Ranker’s Return

It wasn’t just Lebron who welcomed Hyeonu when he returned. There were a few more people next to Lebron. Looking at their clothes, they were priests, magicians, and merchants.

‘Are they some representatives?’

Hyeonu didn’t know about this. No, of course, he should have expected it would happen. Lebron was in charge of the delegation, but he wouldn’t do anything for the sake of diplomatic relations. After all, he was just in charge of being the face and fists.

‘He isn’t enough of a gentleman to do that.’

Just then, Lebron saw Hyeonu walk over.

“How is it?” Lebron asked in a solemn voice. It was a serious tone that was rarely heard from him.

‘There are other people around... Is he managing his image?’

“Yes, the 3rd imperial prince will come out to meet you. He said he would be as formal as possible. We can go now, Master,” Hyeonu answered.

“Really? Well done. You are truly worthy of being the next commander of the Knights of Keon. It’s like seeing myself when I was young.”

It was a compliment so direct that it gave Hyeonu goosebumps. Despite feeling the goosebumps on his arms, Hyeonu barely reacted to Lebron. He merely said, “Whose disciple am I...? Isn’t it right to do this much? The name on my shoulders should be heavier.”

“Yes, of course, it’s heavy. It is never a light name.” Lebron smiled with satisfaction. Simultaneously, he turned his head and looked around. “Then get ready to move. We have a location now, so we’ll move.”

The others started moving the moment Lebron’s words were over.

***

-By the way, this is the main scenario right?

-Probably. It is an exchange between continents...

-The size is just right.

The chat window was active regardless of whether Hyeonu saw it, and its present topic was the rating of the quest Alley Leader was currently doing.

What rating was it really? Of course, most of the viewers’ opinions were the same. The quest was so important that they naturally expected it to be the main scenario.

“Everyone knows it well. The quest I am doing now is the main scenario. It is an exchange between empires, so shouldn’t it be at least the main scenario?” Hyeonu said when he saw the chat window.

-Of course.

-As expected, he is the leader. This is the main scenario as well.

-In fact, it’s four main scenarios in a row now. It’s like he is playing Arena as a package.

“That’s right. From the 4th main scenario to the 7th, there is no main scenario that I haven’t participated in. Thinking about it, I really have done a lot.”

In this 7th main scenario, Hyeonu would be the main character. No, he was already the main character as this was the first time the 7th main scenario was released on a stream. Just then, Hyeonu arrived in front of Liu Yongyun, who was standing outside the city walls.

“Earl, the procession following you is from the West Continent?” Liu Yongyun paused for a moment.

Hyeonu knew the reason and added what Liu Yongyun didn’t say: “They are from the Yusma Empire, 3rd Imperial Prince.” 

“Are they all the envoys from the Yusma Empire?” Liu Yongyun spoke in a flustered tone.

The number of envoys was too small.

“You mean you crossed Mount Cheon with this number of people?”

It could only be a few hundred at most. In addition, half of them were non-combat personnel, including porters. It was unbelievable that they had crossed over the extremely dangerous Mount Cheon.

“Everyone has the skills of 100 men. In particular, my master is the head of the delegation. He is so strong that I can’t even compare,” Hyeonu answered the question with a slightly proud smile.

-I admit it.

-You can cross with Lebron alone.

-The Knights of Keon are also strong. Honestly, the opponents were too weak in the 4th main scenario, so we didn’t know, but after seeing them hunt in the Balder Mountains... Crazy.

Liu Yongyun couldn’t see it, but the viewers also acknowledged Hyeonu’s words in the chat room. It was possible to lead low-level people across the Balder Mountains and down Mount Cheon with Lebron alone.

“This is the earl’s master...” Liu Yongyun murmured. According to Liu Yongyun’s standards, Hyeonu was a considerably strong man. He might be an adventurer, but he had superior skills. The master of such a person… Liu Yongyun couldn’t even guess how strong he would be.

“He isn’t a bad person, so you don’t have to worry too much,” Hyeonu advised the nervous-looking Liu Yongyun.

As the two of them talked, the delegation being led by Lebron arrived at the gates of Yuanyang.

“Welcome to the Yuxin Empire.” Liu Yongyun bowed and greeted the person of seniority standing in front of the delegation.

“I am Lebron, a duke of the Yusma Empire. It is nice to meet you.” Lebron also bowed slightly and extended his right hand. It was a sign to shake hands and an unintendedly cool act.

“I hope we can have a good relationship in the future,” Liu Yongyun said while holding Lebron’s hand.

Hyeonu smiled when he saw this scene. The quest was proceeding smoothly.

***

Hyeonu’s stream headed toward the end. It was over when the delegation from the Yusma Empire started unloading its luggage in Yuanyang. This was reasonable as it had taken them a long time to climb the mountain.

‘There is no need to show more details.’

“Then I’ll see you again next time. Thank you to the many viewers who watched Alley Leader’s streaming today.” Hyeonu ended the stream with a closing remark that contained his sincerity. Then he moved to the office where Lebron and Liu Yongyun were together.

As Hyeonu walked inside the office, Lebron was explaining something to Liu Yongyun: “Let’s see... It won’t be difficult to cross the mountain as long as there are 10 or so swordsmen who can use pure energy.”

‘Is he teaching how to cross the mountain range?’ Hyeonu thought as he listened to their conversation quietly.

“Pure energy... There’s a need for so many swordsmen at that level...?”

“That’s when there is no luggage. If you have people to protect, then more swordsmen will be needed.”

Liu Yongyun looked surprised. Crossing the mountain range was more difficult than he had thought.

‘That’s right,’ Hyeonu agreed inwardly with what Lebron said last.

Then Hyeonu intervened in their conversation right at this moment, “That is too few, Master.” 

The eyes of those in the office immediately gathered on him. Hyeonu glanced around as he spoke, “If you don’t know the exact route, you’ll need even more.”

Lebron nodded and agreed with Hyeonu’s opinion, “Yes. We came here easily because we have you.” 

No matter what anyone said, Hyeonu was the expert when it came to the Balder Mountains.

“By the way, is there any need to worry about the size of the group? In this case, it is better just to use return scrolls. They are like the amulets,” Hyeonu stated.

Liu Yongyun said, “That is correct, but...” 

Hyeonu’s words weren’t wrong. If it were just a small number of people traveling, there would no method more comfortable than the return items since NPCs could also use return scrolls.

“Still... delegations should regularly go to the West Continent. However, it isn’t easy to mobilize people every time, especially now.” Liu Yongyun shook his head.

At present, the Yuxin Empire couldn’t afford it. Wiping out the Secret Camp and their leaders had left a greater gap in their manpower than expected.

“Why does the empire want to do it all alone?” Hyeonu wondered when he heard these words.

He couldn’t understand it. Why was only the empire in charge of it?

“Hire some adventurers. If you offer the right rewards, they’ll rush in. You can do it for a cheap price. Why? They won’t know it’s cheap anyway,” Hyeonu advised. A sly smile appeared on Hyeonu’s face as he took off the mask.

***

“In the end, Alley Leader caused an incident again.” Park Hyeonjun, leader of Quency’s general planning team, grabbed his head while looking at the large monitor.

“Team Leader-nim, are you okay?” Deputy Kim asked from where he was sitting next to Park Hyeonjun. 

“Is it the time to worry about me? Am I going to be working overtime alone? Our whole team will be doing it.”

Deputy Kim’s face filled with despair. Soon, both of his eyes moved around quickly in panic.

“Then I’ll go meet with Team Leader Kim of the operations team and prepare for the meeting.” Park Hyeonjun left the general planning team after saying this.

He moved to the lounge and sent a text message to Kim Jinyeong asking him to go to the lounge. While waiting for Kim Jinyeong, Park Hyeonjun ordered some coffee in advance: “Add one Iced Americano shot. Two glasses without syrup.”

Originally, he didn’t enjoy bitter coffee, but the more he worked overtime, he realized there was nothing better. The Iced Americano came out quickly. Park Hyeonjun was just returning to his seat with the drinks when Kim Jinyeong arrived.

“Oh, did you prepare mine as well?” Kim Jinyeong wondered as he received an Iced Americano from Park Hyeonjun.

“The East Continent is now open. Did you know?” Park Hyeonjun asked while holding out his left hand.

“That... It is due to the ridiculous things Alley Leader did. Oh my god, he actually made a deal with a dragon. I couldn’t even imagine it,” Kim Jinyeong replied. 

With a snap of his wrist, he turned the coffee he’d received. He liked the cold, so he was trying to melt the ice quickly.

“Originally, it seemed like 1,000 people would be difficult. Then the number suddenly decreased so things became like this...” Park Hyeonjun said and then sucked up the bitter Ice Americano through the straw. It was only after that he continued to speak. “I think we need to prepare the next patch. We also have to develop new areas.”

“Of course. We are busy doing that right now.” Kim Jinyeong nodded.

The general planning team and operations team were always busy, but there was the feeling of being even busier lately.

“Still, there is some room to breathe this time,” Kim Jinyeong said while sucking up the Iced Americano.

The previous overtime work was a bit helpful now thanks to Alley Leader. He struggled at first, but now he felt comfortable with it.

“This might be the case for the operations team, but my team will die. There is no answer. The planning for the demon world still isn’t finished. It would be good to have some time to develop it...” Park Hyeonjun sighed. The more he thought about it, the more stressed he became.

“Then can you send me a regular employee? You can afford it. Employee Jung was originally from the general planning team.” Park Hyeonjun looked up and stared into Kim Jinyeong’s eyes.

“You want me to give you people?” Kim Jinyeong shook his head.

“Are you serious?”

“I won’t say it as a joke. I want to go home at least once every three days. Please...”

Hearing that, Park Hyeonjun didn’t say anything else. He just silently enjoyed the bitterness of the Iced Americano.

Kim Jinyeong glanced at Park Hyeonjun and muttered sincerely, “I hope that Alley Leader will be a bit slower in touching the Demon World. No, I want the professional league to start tomorrow. Then he’ll be less concerned about the quests.”