The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 56

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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 56
Chapter 56
[ Duel Arena Weekly Ranking ]
[ 1st Place: Lee Hwa-jin ]
“Yes, this is it.”
Lee Hwa-rang, the Guild Master of Hwarang Guild.
His younger sibling, Lee Hwa-jin.
He gazed at his ranking with a satisfied smile.
Ever since the beginning of Second, Lee Hwa-jin had been overshadowed by his older brother’s talent, never able to shine in his own right.
But now, in this very moment.
His name was proudly etched at the top of the Duel Arena rankings.
So naturally.
[ What’s up with Lee Hwa-jin’s ranking? ]
[Maintaining #1 on the weekly rankings, no joke]
[ The Duel Arena rankings must be insanely competitive right now, but seeing him maintain 1st in the weekly rankings… isn’t the Master League champion basically already decided? ]
Lee Hwa-jin’s been stuck at the same level for like half a year, but looks like she really gritted her teeth and sharpened her skills lol
“Hehehehe.”
Lee Hwa-jin’s name was circulating across various Second Crown communities.
In fact.
[ Master League Championship Favorite: ‘Lee Hwa-jin’ ]
[ Can’t hide the bloodline of the Hwarang Guild Master? ]
[ Hwarang Guild: ‘Lee Hwa-jin’s Strength is Something He Earned Himself’ ]
“Hehehehe.”
Online news outlets were flooding with articles about Lee Hwa-jin.
These days, the era was called the age of Second, such was the game’s popularity.
Naturally, all eyes were focused on Lee Hwa-jin, a championship contender for the upcoming Second Crown tournament.
Thanks to this, Lee Hwa-jin, who had been suppressed in the shadow of ‘Lee Hwa-rang’s younger brother’ until now, could finally spread his wings.
“It was worth freezing my level.”
In truth, he had already reached level 400 several months ago.
But he had deliberately halted his leveling with a greater plan in mind.
If he crossed into level 401, he would have to participate in the Challenger League, where he judged it impossible to defeat those like his older brother Lee Hwa-rang or Yul-ha, who held the top ranking.
So he pestered his brother to equip himself with level 400 gear as optimally as possible, maxed out his skill levels, and trained relentlessly in duels against guild members.
His obsession: to win the Master League championship and become famous.
That obsession was now bearing fruit.
But then.
[ Who’s 1st place right now? ]
[ Mir? Never heard of him? ]
[ Is a new star being born? ]
[ I heard that user is on a complete winning streak, so won’t he take 1st in the weekly rankings too? ]
Ugh, no way. How could the weekly ranking go up in just one day? lol
“Mir?”
A username I’d never heard before suddenly appeared on the community board.
People who had been obsessed with Lee Hwa-jin’s name were now turning their attention to another player, and I couldn’t help but feel bitter about it.
Then I checked the weekly rankings.
[ Rank 5: Mir ]
“…Rank 5? Rising to 5th place on the weekly rankings in just one day?”
This user Mir had climbed all the way to 5th place on the weekly rankings.
The daily rankings might be one thing, but the weekly rankings are compiled from a week’s worth of duel records.
To reach 5th place on the weekly rankings in just one day.
How many consecutive duel victories was this person racking up?
And then.
[ Rank 4: Mir ]
“What?”
[ Rank 3: Mir ]
This user Mir’s ranking kept climbing higher.
And as it did.
[ Who even is Mir? This is serious. ]
[ Is he actually going to steal Lee Hwa-jin’s rank? ]
[ How is this even possible in just one day? ]
[ Who is this anyway? I’ve never seen that name among the rankers. ]
[ Could be a low level. ]
Even if the level is adjusted, there are items and skill levels, so there’s no way it would be that low.
The community’s fervor for Lee Hwa-jin’s name gradually began to fade.
[ ‘Mir’ surpasses daily rank 1 and eyes weekly rank 1! Who is he! ]
[ Mir, the emergence of a new supernova to dethrone Lee Hwa-jin? ]
“What is this nonsense!”
Articles about Mir began appearing one after another on online news outlets.
In this situation, Lee Hwa-jin’s eyes could only flip with rage.
“How dare he eye my position?”
Lee Hwa-jin huffed indignantly and entered the capsule.
I couldn’t possibly ignore the movements of someone audacious enough to steal my rank.
I’d been dueling hard all week and planned to rest today, but.
I couldn’t let my position be taken like this.
“Oh, it’s Lee Hwa-jin!”
“Looks like she’s heading to the Duel Arena!”
“Is she going to face that user Mir?”
“Ohhh!”
“This is seriously exciting!”
Hearing the cheers of the crowd welcoming her appearance, Lee Hwa-jin walked confidently toward the Duel Arena.
After moving to the duel space through the magic circle.
I immediately queued for another duel.
Though it took a moment to find a match, perhaps it was thanks to my duel rating and ranking being the highest in the Duel Arena?
[ A duel between player ‘Lee Hwa-jin’ and ‘Mir’ has been matched. ]
Lee Hwa-jin successfully matched with Mir, a mysterious user.
Mir.
Since I was facing this opponent for the first time, I first examined their equipment.
But then.
‘A Cloak of Secrets?’
I couldn’t see the armor my opponent was wearing at all.
I might have ignored it if it were another user, but I was Lee Hwa-jin, the younger sibling of Lee Hwa-rang, the guild master of the Hwarang Guild.
I had heard of the Cloak of Secrets, an overlay item worn to conceal armor.
Even with a low level requirement, it wasn’t an item that was easy to obtain.
The mere fact that they were wearing such an item seemed unusual.
‘And that ring… it looks like the Ring of Obscurity?’
I recognized that ring as well.
The Ring of Obscurity—an item that conceals one’s face and nickname.
My older brother Lee Hwa-rang occasionally wore that ring when he wanted to hide his existence.
Naturally, it was so rare that fewer than ten copies were said to be in circulation on the Second Korean Server.
‘Are they a ranker?’
I thought I knew all the notable rankers.
Was there a ranker like this?
Though doubt crept in, I couldn’t help but grow more tense.
A duel opponent appearing with both the Cloak of Secrets and the Ring of Obscurity.
And skill so exceptional they climbed into the weekly rankings in just a single day.
Even with level equalization, they were not to be underestimated.
But.
‘Either way, our levels will be equalized, so there’s no need to be afraid. I’ve stopped leveling for months and prepared my equipment and skills solely for the league!’
I refused to give up.
Had I only faced users below my level in the Duel Arena until now?
Absolutely not.
I had faced many users with higher levels, those called rankers.
But I had spent months optimizing every aspect—equipment, skills, everything—for duels and the league.
I had confidence that I wouldn’t lose to anyone.
[ A duel between player ‘Lee Hwa-jin’ and ‘Mir’ is beginning. ]
The duel started.
As the saying goes, taking the first move ensures victory?
In duels, striking first is generally more advantageous for overwhelming an opponent.
Familiar with duels as I was, I knew this well, and the moment the duel began, I rushed toward my opponent—
Whoosh!
But my opponent was charging forward just the same.
The two rushed forward as if unwilling to yield their opponent, drawing their weapons without hesitation.
The battle unfolded like a joust, with two knights leveling lances at each other and charging forward.
Both understood the truth.
To retreat was to lose.
There was no choice but to strike first, to strike harder than the opponent.
The moment their trajectories converged.
Ting!
“…Huh?”
Lee Hwa-jin, who had swung her weapon at her opponent, realized something had gone wrong.
And then.
Thud!
“Gasp!”
With the cold sensation of a blade piercing her chest, Lee Hwa-jin tumbled to the ground.
* * *
‘She seems quite skilled.’
As my winning streak continued, my matched opponents grew progressively stronger.
Still, most players barely registered in my perception.
[ Lee Hwa-jin ]
But this current opponent felt different.
She didn’t seem exceptionally talented, but her equipment, her gaze—everything suggested she had prepared and trained rigorously for dueling alone over a long time.
The moment the duel began, I became even more certain of this assessment.
[ The duel between player ‘Mir’ and ‘Lee Hwa-jin’ begins. ]
Whoosh!
The instant the duel started, my opponent charged forward.
Until now, I had always been the one to charge first.
This was the first time an opponent had deliberately charged at me from the very beginning.
Just from the resolute gleam in her eyes as she rushed forward, I could sense how accustomed she was to dueling.
‘She has no intention of backing down.’
Likely, she possessed the confidence that she could withstand most attacks and inflict even greater damage upon her opponent.
Just before colliding with such an opponent.
I instructed Luke to swap one of my pieces of armor.
[ Black Citadel ]
( Non-tradeable )
Form: Armor
Grade: Unique
A unique-grade upper body armor.
True to its name as a citadel, it was heavy and offered high defense, though it came with a penalty that dulled my movements.
But if I swapped it on just before collision like this, I could ignore such a penalty.
This fighting style was only possible because Luke allowed me to swap equipment in real-time even during combat.
Even as the armor was exchanged, my opponent couldn’t detect the change because of my ‘Secret Insignia’.
Ting!
As I watched my attack bounce back, confusion seized me.
– Using skill ‘Black Insect Flash’.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
My weapon struck true, dealing a critical blow.
Perhaps because this opponent was different from those I’d faced before, they twisted their chest just before impact to minimize the damage, but.
The moment they lost their footing and crashed to the ground, the duel was essentially over.
I had no intention of waiting patiently for such a vulnerable enemy to rise.
Crash!
Since I considered this my final duel.
I pressed my attack, utilizing every skill at my disposal.
– Using skill ‘Dash’.
Before deploying Black Snake Shadow, which consumed massive mana, I closed the distance with Dash first.
– Using skill ‘Black Snake Shadow’.
At the critical moment, I used Black Snake Shadow to bore into my opponent.
– Using skill ‘Power Strike’.
When Black Insect Flash was on cooldown, I utilized Power Strike.
– Using skill ‘Throw’.
I hurled my weapon at the fleeing opponent, and so on.
Fortunately, my opponent proved more resilient than expected, allowing me to practice most of the attack patterns I’d honed in the Duel Arena.
Still.
I was preparing to finish the duel when.
“Wait, hold on!”
Lee Hwa-jin, wasn’t it?
My opponent suddenly thrust their palm forward, signaling me to stop.
“Don’t you know me? I’m Lee Hwa-jin! Lee Hwa-jin!”
Facing an opponent who, on the brink of death, was somehow declaring their name with such confidence, I could only tilt my head in bewilderment.
“So what?”
Why were they suddenly announcing their name?
It wasn’t as though I knew them.
As I tilted my head in confusion, my opponent grew even more flustered and continued.
“You really don’t know? A ranker like you should know! The Guild Master of Hwarang Guild! Lee Hwa-rang’s younger sister, Lee Hwa-jin!”
“I’ve heard of Hwarang Guild.”
Hwarang Guild.
How could I not know of them?
They were one of the Five Great Guilds representing the Second Korean Server.
Whether it was truth or lies, I couldn’t say, but if what they claimed was genuine, it explained why they suddenly revealed their name with such boldness.
“Yes, that Hwarang Guild! My older brother is Lee Hwa-rang!”
“And?”
“Would you consider taking a loss just this once? Surely someone of your rank can claim first place whenever you wish!”
“Why would I?”
“If you’d just lose this one time, I promise—no, the Hwarang Guild itself will reward you handsomely! Please, I’m begging you, won’t you throw this match for us?”
A reward from the Hwarang Guild itself.
It was certainly a tempting offer.
As one of Korea’s Five Great Guilds, the Hwarang Guild could afford to offer something substantial.
But there was something that bothered me.
‘He seems to be under some kind of misunderstanding.’
Calling me a ranker, of all things.
Because of the Cloak of Secrets and the Ring of Deception, he’d mistaken me for someone else entirely.
That’s why he was groveling so pathetically.
Would he still act this way if he knew I wasn’t actually a ranker?
And even if I were, would the Hwarang Guild really offer guild-level compensation just because the guild leader’s brother said so?
There were far too many red flags.
With that in mind, I nodded and made my decision.
“Th-thank you so much! The reward will be more than generous—”
*Slash.*
“Ugh! W-why…?”
“Why should I believe you?”
And so my final battle in the Duel Arena came to an end.

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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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