Ranker’s Return

‘Am I that popular?’

This was the only thought in Hyeonu’s mind as he walked through the Balder Mountains. People rushed over to see him, asking for autographs and photos. Honestly, he had to think like this. It was a bit annoying, but he still felt proud. Regardless, at least it wasn’t too much of a hindrance since he could control the encounters with people by adjusting his speed of movement.

‘A boss monster came out somewhere nearby...’

Hyeonu looked through his past memories with a pleasant heart.

‘There was one near here...’

Based on where Cruise Mountain was, Hyeonu was in the middle of the Balder Mountains He definitely remembered killing a boss monster somewhere here, but he didn’t remember exactly what it was. Hyeonu couldn’t remember it by himself, so he eventually summoned Tang-E and asked, “Ah, what is it? Tang-E, what did we kill here?”

“It was an ugly bastard. A very ugly bastard.” It wasn’t known what Tang-E had been doing, but there were many things in his mouth when he appeared. Even in this state, he still answered Hyeonu’s question straight away.

“Ugly bastard? Aren’t they all ugly? It is rare to have a good-looking monster in the first place.” Hyeonu shook his head from side to side.

He was still confused after listening to Tang-E. There was no image that came to mind.

“No, wasn’t it those purple guys? Stupid Master dude. It is clear that your head is full of muscles.”

“Ah!” Now Hyeonu remembered. The purple ogres—they mostly appeared here.

‘If it’s on the high side, at least three will appear...’

“This might end earlier than I thought?” A smile flashed on Hyeonu’s face.

***

However, the world didn’t flow as it did in Hyeonu’s heart. He didn’t see any purple ogres. One hour had already passed. In the meantime, Hyeonu wandered around fruitlessly, only killing the monsters he encountered occasionally. He didn’t see the boss monster that he wanted.

‘I don’t know what is so urgent, but Tang-E had to go back.’

Tang-E was annoyed that the purple ogres didn’t appear, so he returned to Bung Bung Island.

‘Was it killed?’

The purple ogre was a boss monster. It meant that it would take a long time for it to respawn. If a party or guild had killed it, then it was natural that it wouldn’t appear in front of Hyeonu.

‘Should I give up and go further inward?’

He had already wasted an hour. Hyeonu sighed and was about to call Tang-E when a scream rang out.

“Purple ogre! It appeared!!”

“It isn’t just one or two!!”

“Protect the guild members with potions! Send the coordinates to the higher-ups!”

People screamed out one after another with great urgency in their voices.

‘The timing is good.’

The purple ogres appeared just as Hyeonu was going to give up. It might be a disaster for them, but it was like winning the lottery for Hyeonu. Hyeonu summoned Tang-E, “Tang-E, let’s go kill the purple guys.”

Tang-E appeared and was embraced by Hyeonu.

***

The situation was urgent when Hyeonu arrived near the scene. Around 10 people were fighting the purple ogres, but they fought like they had given up on fleeing or were acting as bait to keep a few other people alive.

‘They fight well, but it’s a pity.’

The players were members of a large guild and were very good. The problem was that the purple ogres were their opponents. The second problem was that there wasn’t just one purple ogre; there were four. The players were doing their best just fending off the purple ogres’ attacks.

‘I have to intervene...’

Hyeonu was watching from a distance when someone approached him.

“Are you Alley Leader?” He was a player who belonged to a guild different from the one currently fighting the purple ogres.

Hyeonu frowned at the 10 or so players approaching him. Previously, he would’ve greeted them with a smile, but not now. There were people who needed his help. Nevertheless, Hyeonu answered, “That’s right. Is something the matter?”

The men showed happy expressions at Hyeonu’s words.

“Can you sign this for me? I would be even more grateful if you would take a photo with me.”

Hearing the expected words come out of the man’s mouth, Hyeonu closed his eyes.

“Sorry, I’m busy now. I’ll take a photo the next time I meet you,” Hyeonu replied before turning around. In his eyes, he could see people fighting a fierce battle in the distance. It was more of a struggle than a battle.

“It is just one photo...”

“Can’t it just be one?”

The people clung to Hyeonu. It was as if they didn’t see the group fighting in the distance.

“I’m sorry.” Hyeonu left his spot without looking at these people.

One of the men saw Hyeonu moving and reached out. However, he failed to touch Hyeonu.

“What should we do? Just leave?” The man looked flustered.

“It lasted around five minutes. Let’s do a proper location briefing. What else do you want to do? We can’t even touch him. Who cares? We should let go of the ridiculous tactics,” another man replied casually.

***

“Did you find the purple guys?” Tang-E asked with wide eyes from where he was being held in Hyeonu’s arms.

“Yes, there are four of them,” Hyeonu said.

Tang-E’s eyes grew larger in an instant. He was surprised by Hyeonu’s words.

“Four? Is it okay, Master dude?”

Hyeonu touched Tang-E’s forehead who was looking anxious.

“I don’t know about 40, but four is easy.” 

The expression in Tang-E’s eyes changed. His worry disappeared, and he now seemed to be looking at something very pitiful.

“We are going to help other people, so act well. Also, don’t use Forest's Blessing on me. Use it on the people who seem to be in a desperate situation.”

Tang-E nodded at Hyeonu’s words. It was close to the worst-case scenario for the players when Hyeonu arrived at the battlefield. The purple ogres were surrounding the players. They drove the latter to the center and swung their wooden clubs like they were playing a prank.

‘Hmm... It might be a problem if I just intervene.’ Hyeonu put up a defense mechanism even in an urgent situation like this.

“Hello, I am Alley Leader. I’m currently on a quest to kill boss monsters. Do you mind if I kill the purple ogres?” Hyeonu asked when he appeared on the battlefield.

He was peaceful like he had nothing to do with combat. In fact, he just stood casually in a space where a swinging wooden club could smash the world. It was very incongruous.

“Huh? Of course... Even a hundred times is fine. Please kill them... Thank you so much. Please...” A man who was lying on the ground cried out urgently, speaking nonsense like he was half out of his mind. Still, he said everything necessary; he agreed to let Hyeonu participate in the battle.

“I understand. Then I’ll kill the purple ogres. Tang-E, give him Forest’s Blessing and protect him.” Hyeonu placed Tang-E on the ground.

“I understand, Master dude. I will protect the weak human. Don’t worry about it.” Tang-E lifted a paw and banged his chest.

Hyeonu nodded when he saw it.

‘I will fight without using everything.’

Giving himself a small handicap, he limited his explosive power. He wasn’t going to use his item skills. Of course, it was probably still going to be easy for him to kill the purple ogres. The +12 Mysterious Sky Sword… It was a truly fraudulent item. The additional 4,900 damage from the enhancement was really suitable to be called a scam.

The Mysterious Sky Sword was drawn from its sheath with a light sound. There was a blue trail left in the air, followed by a black light.

A giant crescent moon was shot at a purple ogre, which stood in the distance with a wooden club. Reacting quickly, the purple ogre showed agile movements that didn’t match its large size and swung its giant club toward the black crescent moon.

The wood and the crescent moon collided. Yet there was no collision sound. It was as if nothing had happened. Only the sound created by the club proved that it had moved. Just then, a small line appeared on the wooden club. There was a thud as the end of the wooden club fell to the ground and shook the forest. The cut section of the wood was very neat. It wasn’t just the fallen club end that made the ground shake.

An ugly purple face—the head of the purple ogre also rolled on the ground. Right after that, the giant body of the purple ogre that lost its head dropped to its knees.

[The purple ogre, the naughty one of the Balder Mountains, has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

‘It is as expected.’

Hyeonu nodded like the sight in front of him was natural. The sight he imagined became reality. The increased damage from the +12 sword wasn’t just an increase of 4,900. It amplified Hyeonu’s many skills, so the result wasn’t just 4,900. It was actually doubled or tripled.

“Crazy! What is that?”

“Even if it is Alley Leader...”

“Is this why you told me not to fight?”

However, it was only expected by Hyeonu. The 10 players who witnessed Hyeonu’s strike couldn’t shut their mouths. They were filled with amazement beyond admiration. These players were the elites of a large guild and could only hold out due to knowing some attack strategies. Of course, there were four purple ogres, but that was just an excuse.

“It isn’t like the videos,” the man lying on the floor muttered. Indeed, watching Alley Leader fight in person was different from the videos. It was much more overwhelming and intense. In particular, the dark red aura around his body was enough to give those watching a creepy feeling.

“It isn’t like a purple gore. It is more like he is hunting a normal mountain ogre.”

The purple ogres were sliced easily like they were rotten logs. Every time Alley Leader’s sword moved, a body part flew away. It didn’t matter if it was an arm or a leg. If it got hit, it was cut off.

‘The alliance is meaningless. We have to withdraw from it before Alley Leader finds out.’

“Master, I think we need to withdraw from the alliance. No, we have to withdraw,” the man sent a whisper to his guild master, expressing the emotions he felt.

***

Hyeonu danced. It was a sword dance. Every time he moved, three or four copies of him appeared. His clones swung their swords at the purple ogre simultaneously, and several pure energies struck its body. Soon, the purple ogre’s body burst, and its bones and flesh shot in all directions as if it had swallowed a bomb.

The last purple ogre fell.

Hyeonu shook the Mysterious Sky Sword that was covered in red blood. Before long, the Mysterious Sky Sword regained its original appearance and was placed on his shoulder. Then he moved to the players gathered to one side.

“I want to ask you something,” Hyeonu said politely.

“Huh?”

“What alliance?”

The Mysterious Sky Sword curved slightly. It was as if it could move at any time.