The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

In DemRock, one had to approach NPCs one-on-one to receive quests without fail…

‘Is this also the power of AI?’

NPCs had intelligence not much different from users.

Since they had to give quests to users anyway, it was probably just as bothersome for them to hand out tasks one by one.

Though he found this innovative method somewhat absurd at first, he didn’t dislike it.

It saved time, so there was no reason to complain.

“Oh? Awesome, I got a quest.”

“Wow, this is sweet. No need to wait in line.”

“See? Dante’s a real man. This is what a game should be!”

“Let’s hurry up, get all the quests, and go hunting!”

The users, seemingly sharing the same sentiment, were quickly leaving the cabin.

Among them was Do-hyeon.

After receiving the necessary quests quickly, he was able to acquire a total of three.

[Collect Goblin Hides]

[Blood of the Mutant Goblin]

All of them were quests that could be completed while clearing goblins.

Now, he was ready.

As soon as he stepped through the city’s outer gate, the refreshing forest field unfolded before him.

And above it, countless goblins and users were scattered all over the place.

“Looking for party members!”

“Anyone collecting hides, let’s team up!”

“Looking for people to grind until level 12. Two spots left.”

Although there were some players attempting solo play, most were looking to form parties.

After all, if one were to follow the guide up to level 12, it was faster and safer to be in a party.

Do-hyeon, who was surveying his surroundings, pulled out a sword from his inventory.

[Rusty Iron Sword]

[Grade: Common]

[Description: A rusty iron sword given to users who have completed the tutorial.]

[Level Requirement: 1]

[Class Requirement: Swordsman-type]

[Physical Attack: 40–60]

[Durability: 50/50]

A rusty sword given as a tutorial reward instead of a crude one.

The stats were unimpressive, but at level 1, it was sufficient. It was far better than the crude sword.

‘I also want to test a few things.’

After all, there were many things he had gained.

As he began scanning for goblins to hunt, a voice called out.

“Excuse me.”

A man approached him.

He was quite large, but his simple face and the thick wooden shield he carried made him look approachable.

As their eyes met, the man gave a slightly awkward smile and spoke hastily.

“I noticed you just arrived, and we have exactly one spot left. Would you like to join us? We’re all doing the same quests anyway, right? Oh, did you get the essential three quests?”

“Yes.”

“Then join our party. We’re grinding to level 12, and it’s the rule to have a four-person party.”

Behind him, two more players approached.

One was a young man of relatively smaller build, and the other was a young woman with a cute bob haircut.

“That’s right! There’s a party bonus for experience until level 12.”

“Let’s hunt together.”

It seemed like they were trying to convince him to join, and Do-hyeon nodded in agreement.

‘They’re right.’

The beginner city Arde.

True to its name, this place was quite generous to beginners.

From the difficulty of acquiring quests to the number of monsters and respawn rates, everything was designed to be convenient. The best benefit, however, was the party bonus experience.

A system that granted bonus experience for users under level 12 in a party of four.

With this benefit, the experience gained from hunting was almost no different from solo play.

As long as the contribution to the hunt was recognized, party members could also gain experience from monsters they didn’t kill themselves.

‘There are plenty of monsters as well.’

This was why so many users were forming parties in this area.

Anyone not forming a party here would be considered foolish.

The beginner city of Arde was, as the guidebook described, an extension of the tutorial.

In that sense, this game was different from DemRock.

Benefits? Adaptation?

In DemRock, there was no such thing.

The game would throw players right into enemy territory from the start, telling them to find a village on their own.

‘Well, that’s why so many DemRock players are taking combat roles in God of Savior.’

Do-hyeon chuckled and responded.

“Sure, let’s party.”

“Nice! Good decision!”

“Phew… We really needed a melee dealer. What a relief.”

“Seriously, why did everyone pick ranged classes?”

“Because, man, archery is cool, obviously.”

“It’s virtual reality! What’s more exciting than casting magic? I’ve always wanted to try magic.”

Upon his acceptance, the party members greeted him with warm smiles.

They seemed to be in their early twenties, and their friendly demeanor suggested they were close friends.

While they chatted away, Do-hyeon discreetly examined their weapons.

‘An archer, a mage, and a tank…’

It seemed they rushed over to him upon noticing he was carrying a sword, as they didn’t have any melee damage dealers.

Their excitement at finally completing the party exuded the pure energy of novices.

“Alright, I’ll send you a party invite.”

“Okay.”

[‘BestShield’ has invited you to join the party.]

[Do you accept?]

After clicking “accept,” a translucent hologram window appeared at the bottom left.

[‘BestShield’s Party is formed.]

[Party Leader]

– BestShield

[Party Members]

– AimForTheForehead

– YubinKkyung

– Kaiser

Their usernames were, to say the least, quite unique.

Their names made it clear what roles they were aiming for. And Do-hyeon wasn’t the only one reacting to the names.

“Huh? Kaiser?”

BestShield reacted to Do-hyeon’s name.

‘Ah, there are a lot of rankers from DemRock, aren’t there?’

Most of them used their DemRock names here as well.

Though the name Kaiser might be forgotten now, it was only natural for someone to recognize it.

However, BestShield’s reaction was slightly different from what Do-hyeon expected.

“Oh, Kaiser? You must be a fan of Kaiser?”

“Kaiser? Who’s that? Someone famous?”

“Oh yeah, Kaiser was ranked number one back in DemRock. You know God of Savior is based on DemRock, right? That’s why there’s a pretty big fanbase.”

“But Kaiser fans are rare these days. You must be a real fan to name yourself Kaiser.”

“……”

The party members spoke casually, not even considering the possibility that Do-hyeon was Kaiser himself.

To them, Kaiser seemed like some relic from the past.

Do-hyeon scratched his head at their reaction.

‘…Well, this is probably how it should be.’

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t expecting anything, but this was the current reality of Kaiser.

At least knowing that there was still a fanbase was somewhat comforting.

‘Though, if what they said is true, there might be a lot of players with the same name as me.’

He chuckled at the thought of running into another Kaiser in a party, imagining what it would be like to meet a fake Kaiser.

While Do-hyeon was lost in his thoughts, BestShield, who had finished organizing, spoke up.

“Alright, let’s go hunting!”

“Let’s grind to level 12 quickly.”

“Let’s go!”

The hunt was about to begin in earnest.

* * *

They didn’t have to look far for prey.

Goblins were everywhere, so there was no need to venture far.

The party settled in front of a group of five goblins and assumed their positions.

“I’ll take the front. Kaiser, you can assist with sub-tanking and deal some damage. AimForTheForehead and YubinKkyung, focus on dealing damage from the back.”

“Alright, I’ll aim for the forehead.”

“Leave it to me!”

It seemed BestShield had studied diligently, as he led the party with confidence despite it being their first hunt.

It was a textbook hunting formation. Nothing fancy, but solid and without flaws—the most basic setup.

‘Not bad.’

Satisfied, Do-hyeon followed suit without complaint.

BestShield, seemingly pleased with the arrangement, nodded proudly as he gripped his shield and slowly advanced.

When they were about four meters from the goblins.

“Kikik? Kik!”

The goblins, who had been standing idly, reacted and immediately swung their daggers.

They were the typical aggressive type of monsters that attacked when approached within a certain range.

It might have been overwhelming for a first-timer, but BestShield calmly raised his shield to block the attack.

Not stopping there, he pushed the goblin back and swung his shield at it.

Clang!

[‘BestShield’ has inflicted a status effect on the Green Goblin.]

[The Green Goblin is stunned for 1 second.]

“I stunned it! Everyone, attack!”

It was a basic skill of the shield weapon, Bash.

A stun that only lasted for one second, but in a battle, a second was more than enough time.

Hitting a stationary target was much easier than hitting a moving one.

“AimForTheForehead!”

“Got it!”

At the signal, AimForTheForehead shot an arrow, and YubinKkyung cast Mana Bolt.

The Green Goblin, who was quickly focused and bombarded, collapsed, and its nearby goblin comrades, startled, charged at BestShield.

“Kirik! Kiiik!”

“Kiiiik!”

Their target was none other than BestShield.

They were expressing their fury at the closest person, who had just killed their comrade.

Though BestShield did his best to block with his shield, he was still only a level 1 player who had just changed jobs.

As he began to get overwhelmed, he started to be pushed back.

“Ugh… This is hard, finish them off quickly!”

But YubinKkyung only had Mana Bolt as an attack skill.

Though its cooldown of 8 seconds was short and the skill was powerful, it was still on cooldown and of no help in the current situation.

AimForTheForehead’s arrows alone weren’t enough either.

What they needed now was a melee damage dealer.

With a swift step, Do-hyeon closed in and slashed at a goblin that had been momentarily distracted.

Slit-!

“Kieeek!”

The goblin, which had been focusing elsewhere, foamed at the mouth and rushed at him.

It had recognized the significant damage it had taken during its moment of carelessness.

But Do-hyeon ignored it and struck another goblin.

Thwack!

“Kieek!!”

“Kiek!!”

As the goblins furiously turned toward Do-hyeon, BestShield timed it perfectly and used Bash.

[‘BestShield’ has inflicted a status effect on the Green Goblin.]

[The Green Goblin is stunned for 1 second.]

While the goblins were momentarily stunned, arrows rained down on them.

Though not all the arrows hit, several stuck in their arms and legs.

With aggro divided between them and arrows flying in from behind, the goblins were in utter chaos.

“Nice, Kaiser!”

Feeling relieved, BestShield gave a thumbs-up.

At this rate, they should be able to finish the hunt without any issues…

[You have defeated the Green Goblin.]

[You have defeated the Green Goblin.]

[Due to contribution distribution, BestShield has obtained Green Goblin Hide.]

“…Huh?”

BestShield momentarily froze at the sight of the two goblins falling faster than expected.

And now, no more attacks were coming their way.

‘What’s going on?’

As he lowered his shield, what he saw surprised him.

There stood Do-hyeon, stepping on the bodies of two fallen goblins, and all the remaining goblins had their aggro focused solely on him.

“…What the…”

Why was the aggro directed at Do-hyeon, and not at himself, the tank, or the ranged dealers?

There were only two possible explanations.

Either Do-hyeon had used an aggro skill, or he had dealt an absurd amount of burst damage in a short time.

Considering that they hadn’t even hit level 10 yet, having an aggro skill seemed impossible.

‘…Does that mean his attacks alone were stronger than the combined damage of the entire party?’

Enough to draw all the aggro?

…Was that even possible?

While BestShield was momentarily stunned by the absurdity of the situation, he suddenly heard a shout.

“Behind! Behind you!”

“Huh? What?”

At the cries of AimForTheForehead and YubinKkyung, BestShield turned around, his eyes widening.

Reflected in his eyes was green skin.

Kirik, Kerek!

Kekeke!

It was a group of Green Goblins, numbering no less than ten.

“…Damn it.”

There were still three goblins left, and now ten more were coming?

No, why were they swarming all of a sudden? They hadn’t even entered their aggro range yet.

His confusion was quickly resolved when he noticed the condition of the goblins.

“…Arrows.”

One familiar arrow was lodged in one of the goblin’s arms.

It seemed that in his excitement, AimForTheForehead had fired a few stray arrows that ended up hitting the goblins.

It was a mishap that occurred because there were so many goblins around.

‘…This is why I was holding the aggro while we hunted! Damn it!’

The goblins only attacked when someone got within five meters of them.

That was why it was safe to hunt even with a large number of goblins nearby. However, there was one special condition that triggered an exception.

That was when they were hit by a ranged attack.

In that case, regardless of distance, they would charge toward the attacker.

“S-sorry… I must have shot wrong. I’m really sorry. I’m sorry, Kaiser… Ugh… Why am I like this?”

“What do we do? Shouldn’t we run?”

The culprit, AimForTheForehead, was pale and muttering in a panic, while YubinKkyung was anxiously shifting from foot to foot.

This was a moment when the party leader, BestShield, needed to give clear orders.

But despite his mastery of the theory, this was his first real battle.

And it was impossible to make quick judgments when faced with such a disaster in his very first encounter.

“Uh…”

Kirik! Kerek!

As he stood there in shock, the goblins drew closer, now just within arm’s reach.

Finally snapping back to his senses, BestShield shouted in a panic.

“We can’t fight them. I’ll stun them, so let’s run…!”

But before he could even finish giving orders.

Tat!

“Huh?”

“What the…!”

With the sound of someone kicking off the ground, something flashed past him at high speed.

A swordsman with black hair flying in the wind.

It was Kaiser.