The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 428

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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 428
Chapter 428
The Stone Dragon, Keltrok.
Though its wings had atrophied, Keltrok was unmistakably a monster bearing the form of a dragon.
– Wait, is that an actual dragon?
– Insane, we haven’t seen a proper dragon in Second yet?
– Yeah, seems like the first time
– Dragons really are magnificent
That rock dragon is crazy/insane.
– Isn’t a dragon-level monster incredibly high? Even with 100 rankers, is it actually clearable?
Come on. If it was possible, I would’ve brought it.
The users’ reactions were equally intense.
Indeed, unlike in First, dragon-type monsters had been conspicuously absent in Second.
The appearance of such a rare monster was bound to shock everyone.
Though it wouldn’t have been different even in First.
Most dragons were known as ‘max-level’ monsters—the highest tier creatures.
In that sense, from my perspective, this stone dragon was.
‘A lesser dragon.’
Not a true dragon.
A lesser dragon.
In other words, a monster of the inferior draconic lineage—drakes, wyverns, and the like.
Of course, among the lesser breeds, this one seemed to possess an especially concentrated draconic essence.
But we don’t classify monkeys as human simply because they resemble us, do we?
This stone dragon was precisely that sort of monster.
Well, setting that aside.
“Damn it, a dragon.”
“Never saw this coming.”
“We’ve only been strategizing for the survival phase.”
“What do we do about the team? We already finished negotiations with the Scorpion Guild….”
“What do you mean what do we do—it’s over. From now on, it’s pure individual competition. How perfectly each of us can draw out our own strength and secure a high contribution rate in the raid. That’s what matters.”
The hundred competitors couldn’t hide their bewilderment.
Of course they were confused—they’d all been formulating plans specifically for the survival phase.
As for me.
“Mir.”
I had shared strategy with Yul-ha in preparation for the survival phase.
“This works out well.”
Neither Yul-ha nor I were flustered in the slightest.
If anything, we felt even better.
Yul-ha and I.
We were both users who had conquered countless monsters and dungeons through solo play since First.
I was confident in raiding boss monsters more than anyone else.
Moreover, I had recently honed my skills in hunting boss monsters through consecutive Dungeon raids.
Wasn’t Yul-ha also busy clearing Dungeons in the Eastern Region?
To reiterate, boss monster raids were practically our specialty.
“Damn it, a raid battle of all things.”
“Mir participated? A raid battle? Was this intentional?”
“We were planning to take down the Heukryeom Guild first after winning the team event.”
“Shh, keep it down.”
“This is troublesome. It’s not about levels—if Mir participates, he might have an advantage over anyone else in this competition.”
As time passed, all eyes began to turn toward me.
In a way, it was inevitable.
Recently, I had defeated the Evil God, a formidable enemy of the main scenario.
The Purple Mechanical God fell by my hand.
Since I had raided the Evil God alongside the Major Guilds and numerous rankers, many of those present had fought the Evil God with me.
Because of that, they had no choice but to view me as a threat to be cautious of.
Regardless.
– Alright! We’re finally beginning!
– The Second World Championship! South Korea National Representative Selection Tournament! Starting now!!
With the announcer’s thunderous cry.
Whoosh!
All one hundred rankers, including myself, were engulfed in brilliant light.
After experiencing the characteristic faint dizziness of a teleportation skill.
What appeared in my vision as the light faded was the Stone Territory that had been shown in the hologram.
And one more thing.
“Grrrrr….”
The Stone Dragon, Keltrok.
It was right there.
“Ah.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“This is insane!”
“Are you out of your minds!”
“This isn’t right!”
We had been summoned directly in front of it.
Not figuratively—we were literally summoned right before the creature’s snout.
Naturally, the Stone Dragon’s expression turned fierce the moment it saw us, and it snorted violently.
Before we could even flee, it raised one of its thick claws high into the air.
Boom!
And brought it crashing down onto the ground.
While no one took the brunt of that slow attack, the real problem came next.
Rumble!
Where the Stone Dragon’s claws struck the ground, sharp stone spikes erupted outward in a circular pattern.
That alone would have been sufficiently threatening.
But the Stone Dragon didn’t stop there.
Pressing its claws down with greater force, another ring of stone spikes burst forth around the first, and when it pressed again, yet another volley erupted.
An attack of staggering range.
Because of this, two users who hadn’t regained their bearings immediately after being summoned were caught in the barrage of spikes.
One of them, possessing decent physical defense, managed to endure, but the one who appeared to be a Sage was instantly eliminated in that single strike, dropping out of the preliminary round.
“This is ridiculous, seriously!”
“First, let’s stay calm and establish our raid formation!”
“As you just witnessed, this is no ordinary monster! We need to pool our strength now! Since you’re all rankers, I’m sure you’re all familiar with raid formations!”
“Let’s start with the standard large-scale raid formation!”
Still, they were rankers, after all.
No, not just rankers.
This place was filled with guild masters and expedition leaders from renowned guilds, including the Major Guilds.
As such, they sought to exercise their usual leadership and command a hundred rankers.
Of course, they had other thoughts as well.
Whether they succeeded or failed here, if they demonstrated exceptional leadership and successfully conquered the Stone Dragon?
They might receive recruitment offers from the Major Guilds, recognizing their superior command abilities, or even become renowned influencers.
Such were their thoughts.
But.
Whoosh!
“Wait, hold on!”
Their hopes were dashed.
From the very start, someone charged toward the Stone Dragon.
Her identity was none other than.
“Kyahahaha! A dragon, you say? This should be fun! Dragon hunting!”
“I’ll follow you!”
“Do as you like, just don’t grab my ankles!”
“Understood!”
The guild master of Parcheon Guild.
It was Jeok-hwa.
Moreover, her fellow Parcheon Guild members rushed after her as well.
“Damn it! But that’s fine! We anticipated that Jeok-hwa would act independently!”
“Even among ourselves…!”
Well, Jeok-hwa had always been the type to act on impulse anyway.
Most knew that Parcheon Guild operated in such a manner, so there was no real problem up to this point.
The real problem came next.
“Yul-ha.”
“Yes, I’m ready!”
Whoosh!
Yul-ha and I charged toward the Stone Dragon as well.
Following in our wake.
“Flash Step.”
The Guild Master of Taegeuk Guild.
Tae-ryeon’s figure vanished.
“Indeed, I see.”
The Guild Master of Royal Guild also rushed toward the Stone Dragon.
And so.
“Kahahaha! You cowards stay in the back and plot your strategies! We’ll break through the preliminaries!”
The other competitors began following us and charging forward as well.
Everyone had realized it.
Forming a raid formation was certainly an efficient method, but this competition wasn’t simply about pooling everyone’s strength to hunt the boss monster.
How much damage you dealt to the boss monster.
How much of the boss monster’s attacks you withstood.
Those metrics determined your contribution score.
And there was no position for a commander in that scoring.
No matter how well you commanded, you earned no contribution points, and following commands perfectly didn’t grant you additional points either.
So to place in the top five of the preliminaries, it was most advantageous to focus on maximizing individual ability rather than following commands.
“I don’t care anymore!”
“What if we fail the raid itself!”
“If we fail, the match will restart or something! That’s even better!”
“Damn it!”
Ultimately, most competitors abandoned formation and began charging recklessly at the Stone Dragon.
Only a handful who shared the same mind grasped hands, determined to pass together and create synergy.
“Kyahahaha!”
In any case.
The one currently approaching the Stone Dragon fastest was Jeok-hwa.
She freely utilized the movement skill of her hidden class, the Celestial Demon, as she charged toward the Stone Dragon.
But I couldn’t let her steal the first attack.
[ Nereid’s Bow ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form: Bow
Grade: Mythic
– Activates the skill ‘Silver Bird Soul Chase’.
– Activates the unique skill of ‘Nereid’s Bow’, ‘Herald God’s Amusement’.
I drew the mythic-grade bow and fired it at the Stone Dragon.
A young dragon surrounded by scales made of stone, true to its name, the Stone Dragon.
From my experience, such a creature’s weakness attribute was almost certainly water.
And indeed.
Splash!
The moment my arrow pierced precisely between the scales of the Stone Dragon.
Through the bow’s unique ability, water-attribute energy burst forth from the arrow.
I could see the Stone Dragon’s scales becoming damp and saturated.
That alone was enough to be certain.
My water arrow had diminished the Stone Dragon’s defense.
The proof came from.
“Kyahahaha!”
The Guild Master of Parcheon Guild.
Jeok-hwa.
The moment she saw my arrow, she rushed in the same direction, and toward the scales now wet and saturated from water.
Boom!
The mythic-grade gauntlet I had crafted.
Or rather, a weapon that looked more like chains wrapped around the fists.
She swung her fist wrapped with the Purple Mechanical God’s Wrath.
“Grooooooo!”
The water-soaked scales cave inward.
The Stone Dragon, struck by the impact, screams and regains its stance.
Then, among the other players capable of ranged attacks, they attempted to strike the Stone Dragon as well.
Ping!
“Damn it! How can it be this hard!”
Unlike Jeok-hwa’s attack.
Their attacks were blocked by the Stone Dragon’s overwhelming defense and proved ineffective.
As I had predicted, it was proven that water was the Stone Dragon’s elemental weakness.
The moment I was certain of this, I prepared my next attack while charging toward the Stone Dragon.
[ Cloak of Turbulent Currents ]
[ Gauntlets of Turbulent Currents ]
….
[ You have equipped all 5/5 pieces of the ‘Turbulent Currents’ set. ]
[ The set effect of ‘Turbulent Currents’ activates. ]
[ Turbulent Currents : The power of water-attribute magic increases dramatically. In exchange, the power of other attribute magic decreases dramatically. ]
First, I switched through Luke to the ‘water-attribute set’.
[ Staff of the Deep Sea Maelstrom ]
( Non-tradeable )
Form : Staff
Grade : Legendary
Holding the legendary-grade water-attribute staff and pointing it at the Stone Dragon.
– I use 7th Circle water magic ‘Sea Blaster’.
I cast the spell.
The raging torrent enhanced several times over through the water-attribute set and water-attribute staff, surging forth.
However, just as that torrent was bursting out.
“Heavenly Thunder and Wind Rain.”
The Guild Master of Taegeuk Guild.
Tae-ryeon swung her fan.
What emerged from the fan was an orb of thunder and rain.
That orb nestled itself within the torrent of water I had unleashed.
Rumble!
It merged with the torrent I had expelled.
The aqueous essence of the torrent grew far more potent, and brilliant golden lightning wrapped around it.
Thanks to that, my Sea Blast, now several times more powerful than before.
Crashed down with a deafening roar!!
It struck the Stone Dragon with devastating force.
Then.
“Roooaaarrr-!!!”
The Stone Dragon’s body, which had been enduring attacks from other users while preparing a counterattack, was sent flying backward.
But that wasn’t all.
Its scales of stone were torn away, and the flesh beneath began to be crushed by the torrent.
And, as if to prove that everyone gathered here was a ‘Ranker’.
None of the players missed this opportunity.
“Now’s the moment!”
“Water is its weakness!”
“Attack the wet areas!”
“Weakness? Just pummel it! Kahahaha!”
“Kyahahaha! Go ahead and struggle more!”
A barrage of attacks from the Rankers.
Under their onslaught, the Stone Dragon could not exert its full power and began to be overwhelmed.

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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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