Ranker’s Return

[Jung Hoon, the 8th group leader of the Secret Camp, has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Leaders of the Secret Camp Killed 15/50]

[Turan of the Yeokcheon Group has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

The message windows flashed in front of Hyeonu. He had achieved his purpose for coming to this place.

‘Um... Shall I run away?’

After Hyeonu achieved his goal, a devil was born in his heart. It whispered sweetly, telling him things like, ‘What was the use of fighting? Just ignore it. Since when did he care about such a person anyway?’

Hyeonu would get no benefit from killing Bi Yoon here. Unlike Jung Hanbaek, Bi Yoon wasn’t a bitter enemy of Hyeonu’s, so it was better for Hyeonu to go eat a meal with Tang-E.

‘Yes, let’s go.’

Hyeonu had just made up his mind when a group entered his vision. They weren’t bandits but people dressed in colorful clothing.

‘Players?’

These people were players.

-What is this?

-Almost 30% of the players in the East Continent are here?

-Crazy. What is this, a regular get-together?

-Yes, it is like a regular get-together—a get-together to kill Alley Leader.

Hyeonu saw the chat window and understood the situation. Bi Yoon stood still while countless players walked toward him.

‘Have they come to kill me?’

Hyeonu’s mind changed. It shook like a reed, and the devil suddenly disappeared. Now it wasn’t a matter of material gain but a matter of pride. Before Gang Hyeonu, there was the image of Alley Leader.

‘I have to show these dogs how to fear a tiger.’

He didn’t know about what things would be like in other games or in reality, but in Arena, Hyeonu was a tiger. Alley Leader was the king of the beasts—no, the king of Arena.

-Why did these bastards come? I wanted to see Tang-E.

-Just get rid of all these crazy bastards.

-Pluck their lives. Speak nicely. Just kill them.

-Kill, kill them!

“Everyone, please calm down. It won’t be too late to do that after figuring out what is going on. Maybe they just came to say hello.”

The viewers had already made their judgment, but Hyeonu calmed them down. After hearing his words, the viewers started to chat calmly again.

-Yes, they came to say hello.

-Yes, I know. Are they going to say hello now? Alley Leader’s amazing.

Right when the viewers were trying to cheer up, someone poured cold water on them. It wasn’t through words but action. Those who were slowly walking toward Hyeonu pulled out their weapons.

-I knew this would happen.

-Crazy bastards. They stuffed up today’s streaming.

-If I can’t see Tang-E’s eating show today, then I’ll kill them all.

The viewers gritted their teeth the moment Tang-E’s eating broadcast started facing the crisis of flying away. However, Hyeonu conveyed words of comfort to the viewers: “Well, don’t be too angry. I will wipe them out instantly and go for a meal. It will be a good hunt today. I would be thankful if you give me a recommendation later.”

‘It was due to these guys.’

Hyeonu realized the identity of the ominous feeling he had been having for a while now. It was a type of warning…

A warning about their ambush.

“Hey!” Hyeonu yelled at Bi Yoon.

Bi Yoon shifted his gaze away from the newly appeared players to Hyeonu’s face. Frowning slightly, Bi Yoon seemed to be asking why Hyeonu was calling him.

“Me... Can you handle me?” Hyeonu asked.

Hearing that, Bi Yoon smiled. Then Hyeonu added more words: “If I live, you won’t be able to bear it.”

Hyeonu immediately used all types of skills ranging from the giant skills to One Who Yearns, and his stats exploded upward.

‘It will be sad to end it here.’

Until now, Hyeonu used skills to raise his stats. Now it was time to increase his stats with something other than skills.

[Achieved 100 Consecutive Wins has been activated.]

[Attack power is increased by 20%.]

[Undefeated Sovereign has been activated.]

[All stats have increased by 50%.]

[Ruler of the Battlefield has been activated.]

[All stats have increased by 10%.] 

Two titles he’d earned from the arena and one from Senu—all of Hyeonu’s specs increased when the three of them were combined.

‘I can feel it.’

His arena was currently in a state of rest. To be precise, it was the result of an agreement whereby his arena was stopped to pay compensation in accordance with the arena rankings. Therefore, he didn’t often experience this boosted state of his stats getting raised by these titles.

‘It feels like I will fly away.’

Still, there was no need for Hyeonu to adapt to the raised stats; they fit as perfectly as a suit.

“What? Aren’t you coming?” Hyeonu spoke to the people surrounding him.

They were staring at each other. To be precise, they were staring at certain people, waiting for them to give out orders.

“It’s time to jump in. Is this a problem that can be solved with words? No. So let’s resolve it in a relaxed way,” Hyeonu said in a cold tone.

This wasn’t a matter that could be solved with words since they had already come to PK him. Exchanging words in such a situation would simply be a waste of time and energy.

“Things are going as you planned. Don’t mess around and just do what you prepared,” the man standing in the middle of the crowd stated quietly.

However, his voice was heard clearly even by Hyeonu because the mountain was so quiet. The man gestured with his chin, and the players approached Hyeonu carefully. They weren’t in a hurry as they moved in a set formation.

-Which guild are they?

-If they came to the East Continent, then aren’t they rankers?

-Maybe that’s why their actions are so stiff.

-They are all equal in front of Alley Leader.

Hyeonu smiled when he saw the chat window.

‘There is no sense of seriousness.’

Objectively, the current situation was very dangerous. Nearly 100 people had gathered to kill one person. Yet none of the viewers were concerned about Hyeonu. They were just faithful to their role of being a third party and acted as if they were watching a movie at the theater.

“I made it like this...”

This was the result that Hyeonu produced. He had experienced more than just one or two events that could be called an achievement, thus they thought this time should go smoothly as well. The distance between the players and Hyeonu was reduced to a certain length. Then familiar message windows appeared in front of Hyeonu’s eyes, displaying important messages.

[The stat ‘fighting energy’ has caused your stats to rise.]

[The player is stronger than the opponent.]

[The other person’s stats will drop.]

[The stat ‘dignity’ has caused the opponent’s stats to fall.]

From time to time, Hyeonu felt that the combination of his stats and skills was truly excellent. Now was such a time, and his smile widened.

“What is this?”

“Don’t stop! Protect the formation!”

On the other hand, the players stopped moving momentarily due to the messages that appeared in front of them. The messages were similar to Hyeonu’s, but the specific details were different.

[The player is weaker than the opponent.]

[The player’s stats will drop by a certain percentage while the battle lasts.]

[You have been overwhelmed by the dignity of the other person.]

[The player’s stats will drop by a certain percentage while the battle lasts.]

Simultaneously, the players’ bodies became sluggish as the debuff was applied.

“Priests, use your buffs!”

“Use your buffs without hesitation!”

The players screamed when they saw those messages. This was the scariest thing about Alley Leader. They were already losing just by standing in front of him. Meanwhile, Hyeonu continued laughing. He must’ve been nervous upon seeing how fast they handled the situation, yet the smile never left his face.

“I still have many things remaining. Viewers, do you know what they are?”

-The red skill remains.

-There is also the black one.

-There is also the one that dyes the sky.

-Why are there so many skills left? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ What can they do when they’re so pathetic?

The viewers mourned for the players. The players were pitiful. It was just unfortunate they didn’t know their target well.

-I feel sorry, so finish it quickly.

-We need to watch Tang-E eat.

-If you leave the mountain in 30 minutes, I’ll give you 1,000 gold coins. 

-2,000 gold coins if you eat with Tang-E in 60 minutes.

In the end, Hyeonu even got missions, and they were mostly similar. In any case, they were telling him to just get rid of the players and eat with Tang-E. This was a case of pouring oil on fire. Hyeonu didn’t like these people, so if he were given gold coins, it was obvious he would be burning with even more motivation.

‘I will finish it in a fiery manner.’

He poured out his skills without reservation. Time seemed to pass by quickly for the clear sky with the blue turning purple, and the land stained with green vitality was filled with black energy. Then red threads emerged from Hyeonu’s body and struck the bodies of the nearby players. The combination of all these was like pouring cold water onto the players who had regained their spirits.

After finishing his preparations, Hyeonu moved in a relaxed manner. He raised his foot from the ground and started moving. The players scrambled and moved in the direction of Hyeonu’s motion. However, they didn’t think of hitting him. It was because the command hadn’t been given yet. Then the players heard what they had waited for.

“Formation A!”

Instantly, the players’ movements changed, going from simply surrounding Hyeonu to approaching him. Wearing thick armor and holding shields, these players at the front were tankers. Hyeonu saw this and realized their strategy: ‘They mean to try a raid.’

Behind the tankers, those with a variety of weapons stood still while the magicians and priests were in the rear. Like that, the human curtain was formed. At the next moment, the tankers used various skills and rushed toward Hyeonu.

“Intense Provocation!”

“Guardian’s Shield!”

“Wall of Earth!”

“Strong Steel Wall!”

A shield and a one-handed sword aimed at Hyeonu. No, they were coming at him from all sides, and there was nowhere to escape. Regardless, Hyeonu just dodged all attacks with simple steps and by moving his upper body. He didn’t even draw the Mysterious Sky Sword.

Moving his left foot back, Hyeonu avoided the sword shot from in front of him and then dodged the shield that tried to smash the back of his head. In the end, he was still in the same spot. Hyeonu hadn’t taken a single step. He remarked, “Is this how you try to catch rats? I don’t know how you managed to get to the East Continent. Wow, it is serious, serious.”

No one opened their mouths at Hyeonu’s words. Carrying on, Hyeonu bit his lip and gave strength to the weapon he held in his hand.

“Demon’s Taboo!”

“Soul Bondage!”

“Body Splitting!”

Just then, the magicians’ spells were completed, and a few debuffs struck Hyeonu.

[Demon’s Taboo has been ignored under the influence of fighting energy.]

[Soul Bondage has been ignored under the influence of fighting energy.]

[Body Splitting has been ignored under the influence of Immovable Heart.]

Yet Hyeonu didn’t need to do anything about them. The effect of Fighting Energy and Immovable Heart took care of all the debuffs.

“I told you. Can you handle it?” 

Hyeonu left these short words and started attacking. Now it was his turn. It was going to be a golden time with gold coins.