Ranker’s Return

Reina arrived at the place Hyeonu mentioned and found familiar faces waiting there for her.

“My dongsaeng called Reina as well. Is it only Mascherano who isn’t here?” Gang Junggu greeted Reina.

Reina explained the reason for Mascherano’s absence: “Mascherano probably won’t come. He isn’t connected right now. But I think everyone else is here.”

Gang Junggu nodded in understanding.

“Then go quickly. There must be a reason for this hasty call,” Liu Shei urged the group.

He was excited about the quest as this was his first large-scale quest in the East Continent.

“Yes, it sounded urgent. We should go.” Gang Junggu took all the members with him, including Kim Seokjung.

Just then, a man appeared and stopped them from entering the interior of the Samsungga. In response to his gesture, the 70 players stopped at the entrance of the Samsungga. The man was Bakar, and he had been waiting for them.

“I have been waiting for you. Please come quickly.” The moment Bakar finished speaking, he turned around and started running quickly at quite a fast speed.

“Apart from the minimum number of people to protect the priests and magicians, the rest will follow the NPC. Whisper the location,” Liu Shei issued an order. It was a neat order worthy of the leader of a large guild. After all, it was impossible for magicians and priests to keep pace with Bakar’s running speed. The difference in movement speed was extreme. This meant the only ones who could chase Bakar were the melee classes.

“I will remain and protect them. Hyung-nim, please handle it. Understood?” Gang Junggu told Kim Seokjung.

Gang Junggu remained while Liu Shei, Reina, and Kim Seokjung started running with the melee players. No words were heard. Only these two noises—the light sounds of breathing and feet against the ground—filled the place. The players ran for a long time before a huge wall appeared in front of them.

Finally, Bakar’s speed slowed down. The moment he stopped, Bakar turned and looked back. He said, “No one knows what is happening in there. I don’t know either. I was just ordered to bring you over. Be prepared with your weapons.”

Then Bakar pulled out the sword hanging from his waist. Acting in accordance with Bakar’s words, Kim Seokjung took out a gauntlet from his inventory and put it on while Reina touched the handle of her sword.

“There is no time to talk, so let’s go in quickly. It might be an urgent situation,” Liu Shei muttered.

Hearing that, Bakar turned back around with a bloodthirsty smile before crossing over the high walls. The other players, including Kim Seokjung, followed.

‘What type of battle happened here?’ They wondered.

The surroundings were in a horrible state. The green grass was covered with blood, and wounded corpses were scattered all over the place. The party of players all sped up at the same time, and their feet moved so quickly that they were replaced by a blur. They were in a hurry due to the strange landscape surrounding them. Guided by Bakar, they quickly arrived at the Bicheon Pavilion. Then upon seeing it, their mouths couldn’t close, and exclamations emerged.

“What is this...?!”

“Is that a person…?!”

The sight unfolding before their eyes consisted of the splattering of blood and the cutting of flesh. There were two people fighting with blood all over their bodies. One person was particularly noticeable. It was a man wearing a child’s mask. There were several pools of blood in the vicinity of that man. He seemed to fight tirelessly as he kept releasing pure energy.

Just then, red energy emerged from the man’s body and bound the bodies of the surrounding fighters. Simultaneously, a dark light flashed, and a huge blade of pure energy struck the warriors who had stopped momentarily. They had no choice but to give up their heads, and the dozens of heads soon flew through the air.

“Leader! I’m here!” Bakar threw himself into the fray without hesitation.

Floating high in the sky, Bakar fired a strong pure energy at those who surrounded the two people. The blue pure energy struck the ground, and Bakar squeezed through the momentary gap to stand by Chen Long’s side.

Bakar asked, “Are you okay? It has been a long time since I’ve seen you like this.”

Hearing Bakar’s words, Chen Long laughed weakly before answering: “I could’ve died if you came a bit later. In addition, he is a completely crazy guy. He doesn’t get tired at all. He has been like that from the beginning until now.”

Bakar’s gaze shifted to Hyeonu. It was surprising that the pure energy didn’t disappear from Hyeonu’s sword for even a single moment.

“I think it would be good to fall back and take a break for a while. We will just be a nuisance if we stay here, Leader.” Bakar pulled at Chen Long’s arm.

Chen Long nodded, but he didn’t move. No, he couldn’t bear to move.

“I started it... I have to see it through to the end...” Chen Long stated. He felt responsible for what he had done.

“Slowly enter on the other side of Alley Leader!” Someone called out.

Right then, dozens of people joined the battlefield and used various skills simultaneously. Hundreds of pure energies swept through the battlefield.

“Let’s get out in this gap.” Bakar forcefully pulled at Chen Long who was as stiff as a stone statue.

***

“Hyung-nim, you’re here?” Hyeonu asked as he approached Kim Seokjung’s side.

“Stick over there. Your appearance is quite a sight. Maybe it is because of the blood on your face...” Kim Seokjung reached out to Hyeonu with a frightened expression.

“Still, you came very quickly. The NPCs haven’t arrived yet. I guess something happened outside?”

“The outside is worth seeing, worth seeing. There are bodies all over the place. That’s why I came quickly. How are you?” Kim Seokjung asked concernedly.

Hyeonu shook his head at Kim Seokjung’s worry. After all, he felt fine. In fact, he was energized by his rising experience and proficiency.

“Don’t you know me? I’m fine fighting for a long time. In addition, I can summon Tang-E now,” Hyeonu said.

Due to Chen Long’s presence, Hyeonu couldn’t summon Tang-E earlier and fought using only the skills and buffs that he had. It was unexpectedly restricting. However, in this battle, the story was different. No one would be able to tell whose pet Tang-E was, so Hyeonu could summon Tang-E comfortably to fight.

“Don’t you feel the NPCs aren’t as strong as expected?” Kim Seokjung remarked.

This time, Hyeonu nodded. It was as Kim Seokjung said. They weren’t strong.

“It has been this level since a while ago. No more, no less. Just this much. Maybe the real strong ones are somewhere else.”

“Then let’s clean it up.” Kim Seokjung formed fists and jumped into a place where the battle was active.

‘Sigh...’ Hyeonu enjoyed a moment of relaxation.

The 30-minute battle had caused him mental fatigue, not physical exhaustion. It wouldn’t have been this hard if it were a raid or fight against monsters. A confrontation against humanoid monsters in a restricted situation was certainly the most challenging. Hyeonu might be strong, but mental fatigue was unavoidable.

‘Hyung-nim is definitely...’

Kim Seokjung shone on the battlefield; he totally stood out in the crowd. No one could hold up against more than two blows from the golden pure energy around his fists. One of his heavy fists pierced through a gap and dealt a strong blow.

‘Reina is fine.’

Reina was also working hard. She was beautiful to look at, but she was a rose with deadly thorns. The ice flowers that blossomed everywhere left her opponents severely injured. As the number of reinforcements increased, the battlefield was quickly cleared up.

However, Hyeonu didn’t see two people who should be present.

‘I don’t see Chen Long and Bakar?’

Having been engaged in a fierce battle, Hyeonu hadn’t seen the two people leave the battlefield. So he approached Reina and asked, “Reina? Have you seen the NPC who brought you here?” 

Reina looked around at Hyeonu’s question and cocked her head. She responded, “He was here just before... Didn’t he hide somewhere with that leader? He might have wounds...”

Hyeonu thought this was possible. Chen Long had indeed appeared exhausted.

‘He’s been fighting since he came.’

“Then I should go look for him. Thank you for telling me.” Hyeonu bowed to Reina and walked out of the Bicheon Pavilion. The viewers who saw Reina’s kind demeanor were confused.

-Reina originally isn’t like this...

-She’s suddenly sweet.

-She should’ve spoken harshly. I don’t know!

-This is a bit strange... I have a feeling...

***

Hyeonu left the Bicheon Pavilion and quickly succeeded in finding Chen Long.

It wasn’t hard as he was sitting among many people.

“Leader!” Hyeonu rushed to Chen Long. The people surrounding him split to the left and right like Moses parting the Red Sea.

“Today, I was helped by you,” Chen Long said more earnestly than in the past. He had started to respect Hyeonu. Then Chen Long continued, “No one here was important. It was just a trap. Maybe... It feels like they’ve run away to another place.”

“Another place... Where are you referring to?” Hyeonu asked.

“Mount Cheon, they will be there. All the leaders including Chen Tai will be there.”

Mount Cheon—it was a name Hyeonu had to know. After all, he had been on a quest there just recently.

“When will you go there?” Hyeonu asked another question.

Now that the place was known, the time needed to be decided. Nothing was easier than catching an isolated rat.

“It’s a bit hard right now. It is best to isolate them. I also need time to clean up the Samsungga,” Chen Long replied.

Based on Hyeonu’s understanding, the Gucheon Secret Department consisted of the three forces in the Samsungga and Buncheonru. Thus, the Samsungga fell into the hands of Chen Long. The moment they left the Samsungga, their control had already disappeared.

‘The Secret Camp that operates outside has already fallen into Chen Long’s hands...’

“What will happen to Buncheonru?”

All that was left was Buncheonru. What was going to be done with it? Chen Long’s answer was surprising: “Buncheonru is nothing. It’s just one means of raising funds. The Secret Camp members dispatched there have been in my hands since a long time ago. You did it yourself.”

That’s right. Hyeonu had received a quest and killed the Secret Camp group leaders. Due to the nature of the Secret Camp, it wasn’t known even if the group leader changed. Chen Long added, “In fact, the Samsungga is the Gucheon Secret Department.”

Nodding at Chen Long’s words, Hyeonu asked, “How long do I wait?”

Hyeonu wanted to clear it quickly. He was tired now and wanted to enjoy fighting monsters instead of people.

“One month. One month is enough. There will be a big reward once everything is done.”

The moment Chen Long finished speaking, a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu’s eyes.