The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 49

“Hidden Field… this is insane.”

The main continent was vast, with countless fields scattered across it.

Each city had at least two official fields, but hidden fields existed beyond these.

These were fields where, for one reason or another, monsters hid themselves due to certain settings—whether it was by choice or force.

“God of Savior is no different in that regard.”

Considering that the concept of *God of Savior* itself revolved around adventure, there couldn’t be a more appealing feature than this.

So, what was about to happen would probably be similar.

[You have met the hidden conditions.]

[A sudden quest, ‘The Warriors’ Trial,’ has been triggered.]

[The Warriors’ Trial]

– Grade: Sudden Quest

– Description: The warriors residing in this hidden field never forgive intruders. Endure the onslaught of the great warriors and reach the deepest point to pass his trial.

– Reward upon completion: 100 Gold, a certain amount of experience points, one Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket, ???

– Risk upon failure: You will never be able to access the Warriors’ Habitat again.

– Time limit: 48 hours

As expected, Kang Do-hyeon grinned widely at the notification.

“As I thought…”

It was a sudden quest that wasn’t received from NPCs, but spontaneously appeared in the field.

This sudden quest was the reason why hidden fields in DemRock were referred to as honey pots, and the very reason for their existence.

And it was also Do-hyeon’s favorite kind of quest.

“The rewards for sudden quests are always worth it.”

In DemRock, with its unique characteristic of providing solid rewards for extremely difficult challenges or hidden pieces, such quests were Do-hyeon’s lifeline.

“An Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket!”

This time was no different.

Though the last reward was a mystery, just being guaranteed an Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket was enough.

Unlike the Lower Skill Draw Tickets, which only yielded common skills, the Intermediate tickets could grant anything from common to rare grade.

Given his Eye of Truth, it was almost guaranteed that he would receive a rare skill.

Skills were rare and precious, so there was no sweeter reward than this.

“I’m definitely going to clear this.”

Do-hyeon’s determination burned brightly.

Jihad, who had been silently observing all of this beside him, shook his head without a word.

It was reminiscent of before Do-hyeon had massacred the western forest, seeing him staring blankly at the air, muttering to himself, and then suddenly getting fired up.

“Sorry, warriors…”

Jihad clasped his hands together briefly, offering a moment of condolence, before following behind Do-hyeon.

It was the moment when the two (or two?) first stepped into the Warriors’ Habitat in Raven.

* * *

[You have entered the Hidden Field, ‘Warriors’ Habitat.’]

[First discoverer privileges apply.]

[The sudden quest, ‘The Warriors’ Trial,’ begins.]

[The Warriors’ Trial task is ‘Infiltration.’ The quest rewards will change depending on how deep you invade.]

[If you fail to infiltrate within 2 hours, the quest will end.]

[Recording will begin.]

Do-hyeon gave a small exclamation as he noticed the tiny RCD symbol appear in the lower-left corner of his vision.

It was a hidden field, so recording it might be helpful later on.

With that in mind, he had turned it on.

While he had it running, Do-hyeon casually glanced around, capturing the scenery.

The term “Warriors’ Habitat” seemed fitting; the area was almost barren wasteland.

It was strange to think there could be such a place inside the forest—it had a distinctly different atmosphere.

Signs of long-standing goblin warriors were evident, along with weapons scattered about, showing evidence of many battles.

“So, this is how recording works? It’s pretty convenient.”

Back in DemRock, you had to set up recording equipment manually, but now the convenience had significantly improved.

Not to mention, the image quality was high-definition.

Unless you were picky enough to demand something above 4K, the current setup was more than sufficient.

While he marveled at his first recording experience, something happened.

“Kirrk? Kieek!”

Whoosh—

“Oh, now that’s a quick welcome.”

The warriors greeted him with a loud shriek the moment he entered, and Do-hyeon responded by casually dodging backward.

The battle had begun.

Bang!

A large sword slammed into the ground.

Do-hyeon stepped on the sword, jumped, and grabbed the creature’s neck, delivering a flying knee kick.

Crack! Snap!

Bam—!

Without stopping at one blow, he followed up with a series of knee strikes the moment he landed on the ground.

The warrior, evidently surprised at being kneed instead of slashed, looked utterly bewildered as blood gushed from its nose.

“Kieek!”

The other warriors were just as startled, joining the battle a moment too late, and only then did Do-hyeon release his grip on the first one’s neck.

But he didn’t let it go unscathed.

Thud.

[You used the basic skill ‘Piercing Weak Point.’]

[The bleeding effect of the Assassin’s Dagger has been triggered.]

[You’ve landed a bleeding skill. The enemy has been afflicted with the bleeding status.]

[The Red Goblin Warrior’s HP is below 50%.]

In the meantime, Do-hyeon had pulled out a dagger he’d stashed and stabbed the warrior before tossing it aside.

The stacking damage was nothing to scoff at, and in an instant, its HP fell below 50%.

The Red Goblin Warrior’s red skin became even more flushed.

“Kieeek!”

[The trait ‘Warrior’ has been activated.]

[The Red Goblin Warrior of the Forest’s stats have increased, and it has entered a ‘Berserk’ state.]

[Due to the Warrior trait’s ‘Berserk’ effect, its physical abilities have increased, and your attack and movement speed are reduced by 4%.]

Though its red muscles bulged with rage, it was nothing more than a trivial display to Do-hyeon.

[The ‘Hero’ trait blocks mental corruption.]

[You are immune to the Berserk effect.]

“Kirr… k?”

The Hero trait calmly negated it.

Whether its stats increased or not, the warrior was no threat to Do-hyeon.

Slice— Whoosh.

[You used the basic skill ‘Heavy Strike.’]

With a single slash, Do-hyeon severed its neck, then blocked the attacks of the incoming warriors with the flat side of his greatsword.

Lowering his body, he swept the legs of the remaining warriors, knocking them over, and then pierced the heart of the Red Goblin Warrior.

[You have defeated the Red Goblin Warrior of the Forest.]

A rather pitiful death for an elite monster.

If anyone had seen it, they wouldn’t have believed it.

Even Jihad, who had been watching, was momentarily stunned by the scene.

He had felt this way when Do-hyeon massacred the western forest as well—no matter how many times he watched, Do-hyeon’s combat sense made him question if he was even human.

No wonder he hadn’t landed a single hit on him.

“Oh right, I should pick it up quickly. He’ll start nagging again.”

Jihad was about to move when he snapped out of his daze.

“Jihad, pick them up later.”

“Oh, uh… okay.”

Startled by Do-hyeon’s words, which came right on time as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Jihad hesitated and stopped.

There were still two warriors left, and more were swarming in from the distance.

If he got distracted picking up random items now, he’d surely get swept up in the chaos.

If his original power had been intact, it might have been different, but as a level 1 Jihad, his safest option was to quietly watch.

Understanding well, Jihad nodded.

“Is it because of the robe? The aggro isn’t pulling as much as I expected.”

Do-hyeon had been carefully managing the aggro, but still, at least one of the monsters should have gotten distracted, yet none did.

It seemed that the face-obscuring option on the robe worked even on monsters.

A surprising use of the option he hadn’t considered before.

As long as he didn’t intervene directly, it shouldn’t cause any trouble.

In other words, it all depended on Do-hyeon’s performance.

“Alright, time to focus.”

With the situation grasped, Do-hyeon’s lips curled into a smirk.

A hunting ground with no other users, where he could monopolize all the monsters?

And not just any monsters, but elite ones?

This was truly the best possible hunting ground.

“It’s time to power level.”

The time for rapid leveling had come.

* * *

[You have leveled up.]

“Oh?”

Had it only been about ten minutes of hunting?

A cheerful notification suddenly sounded, causing Do-hyeon to pause.

He was pleased that his level, which had stagnated for a while, had finally increased.

[You have defeated the Blue Goblin Warrior of the Forest.]

Fortunately, the last warrior had just died from bleeding damage, so there was no need to swing his sword again.

Swoosh— Swoosh.

Do-hyeon scanned his surroundings, confirming that no more warriors were in sight.

Meanwhile, Jihad hurriedly began gathering the dropped items, causing Do-hyeon to chuckle.

He might grumble, but Jihad was reliable when it came to following orders.

As Do-hyeon watched the items drop,

he was about to check his status window when he hesitated.

“Ah, I’m still recording.”

If he opened his status window now, his stats would be recorded.

Given his abnormal stats, it wasn’t worth the risk of leaving evidence.

“I’ll check later.”

Though he was eager to see his newly improved status, he decided to delay that satisfaction for now.

“The experience gain is pretty great.”

In an hour, his level hadn’t increased, but now, in just ten minutes, it had.

While his insane hunting speed was a factor, the elite monsters certainly provided excellent experience points.

Of course, the accumulated experience had likely played a role as well…

“At this rate, I might even overlevel.”

Considering the boss of this area, it was a definite possibility.

Though it would be a shame if he surpassed the graduation level and couldn’t gain more, the Intermediate Skill Draw Ticket more than made up for it.

There was also another reason he didn’t mind.

[You have obtained the Red Goblin Warrior’s Leather Tunic.]

[You have obtained the Blue Goblin Warrior’s Blue Leather Belt.]

……

[Red Goblin Warrior’s Leather Tunic]

– Grade: Rare

– Description: A tunic made from the leather of the Red Goblin Warrior of the Forest. As it’s the leather of a great warrior from the Red Tribe, it is exceptionally durable and flexible.

– Level requirement: 20

– Wearable by: Any class

– Physical Defense: 90

– Magic Resistance: 75

– Strength +1

– Stamina +1

[Blue Goblin Warrior’s Blue Leather Belt]

– Grade: Rare

– Description: A belt worn by the Blue Goblin Warrior of the Forest. Only great goblins who earned the Warrior title in the Blue Tribe could wear this belt, which has high resistance to magic.

– Level requirement: 20

– Wearable by: Any class

– Physical Defense: 56

– Magic Resistance: 71

– Stamina +2

– Agility +1

In addition to these, shoulder guards, pants, and various other items dropped in abundance.

Do-hyeon had defeated so many warriors, but the drop rate had also increased thanks to the first discovery rewards.

The stat bonuses were slightly lower than those from the Warrior Set, but they were not bad when considering the next city.

– 3-set bonus: Additional damage to non-human enemies +4%, HP +650

– 3-set bonus: Additional damage to non-human enemies +4%, HP +650

“Extra damage and an HP boost? That’s not bad.”

Unlike the Goblin set, which only gave additional damage to goblins, this set applied extra damage to most monsters.

Even though it was just 4%, it was still a great option.

The only downside was that the HP boost was only useful in player-versus-player combat, but that was a minor issue.

“Though I don’t really need it.”

He had plenty of health already, and while the warrior equipment had slightly lower physical and magical defenses, the base stat bonuses were higher.

Plus, the set bonus granted +2 to all stats.

All in all, it was too good to discard or swap out just yet.

It was no wonder that despite being semi-graduation gear, it was called the downgraded Warrior Set.

Most players seemed to compensate for its lack of stats by mixing in gear obtained from chieftains or the Ant Pit.

“Hmm, I haven’t seen many warriors lately… am I getting close?”

It felt like he had come pretty far into the habitat…

Just when the number of warriors rushing to stop him had dwindled.

Boom!

The saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

With a heavy roar, a massive figure emerged as the stone wall crumbled.