Ranker’s Return

-What? Dao? Dongsaeng, you fell into something strange during the time I didn’t see you...

Kim Seokjung frowned when the word ‘dao’ emerged from Hyeonu’s mouth. Dao—they were pseudo-religious people he sometimes encountered while walking through the streets of South Korea. [1]

Now his little brother was hanging out with such people. As an older brother, Kim Seokung felt it was necessary for him to guide his little brother, and he revealed these thoughts without hiding them.

-Those slick-talking guys. It seems that I have to go find you at once. This Wednesday...

When Hyeonu heard those words, his expression changed rapidly. His eyes widened like he was very startled.

“Uh... That’s not it, Hyung-nim. The other dao. It is the dao that is part of justness. Do you know what justness is?” Hyeonu quickly interrupted Kim Seokjung’s words to prevent the misunderstanding from getting bigger.

-Justness. Why? Did someone hit you?

Kim Seokjung noticed exactly what Hyeonu was saying after his explanation.

“Yes, I think they hit me very hard.”

-Isn’t that Dongsaeng instead? Kim Seokjung asked in a suspicious voice.

Hyeonu didn’t have Kim Seokjung in front of him, but he still shook his head and denied the words. “You are well aware that I’m not that type of person.”

-Cough... Yes, Dongsaeng is really kind...

After the brief joking conversation, Hyeonu got to the point: “Some people are attacking the merchant groups in the Balder Mountains. It seems that NPCs and players are joining forces.”

-I knew about that... But I didn’t know that players were involved.

“It seems that they are moving from one side to another. The emperor gave me a quest. They must’ve done quite a lot.”

-So you want me to help?

“I just want to ask who got involved, but it seems that Hyung-nim doesn’t know,” Hyeonu said disappointedly.

Then Kim Seokjung shouted, -Who doesn’t know?! Wait, just wait a minute.

Kim Seokjung disappeared with these words.

‘What? Where did he go suddenly?’ Hyeonu had an absurd expression on his face. The person on the phone had suddenly disappeared, with sounds coming through the phone only intermittently.

‘Should I hang up? Or should I wait a bit longer?’

Hyeonu felt extremely conflicted. Should he hang up or wait?

‘Let’s hang up. I can just say I thought the connection was broken.’

Finally, Hyeonu decided to hang up. Hyeonu had just lowered his smartphone and was about to end the call when someone’s voice flowed from the speaker.

-I know it, Hyung-nim. I’ll finish the call with Dongsaeng, so go look at something else. Hello?

The new voice belonged to Gang Junggu, who had taken Kim Seokjung’s place on the line.

“Yes, Junggu hyung-nim. It’s Hyeonu.” Hyeonu felt relieved that he hadn’t terminated the call. Then he wouldn’t have to hear extra nagging about disappearing.

-Yes, it has been a while. So you want me to tell you about those people?

“Do... you know? Who are the idiots?” Hyeonu asked with a pleased expression. Hyeonu’s joy came through the phone, and a smile appeared on Gang Junggu’s face.

-I don’t know all of them, but I know some. They are famous, although I don’t know if you know them. 

“Famous?”

-Yes, famous. I will tell you all the people you know. Do you remember the alliance from a few months ago?

The alliance—it was impossible for Hyeonu to not remember it. They had used unreasonable strategies to interfere with him.

“Yes, I remember. Didn’t they disband? As far as I know, they disbanded after being pushed out of the Balder Mountains...”

Their ending had been miserable. They hadn’t lasted long at all. It was due to the emergence of the anti-alliance alliance, which consisted of Mano and other guilds. The anti-alliance alliance was literally an alliance of guilds opposed to the alliance. Since they were created to aim at the alliance, they actively created conflicts with the alliance.

There was no obstacle in the way of the anti-alliance alliance. Their purpose was clear, so there were no internal quarrels. They just focused on the biggest goal: the collapse of the alliance. However, the alliance had already half-broken up at the time. They’d lost their cause because of Hyeonu’s disappearance and were like a boat floating purposelessly on the sea.

-They seemed to have gotten into contact with NPCs and received quests. There is a video from people who worked with the merchant groups last time for a quest. If you watch the battle video, you’ll see the skills of the allied players. They can cover their face but not their skills.

This was the truth of virtual reality games, including Arena. The use of skills would reveal one’s identity. If a person wanted to hide their identity, they couldn’t use skills. However, they wouldn’t be able to win a battle without using skills.

‘This is a common dilemma... Did they just give up?’

“Weren’t there any protests? Isn’t it bad enough to get people to act?”

-How could action be taken when the people are unknown? In fact, there are similar skills amongst players. So they believed in that and acted shamelessly. Whether they did it purposely or not, there was no reason to intervene because there was no damage to our side.

The alliance used their heads and only touched guilds that they could thoroughly handle. There was just something they had overlooked—Hyeonu. He was a player connected to the emperor, not a mere noble NPC.

‘Did they forget that I have a relationship with the emperor?’

That must be the case. In addition, there was something they didn’t know. It wasn’t just them. Everyone apart from Hyeonu didn’t know how dangerous the alliance’s actions actually were. The emperor was the empire itself, so they were now going against the emperor.

“Then do you know their locations?” Hyeonu asked what he was most curious about.

-I’m not sure exactly, but it is certain they must be in one of three places. 

Gang Junggu’s words instilled hope in Hyeonu. It was the hope that it wouldn’t take long to complete the quest.

“Where are those places?”

Yet it took less than three seconds for Hyeonu’s hopes to be shattered. Hyeonu’s mentality was broken by Gang Junggu’s following words.

-The Red Marsh, Ant Garden, and Corrupted Elemental Forest.

“Is it really those three places?” Hyeonu asked once again like he couldn’t believe it. However, the answer he received was the same.

-The Red Marsh, Ant Garden, and Corrupted Elemental Forest. Every place apart from these there are under the influence of guilds related to us. There are no other fields that are without masters apart from these ones.

“I under...stand, Hyung-nim. Thank you. I will definitely pay back the gift I received today.”

-Yes, pay it back sooner than later.

Gang Junggu hung up with these playful words.

“Damn...” Hyeonu sighed and dropped his phone on the couch. This quest was really the worst.

***

Everything was red except for the blue sky. From the ground, the grass, the trees, and the leaves—the entire world here was red. The Red Marsh was the name of this red world. It ranked in the ‘top 3’ of the worst hunting grounds in the Balder Mountains as voted by rankers. The remaining two were the other places that Gang Junggu said—Ant Garden and the Corrupted Elemental Forest.

“Sigh, I’m going to die.” Hyeonu couldn’t help complaining. The main reason why the Red Marsh was chosen as one of the worst hunting grounds was because of its poor environment. It was a damp and humid place that made people feel uncomfortable. There was also a subtle bad smell that made it hard to enter and exit the place.

“Master dude, the ground is damp.” Tang-E pointed at his feet that were already halfway buried in the ground.

“Don’t use force. No, I’ll just carry you.”

Hyeonu saw Tang-E stuck in the ground and sighed softly. It was already the third time. Tang-E couldn’t adapt to walking through the damp marsh, so his feet kept getting buried in it. Eventually, Hyeonu lifted Tang-E and placed Tang-E on his back. He judged that it was better to be bothered than to have their movements hindered.

“I’m sorry, Master.” Tang-E’s voice was lower than usual.

Yet in contrast to that, Tang-E was smiling. He didn’t look sorry at all. It was all an act. This was Tang-E’s trick to get out of walking on this ground because he didn’t want to do it. Hyeonu didn’t know this and spoke to Tang-E in a warm voice, “Instead, you have to kill the monsters, okay?”

“I can use any magic here, be it ice, fire, or lightning. They will all work well,” Tang-E said, continuing to act. He used the fact that Hyeonu couldn’t see his face to hook Hyeonu with his voice. Hyeonu was continuing to search with Tang-E on his back when a huge shadow appeared in front of them. The owner of the shadow was a red orc that matched the scenery of the forest. It was difficult to see the orc properly due to its similarity with the surroundings.

‘An orc?’ Hyeonu remained calm despite the sudden appearance of the orc. He wasn’t surprised. He just found it strange as it was very difficult to meet high-level orcs.

“Tang-E, go pay the price for the piggyback ride.”

Hyeonu moved his hands that were supporting Tang-E’s buttocks, and Tang-E was sent flying rapidly toward the red orc. Surprised by the sudden flight, Tang-E cried out for Hyeonu, “Damn Master dude!”

Of course, this didn’t change anything. The orc was still in front of him, and he would be directly split apart by the orc’s axe. The red orc’s axe swung and seemed like it would split apart Tang-E’s head.

“Kuheook!” 

The cute Tang-E instantly grew bigger. Tang-E, who was normally much smaller than the red orc, had changed into a seven-meter-tall monster. He waved his paw and struck the orc’s axe. Upon collision, the axe started to hum, and veins were protruding visibly on the bulging forearms of the axe-wielding red orc.

Tang-E saw that and moved his body without delay. Dark blue lightning fell from the sky, which was a different color from the red surroundings, and struck Tang-E, not the orc. Yet Tang-E moved like nothing had happened. On the contrary, his fur had weak waves of electricity running through it.

[The Red Marsh orc has been inflicted with the ‘electric shock’ abnormal state.]

The red orc stopped colliding with Tang-E. Its body was paralyzed by the current that was transferred from Tang-E’s body. Of course, Tang-E didn’t miss this opportunity. Dark blue currents flowed to his paws, bringing about intense sparks that immediately moved toward the orc.

“Kuoooooh!” The red orc didn’t stay still. It lifted its giant axe and then lowered it instantly like a woodcutter cutting firewood. The dark blue lightning collided with the red orc’s axe. The orc wanted to cut apart the lightning, and the lightning wanted to burn the orc.

The winner of this fierce fight was the dark blue lightning. The lightning had no life, but the orc was alive. So the orc lost as it was unable to overcome the heat of the lightning. In a flash, the lightning swallowed the orc.

Then the smaller Tang-E came over and touched Hyeonu’s knee. “Master dude, Tang-E is strong. I’m not going to lose to this low-quality monster.”

1. Those who engage in unilateral missionary activities on the streets for money