Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-745

[Scenario Quest (Dull-Witted Father) has been created!]

[Scenario Quest / Dull-Witted Father]

[Description: The rulers of 'Night (Nox)', including the 'Resident of the Border', have been unable to clear their doubts about your claim as the Black King. Although they can sense the powers of the Black King in the aura you project, you have not yet become the main ego. Moreover, they cannot help but doubt your claim based on your questionable intentions of delaying the long-awaited end of the Black King's 'dream'.

But they are all too aware that it is impossible to completely ignore your claim as the Black King. In the case of 'Green Flame', Green Flame is convincing its colleagues that you may be the one who will finally remove the curse that has been placed on 'Night (Nox)'. And many of the beings of Night agree with his assessment and have formed a large group.

Of course, there are still many who are skeptical about your claim, so they have not been able to come to a conclusion. So, in the end, they will test you under the conditions set by the Resident of the Border to see if you can be called their Dull-Witted Father. They have decided to conduct an evaluation.

This evaluation offer has been offered to you, and you have accepted it.

From now on, the Eight Gods of Disorder will test you, one by one, on behalf of Night. Go through these tests and successfully pass them to prove your position as their Dull-Witted Father.]

[Time limit: ―]

[Restrictions: Black King's ego.]

[Requirement: Complete all 8 quests.]

[Note:

1. If you fail to successfully complete even one quest, you will fail to be recognized as the Dull-Witted Father.

2. If an ambiguous result is observed, the subjective opinion of the god who gave the quest shall take majority consideration.]

[Reward: Proof of credentials.]

[Currently, two of the Eight Gods of Disorder, the Crawling Chaos and Lord of the Pole, are absent.]

[The Crawling Chaos exhibited a precedent in acknowledging you as the Black King's ego and the Night's Dull-Witted Father, so the Crawling Chaos' acknowledgment counts as completing one quest requirement.]

[Current progress: 1/8]

[Since it is judged that Laplace, your familiar, is the successor to the divine seat vacated by the previous Lord of the Pole, Laplace shall be acknowledged as exercising the voting right for Lord of the Pole.]

[Laplace voted for acknowledgment.]

[Current progress: 2/8]

After several messages popped up, one after another…

[Do you want to proceed with the next quest?]

A message prompted Yeon-woo to ask if he wanted to proceed with the test.

There was an existence who was very angry about this entire evaluation process.「Arr. Ogant. Fools!」 Boo appeared from Yeon-woo's shadow as Inferno Site blue flames whipped about furiously.

Boo's body had already grown several meters in height when he was with Yeon-woo, but he seemed to have grown a few meters taller again during their time apart. The aura and momentum Boo exuded was not far behind any of those of the Eight Gods of Disorder. In fact, the damage that Boo had inflicted upon the Night during their war had not been small. This was because Boo was pioneering a new realm while combining the powers of order and chaos at the same time.

「Who. Dares. Test. Master?」 Boo blatantly showed his hostility. As Yeon-woo's familiar and loyal servant, Boo felt that the Eight Gods of Disorder should have fallen to their knees, bowed their heads, and begged to be accepted as Yeon-woo's sons. Boo was disgusted at the utter ignorance displayed by the eight Gods of Disorder.

His merciful master had said he would gladly accept their arrogant evaluation process, but Boo could not condone it. Boo was determined to correct their flippant attitude. With that in mind, Boo took out his book of laws.

Seeing Boo take these actions, the Eight Gods of Disorder immediately took on an aggressive stance as they unleashed their ferocious auras. It seemed as though a clash was imminent.

「Oh ho ho! I feel the same way too. Have the Eight Gods of Disorder become dumb over the course of time to act so ignorantly?」 As if to support Boo, Laplace materialized into his true form, adding to Boo's overall aura and momentum.

「What? Are we battling again? I thought it was going to be a little quieter now. Wow, our master just brings a party wherever he goes, doesn't he?」

「Stop spewing nonsense. Just raise your damn sword.」

「…」

Shanon, Hanryeong, and Rebecca appeared one after another and stood next to Yeon-woo.

[Cernunnos blesses his Apostle!]

The aura and momentum emitted by Yeon-woo's primary familiars were already amazing as singular entities. Their show of collective force seemed to explain how Day was able to contend and resist Night during their war without collapsing. As Yeon-woo raised his powers through countless struggles and battles in the darkness, his familiars benefited from Yeon-woo's continuous growth.

As the scene unfolded, the Eight Gods of Disorder were put in an awkward situation. Whoosh. They tried to pressure Yeon-woo, but on the contrary, they were feeling the pressure. While expressing their displeasure, they hurriedly shifted their gaze towards the Residents of the Border, wondering if they should prepare for battle.

"Everyone, stand back." At that moment, Yeon-woo spoke to his familiars, who were blocking his way, with an irritated voice.

「But. Master. Those. Ignorant. Fools. Don't. Know…!」

"I told you to stand back, right, Boo? Since when have you talked back? Or are you planning to ignore my will from now on?"

Boo sensed the displeasure in Yeon-woo's voice and quickly knelt on one knee while bowing his head. 「…I. Would. Not. Dare. Forgive. Me!」

Knowing that Boo was blindly loyal to him, Yeon-woo wondered if he had reacted a bit too harshly. He passed Boo without saying a word.

On the other hand, the Eight Gods of Disorder showed signs of being somewhat surprised or shocked by Boo's attitude. They had suffered greatly under Boo's attacks, so Boo's actions spoke volumes. Thus, they had no choice but to think more highly of Yeon-woo.

'I feel like he knew this would happen. Boo, that guy…he's smarter than I thought.' After having this thought, Yeon-woo shouted out, "Who's first? Fire guy, you first?" He looked at Green Flame.

The god in the shape of a huge flame was the one who mediated when the beings of Night were wavering and unable to come to a conclusion about Yeon-woo. Green Flame was the one who first proposed starting a conversation with Yeon-woo.

In addition, in the Scenario Quest's description, there was an explanation that Green Flame viewed Yeon-woo relatively positively. This was why Yeon-woo approached Green Flame first.

['Green Flame' says he will not step forward.]

['Green Flame' reveals the truth. It states that it already thinks of you as its father.]

[You have completed the quest of 'Green Flame'.]

[Current progress: 3/8]

Rumble. The green flames blazed even more brightly around Green Flame. The warmth emitted from the flames was palatable. His will to accept and obey was also carried in his flames' emittance.

Yeon-woo quietly nodded and turned his gaze to the others. "Then? Who's next?"

[The 'Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' reveals its intention to go first.]

"Good. Start."

[The 'Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' says that there is something it wants to ask the Black King's ego before starting.]

"What?"

The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young had a bizarre shape with countless black tentacles and slimy jaws all over its body, which was covered in a dark red mist.

The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young power was as strong as the stench it gave off. It occupied the second rank among the eight Gods of Disorder, second only to Resident of the Border.

The various mouths on its body started clamoring excitedly as it accurately spoke in a human language.

"You say you want to be our Dull-Witted Father." "You say you want to be our Dull-Witted Father."

"Do you know what that means?" "Do you know what that means?"

Yeon-woo nodded. "I know."

"No. You don't truly know." "No. You don't truly know."

"I do know."

"You don't know." "You don't know."

"I know."

Utilizing Open Speaking, Yeon-woo sent a message that only the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young could hear.『It means I will 'lose my name', right?』

"…!" "…!"

『This should be enough to prove I know, right?』

"…" "…" All of the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young mouths closed shut at the same time.

And then…

[The 'Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' raises the question of whether Yeon-woo can handle the effects of being the Dull-Witted Father.]

[It warns you that your action is as foolish as the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young destroying all of its gathered achievements.]

"That's up to me to assess. You should just decide what quest you want to give me."

[The 'Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' looks at the Black King's ego with narrowed eyes.]

[The 'Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' wants to check whether your decision is real or not.]

"Fine."

[The power, 'Fantasy World' is revealed!]

[The fourth quest begins!]

Bam! Yeon-woo fell into a fantasy world created by the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.

***

[The Sub-Quest (Illusion of the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young) has been created!]

[Sub Quest / Illusion of the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young]

[Description: The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young grants fertility to creatures, but it is known to be full of insidious and vicious intentions.

From now on, free yourself from the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young's fantasy worldview. If you are unable to get out, you shall become fertilizer for the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.]

'Fertility? Goddess?' Yeon-woo raised himself while fighting off a tremendous headache.

The sunlight that was coming in through a window was warm. The unusually soft and comfortable bed was diametrically opposed to his head-splitting headache. Yeon-woo felt that he had dreamt a very long dream…but he could not remember what it was about. Then…

"Yeon-woo! Hey, Cha Yeon-woo! Can't you hear your mother telling you to get up and eat?"

A door swung open and Yeon-woo's mother came into the room. Though it was a face that he had seen countless times, Yeon-woo felt his mother's face seemed strangely nostalgic.

"Uh, Mom?"

"Were you up all night playing games again? Didn't I tell you to go to bed early? Ugh, you're already a senior in high school…!"

His mother wore an apron and had an angry expression for some reason. Yeon-woo wanted to ask why she was so angry.

'Ah…that's right. I stayed up all night playing video games.' Somehow, Yeon-woo remembered clearly what he had done throughout the night. However, he couldn't quite remember what he did until just now. It was as if his memory was waiting to be recalled. Was he still not fully awake?

"Come outside and eat breakfast. Dad and Jeong-woo are waiting for you."

"…Okay."

"And, just so you know, the internet is going to be cut off starting from today."

"M-Mom! What… No…!" Yeon-woo was startled and tried to stop his mother, but his mother had already gone to the kitchen without bothering to listen to her son's reply.

As Yeon-woo went out of his room, he saw Jeong-woo, who had narrowed his eyes in disapproval of not being invited to play games together last night. Yeon-woo also saw his father, who had put down his newspaper to strike a conversation with his mother.

"Oh, honey? Suddenly cutting off the internet… Can you please reconsider? I'll make sure to keep an eye on the kids… Huh?"

"How can you say such a thing in a situation like this? It's all because of you that the kids don't study and play all night. They're already at an age where they're finishing up high school!"

"No, wait, why are your sparks flying at me again…"

"You don't know? You're living with the computer by your side as well! You're the children's father, but you don't have the wherewithal to create an atmosphere conducive to their studies and learning!"

"T-That's because… It's not because I want to… I have no choice but to use the computer because the people at the company keep asking me for help…" Yeon-woo's father babbling quietly trailed off as he looked at Rhea's fiery gaze. "…Sorry. I'll shut up."

"Anyway, starting from today to the end of Yeon-woo and Jeong-woo's university entrance exam, all computer and internet access privileges have been taken away. Okay?"

"Uhm, honey? I have an important raid that I need to conduct this week!"

"Mom! What about my online courses? You yourself said that I'm a senior in high school! It's not good for my studies if I can't access critical information on the web!"

"Husband, shut up! Jeong-woo, I'll lend you my laptop."

His mother's laptop was so outdated that the only game that could be played on it was Minesweeper! While Jeong-woo silently screamed internally…

Drop. Drop. For whatever reason, Yeon-woo could not hold back his tears as he watched the family's common morning routine.