Ranker’s Return

Choi Yoon and Hyeonu talked outside the hospital room. 

“You know it’s a streaming day today?”

“Yes, but why today...”

Hyeonu already heard from Nike that Choi Yoon knew he was Alley Leader.

“I just came by. I had to come to the hospital anyway. Jisu... She is a cute child. She is very kind. It is a pity that such a child is sick.”

Choi Yoon didn’t know why Jisu’s name emerged from Hyeonu’s mouth, but he kept listening.

“The date of the surgery has been set. It’s next Friday. Next Monday will be your last stream. By Monday night or Tuesday lunchtime at the latest, both you and your daughter will be on a flight to the United States.”

The moment Hyeonu finished speaking, Choi Yoon fell to his knees. He had lost all strength in his legs. Then he bowed to Hyeonu and said ‘thank you’ repeatedly. Hyeonu grabbed Choi Yoon’s shoulders and shook him. “You don’t have to thank me because I’m not the one paying for Jisu’s treatment. It is an anonymous sponsor. You’ll probably find out who it is by the time you leave.”

Hyeonu hid that he had paid for Choi Jisu’s surgery. The reason for it was simple.

‘I’m embarrassed.’

He was embarrassed to say that he had read Choi Yoon’s story and paid for the surgery. It felt like he was showing off for some reason. Thus, he hid it. He would reveal it when Choi Yoon wasn’t in South Korea and couldn’t find Hyeonu.

“Then I’ll see you in Arena. Do you know the arena room information? It is still the same. Don’t forget it and come in. You are going to learn something new today,” Hyeonu told Choi Yoon this and left quickly.

Even now, his face felt hot.

“I understand,” Choi Yoon replied quietly toward Hyeonu’s back. Hyeonu waved his hand when he heard Choi Yoon’s answer. He arrived at the hospital’s parking lot and got into a red car. Hyeonu’s mind was already full of what he would teach Choi Yoon today.

“Hope, let’s go home.”

***

It was an hour before Hyeonu’s stream started. Choi Yoon had already met up with him in the arena. It was for Hyeonu to explain what he couldn’t talk about in detail during the stream.

“You must be determined. Today, you will learn about the basics of fighting. I taught you the counter last time because it takes the longest time to practice. Today, I want to improve your basic skills. Oh, have you seen the video of the livestream with Dwayne?”

Choi Yoon nodded slightly at Hyeonu’s words. 

“Then you’ll know. What did I do the most with Dwayne?”

“Sparring...”

“That’s right. Choi Yoon, you will spar with me a lot today, just like Dwayne did.” 

Choi Yoon’s face turned pale at Hyeonu’s words. When Choi Yoon watched Dwayne’s video, he felt that he should never fight with Hyeonu. This was because Hyeonu fought well and mercilessly. He picked the worst places and attacked. Perhaps he could be blocked once, but it would be hard to block him twice.

“I have to do it...?” Choi Yoon couldn’t help wondering.

Hyeonu replied like it was natural, “Of course. This will continue for a long time. I will spar even if a magician comes. In the end, the goal is to win in the arena.”

Choi Yoon felt resigned after hearing Hyeonu’s explanation. He thought he had to do it anyway, so it was better to give up early.

“Then take this sword.” 

Choi Yoon pulled out the Dwarf’s Single-edged Sword that had been converted to the Dwarf’s Sword.

“Think of it as a real ranking battle and do it as usual. You don’t have to worry because I’ll control the level.”

After Hyeonu’s words, Choi Yoon took a deep breath and drew his sword, swinging it at Hyeonu’s poor-looking sword. Choi Yoon’s sword bounced off Hyeonu’s sword, and Hyeonu moved immediately.

‘Slow!’

Hyeonu’s movements weren’t as fast as what Choi Yoon had seen in the video. Choi Yoon was confident that Hyeonu’s movement was slower than he thought and blocked Hyeonu’s attack. It was Turning Over the Ground. This time, it was Hyeonu who was pushed out.

Choi Yoon attempted to attack Hyeonu who stepped back. It was a neat stab that aimed at Hyeonu’s shoulder. However, Hyeonu wasn’t easily beaten. Choi Yoon’s stab was directly caught by Hyeonu’s sword.

‘Is it like this?’ Choi Yoon was shocked.

He had never heard of blocking a stab like this, let alone seen it with his own eyes. The two men’s weapons vibrated. Choi Yoon couldn’t withstand the aftermath of the tremor and dropped his sword to the ground. He quickly picked up the sword from the ground and took a posture.

Hyeonu said to Choi Yoon, “Your skills have improved since the last time. I can see how hard you’ve tried, but it isn’t enough. Since you don’t have enough items and are lacking skills, you need to work hard to improve your basic skills. So far, it has only been a warm-up. From now on, I’ll move to the bronze level. You have to go through this level and win the ranking battles to get a bronze medal.”

The moment Hyeonu’s words finished, his movements changed. He was moving much faster than before. Choi Yoon barely dodged Hyeonu’s attack. It wasn’t anything big. The attack was just a simple slash, but Choi Yoon found it hard to prevent even this. Choi Yoon was helpless in front of the overwhelming stat difference.

“Do you know why I taught you the counter? In your current state, the higher the ranking, the more helpless you will be. You’ll fall in despair at the high stats difference, just like now.” 

Choi Yoon gritted his teeth at Hyeonu’s words. Hyeonu was speaking the truth. It was why Choi Yoon hadn’t stayed in the arena prior to meeting Hyeonu. Every time he encountered a player with expensive items, he felt a terrible sense of deprivation.

“Still, things will be different now. A week of learning is never short. You just have to believe in me and follow me. Choi Yoon, I will lead you to obtain a bronze medal,” Hyeonu declared. His face was full of confidence. It wasn’t a bluff. Hyeonu had real confidence.

‘Is fatherhood the foundation?’

Choi Yoon’s improvement was surprising. In the last stream, he couldn’t even use the right counter. After a few days of practice, he could counter a single blow against someone of the same level. The problem was that the gap between Choi Yoon and the bronze medal was very large. It was disappointing but not impossible.

‘Three days...’

There was still plenty of time.

“Now you have to adapt to this speed. If you can’t win against existing bronze medalists, then you can never get a bronze medal. It is only by lowering their ranking that you can enter that spot.”

***

The hour passed by quickly. It was now time for the stream to start.

“Then let’s take a 10-minute break. I will start streaming now. I have to do the stream continuously, so keep thinking while resting.”

Choi Yoon was weary and disappeared after Hyeonu’s words. He logged out. Hyeonu stared at the place where Choi Yoon disappeared for a moment before turning on the streaming mode. Today, he turned it on straight away without creating a waiting room. He had forgotten to turn it on in advance while practicing with Choi Yoon. Hyeonu thought about it. He needed something stimulating to attract people’s attention.

‘Yes, I can do this.’

[Common Arena Swordsman’s Bronze Medal Challenge]

“It is frustrating. Frustrating.”

The title of the streaming was just right to attract aggro. The power of the title soon appeared.

“Hello everyone. I am Alley Leader. It is nice to see you.”

-Hi hi.

-Hello.

-I’m looking for something fun today.

-I waited for Monday and Friday only to see this.

-Me too. I’ve been waiting for Friday.

The viewers seemed to be waiting as they entered Hyeonu’s stream. The number of viewers exploded. It quickly exceeded 100,000 people. The power of the provocative title was great. There might be the name of ‘Alley Leader’, but the viewers didn’t usually gather so quickly. The 10-minute waiting room normally maintained between 100,000 and 150,000 viewers at the start. 

“Do you know what’s on today? I’m going to do the Alley Leader Academy like last time. It is just like the title.”

-Good, good. A common arena swordsman.

-Kya... 

-If I watch today’s streaming, will I be able to get a bronze medal?

-Eh, no way. Go back.

-It isn’t possible. Why? It will be indirect learning. You have to learn it yourself.

The audience’s reaction was better than the last stream. Most of the viewers would be in the same or a similar situation to Choi Yoon. As time passed, they responded more favorably than Choi Yoon.

‘He’s here.’

The protagonist Choi Yoon finally appeared.

“Then let’s meet the protagonist of the day. Come in.”

Once Choi Yoon appeared, the viewers cheered him on.

-Uncle, have strength.

-Common swordsman, have strength!

-Aim for the bronze medal. Lightly.

-We can do it too!!

“Yes, thank you for the support. I’ll work hard.” Choi Yoon looked at Hyeonu’s chat window and clenched his fists.

“What is my second student going to learn today? Let’s learn how to fight against a bronze medalist and win. How can you deal with opponents who have higher stats than you? I’m going to teach this. It is easy to do. You just have to practice until you’re used to it.”

Hyeonu’s explanation was simple. They just had to learn with their body. If it didn’t work, then practice until it worked. If a person had no talent, then their body had to suffer.

-Uncle, control your face.

-Would you be able to if it was you? You have to be beaten up.

-It is easy to give up. Just accept it.

-He won’t be merciful anyway. Resign yourself to it.

Choi Yoon already knew this, but he couldn’t help his face falling at Hyeonu’s confirmation.

“Then I will start the practice straight away. Before that, the viewers may not know it well, so I prepared the data of an average bronze medalist.”

Hyeonu played one video. The video was a common arena ranking video. Both men in the video had finished their second class advancement, and their sword energies clashed. Both men’s attacks were quick and powerful.

“This is a video of players who recently became bronze medalists. I will only move according to this standard.”

-I can see the future.

-A sandbag. Isn’t this too much?

-It is true that the last person I met was really like this...

-Poor man... Have strength.

Hyeonu shrugged at the reaction of the viewers. “Everyone, if anyone sees your words, they’ll think I’m just beating people up.”

-Then what?

-It is obvious even without looking.

-How shameless.

-Call Tang-E and add a buff to the uncle.

-Shouldn’t you be soft at first?

Hyeonu didn’t budge even upon seeing the audience’s words.

Rather, he spoke more shamelessly. “He can’t receive Tang-E’s buffs before the ranking battle anyway. What is the point of receiving it now? He’ll encounter an opponent like this eventually. Therefore, he has to practice like this early on in order to get used to it, right?”

After these words, Hyeonu no longer spoke. He started training with Choi Yoon.