Ranker’s Return

The day after enjoying the chicken and beer party with Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu at Han River, Hyeonu rushed straight to Crescent Moon. Then he dropped a bomb: “Thus, we are going to hold a workshop to improve teamwork before the league starts.”

All the members looked flustered.

Yuri was the first of the five players to regain her senses.

“Huh? Workshop?” She asked Hyeonu.

“Yes, workshop. Everyone isn’t close yet, right? It looks awkward.” Hyeonu pointed to Sunny and Dwayne respectively.

“The two of them are like this. Why is it so awkward? Are you going to keep being so awkward at the league?” Hyeonu spoke in Korean and English.

It was because Dwayne was clumsy in Korean while Sunny didn’t speak English. The two of them just shut their mouths. Lee Hoon broke the silence and asked with a bright smile, “So where are we going?”

He was just excited.

“Busan? Jeju Island? Or Gangwondo?” Lee Hoon started to list all the cities he knew.

Mason condemned such a Lee Hoon: “What do you see Hyeonu Hyung as? It must definitely be a warm city abroad.”

It was awkward, but it was definitely Korean. Mason had learned Korean to the point where he could communicate while stuttering.

“This is the first time I’m going abroad...” Lee Hoon’s face turned red after hearing Mason’s words. He was excited at the thought of going abroad. Lee Hoon had made money from being a proxy knight, but that was it. Overseas travel took too much time, and he couldn’t afford to waste that much time as a proxy knight.

“We are going abroad as Mason said. The place was sponsored by my Hyung-nim,” Hyeonu said. 

“Hyung-nim...?” Mason murmured in a small voice.

It was a word he couldn’t understand because of his lack of vocabulary. Hyeonu noticed it and explained again in English, “New World’s master. There are islands in the South Pacific. We will be going there for a day or two.”

“South Pacific? Good. I like the warmth. That’s why I don’t really like New York.” Mason smiled at the workshop location.

New York, like South Korea, had a distinct seasonal temperature difference.

“Really? Then I’m glad.” Hyeonu turned away from Mason and looked at the other four people. “If none of you have any complaints, everyone will be going.”

***

Hyeonu left Crescent Moon’s accommodation and had his ear against his smartphone. He was on a phone call with someone.

“Kale, it’s me. I have something to say.”

The person on the other end of the line was now his dedicated manager—Kale.

-Feel free to speak, Mister Gang. I’m always ready to listen.

Kale said something very burdensome, but Hyeonu had already adapted to it and just casually brought up what he wanted to say. “Next week. I am going on a workshop with the players of Crescent Moon sometime around Wednesday.”

-It is a good idea. There is nothing more important than unity in the team. What can Nike do for you? Finding accommodations? Would you like a guide? Or... do you want me to book a singer? I think you need several events...

Kale continued to talk without stopping. He even mentioned a famous rapper who was charting on the Billboard.

“No, none of that is needed. I was just informing you that there is something like this. I wasn’t trying to get help.”

Hyeonu had called simply to give notice about the workshop as he thought Kale should know because of the schedule. Meanwhile, Kale was flustered by Hyeonu’s refusal for help. For these workshops, it usually wasn’t possible for a proper schedule to be developed in a short period of time unless they were experts. Without experience, they could come up with some things, but that was a story for the general public.

Alley Leader was busy playing Arena. It was a waste of time for him to pay attention to such things.

-Do you have any specific plans? A workshop isn’t an ordinary trip, Kale expressed his concern.

However, it was meaningless. Kim Seokjung would take care of everything anyway, and he had many talented people to do the job.

“Brother Sijong has decided to help. The workshop venue, transportation, accommodation, and schedule... He’ll take care of all of it.”

-Ah! Yes, I understand. I’ll report it to the boss.

Kale nodded after hearing Hyeonu’s words. He could believe it if there was a helper. In particular, his faith became even stronger knowing it was Kim Seokjung.

“Then I’m hanging up.”

Hyeonu ended the call with Kale, but he didn’t put his smartphone away. He still had another person to call.

“Hello? CEO Moon? It’s me, Gang Hyeonu.”

Hyeonu had to talk to the team’s owner as well.

***

Moon Doyeong listened to Hyeonu speak about the workshop and happily allowed it. He expressed his desire to participate in the workshop as well, but Hyeonu refused. This was because Moon Doyeong was very busy right now. As far as Hyeonu knew, this person was even busier than Hyeonu himself.

‘A few things were pushed back because of the prosecution’s investigation...’

Now that there were unavoidable circumstances, Moon would be extremely busy. He had been called several times, investigated, and even recently appeared as a witness in the courtroom. It was an environment where he couldn’t work even if he wanted to.

‘How can he go to play...?’ Hyeonu remarked inwardly.

Therefore, Hyeonu told Moon something. If he wanted to go play...

“Come after all the work is done.”

He probably wouldn’t come until the moment the workshop was over.

***

There was a huge bomb waiting for Hyeonu when he returned home.

Yeongchan made a fuss when he saw Hyeonu: “Hey, what have you been doing since the morning? Look at the television. Something is happening now.”

“What is it?” Hyeonu rushed to the sofa.

On the TV, a program related to Arena was playing. Selena—it was the most popular Arena-related show in South Korea.

-The fall leagues all over the world are over. In commemoration, Quency has released a large patch. Reporter Choi, can you explain it?

The reporter was just about to answer, but Hyeonu couldn’t stand it. He grabbed Yeongchan and shook him while saying, “Hey, what is the patch? Tell me quickly!”

“L...let g...o...” Yeongchan hurriedly hit Hyeonu’s hand with a red face.

Meanwhile, Reporter Choi opened his mouth and said, -I can say that with this patch, Arena is following the trail of existing games. Still, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is always a good thing to have more content to enjoy.

Reporter Choi’s words were going around the point. The host’s expression became distorted when he noticed it. So he said, -Reporter Choi, what type of patch was released?

Reporter Choi felt the host’s faint irritation and coughed several times before answering: -The patch released this time is an enhancement. There is a new capsule at the side of the workshop. It is for enhancement, and it’s easy to use. 

He held up a white board that was on the table, and on the other side of the board were colorful drawings.

-All you need is an item to enhance and gold. The cost of enhancement depends on the item’s performance and rating. A successful enhancement increases the enhancement figure by +1, up to +20 in total. In other words, enhancing to +20 is possible. In addition, the only figures that will rise are attack power and defense. Things like item effects and durability will never increase. Reporter Choi finished the explanation in one breath.

The host had many questions, but his lips just moved several times like he couldn’t remember what to say.

-Is there any penalty for the enhancement failure? For example, the item disappearing or the durability decreasing… Reporter Park asked the question instead of the host.

The host’s face brightened when he heard the question. It was precisely the question he had thought of.

-There are naturally penalties. From +1, there is a chance of failure. In other words, success isn’t confirmed. It means that the performance upgrade is certain if the enhancement is successful. Even if the upgrade fails, there are no penalties such as a drop in durability or destruction of weapon.

Hyeonu raised the remote control and turned off the TV. He had a subtle change in expression.

“This is a gold coin pit,” Hyeonu spoke briefly.

The gold used in A-World was the gold of Arena, and the enhancement system consumed gold. Naturally, the amount of gold coins that could be given to streamers was bound to decrease.

“Wow, I’m going to die for months,” Yeongchan moaned when he realized it.

“However, you won’t care. Isn’t it easy for you to make money? Adding up your broadcasts, how much money do you earn in a month?” Hyeonu clicked his tongue when he saw such a Yeongchan.

It was a harsh but truthful comment. Starting from when he was the MC of Masked Fighting King, Yeongchan often hosted streams sponsored by various companies. Consequently, Yeongchan’s appearance fee was quite expensive. It was natural due to his fame.

“Yes, it isn’t your income,” Yeongchan spoke cheekily.

Of course, it was nothing compared to Hyeonu’s. Hyeonu overwhelmed Yeongchan with just his A-World channel income. In fact, he was the highest earning amongst all of the Arena players.

“Oh, I really have no luck in enhancement. I need to strengthen my attack power and defense...” Hyeonu grabbed his head and lay down on the sofa.

It felt like he had a new goal.

‘Weapon, helmet, mask, belt, top, bottoms, shoes, coat, and gauntlets.’

Nine—this was the number of items Hyeonu needed to enhance. The good news was that it didn’t include rings, earrings, or bracelets. Still, it was true that the situation wasn’t good. There wasn’t too much gold in Hyeonu’s hands right now.

‘I poured too much into my territory...’

Hyeonu had never exchanged gold for cash except the first few times. The gold he earned was still being poured into Phinis’ restoration.

‘I have to earn more gold...’

The problem was something else—Hyeonu himself.

“That’s right. You really can’t do enhancement. You really...” Yeongchan shook his head.

Hyeonu’s enhancement luck was the worst. In what Yeongchan knew of Hyeonu’s entire gaming history, there had never been a case of victory when it came to enhancement.

“I’d rather use money to buy it. I can’t do it... I have no way to live in Arena...” Hyeonu sighed loudly, but he had no way to solve it.

Hyeonu was the best in Arena, so he wasn’t in a position to buy items as they would be inferior.

‘It can’t be helped.’

“I have to do it myself.”

Hyeonu scrambled to make a plan.

***

The patch was applied straight away. From Sunday night to dawn on Monday, the server was shut down, and the update began.

‘There are so many people,’ Hyeonu thought.

Yusma’s workshop was crowded. Most of them were players who gathered for the enhancement. Hyeonu sat in front of an enhancement capsule and started to squirm without starting the enhancement. Naturally, complaints rang out from behind him.

“If you aren’t going to do the enhancement, come out from there!”

“What is this? I need to enhance!”

Hyeonu swore silently and stopped squirming. Looking at the enhancement capsule before him, Hyeonu opened his mouth and said, “Hello? I am Alley Leader. Let’s start Alley Leader’s enhancement-before-destruction battle.

It was the first enhancement stream in Arena.