Ranker’s Return

It was the best Crescent Moon Cut that Hyeonu could fire. Reaching a size of dozens of meters long, it was powerful enough to separate the upper and lower bodies of the dark elves who attacked him. The meadow turned bright red, and the grasses that boasted a deep vitality were filled with ominous energy.

The number of dark elves killed by Crescent Moon Cut was close to 100. Of course, it wasn’t that big a figure compared to the total number of dark elves. There were nearly thousands of dark elves in the war. However, Hyeonu had taken hold of the momentum, and he was overwhelming them. More than a hundred dark elves were killed by a single human being. There was also nothing they could do; they couldn’t properly use their swords or magic.

“Charge!!! Kill them all! Kill all of them!” The knights didn’t miss the advantage that Hyeonu had created.

They were veterans on the battlefield and commanded the soldiers as they jumped into battle. Meanwhile, Hyeonu was still engaged in battle with the dark elves. Even so, he continued to stand out like a jewel in the midst of trash.

The Mysterious Sky Sword emitted a black light, and the dark elves fell while bleeding. After that, the Mysterious Sky Sword continued to cut steadily through the air. A familiar voice broke the momentum of the Mysterious Sky Sword: “You are stronger than I thought? Why didn’t I know you before? Were you recruited recently?”

The man with a bright smile—it was the previous solider. He was covered in red all over. Hyeonu was also covered in red blood, but it was all the blood of the dark elves. Based on the man’s torn armor, some of the blood on his body was certain to belong to him.

“Take this.” Hyeonu handed the man a small glass bottle.

It was a potion from Hyeonu’s inventory. Hyeonu himself had little need for it.

“As expected, you are a new recruit, so your supplies are plentiful. I ran out a while ago...” The man instantly drank the potion he received from Hyeonu, drinking it all until the very last drop.

“Thank you. I will make sure to repay the gift I received today.” The soldier disappeared into the battlefield with these words.

‘Will it end soon?’

During Hyeonu’s brief conversation with the soldier, the vanguard had pushed considerably into the dark elves.

[Time remaining - 2:09:43]

It was 30 minutes after Hyeonu opened the battle using Mysterious Sky Range. The tide had already tilted a lot, and the imperial army was pushing the dark elves overwhelmingly.

‘10 minutes...’

It was almost an hour since Hyeonu’s mission started. He had to finish the mission within this hour. That way, he would get better rewards. Everyone knew that the shorter it took to complete the mission, the better the reward would be. Why did Hyeonu come to Senu? The rewards—it was all because of this. He knew how to get the best reward and had the corresponding ability to do so. Then that meant it was natural for him to do so.

As Hyeonu stood still, someone approached him. It was Tang-E who looked like a blond boy.

“Master dude, what is it? Why aren’t you tired now? Master dude, you seem to have eaten more meat. I’m already so weak...” Tang-E hit Hyeonu’s waist like he didn’t care about the blood on Hyeonu’s body.

“No, it isn’t like that, dude.” Hyeonu couldn’t help laughing. It was Tang-E’s charm that made him forget he was doing Senu’s mission and that he was currently on the battlefield.

“Now you should just attack. Don’t spare your strength. If there is a problem, go back to Bung Bung Island. Got it?” Hyeonu immediately calmed down and gave orders to Tang-E. They could enjoy themselves after the mission.

“I understand. Believe in me. I will get rid of those black-skinned fools,” Tang-E replied coolly like he had been frustrated. He seemed to be full of motivation.

“What? What are you saying?” Hyeonu asked.

The problem was Tang-E’s radical tone. Hyeonu had heard it the other day, and now he couldn’t stop himself from frowning.

“Who did you learn this from? What is this?” Hyeonu questioned seriously, unable to laugh. He could try again if he failed Senu, but Tang-E’s bad habits needed to be corrected now.

“Who taught you to speak like this? I don’t remember saying such words,” Hyeonu rebuked Tang-E.

Tang-E rolled his eyes and avoided giving an answer as he knew that he had done something wrong.

“You, I’ll see you later.” Hyeonu ultimately promised to have the talk next time. It was because Tang-E clearly had no intention of answering right now.

‘I will give him something and try to coax him to give me an answer.’

If Hyeonu knew who said it, he would stop them from meeting Tang-E. They absolutely should not meet ever. The meeting couldn’t be allowed until they entered the ground.

***

Hyeonu’s anger was released onto the dark elves.

“Die!”

While thinking about the person who taught Tang-E such a rude word, Hyeonu swung the Mysterious Sky Sword. Magic power rose, and the dark elves fell. The battle ended there. Hyeonu’s tremendous performance spurred the Luos Empire to victory. Then the world stopped the moment the soldiers walked toward Hyeonu. Only Hyeonu and Tang-E could move in the stopped world.

[Time remaining - 2:01:32]

The time remaining appeared in the air with a golden glow. Simultaneously, the polite voice rang through the space once again, -You have passed the given test perfectly. Compensation will be paid before moving on to Stage 3.

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

Before coming to Senu, Hyeonu’s experience bar was white and empty.

‘The level up is good.’

He received a great amount of experience. Hyeonu was currently level 251. On average, it took two to three days to gain one level. Now, he leveled up just from passing the first two stages of Senu. Yet this wasn’t the end.

[Skill proficiency has been acquired.]

[The proficiency of all combat related skills will increase.]

[The skill proficiency of Attributes Enhancement has increased to C+.]

[The skill proficiency of Fighting Energy Emission has increased to D-.]

[The skill proficiency of Area Proclamation has increased to E+.]

[The skill proficiency of Pure Energy Manifestation has increased to B.]

The endless messages announcing the increase in skill proficiency filled his field of view. It was dizzying. Despite that, there was something else that caught Hyeonu’s eye.

[The skill Mysterious Sky Demonic Art’s rank has risen to 7 stars.]

[A skill has been created.]

‘The skill proficiency of Mysterious Sky Demonic Art increased?’

The Mysterious Sky Demonic Art had been stagnant for some time. The rank hadn’t risen any further after reaching six stars. In fact, it didn’t mean much for the skill to have a rank of five or six stars; its biggest significance was being the stage before reaching seven stars.

On the other hand, the seven-star rank was distinctly different from the six-star rank. It was because there would be one new skill.

‘Skill Window.’

Hyeonu hastily opened the skill window to check Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.

[Mysterious Demonic Martial Art]

[A famous martial art in the East Continent.

Once the proficiency reaches 3, 5, 7, and 9 stars, new skills will be opened.

Type: Martial Art

Rating: Unique

Skill Proficiency: 7 stars (the proficiency of martial arts is indicated by the star unit)

The attribute is fixed as the dark attribute.

The strength of magic power is increased by 80%.

Mysterious Sky Steps can be used.

Mysterious Sky Range can be used.

Mysterious Sky can be used.

Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength can be used.

Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength: Shoots strong magic.]

Just then, another message appeared.

[Since the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art has been changed by the Book of Random Luck Enhancement, you can use Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength as a skill if you call out ‘Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength’, but this only applies to the first use.]

‘Right. I’ve enhanced the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.’

It was now so comfortable to use that he had forgotten he needed tremendous effort to use the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.

“I’m glad. Let me try it once.” Hyeonu sighed with relief. In this sense, the developers of Quency were still realistic. How could he implement a skill he had never used before?

‘How to do this...’

Hyeonu had another problem. Should he use the Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength and practice now? Or should he leave it as a treasure until he really needed to use it? Regardless, his worries didn’t last long, and he drew out the Mysterious Sky Sword immediately.

Tang-E, who was approaching Hyeonu, stepped back. He mistakenly believed that Hyeonu was aiming the Mysterious Sky Sword at him. ‘Crazy Master dude. He is even pulling out his sword.’

After staring at Hyeonu for a few seconds, Tang-E nodded decisively. Then a magic circle with abnormal patterns appeared below his feet and swallowed him. Tang-E fled to Bung Bung Island. Hyeonu was unaware of it and read the explanation of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength once again. This was his last check of the skill before using it.

[Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength: Shoots strong magic.]

‘If it is shot... Does this mean it has the same process as Fireball?’

‘Shoots’—there weren’t many skills that were described like this. It was like firing a cannon or a bullet.

Of course, Hyeonu only thought up to here. The background of Arena was a fantasy world, so it was magic that was being shot out, not bullets and shells. In fact, this was insignificant; the most important thing was something else.

‘Focus, focus!’

Saving the one-time use opportunity was unimportant. The most important thing was to know how the skill was used.

“Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength,” Hyeonu carefully spoke the name of the skill like he was chanting a spell. Magic power rushed to the end of the Mysterious Sky Sword, and Hyeonu felt it calmly. Soon, enough magic power was gathered, and it started to change, compressing into a small bead.

The bead, which was the size of an adult’s thumb, shook. Then the gathered magic power was released and shot in the direction at which the Mysterious Sky Sword was pointing. It was like a laser. The black ray destroyed everything in its way without leaving a single trace behind. This was a terrifying power.

As he held the Mysterious Sky Sword, Hyeonu’s hands trembled, and there was a lot of joy in his eyes. It turned out that the skill had the ability to deal powerful damage in an instant.

‘Good, good.’

“Really good.”

Hyeonu’s body shook with joy. He had often felt a sense of regret these days. Although he was more powerful than anyone else, his lack of attack skills was painful.

Hyeonu only had two attack skills—Crescent Moon Cut and Mysterious Sky Range. There was also Heavy Blow and Bash, but he rarely used them anymore. It was more efficient to cut twice. At such a time, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength appeared.

‘I need to practice it quickly.’

The sensation of the skill’s power was still lingering at his fingertips. He had to practice using the Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength as much as possible before this sensation disappeared.

‘By the way, I think I’m forgetting something...’

Hyeonu shook his head a few times and injected magic power into the Mysterious Sky Sword. It wasn’t too late to think after using up all his magic power.

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