Ranker’s Return

“Those words. Are you serious? The demon world isn’t an easy place. It is a world where it’s hard to protect your own life.” Leon Meyer looked worried. The demon world wasn’t a place where an adventurer could go alone. It was a huge world. Like the middle world, the demon world was a huge continent and a world filled with nature like mountains and rivers.

Leon Meyer continued, “That isn’t all. The magic power there is basically dark. Other attributes are stacked on top of the dark attribute. This is why my clan can’t touch it at all. The demon kings and nobles of that world aren’t easy enough to fight in a restricted state.”

The reason why he was always in the cave was revealed. Magic power was a problem. The dark attribute magic power of the demon world consumed the power of the dragons. However, Hyeonu was different. His magic power had the dark attribute.

“I use magic power of the shadow attribute, and there’s also the fire attribute added to it,” Hyeonu said and inserted magic power into his hands. Black-red flames emerged. They seemed like they could destroy anything they touched.

“If this is the case, there will be no reduction in your combat power. Then what about after that? Based on your current level, you can only fight the lower ranked nobles.”

At Leon Meyer’s words, Hyeonu came up with a smooth answer: “Adventurers get stronger by fighting. Will I meet a high ranking noble or demon king as soon as I go to the demon world? I believe that if I take it step by step from the lowest ranked demonic creatures, I will one day be able to hunt a demon king.”

Leon Meyer heard this and nodded. “If you have this type of spirit, perhaps... In that case, how are you going to come back? You can’t use magic at all.”

“Of course, isn’t this something Leon Meyer should handle? In a way, I am helping you with your work. Is there a scroll back to the middle world, or can you summon me directly? Anything is fine,” Hyeonu spoke in a brazen manner.

“Then let’s do this. I will replace it with the promise I made to you in the past.”

‘Isn’t it a bit of a pity?’ Hyeonu thought. It was a bit disappointing that he had to exchange a dragon’s help just to be able to come back. Come to think of it, this wasn’t just a bit disappointing; it was very disappointing. Still, it was difficult to get a ridiculous reward from Leon Meyer anyway.

However, as time passed and the level of the players increased, the level of rewards would also increase. In the early days of Arena, rare items had been precious, and even more so for unique items. Then what about now? Rare items were already as common as uncommon items, and unique items could be purchased as long as one had money. The value of such items was relatively low.

‘How useful will it be when I can get epics in the future?’

Once the time came, Hyeonu planned to ask Leon Meyer to remove some of his scales. Then Hyeonu would ask Edchan to make equipment with the scales—a new set of armor.

‘Now I have to use that opportunity to come back?’

It couldn’t be. Hyeonu smiled and asked Leon Meyer, “Is there any other way besides you summoning me yourself?” 

“There is, but it is impossible.” 

There was one—this was the answer that came from Leon Meyer’s mouth. There seemed to be a glimmer of hope for Hyeonu until the last word was spoken.

“It’s impossible? What is the method?”

“A demon king’s palace. Nine demon king palaces exist throughout the demon world. There is a magic circle drawn in the heart of each palace that can return you to the demon world.” 

“A demon king’s palace...”

The moment Hyeonu heard Leon Meyer’s explanation, he could understand why Leon Meyer had said it was impossible. He said it was impossible because it really was impossible.

‘I really can’t come back?’

It was a method that wouldn’t work. How could he use a magic circle in a demon king’s palace?

‘This is why he doesn’t want me to go...’

Hyeonu always thought it was really stupid to be afraid to do something just because he was afraid of the risks. Regardless of whether the return was big or small, there were always risks. He just had to choose the place where the scale tilted. If the return was large, do it. If the risk was high, it shouldn’t be done. In this case, the returns were obviously big.

‘In any case, there is a way to come back although it is a one-off.’ 

There might be other ways to return. Using the magic circle in a demon king’s palace wasn’t the only way. He just had to sacrifice the fairly big opportunity of a dragon’s help instead. Moreover...

‘What is the difference if I gain 10-20 levels?’

Could he kill a demon king alone if time passed and he leveled up? He judged that it wasn’t possible. Unless Hyeonu was a monster like the emperor or Lebron, he didn’t think he could kill a demon king just by levelling up and changing items.

‘Let’s go anyway.’

“I will go. A crisis can be an opportunity.”

Upon hearing Hyeonu’s words, Leon Meyer took out a piece of paper and handed it to Hyeonu. “If you tear this up, I will summon you to the cave immediately.”

Hyeonu placed Leon Meyer’s piece of paper into his inventory before saying, “Then I will go to the demon world right away. How do I get there?”

Leon pointed a slender, white finger toward the inside of the cave. “It isn’t hard to go there. Just enter the magic circle over there. I won’t just speak; I’ll show it to you right away.”

After speaking, Leon Meyer headed toward the inside of the cave. Hyeonu followed after him.

‘Why is it so far?’

The distance to the magic circle wasn’t as close as he expected. They walked through the passage for over 10 minutes, but the end still couldn’t be seen. In the end, Hyeonu questioned Leon Meyer.

“Leon Meyer, where is the magic circle?”

“It’s coming soon. There, you can see it.”

As if to shame Hyeonu for his words, the magic circle quickly appeared.

“Wow... Is all of this the magic circle?!” Hyeonu exclaimed. The magic circle in front of him was amazing. The entire wall of the huge cave was a magic circle, and it was full of strange letters and shapes.

“Do you see the center of the magic circle?” Leon Meyer’s finger pointed at the center. The center of the magic circle shook, and a dark light was faintly leaking from it.

“Yes, I see it.” Hyeonu nodded.

It was a pretty mysterious sight.

“Once I release the magic circle for a very short time, throw yourself over there. Understood?”

“I understand, Leon Meyer.”

After Leon Meyer heard Hyeonu’s answer, he stretched out his hands toward the magic circle and started to move his lips. Every time his lips moved, the magic circle changed, and a brilliant golden color shone from the letters and shapes. Then the cave started shaking. It was a huge vibration. Every letter rose, and the shapes moved.

Leon Meyer turned to Hyeonu and shouted, “Now!! Go in!”

Hyeonu reflexively jumped toward the center of the magic circle, and his body was sucked inside. Leon Meyer looked sorry when he saw this scene. 

“It will be hard but... It is your choice, so it can’t be helped. Hopefully, it won’t be too late when you tear up the scroll...”

***

Hyeonu was sucked into the magic circle and a storm of messages that appeared in front of him.

[You have entered the special field, the ‘Demon World’.]

[The demon world’s penalty is applied.]

[All stats are reduced by 30%.]

[You have the dark attribute.]

[The penalty doesn’t apply.]

[A bonus will be applied for having the dark attribute.]

[In the demon world, the strength of magic power and the recovery speed will increase by 20%.]

[The title ‘First Person to Enter the Demon World’ has been created.]

[First Person to Enter the Demon World]

[A title given to the first player to enter the demon world.

Effect: The demon world’s penalty isn’t applied.]

Hyeonu didn’t even have time to look around. He was too busy reading the messages that appeared in front of him.

‘Why are there so many? Penalty?’

The penalty seemed to be what Leon Meyer had mentioned. Their stats would be restricted if they didn’t have the dark attribute. However, Hyeonu had the dark attribute, so he naturally had no such problem.

‘Yet there is a buff?’

Rather, his stats actually rose. Moreover, the dark attribute was also related to his magic power stat.

‘Isn’t this unfair then?’

Nevertheless, it didn’t mean Hyeonu had no complaints. The buff was nothing compared to the penalty. Of course, Hyeonu wasn’t penalized because he had the dark attribute, but it was still unpleasant. Reducing all stats by 30% compared to increasing the strength of magic power and recovery speed by 20%—they obviously weren’t on the same level. Still, just because he was dissatisfied didn’t mean someone would get rid of the penalty from this field. Hyeonu should just be relieved that he didn’t get the penalty.

“Ah... shit. What is with the title?”

The problem was the title. Anyone else would think this title was really good, but it was worthless trash to Hyeonu. He could only comfort himself with the fact that his number of titles had increased by one.

“Sigh...” Hyeonu looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh. It was a bit different from the sky seen on Bung Bung Island.

‘The sky is dark.’

The sky above Bung Bung Island was bright blue, with attractive white clouds and a bright sun. Here, the sky of the demon world was darker than that. Even the sun was a bit black. It was like the dark clouds before a storm.

‘It is a bit dark overall.’

This wasn’t all. The trees around him were also dark. Perhaps they were affected by the dark attribute magic power. It was fortunate that the leaves were green.

‘I have to start with Tang-E first.’

Hyeonu summoned Tang-E in case of an emergency. He would need Tang-E’s buffs and support if demonic creatures came out in a large group.

“Tang-E, come out.”

At Hyeonu’s call, Tang-E immediately popped out. He appeared while deliberately sticking out his paw that was wearing the bracelet. Right after that, he approached Hyeonu and asked about the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Master dude! Where is this place? My body is heavy.”