The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 10

When he opened his eyes, what he saw was countless cards.

Ten thousand cards floating above a black space.

‘So, this is the famous Pantheon.’

An event more commonly known as “Card Draw” rather than by its grand name, Pantheon.

The highlight of God of Savior, an event that made countless users laugh and cry.

It was the moment when the God Draw would unfold.

[Welcome to the Pantheon.]

[Each card contains a different god.]

[Please select the god you will serve.]

“Wow… there’s so many.”

The god-draw system, notorious for being the best way to test one’s wealth or luck.

There were countless stories about people spending tens of millions of won to get their desired god, only to fail and shed tears.

On the other hand, some would succeed in just ten tries after others failed despite investing huge sums of money, in a system where you either threw money at it or relied purely on luck.

Do-hyeon, who prided himself on being the unluckiest person in the world, planned to finish his god draw quickly.

‘No need to get greedy.’

He had already obtained enough rewards, and with six traits—though it would hurt—he could endure even if he ended up with a subpar god.

“…Huh?”

At least, that was his plan.

Until he looked closely at the cards in front of him.

“…Why is that one gold?”

It wasn’t just gold.

Every card was radiating a different color of light.

* * *

Once players completed the tutorial, they faced a critical decision.

They had to choose one god from among the many in the Pantheon to serve.

Since their class would be derived from the god they chose, the selection had to be made carefully.

And that wasn’t all.

In God of Savior, where everything was divided into grades, gods were no exception.

There were Mortal Gods, Heroic Gods, and Mythical Gods.

Mortal Gods were those who had become gods through stories passed down consistently over time.

Heroic Gods were former humans, once known as heroes, who ascended to the Pantheon.

Lastly, Mythical Gods were beings who had created entire mythologies.

Figures like Zeus from Greek mythology or Odin from Norse mythology belonged to this category.

Of course, the higher the category, the higher the grade.

Naturally, everyone wanted to become an apostle of a Mythical God, but not everyone could achieve that.

“Yeah, this cursed trash game doesn’t change.”

Everything was based on probability.

What were the odds of drawing a Mythical God card, which might be only a handful among the ten thousand?

Naturally, it wasn’t easy to draw one, and it was commonly said that getting a Mythical God required either incredible luck or an astronomical amount of money.

[Someone just drew the Northern Lion God. Should I stop here?]

-Lion God…? Gustav? Dude, if it’s a Heroic God, stop immediately.

-I’ve still got 300 pulls left… but I got it in 200 pulls, so I’m conflicted.

-Whoa, a Heroic God in 200 pulls?! Is this even real?

-What’s there to debate? Gustav is solid. Don’t push your luck, just stop.

-I wanted to be a main tank… but Gustav only leads to commander or sub-tank classes. If it were a DPS, I’d be fine, but sub-tank hurts my pride a bit…

-You’ll have to run it without stopping, which makes it hard to use as a main tank, but with the right skill set, you can make it work.

-If not Gustav, why not go with the Honorable Axe God? “Is this your axe?”

-Lol, the Honorable Axe God only leads to axe-user classes, right?

-Dude, stop complaining. A Heroic God in 200 pulls is a blessing. You’re too greedy.

-Do you think you’ll get another Heroic God in 300 more pulls?

-Come on, some people can pull a thousand times and still not get one. Thinking your luck will keep going after one hit is foolish.

-Oh, you’re right… Thanks for talking some sense into me, guys.

Even just pulling a Heroic God was enough to make people reconsider their class choice, given how valuable Heroic Gods were.

It was only natural.

Mythical Gods were so rare that they were practically the stuff of fantasy, even among the ten billion players.

Heroic Gods were also rare enough that their apostles could brag wherever they went.

[I’m doomed… No matter how much I pull, I only get Mortal Gods… Has the water in the Han River warmed up yet?]

-It’s fine, man. Most non-spenders are in the same boat. If you pick the right Mortal God, they can still be useful. The problem is that there’s a huge performance gap between different Mortal Gods.

-My friend got a Heroic God in one pull…

-That’s just because your friend’s luck is insane. I had to spend ten million won to get mine. Now that I think about it, why the hell do I have to spend ten million while someone else gets a Heroic God for free? This game’s all about luck, and it sucks.

Most players had Mortal Gods.

Although they often complained, the reality was that Mortal Gods weren’t inherently bad.

Each class had its own unique effects, and all classes could use the same skills within their category.

That’s why many evaluations said that if a god was mediocre but the traits were good, you were still in luck.

Still, people were always serious about the god draw.

[Everyone’s whining about Mortal Gods, but I’m not happy even with a Heroic God.]

-Stop the humblebragging.

-Stop trolling, please.

-Humblebrag? What traits do you have? Wanna swap places with my Three Talent Swordsmanship?

I pulled a Heroic God with my own money, but this cursed trait is something I can’t do anything about, and it’s driving me nuts.

I see people with Innate Mana traits complaining about Mortal Gods, and I’m like, really? Isn’t that going too far?

-Oh…

-How did you mess up with Three Talent Swordsmanship…?

In reality, this god draw was the second and last chance for those with bad traits.

For those whose traits were terrible, if their god draw was also bad, there was simply no hope.

That’s why they were so serious about it.

Maybe because of that?

Those with good traits often got subpar gods, while those with bad traits sometimes drew top-tier gods.

Of course, there were always special cases.

Those who had both a broken trait and a Mythical God, the type that made people say they were outright cheating.

[Myeolsal really is on another level.]

[He has a Mythical God and top-tier traits. Seriously, why does he get all the luck?]

[He’s got insane physical skills, tons of money, good looks, popularity… Why does he have to live life all by himself?]

[That’s just how people who have everything are. He’s so far beyond us that he doesn’t even stir feelings of inferiority anymore. He’s like a person from another world.]

Players like Myeolsal and the ten guild masters.

Or those who had already reached high-ranker status.

They lived in a world of their own, as the users often said.

That’s why Do-hyeon had no expectations.

‘It’s not like my luck has ever been good.’

He was the guy who, even during DemRock’s shutdown, never got a single legendary skill.

Considering his luck, he would probably have to invest astronomical amounts of money to get a good god, but he didn’t have that kind of money.

At most, he had about a million won saved up.

Whether he got a Mortal God or not, he would be satisfied if he just got a god that gave him a class that could wield a sword.

“Damn.”

That had been his plan, at least…

“What the hell is this?”

That plan was now completely changed.

Astronomical money? A ridiculous amount of luck?

None of that mattered anymore.

“…I can see the grades.”

The colors radiating from the cards were revealing their grades.

“Poop color, silver, gold.”

From left to right, they symbolized Mortal Gods, Heroic Gods, and Mythical Gods.

The colors were being reflected on the front of the cards, but for some reason, they were now shining from the back.

This wasn’t a bug or an error.

It wasn’t just some cliché explanation that God of Savior had no bugs because it was managed by AI.

[Eye of Truth is activating.]

The message floating above his head explained why.

It was the unique trait he had obtained after clearing the tutorial.

‘It pierces through hidden things…’

He hadn’t quite understood what the trait’s effect was, but he never imagined it would have such a broken effect.

‘This is insane.’

It wasn’t just a figure of speech; it truly was insane.

No matter how important traits were in the game, could a mere trait really intrude into the system’s mechanics like this?

If this was real, it meant he could guarantee which cards to draw in the future.

Only he could do this, in all of God of Savior.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

He could feel his heart pounding rapidly as blood pumped through his veins.

It was beating so hard that the sound echoed in his head.

‘This is crazy.’

The excitement was overwhelming.

Guaranteed pulls? Was there anything more broken than that in a game based on luck?

-Why are you so unlucky? I feel sorry for you, man.

-I’m curious. If you had good luck, how far could you have gone?

-You’re already ranked #1. How much higher could you go?

-That’s not what I meant, idiot.

His teammates had once said this in passing.

At the time, he had laughed it off, but part of him had felt bitter.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t been frustrated with his bad luck.

He had just found solace in the fact that he still reached #1, despite it all. Yet, no one had felt the pain of it more deeply than him.

‘But now…’

Now, everything was different.

Starting 18 months late?

Sure, it was a big disadvantage, to the point that, under normal circumstances, becoming a ranker was out of the question.

That’s why Do-hyeon hadn’t cared about ranking when he started the game.

Of course, it would be nice to become the best if he was playing anyway, but he had been too late.

‘But maybe now…’

But with the Eye of Truth?

If Kaiser, who was once cursed with bad luck, now had better luck than anyone?

…Maybe, just maybe, it would really be possible to become a ranker again.

‘Stay calm.’

Suppressing the dizziness, Do-hyeon took a deep breath.

He was jumping to conclusions too early. He could judge after he drew his god.

‘Only 20 out of 10,000…’

This was why drawing a Mythical God cost so much money.

Compared to the roughly 500 to 700 silver-colored Heroic God cards, it was clearly an abysmal probability.

Though right now, probability was irrelevant.

‘I’ll only go for the gold cards.’

With his heart racing, Do-hyeon picked a golden card.

As the dazzling golden light filled his vision, a cheerful notification sounded, and his eyes widened.

[You have drawn the Mythical God, ‘One-Armed Sword God Tyr.’]

[Will you select this god?]

“Tyr…!”

Despite the humble-sounding name, Tyr was the god of war and swords from Norse mythology, also known as the god of duels.

Before Odin, he was considered the supreme god, but after losing an arm, he had lost his status.

Although some regions still regarded him as the highest god, losing an arm inevitably caused his prestige to decline.

Because of this, his reputation wasn’t good at first…

However, once Tyr’s unique ability became known, his evaluation changed completely.

‘And for good reason.’

Tyr’s unique ability: Duel.

In battles judged as duels, it increased damage against enemies. But the most broken ability was his second one.

‘When near death, he revives at the cost of an arm.’

It was a perfect fit for his title as the One-Armed Sword God.

Considering how burdensome death penalties were in the later stages of the game, and how rare revival abilities were in comparison, it was an amazing ability.

Even though the cooldown was long, in critical situations, it was like having an extra life.

Having an extra life changed how you played.

It allowed for much bolder moves.

‘This is the one.’

He still had a million won left, meaning he could pull ten more times, but there was no need.

A better god than Tyr?

There might be one, but Do-hyeon was certain that no god would be more useful to him within the next ten pulls.

Tyr was already among the best sword gods he had hoped for.

Swoosh.

With no hesitation, Do-hyeon selected the card.

A message appeared.

[You have selected the Mythical God, ‘One-Armed Sword God Tyr.’]

[The vessel for an apostle has not been created.]

[You cannot become Tyr’s apostle.]

[Please draw another card.]

[Tyr is extremely confused by this unexpected situation.]

“…?”

An incomprehensible message appeared.