It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 145

Chapter 145: Fight Only the Battles You Can Win (1)

“The guys roaming around this area in a pack…… They must be the Wolves.”

“Wolves, huh…… That’s a pain.”

Whale Forest Wolves.

Unlike the Black Leopard, they were magical beasts, so communication was possible.

However, just because they could talk didn’t guarantee they wouldn’t do anything, he said.

That’s because it was rare for Wolves to rush in like this except when they were 『hunting.』

Clack.

Kyung-joon and Ceram took a battle stance.

Soon.

“Growl.”

Rustle. Rustle.

Whale Forest Wolves sprang out from the bushes all around.

They drew closer, forming a circle, and Kyung-joon and Ceram prepared to manifest their heightened mana in some form.

Just as the clash was imminent.

“Growl, Grrr! Awooo!”

Suddenly, one Whale Forest Wolf howled powerfully.

‘This is the trigger that signals the start of the battle……!’ It wasn’t.

Hearing the wolf’s howl, Kyung-joon and Ceram relaxed their guard even more than before.

Their expressions were like, 『Ah, there they go again.』

That’s because the wolf’s words just now were roughly.

“Growl. Grrr, Kyung-joon growl?”

(I ask again. Are you Kyung-joon, the human who will solve our forest’s problem?)

It was something like that.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Thud. Thud.

A black beast, its fur stained crimson with blood, trudged through the forest.

Black Leopard. Once known as the pet of the demons during the Great Demon War.

With each step it took, thick, dark blood plopped onto the ground.

All results of the fierce battle with the Ranker 37th, SurvivalKing.

Fortunately, it managed to escape with its life, but…….

It was all meaningless now.

“Krrr……”

Thump.

Black Leopard collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

It had no strength left to carry on.

Its stamina was depleted, and its mana was completely drained.

As it lay there, blinking slowly, awaiting the inevitable embrace of death.

━My child. My child. Do you truly wish to die here? Kukkuk.

A sweet, alluring voice whispered, tickling its ears.

“Krrr……”

Black Leopard strained to open its dying eyes.

There, where it hadn’t noticed before, lay a jet-black crystal.

[Black Stone of Fury: 3rd Stage]

▶A black crystal imbued with intense rage. Upon absorption, the user is consumed by fury and rapidly ascends to the 3rd Promotion.

▶Surrender yourself to the anger. Annihilate everything that displeases you. -The Will of the Demon King lingering in the void-

▶Item Grade: Unique

It was as black as its own fur, yet transparent as if peering into one’s soul.

And from within, the voice continued.

━To be defeated by such a baseless otherworlder.

━To be ridiculed and called an abomination by other monsters.

━To meet such an end. Pfft.

━Are you truly content to die a cold and miserable death?

The voice, now a wave of crimson fury, washed over it.

Its fading heart reignited, pounding fiercely as blood oozed from every wound.

Its fleeting life, which might have lingered for a few more minutes, was rapidly draining away.

But like a final, brilliant blaze, it ignited a surge of strength.

That gave him the strength to move now.

“Krrr……!”

Black Leopard mustered every ounce of its remaining power and let out a low growl.

It dragged its battered body upright, taking one step, then another.

After three agonizing steps, it stood before the Black Stone.

━Kukuku…… Good.

The Demon King spoke.

━Devour it.

Crunch. Crunch.

With the last embers of its life,the Black Leopard savagely bit down on the Black Stone and swallowed.

[The Demon King’s Will ‘Fury’ begins to take root.]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

．

．

．

Flash!

Somewhere within the Whale Forest.

A light, not black but something else entirely, erupted, swallowing the surroundings and piercing the sky.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Wolf Deputy Leader said to Kyung-joon in Wolf Language.

“Recently, we’ve been losing ground in the territory competition with the Black Leopard. To make matters worse, we even lost our leader in the last territorial battle. Awooo!”

“Awooo!”

As the Wolf Deputy Leader howled mournfully at the loss of their leader, the other wolves howled along.

“Awooo!”

Kyung-joon also howled once with them.

“Anyway, is that why you came to me?”

He then spoke in fairly fluent Wolf Language.

Monster languages had a lot in common, so once he learned the first few, he picked up the others quickly.

Moreover, with the help of Ceram, it wasn’t strange for Kyung-joon to speak Wolf Language without much difficulty.

At Kyung-joon’s words, the Wolf Deputy Leader continued.

“That’s right. Grrr. I heard you’re amazing at solving the problems of the residents of our forest. Grrrr. If you help us, we’ll accept you as an honorary member of our pack! Awooo!”

[A quest has occurred.]

[The One Who Becomes the King of Whale Forest Wolves]

▶The Whale Forest Wolf pack is currently engaged in a fierce territory competition with a lone Black Leopard. However, they recently lost their pack leader in battle. Whale Forest Wolves are monsters that value hierarchy and act in packs. Without a leader recognized by all, not only will they be unable to properly compete for territory, but the pack itself may even split up.

▶Quest Reward: The deep trust of the Whale Forest Wolves

▶Quest Type: Sudden

▶Quest Grade: Unique

The quest window always popped up when he was giving advice to monsters about their problems.

[Quest accepted.]

Kyung-joon accepted the quest familiarly and asked immediately.

“The first problem is deciding who will be the king, right?”

“That’s right! Awooo!”

“Something like this must have happened before…… How did the previous leader become the leader? Do you know?”

“The previous leader defeated the leader before him! Grrr! And then I was acknowledged by him and became the Deputy Leader. Grrr.”

“Then can’t you just be the leader?”

“Grrr! That’s not possible, Grrr! The position of the leader must be recognized by everyone in the pack! The Deputy Leader can be someone licked by the leader, but the leader’s position cannot be like that, Grrr! Otherwise, no one in the pack will acknowledge him! Awooo!”

“The strongest is the leader! Awooo!”

In other words, the position of leader was earned through one’s own strength, while the Deputy Leader was appointed by that leader.

Kyung-joon pondered and asked Ceram next to him for his opinion.

“Hmm… Ceram, do you have any good ideas? I have one simple one.”

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking what I’m thinking?”

“What is Ceram thinking?”

“Wouldn’t one sentence be enough? Just say 『Kill each other now.』”

“Ah…… that’s a bit……”

“A bit much, right?”

“Yes.”

It was certainly a simple, but not very efficient method.

“Awooo! That’s a great idea! Awooo!”

“A sacred duel! Grrr! A bloody battle where only the strong survive! Grrr!”

However, the wolves seemed to think differently and exclaimed in admiration.

“No, we can’t do that.”

Kyung-joon said absurdly, stopping the wolves.

“It’s pointless to kill each other to choose a king.”

“It’s okay, Grrr. We won’t really kill each other, Grrr. The one standing until the very end is our new leader and king! Awooo!”

“Awooo!”

It was a headache.

If this continued, it was clear that there would only be a meaningless waste of power in order to choose a leader.

They said they wouldn’t kill each other, but there would definitely be some who would get seriously injured.

Kyung-joon shook his head and stood in front of the wolves.

“If you put ten of them in a fight and only one survives, the other nine excellent warriors will be unusable. I heard you’re already losing ground in the territory battle, so if you keep this up, you’re going to lose it all. Poof. It would be better to think of another way. Not fighting.”

“Grrr! But I don’t listen to anyone weaker than me! Grrr!”

“Me neither! Grrr!”

“That’s right! Grrr! The only way to decide the strongest is to fight! Awooo!”

“Awooo!”

Whale Forest wolves, who value hierarchy within their pack.

Just as they said, there was no choice but to fight in order to choose the strong leader who would lead the pack.

However, Kyung-joon decided to break that premise altogether.

“A strong one…… No, let’s just choose the leader later. Come to think of it, the urgent thing is not to choose a leader or a king, but to recover the lost territory.”

“Awoo?”

The wolves don’t understand Kyung-joon’s sudden suggestion.

“I mean, let’s decide on the hierarchy and the leader later after we recover the territory, whether we fight or beat them up, and for now, let’s decide how to fight. The urgent thing right now is to recover the lost territory rather than the leader, right?”

“Growl……! But without a leader, we cannot fight together! We can move as one by receiving orders from the leader, growl!”

Kyung-joon thought this was the perfect time and spoke the words he had prepared in advance.

“Does the strongest leader always have to give that order?”

“Growl……?”

Shouldn’t the order naturally be given by the strongest leader?

The wolves were dumbfounded by Kyung-joon’s statement, which completely overturned the existing common sense.

“Listen carefully.”

Before they could say anything, Kyung-joon quickly added.

“The strongest one has to go to the front and fight in the mud, so when will they give orders and all that? Rather, the order should be given by someone who is not fighting and is watching the war situation from behind.”

The person who briefs or gives orders in a raid doesn’t necessarily have to be the leader of the party.

No, in the first place, the party leader should not be the strongest person, but the person who gives briefings and orders neatly and quickly.

“Especially since wolves are creatures that hunt together in groups, wouldn’t it be much better to fight if the wisest one, rather than the strong one, leads the pack?”

Come to think of it, if this is the case, instead of the strongest one, the wisest one can be chosen as the leader.

‘I thought everything would be okay with this……’

At Kyung-joon’s words, the wolf Deputy Leader made a troubled expression.

“Growl…… That’s true…… but our wolves follow the strong more than the wise, growl.”

Even humans don’t follow well if they think they are below them, and wolves, who live and die by hierarchy, were no less likely to do so.

However, Kyung-joon had already come up with a solution to this.

“Then I’ll show you.”

Seeing is believing.

It’s enough to keep explaining until your mouth hurts.

“If I show you that the wise can defeat the strong, you’ll all be convinced, right?”

Kyung-joon was thinking of letting the wolves experience firsthand that wisdom is stronger than strength.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Five slender-looking wolves that look weak to anyone.

VS

In contrast, five wolves that look strong and sturdy.

Kyung-joon suggested this mock battle.

A fight where it’s obvious who will win.

“Growl! This is too obvious!”

The other wolves naturally thought that the latter, who looked stronger at a glance, would win.

Here, Kyung-joon devised a plan using ‘wisdom’ to make the former, who seemed destined to lose, win.

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