The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 57

Flinch.

-What, what is this? Something feels off…

-Elisa?

Sensing an unpleasant gaze, Jihad shuddered slightly, prompting Elisa to tilt her head in curiosity.

Elisa’s gaze was full of concern.

Jihad, shaking his head as if to deny it, suddenly stared intently at Elisa.

A tiny body, barely 5cm tall.

Its fluffy white fur and plump posterior gave it an irresistibly adorable appearance, to the point it looked like a rolling ball of fluff rather than an insect.

Unlike other spiders, it had only two eyes, which were the same green color as his.

-Exactly the same…

It was identical to how it had been when he first encountered it.

Memories of the time spent in the old cabin resurfaced vividly, causing Jihad’s eyes to grow teary.

Since it wouldn’t do to sink into a sea of tears after finally meeting it again, he made an effort to suppress his emotions and shifted the topic.

-I thought you’d be much bigger after 150 years, but you’re not? Can you even parasitize?

-Elisa! Elisa-Elisa!

-As expected, my eyes didn’t deceive me. You really are a special spider!

-Elisa!

Elisa puffed out its chest proudly, as if to say, “You’re only realizing this now?”

…Whether that could even be called a chest was debatable, but its posture certainly suggested pride.

Even more intriguing was that once Elisa left the queen spider’s body, its corpse, which had been imbued with Elisa’s colors, turned black again.

-Is that a trait of parasitism?

-Elisa…

-Ah, you’re still not skilled enough yet? Fascinating. You’re not hiding anything else, right?

-Eli…za!

-Haha, got it. So, is this your fully grown size?

Elisa shook its head.

Placing its front legs on its “hips” and tilting its chin upward, it looked exactly like a child trying to show off.

-Really? Then what’s your lifespan? I’ve never heard of a spider living this long…

-Elisa-Elisa.

-What? You’re saying I’m not an adult yet either? How the heck do you know that?

-Elisa!

Watching the two exchange stories and reconnect after so long, Do-hyeon didn’t bother to interject.

Even someone as dense as Do-hyeon knew it would be inappropriate to interrupt their reunion.

Not that there seemed to be an opening to join in, either.

Instead, Do-hyeon focused his attention elsewhere.

‘Aerial spiderwebs and parasitism… That’s different.’

What had originally been described as steel spiderwebs was now labeled aerial spiderwebs, and traits like venom or spider sense had disappeared.

It seemed likely these were Elisa’s original unique traits.

‘Is it related to parasitism?’

It seemed plausible that while parasitizing, Elisa could use the traits of the host monster.

The range of creatures it could parasitize was unclear, but the fact it worked on a field boss proved its functionality.

Still, he couldn’t assume that was the full story.

‘It might have had its stats reduced, like Jihad.’

Especially now that Elisa had joined Jihad’s command, there was no way to know how much it had been downgraded.

While pondering how to best utilize Elisa, a brief sound reached his ears.

-Elisa!

“Hm?”

There stood Elisa, perched on his shoulder.

He hadn’t even noticed when it climbed up… Did you need to be at this level to parasitize creatures like this?

-Elisa-Elisa!

“?”

It seemed to want to say something, but he couldn’t understand.

In the end, Do-hyeon turned to Jihad.

Jihad, understanding Do-hyeon’s unspoken request, replied with a satisfied expression.

-It says thank you, Master.

“Oh, I see.”

-It says it’s even more thankful to me… Anyway, it wants to repay you and says to follow it.

“Repay me?”

-Elisa!

Elisa nodded its tiny head enthusiastically.

Its expectant, glistening eyes radiated excitement, as if it were more thrilled about giving the reward than the recipient.

Not wanting to disappoint, Do-hyeon agreed, and Elisa hopped lightly onto Jihad’s head.

-Elisa!

-It says this way, Master.

“Lead the way.”

Do-hyeon followed Jihad, who had unexpectedly become a guide.

After walking through a long passageway for about ten minutes—

After navigating through alternating narrow and wide paths multiple times, they finally arrived at their destination.

It was a large room.

“Wow…”

The space was round overall, much larger and gloomier than a typical spider’s nest.

The air was chilly, and the space, entirely black and sticky, felt like stepping into a refrigerator.

He had never heard of such a place existing in Raven.

The one to reveal the identity of the location wasn’t Jihad or Elisa but a single system notification.

[You have discovered a hidden area.]

[You have found the Spider Queen’s Hatchery.]

‘A hatchery?’

As the message suggested, the room was filled with round eggs stacked in towers.

And all around were numerous small spiders.

While larger than ordinary spiders, they were much smaller than the giant forest spiders.

Above these creatures, name tags floated.

[Spider Queen’s Offspring]

‘Wait, Spider Queen’s Offspring?’

The moment Do-hyeon checked their information out of curiosity, his eyes widened in shock.

[Spider Queen’s Offspring]

-Title: Field Boss

-Type: Spider

-Traits: Not yet manifested.

-Description: Offspring of the Spider Queen Elisa, ruler of the western forest.

Though young and undeveloped, most of their abilities remain locked. When fully grown, they will emerge as proper Field Bosses in the forest.

‘They’re Field Bosses?’

Those tiny creatures bore the title of Field Boss.

And not just one or two—all of them!

‘Huh? Wait a second.’

At that moment, a thought struck Do-hyeon.

The first trial of the Raven Graduation Quest was to hunt a Field Boss.

The Field Boss in question wasn’t exclusively “Spider Queen Elisa.”

The text clearly stated that the evaluation was based on the number of Field Bosses defeated.

Clearing the trial required defeating the official Field Boss, Spider Queen Elisa, but beyond that, the details were flexible.

‘The trial was essentially designed to make players defeat Elisa…’

Most players didn’t dwell on the specifics of the text.

They didn’t need to.

Spider Queen Elisa was the only Field Boss in Raven.

All that mattered was how effectively players defeated her.

…At least, that was the common understanding.

“…So what happens if I take these ones down too?”

Technically, these creatures were also Spider Queens.

Distinct individuals, no doubt.

If he defeated them, would they count as separate Field Bosses?

There was an obvious way to find out.

‘Let’s kill them and see.’

Swallowing his nerves, Do-hyeon gripped his practice sword.

The Spider Queen’s Hatchery was about to witness a massacre.

—

[You have slain a Spider Queen’s Offspring.]

[You have slain a Spider Queen’s Offspring.]

…

[You have slain a Spider Queen’s Offspring.]

Ignoring the flood of messages, Do-hyeon surveyed his surroundings.

The once teeming mass of spiders had been completely cleared out.

Only the unhatched eggs remained, scattered like decorations throughout the area.

The reason he didn’t bother with the eggs was simple.

[Spider Queen’s Egg]

-Description: An egg of the Spider Queen. It has not yet hatched.

[Spider Queen’s Eggs cannot be attacked.]

‘Darn. Guess I can’t touch these.’

The God of Savior system prevented him from attacking them directly.

Do-hyeon tried to place some in his inventory out of curiosity, but when they didn’t go in, he decided to let it go.

Still, what exactly were these eggs for?

The answer came to him quicker than expected.

‘Could they be for respawning Field Bosses?’

It was just speculation, but it felt plausible.

Why else would the system so thoroughly prevent players from interfering with them?

If true, it was an intriguing setup, though Do-hyeon wasn’t the type to dwell on unnecessary details.

And now wasn’t the time to be distracted by such thoughts.

Ding!

Would defeating the Spider Queen’s Offspring impact the Graduation Quest?

He was about to find out.

[You have completed the First Trial: Field Boss Hunt.]

[Verifying the defeated Field Bosses.]

[Hidden Field Boss defeated × 1, Field Bosses defeated × 34 confirmed.]

[The defeat of Raven’s official Field Boss, “Spider Queen Elisa,” has been verified.]

[You have cleared the First Trial.]

[Ranking is being assessed.]

…

‘It worked.’

To Do-hyeon’s surprise, even his earlier defeat of Karuk had been counted in his score.

It seemed the system evaluated all Field Bosses defeated during his time in Raven.

As a result, while most players struggled to defeat just one, Do-hyeon’s tally reached a staggering 35.

Not just ordinary Field Bosses either—since Hidden Field Bosses were categorized separately, they likely carried significant weight in the scoring.

[An incredible achievement.]

[Ranking assessment is slightly delayed.]

Did the artificial intelligence managing God of Savior’s system not anticipate a situation like this?

The rank wasn’t calculated immediately, and there was a noticeable delay.

‘Well… even I find this absurd.’

It was safe to say that such a case had likely never occurred in the history of God of Savior.

As Do-hyeon waited with a slightly anxious heart, about ten seconds passed before the awaited notification appeared.

[Score has been calculated, considering the following: solo clear, Hidden Field Boss defeated × 1, Field Boss defeated × 27, new record for shortest clear time, Hidden Piece discovered, etc.]

[You have updated the S-Rank with 1,471 points.]

[The maximum rank for the First Trial is S-Rank, and higher ranks cannot be assigned. Enhanced rewards will be provided.]

[You are the first to achieve S-Rank in the First Trial.]

[You have secured 1st place in the rankings.]

[The rankings for the First Trial have been updated.]

[You have obtained the title ‘First S-Rank.’]

[You have obtained the title ‘Top Graduate.’]

[The effect of ‘Throne of Time Attack’ activates. All stats increase by +5.]

[S-Rank rewards are granted.]

…

[Your achievement has been recorded in the Adventure Book.]

“Wow.”

The sheer number of notifications was dizzying.

Do-hyeon’s mouth hung open as he stared at rewards on an entirely different scale compared to when he graduated from Arde.

‘How many rewards is this?’

He had expected something unusual, but not to this extent.

The overwhelming number of messages left Do-hyeon frozen in place, unable to check everything.

-Elisa!

“Ah.”

A cheerful voice brought him back to his senses, and Do-hyeon turned his head.

Elisa was perched on his shoulder, wiggling its rear.

It looked like a cat purring and lifting its tail in delight.

“Thank you, Elisa. This reward is beyond my imagination.”

After all, it had helped him defeat 28 Field Bosses—what greater reward could there be?

Do-hyeon felt genuinely grateful.

Yet Elisa, the recipient of his thanks, tilted its head as if confused.

-Elisa?

-Master, Elisa says it hasn’t given you a reward yet.

“…What do you mean?”

-Elisa-Elisa!

Elisa hopped down from Do-hyeon’s shoulder and leapt onto Jihad’s head again.

Then, it pointed in one direction.

-Elisa!

-It says the reward it intended to give is over there.

“…What?”

Do-hyeon’s eyes widened as he followed the direction Elisa indicated.

There lay a small chest.

A chest so old it bore the marks of centuries, if not millennia. However, Do-hyeon’s attention wasn’t on the chest itself.

‘That’s…’

Beside the chest was a small, elongated gem.

A mysterious jewel that shimmered as though it contained every color, but to Do-hyeon, it only appeared as one color.

[Eye of Truth activates.]

“What is this?”

Before he knew it, Do-hyeon had approached the gem and picked it up, his focus blurring.

Overlapping the gem was a system message.

[Adventurer’s Vessel confirmed.]

[Conditions fulfilled.]

[You have obtained the First Fragment of Destiny.]

[Your achievement has been recorded in the Adventure Book.]

[A hidden condition has been met, opening a new route.]

[The Job Quest ‘Legacy of Destiny’ has been generated.]

“…Huh?”

It seemed he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.