Ranker’s Return

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

The slot machine had been spinning at a strong speed, and now it slowed noticeably. It soon stopped completely, and the alphabet letters appeared on the screen to announce the results.

[Slot machine results: aAG]

[You haven’t won.]

[Current number of times remaining: 9/10]

Naturally, Hyeonu didn’t win. It was remarkable that Yeongchan managed to get gold at the start, even if gold was the lowest reward.

“Aren’t there still nine chances? It is too early to be disappointed,” Hyeonu spoke with an obviously disappointed expression. Of course, he didn’t believe this at all.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Yes, the next loser.

-Will there be a video of Alley Leader kneeling today?!!!

-If Argon wins today, I will praise him as a god. God Argon!

-No, no. There are still nine attempts. Failures might burst out.

The viewers laughed at Hyeonu and predicted his grim future by saying he could never win. Honestly, it would be more fun for Hyeonu to kneel before Yeongchan than for Yeongchan to kneel in front of Hyeonu.

‘If I win once, the one with the better reward will win.’ Hyeonu calmly glanced at the list of rewards that could be obtained from the slot machine.

[SSS - Rare or higher rated skill.

WWW - Rare or higher rated weapon.

AAA - Rare or higher rated armor.

aaa - rare or higher rated accessory.

GGG – Between 500 and 10,000 gold.]

Gold was the lowest level of reward. Even if he got 10,000 gold, it wasn’t very good in comparison to the other rewards. The things Hyeonu lacked in Arena were items and skills, not gold.

“I don’t think you’ll win even if you try nine more times... Why don’t you just give up now?” Yeongchan turned to look at Hyeonu sitting next to him. There was a sneer on Yeongchan’s face that would make anyone who saw it feel bad. He was sending a strong provocation to Hyeonu by implying with his sneer, ‘Why don’t you admit defeat?’

“Give up? Who is giving up? I’m not that weak. Why don’t you just quit? It’ll be hard to surpass that prize no matter how many times you pull the lever. It’s hard-earned money... Don’t you think you should save 90 gold? You don’t have a lot of money, right?” Hyeonu retorted lightly.

He patted Yeongchan on the shoulder and returned what he had received. The effectiveness of Hyeonu’s counter could be confirmed through Yeongchan’s red face. In addition to his flushed complexion, Yeongchan’s hands trembled while he spoke: “What? What about money?”

Hyeonu’s attack was untrue yet also true, so he couldn’t refute it. For Yeongchan, 90 gold was nothing—a mere pittance. It was money that could be obtained from killing one or two monsters. Of course, it would be less if he shared it with the party members, but even so, 90 gold was a very small sum of money. The problem was that it was Hyeonu who brought it up.

‘He’s made a lot of money...’ Yeongchan thought.

The comparisons were different. If Yeongchan was an example of a self-made man, then it wasn’t an exaggeration to call him an emerging chaebol. The reality was that Yeongchan had very little money compared to Hyeonu who had excessive earnings. Their total earnings had totally different denominations. Eventually, Yeongchan couldn’t resist his boiling anger and screamed, “You should get ready to kneel. I’ll never let you off the hook. You will have to go on your knees while holding a placard that says, ‘I’m a loser’!”

-Yes, that was a bit harsh.

-He went too far, too far.

-How can he attack one’s pride?

-Let’s bring Alley Leader to his knees today, Argon.

The viewers started chatting angrily along with Yeongchan. Public opinion in the chat window flowed sharply toward Hyeonu receiving the penalty.

“If you have time to say that, why don’t you pull the slot machine? Are you going to just talk here all day? Do you have a lot of time?” Hyeonu didn’t care about the chat window at all and just kept saying what he wanted to say. He messed with Yeongchan’s pride more than was necessary.

“No, I’m going to do it right now in order to see your kneeling figure a bit faster.” Yeongchan seemed to have cooled down into a cold rage, not the simmering rage, as he spoke in a composed tone, unlike before.

Yeongchan and Hyeonu turned their heads toward the slot machines at the same time. Amidst the cold vibes, only their backs were visible to the viewers. However, there were subtle smiles on the faces of the two men looking at the slot machines. Their expressions were incredibly serene considering the war of words they just had.

‘I’m glad the most controversial script was chosen.’ Hyeonu reflected on the conversation that had taken place just a little while ago. He had been deciding on a play with Yeongchan. In fact, no one noticed that this was a staged situation because their acting was full of sincerity.

‘This is the chemistry between old friends.’

The war of words between Hyeonu and Yeongchan was nothing more than the two of them acting out the scenario they’d planned in advance. They’d calculated the number of possibilities that could occur based on the slot machine results, set up a rough situation, and prepared a natural skit accordingly. Of course, this was just the beginning. No matter how good a script was, its full potential wouldn’t be utilised if there was a problem with the acting ability of the actors.

However, Hyeonu and Yeongchan showed great acting skills that no Hollywood actor would be ashamed of. This was the result of the friendship they’d accumulated over 10 years.

‘There is nothing that can beat our sincerity.’

Hyeonu shook his head slightly and pulled the slot machine lever roughly again. The noise was so loud that it was like the slot machine was breaking. The slot machine’s on-screen alphabet moved at a rapid pace. a, W, S, A, G—the five alphabet letters appeared and hid dozens of times.

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

Before long, the sound of the slot machine died down, and the speed at which the letters flashed decreased simultaneously.

[Slot machine results: aWG]

[You haven’t won.]

[Current number of times remaining: 8/10]

‘It’s a failure again.’

Hyeonu sighed when he saw the failed result on the slot machine. He wasn’t acting this time; it was a sincere sigh. Yeongchan had already succeeded with one bet on the slot machine, so Hyeonu had to succeed at least once. Otherwise, he might really have to kneel in front of more than 10 million viewers. That wasn’t all. There were dozens of times more people who would see the video after the stream was over.

Hyeonu couldn’t hide his miserable feelings as he kept staring at the slot machine. Just then, a cry rang out from the seat next to Hyeonu’s. It was the cry of a joyous beast.

“It came out again!!!” The owner of the voice was Yeongchan. He’d won the fight against the slot machine for the second time in a row.

[Slot machine results: GGG]

[You have won.]

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

[Gold paid: 922 gold.]

[Current number of times remaining: 8/10]

He only won gold both times, but that already tilted the winning side by a lot. Hyeonu had to win at least twice in his eight remaining chances, but this was close to impossible. First of all, the odds were very low. In addition, Hyeonu’s luck wasn’t that good.

-The chances of winning have been reduced. Shouldn’t he just go on his knees right now?

-Kneel down coolly before he starts looking ugly.

-Any more of this is a waste of time. Can we proceed with other content?

-A man’s knees are infinitely light at a certain point. That moment seems to be now for Alley Leader.

The viewers cheered at Yeongchan’s back to back wins. The expectation of eventually watching Hyeonu’s moment of humiliation settled into their hearts. At first, that desire was just a small seed, but now a stem had sprouted.

“Everyone? Why do you keep urging me to give up? It isn’t over yet. I still have eight chances remaining. Eight times is enough for a reversal.” Hyeonu had a strange expression as he expressed his passion to the viewers. These words weren’t just for the viewers; Hyeonu was speaking to himself as well. “I am Alley Leader, a man who doesn’t know how to give up. This body doesn’t know defeat. I am not going to kneel in front of him today.”

Hyeonu turned back to the slot machine with a grim expression on his face. Then he carefully pulled the lever of the slot machine.

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

[Slot machine results: GGG]

[You have won.]

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

[Gold paid: 2,416 gold.]

[Current number of times remaining: 7/10]

Unfortunately, the result was that he won gold just as Yeongchan had done. The winning amount was high, but this still only counted as one win.

‘If this happens, I’ll have an advantage if gold comes out again in a later round.’

There was a small hope in Hyeonu’s heart as he pulled the lever again.

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

[Slot machine results: SGW]

[You haven’t won.]

[Current number of times remaining: 6/10]

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

[Slot machine results: SGW]

[You haven’t won.]

[Current number of times remaining: 3/10]

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

[Slot machine results: SGW]

[You haven’t won.]

[Current number of times remaining: 1/10]

After that, Hyeonu pulled six more times but didn’t succeed even once. His outlook was very grim now. Defeat was right before Hyeonu’s eyes.

‘It can’t be. I can’t believe I’m going to kneel down to that guy.’

Hyeonu felt this was impossible. He simply couldn’t kneel before Yeongchan. It was a matter of pride.

‘The good thing is that the rest of his turns failed.’ Hyeonu smiled bitterly. One good thing was that Yeongchan had only won twice. Having found no success after that, he ultimately threw away his remaining eight chances.

‘I have to bet everything on the last one.’ Hyeonu looked cautious as he grabbed the lever of the slot machine.

Before pulling the lever, he opened his mouth and stated, “Even without looking at the chat window, I know that you are certain of my defeat right now. Everyone must be mocking and laughing at me.”

It was as Hyeonu said. The chat window was already filled with messages celebrating Hyeonu’s defeat and hoping to see him humiliated.

-You know it well.

-So get down on your knees first.

-This man talks for too long.

-I hear that a talkative person says less words with substance. Since when did our Alley Leader talk so much?

-Let’s do it like a real man.

“Still, I believe that I will win. In a moment, everyone will look at me differently. I’m sure of it.”

After saying this, Hyeonu pulled the lever. A loud sound rang out from the slot machine.