Ranker’s Return

“There is no need to worry. They are repeated hills and plains all the way up the mountain. I can get to the end.”

Hyeonu calmed down the audience who were filling the chat window with swear words.

‘I don’t know what guild it is, but they managed to come here... They will come out in an hour.’

This wasn’t Hyeonu disregarding them; this was him stating a fact. There weren’t even on this scale.

“That is it. If they want to hit me in the back of the head... I will pass these monsters to them and run,” Hyeonu muttered in a low voice.

This image of him strangely matched with his child’s mask. He looked really playful like a boy of that age.

-I’m tired of monsters.

-They can’t give items, but they can give monsters!

-This toughness level...

The viewers marveled at Hyeonu’s calm response even though it was a situation where he should be angry.

-It is nice though.

-If it were me, I’d run straight away to kill them.

-If I were in that situation, I would remember their faces and kill them. ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ

-In fact, there is nothing to say even if you die. This is why large guilds fight every time they do the main scenario. 

-They will fight unconditionally.

It was just killing. No one blamed Hyeonu for killing them. The threat was already approaching, and the notion of self-defense was established for Hyeonu. “What else should I do? They came here to Cruise Mountain with dreams and hopes. That’s why I will log them out.”

-So give monsters instead of hope.

-Alley Leader’s land is full of conspiracy and rewards.

-I won’t kill them, but I’ll make them die!!

A new monster appeared as Hyeonu was dealing with the giant tiger in a relaxed manner. This time, it was a boar with unidentified metal all over its body. The boar raced toward Hyeonu like a racing car on a track.

‘There are no runaway trains.’

Hyeonu was calm despite the boar charging at him. Rather, he started to run toward the boar. The human and boar ran like the wind and would soon collide with each other. Just as the distance to the wild boar became less than five meters, Hyeonu ran upward instead of forward. He quickly tumbled in the air, landed on the boar’s back, and jumped again.

‘Okay.’

Simultaneously, Hyeonu calmly observed the group behind him. They had truly arrived at the edge of Hyeonu’s fight.

“I’ll be going first. Please kill it well!”

Hyeonu escaped from the hills just like this.

*** 

“Hehehehe!”

After being caught by Hyeonu for learning a strange word and being nagged at for over 10 minutes, Tang-E ran around laughing like he was crazy.

-Tang-E is cute.

-Cutie, cutie.

-I also want a bear pet...

-Me too. Just talk. It is a skill...

Even this look was cute and adorable to the audience.

“By the way, why aren’t there any monsters? Can I just break through? Isn’t this completely sweet?” Hyeonu cocked his head with confusion when monsters didn’t appear.

He thought it was good that they didn’t show up. It saved time, and he had already raised his level and skill proficiency enough.

‘If I get the reward from Johannes...’

The rewards were only experience and the right to move to the East Continent, but it was 100 times better than nothing.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s go suck some honey.”

At the end of his words, Hyeonu held Tang-E and started running to the summit where the monument was visible.

-Yes, there is no way that will happen.

-I bet my right hand and all my assets that this isn’t sweet honey.

-How can there be honey in Alley Leader’s stream?

-This is Quency! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Hyeonu didn’t watch the chat, so he didn’t see the viewers predicting his future of a few minutes later.

-It will be good if it turns out that this mountain isn’t Cruise Mountain.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is there another mountain in the back? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

-Or it is also good if a boss monster comes out from the monument.

-I admit it. It can’t end in such a boring manner.

The viewers shouted that Hyeonu should suffer and sacrifice for their entertainment. It took exactly three minutes for the viewers to get their wish. Hyeonu had just arrived in the vicinity of the monument when something huge appeared on the other side of the sky. It was huge and had a shiny red body, scales reminiscent of diamonds, and a head resembling a dragon. This was a drake, a relative of Caruso—the owner of the armor Hyeonu was currently wearing.

‘Damn, that dog, Johannes...’

It was obvious without seeing it. The damn lizard had designated the drake as the guardian of the monument. Otherwise, the drake that roamed the entire Balder Mountains wouldn’t be seen here.

‘Something that can’t be seen...’

Hah… Hyeonu sighed as he watched the drake.

“It’s no wonder why I was lucky today... You gave me the main scenario, so why can’t I eat it?!!” Hyeonu shouted like he was using Fear.

As the drake approached, Hyeonu made up his mind and prepared for a raid that would take place a short time later.

Hyeonu grabbed Tang-E and gave new orders, “Tang-E, your role is very important this time. You have to use magic with perfect timing. You can only use ice and lightning. If it seems really dangerous then use Giant Transformation to help out. However, don’t use it if it is fine.”

This raid was really dangerous. It had been difficult to kill the desert dragon when he first started streaming, but the desert dragon had been weak as well at that time, so it had been okay. The drake, on the other hand, was different from the desert dragon who only had dragon in its name.

“I understand, Master dude. When have you ever seen me make a mistake? Believe in me! A miracle awaits the believers!”

“Yes, I’ll believe in you.” Hyeonu smiled at Tang-E’s attitude that was consistently full of confidence. “Then let’s go, Tang-E.”

*** 

“Um...? Someone has already arrived at the monument...? It wouldn’t have been easy to get over the hills...”

Johannes was lying in his laboratory and raised his body when something touched his senses.

This feeling...

It was telling him that the drake he set up as a watchman had entered the battle.

‘Who is it? It seems they’re moving roughly?’

The adventurers he had been watching for weeks wouldn’t be able to push the drake so much.

‘Yes. That human. It is possible for that guy.’

Clack! Johannes flicked his finger.

The messy laboratory returned to its original clean appearance, and the scene where Hyeonu and the drake were fighting appeared in front of Johannes. Johannes’ expression changed subtly as he watched the drake and Hyeonu fight.

‘How is he this strong? Does it mean he hid something back then?’

Johannes couldn’t help laughing. Wasn’t he being used thoroughly? However, this was Johannes’ misunderstanding. Hyeonu was different from the time when he fought Caruso. Once his armor was changed to the Tyrant Caruso set, his overall stats and other skills were raised. As the main scenario progressed, his skill proficiency had increased.

In particular, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art had reached six stars. This wasn’t simply an increase in the power of the skill. It meant the effects of the three items related to the Mysterious Sky Sect, the ‘Mysterious Sky Sword’, the ‘Mysterious Sky Guardian’, and the ‘Master of the Mysterious Sky’ had improved. It didn’t seem like a big deal, but once all his stats rose by 160, the options related to magic power also rose considerably.

This naturally led to an increase in Hyeonu’s combat power. The current Hyeonu was different from the first time he dealt with Caruso. At this moment, Johannes’ eyes were filled with the image of a red drake. Johannes’ face was a bit astonished when he saw it.

‘Should I get ready to go out?’

It seemed like the barrier between the East Continent and the West Continent would crumble today.

*** 

Hyeonu anticipated a long battle with the drake and saved his buff skills as much as possible. Even if he used them, he would use them one by one so they wouldn’t overlap. Of course, Hyeonu’s attack power was enormous even if he just used one buff skill. Basically, it was because he had high defense penetration and stats.

Meanwhile, the drake proved it was a dragon sub-race by showing tremendous physical strength and regenerative ability. No matter how sharp and strong a pure energy Hyeonu hit it with, the drake soon recovered like nothing had happened.

‘I’m sure there will be two phases like with Caruso.’

This was the reason why Hyeonu saved his giant skills.

“......!!”

Just then, a thought filled Hyeonu’s mind about the Tyrant Caruso set effects.

[-The skill ‘Tyrant’s Advent’ is available (cooldown time: 336 hours)

Tyrant’s Advent: Summon Tyrant Caruso for 10 minutes.]

Among them, there was the skill ‘Tyrant’s Advent’. He had forgotten about its existence.

“Tyrant’s Advent,” Hyeonu said, activating the skill.

Then a red glow covered his vision. In the place where the red brilliance disappeared, a red drake known only to Hyeonu was summoned.

-What is this crazy thing?!!

-Summoning something like that?!!

-It completely destroys the balance!!!

-What was Quency thinking when making such an item?

The viewers saw Caruso summoned by Hyeonu and rushed out their words with bright eyes. They had no choice but to do so as they had never seen an item like this. It was the first time such a thing was released—an item that could summon a drake. After being summoned by Hyeonu, Caruso stared at the red drake in front of him.

“Kuoooooh!” Caruso was very offended.

He was the tyrant who ruled the Balder Mountains. Yet a drake that came from somewhere had settled in his realm. Before Hyeonu could give a command, Caruso moved of his own free will. It was an instinctive act to get rid of anything that offended him.

“Kuooh!” Caruso flew quickly to the drake in front of him. There were no preparatory actions. He just flew in an instant. His wings moved without flapping. Instead, they moved with mighty magic power. Caruso beat at the opposing drake like it was a fly. It was with the momentum to separate the wings from the drake in one attack.

“Kuaaaaaah!!!”

However, the drake wasn’t just being passively beaten. It scratched Caruso’s neck and shook its entire body to try and shake Caruso off. The effort might’ve worked because Caruso soon fell away from the drake, with his mouth full of scarlet blood and scales.

Hyeonu saw this scene and gave Tang-E an order, “Tang-E, give him a buff.”

-Loooool. ㅋㅋㅋ

-It is in the class of tricks. ㅋㅋㅋ

-Giving a buff while the drakes are fighting each other. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-The drakes fight while Alley Leader takes all the money.

Hyeonu sat still and watched the battle between drakes like the viewers. “Everyone, don’t you watch streams for this kind of entertainment? It’s a shame that there is no popcorn.”

It has been one week since the event started, five more left to go until the event ends. I hope you're working on your submissions   For anyone looking for inspiration, you can check out the official artwork page linked in the translator's thoughts below.

6th Anniversary Event Link