Ranker’s Return

The monster that appeared was literally a monster. It was a monster in a different sense from the monsters Hyeonu had encountered in the past. This one made anyone who saw it frown involuntarily. It was a six-meter-tall monster with rock-like muscles and skin as dark as night. Additionally, its face was really ugly. If an ogre were to stand next to the monster, the ogre would be called handsome.

‘It looks really dirty.’

It was the first time Hyeonu had seen such a monster. He had never seen it in Arena’s communities. Hyeonu wondered if he was the first one to discover this monster. However, Hyeonu knew the monster’s name and identity. The system message had kindly told him that the monster was a low-grade demonic creature, the lomelon.

[You have been exposed to the spirit of the low-grade demonic creature, the lomelon.]

[The influence of fighting energy has allowed you to ignore the spirit of the low-grade lomelon.]

This was the message window that emerged in front of Hyeonu.

‘I don’t think I can hunt it.’

Seeing that Hyeonu could ignore the CC that was similar to Fear, the lomelon didn’t seem to be an opponent like Raccoon. Then mysteriously, Hyeonu started to calm down. It took less than a second for his stiff body and mind to return to its usual state.

‘I need to kill it quickly and purify my eyes.’

“Tang-E, buff me.” Hyeonu tapped on the cheeks of the disoriented Tang-E. However, Tang-E didn’t come to his senses despite Hyeonu’s actions. Fortunately, Tang-E subconsciously used the buffs on Hyeonu.

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

[You have received Breath of the Wind.]

[Your agility has risen.]

[Movement speed has increased.]

‘This is why it was pushed onto me.’

Hyeonu felt it now. This was the reason why Hugo and Manong asked him to investigate the cave. Perhaps they couldn’t do it themselves. It was terrible to know there were monsters like this.

‘I have to finish it as quickly as possible.’

Hyeonu quickly pulled out his single-edged sword. Then Hyeonu became disoriented at the sight of the flood of message windows.

[Master of Combat is activated.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘fighting energy’ has caused your stats to rise.]

[The other party is stronger than you.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘dignity’ has caused the opponent’s stats to fall.]

[Mindset of a Murderer has activated.]

[All stats have increased by 15%.]

‘Okay. All the buffs are done.’

Hyeonu confirmed that he was ready for battle. Then he moved straight away. His destination was the front of the monster. He wanted to do a proper blow right at the beginning. Hyeonu took advantage of the high movement speed to reach the low-grade demonic creature, the lomelon.

Yet there was something waiting for Hyeonu. It was the lomelon’s fist, which stretched out at a frightening timing like it had been waiting for Hyeonu. The lomelon’s fist compressed the air and approached Hyeonu’s body.

“Ahum.”

‘Wraith Form.’

Frightened by the lomelon’s unexpected strike, Hyeonu groaned and used the skill Wraith Form to avoid it. Just like in the item description, Wraith Form made him immune to all attacks except for those that used divine power. Naturally, it was impossible for Hyeonu to be damaged by this unexpected strike since the lomelon, the ‘demonic creature’, couldn’t use divine power.

During the duration of Wraith Form, Hyeonu escaped the lomelon’s sight and prepared for a long-range attack. He knew the lomelon had a great reaction rate up close, so he was going to hit from afar this time. Hyeonu used Crescent Moon Cut, which could be called his patented technique.

A black crescent shape that was over 10 meters long emerged and quickly reached the lomelon. It was one of Hyeonu’s few instantly-activated skills. Due to Hyeonu using it frequently, the proficiency of Crescent Moon Cut was really high. Understandably, the power of Crescent Moon Cut was also high.

The lomelon struck at Hyeonu with a fist wrapped in black pure energy. However, the power of Crescent Moon Cut wasn’t ordinary. The skill was enhanced with pure energy and achieved its purpose without losing its form in front of the lomelon’s response. It even left a mark on the lomelon’s fist.

[The lomelon has been afflicted with the ‘burned’ abnormal state.]

This wasn’t a fatal wound. It was just a flesh wound, but it was enough to trigger Crasul’s curse.

‘As expected, it is a B-rank skill, so it is very powerful.’ Hyeonu marveled at the power of Crescent Moon Cut that had reached the B rank.

Come to think of it, Crescent Moon Cut had never betrayed his expectations since he received it from Aldred. Hyeonu’s moment of admiration was brief. The monster rushed to kill the human who had hurt it. Every time the lomelon moved, the floor of the cave was damaged. The debris from the shattered floor flew toward Hyeonu and hit his body.

Even so, Hyeonu was wearing a mask and didn’t need to do something like cover his face in fear of being hit. Rather, he narrowed the distance to the approaching lomelon. Hyeonu’s sword was the first one to move. Pure energy that was darker than the lomelon’s skin appeared around Hyeonu’s sword.

Then it literally rushed toward the lomelon’s chest. Of course, the lomelon didn’t just quietly watch Hyeonu’s strike. The lomelon remembered the clash from a little while ago and punched faster and stronger. This attack was incomparable to the lomelon’s previous attacks. The lomelon’s fist was accompanied by a huge sound wave as it once again struck Hyeonu’s pure energy.

In spite of that, the result was the same. This time, it was still Hyeonu’s victory. It wasn’t because he had the advantage in power. Hyeonu’s cleverness was what brought about his victory. He had anticipated that the lomelon would fight back head-on and used Magic Power Explosion the moment they collided.

[The lomelon has been afflicted with the ‘frozen’ abnormal state.]

[The lomelon has been afflicted with the ‘bound’ abnormal state.]

[The lomelon has been afflicted with the ‘petrification’ abnormal state.]

[The lomelon has been afflicted with the ‘frozen’ abnormal state.]

Hyeonu’s pure energy collided with the lomelon and damaged its entire body. This attack meant Hyeonu completed stacking five curses on the lomelon. They were curses such as being ‘frozen’, ‘bound’, and ‘petrified’ that limited movements. The meaning of this was simple.

‘Now this monster is just a scarecrow standing still.’

A large monster that couldn’t move wasn’t a threat. It was just a scarecrow for Hyeonu to use for increasing his skill level and experience.

“Kuoooooh!!” The lomelon screamed as it struggled to move. However, five overlapping curses were on a totally different level from just one curse. If one curse was a thin thread, then five overlapping curses were several chains. It couldn’t be resolved simply by struggling.

‘I don’t know how long this will work, but it has been working well so far...’

Hyeonu shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about this. The first thing to do was to deal with the monster that made him doubt his aesthetics.

‘Then... I will think about it later.’

Hyeonu calmly infused magic power into Dark Star. During the intense battle, Hyeonu was able to pull out such a strong blade of pure energy in what could be described as an instant. What if Hyeonu pulled it out with proper preparation? This was a disaster in terms of suffering.

Just like with all magic, the pure energy became stronger as more pure energy was infused. Using Hyeonu’s enormous magic power stat, a blade of pure energy appeared.

‘Heavy Blow!’

Hyeonu swung the sword without hesitation. His strike successfully cut off the lomelon’s left foot. This wasn’t all. The lomelon lost its balance and fell, causing it to be cut several times. By the time Hyeonu swung his sword for the fifth time, the lomelon no longer moved.

‘My eyes are protected.’

[The lomelon, the low-grade demonic creature, has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

“Huh? Why is this the only message?”

‘Is this just a normal monster?’

The worst-case situation came to Hyeonu’s mind. He imagined a scene where he had to hunt these monsters numerous times.

“No!!!” Hyeonu screamed at the disastrous future.

***

Hyeonu walked for around 10 minutes and saw nothing. 

Feeling frustrated by the current situation, he questioned Tang-E, “Tang-E, what did you find? Or did you hear anything from your parents about the cave?”

He wondered if Tang-E would know this information. His parents had given him the request, so Tang-E should know something.

“This is the first time I’m seeing such a place. In fact, it is the first time I’ve entered the central mountain. Originally, I only stayed at home except when going out with my parents...” 

After hearing Tang-E’s somewhat depressing words, Hyeonu could no longer grit his teeth. He just stroked Tang-E’s head instead.

‘Poor fellow.’

“Then we will walk a bit longer. There must be something inside.”

Hyeonu carried Tang-E and continued to move deeper inside the cave. How long did he walk? Then Hyeonu heard a different sound—a regular beat tapping on the ground of the cave. It was someone’s footsteps. Based on the sound, Hyeonu judged that it wasn’t a large monster. The steps weren’t as light as his, but they were completely unlike the heavy sound of the previous monster’s footsteps.

Presently, the sound of the footsteps grew louder. This proved that the distance between Hyeonu and the owner of the footsteps was decreasing. Hyeonu stopped walking.

‘I will fight here.’

Hyeonu’s current location was half as large as the place where he fought the lomelon. In other words, there was no better place for Hyeonu to fight. He pulled out his sword and slung it over his shoulder. It was better to be prepared when the identity of the opponent was unknown.

‘I don’t care what appears. I just want items to be dropped. I want to clear the quest.’ Hyeonu had these thoughts while waiting for the opponent to appear.

Finally, the owner of the footsteps came into view. A black-haired man appeared and said, “What is your identity? I don’t think that you are a bear who lives here.” 

The man wasn’t ugly. Rather, he was a handsome man who gave off a weak appearance. He was the epitome of a flower boy.

“I’m a human who is friends with the Marionette Bears. I’m visiting this cave on their behalf,” Hyeonu answered. 

At this moment, a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu informing him of a quest update.

[The quest has been updated.]