The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 305

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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 305
Chapter 305
Above the bottomless Abyss where no ground could be seen.
The moment a sand bridge connecting the Great Desert and the Great Pyramid materialized.
“I cannot maintain it for long! We must move immediately!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Everyone, snap to attention! We’re moving!”
“Hyah!”
I immediately led the warriors across it at full gallop.
Thanks to the Eternal Crystal, I could construct a wide bridge, but the distance to the Great Pyramid was considerable.
Reaching that far end would be perilously tight, even borrowing the power of a supreme-grade mana stone.
So I had to reach that end as quickly as possible before the Eternal Crystal’s power was exhausted.
“Ahhhhh! Mir, is this safe? It won’t collapse, right?”
“If you keep making noise like that, you’ll break my concentration and it might actually collapse.”
“Gulp!”
I wasn’t worried myself since it was magic I was wielding.
But seeing Rashid, who trusted me absolutely, let out such a sound showed just how terrifying this must be for him.
The other warriors felt the same way.
It was fortunate that I had built trust by dispersing the mirage at dawn.
Without that, the warriors might not have followed me, questioning how they could possibly trust me.
Whoooosh—
As we advanced toward the Great Pyramid, my mana consumption increased.
It was only natural.
I had chosen ‘Sand Bridge’ to reduce mana consumption by utilizing the desert terrain.
But the farther we got from the desert, the harder it became to draw the desert’s sand.
‘Still, the Eternal Crystal has plenty of reserves.’
If I had needed to consume a supreme-grade mana stone directly, I would have found another method.
A supreme-grade mana stone was far too precious an item to use merely for crossing a bridge.
All of this was possible because I had modified the supreme-grade mana stone into the ‘Eternal Crystal’ that could be reused.
As I continued galloping.
“Remarkable! Such a flawless bridge!”
“Could you possibly be the ‘Grand Sage’ rumored to exist in the Empire?”
“Impossible! Even if we are frogs in a well, has the Empire’s level already risen to such heights?”
“That’s unlikely. Our tribe dwells at the desert’s edge and occasionally sees outsiders, but even the Empire doesn’t differ from us to this degree.”
“Then it’s not that the Empire is exceptional, but rather that Mir is simply outstanding.”
“The Sandclaw Tribe speaks true. Mir must surely be an Apostle of the Desert Trinity.”
“Shh. Keep your voice down. The identity of an Apostle must not be revealed.”
“Of course!”
“No wonder he speaks so little. That must be the reason.”
The warriors.
In particular, the shamans grew visibly agitated, their whispered voices rising in a murmur.
Indeed, sustaining a bridge of this magnitude was no trivial feat.
Even Raymond Mistborn, the Knight Commander of Blue Moon who had driven a whirlwind into the Blue Spirit God itself, would have found this impossible.
Regardless of magical prowess, the mana consumption here was staggering.
In other words, it spoke volumes about the superior mana capacity of this Eternal Crystal.
‘I’ve depleted it entirely.’
Even with such an Eternal Crystal, I couldn’t sustain the full mana expenditure.
I had to extract several new Eternal Crystals afterward.
Still, I harbored no concern about running short on mana.
I had converted all my premium magic stones into Eternal Crystals, and now, having surpassed the halfway point, the location of the Great Pyramid was drawing near.
‘The Great Pyramid….’
When viewed from the desert, it had seemed so distant that I couldn’t gauge the pyramid’s true scale.
Now I understood why it was called the ‘Great Pyramid’ in the first place.
Its sheer magnitude was breathtaking.
The pyramid’s footprint rivaled that of a city like the Alliance itself, and its apex rose as though piercing the very heavens.
During my time in First, I had conquered several pyramid-shaped dungeons, but never one of this scale.
As I stood marveling at the sight.
‘It’s moving.’
Merged with Luke’s draconic eyes and their exceptional vision.
And with the ‘Hawk’s Eye’ skill activated, my enhanced sight caught something.
Something moving before that colossal pyramid.
As the distance closed, its identity became unmistakably clear to my eyes.
‘Sphinx.’
The guardian of the pyramid—Sphinx.
A monster with a lion’s body and a human head.
Given the legend of Sphinx’s riddles, it was an exceptionally formidable creature.
Especially this one.
‘Far larger and more refined.’
It was no ordinary Sphinx.
Matching the pyramid’s scale, it dwarfed any Sphinx I had encountered in First.
The Sphinx stirred, rising to its feet and lifting its head.
Despite the vast distance between us, the moment our gazes met, I felt it acutely.
“ROOOAAARRRRR!”
The Sphinx roared and rose fully.
Though it bore a human head, its roar echoed the leonine fury of its body.
After its initial roar subsided, the Sphinx.
“How dare you attempt to cross the Abyss by illicit means, without undergoing the Abyss’s trial!”
began charging toward us.
Though I say toward us, the Sphinx too could not cross the Abyss.
Instead, it drew as close as possible from atop a small desert terrain floating around the Great Pyramid, then seized an enormous boulder that appeared to be fashioned from the pyramid’s own material.
‘The Abyss Trial?’
From what I gathered, it seemed one had to undergo something called the Abyss Trial to cross this Abyss.
Well, what I’m using now is a kind of shortcut, after all.
A Quest was given, so there’s no way there wouldn’t be a method to reach the Pyramid.
Probably the original way was to search around the sinking Abyss, find something called the ‘Abyss Trial’, overcome it, and then enter the Pyramid.
‘But even if I had received the Abyss Trial, Sphinx would have attacked us the same way.’
Sphinx is the guardian of the Pyramid.
There’s no way she would have let us through just because we overcame a trial.
While I was thinking this, Sphinx—
“As the guardian of the Pyramid, I shall not forgive you!”
—cried out and hurled stone blocks at us.
Massive stone blocks flying at tremendous speed.
Though it was a simple throw without a trace of magical power, the sheer size, weight, and incredible velocity of the stones made them appear more formidable than ordinary magic.
‘This is troublesome.’
Normally, I would have drawn a shield from subspace or used magic to block the attack.
But right now, it’s difficult.
I’m concentrating on maintaining the Sand Bridge, so I don’t have the leeway to defend against that attack.
If I drew a shield or cast a new spell, the Sand Bridge would collapse.
As I was troubled by this—
“Apostle! No, Mir! We shall block the attack!”
“Please focus on the bridge, Mir!”
The shamans following closely behind me spoke thus and simultaneously drew their totems.
“Great Desert! Become a wall and protect us!”
“Fierce wind, be my shield!”
“Let the sun’s light form a sanctuary!”
Incantations rang out in succession.
Sand particles gathered to form a wall.
Wind blew forth and pushed back the stone blocks.
The heat of sunlight weakened the stones.
As a result—
Crash!
The shamans’ defensive incantations completely blocked the stones.
However, this was only the beginning.
“If you wish to challenge the Pyramid, undergo the Abyss Trial properly! Otherwise, I shall never forgive you!”
Sphinx continued hurling stone blocks from her surroundings.
Seeing stones materialize each time Sphinx thrust her hand into the sand below, it seemed futile to hope she would run out and be unable to attack.
Crash, crash, boom!!
“Ugh!”
“Hold the line!”
“We must endure!”
“Warriors, prepare for battle! The moment we cross the bridge, we engage Sphinx!”
“Understood!”
The shamans continued deflecting the stone projectiles Sphinx hurled at us.
The warriors drew their weapons, ready to strike the moment they crossed the bridge.
The mounts, sensing the impending combat, tensed and accelerated their pace.
Thanks to their readiness, I could focus entirely on maintaining the Sand Bridge spell.
The shamans’ prowess exceeded my expectations—deflecting the incoming stones proved effortless.
The problem was.
“The bridge is fully connected!”
“Warriors, charge!”
The moment the Sand Bridge finally connected to the land where the Pyramid stood.
“As the guardian of the Pyramid, do you truly believe I would allow those who bypass the trials through such trickery to enter so easily!”
Sphinx stood before the bridge like a gatekeeper, waiting to strike us down.
Yet what surfaced in my mind was not fear.
The cold clarity I had cultivated since First.
Observing with a mind cooled by reason.
‘It’s not crossing the bridge?’
I could discern several facts from Sphinx’s behavior.
‘Even as Sphinx, it cannot defy the Abyss?’
Even as the Pyramid’s guardian, once Sphinx fell into the Abyss, there seemed to be no way to climb back out.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for it not to cross the bridge and attack us now that it was complete.
In other words.
‘Falling damage is possible?’
If Sphinx fell into the Abyss, it would likely perish.
Fall damage.
The more realistic a game, the better its fall system is implemented.
Since First was an intensely reality-oriented game and the pinnacle of virtual reality gaming, its fall mechanics were properly implemented as well.
During my time in First, I had frequently exploited fall damage based on terrain.
‘A proper fight would consume enormous stamina. I don’t want to waste the mythic-grade item I’ve only recently regained the ability to use here.’
Sphinx.
And this one appeared far larger and more formidable than any Sphinx I had faced in First.
While I knew the strategy to defeat it, a direct confrontation would be time-consuming and costly.
So I decided to employ an unconventional approach.
“I’m changing the plan!”
“Sir?”
“Rather than attacking Sphinx, our priority is to slip past it!”
“But…”
“Can you shamans immobilize Sphinx’s movements so we can all escape?”
“Ahem! Understood!”
“We shall do so!”
As we were nearly crossing the bridge.
Toward Sphinx, who had raised her thick claws high to attack us.
“O sand, become chains and seize the legs of this treacherous creature!”
“Invisible snare, shackles of the air!”
“Let the radiant beams of sunlight pierce through shadow!”
The sorcerers’ incantations took effect, and Sphinx’s movements froze.
“How dare these wretches!”
Even as her mouth remained bound, Sphinx was seething with rage.
Taking advantage of that moment, I led all the warriors of the Expedition Party in swiftly slipping beneath Sphinx.
However, the sorcerers’ bindings did not hold for long.
Though all of them were among the Desert’s greatest sorcerers, our opponent was likewise one of the Desert’s mightiest monsters.
“ROOOAAARRR!”
Sphinx roared and shattered every binding incantation.
The fortunate thing was that all of us in the Expedition Party, myself included, had managed to slip behind Sphinx.
Now came the real test.
Time to conquer Sphinx.
Of course, not through orthodox means, but through a shortcut.
[ Eternal Crystal ]
I had just drawn it out moments before.
Holding the Eternal Crystal aloft—the one that still had mana remaining after using the Sand Bridge—I cast a new spell.
– Activating 3rd Circle Earth Magic ‘Sand Wave’.
Sand Wave, an application spell of the 3rd Circle.
With it, a wave of sand began to crash down upon Sphinx.

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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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