Ranker’s Return

“Master!” Hyeonu called out. The man standing behind him was Lebron. Previously, Hyeonu’s teacher left to absorb the magic power from the magic power stones, but he was back now.

“How is it that you’ve already come back? What about the magic power?” Hyeonu asked. It was a speed that he could barely understand within the bounds of common sense.

One day in reality was a lot longer in Arena, but it wasn’t that much longer. It was far from enough time to find and absorb magic power from multiple cities. In fact, Lebron had only been to two cities—Quere and Blanc.

They were the cities Hyeonu had told him about. Lebron hadn’t even thought of looking for another city. He said, “I only went to two cities. I heard that the demon kings had appeared at Etono. I wasn’t comfortable wandering around to absorb magic power.”

This was why Lebron returned to Etono.

“Where did you go?”

“I went to Blanc. I am comfortable where there is someone I know.”

Out of Blanc and Quere, Lebron first visited Blanc where John Blake was living. There was only one reason for it. John Blake knew about Quere and Blanc, so asking him was naturally the most effective and quickest way for Lebron to find the magic power stones. Lebron explained, “The magic power stone in Blanc was in a state where magic power could be absorbed from it. I had good luck. The demon king used up the magic power previously, so the magic power stone was refilled recently.”

He was really lucky. The timing was just right. The magic power that Rubolle had used up to fight John Blake had been restored recently, and Lebron just so happened to visit Blanc then.

“The magic power in Quere wasn’t used up, so I absorbed it comfortably. After that, I heard that the demon kings appeared at Etono. Of course, His Majesty defeated them, but I almost brought trouble to the empire for my own benefits. So I decided to return immediately.”

If Lebron had asked John Blake to sacrifice a few magic power stones in the cities that were ruled by his nobles… John Blake wouldn’t have refused. Nevertheless, Lebron was a duke of the empire, so he returned to fulfill the duty of his position.

‘Hmm... This is good.’

In fact, Hyeonu wasn’t surprised when Lebron said he had only absorbed two magic power stones before returning as Hyeonu himself had only thought about these two places. Additionally, it was due to sheer luck that he had the opportunity to absorb from them.

‘I wonder why that area has changed so much...’

“Master,” Hyeonu called out to Lebron in a heavy, subdued voice.

“What is it?” Lebron responded.

“When did you come back? Tell me precisely.”

“It has been around three days.”

“So what happened over there?”

“It has been around three days.”

“Teacher, did you make that place like that?”

“I didn’t do that. His Majesty...” Lebron began to answer reluctantly.

“His Majesty the Emperor? Why? What happened?” Hyeonu asked with an expression of disbelief.

“I don’t know,” Lebron replied.

In fact, it wasn’t as he said. Both Lebron and the emperor had caused the scenery to change. After Lebron absorbed the magic power from the magic power stones, the emperor suddenly asked Lebron to fight. Lebron naturally refused. It was troublesome, so why should he fight against the emperor?

There were countless things he wanted to experiment with after rapidly increasing his magic power—things he couldn’t do before because he had little magic power. It wasn’t just that though. Lebron had to figure out his exact condition as soon as possible before the war truly broke out. This way, he could know himself thoroughly and fight.

“Master, would you say it if you did it? Please don’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth.” Hyeonu stared at Lebron with complete disbelief. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe that the emperor could cause something close to a natural disaster.

Hyeonu just didn’t think the emperor had done such a thing. The current emperor was a full lion. He had no intention of hunting. Moreover, he had already finished adjusting to his new home, so there was no reason for his stress to build up. 

Unable to withstand Hyeonu’s continuous glare, Lebron burst out, “Is it that obvious? How did you know?”

“What happened? Really.”

“His Majesty really did it. His temper...” Lebron couldn’t speak properly. Thinking about it again, the emperor’s behavior was truly too outrageous. Lebron continued, “His Majesty asked for a spar when I returned to Etono. I naturally refused. Then he suddenly attacked me.”

Hyeonu decided to interrupt Lebron here. He only heard the beginning, but he felt there was something strange. So he said, “There are no signs of battle inside Etono... Did His Majesty know you were coming back and came out to meet you?”

Lebron’s expression became distorted upon hearing Hyeonu’s words. He couldn’t help finding it ridiculous. The emperor, who was lazier than anyone, came out to meet him? Moreover, this was Lebron they were talking about.

Lebron replied, “What do you mean by ‘meet me’? His attack blew me out of the city. Over there.”

Hyeonu looked at where Lebron was pointing. There was a mountain peak that was recessed like the crater of a volcano.

“The reason the peak was cut...”

“He blew me away so hard that it disappeared in one go. If it had happened in the city, a third of it would’ve been blown away.” Lebron’s words were true, and there was no exaggeration at all.

‘Yes, if he flew that far away, the mountain peak would be damaged...’ Hyeonu thought. It might be a good thing if only one-third of the city was destroyed.

“So how did you make that?” Hyeonu asked while pointing at the hot water still rising from the ground and the disappeared mountains.

“After stopping His Majesty’s attack, I felt that I shouldn’t remain in the city. So I moved straight to the mountains, and we temporarily tested each other’s level there.”

Lebron’s battle with the emperor didn’t last long. No matter how long their hits lasted, the whole battle was only around five minutes long. The terrain was transformed in those mere five minutes.

“Who won?”

“There was no winner and loser. In the first place, it wasn’t a battle to decide that.”

No winner or loser emerged from this battle. The emperor had attacked Lebron to a moderate level, and Lebron tested his new skills against the emperor. Of course, Lebron’s level of strength from before he absorbed Etono’s magic power was used as the standard for what was considered as moderate for him now. In short, if the battle were to have been held before Lebron absorbed the magic power, it was a level of combat that would have been enough to threaten Lebron’s life.

‘If they fought properly... If they fought properly, wouldn’t the city fly away in one blow?’ Hyeonu thought it was possible. He was reminded of the magic spirit that John Blake showed previously. The bead that the giant snake had fired from its mouth could easily ruin Etono.

“So you’re training in the mansion now?”

“I should. I’ve found many parts to refine.”

“I understand. Then I’ll go first.” Hyeonu jumped down from the wall. For him, the changes in the landscape around Etono meant nothing to him. The only thing that mattered was who had done it.

‘It doesn’t matter much if it was the emperor or Lebron who did it.’

Hyeonu held no interest in the matter now that the culprit was revealed. In any case, they were monsters to Hyeonu, so their actions were no longer surprising.

***

‘I don’t know how much longer the emperor is going to wait...’

Hyeonu went hunting. It was a waste of time to just wait in Etono. Starting tomorrow, he would participate in the competition using his Arena character. If his character’s specs went up, the chances of winning the competition would be higher.

‘Even if I stay up all night today... Keuk...’

Hyeonu had a clear goal. The Mysterious Sky Demonic Art was nearing the end of its proficiency bar, so his goal tonight was to increase its proficiency.

‘If it is nine stars, I will get a skill... The item effect will increase as well...’

This would allow him to widen the stats gap once again.

‘Although this isn’t really important...’

Nevertheless, the most crucial thing was simply to be strong since there was already a solid difference between him and the other players. Hyeonu was confident. Even now, he was certain that he wouldn’t lose to any other team. Hyeonu was getting stronger for the Arena progression, not for his pro gamer life. He was looking further ahead.

“It is very suspicious...” Hyeonu murmured as he observed the newly created lake—no, the hot spring. Bubbles were constantly appearing in the center of the hot spring. That would be ordinary, but in the hot spring that was filled with clear water, only the central part was cloudy with dark shadows. It would look suspicious to anyone.

‘Hmm...’ Hyeonu didn’t enter the water. He didn’t know if there were any monsters in it.

After contemplating it for a long while, he summoned Tang-E, “Tang-E, come out.”

Then Hyeonu pointed at the hot spring. “I dropped meat in that hot spring... What should I do, Tang-E?” 

He had started acting like a Hollywood actor. Deceived by Hyeonu’s performance, Tang-E stomped his feet as soon as he was summoned.

“Stupid Master, why did you drop it? Sigh...” Tang-E sighed a few times before creating a dark blue bead.

He summoned a heart and created a huge sun. The black-red sun fell toward the hot spring in an instant. The hot spring water evaporated, turning into steam. The water level of the hot spring decreased quickly. The sun managed to remove half of the hot spring water before disappearing.

As the water level decreased, the identity of the black shadow in the hot spring started to be revealed.

‘Is it a cave?’

It was a dark cave hidden in the hot springs. The moment he saw it, Hyeonu realized, ‘It’s an instance dungeon.’

“Tang-E, jump into the water,” Hyeonu said and threw himself into the hot spring with no hesitation.

Tang-E was bewildered when he saw that, but he also followed.

“Master dude has finally become crazy. He sold his mind to meat.”

***

Hyeonu swam quickly. Every time he kicked his feet, his body descended further. Soon, Hyeonu arrived at the entrance of the dark cave, and a message appeared in front of him.

[Would you like to enter the Altar Where Chaos is Sealed?]

‘Nice!’ Hyeonu smiled at the message that appeared in front of him.

Then he turned to Tang-E and exclaimed, “Tang-E! Oof...”

He couldn’t finish his shout. Hyeonu couldn’t help drinking the water since he was talking with his mouth open in the hot spring. The warm hot spring water struck his throat, and Hyeonu coughed. Tang-E saw that and quickly neared Hyeonu. Feeling the texture of Tang-E’s fur, Hyeonu opened his mouth again and said, “I will enter!”

Hyeonu and Tang-E disappeared, and bubbles were all that remained in the hot spring.