Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu’s speculation was roughly correct. An incident had occurred, and Tresha ran away. It was safe to say he was half kicked out. Hyeonu felt it was absurd and asked again, “What did you steal?”

“The leather was spread out, so I took it and used it for some creative activities,” Tresha responded awkwardly.

“Oh, my... So you came here?” Hyeonu shook his head. He felt Tresha had gone overboard even if it was because he was greedy for good materials. How could he steal from others?

“Once I left the clan... there was nowhere else for me to go. I was told you received a territory, so I settled down here temporarily.”

“Who built the smithy?”

“That fat man liked the idea so much that he made it? He made it as I described.”

It had been Johnny.

Nevertheless, everyone—not just Johnny—would welcome it if a dwarf came and said he would open a smithy. A dwarf’s technique was worth it after all.

‘Well... it’s good for me,’ Hyeonu concluded inwardly. His surprise was only temporary. He became happy once he realized that Tresha’s presence would help Phinis.

“So how long do you want to stay?”

“I think it will be at least a year before my brother’s anger softens...”

“Then promise to make things here for a year, and I’ll give you a gift to help soothe Edchan’s anger.”

Tresha’s eyes widened. He felt that Hyeonu’s proposal was very attractive. In any case, Tresha had to live in Phinis’ smithy for at least a year. There was no guarantee that Edchan’s anger would be completely relieved if he returned after that year.

“Of course. If you support me well with minerals, I will make useful things,” Tresha happily accepted Hyeonu’s offer. After accepting the offer, he was curious about the gift that Hyeonu would give Edchan and asked, “By the way, what is the gift?”

“Of course, it is that I will supplement all the materials that you used. I will give him new ones.”

Tresha smacked his lips together at Hyeonu’s words. He might be thick-skinned, but he couldn’t ask for these materials. After all, it was related to the reason Tresha settled down in Phinis.

“I can’t ask for them. Bring them to my brother and give him my regards. Tell him I’m doing well and he doesn’t have to worry.” 

“I understand. I’ll tell him so. I will also give full support to this smithy.” Hyeonu said farewell and exited the smithy.

“Do you see Phinis’ class? There is a dwarf at Phinis’ smithy, everyone,” Hyeonu boasted to the audience.

-When will our dwarf teacher start to work?

-Can I run to Phinis today?

-What is the stats limit?

-To what extent are the prices set?

-Can’t there be staff discounts?

Questions poured out like a waterfall. The hearts of the viewers were already in Phinis. To be precise, they were with the weapons and armor that Tresha would make and sell.

“Yes... I need to see the items to know the price and stats limit. I intend to set the prices cheaper than that of similar items. Don’t you know me? I am the one who bought and gave out 100 weapons from the East Continent. Money is good, but is it for everyone?”

Hyeonu made a lot of noise with his mouth, but his head was already filled with the thought of 100,000 gold. He was trying to fill in the deficit by selling Tresha’s items.

-As expected of Alley Leader!

-Shout!! Alley Leader!

-I believe, I believe!

-Where is our Alley Leader going now?

Nonetheless, the viewers didn’t know about it and kept calling for Alley Leader. Hyeonu walked past the smithy toward other buildings.

“The city has become very neat. It is a modern place.”

The roads were clean, and buildings were raised. It was the urban plan developed by Hyeonu and embodied by Nike.

‘Is this the taste of raising a territory?’

Hyeonu felt gratified even though he hadn’t done much. He walked around Phinis for a while before stopping in front of a huge stone tower.

“This is the magic tower. It is one of the buildings that will be the pride of Phinis.”

The stone tower was gorgeous. An unidentifiable pattern was overlaid on the ivory-colored surface, and there was even a slight sense of mystery due to the subtle light.

-Crazy!!! What is with this magic tower?

-Aren’t magic towers only in the big cities?

-Wow... I really want to have that city.

-While hunting on Mount Canary, you can stop by Phinis’ magic tower and complete the third class advancement.

-Show the offices of the other classes as soon as possible. What else is there? Please be a warrior...

The viewers were surprised when they saw the magic tower. A magic tower wasn’t in every city. There were cities that had it, and cities that didn’t. Of course, players were drawn to places with magic towers. There were many reasons for that, but the main reason was that there were many NPCs in a magic tower. If there were many NPCs, there would be many quests, and if there were many quests, the probability of gaining a good quest would be higher. This was as natural as the sun rising from the east.

“Um... I don’t know about other places. The buildings I asked to construct were the magic tower and other infrastructure. If you are curious, then I will recommend you come here.”

Hyeonu wrapped up the topic exquisitely. It was a perfect push and pull.

‘Come to Phinis, this group of money.’ 

In Hyeonu’s eyes, the viewers were already gold coins.

***

“Johnny! Johnny!!”

A short time later, Hyeonu arrived at a site where construction was actively taking place and called out to Johnny, Phinis’ only administrator. Johnny came running from somewhere and gasped heavily, “Earl... you... call...ed...”

With a helmet on his head and sweating from the heat, he was more like the foreman than the administrator.

“I have a question to ask you. Is that okay?” 

Hyeonu stopped talking at this point as Johnny’s gasping appearance made it seem like something serious could happen at any time.

“Ah, yes, My Lord. It’s fi...ne... What... everything...”

He didn’t look fine at all. The viewers had the same thought as Hyeonu.

-Wait until he catches his breath.

-He is going to die.

-Where did he run from?

-So why abuse an NPC? Isn’t this a completely evil lord?

-No matter how I look at it, he is a vicious lord.

All of a sudden, Hyeonu became a wicked lord who abused NPCs.

“I didn’t abuse him though? Do you know what his salary is right now...? In addition, I’ve prepared a gift for him today,” Hyeonu whispered in a small enough voice that only the viewers could hear.

-A gift?

-This is a cunning whip and carrot tactic.

-Now he is going to receive that gift and say it is good to work.

-It will probably be like that.

The viewers were sorry for Johnny. They didn’t know the present that Hyeonu would give. However, the image of Johnny receiving it and voluntarily working harder already emerged in their minds.

“Are you okay now?” Hyeonu spoke to Johnny who now looked better.

“Yes, thank you for your consideration. I am fine,” Johnny replied as usual, and his red face was back to being white.

“Is the construction going well as planned? There are no problems?”

“The construction is progressing rapidly because many experts are gathered. The things that you’ve envisioned have started to be completed one by one.” 

Hyeonu nodded after listening to Johnny’s explanation. There was no need for exaggeration. It was all good news.

“What about adventurers? Are they flocking here?”

“There are many adventurers arriving. They seem to be hunting the monsters on Mount Canary. I know there are many cases where they go hunting after receiving requests from the tower.”

It was as Hyeonu expected. The effect of the magic tower had appeared.

“Apart from the magic tower, what other similar buildings are there in Phinis?”

“There are two places, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. There is nothing else.”

Although there were just two temples, they were temples dedicated to the most important gods.

‘Isn’t the infrastructure here decent?’

Hyeonu was amazed. It wasn’t a waste of an imperial decree. With two temples and a magic tower...

At this level, Phinis was no worse than any other city.

-Kyah... Two temples. 

-The level-up speed will double just by completing quests.

-We can also accumulate contributions with the temple. It is killing two birds with one stone.

-I’m buying a return scroll to Phinis!

‘Oh, my... There are many foolish customers.’ Hyeonu smiled when he saw the chat window. Then he asked Johnny again, “Is there anything else? Surely there is something?”

Culture—Hyeonu wanted to find out why the culture figure was soaring. What was built that increased the figure by 20?

“Ah! There is the symbol of Phinis. Earl, you haven’t seen it yet? It is the best statue I’ve ever seen.” Johnny was instantly excited. He was like this whenever he thought of the statue that was the symbol of Phinis.

‘Is that the reason why culture increased?’

“Guide me to the location of the statue straight away,” Hyeonu urged Johnny.

Hyeonu had finally figured out why the culture figure had risen.

“Everyone, I am now going to see the statue of Phinis. Look forward to it.”

***

The walk to the statue was slow.

Hyeonu’s expression became distorted when he arrived at the location of the statue. If it wasn’t for his mask, he would’ve shown it directly to viewers.

‘The symbol of Phinis. It is this...’

The symbol of Phinis was a massive three-meter-high statue. With a round body, short arms and legs, and unique eyes, it was Tang-E.

“Tang-E is the symbol of Phinis. As expected, there is nothing better than Tang-E. In fact, if it isn’t Tang-E, then who can be the symbol of my territory?” Hyeonu continued speaking while hiding his bitter heart.

No one noticed Hyeonu’s feelings. No, they didn’t care. it wasn’t a matter of concern at all. The viewers’ eyes were already fixed on the giant statue.

-Kuoh... Nothing else matters. I have to go and see that first.

-Forget the East Continent. The first stop is Phinis.

-Gathering a party. A party to go to Phinis. Level 150 or more.

-I’m a level 176 support magician.

The chat window was already a mess. It was all about Tang-E. Hyeonu ignored the chat window and said, “Yes, it’s well made. I’m satisfied.”

“Jerry is the owner of a famous commerce group in the empire, so his vision is great.” Johnny didn’t know Hyeonu’s true feelings and just followed his words.

“This is something for you. It is a gift.” Hyeonu pulled out a thick book. 

Johnny saw it and cocked his head. He didn’t understand why he was suddenly receiving a book. Thus, he asked, “What is this?”

Hyeonu explained, “It is about the East Continent. It has knowledge about brewing and food, so go look at it with Jerry. If it goes well, won’t you be able to taste the East Continent food that you want?”

It turned out that this book was filled with recipes for making food from the East Continent. Hearing that, Johnny responded in a voice that was louder than ever, “Thank you, My Lord!”