Ranker’s Return

-What? Why are these people here?

-Both of them don’t stream...

-What is with this lineup? Alley Leader’s class...

-What the hell is going on?

The viewers could only admire the lineup with open mouths. They were seeing it with their eyes, but they couldn’t believe the reality in front of them.

“The last guests are Rain and Teika, who are currently ranked 2nd and 4th in the arena!”

This was why the viewers and Crescent Moon players were surprised. The two people who showed up were Rain and Teika. Excluding Hyeonu, the two of them were considered stronger than anyone else in the arena.

“I am no longer 4th. I am 3rd. I would appreciate it if you correct it, Alley Leader,” Teika corrected Hyeonu’s incorrect words. Teika’s ranking had risen one place to 3rd in the meantime.

“Ah, is that so? So you’re 3rd. I didn’t know that. I’m sorry,” Hyeonu skillfully responded Teika’s words.

“Yes, I am ranked 3rd. Ah, the 1st and 2nd places are also here. As the 3rd place, I should keep my mouth shut.” Teika’s words were eloquent and just as good as those of a streamer.

“I’ll say hello to Rain.” Hyeonu put aside Teika, who had done his job, and turned his attention to Rain.

“Good morning. I’m Rain, the leader of the Behemoth Guild.” Rain had no awkwardness in his comments because he streamed from time to time.

-Why are you appearing on this show instead of streaming? ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Yes. He doesn’t turn it on at all these days.

-He used to turn it on two or three times a month.

-Tell me why!!!

The viewers showed an intense response to Rain’s greeting. Rain wasn’t a non-streamer like Teika. He used to stream from time to time, but the frequency of his streams was so low that his viewers were very disappointed. So it wasn’t unreasonable for them to show such a response in this situation where he had suddenly appeared on Hyeonu’s stream.

“It’s because I’ve been busy lately. I’m sorry if you’ve been waiting. From now on, I’ll stream again on time.” Rain bowed toward the viewers. There was a reason why he hadn’t been able to stream. However, it wasn’t just streaming. He also hadn’t been properly paying attention to his guild work in order to clear the quest he’d obtained in the East Continent.

‘If I hadn’t finished it, there would be no reason for me to appear here,’ Rain remarked inwardly. No matter how much his friend, Mascherano, requested for him to do it, Rain simply wasn’t close enough to Hyeonu to want to make time for him in the midst of completing an urgent quest.

‘I need someone to test what I’ve obtained...’

Rain’s efforts garnered him a great result. He only gained one skill, but it had a very powerful effect. There was a big difference between Rain from before and after acquiring the skill.

“Rain will stream frequently now. I will ask everyone to applaud.” Hyeonu quickly started the stream. 

There were many guests, pso there were many things to show.

‘People are curious about Rain. I have to start from there.’

Hyeonu precisely grasped what the viewers wanted. He correctly analyzed the shares in the chat window. The most frequently mentioned one was Rain, followed by Teika and Kowloon. Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu didn’t receive much of the viewers’ concern due to their frequent appearances.

“Then the first game will be a one-against-many showdown between Rain and the five players of Crescent Moon.”

-Good decision.

-This is exactly what we wanted to see.

-In fact, I am more looking forward to the matches with Alley Leader.

-If his younger siblings fall down, he will step up. Just look.

The viewers were satisfied with Hyeonu’s choice.

They wanted to see Rain fight.

“I understand. Then I’ll get ready.” Rain walked to one side of the arena and quietly prepared for the spar.

Hyeonu saw this and approached the Crescent Moon players.

“Don’t be nervous. Just do as you practiced. You have worked very hard. In addition, don’t be disappointed if you lose too one-sidedly. No matter what team’s ace comes out, they are unlikely to be stronger than him.” Hyeonu conveyed words of comfort to the players in advance.

The reality was that even when they tried their best, it was difficult for them to deal with Teika, Kim Seokjung, and Gang Junggu. Rain was expected to be stronger than them, so they would naturally suffer even more. Unless his power was limited to some extent, it went without saying that he would break them unconditionally.

“I understand, Hyung. I’m mentally prepared.”

“That’s right. We know that it is already hard to win.”

“So I want to fight actively. I think it is better to attack than to just get hit.”

The players expressed their opinions. In particular, the last words, which were spoken by Lee Hoon, to Hyeonu were worth listening to.

“Really? That is a good choice. It is said that the best defense is a good offense.” Hyeonu respected the choice of the players. They made the right choice. It was clear they had learned a lot from losing to Teika, Kim Seokjung, and Gang Junggu.

‘Everyone has worked hard.’

Hyeonu felt this and nodded. “Yes, let’s do well. In any case, it is better to lose now than at Arena Week.” 

After saying that, Hyeonu returned to his original position and gathered Kim Seokjung, Gang Junggu, and the other guests to sit in a row. Hyeonu said, “Watch the fight and provide commentary. Speak without any hesitation if anything is lacking or excessively bad. Praise them if they do well, but criticize them sharply if they do badly.”

There was no room for anyone to rest on Hyeonu’s stream; they all had to play their part. Rain looked at the Crescent Moon players, who were taking their formation, and casually drew his sword. There was a light sound, and his silver sword showed a brilliant light. This was the end of Rain’s combat readiness. He had no intention of using buffs against Crescent Moon that was without Alley Leader. Rain was confident he would have an overwhelming win even without it. He was proud of the character he had been raising and confident in his ability.

Meanwhile, the Crescent Moon’s side showed their splendid preparations. Sunny was now familiar with summoning the death knights and using buff magic to help them. Simultaneously, Yuri appropriately gave buffs to Lee Hoon and Dwayne. It was good to give one person everything, but if so, the other person would be completely powerless. Therefore, it wasn’t a good choice.

‘I have to do well.’ Mason stood still and concentrated on controlling his thoughts.

He had realized through a lot of practice that when they faced people stronger than them, his role was more important than anyone else’s. Big magic wasn’t needed. The thing they needed most was magic that flew at fast and precise timing.

Restraint and control—this was the only truth he could depend on. Mason would die anyway if stabbed with a knife. This was because a ranker would never let go of a knife once it went in. Dozens of fireballs appeared in the air. Each one wasn’t large in size. It was around the size of a baseball at best, but it wasn’t as small as a baseball. This was the magic of Mason, who was equipped with good items and skills. It wasn’t something that could be easily ignored.

The dozens of fireballs flew through the air. They had their own rankings and moved to different locations at different speeds.

“Mason’s magic power control has evolved tremendously. I didn’t know it was that detailed,” Hyeonu said with admiration when he saw this scene. Mason’s magic power control was much better than he expected.

“I know. That control alone... I think it is the best among the magician classes.” Teika also admired it. This was something that Mason hadn’t shown when they fought before. If there had been this type of attack at the time… it would’ve been hard for Teika to win easily.

Basically, magic was very powerful. Even though Mason’s fireballs were small, the magic was still dangerous. Once the target was hit by the magic, an unspeakable impact would sweep over their body. Having a lack of proper physical control over their body meant the possibility that they would receive subsequent damage was very high.

“However, this is Rain, so he should have another solution. 2nd place in the arena isn’t something that can be obtained by playing rock, scissors, paper,” Teika added. He knew Rain well. In particular, Rain’s recent changes were very dramatic. Teika knew this fact best as he had faced Rain in the arena just a day earlier.

‘It will be difficult to rise to 2nd place in the rankings for the time being...’ Teika commented inwardly.

Despite having lost by a subtle difference, Teika knew how big this subtle difference actually was. Moreover, he never even considered being 1st ranked. The difference between him and Hyeonu was too huge. Teika didn’t see any hope of catching up.

“Rain is removing Mason’s magic,” Hyeonu said.

Just then, Mason’s fireballs hit Rain. They didn’t strike simultaneously as multiple attacks. Rather, they struck with a subtle time difference. Rain sometimes dodged and sometimes deflected them back with the sword in order to resist Mason’s attack. The moment Mason’s attack was over, four death knights, Lee Hoon, and Dwayne rushed to Rain at the same time. A stream of magical energy, as spectacular as the number of those who were attacking, struck Rain.

Just then, he moved and wielded his sword lightly.  A yellow beast in the form of a wolf popped out. The yellow wolf ran from the left to right, driving away all the death knights who were immediately running in. The death knights’ ghost horses were destroyed in an instant. It was a loss of mobility.

As the four death knights rolled on the ground, only Lee Hoon and Dwayne were left. Their expressions stiffened drastically when they noticed this. It was because they knew it was impossible to deal with Rain with just the two of them. However, they didn’t give up. The death knights’ summoning wasn’t completely cancelled. They had only lost their ghost horses. Of course, that alone was enough to reduce their power. Still, they weren’t completely out of combat ability. They would be able to return to battle if Lee Hoon and Dwayne held on.

“Dwayne, I’ll hold out first. Please attack!” Lee Hoon shouted. Then he was surrounded by a white light and shot forward first. 

Dwayne nodded before also kicking off from the ground and running forward. All he had to do was help so that Lee Hoon wouldn’t be helpless. Simultaneously, they would be buying time for the death knights to join the fight. Rain swung the sword at Lee Hoon who was running with his shield in front of him. This time, it wasn’t a wolf but a bear that popped out. The huge bear swung its paw toward Lee Hoon’s shield, and Lee Hoon was sent flying away like a broken kite.

Rain frowned when he saw that. “Barrier....”

The moment the bear’s attack touched Lee Hoon’s shield, a blue barrier had instantly appeared in front of Lee Hoon. It was Yuri’s divine magic, and it appeared with perfect timing.

“This will allow the death knights to rejoin the fight. The players of Crescent Moon are better than I thought.” Hyeonu showed a satisfied smile.