The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 50

A towering height of about 240 cm with a physique that rivaled an orc.

A unique skin tone, predominantly blue with red blotches spread across various parts.

Wielding a massive double-headed axe, far larger than the body of even the giant chief or the mutant goblin warrior.

The figure resembled a butcher stained in blood, gripping the weapon taller than a person.

[You have encountered the Boss of the Hidden Field, ‘Goblin Champion Karuk.’]

[You have successfully completed the Warrior’s Trial, ‘Invasion,’ with great success.]

[The ‘Warrior’s Trial’ continues into the ‘Champion’s Trial.’]

[The Goblin Champion’s Trial is a ‘Blood Battle.’ The rewards will vary based on your performance.]

[Karuk, Goblin Champion]

-Title: Elite Named Hidden Field Boss

-Type: Goblin

-Characteristics: Champion, Body Enhancement, Berserker

-Description: The title ‘Goblin Warrior’ is only given to the strongest warriors in the tribe. Among them, the mightiest earn the title of Champion.

Karuk, born as a hybrid of the Red Tribe and the Blue Tribe, is a great warrior who possesses the strengths of both tribes.

‘An elite field boss…’

It was always tricky to gauge the strength of these elite bosses.

Rare or heroic bosses had clear ranks, but most elites were simply labeled as ‘elite’ without further clarification.

Still, it wasn’t impossible to make a guess.

‘It should be far stronger than the chief.’

It would probably be on a whole different level.

After all, this was a field boss with both the elite and named titles.

Moreover, possessing the advantages of both the Red and Blue Tribes, combined with traits specialized for close combat, further proved its strength.

‘It might even be stronger than the field boss of the forest.’

Do-hyeon’s prediction was spot on.

Jihad, who had been quiet all along, finally showed a tense expression as he spoke up.

“Be careful, Master. That guy, if nothing else, is absurdly strong.”

“Stronger than you?”

“Ahem! Of course, it’s weaker than me, but among warriors, the Champion is the strongest. That guy was already a Champion 150 years ago when I first encountered him.”

In other words, for over 150 years, no stronger warrior than Karuk had appeared.

That was likely what Jihad was trying to convey.

Judging by Jihad’s reaction, it seemed he had once crossed paths with Karuk, and it hadn’t been an easy encounter.

The fact that two named figures had clashed piqued Do-hyeon’s interest.

‘This will be fun.’

A strong opponent recognized by the ruler of the forest.

How could he not feel intrigued?

Moreover, the trial this time was a ‘blood battle.’ Do-hyeon felt his blood stir for the first time in a while as he gripped his greatsword.

[The Warrior Set is now active.]

[7% additional damage will be applied to Goblin-type enemies.]

[The Boss’s rank nullifies the ‘Intimidation’ effect.]

The familiar notifications chimed just as their eyes locked.

The hands gripping the double axe twitched.

Bang!

Both of them shot forward simultaneously, with no one able to say who moved first.

Jihad couldn’t help but shout instinctively.

“No! It’s too dangerous to clash head-on, Master!”

Jihad’s trembling voice conveyed his urgency.

After all, he had once fought this Champion.

Though it had only been a brief conflict rather than a full battle, it was enough for Jihad to grasp Karuk’s overwhelming strength.

Keiing—

[The Hidden Field Boss ‘Goblin Champion Karuk’ is using ‘Merciless Blow.’]

Red energy converged into the double-headed axe, quickly dyeing it crimson.

The double axe began to glow red as if it had been thrust into a furnace, radiating intense heat.

It was that.

“The moment it touches you, your sword will break! Dodge it!”

‘Merciless Blow,’ a skill used by Berserkers.

On the surface, it seemed like a typical powerful strike similar to ‘Heavy Strike,’ but this skill was the core of the Berserker class.

It served the same function as the Bomb Strike in Poke, the most devastating attack.

Though it couldn’t match the sheer power of Bomb Strike, what made this skill truly terrifying was its weapon-breaking ability.

It could temporarily shatter any weapon below the Heroic rank, making Berserkers an incredible force in close combat.

‘That’s the attack that slaughtered my undead like tofu!’

Jihad could still vividly remember the moment his undead army was shattered like tofu by that very blow.

Not to mention, when Karuk’s double axe struck the ground afterward, splitting the earth with a deafening sound, the memory of that moment still haunted him.

If not for the quick reaction of a corpse explosion, which inflicted some damage on Karuk, the battle would have continued, likely at great cost to Jihad.

‘This is suicide…!’

No matter how strong his master might be, this wasn’t the right approach.

Do-hyeon’s forte was his ghost-like, elusive movements, and a head-on battle against a force like Karuk was simply a losing strategy!

Jihad couldn’t understand why his master, who surely knew this, was stubbornly pushing forward.

But the situation had already escalated, and it was too late to back down.

Whoosh!

The greatsword and the double axe swung toward each other, their clash threatening to produce a sharp, metallic sound.

The sheer size difference between the two weapons was already twofold.

Jihad, fully expecting the greatsword to shatter upon contact, covered his eyes with his hands.

Though he could still see through his fingers, it was the only way he could bear to witness the impending impact.

“Oh no…”

He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the shock.

But what he saw between his fingers was something unbelievable.

At the very moment when the two weapons should have torn into each other—

Srrrk.

The greatsword’s sensation changed.

What had been an aggressive, forceful thrust suddenly transformed into a gentle, yielding energy, as if it had embraced the double axe.

Like watching the movements of Tai Chi, the greatsword smoothly absorbed the double axe’s force, letting the impact flow naturally.

“Huh…?”

It wasn’t too fast, nor too slow.

The two massive weapons moved as if they had been perfectly synchronized from the start, flowing as one.

By the time Jihad realized what had happened, the situation had already concluded.

Thud—

The double axe, drained of all its power, fell helplessly to the ground.

“…Kuruk?”

Karuk tilted his head in confusion as he looked at his double axe, which should have crushed the human’s skull like tofu but instead struck the ground with no force.

The skill had definitely activated, so why?

He couldn’t understand the situation.

Still, Karuk didn’t allow himself to panic. He swung the double axe again.

This time, the human simply sidestepped the attack.

After two or three more futile swings, Karuk nodded to himself.

“Kurruk.”

He concluded that the strange situation earlier had been a mere fluke.

If it wasn’t a coincidence, there was no way the human would be avoiding his far weaker attacks like this.

Once more, Karuk prepared for a powerful strike.

[The Hidden Field Boss ‘Goblin Champion Karuk’ is using ‘Great Heavy Strike.’]

Though it wasn’t as deadly as ‘Merciless Blow,’ it was still one of Karuk’s strongest skills.

This time, he was sure he would crush the human’s skull.

But the moment his attack met the greatsword again—

Swish.

The same scene unfolded as before.

Like a river being swept away by a vast ocean, the force behind the blow dissipated naturally, without any resistance.

“Huh? What am I seeing?”

“Kurruk…?”

Both Karuk and Jihad blinked in disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

As if answering their confused gazes, Do-hyeon smirked subtly.

‘It’s been a while, but I still haven’t lost my touch.’

Do-hyeon’s eyes were focused on the skill window floating in the air.

[Parry]

-Rank: Common

-Restriction: Swordsman class

-Description: Deflects an incoming attack with your sword.

Activates if used at the correct timing. If the timing is off, it may fail.

-Effect: Deflects an attack when activated at the precise moment.

No other skills can be used while performing Parry. Attacks that are deemed unavoidable or immune to parrying cannot be deflected.

-Cooldown: 4 seconds

‘I didn’t expect this to show up.’

The secret behind the seemingly magical defense.

It was the Swordsman’s sole guard skill, a technique regarded as a grade beyond common.

It was called ‘Parry.’

* * *

Parry.

As the name implies, a skill that deflects attacks, exclusive to the Swordsman class.

Even legendary-ranked skills could be deflected if the conditions were met, making it a broken guard skill with a short cooldown, earning it the title of a skill beyond the common tier.

“If tanks have ‘Royal Guard,’ swordsmen have ‘Parry.’”

‘The problem is, no one uses it.’

Despite its broken potential, almost no one used the skill, and the reason was simple.

Successfully pulling off a parry was absurdly difficult.

The attack had to make contact with the sword, and the skill had to be activated at the precise moment to trigger the parry. But this ‘precise moment’ was notoriously unforgiving.

“Does this even work? Is it a decorative skill?”

“Why doesn’t it activate?”

“I died twice trying to use Parry. Is this even fair?”

Even for seasoned experts, getting it right once out of five tries was a major success due to the demanding ‘precise timing.’

That was when dealing with simple, predictable attacks.

Attempting to use Parry in chaotic boss raids or PvP encounters with psychological warfare in play was like relying on pure luck.

As a result, players who tried to use Parry often ended up taking avoidable hits and dying, which gave the skill a terrible reputation.

“Never party with someone using Parry. I’m serious.”

“Damn… Parry is trash. Why do people bring it into raids after watching some dumb video?”

“No wonder they call it a troll’s tool.”

Because of this, players not only avoided Parry, they outright despised it.

There was a reason why players disliked low-level swordsmen with bad reflexes.

If a newbie swordsman was using Parry?

Just assume the raid was a failure and leave for your own sanity.

But what about high-ranking swordsmen?

“Nope, I don’t use it.”

“There’s no point in taking the risk. It’s not a guaranteed deflection…”

“Does a swordsman even need to use Parry? If that situation arises, it’s already a problem.”

The answer was the same.

At higher levels, where skill slots were limited to 13, every slot mattered.

There was no reason to waste a valuable slot on Parry when other, more reliable skills were available.

Moreover, the fundamental role of a swordsman was an issue.

Swordsmen weren’t tanks or even sub-tanks; they were melee damage dealers.

There were few situations where a swordsman would need to use Parry, as it was rare for them to draw aggro in the first place.

“If it was guaranteed, maybe, but why bother?”

“Honestly, it’s a poorly designed skill. That’s why it’s only a common skill.”

“If you don’t want to get clobbered and hit with a death penalty, then don’t use Parry. That’s my genuine advice.”

“Sure, there are geniuses who can pull it off… but even then, it’s not a sure thing.”

Even if you succeeded one out of five times, the skill was still considered high-risk, low-reward.

For those reasons, Parry, despite being the only guard skill available to swordsmen, was often disregarded.

Of course, there were exceptions.

“Well, if you’re Kaiser, it’s fine.”

“That guy isn’t human. That’s why he can tank while being a damage dealer. How does he succeed at Parry every time, as if it’s a guaranteed skill?”

“Human? How dare you insult the gods! You can’t speak of Kaiser in such a blasphemous way!”

“Kaiser, he is a god! Kaiser, he is a god!”

The reason Kaiser, despite being a damage dealer, could also function as a full-fledged tank in one-on-one battles.

It was no exaggeration to say it was all thanks to Parry.

There was only so much you could accomplish by simply dodging or disrupting a boss’s patterns with pinpoint strikes.

As the difficulty of bosses increased, certain limitations inevitably arose.

And that’s where Parry came into play.

[The Hidden Field Boss ‘Goblin Champion Karuk’ is using ‘Great Heavy Strike.’]

[You have successfully executed ‘Parry’!]

[The attack is deflected.]

‘Yeah, this is the feeling.’

A skill pattern that couldn’t originally be broken, with no telegraphing movements.

Even such unavoidable attacks could be negated with Parry if done right, allowing one to take no damage at all.

[The Hidden Field Boss ‘Goblin Champion Karuk’ is using ‘Frenzied Strikes.’]

[You have successfully executed ‘Parry.’]

[The attack is deflected.]

“This is ridiculous…”

Parry even worked against multi-hit skills.

If the timing was perfect for the first hit, the entire chain of attacks would be neutralized.

Of course, pulling this off required near-inhuman skill, and even if you knew the attack was coming, success was never guaranteed.

Boom—Srrrrrk.

[You have successfully executed ‘Parry’!]

[The attack is deflected.]

“Wait, he’s parrying that? Master, are you even human? I’m starting to think you’re not just devilishly talented but actually a real devil!”

In truth, it didn’t even need to be a multi-hit skill.

The core principle of Parry was to redirect the opponent’s force in another direction once the sword made contact.

For that to happen, the sword had to be in contact with the attack, and the skill had to be triggered at precisely the right moment.

And this timing varied with every skill and pattern.

That’s why even veteran players found it frustrating and gave up on it.

‘How can they not do this?’

Every time Do-hyeon heard such complaints, he truly couldn’t understand.

For Kaiser, Parry was just too easy.