Chapter 24
Ka-kak!
“What the hell is this guy?”
“Hiss!”
I blocked the unknown man’s throwing dagger and he clicked his tongue.
So he really thought a surprise attack would work?
Sorry, but this dwarf isn’t just any dwarf—he’s the kind who can churn out golden eggs like a madman.
Did he really think I’d let a dwarf like that die so easily?
Thanks to Harun’s purification I’d recovered my condition, but this man had taken the Corpse-Ghost Blast head-on with no countermeasures.
Yet here he was, moving just fine and even hurling hidden weapons.
Damn. This one’s no amateur.
“Don’t get in my way!”
He gathered mana and drew another short dagger from his cloak. A faint aura flickered around the blade.
But after taking that poison, the aura was a wreck.
If he keeps that up, he’ll drop in one strike.
Only an idiot tries to raise mana after being hit by Corpse-Ghost poison.
The more mana you force, the faster the toxin floods your body.
He had to know that.
But he had no choice.
The guards would rush in when they heard the explosion, and things would only get worse.
Harun hefted his massive hammer and asked me,
“Can you handle him?”
With his pure-blood skill, he’d have an easier time against ghouls than against a human.
And for me, one half-dead man was simpler than a pack of ghouls.
“Yeah. Just don’t kill him—we need to question him.”
“Khaha! Then he’s yours!”
Harun turned his back on me and charged the ghouls.
“Rest in peace!”
The people who’d turned into ghouls were already dead. Stopping their movements quickly was the last courtesy to the departed.
Crunch!
The heavy hammer crushed a ghoul’s skull in one blow, dropping it instantly.
“You… bastard…!”
The stranger glared at me like he wanted me dead, his complexion darkening by the second.
“Forget them. Let’s finish this.”
“I’ll kill you!”
His dagger darted toward my vitals—swift, precise.
But the poison had already sapped his strength.
I didn’t know his exact rank, but this fight was manageable.
The iron law of “Rank Rules the World”:
a lower rank can’t beat a higher rank.
So just drag a higher rank down until he’s as weak as a lower one.
I tracked his blade and parried each strike.
Once, I could barely follow such speed with my eyes—now, my body kept up.
Yeah… I can move like I should again.
His dagger slashed for my ribs, wrist, thigh—erratic, vicious—but each attack barely missed.
I refused to counter too soon. Time was on my side.
“Coward! Fight me head-on!”
“No thanks. You look like you’ll drop any minute.”
The longer it went, the clearer his movements became—not because I’d grown stronger, but because the poison kept weakening him.
Impressive that he’s still this strong even while poisoned.
If we were both healthy, I might have lost.
But who cares?
Honor? Chivalry? Not interested.
Winning is what matters.
“Cough!”
He finally hacked up blood, stumbling.
The toxin had reached its limit.
Now!
I raised my sword and shifted my stance.
Start light.
Not the swordplay of my past max-level Valhalla days.
No—time to recall the scrappy, low-level style from when I was weak and desperate.
I swung with steady, killing intent—no flourish, no greed.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
His stubby dagger clashed with my blade.
I focused on those old memories: the nameless, ragged swordsmanship of someone who’d do anything to survive.
A style with no name, only the will to kill.
End it. Kill the enemy.
I gathered every ounce of strength and struck.
Sure, I longed to unleash an Aura Sword, but I couldn’t.
This body of Ian Impera wasn’t ready for that.
Instead I funneled mana only at the instant of impact—like flicking a switch.
Delicate control, but well within my ability.
Clang!
“Graaah!”
Each clash forced him back, his aura dimming further.
Blood soaked his mouth; his skill was gone.
Soon he had nowhere left to retreat.
My blade nicked his wrist.
Slice!
“Argh!”
His right hand—dagger and all—flew into the air, spraying blood before it hit the floor.
He still had his left, and tried desperately to grab the weapon.
I didn’t give him the chance.
“Had enough?”
“Ghhk…!”
He groaned in fury but had no strength to resist.
He collapsed to his knees.
The fight was over. I’d won.
Just then the city guards burst into the tavern.
“What’s going on here?!”
Crunch!
At the same time Harun smashed the last ghoul’s head.
Only three of us remained: me, Harun, and the kneeling stranger clutching his severed arm.
A little showmanship never hurts.
I let a faint smile slip, then quickly replaced it with a stern expression.
“You dare commit such heinous acts—and use forbidden magic besides!”
I raised my sword.
The kneeling man cried out in panic.
“W-wait! Forbidden magic? That wasn’t me!”
I leaned close and whispered so only he could hear.
“I know.”
“W-what—”
Slash!
My sword traced a clean arc.
His head lifted from his shoulders and rolled across the floor.
“Young master!”
The guards recognized me and saluted—
I’d caused enough scandals that even soldiers from neighboring territories knew my face.
“Why is the young master here… and what happened?”
The tavern where we’d been sharing a quiet drink now looked like hell.
Blood and flesh everywhere, the ghouls’ skulls pulverized by Harun’s hammer.
The bodies were so mangled no one could identify them.
“Uuurrgh!”
Some guards gagged at the sight.
Thanks to Harun’s pure-blood skill, the Corpse-Ghost poison was fully cleansed.
They’d only vomit; no one would turn into a ghoul.
I lifted the freshly severed head.
The dead man’s expression still radiated outrage.
Who was he?
Clearly they’d come for Harun.
Anyone who could fight like that while poisoned wasn’t ordinary.
I searched his body for clues and found one:
an earring engraved with a raven.
A raven emblem…
I recalled a group that used that mark: the Geo Clan, active in the Isother and Karaden kingdoms.
Judging by his skill, he wasn’t just a grunt.
If an ordinary member fought this well, the Geo Clan’s reputation would be even darker.
From the novel’s plot, only one person fit that level:
their leader, Geo Crisini.
The earring’s quality confirmed it.
Heh. A big catch indeed.
In the original story he appeared early on, a rank-4 mid-boss who served as protagonist Dia’s experience fodder.
In Rank Up and Rule the World, the fastest way to gain rank was to kill someone of higher rank—
normally near impossible, unless the target was weakened by poison or the like.
Killing him might not raise my rank outright, but it was still a significant boost.
But this isn’t the time to celebrate.
I masked my thoughts and held the head aloft.
“This villain plotted a vile scheme! Ever heard of the Corpse-Ghost Blast?”
“Corpse-Ghost Blast!”
One guard—his helmet topped with a horn, probably the captain—looked horrified.
“What’s that, Captain?” another asked.
“You don’t know? It’s a forbidden black-magic technique—a corpse bomb!”
“Gasp! T-that’s what this was?!”
The others gaped.
They clearly knew the legend of corpse bombs.
“You—you just vomited, didn’t you?”
“Eh? You puked too!”
“No! I only… ate some bad dinner…”
The Corpse-Ghost Blast ends in bloody vomit.
Everyone present understood its terror.
“It’s fine. The poison was burned away and purified.”
“R-right… ha ha…”
“You—I remember you reaching for your sword just now,” someone muttered.
The captain kicked the corpse.
“If a high-ranker unleashed that in the capital, thousands would die. What filth!”
“Truly despicable!”
“Thank the heavens you were here, young master! If not… I can’t even imagine!”
“It’s nothing. As a son of House Impera, protecting citizens is my duty. I only regret we couldn’t save more.”
“Ah… young master!”
The captain’s eyes brimmed with emotion.
Inside, I smirked.
Yes. This is it.
Ian may be known as a drunken wastrel, but this feat would spark good rumors—
useful for someone destined to govern a territory.
“Hmm…”
Harun, though, didn’t look pleased.
“Young master? And who might this be…?”
The captain tilted his head at the dwarf, clearly seeing one for the first time.
“Don’t worry. He’s my friend.”
“Ah, I see! Then…”
The captain gestured toward the mangled corpses, asking permission to start the cleanup.
I nodded lightly, and the guards began clearing the tavern.
“….”
“What’s wrong, friend?”
“Sorry… because of me—mph!”
I clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Later. Too many eyes right now.”
He nodded awkwardly.
“Right… later.”
And with that, I’d placed a heavy debt on him—a solid step toward recruiting this dwarf to my side.
