Ranker’s Return

Garcia walked at a pace where his steps were almost like leaps. His heart was filled with urgency.

‘The ring... Did Baron Argon bring back the ring?’

Garcia’s mind was completely focused on that one thing. In a while, Baron Argon would convey the news. He had returned much faster than expected even with the return stone in hand. The time it took to return to Penn was instantaneous. However, it wasn’t possible to find the ring in the middle world in such a short time.

‘As expected, he must’ve failed.’

The moment Garcia’s thoughts went there, anxiety started to cloud his mind. Garcia was still weak. Looking at the entire demon world as a whole, Garcia had top-level strength among the demons. It was just that his competitors weren’t the demons and demonic creatures in the pyramid. His competitors were the top of the top, the ones above the pyramid—the demon world nobles.

‘I can’t have Penn taken away again.’

It was enough to be robbed of Penn and lose his family members and honor once. He didn’t want to experience it again. Garcia clenched his fists, and his dark blue skin turned white.

***

Garcia arrived at the lord’s castle and took Hyeonu to the deepest part inside it. It was only when there were no signs of any other presence for dozens of meters around him that Garcia stopped and turned toward Hyeonu.

“Baron, please speak now. Is it a success? Or did it fail?” Garcia’s voice was filled with deep anxiety.

Hyeonu pulled out the ring from his inventory and held it in his hand. “Is this the ring you are looking for?”

Garcia carefully examined the ring on Hyeonu’s palm. The ring was emitting black magic power.

‘This...’ Garcia was thrilled. He hadn’t seen this ring for decades. The thing that his father lost had now returned to his son, Viscount Garcia. Baron Argon had truly found the ring. Garcia couldn’t help gulping as he said, “That’s right. This ring is right...”

Viscount Garcia moved very slowly toward Hyeonu. He looked like he was crazy.

“Congratulations, Viscount Garcia—no, new master of Penn.” Hyeonu dropped the ring onto Garcia’s palm.

[Hand the ring to Garcia 1/1]

[Ring Delivery has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Garcia’s full trust has been earned.]

Garcia felt the cold sensation of the ring and collapsed. His knees dropped to the cold ground with a thud, but he continued to stare at his palm as if he didn’t feel any pain. A long time passed before Garcia opened his mouth. He shouted in a trembling voice, “Oh..! Demon God!!! The ring is back in my family’s hands...”

Then he placed the dark black ring on his finger. There were no big changes. No, it was more appropriate to say that there was no change. No magic power was drawn to Garcia’s body, and no light flowed from his body.

‘The story will change once he uses Magic Power Absorption,’ Hyeonu thought. That was the true value of the ring.

“You are the master of Penn now. Should you be sitting on the ground like this?” Hyeonu approached Garcia and took his hand. Seemingly powerless, Garcia let himself be pulled up by Hyeonu. 

“I don’t know how to express my gratitude, Baron Argon.” Garcia seemed to finally come back to his senses.

Hyeonu smiled at Garcia. “No need. This is what I promised. I, Argon, am a demon who doesn’t go back on my word.”

There was a smile on Garcia’s face. “Still, there is a price to pay for the ring. What do you want? I’ll give you anything as long as it is within my strength.”

Hyeonu fell deep in thought. What could he receive as compensation for his hard work?

‘My disguised identity is a baron. Viscount Garcia... he can’t give me a title.’

It was impossible for Hyeonu to get a title. Even if Garcia could give it out arbitrarily, it would be the title of a baron at most. However, the identity Hyeonu disguised as was also a baron, so it was meaningless.

‘Should I ask for an item?’

An item didn’t seem like a bad choice. A skill wouldn’t be bad either. He didn’t know the limits of what Garcia could give, but it would at least be better than rare-rated.

‘I should ask for a ring.’

Currently, Hyeonu had already gone through the fourth class advancement and could wear a total of eight rings. In other words, two slots were empty.

“A ring. I would appreciate a ring, Viscount Garcia.”

Garcia heard Hyeonu’s words, and his expression became distorted. Simultaneously, he let out a storm-like momentum.

“You want the ring?” Garcia mistakenly thought it was the ring he had received from Hyeonu a moment ago.

Hyeonu was trying to defend himself when he had a thought and changed his words: “To be precise, it means 30 days from you.” 

Garcia’s facial expression changed rapidly at Hyeonu’s words. It became filled with doubts.

“30 days...?”

Hyeonu resolved Garcia’s question by saying, “This is the time it takes to re-absorb magic power again after absorbing it once. Is this okay?”

Garcia’s expression changed weirdly as he felt extremely conflicted. 30 days wasn’t a long time for Garcia, but it was still longer than the time Garcia had spent with the ring since he’d only just obtained the ring. It was necessary to absorb magic power as soon as possible to become stronger.

“I’m sorry if this is difficult. I must be asking for too much. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.” Hyeonu drove the wedge into the conflict-filled Garcia.

Garcia heard Hyeonu’s words and felt his worries had ended. He spoke with a stiff expression, "No, if it’s you, it isn’t a problem to let you use it once. In any case, I can continue to use it in the future... I’ll hand it over to you this one time.”

Hyeonu gave a 90-degree bow. Just then, the corners of his lips rose in a crazy smile.

“Thank you, Viscount. I will never forget this grace,” Hyeonu said. 

Garcia waved his hand as his expression of conflict disappeared. Now he returned to his usual expression. “Then follow me. I will guide you to the place with the magic power stone.”

He even looked relieved. It wasn’t an expression that matched a demon, but it could be expressed as ‘liberation’ and ‘received enlightenment’. 

“I understand, Viscount.”

Hyeonu followed behind Garcia like when they came here. If there was any difference, it was in Garcia's and Hyeonu’s expressions. Garcia walked a long time before stopping at a familiar place. It was the parlor, the place where they ate on the first day they met.

“Is the magic power stone here?” Hyeonu asked with a disbelieving expression.

Garcia replied with a smile, “Baron, you may not believe it, but is there any better place?”

Something extraordinary was placed somewhere normal. Garcia approached the top of the table. Then he placed his hand on the chair and injected magic power. The table split in half, and a passage appeared.

Hyeonu’s eyes widened in surprise. Garcia smiled once again and placed a hand on Hyeonu’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go in.”

***

The inside of the passage was very dark. Although there was no light, Garcia walked very well.

‘Has he come here before?’

It was probably right that he had. After all, his father had been the master of the ring until it was taken by Earl Carpe. They walked for a long time before a small light appeared in Hyeonu’s vision. The light came from the opposite side of the passageway.

“It seems we’re almost here. Maybe it is because I haven’t been here in a long time. I’m also very nervous.” Garcia’s voice was trembling noticeably. He seemed to be filled with emotions as a son who recovered what had been robbed from his father. Although it wasn’t done with his own ability, he still regained possession of the ring and all that came with it.

Garcia’s footsteps quickened to the extent of leaping, and Hyeonu hurriedly chased after Garcia. The light became stronger as they approached the magic power stone.

“Wow...” Hyeonu said in awe when he saw the source of the light. It was a huge purple gem that emitted an enchanting glow. The gem was even floating in the air. The appearance of the gem itself had a magical power that enchanted people.

“Is that Penn, Viscount Garcia?”

“Yes, that is Penn. Look at the fascinating appearance. My ancestors put in a lot of effort to protect it...” Garcia said, seemingly unable to take his eyes off the magic power stone.

“First, put this ring on your finger.” Garcia finally moved his attention away from the magic power stone and handed the black ring to Hyeonu.

Hyeonu accepted the ring and wore it smoothly. His title was an earl, so he wasn’t affected by the wearer restriction.

“Place your palm on top of the magic power stone and say ‘Magic Power Absorption’. Then magic power will be absorbed...” Garcia kindly explained how to use Magic Power Absorption.

‘I have to ask.’ Hyeonu decided to ask Garcia something he had been curious about since seeing the ring information.

“Viscount, do you know how much magic power can be absorbed with Magic Power Absorption?”

Hearing Hyeonu’s question, Garcia’s expression suddenly stiffened. Hyeonu saw this and had a thought: ‘He doesn’t know.’

It was clear that Garcia didn’t know. This was understandable since the owner of the ring had been his father, not Garcia. Even if Garcia had used Magic Power Absorption before, it would’ve been just a few times. If so, it might be impossible to explain the skill in detail.

“Um... I don’t know... I just know that it varies depending on your ability to handle magic power. If demons who can’t control their magic power try to use it, they might die from burn out,” Garcia explained.

Hyeonu nodded in understanding. A power that was beyond control was dangerous by itself.

‘It isn’t difficult for a magician to do this.’

The most difficult classes in Arena were melee classes. Their stats strengthened physical ability, so there was a big entry barrier to fight against monsters. After that were the magicians. They had to be able to handle the unfamiliar magic power in order to be called proper magicians. In particular, the higher the level and the higher the magic power stat, the greater the risk would be. They had to worry about being forcibly logged out if a spell was forcibly canceled, and there would be a magic power backlash.

“Then I will try it.” Hyeonu carefully approached the purple magic power stone. The magic power stone was even more fascinating up close. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. Then Hyeonu shook his head.

‘Stats. The stats are more important.’

He placed his hand that had the ring onto the magic power stone.

“Magic Power Absorption.”

The moment Hyeonu’s words ended, an intense light was released from the magic power stone. Simultaneously, a small square window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

“Huh?”