The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 325
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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 325
Chapter 325
Compared to the Western Region, the hunting grounds in the Southern Region had lower-level monsters.
Moreover, all the dungeons around Kalbera Territory had already been discovered by me and other users.
So instead of searching for undiscovered dungeons that were far away and might not even exist,
[ You have entered the ‘Abyss Deep Prison’. ]
I decided to seek out the most challenging dungeon in this area.
This dungeon in particular had the advantage of being clearable consecutively without issue, and since it was located in the sea where other users had difficulty accessing, it was perfect for monopolizing.
The moment I entered the dungeon.
[ Activating Black Flame Transformation. ]
[ Borrowing the power of the ‘Black Flame Dragon, Luknir Desperato Ignockton’. ]
I activated Black Flame Transformation.
Whoosh!
[ Entering Black Flame Rampage state. ]
Upon entering the ‘Black Flame Rampage’ state,
“Kyaaaagh!”
I could truly go berserk.
The Abyss monsters, higher level than me, fell with a single slash, offering no resistance whatsoever.
My footsteps, so powerful they left marks on the ground, tore through the dungeon in an instant.
And when I arrived at the Boss Room,
“Come then, I shall devour you and escape this place!”
A boss monster called ‘Convict Korta’ awaited me.
The creature was completely wrapped in chains and shackles, which it wielded skillfully to attack me.
However, in my Black Flame Rampage state, those attacks seemed to move in slow motion.
– Activating skill ‘White Fish Swimming’.
I dodged its attacks effortlessly and rushed forward.
– Activating skill ‘Black Insect Flash’.
– Activating skill ‘Crimson Wild Blood Claw’.
– Activating skill ‘Azure Soul Demon Spirit’.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
The weakness I perceived through Luke’s eyes—
I drove my attacks into the gaps between the chains.
Each of my strikes was amplified by Black Flame Rampage, and thanks to that, it wasn’t long before
“This cannot beeee!”
Thud.
The creature fell pathetically, spouting a clichéd villain’s last words.
Whoosh.
At that moment, Black Flame Transformation was cancelled, and the flames extinguished from my body.
Checking my status, my health was already at critical levels.
Had I prolonged the battle even a few seconds longer, it would have been dangerous.
Of course, it wasn’t from taking a direct hit from that boss monster.
Rather, thanks to Black Flame Rampage’s overwhelming amplification effect, I was able to evade all of the monster’s attacks.
The reason my health had deteriorated to this extent was due to Black Flame Rampage’s side effects.
Even though I cleared the Dungeon as quickly as possible, seeing my health already at critical levels meant this wasn’t an ability I could use recklessly.
‘Still, I need to get accustomed to it.’
Fortunately, this Dungeon’s clear cycle overlapped almost perfectly with Black Flame Rampage’s duration.
So I planned to repeatedly clear this place while getting familiar with Black Flame Rampage.
Well, of course.
“Luke, let me know once your strength recovers.”
– Yes, Master.
Though Luke’s rank had recovered considerably, it would still take quite some time for Luke’s strength to fully recover after maintaining Black Flame Rampage at its limit.
Thus, I repeatedly cleared the Dungeon while acclimating Black Flame Rampage to my body.
Meanwhile, Kalbera Territory entered war preparations.
Production-type users crafted swords, potions, and combat rations.
Combat-type users halted their team activities, and all personnel gathered to practice ‘multi-person warfare’.
Time flowed on and on.
[ Your level has increased. ]
“That was close.”
[ Status Window ]
Name: Mir
Level+: 500
Class+: All Master
Fortunately, I reached exactly level 500.
“Shall we go?”
I was ready to face the day of war.
* * *
The day the war mobilization order was issued.
“Did we arrive too early?”
“Ay, we need to arrive early to get a good spot!”
“What’s the point of getting a good spot? The war isn’t even happening here—this is just the assembly point.”
“In a moment, all the famous users and guilds will gather here! When else would we get to see people like that?”
“Oh, that’s true! If we stay here, we might see Yul-ha too, right?”
“Of course! That’s why I even brought a telescope!”
“Hey, you should’ve told me beforehand! I didn’t bring one!”
“Hehe, I brought one for you too.”
“Oh, you!”
Users began gathering one by one at the Eastern Imperial Plains, which had been announced as the assembly location.
The levels of participating users were diverse.
While most were users above level 300, there were also low-level users who had just surpassed level 100.
Even if these users possessed combat-type classes, they hadn’t actually come here for combat.
Users who couldn’t participate in the actual warfare due to their low levels had come to fill support roles in the rear—supply personnel and the like.
Notably, there were quite a few production-class users who had arrived to serve as cooks, engineers, and similar roles.
Then, suddenly.
“Oh, I see them!”
“Where, where!”
“There—it’s the Taegeuk Guild!”
“Oh, it’s Tae-ryeon!”
At last, the truly major guilds began to make their appearance.
Numerous in strength, high in level, and bearing their guild emblems proudly emblazoned across their chests like true major guilds, they were unmistakable.
And so, beginning with Taegeuk.
“It’s the Parcheon Guild!”
“The pressure is incredible.”
“The Hwarang Guild!”
“Isn’t that Lee Hwa-jin next to them? I thought she got beaten and kicked out by Mir back then, but I guess not?”
“The Royal Guild!”
“Look at how their armor gleams. How much money did they spend on equipment? It’s so dazzling I can barely look at it.”
“The Legion!”
“How many people are there even…? They’re literally an army unto themselves.”
“They’re the guild with the most members in Korea!”
All five of Korea’s major guilds had arrived.
Truly, what could one call them but major guilds?
The atmosphere they carried was entirely different from the others.
The other guilds, sensing the presence of the major guilds, instinctively parted ranks all the way to the front lines to make way.
And so, all five major guilds had gathered, yet.
“The most important guild still hasn’t arrived.”
“The most important guild?”
“The Black Flame Guild!”
“Ah, right. Black Flame hasn’t come yet?”
The most important guild had not yet arrived.
The Black Flame Guild.
While there were those who held the Black Flame Guild in high regard, that assessment was limited to their potential alone.
The prevailing opinion was that they had not yet surpassed the major guilds in actual strength.
Yet why were the users waiting so eagerly for the Black Flame Guild?
Why did they hold the Black Flame Guild in such high esteem, even above the major guilds?
The reason was simple.
“Mir took command of the user forces, didn’t he? That means the Black Flame Guild is the commander’s direct unit. So the Black Flame Guild has no choice but to be the main force of this war!”
Because Mir had assumed the role of commander in this war.
So the Black Flame Guild, with Mir as its guild master, could only be the central force.
And moments later.
Like a protagonist making their final entrance, the Black Flame Guild, led by Mir, arrived at the assembly point precisely on time.
The guilds lined up in formation parted like the Red Sea, making way for the Heukryeom Guild.
Thanks to this, despite arriving last, the Heukryeom Guild was able to quickly reach the vanguard.
Now all that remained was for me, as commander, to lead everyone to the battlefield.
But then.
“Commander, are you finding the position burdensome? If it is, I, who lead the Hwarang Guild, could take on the commander’s role in your stead.”
Before we even departed, trouble erupted.
* * *
Following the summons, all guilds arrived at the designated location.
Now I only had to lead the users to the battlefield from the front.
“Commander, are you finding the position burdensome?”
Before departure.
The moment I arrived at the location, the Hwarang Guild Master approached me and bluntly uttered those words.
Something about how if I found it burdensome, he’d take on the commander role instead.
Well, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
‘From their perspective, the commander position would be irresistible.’
The commander is literally the protagonist of this war.
Simply by occupying such a position, one could naturally elevate the guild’s image.
Just look at our Heukryeom Guild—the surrounding perception has completely changed.
And that’s not all.
If I took the commander role, I could receive greater rewards when the war ended, and through that, they could simultaneously obtain the noble titles and territories they desired.
Still, I hadn’t expected them to challenge my position so quickly.
As I remained silent and simply observed, Lee Hwa-rang, the Hwarang Guild Master, smiled smoothly and continued.
“You became commander against your will through the Emperor’s unilateral choice, without consulting your users or truly understanding them.”
He naturally emphasized the fact that I hadn’t been chosen by the users.
“With insufficient gaming experience, suddenly taking on such an important position—it’s understandable if you find it burdensome.”
Then he mentioned my lacking gaming experience.
In truth, considering my gaming experience in First, a player from Second, which hasn’t even been out for three years, couldn’t possibly have more experience than me.
But Lee Hwa-rang wouldn’t know that I’m the user who cleared all of First.
“Isn’t the commander position an important one that could lead all of us to death? Fortunately, I have experience commanding guild members since the early days of the game, so if you wish, I could take on the commander role.”
His speech was long, but ultimately it meant: hand over the commander position to him.
By now, gathered around me were not only the five Major Guilds but also the guild masters of high-ranking guilds that held important roles in this war.
Whether they’d arranged it beforehand or agreed with Lee Hwa-rang’s words, they quietly nodded in agreement.
Of course, not everyone was like that.
“I acknowledge Mir as commander. You say experience is lacking? Does having more experience solve everything? Then shouldn’t the oldest person be the commander?”
“What do you mean, Tae-ryeon?”
“Doesn’t everyone know that the Hwarang Guild recently failed after recklessly challenging a high-level dungeon? Rather, Mir, who has succeeded in clearing numerous Evil Gods, seems to have far superior experience.”
“That dungeon was exceptionally rare in its anomalous nature….”
“Isn’t that just an excuse? Mir has hunted Evil Gods that are incomparably more anomalous than that.”
The Taegeuk Guild, which had recently cleared Evil Gods alongside me.
That Taegeuk Guild showed an atmosphere of acknowledging me.
I also pointed out the contradiction in the “game experience” that Lee Hwa-rang mentioned.
“I acknowledge that as well.”
Surprisingly, the Royal Guild also recognized my position.
The problem lay with the other two Major Guilds.
Those two guild masters were rejecting my position from an entirely different perspective than Lee Hwa-rang.
First, the Parcheon Guild.
“Shouldn’t the commander be the strongest person?”
They held the simple belief that the strongest should serve as commander.
Perhaps they were that confident in their own abilities.
In contrast, the Legion Guild.
“Among us, isn’t it only I who has experience commanding large armies? I believe I should be the one to take the position of commander!”
They emphasized their own command ability.
Indeed, the Legion Guild was famous in Korea as the guild with the most members.
As such, they were also renowned for successfully executing numerous large-scale raids while commanding vast forces.
So I acknowledged that their command ability rivaled my own.
In any case, looking at the atmosphere, this wouldn’t work as things stood.
If only the Major Guilds were acting this way, it would be fine, but even the guild masters of the upper-tier guilds were being swayed by their arguments.
Troublesome as it was, I needed to take control of this situation and move forward.
“When it comes to experience, there’s no one here who would be excluded for lacking it.”
The game experience Lee Hwa-rang mentioned?
A meaningless argument.
Even if I were excluded for insufficient game experience, what then?
All the guild masters here would be veterans who started the game the moment Second began.
It’s impossible to determine a commander based on game experience.
“Even with experience commanding large armies, at most you’ve commanded hundreds—no one here has commanded tens of thousands of users, have they?”
The Legion Guild’s argument was equally meaningless.
While the Legion Guild Master’s command ability seemed impressive, commanding hundreds and commanding tens of thousands were entirely different matters.
So what remained was one thing.
“Wouldn’t it be fairest for the strongest person to serve as commander?”
The Parcheon Guild’s position.
The logic of strength supremacy.
At my words.
“An interesting fellow.”
The Parcheon Guild Master smiled.
“…Hmm.”
Tae-ryeon, who had already sparred with me once, shook her head as if troubled.
“Hahaha! Quite bold!”
The Legion Guild Master burst into laughter.
“….”
The Royal Guild Master quietly bowed their head.
“…Surely you don’t actually believe you can defeat us right now?”
Lee Hwa-rang, the first to covet my position, twisted his expression into something crude and menacing.
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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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