Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

‘What on earth is going on now?!’

Chae Jiseok, who had arrived late, stopped in his tracks as he saw the murmuring demons and Demon King Hermit sprawled out with a soul-crushed expression, moaning “Uuugh.”

‘…What’s that?’

Chae Jise whispered, pointing at the prostrate Hermit. His face was a pitiful sight reminiscent of a dried-up squid from the East Sea, letting out sad groans into the air.

‘Grrk…’

It was evident he had endured unimaginable pain. Chae Jiseok shrugged.

‘Don’t know. Seems like a Demon King who got beaten by Hyun Habin?’

‘Can a Demon King even be defeated?’

She really is something else, I’m telling you.

Jise wore an expression of admiration. Meanwhile, the cheers from the surrounding demons showed no signs of stopping.

“Wooow, Demon God!”

“The Demon God has punished the Demon King of Lust!”

“The Demon God has returned to subjugate the Demon Realm!”

“Hey, how far are they going to exaggerate?”

“Ooooh!”

Hyun Habin wore a troubled expression amidst the crowd of demons.

To make matters worse, other demons who had followed Chae Jiseok also rushed towards Habin.

“Demon God! So you were here! We’ve been desperately searching for you!”

“The Demon God is here?”

“Demon God!”

“Demon God! Please look this way!”

“Damn it!”

‘This is why high positions are no good! Whether it’s being ranked first, guild master, or Demon God!’

Habin turned her head frantically, wearing a frustrated expression.

Then her eyes met with Chae Jiseok, who was watching her from afar.

‘Ah, Chae-ssi!’

Habin’s expression noticeably brightened upon seeing him.

‘You came at just the right time!’

Habin waved her hand towards Chae Jiseok with a very welcoming expression.

Then she stretched her hand out towards Chae Jiseok.

“Now, everyone, attention! You see my confidant over there? I’m busy so I’ll be going now, please relay any important matters to my confidant!”

‘What?’

Chae Jiseok couldn’t believe his ears.

‘Is she really dumping this on me?’

No, right?

Say it’s not true!

Despite his desperate silent plea, the demons were already turning towards Chae Jiseok.

“It’s the great Demon God’s confidant!”

“Everyone get in line! We were here first!”

‘Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Chae-ssi!’

“Oh, and…”

Habin opened her mouth loudly so everyone could hear.

“As you all saw, I’m someone who does what I say… no, a Demon God who does what I say. Whether it’s my confidant or Ipsine, if anyone dares to touch them again!”

Habin silently glanced at Hermit. An example already thoroughly broken.

“It won’t be fun, you know.”

“Haha, of course! How could we dare! If there’s anyone foolish enough to do so, I’ll teach them a lesson myself, so don’t worry!”

Kriksha quickly answered first. Following his lead, everyone nodded in agreement.

◆◇◆◇◆

Groooan-

At that moment, Hermit was still in a daze, unable to regain his senses.

‘Is… Is she gone?’

Amidst all the commotion, Hermit confirmed from the corner of his eye that the Demon God was leaving.

‘I need to escape while I have the chance!’

He couldn’t die like this. Absolutely not!

He forcefully gathered what little strength he had left and clenched his fist with difficulty.

‘Urgh… Damn it. My body’s balance is completely ruined.’

He had only been hit once. Yet somehow, the flow of magical power throughout his body was in complete disarray.

It had looked like a casual hit, but how had it dealt such a critical blow?

‘Is the difference in fundamentals that great?’

Crunch.

Filled with rage, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tighter.

In any case, that wasn’t what he should be focusing on now. Given the situation, he had to survive and exact his revenge. That was his way.

‘You’ll regret not killing me now!’

He may have been caught off guard this time, but there won’t be a next time.

No matter how strong someone is, they always have a weakness.

‘I’ll thoroughly break that Ipsine or whatever you cherish, and I’ll kill that Kriksha who’s fawning over you too!’

He would even take petty revenge on the weak demons who had praised the Demon God. Perhaps he should start by cutting out their tongues so they could never utter such praise again.

As Hermit was indulging in these cruel fantasies, wearing a vile smile despite his pain.

Swish-

A cool sensation touched the nape of his neck.

‘?!’

“Good. You’re not dead yet.”

An indifferent voice followed.

“Who…?”

“What good would knowing do you?”

A curt reply that cut off any further inquiry.

Hermit was still sprawled on the ground, unable to look up at his opponent’s face.

The other party continued in a calm voice.

“I was at a loss for how to approach this, but to think you’d leave the finishing blow to me like this. It’s been a while since I’ve benefited from Hyun Habin.”

Squish.

“Gack!”

He mercilessly stepped on Hermit as he tried to get up. Hermit’s eyes trembled wide open.

“Urk… How dare you! To me!”

‘What gutsy bastard dares!’

Hermit began to speculate who his opponent might be.

‘Is it someone who holds a grudge against me? Or perhaps a confidant of another Demon King?’

He had made so many enemies that it was difficult to pinpoint who it could be.

Judging by the voice, it seemed to be another demon who had been targeting Hermit from nearby. They must be taking advantage of his weakened state to attack.

Hermit bit his lip. Despite his current state, he was still Hermit, a Demon King who had once ruled supreme. He couldn’t fall so pathetically to such a small fry.

‘Enchantment!’

He squeezed out every last bit of strength to cast his skill. It might not have worked earlier because the opponent was too strong, but someone weaker than a Demon King shouldn’t be able to resist.

However.

[Hyun Siwoo!]

‘I know.’

-You successfully resist the mental magic due to the constellation Neaiba’s trait, ‘Great Sage’s Composure’!

“…I came prepared for that much, you know?”

The one standing on Hermit was Hyun Siwoo, disguised as a demon.

He pointed Neaiba at Hermit’s neck again.

“No matter what skill you try, it won’t work on me. I already know all your abilities. Even how to counter them.”

This is the privilege of a regressor, after all. Hyun Siwoo looked down at Hermit with a cold expression.

‘Let’s end this while we have the chance.’

In his past life, Hermit had been a terrible nightmare for humanity. The sight of hunters fighting each other after falling victim to his mental skills was truly horrific.

It became even more troublesome when the criminal organization ‘Minor Patch’ researched and misused that skill.

‘But if I kill Hermit here, all of that will never happen.’

Hyun Siwoo’s eyes sank with a murderous glint. Sensing this, Hermit desperately shouted:

“L-Let go of this! Think again! If you spare me, I’ll give you anything! Don’t you want to gain a Demon King’s power? If I become your ally!”

“I don’t need it. You’re much weaker than my sister to begin with.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Sure. You don’t have to believe me.”

With those words, a brilliant white light burst forth from the tip of Neaiba.

“You’re going to die anyway.”

“Gaaah!”

Hermit let out a single scream. It didn’t take long for him to go limp, having already exhausted all his energy from Habin’s attack.

‘…Is it over?’

Hyun Siwoo raised his head after confirming that Hermit’s struggles had ceased.

-Congratulations! You are the first human to defeat a Demon King!

-You have achieved an unbelievable feat!

-You have gained massive experience!

-Your level has increased!

-Your level has increased!

-Your level has…

Ding ding!

‘Phew…’

Hyun Siwoo let out a belated sigh of relief as he glanced at the notification windows.

[We’ve caught a breather with this.]

‘In many ways, yes.’

He nodded. With this, he had reduced some of the misfortunes that would have occurred in the future.

Not only that, but Hyun Siwoo himself had gained a golden opportunity to level up.

He had been feeling pressured lately with Kang Taeseo, ranked 2nd, catching up quickly, but this widened the gap again.

‘I absolutely can’t let that Kang Taeseo take the monthly rank 1 position.’

The position of monthly rank 1.

This used to be Hyun Habin’s position.

As her only blood relative and a regressor who knows the past and future, only he could properly uphold this legacy. He couldn’t let anyone take it away.

Hyun Siwoo, having stored away Neaiba, turned around.

‘Anyway, thanks for the unexpected carry, little sister. Though I’m sure you didn’t plan it.’

Somehow, it reminded him of the past. In his first life, he had received quite a bit of help from Habin.

Especially when they fought together, Hyun Habin always left monsters barely alive for Siwoo to finish off.

‘Oppa, you take the last hit. I don’t get experience from killing these anyway.’

‘You don’t get experience?’

‘My level doesn’t increase in the normal way. My level doesn’t even show up.’

Hyun Habin had said with a nonchalant expression. She had then muttered:

‘Even if I had an experience bar, my base stats are already 1.07 billion. Wouldn’t the experience bar be about that much too? When would I ever fill it? I’d rather find another method.’

‘You… Your stats are over a billion?’

At that time, Hyun Siwoo had asked again, unable to believe it.

Not hundreds, thousands, or millions, but billions! Billions!

Even earning money in billions seems like a distant dream, but to have each stat over a billion? What kind of nonsense is that?

To the dazed Hyun Siwoo, Hyun Habin had spoken with a mischievous expression:

‘Want to know something even more surprising?’

‘What is it?’

‘I did an experiment to see what the maximum stat that can be displayed on the status window is.’

The maximum stat that can be displayed on the status window?

‘…How much is it?’

‘2.14 billion.’

‘……’

‘That’s just the maximum that ‘can be displayed’. Even if it goes beyond that, it only shows up to 2.14 billion.’

This means it would display as 2.14 billion whether you hit 3 billion or 1 trillion.

‘But does that even matter? It’s not clear if it’s a number that can be reached in the first place.’

‘You never know? It might be possible someday.’

‘It would be faster to be reborn.’

‘…I see.’

I guess being reborn would be faster after all.

Hyun Habin’s expression as she suddenly fell into thought after hearing Hyun Siwoo’s words. That was the image of her he remembered from back then.

‘…Hyun Habin. I wonder if you’ll be able to hit 2.1 billion in this life?’

Hyun Siwoo tilted his head. At those words, Neaiba immediately snorted.

[Come on, how could anyone realistically hit that number? Didn’t she stay in the billions her whole previous life?]

‘That’s still an astronomical figure, though.’

A number that all the world’s rankers combined couldn’t even come close to matching.

[No matter how extraordinary Hyun Habin is, how could she hit 2.1 billion? I bet it won’t happen.]

‘Why are you suddenly making bets? Should I bet that it will happen, then?’

[Why don’t you try?]

‘Ah, honestly, I’m not confident. Hyun Habin’s mind is the hardest thing to figure out. I really can’t tell what she’s thinking? Even though our tastes are exactly the same…’

Groan. Hyun Siwoo sighed as he moved away. He was so focused on his conversation with Neaiba that he failed to notice someone who had been intently watching him for a while.

“Fides…?”

Chae Jise, who had been observing him from afar.

‘Was it Fides who just dispatched the Demon King in one strike?’

It had happened in an instant, but she had clearly seen it. Chae Jise looked at Hyun Siwoo’s back with a dubious expression.

‘Fides’s sister is stronger than a Demon King?’

It was hard to hear clearly due to the noise, but she thought she had heard something like that. She tilted her head and muttered to herself:

‘…Did Fides have a sister?’