The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 7
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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 7
Chapter 7
“Remarkable! Truly remarkable! In these past two years, I’ve seen countless novice adventurers, but you’re the first whose skill rivals your own!”
“Ah… Thank you? So, the next quest is…”
“Of course I’ll give it to you! I’m counting on you! Next, it’s twenty Blue Slimes! Their habitat is over there… No, follow me this way! I’ll guide you personally!”
“But shouldn’t you be guarding the Western Gate?”
“With your abilities, Blue Slimes would be nothing! It’s faster for me to accompany you than to have you running back and forth!”
“I appreciate it, though…”
Somehow, I ended up traveling alongside the Guard Captain.
Well, I’m fine with it.
Until now, I’ve been moving according to my memories from First, but the geography and monster placements in Second could change suddenly.
Sure enough, the location of the Blue Slimes was slightly different from where I remembered.
If the Guard Captain hadn’t guided me, I might have gotten lost for a moment.
Anyway, the moment we arrived.
Whoosh!
Splat!!
I began firing arrows.
Perfect accuracy once again.
For someone who could hit the reverse scales of a Golden Dragon, striking the cores of Blue Slimes was child’s play.
And each time I did.
“Incredible! How is this possible! Ohhh! It’s like watching a divine archer! Wait, are you truly descended from divine archer blood? If not, this shouldn’t be possible at all!”
Exclamations of amazement echoed from behind me.
It was somewhat bothersome, but what did it matter?
Thanks to him following along, I no longer needed to retrieve the cores and return, and my favorability was rising faster than expected.
In Second, the higher your favorability, the more benefits you could gain, so there was no reason for me to complain.
“Luke, I’m counting on you.”
– A request? I’m merely grateful, Master.
Gulp!
[ Luke has consumed a ‘Blue Slime’. ]
[ Luke’s stats have increased by 5. ]
Once again, Luke absorbed the monster’s corpse and extracted the core for me.
Just from absorbing a slime, my stats increased by 5.
It could be called broken, but unfortunately, stat increases of this magnitude only happen when consuming the first monster.
When Luke devours the same monster repeatedly, his stat growth becomes negligible.
Well, even so, Luke’s abilities were essentially broken.
“Next, it’s Purple Slimes!”
[ Linked Quest ‘Slime Hunting 5’ has been created. ]
Rank: Intermediate
Description: The West Gate of Starting City is troubled by the ever-increasing slime infestation.
Objective: Hunt Purple Slimes and obtain 20 ‘Purple Slime Cores’ to bring to the Guard Captain.
“Come this way! The habitat of Purple Slimes is quite treacherous to reach, so I’ll show you the fastest shortcut!”
The Guard Captain guided me with genuine enthusiasm.
But could the Guard Captain really keep abandoning the Western Gate like this?
I worried he might face disciplinary action, but since I had nothing to lose, I simply nodded along and followed him.
‘The geography has changed quite a bit.’
As I moved behind the Guard Captain.
I observed the surroundings, taking in how the landscape had transformed.
The overall structure remained the same, but the finer details felt distinctly different.
This thought only reinforced my earlier suspicion: ‘Could Second be the future of First?’
In any case, thanks to the Guard Captain’s shortcut, I arrived at the next hunting ground quickly.
“Purple Slimes are truly formidable, so you must be careful! They emit poison every time they’re struck, which is quite dangerous for new adventurers…”
Splurt!
“Goodness! Purple Slimes have tough outer shells, so most archers can’t pierce the core with just one or two arrows!”
I began hunting the Purple Slimes.
Tough outer shells?
Irrelevant.
What are my current stats?
With my abilities combined with the Gentle Breeze Bow’s attack power, I could pierce through anything—tough shells or otherwise.
The moment I defeated the Purple Slime.
[ Achievement Unlocked: Critical Strike ]
Condition: Land 100 consecutive critical hits on monster weak points
Reward: Increased critical damage
An Achievement notification appeared.
It was an Achievement I already knew about.
Since I needed to hunt a hundred slimes anyway to progress the Quest line, my deliberate strategy of targeting only weak points had paid off.
‘So Achievements are the same as before. Or maybe there are some new ones added?’
I intended to collect every Achievement I already knew about.
Achievement rewards might seem insignificant at first, but as they accumulate, they eventually become powerful enough to multiply your combat power several times over.
“Here is the Purple Slime’s core.”
“To hunt Purple Slimes so swiftly! You truly possess the makings of a master archer!”
[ You have completed the linked Quest ‘Slime Hunting 5’. ]
[ Your level has increased. ]
I had now completed five linked Quests.
Thanks to the experience gained from hunting slimes and completing Quests, my level was already 10.
The slime-hunting Quest chain was designed so that completing it alone would bring you exactly to level 10, so this was inevitable.
Now that the linked Quests were finished, I should head to choose a class.
But I knew.
If I performed well in the linked Quests and built sufficient rapport with the Guard Captain.
“Say, do you happen to know of something called the Big Slime?”
A hidden final linked Quest would appear.
Big Slime.
I knew it well—the boss entity among slimes.
But I couldn’t very well say “I already know about it, so please give me the quest” in front of the Guard Captain, whose eyes were gleaming with such enthusiasm.
“Big Slime?”
“That’s right, Big Slime! The leader of all these slimes. It’s such a powerful monster that we haven’t been able to entrust it to new adventurers, but I think you could handle it!”
“If you’ll entrust it to me, I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you so much!”
I responded enthusiastically to the Guard Captain’s words.
At the same moment, a quest window appeared before me.
[ Hidden Quest ‘Slime Hunting 6’ has been created. ]
Rank: Advanced
Description: The West Gate of Starting City is suffering from an ever-increasing slime infestation.
Objective: Hunt the Big Slime and obtain the ‘Big Slime’s Core,’ then bring it to the Guard Captain.
A hidden quest.
It meant a concealed quest.
These were quests that could only be obtained by meeting specific conditions, and fortunately, it seemed Luke and I had the same requirements.
“Come this way!”
“Are you going to guide me again?”
“Big Slime is extremely dangerous! Even you could be in danger! Just to be safe, I’ll guide you there myself!”
Once again, the Guard Captain led the way.
No matter how fast my hunting speed was, quite some time must have passed since I left my post.
I wasn’t sure if this was really acceptable.
In any case, I.
“Luke, show me the items?”
– Yes, Master.
I checked the items stored in Luke’s subspace while following the Guard Captain.
As we walked, the Guard Captain kept talking, saying things like “I’ve been working as a guard for a year now, and adventurers like you are really something…” and I responded appropriately.
Even so, I didn’t forget to memorize the route.
Since I didn’t know how much things had changed from Luke’s time, I needed to carefully remember the surrounding geography.
“Here it is!”
We arrived at the location before long.
I didn’t see any special monsters at first glance.
In fact, compared to the hunting grounds where slimes had been crawling all over until now, it was strangely devoid of slimes.
The reason was simple.
‘This is a place where you can’t hunt any monsters unless you’ve accepted a quest.’
What was known as a Boss Zone.
Even if I knew the Big Slime’s location and came looking for it, I couldn’t see the Big Slime unless I had accepted a hidden quest like I had.
Sure enough, the Guard Captain pulled something from his pocket.
“Is that a tool to summon the Big Slime?”
“That’s right. It’s called a ‘Slime Core Crystal,’ made by condensing slime cores.”
“Hmm.”
“The Guard Corps has been collecting slime cores from new adventurers to prepare for subjugating the Big Slime. The problem was simply that they lacked the strength to defeat it.”
The Guard Captain stepped forward and placed the slime core crystal on the ground.
“However, I believe you can do it. I’m counting on you. The Big Slime responds to the crystal, but it’s a vicious monster that erupts randomly and devours both our Guard Corps and adventurers alike.”
With those words.
Gurgle.
Moisture began rising from the earth beneath the crystal.
No, not moisture.
A viscous liquid surged upward, drenching the ground completely.
Its size was larger than expected.
As the liquid revealed itself further, it engulfed the slime core crystal and rose with a satisfied undulation, finally displaying its complete form.
That was it.
[ Big Slime ]
A hidden boss monster concealed within the City of Beginnings.
The Big Slime.
‘And I can only receive the Guard Corps’ seal by defeating the Big Slime.’
The Guard Corps’ seal.
That was the crux of it.
To obtain it, I absolutely had to bring down the Big Slime.
Gurgle.
The Big Slime’s size was enormous.
It appeared capable of swallowing and absorbing a tree or two of considerable girth, or even a massive boulder whole.
Yet despite its scale, a core barely the size of a thumb remained hidden at its center, moving ceaselessly.
Piercing its elastic exterior was difficult, and even if I managed it, reaching the core was harder still. And even if I reached it, the probability of hitting a constantly moving target was abysmal.
That’s why many abandoned this quest upon learning of its existence.
At maximum level 10, achievable in the City of Beginnings, even a full party would struggle to hunt such a formidable enemy.
“Be careful. I trust in your abilities, but the Big Slime is powerful enough to make even the Guard Corps hesitate. Your arrows are fast and strong, but hitting the Big Slime’s core will be difficult.”
As I observed the Big Slime, the Guard Captain’s voice reached me from behind.
Advice meant for me.
However, I shook my head at that counsel.
“I won’t be using a bow this time.”
“What are you saying! An archer of your caliber not using a bow! Then how exactly do you intend to face the Big Slime!”
“I was never an archer to begin with.”
“That can’t be! Someone with your talent—the gods themselves blessed you with an archer’s gift!”
I was not an archer.
Using the bow had always been merely a means to hunt slimes quickly and efficiently.
“Luke.”
– Yes, Master.
Black Flame ignited in my hand.
I had already decided which weapon would bring down the slime.
As the black flames subsided, the handle of the revealed weapon gleamed with a vivid crimson hue.
The spearhead was bared with a ferocity that seemed ready to tear an enemy’s heart from their chest at any moment, and the shaft matched that malevolent crimson perfectly.
The weapon’s true identity was none other than.
[ Spear of Anguish, Gae Bolg ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type : Spear
Grade : Epic
Requirements : Level 750+, Agility 1,000+, Spear Mastery Lv 75+
Description : A harpoon forged from the bones of a sea beast called Kinhen, a blood-cursed spear that tears through an enemy’s body and unleashes torrents of blood.
An epic-grade blood-cursed spear with a level 750 requirement.
Gae Bolg.
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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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