The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 57

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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 57
Chapter 57
[ The duel between player Mir and Lee Hwa-jin has concluded. ]
[ Victor: Mir ]
The familiar victory message appeared, and the Duel Arena’s rankings materialized before me.
I’d already secured first place in the daily rankings.
In the weekly rankings, I’d climbed to second place, and now that I’d defeated Lee Hwa-jin, who held first, the standings had shifted.
[ Weekly Rankings ]
[ 1st Place: Mir ]
I’d claimed the top position in the Duel Arena rankings exactly as intended.
Immediately, a cascade of System Messages appeared.
[ Achievement Unlocked: Master Duelist ]
Condition: Achieve 1st place in the Duel Arena weekly rankings
Reward: +5% Attack Power in player-versus-player combat
[ Achievement Unlocked: Avatar of Victory ]
Condition: Achieve 100 consecutive wins in the Duel Arena
Reward: +5% to all stats in player-versus-player combat
Both Achievements from the Duel Arena granted me advantages in player combat.
With the Second Crown looming ahead, these rewards felt invaluable.
However, these were merely Achievements.
The true reward lay elsewhere.
[ You have achieved 1st place in the weekly rankings and may claim your reward. ]
[ Please select your desired reward. ]
“This is real.”
Just as Kang Ju-hyuk had described, the reward selection message appeared.
The Duel Arena’s reward list unfolded before me.
This was the first-place reward granted once weekly to players who claimed the top position.
I examined the reward list methodically.
[ 1. Gloves of the Master Duelist ]
[ 2. Sword of the Master Duelist ]
[ 3. Bow of the Master Duelist ]
….
There were quite a few usable items on display.
By ordinary standards, at least.
With dozens of Mythic-grade items already stored in Luke’s subspace, these rewards held little appeal to me.
Yet.
“These are genuinely new items?”
Most of the items in the reward list were ones that hadn’t existed in First.
Having collected every item in First, my collector’s instinct stirred at this tantalizing list.
But.
“Now is not the time for that.”
I can gather items slowly later.
Right now, I need to choose items that will help me in the Second Crown, which is practically upon me.
With that in mind, the item I selected was.
[ 12. ‘Fair Duel’ Skill Book ]
[ Are you certain you wish to select reward 12? ]
This was it.
[ Fair Duel Skill Book ]
( Non-tradeable )
Type: Skill Book
Grade: Heroic
Restriction: Achieve 1st place on the Duel Arena weekly rankings
Description: A skill book that grants the ‘Fair Duel’ skill, which increases your stats when facing a 1v1 situation against an opponent.
After all, every other item pales in comparison to what I already have stored in my warehouse.
But this is different.
A skill book I don’t yet possess.
This would prove invaluable in the Second Crown, where 1v1 encounters happen frequently.
Even if that weren’t the case, my stats would increase whenever a 1v1 situation arose, such as when facing boss monsters.
Choosing this reward was the obvious decision.
“I think I’ve obtained everything I can from the Duel Arena.”
Now it’s time to research combat styles suited to my current situation.
Organizing my skills and available equipment.
I’ve consumed all the elixirs available at level 150 and learned every skill.
Looking around, Kang Ju-hyuk was also steadily accumulating real combat experience.
“All that’s left is to wait for the league to begin.”
Now only one thing remained.
Participating in the Second Crown and claiming victory.
* * *
Before Mir and Lee Hwa-jin’s duel concluded.
The people watching the rankings outside the Duel Arena gazed at the leaderboard with anticipation.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Obviously Lee Hwa-jin. How does someone reach 1st place on the weekly rankings in a single day?”
“And how does someone climb to 2nd place in a single day?”
“How is it even possible to climb that high in just one day?”
“The rankings are determined by converting duel results into points. Which means… this person named Mir must be on a winning streak, continuously earning win streak bonuses.”
“Even with a decent streak, reaching 2nd place on the weekly rankings in a single day seems impossible.”
“Maybe if they won like a hundred matches in a row?”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Right, they’re fighting with adjusted levels anyway, so they can’t just overpower opponents with stats, and a hundred-win streak is unrealistic.”
“Exactly. Who is this person named Mir anyway?”
A user whose name suddenly came to mind, now dominating the daily rankings at first place and eyeing the weekly top spot.
Mir.
Everyone grew curious about their identity and searched through various communities, but the name Mir never appeared.
There was no way information wouldn’t surface on a user this powerful if they were truly new.
Most suspected this was a high-ranked player who had been carefully concealing their true identity.
“Still, Lee Hwa-jin should win, right?”
“Probably. Apparently they’ve been grinding their teeth preparing for this league. How could anyone beat that?”
“But the opponent might be doing the same thing, you know?”
“Ugh, I really can’t tell. Just show us the results already!”
While everyone stared at the rankings,
finally,
the rankings shifted.
[ Weekly Rankings ]
[ 1st Place: Mir ]
[ 2nd Place: Lee Hwa-jin ]
Mir had defeated Lee Hwa-jin.
“Wooooooow!”
“They actually beat Lee Hwa-jin?”
“Who in the world is this person who beat Lee Hwa-jin?”
“This is no joke?”
“They must be one of the ranked players.”
“If they’re one of the ranked players, they’d definitely participate in the Challenger League. Does that mean they’d face off against Yul-ha?”
“Wow, against Yul-ha? Then this year’s Challenger League champion could actually change?”
“I mean, if they can reach first place in the weekly rankings in just one day with leveled stats, it’s definitely possible!”
“Even Yul-ha didn’t manage to reach first place in the weekly rankings in just one day, right?”
The users who witnessed this erupted in excitement.
They had already assumed no one could match Yul-ha in the Challenger League.
But a ranked player with this level of skill might actually be able to defeat Yul-ha—that possibility ignited their anticipation.
Of course,
“But what if that user isn’t even a Challenger League participant?”
“They could be someone who stopped at level 400 just like Lee Hwa-jin and was preparing for the league.”
Some voiced reasonable doubts, but
“Someone who beat Lee Hwa-jin and took first place in the weekly rankings in just one day? Nah, no way.”
“But who cares! If that’s the case, the Master League becomes even more interesting!”
Few people paid attention to such concerns.
And from this point onward,
[ Lee Hwa-jin got absolutely destroyed lol ]
[ It was all hype from the start ]
[ If I stopped at level 400 and spent a few months raising skill levels while getting equipment and elixir support from the Hwarang Guild, I could probably take first place in the Duel Arena too lol ]
[ Still, seeing them take first place, they must have real skill. This user Mir is impressive. ]
[ So who exactly is this person? ]
[ Does anyone know? ]
Various communities related to Second and
[ The Duel Arena’s rising star, Mir! ]
[ New championship contender, the emergence of a hidden master? ]
[ Lee Hwa-jin’s defeat. How will Hwarang Guild respond? ]
[ Second Crown championship contenders roundup ]
Online news outlets continuously updated stories about Mir.
It was proof of just how many players were engaged with Second, and how much attention the Second Crown was drawing.
Meanwhile, Mir had stepped away from the game for a brief rest.
“Huh?”
I couldn’t help but be taken aback seeing my name plastered across countless community forums and news articles.
* * *
“Why are there so many articles?”
In truth, I’d known I’d attract attention.
Having surpassed the daily rankings and claimed the weekly top spot in just one day, the focus was inevitable.
Unlike before, I’d already reached level 150.
I figured my identity would eventually be revealed anyway, so I used the Duel Arena without worry.
“I never expected to become this famous.”
I had no idea the response would be this intense.
While browsing the internet,
Ding ding!
Kang Ju-hyuk—
No, a call came from Kang Ju-hyuk.
– Hey, is this for real?!
“…Probably, yeah.”
– Wow, you actually took down Lee Hwa-jin? I saw you hit weekly rank 1, but I never thought you’d actually beat Lee Hwa-jin.
“So she really was the Hwarang Guild Master’s sister.”
– You didn’t know? She’s pretty famous!
“How would I know? I haven’t even been playing Second for a month.”
– Oh right, that’s true. You grow so fast I keep forgetting.
Though it’s already in the past, my final opponent in the Duel Arena was truly Lee Hwa-jin, the sister of Hwarang Guild Master Lee Hwa-rang.
Still, I don’t regret it.
From what I’ve gathered, Lee Hwa-jin doesn’t seem like a particularly good person.
She’s the typical type—meek before the strong, tyrannical toward the weak. Would someone like that even keep their word?
Looking into it now, Lee Hwa-jin seems to be practically disowned even by Hwarang Guild.
“How about you? Getting used to things?”
– I’d have racked up more wins if you hadn’t shown up out of nowhere and crushed my streak! Still, I’m breaking 10-win streaks consistently now.
“You’re still lacking.”
– Hey, do you know how impressive it is to break 10-win streaks every time?!
“I have a hundred-win streak, though?”
– That’s just you being weird!
He’s adapting well to the Street Fighter style too.
I’m planning to craft more combat consumables through crafting and alchemy based on what I see during the league.
For now, the priority is getting comfortable with the items he already has.
I was worried he might refuse or struggle to adapt since he’s a pure brawler aspirant.
But from his reaction, he seems to be enjoying it more than I expected.
After all, games are only fun when you’re winning, aren’t they?
He barely scraped together six wins as a pure brawler, yet with the Street Fighter style—despite still being inexperienced—he’s already claimed ten wins. Of course he’s pleased.
“Finally, tomorrow.”
– Yeah. Once the server opens, there’s time before the league starts, so let’s meet up then.
“Don’t get too nervous. I’ll finish first and watch from the sidelines, then give you some pointers.”
– That’s what I should be saying! I’ve already participated before, remember?
“Right, you got eliminated in the next preliminary round.”
– Anyway, don’t underestimate the preliminaries—you need to take them seriously.
Consider it practice.
While listening to Kang Ju-hyuk recount his experiences from last year’s league preliminaries, I searched online for videos of last year’s preliminary matches.
– With so many participants, the preliminaries are designed to filter out anyone who doesn’t qualify from the start.
That’s right.
With so many people entering Second Crown, holding matches against every single one would take an enormous amount of time.
That’s why Second Crown’s preliminaries are conducted as a selection round.
Despite the massive number of participants, only a thousand users can advance past the preliminaries.
– Even you need to be careful. If luck isn’t on your side, you can be eliminated even with great skill in the preliminaries.
“You be careful too. I’ve given you advice and set everything up, so you should be able to pass the preliminaries, right?”
– I’m already experienced, remember? The preliminaries are a breeze!
The Second Crown preliminaries.
This preliminary round, also called a selection round, has a match format named:
[ Monster Hunter ]
That’s it.
Monster Hunter.

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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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