Ranker’s Return

“There are two tests. One is to tell us all the information you know about Etono. I’ll tell you about the next test after you pass this one,” a blue-haired demon said as he looked at Hyeonu.

Just then, a quest window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[A quest has been created.]

[Demons’ First Test]

[The nobles of Damanos’ faction don’t trust you. Gain their trust.

Rating: MS

Conditions: Trust of Damanos’ nobles 0/10

Rewards: Experience, the trust of the demons under Damanos, qualify for the second test.]

‘The rewards aren’t great.’ It was a quest for a special purpose, but the rewards were really bad. Still, the quest wasn’t very difficult, so Hyeonu didn’t have any major complaints since it was something that had to be done. He just wasn’t satisfied.

“Yes, ask me anything. I’ll answer you with everything I know,” Hyeonu replied with a nod.

 Hearing that, the demons immediately began to ask questions. “Yes. Then I will ask a few things. Speak about the humans gathered in Etono.”

“What specifically do you mean? The question is too broad.” Hyeonu looked back at the demon speaking nonsense. The question was too broad. He didn’t know what answer they wanted. Although he had a rough idea of exactly what it meant, he didn’t want to answer.

‘The rewards are nothing.’

The demon shook his head and immediately explained, “The number of strong people and how many troops there are in Etono. Tell me that.”

Hyeonu nodded at the demon’s explanation. “I will say what I know. The main focus of the humans in Etono are adventurers. Their level is from low to intermediate. The number is roughly over 3,000.”

“Is that all?”

“The emperor of the empire has also come to Etono in person. He is very strong. You may not know it, but he can compete with the demon kings. That is all I know.” 

Hyeonu stayed calm and hid Lebron from them. He didn’t know how much the nobles knew, but he thought this was enough.

“Really? It has increased in the meantime?” The blue-haired demon who was speaking to Hyeonu frowned. The demons also knew about the existence of adventurers. Those who didn’t die—they grew endlessly. Those who weren’t blocked when it came to learning—they grew stronger as they gathered.

“Isn’t 3,000 quite a lot? We can’t kill them with the demons and demonic creatures of Ainpo alone.”

“Is the emperor the strong man he mentioned?”

“Is the emperor originally so strong? With the passage of time, has the middle world become like the demon world?”

The demons who listened to Hyeonu showed different reactions. There was one common response—they trusted Hyeonu’s words. They didn’t think he was lying. In fact, they had already heard some approximate information from Damanos, so they knew how many humans there were in Etono and how strong they were. It was just that when Damanos visited Etono, the emperor had returned to the middle world.

Therefore, Hyeonu’s words were similar to the information they heard from Damanos.

[Trust of Damanos’ nobles 1/10]

[Trust of Damanos’ nobles 2/10]

[Trust of Damanos’ nobles 4/10]

[Trust of Damanos’ nobles 7/10]

[Trust of Damanos’ nobles 10/10]

The quest clear conditions were satisfied in an instant. The demons decided that Hyeonu wasn’t lying.

“Yes, your words aren’t false.” The moment the blue-haired demon’s words were over, Hyeonu saw the message that announced the clearance of the quest.

[Demons’ First Test is cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[The trust of the demons of Damanos’ faction has been earned.]

‘Okay.’ Hyeonu smiled because the first quest ended so easily.

“What is the second test?” he asked the blue-haired demon.

This time, the demon sitting next to the blue-haired one opened his mouth, “The second test is to kill the adventurers. We need proof that you have killed them, so two of us will follow you.”

The second test was to determine if Hyeonu would really betray human beings.

“I understand,” Hyeonu replied calmly. The demons didn’t show it, but they were quite shaken by Hyeonu’s attitude. They were starting to think that he really wanted to betray the humans and stick to the demon side. Hyeonu had such a cold and angry appearance.

[A quest has been created.]

[Demons’ Second Test]

[You have passed the first test unharmed. The second test is to kill adventurers in front of the demon nobles.

Rating: MS

Conditions: Kill players in front of a demon noble 0/30

Rewards: Experience, the deep trust of the demon nobles, the creation of the ‘Traitor’ title.]

‘Traitor? It sounds bad.’ Hyeonu frowned at the title written in the rewards column. Nevertheless, this feeling of discomfort was soon erased as he wouldn’t clear this quest anyway.

‘Now it’s the real thing.’

It was Hyeonu’s plan to kill the demons one by one. He was just glad that they split up on their own.

“So when does the second test begin? Even doing it now is fine. I’m already looking forward to it. Revenge for Master...” Hyeonu was really immersed in the role he had created. In his mind, he recalled the memories of his father in the past. Hyeonu’s shoulders trembled, and his body shook little by little. It was like he was sobbing, yet the breathing sounds coming from his mouth showed that he was laughing.

‘He is really mad with revenge!’ This was the thought that surfaced in the minds of the 10 demons simultaneously. Hyeonu’s current appearance caused even more of their doubts about him to be erased. It was too hard for them to suspect him after seeing this.

“Then move right now as you wish. It is a long way to Etono,” the blue-haired demon told this to Hyeonu. Then he asked the other demons, “Two people should go. Who is going?”

Two people were quickly selected to monitor Hyeonu as two demons raised their hands upon hearing the blue-haired demon’s question. They were a red-haired young man and an old man with dark hair.

“One of the two spots is mine. I am curious about how powerful this human is.”

“Then the remaining spot’s mine. I am curious as well. I couldn’t even imagine that there is a human like this.”

The blue-haired demon looked at the demons a few times before nodding. “Viscount Marie and Earl Carlsberg are reliable. Go with this human right now. You have to come back in five days. In the meantime, we will gather as many demons and demonic creatures as possible.”

The red-haired young man was Viscount Marie, and the black-haired old man was Earl Carlsberg.

“Understood. Time is tight. We will go straight away.” The old man, Earl Carlsberg, rose from his seat. A roundtrip from Ainpo to Etono took three days. However, this speed was only possible when riding a mount. It would take longer if they ran.

“Let’s go.”

“We should leave now.”

Viscount Marie and Earl Carlsberg said while looking at Hyeonu.

“Yes. Let’s go,” Hyeonu replied with a smile.

***

A rough sandy breeze blew from the gates of Ainpo. The brown-skinned rhinoceros-like demonic creature that was over five meters long ran with a momentum of smashing the earth. Three people were riding on top of the rhino.

‘Good. Now I just need to act at the right time.’ Hyeonu comfortably sat on the rhino’s back and predicted what would happen in the future. Getting away from Ainpo was the top priority. The goal was to kill the two demons behind him, Viscount Marie and Earl Carlsberg.

‘It won’t be hard to kill them.’

First, Hyeonu would kill one of them with a surprise attack and then kill the remaining one. He would waste a moderate amount of time before returning to Ainpo, where he would then report that the emperor of the middle world had killed the demon nobles.

‘Of course, there will be those who doubt me.’

Nevertheless, they wouldn’t doubt Hyeonu immediately thanks to his excellent acting skills. After that, he would once again bring two or three nobles out and kill them. By that point, he would’ve gotten rid of half of them. It would be a great achievement. If there were a master of a city among them, Hyeonu would also be able to obtain rings. It would be a great blow to Damanos. The problem was that Hyeonu didn’t know what an agitated Damanos would do.

‘The demon king isn’t an idiot who would just attack Etono.’

If Damonos could think, he wouldn’t take such actions. He would see the situation unfold like this. An unidentified human had suddenly appeared, and the emperor killed some nobles.Once the nobles’ rings disappeared, Damanos’ forces began to shrink rapidly.

‘Someone will stop Damanos.’

Perhaps that role would be played by Galiya. It was because the only one who could stop a demon king was another demon king.

‘Or... Baler could step up and stop him.’

This was what John Blake had told Hyeonu. Baler’s plan was to cut off Damanos’ and Galiya’s hands and feet, not to slit their throats.

‘I can’t let that happen. How excellent are the rewards of killing a demon king?’

Hyeonu wasn’t just going to sit by and watch.

Rubolle, for example—what a good gift box he was. Leaving such a gift box alone was as outrageous as a sparrow passing by a mill.

‘The demon kings will be handled by Lebron and the emperor anyway...’

Hyeonu just needed to insert a hand into it. Baler might make trouble, but there were three strong opponents to deal with him. John Blake, Lebron, and the emperor—if those three joined together, it would be a guaranteed win unless they were fighting in Baler’s city.

‘Come to think of it, the Knights of Keon are a legendary organization.’

John Blake, the former commander of the knights, had killed a demon king, and he also had a history with the dragons. Lebron, the current leader of the Knights of Keon, had a career that swept through the entire empire. The emperor wasn’t a Knight of Keon. However, he had trained under John Blake and was simply a monster. He was a fraudulent existence. If these three men killed two more demon kings, they would become the guardians of the empire.

‘The most important thing is that I have such people behind me.’

Hyeonu felt laughter wanting to emerge from his mouth and started managing his expression, but it had already been heard by Viscount Marie and Earl Carlsberg.

“Is it so good?”

“How blinded is he by revenge?”

There was deep sympathy in the voices of Viscount Marie and Earl Carlsberg. The two of them misunderstood. They really saw Hyeonu as a human crazy with the desire for revenge.

fHyeonu looked at the two of them and answered, “It’s good. It couldn’t be better.”

‘I have the opportunity to kill two demon nobles so easily. I can’t help feeling good.’