Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu was confused about what to do after accessing Arena. It had been a really long time since he last had a day without any purpose. He had no quests to clear and nothing to do. Additionally, it would be a pity to merely hunt. If he did one thing, he should gain two or three benefits from it.

‘Should I take this opportunity to contact them?’

Hyeonu suddenly thought of ‘them’—those who helped him in the past. They were the reason why he asked for one more opportunity from Johannes.

‘I have to contact them sooner or later anyway.’

-To Ket: Ket, can you talk right now?

Hyeonu contacted Ket, the leader of the Pioneer Guild and one of his biggest sponsors.

‘Did something happen? He is definitely online.’

The replying whisper didn’t come straight away, so Hyeonu just opened and closed his friends window. The reply came after a long while.

-From Ket: My answer is a bit late because I’m in battle... I’m sorry.

‘It came, it came.’

Hyeonu smiled as he finally received a reply and sent out a whisper again.

-To Ket: It’s fine. It’s just been a long time since we’ve seen each other. I wanted to chat, so I contacted you.

-From Ket: Oh, of course, that is welcome. By the way... it’s pretty hard to get to where I am right now. Is that okay?

-To Ket: When have you ever witnessed me quibbling over that type of thing? Please tell me the location, and I will go there.

Hyeonu cleared Ket’s worries instantly. This wasn’t something he even needed to consider.

-From Ket: Yes, I understand. We are currently on Betro Plains. The Betro Plains can be reached from the south gate of Lumeng Castle.

-To Ket: Okay, I will go and see you now.

Hyeonu got up from where he was sitting and dusted his butt. Then he went through his inventory.

‘Shit... I don't have a return scroll.’

First, he had to get a return scroll to Lumeng Castle.

***

“They are really weird people. Why did they choose to come to a place like this?” Hyeonu muttered while holding Tang-E in his arms.

Tang-E nodded and added, “Indeed, it isn’t normal to be in a place like this.”

It was far from ordinary to go to such a gloomy place. The Betro Plains was a dark place with no sunlight. Dark clouds blocked out the light, and the sky was very black like that of a moonlit night.

‘I’ve arrived, but...’

Hyeonu frowned. He hadn’t asked for a specific location, so he naturally didn’t know where they were. Just then, someone sent a whisper to Hyeonu.

-From Ket: Come to think of it, I didn’t tell you the exact location. That’s why I’m sending you a whisper now. Where are you now?

-To Ket: I just thought of that as well and was about to send a whisper to you. I’m now at the entrance of the Betro Plains.

Hyeonu sent his response while stroking the goosebumps on his arms.

-From Ket: You're really fast. As expected... Anyway, walk southwest from the beginning of the Betro Plains, and you will see white rocky hills. We will be waiting there.

-To Ket: I understand. I will get there as soon as possible.

-From Ket: It will probably be hard to get here quickly. Monsters appear very often.

-To Ket: I will keep that in mind.

Hyeonu listened to Ket’s words while wondering how often monsters would emerge.

***

The monsters appeared very often and not in a small number. There was an awfully high number of them.

“Hey, aren’t you going to use magic? Make those beads and fight them.”

The monsters who appeared in this area were the undead.

‘The difference between having one or two buffs is a bit severe.’

Hyeonu was particularly powerful against living creatures and humanoid monsters. This was because his stats increased due to his title and item effect. However, he had no such thing for undead or non-living targets. Naturally, he started scolding Tang-E more frequently.

“Master dude, fight harder. I am doing my best.” Tang-E was frowning.

He was working hard using magic, yet Hyeonu kept scolding him, so his motivation naturally fell.

“Hey!!” Hyeonu screamed and released some pure energy. It was Mysterious Sky Range. The skeleton soldiers covered in hard bone armor instantly crumbled to an extent where it was beyond recovery.

A dark magic skeleton soldier has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A dark magic skeleton soldier has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A dark magic skeleton soldier has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

Hyeonu didn’t think about picking up the gold coins that had fallen to the ground. Instead, he just walked straight to Tang-E behind him. The moment Tang-E realized where Hyeonu’s gaze was focused, he waved and flattered Hyeonu: “Whoa. As expected of Master. You are really strong, the best!”

“Yes, I got them all.”

The moment Hyeonu raised his fist, Tang-E wrapped his paws around his head and started running.

“Spare Tang-E!”

***

‘I think that’s them...’ Hyeonu thought while looking at the five people in the distance. They were fighting hard against the undead. Two warriors blocked the party from the undead on both sides. Meanwhile, one priest protected the players, and the magicians controlled the battlefield.

‘They are exactly as I remember them.’

This battle style matched the Pioneer Guild that Hyeonu knew. Originally, Hyeonu would’ve approached and helped them fight, but the fierce and intense battle was just so interesting to watch that he forgot.

“Tang-E, shall we eat some skewers?” Hyeonu took out two large meat skewers from his inventory and handed one to Tang-E.

“Okay, good food is needed for good attractions,” Tang-E said as he accepted the skewer.

***

“Hello? It has been a long time, everyone. Your items have changed, so I could barely recognize you.” Hyeonu appeared in front of the Pioneer Guild only after the battle was over. Of course, he left out the fact that he had watched their battle.

“You got here faster than I thought you would. It took us almost two days to reach this place...” Ket replied with a trembling expression.

He hadn’t anticipated Hyeonu to arrive so early.

“Haven’t you been hunting for the two days? Meanwhile, I’m alone... Maybe the frequency of battles is low,” Hyeonu said as he looked around at the five people. The sight of them standing amidst the scattered bone fragments was amazing. 

“By the way, why do you only go to these types of places? Don’t you hunt or do quests in normal fields?” Hyeonu asked. 

It was a great ability to be able to constantly go to places like this. Hyeonu had first met them in a canyon where only ice and snow existed. After that, Hyeonu was told they had continued to roam such places.

“There is nothing in the world that can’t be done with money. We can just buy the information.” The answer came from someone other than Ket. It was a handsome man with a cold impression—Pioneer’s magician, Asu.

Asu smiled brightly and approached Hyeonu. Meanwhile, Nix—the other magician player—added, “Isn’t this the trouble that famous librarians deal with? Money is money, hard work is hard work.”

He was also smiling, but it didn’t feel like he was smiling at all. There seemed to be pain hidden behind his smile. Hyeonu smiled gently when he saw Nix’s expression. Of course, Hyeonu’s smile was covered by a mask, so it wasn’t visible.

“Is that so? Well, the reason I came to find you is simple. Do you intend to go to the East Continent?” Hyeonu asked with a smile on his face. This was the biggest reason he came to find the Pioneer Guild.

“You’re doing us this type of favor...?” Ket questioned suspiciously. It might be Alley Leader’s proposal, but this was too sudden. They haven’t had any frequent communications, and it had been a few months since they last met. Ket really couldn’t understand why Hyeonu was making such a good proposal.

“I just thought about it. You’ve helped me out with several things. In fact, this is the last time. I can’t hunt the drake after this.”

“You can’t hunt the drake any longer?” Asu repeated Hyeonu’s last words with a startled expression. It was quite a shock to hear that Alley Leader could no longer hunt the drake—the monster he had killed alone.

“I made a deal. This is the result. I don’t have any problems with it,” Hyeonu spoke with a casual expression like nothing had happened. “You don’t have to feel burdened. Just think of it as a favor. It is like the gift Ket gave to me.”

“Um...” Ket thought about it.

Should he take Hyeonu’s words at face value? Or did Hyeonu perhaps have some hidden intentions? After a while, Ket opened his mouth and said, “I think it will be a bit difficult right now. We have something to do here.”

“What are you doing?” Hyeonu looked back at Ket upon hearing the unexpected answer.

“I found a dungeon. It is a bit unfortunate to just go when we have some good possibilities here.” Ket smiled like he was sorry.

‘Dungeon?’ Hyeonu’s eyes lit up with great interest at the word, ‘dungeon’.

He asked, “Can you let me join? I also love doing dungeons.”

“Of course, you can. Six people make one party. Alley Leader’s presence means the dungeon will be easy to clear,” Asu answered, accepting Hyeonu’s support.

Ket was unable to say anything. Then Nix drove in the wedge by saying, “Of course. It’s good for us to have Alley Leader.” 

Thus, Hyeonu joined Pioneer’s party.

***

They weren’t far from the dungeon, which was at the top of the rocky hill just behind them. There was a small altar that served as the entrance to the dungeon. The moment Hyeonu and the Pioneer Guild members stood in front of the altar, a message appeared.

[Would you like to enter the South Rock Castle?]

“I will enter,” Ket, the party leader, declared his position. Immediately, the landscape in front of the six players’ eyes changed into one of a black world, flowing with a dreary air. Gray clouds covered the sky, and behind them was the full moon. The party had to rely on the faint moonlight to move. All they could see was a wooden fence that was just about to break and a rough, worn-out path.

“Ah, seriously... It seems hard to finish it easily.” Ket smiled despite the anxiety in his body and looked at Hyeonu.

“Well... I think we will have to struggle for a few days. Isn’t this originally a dungeon? In addition, it is more serious since we are the first to discover it.” Hyeonu, on the other hand, was relaxed.

He didn’t think it was impossible to clear. In his head, he was already pleasantly imagining what monsters would appear.

‘It is much better than hunting without thinking.’

Hyeonu felt that a dungeon hunt was much more fun than simply hunting.

“Then let’s go,” Hyeonu said as he led the Pioneer Guild.