Ranker’s Return

The emperor’s blue eyes, which seemed to contain the infinite sky, turned to Hyeonu. No longer appearing bored, the emperor’s eyes now held an indifferent expression. They were emotionless eyes, yet they incited great fear. Still, if it were just this, Hyeonu wouldn’t be frightened.

However, he was frightened because that gaze contained the emperor’s power. A horrifying sound suddenly emerged from Hyeonu’s arm. The emperor exhaled, and Hyeonu’s arm started to twist.

‘Urghh!!’ Hyeonu gritted his teeth as his face distorted with pain, and he barely held back a groan. As for the reason why he held back the groan, that was simple—his posture would obviously be disturbed the moment he opened his mouth and groaned. Then it wouldn’t be a groan but a cry full of pain. Due to this, the Mysterious Sky Sword continued to be swung at the emperor.

The expression in the emperor’s eyes changed, and curiosity filled those transparent emotionless eyes. Meanwhile, the emperor’s mouth was strangely twisted. It was definitely a smile, but it was one that made others uncomfortable. Even so, Hyeonu couldn’t pay attention to it. No, he couldn’t afford to worry about it at all. He was too focused on trying to endure the pain so he could wield his sword.

‘This is it!!’

Finally, the Mysterious Sky Sword arrived before the emperor’s nose. If Hyeonu moved just 10 centimeters closer, he could cut the emperor.

‘Please!’

Hyeonu hoped that nothing would happen during the time he took to move those 10 centimeters. Nonetheless, it simply wasn’t possible. The emperor stretched out his left hand with his palm open, and the Mysterious Sky Sword stopped rather miraculously like it was blocked by a wall and couldn’t move forward any longer.

‘Move!’

Still, Hyeonu tried to move the Mysterious Sky Sword. He held the Mysterious Sky Sword with both hands and used all of his strength like he was cutting firewood. The end result was that the Mysterious Sky Sword just wouldn’t move; it had stopped in place. Then Hyeonu instinctively pulled the Mysterious Sky Sword back. It was to make a big swing.

‘Uh...?’

Surprisingly, the Mysterious Sky Sword finally moved. Originally, it wasn’t supposed to move, but the emperor allowed it to be this way.

‘So it will stop only if it moves forward?’ Such a thought flashed through Hyeonu’s head and was directly transferred to action.

Hyeonu once again extended the Mysterious Sky Sword toward the emperor, but he didn’t just wield it this time. He used the skill Heavy Blow as well. Once again, there was a twisting sound. This was a pain Hyeonu had expected somewhat, so it wasn’t as shocking as before. Or maybe he built up a bit of tolerance the second time.

Nevertheless, it was once again the same. The moment he reached a certain distance from the emperor, the Mysterious Sky Sword no longer moved. It just stopped.

“Sh...” Hyeonu barely resisted the urge to swear. After getting the job of a streamer, he always had to be careful with his words. It didn’t matter if he was streaming or not. If it became a habit, then he didn’t know when it would come out.

‘There is no real answer.’

There really was no solution to the emperor’s barrier. Hyeonu simply couldn’t reach the emperor no matter how much he swung. It seemed a wall had been erected between him and the emperor.

‘I just have to try one more time.’

It couldn’t be helped. This wasn’t a matter of talent but of specs. If he could at least deal some damage to the emperor, then Hyeonu could try and kill him. However, this situation was different. There was no hope at all.

‘This isn’t reality. It’s a game.’

If there were no holes, then Hyeonu could create them. Yet that was only in reality. A game was different. It was over if there weren’t any holes.

‘I should at least try that.’

In recent years, Hyeonu had been practicing something. He’d been practicing it for a long time ever since he felt the lack of attack skills. Hyeonu stepped back until he was 10 meters away from the emperor. Fortunately, the emperor didn’t stop Hyeonu from stepping back and just watched.

‘Ah, I really want to deal one blow to him.’ Hyeonu’s pride was provoked.

He really desired to deal just one blow onto the emperor and make another emotion appear on his face. To do so, Hyeonu had to completely succeed in the technique he was going to use. This was a prerequisite. In this way, a small possibility of success was created.

Hyeonu drew an image in his mind, picturing what he wanted to see on the landscape. Then black energy blades covered the air. It was Mysterious Sky Range. Little by little, the shape of the black blades started to change, elongating and forming a crescent shape.

‘Crescent Moon Cut and Mysterious Sky Range are combined.’

To be honest, it was crazy. Hyeonu frequently used continuous and instant type skills at the same time. No, he almost always used them. It was because pure energy was always unleashed from the Mysterious Sky Sword. Of course, there were times when two instant-type skills were used together like when he used Heavy Blow and Crescent Moon Cut together for a stronger attack.

Hyeonu just never used instant-type skills that emitted magic power together. This was because that combination was difficult to use. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been practicing for more than a month. It was just that recently, the success rate and casting time of when he used them together were on the right track. If he practiced a bit more, then he could use the combination in actual combat. This was especially so when the opponent didn’t care about him, much like how the emperor right now.

Hyeonu bit his lip with a sense of humiliation once again, but that feeling quickly disappeared from Hyeonu’s heart. The moment his concentration got back on track, the distracting thoughts started to disappear. Crescent moons, as big as the magic power that escaped Hyeonu’s body, filled the air.

Yet the emperor’s eyes still showed no emotion. The interest they displayed a little while ago had disappeared, and now they were shining transparently like the sky.

Finally, dozens of crescent moons hovered in the air. It was spectacular. The dozens of Crescent Moon blades were 10 meters in size, and they shot at the emperor. However, the emperor didn’t even blink when he saw the pure energy flying toward him. He merely raised his hand lightly just like before. Simultaneously, the crescent moons stopped one by one.

‘This is the expected scene.’ Still, Hyeonu wasn’t flustered at all. He hadn’t expected to be able to pierce the emperor’s barrier with just this much.

Therefore, Hyeonu continued to use his magic power without stopping. If the supply of magic power was cut off, the cooldown of Crescent Moon Cut would start, so Hyeonu prevented the system from judging that the skill had ended by constantly injecting magic power.

Once again, dozens of crescent moons shot at the emperor. This time it was different. Dozens of pure energy blades were already tied up under the emperor’s influence, so perhaps it was due to this that some pure energy blades escaped the influence of the emperor.

A sharp high-pitched tone rang out. It was the sound of the collision between the transparent golden curtain and Hyeonu’s crescent moons. The identity of the golden curtain was the emperor’s magic power.

‘Good... That’s it.’

Hyeonu was delighted in the situation that had progressed a bit. It felt like a glimmer of hope in a bleak world. 

“Uh...?” Hyeonu got a tight feeling in his chest just then. It was a foreign bloated feeling like abdominal distension. Hyeonu forgot he was in battle with the emperor as he instinctively confirmed the source of the strange feeling. Lowering his head toward his chest, he saw that a brilliant gold sword had pierced his chest.

“Aack!”

The pain came the moment Hyeonu realized it. His concentration that was at its peak scattered, and he lost the strength in his body.

[Your health has been decreased to less than 30%.]

[Tyrant’s Heart is used.]

[Half of your total health is regained.]

Fortunately, Tyrant’s Heart that was attached to Tyrant Caruso’s Shirt saved him from immediate death, temporarily recovering his strength. However, it was only a temporary measure when he couldn’t remove the light sword that was the source of the health consumption.

Hyeonu raised his head to look at the emperor. The black pure energies had long since disappeared. There, Hyeonu could see the emperor smiling. The emperor seemed to be amused, and his face was bright.

‘Smiling?’

It was up to here. Hyeonu’s consciousness was interrupted, and he fell into a world of white.

***

After a while, Hyeonu regained consciousness and found he was lying on dirt and sand. He raised his upper body and looked around to see Senu. It was the appearance it had before the first stage started.

“I finally lost,” Hyeonu murmured in a small voice. He had been defeated even though he put everything into it. It was embarrassing to say that he’d done his best.

-The fifth stage test has ended. You have done your best. The results will be settled.

‘Huh?’ Hyeonu cocked his head at the words that were different from before. The result was a settlement. Defeat meant a failure, so why was there a settlement?

-The results settlement is complete. You have fought better than expected against an opposed who can’t be opposed. You have passed the given test brilliantly. The reward will be paid.

Hyeonu’s expression changed bizarrely. He couldn’t get a proper grasp of the situation. Although he had been defeated by a chimera in the form of the emperor, he had passed the test.

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

“Wahhhhhhh!” Hyeonu accepted reality only after seeing the level-up messages. He realized that he had passed Senu.

[The title ‘First Person to Clear Senu’ has been created.]

[First Person to Clear Senu]

[A title given to players who have completed the Luos Empire’s intermediate academy, Senu.

Effect: The power of your skills is increased by 15%.]

Messages continued to appear after the one about the level-up. Of course, Hyeonu acquired a title and a ring as a certificate of completion. These were the natural rewards for clearing Senu.

[A Senu Completion Certificate has been acquired.]

[Senu Completion Proof Ring]

[A certificate given to those who have completed the Luos Empire’s intermediate academy, Senu.

It also gives you the right to enter the advanced academy, Rondal.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: Senu graduate.

Effect: All stats +100, magic power consumption is reduced by 15%.]

The gold ring on Hyeonu’s palm once again proved that clearing Senu wasn’t a dream.

‘There isn’t much difference with the one from Laek?’

The rings’ stats were the same. The only addition was the effect of reducing magic power consumption by 15%. However, Hyeonu was already wearing six rings. After completing his third class advancement, the limit he could wear was six rings, and all the slots had been taken up.

‘I have to take off the Laek one.’

It couldn’t be helped. The Giant rings provided enormous effects and couldn’t be removed. The only other option was to remove the ‘epic’ ring that was related to the Mysterious Sky Sect, which would be even more ridiculous to do. There were obvious differences in item performance. Just one Master of the Mysterious Sky was better than six Laek rings.

Hyeonu pulled the Laek Completion Proof Ring off his finger, replacing it with the Senu Completion Proof Ring. At this moment, the Laek Completion Proof Ring started to shine. Hyeonu closed his eyes due to the sudden light. Soon after the light disappeared, he carefully opened his eyes and found there was something amazing in front of him.

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