Ranker's Return

As Hyeonu’s group entered through the door, a massive space greeted them. In the center of the huge space, there was a large coffin.

“I think that Roton is inside there.”

“Probably. That’s how the previous household members came out.”

Kim Seokjung moved as Hyeonu and Gang Junggu were exchanging opinions with bright expressions. They were thinking that if they caught the boss, they would be able to get out of the dungeon. Kim Seokjung stepped toward the coffin and was able to arrive near it.

Then he stretched out his fists. The fists filled with divine power collided with the giant coffin, but the coffin did not break or crack at all. It had tremendously high durability. Suddenly, the space started trembling. To be precise, the coffin was vibrating.

“Brother, did you touch the wrong place?”

“How old are you that you haven’t broken that habit? It is your habit to hit anything when you’re frustrated.”

Hyeonu and Gang Junggu felt something strange and threw scolding words toward Kim Seokjung. In particular, Gang Junggu uttered words that were close to condemnation. It was because he had memories of the damage caused by Kim Seokjung’s previous actions.

“Ah, I just tried it. A rodent or a dog will come out.” Kim Seokjung’s words weren’t wrong.

A giant bat popped out of the open coffin and soon transformed into a man. “Who is interrupting my rest?”

This was the appearance of a handsome young man, Roton Seynod.

“I came to give you eternal rest.” Hyeonu saw Roton Seynod and cheered up. The end of this tireless hunt made Hyeonu feel better.

‘I didn’t know the second floor would be this long.’

The second floor where they hunted the troll slaves had seemed endless. It had taken almost eight hours for them to find the keeper of the second floor.

“Brother, it’s time to end this tiring hunt.”

“Then let’s fight quickly.” Gang Junggu finished speaking and charged forward. He wanted to quickly kill the vampire named ‘Roton’, gain the rewards, and rest.

“Tang-E, give the buffs. Don’t spare your magic power and pour out all your skills. Got it?”

“Master dude, don’t worry. Believe in me.” Tang-E struck his chest. From Hyeonu’s view, Tang-E looked very good.

“Yes, I will trust you.” Hyeonu stroked Tang-E’s head once before heading toward Roton.

***

Roton wasn’t angry at the humans who interrupted his rest. He was just annoyed. Kim Seokjung, Hyeonu, and Gang Junggu were like flies to Roton. He could kill them just by waving his hand. Then there would be no more people disturbing his rest. However, it didn’t take long for Roton’s perception to change. A white light stretched out from Kim Seokjung’s fist and shot toward Roton.

‘Divine power!!’ Roton was stunned to see Kim Seokjung’s divine power and quickly used magic. “Blood Shield.”

Roton sighed with relief as he created a red veil that stopped Kim Seokjung’s attack. He had almost taken a blow of divine power in his defenseless state.

“Damn, it is a Liru follower.”

This wasn’t a fly but a poisonous wasp. Roton quickly realized he had to deal with them properly. He had to admit that they weren’t people who could be ignored.

“It is going to be different now.”

Shortly after Roton’s words, the space started to turn red. This was one of Roton’s most famous skills, Blood Field.

[You are under the influence of Roton’s Blood Field.]

[All stats are reduced.]

[The magic power required to use a skill will increase.]

Hyeonu wondered, “What is this? Brother, do monks have a skill to nullify this?”

“Priests who have completed their second class advancement will have this skill. However, my brother and I are monks. We don’t have any skill for this.”

“This...” Hyeonu frowned. It was frustrating with a close call right from the start. There seemed to be a 10–20% drop in stats.

“Brother, there seems to be a 10–20% reduction in stats. Meanwhile, his stats have risen by that much. But we still have Tang-E’s buffs, so it should be fine.”

In some ways, Blood Field had a similar effect to Fear. It debuffed the opponent while buffing himself. The only difference was that Fear had a short duration no matter how much magic power was consumed while field skills could last indefinitely as long as magic power was supplied.

‘Tang-E also has Fear.’

Hyeonu never thought that it would be impossible to kill Roton. He just felt that the process was a problem.

“Brother, shall we aim for a short-term battle? Or do you want a long-term battle?”

Gang Junggu seemed to struggle for a moment before speaking quickly, “I’d rather make it short if possible. We don’t have any information about Roton.”

Gang Junggu’s answer was extremely political. They only had two pieces of information on Roton: Blood Field and Blood Shield. However, there weren’t exact figures or guesses.

“Then let’s go all-in. Brother Seokjung will say the same thing.”

After saying these words, Hyeonu turned to Tang-E.

“Tang-E, things have changed. Once I run to him, use Giant Transformation and roar whenever possible. Rush in if you get the chance. Additionally, use magic. Got it?”

“Understood, Master dude.”

Tang-E had his own thoughts on the situation. ‘If I gain a bit more strength... I can push that type of guy down with one foot.’

“However, it is thanks to Master dude that I can unexpectedly deal with fire and ice...”

Tang-E made a sneaky smile. It was a look that suggested he was going to create a big accident.

***

Kim Seokjung followed the maneuver Gang Junggu mentioned and used all his skills, ranging from those he had built up to the ones attached to his items. At level 197, the items Kim Seokjung wore were considered the best among players. It meant that Kim Seokjung’s current state was the best shape that a Liru Monk could be in at the current time.

‘Sun’s Protection, Descent of the Two Kings.’

Sun’s Protection—this was the skill of the Liru Monk that consumed 30% of his current divine power to amplify all stats by 30% over a period of time. Meanwhile, Descent of the Two Kings had the effect of increasing the strength stat by 50% for 10 minutes. It was a skill attached to the bracelet worn by Kim Seokjung. This way, Kim Seokjung would be close to invincible for 10 minutes. As proof, Kim Seokjung smashed through the previously unbreakable Blood Shield.

‘What is this?’ Roton panicked.

He had clearly deployed Blood Field, taking the power of the humans and using it as his own. The evidence was the mighty black magic flowing through his body. More than half of his usual black magic power flowed through his body. Nevertheless, the situation was going against him.

“Eek!” An angry Roton raised his magic power even further. Roton’s mighty black magic gave him a variety of spells. Clouds rose in the enclosed space, and red rain fell from the clouds. That wasn’t all. Bloody spears filled the void.

[Player ‘Kim Seokjung’ has entered a ‘slowed’ state.]

[Player ‘Gang Junggu’ has entered a ‘slowed’ state.]

[Player ‘Gang Hyeonu’ has entered a ‘slowed’ state.]

Blood Rain...

The rain of blood slowed down Gang Junggu, Kim Seokjung, and Gang Hyeonu. Then a bloody spear quickly flew toward the slowed Kim Seokjung. Kim Seokjung would soon get skewered if the bloody spear continued flying. Just then, Hyeonu’s sword energy flew toward the bloody spear, striking it. Simultaneously, the bloody spear burst. Not only did this spear explode, but all the surrounding spears burst as well. It was the effect of Magic Power Explosion.

“Thank you, little brother,” Kim Seokjung thanked Hyeonu. If it wasn’t for Hyeonu, Kim Seokjung would’ve been logged out in one blow. The magic power in the spear seemed unusual.

“Brother, I’m going to buy some time. Please prepare a large blow along with Brother Junggu. Tang-E will use Fear twice every five minutes. The effect lasts three minutes, so aim for that.” Hyeonu gave orders to Kim Seokjung and then rushed toward Roton.

Hyeonu’s movements were unbelievably fast even in a slowed state. He swung his half-sword. Roton saw it and laughed. ‘He is fast, but what is the point of trying to break through Blood Field with a broken single-edged sword?’

Yet the moment Hyeonu’s single-edged sword pointed at Roton, the length increased. This was the use of sword energy that was unique to Hyeonu. Roton was shocked when he saw the sword energy grow and used Blood Shield. Blood Shield was cut apart, and there was a line of blood on Roton’s chest.

“Kuock!”

The wound soon disappeared, but the shock didn’t go away.

‘How did he get through Blood Shield...?’ Roton was astonished.

The Blood Shield created by using a lot of magic power had the durability to deflect the attack of a viscount-class vampire. It wasn’t a defense that would break apart under the light attack of a human.

‘Bah, a humanoid boss monster is just like food to me.’

Hyeonu didn’t care about the shield from the beginning. He didn’t care about Blood Field either. His opponent was not just a boss monster but a humanoid one. This meant that most of his titles and skills were effective.

[Achieved 100 Consecutive Wins]

[Title given to the first player to achieve 100 consecutive victories in the arena.

Effect: There is a 20% increase in damage against humanoid monsters (including PvP) during combat.]

[Solo Raider]

[The title given to a player who has killed a boss monster who is higher than them by at least 5 times.

Effect: There is a 10% increase in stats when dealing with boss monsters.]

Unlike the titles that were normally applied, it was extremely rare for these two effects to be applied. Yet the moment it was applied, Hyeonu had the most devastating attack power.

“Take this as well!”

Hyeonu used Crescent Moon Cut the instant the cooldown was over. Magic Power Explosion was a bonus. The wind-filled sword energy once again ripped through Roton’s Blood Shield like it was paper. This time, it wasn’t only a light scratch that was left. Roton’s left arm was cut.

“Kuack!” A scream emerged from Roton’s mouth. Roton struggled due to the pain. When had a noble of the night suffered like this? However, Roton was indeed a noble of the night and quickly regained his mind. 

He vented his anger, “Low-class humans!”

The power of black magic changed depending on emotions. Anger was one of the emotions that amplified the power of black magic. Roton once again raised his black magic to cast a spell. At this moment, the cry of a beast filled the space. It was Tang-E, who used Giant Transformation and then Roar.

“Cough!!” Roton’s magic casting was forcibly interrupted and he vomited blood. The backlash was high. Magic was typically high-risk with high returns, and the side effects were extremely powerful. Roton felt the black magic twisting in his body.

Lightning struck Roton. It was Tang-E’s Lightning skill that had reached the B rank.

[Roton Seynod has been inflicted with the ‘electric shock’ abnormal state.]

Roton was unable to move due to the electrocution, and Kim Seokjung’s and Gang Junggu’s skills flew toward him. It wasn’t possible for the best rankers, Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, to fail to hit an opponent that wasn’t moving. The huge fists filled with divine power struck Roto’s abdomen and chest.

It was Meteor, the best skill of the Liru Monk. Roton’s entire body started to burn. After a while, Roton disappeared and only ashes were left.

[A noble of the night, Viscount Roton Seynod, has been killed.]