The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 278

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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 278
Chapter 278
“We’re departing.”
“Are we traveling far?”
“If it’s a fallen great spirit, it would be the boss monster recently discovered in the Ancient Dungeon. Did you locate the Ancient Dungeon?”
“But haven’t most Ancient Dungeons been discovered in the east?”
“We’re heading south.”
I set out toward the Evil God alongside my guild members.
Until now, I’d told them we were hunting the fallen great spirit to maintain operational security, but I figured it was time to reveal the truth.
Not immediately, but once we left the Swampland and reached areas with fewer people.
“We’re actually heading out to hunt the Evil God.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s an Evil God called the Blue Spirit Deity. The Taegeuk Guild already attempted to challenge this Evil God that appeared in the Western Region and failed. They’ve requested our cooperation.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’ve accepted their cooperation request. We’ll meet with the Taegeuk Guild soon and search for the Evil God together.”
I revealed the truth to my guild members.
Kang Ju-hyuk, Yul-ha, and the team leaders already knew, so they showed no particular reaction.
But the other guild members couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“I apologize for deceiving you. The Taegeuk Guild specified in the contract that information must be kept confidential for security purposes, so I had no choice but to mislead you all.”
I was genuinely worried.
While the contract made it unavoidable, I understood how my guild members must have felt deceived.
There was a chance they might resist here.
Still, tackling the Evil God required this secrecy, so I hoped they would understand.
“I knew it! That’s why we were heading west!”
“Our team already figured it out because of you, Vice Guild Master. Your acting was terrible. How could that possibly be a fallen great spirit raid?”
“You knew too, didn’t you, Yul-ha? The preparation was far too thorough for a fallen great spirit strategy.”
“I had a hunch, but it’s actually true!”
“Guild Master, are we fighting it today? We’re eating before we go, right?”
“Of course. We need to grab the food buffs too.”
“All those things the craftsmen were making recently must have been for Evil God preparations.”
There wasn’t a shred of resistance.
Even after revealing that this expedition was to hunt the Evil God, hardly any guild members seemed disturbed.
In fact, their morale soared far higher than when I’d announced we were raiding the fallen great spirit.
I was slightly bewildered by this.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Come on, that’s only natural.”
“It’s the same with other guilds. Security measures are unavoidable.”
“We’re just honored to be taken on a Main Scenario Quest!”
“Honored, truly honored!”
All my guild members understood the need for secrecy.
From what I hear, other guilds also maintain security in this manner.
After all, if important information were disclosed to all guild members and classified details leaked out, not just the Guild Master but all members would face difficulties.
“Before we enter the Western Region, we’ll regroup with the Taegeuk Guild and begin a full briefing. But first, I’ll give you a preliminary briefing on this Evil God.”
“Thank you, Guild Master!”
“The Azure Spirit God, huh….”
“Will spirit-type monsters appear? That could be quite troublesome….”
“Ay, weren’t flying-type monsters troublesome enough?”
And so, as I began explaining the Azure Spirit God we would soon face.
We advanced toward the rendezvous point where we were to meet the Taegeuk Guild.
* * *
Korea’s first Major Guild.
The Taegeuk Guild was currently waiting beside the entrance to the Western Continent, where the Evil God lurked.
“We’ll wait here for the Heukryeom Guild.”
“We’re the ones waiting?”
“Honestly, in all conscience, shouldn’t they be the ones coming first and waiting for us?”
“Since the Heukryeom Guild is in the Southern Continent, if we departed together we’d inevitably be late. We arrived early to send out scouts in case of unforeseen circumstances.”
“Guild Master, even so….”
However, the atmosphere within the Taegeuk Guild was far from pleasant.
It was unavoidable.
The Taegeuk Guild had discovered the Evil God first among the Five Great Guilds recently, only to suffer a devastating defeat with no hope of victory.
Yet these were among the five strongest forces in Second.
For such warriors to suffer such a humiliating defeat—morale could only plummet.
But what truly bothered them most was this:
“Guild Master, wouldn’t it be wise to reconsider at this point?”
“Reconsider what?”
“The allied guild. The Heukryeom Guild—this isn’t right, is it?”
The Heukryeom Guild, whom we were about to face the Evil God with.
They too were among Korea’s most prestigious guilds with considerable pride, yet the guild we’d agreed to cooperate with wasn’t even one of the Five Great Guilds—it was a newly formed upstart.
This was unacceptable.
Intolerable.
At minimum, we should be joining forces with another of the Five Great Guilds, not some fledgling organization.
And it wasn’t even they who requested our aid—we asked them first.
“Borrowing the strength of Hwarang or the Royal Guild would be far more promising.”
“You’ve faced the Evil God yourself, haven’t you? It’s not an enemy that can be defeated by joining forces with just one Major Guild.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to request cooperation from both Hwarang and the Royal Guild?”
“There’s no guarantee that would succeed either, and if we did succeed that way, our share of the credit would be far too diminished.”
“Even so, if we fail, that would mean no one in Second can yet overcome this enemy! Calling in the Heukryeom Guild won’t change that!”
“The Heukryeom Guild already has two confirmed Evil God subjugation records. Considering Mir’s achievements, there’s a strong possibility they’ve hunted Evil Gods before that as well.”
“That’s…!”
“Precisely because of that, Mir and the Heukryeom Guild possess the knowledge and methods to face Evil Gods. No matter how I think about it, this is the right choice.”
Tae-ryeon, the Guild Master of the Taegeuk Guild, concluded the conversation with those words.
The guild member could offer no further objection and departed.
Yet the atmosphere remained decidedly tense.
After all, the entry level was lower than the Taegeuk Guild’s, so the overall average level wouldn’t be particularly high either.
And the Guild Master’s level itself—wasn’t that Mir, who didn’t even rank among the top rankers?
I found no comfort in allying with such a guild, nor could I feel confident that such a guild could truly defeat the Evil God alongside us.
Normally, the Guild Master should steady the atmosphere in moments like these.
‘Sigh….’
But Tae-ryeon shared the same anxiety.
Mir spoke with confidence, but could they truly defeat the Evil God together with the Heukryeom Guild?
Another failure in the Evil God conquest would result in catastrophic losses.
The amount of Gold spent on items prepared for the Evil God conquest alone was staggering, and above all, the death penalty posed a serious problem.
‘Even during the first conquest attempt, the death penalty severely reduced our guild’s average level. If we incur additional penalties here, it will be truly dire.’
At lower levels, death causes little damage.
But as levels increase, the death penalty becomes increasingly severe.
For the Taegeuk Guild, this has already reached a level that’s becoming difficult to bear.
Yet I had to entrust such a battle to the Heukryeom Guild—not even one of the Five Great Guilds, but a newly established one.
Even as Tae-ryeon, who had submitted the cooperation request based on the Heukryeom Guild’s track record in Evil God subjugation, I couldn’t hide my unease.
And so.
‘I need to verify this myself.’
My initial intention to simply proceed alongside the Heukryeom Guild shifted.
Before entering the Evil God conquest.
I needed to confirm whether the Heukryeom Guild was truly an ally I could trust my back to, whether we could genuinely conquer the Evil God together.
I decided a test was necessary.
Though this might sound discourteous to the Heukryeom Guild.
‘As the Guild Master leading the Taegeuk Guild.’
I was not alone.
For the sake of my guild members, I had to verify this.
And in that moment,
“Guild Master, the Heukryeom Guild has arrived.”
“Yes, I see them.”
The Heukryeom Guild came into view.
* * *
“The Taegeuk Guild, huh.”
“They were a guild of admiration not long ago.”
“But honestly, they’re not even at that level anymore, are they? Our Heukryeom Guild is practically on par with the Five Great Guilds.”
“That’s true.”
“Some people even say we’ve already surpassed the Five Great Guilds, don’t they?”
“Heh, that does feel good.”
The Taegeuk Guild came into view.
Something felt off about the atmosphere.
These allies, who were supposed to join forces with us shortly to face the Evil God, seemed to be treating us as adversaries.
Our guild members noticed it too, and the conversation gradually died down.
Standing before the Taegeuk Guild, I waited.
“Mir.”
“Tae-ryeon.”
Tae-ryeon, the Guild Master of the Taegeuk Guild, stepped forward to face me.
Her gaze carried that characteristic gravity.
Last time her eyes had been serious too, but this time the quality was different.
As expected.
“I apologize, but before we tackle the Evil God, I’d like to assess the combat capabilities of the Heukryeom Guild.”
“There was no such clause in our contract, was there?”
“You’re right. I know it’s an unreasonable request. However, this Evil God subjugation is an absolutely critical matter for us as well. I hope you’ll understand.”
She suddenly made a request that wasn’t in the contract.
Though she called it a request, the atmosphere suggested she’d tear up the agreement on the spot if I refused.
It wasn’t a request I had reason to refuse, but I had no intention of simply complying with this “unreasonable request” that wasn’t in the contract.
“Then, what if I agree on the condition that we modify the contract terms slightly?”
“What terms are you referring to?”
“The settlement ratio. Currently it’s recorded as a fixed percentage, but in exchange for granting your request, I’d like to adjust the settlement ratio based on contribution to the Evil God subjugation.”
“…Would that be acceptable? It’s not a major concern for us either way.”
“That would be acceptable.”
I changed the settlement ratio.
This was something I’d decided on recently while discussing with Ena.
Our guild was investing more Gold anyway, and we’d likely be making proportionally greater contributions.
So I wanted to receive more in the settlement accordingly.
Of course, from Tae-ryeon’s perspective, this would be somewhat bewildering.
In fact, even comparing by average level alone, the Taegeuk Guild was significantly ahead, yet here I was proposing to adjust the settlement ratio based on contribution.
To Tae-ryeon, it must have sounded like I was asking to revise the contract in the Taegeuk Guild’s favor.
Well, anyway.
The settlement ratio adjustment was settled.
“How exactly do you intend to assess our combat capabilities?”
Now came the real matter.
I understood she wanted to evaluate the Heukryeom Guild’s combat strength.
But how did she plan to assess it?
Tae-ryeon seemed to have already considered this, answering immediately after my question.
“Before tackling the Evil God, we should observe each other’s combat styles and abilities. I think a sparring format would be best.”
“Sparring, you say….”
“Guild members matched by average level against guild members, Vice Guild Masters against Vice Guild Masters. And….”
Tae-ryeon’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
“Guild Masters against Guild Masters.”
Before the Evil God hunt commenced, an unexpected duel between the Heukryeom Guild and the Taegeuk Guild suddenly began.

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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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