Ranker’s Return

[Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s Steps]

[The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior had very powerful martial arts, but he was highly opposed to bandits.

Investigate the Seongho Group to find out why the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior was in conflict with them.

Rating: S+

Conditions: Investigate the Seongho Group 0/1

Rewards: Experience, information about the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior.]

Hyeonu saw the quest window and wondered where to start the investigation.

‘Who was that bandit last time, Yang Sucang? Did it say he was a Secret Camp Member?’

Now he remembered. The NPC he thought was merely a bandit actually had a different identity.

‘Is this the common dark force of Jianghu?’

Hyeonu thought so and laughed at the fact that he had become the protagonist of a martial arts novel.

“Thank you, Brother. I know roughly where to start now.”

“Really? If so, I’m glad that I helped.” 

“Then once this is over, I’ll climb Manhua Mountain again. I’ll buy you food and alcohol at the time.”

Qing Feng burst out laughing at Hyeonu’s words. “Good, good. I will be waiting at any time.”

*** 

On the tributary of Seongho Mountain, there was a black figure running on stones like a tiger. This black figure was Hyeonu. Due to the tight schedule, Hyeonu moved without even summoning Tang-E. As a result, Hyeonu miraculously arrived at Seongho Mountain before turning on the streaming mode.

‘Phew, my stream streak won’t be breaking today.’

Hyeonu sighed and summoned Tang-E. “Tang-E, come out.” 

“Master dude!!” Tang-E immediately appeared at Hyeonu’s call. The moment Tang-E appeared, he rushed to Hyeonu and climbed onto Hyeonu’s shoulder. Then he hit the top of Hyeonu’s head with a sad expression. “Why call me now, huh? Don’t you want to see me?”

“No, I was afraid you would suffer. I’ve been running for three or four hours now. Did you want to run with me? I’ll call you next time,” Hyeonu said.

Hearing Hyeonu’s words, Tang-E changed his expression and stance. His front paws that were moving violently became soft and full of affection. “When did I ask you to call me? I just wondered if you had forgotten me, Master.”

Hyeonu laughed at the appearance of such a Tang-E. “Cough... I know. First, take your human form. You can’t stand out.”

Hyeonu asked Tang-E to transform into a human form because he had to always be human in the East Continent. The background of the East Continent was Asia. This meant that different species such as the humanoid beasts and orcs weren’t common. Carrying Tang-E’s original form around would draw attention easily and make an impression.

“I know. I understand because this is a different continent. So please be good to me next time.” Tang-E accepted Hyeonu’s words and transformed his appearance into a cute child.

“Then let’s go.” Hyeonu started to move with Tang-E in his arms.

The destination was a place where he could meet the bandits of Seongho Mountain. It was a rock with a clear view of the road where the Seongho Group attacked last time.

‘I will turn on the streaming mode here.’

All he had to do was wait for the bandits to appear, so Hyeonu slowly prepared to start streaming. He connected to A-World, turned on the streaming mode, and wrote the title of the stream. Then he set the screen to black as the default, and the preparations were done.

[Alley Leader’s bandit experience.]

‘I have to work hard today.’

Hyeonu clenched his fists.

*** 

-Why is it the same today?

-It seems that he has received tasks in the mountains for the past few days.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is it to kick out the boss and conquer the stronghold? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Due to the three-day gap, viewers quickly flocked to Hyeonu’s stream. The number of viewers increased. Since Hyeonu started streaming in the East Continent, the viewers continued to flow in, and the average number of his viewers now exceeded seven million.

-Is he going to tell us about the party?

-He might’ve stayed still because he can’t speak English.

-Looking at the photos, he wore a mask even in reality.

-Maybe that is his face?

-No, no. He’s handsome.

-Yes, liar.

One of the topics popular with viewers this day was Alley Leader’s appearance. What did he look like? Unlike other streamers who revealed their faces while playing games, Alley Leader had never revealed his face.

-Still, what is the point of knowing?

-I will feel defeated if he is handsome.

-He must be ugly. 

-If you are curious, then you lose.

Then the bait about this appearance soon disappeared. It was because there was something more important.

-Will Tang-E come out today?

-He has to come out unconditionally. When will he appear?

-Isn’t it right? He has to appear unconditionally.

-Isn’t it half half? Half Tang-E and half Alley Leader.

-? Is it so high? Isn’t Tang-E 90%? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Alley Leader will be angry. We should watch our mouths.

The viewers were still Tang-E-holics. All the videos that boasted the highest number of hits on Alley Leader’s channel were those with Tang-E. They were the videos of him dancing at the pet contest and showing his human form. The number of views for the two videos was overwhelming.

At this moment, the black screen brightened, and the surroundings were revealed. There were two people who appeared on the screen—a man wearing a mask and a blond boy.

-Hey, Tang-E is here from the beginning.

-Crazy. I came back from playing and came to my senses.

-I will give gold coins as a tribute to Tang-E.

-Tang-E is the Best has gifted you 66 gold coins.

-Tang-E is Cute has gifted you 35 gold coins.

*** 

“Thank you Tang-E is the Best for the 66 gold coins and Tang-E is Cute for the 35 gold coins. I’ll use them well. Hahat~” Hyeonu showed a happy response to the gold coins already appearing at the very start. Sure enough, there was a big difference between Tang-E appearing and not appearing.

‘Tang-E, let’s do it together later. I’ll give you a lot of food to eat.’

Hyeonu continued to receive the gold coins for several minutes afterward.

“Now, I’m going to talk a bit about today’s stream. Do you know where this is?”

While talking, Hyeonu pointed to a familiar mountain path. There were a handful of viewers who recognized it.

-Isn’t it that place? That...

-It is the place of the mountain bandits from that day.

-Ah, right. After a while, he will step on the mountain bandits.

‘They know well even if I don’t explain it.’

After seeing the chat window, Hyeonu realized that the viewers remembered well and continued the explanation. “I got a quest. The rewards are really great. Do you remember the bandit who was fairly strong? He is a member of some secret forces. Today, I’ve come here to rob the stronghold and get information on the secret force.”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ A secret force among the bandits.

-So you are going to act like a bandit to bandits?

-I like today’s stream. A secret force.

-It feels like I’m a hero.

Today’s streaming content was popular with the viewers. There were complicated reasons for this, but in a nutshell, there were two simple ones. The first reason was the fresh setting. There were no bandits in the West Continent. In the West Continent, mountains were the place where monsters were most frequently found. Those who had the power to become bandits would be better off being soldiers or knights. That wasn’t all. It was Hyeonu acting as a bandit to the mountain bandits. This also added freshness. 

The second was that heroes were always right. Heroes fighting against secret forces were always the basics. There was no one who hated it. The number of people who really liked it was overflowing. The synergy effect was great because it matched well with Alley Leader’s usual image.

‘It is ideal today.’

“Then I will wait for the bandits to appear along with Tang-E.” 

-Ohhhhh!

-Let’s do it. Streamer master.

-With Tang-E, I’m ready to stay up for 10 nights.

‘It is because of my mood?’

Hyeonu tried hard to deny it, but today was the moment when the chat window was the most active.

*** 

Hyeonu didn’t have to wait long.

“Hahaha! If you want to pass through Seongho Mountain, give up the gold coins in your hands!” A man in the typical outfit of a bandit jumped down from a tree.

Once the mountain bandits appeared, a man from the merchant group came out and shouted at them. “We are the Cheonhwa Merchant Group. We won’t give any gold coins to mountain bandits!”

Then the bandits jumped down from the trees.

“Attack! Kill the man and take his gold!”

“Stop them! We have to keep this luggage!”

The bandits dressed in black and the guards of the Cheonhwa merchant group in red mixed together. Hyeonu was watching all of this. ‘Isn’t it obvious that the bandits will win? The levels are too different.’

No matter how fierce the warriors of the Cheonhwa Merchant Group were, they were only level 100 at most. One or two of them seemed to be level 150. However, the yelling bandits were above level 200.

“Kuah!”

“Help me!”

The battle flowed as expected. The bandits received some damage, but it couldn’t be compared to the damage the Cheonhwa Merchant Group received, causing most of them to die.

-Why isn’t Alley Leader cutting in?

-Are you stupid? How will he follow them to the stronghold if he interferes?

-Is this a movie? Won’t they say it if you catch one and place a knife to their neck?

-Think before speaking. Change the filter.

“All of you should already know. If I step in here, I will kill all the mountain bandits like last time. Then? My quest? Is this a game where the bandits will drop maps if I kill them? I don’t have time for that.” Hyeonu finished speaking and dusted his butt as he stood up.

Then he pulled Dark Star out of his inventory. “I will chase the bandits.”

The battle had already ended. The bandits were searching the luggage of the merchant group for anything valuable. Hyeonu and Tang-E chased after such bandits.

“Everyone, their stronghold is in the mountains. Once I get the quest information, I will burn it to the ground,” Hyeonu spat out after chasing the mountain bandits for a long time. It had already been 20 minutes. This was a problem for Hyeonu who now hated mountains.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Let’s turn him into the captain of mountain climbing.

-What about Uphill Alley Leader? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-It is really hard for Alley Leader. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

‘Just get it over with. I will use my skills generously,’ Hyeonu grumbled inwardly. 

He followed the bandits for another 10 minutes before finally seeing the stronghold of the mountain bandits. “I’ve finally arrived at the stronghold, everyone. I went through the path of hardship and have now come to the mountain stronghold.”

-Yes. There were 30 minutes of climbing today. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-A-World’s only climbing content ㅋㅋㅋ

-It seems that it will be trendy in the future—climbing streams ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

As Hyeonu and the viewers talked about mountain climbing, all the bandits entered the stronghold. Hyeonu was about to follow them when a message window appeared in front of him.