Ranker’s Return

It had been three hours since Hyeonu’s streaming began.

‘I will have to finish it soon.’

Hyeonu had spent three hours speaking to the viewers. He revealed so much information that it was like writing a police report.

‘I don’t know why they’re asking that.’

He talked about his ideal woman, his girlfriends up to the present day, and all types of things. The result...

-Archmage Candidate Alley Master [1]

-A magician has already been confirmed.

-I guess this is how he can handle magic power so well.

-I am 23 years old, and I’m sympathetic.

-I won’t swear in the future. I can’t say anything because I feel sorry for him.

He became the object of the viewers’ teasing and sympathy.

“Everyone, I will answer one final question. A lot of time has passed already.”

-It’s already the end?

-No extension? I’ll give you gold coins.

-There is also a karaoke service or Alley Leader can slice his single-edged sword.

-Isn’t a stream of three hours too short?

“Everyone, does this make sense? A three-hour stream isn’t short. Everything has been exposed except for my face.”

Hyeonu’s face was hidden by the mask, but everyone felt it was full of vanity.

‘It isn’t good if they’re dissatisfied...’

Hyeonu decided to pull out his trump card. “Then I’ll show you Tang-E before the last question.”

-Yes, Tang-E.

-Give Tang-E.

-Huh, showing Tang-E now.

-I’ve waited three hours. ㅠ ㅠ 

Hyeonu’s plan worked. The viewers’ reactions changed at the mention of ‘Tang-E’. Criticisms about Hyeonu were nowhere to be seen, and the chat room was now only filled with praise for Tang-E.

“Tang-E, come out.”

After Tang-E’s first awakening, his summoning circle had also changed. Unlike before, a three-colored light now appeared. Tang-E slowly emerged on top of it.

“Master dude!!” As Tang-E leaped toward Hyeonu, he looked reminiscent of a puppy with fluffy fur.

-My heart is thumping...

-I’m going to have to get a pet quickly.

-The pet egg seems more expensive now. Everyone likes Tang-E and wants to buy one.

-Ah, I bought it too. Open it quickly. I can’t stand it.

“Tang-E, say hello.” 

Tang-E snorted at Hyeonu’s words. “Are you crazy? Master dude is finally crazy. Saying hello to air... If you want to be greeted, you should do it first.”

While talking, Tang-E aimed lightning at Hyeonu’s face.

“Eek!” Hyeonu yelled while forgetting that he was wearing a mask. It was a reaction that everyone could see. Then Hyeonu soon realized where he was and that he was wearing the unique item called Crasul’s Curse. He controlled himself and coughed.

“Hum hum. Everyone, I have to do this to make Tang-E happy. How did you like my acting?”

However, no viewers were fooled. Everyone was busy teasing Hyeonu.

-It is a bluff again. It is incredible.

-Truly the bluffing king. He is still thinking about the stream.

-Kyah. Bluffing dominates his body.

-His wit is the real thing. He is thinking about how to respond even at this moment.

Hyeonu smiled at the chat window. It was a very normal reaction because he knew the power of Tang-E’s magic. However, viewers didn’t know because the video of the Mine Spider’s Lair hadn’t been uploaded yet. It was clear they would be astonished after they saw it.

‘His damage is as good as many ranked magicians.’ 

“Okay, now say hello. I did it!”

Hyeonu touched Tang-E’s back and forced him to bow.

“Ugh, crazy master. You’re crazy.”

-Wow...

-It isn’t a joke at all.

-I really want to have him.

-So cute... Tang-E...

-I Live in Tang-E Adoring Fan has gifted you 2222 gold coins.

-Tang-E is cute has gifted you 1004 gold coins.

“Yes, thank you for the gold coins. You should look at Tang-E.” After seeing the gold coins in his chat window, Hyeonu hugged Tang-E in his arms. “Tang-E is so cute. Hasn’t the color of his fur changed?”

-Oh, my, Tang-E. Really cute.

-Haha, Tang-E, haha.

-Tang-E is like a doll.

After a while, Hyeonu felt that it was really time to end it. He could no longer back down.

‘I will end it boldly.’

“Then ask the last question. You only get one.”

The chat window rose quickly at Hyeonu’s words.

‘What is there at the end? Is there anything with a big impact?’

Hyeonu knew that no matter how hard he worked during the stream, it would only create more topics if there was something big at the end.

-Unprofessional has given you 9999 gold coins.

“Thank you Unprofessional for the 9999 gold coins.”

At this time, he received a large 9999 gold coins. Hyeonu called out this name and recalled JT Telecom’s words last night that angered him. “Then let’s take this as the last question. He asked me if I am a pro. It is a question that I’ve thought about. So...”

-Are you doing it? Or not?

-No way. What about the income from streaming?

-I know this because I heard it from my brother. This time, Alley Leader has received many big sponsors.

-Yes, Nike is already sufficient. 

Hyeonu stopped talking for a moment. It was to intentionally create tension. At the height of the tension, he opened his mouth and said, “I’m going to do become a pro gamer. At any time is fine. Obviously, it will be a challenge. But...”

Hyeonu once again stopped talking. This time, it was to take revenge on those guys who talked bullshit last night.

“I’d like to say that being a professional gamer doesn’t mean you are exceptionally good. Of course, they are good. All of them have strength above a certain level. However, take a look. The 1st place in the arena rankings isn’t a pro gamer. There are also many players in the arena Top 100 who haven’t made their debut. I think it is around 6:4.”

Hyeonu’s sudden bombshell sparked the chat window. A war unfolded. The controversy between professional gamers and pure players was an eternal bait that everyone bit on as soon as it appeared on the Arena communities.

-Wow, this is Alley Leader?

-Guys, he said that pro gamers aren’t a big deal. Quickly throw the bait.

-I want to bite the bait, but I can’t because it is God Alley Leader.

-I agree. The professional kids are too arrogant. The level of the league is more boring than that of the heavenly arena.

Hyeonu nodded. In the late 20th century, there was a huge gap between ordinary players and professional players for RTS (real-time strategy) games, FPS (first-person shooter) games, and AOS games. However, current virtual reality games didn’t have such a gap. Rather, those at the top of the celestial world, the real masters were hardly ever pro gamers.

Why? In the past, debuting as a pro gamer was almost the only way to gain an income. There was no choice. Some people earned money from streaming, but they were geniuses who were good at streaming rather than being good at gaming.

Now it was different. Professional gaming was a profession for those who valued money and fame. If it were just for money, then there was no need to be a professional gamer. Even if there was no fun or personality, they could earn enough money if they had the skills.

A-World made that possible.

“Why am I saying this? It is due to what happened last night. I was resting after doing some work. Thus, I took a moment to cool my head and connected to A-World. It is fun to watch the streams of other people, but that is it. Then I heard shocking words about how Masked Fighting King is a child’s joke... If professional kids fight properly, they can just step on amateurs. Locke went easy on Alley Leader. Etc, etc.”

-Wow, this XX crap. Who said that?

-I saw that yesterday. It was on JT’s stream.

-What’s wrong with JT’s personality? Wasn’t their record in last year’s league terrible?

-Korea isn’t a powerhouse in Arena. To be exact, it is the pro scene.

-If they did the character deletion bet, God Alley Leader would kill all of them in a few days.

“Of course, I know how pro gamers play Arena, so I won’t judge based on level.”

- ㅇㅇ. Once a person becomes a pro, they have less time to play Arena. At that time, they will practice PvP with an account provided by the game company.

-That’s why the level is generally low.

-It was well done by Quency. The professional league is public entertainment, and the content consumption is reduced. This is how it is handled.

-However, even if Alley Leader debuts, he’ll just cut up everything without needing practice.

As the viewers said, the moment someone became a pro gamer, they would spend less time playing Arena. The reason for that was simple. The Arena Pro League consisted of three types of play modes—PvP, raid, and sieges. In the case of a raid and siege, they played with their own Arena account.

However, PvP didn’t allow rare classes, and players could only play with basic classes. For example, the classes were knights, archers, magicians, and so on that anyone could play. This made the popularity of PvP much higher, and the professional players spent a lot of time practicing PvP.

However, it was with a character that had no relationship with the actual Arena game. They wouldn’t get a single point of experience for their actual character. As a solution to this, Quency offered rewards to top PvP players inside Arena. Nevertheless, the problem was still there. The rewards offered by Quency were good, but their levels were low. This meant it was hard to show a proper performance in raids and sieges.

That’s why the professional teams colluded and used the Elixir of Experience. It was the very elixir that Hyeonu sold. They kept the recipe for it as a secret among themselves. Their current levels were the results of constantly taking the elixir. Otherwise, it was clear that they would be struggling in the mid-100s.

“I’ll make it clear here. As you all know, I am a man of my word. That team—I’m going to trample on them. Once I become a professional gamer, I’ll kill them miserably. That is all I’ll say.”

Flames sparked in Hyeonu’s eyes that were concealed by the mask. “If you don’t have the skills, shouldn’t you speak well?”

***

Hyeonu’s stream was over. As always, the words he said during his stream took over the communities. It was just that this time, other people were also mentioned. The protagonists were from JT Telecom. Those who found out that it was JT Telecom’s stream, which was mentioned by Alley Leader, spread videos of the relevant content.

[Is JT Telecom crazy?]

-These jerks barely escaped from being last in the league last year, and now they are saying such things about God Alley Leader. Do they have no conscience? A pro’s luck... Then why did Reina lose twice to God Alley Leader? Who told Reina to go easy on him?

-Milk Drinking Yuljae: Refrain from factual violence.

-Power Muscle King: It isn’t factual violence. The JT kids can’t even make it into the league because they’re ashamed. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Pro Dreamer: They don’t have skills and are living using their mouths.

-Unexpected Death when Touched: Originally, kids with no skills have no conscience.

As a result, Alley Leader’s followers succeeded in attracting public opinion. They succeeded in putting JT Telecom on the chopping table. It would probably make things difficult for them for at least two days. This was bait that didn’t come frequently. It was very tasty prey for keyboard warriors.

“I’m satisfied with this.” Hyeonu was smiling brightly. There were a number of Arena communities open on his laptop screen. “They made fun of me, so they should pay for it, right?”

***

As Hyeonu was smiling over his victory, Nike was smiling for another reason. Jamie was smiling bitterly on the phone. It was frustrating. It had only been a few hours since Alley Leader threw a nuclear bomb in the mail. Then another bomb was thrown before they could deal with the aftermath of the nuclear bomb.

This time, they were people he was familiar with. There were no names he did not know, and some were even people he knew personally. Just like right now...

-Hey Jamie. Have you been well these days?

The typhoon who swept through Hollywood, the master of a cheerful voice—it was Dwayne Evans.

Meanwhile, Jamie’s voice was drooping as he answered, “Uh, Dwayne. It’s been a while. What did you get in touch about?”

-What else? I want to enroll in Alley Leader’s school. I called to tell you that.

“You’re saying that as well? I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it today. I’m tired. How did you find out about it to call me?”

-You don’t know? Alley Leader talked about it on air. I gave him some gold coins. It is a lesson from Alley Leader!!! It is worth all those gold coins.

‘Oh, my god!’ Jamie was shocked by Dwayne Evans’ words. Where did it leak from? He did it. Alley Leader did it himself.

“I understand. I’ll put your name down.”

-Thanks, Jamie. By the way, how many applicants are there? Are there many people who are more famous than me? I’d love to learn from him.

Jamie counted the names on the screen.

“Seven, and you’re the eighth one. So there are eight.”

[1] Based on the meme that a 30-year-old virgin is a magician