The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 68

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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 68
Chapter 68
Finding Defair turned out to be simple.
I had already planted the Tracker’s Mark on him beforehand, and the distance wasn’t particularly far.
Since they had gathered together—whether executing some strategy or not—I didn’t need to search for them individually.
Though the sand dust of the Desert made visibility difficult to confirm.
[ Sand Goggles ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type: Eyewear
Grade: Rare
Restriction: Level 150 or higher, Agility 250 or above
Description: Goggles used by hunters of the sandy Desert to locate prey through sand dust.
Such obstacles could be overcome with the right equipment.
Once I equipped the Sand Goggles, Defair and his companions became clearly visible through the swirling sand.
Watching them, I drew out the bow I’d used during the preliminary round.
While this approach was certainly safe, there was another reason behind my choice to wield the bow.
‘During the preliminaries, everyone assumed I was an Archer, didn’t they?’
Everyone who witnessed my performance in the preliminaries believed I was an Archer.
Those who had sought information to counter me—the first-place finisher—held the same assumption.
I had simply found a convenient hunting method in the Jungle.
But if people were willing to misunderstand me that way, why wouldn’t I take advantage of it?
I intended to maintain the Archer concept for as long as possible until the tournament.
That way, opponents who believed I was an Archer would approach, seeking to exploit perceived weaknesses.
And when I suddenly wielded a sword against such opponents, I could strike true at their vulnerabilities.
Twang!
“Gahhk!”
As I released the bowstring, the arrow pierced through the sand dust and struck one of Defair’s companions with perfect accuracy.
Instant death.
It was thanks to most of Defair’s companions belonging to rogue-type classes, which typically had lower health pools.
‘They’re fleeing?’
I expected them to charge immediately.
Their judgment was better than anticipated.
Indeed, searching for an archer of unknown location in this sand dust would be nothing short of suicide.
That was the wise choice.
But.
Whoosh!
It won’t work on me.
They seemed to be attempting to escape using the characteristic speed of rogue-type classes.
However, the equipment I’m currently wearing—
[ Shimmering Mirage Cloak ]
[ Shimmering Mirage Hood ]
[ Shimmering Mirage Boots ]
[ Shimmering Mirage Gloves ]
[ Shimmering Mirage Pants ]
A Shimmering Mirage set specialized for the Desert.
With the set item effects combined, it actually granted me speeds faster than on flat ground.
In contrast, Defair’s group suffered reduced movement speed from sinking into the loose sand.
There was no way they could escape from me.
Thud!
By the time several more of his companions had fallen.
‘He’s closing in.’
Defair changed his strategy.
He abandoned fleeing and decided to find me and strike me down instead.
He must have pinpointed my exact location from my relentless attacks.
I continued firing arrows using the power of the Shimmering Mirage set.
‘He didn’t rank fourth for nothing, then.’
The distance between us steadily narrowed.
Well, it didn’t matter.
I’d always planned to show my face at least once at the end anyway.
Thunk!
After drawing the bowstring one final time and felling another opponent.
I now faced Defair, who had closed the distance to arm’s length.
“You…!”
“I told you, didn’t I? Watch your back.”
“You dare! An Archer targeting an assassin’s blind spot?”
He immediately drew his dagger.
Whether it was action over words or simply pure rage boiling over.
He activated a movement skill and rushed toward me at incredible speed.
“You still don’t understand matchups! I was delayed finding you because of the Desert, but an Archer is just one hit away for an assassin!”
He was right.
Fundamentally, Archers had a disadvantageous matchup against assassins.
Even if I fired arrows, it was difficult to hit an assassin with quick movements, and a fast-moving assassin could rush straight at me and eliminate the fragile Archer in a single strike.
If an Archer and assassin clashed at this close distance, the Archer would inevitably lose.
Yes, for an ordinary Archer, that is.
“Luke, Desert Scorpion Dagger.”
– Yes, Master.
A dagger wreathed in black flames materialized in my hand.
Immediately.
Clang!
It collided with Defair’s incoming attack.
The assassin wielded a dagger as expected of her class, and my successful defense only seemed to fuel her rage further.
“So an Archer has picked up some dagger skills, but you think that will work against a pure assassin like me?”
She cried out and swung her dagger again.
Watching her, I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Why is this so-called assassin attacking like that?’
What kind of profession is an assassin?
It’s a class that moves swiftly without being detected, strikes vital points, and brings down enemies in an instant.
And this assassin was making such large, obvious movements?
It was utterly absurd.
It seemed she had chosen skills focused on raw attack power rather than speed.
Such an approach was only useful against large monsters—against players, it was nothing short of suicide.
And for good reason.
Her body was riddled with openings as she prepared to use her skill.
I showed her no mercy, striking toward her vulnerabilities.
– Skill ‘Black Insect Flash’ activated.
I demonstrated what a true assassin’s attack looked like.
Black Insect Flash.
A skill capable of executing various forms of thrusting attacks.
When I wielded a spear before, my strikes followed my enemies like a centipede’s undulating motion.
Now, with a dagger in hand, my attacks darted like a wasp’s venomous stinger, piercing through her openings with lethal precision.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Struck by my attack, Defair’s skill was forcibly cancelled, and she coughed up blood.
Against her.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
I unleashed a flurry of dagger strikes.
The stun created by the cancelled skill was the most reliable opening for an attack.
“How… how is an Archer doing this…?”
Even unto death, she couldn’t comprehend her own failure.
Thud.
I delivered the final blow.
Had she not picked a fight with me, she might have climbed to a respectable rank.
It was clear she had carefully leveled to exactly 200 and equipped herself properly for the Beginner League.
This is why they say you reap what you sow.
“No… how? Defair was our guild’s greatest prospect…?”
As Defair fell.
A trembling voice came from her last remaining companion.
But the voice sounded oddly familiar.
“You…?”
“…Huh?”
Upon closer inspection, I could discern the truth.
Who this person was.
‘Red Skull.’
The Murderer I had encountered shortly after leaving the City of Beginnings.
The very one who had introduced himself as the younger brother of the Red Skull Guild Master.
At the time, he had shouted that he would take revenge on me, relying on Red Skull’s backing.
But he never discovered my true identity, hidden beneath the Cloak of Secrets and the Ring of Oblivion, and thus could never have tracked me down.
Yet, judging by his reaction now.
“You…!”
It seemed he had recognized who I truly was.
– Activating skill ‘Black Insect Flash’.
Thud!
Unwilling to engage in tedious conversation, I ended him immediately.
* * *
At that very moment.
The Guild Master of Red Skull, who had been watching the main tournament.
Moonlight Wolf could not help but contort his expression.
“Damn it, what is this? I was hoping to see our promising prospect shine a little.”
In the footage he was watching, Red Skull’s promising prospect, Defair, was collapsing on screen.
Like other guilds, Red Skull had prepared Defair, a promising prospect, to make an impressive showing in the league.
Various equipment, combat experience, skills, and more.
Defair was a talent they had nurtured with diverse support to ensure victory in the league.
If he placed in the rankings, they had planned to proudly reveal his affiliation with Red Skull.
But the plan had crumbled to dust.
“Mir? Starting from first place in the preliminaries—who on earth is this person?”
If he were a promising prospect from another major guild, he could understand it.
But that wasn’t the case.
A name he had never heard before—Mir.
Who could he be to not only push Defair down to fourth place in the preliminaries but also eliminate all of Red Skull, including Defair, in the main tournament?
In that bewildering moment.
“Aaaaaaah! Hyeong!”
His younger brother.
Bloody Wolf approached him.
Already irritated, Moonlight Wolf felt his frustration mounting at the thought of his brother coming to complain.
“That’s the guy!”
But his brother suddenly said something strange.
“That guy?”
“The one I met in front of the City of Beginnings before!”
His younger brother.
The user who had suddenly appeared and defeated Bloody Wolf while he was hunting beginners.
So that user’s identity is Mir.
“I guess he tried to hide by wearing the Ring of Unmemory, but fat chance! I saw right through it!”
“Mir….”
Could this really be coincidence?
Isn’t it said that when coincidences overlap, they become inevitability?
If that’s the case, then perhaps.
‘Is he targeting Red Skull?’
He might be a user harboring ill intent toward Red Skull.
Attacking his younger sibling.
Annihilating Red Skull in Second Crown.
It’s possible all of it was because he was targeting Red Skull.
“Ha, someone who participates in the Beginner League? At most, they’re not even level 200. And they dare to look down on Red Skull?”
When his sibling was attacked, honestly, I didn’t pay much attention.
The fact that Red Skull was disrespected did bother me a little, but I had no intention of going out of my way to find a user whose nickname I didn’t even know just for that reason.
But now, things are different.
If this person really is harboring ill intent toward Red Skull.
“I don’t know what his scheme is, but I need to show him exactly what Red Skull is.”
I don’t know what ill intent he harbors toward Red Skull.
But I’ll make him taste defeat bitter enough that his malice gets trampled.
With that thought, Moonlight Wolf glared at Mir on the screen.
* * *
“Luke, you can’t eat that, right?”
– I apologize, Master. Even if I swallow them, it feels like chewing empty shells, so I cannot properly absorb any nutrients.
“Don’t apologize, it can’t be helped.”
In the Second Crown preliminary round, ‘Monster Hunter,’ I couldn’t gain experience, but I could raise Luke’s stats through predation.
Battle Royale didn’t allow for that.
I didn’t know this in First since there weren’t many opportunities to face users, but now it seems Luke cannot raise his stats through users.
“Should we head to the Center for now?”
To pass, I need to move to the Center first.
If I stay on the outskirts, I’ll have to keep fleeing from the sinking sand terrain.
But I can’t just keep running forever.
[ ‘Unmemory Spirit’ player has defeated ‘The Lion’ player. ]
Befitting the battle royale format, the players continued fighting without pause even at this moment.
[ 1st Place: Mir ]
[ 2nd Place: Unmemory Spirit ]
….
The rankings in this match were also being determined by the kill log.
Fortunately, thanks to Defair and his group whom I just defeated, I managed to take first place.
[ 1st Place: Unmemory Spirit ]
But the rankings were quickly reversed.
The bulk of the wasted time came from my immediate move to the Center of the Desert, searching for Defair instead of hunting users.
So from this moment forward.
“Let me hunt properly.”
I advanced in earnest toward the Center of the Desert, intent on striking down every user in my path.
My goal this time, as always, was first place.
With that thought, my body moved forward.
Whoosh.
I vanished like a mirage, obscured by the desert’s swirling sand and dust.

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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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