Ranker’s Return

The bomb that Hyeonu casually dropped shook the common sense of the viewers. The appearance of the demon world brought about a corresponding shock.

-I was just becoming a bit familiar with the East Continent... Now it’s the demon world?

-What are you talking about, Alley Leader? The demon world?! A new field!

-What are you doing not telling me the rest? Hurry!

Hyeonu wasn’t shaken by the strong reaction of the viewers. This was in the expected range.

‘It is amazing.’

It hadn’t been long since the East Continent appeared in front of the viewers. Only a small handful of rankers had crossed the Balder Mountains to the East Continent in the beginning as such a feat wasn’t possible for most players. It was only recently that they stepped into the East Continent. In such circumstances, Hyeonu revealed the demon world.

“The demon world is a very dull place. Everything in sight is a risk. Even the worms, creatures that appear randomly from somewhere, are powerful.”

Hyeonu moved diligently while talking about the demon world. The more he moved, the clearer the form of the magic circle became. A grassy area dozens of meters wide was carved with various shapes and characters.

-Huh? So he has gone to the demon world now?

-Is he enjoying the content alone?

-Is he a beta tester?

-Or a Quency employee? How come he is enjoying it alone every time?

The viewers found something strange in Hyeonu’s words. His explanation of the demon world was too realistic and detailed. It was as if he had experienced it himself.

“Of course, I have hunted in the demon world. There is no way I can reveal it without going there, right?” Hyeonu spoke with a smile.

In fact, it wasn’t just at the level of hunting.

‘I also have a title and territory. Now there is just the shell left...’

Etono would currently be empty because all the demons and demonic creatures had been sent to another city. It was only in this way that the city could be used as the base. After all, it didn’t make sense for a base to be filled with demons and demonic creatures.

-So I can go to the demon world if I use the magic circle?

-Where will we wind up?

-Won’t you just fall into the mountains?

“The magic circle is connected to a city in the demon world. It is a base built by the empire.”

Hyeonu arrived in front of the magic circle as he answered the viewers’ questions.

“I will take one last question about the magic circle.”

-Is there a fee to use the magic circle?

-Surely not? It is made in the empire.

-Everyone needs gold, even NPCs. Quency needs to recover the gold.

‘It came up.’

Hyeonu smiled when he saw the last question mentioning what he wanted to talk about. In fact, the fee was the most important thing, and it was what he wanted to say. To begin with, the whole reason why he did this was because of money.

“I’m sorry, but there is one. It isn’t set by me but by an NPC from the empire. It means taxes,” Hyeonu lied in a normal tone that didn’t tremble at all. It was because of him that the players had to pay money unnecessarily, but there was no way viewers would know this.

-I understand. They have to make us spend gold so it won’t lose its value.

-How much will it cost to use that thing one time?

-It will be like a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of enhancement.

The viewers’ reactions were positive. Most virtual reality games recovered their in-game currency for one reason or another. They were used to this type of thing, so they didn’t have any doubts about it. The players just wanted to use the magic circle.

‘This is what I was aiming for.’

Hyeonu removed players’ dissatisfaction by taking a familiar approach. He had aimed for this.

“I don’t know the price. I will ask the NPC from the empire,” Hyeonu spoke in a brazen voice and approached the fully armed NPC near the magic circle.

The NPC in gorgeous gold armor discovered Hyeonu and introduced himself ahead of time: “Earl Gang Hyeonu? I am Viscount Ante who came to carry out His Majesty’s edict.” 

“Yes, I’m Earl Gang Hyeonu. You’ve worked hard.” Hyeonu reached out to Viscount Ante for a handshake.

“No, Earl, how is it hard work when it is His Majesty’s command? It is a natural thing for me to do.” Viscount Ante shook Hyeonu’s hand and shook his head.

It was only natural to follow the emperor’s orders, so this wasn’t hard work. Rather, he was happy because he could help the person to whom he was loyal.

‘He is a fanatic,’ Hyeonu remarked inwardly.

He hid his thoughts and asked what he wanted to ask: “What is the fee for the magic circle?”

“It is 50 gold per person. Some people might say it is too much money, but it shows that the demon world expedition is very important to the empire.”

Hyeonu held back a laugh that wanted to burst out.

‘The viscount said it exactly as he heard.’

The emperor had acted precisely as he said he would. Due to this, no one would question the money that was paid to Viscount Ante.

‘Then I will receive 15 gold per person. My 3.2 million gold...’

It was 213,333 times 15 gold. The moment 213,333 players used the magic circle, Hyeonu would be able to recover all the gold he’d lost.

‘The magic circle won’t be used often in a certain period of time.’

No matter how he thought about it, not many people could go hunting in the demon world. Most of them were paying a lot of attention to the East Continent and working hard there. They had no time to invest in the demon world.

‘I can’t take out New World or Kowloon right now...’

However, he didn’t worry too much. It was 15 gold for Hyeonu for each fish that bit the bait.

‘Those who are substandard will be filtered out on their own.’

They would learn the fear of the demon world after one death and then never come back. No one liked the forced logout penalty.

“Do I have to pay you?”

“His Majesty said there are no exceptions. If you have any complaints, you should speak to him directly.”

Hyeonu nodded and asked, “Then where should I pay the money?”

Instead of answering, Viscount Ante turned his back to Hyeonu. Then he bowed, stretched out, and turned back to face Hyeonu.

“You can put it in here, Earl.”

Thump! Viscount Ante laid down a square box made of red iron in front of Hyeonu. It had a very familiar appearance. Hyeonu saw the box and exclaimed instinctively, “A Salvation Army charity box?!”

It was the same with the viewers. The collection box looked just like the ones seen on the streets at the end of the year.

-A Salvation Army charity box?

-Collect the money over there?

-It feels like we will have to pay a lot of money...

Hyeonu pulled out 50 gold from his inventory and placed them into the red box, disappearing with a cheerful clinking sound.

“I don’t have to use the magic circle right now, do I?” He asked.

“Of course not, Earl. You can use it when it’s convenient.”

“Then I will just look at the magic circle today. I’ll use it next time.”

Hyeonu was going to use the magic circle exactly once. It was just for show. The lord’s unique ability allowed him to return straight to Etono, so he didn’t have to spend 50 gold to use the magic circle. Hyeonu moved slowly to the center of the magic circle. Then a message appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[The magic power required to activate the magic circle is lacking. Please inject magic power.]

[Current magic power: 0]

[Remaining magic power needed: 250,000]

[1 magic power will be charged per 1 point in the magic power stat.]

‘250,000?’

It was a ridiculous sum. Hyeonu’s magic power stat was around 4,700. In order to fill up 250,000 magic power, he had to pour out all of his magic power exactly 54 times. It took a huge amount of time to do it alone or an enormous amount of magic power recovery potions.

‘It really needs around 100 people.’

Hyeonu stared at the magic circle silently while the viewers chatted curiously.

-What is the message?

-Let us look together!

-If you turn on the stream, we should look at it together, Alley Leader.

-Don’t you know that you have to share good things?

Hyeonu saw the viewers clamoring and truthfully said what he saw without exaggerating.

“The magic circle doesn’t have enough magic power to be used.”

-What? So you have to pay money and inject your own magic power?

-It seems so. Magic circles are originally activated by magicians.

-Money and magic power—it’s killing two birds with one stone.

-How much is required to fill it up?

“250,000. It’s 250,000 magic power. It can fill up one magic power per magic power stat,” Hyeonu said in a helpless tone.

It was a sincere emotion. 250,000 magic power was that huge.

-It is ridiculous.

-250,000? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-There needs to be 100 people with at least 2,500 magic power.

-Then it will be hard to go even one time.

The response of the viewers was the same as Hyeonu’s. It was ridiculous—this was the simple sentence that described what they felt. The number of 250,000 was immense. Everyone would feel the same way if they played Arena.

“I can’t use magic power right now, but why don’t I try injecting magic power? This way, I can go back to the demon world as soon as possible.”

-Yes, it won’t disappear after injecting it.

-Let’s pour some water into the tank first.

Hyeonu knelt on the ground and placed both hands on the magic circle. Then he released magic power through the palms of his hands. Just then, another message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[Do you want to inject magic power into the magic circle?]

“Inject,” Hyeonu replied naturally.

It was only in this way that he could use the magic circle.

[Starting the magic power injection test. Depending on the test results, up to 10 times the injected magic power can be charged.]

“Huh?” Hyeonu cocked his head at the unexpected message. The viewers rushed at him again.

-What is it this time?

-What message popped up?

-Please provide a quick explanation.

“I tried to inject magic power... What is the message that appeared? It’s a magic power injection test... If the best results come up, the magic circle will be charged by 10 times the injected magic power.”

-Yes, it should be like this.

-100 people can’t be gathered so easily.

-Our Alley Leader will definitely increase it by 10 times, right? I’m looking forward to it.

The viewers prayed for Hyeonu’s good luck. No, they were certain. Hyeonu had shown too much for them to not believe him.

“I don’t know what will come out... If it is something like rock, paper, scissors, I will have to leave it to luck.”

Hyeonu’s words were very modest, but he was certain he could charge it by 10 times the magic power no matter what appeared.

‘I’ve done too much.’

He had done this type of test too many times before. It started with the comprehensive competitions to the magic power tests that existed in a large number of quests. A square window appeared in front of Hyeonu and the viewers.