Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu knew the people who came out of the passage. In fact, he didn’t simply know them. They’d even had a sword fight with each other in the past, which naturally resulted in Hyeonu’s victory.

“Huh? These guys...” Hyeonu muttered. They were players from the alliance, but there was a man with a particularly familiar name among them. This man was being escorted by several players and was presumably their guest. Hyeonu knew who he was.

‘Why is Tian Hu here?’

It was Tian Hu—the master of the Aisis Guild and the owner of China’s huge workshop, as well as the man who lost everything in Arena to Hyeonu. He just came out from the attacker’s lair.

‘Didn’t he quit? He came back? When did he come back?’

Tian Hu, who had disappeared after losing to Hyeonu and losing his foundation in Arena, had appeared again. Moreover, he had joined hands with the stupid alliance.

‘I don’t know what they want to do, but...’

This time, the results wouldn’t be much different. No, it was obvious that they would lose to Hyeonu in an even more overwhelming manner. The current Hyeonu was much stronger than he was back then. He boasted an overwhelming strength that wouldn’t lose to anyone.

‘I now have the emperor behind me.’

Moreover, Hyeonu had a good support group, ranging from NPCs like the emperor and Lebron to giant guilds, including New World.

‘We might have been enemies back then, but... I also have Liu Shei on my side now.’

He didn’t think Liu Shei would betray him at all. Arena might be important, but real life was several times more important than that. As long as Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu were keeping a watch on Liu Shei, he would remain a strong helper. Hyeonu got closer to those who were talking in front of the rock.

‘What are they saying? I can’t really hear them.’

However, he still couldn’t hear their conversation clearly. So, Hyeonu moved even closer, soundlessly of course.

“How much of our forces were lost?”

“Not as much as I thought. Most of the opponents will fall into our hands in one or two weeks.”

“I think the decrease in the number of NPCs has slowed down a lot?”

“It can’t be helped. The asses of the remaining NPCs are too heavy.”

There was a pause in the men’s conversation. It prevented the mood from getting too heated. Once emotions were mixed, things could go wrong. After a while, their conversation continued.

“Tian Hu, what are you trying to do by leveling up so slowly?”

The topic of conversation changed. It wasn’t about the work they were doing but about Tian Hu’s progress.

“I’m raising it as fast as possible. The speed is ridiculously fast compared to how I did it in the past. It can’t be increased any faster,” Tian Hu gave a sharp answer to the man’s question.

However, the man didn’t stop. 

“Is it because you are lacking talent? You’ve mastered all the useful skills, only bought good items, and even hired a bus driver to increase your level. If your level-up speed is the same as before...” 

He kept scratching at Tian Hu’s nerves. It was clearly a blatant taunt to anyone who saw it.

“...Just wait a little bit. There isn’t much time left until the third class advancement. From then on, we will move together.” Tian Hu gritted his teeth, but his answer was calm.

They were nominally colleagues, and Tian Hu’s position wasn’t perfect yet. He might’ve been pouring money to establish a position, but his level was low, so it didn’t have much of an effect. Nevertheless, Tian Hu’s abilities were pretty good. He just had to go through his third class advancement, and he would be able to greatly reduce the gap between him and the others. From then on, he could hold on with items and skills. He would be able to fight on the same basis as long as he had pure energy.

“Then you should go quickly, right? I don’t think you can afford to waste time here,” the man said.

He was formidable and greatly stimulated Tian Hu’s nerves. The man didn’t stop at all. He just kept biting at Tian Hu like a madman.

In the end, someone stepped in to organize the situation: “Stop it. Tian Hu, I hope you will pay more attention to leveling up when you go back. We need to maximize the progress of our work before Alley Leader comes.”

The situation ended before a worse row occurred. Tian Hu pulled out a return scroll and tore it. In a flash, his figure disappeared from the Balder Mountains. Right after that, the rest of them started to belittle Tian Hu.

“What does he want to do by coming back and starting Arena again?”

“Yes. He still thinks that he is Tian Hu of the past.”

“A stupid guy who accepted deleting his character as a condition, tsk... That guy who owns a workshop...”

‘These guys...’ Hyeonu heard their complete conversation and clicked his tongue. Dogs that pooped and blamed it on other dogs...

In Hyeonu’s eyes, they were all the same. They couldn’t be separated from each other.

‘What should I do?’ Hyeonu was troubled for a moment. Should he kill them now or wait? ‘It’ll be best to go inside the rock...’

Thinking about it, killing them now would have no effect. Based on the conversation, they should be pretty high-ranking players, so killing them would be meaningless. At most, a few of them would just receive the penalty of being forcibly logged out, and this wouldn’t make the quest’s progress noticeably easier.

‘I need to kill at least dozens of people for there to be an impact.’

If he killed dozens, it might be more meaningful. Hyeonu gave a heartless smile. Just then, those standing in front of the rock disappeared at the same time. They had used a return scroll to go somewhere else.

‘I should share the location first,’ Hyeonu thought as he stretched and leaned against the tree. Then he sent a whisper to Gang Junggu.

-To Gang Junggu: Hyung-nim, I think I’ve found their position.

Gang Junggu felt nervous from receiving the sudden whisper. He didn’t think that Hyeonu would lose, but he thought there might be a situation.

-From Gang Junggu: Really? That’s good. Are you in the Red Marsh?

Hyeonu cocked his head slightly when he heard Gang Junggu mention the Red Marsh.

‘Ah! I didn’t say it.’

Hyeonu soon realized why he was asked this. He hadn’t actually said the location. When he was about to speak earlier, the rock had split open, and the players then disappeared. Naturally, Hyeonu didn’t send the whisper to Gang Junggu because he was too taken aback by the absurdity of the situation. Anyone else who saw it would have thought the same.

-To Gang Junggu: It isn’t in the Red Marsh but Cruise Mountain. It is a place that can’t be found with the naked eye.

Gang Junggu was also surprised. Hearing Hyeonu’s words, he asked question after question.

-From Gang Junggu: What? Cruise Mountain? What does that mean? They have a hiding place in Cruise Mountain?

-To Gang Junggu: Yes, it is in Cruise Mountain. I’ll send you a video with the details.

-From Gang Junggu: Yes, send it to my email.

***

The members of New World, including Gang Junggu, followed Hyeonu up Cruise Mountain. Their destination was on a high slope.

“Is it here?” Gang Junggu pointed to a rock under the slope.

Hyeonu nodded and answered, “Yes, it’s that rock. Once that splits open, a passage appears.”

“Then do we just wait now? Make yourself comfortable.” Gang Junggu sat down on the ground.

After him, the members of New World started to sit on the ground one by one.

“Just wait until they appear. It is said that a merchant group is crossing the mountains today. They will definitely come out,” Hyeonu said.

“That is when we will hit.” Gang Junggu smiled.

He was obviously smiling, but it didn’t feel like it.

‘Indeed... Hyung-nim is scary.’ Hyeonu smiled at Gang Junggu without showing his inner feelings.

Gang Junggu couldn’t stay still even for a moment. He continued to speak to Hyeonu: “This is already week five, right? There isn’t much time left for the league.”

“Yes, Wednesday’s match is the fifth match. Just three more matches and the domestic league will end.”

“You will win comfortably, right?”

Hyeonu shook his head and said, “That isn’t necessarily the case. There is still a team that is tied with us in the league.” 

UK Heights and Crescent Moon were the same with 4 wins and 0 losses. Crescent Moon was overwhelmingly first in the raid time attack, but if they lost to UK Heights, they would immediately fall down to second place.

Gang Junggu replied, “There is no need for modesty. It is too much, and I don’t want to see it.”

“Yes, well... I think it will be a smooth victory. From the beginning, this wasn’t the problem. The important thing is Arena Week,” Hyeonu stated.

Gang Junggu nodded. There was definitely a difference between the Korean League and the league containing the world’s top teams.

‘Honestly, South Korea’s level is different from the best in the world.’

It was the same with China. The European and American Leagues were the best. It was hard to beat a league made of capital.

“The Asian leagues are at a low level.”

“Still, some teams are great. I am glad.”

“What is there to be glad about? Looking at this year... they’ll be beaten miserably,” Gang Junggu said while he looked at Hyeonu.

Any team would be completely broken by Crescent Moon and the Hyeonu in front of him. It didn’t matter if they were the previous year’s winner or a strong team. Everyone was going to lose. They would all be frustrated when facing the huge dam called Hyeonu. He was a wide and thick wall.

“Hyung-nim, they are coming out now,” Hyeonu said.

It happened at this moment. The rock cracked open, and more than 100 people appeared. They were moving like well-trained soldiers and were perfectly in sync.

“Should we fight here? Or should we strike them when they are attacking the merchant group?” Gang Junggu asked.

There were two options in front of Hyeonu and Gang Junggu. One was to lead the members of New World and fight the 100 people immediately. The other was to hit them in the back when they were fighting the merchant group.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to fight on a plains area than in the forest? It is convenient to pursue them.” Hyeonu’s choice was the latter.

It was a choice with escape in mind.

“In addition, if we fight here, there will definitely be reinforcements. It would be great to wipe them out all at once, but it might not be possible,” Gang Junggu added validity to Hyeonu’s choice.

This was in front of their home base. The speed at which their reinforcements arrived would be fast.

‘Fighting in their front yard...’

Logically, it was the worst choice.

“Then let’s chase them quietly,” Hyeonu said while looking at Gang Junggu’s face.

Then Gang Junggu turned toward the members of New World and instructed, “Follow them quietly. Those who are found will get the honor of having dinner together.”

The guild members’ faces were pale due to the Gang Junggu’s veiled threat.

“Depart.”

Members of New World, including Gang Junggu and Hyeonu, started to bend down and secretly follow the attackers.