The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 16

-BestShield LV9
-AimForTheForehead LV9
-YubinKkyung LV9
-Kaiser LV9

They had leveled up five more times, reaching level 9.

However, not all level 9s were the same.

While the others had earned 25 stat points, Do-hyeon had earned 35.

Even though it was still early in the game, he had already gained a 10-point advantage.

[Player: Kaiser]

[Level: 9]

[HP: 1,170/1,200]

[MP: 120/250]

[Stamina: 100/230]

[Class: The Final Adventurer ]

[Titles (2)]

-Max Favorability From the Start?

-First Slayer

[Stats]

Remaining Points: 0

Once again, Do-hyeon had invested 14 points into Strength and Agility, and 7 points into Senses.

So far, he hadn’t felt the need to invest in Stamina.

‘These are level 9 stats… definitely OP.’

It was no wonder the goblins melted from critical hits so easily.

And that wasn’t all.

[Sword Mastery LV 6]

[Dagger Mastery LV 3]

[Blunt Weapon Mastery LV 4]

[Poison Needle Mastery LV 2]

By using various weapons during hunting, his mastery levels had increased across the board.

Even accounting for his skill, this was an unusually fast rate of growth.

It was all thanks to his Weapon Master trait, allowing him to level up weapon proficiencies at a rapid pace.

With the First Slayer title and his necklace adding extra damage, his output was simply overwhelming.

As mastery levels increased, so did damage.

[Due to Sword Mastery LV 6, sword-related damage increases by 6%.]

‘This is great.’

Each level added 1% damage.

Most players barely reached levels 3 or 4 in mastery before graduating from the beginner city, yet Do-hyeon had already reached level 6.

Even his non-primary weapons were at levels 3 or 4.

No wonder Weapon Master was considered OP.

Now that he was in actual combat, he could feel how powerful traits like Hidden Dragon and Weapon Master truly were.

“I think we’re getting pretty good. Did you see those perfect hits?”

“Well, no. It’s because Kaiser and BestShield took all the aggro. Don’t you remember how we almost wiped because of your mistake?”

“Oh, come on, stop bringing up old stuff. I’m not the same newbie from back then! Besides, you fired a Mana Bolt at a corpse.”

“…That was a double-tap.”

“Pfft, double-tap my foot. The thing was dead for ages before you shot it. Kaiser, you saw it too, right?”

Do-hyeon glanced to the side as his party members bantered.

Now that they had become more confident with hunting goblins, the initial hesitation had vanished.

Watching YubinKkyung and AimForTheForehead bicker, BestShield chuckled awkwardly.

“Haha… they can be a bit childish. They’re always fighting over the smallest things.”

“I understand,” Do-hyeon replied, as if it was nothing.

“…I’m used to it.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s nothing.”

Do-hyeon shook his head and smirked.

‘I guess people are the same everywhere.’

Two comrades bickering like enemies, while he and another just watched as if it were a child’s squabble—it all felt oddly familiar.

Perhaps that’s why partying with these people didn’t feel so awkward after all.

‘More importantly…’

They had completed the Green Goblin quests.

Now, only one quest remained.

“Shall we get going?”

At Do-hyeon’s casual remark, YubinKkyung and AimForTheForehead froze for a moment.

AimForTheForehead scratched his head, while YubinKkyung nervously fidgeted with her staff.

“…Yeah, we should. But… I’m a little tense.”

“They call it the Newbie Killer… we’ll be okay, right?”

“I mean, with my current form, I feel like I could pierce through someone’s skull… but…”

“No, definitely not.”

Listening to their conversation, Do-hyeon glanced at his quest window.

[Blood of the Mutant Goblin]

-Grade: Rare

-Description: This quest was requested by Kalde, an alchemist who has lived for a long time. He has recently taken an interest in mutant goblins and seems to have found a clue. Collect the fresh blood of a Mutant Goblin Warrior living in a cave in the Arde Forest for him.

-Defeat the Mutant Goblin Warrior (0/1)

-Collect Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Blood (0/1)

-Completion Reward: 1 Gold, Experience, Silver Ring crafted by Kalde.

-Failure Penalty: Decreased favorability with Kalde.

-Time Limit: None.

‘This should be interesting.’

The Mutant Goblin Warrior.

It was the first elite boss monster players would face in God of Savior.

* * *

[How do you defeat the Mutant Goblin Warrior?]

[I’m on my third attempt and still failing. Was this thing even meant to be beaten?]

[If you follow the guide, you can beat it.]

[I’m trying, but one mistake and we all die. This is ridiculous.]

[Yeah, I remember struggling a lot with that boss when I was a newbie.]

The Mutant Goblin Warrior, also known as the Newbie Killer.

Its reputation as the Newbie Killer was even more well-known than its actual name. It was an iconic monster in Arde.

It wasn’t just the first elite boss players encountered—it was infamous for causing the first full-party wipeout many players would experience.

A dungeon where first attempts inevitably led to death.

A sneak peek at the challenge of raids to come.

An endless cycle of failure.

Arde’s Graveyard.

Among the many nicknames given to this dungeon, none were hopeful.

This place, the Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Lair, known for its extreme difficulty, was filled with nothing but despairing cries.

“F!”

“No way… seriously, did we just die?”

“I’m about to throw my controller.”

More accurately, it was filled with cursing rather than cries.

Players emerging from the dungeon warp often let out strings of expletives in unison.

Their faces were full of frustration.

“Yup, looks like that was their first attempt.”

“Looks like they died in Phase 2.”

“No one beats it on their first try.”

Without exception, all of them were first-attempt parties.

Even those who clicked their tongues now had reacted the same way on their own first attempts. This dungeon left a deep impact on first-timers.

The reason why newbies were so shocked was simple.

“Insane difficulty!”

“Did they really make this thing to be beaten?”

“Wow, I’d rather solo this thing. Every time a party member messes up, I want to punch them.”

Compared to fighting the goblin mobs, the difficulty was incomparably higher.

And the boss had specific patterns that required flawless teamwork.

When these two elements combined, it turned into pure hell.

Parties that had confidently slaughtered goblins now fell apart like kernels of popcorn, and once-close comrades began cursing each other’s families.

Some even said they’d prefer group projects over this—no further explanation was needed to understand how much hatred the dungeon generated.

Even if you played perfectly, if a party member messed up, you’d all die.

This dungeon demanded flawless synergy from the team, which led to newbies cursing the developers and demanding an explanation.

Yet experienced players had a different perspective.

“Honestly, defeating that thing helped me a lot later on.”

“If a party can’t beat this boss, they won’t stand a chance against the higher-level content anyway.”

“Better to take the beating early and build some patience… nothing you can do.”

“Besides, there’s no penalty for dying in Arde, right?”

Later on, players would fear death penalties so much that they wouldn’t dare to practice. But in Arde, there were no penalties for dying, no matter how many times you failed.

So, all you had to do was think of it as a chance to improve, bit by bit.

It might be frustrating at the moment, but once you cleared it, the satisfaction was immense.

Plus, this was a chance to filter out trolls early on.

Better to weed out the bad players now rather than wiping in a more serious boss fight later, where death penalties would only make things worse.

That was the real issue.

“Haven’t beaten the Mutant Goblin Warrior yet?”

“Hmm… sorry, but you can’t join our guild.”

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t want to party with someone who’s going to mess up. What if you rage-quit in the middle?”

Even in real life, companies preferred hiring experienced workers over fresh graduates. Why would it be any different in a game?

In fact, games were even harsher.

People played games to relieve stress, so no one wanted to bring along a ticking time bomb. Add death penalties to the mix, and players became even pickier.

For these veteran players, failing to beat the Mutant Goblin Warrior was like having a red mark on your record.

Can’t you just lie about it?

Unfortunately, not in God of Savior.

“Can you show me your Adventure Book?”

“Looking for a ranged DPS for elite boss raid. Must have at least three boss clears recorded.”

The Adventure Book.

A massive logbook that recorded all of a player’s adventures in God of Savior.

It tracked rare materials collected, specific quests completed, regions explored—and bosses defeated.

So, if you didn’t have any boss clear records, you wouldn’t even be considered for a party.

What’s worse, bosses in the next city couldn’t be skipped like those in Arde—they had to be defeated.

So, unless you had connections, there was no choice but to grit your teeth and get through it.

“People always say they forget their past struggles. But seriously, what’s so good about this?”

“I’m about to lose it right now!”

“Ugh, I just want to clear this and be done with it! I want to cast Fireball already!”

For the newbies who had to clear the dungeon, it was nothing short of torture.

Seeing them, YubinKkyung shuddered.

“…It looks really tough.”

“Well… yeah. It’s famous, but not in a good way.”

“You think we’ll be okay?”

“We’ve got our secret weapon, Kaiser, don’t we?”

“That’s the problem. If we mess up, we’ll drag him down with us.”

“…True.”

The same concern weighed heavily on BestShield and AimForTheForehead.

They had heard of the dungeon’s infamous reputation, but standing in front of it now, the pressure was more than they had anticipated.

Meanwhile, Do-hyeon simply surveyed the area calmly.

He listened to the frustrated complaints of other players and smirked.

‘Of course. They’re pulling their usual tricks here too.’

One wrong move, and the whole party wiped.

He had thought God of Savior was relatively forgiving with its newbie benefits, but the game still didn’t fail to live up to its challenge.

And on top of that…

[Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Lair]

-Grade: Rare

-Type: Party Dungeon

-Trait: Single Boss

-Description: The lair of a once-legendary warrior of the Green Goblin tribe, now cursed and exiled from his people.

[Party Size Limit: 4]

[Level Requirement: Below LV 10]

It was a party dungeon, so solo play wasn’t even an option.

‘No wonder there’s so much frustration—you have to fill all four slots.’

The dungeon required exactly four players to enter, no more, no less.

The dungeon couldn’t be cleared unless all four players perfectly executed the pattern strategies.

And these were all newbies who had only just been hunting goblin mobs.

It was a brutal system that seemed designed to maximize player suffering, but for Do-hyeon, it was nothing new.

A mere party dungeon?

‘In DemRock, this was everyday life.’

By now, party dungeons were as natural to him as breathing.

He had faced countless party dungeons and cleared every single one. And this dungeon already had a strategy guide available.

“So, shall we head in?”

“Oh, yes…! I’m ready.”

“Whew… this is nerve-wracking.”

“I’ve read the guide more than ten times! I’ll do my best not to mess up!”

Leaving his tense party members behind, Do-hyeon calmly approached the entrance.

He glanced at BestShield, who finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly approached.

“Oh…! I’ll initiate the entrance.”

For party dungeons, the party leader had to initiate entry for the prompt to appear.

As BestShield stepped into the warp zone, a message popped up.

[Party Leader BestShield is attempting to enter the Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Lair.]

[Do you accept?]

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Do-hyeon and the rest of the party accepted.

[Confirming party members.]

[Confirmed.]

[Confirming level requirements.]

[Confirmed.]

[Entering Mutant Goblin Warrior’s Lair.]

‘Time to warm up a bit.’

As his vision shifted with the message, a smile crept across Do-hyeon’s face.