Ranker’s Return

[Argon’s special stream with a special guest.]

-Is there a guest today?

-Originally, there wasn’t such a thing? He said he was doing it alone today?

-It is better to do it alone. Why did he call a guest?

-I’m curious about who it is. If it’s Argon’s guest, I can trust it.

The viewers who visited Yeongchan’s stream responded with surprise to the sudden guest appearance. Originally, Yeongchan’s stream had a fairly fixed form—going from the time he turned on the stream to the time he turned it off, as well as the streaming content of the day. Rather than thinking about it on the spot, he always led his stream with a plan.

This habit of his had become more severe ever since he received Hyeonu’s introduction and signed with Nike Management. Yeongchan now streamed with a monthly schedule planned over two weeks in advance. Yet he broke it and brought in a surprise guest today, so the viewers were naturally forced to react with surprise.

-I wish for Alley Leader to come out.

-Alley Leader hasn’t come out so far. Will he appear today?

-Why don’t they appear on each other’s streams when they are close friends?

-If it were me, I would ask him to appear at least once a month.

-That is why you can’t be Alley Leader’s friend. You need to know how to be considerate.

Unsurprisingly, the name ‘Alley Leader’ was mentioned. There was no need to mention other guests. Alley Leader alone dismissed many other possibilities. It was actually natural for viewers to bring up his name as it was already widely known that Alley Leader and Argon, Hyeonu and Yeongchan, were friends living in the same house. Still, the viewers restrained themselves, thinking their wish was too big.

After all, Alley Leader was both a professional gamer and streamer.

He wasn’t in a position to appear on other people’s streams. During the 10-minute waiting time, the viewers continued to argue. The questionably heated debate ended when the black screen disappeared and Yeongchan’s face appeared.

“Hello, I’m Argon. I don’t know if you are having a great day today, but I would like to thank everyone who came to my stream even on this busy day. I will get started,” Yeongchan recited the opening remarks he had prepared in advance.

-His mouth is warmed up today. It’s a great speech.

-I thought it was Alley Leader’s stream, not Argon’s... 

-To be honest, I thought he had greased his tongue. I wish he could talk like this normally.

The viewers marveled at the rare sight of Yeongchan’s neat transition into his stream. It was something that didn’t usually happen on his streams because his style was one where he would become more relaxed and flexible over the progression of the stream. This meant they would always begin badly.

“I think everyone will be surprised. There is a surprise guest. It is something that has never happened before.” Yeongchan made a realistic gesture like a presenter introducing a new product.

-Does he feel really good today?

-He is full of tension.

-Is it going to be the best today?

Seeing that the host was more confident and energetic than usual, the viewers cocked their heads with confusion. However, they let it go, saying this was a good thing.

“I consider my promise with you very seriously. Yet the person I invited today has enough value for me to break my promise. Please come out!” Yeongchan looked behind him and made a beckoning gesture.

Then a man dressed in a black-red outfit walked out. He was very handsome, and his thick eyebrows and high nose made a deep impression on those who saw him. This was Yeongchan’s guest—Hyeonu.

“Hello, I’m Alley Leader. It’s nice to meet everyone. Today, I am meeting you on the stream of my favorite friend, Argon, instead of my own stream.” Hyeonu gave a greeting that was several times neater than Yeongchan’s. There really was no streamer more eloquent than Hyeonu.

-Alley Leader?

-He really came out?

-Isn’t it Alley Leader’s streaming day today?

-What is this? Alley Leader is on Argon’s streaming!

The viewers couldn’t hide their shock. They were dozens of times more surprised than when Yeongchan spoke skillfully. After all, Alley Leader currently had the best stock price. Of course, Hyeonu was the best in every moment, but today’s Alley Leader was different from tomorrow’s Alley Leader. So the viewers were naturally surprised to see him appear in someone else’s stream.

-I heard that Alley Leader was here, so I came.

-I came to visit the sacred ground.

-Leader? You know that this doesn’t count for today’s stream, right?

-Shouldn’t you use your own account to stream?

The number of viewers watching Yeongchan’s stream increased sharply. Yeongchan usually got between 100,000 and 200,000 viewers when streaming, yet there were more than a million viewers watching today. There was only one reason for this—they swarmed in after hearing the news that Hyeonu had appeared on Yeongchan’s stream.

Yeongchan grinned when he saw the number of viewers and whispered quietly in Hyeonu’s ears, “Thank you. I will split it with you.”

Yeongchan was extremely thankful for Hyeonu. If it wasn’t for Hyeonu, Yeongchan wouldn’t have ever experienced a stream with this many viewers.

Hyeonu smiled and said, “What are you thanking me for, you jerk? Just think of it as the monthly rent. Focus on streaming today and show off your charms. Think of it like you’re on a blind date so that the viewers will remember you and keep coming back. Do you want to watch and learn from me today?”

Hyeonu’s gaze was directed at the viewers, but his mouth was firmly closed like he was using ventriloquism.

“I understand. I’ll work really hard today,” Yeongchan replied with firm determination.

Hearing that, Hyeonu showed a deeper smile. Then he spoke to the audience: “First, I will tell you why I appeared on Argon’s stream today. There will be a lot of content. Still, the most interesting content is this.”

Hyeonu stopped talking in the middle and pointed at Yeongchan who was beside him. Naturally, the viewers’ gaze shifted from Hyeonu to Yeongchan. Yeongchan moved his hand from top to bottom and made a cheerful sound, “Chwarurururur~!!”

That was the sound of a slot machine. The viewers understood what it meant and started chatting.

-Slot machine? Are you going to Buncheonru today?

-Are the two of you going to make a bet?

-It seems to be a competition over who gets the good prizes.

-Argon’s defeat is confirmed. He can’t beat the luck of God Alley Leader.

It wasn’t hard to guess, so the viewers naturally figured out and mentioned the content Hyeonu and Yeongchan had prepared.

Yeongchan followed up with: “That’s right. The content that Alley Leader and I have prepared is ‘Challenger, Lucky Draw King!’. It is as you said. The streaming content is to turn the slot machine with the 10 opportunities and see who gets the better prizes.”

This was a very smooth transition, almost as if he had planned to proceed like this. “Since we’ll be divided into a winner and loser, the winner will naturally be rewarded and the loser will be penalized,” Hyeonu neatly continued over from Yeongchan’s words. It was done with great timing. There wasn’t a single second of silence as the two people’s voices diligently entered the viewers’ ears.

“The penalty isn’t a big deal. The loser will express his sincere congratulations to the winner and then kneel down to acknowledge the defeat.”

The penalty set by the two men was nothing special—just kneeling and saying congratulations. However, the reaction of viewers was fierce since the two men were close friends and Arena’s currently strongest player might actually have to kneel down to someone.

-Good! Kneel down for around 5 minutes.

-I want to see Alley Leader kneeling!

-It is more interesting because they are friends.

-Get down on your knees, no matter who it is. It’ll be super fun regardless of who kneels down. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Hyeonu and Yeongchan smiled at the viewers’ enthusiastic response. The reaction that came out was exactly what the two of them wanted. No, it turned out better than that. They didn’t expect it to be such a hot response.

“Everyone, let’s go straight to Buncheonru.”

“We still have a lot of content prepared. We don’t have any more time to waste here.”

***

In Taeyang, the capital of the Yuxin Empire, there was a complex of buildings called the Buncheonru. On the Las Vegas-like 7th floor, there was a confrontation between two men who were betting with their pride.

“Today, I will show the sight of you kneeling to over 10 million viewers!” Yeongchan shouted boldly as he sat in front of the slot machine.

Hyeonu laughed at such a Yeongchan and said, “You kneel so often that you won’t get worn down by kneeling one more time today. Just kneel down once again.” 

The viewers enjoyed watching the two people, who had been friends for over a decade, bicker. Their arguing had the effect of making the audience cringe as their childishness was worse than that of kindergarten children. This wasn’t just something in Arena but also in reality. It was really hard to watch them attacking each other.

-Shall we get started?

-Aren’t you starting?

-Stop talking and play the slot machine.

-Leader Big Fan has gifted you with 8,282 gold coins.

“Oh, my, Leader Big Fan. Thank you for the 8,282 gold coins. I will get started quickly as you say.” Yeongchan, who had been arguing without seeing anything, came to his senses at the pour of gold coins before him.

Then he immediately attached his butt to the chair in front of the slot machine.

[The number of times a slot machine can be used is limited to 10 times per day.]

[10 gold will be consumed for using the slot machine once.]

[Current number of times remaining: 10/10]

“I’ll spin it quickly.” 

The moment he sat down, Yeongchan put 10 gold in the slot machine and pulled the silver bar hard. The slot machine made its distinctive cheerful sound. At the same time, five letters quickly moved on the screen.

Tick... tick... tick... tick!

After a while, the sound of the slot machine decreased in volume, and the speed of the letters on the screen slowed down. Before long, the alphabets on the screen were revealed.

[Slot machine results: GGG]

[You have won.]

[The rewards and skills will be paid according to the results.]

[Gold paid: 1,994 gold.]

[Current number of times remaining: 9/10]

“Uwah! It came out!” Yeongchan yelled upon seeing the result. It was a win from the beginning. This was a good start, and it greatly increased his chances of winning today’s bet.

‘No, I can’t lose,’ Hyeonu thought when he saw this. He turned to the slot machine while trying to hide his anxious mood.