Ranker’s Return

Chapter 851

The announcement from one guild shocked many people. All the communities were talking about it.

[Rain revealed: I will lead the Behemoth Guild to join the god tribe.]

[The shocking move from the former number one ranker of Arena, Rain.]

[The Behemoth Guild that is following the path of the Venom Guild. Who is next?]

[The Behemoth Guild is gone. The weakening of the power of the human faction is serious.]

It was due to the announcement of the transfer of the Behemoth Guild. The Behemoth Guild was the guild that Rain led. The ripple effect was bound to be huge. Who was Rain? He had been the greatest icon of Arena until Hyeonu appeared as Alley Leader.

In terms of level, it was Rain.

In terms of the arena, it was Teika.

In terms of pro gamers, it was Aike.

Their popularity might’ve declined after Hyeonu’s return, but they were still the most popular in those areas after Hyeonu. Out of these three, Teika was the first to become an orc. Now one of the remaining two, Rain, announced he would commit to the god tribe.

Hyeonu turned off the articles he was reading about the Behemoth Guild on the monitor and muttered in a small voice, “High risk, high returns. Only bold challenges will bring success.”

“What high-risk high return? Didn’t you tempt him?” Yeongchan sent Hyeonu a meaningful look. It was obvious. This was clearly Hyeonu’s doing.

‘There is no way the simple-minded Rain would make a reckless decision like this,’ Yeongchan thought. He was one of the people who knew Rain to a certain extent. After all, the relationship between the two of them had been going on for quite some time.

Yeongchan was active in the parties of rankers before he created and operated a guild. He met Rain during that time. They sometimes talked about the guild and streaming, including Masked Fighting King. In that regard, Yeongchan had more knowledge and experience than Rain.

Hyeonu nodded in response to Yeongchan’s words. “He asked me if he should move to the god tribe, and I naturally said it was better to move. I also said that if he was going to move, it was better to do it as soon as possible… I didn’t know he would announce it so quickly.”

A few days ago, Hyeonu had received a whisper from Rain, who asked him for advice. Hyeonu naturally gave the right answer because they were things he usually said.

“You just said that, but Rain made such a decision? Don’t lie. You added extra words, right? What did you say?” Yeongchan didn’t believe Hyeonu’s words. Rain was a person who wouldn’t move just because of those words.

“If a person with a heavy ass moves first, then it must be that he was waiting for someone to push him. Isn’t that right? I just told him what he wanted to do,” Hyeonu casually refuted Yeongchan’s words.

“Even so, he must’ve decided that quickly because you spiced it up. What exactly did you say?”

However, Yeongchan wasn’t easy either. He simply reversed Hyeonu’s rebuttal.

“No one knows you like I do.” Yeongchan drove a wedge into Hyeonu, who was keeping silent.

“Was it obvious?” Hyeonu asked with a laugh.

“It was obvious.” Yeongchan nodded with an expressionless face.

“I said I would cover the aftermath.”

“The aftermath? What aftermath?”

“I said that even if the god tribe fails, I will provide them a way to return to the Yusma Empire. I said I would provide the minimum of insurance.”

Hyeonu’s words to Rain completely blew away Rain’s concerns. He reduced the risk to a minimum.

“Is that possible?” Yeongchan asked with a surprised expression.

“What can’t be done? I am a duke of the empire, a duke. Isn’t it just a matter of planting spies inside the god tribe?” Hyeonu shrugged.

He had already thought about how to deal with it—with spies. Hyeonu would plant an adventurer guild inside the god tribe. Then he would lead the war to his advantage. It was enough to persuade the emperor with this type of logic.

‘The emperor won’t think it is a problem anyway.’

In addition, the territory of the Behemoth Guild was in the Yusma Empire, not the Yuxin Empire. There would be no damage to the emperor at all if the Behemoth Guild joined the god tribe.

‘It doesn’t matter even if the old emperor of the Yuxin Empire protests.’

A mighty force called Lebron came to help in the war. Lebron’s presence was too great to cause a dispute over a guild of adventurers. The difference between having the presence or absence of Lebron would be enormous.

“Is that possible…?” Yeongchan muttered with a confused expression. It was that surprising. Was there such a secret behind a guild joining the god tribe?

“The Venom Guild is similar, but their situation is better than that of the god tribe. They have a sturdy backing. It probably won’t be ruined.” Hyeonu mentioned the Venom Guild. It was the very Venom Guild that caused the Behemoth Guild to behave like this.

“What does that mean? It won’t be ruined? Do you have a backdoor plan?” Yeongchan asked with eyes wide open in surprise.

“There is such a thing. You don’t need to know yet.” Hyeonu waved his hand and pushed Yeongchan away.

It wasn’t the time yet. Later…

After a bit more time had passed, he would tell Yeongchan.

***

Engraving the magic circle on the Guardian’s Spear took longer than expected—five days.

‘Time is running out.’

If he received the spear from Suped and moved straight to Viper, all the items, including the Mysterious Sky Sword, would have a new look by the time he arrived there.

‘I’m going to look for it.’

“Suped, I came after hearing the news that the magic circle has been completed.” Hyeonu roughly opened the door and entered Suped’s laboratory.

“You came as if you have been waiting. Is your time precious, or is it in your nature to be in a hurry?” Suped greeted Hyeonu with a grunt.

Hyeonu entered the laboratory and turned his head from side to side to scan the entire laboratory.

‘Is that it?’ A small ring caught Hyeonu’s eyes.

“Take it,” Suped’s voice rang in Hyeonu’s ears just then.

Hyeonu was startled and replied like an idiot, “Huh?”

“It is yours so take it.” Suped smiled at the sight of Hyeonu looking like this.

“Yes, yes. Thank you, Suped. You fulfilled my request even though it was sudden…”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to say anything unnecessary.” Suped smiled and shook his hand at Hyeonu.

“No, I really appreciate it. Who could do such a thing except for you, Suped?” Hyeonu bowed to Suped.

“It is fine. After all, this isn’t just for you. You can think of it as a job for the entire empire.” Suped approached Hyeonu, who was standing still, and handed him the ring that was on the desk. “Instead, promise me one more thing. If you achieve some success in the war in the north, go straight to the East Continent and help the Yuxin Empire.”

Hyeonu nodded at Suped’s words. It wasn’t difficult. He had already thought of moving like that.

“I understand, Suped. I will restore the lost northern city as soon as possible and help our ally, the Yuxin Empire.”

Hyeonu carefully grabbed the ring from Suped’s hand. Then he put the ring directly on his empty finger.

“Try it once. I have to make sure it is right,” Suped said while pointing at Hyeonu’s hand.

“I understand. Do I just inject magic power into the ring?” Hyeonu asked.

Suped nodded. “You have to inject magic power and think of the original spear. It is only then that the spear will reveal itself.”

The most important thing to activate the magic circle was magic power. It just took magic power to use it. However, something else was just as necessary this time—a clear image.

Those who didn’t know the appearance of the spear could never use the magic circle. This was Suped’s own consideration for Hyeonu. It was a restriction so that other people couldn’t use the magic circle if the ring were lost.

‘Think of the spear.’ Hyeonu injected magic power into the ring with a soft glow. At the same time, he pictured the Guardian’s Spear in his mind. The purple light that started from Hyeonu’s hand was sucked into the ring in an instant. The ring made a vibrating sound and emitted a pale glow.

‘It is changing.’

Hyeonu could feel the ring changing in the light. The feel of the metal wrapped around his finger disappeared, and he could feel the cold metal in his hand instead. The light quickly faded. It wasn’t very strong in the first place. A familiar spear appeared in the place where the light had disappeared. It was the Guardian’s Spear.

“What if I want to change the shape again?” Hyeonu examined the Guardian’s Spear before looking up at Suped.

“It is the same. Inject magic power and think of the shape of the ring,” Suped replied. The method wasn’t any different; the magic circle could be triggered in the same way.

Hyeonu immediately injected magic power into the Guardian’s Spear. Then he pictured in detail the image of the ring he had just seen. It was a ring that looked crude but had a soft glow that made it feel luxurious. The Guardian’s Spear emitted light as it was injected with purple magic power. The light went out, and the Guardian’s Spear was gone. There was instead a ring on Hyeonu’s finger that emitted a soft glow.

“Thank you, Suped. I will definitely help the empire.” Hyeonu bowed to Suped and quickly left the laboratory. He knew that leaving now would be more helpful to Suped than speaking unnecessarily.

“It is His Majesty’s command, so I will follow, but… I don’t know what he is thinking. Wanting an adventurer to act as the emperor’s representative…” Suped stared at the spot where Hyeonu had disappeared and sighed. The order that Suped received from the emperor was to raise Hyeonu’s reputation and create a jointly sealed document. It was a document stating that Hyeonu was acting as the emperor’s representative.

‘Who can stop His Majesty…?’

Suped’s sigh deepened.

***

Hyeonu was able to reach Viper due to traveling non-stop for two days. He didn’t have the Mysterious Sky Sword, but he had the Guardian’s Spear. The Guardian’s Spear wasn’t inferior to the Mysterious Sky Sword at all when it came to just attack power. He easily broke through the Anfra Forest surrounding the League of Different Species. None of the monsters could handle more than ten stabs from Hyeonu. It was only once or twice that the number of stabs went beyond a maximum of five times.

‘Once the accessories are complete… is that the end of it?’

Hyeonu had one more expectation through this hunt. He would wear items that were going to be reborn by Kapa’s hands. He was confident that he would stand in a more solid position by doing that.

‘Now my competitors are NPCs, not players.’

Hyeonu’s big plan was now in the completion stage. In addition, his close younger brother had added more brushstrokes. Hyeonu’s plan wouldn’t just end in Arena, he would also bring it into reality.

“Kapa, are you here?”

Thump thump thump! Hyeonu knocked on the workshop door. The door opened, and he went inside without hesitation.

‘Let’s go!’