The Rise of the Solo Rankers

It was an era of fierce competition, even for the rankers. New rankers were constantly snapping at their heels the moment they closed their eyes, leaving the veteran rankers unable to sleep in peace. They had to raise their level by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even just one more, and complete even just one more class quest.

"Did you see that bastard KingTaehyunNo1 bragging about advancing to a Legendary Class the other day?"

"S-So what? He's just on a 2nd Division team..."

"Don't try to cope, man. What matters is when we meet in Pan-On."

"Sigh. Pan-On these days is just pure chaos..."

The rankers sighed. The era of swaggering around just because you were in a giant guild, like in Pan-On 1, was long gone. These ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠days, even giant guilds could be utterly destroyed and vanish overnight from a single mistake. From the Demon Realm quests to the Sky Island quests, and now the guilds that had participated in this war quest and suffered defeat—it felt like less than half of the guilds famous since Pan-On 1 were still standing.

"Maybe we should have joined a mega-guild?"

"Forget it. Looking at how the Guild Alliance is doing, they won't last long."

"Whether it's Midas or White Knight, it's hard to get treated well in those mega-guilds formed through coalitions."

The Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild were getting beaten black and blue, so their reputation was in the gutter. What was surprising was that even the victorious White Knight didn't have a good reputation! That was how much the rampaging Smith struck terror even into his own allies.

"The trend these days seems to be staying guildless and just soloing, finding parties only when you need to. I mean, look at territories. You just get attacked all the time, and managing them is a massive headache."

"Somehow, that sounds wrong..."

"No, it makes sense. Sure, having land lets you hire NPCs and brings in tons of gold. But it also drains so much of your time and effort. At that point, I think it's better to just focus on class quests and leveling up."

"What about Kim Tae-hyun?"

"He's an exception..."

"Actually, if Kim Tae-hyun didn't have a territory, he probably would've leveled up dozens of times more. Think about how much time he wasted because of his territory."

In the early days of Pan-On, the reason rankers and guilds rushed to acquire territories was simple: power and money! If you owned a territory, you were practically a king inside it, and it generated massive profits. Converting Pan-On gold into real cash was incredibly lucrative... But as time passed, some rankers came to a realization.

-We don't necessarily have to squeeze taxes out of a territory. There are plenty of other ways to make money just by being good at Pan-On, right?

As Pan-On's popularity skyrocketed, the value of its players surged exponentially. They could easily make enough money by abandoning territorial income and focusing on other avenues. They could play professionally, or they could stream...

-Instead of obsessing over territories, wouldn't it be better to just clear our own quests and make a name for ourselves?

In truth, this logic wasn't entirely wrong. While the Guild Alliance and Tae-hyun were busy having their loud, chaotic clashes, rankers who quietly focused on their class quests were steadily building up their reputation. Rankers with no territories and no guilds were suddenly appearing with rare Legendary or Epic classes! The emergence of this new generation of rankers naturally made the old-guard, guild-affiliated rankers highly anxious.

-Player KingTaehyunNo1, your recent advancement to a Legendary Class has caused quite a stir. Amazingly, you succeeded in this advancement without any help from a guild. What is your secret?

-Haha. I wouldn't call it a secret, but... ironically, I was able to grow stronger precisely because I didn't join a giant guild.

-Pardon? Is that really true?

-Yes. When you join a giant guild, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they provide you with hunting grounds and boost your experience. But that is poison. Playing that way makes you obsess over levels while ignoring quests.

-My, that's a statement that might sting the rankers of giant guilds.

-I said it hoping it would sting.

"Look at this cheeky little bastard..."

"I was a ranker before you even knew what a ranker was!"

"What's wrong with getting experience boosts?!"

"That guy's level is probably twenty or thirty lower than ours! Don't let him get to you!"

-I see. Player KingTaehyunNo1, do you have any final words for us?

-Yes! Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to player Kim Tae-hyun. Watching him gave me the confidence that solo play is perfectly viable. I'm sure other solo rankers feel the same way. After all, he has been walking at the very forefront since the days of Pan-On 1!

"..."

"..."

"Ah, that bastard Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Shouldn't Kim Tae-hyun take responsibility for this?!"

Of course, Tae-hyun had no intention of taking responsibility. The new generation of rankers rising from below might have slightly lower levels, but they were armed with Legendary and Epic classes! Faced with their momentum, the old-guard rankers could only sigh.

"Our only choice is to make up for it in this Erangs Kingdom war."

"Exactly. We need to raise our levels by at least ten."

These old-school rankers prioritized leveling up over class quests. They couldn't change their playstyle now. Just as a crowtit couldn't keep up with a stork, they couldn't suddenly start clearing insane chains of quests like Kim Tae-hyun. Their only option was to widen the gap through raw levels!

"Oh. I got a message from Lee Se-yeon. What's this?"

"Lee Se-yeon? Hey, don't answer her! She probably has the highest level right now anyway!"

"But can we really ignore her? If we ghost her and run into her later, we'll get obliterated."

"Gasp. I got a message too."

The rankers trembled. Lee Se-yeon was too successful to help, but also far too powerful to ignore.

"'If anyone is currently clearing the Erangs Kingdom quest, please share your information...' Does she think we're her guild members or something?"

"Is she allowed to just order us around like this?!"

The rankers fumed. ...And then they replied.

"...Wait, with the Hungry Chaos?!"

"Shh, quiet!"

Flustered, Lee Se-yeon quickly hushed Tae-hyun. There was absolutely nothing to gain from bringing up the Hungry Chaos while he was disguised as Dorango. Besides...

'If the 1st Prince made a contract, there might be someone on the 3rd Prince's side who contracted with the Hungry Chaos as well.'

"Maybe it's actually a relief that the 3rd Prince contracted with some weird evil god instead of the Hungry Chaos..." Tae-hyun sighed. What was wrong with this royal family? Did they eat something bad? Why were the 1st and 3rd Princes both making contracts with bizarre entities!

'Wait... If that's the case, there's a high probability the Second Prince made a contract too.'

"Lord Dorango. The master is looking for you."

"Looks like Count Besgo has woken up." Tae-hyun nodded. If Count Besgo was awake, this was actually a good opportunity. He needed to meet him in person and try to make something happen.

'Surely he won't take the side of the Hungry Chaos.'

"Kyaoo!" Bulbul-i, who had been hiding for a long time, poked his head out as if he was feeling stuffy.

"Hey. You can't come out right now."

"Kyaoo..."

"Kuooh? (What is that?)" Of all times, the Third Prince happened to walk out from nearby. Seeing Tae-hyun's Bulbul-i, the Third Prince seemed to assume it was a pet.

"Kuo. (It's cute that it can't speak.)"

"Ah, if you find him cute, why not give him a little something? This pet would consider it the honor of a lifetime."

The Third Prince hesitated, then began to pull something out from his robes. Seeing this, Tae-hyun let out a subtle, disappointed sigh.

"Ah, it would have been nice if it were something a bit better... but I suppose it can't be helped. Since it is a gift from Your Highness..."

"If Your Highness's caliber is only of this level..."

"I mean, I'm not trying to egg you on or anything, but..."

"Kuo! (Take it!)" Thoroughly manipulated, the Third Prince thrust a box forward.

"...???"

[......]

Tae-hyun and Carbanog were dumbfounded. Seriously, this Erangs royal family... Just because they were powerful, they really did whatever they wanted! They secretly carved off meat from a divine beast?

"Kyaoo!"

"No, Bulbul-i. This is dirty."

"Kyaoo!" Bulbul-i growled in anger, demanding to know why he couldn't have it. It was only natural for him to be mad when told not to eat a chunk of meat that looked incredibly delicious and nourishing.

"Is it really okay to eat this?"

[Carbanog says that since Phytos isn't an evil god, there shouldn't be any problem. In fact, it will probably be good for his body...]

'Hmm. No, I'm worried it might make him weaker...'

[......]

Carbanog was left speechless by this absurd treatment. No matter how much Tae-hyun wanted to play a weak class, how on earth could eating this make him weaker!

"Alright, Bulbul-i. Chew it well."

*Chomp, chomp, gulp!* With a blissful expression, Bulbul-i grabbed the chunk of meat and devoured it. Watching him eat so heartily brought a warm, proud feeling to anyone looking.

"!" Tae-hyun was startled. 'Carbanog! What did I tell you! You said it was fine!'

[Carbanog protests, asking what could possibly be wrong with acquiring divine power!]

'Well, that's true, but...' It was just that the name "Phytos Church" left a bad taste in his mouth!

[Carbanog mentions that since he has acquired divine power, he might be able to use Authority skills in the future.]

'I don't need that kind of stuff.'

"Kyaoo?"

"Next time, I'll find you some meat from a nicer church's divine beast."

"Kyaoo!" He had no idea how Tae-hyun planned to find such a thing, but Bulbul-i cheered anyway!

"Count! Are you awake?"

"You... you are not Dorango!"

"??!?"

"That useless Dorango would never come to see me of his own free will."

'Oh, come on.' Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. He had fooled everyone so perfectly up until now, only to be caught for such an absurd reason.

"Reveal your identity!"

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue and swapped his mask. Since things had turned out this way, he had to revert to the face he had used when he first met Count Besgo and make up an excuse. He didn't know how well it would work, but...

'I came all this way, but do I have to just talk to the Third Prince and slip away? I haven't even found the King's location yet...'

"Wait. You are...?" Count Besgo recognized Tae-hyun's face and gasped in surprise. Wasn't this the man with the face of a hero, whom he had personally held onto just to paint!

"Why did you come here disguised as Dorango?"

"I heard that you had collapsed, Count, and I was so worried... I feared they wouldn't let me in unless I disguised myself as someone else, so I took this form."

"To think...!" Count Besgo was deeply moved. Bringing the Resurrection Herb was already an incredible act of devotion, but to think it was done by a mere adventurer who had no obligation to him. The emotional impact was doubled.

"I am sorry for deceiving you! Please, punish me!"

"No! I saw the face of a hero in you, and indeed, my eyes did not deceive me! If a man who risks himself to come here like this is not a hero, then who is?!"

"I have no need for a useless wretch like Dorango! From this day forth, you shall take Dorango's place."

"Wait, what..." Tae-hyun was bewildered by the sudden turn of events. Just like that, Dorango was completely erased from the family tree!

"Hear me! From now on, all of Dorango's rights and privileges shall be transferred to this adventurer here. Let it be known!"

"My lord! Transferring Lord Dorango's rights to a stranger! We will obey that command without question!"

"My lord, even if Lord Dorango is a bastard, isn't that command a bit too lenient? I think it wouldn't hurt to hand over everything else to him as well!"

"..."

The retainers' reactions took it a step even further.