Chapter 207: Chapter 207 - The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 207
>Chapter 207.
>-Why'd he get dragged off by Charlie? And what was with the spiderwebs?
>-No way, he was seriously grinding cards in the middle of all that?
>-Card grinding's fine. Gotta prep for force replenishment. Nothing beats card grinding for that perfect rush—kid who hasn't even got blood on his hands yet.
>-? Why are you suddenly speeding off like that? You one of those gacha gallery weirdos?
>-But he's got a point. Skills make up a huge part of it.
>The absurd eyewitness accounts didn't end there.
>-Huh? I think I saw him at the enhancement center.
>-? Enhancement center—you mean when he dueled Leon there?
>-Nah nah, after he turned down Aison's apprenticeship and left, he showed up again like an hour ago. Grinning ear to ear, chatting with Kilhi. Kilhi even gave him a thumbs-up.
>-......?
>Players who'd spotted Kaiser seized the moment to spill their stories.
>-Huh? I saw him in the boss zone.
>-Boss zone worth hitting right now... that cave?
>-Yeah, boss respawned so I went in, and the boss was already wrecked. He was slipping out all chill, muttering about how OP it was. Nearly pissed myself from the Force.
>From Kilhi's thumbs-up at the enhancement center to the boss annihilation rumors.
>The sightings that spread in the blink of an eye were all from different spots.
>-When was that?
>-Uh... about an hour ago? A bit less? Not sure... around then.
>-No shit, believe this or not? Everyone says an hour ago—Kaiser's out here ghosting like Hong Gildong?
>-But it's kinda Kaiser-like, so it's iffy. All those old rumors we dismissed turned out true.
>Yet it felt like all these events happened simultaneously, leaving everyone baffled beyond hiding it.
>Just like one chat said—no way this made sense without him being Hong Gildong.
>The chatter circled back, converging ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on one question.
>-So what’s he up to now?
>-He hit the prime spots, enhancement center, boss room an hour ago. Now?
>-Anyone seen him since? Even hearsay, go.
>-Nope.
>-Nothing on my end either.
>So what was Kaiser—the guy zipping around like that—doing right now?
>But no one knew his whereabouts after that.
>Opinions split down the middle.
>He'd hit playtime limit and logged off.
>No way. Kaiser's definitely up to something shady.
>“Argh, what the hell is this guy doing? Driving me nuts.”
>And in the Babylon Guild Master's office.
>Astr, the armory owner, exhausted from the clashing public opinions, closed the GodOse community window.
>Astr was losing his mind right now.
>He'd sent over plenty of enhancement stones and materials for upgrades, and the guy starts a random duel with the master smith? Aison shows up offering apprenticeship...?
>‘He even beat the master smith at enhancements? Him? And why's Aison involved?’
>It was all utterly incomprehensible.
>The Kaiser Astr knew wasn't like that.
>Not just boss weak points—he nailed weapon weak points like a pro, the god of misfortune who shattered everything with every hammer swing.
>The kind of guy who should've hit +10 at least once but never even come close.
>That was the Kaiser Astr knew.
>“And what? Enhancements are a hobby? Who cries that hard over a hobby?”
>That alone left mountains of questions, but why were these Hero Guild idiots suddenly revving up and posting an official notice?
>Pinpointing tomorrow exactly? They'd clearly checked their schedule first.
>‘Can’t cancel or help now...’
>Too obvious.
>So he figured announce a guild visit or some official deal at least.
>Buy a little time that way.
>Not a bad plan, but...
>[Sending whisper to player ‘Kaiser.’]
>[Target has whispers disabled.]
>“Argh, why the hell doesn't he enable whispers?”
>Whispers off, no clue where he is...
>No way to reach him. Frustrating.
>“This guy got no friends so he's never even used whispers?”
>...Muttering words that would've hit Dohyun right in the gut if he'd heard, Astr slumped into his chair.
>Ding-
>“Huh? Ding?”
>A sudden cheerful alert.
>Hoping he'd enabled whispers, Astr hurriedly opened his system window—and his eyes went wide.
>“No, what is this!?”
>It was indeed from Kaiser.
>But not the kind Astr expected at all.
>And it wasn't just Astr hearing it.
>Ding-
>“Hm? Alert?”
>“What alert? Mine didn't go off.”
>“No... I linked GodOse a bit ago, hold on.”
>From Empire players to those in other cities. Of course.
>Ding-
>-Huh? Yo, phone alert just popped.
>-You too? Me too.
>-What is it, NewTube live alert? Not the time for... holy shit?
>-No way... this real?
>Even the rowdy community chats.
>They froze at the simultaneous alerts, then freaked out.
>The alert floating before them.
>It was a live stream.
>NewTube live alerts are no big deal these days, but check the channel name and you'd swallow those words.
>[KaiserTV is now live.]
>[Title: Tomorrow? No, today.]
>A live stream from the ultra-hot topic Kaiser himself.
>-No way, Kaiser's live!
>-Holy!?
>-I'm freaking... not the time, going to watch...
>-This guy's ditching mid-chat? But yeah, curious. I'm in, go go.
>-What's the title? Dying to know. Me too.
>-What, me too.
>-Me too!
>News spread like wildfire, emptying ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠community rooms at explosive speed. ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠
>“Hey, screw it. I'm out.”
>“? Why?”
>“Gotta watch the stream.”
>“......Logging mid-quest for a stream? You a total stream zombie or...?”
>“Kaiser live trigger.”
>“You madman, why say it now? I'm out first...”
>And that was it.
>Logged-in players dropped one by one, and word reached even Berze mid-press conference.
>“......So tomorrow we'll proceed with Kaiser's subjugation, and we ask for your understanding... Yes? Live stream? ...From Kaiser?”
>Berze paused mid-sentence, frowning at the sudden reply—broadcast live officially.
>Reporter murmurs grew, some even bailing on the conference.
>Started small.
>“......What? For real?”
>“Where's Kaiser at right now?”
>“Insane... Kaiser's a total maniac.”
>“Not the time to be here. Head over before it's too late.”
>But as time passed, the buzz swelled, and reporters started bolting en masse.
>Main reporter scrambled to handle the live fiasco.
>“Uh... Hero Guild Master Berze has an urgent matter. We'll follow up later.”
>Cutting the interview cold, the reporter's move left Berze baffled.
>“? What do you mean all of a sudd...”
>“Not the time, Berze. Wrap it up quick—you'll thank me.”
>But before the words landed, the main reporter grabbed his gear and bolted too.
>A broadcast blunder for the ages.
>Berze's face went slack at the most absurd presser in Hero Guild history.
>‘What now? Kaiser goes live? What’s that got to do with m...’
>Mid-question, urgent whispers flooded in.
>-M-Master. Emergency!
>-Kaiser's here at...
>Hearing that much, something flashed in his mind, and Berze's face hardened.
>No need to hear more—Berze logged out in a panic and fired up NewTube.
>[KaiserTV channel is now live.]
>Reporters were right—a live stream blaring.
>-No way, it's Kaiser!
>-Where's that? First time seeing it. Just forest, so stuffy.
>-Cliff? What? Why's he there?
>-Kaiser-nim! Big fan!
>-Kyaaah, oppa!!!
>-Hey, you crazy bastard! Where are you!?
>Viewers and chats flooded nonstop, eyes spinning, but Berze couldn't blink.
>He knew that spot everyone was dying to pinpoint.
>‘No way that's...’
>Impossible not to recognize.
>The view from his guild office window every day.
>Hero Guild headquarters—back mountain's end-cliff.
>‘Why's that bastard there...!’
>Berze gnawed his lip in rising anxiety at the unexpected twist.
>“Aa.”
>Kaiser spoke.
>“Nice to see you. Kaiser here.”
>-Kyaaaaah!!!
>-omgwtf;asdlf
>-Kaiser-nim, why are you there!? You see Hero Guild's notice?
>Chats exploded.
>Dizzying barrage could've distracted anyone, but Kaiser glanced once and pressed on calmly.
>His steady tone oozed leisure.
>“Saw Hero Guild's stance. Painting me the criminal... Fine, I can take that.”
>“......”
>“But... this is weird.”
>Selfie mode made it feel like face-to-face talk.
>“Why bother with tomorrow? Sword's out—might as well swing it now.”
>Maybe that's why. Berze felt an eerie vibe.
>That smirk—mocking him directly.
>Crunch-
>‘What show is he pulling now.’
>Grinding his teeth in irritation, Berze soon doubted his eyes.
>Swish-
>Selfie flipped to rear cam—Kaiser strode to the cliff edge.
>Hero Guild's guild castle sprawled below.
>From landscape to bustling members inside—all in plain view.
>-That's... Hero Guild?
>-Wow, such a spot exists.
>-Didn't know? Hero Guild's back mountain's infamous. People ragged on the location choice, but who’d dare scout a top 100 guild from there? Dismissed it...
>-And the madlad was right here.
>New viewers marveled purely; old-timers for different reasons.
>A brief awe-fest.
>Then confusion ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit.
>-But why show us here?
>-Yeah...? Why's he even there?
>-Hey, no way this is...?
>Why there.
>Why this timing, this shot, title ‘Tomorrow? No, today.’
>“Kaiser subjugation notice?”
>Didn't take long to click.
>“Nope.”
>Kaiser laughed it off, spelling it out.
>Utterly matter-of-fact.
>Natural, nonchalant gaze, calm voice.
>“Subjugation's by me—not them.”

Chapter 207

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