Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu arrived near Earl Kalea’s city and calmly checked his attire. In order to not be recognized later, he covered his face with a mask.

‘As long as it isn’t a noble...’

The only monsters who were a threat to Hyeonu were the high-ranking nobles. There was no significant problem if he just hid his identity from them.

‘I think it’s too much to fight in the city.’

Hyeonu checked his outfit and started to make plans in earnest.

‘How should I kill Earl Kalea? If it were John Blake or Lebron...’

They would’ve just stormed in and killed Earl Kalea. It was possible for them. They were that strong. However, it was impossible for Hyeonu to do that, although it might be possible for him to fight for a long time. The many demons and demonic creatures present would give Hyeonu endless magic power and health, so that wasn’t the problem.

‘The nobles might fly from somewhere.’

The problem was that there might be backup forces present in the city. Risk factors clearly existed.

‘High risk, high returns...’

It was a gamble beyond the normal categories.

‘I will get a proper grip on the city’s atmosphere first. Then I must track Earl Kalea’s footsteps.’

Hyeonu wasn’t in a hurry. It wasn’t a relaxed situation, but he shouldn’t rush. He knew this very well. Hyeonu walked toward the gate of Kalea’s city while emitting a dangerous aura. It was as if he would wield his weapon right away if anyone were to touch him. As a result, the guards protecting the city gate failed to do their duty properly. They had to restrain Hyeonu, but they hesitated and didn’t take any action.

Hyeonu passed by such demon guards. After around three or four steps...

Hyeonu stopped suddenly, turned to look at the demon guards, and asked, “It isn’t a problem if I go in, right?”

“Yes, yes. I don’t think there is any problem.”

“You don’t think?” A stronger force was released from Hyeonu’s body.

“It absolutely isn’t a problem.” The demon guard shook his head vigorously.

Hyeonu just asked once, but it was a life or death question for the demon guard.

“Then I’ll believe you.” Hyeonu turned around again and headed inside the city with his dark red coat fluttering behind him.

***

‘I can’t see the nobles at all?’

In Hyeonu’s eyes, there were no demons who appeared to be nobles. He didn’t even feel anything. It just seemed like there were only ordinary demons here.

‘The demons seem to be of too low a level.’

That wasn’t all. Strangely, most of the demons were weak. To be exact, the number of strong demons was very small.

‘There are much fewer here than in other cities...’

He had a strange feeling—a very uncomfortable one. Hyeonu grabbed one of the demons who were walking on the road and asked for the whereabouts of Earl Kalea. 

“Where is Earl Kalea? I just went to the castle, and they said he isn’t there.”

Due to the pressure Hyeonu gave off, the demon trembled and couldn’t answer.

“Don’t you know?” Hyeonu adjusted his pressure a bit so the demon could talk.

“I... I know.” The demon’s teeth were chattering, and it seemed hard for him to speak. As dark red light flowed from Hyeonu’s mask, Hyeonu shot the demon a look that implied he should talk quickly.

“Earl Kalea is heading to Penn right now. It is because there is a meeting with the owners of the surrounding cities about how to deal with the humans occupying Etono.” The demon revealed everything he had to say although he was trembling.

‘A meeting held in Penn?’ Hyeonu paused momentarily at the demon’s unexpected words. It was information he never expected to receive. A meeting...

‘Is that side preparing for war as well?’

To be exact, it was more like a subjugation than a war.

‘Isn’t this a good thing?’

Earl Kalea’s presence in Penn meant that at least three or four nobles were gathered.

‘If Viscount Garcia is on my side...’

Then it was worth fighting these three or four nobles. Viscount Garcia could take on one noble while Hyeonu dealt with two or three.

“These words you just said... They aren’t a lie?” An explosive pressure burst from Hyeonu’s body.

Dark red energy flowed from behind Hyeonu’s back and started to burn like flames.

“No, it’s true. It is already famous. It’s a month-old story. You can grab anyone on the road, and they will all say this.” The demon that poured out these words looked so tired that his dark skin seemed pale.

“I understand. I hope to not see you next time.” Hyeonu left with these words.

He entered an alley that wasn’t in the eyes of any demons and took out the Penn Return Stone from his inventory.

“Return.”

[The Penn Return Stone has been used.]

[Moving to Penn.]

[Current number of uses remaining: 4/6]

[Remaining time to charge it once is 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 48 seconds.]

***

‘I wasted my time going there for nothing. I should’ve just collected information in Penn,’ Hyeonu lamented inwardly as he appeared in Penn.

It felt like he had wasted his time for nothing. Still, he managed to gain something because of it, so he shouldn’t think so. Hyeonu kicked off strongly from the ground and flew high into the sky. He soon gently landed on the roof of a building in front of him and then broke into a run along the roof. Once there was nowhere to run, he flew back into the air and continued running on another roof. He found running on the roofs of the buildings to be very pleasant compared to running in the streets that were infested with demons and demonic creatures.

Moreover, it was much faster. Hyeonu soon arrived at the castle that was Viscount Garcia’s residence. He had no intention of passing through the main gate again, so he climbed the walls like he was running on a flat surface. In an instant, Hyeonu crossed the palace walls and moved according to his memory.

‘Was this where Garcia was?’

A building that he had been to three or four times entered his vision. There was now a clear reduction to Hyeonu’s speed. Simultaneously, his presence disappeared.

‘I’m sure they are here...’

Hyeonu’s senses detected a lot of magic power. There was one that was familiar, and some that were not. The thing that was certain was that he felt four different magic powers.

‘Four.’

It was enough. Viscount Garcia was on the same side as Hyeonu, so he just had to kill three.

‘If I kill one person with a surprise attack, and Garcia handles another one...’

Eventually, Hyeonu would be able to take the lead in a one-on-one fight. While using Mysterious Sky Steps, Hyeonu moved carefully and entered the building that was filled with cold energy.

‘Did he deliberately keep the demons out in the city?’

Thinking about it again, he realized he felt an exact number of four magical presences inside the building. This meant that only the four nobles were here. He couldn’t see or sense those who served them or managed the building.

‘I’ll know once I enter.’

Hyeonu moved to the place where he felt the strongest magic power. As he got closer, the voices grew louder.

“I’ll definitely get an answer today, Garcia. It doesn’t matter how much you are favored by the new demon king.”

“Wasn’t the appointment for tomorrow?”

“It was originally like that. However, there is a situation. Damanos told me to get an answer right away.”

Hyeonu listened to the voices coming through the door and wondered inwardly, ‘Damanos? Is it Earl Kalea who was talking just now?’ 

Since there was a reference to Damanos’ order, it was highly likely that Earl Kalea was the one who just spoke. After all, Earl Kalea served demon king Damanos. Hyeonu placed his right eye at the very tiny gap in the door and saw that the room had a stark appearance.

One demon was sitting with no expression on his face, while Garcia had a flustered expression. Another demon was staring at Garcia with a slightly flushed face, and there was one more demon who was simply watching Garcia. There were four in total.

‘I’ll have to kill one and see.'

It didn’t matter if it wasn’t Earl Kalea. It was fine as long as he didn’t kill Viscount Garcia. Hyeonu pulled the Mysterious Sky Sword out of his inventory. Then he quietly pulled the Mysterious Sky Sword from the sheath.

‘I will end it in one blow.’

Hyeonu used all types of buff skills. Today’s hunt was the last of its kind. He used every one of his skills—the giant buffs, the skills attached to his items, and his other skills.

“Tang-E. Give me the buffs.”

There were also Tang-E’s buffs.

“Understood, Master dude. Tang-E will give the buffs.”

Hyeonu received Tang-E’s buffs and smiled with satisfaction. It was a short preparation time, but he wasn’t afraid of anything when he was all buffed up like this.

‘Oh, I almost forgot one.’

Hyeonu was holding the handle like he would swing the Mysterious Sky Sword immediately, only to pause. There was still something left.

‘I almost forgot the magic spirit.’

It was the magic spirit. Like Tang-E, the magic spirit gave a great buff to Hyeonu just by being present.

“Eh? The black guy.” Tang-E waved his paw in greeting as he saw the magic spirit he hadn’t seen in a long time.

It felt awkward at first, but now it was a welcome face. Hyeonu blocked Tang-E’s mouth that seemed like it would continue to talk. Then he whispered very quietly, “Shh, Tang-E. Be quiet for a bit. Do you want to fight right now?” 

Tang-E nodded several times. “I’m sorry, Master dude. I almost got in the way. I apologize.”

Hyeonu received Tang-E’s apology and patted his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll play with you later, so hang out with this guy for a while.”

After making a promise with Tang-E, Hyeonu turned back to the door again. ‘Are they still talking?’

Garcia and the other demons’ arguments weren’t over yet, although the volume of their voices was much lower than before. Hyeonu was filled with joy at the sight. His attack was likely to work more effectively when they were in such a state.

‘I had better go with Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength.’

If other skills were used, Garcia—who was standing in front of him—was also likely to be swept away. Honestly, Garcia’s death wouldn’t cause a big problem for Hyeonu. However, pointlessly killing an NPC he had a good relationship with would make for a very awkward situation.

Hyeonu lifted the Mysterious Sky Sword and pointed it at a demon. The demon had no idea that Hyeonu was standing outside. As dark red magic power gathered at the end of the Mysterious Sky Sword in the shape of a small bead, there was a very small bursting sound. It was a sound that could never be heard unless one was concentrating and listening out for it.

However, the ears of Earl Kalea, a high-ranking noble, heard it instinctually. Earl Kalea’s head turned toward the door where Hyeonu was standing and a dark red dot entered Earl Kalea’s eyes. The dark red dot grew at a very rapid pace. In an instant, it grew from the size of a bean to an egg. Then...

Earl Kalea’s head disappeared without a trace. It was as if it hadn’t been there at all from the very beginning.