Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu appeared in Caronney and revisited the architecture in the south.

[Would you like to enter Senu, the intermediate academy of the Luos Empire?]

The message in front of Hyeonu confirmed that it was Senu.

“I will enter.”

Hyeonu entered Senu with a heart filled with anticipation.

‘What? There’s no special restraint?’

He cocked his head. According to what was written on the Laek Completion Certificate ring, this ring was absolutely necessary to enter Senu. However, there was one big problem with this instance dungeon. Senu didn’t differ much from Laek; they seemed similar. There was a huge space reminiscent of the arena. The only difference was that the space he first appeared in was outside the arena, not inside.

Just then, Hyeonu looked around and found something—a door. Hyeonu quickly ran toward it.

‘There’s nothing?’

There was no handle on the door, and it didn’t open even when he pushed with force. Taking a step back, he looked closely and found there was a small groove in the center of the door.

‘Do I put the ring here?’

Hyeonu extended his finger that wore the Laek Completion Certificate and put it in the groove.

-It has been proved that you are a Laek graduate. Entering Senu, the intermediate academy of the Luos Empire, a voice echoed in the space.

Simultaneously, the firmly closed iron door opened before Hyeonu. He headed inside Senu, which looked like an arena.

-Welcome to Senu, the intermediate academy of the Luos Empire. I hope you become a pillar of the empire.

It was a slightly different greeting from what he’d gotten at Laek. Perhaps by passing through Laek, it proved the possession of some type of skill or talent.

‘Is it good treatment for qualified people?’

Hyeonu thought there was nothing else and continued to go deep into the arena.

-Senu consists of a total of 5 stages. If you can pass through the requirements of one stage, you can move onto the next one. Then let’s start with Stage 1.

The moment the voice stopped talking, Hyeonu’s surrounding environment started to change. Hyeonu had already experienced this 19 times before, so he just waited calmly without panicking. The arena made up of dirt and sand turned into a place covered with stones and gravel. It was also full of leaves. This was the place where Hyeonu had spent the most of his time since he first started playing Arena. It was a mountain.

‘Do I have to kill monsters here?’

Hyeonu tried to think in a positive direction. It was the most ordinary and suitable place for a test, so that’s what he guessed it would be like.

-This continent is tough. Magic has evolved, and it isn’t known when and where problems will arise. Therefore, Senu’s Stage 1 will test your ability to survive in extreme conditions. Somewhere here is a red flag. The moment you hold the red flag in your hand, you will be able to move to Stage 2. The given time is 72 hours.

[Time remaining - 71:59:59]

“Uwaaah!” 

Having his expectations dashed, Hyeonu shouted like he wanted to get the attention of some monsters. Nevertheless, he soon calmed his agitation and started weighing out his issues one by one. He considered the things he needed to clear the mission.

‘I won’t die from starvation.’

The biggest problem wasn’t the attack of monsters but fighting hunger. However, Hyeonu had a lot of food in his inventory. Otherwise, he could use Tang-E’s Subspace to bring food from Bung Bung Island.

‘Monster attack?’

The second problem was external factors such as monsters. Powerful monsters were always intimidating. Hyeonu didn’t know when, where, and how they would pop out.

‘Maybe there is a guardian protecting the flag.’

Therefore, he shouldn’t lower his guard until the end. He had to maintain his nerve like a taut bow until he heard the voice telling him to move onto the next stage. Hyeonu prepared a rough blueprint for the mission and called Tang-E: “Tang-E, come out.”

Tang-E was holding a bone twice as large as his forefoot in his hand.

“You’re hiding and eating meat again. I caught you!” Hyeonu grabbed the bone and threw it away. Then he placed both hands under Tang-E’s armpits and lifted him up. 

“Oh, my. I can’t carry you anymore because you’re so heavy now. What is this…” After picking up Tang-E and putting him down, Hyeonu started to make fun of him.

Tang-E didn’t know this and looked at Hyeonu with a serious face. “Is this real? You really can’t carry me anymore? If you’re lying, then cancel it immediately.”

“No? It’s real. Don’t you see my arms trembling now?” Hyeonu deliberately shook his arms.

It was an exaggerated action no matter who looked at it.

“This can’t be... No... Woo...” Tang-E cried.

Hyeonu smiled while watching Tang-E. Regardless of the situation, he always smiled whenever he saw Tang-E. This seemed to be a conditioned reflex now; it had become natural.

“No, it’s a joke. Do you want to play a game to find a red flag?” Hyeonu spoke affectionately while stroking Tang-E’s forehead. Tang-E kicked Hyeonus’s arms and flew into the air.

“Damn Master, you cheated me again. Bah!!!” Tang-E showed an angry expression and ran to one side of the mountain.

***

Finding the red flag wasn’t a difficult task.

It was simple compared to finding Lebron’s mentor, Duke Blade, in the Balder Mountains or finding the Mysterious Sky Sect on Geomdan Mountain. Hyeonu climbed the mountain with a relaxed mood and found the red flag after killing three or four monsters.

“Master dude, it’s here. It’s a red flag.” Tang-E grabbed Hyeonu’s pants with one paw and shook his other paw happily.

“Yes, I can see it as well. Just grab that, and it will be over.” Hyeonu slowly approached the red flag with Tang-E.

[Time remaining - 65:06:53]

‘I’ve been here for seven hours.’ Hyeonu couldn’t help smiling when he saw the remaining time.

This was the intermediate academy, so he didn’t relax his vigilance. Still, it was easier than he thought it would be, and it seemed as if he could quickly finish the five stages of Senu.

Nevertheless, things didn’t go as Hyeonu wanted.

“Kuaaack!” The guardian of the flag, the last bastion of Stage 1, showed its presence.

‘Sure enough.’ Hyeonu had expected this from the beginning. In addition, Stage 1 hadn’t been too difficult so far, so Hyeonu showed a happy expression at the guardian’s entrance.

“Tang-E, let’s unwind.”

Before Hyeonu even spoke, Tang-E was already stretching. “I’m already ready, Master dude.” 

Tang-E was confident. It was a reasonable confidence. The guardian was a giant ogre, but it was smaller than the purple ogre of the Balder Mountains. Tang-E didn’t know much about this monster, but the purple ogre seemed a bit stronger in comparison. There was no reason for Tang-E to lose against a lesser guardian.

“Let’s finish it and go to the next level,” Hyeonu said.

It was the same for Hyeonu. This battle would be just like what he told Tang-E; the guardian was just a warm-up. It was warming up for the fierce battles that might come out in Stages 2 and 3. The guardian didn’t know what Hyeonu was thinking and cried out once again: “Kuweeeeoh!”

[You have heard the flag guardian’s Fear.]

[The influence of fighting energy allows you to ignore the Fear of the flag guardian.]

For ordinary players, it was a roar that would limit movement. It just didn’t affect Hyeonu. Still, Hyeonu didn’t move. He pretended to be affected by the guardian’s roar. Despite being seven meters tall, the guardian had very agile movements and used its long legs to run toward Hyeonu. It did not intend to miss the prey it had caught.

Tang-E placed buffs on the motionless Hyeonu, and three different-colored lights fell onto his body. Even then, Hyeonu still didn’t move. It was only when the guardian was 20 meters away that he finally took action, making a movement that left a dark afterimage behind. This was the Mysterious Sky Steps.

Hyeonu showed a more relaxed expression than before as he disappeared from the guardian’s point of view. 

“Kuoh?” The running guardian paused.

Its goal had disappeared. So, instead of the pheasant, the guardian aimed for the small chicken, swinging the club in its hand. The club it wielded was actually more like a huge tree. It just looked like a club because it was held in the hand of a seven-meter-tall giant. Regardless, the club never reached Tang-E.

Hyeonu appeared right behind the guardian and cut at its arm which held the club.

“Kuooooh!” The guardian screamed with pain. Beside Hyeonu was Tang-E, who had blue sparks forming all over his body. They gradually gathered around Tang-E’s paw and shaped a huge spear. Tang-E stretched out his paw toward the guardian, and the blue spear flew through the air.

“Go!!!” 

With a loud roar from Tang-E, the blue spear flew away and pierced the guardian’s heart. There were no screams this time. How many creatures could move freely after their heart was pierced? Otherwise, this monster wouldn’t just be a guardian.

“Kuoooh...”

Thump!

Furthermore, it wouldn’t have knelt down like this.

‘Tang-E is getting stronger.’ Hyeonu was amazed by Tang-E’s power. The magic Tang-E showed in the ant den previously had been amazing, but it was even stronger today. Day by day, he seemed to be becoming more powerful.

‘I have to finish it.’ 

Hyeonu’s admiration for Tang-E was delayed for a moment because he had to finish the work in front of him first. However, Hyeonu didn’t move.

“Tang-E, finish it off. This time, use something other than Lightning. How about Ice?” Hyeonu gave the finishing move to Tang-E as well. He was going to check Tang-E’s ice magic. This was the only thing left.

“Understood, Master dude.” 

The moment Tang-E answered, he used magic, and cold ice appeared in the air. To be precise, it appeared above the head of the panting guardian who was on its knees. The form of the ice was gradually completed. It was like a huge glacier falling down.

Tang-E’s magic descended without overpowering gravity. The guardian’s head was struck by the mass of ice, smashing it fatally. When Hyeonu saw this scene, he touched his chin.

‘It will be a hidden card in the siege.’

Hyeonu felt like he had a trump card to play in the professional league. Tang-E wasn’t as good as Mason when it came to magic, but he had buffs and melee combat abilities. So, overall, he was better than Mason.

‘It’s possible with the right strategy.’

The first stage of Senu was cleared while Hyeonu was thinking about this.

[Time remaining - 65:01:43]

-You have passed the given test perfectly. Compensation will be paid before moving on to Stage 2.

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Skill proficiency has been acquired.]

[A skill has been created.]

“Eh?” Hyeonu made a silly sound. The skill was an unexpected reward. Hyeonu hurriedly opened the skills window to confirm the identity of the new skill.

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