The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Even when he anxiously looked around, Kaiser was nowhere to be seen.

He thought maybe Kaiser had entered first, so he went further inside, but it was the same.

“What the hell, damn it!?”

The guy who was definitely there just before entering the boss room had suddenly disappeared?

It was a situation that would make anyone feel haunted.

There was no image to keep up; it was the kind of moment that made swearing the only option.

Creak—Thunk.

Creak—.

To make matters worse, elite soldiers approached, making clanking metal sounds.

At this rate, there was no way he wouldn’t attract their aggro.

“Where the hell did that bastard go!? Did he disconnect or what!?”

“No, it still says he’s online.”

“Then what is this? Don’t tell me he used an emergency dungeon escape?”

Emergency escape.

A convenient feature that allowed one to forcibly exit a dungeon, but only before entering the boss room.

There was a penalty, reducing health by 30% for two hours, but it wasn’t too harsh, so many people used it often.

The penalty could even be removed by taking a special potion from an NPC.

However, this feature couldn’t be used once the boss raid started.

If someone suddenly disappeared during a boss trial, it could put the whole party at risk of being wiped out, so this was to prevent trolling.

Which meant…

“That bastard… figured it out.”

“Ah, no wonder he dodged every attack.”

“Isn’t it because you made it too obvious when you were shooting! Damn it…”

“What are you talking about! You’re the one who told me to shoot.”

“Is this the time for us to fight amongst ourselves? Get it together, idiots.”

The guy must have figured out their plan.

At this point, there was no choice.

If they didn’t want to suffer the death penalty, they’d have to grit their teeth and clear the dungeon.

“Let’s take care of the elite soldiers first. I’ll mark the boss, so the rest of you handle the rest.”

“Damn it… fine.”

The only saving grace was that they were all skilled players who had reached the graduation level.

They even had a mage, so as long as they didn’t make mistakes, the raid was manageable.

Tap!

The first to step forward was Bastardsword.

His goal was to draw the elite soldiers’ aggro.

[The unique ability ‘Final Showdown’ has activated.]

[Until the showdown with the designated target is settled, your defense and health will increase by 50%.]

‘Tsk. What a hassle.’

The unique ability Final Showdown.

A powerful ability granted by a Heroic God, which excelled in endurance fights.

Thanks to this ability, Bastardsword could confidently take on the role of a sub-tank, even though he was a swordsman.

Creak…

The moment the elite goblin soldier hesitated at the sight of Bastardsword’s sudden appearance, he struck first.

[Bastardsword has used ‘Triple Slash’.]

A basic skill that swiftly slashed three times—upper, middle, and lower.

Although it was a standard skill, Bastardsword’s Triple Slash was different from others.

[The trait ‘One More Hit’ has manifested.]

[An additional hit is made.]

A trait that added one more hit to any skill.

As a result, his Triple Slash turned into a Quadruple Slash.

The elite soldier, unexpectedly struck in a vital point, glared with bloodshot eyes.

Clang! Clang!

[The Red Goblin Elite Soldier has recognized ‘Bastardsword’ as an enemy.]

[The ‘Determination’ trait has activated.]

[The aggro will not be released.]

Not one to be outdone, Bastardsword attacked the adjacent elite soldier as well.

The result was the same—this one too locked onto Bastardsword with its aggro.

Like bulls charging at a red cape, both elite soldiers only chased after Bastardsword.

“Aggro is secured here!”

“Okay. I’ll start marking as well.”

Finally, the paladin began to move.

Leaving behind Bastardsword and MageEver, he ventured deeper into the dungeon, where a goblin even larger than the elite soldiers appeared.

Kiiee…

A goblin as tall and stocky as the 180cm-tall paladin.

However, it wasn’t muscular but rather covered in a thick layer of fat, and its sneaky goblin face made it even more displeasing to look at.

Yet its fiercely glowing eyes were chilling.

[Goblin Chieftain]

-Title: Rare Dungeon Boss

-Type: Goblin

-Traits: Coward, Selfish Defense, Revenge

-Description: The chieftain of a once great goblin tribe.

Only goblins who inherited the bloodline of the greatest goblin warriors from ancient times could become chieftains.

However, the bloodline has thinned over time, and the current chieftain can’t hide his cowardly nature, failing even to manage his weight properly due to his reluctance to step forward.

But even so, he is still the tribe’s chieftain. One who can feel anger for his fallen comrades.

It was the Goblin Chieftain.

Kiiee!

Just as described, the creature was filled with rage.

[All Goblin Scouts have been killed.]

[All Goblin Soldiers have been killed.]

He was furious over the deaths of his comrades.

Over his own cowardice that had led them to their deaths.

[The ‘Revenge’ trait has activated.]

[Until all humans in the dungeon are eradicated, all of the Goblin Chieftain’s stats will increase, and his battle instincts will surge.]

And at the humans who were the cause of it all.

“Look at his eyes.”

Normally, the Coward trait was considered a penalty.

It meant the creature had such a weak mental state that it couldn’t even fight properly due to fear.

It was hard to believe that such a terrible trait belonged to a rare boss, but when combined with the Revenge trait, it created a terrifying synergy.

The more of his comrades were killed, and the more he directed his rage at his enemies, the stronger he became during his revenge.

Boom! Bang!

“Grr…!”

The force of the blows pounding on the shield was no joke.

He wasn’t using any particular skills, just hammering down with wild punches, but even that was hard to block.

Still, he was confident he could endure it.

Compared to Arde’s goblin warriors, this one had simpler attack patterns.

There was no need to interrupt any pattern; just enduring would be enough. It was tough, but not impossible.

[The unique ability ‘Endurance’ has activated.]

[Damage taken while maintaining the same posture is reduced.]

[The trait ‘Unyielding Body’ has manifested.]

[Your body becomes heavier, greatly reducing the chance of being knocked back.]

And this was his area of expertise.

Although he was a Mortal God, he was well-regarded among tanks, having chosen the village’s Immovable God title, and even his traits specialized in endurance.

“I’m holding out, so finish it off quickly!”

“I got it…!?”

MageEver, who had been about to cast a spell with an enthusiastic reply, suddenly froze, staring into the air with disbelief.

He cried out in a voice filled with shock.

“You, why the hell are you here…!?”

The shout was loud enough to catch the attention of the two who were focused on marking.

“What’s going on? Huh?”

“What’s that guy doing here…?”

When they turned their heads, they couldn’t help but freeze.

It was unbelievable.

Step, step.

Footsteps echoed from beyond the boss room door.

The one leisurely walking in, as if out for a casual stroll, was none other than Kaiser—Do-hyeon—the one they had been desperately searching for.

“You dodged all the attacks? Couldn’t hit me even if I stood still.”

Hearing his grumbling in a flat tone, the others snapped back to reality and shouted.

“How the hell!?”

“You weren’t visible before! How did you come in from there!?”

“Is this bastard really using hacks?”

At their outbursts, Do-hyeon chuckled.

He had already confirmed their true nature, but now that the situation was what it was, they weren’t even bothering to hide their masks anymore, which made it all the more amusing.

‘In the end, my guess was right.’

His intuition had never been wrong about this sort of thing…

With an accuracy rate of over 90%, how could he not trust it?

‘I’m glad I used Backstab to hide.’

Backstab was a skill that allowed the user to move behind the target.

Objects weren’t considered targets.

But what about corpses?

They were no longer living beings, but they weren’t objects either, so wouldn’t it be possible?

Thinking along those lines, as he was about to enter the boss room, Do-hyeon used Backstab on the corpse of a goblin soldier.

‘Who would’ve thought it’d work on a corpse.’

The result was a success.

Thanks to that, Do-hyeon quickly disappeared from their sight, hiding around a corner in the hallway, and then returned to the boss room when he thought it was the right time.

From his vantage point, watching them was quite the spectacle.

The moment he vanished, they started swearing like sailors and revealing their entire plan.

“They really think I’m hacking… It’s almost like I’ve heard that before from someone.”

“Uh, no…”

Even their reactions.

It was certain now.

These guys were connected to the person who held a grudge against him.

****

And it wasn’t hard to guess who that was.

“Wasn’t it AssassinBoy? Are you guys his friends?”

“……”

The only people holding a grudge against Do-hyeon right now were those guys.

Seeing their inability to respond, it seemed he was right.

He’d heard they were being hunted down, but they were still trying to get revenge at a time like this.

Clearly, they weren’t normal.

‘Well, no surprise they posted those kinds of comments on the board.’

Should he call them stupid or just say their hatred ran deep?

At least they didn’t seem completely stupid.

“Wait a second. We’re not denying we’re your enemies. But right now, you need to help us clear this dungeon.”

“……”

Bastardsword was tied up by the elite soldiers, and the paladin was handling the Goblin Chieftain.

That left only MageEver, but mages were weak in one-on-one fights.

Meanwhile, their opponent wasn’t just any random guy but a swordsman with overwhelming damage potential.

Realizing their disadvantage, they immediately switched to negotiation.

‘Surprising.’

Perhaps misunderstanding Do-hyeon’s curious gaze, MageEver continued speaking cautiously.

“You know as well as I do that a mage is essential here. And we also need a tank to handle the aggro.”

“Hmm.”

“So let’s join forces for now. Since we’re the ones holding all the aggro, we can’t attack you even if we wanted to. And there’s no reason to.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Unless they were insane, they wouldn’t attack Do-hyeon while aggro was concentrated on them.

Plus, the Goblin Chieftain’s Selfish Defense trait made it impossible to clear the dungeon without a mage.

It would be wise to team up for now.

“I don’t want to.”

In a normal situation, that is.

“What the…? Huh!?”

Thud!

A warm sensation spread from his chest, and MageEver shakily raised his trembling hand.

A massive greatsword had pierced through him.

He raised his head, and in disbelief, looked at Do-hyeon gripping the sword just in front of him.

Crunch!

[Player ‘Great10ClassArchmageMageEver’ has been killed.]

[Player ‘Great10ClassArchmageMageEver’ has been identified as ‘Evil’. Your karma will not increase as this is recognized as self-defense.]

‘As expected, he was evil.’

Seeing how sensitive he was about the death penalty, Do-hyeon had a feeling, and fortunately, he was right.

If necessary, he had been prepared to accept a slight increase in his karma level, but it turned out he didn’t need to.

While Do-hyeon remained calm, the other two weren’t.

“MageEver!? Are you insane!? You killed the mage?”

“What the hell, you crazy bastard! You’re trying to get us all killed?”

The paladin and Bastardsword shouted furiously.

Even while struggling to maintain aggro, their anger was clear, showing just how furious they were.

Watching them, Do-hyeon smiled faintly.

“Do you know what my creed is?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Why would that matter now!?”

Despite their angry reactions, Do-hyeon remained unfazed.

“I never team up with people who try to stab me in the back. Whether I end up winning or losing, if I join forces with those kinds of people, the outcome is always terrible.”

Back in DemRock, he had learned this the hard way.

He had lived peacefully in the modern world before, and the first game he played was DemRock.

He had the talent to reach the top, but did that mean the path had been smooth?

No.

There had been countless people who tried to cheat and betray him, taking advantage of Do-hyeon’s ignorance of the gaming world.

In the early days, he’d fallen for a few of them.

From merchants using unimaginable tricks to poisoners lacing buff foods or assassins pretending to be party members.

‘I got sick of it.’

Some even proposed temporary alliances under the guise of mutual benefit in dire situations.

Since it seemed rational at the time, he had agreed.

Then, the day after they drove off the enemy, an army came rushing in.

It had been an army the so-called allies had assembled.

Their plan all along had been to take out both the enemy and Do-hyeon.

After surviving such hardships for years, Do-hyeon had learned one thing.

‘Yesterday’s enemy is today’s enemy.’

Yesterday’s enemy becoming today’s ally?

Nonsense.

That was just something from old sayings.

An enemy once is an enemy forever, and no two people can coexist under the same sun.