The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 44

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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 44
Chapter 44
Musca, apostle of the Black Worm God.
This creature was the first truly unknown monster I’d encountered in Second.
I knew nothing of its attack patterns, nor its weaknesses.
And the level disparity was absolutely staggering.
Given all that.
[ Giant Bone Shield ]
I drew forth my shield and began deflecting Musca’s assault.
Clang!
The opening salvo was identical to the spine-thrust pattern I’d faced at the Entrance.
The force was considerable, but I’d already adapted to this pattern there—I angled my shield to let the spines slide harmlessly past.
Screech!
“Grrgh! How dare you…!”
I was even able to sever the side of the deflected spine.
When the spine-thrust pattern proved ineffective, the creature shifted to a new assault.
Whirrrrring!
“See? It’s just a fly after all.”
It thrashed its wings frantically, unleashing shockwaves.
The attack seemed designed to rupture eardrums and induce confusion, but.
[ You resist the status ailment ‘Confusion’. ]
Between my armor set, my elevated Wisdom stat, and the vitality elixirs I’d consumed, my status ailment resistance far exceeded that of players at my level.
Most status ailment attacks were useless against me.
‘Confusion-type wing attack. Preparation time roughly 0.5 seconds, duration 3 seconds. There’s a slight knockback effect too.’
The next attack was a charge.
Wings beating rapidly, it lifted slightly into the air, raised its spine-like front legs, and rushed toward me at tremendous speed.
Crash!
The shield’s durability dropped by more than half, but I managed to angle it instantly and deflect the blow.
‘Charge attack. Preparation time roughly 0.3 seconds. Speed is barely trackable by eye.’
I continued blocking Musca’s relentless assaults while cataloging each attack pattern.
“That’s right, all you can do is defend! Curl up like a dung beetle! I’ll pulverize your entire body piece by piece!”
Since I was only defending, the creature grew excited and pressed its assault.
It repeated its front-leg thrusts, followed by another confusion attack.
When I created distance, it charged, and even deployed a swarm-summon ability.
Crack.
When my shield finally shattered.
[ Tempered Steel Shield ]
I simply drew another.
Musca continued its assault with apparent delight.
Though I was deflecting nearly every attack with my shield, a shield alone couldn’t eliminate all damage entirely.
Like rain-soaked fabric, my stamina drained away bit by bit.
Then it happened.
Crack!
The shield I’d been holding shattered once more.
My stamina had dropped considerably as well.
Seeing this, Musca’s eyes gleamed with triumph.
“Now I shall end this! I’ll cast you into the Altar to serve as nourishment for the Black Worm God’s hatching!”
Confident in victory, he raised his razor-sharp spines and dove toward me.
A charging thrust.
I’d already completed my analysis of this attack pattern—its preparation time, speed, distance, and trajectory.
Whoosh.
The strategy was simple.
I stepped back to the side and lowered my stance.
Then I gripped my longsword with maximum force and tilted the blade diagonally upward.
By doing this, I not only narrowly evaded Musca’s charging attack range.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
I made it so Musca flew directly into the tip of my blade, attacking himself.
* * *
“Ugh!”
Musca was bewildered.
What had just happened?
He’d clearly sensed the intruder’s stamina depleting, and he’d spread his wings to finish them off.
Yet instead of finishing the intruder.
‘Did I… get hit?’
A long sword wound had appeared across Musca’s flank.
When had he struck?
And how had the intruder evaded his attack?
None of it made sense.
‘It must have been luck.’
He denied what he’d witnessed.
The intruder had fortunately dodged his final attack and, by chance, driven his blade forward.
It was an extremely slim probability, but not impossible.
With that thought, Musca unleashed a new finishing move.
“This time, I shall truly end you!”
From Musca’s form, sharp legs reminiscent of a centipede—utterly unlike a fly’s forelegs—unfurled.
These limbs stretched forth toward the intruder, transcending physical distance itself.
Since the intruder had even released his shield, Musca was certain this would finish it.
Whoosh!
Yet the intruder evaded Musca’s attack with remarkable ease.
By merely tilting my head.
By shifting half a step to the side.
Even by retreating a single step backward, I positioned myself with precision at the exact maximum distance Musca’s legs could reach.
Immediately after.
A sharp slash.
“Krraaaagh!”
The intruder swung his blade and severed Musca’s leg.
But that couldn’t be.
Denying the intruder’s attack, I lashed out with my legs even faster, yet the result remained unchanged.
Slash, slash-slash!
A wet thud.
The intruder evaded every one of Musca’s attacks with the most minimal of movements.
And with merely a slight lift of his weapon, he cleanly severed Musca’s leg.
The subsequent attacks proved no different.
Even when I spewed sticky mucus.
Even when I sent swarms of black flies at him.
Even when I charged forward with greater speed and ferocity.
The intruder evaded every single attack with ease.
Slash!
“Krragh!”
He thrust toward my vital point as though it were the most natural thing.
Clearly, the intruder was slower and weaker than myself.
Yet such an intruder was overwhelming me.
Even when I hurled my weapons away, even when they lodged in my own body, the intruder simply produced new ones without hesitation, pressing his assault relentlessly.
Enraged, Musca soared high enough to nearly touch the ceiling and cried out.
“I will not forgive you! By the name of the Black Worm God, I will never forgive you!”
An intruder.
A mere human could not overwhelm me.
As Musca began to vibrate the wings blessed by the Black Worm God, preparing to deliver an absolutely inescapable finishing blow.
“A reinforced version of the Confusion-type Wing Attack…?”
The intruder uttered an incomprehensible sound and rushed toward Musca.
It would be futile regardless.
There was no way to block my attack.
With that thought, Musca vibrated his wings with even greater force.
Boom!!
The shockwave created by the vibration swept across the chamber.
This is the end.
There is no way to evade, and considering the intruder’s stamina, enduring it is equally impossible.
Given the nature of the attack, defense is also impossible.
As Musca harbored these thoughts, into his ears came.
“Your only blind spot was behind your back. Every time you use this technique, you deliberately press your back against the wall, and I noticed the candelabra behind you never trembled even slightly from the wing beats.”
The intruder’s voice echoed through the chamber.
I tried to spin around urgently, but this technique wasn’t one that could be broken so easily.
Stabilizing my wings and turning my body required time.
It was merely a single second—a fleeting moment—but that one second was more than enough to allow the intruder’s attack to land.
[ Flaming Sword Saint, Flamberge ]
The intruder’s blade descended upon Musca’s body.
* * *
Musca, apostle of the Black Worm God.
Estimated to be a boss monster in the 200-level range, yet its attack patterns proved remarkably troublesome.
But who was I?
I was the one who had defeated the very Black Worm God that this apostle revered and followed.
Because of that, comprehending Musca’s attack patterns perfectly was child’s play.
‘The stat difference is just barely acceptable.’
There was no need to even use Black Flame Transformation.
Of course, borrowing Luke’s power would make the battle considerably easier.
But defeating an enemy whose attack patterns I’d already completely analyzed required nothing more than bare hands—unless the stat gap was absurdly wide.
Thus, I turned all of Musca’s attack patterns against it, landing blow after blow.
[ Flaming Sword Saint, Flamberge ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type: Sword
Grade: Unique
Restriction: Level 500 or higher, Strength 1500 or higher, Sword Mastery Lv 50 or higher
Description: The greatsword of Renaud de Montauban, who defeated Olivier among Charlemagne’s Twelve Paladins and claimed the epithet “Knight of Wisdom.”
I prepared the finishing blow.
A greatsword with a flame-shaped blade, Flamberge.
No—Flamberge, whose blade had transcended mere flame-like appearance to become actual roaring flames.
– Using skill ‘Power Strike’.
Screech!
“Grraaaagh!”
I swung it with all my might toward Musca.
Most creatures that followed the Black Worm God possessed a weakness to flames, so I’d deliberately chosen this weapon.
As a greatsword, it boasted exceptional attack power, and with Musca’s health already whittled down sufficiently, this strike would be more than enough to finish it.
And indeed it was.
Splurt!
Musca’s once-impenetrable carapace split open, and black ichor sprayed forth.
Yet Flamberge, unsatisfied, continued to incinerate the creature’s carapace and fluids while carving deeper into its body.
“Grraaaaaaagh!”
Musca’s death cry tore through the air.
It seemed to be struggling to endure somehow, but I had no intention of prolonging this any further.
I couldn’t afford to drag this out—if the second phase began, the battle would become far more troublesome. I needed to end this decisively, here and now.
I activate a First Circle fire spell: Fire.
Whoosh!
Using magic to amplify Flamberjou’s flames even further, I intensify the inferno.
Slice!
I cleave completely through Musca’s body.
His upper half separates, the severed surface charred black from the flames.
That should be the end of it.
Even for a monster, once the body is bisected, death typically follows.
“Krraaaaaaagh! This cannot be! All the years I have devoted! All the prayers I have recited! They cannot vanish so meaninglessly!”
Yet Musca proved to be no ordinary monster.
Despite being severed in two, his upper half continues to writhe and shriek in agony.
“I cannot end like this! Black Worm God! Forgive me! Though I have failed to gather sufficient nourishment and time for your glory!”
Unable to leave him in this state, I dash forward to finish him completely.
“Through this wretched vessel! Spread your magnificent hundred tentacles across this world, and reign with your ten thousand legs!”
Boom!
A malevolent aura begins radiating from Musca’s body.
I feel it.
I cannot leave Musca as he is.
Ignoring the vicious wind pressure of the malevolent aura that pushes against my body, I activate both Dash and Leap, surging forward and swinging my blade.
Slice!
I strike Musca down.
But it proves meaningless.
Musca’s body becomes a husk, shedding away along with the wound I’ve carved into it.
From within, like an imoogi rising from the depths, a pitch-black worm emerges into view.
“Damn it….”
Dozens of segments, hundreds of legs, a body so black it seems to absorb all light.
There is no mistaking it.
This is the master of the Altar.
The evil god I first defeated during my time in First.
“It’s actually coming out?”
The Black Worm God descends before me.

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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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