Ranker’s Return

During the time when Hyeonu was busy recruiting the Crescent Moon players, the Arena-related players were busy for other reasons. They were all interested in Alley Leader. The direct and indirect comparisons with Red Bull America reaffirmed Alley Leader’s power. More than half of Arena’s information programs and streamers started analyzing Alley Leader’s video.

Sunny was one of them. She originally did this type of streaming often, so she quickly moved to find guests.

[Alley Leader’s Circumstances. Uncover the hidden secrets!!! Feat. Teika.]

The guest that Sunny called was Teika. He had been ranked first for the longest time in the arena. However, this recent rating was slightly lowered due to him receiving successive defeats from Rain and Alley Leader.

“Teika? I don’t understand no matter how much I look at it. I don’t think it is a skill. How can he do that?” Sunny’s eyes were wide as she asked Teika a question.

Teika took Sunny’s question seriously.

“I will explain while watching the video again.” Teika grabbed the mirror and shook it.

Then the video was rolled back to just before Hyeonu cut the purple ogre four times.

“Sunny and the audience should watch with your eyes wide open. It’s very fast.”

It was as Teika said. Alley Leader’s blow happened in an instant, and the purple ogre’s knees were cut.

“Did you see?” Teika asked.

“No, I didn’t see anything. Isn’t it just swinging a sword?” Sunny looked naive when she questioned him. The viewers were chatting in a similar manner.

-So what the hell should we be seeing?

-Look for a person who saw it.

-Is it visible only when your arena ranking is high? 

It was true that only people with good eyes could see it...

Teika smiled at the response. “I told you to look well... So let’s watch the video at a speed that is twice as slow.”

He adjusted the playback speed. This was one of the benefits of purchasing a paid video from A-World. It was possible to slow it down up to eight times. Of course, it could also be fast-forwarded up to eight times. This was the feature that Teika used.

Teika replayed the video and showed Alley Leader’s strike again. It was at a somewhat slower speed than before. Now, something was visible. A dark light momentarily appeared on Alley Leader’s sword. However, it was only for a moment, so no one saw it properly. Even if they did, it was dismissed as something meaningless.

-Can you see anything?

-It is the same.

-I think I saw something...

-Don’t lie. There was nothing to see.

“Teika, are you making fun of me right now? Right? You are, right?”

“Sunny, why would I make fun of you? Let’s do it two times more slowly. That’s four times slower than the original video.” 

Teika played the video again with a subtle smile. Now it looked completely slowed down. They could see something...

It was a flashing light. They could see a light!

“I saw it! I really saw it!” Sunny ran around excitedly like a little kid.

“Do you know what you saw, Sunny?”

“Um... Isn’t it some type of skill?”

“You got it right. It isn’t an instantly activated skill. To be precise, it is pure energy.”

“Huh? Pure energy?” Sunny’s eyes couldn’t open any wider. It wasn’t an exaggerated performance. She was really surprised.

Pure energy...

Sunny might be ignorant about combat, but even she knew how ridiculous this was.

“The pure energy appeared so fast and disappeared? Is this possible, Teika?” 

“It is possible. That’s why we saw it, right?”

“Then is it possible for Teika?”

Teika waved his hand at Sunny, who was watching him with shining eyes.

‘If it were possible for me, I wouldn’t have been defeated by Rain.’

There was no way he could do it himself. Teika had to watch Alley Leader’s video several times before finding it. The light flashing from Alley Leader’s sword.

“Of course not. There is no way I can do that, right?”

*** 

“Teika, you worked hard today. Thank you so much for appearing!” Sunny greeted Teika with a voice that was livelier than when she was streaming.

She had been quite restrained today. The reason was simple. Today, Teika was the one analyzing and talking about Alley Leader’s video, not Sunny. She needed this level of discipline.

“No, I also enjoyed today. I hope you’ll call me for another time. I don’t have to be a solo guest. I don’t care if you call someone else.” Teika was truly delighted. He wasn’t a streamer. So, the streaming that Teika usually appeared in was regarding the arena. There were few cases where he talked like this.

‘Should I also try this type of stream? I think it is worth an hour or two after hunting...’

In Teika’s mind, the desire for streaming blossomed. Just then, there was a slight change in Sunny’s facial expression. It was unknown what happened, but her cheeks were red.

“Then I’ll be leaving first. You must be sure to come next time!”

Sunny quickly disappeared from Teika’s field of view.

*** 

“Hasn’t it been a while, Sunny?” A masked man was waiting at the place where Sunny appeared.

“Hello, Alley Leader,” Sunny greeted the man somewhat shyly when she saw him.

Hyeonu requested, “Can’t you just be more like you usually are? You’re acting a bit differently from how you were in the stream I saw just now, so I’m embarrassed.”

“Okay, why didn’t you get in touch with me in the meantime? Why did you only contact me now?” Sunny changed her attitude and fired at Hyeonu.

Now, this was the person Hyeonu knew. He explained, “I wasn’t ignoring your messages. I wasn’t in a situation where I could appear on your stream... In addition, I know I wrote back to you...”

“Ah, is that so? Anyway, why did you contact me today?” Sunny continued the conversation.

‘What will he say?’ Sunny thought about what Alley Leader would say to her.

Would he suggest a joint stream or would he make a guest appearance like he did the other time? Or was he calling upon her as a guest? Many speculations circulated in Sunny’s mind. However, the words that came out from Alley Leader’s mouth were not within her expectations.

“Have you ever thought about becoming a professional gamer? I’m looking for team members right now, and I hope Sunny will join me.”

They were words she hadn’t expected. She had never even dreamt about it—becoming a pro gamer. So Sunny could only ask again like a fool, “Huh? What are you...”

“It is exactly as I said. I want you to play for the team I am making. It won’t be for a long time, just one season. You only need to help me for exactly one season.”

Sunny stared at Hyeonu with a dumbfounded expression.

‘Me, a pro gamer?’

The more she listened, the more ridiculous she found it. Sunny, the most famous Arena player whose skills didn’t match her level and equipment, becoming a pro gamer…? Perhaps...

“This is a secret camera prank, right? You are trying to trick me just now, right?”

It was the most reasonable thing Sunny could think of. No, this was clearly the reason. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made this suggestion to her.

“No, I really need Sunny. Necromancer is a rare class. It is one of the keys I need to complete the combination I envision. In addition, I don’t think it is bad for Sunny. After a few months of hard work, you’ll have at least three or four times more viewers.”

After hearing Alley Leader’s sincere words, Sunny struggled to make a decision.

‘What should I do? A pro gamer...’

It was a sudden offer. She needed time to think.

“Do I have to answer right now? Please give me some time to think about it.”

“Of course. Please contact me within a week. Additionally... Crescent Moon doesn’t care about personal streaming at all.”

*** 

Sunny disappeared, and Hyeonu, who was left alone, made a knowing smile.

‘This side has agreed.’

Based on Sunny’s response, there would clearly be a positive call within three or four days. She was so flustered that she couldn’t answer properly, but if she thought about it slowly, she would realize that his offer was by no means a loss.

‘Think of it as a second job. Think of it as an opportunity to increase your popularity.’

It was truly like this. There was no loss for Sunny even if her performance in the professional league wasn’t good. Sunny’s dream wasn’t to be a pro gamer, and she didn’t need to be scolded for her poor performance. No one was expecting a great performance from her in the first place. Rather, it was a great opportunity for her to gain exposure.

‘I need to get ready for the stream.’

Hyeonu rose from his seat. He was recruiting players, but his stream was more important. In particular, today’s stream was pretty important. It would determine if the number of viewers for his last stream was a one-time thing or a number that could be maintained.

‘I’ve been too relaxed.’

Recently, Hyeonu started recalling his beginnings. It had been a while since he met Moon Doyeong. After meeting this person, Hyeonu returned to the time when he first started streaming. Passion, urgency, and vengeance—these were the things that Hyeonu recalled. The passion remained the same, but the urgency and vengeance had worn out over time. No, as his sense of urgency and vengeance disappeared, his passion became smaller.

‘I have to do it thoroughly...’

Hyeonu remembered his father lying in a hospital bed and clenched his fists.

*** 

Before the streaming began, the viewers were only looking at a black screen. Hyeonu sat on the ground, closed both eyes, and simulated today’s stream in his mind.

‘I have to wander around the place I revealed the other day.’

In the next few days, many large guilds would pour into the Balder Mountains. Not only that, the dark and pro gamers who purely enjoyed the game also left the Hejin Great Mountain Range to move to the Balder Mountains.

‘I need to adjust the speed at which information is released.’

Hyeonu’s channel and the number of his subscribers were exploding. Now even if the subscribers of the second and third place channels were combined, the total wouldn’t surpass Hyeonu’s number of subscribers. It was truly a great thing; an individual was doing better than two groups.

Yet, Hyeonu wasn’t satisfied at all. His channel was growing faster than expected, but it was still lacking. He wanted at least 200 million views in 24 hours. Until he got that, he would not reveal a deeper location.

Hyeonu’s eyes opened. One side of Hyeonu’s vision was showing the number of viewers currently in his stream.

12 million—it was a huge number. It also proved that the number of viewers for his stream the other day wasn’t an absolute bubble. In the future, the number of viewers would be at least as high as today.

“Hello, everyone! Alley Leader is back.”

Alley Leader’s stream had begun.