Ranker’s Return

[Roton’s Dungeon I’s Keeper has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

The giant orc was a floor keeper and gave a huge amount of experience. Unfortunately, it dropped only one material item, and that seemed useless.

‘I’m level 128 now. I’m catching up. I haven’t heard that the top rankers are over level 200.’

Hyeonu checked his status window.

[Status Window]

[Character Name: Gang Hyeonu

Level: 128

Class: Knight of Keon

Title: Lebron’s Disciple, Warrior Acknowledged by Khan, New Star Acknowledged by Lebron, First Person to Enter the Imperial Palace, First Person to Meet the Emperor, Achieved 100 Consecutive Wins, Solo Raider, Desert Dragon Slayer, Ruler of the Spider Mine

Stats: Strength: 220 (+500)  Agility: 370 (+550)  Physique: 150 (+500)  Magic Power: 155 (+550)  Fighting Energy: 143 (+250)

Remaining stat points: 0

Retained Attributes: Wind]

‘There is one title added...’

It was tradition to give a title when attacking a multi-floor dungeon.

‘I should be able to raise my level once or twice more.’

Hyeonu was thinking deeply while looking at his status window. It was at this moment that a message appeared in front of him.

[You can enter Roton’s Dungeon II. Would you like to enter?]

After receiving the message, Hyeonu called for Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, “Hyung-nim! Come here!”

“I understand. Hyung-nim, let’s go,” Gang Junggu replied to Hyeonu’s call.

Then he shook the arm of Kim Seokjung, who was still immersed in his thoughts. He was replaying Hyeonu’s battle. It had been five minutes since the battle ended, but Kim Seokjung hadn’t emerged from his shock. Hyeonu’s battle had been overwhelming. From the start till the end, the sentinel orc had moved according to Hyeonu’s design.

“It has risen.”

During the battle, Kim Seokjung had been busy admiring Hyeonu’s combat ability. It would have been rude and unreasonable to intrude in such a battle. After all, Hyeonu shone when he fought alone. If Kim Seokjung had intervened, then he would have broken the rhythm of Hyeonu, who had been fighting well.

Kim Seokjung knew this feeling well. It was why he only formed parties with a minimum number of people.

‘I will have to invite him to the guild at some point.’

Kim Seokjung licked his lips. “Yes, let’s go.” 

Hyeonu spoke to the two men who arrived in front of him, “I killed the keeper and a message arrived.”

He then shared the message window in front of him so it was visible to Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu.

[You can enter Roton’s Dungeon II. Would you like to enter?]

“He is indeed the keeper. Then what do you want to do? Hyung-nim, do you want to go down to the second floor right away? Hyeonu, what about you?”

“It is better to go to the end at once. Then the pleasure we’ll receive when we’re rewarded...” Hyeonu’s eyes were cloudy. He thought about getting a unique item like Crasul’s curse and already felt like he was flying in the sky.

“It is as my dongsaeng says. Let’s do it.”

“Then we will enter straight away.”

***

[You have entered Roton’s Dungeon II.]

It was the second dungeon and the second underground floor. However, there were no differences with the first floor except that the monsters had been changed from orcs to trolls. This meant they could pass through the second floor as smoothly as the first floor, just like they were doing right now.

“Tang-E!”

At Hyeonu’s call, Tang-E summoned a strong flame. Flames burned the troll’s entire body. They burned very quickly. The troll was beaten by Hyeonu, and it could no longer deal any further damage.

[Roton’s troll slave has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

The battle ended, and Hyeonu turned toward Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu who were still fighting.

‘Is this the power of a Liru Monk?’

Both Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu were using the divine power of the monk of the sun god. The troll’s body received a fistful of divine power and disappeared. Half of the troll’s body was gone with three more punches. A troll was a symbol of regeneration, but even they didn’t have the talent to regenerate half of their bodies. If this were possible, they would be level 2000, not 200.

“Are we too slow?” Gang Junggu wondered as he approached Hyeonu. Now that he had become more comfortable with Hyeonu, Gang Junggu let go of his awkward manner of speaking and treated Hyeonu like a little brother. “Your killing speed is frighteningly fast.”

“This guy did everything. I just finished them off.” Hyeonu patted Tang-E on his shoulder. As the hunt continued, Tang-E’s Fire skill became more powerful. At first, it didn’t do much damage against the orcs. He had just finished casting it after everyone else decreased most of the orcs’ health. Now it was different. The Fire skill, accompanied by ‘burns’, was enough to cause great damage to the trolls.

“Dongsaeng, do you want to join the guild?” Kim Seokjung asked as he sat down beside Hyeonu. It was a distinctively delicate manner of speaking.

“Guild? Guild...” Hyeonu was troubled by the question.

A guild...

Hyeonu was now reaching the limit. It wasn’t the limit of hunting but the limit of a solo player. He had too little information. Vastly different from a solo player, the mechanism of large guilds worked like a clock.

Many guild members moved like cogs. Among them were those who specialized in certain content in Arena, such as quests and dungeons. They were ‘miners.’ In some ways, the miners were just as important as the armed forces in determining the level of the guild. They provided content so that others could continue to spec up.

The gap between the two was large enough for anyone to know. It was also the difference between a large guild and people without a guild.

“I guarantee that the miners in New World are greater than those in any other guild,” Gang Junggu added to Kim Seokjung’s words.

Gang Junggu also wanted Hyeonu to join New World. It wasn’t only Gang Junggu. Everyone in the guild would think so. Having Alley Leader enter their guild...? It would be like a shortcut for an unknown guild to become famous or a second-class guild to become first-class.

“I have to think about it a bit more. It is too sudden. However, if I have to enter a guild, then it would be New World.” Hyeonu delayed responding to the guild invite. This was an issue he had to consider carefully. He shouldn’t decide based on his current mood.

“Understood. This is fine.” Gang Junggu understood Hyeonu’s heart.

It was ridiculous to decide to join a guild in an instant. However, there was a human here who tried to force it. “Dongsaeng, I’m upset. Do you dislike being with me?”

“Hyung-nim  is this the right thing to say? You have to give Hyeonu time to think. This isn’t something that can be solved if you push it.”

After being forced by Kim Seokjung, Hyeonu was looking embarrassed, and it was Gang Junggu who saved him. Hyeonu bowed toward Gang Junggu. It was a sign of gratitude for helping him escape from this situation.

“Let’s start hunting again,” Gang Junggu said and led Kim Seokjung into the depths of the dungeon. Then he whispered at a volume so low that only Kim Seokjung next to him could hear it, “The bait seems to be eaten, Hyung-nim.” 

“Really? Isn’t my dongsaeng more innocent than I thought?”

This was a dungeon full of plotting.

***

A massive troll fell five meters away. The troll’s entire body was scarred. Deep cuts and scorch marks could be seen all over its body. There was a huge hole in its stomach and chest.

[Roton’s Dungeon II’s Keeper has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

“Hyung-nim, it is now the third floor.” Hyeonu showed a jubilant expression. The hunt was comfortable, but simultaneously, it was boring. Now he was smiling at the thought of not having to see these damn trolls.

“It is like you said. I am tired of looking at these trolls.” Gang Junggu was of the same mind. The thrill of a dungeon attack was completely gone as they had just hunted continuously while waiting for the rewards of the dungeon attack.

“We have to go down. Who knows if the third floor is the last one?”

[You can enter Roton’s Dungeon III. Would you like to enter?]

“We would.”

The three of them disappeared.

***

[You have entered Roton’s Dungeon III.]

Roton’s Dungeon III had a slightly different feel. There were no sounds, and it was extremely narrow. It was a small living space with a small door at the end.

“This seems to be the last one,” Gang Junggu told Hyeonu.

“That’s right. Behind the door is probably the boss monster of the dungeon, a vampire,” Hyeonu agreed with Gang Junggu’s words.

Based on his experience, there would be a boss monster or equivalent monster behind the door. The three of them stepped toward the door carefully. The moment they arrived at the door, they heard a strange sound. It was the sound of the wall collapsing.

“What?!”

Once the walls collapsed and filled the place, they found a box containing a corpse.

“A coffin?”

The moment Hyeonu shook his head, the coffin opened, and bats popped out. The bats quickly flew through the air. Then they stopped and transformed into the form of humans. Their appearances were varied, ranging from children and sturdy young men to even old people.

“Vampires?”

“No, they are his household. They should be seen as between a vampire and human,” Tang-E murmured after hearing Hyeonu’s question.

Then all of Roton’s household cried out loudly, “This is the castle of the noble of the night, Viscount Roton Seynod. Remove all intruders!”

Then one of them started to rush toward Hyeonu at a great speed. Hyeonu wasn’t surprised when he saw the monster running toward him.

“Tang-E! Buff!” He calmly asked Tang-E to buff him. Tang-E was like Pavlov’s dog. He used the buffs the moment Hyeonu demanded them.

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

Hyeonu immediately used the giant skills when he saw the buffs. They weren’t very useful against boss monsters, but they were great skills against normal monsters.

‘They are rushing continuously, but I have this.’

“Fire Breath.”

A powerful flame headed toward the Roton’s household members who were running toward Hyeonu. Fire Breath heated up the narrow space.

“Ah, I don’t even need to fight.”

Roton’s household members were directly hit by the breath and started to melt meaninglessly.

‘There wasn’t even a need for buffs. I never thought they would all die at once.’

Fire Breath dealt damage in proportion to the user’s magic power stat. It wasn’t a skill with fixed damage. Currently, Hyeonu’s magic power stat was over 700 points. Additionally, his magic power was enhanced by various skills and titles, so the breath showed great power.

[Roton’s household Fab has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Roton’s household Sebu has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Roton’s household Camu has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

.

.

.

.

[Roton’s household Macs has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

“!!!” Gang Junggu was shocked by the constant messages. It seemed like only a bit of strength was used in the battle yet it was over in an instant. That was a futile battle. Roton’s household members turned to ashes before they even reached Hyeonu.

“Hyung-nim, let’s kill the boss and go out. We have been underground for too long, and my throat is sore.”