The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 34

Thud!

Kieeek! Kieeek!

Do-hyeon, who boldly charged into the ranks of the soldiers, slashed a goblin soldier without hesitation.

It was a familiar Bastard Sword charge attack.

‘…Wait, was that a charge attack?’

The speed was so fast that it made one question if he was really wielding a greatsword.

It was confusing, but the movement itself was undoubtedly a charge attack.

As they watched Do-hyeon swinging his sword among the soldiers.

“…That guy, right?”

A low voice came from behind.

It was the Holy Knight who was also watching Do-hyeon.

The face that once had a gentle smile had turned cold, and the voice was now low and serious.

The Bastard Sword replied as if it was familiar with this situation.

“Kaiser in a Warrior set… and a greatsword. It’s definitely him. There can’t be many like him in this section, right?”

“Well… The Warrior set isn’t common either.”

“So, what do you think?”

When Bastard Sword asked, the Holy Knight thought for a moment before responding.

“Not bad. He dodges vital spots well, and he’s pretty fast for someone using a greatsword.”

“Is it because of his gear? His damage seems pretty high, and he’s quick. Look, that guy over there barely got hit, but he’s already down.”

Bastard Sword nodded, agreeing with The Holy Knight’s words.

Indeed, he was fast and powerful.

It made them wonder if he was really just level 20. At this rate, there wouldn’t be any issue with being out-geared in this section.

However.

“Something feels off.”

“What is?”

It didn’t make sense.

“An assassin got beaten by someone who’s just geared up?”

High damage and speed?

Sure, they acknowledged that.

But the assassin AssassinBoy they knew wasn’t weak either.

Furthermore, AssassinBoy’s class was an assassin.

With stealth and paralysis poison in his arsenal, it was almost impossible for him to lose in PvP.

The idea that he had lost 3-to-1 was nerve-wracking…

“But this guy? He’s just a typical player relying on gear.”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, it does seem odd. Even if his new recruits were below average, it’s still hard to believe.”

The Holy Knight stroked his chin, finding it strange as well.

Their identities?

They were AssassinBoy’s close friends and former comrades.

They were part of AssassinBoy’s old group that dominated other players and could be called the original party.

They knew AssassinBoy’s tendencies and skills better than anyone.

“He’s not the type to let his guard down.”

“If anything, he’s brutally meticulous.”

AssassinBoy never engaged in a fight openly, no matter who the opponent was.

Even his own comrades found his methods to be excessively harsh.

But what about this guy?

He was strong, but that was it.

“His combat sense is mediocre, and his decision-making is off.”

“Even if you consider the fact that he’s relying on his gear to push through, his skills are amateurish.”

He dodged vital points well, but that didn’t mean he was landing precise hits either.

Deliberately moving between soldiers and getting surrounded wasn’t the best judgment either.

In many ways, his movements were those of someone not accustomed to combat, like an older player relying on high-tier gear.

Well, considering he was a swordsman facing three spear-wielding soldiers, he didn’t have much choice.

Either way, if you didn’t push in, you wouldn’t be able to launch any attacks.

“His strategy might be dumb, but still.”

“Be careful, though. His damage is higher than expected.”

“I know. AssassinBoy probably didn’t anticipate his damage either.”

“Besides, they didn’t have a tank…”

Even so, they didn’t plan to let their guard down.

This wasn’t their first time doing this. Back when they were running wild with AssassinBoy, they had partied countless times.

Although they had now stepped away from that life after being recruited into a guild, they still considered themselves experts in this field.

And that’s why they were looking for Kaiser.

“Of all times, an execution order had to be issued… what a headache.”

“To be honest, you didn’t believe me before the order came down.”

“But we’ve benefited from AssassinBoy long enough that we should at least help him out with some revenge.”

If they ignored it and AssassinBoy lost his mind and exposed their past to the guild?

They’d all be done for.

That’s why they couldn’t refuse AssassinBoy’s request.

Though they set a time limit to help him only until graduation… they didn’t expect to find the target this quickly.

“Well, it worked out. Now we can keep him quiet.”

“After this, let’s step away from it all.”

“If he keeps bringing it up, we’ll just crush him next time.”

“We’re taking risks here too. If that bastard has any sense of decency, he won’t keep pushing.”

Tsk, Bastard Sword clicked his tongue and adjusted his expression as he looked ahead.

“Let’s get going. Keep your expressions in check.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”

“Let’s just do what we always do.”

With that, they wrapped up their conversation and returned to their innocent-looking selves.

The Holy Knight rushed in to block a goblin’s spear, while the others belatedly joined in, dealing damage.

As soon as they joined the fight, the tide turned instantly.

After quickly finishing off the remaining goblin soldiers, a message popped up.

[You have slain a Red Goblin Soldier.]

[Through shared contribution, ‘Kaiser’ has acquired Red Goblin Soldier’s Hide.]

“Wow.”

Simultaneously, they exclaimed in genuine admiration.

“You’re really good at this! Is this the Warrior set? Your damage was insane!”

“We joined in just in case, but it looks like you could have handled it all on your own.”

“See, I told you, no one sucks as a swordsman! That’s what a swordsman is all about~.”

Do-hyeon waved them off with a smile.

“No, you all did great. Your skills aren’t average either.”

“Well, we’re used to working together. I bet you’ll adjust quickly, Kaiser.”

“Where’d you find such a skilled player?”

“That’s all thanks to my sharp eye.”

As they shamelessly heaped praise on him, Do-hyeon internally felt baffled.

It was common knowledge that throwing a party member into the battlefield alone to gauge their ability was bad manners.

It left the person to handle all the aggro, and the party could abandon them at any moment.

If they were unlucky enough to drop any equipment, the situation would be disastrous.

It was generally an unpleasant thing to do…

‘They’ve definitely done this before.’

Yet, despite doing such a thing, they turned around and showered him with compliments in such an innocent manner. It was absurd.

Most low-level users would feel slightly off but would quickly let it go after receiving such praise and seeing the party eventually join in.

Nobody disliked compliments, after all.

So, Do-hyeon decided to play along.

He moved sluggishly, purposefully taking hits from obvious attacks and putting in lackluster effort in dealing damage.

By doing this, there would undoubtedly come a moment when they’d take the bait.

“Shall we try to sync our movements this time?”

“Sounds good.”

With a kind smile, Bastard Sword extended his hand. Do-hyeon shook it in return.

‘I’ll take my chance when it comes… pretending to be weak… as weak as possible…’

With each having their own hidden agenda, they disguised themselves as the most innocent party ever as they shook hands.

Thus, their uncomfortable strategy continued.

***

[You have slain a Red Goblin Soldier.]

…

[The Goblin Chieftain is trembling in fear.]

It was about an hour later.

As the goblin soldier horde fell, Bastard Sword wiped his sweat and spoke.

“Whew. Should we take a break?”

“Sure.”

“Yeah, let’s rest a bit. I’m exhausted.”

The party members collapsed onto the ground, clearly worn out.

It made sense.

The difficulty had increased, and now groups of more than ten soldiers were swarming at them.

The soldiers were much stronger and tougher than the forest goblins.

They were armored and wielding spears, after all.

When a dozen or more of those appeared, it was no surprise they were struggling.

‘This is why swordsmen are treated the way they are.’

Swinging a sword against ten spear-wielding soldiers?

Even landing a hit would be difficult.

If you tried to charge in and deal damage, you’d get surrounded in an instant, but if you tried to maintain distance, you wouldn’t find many opportunities to attack.

Meanwhile, long-range dealers could attack comfortably as long as the tank held the front line, making them the obvious preference.

In this situation, having two swordsmen in the party was probably the worst combination, but…

“Wow, Kaiser’s damage is really insane.”

“Considering we have two swordsmen, this speed is impressive, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, once the damage starts rolling, it’s a whole different game. Hey, you should step it up too.”

But Do-hyeon wasn’t your typical swordsman.

Even in unfavorable conditions, once he found an opening, he showcased the power of a player with ridiculously strong gear, rivaling a mage’s firepower!

His prowess shined here as well.

That was the reason.

‘…Why is that guy so strong?’

‘It’s not that his control is bad. It’s just that he doesn’t need to control anything.’

Ssssk…

The reason they hadn’t attacked Do-hyeon recklessly yet?

It was because they were wary of his overwhelming damage.

Plus, with the previous incident involving AssassinBoy’s party, they had no choice but to be cautious.

Not that they hadn’t made any attempts…

‘Try hitting him properly. Why can’t you hit him?’

‘I swear, I aimed right at him, but it weirdly missed.’

‘What are you talking about? He was standing still, but you just missed.’

‘I’m so frustrated.’

While pretending to make mistakes, ThatJabchae had fired off spells during the hunt, but none of them hit Do-hyeon.

Either they hit an attacking goblin instead, or Do-hyeon conveniently stumbled backward, avoiding the attacks by chance.

The highlight was when Do-hyeon was moving forward, and ThatJabchae fired at him, only for him to stop suddenly, causing the spell to miss.

He was like a robot with an automatic detection sensor…

‘There’s no way he stopped on purpose… how does he have such ridiculous luck?’

It clearly looked like he wasn’t controlling well, but somehow, all the attacks kept missing.

When he laughed and shouted “Nice!” after dodging, it seemed like he didn’t even realize he had avoided the attack, which drove ThatJabchae mad.

As much as he wanted to just bash him, Kaiser’s absurdly high damage was still on his mind.

Why gamble when there was a safe path to victory?

‘Alright, next time…’

‘Next time, I’ll hit him for sure.’

‘No, if you keep trying back-to-back, it’ll be too obvious. Take it slow.’

Though they smiled outwardly, they were all on edge inside.

Do-hyeon wasn’t any different.

‘I’ve been holding back as much as I can, so why aren’t they making a move?’

He had instinctively dodged some spells, but afterward, he deliberately positioned himself to take hits.

But now, even when he intentionally moved into the path of the attacks, they still missed.

How must it feel for them, when even deliberately aimed attacks don’t land?

‘Are they seriously not going to bite? Should I just make the first move?’

He had created several openings, but they hadn’t acted yet, leaving him equally frustrated.

In some ways, he was probably feeling even worse.

Because of that, Do-hyeon had been contemplating multiple times.

Should he provoke them first, or wait?

As they continued their back-and-forth of subtle mind games, they reached this point.

[The boss stage is now open.]

[You may now enter the Goblin Chieftain’s chamber.]

“We’re already at the boss stage.”

“Considering we have two swordsmen, this speed is incredible.”

Before they knew it, only the boss remained.

The party, which had been a bit on edge, calmed down.

‘Yeah, we can’t fail here.’

The Goblin Chieftain.

To defeat him, a mage was usually necessary.

He was a tricky boss for swordsmen, but with the right approach, they could use him to their advantage.

“If we’ve rested enough, shall we head in?”

“Alright.”

“Let’s do it.”

With bright smiles, Bastard Sword opened the boss room door.

Creak.

[You have entered the boss room.]

[The Goblin Chieftain has detected the intruders.]

[The Red Goblin Elite Soldiers are preparing to stop the intruders.]

With the grinding sound of rusty iron, the boss stage opened, and Bastard Sword immediately turned to Do-hyeon.

“Kaiser, could you handle the elite soldiers for a bit?”

The boss room in the Goblin Chieftain’s lair was different from other dungeons.

Instead of a solo boss, there were two elite soldiers guarding him.

[Red Goblin Elite Soldier]

-Title: Elite Monster

-Type: Goblin

-Trait: Tenacity

-Description: The most powerful and well-trained soldiers among the Red Goblins.

Their role is to protect the Goblin Chieftain, and they exhibit extreme tenacity toward anyone they recognize as an enemy.

Unlike normal monsters, elite monsters possess special traits.

The trait Tenacity, which prevents them from switching aggro until the target dies, was a significant headache.

This was the reason for bringing in an off-tank or healer to this dungeon.

It was too much for a single tank to handle both the boss and the elite soldiers.

The standard strategy was for a healer to sustain the tank or for an off-tank to handle the elites.

“Kaiser?”

They intended to assign that role to Kaiser.

The kind of monster whose aggro wouldn’t shift until either the target or the monster died.

While Do-hyeon was busy dealing with the elite soldiers, they would quietly move in and finish him off…

‘Once we pin him down, it’ll be a piece of cake to take him out.’

This strategy had given them a 100% success rate in PKs within this dungeon.

In a 5-on-1 situation, losing was nearly impossible.

No matter how strong Kaiser’s damage was, there was no way he could handle both elite soldiers and the three of them.

That’s why they were so confident this time.

“Kaiser… sir?”

“…?”

“Where is he?”

But…

Kaiser himself had disappeared.

He was nowhere to be seen.