The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 302
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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 302
Chapter 302
When departing for the Great Pyramid.
The first concern the warriors had was Mir’s mount.
“If he’s an outsider, he won’t have a camel to ride across the desert to the Great Pyramid.”
“Wouldn’t the Sandclaw Tribe lend him one? The Alliance might have provided one.”
“Would an ordinary camel suffice? Time is of the essence, and if an ordinary camel leads the way, our travel speed will be greatly reduced.”
“True enough—all the warriors gathered here have been blessed with legendary desert mounts and have grown alongside them.”
The legendary mounts these warriors rode were no ordinary beasts.
Despite their name, they were not horses at all.
Camels, certainly, but also ostriches and desert wolves.
They were creatures capable of achieving remarkable speed across the desert terrain—particularly powerful specimens among their kind.
Such legendary mounts were not easily tamed.
There was no properly trained legendary mount available for an outsider to suddenly ride.
While they were worrying about this.
Piiiiiii—.
The outsider.
No, the Grand Warrior Mir blew a desert-style whistle.
“Kirrr—.”
A massive lizard appeared.
The warriors could not help but be startled at the sight.
“What is that?”
“A Sand Lizard?”
“How is a Sand Lizard here!”
A Sand Lizard.
It was a monster known to be extremely threatening even within the Great Desert.
Its temperament was so ferocious that despite possessing rapid mobility, it was known to be impossible to tame.
“I’m counting on you again.”
“Kirrrrr—.”
Mir mounted the Sand Lizard with absolute confidence.
The Sand Lizard, rather than the fierce roar the warriors knew, greeted Mir with an affectionate whimper and coquettish behavior.
“A, a Sand Lizard?”
“That violent Sand Lizard willingly allows him to ride?”
“I’ve heard legends of people forcibly riding Sand Lizards for travel, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually taming one!”
“Well, I’ll be….”
The warriors marveled.
The fact that he had tamed a Sand Lizard was remarkable, but more importantly, they realized their earlier concern had been entirely unfounded.
After all, a Sand Lizard was faster and possessed greater endurance than any mount the warriors currently rode.
Rather, they should have been worried about whether they could keep up with the Sand Lizard.
Shortly after.
“We’re departing.”
Mir took the lead and began guiding the warriors forward.
As expected.
“Everyone, pick up the pace!”
“Don’t fall behind!”
“If you can’t keep up, report to me! I’ll inform the commander!”
The warriors struggled to keep pace with the Sand Lizard racing across the desert, surging toward the Great Pyramid at a terrifying speed.
* * *
This expedition had gathered every powerhouse from across the desert.
The finest warriors and shamans from each tribe.
Even from the Alliance—an organization that only the strongest warriors could join—came warriors of exceptional skill.
Yet among them, there was one person who didn’t quite belong.
Namely.
“Wow, Shaman Sanuk is here! They say he’s the best wind shaman in the entire desert!”
“It’s Kallak! The Alliance’s greatest Grand Warrior!”
“That’s the one who defeated the earth dragon at the Oasis…!”
Behind me, a novice warrior from the Sandclaw Tribe was marveling at everyone around us.
It was Rashid.
As a novice warrior, Rashid had no right to participate in the expedition.
‘I can guide the way! All the way to the Great Pyramid!’
‘I’ll handle all the supplies!’
‘With so many people gathered, shouldn’t there be at least one person to handle the chores? I’ll take care of everything!’
‘So please, take me with you!!’
When Rashid heard about the expedition, he grabbed my pant leg and pleaded so earnestly that I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
He could guide us, and truthfully, having one person to handle the menial tasks seemed practical.
After all, everyone gathered here was a renowned Grand Warrior or Great Shaman of the desert—I couldn’t simply order them around for chores.
With that thought.
Whoosh!
I raced swiftly across the desert.
The Great Desert was so vast that even at high speed, it wasn’t a distance we could cross quickly.
If I were traveling alone, I’d feed potions to the Sand Lizard and push even faster.
“Mir, would it be possible to rest for a moment? The ‘desert runners’ have low stamina, and they’re already at their limit…”
“Understood.”
“I apologize for holding you back.”
“Not at all. While we rest, let’s take care of… well, let’s eat.”
“Thank you.”
I am not alone.
Since we’re heading to conquer the Great Pyramid, countless warriors and shamans follow behind me.
Though they all rode excellent horses, none could compare to the Sand Lizard I rode.
So inevitably, we had to take breaks along the way.
‘Well, if everyone’s gathered anyway, might as well cook.’
Since we’re all assembled, I might as well make use of our combined strength.
My cooking skill level, synchronized with the All Master, surpasses even top-ranked chefs.
And if I apply alchemy to it?
Using superior materials I’d recently acquired—like ‘Burnt Spirit’s Ash’ or ‘Desert Worm Entrails’—with their exceptional effects?
With outstanding buff effects, I could dramatically enhance the warriors’ stats through cooking alone.
With this resolve, I approached Rashid, who was busily arranging cooking equipment.
“Kyaaahhhhh!”
The moment Rashid spotted me, he suddenly cried out.
“Apostle! No, Mir! I’ll handle the cooking! Please rest over there!”
“It’s fine. I’ll do it. A good recipe just came to mind.”
“No, no, no! Absolutely not! You must rest, Mir!”
“I’m telling you, I’m fine.”
“I’m not fine! If you pick up a ladle, the warriors might collapse… I mean, they might be so overwhelmed they collapse!”
“That much shouldn’t—”
“Anyway, you absolutely cannot cook, Mir! You’re the commander, and if you cook, everyone will feel incredibly burdened!”
“Hmm…”
“So please, just sit over there! I’ll handle the cooking!”
“…Fine, then.”
“Phew…”
Rashid urgently blocked my path.
Before arriving at the Alliance, while wandering the desert hunting monsters and clearing dungeons, I’d cooked for Rashid once.
Ever since, he’s always reacted like this.
Actually, it seems even more intense now.
Rashid, being a trainee warrior and essentially the youngest, must be more sensitive to those around him.
While I don’t particularly favor hierarchical relationships, if I insisted, he’d only feel more uncomfortable, so I had no choice.
– I agree completely.
“Why are you suddenly chiming in again? I told you, you don’t need to feel uncomfortable anymore.”
– When it comes to cooking, absolutely not…
Even Luke was stopping me.
Left with no choice, I abandoned the cooking idea and turned to other work.
“Luke, could you show me the list of magic stones in the subspace?”
– Yes, Master.
After defeating the Blue Spirit God and receiving rewards from the Alliance Leader, I’d obtained several additional high-grade magic stones.
But it wasn’t enough.
The battle with the Evil God would only grow more difficult, and high-grade magic stones would become increasingly vital to me.
So I had to increase my supply of high-grade magic stones by any means necessary.
What caught my attention were the magic stones filling my subspace.
Of course, the ordinary magic stones, not the high-grade ones.
– Current inventory: 21,345 lowest-grade magic stones. 9,498 low-grade magic stones. High-grade magic stones…
High-grade magic stones are rare, but lower-grade ones are relatively easy to obtain.
So the number of magic stones I collected during First was more than sufficient.
I used quite a large quantity of magic stones while playing Second, yet this much remained.
But.
‘At this point, the lowest-grade magic stones are useless to me.’
Over ten thousand lowest-grade magic stones.
These lowest-grade stones, which make up the largest portion of my collection, don’t provide much benefit at my current level.
How would I use lowest-grade magic stones that can only serve as auxiliary support when casting 1st or 2nd circle magic?
At best, I can grind them into magic stone powder when installing magic circles or enchantments, but that’s the limit.
Actually, even that’s become impossible with lowest-grade stones now.
I need at least low-grade stones, and to produce proper power, I need mid-grade stones at minimum.
So.
‘Let me try to utilize this.’
I decided to use my overflowing lowest-grade magic stones to create higher-grade ones.
Of course, this is no ordinary task.
Such recipes didn’t even exist in First.
If a method existed, I would have already converted all my lowest-grade stones into highest-grade ones long ago.
– Using the skill ‘Alchemy’.
Based on alchemy, I attempted various experiments using crafting and enchantment skills.
Even with my expertise in production-type skills and mastery of recipes, I explored different possibilities.
I’ve memorized every recipe and grasped all the connections between materials.
Just thinking about it, numerous promising combinations came to mind.
Of course.
[ Alchemy has failed. ]
The work wasn’t easy.
Developing recipes that didn’t previously exist resulted in countless failures.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d seen that failure message in Second.
Well, it’s fine.
Memories of fumbling around with production skills back in First came flooding back nostalgically.
Since materials were plentiful anyway, I continued my research with ease.
“Mir, please eat this first!”
“Thanks.”
“What are you working on right now? Magic stones?”
“I’m trying to combine some magic stones. I need to concentrate, so I’ll finish organizing and call you when we’re ready to depart.”
“Understood!”
I entrusted the management of the subjugation party to Rashid, who would report to the Vice Commander.
The Vice Commander was someone I could trust and rely on most right now.
He was the Great Shaman of the Sandclaw Tribe, and he proved to be far more skilled at command than I expected.
I heard he was quite elderly, but perhaps this was what seasoned experience looked like?
As I continued my research while alternating between rushing forward and resting.
[Alchemy successful.]
I had finally succeeded in alchemy.
My combination method was certainly a factor, but truthfully, it was thanks to the high-grade equipment used in my research and the production-type skills that boasted tremendous skill levels synchronized with All Master mastery.
[Judgment: Success]
[Low-Grade Mana Stone]
I had successfully created a low-grade mana stone by combining lowest-grade mana stones.
However, my expression upon actually succeeding in the research was far from pleased.
“The efficiency is terrible.”
I had used fifty lowest-grade mana stones to create a single low-grade mana stone.
This meant that if I used all the lowest-grade mana stones I possessed, I could create roughly forty low-grade mana stones.
If I continued this way, progressively creating higher-grade mana stones?
I had quite a few highest-grade mana stones, so I could produce a few special-grade mana stones, but…
‘Fifty highest-grade mana stones to make one special-grade? It would be far more efficient to simply detonate fifty highest-grade mana stones at once.’
The efficiency was unacceptable.
No matter how abundant mana stones were, a fifty-to-one ratio was meaningless.
‘Is this a failure?’
How disappointing.
I had worked so hard to research and discover this recipe.
I could continue researching to reduce the ratio slightly, but this wasn’t something that could be solved by merely reducing the ratio a little.
Just as I was thinking I’d have to give up,
“Ugh, what a waste. Even if they’re lowest-grade, mana stones must be quite expensive.”
I heard Rashid’s voice from beside me, who had been observing my research.
There was still time before the mounts fully recovered their stamina, so he had been watching my research.
“Mir, is there no way to recycle them? It seems such a waste to use them once and throw them away.”
“No. Mana stones don’t have magical power contained only within—the entire stone, including its shell, is a complete mana stone, so it disappears the moment it’s used.”
Rashid lacked knowledge about mana stones.
That made sense, since Rashid was a warrior, not a shaman.
And an apprentice warrior at that.
Yet from such a Rashid’s mouth,
“Ugh, such a waste. It would be nice if they could be reused like a water bottle.”
“…Like a water bottle?”
“Well, magical power flows through the atmosphere too, doesn’t it? I was thinking—if you can refill a water bottle after drinking it empty, couldn’t you refill mana stones and use them again?”
“…”
“Oh no, I’m sorry! I was being presumptuous without knowing anything!”
“No.”
An idea I had never considered came to me.
Until now, I had been trapped in the fixed notion that mana stones were one-time-use items and had never once entertained such a thought.
‘That’s… not bad.’
If I could somehow create the ‘framework’ of a special-grade mana stone using abundant lowest-grade mana stones,
couldn’t I continuously reuse the special-grade mana stone?
Along with that decision, countless ideas began to sparkle in my mind.
“Rashid, how much farther to the Great Pyramid?”
“We still have quite a distance to go. Since the sun has set, I think we should stop here for today and continue tomorrow?”
“Fine. Let’s make camp here for the night.”
“Really? Just a moment ago, you said we needed to arrive as quickly as possible and wanted to keep going.”
“No, let’s rest.”
“Yes! I’ll inform the Great Shaman! No, I mean the Vice Commander!”
“Go ahead.”
Evening had arrived at last.
Since desert nights stretched long, I was prepared to stay awake through the entire night if necessary.
– Using the skill ‘Alchemy’.
I would craft a reusable premium mana stone, just like the waterskin Rashid had mentioned.
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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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