Ranker’s Return

After Hyeonu killed the drake, many guilds challenged the drake raid. Representatives of the large guilds association entered the Balder Mountains belatedly and tried the drake raid without worrying too much. The result was disastrous. Every time the drake’s claws swung, the melee classes were torn apart, while the priests and magicians died when the Breath was fired.

It was natural for Johannes to smile strangely at the scene. He couldn’t hide his bitterness that there was only one adventurer who could kill the drake. It was because the adventurers had to grow up quickly before Johannes could gain his freedom.

Meanwhile, Hyeonu once again reappeared as he escaped the hills of Cruise Mountain by throwing another player as bait. This time, Hyeonu wasn’t alone. He brought strong support along with him.

“Two giant monkeys have appeared in front! Take the large formation!” Gang Junggu’s voice rang through the hill.

Large formation—this was a tactic and hunting method that could only be used when Hyeonu was present. The method was simple. Two tankers attracted the attention of monsters while magicians with suitable attributes would start the bombardment.

“Now it is your turn.”

In accordance with Gang Junggu’s words, Hyeonu prepared for the attack. The current Hyeonu received buffs from Tang-E and the priests, and he also used one giant skill. A blue pure energy that was tens of meters in size struck the monkeys that were attacking New World’s tankers.

“Kkieeeek!” The monkeys belatedly saw the pure energy flying at them and turned to try and avoid it. However, this guild wouldn’t be New World if they just watched.

“Stop it!”

The moment someone cried out, two tankers restricted the movements of the giant monkeys.

“Pawn’s Taunt!”

“Rising Enemy!”

Hyeonu’s pure energy greeted the giant monkeys that momentarily stopped moving.

Thump!

The giant monkeys fell to the ground.

[A Bakane monkey has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A Bakane monkey has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

“As expected of my dongsaeng.” Kim Seokjung marveled at Hyeonu’s attacks. The biggest difference between Hyeonu’s presence and his absence was this. It wasn’t that Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu couldn’t use such great power but that they could only use it once, whereas Hyeonu poured it out infinitely like an invisible sea.

“We’re progressing much faster than yesterday. We will reach the top of the mountain soon,” Hyeonu spoke while walking leisurely. Things were moving along much easier and better than during their stream yesterday. Apart from the fun of the battle, comfort was the best to have when hunting in a party.

“I think so too. It wasn’t this fast when I watched the stream yesterday,” Reina said as she walked to Hyeonu’s side.

The other players’ attention was drawn to Hyeonu and Reina. It was just that the two people didn’t know about it.

“Don’t they make a good match? A good-looking man and woman.”

Hearing Kim Seokjung’s words, Gang Junggu laughed. They knew Hyeonu’s real face, which was why Kim Seokjung said Hyeonu was good-looking.  Gang Junggu smiled bitterly while thinking, ‘Of course, a handsome man will get a girlfriend...’

Despite that, Gang Junggu wasn’t actually ugly. He was full of the charm of a rough man. It was a style that was likely to be popular with women. However, standing in front of Hyeonu...

“If I was just 10 years younger...” Gang Junggu murmured in a voice full of regret. 

There was a man who hit Gang Junggu in the back of the head. It was Kim Seokjung. “Calling yourself old in front of me?” Hit!

*** 

In front of dozens of players, a golden drake collapsed.

[The crazy-blooded Linuk has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

Everyone smiled as they saw the message window in front of them. Soon, the famous NPC Johannes appeared. “There are already adventurers killing the drake. It is amazing... No, is it you again? Did you kill it? Shit...!”

Johannes's expression had been very bright when he first appeared. It was positive news for him that adventurers were now strong enough to kill the drake. Then his mood fell into the gutter the moment he saw the masked man among the humans.

‘Damn guy.’

The masked man must’ve made a significant contribution to the killing of the drake. He had killed the drake himself before, so it would be much easier with the help of other humans.

Someone stepped forward and asked Johannes, “So can we go to the East Continent?” 

Johannes responded in a cold voice, “Break the monument. Only then will the blessing come.” 

Kim Seokjung stretched out a fist filled with divinity, and the monument was turned into sand.

[You can move to the East Continent.]

The same message appeared in front of the rest of the players except for Hyeonu. It was the message Hyeonu had seen yesterday.

“Now you are entitled to go beyond the barrier. Then, I wish for your rapid growth.” Johannes disappeared with these words. It was teleportation, but no one cared about his disappearance. They were all focused on being able to move to the East Continent.

“Can we learn martial arts?”

“Probably. We should learn it. Won’t we get an advantage in a raid or siege?”

Their ways of accepting this situation were different. Reina and the New York Warriors were interested in the skills they could gain in the East Continent. This was natural. After all, the most important thing for them was their performance in the Arena League. Apart from PvP, the raid and siege matches were conducted using their actual Arena accounts. It was natural that they would focus on acquiring skills, titles, and items.

“It was great to see it on my dongsaeng’s stream. Gather the kids together.”

“I understand, Hyung-nim. I’ll bring the kids who want to go.”

In contrast, New World had a pure atmosphere of enjoyment. They were interested in the East Continent itself. They were full of curiosity about new things. New World wasn’t a gathering place for pro or dark gamers. They made good money, but the essence was a guild centered on friendship. After all, the most important thing was to have ‘fun’.

“Then I will go to the East Continent first. I have to prepare for the stream. Everyone else, please prepare slowly and relax. There are no more drakes, so you should be able to go to the East Continent with the power of both guilds,” Hyeonu said.

When he saw Johannes disappear, Hyeonu got ready to leave.

‘Title... Title!!’

Hyeonu was worried that one of the others would go ahead and take the first title. So he disappeared before he could hear their answer in case someone grabbed at him.

*** 

Hyeonu soon left the Balder Mountains and arrived at Mount Cheon. All he had to do was go down the other side of Cruise Mountain from the monument.

‘Is this the barrier?’

Hyeonu stared at the blue barrier in front of him. The blue barrier sparked intermittently like flowing electricity, blocking the view of what was behind it. The area behind the barrier wasn’t visible at all. It was cloudy like there was a mosaic covering the view. Still, Hyeonu stepped through the barrier with no hesitation. It was because he already knew that he would gain the rewards from Johannes’ quest after passing through this barrier.

[The title ‘First Person to Cross the Balder Mountains’ has been created.]

[The title ‘First Person to Set Foot on Mount Cheon’ has been created.]

The moment Hyeonu passed through the blue barrier, the things Hyeonu wanted to see finally popped up. There was a series of beeps, then message windows rose.

‘Two titles!’

Hyeonu’s eyes widened at the unexpected harvest. There were two titles that appeared. Before this, he had even been thinking it would be okay to get just one as long as it wasn’t taken away by others...

[First Person to Cross the Balder Mountains]

[A title given to the first player to cross the Balder Mountains.

Effect: All stats +75.]

[First Person to Set Foot on Mount Cheon]

[A title given to the first player to set foot on Mount Cheon.

Effect: All stats +75.]

‘The options are killer!’

“Kyah~~~!!”

Hyeonu confirmed the title’s effects and let out a cry. He really liked it. This title had an effect of all stats +75. For Hyeonu whose stats increased as percentages with skills and titles, this type of title was much better than those that increased attack power and defense. These two titles meant he could directly enter the East Continent without changing the appearance of his mask. It was terrible to imagine these titles being taken away from him.

‘I only need to change it when I’m streaming anyway.’

He felt it was much better not to wear the new mask, Dorma’s Red Blood, while streaming.

‘In the meantime, the options might not be applied properly, but...’

It was better than losing the titles. Hyeonu descended Mount Cheon with light steps. Nevertheless, there was something the satisfied Hyeonu hadn’t realized. Mount Cheon and the Balder Mountains weren’t the same, but they were similar. This meant that Mount Cheon had many fields and monsters, just like the Balder Mountains.

“Shit!” Hyeonu swore briefly as he looked at the mountain before him.

*** 

In a common room inside Quency, the operations team leader Kim Jinyeong and general planning team leader Park Hyeonjun were taking a break as they drank black Americano in paper cups.

“Team Leader Park, are you okay?” Kim Jinyeong looked worried when he saw Park Hyeonjun, who seemed to be on the verge of death. He didn’t know that he himself appeared to be in a similar state.

“I’m.... fine... Now I can go home and sleep.” Park Hyeonjun smiled like a zombie. There was hope in front of him. It was time to get off work. Rather than sleeping at work, he would be able to relax in the comfort of his own home. He said, “I’m more concerned about you, Team Leader Kim. I’m done, but you still have a lot of work to do.”

Kim Jinyeong just smiled bitterly. The end of Park Hyeonjun’s work meant he had a lot of work to do. Park Hyeonjun continued, “I didn’t even know about that bug. If the viewers hadn’t pointed it out in Alley Leader’s stream, it would’ve passed by without us knowing about it. Things would’ve grown bigger if we had come in later.”

“Yes, it isn’t a bad thing. We’ve reviewed it all day and found some small bugs,” Kim Jinyeong agreed with Park Hyeonjun’s words. He was glad it was done before things got bigger.

“I’m glad it’s over... It was so hard, and now I feel comfortable,” Park Hyeonjun commented as he drank an Americano with a lot of syrup. Then he asked Kim Jinyeong like he had just thought of something, “Do you really think 1,000 people can get to the East Continent?”

It was the number of people who needed to succeed in the drake raid and gain the authority to go to the East Continent. If the number exceeded 1,000, then the barrier between the West Continent and the East Continent would naturally disappear.

“Of course, it is impossible. It is 1,000 people. 500 at most will make it through. It is just delaying time. Even if it is less than 1,000, we will resolve it after the end of this league.”

“Will Alley Leader do something else? For example, taking viewers to do the drake raid. The drake will be regenerated every time it is killed.”

“Is that possible? What advantages are there for him to do so?”

Kim Jinyeong shook his head, but Park Hyeonjun was still thinking about the worst-case scenario.

“Think about the time when the East Continent was released a while ago. He is the type of person who will do it,” Park Hyeonjun stated and shook his head.

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