The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 28

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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 28
Chapter 28
Sterling Mine was never a hunting ground suited to my level—it was far too advanced.
And yet.
[ Kobold Medium Infantry Unit Annihilated – Complete ]
[ Your level has increased. ]
[ Your level has increased. ]
….
With each monster I felled, my level surged upward relentlessly.
As my level climbed so rapidly, even increasingly formidable targets began to feel manageable, almost easy to face.
“Next is… the Giant Stone Earthworm. If I recall correctly, geothermal stones are what this creature favors as bait?”
The Giant Stone Earthworm.
Naturally, I had encountered this monster before in First.
When defeated, it drops ore at random—some of which are quite rare—and I remember hunting it diligently for that reason.
Finding this creature that burrows underground eating ore is difficult, but luring it out is simple.
I simply need to locate the scattered holes in the walls.
[ Geothermal Stone ]
( Non-tradeable )
Form: Ore
Grade: Intermediate
Description: A soft ore infused with the heat of the earth.
When I retrieve this geothermal stone—the creature’s favorite food—and hold it aloft.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
Before long, the creature emerges from the ground.
An earthworm whose entire body is composed of faintly luminescent mineral matter.
Teeth grown in multiple layers like saw blades, designed to crush and swallow hard stone.
Truly a fantastical life form that could never exist in reality.
And in my hands, anticipating the moment this creature would raise its head to devour the geothermal stone, I held.
[ Dwarf’s War Hammer ]
( Non-tradeable )
Form: Hammer
Grade: Rare
Restriction: Level 300 or higher, Strength 400 or higher
Description: A massive, heavy two-handed battle hammer used by the dwarves of the Black Stone Clan in combat.
The enormous two-handed hammer was already gripped firmly in my grasp.
The instant the Giant Stone Earthworm appeared, I swung the hammer with tremendous force.
Crack!
Since this creature is composed of mineral matter, sharp bladed weapons prove ineffective against it.
Instead, it takes far greater damage from blunt impact weapons like hammers.
As the creature emerged carelessly seeking the geothermal stone, I continued to drive the hammer down upon its head.
[ Giant Ore Earthworm Subjugation – Complete ]
[ Your level has increased. ]
[ Your level has increased. ]
….
It didn’t take long for the battle to conclude.
While this monster was ordinarily quite troublesome to face, once you knew the strategy, it proved far easier than expected.
Immediately after, I activated my tracking skill and moved toward my next target.
“Incoming attack! Please defend!”
Crash!
“Ugh! How is it this strong? My shield’s getting crushed!”
“Now’s the moment! Attack!”
Other users were already engaging my next target—the Coal Golem.
Three full parties, no less.
Watching fifteen users concentrate their assault on the Coal Golem gave me pause.
‘Will the Coal Golem respawn within twenty-four hours? If we can’t defeat it now, I’ll fail the quest.’
A golem composed of coal, true to its name.
With its massive frame and high defense, it appeared formidable, but in truth, it wasn’t difficult to conquer.
‘Its weakness is far too obvious.’
The Coal Golem was large, powerful, and durable—but slow.
Its sluggish, sweeping arms were easy enough to evade even without exceptional agility.
To put it in perspective, back in First, the Coal Golem was the first raid monster I’d ever managed to defeat alone in a single attempt.
Its weakness was unmistakable.
The core.
This was a common weakness among all golems—destroy the core alone, and the golem falls immediately.
Since the Coal Golem was among the weakest of golems, locating its core presented no difficulty.
With fifteen users gathered against such a Coal Golem,
failure was impossible.
Though it would be poor sportsmanship, I was considering whether I should attempt a steal.
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring pierced my eardrums.
My frown wasn’t from the noise itself.
‘Why are they swinging a sword against the Coal Golem?’
It was because of the weapon the user who’d made that metallic sound was wielding.
Wasn’t it common knowledge that bladed weapons don’t work well against mineral-type monsters like golems?
Of course, if one’s attack power was overwhelmingly high, even bladed weapons could cut through a golem.
But at the same level, swinging a blade would never inflict meaningful damage on a golem.
And yet.
Clang, clang!
“This thing is way too hard!”
“I just bought this rare-grade weapon, so why isn’t the attack landing?”
“Were you scammed? Is that actually a rare-grade weapon?”
Most of the users over there were wielding blades like swords and spears rather than blunt weapons.
Even though their attacks weren’t landing, they hadn’t thought to switch weapons.
Watching them made me feel incredibly frustrated.
Even if the weapon grade was a tier or two lower, or if they lacked the relevant skills, swinging a hammer instead of a blade would deal far more damage.
“Lightning Arrow!”
Crackle!
The frustration wasn’t limited to those swordsmen.
‘Why is lightning magic being used here?’
The Sage behind them had painstakingly prepared a spell—and it happened to be lightning magic.
Judging by the lightning attribute imbued in the staff he was holding, he seemed to be a lightning-specialized Sage.
And yet he was casting lightning magic at a coal golem?
Did he not know that poison and lightning were the least effective attributes against ore-type monsters?
Even using a first-circle spell would be better than using this one.
And that wasn’t all.
“Sharpness!”
There was a support mage casting buff spells to enhance slashing attacks that barely connected in the first place.
“Let me heal you! Heal!”
“Thank you!”
Thank you for what?
The healer was wasting precious mana casting healing spells even though there was no emergency situation.
Thud—plunk.
And the Archer kept firing arrows that barely embedded themselves.
‘Are they all idiots?’
It was nothing but incomprehensible mistakes.
If they’d executed this properly, ten minutes would have been enough.
Actually, five minutes would have been sufficient to clear it.
But with fifteen people just digging themselves deeper like this.
“Gruuuuuuuuu—.”
“Cough!”
“It’s way stronger than we thought!”
“I don’t think we can do this!”
“We’ve figured out the pattern, so let’s regroup and hunt again!”
“I’m sure we’ll succeed next time!”
The raid was destined to fail.
It was truly the worst raid, one that made me sigh involuntarily.
I found myself wondering if all users in Second were really at this level.
Anyway, whatever.
Frustrating as it was, this worked out well for me.
Just like when I hunted the Kobold heavy infantry, the moment they retreated—
“I’ll mark this raid as abandoned.”
Whoosh!
I took my turn and rushed toward the Coal Golem.
“What?”
“Did you actually wait for your turn?”
“Hold on, isn’t this a steal?”
“Leave him be. He doesn’t even have a party—what’s he going to do alone?”
Ignoring the voices behind me, I charged forward as the Coal Golem recognized my presence and swung its arm at me.
From behind, I heard mocking laughter, as if they expected me to be crushed in a single blow.
‘Dodging this might actually be harder than taking the hit.’
The Coal Golem’s fist moved with the sluggish grace of a snail—a simple lean back was more than enough to evade it.
When it followed up with both arms gathered together, crashing down like a gorilla, I sidestepped with a single backward step.
‘Now’s my chance.’
Massive monsters like this typically deliver enormous individual attacks, and after each powerful strike, an opening inevitably appears.
The Coal Golem was no exception.
I seized the moment it froze after the downward strike, planting my feet on its fist.
Then, using its arm as a bridge, I sprinted forward.
‘The Coal Golem’s core is located in the left shoulder.’
I wondered if entering Second had shifted the core’s position, but as I climbed along the left arm, I spotted a section of noticeably different coloration at the shoulder.
Even in Second, the monster’s weak point remained unchanged.
However, I didn’t recklessly swing my weapon just because I’d spotted the weakness.
The Coal Golem’s defense exceeded even that of the Ore Worm I’d faced earlier.
Blindly swinging my hammer would still take considerable time to crack through the outer shell protecting the core.
That’s why.
Hum—
I had prepared a new form of attack.
With a familiar sensation, the mana within my body gathered and converged before my palm.
Before entering the mine.
I had mastered not only skill books but also the ‘grimoires’ suited to my level.
Originally, only the Sage could learn magic, so during my time in First, I couldn’t master it—but now, wasn’t I an ‘All Master’?
As the All Master is the transcendent class above all professions, I could learn magic without any restrictions.
And the magic I chose was.
– You use the 1st Circle water magic ‘Aqua’.
Aqua, the most fundamental water magic.
A spell that merely conjured water into existence.
Splash!
The water I created fell onto the outer shell where the Coal Golem’s core was located.
Naturally, the shell remained unscathed.
After all, the Aqua spell possessed no offensive power whatsoever.
At that sight, I heard mocking laughter once more from behind me.
“What a surprise. I thought it might actually do something? Aqua? Are you serious right now?”
“There’s actually an idiot using First Circle water magic in combat.”
“Isn’t that just a utility spell for making drinking water?”
“Right. They might’ve at least done some damage if they’d swung a sword instead.”
“How is anyone supposed to solo a raid boss anyway?”
Truthfully, Aqua isn’t typically a combat spell.
In fact, water-attribute magic itself isn’t generally favored among mages.
Water-attribute magic ranks among the weakest in terms of offensive power across all elemental types.
Lower-tier ice magic is far more preferred, and there are hardly any Sages who primarily use water magic itself.
But.
‘It all depends on how you use it.’
That’s a perspective born of ignorance.
Plenty of monsters have water as a weakness.
Even without a weakness, water magic can create situations where combat flows far more smoothly.
Cooling the heat of fire-attribute monsters, creating synergy when used alongside lightning magic, or.
‘Reducing the defense of creatures like Coal Golems or Earth Golems.’
The Golem moved sluggishly again, attempting to shake me off from where I perched on its shoulder.
But I was faster, drawing a new hammer and swinging it down.
[ Dwarf’s Golden Hammer ]
I brought the golden hammer crashing down onto the damp shoulder of the Coal Golem.
Even with a golden hammer, shattering the Coal Golem’s exterior in a single blow should’ve been difficult.
Crack!
“No way!”
“The Coal Golem’s exterior…”
“It shattered in one hit?!”
That hardened Golem shell—shattered by a single swing of my hammer.
This was all thanks to having softened the exterior with Aqua magic beforehand.
Mud Golems and Coal Golems lose their defensive power when their exteriors are soaked with water.
As the exterior crumbled away, a gleaming core was exposed.
Simply stomping on it would halt the Golem’s movements, but this commission was ‘Coal Golem Core Collection’.
So I set down the hammer and reached out, tearing the core from the Golem’s body.
With that, the Coal Golem’s movements—its hand reaching toward my hair—ceased completely.
[ Coal Golem Core Collection – Complete ]
[ Level increased. ]
[ Level increased. ]
….
The commission was complete.
Now only one target remained.
“Kobold Lord.”
Time to hunt the final boss monster of Sterling Mine.

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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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