Ranker’s Return

[Felion’s Death Knight has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

After defeating the death knight, Hyeonu gave a thumbs up to Tang-E. However, Tang-E didn’t see it. It was because the battle against Felion wasn’t over yet.

‘It isn’t over yet?’

Even so, it seemed that it would be over for Felion the moment Tang-E’s magic hit him once. The damage caused by Tang-E’s attacks seemed insignificant, but the indirect damage caused by Roar was very great. A magician was too fragile. It was over for Felion unless he had a skill to regain his health like Edward.

‘I should let Tang-E finish it.’

Hyeonu decided to give Tang-E a chance. If Hyeonu used Mysterious Sky Steps to approach Felion and swing his sword, Felion would never be able to avoid it. There was no room to stop it. At the moment, Felion was only focused on Tang-E.

‘Now!’

An opportunity entered Hyeonu’s eyes when he was looking for a timing to intervene. Felion and Tang-E were both preparing magic. Tang-E’s hands were filled with golden lightning bolts while Felion was making a huge black spear. Just before Tang-E and Felion’s spells were completed, Hyeonu opened his mouth and called out, “Pepe!”

Hearing Hyeonu’s sudden shout, Tang-E turned his head as he released the lightning.

‘Pepe? Did he look at me just now and say, ‘Pepe’?’

Tang-E was determined to hold Master dude to account for calling him by a strange name. With this, he could get better treatment for at least two days.

‘Pepe?’ The familiar name broke Felion’s composure. “Pepe? Pepe!”

Pepe was the name of the bear his disciple had raised, and there was a big bear right in front of his eyes. It could’ve been a bear with the same name. However, Felion’s heart was blinded by the name Pepe, and he quickly abandoned such assumptions. Felion canceled the spell he was casting.

“Huup!” Felion bowed his head to endure the flow of bleeding. However, despite that effort, blood spilled out of Felion’s mouth. It was the recoil caused by the sudden cancelation of magic. Felion didn’t have time to worry about it though. His dead disciple’s masterpiece was now appearing in front of his eyes.

Once Felion finally raised his head, he saw a giant bear with a golden halo. ‘Pepe.’

The gold light pierced through Felion.

[Felion, the senior black magician, has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[The skill proficiency of Immovable Heart has increased to E-.]

[The skill proficiency of Pure Energy Manifestation has increased to E-.]

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.

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[The skill proficiency of Weapons Mastery has increased to A-.]

Hyeonu smiled at the dizzying message. He was thrilled. With this, the fifth main scenario had rounded the bend. The rebels were probably successfully blocked in the other castles. There were many guild members, so they were more advantageous in a large battle. The monopoly of the fifth main scenario, which he had originally thought to be a futile goal, was right in front of him.

Hyeonu picked up the items that Felion had dropped—a bracelet and a staff—and moved straight to where the battles were still continuing. A short time later, all the black magicians who came to Brigs were killed.

[-Wipe out the rebels 1/1]

[-Defend Brigs 1/1]

After the battle, Hyeonu met Earl Gennon. Earl Gennon had called Hyeonu over to thank him.

“Thank you. It was all thanks to you. You protected Brigs and minimized the damage. I have already reported this to His Majesty.”

Hyeonu’s face brightened upon hearing Earl Gennon’s words. A smile appeared on his face. It was an expression of satisfaction.

‘The favor is returned.’

Still, Hyeonu didn’t show it outwardly. Although his face couldn’t be seen, he still chose to only perform actions that NPCs would like.

“Why would you report to His Majesty? I was just visiting Brigs when the rebels showed up and I raised my hand to help.”

Hyeonu’s words brought a smile to Earl Gennon’s face. In the eyes of Earl Gennon, Hyeonu was a promising young man and a swordsman with excellent swordsmanship. A pillar of the next generation of the empire—Hyeonu was naturally skilled and his personality was perfect. 

“If it is you, then that must be it. Haha.” Earl Gennon laughed as he watched Hyeonu with satisfaction.

“Then I’ll be going. I think I have to see His Majesty.”

“Yes, go.”

***

Inside a small room, Choi Jisu stared at her laptop. These days, she was happy. At 10 years old, she could remember things from five years ago. Out of the five years she could remember, these days were the happiest. Her father, Choi Yoon, was streaming with her favorite Alley Leader. Additionally, Choi Yoon’s skills were getting better.

Choi Jisu was pleased and happy to see it.

“My daughter, what are you looking at?” Choi Yoon came to the hospital room and stroked Choi Jisu’s head. He had yet to tell Choi Jisu that her surgery had been scheduled. This was because he planned to get a bronze medal and reveal it in Alley Leader’s stream.

“Father? Are you coming again instead of playing Arena? Ehe, I said to work hard!”

Choi Yoon made a mock tearful face at Choi Jisu’s accusation. “My daughter, are you nagging me again? Haven’t I been working hard? I played for more than 10 hours yesterday. It is why I deserve to come and see you.”

Choi Yoon also felt that he was the happiest these days. His daughter’s mother, who was his other half, had died after giving birth to Choi Jisu. Then their daughter, Choi Jisu, became seriously ill. Now he was regaining his happiness.

“Really? Father, aren’t you better than you were before?” Choi Jisu’s eyes widened after hearing her father say he played for 10 hours.

“Of course. It’s true. I’m so good now. My daughter will be very surprised when she sees it in the next stream.”

“Then I’m looking forward to it. Seriously. I’m not joking.”

In Choi Yoon’s eyes, Choi Jisu was as cute as ever. She had such a pretty and lovely smile. Then he became angrier at his past self. He had given up everything and wasted time every day. Then Choi Yoon remembered a handsome young man.

‘Alley Leader.’

The gift who gave hope and laughter to him and his daughter—Alley Leader was no different from an angel. Choi Yoon smiled when he saw Choi Jisu, and she also smiled brightly back at him. 

‘Thank you so much.’ Choi Yoon conveyed his gratitude to Alley Leader and the sponsor whose identity was unknown.

***

Yusma, the capital of the Yusma Empire...

The emperor's palace was the most magnificent building in Yusma, and two men were standing inside it. One was the current emperor of Yusma, and the man standing in front of him was Hyeonu.

“So after investigating the positions of the rebels all over the empire, you directly stopped the rebels at Brigs. Is the document that I received true?” The emperor asked like it wasn’t a big deal.

There was enough time for Hyeonu to get used to it, but he still had a difficult time with the emperor. He knew the emperor was an NPC, but the peculiar strange atmosphere wasn’t easy to adapt to. “Yes, it is true. I received intelligence on the rebels from the adventurers and told other adventurers about the content. Then I took part in the elimination of the rebels from Brigs.”

“Kuhaha,” the emperor laughed loudly.

It was cool for Hyeonu to see.

“There are reports from Earl Gennon saying that you should be rewarded... What do you want to receive? Will you take a book from the library like you did the other day? Or do you want to receive battle gear? Tell me.”

Upon hearing the emperor’s words, Hyeonu’s head started to spin quickly. He thought about what he should receive as a reward. A weapon? Dark Star had a tremendous synergy with Hyeonu’s Mysterious Sky Demonic Art. If the weapon were changed and it wasn’t epic rated, there was a possibility that the damage of the changed weapon would be lower.

Armor? It didn’t make sense unless he got a set item.

Accessories such as rings and necklaces? He had enough rings. Then a necklace...

‘Yes, let’s change the necklace. I can’t wear the Symbol of the Meadow forever.’

The necklace given to Hyeonu by Dakan, fighter of the Meadow Wolf Tribe, was the Symbol of the Meadow.

[Symbol of the Meadow]

[A badge given by Fighter Daken to anyone who shows phenomenal skills. Contains the unique fighting energy of the Meadow Wolf Tribe.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: Acknowledged by Dakan.

Effect: Strength +100, Physique +50, fighting energy generated.]

It was a pretty good item. The necklace was an item he received early on, so Hyeonu felt bad. However, it was an item that other people didn’t have. The option to give the user ‘fighting energy’ meant it could probably be sold for astronomical amounts. If only it wasn’t for the wearer’s restrictions...

“A necklace—I want to receive a necklace.” Hyeonu finished his careful considerations and decided to receive a necklace.

“A necklace... Yes, I’ll give it to you.” The emperor clapped, and a man who appeared to be a servant quickly appeared.

The emperor spoke quietly to the servant. Once the emperor finished speaking, the servant bowed to him and moved so silently that not even his footsteps were heard. The servant then reappeared a short time later with a small box in his hand. He knelt down and handed the box to the emperor. Then the emperor gestured like he was calling for Hyeonu.

Hyeonu walked cautiously toward him.

“This is a reward for providing information about the rebels and reducing the damage to the empire."

[Defend Brigs has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

[7,500 imperial contributions have been acquired.] 

[The emperor’s gift has been acquired.]

Once the emperor finished speaking, Hyeonu naturally received the box from the emperor’s hands.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” 

The servant quickly disappeared in an instant, just like when he came in. Hyeonu was about to leave the emperor's palace when the emperor’s voice rang out again.

“You aren’t going to scream this time? The guards are firmly trained, but it is better to be careful.”

Underneath the mask, Hyeonu’s face was red.

***

Following the emperor’s advice, Hyeonu quickly left the imperial palace. The place where Hyeonu arrived was outside the walls of Yusma, a rare forest. Hyeonu usually walked around unmasked, or he at least took off all his items and moved around like ordinary players. It was because it was troublesome when people recognized Alley Leader. He was already a celebrity in the community. Putting aside Alley Leader, Hyeonu had gained his own reputation due to his traffic light fashion and the auction house event. The reputation was on the bad side though.

“Now, it is settlement time.” Hyeonu started to talk to himself like he was streaming. It was a habit that arose since he restarted Arena. He was always speaking to Tang-E or his audience, but he was alone right now. Sometimes he was ashamed of this habit.

“First, I have to check the items that Felion dropped.”

Hyeonu searched his inventory and pulled out a staff and bracelet.