Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu returned to Linakalu with the five people. He immediately crossed the wall of the Samsungga and visited Chen Long.

“What happened?” Chen Long welcomed Hyeonu. Specifically, he was waiting for the news that Hyeonu would bring.

“I have finished what you have requested,” Hyeonu stated.

Hearing Hyeonu’s words, Chen Long’s face became rosy. He said, “Yes, well done. Now things will be easier. Are the adventurers behind you those who helped?”

“Yes. They helped me resolve this.”

“I’ve seen them all except one.”

Hyeonu nodded. This was Liu Shei’s first time coming to the Samsungga. The rest of them had visited once before to get the quest to kill the Secret Camp group leaders.

[Attack the Yeokcheon Group has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Chen Long’s gift has been acquired.]

“Do you want anything as a reward?” Chen Long wondered.

‘What should I ask for?’ Hyeonu couldn’t answer immediately. He had never thought about it. The reward was a gift, so he thought it would just be given to him.

“What can you give to me?” Hyeonu asked for some options.

He wanted guidelines.

“Let’s see... A place in the Samsungga? I don’t think that is very desired. Money? Goods? I’ll give you anything I can give,” Chen Long spoke cheerfully.

He said he would give anything he could possibly give. 

‘I don’t have anything I want. I have no shortage of items, and I’m not lacking skills. It’d be crazy to collect money,’ Hyeonu thought.

The problem was that Hyeonu didn’t need anything at the moment. He wasn’t in a hurry for items or skills, and his attack skills—Crescent Moon Cut, Summon a Giant Sword, Mysterious Sky Range, and Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength—were enough for now. Rather than having many skills, it was better for Hyeonu to improve his proficiency in the skills that were needed.

‘Then something better...’ 

Hyeonu turned and looked back at the five people before asking, “Do you have any intention of joining me in this quest? It might take some time, but there will definitely be rewards. If you’re lucky, you can hit the jackpot.”

The expressions of the five people became strange after they heard Hyeonu’s words. Didn’t this mean he would have to give up his rewards?

“Do you want our quest participation as the reward?” Gang Junggu asked.

Hyeonu shook his head. It wasn’t something he had even thought about. He explained, “No, I just mean to establish a relationship with Chen Long? To be precise, I will ask such a relationship to be created. This way, you can carry out quests related to the Samsungga without me. You can’t get indirect compensation through me forever, Hyung-nim.”

Hyeonu wanted something more comprehensive. This would be opening the way for them. The thing that miners spent time making would be gained with a few words from Hyeonu.

Hyeonu turned back to look at Chen Long and started saying, “Leader, all I want is for you to build a certain type of relationship with my colleagues behind me.”

“A certain type of relationship?” Chen Long didn’t understand Hyeonu’s words.

Hyeonu explained what he thought to Chen Long: “It is the same relationship I have with you. A relationship where you give reasonable compensation for jobs. It is a relationship of mutual aid. That is what I want.”

“That’s it? How does that benefit you?” Chen Long heard the explanation but still couldn’t understand Hyeonu’s words.

How was this helpful?

“This is meant to be the reward I’m giving you. Yet you want that as the reward?” Chen Long questioned.

Hyeonu nodded silently. Chen Long saw it and also nodded before saying, “If that is what you want, then I will listen. In the future, I will continue my relationship with those five.”

His gaze stayed on each of the five people. He was clearly remembering their faces.

“Come back a week later. I’ll let you see something amusing. Come alone at that time,” Chen Long told Hyeonu.

“I understand. I’ll be back in a week,” Hyeonu replied.

***

[Streaming Alley Leader’s full-scale urban development — City reconstruction completed]

Hyeonu sat with a serious expression in the inner office of Phinis Castle.

[Territory Status Window]

[Territory Name: Phinis Earldom (formerly the empire’s direct territory)

Lord’s Name: Gang Hyeonu

Territory Development: Economy: 52   Military: 77   Magic: 56   Culture: 57 

Territory Population: 184,933 people

Territory Assets: 30,438 gold

Consumption Cost: 14,020 gold

Levy Amount: 6,220 gold

Security: Good

Owned Facilities: 11 (excluding residential facilities)

Current Status: The Knights of Keon are watching over the territory. They are nurturing troops and preventing the invasion of monsters. The restoration of the territory has been completed. Now the territory has started to develop.]

‘It has progressed beyond recovery.’

Based on the status window, Phinis had definitely improved. It was beyond Hyeonu’s expectations. Most of the areas of redevelopment had been successfully restored. In addition, magic power was elevated.

‘Why did culture rise like this?’

This was the one part he couldn’t understand. No matter how low it had been, it wasn’t common for the figure to increase by 20.

‘I don’t know anything about the territory.’

Hyeonu wouldn’t be able to know until he toured the territory. After all, he couldn’t see it from the inner office.

‘I have to go out and check it...’

It was encouraging to see the consumption cost reduced and the levy increased, but the problem was that the consumption cost was still much higher than the levy.

‘How much gold have I poured into here?’

The amount of gold Hyeonu had placed in the territory’s warehouse had reached nearly 100,000 gold. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that all the gold he’d gained from hunting and quests had been poured into Phinis.

‘If there was no increase in all the figures, then I would go to Quency’s headquarters...’

It was fortunate in many ways. He hadn’t wasted time and money.

‘I’ve checked everything here... I should start.’

Hyeonu removed the territory status window and immediately started streaming. His stream was filled with viewers despite the short waiting time.

“Hello, everyone. Alley Leader is back. It is nice to see you.”

Hyeonu exited the internal office during his greeting. It was to show Phinis to the viewers. How had it changed?

‘Of course, I haven’t seen it either...’

Recently, all of Hyeonu’s playing time was focused only on clearing quests, so he had yet to see the changes. In some cases, Hyeonu hadn’t gone anywhere even if he went to Phinis. He just looked at the estate from the inner office, saw the territory’s overall state, and then went back to the East Continent.

-Is it true that Phinis has changed a lot?

-The restoration’s over?

-Where can I see the photos?

-Don’t you know there are photos in the community? The hunting ground is also good. It’s famous as a sweet hunting ground among high-level players recently.

Phinis’ reputation was spreading through word of mouth, and it wasn’t just because it was Alley Leader’s territory. Rather, it was due to Mount Canary that Hyeonu had shown on his stream previously. It had established itself as a hunting ground.

“There are photos of Phinis in the community? It seems that the players are working hard to promote it. Okay, such an attitude is very good.” 

Hyeonu smiled with satisfaction. The spontaneous publicity gave him a very satisfying feeling. He felt the significance of promoting hard on his stream.

‘Come and give me your gold!’

Hyeonu already dreamed of reclaiming the 100,000 gold. His footsteps became faster as he wondered how Phinis had changed.

‘It should be good enough for people to live in.’

Hyeonu soon left the castle. The viewers marveled at Phinis in front of him.

-Wow, it’s different from the photos.

-Doesn’t this seem better than Aslan?

-Of course. That’s a starting city.

-It is now like a common imperial city.

Phinis wasn’t a redevelopment site any longer. It had become a city that wasn’t glamorous but possessed a beautiful air. Considering that it was still under construction, there was a good chance that it would become a better city in the future.

“It has become a whole new city. It is very satisfying.” Hyeonu also admired Phinis, which had become a small city. Then the viewers, who were listening to Hyeonu, expressed their doubts.

-??? Why is he so surprised?

-It’s like this is his first time seeing it.

-Isn’t it really the first time he is seeing it?

-He is a neglectful lord. Wasn’t it all done by NPCs and Nike? The work is being done by others while Alley Leader is the boss.

-Now the trend is a lord. The lord above the creator.

Hyeonu saw the chat window and hastily made an excuse. In fact, the excuse was no different from a lie because the viewers’ words were true.

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever been here. Isn’t Phinis a place where changes happen every day? Phinis, the city of quests and hunting—I look forward to your visit here.” Hyeonu’s smooth remarks dazzled the audience.

While communicating with the viewers, he looked around Phinis slowly.

‘It has really increased.’

Hyeonu admired the small city in his heart. There were now many houses and fields, as well as buildings that hadn’t existed here before.

‘I think this is a smithy. There is heat coming from inside.’

Hyeonu stopped in front of a building believed to be a smithy. “Shall we enter? Why don’t we check the level of the smithy in Phinis?” Hyeonu finished his words and entered the smithy.

The deeper he entered, the warmer it became.

‘Sigh, why is it so hot?’

Hyeonu continued to enter further inside while enduring the scorching heat. The interior of the smithy was no different from that of any other smithy, so it looked quite familiar.

“As expected, aren’t new constructions the best? This smithy is new and very good,” Hyeonu praised the smithy before anyone could say anything.

How long was he inside before the owner of the smithy was seen...? Finally, the owner of the smithy appeared.

“Who has entered someone else’s smithy...?” A clear voice rang through the smithy, but the end trailed off.

The owner saw Hyeonu and couldn’t speak properly.

“Eh?” Hyeonu saw the owner of the smithy and couldn’t speak.

-What is this? Is it a midget? Why is his height so small?

-Isn’t this a dwarf?

-Then why are there dwarves here?

-Hah... There is a dwarf blacksmith in Alley Leader’s territory...

-As expected, it is of a different class.

The owner of the smithy was a dwarf, not a human.

“Tresha?” Hyeonu uttered.

The identity of the dwarf was Tresha. He was a dwarf who should be in the Hejin Great Mountain Range, yet he was currently in Phinis.

Tresha opened his mouth to say, “You’re finally here, human.”

Hyeonu moved closer to Tresha.

“Why are you here? What about the clan? Were you kicked out by Edchan?” Hyeonu asked the questions he was curious about. He continued to speak without giving Tresha time to answer.

-What? Alley Leader knows him?

-What has he been doing so far?

-No one has ever mentioned seeing a dwarf...

-Is he really playing Arena alone?

The viewers were the same as Hyeonu. Hyeonu might have many questions for Tresha, but the viewers also had many questions. The difference was that Hyeonu could hear an answer from Tresha while it was impossible for the audience to get one.

“Please answer me quickly. I feel dizzy.” Hyeonu finally stopped talking.

Tresha finally managed to speak with difficulty. Even if he had wanted to answer, Hyeonu hadn’t given him time to do so.

“The situation is like this,” Tresha began.