Ranker’s Return

“This is ridiculous...” Kang Ujong muttered with a disbelieving expression when he saw it.

Jeong Byeongjin felt the same as well.

They had left JT Telecom, but they still had an attachment to the team. Yet JT Telecom was encountering a great wall right at the very beginning. It was a hard and solid wall.

“Hyung, Alley Leader is the first opponent...”

“It’s a big problem. They won’t be able to manage their minds... You have to win the Winter League to go straight to Arena Week...”

Jeong Byeongjin’s and Kang Ujong’s expressions darkened. Choi Hyunsung saw it and asked with a slightly nervous face, “What if he loses? He can’t always win, right? It’s not like JT Telecom has never been defeated until now.”

“It isn’t at that level. Alley Leader losing... First of all, it will be an all-kill. Everyone will lose to him,” Kang Ujong said and then paused for a moment.

Jeong Byeongjin received the baton touch and spoke on Kang Ujong’s behalf, “You will be shocked once you know Alley Leader’s identity. The more people pay attention to him, the more the players’ mentality will be shaken. I believe in Jinyong, but... I’m worried about the others.”

The former coach and supervisor both sighed at the same time. They were worried.

‘Alley Leader’s identity? Do they know him?’ Choi Hyunsung wondered.

He felt there was something strange about this. Kang Ujong and Jeong Byeongjin seemed to know Alley Leader.

Choi Hyunsung asked, “By the way... do the two of you know Alley Leader personally? Few people know his identity though...”

Hearing that, Kang Ujong whispered, “...god.”

“I didn’t hear you, Supervisor Kang.”

Kang Ujong moved and whispered in Choi Hyunsung’s ear, “meleegod. That is Alley Leader’s identity. The meleegod that JT Telecom first tried to scout.”

Choi Hyunsung’s eyes widened and shook quickly.

***

After the draw was confirmed, Hyeonu approached Kim Jinyong, who stood beside him, and extended a hand.

“Please take care of me,” Hyeonu said.

“I would like a good game.” Kim Jinyong shook Hyeonu’s hand with a shallow smile.

‘I’m worried...’ Contrary to his smile, Kim Jinyong was inwardly very worried.

He felt terrible when he saw the ladder. Kim Jinyong never expected it to be like this, with the decided opponent being Crescent Moon with Alley Leader.

‘Please, it would be nice if they are burning with the desire to fight...’

He prayed that his younger brothers would show a desire to win against Alley Leader, rather than collapsing. However, Kim Jinyong himself knew best that this was just a prayer filled with great greed.

“Then I’ll see you during the match.” Kim Jinyong bowed first and disappeared into the waiting room.

The order of the matches was in reverse order from the drawn numbers.

Numbers 1 and 2 would be the last to play, while Numbers 7 and 8 were going to be the opening match for the opening ceremony. Kim Jinyong was unable to bring himself to open the door of the waiting room, so he paused in front of it. It was only after taking a deep breath that he finally opened the door. The scene inside was completely different from what he expected. Everyone was watching the huge TV on the wall with faces full of vitality.

“UK Heights will win.”

“It might not be possible for UK Heights if the Barrett Fighters come up with a formation.”

Kim Jinyong walked quietly and sat on the sofa. Yoo Bin discovered Kim Jinyong and welcomed him happily: “Hyung, you came? We are the last ones, so we can adjust our condition slowly.”

“Yes. We are the last match, so there is a lot of time left. Take it slowly, but don’t relax too much.” Kim Jinyong smiled brightly.

His little brothers were more mature than he thought.

***

“We are the last match, so don’t be so nervous already. Especially you, Hoon! Sleep a bit. There is a sofa over there. Your face is almost like that of an ill patient right now, an ill patient,” Hyeonu said as he pointed to Lee Hoon, who had extremely deep dark circles.

“Hyung, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well yesterday. I think I will be better once I start watching the other teams play,” Lee Hoon refuted while shaking his head.

Yet in the eyes of the other five people, Lee Hoon didn’t look okay at all. It seemed like he would collapse at any time. In particular, Mason and Dwayne had been staying with him, so they knew that better than anyone. During the recent days, Lee Hoon hadn’t slept due to the burden and tension of the competition. It just wasn't possible for him to be in a normal condition.

“Yes, sleep for a bit. I will wake you up. Do you want to end up going to the hospital without even playing?” Mason spoke playfully.

Due to everyone looking at him anxiously, Lee Hoon lay down on a sofa to one side of. Upon confirming that Lee Hoon was lying down, Hyeonu opened his mouth and said, “Everyone looks good except for Hoon. No one seems nervous.”

Aside from Lee Hoon, everyone in the team was fine. In the cases of Sunny and Dwayne, they were used to having people’s attention, so there wouldn’t be a problem. It was the same for Yuri. Her outstanding appearance attracted attention even before she appeared on Yeongchan’s stream.

‘He seems like he is waiting for it to start, rather than being nervous.’

Meanwhile, Mason was eagerly waiting for the match to begin. For him, it was his pro gamer debut that he had been looking forward to all this time.

“Shall we watch the opening match first? It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Hyeonu took off the mask and threw it away.

***

“It is already the last match of the day. It's the highlight of the opening matches! The match that everyone is waiting for! Crescent Moon, the dark horse, and JT Telecom, the winners of the last season, are gathered here! The two teams will face off!” The host’s voice was also filled with anticipation.

The host was a veteran with more than 20 years of e-sports experience, but he still couldn’t hide his excitement. There were many superstars, but there was no overwhelming star like Alley Leader.

‘What should I do?’ The thing the host was worried about was how to make Alley Leader stand out more. ‘I will think about it while watching the match.’

“Just like the previous matches, we will start with the siege. Let me explain again. The siege will use a coin toss to determine the attack and defense. If heads appears, JT Telecom is the defense, and if tails appears, Crescent Moon is the defense.”

Once the host finished speaking, a huge coin flew into the air in front of the 20,000 people. In an instant, the coin turned dozens of times before starting to fall toward the ground.

“Ah!!! Tails has appeared! JT Telecom is on the attack!” The host announced. 

Sighs emerged from the mouths of the JT Telecom players. Typically, a siege was favorable to the defense. There was no answer as to how to win the siege if the defense team fought on the walls, unless there was actually a way to bring them down. Of course, teams classified as strong teams had many such methods. Still, it was true that it was burdensome.

“This is great. We are on the defense.”

“Honestly, does it matter?”

“Today, Hyung is prepared to take care of it all by himself anyway.”

The Crescent Moon players were indifferent even after seeing the results. They neither liked nor disliked it. In the first place, it didn’t matter if they attacked or defended. Today’s protagonist was Hyeonu, and it wouldn’t change regardless if they were attacking or defending.

“It would’ve been better if we were on the attack. It would be just like a movie—one where Hyung rode the drake and smashed the castle by himself.” Mason was really disappointed.

“Don’t talk nonsense and get into the cube. Don’t relax.” Hyeonu pressed down on Mason’s head and entered the booth where the cube was placed.

***

Hyeonu accessed Arena and looked around. The scenery was very familiar to him. At first glance, the walls looked solid, and there were buildings that looked small in the distance. This was Phinis.

‘It’s the same.’

It was perfectly consistent with what Hyeonu knew. Seemingly curious, the other players of Crescent Moon looked around as well.

-After a while, the troops for the siege will be summoned. The siege will be played for a total of one hour. The attacking side attains victory by capturing the inner office within the lord’s castle. The common victory condition is to wipe out all the enemies or get them to surrender, a familiar voice rang out.

It was the voice they heard back when they were creating their characters. The moment the voice faded, people began appearing one by one on the walls.

“Earl!”

They were the soldiers of Phinis. To be precise, they were the knight candidates, and there were almost 100 of them.

“Spread out and maintain your place. Never come out. You have only one thing to do. Defend. I will attack the enemies myself,” Hyeonu gave them a short order.

Of course, all of this was seen by the 20,000 spectators who were watching the siege on the huge screen.

“What is he saying?”

“He will attack the enemies himself? Are the soldiers just folding screens?”

“Of course, the soldiers might be weak, but their numbers...”

Mixed voices of concern started to emerge in the crowd, but it was only for a moment. As a group appeared beyond the walls, the stadium fell silent again. Leading the group of over 100 people, there were people wearing unusually colored clothing. Their number was 12 in total, and they were the players of JT Telecom. They were approaching the castle where Hyeonu was located.

Just then, loud cries filled the quiet Arena Stadium. The spectators were very flustered.

“What is this?”

“Is it a mistake?”

“Why jump off the walls?”

The reason the crowd was flustered was simple. On the screen, Hyeonu was throwing himself off the wall.

***

‘It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so it’s refreshing.’

Hyeonu jumped from the wall and landed lightly on the ground. Colorful lights surrounded Hyeonu as Tang-E and Yuri poured buffs toward him. He was relaxed like he was merely going out for a drink in his neighborhood. As if there were no enemies in front of him, Hyeonu just walked around like he was welcome there.

‘The first time is intense. It will be even more intense if my opponent is JT Telecom.’

Hyeonu patted the Mysterious Sky Sword that was hung at his waist.

‘I’m sorry...’

“I’m going to fight by myself today,” Hyeonu’s murmur didn’t reach JT Telecom.

Only the spectators and viewers watching Hyeonu on the screen could hear it. Hyeonu kicked off from the ground so explosively that his body leaned back. He arrived in front of JT Telecom in an instant.

A quiet mutter emerged from Hyeonu’s mouth just as he appeared before them: “...Giant’s Origin.”

Hyeonu was using buffs. He unreservedly used everything he had—everything that could be used. The buffs took effect immediately, and one among them had a visual effect. Once Twilight Reproduction was used, Hyeonu’s surroundings were colored violet.

Simultaneously, a ghostly color that appeared in a blurry manner behind Hyeonu’s back started to become darker. Once the ghost was fully formed, Hyeonu moved.

He raised his right hand and placed it on the Mysterious Sky Sword. A dark pure energy appeared. It seemed like it was going to devour the world.