Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu was slaughtering the desert goblins without knowing how much impact the video on his channel had.

[A desert goblin has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

“It is fairly good.”

Hyeonu set his target as reaching level 60 before finding the Teuma Tribe. In the past, Hyeonu had found that the entry limit for dungeons in Arti Desert was level 60. After clearing the area, Hyeonu was going to visit the Teuma Tribe.

‘My level is too low. Considering that the professionals are over 150, I have to reach level 80 this month or I won’t be able to do it.’

If Hyeonu’s goal had been to achieve his current prosperity, then it would’ve already been completed. However, Hyeonu had a huge dream of repaying his family’s debt and revenge. He had to climb a bit higher to achieve this dream.

“I am now level 58. I’ll only have to struggle tomorrow.”

Hyeonu scoured the desert with Tang-E for the desert goblins.

***

Over the past two years, countless players had passed through the Arti Desert. Nevertheless, no one found the dungeon that Hyeonu discovered two years ago. The reason for that was simple. They had no information about the location of the dungeon. For those who didn’t know about it, this dungeon was in an absurd position. 

“Is it here?” Hyeonu stood in front of a giant cactus that could be seen anywhere in the Arti Desert. Then he jumped toward the cactus. No, he tried to do so. If only it wasn’t for Tang-E grabbing Hyeonu’s leg...

“Master dude, are you crazy? Why do you want to jump there?”

“There might be a dungeon here?”

“I heard that before. It was only five minutes ago when many thorns were stuck in your body, Master dude.” 

Hyeonu held Tang-E in his arms and once again plunged toward the cactus. Tang-E yelled from within his arms, “Master dude is crazy!!”

Then something mysterious happened. If a person collided with a cactus, they would either break it or be bounced off. This time, however, Hyeonu was sucked into the cactus. The cactus was a mirage.

***

Another desert appeared in front of Hyeonu, who had been sucked into the mirage. It could be considered a portal in Arti Desert leading elsewhere.

“Lizard?” A giant lizard entered Hyeonu’s eyes as he looked around. “Crazy!”

Even from a distance, it looked much bigger than the giant bone bear.

“How can I kill that?”

It was the first time Hyeonu had seen this monster in his life. He had never heard of such lizards in the Arena community. If there was something similar, it was the most recently caught raid boss which was of a dragon species. It was the ruler of the meadow, the Komodo Dragon.

Of course, this lizard wasn’t that big. The Komodo Dragon was more than 20 meters in size while this lizard was around five meters in size.

“I’m going to hit it, Tang-E.” 

Tang-E reflexively added buffs at Hyeonu’s call.

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest's Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

Hyeonu also used Giant’s Power and Nature. In times when he didn’t know the opponent’s power, he had to do his best. Hyeonu felt the power in his entire body as he ran toward the giant lizard.

***

‘Is it at least level 100?’

This was Hyeonu’s thought after a brief battle with the lizard. Considering the pressure it released as well as its physique, strength, and speed, the lizard must be at least level 100. The lizard’s outer shell was powerful. It couldn’t be defeated without the proper strength.

“Haap!” Hyeonu swung his single-edged sword toward the lizard again. This time, the single-edged sword was lodged into the lizard’s body.

“Kyoh!” The lizard shook its body like it was in pain. Hyeonu injected magic power into the single-edged sword and plugged it deeper. The more the lizard shook, the more its body was cut apart.

‘It is a rodeo with a lizard.’

However, he couldn’t hang on forever. Hyeonu thought he had caused considerable damage and pulled out his sword, falling back.

“Phew, it is hard.”

He felt drained of energy. Having hung on for over 10 minutes, Hyeonu felt like he was going to die.

“Hey! Why aren’t you shooting lightning? Don’t mess around,” Hyeonu couldn’t hold back from directing biting remarks at Tang-E while taking a moment to breathe.

‘Damn Master dude. I should abandon him.’ Anger at Hyeonu fermented in Tang-E's heart.

“Come and look. Buff me well. Understood?”

“I understand, Master dude.”

Hyeonu quickly jumped back toward the lizard. He had to finish it.

***

Hyeonu was able to hunt the unidentified lizard after 10 minutes.

[A variant desert lizard has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

“Oh, I’m going to die.”

Hyeonu was lying still on the ground. His health was filled up from the level up. Even so, the intense concentration caused severe mental fatigue.

“I gained a lot of experience, but I can’t continue to grasp it.”

Still, the result was clear. He had identified its weakness.

“A white spot on the back of its neck. It became stunned when I hit it there.”

The lizard’s back had a 30-centimeter white spot. After Hyeonu accidentally stabbed it there, the lizard entered an abnormal state and stopped moving for 10 seconds.

“It is very easy to kill if I aim for this.”

***

“Wah!!! I feel so uncomfortable.” Hyeonu sent an email to Ellis and stretched.

Yeongchan made a suggestion as he watched TV, “Do you want to go exercise?”

“Yes,” Hyeonu agreed happily. He had spent a few weeks playing the game, and his body felt stiff.

Yeongchan took Hyeonu to a fitness club where he worked out and spoke to an employee, “This is my friend. He is going to receive personal training today.”

“Hey! Are you crazy? Why?” Hyeonu blocked Yeongchan’s mouth as he applied for personal training that Hyeonu had never received in the past. However, the water had already been spilled. There was no turning back.

“Can you come this way?” The handsome trainer grabbed Hyeonu’s arm, and Hyeonu felt a sudden loss of strength in his body.

‘Kwon Yeongchan. Kwon Yeongchan... I’ll kill you. You’re dead!!!’ Hyeonu cursed Yeongchan’s name the moment he lifted the barbell. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to hold on.

“Last two. Let’s do two more.” The handsome trainer was a demon. There was no end, and the break was timed with a stopwatch. It was gnawing away at Hyeonu’s physical strength.

Five minutes later, the first hellish workout ended.

“Today had an orientation concept and was easy. I’ll do more intensive exercise next time. Today’s exercise is done.”

Then the handsome trainer left. All that was left was Hyeonu panting on the ground.

“Drink this.” Yeongchan handed lukewarm water to Hyeonu.

“Do this again? I can’t. I will die. I’d rather die.”

“What do you want me to do? Your mother called me. She asked me to take care of your health. It seems you’ve lost weight. That’s why I brought you here,” Yeongchan pulled out a trump card as Hyeonu said he couldn’t do it.

He didn’t want to use the phone call from Hyeonu’s mother not long ago like this. In fact, it was just a phone call thanking him for taking care of Hyeonu, but Yeongchan used it for this purpose.

“I understand. I don’t want her to worry,” Hyeonu accepted it once Yeongchan brought out the story of Hyeonu’s mother. He decided to show her how healthy he was next time.

‘Kukukuk. It is said that sharing hard work makes it less tiring, Hyeonu.’

Yeongchan kept smiling at the sight.

***

The day that Hyeonu sent him a video of him with the emperor, Ellis made a vow. He would edit Hyeonu’s videos for the rest of his life, even if it was for free.

At this moment, Ellis once again felt his oath wasn’t wrong. “Amazing. I’ve watched everything up to now, but this is the first time I’ve seen the real Alley Leader.”

It was the first time such a giant monster had been caught outside a raid. In particular, the terrible technique of continuously stabbing with the single-edged sword while clinging to the monster was a hunting skill executed with a sense of balance and strength. If this video were released, people would judge Alley Leader again.

It wasn’t just PvP. This person was also very good at killing large monsters. No, he was the best.

“I have to admit it. It is natural.”

Ellis was faithful to his duty. His focus in editing the videos was to make Hyeonu more prominent.

“I’ll watch it one more time. Just one.”

Once again, Ellis couldn’t stop playing the video.

***

Time passed, and Friday arrived. Friday was Hyeonu’s announced streaming day. The video of the giant lizard hunt was released Friday morning to make them anticipate what Hyeonu would live stream today.

-At that level, he will play a better melee role in raids than professional players.

-ㅇㅈ. That position is just overwhelming. No one can compare.

-Jung Hanbaek? Isn’t he melee as well? Is he comparable?

-Absolutely not. It is a different class.

Hyeonu looked at the comments with a smile. In particular, the comparison with Jung Hanbaek placed Hyeonu in the best mood.

“I’m broadcasting at six, so I have to loosen up my body first.”

His condition was the best today. In fact, he thought it was the best since he started Arena.

***

Hyeonu caught three desert lizards and checked his status window. The two days of hunting had really changed Hyeonu’s level. At level 63, his level was three levels higher than his goal. It was because his hunting speed was so fast. In the second half of the hunt, it took around five minutes to hunt a lizard.

[Status Window]

[Character Name: Gang Hyeonu

Level: 63

Class: Warrior

Title: First Person to Meet the Emperor, Warrior Acknowledged by Khan, New Star Acknowledged by Lebron, First Person to Enter the Imperial Palace, Achieved 100 Consecutive Wins

Stats: Strength: 90 (+300)  Agility: 150 (+150)  Physique: 70 (+180)  Magic Power: 70 (+130)  Fighting Energy: 6 (+100)

Remaining stat points: 0]

‘I’ll be able to complete the content today.’

Hyeonu was convinced of it when he saw the status window. Today’s content would end successfully. There would be no variables. Even his physical condition was helping Hyeonu. The content that Hyeonu planned to show today was simple. It was simple to talk about, but it wasn’t actually that simple.

Time passed, and it was finally 6 p.m. Hyeonu bowed his head to the cloud of viewers watching his broadcast.

‘50,000? I’ve got more viewers. This is enough to get started.’

“Nice to see you. I am Alley Leader. Today’s streaming will be short. As expected, today’s content is hunting,” Hyeonu revealed it at once.

It was to create the best tension.

“I will hunt the leader of the lizards in the video I posted this morning.” 

The variant desert lizard boss’ solo raid—this was the content that Hyeonu prepared for today.