Chapter 44: Chapter 44 - The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 44
>44.
>But the moment Jihad confirmed that Do-hyun was gone, his attitude did a complete 180.
>-Damn it... I picked the wrong guy to mess with... In my whole life, I've never met a more ruthless bastard. That thing isn't human—it's Satan. Satan itself.
>How could he beat me to a pulp without even hearing me out?
>Of course, he couldn't deny that he'd harbored ill intentions, but still—too much was too much.
>-...He's really gone, right?
>Jihad glanced around once more before flopping down flat on his back.
>His entire body throbbed and screamed in agony. Grimacing in pain, he grumbled under his breath.
>-If only my true power was intact...
>For some reason, upon his rebirth, nearly all his strength had been sealed away.
>Even the undead he'd painstakingly raised had vanished.
>He'd already felt wronged dying like a punching bag without a proper fight, and now he'd been beaten down the exact same way.
>If he could fight in perfect condition, he'd surely give that guy a piece of his—
>Flinch.
>At that moment, the image of Do-hyun's fist and that chilling sword blade flashed in his mind, making Jihad shudder.
>-...Can I even win?
>Was it because he'd been helplessly pummeled twice?
>For some reason, just thinking about facing that human made his confidence waver.
>Unwilling to admit it, Jihad kicked a random rock in frustration.
>-One day, I'll smash that bulging back of his skull.
>He was steeling himself with that empty vow when—
>[You will be moved to the Guardian Room.]
>-Huh? What room?
>Before he could even question the sudden message, his vision flickered, and Jihad's body was transported somewhere.
>As the blinding light faded, a new world revealed itself.
>-W-Where... is this...?
>The dank, dark cave was gone. Instead, a landscape unfolded where countless worlds seemed to coexist.
>Clouds and earth blended seamlessly; to the left stretched an icy tundra, to the right a lava field.
>It should have felt disjointed, yet it somehow appeared perfectly natural.
>Worlds cut off abruptly beyond a certain distance, revealing only fragments, which only heightened the mystery.
>-Ah...
>Jihad's pupils trembled as he gazed upon it.
>It was definitely a place he'd never seen before.
>But why?
>-Stepping on solid ground feels just like this.
>A sense of calm settled over his heart.
>How long had it been since he'd touched earth like this? How long since he'd breathed fresh air?
>Jihad fully savored the wind tickling his face—a peculiar breeze blending cold and heat.
>-...This might not be so bad.
>He'd basically been trapped in his hideout anyway.
>Better than being cooped up in an underground cave, he suddenly thought.
>And so, for the first time in centuries, Jihad fell asleep on foreign soil.
>* * *
>Psssh—
>The capsule hissed open, and Do-hyun stepped out, stretching long and hard.
>With a series of cracks, he felt his body loosen as he finished a quick round of stretches and turned on his phone.
>[20:12]
>"Already evening."
>He'd logged in at 10 a.m., and now night had fallen past dinner time.
>Still, since he'd entered earlier than yesterday, filling a full 10 hours left him with time to spare—not bad.
>'This is why consistency matters.'
>...Though calling it "consistency" for booting up the game first thing in the morning felt off, the world had changed.
>These days, diligently playing GodOse was considered living life to the fullest.
>Normally, he'd head straight to the gym to showcase peak diligence, but sadly, he had something to do.
>Click.
>Do-hyun powered on his computer and naturally navigated to the GodOse homepage.
>He needed information.
>The "sea of information" lived up to its name—upon logging in, a flood of posts greeted him. ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠
>There were guides for the next city, but that wasn't what he wanted right now.
>[What Are Guardians? A Must-Read for Newbies Unfamiliar with Them!]
>[Perfect Guardian Guide!]
>[Guardian Rank Chart]
>[Not All Guardians Are the Same? What Are Divine Beasts?]
>'No matter how I think about it, I can't wrap my head around ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there being a guardian like this...'
>It was about the bizarre guardian he'd just acquired: Jihad Black.
>He'd taken preventive measures so the guy couldn't backstab him, but information was better than nothing.
>[Title: Guardian Rank Chart]
>[Author: GodO Professor]
>-GodOse is a game obsessed with ranks. Everything has a rank attached—it's ruthlessly discriminatory like that.
>Naturally, guardians have ranks too.
>Common ones like salamanders or golems are Rare rank... and honestly, that's basically the ceiling.
>Hero rank and above? You generally can't get them.
>From here on, it's the domain of what we call Divine Beasts rather than regular guardians... (abridged).
>"This I know..."
>Do-hyun skimmed past the familiar info and scrolled through a few more posts, but they were mostly stuff he knew or obvious drivel.
>Like how raising guardians is inefficient, or recommendations for usable ones...
>After skipping three or four worthless ones—
>Click.
>[Title: Want a Divine Beast?]
>[Author: GodO Professor]
>-Divine Beasts are the ultimate partners and strongest beings you can get as guardians.
>The only downsides are how insanely hard they are to obtain and how much money they cost.
>Familiar examples: Heavenly Beyond's Pegasus, the Empress's Emptiness, the Precept-Breaker Monk's Haechi—these guardians are Divine Beasts.
>Each has a rank, but all are at least Hero rank, so they're all powerhouse... (excerpted)...
>Everyone always asks: So where do you get Divine Beasts?
>You need one of three things:
>1. Luck that attracts serendipity.
>2. Cash to buy luck outright.
>3. An achievement related to guardians.
>Luck means stumbling into a Divine Beast hidden quest by chance; cash means buying your way through the whole process, which is out of reach for normies, so skip that—leaving option 3.
>Do-hyun paused scrolling for the first time here.
>'An achievement...'
>That achievement element was holding him back.
>It hadn't existed in Delrock.
>Maybe it had, but even Bora Uncle, who was pretty knowledgeable about guardians, had never mentioned it.
>It could be nonsense, but it was new info regardless—intriguing enough.
>'And the author's that guy again.'
>The author's rep played a role too.
>GodO Professor posted a ton about guardians, and most read like they came from someone with real expertise.
>The seriousness made him wonder if the guy was actually a doctor.
>At least someone like that wouldn't spout lies.
>-Achievements: Everyone knows. You get them and rewards for accomplishing something tough that not just anyone can do.
>Could be a title, stats, or even a hidden quest.
>Same with Divine Beasts.
>Accomplish something insanely difficult—especially if it's guardian-related—and you might get a shot at one.
>...(abridged).
>"Hmm."
>The rest was lengthy, but the key info ended there.
>No drop routes or quest details.
>Of course—even a guardian fanatic wouldn't post such valuable info publicly.
>"Still, this helps a ton."
>First off: Neither Delrock nor GodOse let you get Divine Beasts by just killing monsters.
>No cases anywhere.
>Instead, GodOse opened a new route via achievements for acquiring guardians.
>'Circumstantially, it seems tied to that achievement... But I just found the bid and beat the boss. Could that really...?'
>Do-hyun pondered briefly when a memory flashed.
>Come to think of it—yes.
>Amid the barrage of messages after defeating Jihad, one line stood out.
>[You have achieved a hidden accomplishment.]
>'Yeah, that's exactly what it said.'
>The puzzle clicked.
>Turning Jihad Black into a guardian wasn't luck or a glitch—it was a hidden achievement reward.
>Seemed excessive for clearing one dungeon, but thinking about it, it made sense.
>'It was an absurd dungeon.'
>From the boss room's hidden location in a 4-man party dungeon, to the solo-only condition, to the impossible difficulty for level 24.
>Every element was extraordinary.
>Plus, failure meant the dungeon vanished—pure nightmare fuel.
>'Now that I think about it, clearing it was the weird part.'
>Like bulldozing through a dungeon devs designed to be unbeatable.
>If they saw the footage, their minds probably ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exploded like fireworks.
>Anyway, that achievement must've been the hidden condition for monster taming into a guardian.
>So, maybe other boss monsters could become guardians the same way?
>'If I snag a Legendary dragon as a guardian...'
>He'd eclipse Bora Uncle's Dragon-Tiger Mutual Aid in cool factor.
>Do-hyun thrilled at the thought before shaking it off.
>No guarantee other bosses worked the same, and right now, reality was a mere goblin guardian.
>'Yeah... It'll be usable once trained.'
>Not just any goblin, though.
>A Hero-rank goblin with a unique trait called Bloodline Factor (useless now, but potential).
>Acting like it had Black Flame Dragon blood—had to amount to something.
>Even if it turned out to be loach blood.
>Click.
>Do-hyun shut down the computer and headed to the living room.
>With his curiosity sated, his starving stomach finally roared.
>Makes sense after 10 hours without food.
>He'd planned to grab beef, but his empty bank account said otherwise.
>"Mom, got any food at home?"
>"Nope~"
>Not Mom's gentle voice, but some flighty woman's—Do-hyun's brows furrowed.
>Hyeon-ah lounged on the living room sofa, watching TV and giggling.
>Knees hugged, crumbs spilling onto her lap from the snacks—why was she so damn annoying?
>Was sibling hatred a human passive?
>"Mom?"
>"Out."
>"You eat yet? Let me check your ID."
>"Yeah, what time is it? Oh, stew in the fridge. Mom made it for you yesterday, but you crashed without eating?"
>"Oh..."
>Right—vaguely remembered that.
>Too engrossed in GodOse to notice.
>'Wait, I got discharged ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the army just yesterday?'
>Felt like a week ago, but only two days...
>Even he marveled at his monstrous adaptation to civilian life.
>Probably all the chaos in between.
>'But why no messages from anyone?'
>His squadmates warned discharge meant a month of packed plans...
>Mood souring, he checked KakaoTalk—no unread privates.
>At least the five-man group chat...
>-Gwak Jae-yeol: Man, I wanna fuX.
>-Kim Doo-hyung: You diX.
>-Yoo Jong-hyun: Yo, anyone near Pratel? Philbo dropped.
>-Kim Hyun-soo: Yeah, guild's got it anyway~ your turn ain't coming~.
>-Kim Doo-hyung: Hey, when's Do-hyun discharging? No contact lately—dude ghosted?
>-Kim Hyun-soo: This basX finally croaked. Celebration today.
>-Gwak Jae-yeol: Wait? 1 gone. Not dead. GL
>-Kim Doo-hyung: GL
>-Yoo Jong-hyun: GL
>-Kim Hyun-soo: GL
>"..."
>...Yeah, shouldn't have checked.

Chapter 44

Comments 000

Comments