Ranker’s Return

“I...” Hyeonu didn’t finish his words. He just stared into the emperor’s eyes.

As the old emperor realized what Hyeonu’s eyes were implying, the two people who were still standing at the back filled his vision. It was the man and woman with golden hair.

“How about the two of you go back first? Come back tomorrow. On the way out, get the imperial palace’s entrance plaque,” the old emperor instructed Mascherano and Reina. The two people looked surprised when the emperor suddenly spoke to them, but they left the great hall of the palace after bowing to him.

Upon confirming that the two people had left, the emperor said to Hyeonu, “Now, tell me. What do you want to receive?” 

“Give me some good medicine.”

“Medicine?” The old emperor stared at Hyeonu as if he had heard incorrectly.

“Yes, medicine. It would be nice if it is a medicine that’s good for the body. Something that would give me strength after I take it or something like that,” Hyeonu said something that was misleading. This caused a strange light to fill the emperor’s eyes. He uttered, “Already... at such a young age...”

Hyeonu shook his head and explained, “It isn’t like that. I need an elixir that increases the amount of magic power or makes the body lighter. I would really appreciate it if you give me two of them.”

“You are really unpretentious... The more I see of you, the more I want you on my side...” The old emperor smiled warmly.

It was because the medicine Hyeonu mentioned felt really cheap. That was too cheap a reward for fulfilling the imperial family’s wish.

“Two medicines. I’ll give them to you right away. Is there anyone around?” The old emperor shouted into the air. Then a man dressed in black appeared like a ghost. The old emperor gave an order to his attendant: “Go to the warehouse and bring some ‘medicine’ for our benefactor right away. Select the best one and bring two of it.” 

Hyeonu lowered his head and smiled when he saw this scene. The old emperor was willing to give Hyeonu the reward more easily than he had expected.

‘He said it’s the best one... So can I expect it to be unique-rated?’

Hyeonu intended to feed one of the two to Tang-E. It would be a good thing for Hyeonu if Tang-E became a bit stronger.

‘I’m already beyond receiving any items or skills.’

On the other hand, Hyeonu was in perfect condition right now. The synergy between the items he possessed was good, and the individual effects were enormous. It was a story that emerged naturally since he was covered with items that would make other players stare with wide-open eyes. This was the same with his skills.

Hyeonu had many powerful skills, and he felt no discomfort in battle using what he had right now. Of course, the story would be different if he acquired a continuous skill. However, he chose the safer option instead of gambling.

‘Even though it’s the safer route, it is still beneficial to raise the stats even if it’s by a bit.’

The attendant returned like a ghost with two small boxes in his hand and approached Hyeonu politely. Hyeonu carefully grabbed the small boxes, and a message window appeared in front of him.

[The old emperor’s gift has been acquired.]

[The title ‘Benefactor of the Yuxin Imperial Family’ has been created.]

[Benefactor of the Yuxin Imperial Family]

[A title given to a player who has fulfilled the wish of the Yuxin imperial family.

Effect: In the East Continent, attack and defense will increase by 20% respectively.]

‘A second title!’

Hyeonu repeatedly suppressed the cheers that wanted to emerge. They could burst out, but not now. It had to be when he was alone and no one else was looking.

“Is it really okay for you not to check them?” The emperor asked Hyeonu, who was merely staring at the small boxes.

“It feels good just holding them,” Hyeonu responded with a smile that concealed his desires. He had been too concerned about the title, so he ignored the elixirs he received as compensation.

“I’m glad that you like your reward. Then is that all for today?” The old emperor’s face was filled with regret.

“I want to converse a bit more, but... I have another job to do... I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

“No, no. You are so competent that anyone would want to hire you. Keep the gold plaque. Your relationship with me and the imperial family won’t end here.”

Hyeonu heard the old emperor’s words and smiled as he answered, “I hope it lasts for a long time, Your Majesty.”

***

Hyeonu left the imperial palace and headed straight for Yuanyang and then Mount Cheon. He had an appointment in Mount Cheon. To be precise, it was in the Balder Mountains, not Mount Cheon.

‘He kept grumbling.’

It started from before they went to the island and lasted till when they returned to South Korea and separated. Mason clung to Hyeonu continuously and kept talking about the East Continent. The problem was that none of the others stopped Mason. Rather, they stood by as if they were supporting him.

As a result, Hyeonu made a promise to send them to the East Continent the moment they returned from the trip. Now, he was going to keep that promise.

‘It’s just the time...’

Hyeonu was running at full speed, but he still risked missing the meeting time. In the end, Hyeonu was late. He tried, but he couldn’t arrive on time. Finally, a call to hurry came from Mason.

-From Mason: Hyung, when are you coming? Did you forget?

-To Mason: I’ll be there soon. I’m almost there. I’m just about to cross over. Wait a bit while chatting to each other. 

-From Mason: I understand... I have nothing to say, but I’ll do so. You have to come quickly.

Hearing Mason’s dull voice, Hyeonu increased his pace.

***

“Sorry, I’m late.” Hyeonu appeared while gasping for breath.

“Join the party, Hyung,” Mason greeted Hyeonu.

The moment Hyeonu accepted the party invitation, he asked, “So where is the drake?”

It had been a long time since he last fought a drake, so he couldn’t remember where it would come from.

“It’s over there, Oppa,” Yuri answered. The absence of Yeongchan meant Yuri returned to her obedient and quiet self. Hyeonu turned his head in the direction that Yuri’s finger was pointing.

“It is blue this time,” he remarked. The drake that appeared this time had blue scales.

“Will it shoot an ice breath?”

Everyone nodded at Hyeonu’s words. Quite a bit of information had already been released about the drake, and it was public information that the drake’s attributes differed depending on the color of its scales.

“Shall I kill it? Or do you want to try it first, then I’ll jump in when it’s dangerous?” Hyeonu lifted the mask to reveal his face.

“Shall we give it a try?” Lee Hoon opened his mouth. The rest of the group nodded.

“Think of it as raid practice and do it. I will definitely support you, so please trust me.” Hyeonu smiled when he saw that the players of Crescent Moon were full of spirit. They looked good. It was an attitude they needed to have in the future.

“I will believe you this once. Show me the cooperation of our team,” Hyeonu said.

With Hyeonu as support, the five players moved toward the blue drake. Lee Hoon received Yuri’s buff and rushed over to the drake, greeting it first by dealing a powerful blow. A shield wrapped in divine power swung at the drake’s knee, and the drake’s body shook for a moment.

Mason didn’t miss this gap and fired magic at the drake. Huge fireballs struck the drake’s entire body.

“Kuaaah!” The drake let out a loud cry. It wasn’t a scream mixed with pain but one that was more full of anger. Yet the drake moved his body roughly, displaying quick and strong movements like it hadn’t been hit. It seemed as if it would pounce on the Crescent Moon players at any moment.

Suddenly, there was a black energy that wrapped around the drake’s body.

“Sunny noona, nice!” Lee Hoon shouted. The owner of the energy was Sunny. She used curse magic to disrupt the drake’s movements. Following that, the undead appeared with a rattling sound. They ranged from a dullahan holding its severed head in hand to a skeleton that exuded black energy. They numbered around 30 or so. She hadn’t summoned as many undead as other necromancers usually did, but the quality of the undead wasn’t bad.

“Magicians, prepare your magic. The dullahans and the warriors will go and do their thing. Stop its movements,” Sunny gave neat orders to the undead under her command. She was now much better at commanding than before.

‘It’s okay. It is more than I expected.’ Hyeonu could see that Sunny’s skills had improved.

“Dwayne-ssi, buff!” Yuri shouted.

After the buff’s cooldown ended, Yuri used the buff on Dwayne.

“Okay!” Dwayne exclaimed.

The moment he received the buff, he moved past the undead, approached the drake, and stretched out his fist. Dwayne’s movements were short, concise, and quick. He stretched out his fists seven times in an instant. This was the close-ranged fighter’s Linked Seven Strikes.

Every time Dwayne’s fist—which was covered with gray pure energy—struck the drake’s blue scales, an explosion occurred. The drake’s scales were ripped off, revealing its bare skin.

‘Can they kill it?’ This was Hyeonu’s impression after watching the five of them fight.

Crescent Moon showed systematic combat, and it appeared as if the five people really could kill the drake. However, it took less than five minutes to prove this was Hyeonu’s ridiculous illusion. Once the drake flew into the air, all of them except for Mason were useless. Of course, there were Sunny’s skeleton magicians, but their magic power was too weak. It was like stabbing the drake with a needle.

Hyeonu saw this and let out a shout. He knew it was time for him to step up.

“Fall back! Yuri, give me the buffs. All of you did well. Everyone was so good.” Hyeonu lowered his mask and covered his face again.

“Master dude, it’s lizard-hunting time!” Tang-E suddenly appeared and buffed Hyeonu.

Yuri used her buffs as well.

The Mysterious Sky Sword, which emitted a blue light, was pulled out from its sheath. It was the +12 Mysterious Sky Sword. The other team members who fell back couldn’t help admiring it. The blue aura being emitted from the +12 enhancement was beautiful.

“That is a weapon that succeeded in reaching +12.”

“It looks more luxurious than before.”

“The attack power has increased tremendously. He will defeat the drake in no time.”

The others seemed as if they didn’t have anything to do with the drake raid. They were already onlookers. There was no difference between them and the viewers watching Hyeonu’s raid.

‘I have to shoot this and send it to him,’ Mason thought.

The video of Hyeonu killing the drake with the +12 Mysterious Sky Sword would be good enough to be uploaded on Alley Leader’s channel.

“Wow... Crazy! What is that?!” Exclamations burst from Mason’s mouth. He was greeted with a ridiculous sight the moment he raised his head.

The drake...

The drake, which was called the wall blocking the East Continent, was being beaten one-sidedly. This was a pure slaughter. Alley Leader was now breaking down the drake.