Ranker's Return

Supplementary Story 35

The light quickly faded. Two ghost knights appeared in its place. However, they exuded a sense of intimidation that was different from the other ghost knights.

‘It is ruined.’

Lindbergh made an expression of despair. He had met a tiger while trying to avoid a fox.

‘They look ridiculously strong...’

It seemed like he would’ve been better off fighting the over a dozen ghost knights. There was no possibility of beating the two in front of him.

‘Even so, I have to fight.’

Defeat might be scheduled, but he couldn’t die without doing anything. Lindbergh added strength to the hand holding the spear. Then he pointed his spear at the two ghost knights on the altar.

“Based on the way our seal has been unsealed, it is clear that someone has gathered all of His Majesty’s legacy.”

“I’m certain that it is not this human being. He doesn’t have any of the legacies.”

“That spear isn’t a legacy either.”

The two ghost knights didn’t care about Lindbergh’s actions. They were just focused on having a conversation with each other.

‘What are they saying?’

Lindbergh didn’t understand the conversation between the two ghost knights at all. Nevertheless, he could tell something from the aura they were exuding.

‘They don’t want to fight?’

Their existence itself was overbearing, but there was no sense of fighting energy or killing intent from the two ghost knights.

‘They feel like NPCs rather than monsters?’

Lindbergh didn’t swing the spear, but he didn’t let go of his tension either. It was so he could react at any time to the sudden behavior of the ghost knights.

“Should we kill him?”

“Do we really need to? Why don’t we use him as a guide? We don’t know what the situation on the continent is like right now.”

“It isn’t bad either. Our purpose is to find the descendant who has taken over the legacies.”

“Then let’s take advantage of him. I think he will be very helpful in finding the descendant if we persuade him.”

The two ghost knights unified their opinions and turned to look at Lindbergh. He was surprised by the sudden actions of the ghost knights and grabbed the spear even harder. At the same time, he was ready to pour out magic power at any time.

“This guy, what is your name?” One of the two ghost knights spoke. Fortunately, this time it was a language that Lindbergh could understand.

“I am called Lindbergh.” He carefully answered the question of the ghost knight. He never lost his vigilance.

‘I just need to kill these guys.’

Boss monsters—if he killed them, everything could be easily solved.

The dungeon and quest. Additionally...

‘My retirement as well...’

Force was exerted excessively and Lindbergh’s spear trembled.

“There is no need to be so vigilant. We don’t mean to harm you. Let’s have a conversation.”𝗳𝔯𝙚e𝒘e𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝙚l.𝑐o𝙢

The other ghost knight stepped forward. He laughed and waved to Lindbergh. He expressed with his entire body that he had no intention of fighting.

“Please briefly explain the situation on the continent now.”

He immediately asked Lindbergh a question. It was a very comprehensive and necessary question.

‘Why is he asking this?’

Lindbergh didn’t answer hastily. He pondered on why the ghost knight asked such a question.

‘Are they trying to do something?’

The first thing to come to mind was that they were running out of the dungeon. If they weren’t just boss monsters, but were playing the role of NPCs...

It was quite possible.

‘Do I have to cooperate?’

Lindbergh had two options—cooperate with the ghost knights in front of him, or fight them.

‘It is a reality that we can join forces with the undead or god tribe...’

He didn’t worry about it and immediately made a judgment. He chose to cooperate with the ghost knights.

“The continent is currently in a lull. The East Continent and West Continent are ruled by one empire each. The northern part of the continent has the undead and the south has the League of Different Species.”

Lindbergh’s key explanation was simply but to the point. The current power of Arena was expressed really well.

“The East Continent and West Continent?”

“It is probably split around that mountain range.”

“Ah, is that so? Nothing much has changed from before.”

“It means His Majesty has won the war against them.”

“If we have only just woken up, then the empire must’ve been on the path to destruction.”

The two ghost knights inferred a lot from Lindbergh’s brief explanation.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Lindbergh interrupted the conversation between the two ghost knights.

“A question? Ask if you have any questions.”

“I will answer whatever I can.”

The two ghost knights nodded. Lindbergh was of use. He was the one who would help them find their ‘descendant.’

“I want the two of you to tell me about the ancient empire.”

After hearing Lindbergh’s question, the two knights expressed their despair.

“Putting aside the two of us... you don’t know anything about the empire?”

“It seems the records hadn’t been passed down at all. Think about it. Was the war only a little bit threatening at the time?”

“Indeed... it has been a long time so he might not know.”

”My name is Dot. I was a marquis of the empire. This friend is Lenek, a marquis like me.”

“The name of the ancient empire you say is the Luos Empire. It was an empire of humans established by Akan, a descendant of the giants.”ｆ𝘳e𝒆w𝗲𝐛𝘯𝐨νe𝚕.cｏ𝓶

Lenek and Dot were diligent in answering Lindbergh’s questions.

‘The Luos Empire?’

It was Lindbergh’s first time hearing the name. Of course, Lindbergh wasn’t interested in such things, so the name would be even more unfamiliar. There were only a handful of players who were deeply interested in the settings and background of the game.

‘A marquis is a very high ranking title...’

Apart from Alley Leader, among the players, Jin Sijong was the highest ranked with a title of earl. Even so, rumors spread that he became an earl thanks to Alley Leader. Based on this, a marquis was a very high position.

“Now we will ask you. Do you know the descendant of the Luos Empire?” Dot asked Lindbergh, who was deep in thought.

“You fool. Is this something to ask someone who is hearing the name of the Luos Empire for the first time?” Lenek clicked his tongue and interrupted Dot’s question in the middle. The question was ridiculous. If they wanted to ask about the descendant, then it should be something like this.

“Have you ever seen a spear where the blade is silvery? It has a slightly different feeling from normal metal. It feels like a really good weapon at first glance.”

Lenek’s choice was very clever. He wasn’t looking for someone he didn’t know. He was looking for something he knew for sure.

“Let’s see... if it is a good spear, then I know a lot...”

Lindbergh scratched his head. Lenek’s question was both easy and difficult for him.

‘I’m glad I use a spear, but...’

Lindbergh’s weapon was a spear. Therefore, he was familiar with the spears that existed in Arena. In particular, he was particularly quick when it came to those beyond the unique rating.

‘The explanation is too poor.’

The problem was that Lenek’s explanation was too comprehensive. The number of spears with a silver blade were widespread. Even in the case of spears with no special attributes, most of them had silver blades.

‘I’m at a loss...’

It was also the case with the rating. Was it good like a rare item or did it exceed the unique rating?

The criteria was vague.

‘I can do it like this.’

Lindbergh pondered on it for a while before coming up with a solution. If the standard was ambiguous then he could just create a standard.

“Lenek, how is this spear by your standards? Is it on the good side?”

Lindbergh held out his spear toward Lenek.

‘There are only a few spears better than this.’

His spear was a unique rated item. It was quite suitable as a reference point.

“It is a pretty good spear, but compared to the spear we are looking for... it is nothing more than junk. I am looking for the best spear in the Luos Empire.”

Lenek roughly examined the spear and shook his head. No matter how good the unique rated spear was, it wasn’t comparable to the empire’s legacy.

“Is that so?”

Lindbergh realized from Lenek’s words that the item he was looking for was rated epic or higher.

‘Is there anyone with an epic or higher rated spear?’

In the first place, few players used the spear as the main weapon. In particular, among them, there were very few rankers believed to have epic items.

‘Is it Teika?’

The first name that came to mind was Teika. He was synonymous with a spearman so he deserved to have an epic rated item.

‘But... Teika’s spear isn’t silver.’

Based on what Lindbergh knew, Teika’s spear was a slightly red spear.

“Ah!!!”

Lindbergh screamed and clapped. It was because he remembered seeing a scene where a player who was several times more famous than Teika used a spear.

‘It was definitely an epic rated item!’

“I know of one person who might have the spear you are looking for.”

“Really? There is someone?” Lenek asked with a bright smile.

“The emperor of the West Continent. The spear he has is the best one I know.”

“The emperor?” Lenek’s eyes widened. They were amazing words. The emperor of today owned the legacy of the empire.

“Do you know what color the emperor’s magic power is?” Dot had been silently listening to the conversation between the two of them and he finally spoke to Lindbergh.

“As far as I know, the magic power of the emperor is purple.” Lindbergh replied without hesitation. Everyone in Arena knew that Alley Leader’s magic power was purple.

“Purple?”

Dot turned his head to look at Lenek. Lenek also faced Dot.

“We don’t know if he is a robber or a descendant. We also aren’t sure if that spear is the real legacy or not.”

“It is still worth checking. There is nothing more certain than seeing it with both eyes.”

Lenek and Dot nodded at the same time. The first person to visit after leaving this place was decided.

“Then unseal the guardians.”

The moment Dot’s words finished, Lenek pulled out the sword he was wearing at his waist. Soon after, white pure energy appeared around Lenek’s sword. He got down on one knee and slammed his sword toward the altar. The altar was smashed in an instant.

Then a huge magic power shot up from between the broken altar. Black magic power quickly filled the entire huge space. Then a rumbling sound started to be heard from all sides. The sound grew louder and louder. Then at some point, it gradually subsided.

Around this time, the magic power filling the space quickly disappeared. Once the sound and magic power completely disappeared, three people gradually appeared through the collapsed altar. It was Lenek, Dot, and Lindbergh.

“The seal... it worked well.”

“It has been a long time since I’ve felt this way.”

Lenek and Dot took off the helmet covering their heads. The appearance of the two men, which was covered by the helmets, was revealed. Lenek and Dot were middle-aged men with impressive red and blue hair respectively.

“People...?” Lindbergh’s eyes widened. It was an unbelievable sight. The ghost knights, who used to be monsters that were living armor, became human.

“How are you...?”

That wasn’t all. At the bottom of the altar were hundreds of ghost knights, all of whom had taken off their helmets and were human.

“Guide us to that emperor, Lindbergh.”

Lindbergh was standing there with a shocked expression when Lenek touched his shoulder.

***

“Why are my ears so itchy?”

Hyeonu stopped stamping the pile of documents on the desk and rubbed his ears.

“Who is cursing me?”

“Don’t fool around, Master dude.”

“There is a problem with my usual behavior, so no matter who swears at me, one hundred times it must be...”

Hyeonu’s hand swung through the air. A sharp sound was heard from Tang-E’s round forehead.

“I got it, this guy! You are the culprit.”

It was the daily life of Hyeonu who really didn’t know anything.