Ranker’s Return

[Fragments of a False World]

[A statue carved with a magic circle created by Suped, a great magician of the Yusma Empire.

Due to the characteristics of the statue material, the effect of the magic circle is maximized.

Rating: Unique

Effect: ‘Artificial Demon World’ is available. (Cooldown time: 360 hours) 

Artificial Demon World: Implement the environment of the demon world in the surrounding 100 meters. It is maintained for one hour.]

‘Look at this?’

After checking the information of the statue, Hyeonu felt that the 300,000 gold was worth it. It was something that had to be done even if it wasn’t 300,000 gold but 3 million.

‘I can use it without charging.’

Once used, he had to wait half a month before it could be used again. However, this wasn’t a big problem. Hyeonu needed only one chance. It was for a more perfect battle.

‘Seeing this lucky charm...’

Hyeonu stared at the statue and turned away. He had to settle this matter properly and move on. This would make Edchan more efficient.

“Edchan, thank you. You made something precious like this... I don’t know what to say... Once this is over, I’ll prepare a party for you. There will be alcohol from the West Continent, East Continent, and the demon world. I’ll get all the alcohol that can be obtained,” Hyeonu said.

Edchan’s eyes widened after hearing those words. There was going to be a party...

It felt like the whole stressful situation was reversed in an instant. Still, there was no time to think about such a thing. Edchan couldn’t come to his senses at the sound of a party with good alcohol.

“Good, I’ll finish the work right away and wait for you. It won’t take too long.” Edchan talked hastily like a man being chased and then turned away from Hyeonu. He picked up the hammer and chisel and started carving again. Every time Edchan hammered, a large number of stones fell down.

Hyeonu watched this briefly before turning away and leaving. There was something he didn’t manage to ask, but it didn’t matter.

‘I didn’t ask how long was left...’

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

There was the bait of the party, so anyone could tell that Edchan wouldn’t take long. If the reward was clear, it was natural for there to be a desire to win.

‘Now I have to go and sprinkle the bait elsewhere.’

Hyeonu left to see those who were blinded by compensation.

***

Some people were blinded by the rewards, but others simply wanted to help Hyeonu. The most representative of the latter were Gang Junggu and Kim Seokjung. The moment they heard about the emperor’s plans from Hyeonu, they burst out laughing.

“We get to build up our imperial contributions cheaply. I didn’t expect such an interesting NPC...”

“That’s right. I really love his hot personality. I think it is worth meeting him sometimes even without a quest?” Hyeonu looked at the two of them with strange eyes.

He didn’t understand. ‘How is the emperor like that...?’

“The more people there are this time, the better?” Hyeonu changed the topic. He didn’t want to talk about the emperor any longer.

“Of course. It should be so. You can’t do it alone this time.” Gang Junggu thought that they should attract everyone this time. The results wouldn’t change anyway even if they intervened.

‘The biggest rewards will be on this side.’

After all, only a handful of large guilds or professional teams were capable of dealing with the high ranking demons and demonic creatures. Without them, the frontlines could never be maintained.

“Don’t be stingy. Use people appropriately. Don’t be excessively greedy. Do you know why most venture companies’ bosses, who have the most outstanding capabilities, employ less skilled people as employees? It is because it’s more efficient to distribute a bit of the work than to handle everything alone,” Kim Seokjung spoke in an unusually serious tone.

He didn’t even use the strange dialects that he usually spoke with. Instead, he said word by word in a low and steady voice.

“I understand, Hyung-nim. So this time, just announce it on the stream like before,” Hyeonu said. Kim Seokjung’s advice made Hyeonu realized his greed had grown too much compared to the past.

‘I thought I wouldn’t change...’ Hyeonu always thought he was consistent, but it was an illusion.

He had already changed. Hyeonu had always been busy chasing others, but he had known how to give up. At the very least, he gained the information about the main scenario and manipulated his opponents to his liking. Then as soon as he got to the top, he forgot there was such a thing.

‘I was too conceited.’

Hyeonu was smiling bitterly when Gang Junggu tapped him on the shoulder. Gang Junggu said, “It’s okay. Many people do this at your age. Rather, you were too cool a few months ago. Now, you look a bit more like your age. It’s better.” 

He didn’t think the current Hyeonu was bad. As he said, he was rather pleased that he could see Hyeonu act his age. This was not a bad thing at all; it was a natural thing.

“Junggu is right. You look better now.” Kim Seokjung smiled. The current Hyeonu was much better.

“I’ll announce it in the stream. But it would be nice to tell some places the news first. We’ve always taken care of them, so shouldn’t we do it again?” Gang Junggu presented options for the course of action Hyeonu should take.

A sure alliance was needed so they could get bigger benefits. For main scenarios, especially large-scale battles like this one, it was better for more people to have a consensus. This was because the best results could be obtained by distributing people effectively without any potential missteps.

“Then we’ll have the New York Warriors, Red Bull America, and Kowloon?” Hyeonu asked.

“Yes. They are direct acquaintances anyway. It is hard to say that we have a good relationship with the rest.” Gang Junggu nodded.

There were only a few at the center of the main scenario. It was a type of privilege, so there was no need to tell anyone else.

“It would be good to see their faces after so long.” Kim Seokjung thought of some of their faces and laughed. Among them, some people were uncomfortable with him. Still, even that was enjoyable. After all, they were the uncomfortable ones, not Kim Seokjung.

Just then, Kim Seokjung turned to Hyeonu and said, “Dongsaeng, contact New York. I will go to Kowloon, and Junggu will contact Red Bull.” 

‘New York Warriors... It is the New York Warriors.’ Every time Hyeonu thought of the New York Warriors, Reina’s face appeared in his mind. This was natural since she was the symbol of the New York Warriors. It was clear that anyone would think of Reina when they heard the name ‘New York Warriors’.

‘How long has it been?’

Thinking about it, it had been a long time since he last met her. They had met in order to use the magic circle. A lot of time had passed since then.

‘Well, I’ll see her again at Arena Week.’

He would meet Reina and Mascherano again in a few weeks. Arena Week—he would only see them then. This was what Hyeonu thought. He didn’t think that Kim Seokjung would invite Reina and Mascherano to the Christmas party.

***

Reina wasn’t in the cube as usual. She was packing her luggage in her room, tucking clothes and various items into a huge suitcase.

‘What else should I prepare?’

Reina was a bit excited about packing again for the first time in a long time. Regardless of the competition, it was always fun to visit foreign countries.

‘The vacation on the island was good.’

The holiday that Kim Seokjung invited her to previously had been great. With warm weather, a cool beach, and a fun party, that trip remained a pleasant memory.

‘Will it be the same this time?’

Seoul was the place where she was invited to this time. It was one of the world’s largest cities. Although Seoul wouldn’t have the same scenery as the island, it should have its own charms. Just then, Reina’s smartphone rang. Without checking the name on the LCD screen, she brought it straight to her ear and said, “Hello?” 

Then a familiar voice entered her ears. It was a man with a slightly high-pitched voice—Mascherano.

-It’s me. Mascherano.

The moment Reina knew that the caller was Mascherano, her voice changed and returned to her usual cold tone.

“Why did you call?”

-Aren’t you too cold? I just called out of curiosity. I am going to fly to South Korea tomorrow. I was wondering if you were ready.

“It is a groundless worry. Since when have you ever seen me forget to prepare for such a thing? You are more of a problem than me.”

-Me? This Mascherano? I packed as soon as I got the call. My preparations were finished a long time ago, Mascherano countered, raising his voice like he was dumbfounded.

Reina pulled her smartphone away from her ear due to that.

“I know. I’m hanging up. I’m still preparing.”

She said what she wanted to say and hung up.

‘What a waste of time...’

Reina started to pack again. She moved through her entire room and filled the suitcase. Just then, Reina’s smartphone rang again. She couldn’t hide her nervous expression as she answered the phone.

“Why? What is it now? You still have something to say? I’m busy, so call me later,” Reina retorted quickly and hung up. No, she would have hung up if it wasn’t for the voice coming from the smartphone.

-Are you busy? Then I will contact you again later. Pardon me, Reina. 

Unlike Mascherano’s, this voice was deep and heavy.

‘Hyeonu?’

The owner of this voice was obviously Hyeonu. She moved her smartphone toward her face to confirm it.

“No, you don’t have to hang up. I thought it was Mascherano. Why did you call?” Reina spoke softly. It was a drastic change. Even so, neither Hyeonu nor Reina cared about that.

-I have something to tell you.

“Yes, speak.”

-The main scenario seems like it will start sooner or later. This time, it is a large-scale war content in the demon world.

Reina’s expression changed. It became very serious. She opened a notebook on one side of the room and picked up a pen. Then she immediately wrote down Hyeonu’s words. Reina didn’t write everything down. She just noted what she thought was most important.

“There will be a war in the demon world? Who is waging the war? Is it a war between demons?” Reina naturally had some questions as she listened to Hyeonu’s words.

-No, the emperor will cause the war. According to his intentions, we will participate in a war. It will be announced on the stream in the near future.

‘Is he telling me first?’ Reina felt grateful when she heard Hyeonu’s words.

She expressed it straight away, “Thank you as always. I’ll see you soon.”