The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 279

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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 279
Chapter 279
An unexpected clash between two guilds.
Tae-ryeon had suggested designating sparring partners “matched to average level,” but in reality, this was a disadvantageous condition for Heukryeom Guild.
‘After all, Heukryeom Guild and Taegeuk Guild differ in average level from the start.’
Taegeuk Guild was, no matter what anyone said, one of the Five Great Guilds of South Korea.
As such, all of Taegeuk Guild’s members possessed exceptionally high levels.
In contrast, Heukryeom Guild?
While some members had high levels, since the minimum level requirement for the last recruitment test had been level 300, the average level wasn’t particularly high.
Recently, through hunting, they could raise their levels at an incredible pace.
But it wasn’t enough to immediately catch up to Taegeuk Guild.
“That said, we don’t have time to spar with every member, so I’ll divide it by criteria.”
If all guild members sparred, it would take far too long.
So they decided on a number.
The minimum number of people needed for each guild to gauge their average combat strength.
The first sparring match determined this way was:
“The youngest members of both guilds. In other words, the guild members with the lowest levels sparring against each other.”
A sparring match between the youngest members.
Immediately, one guild member from Taegeuk Guild stepped forward.
For the youngest member, he appeared quite confident, and as soon as he emerged, murmuring voices of laughter echoed from the Taegeuk members behind him.
“If it’s So-yong, we can trust him.”
“Of course, he’s our Taegeuk’s rising star.”
“His level may be the lowest in our guild, but his skill is certainly not lacking.”
So it seemed this user called So-yong was quite respected for his abilities among the guild members.
In contrast, Heukryeom Guild’s youngest member was:
“M-me? Really me?”
“Taeng-taeng, you’re the youngest. This is a sparring match between the youngest members, right?”
“But that person… he clearly looks like he’d fight incredibly well? He looks higher level than me too!”
“Well, we won’t know until we fight.”
“So if I lose, there’s no complaint, right?!”
“That’s not it. You have to win. Otherwise, we’re kicking you out of our team.”
“How is that even fair!”
“Here.”
A cry of despair escaped.
The user called Bol Taeng-taeng.
As if being shoved, he stepped out from Team 7 and stood before the user named So-yong who had emerged first.
‘Ugh, he looks way too strong…’
The level difference was definitely there.
Fortunately, the level gap didn’t seem to be enormous, so the opponent wasn’t an impossible enemy.
Still, with the level disadvantage, I would need to display far superior skill to win.
Can I do this?
Bol Taeng-taeng felt anxious.
If he lost here, Heukryeom Guild’s morale would shatter from the very beginning.
Was that all?
If losses accumulated, Heukryeom Guild might not be allowed to participate in the Evil God conquest they had prepared so carefully.
Such pressure weighed heavily on Bol Taeng-taeng’s shoulders.
But regardless.
“Begin!”
The duel between the two commenced.
Whoosh!
So-yong leaped forward swiftly and swung his blade at Bol Taeng-taeng.
His mental preparation was incomplete, and the rapid assault caught him off guard.
Clang!
Yet Bol Taeng-taeng instinctively, habitually raised his shield to block So-yong’s attack.
He was strong.
I thought he was an agility-type swordmaster, but his attack power was far from negligible.
My past self would have panicked.
But not now. The Guild Master had trained me after all! I’ll give it my all!
Things were different now.
Back when Heukryeom Guild had fewer than ten members.
Mir had corrected each guild member’s combat techniques one by one.
And the current members had received the same treatment.
After new members joined, Mir would visit each guild member whenever time permitted in Kalbera Territory to correct their combat techniques.
Bol Taeng-taeng was no exception.
As a shield warrior who primarily wielded a shield, he had learned various methods from Mir to block enemy attacks more efficiently.
Therefore.
Screech!
“What?”
Bol Taeng-taeng recalled this training and tilted his shield.
So-yong’s blade slid along the shield’s curve.
In that precise trajectory, So-yong panicked and tried to recover his sword.
Thud!
Bol Taeng-taeng applied force to his shield, pushing the blade aside.
Since considerable power had been behind the strike, the blade couldn’t overcome his strength and was driven back forcefully.
However, So-yong had both a higher level and greater confidence in his abilities than Bol Taeng-taeng.
Anticipating the attack that would follow, he focused on Bol Taeng-taeng’s weapon.
– Bol Taeng-taeng uses the skill ‘Shield Attack’.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Instead of drawing a weapon, Bol Taeng-taeng drove the shield that had just deflected the blade directly into So-yong’s face.
That was correct.
Bol Taeng-taeng hadn’t merely learned defensive techniques to block enemy attacks from Mir.
‘A shield is not merely a defensive tool. Since it’s equipment held in hand, you can utilize it more offensively.’
‘If you leverage the shield’s weight properly, its offensive power will be no less than other weapons.’
What Bol Taeng-taeng had focused most intently on learning from Mir was the shield’s versatility itself.
Having landed the first strike cleanly, Bol Taeng-taeng seized the momentum and began pressuring So-yong.
Mastering the shield didn’t mean neglecting his primary weapon.
He blocked enemy attacks with his shield, made feints, and whenever an opening appeared, he struck with the mace in his right hand.
“How is this thing so hard…!”
So-yong, frustrated, unleashed a barrage of skills, but Bol Taeng-taeng brilliantly defended against every single attack.
Seizing the next opening, he swung his mace and struck So-yong’s lower body.
So-yong’s stance crumbled in an instant.
Bol Taeng-taeng mounted him, and So-yong couldn’t escape the mount position of the shield and heavy armor-clad Bol Taeng-taeng.
– Bol Taeng-taeng uses the skill ‘Skull Break’.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
He brought the mace down on So-yong’s head, ending the match.
Bol Taeng-taeng was certainly lower in level alone.
Yet he had brilliantly subdued So-yong by maximizing his combat sense to the extreme.
A brief silence fell over the Training Ground.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“That’s our youngest!”
“Magnificent, Bol Taeng-taeng!”
“This is it!”
Cheers erupted from the Heukryeom Guild.
However, Bol Taeng-taeng, who had so brilliantly subdued So-yong, was—
“Uh… huh?”
Unable to adapt to the reality that he had won, his expression was utterly vacant.
* * *
In stark contrast to the Heukryeom Guild’s cheers,
the Taegeuk Guild greeted So-yong with a cold atmosphere.
“So-yong, what happened?”
“…My apologies.”
“Did you get careless?”
“No. I gave it my all.”
“Then why did you lose? From what I heard, your level was definitely higher?”
“…My apologies.”
The defeat of their trusted first contestant.
He had been their most capable youngest member, and with his higher level, they had been certain he would win.
Yet they had lost that match.
From the very start, they had begun the match at a disadvantage.
And not against one of the other Five Great Guilds, but against Heukryeom Guild—a relatively new organization at that.
Because of this, the way people looked at So-yong grew cold.
“Enough. The matchup was simply unfavorable for you.”
“But….”
“A swift swordmaster like So-yong was never going to have good compatibility against a shield bearer. The shield bearer had the advantage in that duel.”
Fortunately, several others came to So-yong’s defense.
What had passed could not be undone.
Advice and instruction for So-yong could wait for another time—for now, I had to focus on the present match.
“You’re next, Ji-hwa-ja. You can win this, right?”
“Of course.”
The next battle would be a duel between mages.
The finest mages from each side had been selected to compete. Taegeuk Guild had sent a mage of considerable skill, and Heukryeom Guild had dispatched a team leader.
The user known as Ji-hwa-ja was recognized for his prowess even within Taegeuk Guild.
In fact, Ji-hwa-ja held a rather high ranking on the mage rankings of Second itself, not just within Taegeuk Guild.
And yet.
“Begin!”
The moment the duel started.
Something felt distinctly wrong.
Despite the level difference, the core stats of a mage—intellect and wisdom—should have been disparate.
And the equipment should have differed as well.
“Gah! How are you casting movement spells so freely? How high is your movement casting skill level?”
“That’s because you rely only on skills.”
“What are you talking about? Of course we rely on skills—it’s a game!”
“This is what you call ‘technique.'”
“What?”
A deafening boom erupted.
The Heukryeom Guild mage overwhelmed Ji-hwa-ja.
The reason was simple.
While Ji-hwa-ja, as an orthodox mage, had focused on powerful spells, the opposing mage primarily employed lower-circle magic to suppress Ji-hwa-ja.
But that wasn’t all.
Using Haste to accelerate his body, he dashed about the arena while simultaneously casting spells.
And through dual casting, he continuously harassed Ji-hwa-ja.
For Ji-hwa-ja, it was nothing but bewildering, and he was defeated without ever properly deploying his magic.
“This can’t be….”
The subsequent duels followed the same pattern.
Though Heukryeom Guild’s average level was lower, their combat power was far from weak.
Somehow, with extraordinary combat sense, they began pushing Taegeuk Guild back.
“Heukryeom Guild’s strength is really at this level…?”
Taegeuk Guild had no choice but to acknowledge Heukryeom Guild’s true power.
* * *
My guild members fought far better than I had anticipated.
‘It wasn’t meaningless that I sought them out and corrected their techniques one by one.’
Though this wasn’t what I had trained them for.
Since they would be my guild members going forward, I had personally sought out the new recruits and corrected their combat methods one by one.
Teaching them the necessary techniques and skills.
Replacing their faulty equipment.
Pointing out areas they needed to improve and attacks or skills they needed to refine further.
And now.
“Arghhhh!”
“…Heukryeom Guild has won.”
My guild members were maximizing my advice and claiming victory.
I couldn’t have been prouder watching them.
Yul-ha’s turn came next, but I didn’t think she would lose.
Regardless of her ranking as number one, her skill was so exceptional that I had nothing to point out.
Following Yul-ha’s confident victory.
“Phew, finally my turn!”
Kang Ju-hyuk’s match had arrived.
I was somewhat concerned about this one.
Kang Ju-hyuk’s skill was like a well-polished gem, but the Vice Guild Master of Taegeuk Guild had an exceptionally high level.
In contrast, though Kang Ju-hyuk had raised his level considerably, it wasn’t enough to enter the ranking tier.
Compared to the other users who had fought so far, Kang Ju-hyuk had the largest level gap.
But then.
“That’s cowardly, cowardly!”
“Oh, thank you for the compliment.”
“Fight fairly and squarely instead of fighting so sneakily!”
“My class is designed to fight this way in the first place. Are you going to tell the Archer not to use her bow and fight in close combat fairly?”
“That’s…!”
“Yes, opening.”
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Contrary to my worries, Kang Ju-hyuk displayed an overwhelming match.
The item throws he unleashed with silver energy currents were incredibly fast and powerful, and his dazzling combat style was at a level his opponent simply couldn’t keep up with.
Smoke bombs, poison-coated daggers, nets, and traps.
The Vice Guild Master of Taegeuk Guild ultimately couldn’t adapt to the barrage of various items.
And as a result.
“Ugh….”
Covered in poison, bleeding, and paralysis.
He knelt down, afflicted with various status ailments, as Kang Ju-hyuk’s claws pointed down at him.
“Hahahaha!”
The match had concluded.
With this, the Heukryeom Guild had claimed victory in every single bout thus far.
I had faith that my guild members would fight well, but I never imagined they would achieve a perfect record.
It seems my guild members had all exerted themselves far beyond my expectations, and had grown far stronger than I had anticipated.
And now, at last, the moment of truth.
The final match was none other than—
“I never thought all of our guild members would be defeated like this.”
“I didn’t expect us to perform this well either.”
“Since it’s come to this, I’ll restore the honor of the Taegeuk Guild as its Guild Master.”
Heukryeom Guild versus Taegeuk Guild.
Guild Master versus Guild Master.
It was my match against Tae-ryeon.

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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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