Ranker’s Return

The emperor left. His hands were behind his back as he leisurely walked toward Etono’s square to use the magic circle. 

‘Is he gone?’ Once Hyeonu confirmed that the emperor had disappeared, he sat down on the stairs. ‘He is a madman, truly.’

Rather than taking the risk of seeing the emperor’s face again, Hyeonu thought it was easier to go hunt somewhere. Just then, a message appeared in front of Hyeonu to announce the creation of the quest.

[A quest has been created.]

[Demon World Invasion Force Recruitment]

[Recruit players to participate in the demon world war that the emperor will start. Using the emperor’s name will make recruitment easier.

Some of the achievements of the players you recruit will be yours!

Rating: MS

Conditions: Players recruited 0/???

Rewards: Experience and imperial contribution (the higher the number of players recruited, the higher the level of rewards you will receive in the future.]

Many emotions flashed past Hyeonu’s face when he saw the quest window. There were numerous changes, but all that remained at the end was joy.

‘Pyramid!’

The explanation of the quest window was simple. It meant that some of the players’ achievements belonged to Hyeonu. In other words, Hyeonu could gain contributions from tens, even hundreds, of thousands of players even if he stood still and sucked his fingers. In that case, it would be impossible for anyone to get a better reward than Hyeonu, no matter what they did.

‘It will be bursting with honey out here,’ Hyeonu cheered silently.

He was very happy. The thought of getting huge rewards even if he didn’t move around… made him feel full without even eating.

‘I’m going to have to make some calls here and there.’

To make the pyramid, he needed workers to carry the bricks. It went without saying that voluntary workers were more efficient.

‘Now, where should I start?’

Hyeonu started to think about it happily.

***

‘I have to go now.’

It was almost time for Hyeonu’s stream. His bedtime might be ruined if he started later.

Hyeonu said to the Crescent Moon players, who were continuing the intense sparring, “Then practice well. I’ll come back after streaming.”

Then he turned to Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, who were the players’ sparring opponents: “Hyung-nim, they are just getting used to it. Please do a little more. I will definitely repay this kindness.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about this place and go ahead. You have to stream in order to go to sleep.” Gang Junggu quickly waved to Hyeonu as if telling him to go away.

“I understand, Hyung-nim. Then I’m going now.” Hyeonu left the area where the Crescent Moon players were and returned to the lobby of the arena.

He went straight into A-World and started streaming.

‘Today, I will show the arena for the first time in ages...’

Hyeonu planned to show arena content in today’s stream. Since reaching first in the arena rankings, Hyeonu hadn’t publicly shown any ranking battles. He just occasionally played a few games alone. Hyeonu had already completed the new placement matches for the new season, and the results hadn’t changed. It was still an overwhelming victory. Last season’s record and the results of the placement matches meant he started the new season at 1st in the rankings.

‘They want me to show it, so I should show it.’

The viewers also wanted to watch Hyeonu stream the arena because he hadn’t shown it for so long.

[The arena’s celestial world—what if Alley Leader were there?]

Hyeonu attracted viewers with a title he felt was moderately fine. Alley Leader and the arena—the combination of the two was like a drug. It gave a sense of withdrawal to the viewers who had forgotten about it.

They entered Hyeonu’s stream as soon as they saw the title Hyeonu had written.

-Is it a walk through the arena today?

-Is this Alley Leader’s streaming of the celestial world?

-It has been a while since I’ve seen the arena.

-I’m looking forward to it. Whose black history will be born today?

The viewers showed great interest in Hyeonu streaming the arena for the first time in a long while. ‘There are one million people already?’

“Yes, welcome. I am the arena streamer, Alley Leader. Welcome to my stream,” Hyeonu greeted the audience that had increased in number in a flash.

-What is your ranking now?

-Did you play the placement match?

-Will you also aim to be ranked 1st this season?

The viewers continued to ask Hyeonu all types of questions. The questions were generally similar. They wondered about Hyeonu’s current ranking and the result of the placement match.

“I won all 10 placement matches. My placement ranking is 1st. It should be due to the influence of last season’s ranking. Of course, I’ve maintained it ever since.” Hyeonu told them the truth. There was nothing to hide, so he answered the questions truthfully.

-Placement victory?

-1st in the rankings?

-What does this mean? 1st ranked after the placement matches?

-How the hell did he win the placement result?

The viewers expressed their feelings in the chat window without concealing their astonishment. It was shocking. Hyeonu got the 1st ranking simply through the placement matches. Of course, even without Hyeonu, someone else would’ve started at 1st in the rankings.

However, Hyeonu had always maintained this position. He had gotten lucky with the result of the placement matches, which allowed him to get a high ranking easily. Still, he was definitely skilled enough to maintain his position.

“Isn’t this the result that everyone expected? Who would’ve gotten 1st place if it wasn’t me? I am Alley Leader who won last season after all,” Hyeonu spoke like it was natural.

-Ah, I have nothing to say.

-It's true, so I can’t argue with it.

-Is there anything to instigate or fabricate?

-He was undefeated last season and still is in this season.

The viewers couldn’t refute Hyeonu’s shameless attitude. Rather, it was only confirmed that he had never lost in the arena even until now.

“I haven’t streamed the arena for so long that I decided to bring it out today. I will take a walk through the celestial world.”

Seeing the audience chat, Hyeonu chuckled and soon started the stream content. He had no intention of drawing the stream out today. Hyeonu was just thinking of showing a few arena ranking battles before calling Tang-E to chat. Then he would end the stream immediately and start work again.

-I should extract some videos.

-I hope to see some ugly faces.

-Recently, the grand masters haven’t been streaming.

-If they know that Alley Leader is playing the ranking battles, they might come to snipe immediately.

The viewers were increasingly looking forward to today’s stream. They were thirsty for it. In recent times, top arena rankers were often not turning on their streams while playing ranking matches. In particular, professional gamers who went to Arena Week were reluctant to do so because there was a risk of being analyzed. Yet Hyeonu came out with arena content under such circumstances, so it was natural for the audience to welcome it. Nevertheless, Hyeonu didn’t actually know this and just wanted today’s stream to end smoothly. If he were to be greedy, he hoped it would end as soon as possible.

‘As long as it goes according to plan...’

Hyeonu desperately hoped that everything would go as he intended.

***

[The ranking battle has started.]

Hyeonu glanced at the message in front of him and fixed his gaze to the front. It was because the matched opponent had appeared in front of Hyeonu.

‘Who is it?’

At first glance, the opponent was carrying a fairly long weapon.

‘It isn’t a really long sword. Is it a spear?’

The only weapons with such long forms were long swords or spears. Moments later, the opponent was fully revealed, and it wasn’t just Hyeonu who was surprised but also the audience. It was too intense from the very beginning.

-It is good from the start.

-He is facing the 4th ranked person at the start.

-Start the 1st ranked position battle!

The viewers warmly welcomed the man with the spear. They expected a high-quality battle between the man and Hyeonu.

“Hello, Alley Leader. I heard the news that you're doing the ranking battle and came quickly.” The man with the spear on his back approached Hyeonu and asked for a handshake. His name was Teika. He was the most famous PvP player before Hyeonu.

“Aren’t you seeing me too often, Teika? We met a few days ago, and now we’re meeting again. Excessive sniping is too much,” Hyeonu said. The first meeting between Teika and Hyeonu had been on that day when Hyeonu challenged the 1st place ranking. Back then, Hyeonu beat Teika, reached 2nd in the rankings, and was able to challenge Rain who was 1st in the rankings.

‘Was it the day before?’ 

Their most recent encounter was only a short time ago. They met in the rankings just a few days before. The result was naturally Hyeonu’s victory. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be 1st in the rankings now.

“Isn’t this good? I like it, so I want to fight you once every day,” Teika replied. After all, he wouldn't receive a penalty for losing to Hyeonu, so his ranking wouldn’t drop. Of course, it was possible for his ranking to fall immediately after his defeat. However, the passing of time meant that everyone would meet Hyeonu and fail, so Teika would gain his original position again.

“Then let’s just fight. I will win today. I hope the day will come when you give up on me, Teika.” Hyeonu thought he was unlucky from the start and pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword. He was going to end this battle quickly. He didn’t want the stream to be long.

“I understand. I will try to do it here.” Teika also pulled out his spear and pointed it at Hyeonu, aiming accurately at his chest. Then Teika kicked off against the ground and rushed forward. Simultaneously, he quickly stabbed forth with the spear. It seemed like one stab, but he actually stabbed six times. The six stems of blood-colored pure energy shot at Hyeonu like they would pierce him.

Hyeonu waved the Mysterious Sky Sword lightly and reflected the pure energy. It was a technique he had seen a few days ago, so it was simply too easy for him to respond. This time, Hyeonu took action. He moved quickly and lightly like a ghost, swinging the Mysterious Sky Sword the moment he arrived in front of Teika. The black-red pure energy swallowed Teika in waves. No, they seemed to do so.

At this moment, a bloody whirlwind broke through the giant black-red pure energy. The two pure energies collided, causing strong vibrations. The Mysterious Sky Sword flew toward Teika in a sharp manner. Hyeonu hadn’t poured out all his power into this attack, which focused on timing rather than strength.

This time, Teika pulled his spear back to block Hyeonu’s attack. Hyeonu’s strikes continued, and there was no way to stop them. If the first strike was blocked, he would deal another strike. If that didn’t work, a third strike was prepared.

The battle quickly flowed toward Hyeonu’s advantage. Teika lost his pace in this series of stormy attacks. It was a fatal mistake. Hyeonu passed by Teika’s side. Shortly thereafter, Teika raised his hand and said, “I’ll surrender.”