Ranker’s Return

“The ring doesn’t only serve as proof of ownership of the city; it has another function. In fact, without this function, the ring is simply a nice ring. Then I could just grab any ring and say that I am the owner, right?” Garcia said. His words weren’t wrong. In a world where the strong ruled, what was so important about a ring?

‘The most important thing is to kill the person and take their position. It isn’t the ring.’

Thus, Hyeonu was even more curious. What function gave it such a great value? Unable to withstand his curiosity, Hyeonu opened his mouth and asked, “What is the hidden function of the ring? How great is it that you need it?”

His words were very straightforward. There was no need for anything else. He just wanted to know the identity of the ring, so he asked about it bluntly. Seeing Hyeonu’s impatient attitude, Garcia burst out laughing and said, “Have you ever wondered why there are so few cities in the demon world?

Hyeonu shook his head at Garcia’s question. He didn’t know. No, he couldn’t know. This was why he asked.

Garcia’s smile deepened as he explained, “The number of cities in the demon world remains the same as what was set by the demon god in the beginning. The lord’s castle in each city is different, but it is always located at the center of the city.”

Hyeonu nodded while listening. There was no need for him to respond; it was enough just to listen.

“At the very center of the city, there is a magic stone made by the demon god, and it absorbs the surrounding magic power. The owner of the ring can gain some of the magic power that’s stored in the stone. So, the true meaning of the owner of the ring isn’t just the owner of the city but the owner of the magic stone.” Garcia’s words ended with this.

It was a clear explanation that thoroughly clarified the value of the ring.

‘It means that this ring is like a stats increasing item,’ Hyeonu concluded inwardly.

The demons had no choice but to obsess over it. It would be even stranger if they didn’t want to become stronger and instead wanted to stay still. Nevertheless, this wasn’t the problem. The issue was how could Hyeonu find the ring?

‘Where can I get it?’

He didn’t remember seeing a ring. It was such an important item that Earl Carpe would’ve surely had it on his body, yet there had been nothing in the place where Earl Carpe died.

‘Perhaps...’ Hyeonu’s body trembled as a ridiculous assumption came to mind.

At that time, Hyeonu hadn’t been the only one present. There had been two other people—Lebron and the emperor. Lebron had been quite far away from Earl Carpe, while the emperor had been the closest. It had been the emperor who killed Earl Carpe.

“Would you be able to get that ring for me?” Garcia asked with an apologetic expression on his face.

He knew it was an unreasonable request, but Hyeonu was the only one he could trust. It was Hyeonu who knew how Earl Carpe had died, and he was the only one who had been to the middle world. Crucially, Garcia couldn’t leave Penn.

[A quest has been created.]

[Ring Delivery]

[Bring the ring proving the owner of Penn to Garcia, the successor of the demon family who ruled Penn for generations.

Rating: S+

Conditions: Hand the ring to Garcia 0/1

Rewards: Experience, Garcia’s full trust, Garcia’s alliance.]

‘A quest!’ Hyeonu smiled at the quest that appeared before him. The system now guaranteed that it wasn’t Hyeonu’s good favor but a request that needed to be compensated correctly. However, Hyeonu had no intention of being led around by the quest. He was going to do the quest comfortably.

“It might be possible to obtain the ring, but I don’t know if I can come back to Penn. This time, I was lucky to have fallen into Rubolle’s territory...” Hyeonu’s words trailed off. It was an intentional action. He just inserted some thoughts into Garcia’s head.

Upon noticing what Hyeonu was saying, Garcia nodded and said, “Yes. If you fall into a distant place... The way back here will be very tough.” 

Then Garcia waved his hand, and an attendant entered the parlor with food and alcohol.

“This story has grown unexpectedly long. Let’s talk about it after the meal. We should talk about happy things when eating.”

Ultimately, Garcia was still a demon.

***

Garcia and Hyeonu finished the meal and dessert and continued the conversation from before.

“This is the only thing I can give you. Please understand that I can’t give you more support.” Garcia handed over to Hyeonu an item that couldn’t be given when the attendants were entering and exiting the area.

The thing on Garcia’s palm was a pure white coin that didn’t match the demon world. Upon receiving the coin, Hyeonu immediately checked its item information. He was currently disguised as a nobleman of the demon world, so he couldn’t ask Garcia about it. If this coin were a common thing, Hyeonu must not show that he had no knowledge.

[Penn Return Stone]

[Only some nobles own a city return stone.

It has a limited number of uses, but it can recharge itself by absorbing the surrounding magic power.

However, it can only be used in the demon world.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: None

Effect: Once used, moves the user to the city ‘Penn.’ (Number of remaining uses: 6 times, 6 hours for a single charge)]

‘What kind of return stone has a rating of unique?’

The item information was odd. To be exact, it was absurd. The coin might be a semi-permanent item, but in the end, its essence was just a return stone. Despite that, it had an item rating of unique.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen one? It’s something that only a few nobles have. It is called a return stone. If you hold it in your hand and call out ‘return’, you can come back to Penn.” Garcia's description was the same as what was written in the item description.

There was only one difference—Garcia taught him how to use it.

‘Then I can pretend I don’t know,’ Hyeonu remarked inwardly.

If the magic stone was a rare thing that only a few nobles had, it wouldn’t be strange that Argon, who had just become a baron, didn’t know about it.

“Is it so rare? Humans in the middle world seem to use it as long as they have money...”

“It has to be rare. Imagine any dog or cow holding a return stone. If dozens of nobles could teleport here right now... won’t I have to keep my eyes open constantly to prevent the city from being robbed? Thus, the seven demon kings gathered and signed a secret agreement. They would no longer make any return stones apart from those currently in existence.” 

The answer emerged as to why there were so few return stones. It was due to an agreement formed out of vested interests to maintain the status quo of their own forces.

‘If two demons of the same title go for a return stone, they will both be killed...’

The other option was to make a positive agreement to advance to the middle world. It was the correct choice to not engage in internal conflict while facing public enemies.

“Then I’ll use it well and return it.” Hyeonu put the magic stone in his inventory and got up from his seat. He was thinking of leaving this place. To be precise, he was thinking of leaving the middle world and returning to the West Continent immediately.

‘I have a quest, so I have to clear it quickly.’

It had been fine when he didn’t know anything, but now that he had gotten the quest, it was only right to try and clear it right away.

“I will leave for the middle world now. The faster I deal with it, the better,” Hyeonu stated. 

Garcia stood up as well, and he approached Hyeonu before grabbing Hyeonu’s hand. He said, “If you bring me the ring, I will give you anything, except the ring.”

Hyeonu waved his hands up and down and replied, “You must be sure to keep this promise. You promised to give me anything.” 

A small smile appeared on Garcia’s face.

***

Hyeonu left the castle of Penn’s lord alone unlike when he entered. The surrounding demons watched Hyeonu. It wasn’t done blatantly though; they just moved their eyes cautiously. However, there were some who looked at Hyeonu openly.

‘They are nobles,’ Hyeonu thought.

Those who entered and exited the castle were usually nobles. In the demon world, one’s status was proof of their strength. So it was naturally only nobles who could look at other nobles like this.

‘Did they know I was moving even when I was still inside?’ 

Hyeonu clicked his tongue at the gazes directed at his mask. He thought nothing much of it, but he never imagined he would attract so many gazes here.

‘I should leave before something happens.’

Hyeonu moved quickly, heading toward a remote corner of Penn.

‘I really didn’t expect it.’

Hyeonu’s mind was filled with one thing—a way back to the middle world. The reason why he could so confidently accept Garcia’s suggestion was due to what he remembered a few days ago.

‘I only remembered it after seeing Ergal’s castle.’

He never even dreamed about it. The power of a lord—he could use it to immediately teleport to the inner office of Phinis. If he used this method, he wouldn’t need to use the scroll that Leon Meyer gave or a magic circle in the demon king’s palace. He didn’t think it wouldn’t work just because he was in the demon world.

‘Why wouldn’t it work?’

Hyeonu still remembered the conversation he had with the artificial intelligence when he became a lord.

‘-You can return to your territory at any time. The return location is fixed here, the internal room.’

It didn’t say it was impossible to use the power of a lord in the demon world. If it didn’t work, Hyeonu would pursue it as this was an obvious bug.

‘What compensation will they give me this time?’

The corners of Hyeonu’s mouth soared up in a smile. As a result of his diligent walking, Hyeonu was able to find an alleyway with no demons. He looked around several times before opening his mouth to say, “Return to Phinis.”

Hyeonu disappeared from the demon world.

***

“Team Leader-nim, isn’t this a real bug? Alley Leader returned from the demon world with a method other than the ones specified. It really needs to be fixed,” Park Cheolhyong urged. 

Kim Jinyeong showed a subtle look to Park Cheolhyeong, who was arguing with him in a heated manner in front of him. It was a very familiar expression. This was the look that Kim Jinyeong usually showed toward Park Cheolhyeong.

“Oh, my, Park Cheolhyeong-ssi. So, returning to the inner office is a bug. Is that what you’re saying?”

Park Cheolhyeong nodded fiercely and replied, “Yes, that is what I mean. This is an unconditional bug.” 

He was excited at the thought that he’d found something and didn’t realize that Kim Jinyeong’s tone was different from usual.

“Then you should’ve found it earlier. What is the use of finding it now? Alley Leader has already returned to Phinis using this function. He has clearly noticed it was possible. Making corrections now...? Park Cheolhyeong-ssi, will you bear the consequences?! Alley Leader can say a few words on his stream and hundreds of millions of people will watch it. Are you going to handle it?!” Kim Jinyeong’s voice became louder.

He didn’t like the present situation.

The future schedule had become unclear due to Alley Leader. It was clear that this would bring overtime to not just the general planning team but also the operations team.

“Go and predict how the future demon world scenarios will be carried out! Don’t say there is little value in doing that!”