Ranker's Return

Chapter 604

Translator: rainbowturtle

“In fact, there are many shortcomings. There are many NPCs I know who fight better than him. No, in fact, other pro gamers alone can be better than that boss monster,” Hyeonu continued to speak quickly. He poured out what he felt during the very short battle.

"Is that so? Other teams don’t feel that way… isn’t this just player Gang Hyeonu’s personal feelings?” the host cocked his head and asked carefully.

The other teams weren’t doing very well, so he couldn’t accept Hyeonu’s words.

“That is only the case at first. Once they fight him, they’ll all feel it at some point. It is doable.”

“Then player Gang Hyeonu, what do you think is the problem with the boss monster?”

“The artificial intelligence is too low. That's all. Everything else is great. Both the specs and techniques are good. But ironically, that is it,” Hyeonu spoke with a firm expression.

That was all.

Clone was skewed toward the combination of combat data and missed the most important thing. It was the thing that was often referred to as AI—Artificial Intelligence.

The reason why the emperor, Lebron, and other NPCs were strong was due to their solid artificial intelligence. Clone didn’t have that. There was a lot of combat data, but it was extremely computational.

It was enough to believe in themselves and move boldly. Such boldness sometimes resulted in an empty defeat, but it sometimes produced tremendous play.

Hyeonu returned the microphone and headed back to the waiting room with the players of Crescent Moon.

***

“Ah! JT Telecom! One player is out! It is a huge loss of power for a melee class to be out against a humanoid boss monster!”

“Xuanhua, what a pity! One of the two magicians has fallen down like this.”

“Karelin! He is seriously injured and has backed off. Tremendous divine power is needed to heal that wound. It is a great burden on priests.”

There were very few teams that became like Hyeonu mentioned. The vast majority of teams were struggling. For them, Clone was a tricky and powerful boss monster.

“I don’t think player Gang Hyeonu’s words are a lie. PSG, the New York Warriors, Red Bull America, and Manchester—these four teams can’t erase the feeling that their raids are becoming easier over time.”

However, there were some teams. There were four teams—PSG, the New York Warriors, Red Bull America, and Manchester. They were teams with something in common.

“Aike of PSG, Reina of New York Warriors, Mascherano of Red Bull America, and Ryan of Manchester—they are dealing with Clone alone, as Alley Leader showed.”

The thing they had in common was that there was an ace with very good PvP skills. They fought with the boss monster as if they were the main tankers. Of course, the performances that were displayed by them in the fight against Clone weren’t overwhelming, unlike Hyeonu’s. They were just barely holding on. Still, that alone was a huge contribution to the team.

The magicians prepared magic with ease and the divine power consumption of the priests was minimized. Other melee players could also regroup. It was natural for the raid to become comfortable.

“It is a game where we once again realize the importance of having one clear ace.”

The commentators felt it as they watched the teams fighting on the screen. In the future, having one superstar would be more important. To be honest, a big boss monster could be killed if they were skilled. If they learned the patterns and memorized them, anyone with the right specs could kill them.

However, humanoid boss monsters were fundamentally different. It was just as many teams were now showing. If individual skills weren’t sufficient, then it didn’t matter how much they analyzed and memorized the patterns.

In the first place, it was a humanoid boss monster. It was tricky compared to the same level monster. Thus, many players avoided hunting them. However, the pro gamers couldn’t avoid them. Therefore, the value of ace players, who were capable of killing these elusive targets, increased.

Just then, the host exclaimed, “There is about to be a team that clears the raid time attack after Crescent Moon!”

It was because there was a team that crossed a turning point of the raid. The screen that showed seven teams merged into one and only one team was visible to the audience.

On the screen, a blood-covered man with a bright smile on his face appeared. The man’s name was Mascherano. He was the captain of Red Bull America.

***

Mascherano wiped the blood on his forehead. There were many sacrifices, but in the end, they didn’t fail and came this far.

“Let’s have a bit more strength. This is the end.”

He could sense it. The man in front of him, Clone, had reached his limit.

‘It doesn’t make sense if he is in a normal state after being beaten like that.’

Clone’s colorful armor was destroyed and his bare body was revealed. Naturally, Clone was also covered with wounds. At first, Clone used magic to restore his wounds. Red Bull America saw it and came to the same realization as Hyeonu. They shouldn’t give Clone time to use magic.

After that, they rushed up like a crazy dog. They believed in Mascherano and apart from the priest and main tanker, the rest of the players used their skills every time the cooldown ended.

Mascherano fought with all his might. The funny thing was that when he fought with all his focus, he remembered the PvP with Hyeonu a few days ago. It was the very battle he lost without fighting properly.

‘It was hard to be beaten like that…’

After thinking of that outrageous PvP, the current raid felt like a prank. Compared to the despair he felt at that time, only fighting spirit was burning now. PvP against Hyeonu was really the worst. It was from one to ten. Nothing worked out. It felt like his mind was read. Hyeonu blocked everything, accepted it, and even acted in advance. It was a very frustrating match, like he was wrapped in something. Compared to the experience of that time, the current battle was worth doing.

“How many skills are left?” Mascherano shouted as he felt the sword of the clone passing by his body.

“We are ready to end it! You?!”

“I’m also done! I thought I was going to die shooting!”

Mascherano smiled. Judging from the current state of Clone, there wasn’t much health left. Using the skills of his colleagues, he would be able to finish it at a moment’s notice. They had endured it so far for this reason.

“Then use it right away!”

At Mascherano’s cry, the players of Red Bull America started to act. They surrounded Clone from all sides and poured out their skills. Mascherano saw it and jumped into the air. Then he stretched out his fist straight forward. Red flames filled the air.

Clone, who received the attacks of Red Bull America, stood still. Currently, he was calculating how to move. Generally, jumping up was the best option, but Mascherano’s attack erased this option.

Clone rotated his body. At the same time, he swung his sword. Then the black energy from the sword surrounded Clone’s body to form a wall. The pure energy of the Red Bull America players struck the wall created by Clone and there was a deafening sound.

However, the black wall didn’t shake. It showed its intact existence. It was just that this was a type of trick. The second wave of attacks prepared by the Red Bull America players followed.

Colorful light filled the air. The lights flew toward Clone in different shapes. Serious cracks occurred in the black wall struck by the lights. Clone might be a boss monster, but there were limits to his ability. It was because Quency wouldn’t release a monster that couldn’t be killed unless they were fools.

“Take this and die!”

It happened at this moment…

Mascherano, who jumped high into the air, started to fall toward the ground. His whole body was wrapped in a blue flame. It looked like his body was made of fire. As Mascherano’s body approached the ground, the flames around his body subsided. To be precise, the flames were gathering on Mascherano’s right hand. By the time he came down to just above the clone’s head, Mascherano’s right hand had a blue sphere the size of a child’s head.

Mascherano pressed it against the black wall above Clone’s head. The blue sphere broke through the black wall little by little. Soon, cracks appeared on the black wall. Just then, the sphere burst and blue flames swirled all over the entire black wall. The blue flames quickly burned the black wall. Then it transferred to Clone inside. It was to find new fuel.

Mascherano clenched his fists when he saw it. This alone wasn’t reassuring.

‘I have to deal the decisive blow.’

Right now, he had barely put Clone in the coffin. He would be more relieved when he drove the wedge in.

Blue flames gathered again around Mascherano’s fist. The flames wrapped up to Mascherano’s elbow. Mascherano lightly kicked against the ground. Mascherano rushed forward and quickly arrived in front of Clone while covered in blue flames.

Mascherano punched without hesitation. It was a clean blow without any extra.

There was a sound like a balloon popping from Clone’s body. Mascherano’s fist touched Clone’s chest exactly where the heart was. If viewed from the front, Clone’s chest was fine. However, the back was completely smashed. His body was torn apart like he had been hit by a bomb.

Clone inserted his sword into the ground and supported his falling body. Nevertheless, it was a useless attempt. The flames attached to Clone’s body were still burning him. As the hand holding the sword burned and became ashes, the shaking Clone’s body collapsed. In the blink of an eye, Clone disappeared from the world. All that remained were small ashes.

“Uwaaaah!” Mascherano screamed and pounded on the ground. It was the end. They finally finished the raid time attack.

“2 hours, 32 minutes, and 19 seconds,” one Red Bull America player read out the time that was written in the sky. It was satisfactory enough. He was confident that they had cleared it much earlier than other teams. He was relieved. Then he suddenly remembered something.

“What will be Crescent Moon’s record? 1 hour and 30 minutes? 1 hour? Would it be shorter than that?”

Another player heard the mumbling and opened his mouth, “It should be around that much. The boss monster isn’t weak…”

The players of Red Bull America hugged each other and celebrated the raid’s success. Sometimes not knowing was the medicine.