Ranker’s Return

“Guys, what are you doing?” 

Jeong Byeongjin headed out of the supervisory room and headed downstairs to where the players of JT Tele lived.

“Coach, you’ve come.”

“Hyung, you’re here? I’m watching a video now.” Kim Jinyong, the eldest brother of the JT Telecom Arena team and a player with the priest class, welcomed Jeong Byeongjin. The age difference between them was two years. Their relationship went beyond that of coach and player, and they were like brothers.

“What’s going on? Are you watching Arena videos? Why do you care about this? Isn’t the level low?” Jeong Byeongjin looked at it doubtfully. It was strange to see guys who usually didn’t like to learn from Arena videos watching a video spontaneously.

“Hyung, isn’t this a different standard? It’s the class. The class is different.”

Jeong Byeongjin sat down next to Kim Jinyong. They showed him the footage that they were watching, restarting from the beginning.

“Hyung, do you know Alley Leader? It is amazing that he can do a raid solo. Don’t you think he is better than the German swordsman or the American madman?”

The fuss that Kim Jinyong was making caused Jeong Byeongjin to crumple quietly. He remembered the disastrous past with Hyeonu.

“Yes, he’s good, but these words...” 

“Hyung, do you see this? This standard is enough to be one of the top [1] in raids. The other kids can’t compare.”

Kim Jinyong kept interrupting Jeong Byeongjin and uttering words without a break. The more he spoke, the more miserable Jeong Byeongjin’s expression became.

“Hyung, stop. I think the coach has something to say...” JT Telecom’s youngest and best-natured member, Yoo Bin, blocked Kim Jinyong’s mouth.

“Yes, I only have you, Yoo Bin,” Jeong Byeongjin sent his full trust to Yoo Bin before continuing. “It isn’t anything. It’s just that Alley Leader is preparing content.”

“Content? What does that have to do with us, Coach?” Yoo Bin asked Jeong Byeongjin. The rest of the players didn't speak, but they expressed their thoughts with their expressions. What did this have to do with them?

“The content is PvP. Players will hide their identity, wear masks like Alley Leader, and face off against other players. The other players are likely to be big guilds, unless they are pro-gamers like us. Of course, there may also be famous streamers.”

“!!!”

There was a moment of silence in the area. Everyone was speechless with shock. Kim Jinyong, who had nothing to do with PvP, was the first to come to his senses and open his mouth. “So are we going to go?”

“It has yet to be determined. The front desk has to give permission.”

Jeong Byeongjin shook his head. It was useless for them to agonize among themselves when they had yet to be given permission. It was just a waste of time.

“I would like to go,” someone interjected at this moment. It was Jung Hanbaek, who was sitting in a corner of the sofa. His eyes were full of enthusiasm.

“Hanbaek? I know you want to go but...” Jeong Byeongjin swallowed his words, not wanting to disappoint his players with an unconfirmed story.

Jung Hanbaek muttered, “If I can appear, please help me do so. It doesn’t matter...”

Jeong Byeongjin saw that Jung Hanbaek’s eyes were filled with strange emotions. There was a desire and craving for one thing—the one thing Jung Hanbaek wanted. When he first saw Jung Hanbaek, Jeong Byeongjin thought it was just a desire to win.

Now he knew exactly what it was—honor. It was an extreme obsession with honor.

‘He has too much of an obsession with honor. He has no desire for money because he is a rich kid. It will be hard to stop him.’

“I will go now. Rest a bit, then play the game.”

Jeong Byeongjin left the lodging area with a feeling of uneasiness.

***

As usual, Hyeonu was collecting information around the Arena community. He didn’t need to do it himself. Nike could send him what he really needed. However, it was necessary for Hyeonu. The quality of Nike’s information was high, but there was nothing very helpful for Hyeonu right now. What was the point of investment information if he didn’t have any money? He needed to know specific information that could make him money right away.

“There is an orc in Frozen Canyon?”

Just then, an article caught Hyeonu’s eyes.

[The Orc in Frozen Canyon Yesterday]

-Recently, I encountered something strange while hunting with guild members in Frozen Canyon.

An orc is wandering around in fur by himself.

“An orc in fur? Kukukuk.” Hyeonu smiled as he imagined a muscular orc wearing a fur coat. Hyeonu was distracted by the force that seemed to suck in his spirit and continued reading the article.

-I thought it was a jackpot. I thought about it and took my guild members to speak to the orc.

It was obviously an NPC. Then while talking, there was a nuance that made it seem like he was asking for food. That must be it. It had to be an NPC that gave a great quest.

Thus, I brought out all the dishes in my inventory. I didn’t even give them to my guild members.

Do you know the funny thing? Once the orc ate the food, he just said thank you and left.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

My 500 gold...

Anyone hunting in Frozen Canyon should beware. There is someone who will eat and then leave.

P.S. The orc looks young. It states that his name is Cancun.

“Kikikik.” Hyeonu couldn’t stop laughing. To think there was a stupid person like this… They gave food that was worth hundreds of gold to an orc and yet did not receive any reward?

“Cancun? It is a name I’ve heard before...”

Hyeonu tried to grab at the strings of memories that flew past.

“Ah! The runaway orc!”

How many minutes did he spend thinking about it? Then Hyeonu finally came up with something. Where had he heard the name ‘Cancun’? The monstrous orc chieftain... Cancun was Raccoon’s son.

“Frozen Canyon is level 120? 130? Is it a field?”

Hyeonu next hunting ground was established—Frozen Canyon. Moreover, he thought of an incredible video story.

-Finding the orc who eats and leaves.

***

Arena accurately reflected the climate under the name of an extreme realization of realism. The desert was hot, and the swamp was wet. The theme of Frozen Canyon was Greenland in reality. It was dominated by extreme cold 365 days a year.

“Oh, it’s cold, Tang-E.”

Upon arriving at Frozen Canyon, Hyeonu summoned Tang-E.

“Master dude... This time, it is ice. Isn’t it time to go to the forest?” Tang-E was upset the moment he was summoned. It was good to get out of the desert, but that was it. This time, a cold icy canyon awaited him.

“By the way, what brings you here, Master dude?” 

“I’m here to find your friend.”

At Hyeonu’s words, Tang-E thought of any friends who could live in this place. No matter how he thought about it, he didn’t have a friend who lived in such a cold place. He did have a friend who lived in lava though. “I don’t have a friend who lives in a place like this, Master dude. Additionally, how do you know it is my friend?”

“I came to find Cancun. There was a tip that he was seen here.”

“...! Cancun?” Tang-E’s cute face was filled with astonishment. “Uh... Why Cancun...”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Raccoon told me to pass on a message to him.”

“That old man? What did he want to say...?”

Hyeonu could hear that Tang-E’s voice was shaking for some reason. In fact, Tang-E’s hands were shaking. Hyeonu told him, “Raccoon said there was no magic on the necklace in the first place. So, you have done nothing wrong.”

“Phew. I’m glad. That’s fortunate.”

“Then let’s find Cancun soon. We have to send him home before something goes wrong.”

***

There were several monsters in Frozen Canyon—snow giants, glacier trolls, and ice golems. All three monsters had something in common. They were all huge. The smallest glacier troll was over three meters tall, while the snow giants and ice golems were monsters that were five meters tall. Of course, their defense was ridiculously high. They were hard to hunt without fire magicians.

[A glacier troll has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

“Hey, isn’t this just a living scarecrow? Isn’t this too easy?”

However, for Hyeonu who had a defense penetration skill, they were just moving scarecrows. Their large size meant they would be hit by many blows. Except for the ice golems, the glacier trolls and snow giants were living creatures. They hurt when they get hit and bleed when stabbed.

“By the way, has the time come to change weapons? It’s a pity. It would be easier to hunt them.”

Hyeonu felt slightly regretful. The Dwarf’s Single-edged Sword—its attack power was high, but there was no defense penetration option at all.

“It would be amazing to get a unique weapon with 15 to 20% defense penetration.” Hyeonu gulped.

He knew that such weapons couldn’t fall from the sky.

“You are too greedy, Master dude. You will be struck by lightning.” Tang-E looked at such a Hyeonu and clicked his tongue. His master was strong enough, but he was greedy. For most people, greed was a cause for disaster. His master dude wouldn’t be an exception.

“I wonder if the bosses here have weapons with defense penetration.”

Hyeonu didn’t care about such things. He only cared about two things—finding Cancun and getting a new weapon.

“Let’s go, Tang-E!”

***

Ket, the writer of the article that Hyeonu read, hadn’t left Frozen Canyon yet. His Pioneer Guild was made up of people who purely enjoyed exploring Arena. The other four guild members and Ket were extremely rich in real life. They were rich people who did nothing except breathing, but their wealth still increased.

These people had lost interest in reality, which was why they were able to enjoy Arena more purely. Their items were always the highest level, and they wandered around Arena, discovering many fun and interesting things. They shared these things with people. Ironically, they weren’t obsessed with fame, but they became very famous. The Pioneer Guild was the guild with the largest number of subscribers on A-World.

“Hey, party leader. Are you still looking for that orc? You regret your 500 gold that much? Do you want me to give it to you?” Asu, a grim-faced magician, quickly said to Ket.

Asu was full of annoyance. ‘Do we have to stay here for a week just because you were ripped off by an orc?’

“Make a quick decision. If we want to hunt, we should leave this place,” Asu urged. Asu had always respected Ket as the party leader and guild master, but not this time. It wasn’t about enjoying Arena. This was just a waste of time.

Ket opened his mouth and said, “By the way, look at that guy over there. Isn’t he somehow familiar?”

“Who?”

Ket pointed instead of answering. The place where Ket was pointing contained a masked man and a small brown bear hunting giant snowmen.

“Alley Leader?!!!” Asu saw the scene and screamed. “That is Alley Leader!! That bear. It is so obvious!”

‘How exciting!’ 

Alley Leader, Arena’s top issue maker and a hot star, was right in front of him. No one interested in Arena wouldn’t be thrilled by the sight.

“Let’s go quickly.”

New entertainment had appeared for Asu who was full of complaints.

[1] word that refers to those superior to others in an area