Chapter 314
Chapter 314
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Delaila’s Invitation (1)
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I nodded immediately after checking the message.
‘I accept the invitation.’
Of course I do.
There was no reason not to.
Even setting aside her significant contribution to my rapid growth so far.
She was a ranker who was friendly toward me, first and foremost.
‘Right, Elder?’
Sensing something unusual, I prioritized summoning the Man-sul Elder.
“Yep.”
The elder nodded.
“You won’t focus on training like before until that intellectual curiosity of yours is satisfied, will you? Tsk tsk, what’s that guy’s ranking again.”
Yeah, yeah.
That’s true too.
I chuckled and looked up at my status window.
[You have accepted the invitation.]
[‘World Link’ (SSS Grade) is activated.]
Wooong!
At that moment, a mystical light surged around me.
For a brief instant, clusters of light swirled chaotically across my entire field of vision.
Shh!
The space that appeared was an ordinary clearing.
Judging by the air quality and the shape of the trees, it was clearly not Earth—an otherworldly clearing. I wasn’t the first to arrive there.
A group was already there, flashing friendly smiles at me.
“Oh, Joo Dong-hoon. You’re here too. We’re not strangers, right?”
First up was the muscle-bound macho man with bulging, reddish muscles.
World Ranking 8th, Roider Roni Williams.
He seemed like the type who’d get along great with my bro Dae-woong.
“The Star Demon War was impressive, Joo Dong-hoon.”
Next.
A Western woman with golden hair, clad head to toe in holy armor.
“To think you’d beat Sophia... I lost some money, but my eyes were plenty pleased, so I’m satisfied.”
World Ranking 7th, Paladin Aria Uel.
“By the way, where is this place...? Everyone’s acting like they’ve been here before. Is this some regular event for hyper rankers?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I accepted the invite and all, but... I don’t know either.”
And.
The remaining two men were new faces recently promoted to hyper ranker status.
World Ranking 9th, Bomb Maniac Belkises, and World Ranking 10th, White Dragon Soul Murad.
They might be new faces, but as someone who’d studied rankers inside out, I knew their faces better than anyone.
‘This must be their first time here.’
Of course, it was mine too.
Just where the hell was this?
From the looks of things, it seemed they’d gathered only the top rankers from 10th place and up—impressive lineup.
“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Joo Dong-hoon.”
As I returned their greetings and glanced around curiously, Aria perhaps read my expression. She rested her arm on her shield and smiled.
“It’s rare, but Delaila does invite hyper rankers like this sometimes. This is my second time, but I heard she calls us when there’s a major decision needed for humanity.”
“Probably about Hasera this time.”
Roni nodded and spoke up.
“She finally reached that elusive Demon Realm stage. She was strong before, but now... Whew, can’t even imagine.”
“With even that fearsome Demon King falling behind, that says it all.”
It was when Aria agreed.
Shh, shh!
Two figures appeared simultaneously in midair.
“Talking about me?”
A man who spent more time in the demon world than on Earth.
The leader of the world’s greatest collective, the Demon King Army.
Demon King Jack Smith appeared alongside the Magic Tower Lord.
The Tower Lord spotted me the moment she arrived and winked.
I blinked back at her.
“Demon King!”
“The Tower Lord is here too.”
Roni and Aria greeted them together.
The Demon King lightly raised his hand in response, then fixed his gaze on me.
“It’s been almost eight months, maybe nine?”
“Yeah, about that.”
“You’ve made some solid progress in the meantime. Your energy feels more stable than back then.”
Ooh.
Even after losing his ranking to Hasera, the Demon King was still the Demon King, huh?
He saw right through my progress, which was just foundational training in the myriad arts.
“Where’s Hasera? Just waiting for her and Delaila? The stars arrive last, I suppose.”
The Demon King didn’t seem particularly bothered about losing his ranking.
If it were me, I’d be pissed and shut myself away for furious training.
‘Whew.’
Anyway.
The strongest people on Earth, as rated by the world.
With these folks I’d barely interacted with suddenly gathered, an awkward atmosphere was inevitable.
Still, it was a novel feeling.
Me being the second strongest after the Demon King, right here.
Bomb Maniac and White Dragon Soul were amazing rankers in their own right, but I could feel them glancing at me with curiosity.
After a while like that.
Shh, shh!
Heavenly Demon Hasera and Dungeon Maker Delaila appeared one after another.
World Rankings 2 through 10.
Everyone was present.
* * *
“Welcome, everyone. Thank you for accepting my invitation.”
Delaila, who arrived last, kindly greeted each of us individually.
She gave Bomb Maniac and White Dragon Soul ‘Delaila’s Dungeon Artifacts’ (SS Grade) to celebrate their hyper ranker achievements.
She also congratulated Hasera on reaching the Demon Realm.
“By the way, Lady Delaila, we haven’t heard any trial news lately. You used to recruit recommended members and judges.”
To Aria Uel’s question.
“Sigh, someone went and smashed up the trials I painstakingly set up... I have to start from scratch, and it’s taking longer than I thought. Plus, I have to scout for contract partners everywhere. Hooouu...”
Delaila answered with a deep sigh.
I flinched!
I’d been listening, but that hit me.
No wonder there’d been no word.
It was because of me?
“Tsk tsk, well.”
The elder, who’d been silent until now, chuckled.
“You devoured the Poison Fog, killed the Greed Dragon, and even racked up points from that Shadow Shepherd King black mutt to handle the contracts... Can’t blame the lady for being in a tough spot.”
‘I know.’
I knew damn well.
‘I know, okay?’
But what could I do?
I was just that good.
Delaila chuckled at me shrugging my shoulders.
“But I’m satisfied. The one who was a prodigy from the start has now fully sprouted and is shining upon the world.”
“Ahahaha.”
I scratched my head.
Shining upon the world? That’s embarrassing.
“Shining upon the world? Me? You’re too kind.”
Anyway.
After the round of greetings.
“So.”
The Demon King spoke up.
“Why’d you call us here, Delaila?”
Classic Demon King.
Straight to the point, no bullshit.
“...Yes, I’ve kept busy people waiting too long. Hmm, where should I start...”
Delaila smiled softly and made eye contact with each of us.
“Ah, this is a good place to begin!”
And with that, her story started.
We listened intently and were quickly drawn into it.
* * *
As explained before, Delaila spends most of her time exploring the universe.
She meets numerous humanoid races and collects their information.
Dragonkin.
And countless other races.
Planets with world ranking boards, planets without, and so on.
Humanity had barely unraveled even 1% of the universe, and that made Delaila uneasy.
While gathering info as usual to prepare for potential threats to Earth.
“Huh?”
Delaila was startled.
Why?
There was this catfolk man she’d occasionally visited to exchange info.
It was after dealing with the Aquatic Dragon, when she tried entering his world.
[Ding!]
[‘World Link’ (SSS Grade) is rejected by some force.]
[Please connect to a different region.]
‘This...?’
It wasn’t a message she’d never seen before.
She’d encountered it now and then while roaming the universe.
‘But.’
This was absolutely the first time a familiar destination suddenly got blocked.
What?
Her skill suddenly blocked?
Why?
She felt a huge sense of loss.
The catfolk world had a ranking board.
A place similar to Earth.
‘It was so close, too.’
And it was one of the most communicative ones.
It provided the cleanest info.
Unlike other worlds that were guarded upon approach, it was definitely peaceful and cooperative.
- Haha, dragons appeared in your world?
- Aquatic Dragon? First I’ve heard of it, but... no need to make such a fuss over dragons, right? Though dragon appearances are disaster-level for us too.
- Ah, our catfolk warriors have taken down dragons in the past.
The catfolk world was slightly more uniformly advanced than Earth.
Just looking at the rankings:
[Ranking 1, ???]
[Ranking 2, ???]
[Ranking 3, ???]
[Ranking 4, ???]
[Ranking 5, ???]
[Ranking 6, ???]
[Ranking 7, ???]
[Ranking 8, Great Warrior Cherden]
[Ranking 9, A Nightmare at Dawn, Rangrang]
[Ranking 10, Grave Keeper Paras]
Seven entire ???s.
- I don’t know why the rankings show like that either, but those are all insanely powerful beings.
- Three of them would’ve been enough to take down a dragon.
That’s when Delaila vaguely realized.
Ah, once you reach a certain level, the board can’t display the rank.
There could be worlds stronger than Earth anywhere in the universe.
‘Maybe.’
A world where even the top 1,000 are all ????
Not impossible.
The space she’d explored over years was less than a speck of dust compared to the whole universe.
Dust my ass.
Not even 0.000000001% of dust.
‘Must develop more, further.’
Jack Smith?
Hasera?
Joo Dong-hoon?
They were strong, sure, but only by Earth standards.
Earth had changed only about a decade ago.
Compared to worlds that had survived for centuries, it was barely a newborn.
‘First, I need to build goodwill with the catfolk.’
So.
She’d put off other journeys this time to meet the catfolk first.
To tell them.
We took down a dragon too.
There’s this Skeleton Emperor guy, total legend, brag a bit.
‘Why...’
Adrift in space, she stared blankly at the bounced-back space.
Where the planet once was, a transparent barrier enveloped it like a spiderweb.
As if the space itself was severed?
[Ding!]
[‘World Link’ (SSS Grade) is rejected by some force.]
‘Some force.’
What was that?
Why were the catfolk in that situation?
That’s when she recalled the catfolk man’s initial words.
- I think there’s some entity out there. Terrifyingly powerful. Grants us mysterious powers, controls the system at will.
- Sets up civilizations, lets the superior ones survive, wipes out the failing ones.
- Don’t say it’s nonsense. Think about it—this universe, the system, our very birth—nothing’s been explained yet!
‘No way that entity blocked access?’
Delaila mulled over the catfolk man’s words again.
He’d suspected a transcendent fictional being.
And spread it to all catfolk members.
As a result, terrified, they pursued only strength.
Society collapsed.
That was why Delaila had gone to ‘prohibitions’ to keep it secret from rankers.
‘But.’
She grew afraid.
If she kept it secret like this.
And something huge really happened?
If the catfolk man was right?
If her stubbornness left Earth unprepared for disaster?
‘The catfolk world being blocked could be a catastrophe for them...’
Out of sight, out of mind.
What if.
The catfolk world had turned into hell right now?
If horrific monsters were inflicting trials on them?
Her fur stood on end.
‘Come to think of it.’
Among the ranking board worlds she knew, the catfolk one was the strongest.
Strangely, no worlds stronger than the catfolk appeared.
Meaning.
Worlds stronger than that get blocked?
Is there some criterion for blocking?
Her thoughts flowed that far.
‘Tricky.’
In the end, after agonizing day and night, she decided to summon the rankers.
The hyper rankers with the most influence on Earth.
* * *
“Whoa.”
“Whoaaa...”
The rankers sighed after hearing Delaila’s explanation.
An unimaginable story.
“...Question marks exist in other worlds too? Seven of them?”
“A world that takes down dragons easily... Scary.”
“Disaster...”
Fear of the unknown world was inevitable for anyone.
Especially if it might be stronger aliens than Earth’s people.
“So.”
Delaila said calmly.
“The reason I gathered you all is twofold.”
All eyes focused on Delaila.
I narrowed my brow, staring at her lips.
What were the reasons?
“First, we’ll thoroughly discuss the catfolk situation. And second.”
She pulled a scroll from her bosom.
“We’ll vote on whether to announce this incident to the whole world or keep it among us to prevent chaos. I’m too foolish to know, so please tell me.”
Delaila bowed her head politely.
“I beg you, Rankers.”