Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu turned his head and observed the battle between the giant bear and the other members of the group. The battle progression flowed smoothly like water.

‘Two places today. It is sufficient.’

Marco, the master of the Mano Guild, was particularly noticeable. The paladin’s endurance and flexible combat style attracted the giant bear’s aggro very well. There, Reina and Anthony had changed their roles to damage dealers and were literally hunting with ease as they dealt powerful attacks from time to time. The battle ended when Reina’s ice attribute struck the giant bear’s entire body.

‘It doesn’t feel good to play games with people like this.’

It was comfortable. Every person’s strength was so great that Hyeonu just had to direct it, and it ran smoothly like linked cogs. However, it was the worst in terms of fun, which was one of the game’s original features. It was clear that he would go crazy from boredom if this type of hunting continued for a few days.

‘This is the last time. The last time.’

He would rather go on a trip with Tang-E or hunt with Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu. He would refuse such large hunts.

“I’m glad that the cooperation seems good now. We will quickly explore this place. In addition, named monsters might appear, so take a good look at the message windows,” Hyeonu ordered as he made eye contact with the others.

This was very important. For example, if they encountered a monster that had a location name other than Cruise Mountain as a modifier, it meant this place wasn’t Cruise Mountain and that there was no reason to invest any more time in this mountain.

In other words, this tedious and uncomfortable hunt could be completed even sooner. Nevertheless, Hyeonu’s wish wasn’t fulfilled. Every monster that appeared only had an ordinary name. Perhaps it was Hyeonu’s bad luck or Quency’s joke. After an unknown number of battles, Patrick approached Hyeonu and suggested, “Alley Leader, I think we should take a break at this point.”

“Already? We haven’t even climbed halfway yet though? I think we can take a break after climbing to the top.” Hyeonu couldn’t understand Patrick’s words.

Why did they need to rest after hunting for only two or three hours? It might be different with ordinary players, but rankers were different.

“Hunting isn’t difficult. Rather, it is easy. In addition, the field isn’t extreme. Why do you need to rest?” Hyeonu wondered in a sharp tone.

Patrick was the owner of an outstanding brain and figured out what Hyeonu was saying. ‘I forgot that Alley Leader is a solo player.’

This fact had been overlooked. Alley Leader had always hunted alone. Patrick had heard that Alley Leader formed parties once or twice, but for the most part, he was known to hunt with his pet alone.

‘This must be frustrating and boring for him,’ Patrick thought.

Perhaps only Alley Leader was qualified to say such words. Without Alley Leader, it had taken the guilds a week to come to this place. Meanwhile, it had taken Alley Leader less than a week to get here alone.

“I understand. The break will be taken at the top of this mountain or at the entrance of the next mountain,” Patrick said.

Hyeonu nodded at Patrick’s words. “Then please do so.”

*** 

“Keep going?” Marco asked again with disbelief.

They were at an unnamed mountain deep in the Balder Mountains. It was a very difficult field. Fighting here required a lot of their concentration, so fatigue struck them quickly.

“Did that guy say it? Patrick?”

“Guild Leader! How many times have I told you not to call him that?”

Patrick looked away, frightened by Marco’s disparagement of Alley Leader. However, the water had already been spilled. Behind Marco, Gang Junggu and Kim Seokjung were staring with sharp eyes. Patrick hid his bitterness and approached the two of them with a good-natured smile. He explained, “Alley Leader said that we will climb to the top of the mountain without a break, and I came to tell the guild leader this information.”

“My dongsaeng...?” Kim Seokjung said.

“Of course. How scary is that person? There is no second time. He is the one who ends it in just one blow! He must be very annoyed by the current situation,” Gang Junggu commented, emphasizing his words.

Patrick wondered, “Then...?”

“It doesn’t matter if we don’t have a break since we’ve done it several times. In addition, since when has it been so easy to hunt like this? Think of the memories you have from coming this far and how terrible the journey was,” Gang Junggu stated.

The memories up to today flashed through Patrick’s mind. They had to log in and log out at the right time. Additionally, he had to use magic like crazy to kill three or four monsters and shout until his throat was sore. This was until yesterday. It wasn’t a long time ago.

“That’s true. I forgot about it in just a few hours,” Patrick replied in a voice that mocked himself.

Human beings were cunning. There was nothing wrong with Hyeonu’s decision. It was Patrick who had forgotten about what happened a day ago and even complained.

He said, “I’ll explain it well to the other people.”

*** 

New World, Blaine, the New York Warriors, and Alley Leader—this combination was the worst. Luck couldn’t be found even after washing their eyes.

“Noooooo!!!! Hyung-nim, does this make sense?” Hyeonu questioned Kim Seokjung in a loud voice.

Hyeonu was really depressed. How could they hunt for 10 hours and not even figure out the name of the mountain they were currently on?

“It doesn’t make sense... This is too much...” Hyeonu groaned.

Sweat dripped down from Kim Seokjung’s forehead. It was the first time he had seen Hyeonu like this. Hyeonu had always maintained his reason and acted well in front of people. Now that he had become like this, Kim Seokjung couldn’t adapt to this change.

“Even so, it isn’t a bad thing because we’ve leveled up and improved our skill proficiency. Isn’t that right?” Gang Junggu appeared and rubbed the shoulders of Hyeonu, who was showing a displeased expression.

“Yes, I think so. Who knows if the next place we’ll go to is Cruise Mountain?” Kim Seokjung also added.

Hyeonu regained his composure at his Hyung-nim’s comfort.

“Then get ready to move to the next mountain! I don’t think this mountain is it!” Hyeonu shouted loudly enough for everyone sitting around and resting to hear. Hyeonu’s group had reached the top of the mountain. Usually, a monument referred to a large standing stone. Naturally, the size wasn’t small. It might not be large enough to be seen from a distance, but it should be seen from where Hyeonu was standing. Yet, the monument wasn’t visible.

‘We’ve come all the way here, and we didn’t see any rocks, let alone a monument. This isn’t Cruise Mountain.’

Unfortunately, it couldn’t be helped. Hyeonu didn’t have the talent to create something from nothing. So he took the lead and started to descend the mountain. Hyeonu was followed by Reina, Kim Seokjung, and Gang Junggu respectively. The road to the next mountain was smooth.

They didn’t see many monsters, and most of them had already been encountered, so it was easy for them to hunt. Nevertheless, the time it took for them to travel there was almost the same as the amount of time they spent on the first mountain. This was because the distance was very far.

Naturally, it would be unreasonable for them to hunt at the next mountain. After all, their fatigue had accumulated, and they had their own schedules.

“Then we should be satisfied with checking one place today. Perhaps there will be no hunt next time.”

There were two remaining mountains. The odds of one being Cruise Mountain were now 50:50. If Mascherano’s guild group found Cruise Mountain tonight or tomorrow morning, then they wouldn’t gather again. From then on, everyone was a competitor—a competitor looking for the monument.

“Then I’m going...” Hyeonu bowed to the other guild leaders and disappeared.

Reina, Kim Seokjung, and Gang Junggu also left with their guild members. They logged out. Soon, Anthony and the Blaine Guild were also gone. All that was left was the Mano Guild.

“Patrick... I think I should give up,” Marco sighed. “Now I understand it. He is a monster. How can you beat a monster?”

In Marco’s eyes, Alley Leader was a god of battle itself. Everything was perfect. There was no need for any other modifiers.

“Guild Leader...” Patrick’s eyes were full of pity as he looked at Marco’s lowered head.

*** 

Hyeonu’s expression was brighter after receiving a call.

There was a smile on his face that couldn’t be erased.

‘It will be decided in today’s stream.’

The person who spoke to Hyeonu was Gang Junggu. He delivered the results of the hunt on Mascherano’s side.

-Mascherano delivered news that his hunt was in vain. Congratulations in advance. This time, you are the main character, Hyeonu. 

Mascherano’s failure—it was the signal of the beginning of the endless competition. Everyone now knew the location of Cruise Mountain. It turned out to not be two out of the three mountains, so the remaining mountain was naturally Cruise Mountain.

There was no alliance anymore. This might be an alliance between guilds, but the huge alliance that Hyeonu had gathered was gone.

‘I will break away from you.’

Hyeonu’s smile widened. He was very satisfied with the current situation. Up to today, the average number of views on the videos related to the sixth main scenario on Alley Leader’s channel was 380 million. It was a leap forward considering the number of views before the main scenario was just over 100 million.

‘The plan has worked.’

It was rewarding for Hyeonu to have attracted several guilds. People’s attention were focused on him, and the pie grew. Hyeonu collected the benefits properly. The last bits of them would be scraped up. The number of subscribers to his channel and the number of views had increased. However, there was something more important than that.

‘The streaming audience has increased by almost a few times.’

He had a number beyond 10 million and was looking at 20 million. This was an unprecedented number. It was a number that was seen only when Arena Week was being broadcasted live on A-World. Yet, Hyeonu wasn’t complacent and thought about how the stream would proceed today.

‘I have to unconditionally find the monument during the stream. After that, I will be rewarded by Johannes.’

The results were definite. The problem was the process.

‘Who else will stand in the way?’

Still, he didn’t need to know if any troublemakers or hyenas would obstruct his way. After all, there were already hundreds of people who knew the location of Cruise Mountain. It was impossible to keep hundreds of mouths shut. If someone spread it, then it had already become public.

‘I have to show them what will happen if they touch what is mine,’ Hyeonu vowed as he thought about the people who would get in his way.

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