Ranker’s Return

‘It’s really crazy.’

Hyeonu was actually the one who was the most flustered. The +12 Mysterious Sky Sword didn’t have an ordinary power. It was truly a weapon of destruction that smashed and cut everything it touched. The scorching black pure energy swept over the drake’s wings, and the Mysterious Sky Sword dug into the drake’s flesh like it was tofu.

“Kuooooh!” The drake howled. The feeling was different from when it reacted to Mason’s or Dwayne’s attacks. Now it was a scream filled with apparent pain. There was no more anger.

Hyeonu kicked off from the ground and jumped into the air. The drake was a very big monster, and this was usually a great advantage for it. Yet, now that it had met Hyeonu, that advantage had turned into a great disadvantage. With it being so large, there were many places to step and stand on the drake.

Hyeonu crossed the back of the blue drake like it was his own home. Every time he saw the right timing, he would use the Mysterious Sky Sword to wound the drake’s wings. He went on a rampage like a madman. Eventually, the drake couldn’t do anything, and its health started running out. Once its health dropped below a certain level, it entered the next stage.

The drake’s outer skin became a darker color, and it was also harder than before. Simultaneously, it started flapping its wings in an effort to shake off Hyeonu. There was nothing the drake could do to the enemy that was on its back, so it would naturally take action after getting the enemy to drop to its side.

‘I can’t just watch quietly.’

It was a fact that Hyeonu knew all too well. Hyeonu inserted the Mysterious Sky Sword deep into the drake’s back and held it there.

“Kuaaaaaah!” The drake flew up while ignoring the pain coming from its back. In an instant, it succeeded in rising dozens of meters. However, the pain didn’t go away. It was because the source still remained.

‘Why is it rising so high in the air?’ 

Hyeonu felt like dying as he hung on. It wasn’t difficult to hold on regardless of how much the drake struggled as he could just overcome it with his high strength stat, but it was still scary to be dozens of meters in the air.

‘I have to make it go down.’

Unable to overcome the fear, Hyeonu eventually gave up on holding on. He instead chose a method of stimulating the drake to descend to the ground. A bizarre sound suddenly came from the drake’s belly. Part of the belly was blown away, and blood streamed out. This was because Hyeonu exploded pure energy from inside the drake.

Yet Hyeonu didn’t stop there. He immediately pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword he’d inserted in the drake’s back, staggering as he did so. Then he quickly placed his free left hand into the now gaping hole. The moment his balance was secured, Hyeonu swung the Mysterious Sky Sword toward the drake’s wounded wings. The dark pure energy cut off half of the drake’s wings, and the drake immediately started to fall.

“Uwaaaah!” Hyeonu screamed at the top of his lungs.

***

“It’s falling!”

The players of Crescent Moon were all taken aback. They were surprised when the drake soared high into the sky and once again when it fell.

Thump! The drake’s body literally slammed into the ground. Its fall from dozens of meters high caused the ground to shake as dust and wind rose up.

“I’ll blow away the dust first,” Mason said and summoned some wind to sweep away the thick dust. The scene that unfolded after the dust disappeared was amazing. The drake’s neck was slit, and there was a fountain of blood spilling out while Hyeonu just stared.

There was one more person watching. It was Johannes of the Balder Mountains. The moment he felt the drake die, he moved to the top of Cruise Mountain and saw five adventurers there. These five people were the ones who killed the drake, which meant they were great talents. On average so far, the number of people in a drake-hunting group was 40 people.

“It has been a long time. Great skills... Huh?” Johannes uttered. However, something was strange. It didn’t seem like these people had the skills to kill the drake.

‘They are excellent, but that’s it. It is absolutely impossible to do it with just these five.’

Just then, Johannes saw a human standing by the drake. The human was emitting an overwhelming pressure.

‘He killed it alone?’ Johannes wondered. Just then, the man turned back. He wore a familiar mask and had a familiar appearance.

“It’s you again?” Johannes sighed.

***

“It has been a long time, Johannes.” Hyeonu waved his hand to greet Johannes.

“No more. Don’t come and kill it every time you are bored!” Johannes shouted and pushed his face forward like he would devour Hyeonu.

Hyeonu shrugged while replying, “I didn’t come here because I wanted to come, nor did I kill it because I wanted to kill it.” 

He had a confident attitude because his words weren’t wrong. Hyeonu stood still as he instructed the players of Crescent Moon, who were watching him and Johannes: “Crush the monument. Then the quest will be cleared.” 

Hearing Hyeonu’s words, the others walked toward the monument.

“So how many are there?” Hyeonu asked.

Johannes responded in a confused manner, “What?”

“The number of adventurers who have crossed to the East Continent. Didn’t you say the barrier would be completely released once there were more than 1,000 people?”

“Ah... that goal of 1,000 people is still far away. It’s fortunate to even have 500.”

When Hyeonu heard Johannes’ reply, he fell into deep thought. Only 500 people had passed through so far; there was indeed still a long way to go until 1,000 people.

‘The story will be different once the pro gamers start earnestly doing the drake raid.’

For now, they were gathering and analyzing information about the drake, so there was no progress. Nevertheless, as time passed, the number of people who challenged the drake raid would grow rapidly.

‘Otherwise, won’t they go down to the secondary league?’

Ever since Mascherano’s public remarks, more people were openly discussing the drake raid in streams. Now it was just a matter of time before the results would appear.

“Do you have any plans to lower the number? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

It was just that Hyeonu thought the waiting time was a waste. He wanted to reduce it a bit more.

“No. I can’t overturn what was set at a clan meeting.” Johannes naturally refused. It was in a decisive manner. He did what he had to do.

“It can’t be helped... I will have to bring 100 people each time starting from tomorrow.” Hyeonu sighed with drooped shoulders.

Seeing this, Johannes held the back of his neck as it was starting to cramp up from stress. It was because Hyeonu’s words could be considered a threat. “100 people? Your words just now...!!”

“What can I do? I’m in a rush.”

Johannes continued to rub the back of his neck. Moments later, the Crescent Moon players broke the monument. Johannes flicked his fingers at them and turned back to Hyeonu. He told the latter, “I will reduce it to 750 people. Instead, give up hunting the drake in the future. That is my condition.”

Hyeonu nodded fiercely. Then he raised his index finger and said, “I’ll kill it just one more time, and I’ll bring fewer than 10 people. It doesn’t matter if you increase it to 760.”

“This is the last time. I won't reduce it anymore,” Johannes stated, approving Hyeonu’s request.

A smile appeared on Hyeonu’s face.

‘There are a few people left.’

Hyeonu still had a few more people he needed to look after.

***

“Take this. They are return amulets that can be used in the East Continent. Use them sparingly. There aren’t many people who can use this.” Hyeonu brought aside the players of Crescent Moon and handed out a small number of return amulets filling his inventory.

Then he grabbed Lee Hoon and advised, “If something happens, tell me. If someone says something, just hit them. I’ll be responsible for everything.”

Hyeonu wasn’t worried about the rest. It was just that Lee Hoon had a bit of a soft personality.

“You don’t have to worry too much because we’ll always be together,” Lee Hoon replied with a nod.

“Then let’s go. I’ll stop by tomorrow after my workout, and we’ll eat together.” Hyeonu sent off the players of Crescent Moon.

‘I have to see the emperor.’

It was to hand over a voluntary offering. 

***

“Your Majesty, have you been well during this time?” Hyeonu bowed to the emperor with a more courteous attitude than ever before.

“You came quickly.” The emperor’s eyes narrowed. Hyeonu faced the snake-like eyes and lowered his head again.

“I sold some of my supplies because I couldn’t give anything to Your Majesty,” Hyeonu casually rattled out the excuse he’d thought of. He seemed to be even more cowardly after fighting the emperor’s doppelganger in Senu.

‘He can kill me with just a wave of his hand...’

In front of the emperor, Hyeonu was nothing more than a fly. He naturally had to be as careful as possible.

“Really? Can I look forward to it this time?” The emperor’s eyes returned to normal after hearing Hyeonu’s words.

Hyeonu sighed with relief and pulled bottles out from his inventory. With every bottle he took out, he added a description of it: “This is ‘Big Agate’. It’s famous in the East Continent, its intense aroma is very appealing. This is called ‘Kerasen’, and it has a subtle and deep flavor.”

The emperor’s smile widened as Hyeonu’s explanation continued.

“This is called ‘Jecheonju’...” 

Hyeonu was pulling out another bottle of alcohol when a voice stopped him. Of course, it was the emperor that interrupted Hyeonu.

“Stop. The explanation of the wine is enough.” 

The emperor reached out to Hyeonu. To be exact, it was the bottles of alcohol that Hyeonu had pulled out. Big Agate, which Hyeonu pulled out first, slowly flew toward the emperor’s hand. The emperor raised the bottle to his mouth. After taking a sip, he closed his eyes and savored the wine’s aroma.

“Is there anything else interesting in the East Continent? I want to hear about it from you,” the emperor said.

Hearing those words, Hyeonu started talking as if he had prepared for it: “Some things have happened in the East Continent, and my personal affairs overlapped with several of them. I carried out matters related to the imperial family of the East Continent. I successfully finished them before coming back here. In addition, a good relationship was developed.”

“With the imperial family? This is interesting. Tell me a bit more.” The emperor’s eyes became full of life.

“In the East Continent, there is a place called the Yuxin Empire, which dominates the continent in the sunlight, and the Gucheon Secret Department, which dominates it from the shadows. The Gucheon Secret Department was originally created by the imperial family, but the latter has now completely lost its influence on the Gucheon Secret Department.”

While listening to Hyeonu’s story, the emperor laughed and enjoyed the alcohol.