The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 6

[Max Affinity from the Start?]

-Rank: Rare

-Description: A title given to those who have maxed out NPC affinity during the tutorial.

-Effect: NPC affinity increases more quickly.

All stats +2.

Titles were among the hardest rewards to obtain in DemRock.

Of course, that was expected.

A title was only granted when a player’s actions or results were deemed to have achieved something remarkable enough to deserve such recognition.

It meant that one had to work harder and deliver clear results more than anyone else.

‘A rare title is definitely valuable.’

In that regard, a rare rank was quite a satisfactory result.

Common, Rare, Heroic, Legendary.

There was a significant difference in abilities depending on the rank, and even a rare title could prove useful in many situations.

Back in his DemRock days, the rank Kang Do-hyeon had utilized most frequently was the rare rank.

And this ranking system was the same in God of Savior.

The importance of the rare rank would likely be similar.

‘This is a good start.’

Obtaining a rare rank title from the tutorial was definitely a promising start.

And it came with an option that helped boost affinity.

Though it wasn’t an option that directly aided in battle, it could prove even more beneficial in the long run.

‘Luckily, God of Savior isn’t one of those games that rely on luck for affinity rewards.’

Surprisingly, they had actually incorporated player feedback and made some improvements.

It made sense that God of Savior had managed to dominate the world.

If it had been run like DemRock, it would have stirred up a lot of controversy, no matter how groundbreaking the virtual reality was.

Do-hyeon lifted his head after checking the rewards.

‘Hmm.’

Charlie was standing there, shining with kindness in his eyes and a benevolent smile on his face.

The stern expression he had shown during their first meeting, when he had practically dragged Do-hyeon along, was nowhere to be seen.

“Thanks to you, we arrived much faster than expected. It’s all thanks to you.”

Even his voice had noticeably softened.

‘I just fought, that’s all… Is it supposed to be this easy?’

Upon reflection, Do-hyeon realized he hadn’t done much, yet Charlie’s reaction seemed surprisingly pure…

Well, considering this was wartime, it made sense that Charlie would be grateful to Do-hyeon for quickly clearing out the monsters.

Although they were still in the middle of a battlefield, the atmosphere had become somewhat harmonious. Charlie pointed ahead.

“All we need to do now is head over there.”

He was pointing at a door beyond the corridor.

Finally, the end of the tutorial was in sight.

Once they passed through that door, the final event would begin.

“As long as we eliminate the dark sorcerer inside, we can declare victory in this war…”

Charlie was running down the corridor while speaking when it happened.

“…!”

When they were about 100 meters away.

Rumble—.

Suddenly, the corridor they had just passed through began to collapse.

And that wasn’t all.

From beneath the crumbling floor, an unsettling black light was leaking out.

Charlie was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

“My God…! Has the summoning already begun?”

The summoning was proceeding much faster than originally planned.

To make matters worse, bizarre-looking monsters were crawling up from the collapsing floor.

Some of them were creatures Do-hyeon had seen earlier, while others resembled bats.

Someone had to hold them back.

“Damn…! I’ll take care of things here. You go ahead! Just head inside and stop the summoner!”

“…?”

“Normally, it should be me, the commander, who goes, but… I believe I can trust you with this. No, rather, I’d like to ask you to do it. Hero… could you help us?”

Do-hyeon pointed to himself in disbelief, momentarily forgetting the situation.

Had he misheard?

But Charlie seemed grateful and began to offer a prayer, thinking Do-hyeon had accepted the request.

“May the blessings of Arlen Castle be with the Hero of War…”

Do-hyeon was dumbfounded.

‘…I’m supposed to go? Not you?’

It made sense for him to be confused. This was an event that was supposed to happen in God of Savior’s tutorial.

‘That thing’ would be summoned, and Charlie would enter first to face the monster.

Then, after a loud roar, Charlie would die, and ‘that thing’ would break through the wall in a dramatic reveal.

It was an event that even someone new to God of Savior, like Do-hyeon, knew about.

It happened the same way for everyone.

But now, the event had changed.

‘I heard that things could change depending on what the player does, but… to this extent?’

It was odd.

Charlie’s lack of involvement in combat, or his clapping, didn’t really impact the progression of the event. But this?

This was supposed to be a guaranteed, unavoidable event.

As Do-hyeon approached the door, a message appeared.

[Only one person may enter at a time.]

[If you die, the seal will be broken, and all debuffs on the boss will be removed.]

[Do you really wish to enter?]

A message designed to scare him.

It was unheard of for such a message to appear in the tutorial. Some might have known about it, but it certainly wasn’t part of the typical route.

In DemRock, such a phenomenon was called an Easter Egg.

Or…

‘A hidden piece.’

A mechanism deliberately hidden within the game.

Such features usually boasted an extremely high difficulty level, but the rewards were equally exceptional, setting them apart from standard achievements.

If God of Savior was similar to DemRock, this would likely follow the same pattern.

Do-hyeon didn’t know exactly what had triggered the hidden piece, but Charlie’s recognition and affinity probably played a significant role.

‘Lucky.’

That was the only way to describe it.

Who could have predicted that such a secret lay hidden here?

At this point, even Charlie’s overly sentimental reactions didn’t bother him anymore. He could accept them with a smile.

[Do you really wish to enter?]

“Yes.”

Do-hyeon wasn’t someone who would turn down a hidden piece.

With a resolute answer, he opened the door, and a blinding light enveloped him.

When he opened his eyes again, a different scene unfolded before him.

Kraaaah!

“Gyaaah! Why—why are you doing this?! I summoned you! Obey me! No, stop! Aaaargh!”

A massive shadow, dark as night, was devouring a figure who appeared to be the summoner.

No, it was hard to even call that figure human anymore.

Although it had a humanoid silhouette, its exposed body was more akin to a monster’s.

[Dark Sorcerer Who Made a Pact with the Abyss]

-Title: The One Who Made a Pact with the Abyss

-Type: Hybrid

-Traits: Black Magic, Summoning, Curse

-Description: A dark sorcerer who made a pact with the world of fear, the Abyss. He seeks to summon ‘that thing’ to bring down Arlen Castle.

The information confirmed that the figure wasn’t human.

However, Do-hyeon wasn’t focused on the sorcerer.

His attention was on the shadow devouring the sorcerer. In the pitch-black darkness, red reptilian eyes glowed.

[Bound Ironblood Dragon-type Monster]

-Title: Legendary Named Boss

-Type: Dragon

-Traits: Currently sealed.

-Description: A dragon-type monster from the Abyss, bearing the name of Ironblood. Very little is known about this being, and it has long been feared. Due to its restraints, all of its abilities are sealed, and its movements are heavily restricted.

“…Legendary?”

Do-hyeon let out a stunned chuckle after checking its information.

* * *

God of Savior had borrowed a lot from DemRock.

One of those elements was the ranking system.

Common – Rare – Heroic – Legendary.

Titles, items, and skills all had assigned ranks, just like in DemRock.

And monsters were no exception.

Not all monsters had ranks. Only those with the title ‘Boss’ were ranked.

Among them, the truly special bosses were the Named Bosses.

‘The only boss with a name.’

These bosses were the sole creatures that bore their own unique name.

Unlike regular bosses that respawned after death, these bosses were one of a kind—once they died, that was it.

They were irreplaceable, one-of-a-kind bosses.

Such bosses were also portrayed as having lived for an exceedingly long time, and thus, even within the same rank, they were more difficult to defeat.

‘A legendary named boss…’

And this monster bore the legendary title.

Its name glowed so darkly that it looked almost black.

‘So this is why they said it couldn’t be defeated.’

Now it made sense.

This monster wasn’t designed to be defeated.

It was a boss created solely for the purpose of progressing a predetermined event by inevitably killing the player.

That was the true identity of the tutorial boss.

It wasn’t strange.

Gamers were accustomed to games that featured undefeatable bosses in tutorials to advance the story.

However, there was one thing that puzzled Do-hyeon.

‘In the video I saw, aside from its name, all the information was hidden…’

Because of this, while he had expected it to be powerful, he hadn’t realized it would be this monstrous.

Perhaps no one knew the true identity of this creature.

‘Well, after a year and six months, maybe someone has figured it out. By now, most hidden pieces would’ve been uncovered.’

Even if someone knew about it, no one would dare to think of trying to defeat it.

In any case, now that he was here, Do-hyeon had to make a choice.

Would he try to defeat it?

Or would he give up cleanly?

As if to help him decide, the moment their eyes met, the monster let out a deafening roar.

The sheer volume of its roar, coming from a body at least 10 meters tall, sent shivers down his spine.

And the messages that appeared afterward were even more terrifying.

Kraaaaaah!

[You have heard the roar of the Bound Ironblood Dragon-type Monster.]

[Your physical abilities are reduced by the overwhelming presence of the creature.]

[Movement speed decreased by 20%.]

[Attack speed decreased by 20%.]

[Defense decreased by 30%.]

[Magic resistance decreased by 25%.]

“…Seriously?”

Not only was the monster overwhelmingly strong, but it was also throwing debuffs at him without mercy.

It seemed to be practically telling him not to even think about fighting it. Yet, in a way, it was still a fair condition.

Clink—clunk.

Grrrrrr…

The monster’s hands, feet, torso, and neck—every part of its body was bound by restraints, preventing it from moving away from the wall.

It was like a guard dog tied to a post.

Whenever it tried to move beyond a certain range, it was blocked by the restraints.

At least its arms had some freedom, allowing it to swing them despite being shackled, but even then, its movements were slow.

-HP: [1,000,000 / ???]

To make matters worse, its body was covered in wounds, and blood was oozing from all over, giving it a pitiful amount of health for a legendary named boss.

As the description stated, all its abilities were sealed.

In other words, this was a severely weakened, dying version of itself.

But even so, with its enormous health and arms that could easily send someone to their grave with one hit, it wasn’t a boss that a level 1 player could defeat under normal circumstances.

‘Didn’t it say that if I die, the restraints and debuffs would be lifted?’

In the original tutorial, Charlie had died, freeing the monster from its restraints and allowing it to regain its full strength.

In that case…

‘…Isn’t this doable?’

Perhaps this was his only chance.

His only opportunity to defeat an otherwise impossible boss.

Situations like this had occasionally occurred in DemRock.

There were times when hidden pieces with absurdly high difficulty were discovered, forcing players to make tough decisions.

And every time, Do-hyeon’s choice was always the same.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Kaiser wasn’t a man who turned down a challenge.