Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu suddenly remembered what Yeongchan said this morning.

“There are many kids acting as proxies in the arena, especially those who are between the one million and ten million rankings. Shouldn’t you be careful when fighting in the arena?”

Proxy knights—they were those who existed yet also didn’t exist. This was the best way to describe Arena’s proxy knights. In the arena, players of any ranking could be encountered, even the gold medalists who were known as beacons. They were rule breakers who raised anyone's arena ranking, regardless of means and methods, as long as they received money.

This was a proxy knight. In any case, there was a demand for proxy knights. Moreover, some of them were famous. Representative Mopi—he was a prominent person in the proxy knight world. He didn’t make a professional debut and didn’t have a single video to his name, but he was already a celebrity. It was through word of mouth and the video clips of the Celestial World’s ranking videos that he became famous.

‘Yeongchan told me to be careful. Just...’

Hyeonu’s live stream today showed the arena ranking content. Additionally, he met three proxy knights in a row and played an unexpected match. In fact, Hyeonu ignored Yeongchan’s advice. Why? Why should he be scared of the proxy knights? There were no proxy knights in the days when Hyeonu played Arena. At that time, Arena was one of the esteemed new games, but it wasn’t as popular as it was now. He had never encountered a proxy knight before. Thus, he had denied their existence.

‘Everyone is better than I thought.’

Hyeonu admitted it now. The proxy knights were obviously good. It was natural. Otherwise, they couldn’t be a proxy.

‘Well, I’m still better.’

He acknowledged them, but that was it. They had to rot in the darkness for the rest of their lives. He was different. He was better than them in every way. Skills? Honor? Money? Everything was prepared for Hyeonu himself.

***

The fourth match started.

The opponent was dressed as a normal warrior. Based on these characteristics, it would be difficult for him to get a winning streak in the bronze medal matches. Hyeonu swung his single-edged sword hard through the air, and he stepped back.

“Everyone, I think it is a proxy knight again. The feeling is lousy.” 

Hyeonu had a brief exchange with the opponent and felt the same as the previous three matches.

-Alley Leader is the boss.

-Yes, is he hoping everyone is a proxy?

-Will Alley Leader’s skill be revealed?

Some viewers didn’t know this and were busy criticizing Hyeonu. Other viewers agreed with Hyeonu, pointing out the current arena rankings.

-Looking at the bronze medal category, doesn’t this person have an endless winning streak?

-Does it make sense for him to be stagnant in this medal category for so long?

-I’m a bronze medalist, and the locals here don’t have that strength. There is a different feeling about him.

“Well, does it matter if he is a proxy? I will win easily.”

Hyeonu rushed back toward the opponent after speaking.

***

Why didn’t the opposing warrior attack during the few seconds when Hyeonu was watching the chat window? This was because he didn’t know Hyeonu was a streamer. The other party misunderstood, thinking that Hyeonu was preparing to counterattack if he got hit. So, the other party didn’t attack prematurely. Furthermore, he had felt it. Hyeonu’s skills were better than he thought.

‘Is this person a proxy knight? A bronze medalist can’t be this good?’

Lee Hoon, the proxy knight who was Hyeonu’s opponent, shook his head. “I didn’t expect to meet another proxy knight. It will be hard to win a silver medal by tomorrow if I lose here.”

Lee Hoon naturally thought that Hyeonu was a proxy knight. There were two reasons for this. The vast majority of those who wore ridiculous masks and participated in ranking matches were proxy knights. When a proxy knight was requested, there were many conditions that required the character’s face to not be shown.

The second reason was the ability. Hyeonu was too good to be a bronze medalist. The arena in Arena had been fixed to a certain extent. It was impossible for a bronze player to suddenly rise to a gold medalist. If that was the case, they should be a gold medalist from start to finish.

At this moment, Hyeonu rushed toward Lee Hoon. “Hap!” 

As a proxy knight, Lee Hoon had outstanding skills. His basic senses were different. The timing of using his skills and his reading of the opponent’s attacks were all at the top. However, this character wasn’t Lee Hoon’s character. Therefore, it was hard for him to stand up against Hyeonu, who boasted powerful specs. There was an incredible sound when the blades collided with each other.

Five footsteps...

Lee Hoon was frantically pushed back five footsteps. This was the result of offsetting the shock as much as possible.

‘Monster... A monster. Was there a knight with such skill?’

“Perhaps? No. That isn’t possible.”

Lee Hoon shook his head with a helpless expression and ran back toward Hyeonu. It was with the little hope that he never knew what could happen.

***

Hyeonu definitely realized how lucky it was that he had changed to the rare class called ‘Knight of Keon.’

‘Without sword energy, I would be pressured in the strength aspect.’

Hyeonu’s specs weren’t behind Lee Hoon’s by much, but they were definitely inferior. The story changed when Hyeonu’s weapon was full of magic power. Hyeonu’s sword energy was rated as an overwhelming skill, and it was a bully. It smashed the sword energy of any opponents he encountered.

The sword energy and sword energy met again. They devoured each other, and the winner was naturally Hyeonu’s sword energy. Lee Hoon failed to overcome the aftermath of the shock and flew away. He opened his mouth to say, “I’ll surrender.”

-Why surrender all of a sudden?

-An explosion out of the blue.

-Doing this out of the blue is certifying his level.

-He has been pushed the whole time and then said GG. Can he GG after his neck is cut?

[Player ‘Gang Hyeonu’ has won.]

Lee Hoon abstained and then approached Hyeonu.

“Are you a professional gamer?” Lee Hoon asked cautiously as he stood in front of Hyeonu.

“No, I’m a streamer of A-World. I am called Alley Leader,” Hyeonu responded in a friendly tone.

It was because he was broadcasting. There were often cases like this where a player admired their opponent’s skill and asked to be friends or wanted to get revenge after a desperate defeat. In this case, it was the former. Lee Hoon didn’t hold a grudge against Hyeonu. “Alley Leader? No wonder why your strength is different. I hope you’ll stick to this when you rise up higher.”

‘Alley Leader wasn’t a bubble.’

Lee Hoon nodded when he realized his opponent was Alley Leader.

“Are you climbing the rankings? You are good, but...”

The moment Hyeonu spoke, Lee Hoon grasped the meaning of his words and smiled. Hyeonu saw the smile and knew he was right. The viewers knew it too.

Proxy knights…

This warrior was a proxy knight.

“Everyone, can I briefly stop the ranking matches to do a short interview?”

-A proxy knight interview—it’s the first time I’ve seen it in my life.

-It seems like a video that can’t be seen anywhere.

- ㄱㄱ When would I ever get to see a proxy knight?

The viewers gave permission for the interview.

***

The proxy knight Lee Hoon wore a mask when being interviewed by Hyeonu. His face was seen in the ranking match just now, but he still felt like he had to do this. It was with a bit of hope that this account wouldn’t be suspended if he covered it now.

“Then let’s say hello to the viewers.” Hyeonu gave a neat introduction. It showed that his broadcasting experience wasn’t in vain.

“Yes, hello. I’m Heder, and I work as an arena proxy knight.”

After Lee Hoon finished his greeting, the chat window was suddenly on fire. Heder was the ID of Lee Hoon’s proxy knight character. Heder wasn’t the best proxy knight, but his name was still well-known.

-Isn’t Heder quite famous?

-I know he is a gold medalist.

-Is he a gold medalist within the hundreds of thousands in the rankings? Wow...

-He is platinum, not gold. Additionally, he is one of the best proxy knights. As long as it isn’t that person… 

-Who is that person? Just say the name—Mopi.

“Isn’t Heder a pretty famous name? Some people say that you are one of the top three in strength.” Hyeonu stared at the chat window and found something worth asking.

“I’m just a good player. I’m one of many knights.”

“Then I will change the question. How many proxy knights are there?”

“I know around 30. This is within the gold medal section. I don’t know anyone below that. I don’t think I need to know.”

“30 people... There are fewer than I thought? Aren’t there many famous people in the gold medal category?”

“I’m not showing off when I say I can do anything with a gold medal, whether it is streaming, going on programs, or selling videos. I’m just doing the most comfortable work, even if it is illegal.”

-He isn’t showing off intentionally yet he is still showing off.

-Why be a proxy knight with that skill?

-Is it the income of proxy knights? 

-It is said that Mopi’s monthly income is in the billions.

“Then I’ll move onto the next question. Many people are curious. How much income do you earn?”

So far, Hyeonu had asked the questions that viewers wanted, but this was the best question. It was a question about earnings. Once he asked about money, the cold chat window started to come alive again.

-Yes, this is the important thing.

-This is what I wanted to know.

-How much money can be earned that he is working as a proxy knight?

“It is a bit expensive to move my items to an account that has nothing.” Lee Hoon raised the thumb and index finger of his right hand. “A bronze medal is around 5 million won. From a bronze medal onward, the price is per win. So you can see that a silver medal is around 20 million won. I can gain around one bronze medal in three days.”

-Wow! Then it is 5,000 a month?

-I should become a proxy knight.

-However, Heder is among the top of the proxy knights. Normally, people can’t earn that much.

“Wow, there is a lot of buzz.”

Hyeonu was surprised by the large amount of 50 million won. Of course, it made sense that Heder would have a set of rare items despite not being at the highest level. Otherwise, it would be impossible to raise an empty account to a bronze medal.

“Ah, I have something I am picky over. It is level 100, after the second class change. I can’t use an ID that hasn’t gone through the second class change.”

-Then how did Alley Leader get a bronze medal at level 80?

-That is Alley Leader’s standard...

-He seems to be greater than Heder.

The 30-minute interview ended. Lee Hoon liked Hyeonu very much. ‘His personality is very good.’

“Ah!” Lee Hoon remembered something. There was a rumor that spread recently. The protagonist was Alley Leader. Lee Hoon decided to tell Alley Leader about this. “Can you turn off your streaming microphone for a moment?”

“Huh? What’s going on?” Hyeonu was flustered when he was suddenly asked to turn off the microphone output. 

However, Lee Hoon called for an embargo (a mass term for no press coverage after a certain point), so Hyeonu quickly turned off the microphone. “I’m sorry everyone, I have to turn off the microphone for a moment. There is something he wants to tell me personally.” 

-Don’t turn it off.

-I’d like to hear it as well.

-We have the right to listen!!!

The viewers protested. Nevertheless, Hyeonu ignored them. “Yes, say it now.”

“Do you have any friction with the Chinese side?”

“Not at all. I don’t know anyone...”

Hyeonu was bewildered. Friction with China...

No matter how he searched through his memories, he had no association with China.

“Then why is the Chinese side looking for snipers during Alley Leader’s streams?”

“Snipers?”

Lee Hoon wasn’t speaking of military snipers. This sort of sniping referred to targeting a specific person with malicious intent.

“This person is famous in the industry. He is a proxy knight who doesn’t hesitate to act as a sniper after receiving money. His name is ‘Clear’, and he is a terrible guy,” Lee Hoon said. Then he added, “Additionally, that person is unique because he uses two swords. Please be careful.”

Lee Hoon described the sniper in detail, giving hard to find information on things like his skill characteristics, weapons, and habits.

“Thank you for the good information. I didn’t even do anything for you.”

“No. I’m telling you because I think you’re a good guy.”

“I understand. Please contact me later if you need anything. I will try to help.”

Hyeonu never imagined that he would hit the jackpot through Lee Hoon in the near future.