Ranker’s Return

Just as Hyeonu roamed the frozen canyon, there were other people in the glacier area except for Hyeonu. The amazing thing was that he wasn’t an NPC but a player. Like Hyeonu, this player was also wandering around alone. It was an accident that Hyeonu discovered him.

Unable to withstand Tang-E’s constant whining, Hyeonu had reluctantly looked for a place to eat. Monsters really appeared in a strange way in the glacier area. For example, snow would flow down from the top of the mountain in the aftermath of an avalanche. Then the snow would lump together to become a golem. It was okay to think of the surrounding environment itself as a monster.

So Hyeonu had to doubt everything and be vigilant. It was natural that in order to eat, he needed a closed room that was isolated from natural disasters. Hyeonu found a cave. No, he started making a cave because he couldn’t stand Tang-E whining continuously until they found a cave.

‘It is 2 meters in size.’

The desired size was a circle approximately one meter in diameter. That way, he could enter without needing to bow down.

‘I just go inside around 5 meters?’

It was enough. Rather, it was excessive for a space just to eat.

“Just wait a bit. I will make a place to eat,” Hyeonu continued to soothe Tang-E, who was muttering that he was hungry. 

Then Hyeonu stretched out his fist toward an intact ice wall. Wrapped in black flames, his fist entered the ice wall as easily as if he were putting his hand into water. Hyeonu released magic power into the ice wall. The ground cried out while the huge ice wall vibrated. After that, he pulled his arm out of the ice wall and said, “Tang-E, it’s done. Come and eat.”

Hyeonu lightly touched the place he had punched and went inside.

‘Huh? What?’

It was empty under his feet. He needed hard ice to step on, but he found nothing there. His body fell quickly.

“Uwaaaah!” Hyeonu screamed with all his might. It turned out that the inside of the ice wall was empty.

‘Keep calm...’

He calmly injected magic power into his clothes. Then the speed of his fall decreased sharply.

“Phew...” Hyeonu sighed with relief. He almost made ‘a fall’ the reason for his first forced logout from Arena. Hyeonu’s eyes quickly moved to the left and right sharply like a hawk looking for prey.

‘Is it a cave?’

He was in an ordinary cave passage surrounded by smooth rock walls. It was like a common dungeon.

‘Then why was it open?’

Why was there a hole? It was an incomprehensible sight. Then Hyeonu learned the reason after a while.

‘I broke it... Did I use too much magic power?’

There were many stone fragments on the ground, and they looked like the rock walls around him. This was obviously Hyeonu’s mistake. He still hadn’t properly figured out the amount of power the fire attribute added.

‘Was the attribute damage applied to the ice wall?’

Ultimately, he could only vaguely guess why his calculations were wrong.

“Let’s just eat here, Tang-E. It is bothersome to go anywhere else.” 

After placing Tang-E down, Hyeonu pulled out from his inventory the food he’d brought from Phinis. The food was steaming hot like it was freshly cooked. This was because the state of the food didn’t change when it was in the inventory. Tang-E turned into a human child and used chopsticks to eat the meat Hyeonu placed on his plate.

Hyeonu watched the scene happily. Then he turned to look at one side and shouted, “Who’s over there?!”

A man with a shabby appearance was standing at where Hyeonu was looking. The man’s eyes were shining. He approached Hyeonu and Tang-E like he was possessed by a ghost.

Hyeonu remained vigilant toward the man who showed strange steps. He was ready to act at any time. However, the man kept a certain distance and didn’t get closer. Once he stopped, he moved his lips instead of his legs: “Can I… perhaps have some food?”

This was the story of Hyeonu’s encounter with the player.

***

Hyeonu couldn’t eat because he was busy trying to stop the two people who were eating in front of him.

“Please eat slowly. There is a lot of food. You too, eat slowly. There is a lot of food. If there isn’t enough, I’ll cook more for you.” Hyeonu seemed like a mother who was raising her children.

A stupid player and stupid bear brought food to their mouths without even breathing as if they were competing with each other. They were like starving ghosts. Perhaps Hyeonu’s words had an effect as Tang-E’s and the player’s chopsticks slowed down considerably. Nevertheless, they were still eating at a fast speed.

“Are you alone? The monsters here are pretty powerful...” Hyeonu naturally encouraged the player to talk while taking more food out of his inventory.

“Ah, yes. I go around alone. That is more comfortable for me. Come to think of it, I didn’t greet you properly. My name is Salemode.” The mysterious player, Salemode, stopped moving his chopsticks and greeted Hyeonu.

Hyeonu seized the opportunity to continue asking questions: “Are you doing a quest? The glacier is an unpopular area.” 

“There is a quest. It can’t be helped. There is no one for me to go with. And... the glacier area is fine. There are many monsters and few people. It is much better than the Balder Mountains.”

Hyeonu understood what Salemode was talking about. It wasn’t just Hyeonu; any player could understand. When an area was crowded with people, it was natural for hunting to be difficult.

‘Is he an unknown ranker?’ Hyeonu wondered.

“By the way, you’re able to hunt alone...?” Hyeonu was surprised by Salemode’s skills. Solo play in the glacier area wasn’t easy. It was only possible for a few people among the rankers.

“My class specializes in one-on-one fights. I can swallow the experience alone this way. So even if it is six times slower, I can level up as much as others.”

“Then you don’t have a guild?”

“I am in one. However, it’s a small guild, so you probably don’t know it. It’s a social guild.”

The conversation with Salemode ended here. Hyeonu started moving his chopsticks without asking any further. The two of them parted as if nothing had happened. One walked to one side of the passage, and the other person moved to the other side.

“The next time I see you, I’ll buy you a meal, Alley Leader.” Salemode waved his hand at Hyeonu and disappeared.

Hyeonu gazed for a long time at the place where Salemode disappeared. ‘I should’ve received some money.’

The price of the food that Salemode alone ate exceeded dozens of gold. Letting go of his regret, Hyeonu looked for an exit with Tang-E.

***

After separating from Hyeonu, the place where Salemode appeared in was Derek Castle—a castle located close to the Balder Mountains. Salemode entered a restaurant in Derek Castle in a familiar manner.

“You actually contacted me. Are you going to quit solo play?” A blond man was waiting there for Salemode. His name was Karen. He was the master of the Venom Guild.

“Don’t be so over the top. What can I do when I started the game late? If we go around together, I’ll be chasing after you for the rest of my life. My pride doesn’t allow it.”

“By the way, why did you suddenly contact me today? You didn’t say anything at the dormitory.”

“I met Alley Leader,” Salemode said.

Karen’s eyes became as big and bright like lanterns. Alley Leader—he was now a legend, a person who dominated the past and the present. Karen looked around and asked cautiously, “In the glacier zone? Why would Alley Leader be there?”

Salemode nodded. He was with Alley Leader just a while ago. It wasn’t a lie.

“He was with his pet, right? I guess he really isn’t doing the quest. I think we can start this one. Isn’t it worth doing if there is no Alley Leader to deal with?”

Karen was lost in thought for a moment before nodding like Salemode had done. This was a chance. If there was no Alley Leader around, they were confident they could get enough achievements. Once the tiger was absent, the fox was the king. Since Alley Leader had abandoned the quest related to the imperial palace, Karen could now enter the fierce competition.

“Is he called Patrick? I need to contact Mano. Let’s do it together.”

***

Meanwhile, Hyeonu was still unable to escape from the unknown cave. This place was like an ant cave. The more he walked around, the more he got lost.

‘I should’ve climbed up the ice wall at the beginning.’

If so, he would be walking around the white world by now.

‘What type of field is this?’

There were many monsters here too. It was a typical instance dungeon format. As he passed by, the monsters came out.

‘Albino goblin...’

Even the monsters that appeared were strange. There were actually goblins in this high-level field. The last goblin Hyeonu hunted was the demonic goblin in the Hejin Great Mountain Range. He hadn’t even seen a goblin since then.

‘The pattern is also consistent.’

Their fighting style was the same. Several goblins, some of whom were probably shamans, came out in swarms. After that, it was just a wild fight, a dogfight that occurred where poisonous needles and magic filled the passageway. Of course, the goblins had high overall stats like other high-level monsters, but that was all.

The goblins that had no special ability died under Hyeonu’s blade. Additionally, Tang-E’s magic showed tremendous power in that narrow space. In particular, his fire and lightning magic was great. It was more powerful than Hyeonu’s pure energy. So it was common for albino goblins to lie down on the ground every time there was a flash of light.

‘The experience is really good.’

Due to having killed a large number of monsters, Hyeonu received was a really great amount of experience. As a result, he gained one level and reached 295. Thus, Hyeonu walked around constantly. At some point, the surrounding environment changed as if to show that Hyeonu’s choice wasn’t wrong.

A white wall like that of the outside world was revealed. However, it was more than that. This space was open. It was originally a passageway the size of a gym, but now it was a sporting stadium.

‘By the way, what is that?’

Something was strange about the white wall. It seemed to have a pattern engraved on it. Hyeonu carefully approached the wall.

“Master dude, there is something inside the ice,” Tang-E said on behalf of Hyeonu.

“Yes. What is in the ice?” Hyeonu asked.

There was something huge with a very familiar pattern. Instead of thinking, Hyeonu chose to move. He swung a fist filled with magic power toward one of the ice walls, and the ice wall cracked. Then Hyeonu touched the ice wall again, and it fell down. The identity of the pattern was revealed through the broken wall. It was a door—an enormous one.

This was a gate to a castle.

Hyeonu pushed the huge door open without hesitation. There was no time to think. He just wanted to get out of this place. Suddenly, a welcome message window appeared before his eyes. The moment Hyeonu saw the message, he took out from his inventory the map that Hugo had given him, and he tore it to pieces.

[Would you like to enter Lepil—the capital of the ancient empire, Luos?]