Ranker’s Return

Alley Leader’s streaming channel was a global gathering spot. With viewers from Africa, Europe, Asia, America, and so on, it was a place of festivity for people from all over the world to enjoy. The things they enjoyed were Alley Leader’s troubles and the very cute bear.

There were just these two things. However, the things they enjoyed had now increased by one. It was a new land, with new experiences. They came to experience it, even though it was indirectly.

[Carriage Trip with Alley Leader (Feat. East Continent & Tang-E)] 

The East Continent was the new area that had made its appearance in Arena. In addition to Alley Leader, two guilds had gained the right to enter it, but they were insignificant. The guilds had passed the Balder Mountains and reached Mount Cheon, but that was it. They still had yet to reach the cities past Mount Cheon. In short, there was nothing to see, unlike with Hyeonu.

-Is today a carriage travel concept?

- No, no, it isn’t a carriage trip but hunting in a carriage.

-Now instead of mountain bandits, mounted bandits will appear.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ A man worthy of his reputation. 

Hyeonu never seemed to go the easy route. He could’ve passed through easily at least once, but he didn’t do that. There were always incidents.

-At this point, he should know that he is a landmine.

-Everyone knows it except him. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Now that he has entered New World, there should be no badly behaved guys, right?

-It would be comfortable if there were none of those people who follow the source of attention.

-??? A few days ago, those who seek attention appeared in the hills. Don’t you remember?

-Ah, that’s right. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Alley Leader’s aggro is at the level of a mystery novel.

Suddenly, the messages instantly stopped in the chat window. It was because the black background started coming to life.

-What is this?

-Is this a joke right now?

-Showing me something like this.

-I would’ve sworn if there wasn’t Tang-E.

It wasn’t a colorful and lively scene. They just saw one person and a bear. Moreover, they were in a tight space. The viewers were looking down from one corner of the carriage like looking through a CCTV camera. Just then, the man looked up at the audience.

“Hello? I’m Alley Leader. As you can see, today I am riding in a carriage with Tang-E. The scenery around us is very nice. It is a bit like the West Continent, but it is a completely different feeling.”

Hyeonu glanced at the outside of the carriage and looked up at the audience again.

-How can you look at it alone?

-Switch the point of view quickly.

-Turn on your point of view from the start. This person, seriously...

Viewers couldn’t forgive Alley Leader who was marveling at the scenery alone. Was there anyone in the world like this? It was like going on a trip only to take no photos of the area. Instead, they only saw selfies of the person.

“I want to show you too. Truly, I will show it to you.”

At the viewers’ violent protests, Hyeonu changed the point of view, synchronizing it with his vision. Then the surrounding landscape entered the eyes of the viewers. Well-polished roads and trees filled the surroundings, and the blue sky and brilliant sun were in great harmony.

-This is like a resort. There aren’t many monsters, so it would be nice to take a leisurely trip there.

-Yes, it would be nice to learn some cooking skills too. I can just place ingredients in the inventory and then cook and eat them during the journey.

-The West Continent is so dangerous that this isn’t possible, but the scenery here is nice and safe.

‘Really?’

Hyeonu realized it after seeing the viewers’ messages that the East Continent wasn’t marketing for Asia. Instead, it was aimed at everyone who wasn’t already playing Arena.

‘They can enjoy this place. Hunting? The arena? Such things are incidental. The main goal is to have relaxing content such as travel.’

Yuanyang was more likely to appear in a novel than any city in Asia. It meant there was no significant difference between the East Continent and the West Continent. In other words, the potential likes and dislikes specific to either continent were reduced. There were oriental, western, and other kinds of cities. The intention was to expand the range of choices and use this to attract new players.

“Then as we look at the surrounding scenery, I will explain the direction of today’s stream. I received a quest. It is a pretty big one. It is a rare one even in the West Continent.”

-As expected of Arena’s top miner.

-Leave it to him to find quests.

-He’s almost like a magnet? The quests just come to him.

-I can’t watch any other stream because I become bored. This one is the most exciting!

The viewers responded to Hyeonu’s words in a warm and welcoming manner. This was the taste they couldn’t get enough of. It was from Alley Leader’s streams. Unlike other streamers, there was never any congestion or repetition in his streams, and there was no stopping, just moving ahead.

It was truly great. None of the streamers before Alley Leader had such a method. At first, streamers might do novel things and make continuous efforts. Nevertheless, at some point, ideas would be exhausted, and they would start looking for a position to settle into. That was the reality of it.

Thus, the viewers wanted even more.

-So start streaming three times a week.

-Let’s see it often. 

-Isn’t my ID familiar? Nothing? Then stream three times a week!

“Yes, more nonsense. I will just ignore it. Back to the point, how did I find the quest...? Do you remember how I climbed a mountain in the East Continent? It was a mountain so steep that it was like rock climbing.”

-Yes, I remember.

-I don’t remember.

-There was never anything like that.

Hyeonu boldly ignored the messages of the viewers. “There was a master of the skill I had learned. I went back there a few days ago, and only ashes were left. This is the quest I got.”

-Hah... It is a plot quest.

-Is he playing another game alone?

-Why is my quest for gathering medicinal herbs?

-I’m collecting frog leather...

“After receiving that quest, I had to travel a long way across the East Continent. This is why I’m riding a carriage right now. I am going to Taeyang—the capital of the only empire in the East Continent, the Yuxin Empire.”

-The capital?

-Is he meeting the emperor again?

-How can that place with the skill be related to the imperial family? Why meet the emperor?

“Ah, I am naturally going to meet the emperor. It will be later and by myself when I’m not streaming. Now I am going somewhere else,” Hyeonu said casually.

It was as if he was talking about ordinary daily life. The viewers doubted their ears. The emperor...? There was also one in the East Continent?

-What does this mean?

-I can understand about the emperor of the West Continent, but the East Continent?

-Did he move to the West Continent after playing in the East Continent?

-Am I the only one who thinks this is absurd?

Talking like he could not understand the audience’s words, Hyeonu replied, “What’s the problem? Did you think I would just go in and meet him? I’m going because I’ve been asked to by the emperor of the West Continent. Don’t you know normal diplomacy? I am that famous shuttle, shuttle.”

Viewers burst out laughing at Hyeonu’s words. Since he had been traveling in the carriage long before he began streaming, Hyeonu was actually already arriving at Taeyang, the capital of the Yuxin Empire. 

‘I experienced this because there is no return scroll.’

Hyeonu thought it was pretty good to move in a carriage. It wasn’t bad; it was much better than walking. However, he didn’t think he would ride it too often.

‘I will get a return scroll.’

The carriage was fast, but that was only compared to walking. It was much slower than the return scroll, which instantly moved him when torn.

‘I’ll ride it one more time later when the concept of the stream is a tour.’

Hyeonu got out of the carriage and headed to the largest building as he followed the explanation he had gotten from the restaurant employee.

“I am going to a place called Buncheonru now. Think of it as a large shopping mall that is a mixture of a hotel and a department store. Isn’t it a great place? There is an NPC related to my quest here. I will chew on everything except for gold coins,” Hyeonu uttered harsh words like he had forgotten he was streaming.

-Isn’t this familiar?

-It must be an illusion?

-This is something that can’t be said unless you have a face like that.

The viewers recalled the famous line of an actor with a CG-level appearance. Seeing the audience’s reaction, Hyeonu sighed as he walked toward a huge building in the distance. “Wow...”

Up close, Buncheonru seemed enormous. The building was very large and very tall.

-Isn’t this a real department store?

-It is a great five-star hotel.

-It’s really amazing.

-I’ll go shopping there later. Is 5,000 gold coins okay?

Viewers were amazed by the sight of Buncheonru. There were many people at Buncheonru’s entrance, showing its high reputation.

“Wait a minute, I’ll go in first.”

Hyeonu placed Tang-E on his shoulders and was able to move through the people to enter Buncheonru.

“The inside is better than the outside.”

The interior was very glamorous. It wasn’t as clean and stylish as a modern department store, but it was gorgeous. Colorful jewels casually adorned the walls, and there were more than a few massive murals. The interior was much wider than it seemed from the outside, and the height of the ceiling was so high that the number of floors was fewer than expected. There were many people in this large space. It really looked like a big department store in real life—a crowded department store during the busy sales period.

“Let’s look around slowly. I think it will be better to move leisurely since I have to go walking all around through this wide area anyway.”

Hyeonu picked up a piece of paper from those piled up at the doorway of Buncheonru and saw an image and some text on the paper.

“It is a map of Buncheonru. The first floor seems to be the lobby and exhibition hall. The second floor sells clothes, the third floor sells precious metals, the fourth floor sells food, and the fifth floor sells clothes again... On the sixth floor, I can find weapons and armor. Ohu? There is a gambling hall on the seventh floor. Starting from the eighth floor, it is a hotel. Where should I go?”

The hearts of the viewers were already unified in one place.

-The seventh floor!

-In short, it is the seventh floor.

-Lucky lucky seven!!!

‘Actually, I want to go to the seventh floor too.’

Hyeonu also wanted to stop by the seventh floor. A quest was a quest, but since he had a human mind, it meant he also wanted to enjoy himself a bit while doing the quest. He just needed some justification so it wouldn’t look like he was merely playing around. 

“Then thanks to your feedback, I’ll start from the seventh floor.”

There was another strange thing in Buncheonru. It was a means of transportation that allowed people to move to their desired floor at once, just like the magic circles in the West Continent. There were also stairs, but roughly 100 stairs needed to be climbed in order to reach the next floor.

Consequently, few people climbed up the stairs directly, and Hyeonu, naturally, didn’t want to walk up to the next floor either. The sight Hyeonu saw on the seventh floor was similar to that of a Las Vegas casino. Staff members were carrying wine bottles and glasses on wide plates while slot machines and gambling tables were scattered throughout.

-Wow, is this Las Vegas?

-Let’s start with the slot machine.

-The default is the slot machine!

-Tell me if you don’t have money. I will send you some.

The viewers were immersed in the situation and even said they would send Hyeonu gold coins if he didn’t have any.

“It’s fine. I have enough gold coins to play a few slots.”

Hyeonu sat in front of a slot machine. Then a message window appeared in front of him.

[The number of times a slot machine can be used is limited to 10 times per day.]

[10 gold will be consumed for using the slot machine once.]

[Current number of times remaining: 10/10]

“Did you see? It seems there is a limit on the number of daily uses in order to prevent people from developing a gambling addiction. I think the same is true for the tables over there.”

-That’s a bit disappointing.

-I think it’s good.

-It’s better than real gambling, but virtual gambling is still an addiction.

Viewers praised Quency’s policies.

Simultaneously, they urged Hyeonu to pull the slot machine.

-Pull it!

-Scream and see!

-Even if you pull it 10 times, you will only waste 100 gold!

“I understand. I’ll pull it.”

The slot machine quickly turned with a distinctive sound.

As he waited for it to stop, Hyeonu observed the images on the slot machine: SSS—rare or higher-rated skill, WWW—rare or higher-rated weapon, AAA—rare or higher-rated armor, aaa—rare or higher-rated accessory, and GGG—between 500 and 10,000 gold.

The type of compensation was varied, and the quality was good. Nonetheless, as with any gamble, the odds of winning didn’t seem high.

‘It is a victory if it wins something just once.’

However, if one victory won everything, then it would be too easy. After a while, the slot machine stopped.

6th Anniversary Event Link