Ranker’s Return

[The demon world viscount, ‘Ipun’ has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

[Demon noble killed 2/???]

[Kill boss monsters above level 400 2/33.]

Hyeonu hid in Penn and watched the messages that rose before him.

‘I was lucky.’

It didn’t work out as planned, but the result was similar in the end. He killed Earl Kalea at once and even killed the other one, Earl Ipun, as well. Originally, Hyeonu expected Viscount Garcia to fight the other nobleman, but surprisingly, the two stood still and chatted. Hyeonu confirmed the buffs had disappeared and immediately left.

‘It is a pity about the ring, but...’

He didn’t know about Earl Ipun, but Earl Kalea should have had a ring to prove that he was the master of a city. However, Hyeonu had no lingering attachment to such things.

‘It is because my identity wasn’t revealed...’

Hyeonu had heard the entire conversation between Viscount Garcia and Viscount Balaya when he was fighting Earl Ipun. Then he decided on his next course of action on the spot according to the content. All of Hyeonu’s buffs had run out, and he didn’t know when other demons would come. Nevertheless, he had no need to fight.

‘It is best not to overdo it.’

Hyeonu smiled at the satisfactory hunting result. Today’s hunt was very successful.

***

Hyeonu was talking to someone on the phone while looking at the landscape outside through the window.

“Are you all ready?”

-Yes, it is like Hyung said. The stats are exactly the same as they were in the Winter League.

“Well done. You can show your skills, but you have to hide your true power.” Hyeonu nodded. Today’s stream was scheduled to show the achievements of Crescent Moon’s special training.

-I honestly think it is better not to show… Lee Hoon, who was on the phone with Hyeonu, was reluctant to expose Crescent Moon’s power in the stream. They weren’t going to show everything, but he was dissatisfied with exposing even a little bit through the broadcast.

“Think carefully. You can’t hide it anyway. There is a lot that has already been revealed. It has been a while since the Winter League game data was released, and both Sunny’s stream and yours have shown enough that it can be said almost everything has been revealed.”

Lee Hoon couldn’t say anything in response to Hyeonu’s words because they were true. Of course, Hyeonu was the team’s biggest power. He was just so overwhelming that it didn’t matter if his power was exposed. Regardless of what anyone said, Sunny’s and Lee Hoon’s roles were the most important after Hyeonu’s. However, both Sunny and Lee Hoon were streamers, so this meant that some of their skills or stats would eventually be leaked.

“So I would rather you show it to some degree. You should pay more attention to our side. In fact, a small exposure of our power won’t cause problems. Let’s say other teams analyze our power and target things. Will the seven teams come up with the same strategy? No, they will come up with different strategies. If the sum doesn’t fit together... it doesn’t mean much.”

Attacks that didn’t fit together would be meaningless. Rather, they would only burden each other.

-I understand, Hyung. Then I will see you later when you stream.

“Yes, explain it well to the others.”

Hyeonu hung up and entered the cube. He was going to stream.

***

[Alley Leader’s streaming to recruit rankers in talking.]

Today’s stream title had great implications. For Hyeonu who knew his own intentions, there was no better title than this. Yet in the eyes of viewers who didn’t know anything, they were words that made them feel curious.

-Rankers in talking? Aren’t we all rankers?

-Yes. There is no need to gather them.

-There are already 10 million people here.

-Breaking news: the 1st to 10,000,00th places in the rankings have gathered in Alley Leader’s stream.

‘I didn’t think of that.’

Hyeonu saw the viewers’ messages and hit his forehead. This was unexpected.

‘These people are correct.’

There was no need to write the title this way. Most of the viewers watching Hyeonu’s stream were those who liked to teach others.

“Hello, everyone. It is Alley Leader and Crescent Moon.”

-A ranker here.

-The talk ranker who prepared 10 years ago is here...

-Why do you need us?

-I am a professional in keyboards. When it comes to fighting with my mouth, I’m confident I won’t lose to Alley Leader.

The viewers tried to showcase their own strengths to Hyeonu. They didn’t know why he was looking for such people, but they thought they should be selected first.

“That’s great. I need your help today.”

-Our help?

-With what? Who did you fight with?

-What channel should I go to swear at?

-Give the streaming coordinates. I will smash them.

-The keyboard is my strength.

Hyeonu shook his head after seeing the viewers’ messages. “It isn’t like that. All I need today are your sharp comments. In today’s stream, I will show you the result of Crescent Moon’s training. Just look at it and tell us who is lacking the most. Simple, right?”

-Um...

-This is a bit...

-It isn’t our major...

The viewers made pained sounds. Hyeonu’s request was very difficult. Generally speaking, Sunny and Dwayne were the least skilled among the Crescent Moon players. Yuri showed ghostly skill timing, Mason used brilliant magic, and Lee Hoon had the best control apart from Hyeonu. They had excellent strengths. So naturally, Sunny and Dwayne would be the only ones the viewers would talk about.

The problem was that both were hard to be critical toward. Sunny hadn’t been good at the beginning, so they were satisfied with what she showed now. No, everyone who watched Sunny’s stream thought she had grown to an amazing level.

Then what about Dwayne? He was a superstar that was so famous the people who knew about him outnumbered those who didn’t. It was great that such a person managed to become a professional gamer and reach this point. Dwayne wasn’t in a position to be criticized by anyone. Rather, he ought to be praised. Dwayne had increased people’s interest in Arena.

“Is it hard? Hmm... I can’t believe it is so hard just to look and evaluate...” Hyeonu stretched out his words like he felt it was a pity. In a way, it seemed like he was mocking the viewers. It was as if he was asking, ‘You can’t even do this?’

-No, I can do it.

-It is my major.

-I’ll give it a try.

The viewers angrily accepted Hyeonu’s proposal.

“Then let’s take a look straight away. Please come out,” Hyeonu called out. At the next moment, the players of Crescent Moon walked out.

“These are the players of our Crescent Moon. Please welcome them with a round of applause.”

-Wow, Goddess!!!!

-Why haven’t you come out in the meantime?

-Dwayne!!!!

-I want to see your movie!

-Mason is so cute!

-Your skills are as good as your appearance!

The messages of the viewers were extremely friendly. It was to the point where it was hard to expect them to spill out spiteful words.

“Hello, everyone.”

“It has been a while.”

“Please look after me today.”

The players each greeted the viewers.

After the greetings ended, Hyeonu spoke again: “Today, I am going to show you a mock siege. My five teammates will be fighting against the opposing team made up of ace players.”

-Who will appear?

-He said they are aces... They should be master level at the minimum.

-Master is still a bit ambiguous. A grandmaster should come out for it to be balanced.

-There are only nine grandmasters...

-One is already here... There are eight left.

The viewers started to speculate on the identity of the guests. There was an extremely limited selection of opponents that could face the five Crescent Moon players. The conditions were too demanding. The aces of the teams at Arena Week were usually the best rankers. Of course, there weren’t many players comparable to Hyeonu.

“There are six people in total who will help today.” Hyeonu revealed the number of guests that the viewers were curious about.

Six people—it wasn’t a small number. It was surprising especially considering that they were all players who must be known by name. Naturally, surprised reactions burst out from the viewers.

“Six people?”

“There are so many?”

“When did you get them?”

The Crescent Moon players weren’t much different. On the contrary, they were more surprised. They knew that two people, Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, would help in today’s stream.

-Who will come out?

-Gang Junggu and Jin Sijong will definitely come out.

-These two are friendly with Alley Leader.

The viewers had the same guess as the Crescent Moon players. They just couldn’t guess who the rest of the helpers could be. Hyeonu smiled at their surprise. He had wanted and expected this reaction as he too had been surprised when he saw today’s guests.

‘Indeed, you should always be a good person. This is how you will benefit from your surroundings.’

Today’s guests were all invited by Hyeonu’s acquaintances.

“First of all, there are two people you know. Hyung-nims, please come out.”

The moment Hyeonu finished talking, Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu appeared while waving. They seemed to have been waiting for it.

“The next ones are also well-known by viewers. Please come out.”

Another two people walked out. These two were young men.

-Wow, both of them appeared.

-Yes, since Jin Sijong and Gang Junggu are here, that must be why those two appeared.

-Right. Both came out.

The viewers quickly started chatting after seeing the young men’s faces.

“Liu Shei, the master of the Kowloon Guild, and Xiao Bao, the fifth dragon, are here to help.”

Liu Shei and Xiao Bao, the fifth dragon, had appeared from the Kowloon Guild. Neither of them were grandmasters, but they were masters who were very close to that rank. They could get the grandmaster rank at any time if they got the chance.

-So who are the last two?

-It’s such a luxurious lineup right now.

-Is there a better lineup?

-It is really crazy.

One grandmaster and three top masters—this was a lineup that was hard to see anywhere. Even broadcast programs found it difficult to gather them.

“There are still two people left,” Hyeonu said with a meaningful smile. The two people coming out now were even more amazing.

‘I will have to give Mascherano a gift,’ Hyeonu thought. In particular, one of the two people had been introduced by Mascherano. This guest was probably someone no one expected.

“It isn’t fun to drag it out, right? So please come out!”

At Hyeonu’s words, two men appeared. After seeing them, the chatroom was filled with words of amazement.

-Wow...

-Crazy!

-This lineup is really...