Ranker’s Return

‘In any case, I’m not doing anything bad.’

On the contrary, he was stopping bad things. Hyeonu had little reluctance about his actions since his actions were close to that of justice.

-Alley Leader is the best!

-Then I’ll have to go there today.

-Looking for a party for Shalun Mountain!

The viewers really liked what Hyeonu said and gave enthusiastic support to his words. Then they focused on his attack strategy for Shalun Mountain as they didn’t know if they would need to use it tomorrow.

“Then tell me the information you know first. My one-sided attack strategy might not be very memorable. Wouldn’t the strategy we make together be more impressive?”

Hyeonu started the attack on Shalun Mountain in earnest. The beginning of an attack always started with intelligence gathering. This process was essential in making an effective strategy.

-First, the trees at the entrance of Shalun Mountain move.

-They can be attacked with the fire attribute and will bleed when cut.

-However, the trees are tricky to attack because of their root attacks and the scattered leaves... You can enter only when your magicians or priests have excellent control or when tankers or melee classes block in front of you.

Some viewers gave information that didn’t appear in the community. For example, a community search only showed that the monsters at the entrance of Shalun Mountain were the furious tree elementals. In other words, they were living trees and were weak to the fire attribute attacks. This was the only information Hyeonu knew. He didn’t know what attack patterns they had.

‘It’s a good thing that I asked.’ Hyeonu showed a satisfied smile at the advanced information that emerged from the viewers. Sure enough, it was best to collect information from an unspecified majority of people.

“What’s after the trees? Is it lightning?” Hyeonu asked for information about the next monster. The viewers gave it out naturally.

-Doesn’t the bird come out next?

-Yes, peaks come out, and there are many birds with the lightning attribute.

-They shoot feathers and lightning. The most annoying thing is that the time it takes for them to glide down is so long.

-You will be lucky if you catch it. It’s one minute of flying and one minute on the ground.

-I know the boss monster hasn’t been killed yet. The lightning attribute makes it hard to kill even the normal monsters.

Pieces of information spread through the chat room. There were some facts that weren’t confirmed, but there was sufficient value in just knowing about them.

‘I can take care of the rest myself.’

“Thank you. This is enough for today. Perhaps I will continue to attack Shalun Mountain until the next stream. Now I think it is time to experience it with my body. Let’s start.”

Hyeonu reflected on the information that the viewers mentioned while taking a step forward.

***

Hyeonu quickly encountered a furious tree elemental. Soon after entering Shalun Mountain, he found himself before a strange forest with many trees.

“Master dude, there are a lot of strange trees there.” Tang-E sat on Hyeonu’s head and pointed at the forest up ahead. There were too many trees. Even if trees were densely packed together, it was only to a certain degree. The reason for this was growth. If the trees were too close together, they wouldn’t be able to absorb the energy needed for growth and wouldn’t be able to grow normally.

‘At least half of them are monsters.’

Without drawing the Mysterious Sky Sword, Hyeonu understood the situation and began to open his mouth.

“Tang-E, set a fire—a very hot one.” Hyeonu gave an order to Tang-E, ignoring the fact that he too had the fire attribute and could do this himself.

-This is playing with fire in the mountains.

-If this were done in reality, he would end up at the police station.

-Playing with fire and cute friends in the mountains.avi.

The viewers were amused by Hyeonu’s words. They were seeing something that could never be done in reality.

“Understood, Master dude. Playing with fire is always welcome.” Tang-E followed Hyeonu’s instructions. It was because the meat Hyeonu promised Tang-E was dangling in front of his eyes. For the first time in a long time, Tang-E summoned a heart. It was golden overall, with a black line running through the middle.

Tang-E carefully grabbed the summoned heart and injected magic power into it. Once a certain amount of magic power was injected, the heart started to create powerful flames. The flames constantly grew and reduced in size like it was alive. Then it was fired at the tree.

-Look at Tang-E’s firepower...?

-No, just burn everything before they get angry.

-Isn’t it impolite to hit the trees before they can even transform?

-What’s that about politeness? It isn’t a big deal to just kill it.

The viewers were shocked to see Tang-E’s fire magic. It had enormous power. The trees began instantly turning to ashes without being able to do anything; they burned like they had fallen into lava. This was no less than what might appear in the streams of ranker magicians.

‘It’s good since it’s like the magic spirit,’ Hyeonu thought. In retrospect, Tang-E’s wish bead was like the magic spirit.

‘I got it late... so should I think of it as the other way around?’

After all, Tang-E had gotten the wish bead much earlier before Hyeonu got Magic Spirit Creation. While Hyeonu was thinking about all this, all of the burning trees were rendered into ashes, and a vacant lot was created in the forest.

[A furious tree elemental has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A furious tree elemental has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A furious tree elemental has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

The messages that appeared a short time later revealed that Hyeonu’s guess was true. There were quite a few messages indicating the acquisition of experience.

“Shalun Mountain is this easy, everyone. Just use the fire attribute magic.” Hyeonu used a ridiculous way of speaking and exaggerated movements to bring a strange sense of fascination to the viewers.

-Wow, what is this now...

-We can’t kill it even though we know...

-I want a Tang-E as well.

-If I had Tang-E, wouldn’t I be able to get through the entrance of Shalun Mountain?

The viewers were envious of Hyeonu. For him, Shalun Mountain—which was known as the new danger field of the East Continent—was as relaxed as a tutorial.

“I hope to keep fighting like this... but there won’t be any meaning in the attack strategy. Do you all agree?” Hyeonu started the calculations after finishing one hunt. If he hadn’t turned on the stream, he would’ve gone straight forward like this. Tang-E would hunt with Hyeonu following from behind.

However, now that the stream turned on, it was simply impossible to do that. He had to make it fun for the viewers and give them practical help.

-Of course... this doesn’t help us.

-This is really a strategy that can’t be imitated.

-Control the differences in classes and specs.

The viewers responded to Hyeonu’s words. To be honest, the current battle was one that they couldn’t imitate no matter what.

“I will look at the patterns of the furious tree elementals as much as possible and try to break through.”

Nevertheless, there was no damage for Hyeonu. By hunting this way, he would produce a strategy video that could be uploaded to A-World and turn into views, making Hyeonu’s wallet even thicker. The next battle took place shortly after. Trees could be seen everywhere at the entrance of Shalun Mountain, so there were many furious tree elementals.

“Now, there are many furious tree elementals sleeping in front of us. Let me wake them up,” Hyeonu said while walking through the dense trees. He didn’t hide his presence. In fact, he walked with so much force that there was a distinct rustling and crinkling of the leaves on the ground. 

An effect immediately took place. Some of the trees moved, with dozens of sharp tree roots emerging from the soil. Hyeonu jumped into the air and lightly avoided the attack.

“The first attack is this type of root attack. Let’s avoid this by jumping lightly. If you want to stop it...”

He pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword and swung it.

Covered in black-red energy, the Mysterious Sky Sword accurately hit the roots of the tree.

“Just swing it like this. It doesn’t necessarily have to cut the roots—just stop the tree’s momentum.”

After being cut by the Mysterious Sky Sword, the tree roots fell, and red sap flowed from the cut wound simultaneously.

“These guys have red blood. It’s horrible,” Hyeonu muttered in a voice that hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Just then, the cut roots of the furious tree elementals grew again.

‘Is it recovery?’

Hyeonu looked surprised. He never dreamed that a normal monster would be able to repair its own cut wounds.

“It can recover?” 

When Hyeonu spoke as if he didn’t know, the audience started to show off their knowledge in the chat window.

-This is the characteristic of Shalun Mountain’s monsters.

-Due to the setting of the elementals, they will continue to recover even if injured.

-Even so, cutting off their head or destroying their heart will kill them. 

-For regular monsters, it’s over after hitting roughly five or six times.

They seemed a bit proud to explain to Hyeonu what he didn’t know. It was a big deal that there was something the almighty Alley Leader didn’t know.

“I see. I understand now. Then let’s hit it until the next pattern comes out.”

Hyeonu didn’t overdo it.

Honestly, if he fought properly, the trees would’ve lost their lives in a single blow. Yet he didn’t do so because there would be no point in the attack strategy. This battle should benefit the viewers.

Hyeonu fought back, and the tree elemental soon pulled out a new pattern. It moved quickly, supporting its huge body with its roots. At the same time, its branches moved, and unlike the roots, these branches moved in a curved fashion. Dozens of branches lashed through the air simultaneously like whips.

Hyeonu used Mysterious Sky Steps to avoid the bombardment from the branches.

“The attacks of the branches are pretty fast. The power seems considerable as well. Nevertheless, it is definitely less powerful than the roots’ attacks. Tankers and melee classes can stop them in the middle.”

He swung the Mysterious Sky Sword gently, and black red pure energy instantly emerged from it. The branches of the furious tree elementals were immediately cut off. Yet the branches regenerated much faster than the roots, and new ones sprouted the moment they were sliced off. The newly grown branches had a lot of red leaves, unlike the existing ones. Once again, the branches swung through the air, but Hyeonu wasn’t the target this time. The branches moved into place, and the hundreds of leaves on the branches flew at Hyeonu.

“This is a bit threatening, but there’s nothing stopping you from blocking them from the front. The magicians and priests should use their shields at the right time here,” Hyeonu said while simultaneously wielding the Mysterious Sky Sword.

The flying leaves couldn’t get beyond the Mysterious Sky Sword, and they all fell to the ground shattered.

‘This should be enough.’

He determined that all the big patterns had been found. Hyeonu moved to finish the tree off. He created a dark-red pure energy and left a long wound on the trunk of the tree. The tree was burned well thanks to Hyeonu’s fire attribute. It started with the damaged torso and gradually burned the branches and roots as well. The tree elemental gradually disappeared without a trace.

“Now, this is the end of the analysis of the furious tree elemental. It isn’t hard, right?”