Ranker’s Return

The black-red dragon spun quickly with the wings attached to its body. It moved like a rotating drill. Compared to the dragon, the small magic spirit looked very shabby.

-No!

-Our Tang-E...

-It isn’t Tang-E precisely. It is a black-white Tang-E.

-Is this a fight that makes sense?

The black-red dragon quickly arrived in front of the magic spirit. It looked as if the magic spirit would be torn apart in an instant. Just then, the magic spirit quickly grew larger. It changed to a size similar to that of the dark red dragon. Then the magic spirit attacked, swinging its front paw upward from the bottom. This hit blew up the black-red dragon’s jaw.

Immediately after, the dragon quickly rose into the air, but the magic spirit soared toward it. After stopping at a point that was a bit higher than where the dragon was, the magic spirit gathered its paws together and hit the dragon in the back. The giant dragon was instantly buried in the ground with a loud roar.

Above it, the magic spirit’s dark red magic power poured down and fell directly onto the black-red dragon. Upon being struck by the magic spirit’s attack, the dragon disappeared without a trace. Rain’s last skill lost.

-Isn’t this really strong?

-How to beat this combination?

-The skill utilization is crazy.

-If that black-red Tang-E moves on its own, that means Alley Leader’s stats are amazing. If he actually needs to control it too... he isn’t a person.

-In any case, our Alley Leader is scary.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

The viewers couldn’t hide their laughter at the sight before them. Their laughter had two meanings. One was laughter at the absurdity of the situation, and the other was laughter that came purely from the happiness in knowing Hyeonu had won. The fight wasn’t over, but viewers saw it that way.

Rain’s skill was actually a type of skill that was rarely used in PvP. This was because PvP was a fight between players. Players didn’t have as much health as boss monsters, so there was no need to use such a powerful and brilliant skill. The reality was that even if they used weak skills, it was easy to make the opponent collapse if the skills hit them properly.

Meanwhile, Hyeonu had taken such an attack from Rain head-on. This was Hyeonu’s consideration for Rain. Now that this attack had been blocked, the viewers thought it was a victory for Hyeonu.

‘I lost...’ The moment Rain saw his dragon disappear, the word ‘defeat’ appeared in his mind. It was a complete defeat. He’d used the skill at a moment that wasn’t the perfect timing for it, so he had already been defeated from there.

“I’ll end it here today. I lost, Alley Leader.” Rain put away his sword and raised both his hands in surrender.

‘There is a big difference between us,’ Rain concluded inwardly. It was unfortunate—too unfortunate to say anything. In addition, he confirmed that there was still a large gap between them. Nevertheless, Rain gained something from this loss. He had found a clear goal, so he now possessed the strength to run forward, just like Teika.

“Then I’ll finish the sparring here.” Hyeonu put the Mysterious Sky Sword in his sheath and took off his mask. There was a very nonchalant expression on his face; no pleased expression could be found there. His expression showed that he felt this situation wasn’t much different from usual.

‘Is this the only difference?’ Rather, Hyeonu was looking back on himself. In his mind, the fight hadn’t gone that well. Of course, there were some things Hyeonu let go of. For example, he didn’t fight as cruelly and effectively in this battle as he had done against several guilds in the past. If he fought that way, the fight would’ve been over long ago.

‘I need to find a more efficient way to fight.’

Otherwise, he had to raise the specs of his character further. He wasn’t satisfied at all.

‘I have to try harder.’

Hyeonu’s determination was apparent at this moment. He mostly smiled while streaming, but there had been a few cases when he showed an expressionless face to the viewers. Hyeonu usually made this type of expression when he was carrying out a quest or when someone provoked him. So the viewers couldn’t help noticing it now that Hyeonu had such a serious look on his face.

-He won against three grandmasters and three masters at the same time, yet he is criticizing himself.

-It is excessive greed. He isn’t satisfied with this much.

-It is due to this greed that he climbed up to this position.

-I don’t think there is anything like finding out his original intentions.

The viewers were suffering. They were shocked. In their eyes, Hyeonu was a person who would never be satisfied. His current position was so high. Nevertheless, he wasn’t satisfied and was looking for something higher. He felt like a different type of person.

“Then the break is over. We will restart the sparring. This time, Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu will help with the sparring.” Hyeonu immediately started Crescent Moon’s second sparring session. He didn’t stop the stream for a second.

***

Once the stream ended, Hyeonu bowed to the six people who helped with the stream today. “Thank you all for today.”

‘I made it through another day,’ Hyeonu thought.

Today’s stream was entirely the achievement of his guests. He was very grateful that they helped with Crescent Moon’s sparring. These guests were people who couldn’t be invited just by giving money. Such amazing people helped his team practice, so it was natural for Hyeonu to thank them.

Liu Shei waved his hand. “No, I had a great experience today. Moreover, it’s a publicity stunt for us.” 

He couldn’t agree with Hyeonu’s one-sided gratitude. In fact, just appearing on Hyeonu’s stream was enough to promote the Kowloon Guild. There were over 10 million people—close to 20 million, in fact—who were watching the live stream. The moment today’s stream video was uploaded on the A-World channel, it would have a minimum of 100 million views. Naturally, the public relations effect from appearing on this stream was better than using any other method.

“I had a good experience too. It isn’t a common occurrence to play against a professional team like this.” Rain also felt that today’s experience was pretty good. There was no other place where he could have experienced such a thing. Yet even if someone else had requested it of him, he wouldn’t have agreed. His appearance in this stream could never have been achieved if it hadn’t been for his purpose of competing with Hyeonu.

“You are much better than last time. I’m glad I was of some help to you.” Teika smiled at the Crescent Moon players who showed different performances. He was confident that Crescent Moon would show an amazing side at Arena Week and perhaps even produce great results.

‘Of course, they have a monster called Alley Leader, so it is natural...’ Teika remarked inwardly. It was obvious that Crescent Moon would win. This was an unchanging truth that couldn’t be changed as long as Alley Leader, the leader with overwhelming strength, participated as a player in Crescent Moon.

‘Everyone should be grateful that he is retiring after playing this year,’ Teika thought. As long as Alley Leader was a professional player on the professional stage, no one would be able to surpass his position.

Just then, Hyeonu began to open his mouth.

‘I have to send them away quickly,’ he thought.

It was time to separate. Hyeonu also needed time to rest.

“Perhaps this is the last time I will call you for practice. There isn’t much time left,” he said.

The time remaining until Arena Week was just over 10 days. Considering the preparation time of going to the United States in advance, the actual remaining time was only around a week. As such, there was no time for Hyeonu to invite them again for practice. Additionally, there was no reason for it. The experience they had accumulated was enough. They wouldn’t absorb any more even if he shoved it in.

‘There are limits, limits.’

Now, it was time to improve their individual ability based on their accumulated experience. Hyeonu had done everything he could.

“Yes. Arena Week will be held soon. I hope you have a good result.”

“You will definitely win.”

Teika and Rain blessed Hyeonu and disappeared.

“What does the competition actually mean? I don’t think any of the teams there can kill him even if they join together...” Xiao Bao said to himself while shaking his head slightly.

“That’s right. How can they kill this monster?” Liu Shei nodded sympathetically. Hyeonu was still a monster. No, he seemed sharper than before. He had developed even more.

Usually, when a character became stronger, people followed the easy way. They used easy and strong skills. This was natural and normal. It might be different when they were hunting, but it wasn’t necessary in PvP. The opponent would definitely use an easy method. If they used skills that were hard to use and failed, they would be the ones who suffered.

‘Meanwhile, he uses difficult skills so well...’ Liu Shei commented inwardly.

Hyeonu was different. He used what others found difficult and did it more easily than anyone else. This was probably why he was so strong.

“A monster...” Liu Shei muttered in a small voice that no one could hear.

***

Hyeonu didn’t log out after sending away the remaining four. The situation surrounding Hyeonu hadn’t been very good recently.

‘The timing is the problem...’

It might be because Hyeonu had too many things to deal with. Arena Week and the main scenario—they were the stages that everyone wanted. Yet for the present Hyeonu, they were one of the reasons that made his troubles deepen.

‘Why is everything so overlapped?’

He was leaving the country in a week. He would have to go to Incheon International Airport and catch a flight to New York. Of course, Hyeonu would have to take a day off when he arrived. It was also unclear if Arena would be accessible during Arena Week. In other words, the connection cycle would be quite irregular after a week.

The problem was that the main scenario was currently flowing urgently. The nobles didn’t defy the will of the emperor and dedicated some of their wealth for armaments. Using the money raised, the emperor attracted magicians from all over the continent to manufacture potions. He also used the empire’s intelligence network to find and kill nobles who illegally owned dwarves. For the dwarves he saved, he asked them to serve as blacksmiths for a year in exchange for freedom.

The emperor’s actions didn’t stop there. He visited Taeyang, the capital of the Yuxin Empire, and met the old emperor with the pledge from the East Continent that Hyeonu had received. After nearly four hours of talks, the emperor succeeded in obtaining formidable material resources from the East Continent. Preparations for the war against the demon world were being completed.

‘So why the hell is he staying here?’

There was only one reason why Hyeonu was uneasy about being away. It was because the emperor later returned to Etono. Since he was in Etono, it wouldn’t be strange if he fought in the war.

John Blake had issued a warning to Hyeonu when they met a few days ago.

‘He said that the movements of the hardliner demon kings were unusual.’

This was merely the calm before the storm—in both reality and virtual reality.