Ranker’s Return

“Tang-E, where do you think it will be this time?”

After the battle with the menon, Tang-E and Hyeonu continued to climb up and down Bukneung Mountain for a long time. Naturally, they had several more battles against the menon.

“I think it is the same as before. Give up, Master dude. Let go of your mind, and you will eventually find what you want,” Tang-E said like a Buddhist. It was fully evident in his expression. This was a face that showed no desire, as if he had let go of everything in the world. That was Tang-E’s appearance as he sat on Hyeonu’s head.

Hyeonu shook his head several times and spoke in a heated manner, “That might be correct, but Tang-E, can’t you think positively?” 

Due to the movements of Hyeonu’s head, Tang-E shook as well.

“Is it appearing then? It isn’t appearing. So just give up and look around in a relaxed manner. I will help you,” Tang-E said while pressing against Hyeonu’s head.

There was no information anyway. It was actually ridiculous to try and find something on this vast mountain without knowing anything. Hyeonu agreed, “I should. That’s right. I don’t know when I’ve ever found anything easily anyway.”

Moreover, even if he found it right now, he wouldn’t be able to say, ‘I’m lucky, it’s easy.’

During his break time, Hyeonu had to make some calls to inform the others of what happened. Although he only called a few people, the calls were still quite time consuming. In particular, the call with Reina took a long time. She had been on the verge of being damaged, so there was a lot to talk about.

‘Should I just take it easy after all?’ Hyeonu wondered. Tomorrow was Monday and the day of the stream. The temptation became even stronger because he had no specific content in mind.

‘Yes, let’s wait for Monday even if I find it. I will do it while streaming.’

Hyeonu made up his mind. It leaned to one side, and Hyeonu soon fell weakly in front of such a weak temptation.

“Tang-E, let’s relax. Relax,” Hyeonu said, smiling strangely.

***

He said to take it easy, but he couldn’t do so. This was because there was the other option of ‘being unable to find it’. There was no guarantee that Hyeonu would be able to find it before the stream. Therefore, he devoted his time to finding it first.

“I found it, Master dude.”

However, Hyeonu had an almighty pet called Tang-E. There was nothing Tang-E couldn’t do. He was even good at finding dungeons.

“Where? Where is it?” Hyeonu quickly turned his head from side to side. In a hurry, he scoured the areas at which Tang-E wasn’t pointing.

“Master dude, it is here. Here! Don’t look elsewhere!” Eventually, the frustrated Tang-E grabbed Hyeonu’s hair with both feet and turned Hyeonu’s head to the discovered location.

“Here, here. Isn’t it obviously weird?” Tang-E asked.

Hyeonu nodded. The place that Tang-E showed Hyeonu definitely didn’t match with the surroundings. It looked like a bunch of people had left scorched handprints on the mountainous rock. This area wasn’t in harmony with the surrounding nature.

“Yes, it is strange. Well done, Tang-E.” Hyeonu raised his hand and stroked Tang-E’s back. “Tang-E, you did well. Hehe.”

Then Hyeonu took the brightly smiling Tang-E toward the strange place. As they arrived in front of it, the message Hyeonu desired to see finally appeared.

[Would you like to enter the residence of Guan, the 17th shaman of Dinnei?]

“Tang-E, this…” Hyeonu pulled Tang-E down from his shoulder and held Tang-E in his arms. “Oh, my good luck charm. You are too good...”

Tang-E was stunned by Hyeonu’s sudden embrace. Hyeonu stared at Tang-E with joy.

“I will enter.”

***

[You have entered the residence of Guan, the 17th shaman of Dinnei.]

Unlike the strange entrance, the interior revealed an extremely familiar scene. It was of an ordinary magician’s laboratory, a dungeon. The arrangement was crude, but Hyeonu could sense in it the touch of a human. Past the lab, there was a short passage leading to the next space, which wasn’t visible. It gave off a bizarre atmosphere as he didn’t know when and what would emerge.

This was a common ‘magician’s dungeon’ in Arena.

‘Now all I have to do is prepare for stream.’

***

[Arena’s first! The challenge: to clear a dungeon in the East Continent!]

Hyeonu’s unique title attracted the attention of viewers. There was no way it would be considered ordinary.

‘That’s because they don’t know about Senu.’

Of course, Senu had been the first, but it was a dungeon the viewers didn’t and couldn’t know about.

‘It’s good today.’

The number of viewers was rising rapidly. The unit of the number was changing every second. 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000...

The number rose rapidly and soon exceeded one million. It was only then that the audience’s growth rate began to show a slow curve.

‘I don’t need to waste more time doing this.’

Of course, once the streaming mode was turned on, the viewers entered even faster compared to when it was displaying the standby screen.

“Hello? I am Alley Leader. It is nice to see everyone.”

A man wearing a child’s mask appeared on the screen.

-Hello Alley Leader.

-Let’s see the dungeon quickly.

-What is different about the East Continent’s dungeons?

-Show me Tang-E. The dungeons are all similar anyway. All I need is Tang-E.

The viewers welcomed Hyeonu as always. There were some strange messages, but Hyeonu ignored them and answered only the questions he wanted to answer.

“Yes, hello. Dungeons in the East Continent are similar to the ones in the west Continent. There is no difference. I’ll start with the surroundings.”

Hyeonu changed the streaming perspective. Hyeonu immediately turned his head and examined the surroundings. Each time, the chat window shook with the messages of the viewers.

-What? Isn’t it just a common dungeon?

-Why does it look like a magician’s dungeon?

-There isn’t much difference.

-Is there anything unique about the East Continent?

The viewers’ responses were similar. Consistent with Hyeonu’s reaction when he first entered the dungeon, it was a disappointed response to the dungeon.

“The master of the dungeon is a shaman, not a magician. The class is different. This is the biggest difference.”

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

-A duplicate dungeon acknowledged by Alley Leader.

-What is Quency doing? Why aren’t they doing their work properly?

-Why can’t they make better content than Alley Leader?

The viewers laughed at Hyeonu’s words. 

“I will start with a description of the dungeon. Do you remember the NPC I killed last time? This is the next part of the quest. I have to kill the master of this dungeon.”

-I thought it would be so.

-So what’s the quest level?

-It doesn’t seem to be the main scenario.

-Still, that doesn’t seem to matter at all.

“This time, it is totally irrelevant. It has nothing to do with the main scenario. The quest rating is S. I wish it were the main scenario,” Hyeonu said while shaking his head.

He was speaking a fact. The quest’s rating was S. It wasn’t the main scenario, but it was just as important. No, in fact, it was much more important. This quest was an opportunity to maintain a friendly relationship with those ruling the East Continent—the people dominating its light and darkness. Well, no, it wasn’t actually a friendly relationship, but he could build up one that was filled with a lot of trust. It would increase his influence in the East Continent.

‘It’s necessary to mix in with the east and west.’

That’s why he was able to get the high-rated quests and the main scenario.

“Let’s start clearing the dungeon. The current clearance rate is 0%. It will be done in six hours.”

The dungeon exploration began with Hyeonu’s words.

***

Actually, Hyeonu wasn’t familiar with the dungeon. He just knew about the monsters in the few spaces ahead. Since Hyeonu had to clear this dungeon anyway, he didn’t bother spending extra time exploring it. He paid more attention to other things instead.

“This dungeon is not easy. Perhaps it is because the shaman’s level is too high, but these monsters are very powerful. The monster that comes out of this room is one called ‘strongly cursed menon’.”

-Menon?

-What does it look like?

-Is it weakened by a powerful curse?

-If it is a monster, it might get stronger.

The viewers were curious about the name ‘menon’, which they were hearing for the first time. Before long, their questions were resolved, and there was no need for Hyeonu to explain. It was because the strongly cursed menon appeared.

“Kuooooh!” The menon screamed and jumped at Hyeonu. Unlike the other menons Hyeonu met previously, this one had a skin color that was different from the original blue. This was a blue so dark it seemed as if the darkness of the deep sea had seeped in. Simultaneously, the menon’s bright gold eyes made it look more eccentric. In addition, the pure white spear contrasted with the menon’s dark blue skin tone, making its skin stand out even more.

-Oh, it’s extremely disgusting.

-What is with Quency’s aesthetic sense?

-They always make things like this.

-I need monsters like elves to purify my eyes.

The viewers disliked the menon’s appearance, which instinctively induced a sense of urgency.

“It’s as powerful as it looks. In particular, that spear—it makes a pretty creepy sound. It would be nice if the sound is reduced a bit.”

After giving the viewers mischievous advice, Hyeonu ran toward the menon and pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword with a clear sound. Despite its height of three meters, the dark-skinned menon jumped very lightly and approached Hyeonu without making a single sound. This menon was like a typical hunter and assassin.

The strongly cursed menon then gently threw its saw-blade spear. It didn’t overload the spear or use too much strength; the amount of power was just right. In fact, it was appropriate to say that the spear floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. It was an attack with perfect movements.

However, the menon’s opponent was too good. Hyeonu’s body scattered like a mirage. It was a magical scene. The viewers couldn’t believe it even when they saw it with their own eyes. Hyeonu didn’t seem to be a player at all.

-What is that?

-No, he is playing another game alone.

-Noooooooo! What is this?

-It suddenly became pitiful...

Hyeonu’s movements didn’t stop there as he used bizarre movements to avoid the menon’s continuous attacks. Meanwhile, the menon’s movements gradually became larger and more intense, reflecting the anger it felt toward Hyeonu. It was only then that the Mysterious Sky Sword finally moved. As the menon’s movements continued to get larger, Hyeonu swung like a ghost through the gap, and the Mysterious Sky Sword separated the menon’s waist. It was only once...

In just one attack, the menon was killed. Its death was in vain.

[The mighty cursed menon has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

“Oh, it gave a lot of gold. Why did the chat suddenly stop?”

Hyeonu picked up the gold dropped by the menon and looked at the stopped chat window with confusion.