The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 70

During the peak days of DemRock, it was remarkable for renowned miners to earn about ten million won a month.

Even Do-hyeon himself had never exceeded two million back then.

“To think I made that in a single day.”

Is this why people call it a masterpiece of a game?

He had often heard that the money generated by God of Savior couldn’t be dismissed as mere “game money.”

And he had anticipated this kind of profit when obtaining an item.

Nevertheless, experiencing it firsthand felt surreal.

Did he really just make 16 million won? Simply by using the auction house once?

[Deposited to the linked account.]

[Balance: 16,894,670 won.]

“Ah.”

Do-hyeon let out an exclamation as he stared at the balance displayed in his account, making it feel real.

“Sixteen million won… What could I do with this money?”

It had taken him a year and six months to painstakingly save 4.5 million to buy a used gaming capsule.

Now, with this amount, he could purchase a much better-performing capsule outright.

And that wasn’t all.

With just a bit more added, he could even buy a compact car.

“To think this is possible at such a low level.”

Of course, he had used a shortcut with Jihad and had gotten lucky.

The monsters he fought in a hidden field, whose information wasn’t yet publicly available, just so happened to drop Raven’s near-graduation items.

In hindsight, only one thought came to mind.

“Ah, I should’ve farmed a bit more before leaving.”

At the time, he thought it was enough, but now he regretted it.

He should’ve stayed for at least a month, farming to his heart’s content.

Or not?

Since he had been forcibly warped out, it couldn’t be helped.

Suppressing the pangs of regret, Do-hyeon shook his head.

It was already in the past, and there was no point in lamenting over it.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to make money in the future. Let’s see this as an investment.”

Whatever the case, he had earned 16 million won in a single day at this stage.

Considering the basic principle of RPGs—that equipment gets more expensive at higher levels—there would be even greater earning opportunities.

Whether there’d be another jackpot like this was uncertain, but he wasn’t particularly worried.

“With the Eye of Truth, what’s there to fear?”

Do-hyeon had an extraordinary, scam-like trait to rely on.

He couldn’t suppress the laughter bubbling up as he chuckled to himself.

“What’s with that creepy smile?”

“Haha… huh?”

Hearing a familiar voice, he looked up.

Standing at the slightly ajar door, looking down at him with disgusted eyes, was Hyun-ah.

“…”

Caught off guard, Do-hyeon quickly adopted a serious expression as though nothing had happened.

Hyun-ah, letting out an incredulous laugh, was promptly ignored as Do-hyeon spoke nonchalantly.

“What do you want?”

“…Nothing. Mom says to come eat.”

“Food?”

“Yeah. I was just going to leave you alone if you were playing your game, but you came out right on time. Did you plan this? Anyway, I’ve delivered the message. I’m leaving.”

Do-hyeon’s eyes lit up as he suddenly snapped out of his daze.

Jumping to his feet, he shouted.

“Hey, wait. Did you eat already?”

“No? I was just about to.”

“And Mom?”

“…Huh? Yeah, she hasn’t either. Why?”

Hyun-ah looked puzzled at Do-hyeon’s sudden change in demeanor.

Her gaze seemed to ask, “What’s he on about this time?”

Truthfully, Hyun-ah felt uneasy.

“What’s he gotten obsessed with now?”

Normally quiet, he always wore that expression when fixated on something.

And every time, he would act unpredictably, which left her feeling apprehensive.

Though he’d improved over the years, Hyun-ah still vividly remembered when he got fixated on a cop-and-robber scene from a TV in a supermarket as a kid, disappearing for two hours without a word.

“Even though he got scolded heavily and fixed that habit back then…”

Some things about a person never change.

Even as an adult, he occasionally displayed sudden, unpredictable behavior.

Sometimes it led to great outcomes, but other times, it didn’t—leaving Hyun-ah’s mind racing.

“What could possibly catch his attention at the dining table? Cooking? A new recipe?”

Memories of when he’d dragged her to a store after watching a weird anime about food battles flashed through her mind.

Back then, he had cooked some unique dishes… and they hadn’t tasted bad.

Still, who could say if it’d turn out well this time?

Hyun-ah had no desire to give up her mom’s proven cooking for something experimental.

“Better to refuse upfront.”

Just as Hyun-ah resolved to speak cynically, Do-hyeon spoke up first.

“Perfect. Get ready. We’re eating out.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, I’m not interested… Wait, what?”

“We’re going out to eat. My treat.”

Was it because he’d said something so normal? Or because it was so unexpected?

Hyun-ah stared blankly for a moment before recovering her senses and asking.

“…You? With what money?”

“I’ve got it, dummy. A lot.”

“Suddenly? Okay, so what’s on the menu?”

In response, Do-hyeon smirked and answered in the coolest voice possible.

“Your brother’s treating you to beef.”

“What?”

“Premium Korean beef.”

“What!?”

Eyes wide, Hyun-ah covered her mouth and dashed out of the room.

“Mom! Mom! Don’t serve the rice! Put it back, quick!”

“Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden? Oh my, look at you putting the dishes away. Why don’t you clean up like that after meals more often?”

“Got it, just get ready! Oppa’s buying us beef! Premium Korean beef!”

“Huh? You’re asking for beef? Stop joking around and tell him to come out quickly.”

“Wait, not asking for beef, he said he’s treating us to it!”

Hearing the mother-daughter exchange outside, Do-hyeon leisurely changed his clothes.

Throwing on a coat and a cap, his face held a subtle smile.

Indeed, beef was the ultimate truth.

“Wow, that was delicious. Told you, the beef here is amazing.”

“Mom hasn’t eaten like this in a while either. Thank you, son. You didn’t overdo it, right?”

“Not at all.”

When they returned home, the two women expressed their gratitude with smiles, while Do-hyeon responded with a cool, nonchalant expression.

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

What was 200,000 won?

He still had over 16 million sitting in his account—it was barely a scratch.

“But where did you get the money? You just finished your military service, so you couldn’t have earned much yet, right?”

After filling her stomach, Hyun-ah suddenly asked, curiosity piqued.

“Been playing games lately.”

“Games? God of Savior? You made money with that?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“What the…? You’ve only been playing for three days. How’s that possible?”

“I got lucky and dropped a gear set to sell. The prices are definitely on another level compared to DemRock.”

“Even so… I’m a decently high level myself, and this seems strange.”

Although she hadn’t maxed out her level, Hyun-ah was level 71—a much higher level than Do-hyeon.

Considering she wasn’t making significant earnings herself, it was hard to accept.

In fact, her gaming expenses outweighed her income.

“You and I aren’t the same. This used to be my job. I’m a pro, you see.”

“What’s with that smug face? It’s so annoying.”

Hyun-ah scowled at Do-hyeon’s self-satisfied look.

But without anything to refute, she could only pout her lips.

Although she didn’t know her brother was once the overwhelming number one, it was true that he’d immersed himself in gaming, even giving their parents allowances and buying gifts back when he was thriving.

Of course, that was during DemRock’s golden era.

When the game declined, he’d reverted to being on the receiving end of allowances.

“Still, I guess he does have talent. How come I don’t have any, though? We’re siblings…”

Not that it mattered much.

From her perspective, getting treated to food was all that mattered.

Gaming suited this gaming addict anyway.

And these days, even though God of Savior was classified as a game, it was treated as something beyond gaming, so having talent for it was almost like a blessing.

“My son must be gifted at gaming.”

“It’s no joke.”

“Ugh. If I have kids, I’m teaching them humility first.”

“Yeah, humility like mine is good to have.”

“What’s with him?”

Even their mother, Chae Mi-sook, who had lived through a generation that treated gaming like a disease, smiled warmly at the scene.

Watching her two children bickering, she suddenly asked with a smile.

“So, can we look forward to more, son?”

“Of course. Just say the word, Mrs. Chae.”

“Really, your words… From what I’m hearing, things seem to be going well, but don’t worry about taking care of us. Just save up your money properly. You’ve spent recklessly before when you were earning well and ended up with nothing. Games can fall apart any time, so save while you can. Got it?”

Her kind tone abruptly turned into a barrage of nagging.

Caught in the crossfire, Do-hyeon and Hyun-ah exchanged glances.

“I’m heading to my room. Thanks for the meal.”

“Don’t leave me. You can’t.”

“Good luck.”

Despite Do-hyeon’s pleading eyes, Hyun-ah escaped, leaving him alone to endure another ten minutes of nagging before he was finally freed.

Once in his room, Do-hyeon let out a long sigh.

“Jeez, Mom sure worries a lot.”

But he couldn’t argue.

Her words were all valid, especially since he really had spent recklessly when things were going well before crashing hard.

Not that Do-hyeon was completely careless; this time, he planned to manage things properly.

Click.

As if out of habit, he sat at his desk and turned on the computer.

Since his DemRock days, it had become second nature to navigate to the game’s homepage without thinking.

“Let’s see, any news today… huh?”

Scrolling down the page absentmindedly, Do-hyeon froze in shock.

“The Return of the King! Learn about Kaiser…”

“Kaiser and His Remarkable Achievements.”

“Myeolsal VS Kaiser—Who Would Win?”

“What… what is all this?”

The entire homepage was filled with posts about him.

It was a completely different sight from what he had seen in the morning.

Then, a memory flashed in his mind.

“Oh, the graduation rankings.”

He remembered breaking the ranking record upon graduating Raven earlier that day.

Every user logged into God of Savior would have seen the notification, so this reaction was inevitable.

“I guess it was a ridiculous score, even by my standards.”

After all, it was the first-ever S rank.

Understanding the situation, he became curious about what people were saying.

His scrolling turned into a satisfied smile.

“Kaiser oppa, I’m a fan! (Wiggle wiggle)”

“Why’d you take so long? I almost grew a neck waiting.”

“Where are all the people who called Kaiser washed up? Myeolsal is the trend? Nah, Kaiser snatched number one just like that!”

“It’s just one city ranking. City rankings don’t always equate to strength. Myeolsal is still ahead in achievements and skill.”

Seeing that people still remembered and welcomed him brought a sense of pride.

Of course, there were anti-comments and those who hadn’t acknowledged him yet, but he didn’t care.

Not everyone would think the same way.

“This reminds me of my DemRock days.”

Back then, too, he’d risen to the top later than the other top-ranked players.

Naturally, there were existing fans who were uncomfortable with his presence, and Do-hyeon always had to prove himself.

But in the end, he had proven himself and claimed the number one spot.

“This time won’t be any different.”

Even if the gap now was far longer than the few months it had been back then…

So what?

He had the skills and countless hidden pieces to bridge that gap.

As he continued scrolling through posts without a care, something caught his eye.

“Hm?”

A peculiar post title stood out.

“Top 100 Guilds? Tell them all to bring it on! Cr… Bowing to Kaiser’s overwhelming confidence.”

[Author: SodaBomb]

To be honest, I figured Kaiser would be a has-been after a year and six months of absence.

Like pro gamers, people who return after a long break rarely perform like they used to.

I thought maybe the pressure of high expectations was what kept him from coming back… but nope.

The moment he came back and stole Raven’s top spot, I got chills.

But even then, I assumed he’d naturally join a guild.

If there’s this much focus, rejecting them would turn them all into enemies, wouldn’t it?

And it’s nearly impossible to make it without a guild these days…

But I was wrong.

Guilds? Compromising due to circumstances?

Not for our God Kaiser.

Top 100 guilds? They’re all beneath me. Why would I join any of them?

He dismissed them without a second thought and carried on confidently!

Isn’t this what a real man looks like?

“What… is this nonsense?”

Not a single part of the lengthy post made sense to him.

Top 100 guilds? Recruitment? Picking fights?

What was all of this about?

“Oh.”

Even in his confusion, a nagging sense of unease crept into Do-hyeon’s mind.

Something… something was happening.