The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 37

How many more of these hidden tips would be waiting ahead?

Just the thought of it made him smile.

He wanted to enjoy this thrilling moment a bit longer, but unfortunately, it seemed like it would have to wait.

“Kieeeek!”

[The boss of the dungeon, ‘Goblin Chief,’ is enraged.]

The Goblin Chief, having lost his elite soldiers and failed to kill the human who disappeared so absurdly, was furious.

Banging his chest and roaring like a gorilla, he looked less like a goblin and more like an orangutan.

Come to think of it, the way he fought, swinging his fists wildly without any weapons, also resembled a gorilla’s style.

Maybe he was a boss inspired by a gorilla.

‘But that’s not what matters right now.’

Pushing aside such logical thoughts for later, Do-hyeon gripped his greatsword.

There was no need for the assassin’s dagger just yet.

[The Warrior Set is applied.]

[You inflict the status effect ‘Intimidation’ on the Goblin Chief.]

[The enraged Goblin Chief resists ‘Intimidation.’ The effect of ‘Intimidation’ is nullified.]

[You deal an additional 7% damage to goblin types.]

What he needed was the greatsword, which could deliver more powerful bursts of damage.

‘As expected, the boss is different.’

Although his ‘Intimidation’ had disappeared meaninglessly, it wasn’t completely ineffective.

The Goblin Chief, enraged by the attempt to intimidate him, had become even more violent.

Maybe that was why…

Paaang!

The Goblin Chief charged at him first.

The sheer explosiveness of the rush was astonishing, considering the bulky mass of fat that composed the monster’s body.

If he were hit by that tank-like charge, there was no doubt he would end up smashed into the wall.

But such a charge, while fast and powerful, was weak in side-to-side movements.

The best move here would be to dodge to the side, but…

[You use the skill ‘Backstab.’]

[A mark is created on the Goblin Chief for a certain period.]

Instead of dodging, Do-hyeon chose to attack.

It was the best route, where evasion and attack could happen simultaneously.

Keerik!?

Surprised, the Goblin Chief tried to stop when Do-hyeon suddenly disappeared right in front of him, but his massive body couldn’t halt its momentum and crashed into the wall.

Kwaaang!

Kieruk…

Rising with a groan amidst the cloud of dust, the Goblin Chief grabbed his head.

It seemed like he hadn’t been able to control his speed and smashed headfirst into the wall.

[The Goblin Chief is stunned for 3 seconds.]

Three seconds.

Barely enough time to use one or two skills, but it was more than enough for Do-hyeon.

Whoosh- Smash!

Leaping up, he delivered a flying knee kick, sending the massive creature’s body into the air.

A flying knee kick powered by his 88 strength was a formidable weapon in itself.

*Kraaa!*

After smashing the chief into the wall once more, Do-hyeon steadied his breathing.

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Then followed a barrage of punches!

Pupperpupperpup!

‘In a short burst of free damage, it’s better to go for quantity over quality.’

In situations like this, where he could attack freely for a short time, more hits were better than fewer, more powerful strikes.

Sure, a single swing of the greatsword would deal more damage, but it couldn’t compare to landing three punches in the same time.

[HP: 23,913 / 30,000]

[The Goblin Chief breaks free from the ‘Stun’ status.]

In an instant, he had reduced the Goblin Chief’s HP by over 4,000.

Rolling to the side, Do-hyeon swung his greatsword.

The Goblin Chief, having been hit so hard and only just now breaking free from the stun, was caught off guard when the massive blade swung from his blind spot.

In an ideal world, he would have dodged, but how could he make a rational decision with an unseen attack coming from the side?

Smash.

Kreaaak!

Grabbing his now-floppy wrist, the Goblin Chief howled in pain, seemingly with a broken arm.

It was clear that the Goblin Chief was indeed a boss, as his arm hadn’t been cut off but merely fractured.

Though Do-hyeon felt a slight pang of sympathy seeing the chief cry out in pain with tears and snot running down his face, he didn’t hesitate.

Crack!

Kieeeek!

He brought the greatsword down on the chief’s wrist again.

The best weak point was always an injured area.

Nothing hurt more than hitting a wound that already ached.

[HP: 16,434 / 30,000]

With his HP now under 20,000, the Goblin Chief seemed to realize something was wrong.

*Ke… Keeruk…!*

The once-furious Goblin Chief, who had seemed like an enraged orangutan with anger management issues, took a step back for the first time.

It was rare for a boss to try to flee, but the excruciating pain had triggered the ‘Coward’ trait, which was now surfacing beneath his blind rage.

The massive creature quickly created distance, but Do-hyeon watched calmly.

‘Backstab.’

He could close the distance in an instant anyway.

[You reuse the skill ‘Backstab.’]

[The next attack will be enhanced in proportion to the accumulated damage.]

*Kieeek!?*

Despite having run away, the Goblin Chief was so startled when Do-hyeon suddenly appeared behind him that he fell back onto his rear as if he had seen a ghost.

Do-hyeon then plunged his blade into the chief’s stomach.

[You land a critical hit.]

[Critical Hit!]

*Kueeeeeeek!!*

A scream erupted, far louder than any before.

Even Do-hyeon winced at the sound, but upon seeing the damage, he understood why.

[HP: 7,214 / 30,000]

‘Wow… it dealt that much damage?’

With just one hit, he had reduced the Goblin Chief’s HP by about 10,000.

In fact, it was closer to 9,000, but still, the damage was astounding.

A ‘Critical Hit’ indeed dealt ridiculous amounts of damage.

Do-hyeon found himself momentarily stunned.

‘This overpowered skill… Does this mean assassins are the strongest?’

For a moment, that thought crossed his mind, but in truth, it wasn’t just the skill that was broken—it was Do-hyeon’s sheer power that made it possible.

The skill dealt damage proportional to the marks accumulated, and Do-hyeon’s damage output was absurd.

He knew this very well.

Knowing it and experiencing it, however, were two entirely different things.

Kieek! Kieeek!

Crying and snot pouring from his face, the Goblin Chief scrambled backwards.

His pitiful attempts to escape while sitting down weren’t a pretty sight, but the chief, who had been consumed by terror, didn’t care about his image.

While Do-hyeon briefly pondered something else, the Goblin Chief managed to create a safe distance. Standing up quickly, he slammed his fists together.

[Entering Phase 2.]

[The trait ‘Selfish Defense’ is activated.]

[The boss ‘Goblin Chief’ will ignore all physical attacks until a certain amount of magic damage is received.]

Selfish Defense.

A skill that countered all physical damage dealers—a truly infuriating, broken trait—had finally been activated.

To the Goblin Chief, Do-hyeon looked like nothing more than a swordsman. And a swordsman is a physical damage dealer.

Kirruk! Kirruk!

Was the Goblin Chief smiling because he thought he had won?

His face lit up with a broad grin.

Still teary-eyed and snot-faced, the Goblin’s smirk was nothing short of unpleasant and sneaky.

“Seven thousand, huh… I’ve cut down more than I expected. Thanks to that, I’ll finish this quickly.”

Kirruk…?

At least, until Do-hyeon spoke.

The Goblin Chief might not have understood the words, but his instincts, honed from a life of cowardice, were sharp.

An unsettling sense of anxiety grew as he watched Do-hyeon calmly approach.

‘Will four Bleeds be enough? Or maybe five?’

Normally, the Goblin Chief’s “Selfish Defense” would activate when his HP fell to 50%.

However, thanks to *Backstab* reducing his health down to 30%, the amount left to chip away had significantly decreased.

He had braced himself to use Bleed at least ten times, but now it seemed like he could finish it in no more than five.

*Swish.*

[You use the skill ‘Bleed.’]

[When your next attack hits, the target will be inflicted with the status effect ‘Bleed.’]

“Let’s see how well it works this time, shall we?”

“Ki… Kirruk…”

Was the pitiful look in the Goblin Chief’s eyes as he stared at the dagger merely an illusion?

If anyone had seen this scene, they would have shaken their head.

* * *

[You have defeated the dungeon boss ‘Goblin Chief.’]

[You have cleared the dungeon.]

[Would you like to harvest the Goblin Chief’s Essence Orb?]

[As a harvest reward, you obtain the Goblin Chief’s Sturdy Leather Belt, Goblin Chief’s Leather, and 2 gold.]

[Your progress is recorded in the Adventure Book.]

[You have leveled up.]

[Your Dagger Mastery has increased.]

[Your Dagger Mastery has reached LV5.]

Seeing the message, Do-hyeon shook off the dagger and stored it back into his inventory.

A bright smile appeared on his face.

“Wow, the Bleed damage is way better than I thought.”

He had expected it might take up to five Bleeds, but he had defeated the boss with just five uses of Bleed.

And it was entirely from Bleed damage.

This was an incredible feat.

Even with the boss’s inherent defense and self-healing abilities, he had managed to drain 7,000 HP with just five Bleeds.

‘So this is the power of stacked Bleeds.’

It was the result of high base stats, critical strikes, and the stacking of Bleeds.

Thanks to this, the Goblin Chief had withered away, unable to even cancel his “Selfish Defense,” and had to die slowly over the course of a minute.

A fittingly miserable end for a coward who had abandoned his comrades to die.

—

Goblin Chief’s Sturdy Leather Belt

– Grade: Rare

– Description: A leather belt worn by the Goblin Chief. It is sturdy enough to support his massive weight.

– Level Requirement: 20

– Equip Requirement: None

– Physical Defense: 70

– Magic Defense: 60

– Strength: +1

– Stamina: +2

—

“Nice, the rewards are good. It’s rare to get such a nice item drop.”

A rare belt drop in just the second dungeon—this was a stroke of luck, even for Do-hyeon’s gaming career.

And the fact that it was a belt, in particular, was even better.

‘It was about time I upgraded.’

The belt he had been wearing was a simple Goblin Leather Belt, which he had received for clearing a basic quest in Arde, so he had been wearing it out of necessity.

Compared to his other equipment, all of which was rare or higher grade, the belt felt a bit lacking.

With this, all of his equipment would now be neatly at rare to rare+ grade or higher.

Do-hyeon didn’t hesitate and immediately swapped the item.

[By removing your old item, your stamina decreases by 1.]

[Your strength increases by 1.]

[Your stamina increases by 2.]

Do-hyeon confirmed the overall increase of 1 strength and 1 stamina and smiled contentedly.

He glanced around to see if there were any other rewards, but sadly, the dropped item was the only one.

‘It would’ve been great if there had been a Time Limit.’

The Time Limit ranks players based on how quickly they clear a raid or dungeon.

However, not every dungeon had a Time Limit system.

Some dungeons had it, while others didn’t, depending on the dungeon itself.

There wasn’t a set rule, but generally, Time Limits were more common in dungeons with elite-grade bosses or higher.

‘Well, this place was on the easier side.’

Though he felt a little disappointed because he had hoped for more rewards like in Arde, in hindsight, it wasn’t so bad.

He had fought against PKers and cleared the dungeon while hiding his strength, which had slowed him down.

He probably wouldn’t have gotten first place anyway.

And if, by any chance, he had, the reward could have gone to those backstabbers.

‘That’s something I could never allow.’

No way would he let the people who tried to stab him in the back get the reward.

And besides…

‘I still have some loot left to collect.’

With a sly grin, Do-hyeon began walking forward.

After walking about 30 meters, he finally stopped, and in front of him lay three items faintly glowing with an ethereal light.

Do-hyeon reached out for the largest of them.

[You are about to pick up an item dropped by another player.]

[Do you wish to confirm the dropped item?]

Looking at the message, Do-hyeon grinned widely and answered.

“Yeah.”

It was time to check the spoils of victory from the backstabbers he had thoroughly punished.