The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 56

As rumors spread, she began to draw considerable attention.

One day, a giant spider was discovered desperately calling out a woman’s name.

It was impossible not to find this intriguing.

“That creature must be possessed by a demon. I’ll go kill it.”

“It’ll definitely be worth a lot of money. Capture it and bring it back.”

“If I raise something like that, everyone will look up to me.”

For various reasons, people harassed her, and many seasons passed this way.

As she endured all those days, she became a field boss, and countless ominous titles followed her.

– Elisa… Elisa.

There were many difficult moments, but during those times, Elisa always recited her name.

She recalled the warm face of her master, who had gently called out to her.

And after another 50 years passed, now.

– Liza! Liza, Liza!

– Elisaaa!!

After long years of agony, she finally reached the moment she had longed for.

* * *

…That’s how it all came to this.

– Waaaah! Elisaaa!

– Liza, Liza!!

That’s why the two of them couldn’t bear to be apart now.

After hearing their tearful melodrama, Do-hyeon’s first feeling wasn’t sorrow or anything similar.

No, it was sad, but what came first was a sense of absurdity.

“Wait, so, to put it simply, you abandoned Elisa and left, didn’t you?”

Gulp.

At the sharp jab of truth, Jihad froze in place.

– Waaaah, Elisa!

Then, pretending not to hear, Jihad hugged Elisa again.

Seeing this ridiculous display, Do-hyeon launched another scathing attack.

“No, Elisa’s the one who was abandoned, so why are you crying? You dumped her for 150 years, so you don’t have the right to feel sad.”

– Ahem! Well, no, it’s not like that! I couldn’t help it…

Apparently, Jihad couldn’t ignore this comment as he tried to defend himself, but Do-hyeon wasn’t about to let him off easily.

“Couldn’t help it, my foot. Even when I was beating you senseless, you didn’t recognize her. You probably just forgot and suddenly remembered when you heard her name, right?”

“…”

“What? Is that true? Wow, if Elisa hadn’t been calling out your name, you’d have never remembered. You’re something else, really.”

– …Yeah, you’re right. It’s all my fault.

Perhaps Jihad felt guilty toward Elisa.

Looking dejected, he couldn’t meet the shining eyes of Elisa and turned his head away.

– Liza…

Now it was Elisa’s turn to look disheartened.

She was so devoted to her master that she looked just like a puppy. That sight made Jihad’s heart ache even more.

– Yeah, you were always like that. Always waiting for me.

– Liza!

– Sorry for making you wait so long, Elisa. I won’t leave again.

– Elisaaa!

What a foolish man he was.

Nuzzling-.

A whole 150 years.

Even though 150 long years had passed since he’d forgotten her, Elisa was so happy she couldn’t stop nuzzling him.

She wasn’t even angry, not once, simply overjoyed and welcoming.

She had waited for more than ten times the time they had spent together.

– To think I lived all this time forgetting about you…

He hated himself for it.

At the same time, he found it strange.

– This is weird. There’s no way I could have forgotten Elisa.

It wasn’t just an excuse; it genuinely didn’t make sense.

In the beginning, it was true he was curious because of her unusual appearance.

But as they spent more time together, those feelings grew.

At some point, Elisa had become Jihad’s irreplaceable friend.

Forgetting a friend like that?

– No way.

While in his hideout, he’d often felt like he was forgetting something important.

Now, he realized that something was Elisa.

The moment he recognized her, memories of their time together rushed back, as if a switch had been flipped.

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

– Why couldn’t I go back home? I’m sure I found a clue to something, got chased, and then… huh? A clue? What clue was it?

His head was spinning.

It would be more accurate to say he was confused.

As Jihad stood there, unable to collect his thoughts in many ways, Do-hyeon suddenly asked,

“By the way, why were you hiding?”

-Huh?

“Why, you know. Isn’t it strange? There’s no reason to stay hidden in a place like that for such a long time.”

-Oh…

In truth, he had always wondered.

Jihad seemed like someone with a lot of secrets, but putting that aside, why had he spent hundreds of years hiding underground?

His connection to that creature also raised questions.

-That’s…

Jihad, who was about to answer, closed his mouth again.

Then, he slowly shook his head.

-I can’t tell you that, Master. It’s beyond my abilities right now.

“…? What does that even mean?”

-Sorry, Master.

Jihad’s face was unnecessarily serious, so Do-hyeon decided not to press further.

Instead, he muttered to himself.

“It’s not like you’d die if you told me, so what’s this ‘beyond your abilities’ nonsense.”

-Something like that.

“…? Like what?”

Hearing Jihad’s response to his mumbling, Do-hyeon retorted incredulously.

“What are you, Vold*mort or something?”

-What’s that, Master?

“It’s… never mind. I can’t explain because of copyright issues.”

-…?

Their conversation ended with mutual confusion, but the next concern was shared.

“So, what do we do now?”

-…That’s the question, Master.

Without needing further explanation, Jihad understood.

What was the reason Do-hyeon came here in the first place?

‘I can’t not kill her because of the Graduation Quest…’

It was to complete the Graduation Quest.

To do so, he had to kill Elisa. But Do-hyeon wasn’t cold-hearted enough to kill her after hearing her story.

Even more so, she was kind of annoying but had grown on him as Jihad’s companion(?)…

‘And I can’t take her with me due to the system.’

If he killed her, it didn’t seem like she would turn into a card as Jihad had.

His head hurt just thinking about it.

-Elisa! Elisa!

-Huh? What’s going on?

-Elisa!

-What? No! What are you saying!?

Elisa, waving her massive hands to express herself, seemed agitated.

And Jihad, apparently understanding her words, began arguing with her.

“What’s going on?”

-Nothing… nothing, Master.

-Elisa! Elisa!

Avoiding the question, Jihad stepped back as Elisa came forward.

Then, out of nowhere, she bit her own leg with her venomous fangs.

[The Field Boss of the Western Forest, ‘Spider Queen Elisa,’ is inflicted with deadly poison.]

[Her HP has dropped below 10%.]

“What the…?!”

Before Do-hyeon could even process the situation, Jihad shouted in alarm.

-Elisa, what are you doing?!

-Elisa!

-Huh? What? …Are you serious?

Jihad then seemed to understand something, nodding as if in agreement.

Do-hyeon, however, was baffled.

“What? What did she say? Stop keeping it to yourself and let me in on it.”

-Ah… she’s asking you to strike her, Master. She says it’s okay.

“She’s okay with that?”

-Yes. I don’t have time to explain, but she insists it’s fine. Please do as Elisa wishes, Master.

“…Well, if you say so.”

It felt unsettling, but if they both were okay with it, there was no reason to refuse.

“So, I just stab her?”

-Elisa!

Elisa nodded as if giving her consent.

Feeling uneasy, Do-hyeon thrust his training sword deep into her body. Her HP dropped rapidly, but he thought it was better to end it quickly, so he used Striking to hasten the process.

He repeated this several times.

[You have defeated the Field Boss of the Western Forest, ‘Spider Queen Elisa.’]

[As a first-time reward, the Essence Orb has been enhanced.]

[Would you like to harvest the Enhanced Essence Orb of Spider Queen Elisa?]

[It will be recorded in the Adventure Book.]

[You have defeated a new type of boss upon first encounter.]

[All stats increase by +6 due to the Devour effect.]

Eventually, Elisa’s life force extinguished, and her eyes dimmed as she collapsed.

“…Is this really happening?”

-Yes.

Unlike the flustered Do-hyeon, Jihad seemed calm.

Do-hyeon understood Jihad’s composure a few seconds later.

Pop!

-Liza!

“Huh?”

From the massive corpse, something popped out, revealing itself.

It was a tiny being, barely 5cm in size.

At a glance, it looked like a small ball of white fluff, resembling cotton candy—none other than Elisa.

-Elisa! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you in that form.

-Liza, Liza!

As Jihad’s delighted voice echoed, a cheerful notification rang.

Ding-.

[You have discovered the hidden named boss ‘Elisa,’ who parasitized the field boss ‘Spider Queen Elisa’ in the Western Forest.]

[‘Elisa’s loyalty and favorability towards Guardian Jihad Black have reached MAX.]

[You have fulfilled the conditions.]

[Would you like to accept ‘Elisa’ as part of Guardian Jihad Black’s faction?]

“…Whoa.”

…So, this is possible?

* * *

In DemRock, there were occasionally bosses like that.

Special-type bosses that parasitized monsters.

Such creatures usually didn’t die in one go and would hop between different hosts, annoying players.

Because you had to kill the already troublesome bosses multiple times to clear them.

‘I had a hard time with them too.’

The worst of them was Finalea, who parasitized a zombie dragon.

Even though it was an off-brand version, it was still a dragon, making it incredibly tough to defeat even one.

And you had to kill it multiple times.

Though the rewards were proportionally good, it was undeniably frustrating.

That memory was so vivid that even during God of Savior’s tutorial, he went out of his way to confirm the kills.

-Liza!

The reason this was being brought up again now was simple.

“Who would’ve thought the field boss was the host….”

Elisa turned out to be that kind of boss.

Who could’ve imagined it?

That a field boss of such caliber was merely a shell.

‘I thought something was off.’

Bosses that weren’t named all had a regeneration system.

Their residual memories and behavioral principles were set by the scenario, but that was it.

They didn’t have such deep stories or memories to produce melodrama.

‘Especially a 150-year-old story? That says it all.’

But named bosses were different.

They were genuine inhabitants of God of Savior.

[Guardian Jihad Black’s Faction List]

-Elisa

Now, she had become his Guardian—or more accurately, Jihad’s subordinate.

When he opened Elisa’s information window, a flashy display appeared.

[Opening Elisa’s information.]

[Elisa]

[Title: Named Guardian]

[Type: Spider]

[Loyalty: MAX]

[Traits: Aerial Spiderwebs, Parasitism]

[Guardian Traits: Sunflower, Patience, Gluttony, Drowsiness]

[Description: A mysterious white spider presumed to be a rare species.

Despite living for a long time, it has yet to reach adulthood.

Extremely devoted to its master and produces remarkably sturdy silk.]

[Most abilities are sealed due to Guardian Jihad Black’s current low level.]

[Stats will adjust proportionally as Jihad Black grows.]

[Available skill: 1]

-Silk Spinning

‘Is this what you call a windfall?’

He had only recruited Jihad as a Guardian, but somehow ended up breaking a hidden piece and gaining a new Guardian.

She provided good items, followed commands (albeit conditionally), revealed hidden fields….

And now she even helped him break hidden pieces?

‘Could Jihad actually be my lucky charm?’

For some reason, the ugly goblin seemed cute to Do-hyeon.