Ranker’s Return

After the stream was over, Hyeonu sent Dwayne an email containing information on the next stream. He also told Dwayne to send him a whisper whenever he had time. Hyeonu had a few tips to teach Dwayne.

“Oh, I’m hungry.” Hyeonu headed to the kitchen to fill his grumbling stomach.

“Hey, what accident did you cause?” Yeongchan asked Hyeonu.

“Me? What accident? I’ve finished streaming,” Hyeonu responded to Yeongchan with a natural expression. Then he scoured the refrigerator to find the chicken leftover from last night.

“Then what is this?” Yeongchan turned on the TV. The 70-inch wall-mounted TV was set to an Arena community site that Hyeonu entered several times a day. The window changed when Yeongchan pressed on the mouse.

[The Mano Boycott Movement, let’s go!!]

[Alley Leader’s stream today released super amazing tips.]

[I realized it today. Those who stream for the arena are all trash.]

[The difference in streaming class shown today was amazing. Praise the new God Alley Leader.]

These posts were written on the community’s free bulletin. Most of the praise was toward Hyeonu’s streaming while the criticism was directed at the individuals and guilds who had been streaming arena content so far.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with me, right? It’s not like I sniped at them.” After speaking, Hyeonu started eating the moderately warmed chicken.

“It might be true, but I don’t think they’ll have the same opinion. They probably want to bite at you crazily, just as it has been until now.” Yeongchan was well aware of how big guilds handled potential successors. He hoped that their target wouldn’t become Hyeonu.

Hyeonu didn’t seem to know Yeongchan’s heart as he concentrated on eating chicken. Finally, Hyeonu ate all the chicken Yeongchan had bought.

“100 or 1,000 people, they can all come. I don’t care. Don’t I just have to step on trash like them?” Hyeonu licked the chicken seasoning on his hand. 

Yeongchan frowned at such a Hyeonu. ‘If you want to eat chicken, shouldn’t you buy it?’

“Your shit talk is big, you bastard.”

***

Marco, a man in leather clothing that didn’t match the old-fashioned house, had an expression like he could explode at any time. It wasn’t directed at Patrick who was sitting in front of him though.

“Guild leader, the fire has been properly lit. I think it is worse than the last time.” Patrick’s expression was also unusual.

The situation had turned strange. Irrespective of his intentions, this might not be what Alley Leader had intended, but the bombs fell on those who used the arena and PvP as their main content.

“I didn’t like him from the beginning. I should’ve stepped on him at that time. If only I had known that he wasn’t normal… I didn’t know it would become so big.”

‘If I had known, I would’ve stepped on him at all costs.’

Marco’s face was filled with regret, but it only lasted for a moment. Then Marco’s face turned cold. As expected from the leader of a large guild, he quickly adjusted his emotions.

“By the way, are you certain? That guy doesn’t matter?”

“Of course, I’m certain. Such maneuvering isn’t possible. At the end of the stream, he finished it without a proper ending like he was flustered.”

“What if that was directed?”

“It isn’t possible. His streaming career is short, and he is coming up with some very original content. This means he doesn’t want to borrow existing content. Would such an Alley Leader carry out an operation to target us? It doesn’t make sense,” Patrick told Marco the result of the analysis he had worked on with his subordinates overnight.

He was certain that Alley Leader didn’t need to do such an annoying thing. It was clear that even copying their content would attract like-minded viewers. Between the arena challenges streamed by Alley Leader and the arena challenges streamed by the Mano Guild, it was clear which stream viewers would watch. They would probably click on Alley Leader’s stream without even thinking about it.

‘I would do the same thing myself.’ Patrick smiled bitterly.

This was something he couldn’t do due to being in the guild called ‘Mano.’

‘Unless the guild leader realizes the reality quickly...’

They would be damned in the near future.

Sponsors would drop, viewership would fall, and they would eventually just be a meaningless guild.

“I think we should take this opportunity to release more practical information,” Patrick told Marco what he had been struggling with overnight. “Only then will we survive. Disregarding him as before isn’t the answer. Now there is a new oasis called Alley Leader. The viewers will no longer raise their hands to the traditional selfish streams.”

Patrick spoke while tasting blood. However, these were his feelings. They weren’t Marco’s feelings.

“Alley Leader? He is just a plausible swindler. He beat Reina? Reina, who never beat me? It’“s obvious this time. He is trying to raise controversy by inciting this. Look! Otherwise, it wouldn’t spread so quickly.”

Marco didn’t really care about the situation with Alley Leader. Until Marco got this position, until he became the leader of one of Arena’s largest guilds… there had been no challengers like Alley Leader. It was Marco who went up against numerous challengers and hyenas seeking his position.

“You don’t need to worry about such a thing. How is the search for a clue about the next main scenario going? We can’t lose to New World again. Ignore Alley Leader.”

What’s more, the Mano Guild now had the greatest opportunity—the main scenario quest. They found a key to open that huge membrane. If they could monopolize the main scenario quests, then they would be at the top of the arena. He almost gave up twice—no, three times.

“I understand.” Patrick knew Marco’s stubbornness and decided to take his hands off the situation. Still, he couldn’t help feeling anxious. New World had already gained the lead in the main scenario twice. If even a small gap they didn’t know about was visible to New World, then New World would squeeze through that gap.

‘If we lose our foundation and the main scenario...’

“It would be the worst.”

It was the worst of all the scenarios that Patrick could think of.

***

The RTAS (Request the Truth from the Arena Streamers), which was created due to Hyeonu’s stream, was scattered in less than six hours. It was due to the large bomb that exploded. The start was the post on Quency’s official social media account.

[Patch to Celebrate Arena’s 3rd Anniversary]

It was a simple summary of events, third class changes, new content, and changes in existing content. The staff were very friendly and helpful. It took only 30 minutes for this short article to be spread among Arena enthusiasts. In an hour, it was all over the Internet news. It took exactly three hours for it to become TV news.

In front of the huge wave called the third-anniversary patch, the RTAS was just like a grain of sand in the sea. It turned into common gossip. Hyeonu hadn’t cared about RTAS in the first place. He saw information on Arena’s communities and social media and immediately visited the official website.

‘It’s here!’

Hyeonu looked at the slow-loading screen for a long time before finding the information he wanted.

[3rd Anniversary Patch Notes]

[-The first ranked player on Arena’s official rankings has reached level 200, and the other ranked players are close to level 200.

There will be new content for top players.

The third class transfer will be added.

The third class transfer: Possible at level 200. Rare classes will have to meet a certain standard.] 

“Wow, do I have to go to Lebron and be hit again? I feel sick just thinking about it.”

Hyeonu felt stuffy when he thought about Lebron. That person will definitely put out ridiculous conditions. Hyeonu sighed and scrolled down. There were four things mentioned, and now he had three left.

[-The change in existing content is the siege. It is rarely used today unless it is the E-sports stage.

After thinking about a number of things, Quency has decided on a method called renewal. You will be rewarded depending on the number of castles you own.

Siege: Players or guilds can own a castle. Certain conditions are required to own a castle.

The simplest condition is to have a rank of baron or above.

It’s easy, right? ^^] 

“This is good.” Hyeonu admired it. It was a unique and novel idea. If this happened, pro-gamers would have to be more involved in Arena. They had to clear many quests to become a baron. Alternatively, the production classes could gain the required contributions through extreme grinding.

“Didn’t I gain some imperial contributions? How much were they...?”

Hyeonu revisited his memories. He had clearly gained imperial contributions. It was for certain, but he couldn’t remember the exact number. He probably didn't even remember it because he thought it was useless.

“Let’s see the next one.”

[-New content and events will be grouped together. It is easy to think of this as a type of launch event.

The new content is aimed at revitalizing the pet system, which is a content that has been lacking like the siege. It is called Pet Arena!

Pet Arena: This is an arena only for pets. Just like with the regular arena, you will be rewarded with huge rewards at the end of each season.] 

“Pet Arena? Isn’t this perfect for Tang-E?” Hyeonu smiled brightly. He imagined himself as number one in the arena rankings and Tang-E as number one in the pet arena rankings. “Huhu... Tang-E. We’ll go hunting, hunting!”

[-There will be events to commemorate the opening of the Pet Arena!!!

The two contests are: a preview pet competition and a competition to show off your pet.

We’ll announce more details about it later.] 

“This is truly Quency. The patch is substantial. Well, this is why they are always number one.”

Hyeonu liked everything about the patch. It was good to have more content to enjoy and to become stronger with the third class transfer. Other people felt the same way.

-Milk Drinking Yuljae: This patch is good. It is substantial. It is good in quantity and quality.

-Power Muscle King: It is the best unlike everywhere else.

-Pro-Dreamer: The next patch will be in five years.

-Unexpected Death when Touched: I just changed to my second class... When will I experience the third class transfer? It is so far away.

Hyeonu organized his laptop and stretched. It was time to return to Arena.

“I guess I should be a bit nicer to Tang-E if I want to run the arena in the future?” 

Hyeonu recalled the teddy bear, Tang-E. He was a cute guy with a rude manner of speaking.

“No, he ate three essences. He has to do his part.”

The fact that Tang-E swallowed the essences still remained deep in Hyeonu’s heart.