Ranker’s Return

Chapter 822

Yeongchan immediately gathered all the guild members after the first battle against the undead.

“Has everybody gathered? There are no kids who didn’t log on? Today is really important.”

Yeongchan observed the assembled guild members. It was a process to make sure there were no missing faces.

“How many people won’t come? We are all here,” a man who looked like a young boy responded to Yeongchan’s words lightly.

“Everyone has come? Aren’t there one or two missing?” Yeongchan frowned.

“Aren’t the ones you can’t see behind you right now?” the boy replied with a familiar expression. It was obvious even without looking.

“Really? Then I will start by telling you the reason I asked to meet today.” Yeongchan nodded slightly and pulled a tree branch out of his inventory. It was the same branch that Hyeonu had received from the elf great tribe chief, Nile, and filled with energy.

“What is this?”

“Did you get an epic item?”

“Where did you pick up this strange thing?”

Yeongchan’s guild members examined Yeongchan’s branch with suspicious eyes. It was a natural move because Yeongchan had played quite a few pranks with nonsense in the past.

“This isn’t something strange. It is really good. It’s just that… This is an item that is a bit of a concern.” Yeongchan shook the branch hard. “You know Teika, right?”

“The orc?”

“Is it an item that Teika gave you?”

“Hyung, do you know Teika? Did Alley Leader introduce you to him?”

The guild members poured out all types of questions just upon hearing the name Teika.

“It isn’t like that. You know that Teika became an orc, right?” Yeongchan asked.

“Yes, we know. It is hot right now. Teika is the only one of a different species among the rankers.”

“No one knows how to become a different species so it can’t be helped. Few people have been to the League of Different Species.”

The members of Yeongchan’s guild also knew it. It was a fact that Teika was the hottest potato right now.

“This branch is the item that will allow us to receive that type of attention,” Yeongchan said.

“That? What is it?”

“Is it really an epic item?”

“Is it like the legendary Mysteltein? Hyung, are you going to use that? Right?”

The guild members poured out words with excited faces. However, none of them said the right answer. It was difficult for anyone with common sense to look at the branch and think of a species transformation.

Yeongchan shook his head and said, “No, this is an item that allows us to change our species.” “Species? Can we become an orc with that?”

“How did you get that?” The guild members started to make a fuss.

They were words that were hard to swallow lightly. They would be able to change species.

“How did I get it? I went to the League of Different Species and got it. That isn’t the important thing. We can become elves using this. That is why I want to ask you, do you want to change your species to an elf?” Yeongchan asked cautiously.

Changing their species wasn’t an easy decision to make. He had to get everyone’s opinion.

“I like the idea. I used to specialize as an elf in other games.”

“Me too. Won’t I become handsome if I’m an elf?”

“Hey, shit. Do you think you will be handsome? You are still the original version. Even so, elves must be better than humans.”

All the members of Yeongchan’s guild didn’t care much about changing their species to an elf. They thought that elves and humans were the same.

“We might have to abandon our territory though?” Yeongchan added. He had heard something from Hyeonu. It was the worst situation that could happen when the species changed.

“What’s wrong with that? It is a territory that no one cares about anyway.”

“Is that something that someone who doesn’t even care about our territory can say? You have no conscience.”

There was no change in their attitude after hearing Yeongchan’s words. It was the same.

“Do you all agree? Then let’s go straight away to the League of Different Species.” Yeongchan made eye contact with each guild member and extended his fist.

“Let’s go!”

“Come on, let’s become elves!”

***

A week had passed since Yeongchan left the battlefield in the north. Meanwhile, the battle continued. The battle against the undead took place once a day and lasted between three and four hours. This was precisely the extent of the battle. Once time passed, the undead retreated like ghosts.

Hyeonu stayed in place for the first week or so. Then as time passed and it was confirmed that the movements of the undead were regular, he slipped away. The undead’s movements were regular because Edward kept his sanity. There were no other variables, so there was no need to keep his position. The large guilds and NPCs of the different species had enough power to block the undead army.

The place Hyeonu headed to after disappearing from the north was Phinis. There was no particular reason for returning there; he just needed a place to stream without being disturbed by anyone. However, it wasn’t easy. There were no players in Phinis, but there were many NPCs.

“My Lord, I heard that you have been playing a great role in the war in the north.”

“Rumors about the marquis are circulating throughout the empire.”

“There is no one who doesn’t know that you led the different species as reinforcements to save the north.”

The NPCs, who were the backbone of Phinis, were busy surrounding Hyeonu and offering all types of compliments.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Hyeonu could only gulp. He couldn’t understand how the situation turned out like this. He just came to Phinis to stream. So why did he have to listen to such burdensome compliments from the NPCs?

“I haven’t done much. I think these compliments are too much…” Hyeonu couldn’t stand it any longer and interrupted the NPCs. However, it didn’t work at all.

“It isn’t too much. My Lord is the hero who has defended the empire from the evil of the undead army.”

“There is also talk about whether you should be promoted to a duke and not just be a marquis.”

“Now that the number one knight of the empire, Duke Lebron, is away, his disciple has defended the empire. I think it is a possibility.”

The NPCs lightly ignored Hyeonu’s words and continued with what they wanted to say. Still, their words weren’t worthless. The NPCs were passing Hyeonu information that he didn’t know.

‘The problem is that I don’t know if it is true or not…’

This didn’t mean Hyeonu was happy. The words spoken by the NPCs in front of him were definitely good things for Hyeonu. There was just no guarantee that what they said was necessarily true. Of course, it wouldn’t be a complete lie. He didn’t know if it was 100% pure truth or a mixture of exaggerations. This was what made Hyeonu suspicious.

“I understand. You can go now. If adventurers come looking for me, don’t forget to guide them.” Hyeonu finally issued an order to the NPCs. He couldn’t listen any longer. The time he’d agreed upon in advance for his appointment was approaching.

Before the appointment time, Hyeonu ran a simulation through his head. He was thinking about how to lead the live stream.

‘Once Teika comes out… it will be full of viewers. I will conduct the interviews and spars casually.’

Today’s guest was Teika. It was the day of the joint streaming that they had previously agreed upon.

After a while, a guard of the lord’s castle appeared with Teika, who was in the form of an orc.

“Alley Leader, I’m here.” Teika waved as he approached Hyeonu.

“Your hosting skills have improved lately, so I’ll ask you to take care of today’s live stream, Teika.” Hyeonu held out his hand to Teika, who had an unfamiliar appearance.

“Shouldn’t I rise to a higher level? I believe that you will lead me well today,” Teika replied with a smile.

Hyeonu moved his eyebrows lightly and changed the topic, “What is the reaction from the viewers?”

“There is more interest from other rankers than viewers. A lot of people have asked me what it takes to become an orc and what the benefits are.”

At first, the viewers were surprised to find that Teika had turned into an orc. Then once time passed, interest in him naturally diminished. It was something they became used to. Nevertheless, there were still others whose interest didn’t cool down. They were rankers who were struggling with the species transformation. These rankers asked all types of questions to the pioneer, Teika. They thoroughly weighed the pros and cons.

“Isn’t it good overall to be a different species? Even the orcs have a huge advantage for the melee classes,” Hyeonu dismissed it lightly.

The different species were clearly superior to humans. It was natural. No one would choose a different species if there wasn’t a certain amount of advantage.

Hyeonu continued, “However, that is from an individual’s point of view. The people who lead an organization will have to think about it carefully. This is especially the case for those who have accumulated a lot.”

Changing the species meant changing affiliation from the Yusma Empire to the League of Different Species. It also meant abandoning their current foundation.

“Nevertheless, if the mid-sized guilds are going to give up, it will be helpful to do it as soon as possible. It is just like that guy over there,” Hyeonu said while pointing to the elf walking with a guard from afar.

“Hey, you jerk!” The elf found Hyeonu and started to run quickly.

“Hey, aren’t you a bit late?” Hyeonu waved and greeted the running elf, Yeongchan.

Yeongchan approached Hyeonu and asked with an agitated face, “You knew, right?”

“What?”

“It didn’t change. You knew this.”

“What hasn’t changed? Your species has changed just fine.”

“It is the same. I just got long ears. The color of my skin didn’t even change.”

“Did you want that type of change? You should think about it with common sense. Is there a big difference between the elves and humans? Look at Teika. There is a big difference between a human and an orc, so the color of his skin and his body shape has changed. But… you are different. Give up and admit it. You look like an elf now. You’ve changed enough. Be satisfied with your ears.” Hyeonu laughed loudly at Yeongchan.

Honestly, he hadn’t been aware of Yeongchan’s expectations, but he also knew how futile those expectations were. That was why he didn’t tell Yeongchan.

“Give up, you jerk. You can’t do anything. Get ready to stream today.” Hyeonu drove a wedge into the sulky Yeongchan.

Then he turned on the live stream before Yeongchan could say anything. “Hello viewers, I am Alley Leader. Today, we have a person who is getting a lot of attention these days.”

Hyeonu pulled Teika to his side. “You are the first ranker to change your species to an orc. Please greet everyone.”

-Wow, you didn’t stream yourself but appeared as a guest on someone else’s stream.

-Since he appeared as a guest, did he receive Alley Leader’s help when changing species?

-That is possible. Maybe Alley Leader asked Teika to appear on the live stream in exchange for his help.

Rather than saying hello, the viewers started to speculate about why Teika was here. However, it was only for a moment. The other guest, Yeongchan, appeared and interest in Teika cooled down.

“There is one more guest. This time, it is the first elf. Let me introduce my friend, Argon.”

At Hyeonu’s gesture, Yeongchan appeared in the form of an elf.