of a smaller version of the Second Crown.
However.
“Uooooooooh!”
“Is this really happening?”
“Kyaaaah!”
Among them, one applicant commanded overwhelming popularity.
The tenth sector—where the strongest applicants had been gathered.
It wasn’t an ordinary ship, but rather the Black Dragon Ship itself, unleashing relentless bombardment.
The cannon-type magic that Mir had once used when annihilating pirates and defeating the White Water Deity was being fired in tremendous volleys.
The problem was.
Crunch!
The solid Rock Cannon and Ice Cannon split cleanly in half.
The Fire Cannon, Wind Cannon, and Thunder Cannon—physically impossible to cut through—also cleave in two, losing their force and dissipating.
Likely the effect of a skill or item.
“Waaahhh!”
“As expected, Sword Saint Yul-ha!”
“The Rank 1 really is different!”
“Wait, Yul-ha is taking the test to join the Heukryeom Guild? Does that even make sense?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Yul-ha could easily found her own guild, couldn’t she?”
“The Sword Saint who wouldn’t even glance at the Five Great Guilds clinging to her coattails—why is she here?”
“Is she really trying to join the Heukryeom Guild?”
“Not the Five Great Guilds, but the Heukryeom Guild?”
“The Heukryeom Guild isn’t bad. Their growth potential is limitless, but still—it’s not the kind of place a Sword Saint would join, is it?”
“What’s she thinking?”
The crowd could only revel in the spectacle.
Second’s Rank 1.
Watching Sword Saint Yul-ha wield her blade and cut through magic was not a sight one saw every day.
After ten minutes had passed.
Boom!
The vessels fired their attacks skyward, away from the Test Chamber.
Those attacks burst in five colors across the sky, delighting the crowd like fireworks.
As the test-takers stood bewildered.
The voice of the announcer from the beginning echoed once more.
– The first test has concluded.
– Congratulations to all test-takers who have passed the first test!
And with that.
“Yesssssss!”
“We passed!”
“Huff, huff. Now. Huff. Really. Can’t. Do anything. More. Gahhhhh….”
The test-takers who had passed erupted in cheers of joy.
“Waaahhhhh!”
“Amazing!”
“This is so fun! What kind of test will the next one be?”
Following suit, the spectators watching the test also unleashed thunderous cheers.
* * *
The first test was over.
Though it had lasted only ten minutes, the test-takers had wrung themselves dry and were given a break to rest.
The audience likewise took the opportunity to rest and continue their sightseeing through the Kalbera Territory.
“How many passed?”
“A total of 412 people. When I heard the test requirements, I worried everyone might fail the first test, but it’s better than expected?”
“More passed than I thought.”
“Exactly. What if we end up with too many people?”
“…I’ve said this before, but I want to recruit skilled individuals. I’m not trying to run an elite guild with limited numbers.”
“Oh, that’s right. You did say that.”
Ena finished her report with a slight smile.
More than half of the over a thousand applicants had been eliminated, yet more than four hundred still remained.
Truthfully, I could have set aside a day and conducted one-on-one interviews myself.
But when Ena first heard about the initial test, she insisted we put on a proper “show” while we were at it.
That’s how the second test came to be.
– Please take your seats.
– The second test will begin shortly.
– A reminder for everyone.
– Spectators, please remain in your seats. Applicants, please enter the Test Chamber.
“I wonder what the second test will be?”
“The scale of the first test was already incredible. I’m really looking forward to this.”
“I heard there’s even a third test.”
“Wow, they really went all out. I wish they’d hold events like this regularly.”
“Right. In an open world, except for Second Crown, the operators don’t usually prepare special events. It would be amazing if something like this happened more often.”
“I wish people with guilds could participate too.”
“Yeah, that would be really fun.”
“Come on, what’s Mir doing—digging for treasure to sell? He wouldn’t participate unless there was profit in it.”
The second test began its preparations.
All spectators took their seats, and every applicant entered the Test Chamber.
And the final person to enter was—
– To prepare for the second test, the Guild Master of the Heukryeom Guild, Mir, is now entering.
“Wooooow!”
“Mir! Mir! Mir!”
“What kind of preparation requires the Guild Master to come out already?”
It was none other than the Guild Master of the Heukryeom Guild—Mir.
Why had Mir come out personally?
Everyone was bewildered.
Kugugung.
Some of the walls dividing the Test Chamber into ten sections descended.
The ten-sectioned Test Chamber was now divided into five sections.
The applicants looked confused.
Mir moved to the front of the first section.
Then, with a subtle gesture from Mir—
Whoooosh!
A fierce wind swept across the floor.
The magic circles that had been hidden beneath the Test Chamber’s floor were revealed.
“What is this?”
“A magic circle?”
“But wasn’t the master of the Heukryeom Guild a Sage? He seemed to be directly managing the magical weapons on those vessels too.”
“Wasn’t it the Archer? From what I remember during the Second Crown incident, she was definitely a ranged combat unit.”
“Right?”
“More importantly, what kind of magic circle is that?”
Following that, Mir scattered an enormous quantity of mana stones across the magic circle.
In the next instant, a skull-shaped staff that suddenly materialized in Mir’s hand was planted into the magic circle.
[ Bone Staff of the Skull King ]
( Non-tradeable )
Type : Staff
Grade : Legendary
Restrictions : Level 300 or higher, Magic Mastery Lv 30 or higher, Intelligence 700 or higher, Wisdom 700 or higher
Description : A bone staff crafted from the very bones of the legendary Skull King who once reigned as master of the Skeleton Graveyard, used when commanding his subordinates.
Whooooom!
“Grrrrrrr—.”
Clatter.
From the magic circle, an enormous horde of skeletal soldiers.
Skeletons began to be summoned.

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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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