Ranker’s Return

It wasn’t until a while longer that the angry Hyeonu examined the ruins of the Mysterious Sky Sect. The collapsed building and training ground—he observed everything meticulously without missing a single thing. It was because he thought there might be a dying message left behind somewhere. No, there had to be one unconditionally.

Hyeonu was convinced of it.

‘This is a game, a game. There must be at least a hint for the story to progress. It has to be here unconditionally.’

He spent dozens of minutes scouring the rubble, cleaning up the broken houses and searching the mansion. Then Hyeonu found something. Black letters written on white paper—it was a letter. The letter was full of text.

[I hope that the first person who discovers this place is the descendant who has learned the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art. An adventurer came from the West Continent and said that he had learned the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art left behind by the Mysterious Sky Demonic Sage. 

With his help, we succeeded in restoring the perfect Mysterious Sky Demonic Art. I was thrilled for a few days. Isn’t it often said that blessings and disasters dwell together in one body? Well, the disaster came looking for me. 

I found out by chance that my beloved disciples were actually spies from the Gucheon Secret Department. The good news is that I haven’t yet passed on the complete Mysterious Sky Demonic Art to them.]

These were the words written on the front of the letter. It wasn’t until Hyeonu read the letter that he understood what had happened.

‘In a sect with only three people, two disciples are spies. The story is dirty. I don’t know who would do something so dirty.’

Getting betrayed by the disciples would probably feel like getting betrayed by the whole world. How did the Mysterious Sky Sect Leader feel after finding out they had been falsely united? Hyeonu couldn’t even fathom it. He wondered if the pain of this betrayal would feel similar to that of the betrayal he had suffered.

‘I will get revenge for the sect master. I am going to wipe out the Gucheon Secret Department anyway.’

It didn’t matter if they were strong. The Gucheon Secret Department might be strong, but their strength was from humans. On the other hand, Hyeonu still had Leon Meyer’s scroll. It was a token of promise that help would be given to Hyeonu once. He was even prepared to use it against the Gucheon Secret Department.

Hyeonu turned the letter over and tried to read the text on the back.

[I believe you have found this and will be leaving another note. I’m probably no longer a person in this world by the time you’re looking at this. I won’t ask you to get revenge on my behalf. 

How can I leave such a great burden on you? Instead, please use Mysterious Sky Range to get rid of this place. Don’t leave even a trace. Destroy the whole thing. In addition, you will be the leader of the Mysterious Sky Sect from now on. Then, please take care of it.]

Hyeonu read the letter to the end, and two notification windows appeared in front of him.

[The title 'Mysterious Sky Sect Leader’ has been created.]

[Mysterious Sky Sect Leader]

[A title given to the current master of the Mysterious Sky Sect.

Effect: The proficiency rate of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art is increased by an additional 20%. The power of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art is increased by 20%.]

[The title ‘First to Become A Sect Leader’ has been created.]

[First to Become A Sect Leader]

[A title given to a player who becomes the master of a sect for the first time.

Effect: If you accept an NPC as a disciple, the NPC’s martial arts acquisition rate will increase by 30%.]

Hyeonu couldn’t feel happy about this. He had a bitter heart. The two titles were the legacy of the Mysterious Sky Sect Leader he met some time ago.

‘Once I gain a territory, I’ll have to train many talents in the Mysterious Sky Sect.’

Hyeonu thought that would be enough to give back as a gift to the Mysterious Sky Sect. Revenge was a bonus. He was thinking of burning the Mysterious Sky Sect’s base brilliantly. The name of the Mysterious Sky Sect would sound through the East Continent. There was no need to hide anymore.

Hyeonu was a nobleman of the West Continent; he should be proud and confident. After folding the letter, he put it in his inventory and walked out of the Mysterious Sky Sect. He pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword from his waist and aimed it in the direction of the Mysterious Sky Sect.

‘Is it possible?’

Hyeonu had pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword, but he was a bit dubious. He challenged it because of the dead Mysterious Sky Sect Leader’s request, but he wasn’t sure if he could really break this space. Hyeonu was strong, but this was against monsters and other gamers. It was the first time he had ever demolished a building like this, so he couldn’t be sure.

‘Just try it first. It can work out if Tang-E buffs me.’

“Tang-E, can you give me some buffs?”

The moment Tang-E was summoned, he naturally stretched out his paws and cast buffs at Hyeonu’s request. The tricolor light from Tang-E’s paws embedded into Hyeonu’s body.

‘I can use it as an opportunity to test the effect of my titles,’ Hyeonu thought.

The moment he connected to Arena, he would use Mysterious Sky Range once a day by pouring out the maximum amount of magic power. It was because he felt he needed to master the right amount of power and timing to use it. Earlier today, he destroyed the forest with Mysterious Sky Range and Crescent Moon Cut. Therefore, it was a great opportunity to compare the past to the present.

Hyeonu closed his eyes and calmly injected magic power into the Mysterious Sky Sword. How many seconds passed? Hyeonu’s closed eyes opened, and he started to swing the Mysterious Sky Sword as fast as lightning. Black pure energy appeared every time the Mysterious Sky Sword moved through the air. One, two...

In the end, so many pure energy blades filled the air that it became difficult to count them. Finally, the Mysterious Sky Sword moved. It was a slash that expressed Hyeonu’s will to cut apart the place where the Mysterious Sky Sect was located. Soon, the black pure energy started to explode.

Hyeonu had begun destroying the Mysterious Sky Sect that was obscured by the array. The Mysterious Sky Sect completely collapsed, turning the semi-collapsed ruins into a construction site on the verge of being demolished. Watching this, Hyeonu felt a complicated mix of emotions.

On the other hand, when Tang-E saw this same scene, he suddenly spoke up.

“Master dude, what have you been eating alone? How could you only become stronger by yourself? Don’t you know that good things have to be shared?? You are a jerk who isn’t as good as Cancun. So. An. Gry!” Tang-E complained as he watched the stronger Mysterious Sky Range in action.

He thought that Hyeonu had become stronger from eating something like an essence by himself.

“What did I eat? Tang-E, do you want to eat the leftover boar from yesterday?”

At Hyeonu’s words, Tang-E approached Hyeonu while waving his tail that looked too short. “That seems like a good idea, Master dude. Go on and take out the boar meat.”

Hyeonu handed a piece of the cooked boar to Tang-E and gazed at the collapsed Mysterious Sky Sect.

‘What is this?’

Something was shining in the remains of the Mysterious Sky Sect. Hyeonu moved toward the light like Tang-E who got lured in by the boar meat. The light faded as Hyeonu approached, but this didn’t mean that he was stupid enough to forget its position.

Hyeonu cleared away the rubble that had accumulated in the place where the light had been shining. He pushed the rubble several times with his hand and found a small black ring hidden inside.

‘This is?’

Hyeonu held up the black ring and checked the item information.

[Sect Leader Symbol]

[A ring carved by the founder of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art. It is only handed down to the current Mysterious Sky Sect Leader.

For a long time, it was the backbone that supported the array of the Mysterious Sky Sect.

The more you achieve in the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art, the more effective the ring will be.

Rating: Epic

Restrictions: Mysterious Sky Sect Leader

Effect: All stats +300, the proficiency of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art will rise faster by 20%. The power of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art is increased by 20%. You can use ‘Dignity of the Sect Leader’.

Dignity of the Sect Leader: Show overwhelming power toward those who have learned the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.]

‘An epic item?’

“This is why he told me to destroy it.”

Going by this explanation, Hyeonu could now understand why the previous leader had made such a request. This ring had been used as a medium to create an array that wrapped around the Mysterious Sky Sect. Therefore, the ring—Sect Leader Symbol—could only be obtained by breaking the array.

‘The effects are more gorgeous than anything else.’

It had increased proficiency and power. These were the same effects as those of the Mysterious Sky Sect Leader title. The synergy between the ring and the title was clear. The 20% increase in power alone was enough to surprise Tang-E. 40%...

Hyeonu couldn’t even imagine it.

‘The incomplete Mysterious Sky Demonic Art has been leaked. As for the complete Mysterious Sky Demonic Art...’

It was clear that the two disciples Hyeonu hadn’t met on that day had learned the imperfect Mysterious Sky Demonic Art. This was an undeniable fact. However, the complete Mysterious Sky Demonic Art was still unknown. It might or might not have been passed onto the Gucheon Secret Department.

This was still uncertain. Nevertheless, Hyeonu was convinced it hadn’t been leaked.

‘This is what was written.’

It wouldn’t have been wise of the Mysterious Sky Sect Leader who had written such a letter to casually hand over the complete front part of the technique that Hyeonu had handed him. Clearly, he had memorized and burned it or hidden it somewhere.

‘I hope those guys from the Gucheon Secret Department have learned the incomplete Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.’

This way, Dignity of the Sect Leader could be shown off properly. Hyeonu prayed and prayed again. He hoped they had learned the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art so that he could step on them well.

***

Hyeonu entered Jeonggyeong and visited the restaurant he had been to before. The good memories he had of the restaurant’s employee led him back there. The moment Hyeonu sat down, the employee approached with a kind smile like he had been waiting for this. “How can I help you?”

Hyeonu copied the employee’s smile just like back then. “It has been a long time, but you are still the same. You’re kind. That’s why I came here. There aren’t many places that are so friendly.”

The employee looked like he was moved by Hyeonu’s flattering words. It seemed that the employee thought it was a big deal for a customer to remember him.

“First of all, I’d like a few meat dishes. You can pick them,” Hyeonu quickly finished making his order. He revealed his original purpose only after the order was delivered to the kitchen.

“Can I ask you something?” Hyeonu asked.

“Yes, ask me anything. I will tell you everything I know.” The employee showed a positive attitude like this was his job.

Hyeonu took out a gold coin and asked the employee, “Do you know about Buncheonru? I have an appointment to meet someone there, but I haven’t heard anything about the location. It’s frustrating.”

Hyeonu showed off the acting skill he had honed through his streams. It was a performance that showed the maturity of a middle-aged actor.

“Buncheonru... It is so famous that everyone knows it... I can’t receive such a large amount of money for telling you this.”

As the employee refused to receive the gold coin, Hyeonu looked around and noticed, ‘The owner is watching from over there.’

“If you say so, I’ll take it back.” Hyeonu reached out to take back the gold coin, but it was only in the eyes of others.

He actually used magic power to place the gold coin in the employee’s clothes instead.

“I put the gold coin in your clothes. Hide it well,” Hyeonu whispered in a low voice so that only the employee could hear him.

“Yes, thank you. Let me explain about Buncheonru,” the employee said. 

This employee wasn’t ordinary at all. His expression was completely unchanged as he continued with what he was saying: “Buncheonru...”

(TL: I’ve changed the chapters already but for those who read it early, I changed the Mysterious Sky Sect member that he met in the earlier chapters to the leader) 

6th Anniversary Event Link