Ranker’s Return

‘How did I pass through so easily?’

Hyeonu thought about it as he entered the city. He pretended to be calm while passing by in front of the guards, but he really needed to know whether it was due to luck. This was so he could determine what he needed to do for when he wanted to go to another city or just leave this city.

What if he just passed due to luck this time, and it didn’t work the next time? What would happen then? He would have to fight hundreds or thousands of demons right there on the spot.

‘It isn’t the title effect, so what is it?’

Hyeonu opened everything from his item windows, status window, and even his skills window. He couldn’t find anything. That was natural since this was pretty much a bug created by coincidence. It wasn’t a bug per se. Rather, it was a loophole. This was a gap.

Things done by humans couldn’t be completely perfect.

***

Quency’s planning team was once again filled with the sound of tapping keyboards today, and breaking through that was the sound of footsteps. The owner of the footsteps was a man with a neat appearance. He walked hurriedly with an urgent expression and then stopped behind Park Hyeonjun, who was staring at his monitor with blank eyes.

“Team Leader-nim, Team Leader-nim!” The man called in a small voice that only Park Hyeonjun could hear. However, Park Hyeonjun didn’t even glance at the man. He just kept looking at the monitor.

“Team Leader-nim...” Choi Seongho, the man with the urgent expression, kept calling out to Park Hyeonjun.

Park Hyeonjun finally raised his head slowly and stared at Choi Seongho. “What is... going on? Is there a problem?”

This wasn’t the first time that Choi Seongho had visited Park Hyeonjun. Just 10 minutes ago, he called for Park Hyeonjun in the same manner. Right now, he was expressing with his entire body that something was wrong.

“That... There is a problem. Alley Leader has entered a city in the demon world.”

“What? What is this nonsense? Didn’t you say he would be killed by the demons? Or he would have to tear up the scroll and go back?” Park Hyeonjun’s sunken eyes widened, and his dying eyes were forcefully revived.

“That... An unexpected programming error occurred... The combination of the title and Alley Leader’s stats caused a type of bug. The demon guard mistook him for a noble,” Choi Seongho quickly explained the situation. He gave a clear and neat explanation without missing any details and including any unnecessary words.

“Killing intent, dignity, and fighting energy—is it due to these three stats?” Park Hyeonjun asked. He was the general planning team leader, so he figured out the situation with this short explanation. Then he added, “It is really ridiculous luck. How did he meet all of these conditions?” 

The more Park Hyeonjun thought about it, the more ridiculous it became to him. It was simply absurd that Hyeonu’s stats happened to match the stats of the nobles in the demon world. Still, Park Hyeonjun had to believe it because such a person had indeed appeared.

“I don’t understand that well about what has happened, but yes, there is actually a case like this...” Choi Seongho cocked his head puzzledly. He never would’ve believed it if it wasn’t for the video he received from the operations team a little while ago.

To double check, Park Hyeonjun asked Choi Seongho about the setting again: “What is the demons’ setting?”

“It is a race that takes strength as a virtue, where power is the only justice and belief. This is why we set ‘fighting’ as ‘eating’,” Choi Seongho explained the background of the demons’ setting. The demons in Arena were no different from those in other games. They had a setting that could be seen anywhere.

“So the general stats of demons are set as fighting energy and killing intent. The dark attribute for magic power is also the default setting. Only those with the dignity stat can become a noble, right?”

“That’s right, Team Leader-nim.”

“Meanwhile, Alley Leader has the killing intent, fighting energy, and dignity stats, and they are all above a certain number. Additionally, his magic power attribute is dark?”

Thinking about the situation again, it just didn’t make sense that this had occurred, but Alley Leader actually met all the demanding conditions.

“We can’t do any more patches... Just how far can Alley Leader proceed?” Park Hyeonjun asked in a helpless voice.

“Based on his skill, I think he can win one-on-one with a viscount, but he isn’t a match for any noble above an earl. The scenarios related to the demon world will go as planned,” Choi Seongho answered in a voice filled with confidence.

This was the result produced from going through many simulations with accurate data. It was simply impossible for Alley Leader to kill a demon ranked higher than an earl. The demon world scenarios were related to high-ranking nobles above an earl, so they should inevitably progress as planned unless the higher-ranking nobles died.

“Then I’m glad... Surely it won’t go wrong this time?”

“It will never happen, Team Leader-nim,” Choi Seongho’s heroic words were echoed by the planning team.

***

Hyeonu walked around the city leisurely. There was no need for him to rush. Mistakes would occur if he was impatient. This was the demon world where it could be said that enemies were everywhere. Every passing demon was an enemy, so Hyeonu had to act more leisurely at times like this.

‘Shall we take a tour of the city first?’

Arena was a game after all. It was okay to enjoy it when he could afford to do so. This didn’t mean he was just playing around right now though. It was an investment for greater rewards.

‘If I can get something from here... I will get further ahead.’

Feeling at ease, Hyeonu went around the city with Tang-E. There was no one who looked at Tang-E strangely as many of the demons carried around demonic creatures like they were pets. Of course, Tang-E was cute, so they looked at him. However, there was no suspicion of there being anything amiss.

“Master dude, the food here is better than I expected. It is very much to my taste.”

In addition, there were many things to enjoy on the streets. The food tasted pretty good, and there were performances by demonic creatures, appearing reminiscent of a circus. At this time, Hyeonu saw many demons lined up. ‘What’s over there? Why are they standing in a line?’

He was curious. Why on earth were there so many demons there? “Tang-E, shall we go over there?”

“Okay. It must be something interesting for there to be so many people,” Tang-E agreed readily. He was also curious. What exactly was so interesting over there for so many to be gathered?

Hyeonu walked to the crowded place with Tang-E and heard the conversations of the nearby demons.

“Who are you betting on today? Should I place it on the Black Mane again?”

“You should place it on the red horn, you idiot. Did you forget the other day when you placed it on Black Mane and got robbed?”

“Don’t you know that Red Horn isn’t coming out today? It was sold to another noble. Was it an earl? There are rumors that it has gone to a bigger Colosseum.”

“Really? Then I should bet on Black Mane. It might be very weak against Red Horn but not the others.”

After listening to the conversation of the demons, Hyeonu realized that the Colosseum was a real colosseum.

‘They’re betting.’

This was the feeling he got just by listening to the words.

‘Should I earn some gold?’

In any case, it was clear that the currency of the demon world would be gold. The demon world was just another field in Arena after all, albeit a hidden one. Once it opened later, it was a place he would be able to go to casually.

“Master dude, let’s watch the fight. It’s interesting.” Tang-E shook Hyeonu’s leg with an excited expression.

Hyeonu hugged him and nodded.

***

“Thank you very much for visiting Ergal’s Colosseum. What type of business have you come here for today?”

Just like at the city gate, Hyeonu was mistaken for a noble in the Colosseum. Hyeonu responded naturally without being panicked, “I’ve come to Ergal Colosseum because it is very popular among nobles recently. What is famous here?”

Like an employee of a business in real life, the demon sincerely explained to Hyeonu: “Our Colosseum has a higher level of demonic creatures and demons than other Colosseums. The settlement terms are transparent, so many nobles like using it.”

“What else is there? It’s a bit disappointing if it is just that...” Hyeonu smacked his lips together like he was disappointed.

The demon in front of him was astonished and looked back and forth. “It isn’t just that. There are naturally other things prepared. If the demonic creature in your arms has good combat power... You can also play at the Colosseum. Of course, we will also give you money for the fight. If you win, you will also be paid a winning fee. If your bet is successful, you will be given the dividends.”

They were appealing words. Hyeonu could participate in the Colosseum himself.

‘Of course, I’m not fighting personally.’

It could be a different experience depending on whether it was Hyeonu or Tang-E fighting.

“How about it? Would you like to try it?”

“Okay. I’ll make money for my meals,” Hyeonu said while gently stroking Tang-E’s head. Then he asked the demon, “Do I have to decide now? I want to watch a few matches before deciding.”

“Of course, just tell me any time, and I’ll have you ready to participate.”

“Then can you arrange for someone to guide me to my seat? I want to see the inside.”

At Hyeonu’s words, the demon once again looked surprised and took over as Hyeonu’s guide. “I will guide you myself. Come this way.”

Hyeonu followed the demon into the Colosseum, which was no different from the arena. The interior stadium was filled with sand and dirt. The only thing different from the arena was that there were tables and chairs in places that should be empty. In particular, the place that looked like the skybox of a baseball field appealed very much to Hyeonu’s heart.

‘I wish I can sit there...’

The demon seemed to notice Hyeonu’s wish and guided him to one of the skyboxes.

“This is a place prepared for nobles. If you infuse magic power into the bead in front of you, an attendant will come. Just tell the attendant what you want. I’ll be going now...”

Then the demon disappeared quickly like his tail was on fire. After that, Hyeonu immediately took out some food and placed it on the table.

‘The stomach should be full before fighting.’

It was all for Tang-E. Tang-E had to go out to fight in a while, so Hyeonu should at least take care of his food.

“Tang-E, eat. Shouldn’t you eat a lot before going out to fight?”

Tang-E couldn’t hear Hyeonu’s words. He didn’t care about fighting anymore. His eyes were on the food in front of him.

“Yes, I should eat a lot, Master dude,” Tang-E said with a gulp.

His mouth was already full of saliva. It was flowing like this just at the thought of eating meat. Tang-E picked up a piece of pork and brought it to his mouth. Taking a big bite of it, he smiled happily.

“The meat is delicious, Master dude.”

“Yes, eat a lot.”

There was a subtle smile on Hyeonu’s face.