Ranker’s Return

Unlike Hyeonu’s stream where there wasn’t much of a response, the community was as hot as a heated grill. Nothing else was needed. Just one fact alone could be admired for a year. meleegod had returned, and Alley Leader was that meleegod. This fact alone caused them to write and comment on the community posts like crazy people. In the early days, Arena was more popular in Europe and North America than in South Korea. So, naturally, there were more people abroad who remembered meleegod.

[As expected, his class hasn’t changed.]

[-Once a god, an eternal god.

Now the bait posts about meleegod vs. Alley Leader won’t appear.

Sometimes it was fun to imagine it.

Then I saw the video of the match, and it was too strong.

I think Arena Week will be his solo show.]

-Americano Three Shots: Alley Leader and meleegod will never lose.

-Yur From Boston: Really crazy. Especially in PVP.

-Embroidered Building: I think it should be checked that he doesn’t have different stat points alone. He fights too well.

-Mountain Ural: Especially the last game... He made Locke a chicken instead of an eagle.

There was a lot of talk about the PvP match, as well as Hyeonu’s identity. However, everyone repeated the same thing. Although they expressed it differently, the meaning was the same. They all complimented and admired Hyeonu’s skills. There was only one thing they wanted to see now. How much wilder would Alley Leader play at Arena Week?

***

‘Sigh, there are so many.’

“No, weren’t there only four or five nobles? Why have more than 20 guilds received the map-making quest?” Hyeonu wondered with a frown as he watched A-World. There were many guilds who received the same quest as Hyeonu.

‘Why act like this when there are fewer rewards?’

Hyeonu couldn’t understand it. Why were they hung up on such an empty-can-like quest? However, these were just Hyeonu’s thoughts. The positions of the other guilds were different. This was a quest given by the emperor. The rewards were experience and imperial contributions. Hyeonu didn’t have it, but they would also get ‘affinity with the nobles’ as a reward. So, even if the quest didn’t succeed, they weren’t in a position to refuse.

‘Should I just not do it?’

Hyeonu had no such requirement to continue with the quest, and neither the risk of returning after failure nor the chance of returning after success were particularly attractive. He would rather do other quests during this time.

‘Should I level up just by hunting?’

Now Hyeonu didn’t have a lot of things left to do. In the short term, his aim was to win the Winter League. In the long term, it was to win Arena Week. These were for outside Arena. In Arena itself, his goal was to get first in the overall character level rankings.

‘It seems Rain is still number 1...’

He was catching up quickly, but there was still a slight difference. Hyeonu was currently level 277. Rain’s latest level was 282, so there was at least a five-level difference between the two.

‘He must only eat and play Arena...’ Hyeonu grumbled inwardly. Rain’s level-up speed was terribly fast. Of course, in terms of absolute speed, Hyeonu’s level-up speed was much faster. It was because Hyeonu hunted alone and cleared big quests one after another. Rain didn’t have that. Nevertheless, he was leveling up steadily and rapidly.

‘Yes, let’s give up.’

It wasn’t a big deal to give up on this quest. So Hyeonu neatly abandoned it.

***

As Hyeonu saw on A-World, 20 large guilds took the lead in pioneering the Balder Mountains. They moved while accurately dividing it into zones. It was so neatly divided that it was strange. The viewers and public didn’t know it, but those with a lot of gaming experience roughly noticed the fact that some large guilds were united. Even the guilds that weren’t part of the alliance felt like they had signed a silent non-aggression treaty.

“Alley Leader still hasn’t shown up in the Balder Mountains?” A man in a neat suit was making a phone call while looking at several monitors. His name was Carey, and he was the master of the traditionally strong Phoenix Guild.

-That’s right. No one has seen him at Derek Castle, regardless of whether they are an alliance member or just a regular player. 

The man currently talking to Carey was Sun Lin. He was the man who led China’s largest guild after New World and Kowloon. The two—no, the 17 guilds united for a simple reason. It was an expression of their determination to no longer lag behind Alley Leader’s forces such as New World, Red Bull America, Kowloon, and New York Warriors.

“Now we have formed an alliance. No, I’m sure he will think that we are allied. He is a smart man after all,” Carey spoke with a bitter expression.

Alley Leader was clever and strong. He was skilled in literary and military arts, so he was faster than everyone.

‘Now we are in a position where we can’t go beyond him,’ Carey thought.

A few months ago, Alley Leader was just a newbie—a rising star that came to mind as someone who played well. Yet his real identity was meleegod, and he was as strong as he used to be.

-Probably. However, I don’t think it can be helped this time. It won’t be easy to overcome the strategy we have prepared. After all, he has completely stepped out into the sunlight.

Sun Lin was talking about Alley Leader’s image as a professional. Pro gamers—those who sought honor as well as money—naturally had to pay attention to their reputation with the public. It was a strategy that was developed with the judgment there would be no chance of a head-to-head confrontation regardless of what method they used.

Carey hung up and muttered with both eyes closed, “I hope that our preparations will work on him…”

***

After deciding to give up on the quest, Hyeonu thought about what he could do.

‘Find Duke Blake.’

It was a quest that could never be cleared unless he was lucky. Arena was a game that had a huge continent as its background. Finding one individual on the continent was impossible, let alone an NPC that no players knew about.

‘Then the only thing left... is Rondal.’

The advanced academy, Rondal—it seemed Hyeonu had to go there. There were no other options. Otherwise, the only thing he could do was simple hunting.

‘Then how do I find Rondal?’

There was always another mountain after crossing a mountain. Now he had no answer for this as well. Hyeonu held his head and was distressed for a long time. Just when he thought he should empty his head and go hunting...

‘That’s right!’

Something flashed through his mind. Hyeonu searched his inventory and pulled out a small parchment. It was one of the rewards he’d received after clearing Laek.

It was a ‘map.’

[The item information has been updated.]

[Map]

[A map containing the hidden road to Rondal.

It will be unsealed after being covered in the blood of five boss monsters above level 350.

The current rate of seal release: 0%.]

Originally, it was a piece of parchment with nothing on it, so he had never looked at it.

‘This was related to Rondal.'

He felt like he had belatedly found a treasure. Then he read the description of the map. Hyeonu needed to defeat five boss monsters above level 350. It might not be an easy condition, but he could still fight and kill them. The question was where to find five high-level boss monsters? Moreover, it had to be as soon as possible.

‘The best place for level 350...’

It was just the Balder Mountains and Mount Cheon. Only these places had boss monsters of that level gathered. There were naturally other fields, for example, the Betro Plains where he’d met the Pioneer Guild members. The monsters there were powerful enough, and the boss monsters were over level 350. It was just that Hyeonu had no information on those fields. He would have to do everything on his own.

‘It will take a long time.’

It might be faster just to make the map connecting the Balder Mountains and Mount Cheon.

‘Let’s go to the Balder Mountains.’

In the end, the solution was the Balder Mountains, a paradise for monsters. Hyeonu tore the return book to Derek.

***

“Alley Leader appeared at Derek Castle,” these words echoed through the Balder Mountains.

There were exactly 17 places where these words were spoken. Those who formed the Anti Alley Leader Alliance spread the news once Hyeonu was spotted at Derek Castle.

“Really? Then tell them to start working as planned. Don’t bother about what the other guilds are doing. Just focus on what you have to do,” Sun Lin spoke with a rather weary face to the guild member who came to report to him. 

Additionally, Sun Lin’s face was sweaty because he’d just fought a fierce battle with a monster. He added, “Tell them to never do anything that deviates from the plan. Also, start shooting a video the moment they come in contact with Alley Leader. Our guild doesn’t need idiots.”

“Understood, Master. I will prepare it without any problems.”

Due to the strange sense of anxiety he felt, Sun Lin continued to instruct the guild member, “Don’t forget to report from time to time. Report to me unconditionally. Send it only to me. Doesn’t matter if it’s a note or a whisper. Don’t allow any leaks in the middle.”

They must never make any conspicuous actions.

***

“Wow! It’s Alley Leader!”

“Alley Leader!!”

A group of people flocked to Hyeonu like fans chasing after an idol singer.

“Can I take a photo with you just once?”

“I want to ask you to sign this sword here.”

“I would appreciate it if you wrote something on my armor.”

They took off their swords and armor and held them out. Hyeonu looked confused when he saw this.

‘What? Are they crazy?’ He wondered.

It was his first time experiencing such a thing. There had been many fights with swords, but it was the first time that people rushed over to ask for his autograph. Hyeonu wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just did what they wanted. He signed autographs with a pen and took photos with the fans.

“Have a fun hunt,” Hyeonu said goodbye to them and left hurriedly at a very fast speed like he was using Mysterious Sky Steps. He disappeared in the blink of an eye. Once the group confirmed that Hyeonu was gone, they started putting their weapons in their inventory one by one.

“Sigh... We passed it safely?”

“Yes. By the way, I don’t know who thought of this... but I don’t know if it can be called novel or stupid.”

“I didn’t know it would be like this when I was asked to do it. Seriously.”

Their actions were part of a thorough plan that came down from the higher-ups of the alliance. It was the so-called extreme fan plan. The goal of the operation was to pretend to be Alley Leader’s fan and eat away at his time. It was a fact that everyone knew they couldn’t win if they fought. Using force was not the answer, so this was what they prepared.

“Still, we didn’t die. The number of people killed by Alley Leader so far must be in the triple digits...”

The plan was a success. No victims appeared, and Alley Leader’s time was dragged out as much as possible.