The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 54

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 54
Chapter 54
They say that with enough money, you can even command spirits?
Certainly, with funds at my disposal, it didn’t take long to overhaul Kang Ju-hyuk’s equipment.
Of course, I had to scramble to acquire everything quickly, and with gold limitations, I couldn’t obtain the unique-grade or higher items I’d envisioned.
Still, I succeeded in procuring rare and heroic-grade items that suited him perfectly.
“My money….”
“You saved it for this moment, didn’t you? This kind of investment is necessary.”
“Sigh. I suppose there’s no helping it. But will this really let us win in the league?”
“How can you doubt now? Are you planning to resell everything after paying the Auction House fees?”
“No, no. I’m just….”
Having spent nearly all the gold I’d accumulated over a lifetime playing Second, a sigh naturally escaped his lips.
But from my perspective, I couldn’t have been more satisfied.
[ Poison Mantis ]
[ Gaze of the Dishonorable ]
[ Crimson-Stained Leather Jacket ]
[ Tainted Justice ]
[ Thorn-Embedded Shoes ]
….
Truly, equipment perfectly suited to the path I envisioned for Kang Ju-hyuk!
Somehow, his appearance had transformed from that of a legitimate martial artist to something resembling an illegal street fighter.
In terms of performance alone, I’d acquired items even better than I’d anticipated.
“And why did you buy this? Why would you need a subspace bracelet?”
“I told you already. Your advantage is being able to use both hands freely until the moment of attack. For that, this is far more convenient than opening and closing your inventory.”
“Then why did you buy two of them?”
“You need to wear one on each wrist.”
“Is this really right….”
He trusted me, but for someone who had been developing as an orthodox martial artist, this current situation would feel entirely unfamiliar.
As such, the sudden changes now that Second Crown was right around the corner would naturally be bewildering.
To demonstrate the practical viability of my build to him and instill confidence,
“Let’s arrange a duel.”
“Right now? You haven’t even taught me yet.”
“I’ll watch and guide you continuously through the whisper function.”
“But still…”
“You absolutely won’t lose, I’m telling you? Besides, it’s not like anything happens if you lose a duel anyway. Just try it.”
“Ugh… Really, I’m trusting only you!”
I decided to send him into actual combat immediately.
With Second Crown approaching, many people had entered the Duel Arena, so a match was found quickly.
[ A duel between player ‘Kang Ju-hyuk’ and ‘Otherworld Warrior’ has been matched. ]
Kang Ju-hyuk’s first duel as a street fighter had begun.
* * *
‘Is this really right…?’
Until the moment the duel was matched, Kang Ju-hyuk couldn’t shake off the unease gnawing at him.
He had always aspired to be a traditional martial artist.
And now suddenly he was supposed to become a street fighter.
And what was this equipment?
Wasn’t this the outfit of a street thug, not a martial artist?
No matter how much he wanted to win, was this really the right way?
As such thoughts consumed him.
“What, a martial artist? This should be easy.”
His duel opponent appeared.
The user’s name was Otherworld Warrior—a spearmaster who warmed up by wielding a spear that looked longer than his own body.
Kang Ju-hyuk bit his lip hard at the sight.
The moment he saw the spear, he was instantly reminded of yesterday when Mir had wielded his spear to block him.
‘Of all people.’
Fighting against Mir, he had felt it acutely.
How short a martial artist’s reach was, and how difficult a long weapon like a spear was for a martial artist to face.
Knowing this, he found himself instinctively stepping back.
Then.
– Can you hear me?
Mir’s voice reached him.
It was the whisper function.
As he nodded, Mir’s voice continued.
– Looks like just an average spearmaster. Perfect.
“Perfect? But he’s a spearmaster? You said martial artists are at a disadvantage against spearmasters.”
– That was before.
“Before? Why the past tense?”
Before Mir’s answer could reach him.
[ Duel between player ‘Kang Ju-hyuk’ and ‘Otherworld Warrior’ begins. ]
The duel started.
“If you won’t come at me first, I’ll come at you.”
Whoosh!
The opposing spearmaster, Otherworld Warrior, charged forward.
Without thinking, Kang Ju-hyuk retreated and widened the distance, when Mir’s first instruction fell into his ear.
– Oh, he’s coming first? Good, throw down a smoke bomb.
“A smoke bomb?”
– Don’t answer, the strategy will be exposed! Move!
“Y-yes!”
Kang Ju-hyuk’s hand moved toward his bracelet.
He reached into the subspace bracelet—one of the primary culprits that had drained his fortune—and pulled out one of the items he had prepared in advance.
[ Smoke Bomb ]
I hurled the item to the ground.
Boom!
The smoke bomb detonated, and a gray haze billowed outward across the arena.
“What the—!”
The spear wielder faltered, his charge grinding to a halt.
In that instant.
Kang Ju-hyuk’s eyes blazed with sudden clarity.
Though Mir’s command had not yet fallen, I instinctively grasped which skill needed to be unleashed in this moment.
– Activating skill ‘Sixth Sense’.
Sixth Sense.
In other words, intuition.
As a brawler who fought with bare knuckles, it was an advanced skill granted to martial artists whose five senses had evolved beyond those of other classes.
The skill’s mechanics were elegantly simple.
To perceive the surroundings with absolute clarity, transcending the ordinary five senses.
Originally, it was employed to detect monsters employing stealth, surprise attacks, or dungeon traps.
‘I see it.’
Now, with the smoke bomb obscuring my vision.
The Sixth Sense skill painted the spear wielder’s position with crystalline precision through the haze.
Toward such an opponent.
– Activating skill ‘Burst Smash’.
I drove my fist forward.
No—the Claw, slashing through the air.
Shrrk!
What I felt was not the familiar, weighty sensation of impact, but an unfamiliar—the sickening sensation of flesh parting beneath the blade.
Poison Mantis.
The emerald-gleaming blade struck the spear wielder’s vital point with surgical precision.
I had worried whether I might be scolded for ignoring orders and acting on instinct.
– Good. Excellent work.
Fortunately, Mir’s praise reached my ears.
I landed several more strikes in succession, but regrettably, my opponent refused to remain passive.
“You cowardly wretch!”
Whoooosh!
The spear wielder spun his weapon like a pinwheel, and the smoke dispersed entirely.
He had even widened the distance with swift footwork.
I considered deploying another smoke bomb.
– The opponent isn’t a fool. Unless you have a different strategy, don’t repeat the same tactic.
“Then what?”
– Spray oil.
A new command came from Mir.
With the smoke bomb proving effective and his confidence in Mir increasing accordingly, Kang Ju-hyuk unhesitatingly retrieved oil from his bracelet and scattered it across the surrounding area.
Since combat consumables weren’t items commonly used, the spear master seemed unfamiliar with its nature.
Still, the spear master charged forward once more.
Slick—
“Ugh? What is this!”
Stepping on the oil, he had no choice but to stumble.
At least he didn’t fall—that was something to be grateful for.
Toward such an opponent, Kang Ju-hyuk charged.
Whoosh!
However, approaching the enemy meant Kang Ju-hyuk would also step on the oil.
Yet his body didn’t tilt in the slightest.
This was partly due to the exceptional bodily awareness of a martial artist.
[ Thorned Shoes ]
But it was primarily thanks to the ‘Reduced Movement Impedance’ option attached to the shoes he wore.
Drawing close to his opponent, Kang Ju-hyuk—
– Activating skill ‘Blaze Kick’.
“Gack!”
Unleashed a kick without hesitation.
With the Thorned Shoes, which had inherently high attack power due to the spikes embedded within.
The spear master flew backward, coughing blood.
And then—
– Mount.
Following Mir’s command, Kang Ju-hyuk swiftly rushed forward and pinned the spear master beneath him.
Then—
– Finish it.
Mir’s final command rang out.
* * *
[ Duel between player ‘Hedgehog’ and ‘Kang Ju-hyuk’ has been matched. ]
The Archer, preparing for Second Crown.
Hedgehog smiled upon seeing his duel opponent.
‘A martial artist, huh?’
A martial artist.
Not a bad matchup for an archer.
It would certainly be troublesome if the martial artist closed the distance too quickly, but he possessed both enhanced movement speed and various mobility skills.
‘If I win this match, that’s ten consecutive victories, right?’
Confidence was beginning to build.
Everyone said archers were at a disadvantage in the league, but his thoughts differed.
The reason archers hadn’t performed well in the league thus far was because they possessed equipment and skills designed for fighting monsters.
An archer whose equipment and skills were tailored for the league was by no means at a disadvantage.
Hedgehog’s nine-win streak proved this.
[ Players Hedgehog and Kang Ju-hyuk begin their duel. ]
The moment the System Message concluded and the duel commenced.
Boom!
“What?”
The opposing fighter suddenly detonated a smoke bomb.
A smoke bomb?
Was there truly someone who employed such a skill in actual combat?
Even as bewilderment seized me, I drew back the bowstring.
“Where… where are you?”
Naturally, the fighter within the smoke remained invisible.
I had intended to fire the moment I escaped the smoke screen.
Boom, boom, boom!
The opposing fighter continued hurling smoke bombs along my path.
Fearing I would be utterly helpless, I released arrows, yet I could not strike an enemy I could not see.
Then.
Whoosh!
Something flew at me from within the smoke.
With the reflexes befitting a seasoned archer, I shot it down.
“A dagger?”
The opponent was supposed to be a fighter, not a thief.
Yet a dagger lay before me.
The moment my startled gaze left the blade.
Slash!
“Argh!”
The fighter emerged from the smoke and sliced across my body.
Still, it was manageable.
If I could just create distance…
– You have been poisoned by Poison Mantis toxin. Your health continuously decreases.
– You have been poisoned by Twisted Musk Flower toxin. Your movements are slowed.
“?!”
Or so I thought.
With the sudden poison notifications, my health plummeted and my movements became sluggish.
Looking closer, I saw the fighter’s claws glistening with venom.
The item itself bore toxins, and it appeared additional poisons had been applied atop it.
Still, I struggled to draw the bowstring.
Puff!
“Ahhh!”
The fighter scattered ash upon me.
Ash Dust—a consumable combat item.
When scattered in an enemy’s eyes, it induces temporary blindness.
Hedgehog, already poisoned and now afflicted with blindness, clumsily drew his bowstring in the darkness, unable to see.
Thwack!
“Ugh….”
[ The duel between player ‘Kang Ju-hyuk’ and ‘Hedgehog’ has concluded. ]
[ Victor: ‘Kang Ju-hyuk’ ]
Before long, claws pierced his chest, and defeat was inevitable.
And so.
One day before the Second Crown.
Rumors of the ‘dishonorable fighter’ began to circulate throughout the Duel Arena.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————