Ranker’s Return

“How do you train your magic power? It isn’t that difficult. It is just a bit difficult at the beginning.” Lebron was smiling constantly.

Ever since Hyeonu mentioned the fourth class advancement, Lebron always looked like this. He seemed to be in a good mood. On the other hand, Hyeonu was tense. He had an ominous feeling about a troubled future.

“Healthy magic power resides in a healthy body. I will let you know your limits today,” Lebron said and threw the bottle away.

The bottle flew slowly. It was just like what the emperor showed previously. The alcohol bottle that flew away landed slowly and so lightly on the ground that not even dust rose up.

‘When have my uneasy feelings ever been wrong?’ Hyeonu thought as he pulled the Mysterious Sky Sword out of his inventory.

Then he carefully drew the sword.

“Do I have to do my best?” Hyeonu asked Lebron.

Lebron shook his head. “Show your strength. Don’t rely on artifacts.”

‘Is he saying to not use buffs?’ Hyeonu nodded in understanding.

He didn’t have to use them if Lebron didn’t want that. In the first place, he had no intention of using them. Why? It was because Lebron wasn’t a life-or-death enemy. He wasn’t even a monster that gave experience and items. This was just a test for the fourth class advancement, so there was no need to work so hard.

‘Then I shouldn’t call Tang-E.’

Hyeonu really was going to fight with just his own strength—just his pure skills.

‘If I can get anything here, I can use it in the league.’

In particular, if the ability to utilize basic magic power increased, then it was possible to use it in PvP. There was no need to even talk about the siege or raid.

‘I will go first.’

Hyeonu didn’t care that Lebron wasn’t holding a sword. After all, Lebron was a man who didn’t need such consideration. Worrying about him was a waste of feelings. So, Hyeonu swung the Mysterious Sky Sword without hesitation, going forth with a strike to cut through the air.

“You should be polite, Disciple. If you swing the sword, it will swing. If you attack, it will attack. Shouldn’t you say something to me first?”

Lebron grasped Hyeonu’s black-red pure energy and shattered it. Then he put his fingers together as if grabbing something, and something strange happened. A sword appeared in Lebron’s hand. It was a sword made of magic power.

“I will teach you personally.” 

Lebron moved. His movements definitely weren’t fast. In fact, he moved lightly as if taking a walk through the neighborhood. Right after that, he swung his sword. The sword didn’t move at a high speed either. It was the slowest pace Hyeonu had seen amongst the battles he'd experienced recently, but the weight of this attack was the greatest. The Mysterious Sky Sword and Lebron’s sword collided.

“Huup!” Hyeonu sucked in a breath due to the impact that was dealt to his hands.

‘He's playing dirty.’

Lebron’s offense was viciously strong and far exceeded Hyeonu’s current attack power. It seemed impossible to fight Lebron using pure energy made of moderate magic power.

‘I won’t be able to fight for a long time like this...’

Normally, Hyeonu wasn’t hesitant to use magic power as some magic power could be recovered if the attack was successful. Presently, things were different. He couldn’t succeed in attacking. The fight would be over once his magic power was consumed.

‘Am I going to use up my magic power in this way?’

Still, Hyeonu wasn’t the type to just get beaten. It didn’t matter if it was a class quest. He had no intention of letting himself be foolishly dragged around by the nose by Lebron.

‘Rather, if I fight well, there might be additional rewards.’

Hyeonu began to utilize his magic power efficiently in a manner that he'd rarely used recently. He turned off his blazing pure energy, removing it himself.

“Even if you save it like this, it will still be exhausted in the end!” Lebron shouted when he saw Hyeonu’s actions. He’d grasped Hyeonu’s intentions just through the actions he showed.

“Nevertheless, shouldn’t I hold on for as long as possible?” Hyeonu replied. 

He swung the Mysterious Sky Sword that had lost its pure energy. Yet just when the Mysterious Sky Sword pointed at Lebron, black-red pure energy rose from the Mysterious Sky Sword. It was created by Hyeonu instantly injecting magic power into the sword.

Lebron waved his sword at the pure energy in front of him. There were no collision sounds, only the sound of air being cut.

“You’ve recovered it again?” Lebron glanced at Hyeonu with surprise. He didn’t think that Hyeonu could use magic power to this extent.

‘He is better than I thought…?’ LeBron remarked inwardly. 

He felt it was admirable that every time they met, Hyeonu showed even greater development. It was a great talent.

‘However, he still has a long way to go.’

When viewed from an objective perspective, Hyeonu still had shortcomings. The commander of the Knights of Keon—it wasn’t such a light position.

“By the way, I think I taught you that technique...” LeBron began to point out. 

The move that Hyeonu showed was something that Lebron himself practiced in the past during the days when he was thirsty for strength. Lebron concluded, “You should use it like this.”

He had one more technique that Hyeonu didn't possess. Getting rid of the sword completely, Lebron waved his empty hand through the air.

‘Crazy!’ Hyeonu swung the Mysterious Sky Sword with a startled expression.

Right in front of him stood Lebron holding a complete sword that couldn’t be seen. This time, Hyeonu couldn’t even think about recovering his magic power. He was forced to collide with Lebron’s sword, and the sound of an explosion rang out again. Hyeonu’s pure energy broke, with part of it disappearing as if torn apart by something.

“Disciple, there is something like this.” Lebron raised his sword and pointed it at Hyeonu.

Then magic power started to collect around Hyeonu. Once gathered, it exploded straight away in a strong explosion like firecrackers being set off. Hyeonu used Mysterious Sky Steps to escape in a hurry.

“Aren’t you being too murderous, Master?”

“Murderous? I believed you would avoid it.”

‘It's ridiculous,’ Hyeonu thought. If he had been even the slightest bit slower, it was clear that Lebron’s pure energy would’ve stung his entire body.

“Then I will act as well,” Hyeonu spoke with a cheeky expression and aimed his sword at Lebron. The technique Lebron used wasn’t unique. Hyeonu was also able to do it. Dozens of black-red pure energies filled Lebron’s surroundings. It was Mysterious Sky Range. Like Lebron, Hyeonu exploded all the pure energy blades. The dozens of pure energy blades became hundreds and thousands of fragments, and they were now about to hit Lebron.

However, Lebron’s expression was relaxed. Rather, he seemed to be smiling.

“Your heart is still lacking. Falling for such a light provocation…” 

Lebron waved his hand, and Hyeonu’s pure energies lost their strength and started to fade. They dissipated.

“You don’t have much magic power left now, right?” Lebron looked like he was laughing.

In fact, there was obvious ridicule in his face. Even so, Hyeonu wasn’t angry. He just had a slightly despondent expression as he thought, ‘I can’t believe I got into a psychological battle like this...’

It was a ridiculous mistake. The source of the trouble was that this wasn’t a battle against players. He paid a price for forgetting that NPCs in Arena were more clever than players. Hyeonu had poured quite a lot of magic power into the skill he used in his anger, and it ate more than half of his remaining magic power. If it had been used to damage a monster, that magic power would’ve returned intact.

However, not this time.

“Now, let’s start the full-fledged battle.” Lebron smiled wickedly.

*** 

As the battle continued, Hyeonu seemed to go crazy. He split the magic power he didn’t really have to form strong pure energy. Nevertheless, he was now truly approaching his limits. His magic power was at the bottom; he had no more magic power left to draw out. This was the first time this had happened.

‘I feel like I’m dying.’

It felt like his entire body had been sucked dry. Nevertheless, Hyeonu still managed to pull out some magic power. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to block Lebron’s attack in front of him.

“Are you tired now? However, there is still a long way to go.” 

Lebron was lying when he said there was still a long way to go. Even consuming magic power was a type of training. The reason why he said that was simple. Like this, Hyeonu’s concentration would be exerted to the limit.

‘It is amazing enough already...’ Lebron admired Hyeonu’s overall combat ability including his use of magic power. The amount of magic power itself was amazing. Hyeonu’s magic power was like a large lake. It took quite a long time to drive him to this state.

‘Now there are two techniques left.’

There were only two more things that Lebron could teach Hyeonu. Lebron’s teacher, Duke Blake, might’ve taught Hyeonu more, but the duke wasn’t here now. No, they couldn’t get in touch.

“Now try a bit harder. If you don’t have it, try with whatever you don’t have. Think about using that magic power a bit more efficiently, Disciple.”

Hyeonu gritted his teeth and prayed earnestly. It was to deal the final blow.

‘Please, just one pure energy...’

Nevertheless, there was no way the missing magic power could be created just by desperately wanting it. It would mean shaking up the rules of the game. Just then, a shallow but perfect black-red energy appeared on the Mysterious Sky Sword. Simultaneously, message windows appeared in front of Hyeonu’s eyes.

[A skill has been created.]

[Magic Power Domination]

[Controls not only the body but also external magic power.

Type: Continuous

Rating: Unique

Skill Proficiency: F

Effect: Magic power consumption is reduced by 30%. The power of magic power is increased by 30%. Increase the speed of magic power recovery by 30%.]

Hyeonu read the messages in front of him and forgot to wield the sword. Seeing this scene, Lebron continued to watch Hyeonu while getting rid of his sword.

“You’ve mastered it. Well done, good job.” Lebron smiled when Hyeonu’s gaze shifted over to him. “You are the real preliminary knight commander from now on. You aren’t just my disciple.”

Once Lebron’s words were over, another message appeared in front of Hyeonu’s eyes. It contained the content Hyeonu wanted so much.

[Your class has changed to ‘Preliminary Commander of the Knights of Keon’.]

[All stats will increase by 200 respectively.]

[The title ‘Preliminary Commander of the Knights of Keon’ has been created.]

[Preliminary Commander of the Knights of Keon]

[A title that signifies the leader of the next generation of the Knights of Keon. A title that can only be obtained by a knight who has been approved by the current knight commander.

Effect: Increase the effect of magic power-related skills by 10%.]

The rewards of the fourth class advancement weren’t a waste of effort to obtain. There was a large increase of 200 points in the stats that were fundamental to determining a character’s strength. Even the title that came as a bonus was significant. In a way, it was better than all stats +200.

Hyeonu had more skills related to magic power than anyone else. So it was good to see the power of all these skills increase by 10% at once. Yet, Hyeonu wasn’t satisfied with this.

‘There are no skills...?’

He didn’t get another new skill. Although he gained the Magic Power Domination skill, that was too few in number. He would only be satisfied if there were at least two new skills.

“Is there anything else?” Hyeonu asked Lebron shamelessly.

“There is. There is one more thing left, but it is actually useless right now. It took a long time for me and that person over there to see the effect.”

Lebron stared up at the distant sky.

‘The emperor?’ Hyeonu wondered.

The man Lebron spoke about was the emperor. There was only one other person who studied with Lebron under Duke Blake after all.

“What is it?” Hyeonu demanded like a creditor coming to receive the debt.