The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 87

Exactly speaking, it wasn’t Kaiser who moved but the porter in the robe beside him.

As he casually reached out his hand, something black seemed to flow into the ground, and soon, grotesque monsters burst out from beneath the earth.

“What the heck is that? Aren’t those undead?”

“Could it be… did the porter summon them?”

They weren’t your typical skeleton soldiers, but their appearance could only be described as undead.

With lifeless eyes, decaying flesh, and an ominous black aura radiating from their entire bodies, what else could they be called if not undead?

“So, the porter wasn’t just a porter but a necromancer?”

“Then they aren’t just a guardian but an actual companion? This is insane… I’m witnessing the unraveling of one of the Seven Mysteries for the first time.”

ArcherCoin, who would usually chide the two for being overly dramatic, refrained this time.

To be precise, he had no time for it.

Taah!

“Oh? It’s actually starting.”

Before anyone could react, Kaiser had already charged toward the field boss.

Swoosh! Boom!

As the Death Orc Warrior swung his massive double-edged axe downward, Kaiser dodged by simply twisting his body mid-sprint and plunged his spear into the orc’s chest.

Thrust!

Thud! Thrust!

At that moment, four undead moved in perfect sync, stabbing their various weapons at the enemy in rapid succession as if they’d been trained for this.

Screech!

The Death Orc Warrior, enraged, was about to kick out when—

Thwip!

Squelch!?

Something shot from Kaiser’s shoulder, enveloping the creature’s eyes.

Its adhesive nature, resembling either silver or white, seemed potent enough that the boss couldn’t shake it off at once.

Even a boss-tier monster wasn’t immune to Elisa’s web.

Whoosh! Swoosh.

Groan.

The undead surrounded the boss and grabbed its legs, bringing it down with sheer force.

Swish!

Without hesitation, Kaiser threw Thousand Transformations.

Thunk! Crash!

The Thousand Transformations, now a dagger, embedded itself in the monster’s neck just as it fell.

When Kaiser extended his hand, the weapon flew back to him as if magnetized.

Thud! Thwack!

Thrust! Stab! Thrust!

Meanwhile, the undead gleefully pummeled the fallen Death Orc Warrior.

…Yes, it was a beating.

There was no skill or finesse—just the kind of collective stomping and hacking that street thugs might resort to when bullying someone helpless.

‘What… what is this?’

ArcherCoin gaped in disbelief at the absurd spectacle.

It was a method of fighting he’d never seen before.

‘What kind of low-tier hunting method is this…?’

Of course, he hadn’t seen it before.

No necromancer would ever train their summons for such a crude approach to battle.

Yet strangely, it seemed oddly efficient.

Flail! Thud! Thud!

Screech… Screech…

…Perhaps it was because the Death Orc Warrior—grandly named the ruler of the Salt-Rock Forest and the field boss—was now flailing like a helpless child as it got pummeled.

Khehel…! Kugh!

There was a faint sound from the necromancer, but as Kaiser moved his hand, it was instantly silenced.

Thanks to that, the onlookers could focus entirely on the astonishing battle style.

“Hah.”

It wasn’t just ArcherCoin who was taken aback by the unimaginable sight.

“…You can hunt a boss like this?”

“Seriously. This is nothing like I expected.”

“Are those undead always that underhanded? Must’ve been trained like that, huh?”

“The porter… no, that necromancer must not have a pleasant personality.”

Even HoguWattProfessor and DaMakAjum, who had momentarily stopped munching on popcorn, let out dry chuckles.

Screech!

Perhaps out of sheer indignation from being mocked, the Death Orc Warrior roared as it threw off the undead clinging to it and stood up.

Groan…?

With strength so overwhelming it could toss the undead like children and its hands tearing at the web stuck to its eyes, the boss looked utterly enraged.

It wasn’t just its demeanor.

[“The ‘Warrior’ trait is manifesting.”]

[The Death Orc Warrior’s stats are rising, entering a ‘Berserk’ state.]

‘The Warrior trait has activated.’

Any boss labeled as a warrior typically possessed the “Warrior” trait.

Mocked as the “Dumbrior” for its simplicity, its destructive power was nevertheless undeniable.

The activation alone caused the boss’s physical abilities to skyrocket visibly.

For tanks engaged in direct combat, the already powerful boss becoming even stronger was a nightmare.

“Ugh, I hate that thing so much.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Watching you tank it, it looked brutal. The way it charges at you with its eyes rolled back.”

DaMakAjum shuddered as he rubbed his arms.

Under normal circumstances, someone would’ve told him to stop exaggerating, but HoguWattProfessor couldn’t disagree this time.

Maybe it was the difference in personality between goblins and orcs, but once the “Warrior” trait activated, this one became an entirely different beast.

Roar!

Even its guttural cries, previously raspy and weak, now carried a commanding force.

From that moment on, the undead were no longer as effective as they had been.

Whoosh! Crunch!

Groan!

Each swing of the boss’s double-edged axe sent the charging undead flying like paper.

The undead resembling orcs held out a little longer, but only briefly.

Groan…

Eventually, they were overpowered and smashed into the ground.

Keeping the undead on the field any longer was pointless—it would only waste mana.

“Jihad, just cancel the summons.”

-…Okay.

At Do-hyeon’s command, Jihad canceled the summons with a sullen expression.

Thwip! Swoosh!

Roar!

Even Elisa made an effort, but her web no longer had much effect.

The boss now brushed away the surprise webbing as if it had anticipated it.

It seemed the boss wasn’t foolish enough to be caught by the same trick twice.

And targeting other areas didn’t yield much either—the Death Orc Warrior’s thick, durable body made such attempts ineffective.

-Elisa…

“It’s okay. You did great.”

Do-hyeon comforted the disheartened Elisa as he firmly gripped Thousand Transformations.

The enraged boss snorted like an angry bull as it stared him down.

It had come down to a true one-on-one battle.

“What the…? Is he going for a one-on-one fight?”

“Well, the undead aren’t working anymore.”

“Ugh, whenever the ‘Dumbrior’ trait activates, it’s like they’re using a cheat to inflate their combat power.”

“Still, this should be interesting.”

The two focused their attention on the fierce showdown between Kaiser and the boss.

ArcherCoin was no exception.

‘What’s he planning to do alone?’

A boss with the Warrior trait was wild and erratic.

Its patterns became unpredictable, rampaging like it had lost all self-control.

Its enhanced speed and strength were already overwhelming, and the frenzy made it even harder to handle.

Typically, a tank would draw its aggro in a duel while the damage dealers attacked safely.

‘Is he seriously attempting a one-on-one? As a damage dealer?’

Kaiser stood alone.

When the necromancer had summoned the undead, ArcherCoin thought they’d be used as decoys to control the aggro.

But now that the summons were canceled?

It meant Kaiser intended to play the tank and deal damage all by himself.

Not just dealing damage, but enough to cover for at least two people!

‘This is insane. There’s no way that’s possible.’

From the perspective of the rational ArcherCoin, Kaiser seemed outright mad.

Whether it was Kaiser or anyone else, such a thing shouldn’t have been feasible.

‘Shouldn’t I help him?’

While he could turn a blind eye if it had nothing to do with him, standing by while witnessing it firsthand left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Looks like we’ll get to see a Kaiser-style duel.”

“I’m totally pumped right now. Ah, if only the copyright laws weren’t so strict, I’d record this for keeps.”

“You’re already on NewTube. You’ll upload the video soon enough.”

From his perspective, he couldn’t understand how his friends could just sit there eating popcorn so casually.

Did they really think that was possible?

At this point, he couldn’t tell whether his common sense was off or if they were the strange ones.

‘Well, whatever. He must be confident if he’s doing this.’

As ArcherCoin wrestled with his doubts and finally decided to let go, it happened.

Almost as if on cue, Kaiser and the Death Orc Warrior clashed.

Bang! Boom!

Each swing of the massive double-edged axe echoed with a thunderous roar.

The sheer power, even from a distance, sent shivers down his spine, but Kaiser, facing it head-on, showed no sign of wavering.

And that wasn’t all.

Kaiser went one step further, as if dodging wasn’t even an option, charging forward without hesitation.

“Is he insane?”

“See? I told you this doesn’t make sense…!”

Charging instead of evading?

That was something only a tank, trying to wrestle for control, would dare to do.

A showdown of strength against a Warrior who also leveraged his class traits? It was outright suicidal. Just as ArcherCoin was about to shout, “See what I mean,” he froze.

Whoosh.

Cra… huh?

“What?”

A shocking scene unfolded.

The spear, long but with a thin shaft, faced off against the colossal double-edged axe.

Thud.

Contrary to expectations that Kaiser’s spear would be crushed, the axe embedded itself into the ground.

There was no grandiose move or incredible display of power.

As soon as the spear made contact, the axe veered off as if flowing with water and fell harmlessly to the floor.

It was so fluid and natural that it almost seemed like the boss had intentionally missed.

“…Isn’t that a parry?”

“Insane, he parried that?”

While they were marveling, Kaiser made his move.

With fluid steps and precise hand movements, his spear, now glowing golden, ripped through the air.

Thwack! Thud-thud!

[The effect of the Raven’s Trial Set options has been activated.]

…..

[The target’s movement speed is reduced by 4% upon hit.]

The Death Orc Warrior, pierced five times in an instant, tried to retaliate, but Kaiser had already retreated by then.

Whoosh.

The briefest opening appeared as the Death Orc Warrior missed his swing.

Thud! Thwack! Thud!

Graaah!

Kaiser launched another flurry of stabs.

Enraged, the Death Orc Warrior swung his axe again, only for Kaiser to parry it effortlessly.

Whoosh—thud!

The attacks, as if swept away by an irresistible current, missed entirely.

Then, those sharp, relentless stabs followed immediately.

Graaaargh!

The Death Orc Warrior was going mad with frustration.

He couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Why did none of his attacks land, while every strike from that bastard felt so devastating?

But what he found most incomprehensible was…

Whoosh—whoosh.

At some point, his body had significantly slowed.

He could see Kaiser’s backsteps clearly but couldn’t keep up.

It felt as if his ankles were shackled by dozens of kilograms of weight.

Thud.

As a result, whenever Kaiser created distance, it stayed widened.

Flash!

And when he closed it, it narrowed again.

His already difficult-to-land attacks had now become almost impossible.

And on the rare occasion his timing matched, and his axe struck home…

[Parry successfully executed at the perfect timing.]

[The attack is deflected smoothly.]

It always ended up embedded in the ground.

No matter how wildly he swung or stretched out his limbs, he couldn’t make contact.

Far from hitting, he was being pushed further away, while Kaiser’s deadly thrusts always found the perfect angle and timing to lock onto him, strangling his movements.

It was as if he was being dragged, slowly but surely, toward an inevitable destination: death.

Wheeze, wheeze…

Yes, this was the aura of death.

The Death Orc Warrior recalled that fateful day in the Salt-Rock Forest when he had nearly met his end.

This feeling was even sharper, more undeniable than back then.

Graaaah!

[The trait ‘Aura of Death’ has been activated.]

[Phase 2 begins.]

Remembering that day, the Death Orc Warrior roared.

Around him, an ominous energy began to gather.

The fog lingering over the Salt-Rock Forest paled in comparison to the thick, oppressive mist enveloping him now.

Calling it a black stormcloud might have been more fitting.

“Phase 2?”

“You’re kidding. You’re telling me he’s already taken off 50% of its health?!”

“No way…”

DaMakAjum and ProfessorHoguWatt stared, eyes wide in disbelief.

The fight had barely lasted a few minutes.

Even the total combat time, at most, was just over ten minutes. How could such absurd damage output be possible?

‘…What am I even watching?’

ArcherCoin wasn’t much different.

No, among them, he was undoubtedly the most shocked and dumbfounded.

His face wasn’t just stunned—it was utterly blank.