The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 32
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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 32
Chapter 32
A special commission.
Having investigated the Hunter Guild in preparation for rapid leveling, I understood what this meant.
It was a commission that could only be received after accumulating achievements within the Hunter Guild, raising one’s rank, and proving one’s capabilities.
Precisely because such commissions were difficult to obtain, they were known to offer rewards incomparably greater than ordinary requests.
And yet.
“What do you think?”
The Guild Master was now presenting me with such a special commission.
Though this was the same man who had just been radiating killing intent toward me, I couldn’t afford to miss an opportunity like this.
Of course, before that.
“Would it be possible for me to examine the details of the commission first?”
I needed to know what the commission entailed.
Special commissions were typically high-level quests, so there was a chance this might be at an impossible difficulty level for me to attempt.
“Of course you can!”
Fortunately, the Guild Master readily handed me the commission form.
As I carefully read through the contents, the Guild Master continued with his explanation, independent of what was written.
“It’s a recently discovered Dungeon. The estimated rank is E+. We’re estimating it falls somewhere between E and D.”
“A Dungeon of that caliber…”
“Right. Normally, we’d assemble a proper investigation team to clarify information about the Dungeon before sending Hunters in earnest. That was the original plan.”
“Then why are you entrusting it to me?”
Based on the Guild Master’s explanation and the commission form’s contents.
This was a solo commission.
The timeframe was this week.
All I had to do was gather information about the Dungeon and defeat its monsters.
In truth, there were no particularly difficult conditions—it was simply an extraordinarily generous commission that offered rewards proportional to what I cleared.
“I’m curious.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m simply curious to see how quickly someone like you grows, and how far you’ll go.”
Curious, he said.
The Guild Master’s expression seemed far too human.
How could I possibly view such a person as an artificial intelligence NPC?
Perhaps this was precisely why people across the world were becoming captivated by Second.
Meeting his gaze, I nodded and spoke.
“When I return, I’ll take the promotion exam immediately.”
“Ha, I look forward to it!”
* * *
The Guilds that existed in Second weren’t limited to combat-oriented ones.
Some were composed entirely of chefs, others of alchemists.
And then there were Guilds that brought together various professions.
In truth, when you considered the etymology of the word “Guild,” this was the more authentic representation of what a Guild should be.
After all, the term “Guild” itself originated from medieval associations of craftsmen and merchants.
Among such Guilds, one of the most renowned establishments was.
Clang, clang, claaaang—!
The incessant ring of metal echoing through this place.
Han-Chul, Korea’s most massive blacksmith Guild.
True to Han-Chul’s nature, everyone was busily wielding their hammers, but a problem had recently emerged.
“What about the Moonstone?”
“Well, Moonstone is such a rare ore that our supply is critically low. For now, we’re substituting with Mithril.”
“Find some anyway! Don’t you know the most popular hunting ground right now is Shadow Valley?”
Shadow Valley.
Just as the man said, it was the hottest hunting ground of late.
The experience gained from defeating monsters there was substantial, and the materials they dropped held considerable value.
So skilled players were flocking to Shadow Valley in droves.
The problem lay in the weaknesses of the monsters that spawned there.
“I know that. That’s why we’re using Strong Silver for mass production and making the premium versions with Mithril.”
Compared to other monsters, the weaknesses of Shadow Valley’s creatures were unusually demanding.
Fundamentally, they took damage from silver weapons, and greater damage from Mithril.
But even that only dealt slightly more damage than ordinary weapons.
To inflict proper damage, you needed to use Moonstone, one of the rare ores.
“I’m telling you to get Moonstone, not that!”
“How can I get it when there is none! I’m saying there’s no stock available!”
Moonstone was among the rarest of rare ores.
In other words, supply was virtually nonexistent.
Yet demand continued to surge, so the price of the meager Moonstone available had skyrocketed several times over.
“Find it somehow! Profit aside, we need to produce at least a few pieces to maintain our Guild’s standing!”
“But how can I get something that doesn’t exist!”
They needed to secure Moonstone for their VIP clients.
No matter how hard they searched, there was no way to obtain it.
After all, Moonstone was an ultra-rare ore whose acquisition method remained unknown.
And yet.
In the midst of this crisis.
“It’s, it’s up!”
Moonstone had appeared on the auction house.
I frantically clicked to check the details, and not only was the condition excellent, but the size was substantial.
With a piece this large, I could craft not just one piece of equipment, but several.
Upon reporting this discovery.
“Buy it at any cost!”
“But shouldn’t we set an upper limit on the price….”
“I told you! Even if we take a loss, the mere fact that we’ve created Moonstone equipment will maintain our Guild’s prestige! We have to buy it!”
“Yes!”
As expected.
Instructions came down to acquire Moonstones by any means necessary.
However.
“The competition is too fierce?”
The price of Moonstones was climbing steadily in real time.
The blacksmith guilds following Han-Chul’s lead had also thrown themselves into the auction to secure Moonstones.
As prices continued to rise.
“Is this even right…?”
The Moonstone’s price had long since exceeded the ‘market rate’.
No, surpassing the market rate was understandable enough.
Everyone knew that as Moonstones became rarer, prices climbed beyond what any market index could record.
The problem was.
“They did say to accept losses….”
The Moonstone’s price had already crossed the break-even point.
At this price, even crafting and selling Moonstone equipment would result in a net loss.
And yet, I could still understand it.
Just as I’d heard from Han-Chul’s master, what mattered now wasn’t profit—it was that Han-Chul, Korea’s number-one blacksmith guild, had created Moonstone equipment.
And we needed to sell that equipment to our VIP clients and keep them loyal to us.
But then.
“Have these people lost their minds! Why are they doing this!”
The auction continued relentlessly.
The others surely knew they’d crossed the break-even point too.
Yet the bidding persisted for one reason alone.
‘To check our guild’s dominance!’
The second and third-ranked blacksmith guilds were desperately trying to acquire Moonstones to counter Han-Chul’s position.
Break-even or not, their aim was clear—to craft Moonstone equipment and advertise: “Moonstone weapons that even Han-Chul doesn’t have? We’ve got them right here!”
If that happened, Han-Chul’s already precarious position as the number-one guild could crumble.
And so.
“Argh, forget it!”
I had no choice but to keep bidding.
[ SOLD ]
“Ugh….”
Whether by fortune or misfortune.
Han-Chul had successfully won the Moonstone.
* * *
At that very moment.
I had completely forgotten about the items I’d listed on the auction.
“Should I start preparing?”
I was taking time to regroup before the special commission.
To avoid drawing attention while conversing with Luke in the middle of the street and rummaging through my belongings, I first entered an Inn and secured a room.
After ordering an ample spread of food to maintain my satiety and finishing the meal with Luke,
I climbed to the upper floor, entered my room, and began earnest preparations for the hunt.
Ah, of course.
Before that.
Crunch, crunch-crunch.
“Does it taste good?”
– This flavor. I remember it distinctly.
– Dark Wyvern. Surely the same Dark Wyvern that Master defeated… yet this concentrated taste! The seasoning is perfect!
– I never knew human cuisine could be this delicious.
– I find myself marveling again and again.
I also made sure not to forget feeding Luke the wyvern jerky I’d received from the Guild Master.
While other dishes might not have impressed me, jerky is simply dried, seasoned meat—yet I hadn’t expected him to savor it so intensely.
Luke devoured the wyvern jerky with the fervor of someone consuming the finest delicacies.
“Once you’re finished, let’s begin.”
– Thank you, Master.
Having surpassed level 30 and facing a special commission ahead, the preparations I could make were limited.
The first of these was.
“Could you pull out the skill books? Something suited to my level.”
– Understood.
Skill acquisition.
To learn proper skills, one typically needed to exceed level 50 or 100, so the skills available to me now weren’t particularly impactful.
However, that didn’t mean the skills I was about to learn were unimportant.
In fact, they could be considered the most crucial skills of all.
The reason being that the skill books available beyond level 30 were precisely.
[ Poison Resistance Skill Book ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form : Skill Book
Grade : Rare
Requirement : Level 30 or higher
Description : A skill book allowing you to acquire the ‘Poison Resistance’ skill, which grants minimal poison immunity.
Resistance-related abilities.
Just moments ago, hadn’t I been suppressed by the Guild Master’s killing intent?
As I fought monsters ahead, all manner of status ailment attacks would come flying my way.
By acquiring these resistance skills in advance, combat would become easier immediately, and skill growth would accelerate.
Thus, I used every resistance skill book I currently possessed.
– You have acquired the ‘Poison Resistance Lv 1’ skill by using the ‘Poison Resistance Skill Book’.
– You have acquired the ‘Paralysis Resistance Lv 1’ skill by using the ‘Paralysis Resistance Skill Book’.
– You have acquired the ‘Bleeding Resistance Lv 1’ skill by using the ‘Bleeding Resistance Skill Book’.
– You have acquired the ‘Fear Resistance Lv 1’ skill by using the ‘Fear Resistance Skill Book’.
….
Done.
I’ve now mastered all the resistance skills.
The skill levels are low, so they won’t provide much immediate benefit, but I can steadily raise them as I level up, just as I did with the ones I obtained early on.
According to what the Guild Master told me, some of the monsters appearing at this special commission’s destination use status ailment attacks, so I felt considerably more reassured.
Moreover, my preparations weren’t finished there.
“Next, the elixirs.”
– Yes, Master.
Since I’ve leveled up, it’s now time to consume elixirs.
Of course, there weren’t many elixirs suited for level 30.
Only three.
Well, for ordinary players, it’s not uncommon to never taste an elixir while playing the game, so even this would be remarkable enough.
But for me, with hundreds and thousands of elixirs stacked in my warehouse, it was disappointing that these were the only ones I could consume right now.
And, this time as well, to maximize the elixirs’ effectiveness.
“Take out the kit too.”
I prepared alchemy.
However, there was one difference from before.
– Activating skill ‘Alchemy’.
Unlike the past when I refined elixirs through experience alone without the skill’s aid.
Now I could properly use alchemy through the skill I learned from the skill book.
After all, I was someone who could pull off ‘Critical Success’ judgments even without the alchemy skill’s help for lower-tier elixirs.
[ Alchemy has succeeded. ]
[ Judgment: Critical Success ]
[ Purification’s Clear Water ]
Form: Potion
Grade: Unique
Restriction: Level 30 or higher
Description: A supreme-grade elixir potion crafted by refining holy water of light with elf’s tears and purification salt, granting various resistance increases.
I succeeded in alchemy without any particular issues.
After refreshingly downing the successfully crafted elixir potion.
[ ‘Purification’s Clear Water’ has been consumed. ]
[ Maximum Health increases. ]
[ Poison Resistance increases. ]
[ Paralysis Resistance increases. ]
….
Various resistance increases appeared as System Messages.
With this, my basic preparations were complete.
I then unfolded the map I’d purchased at the market to familiarize myself with the route.
“Let’s see… this is the place, right?”
The destination of this special commission.
I confirmed the location of the Ash Ossuary.
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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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