Ranker’s Return

-This battle really shows Alley Leader is superior.

-It is really different. In a few months, he will be ranked number one in the arena.

-If you’re addicted to Alley Leader, then you won’t go see any other streams. In particular, the close range...

-Sympathy. It feels like I’m losing my eyes. My level is dropping. I’d rather watch the concept streamers.

The viewers watching the battle between Hyeonu and Held praised Hyeonu but there were also some who didn’t praise him. Hyeonu showed an overwhelming battle against a named NPC. He was clearly pushed in firepower because he couldn’t use the strong force that was called pure energy.

The footsteps which formed every time he was hit and pushed back proved it. The difference between sword energy and pure energy was clear, even if the magic power stat was high. It was even worse if it was in a showdown with a NPC.

NPCs were different from players and got the correction of the system. If they had the same stats, then the NPC would unconditionally win. Hyeonu made up for the difference with all types of skills. The proper use of Mysterious Sky Steps and Blink avoided a direct collision with the pure energy.

They collided, and Hyeonu had to pour out all his skills. It went from Heavy Blow to Magic Power Explosion. The thing Hyeonu wanted was time. Held had the knight class, but he wasn’t a normal knight. He was a knight who used magic power with the dark attribute. 

Nevertheless, he was still ultimately a knight—a knight with insufficient magic power. He was different from the Knight of Keon.

‘Just a bit more. A bit more...’

Finally, the time came for Hyeonu. The pure energy around Held’s sword started to blur.

‘Now!’

Unlike before, Hyeonu launched aggressive attacks. Compared to the perfect form of pure energy, the current pure energy was enough for Hyeonu’s sword energy to handle.

“Kuoock.” 

Hyeonu’s sword energy clanged as it collided with Held’s long sword. The result was as Hyeonu expected. It was Held, not Hyeonu, who was being pushed back. The incomplete strength couldn’t endure Hyeonu’s sword energy, which was strengthened by all types of skills.

‘One blow is all that is needed for a human anyway.’

Hyeonu was aiming for only one blow. It wasn’t even a big skill. As long as he successfully attacked Held once, this battle would unconditionally be Hyeonu’s victory. Hyeonu had ridiculous attack power against humanoid monsters. He was more powerful against NPCs and regular players.

The reason for that was simple. NPCs and players basically had lower health than monsters. They made up for it with armor that increased their defense. However, Hyeonu’s defense penetration level was so high that he almost ignored his opponent’s defense. In other words, someone capable of being Hyeonu’s opponent would have high physical strength, not high defense.

The black moon-shaped sword energy shot from Hyeonu’s sword flew toward Held in a terrifying manner. Held used a minimal amount of magic power to bounce back the sword energy flying toward him.

‘Ugh.’

It was more powerful than he thought. There was more power than expected, and Held barely held back his groan. It was frustrating. Although magic power couldn’t be used to overpower him, Lebron’s disciple in front of him seemed to have unlimited magic power. Despite pulling out sword energy that became several meters long, the man didn’t seem to be running out of magic power at all.

‘I have to make a decision this time...’

Held prepared for the final blow. He wanted to fight more, but he didn’t have the power to do so. There was only enough magic power left to use a single skill.

‘I have to use it...’

Held decided to use his hidden skill with that magic power. This skill was learned through a book by chance. No one in Alkyl knew its origins.

“Hap!” Held let out a short cry and rushed toward Hyeonu. Held’s feet moved quickly. Simultaneously, his movements started to become bizarre. Hyeonu was astonished when he saw Held’s movements. This was because Hyeonu knew them well.

‘Mysterious Sky Steps!’

It was similar to the Mysterious Sky Steps skill he learned. It wasn’t the same skill, but the framework was definitely similar. This surprise was brief. Hyeonu couldn’t help smiling. ‘Hopefully I’ll be able to get a clue about that quest.’

He had a premonition that as long as he killed Held, there would be hints about the ‘Successor of the Mysterious Demonic Martial Art’ quest that he had no information on.

[Mysterious Sky Steps has been used.]

[Movement speed has increased.]

Hyeonu used the Mysterious Sky Steps. He chose to fight back against Held’s strange movements with the Mysterious Sky Steps. The reason for that was simple.

‘This is the best big picture.’

At first glance, it was a battle between an NPC with a great mobility skill and a player who used a similar or better mobility skill. It was a close melee battle between the two of them. Hyeonu could imagine the sound of the views rising. Unlike Hyeonu who fell into the imagination of a sweet future, Held couldn’t shut his mouth.

‘How is he using this technique?’

Abyss Movement—this was the name Held gave the technique he got from the book written in unknown characters. The idea was that his movement while using the technique was similar to the demons’ movement seen in books. Since he gained it, his magic power acquired the dark attribute. Now he met someone who used this technique. It was also Lebron’s disciple.

“How do you have this technique?!”

Hyeonu ignored Held’s screams. Instead, he wielded his single-edged sword silently.

Mysterious Sky Steps was a secret that couldn’t be disclosed in the stream. The weapons of Hyeonu and Held continued to collide. Held stepped back to use the skill he gained from Abyss Movement, Abyss Storm. However, this was Held’s misjudgment. It was a mistake because he didn’t know about Hyeonu’s magic power control. As Held was squeezing out all the magic power in his body to use Abyss Storm, he saw Hyeonu wield the broken single-edged sword in the distance.

‘It is too late.’

The Abyss Storm would be completed before the single-edged sword reached him. Held certainly believed it would be the case. At least, until he saw the sword energy rise from Hyeonu’s sword in an instant. A black snake appeared. The snake that rose from Hyeonu’s single-edged sword crossed the air and pierced Held’s neck.

“Keuk...!”

This was the vain end of Alkyl’s third knight division captain, Held.

[The Third Knight Division Captain, Held has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

“Phew...”

It was a really tough fight. The biggest problem was the pure energy. Held was strong. However, the monsters Hyeonu had dealt with so far were also formidable, so Hyeonu didn’t feel pushed too much. He was just helpless when it came to pure energy. Hyeonu couldn’t respond properly. It made people subconsciously think of the power of items and leveling up.

‘It was roughly twice as powerful as Reina.’

“I’m going to have to do the third class advancement...”

Hyeonu was burning with desire for his third class advancement when Tang-E and Sunny, who had been hiding in the distance, approached.

“Master dude, good work.”

“Wow, you really killed him alone!!!” Sunny admired Hyeonu. The gap between the video and reality was huge. Alley Leader in the video was just amazing. Amazing—that was the feeling. Sunny became a fan because he made the impossible possible. In fact, it was worth it to see Alley Leader’s battle. He won against a humanoid boss monster, which was considered the most difficult of all boss monsters.

‘He’s such a great guy.

As always, Tang-E picked up the items that had fallen to the ground and climbed onto Hyeonu’s shoulders.

“A book and a sword came out, Master dude.” Tang-E extended the edge of the sword toward Hyeonu like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Ack! What is this crazy bear doing?” Hyeonu was frightened by the long sword that suddenly appeared in front of him.

This brought pleasure to Hyeonu’s millions of viewers.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The pet worthy of its master.

-When did this turn into a concept stream? I thought he was going to show his skills.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I don’t know how he can fight well when he is scared like that.

-Isn’t this a different thing? 

-But seeing him scared is really funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Leader Groupie has gifted you 999 gold coins.

-Tang-E is the Best has gifted you 1111 gold coins.

Gold coins burst out in exchange for the great sight.

It was twice as many as usual.

Hyeonu realized he was streaming only after seeing the messages that filled the screen.

‘Ah, how many of them saw this?’ 

It was a moment when Hyeonu was once again thankful he was wearing a mask. He vowed to never take off his mask until he made his professional debut.

‘This dark history...’

Hyeonu stopped thinking about it and received the sword and the book from Tang-E. As he confirmed the item information, Hyeonu forgot the dark history. The dark history wasn’t worth much compared to these items.

It almost seemed like the light flowed from the sword to Hyeonu’s eyes.

“Everyone, it is a big jackpot.”

***

A sudden message appeared in front of all players involved in the main scenario.

[Held, the Third Knight Division Captain, has been killed.]

The players were baffled. Suddenly, a knight captain had died. What was the reason? It was like a thunderbolt falling from the dry sky. All of the players gathered here were looking forward to the rewards of the main scenario. To do so, they had to kill one or more of the huge walking items called the rebel executives.

Yet such an executive had died without them knowing the reason why. The moment he saw the message, Yeongchan scolded someone, “Crazy bastard.” 

‘I didn’t see it, but it must be Gang Hyeonu.’

At this point, there was only one player capable of making trouble in the castle—Alley Leader.

“Hyung-nim, who is it—the person who killed the knight captain?” A guild member asked him.

“Do you have to ask? It is Alley Leader. That jerk. It is obvious without looking.”

***

“Is it my dongsaeng? He went by himself and did this...”

“His strength is sufficient. We won’t be able to see anything if we’re late, Hyung-nim.” 

“You’re right. We also have to use cheap tricks.”

Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu looked pleased unlike their words.

***

“Is this true?” Jung Hanbaek looked flustered.

“It is Alley Leader. I got this from the front desk, so it is certain. They can’t be wrong because he is streaming live,” Mascherano said, nailing in the wedge.

“I see,” Jung Hanbaek responded with a grin, unlike his screams inside. ‘Why is it that bastard?!! Why?!!’

Even so, Mascherano knew that Jung Hanbaek wasn’t smiling. ‘If you don’t have an eye for people, you will suffer.’

“Reina, we will go ahead or we will just be wringing our hands. Shouldn’t we get something this time?”

“Yes, let’s go quickly.”

***

“Master, my older brother has killed the captain of the Third Knights Division,” Mason, the disciple of the Great Magician Suped, spoke with a bright expression.

“You mean him? That Held guy?”

“I don’t know. He is just the Third Knight Division captain.”

Mason’s words caused Suped’s expression to change. He was surprised that Hyeonu’s performance was stronger than he thought.

‘No, it is expected since he passed through Laek.’

Suped admitted it but this didn’t mean that his surprise disappeared.

“Disciple, can your brother use pure energy?”

“Pure energy? He probably can’t use it. His level is insufficient.”

“Then how did he beat Held?”

Suped’s surprise turned into amazement. Knights who couldn’t use pure energy would lose 100 times if they competed with knights who could use pure energy. There was no particular reason. They just lost no matter how they fought. This was the common sense of Suped and the continent.

‘Perhaps if Lebron fought against an adventurer...’

Of course, there were exceptions. However, this meant that Lebron’s disciple had the same talent as Lebron. “He is truly a monster, a monster.”