Ranker’s Return

Dwayne was fortunate. His items thwarted the opponent’s sword strike. Although Dwayne’s clothes looked like a light cloth, it was actually a unique item with great defense.

‘Phew, I need to take a breath.’ Dwayne chose to take deep breaths. He wondered if he had been too relaxed due to his winning streak. It was an irregular attack, but it was nothing compared to sparring with Alley Leader.

“Haap!” Dwayne screamed. Simultaneously, he kicked off from the ground. The viewers who saw it clicked their tongues. It was the indiscriminate charge that Hyeonu had stressed not to do during the last stream.

-There is no answer.

-As expected, he returned to how he used to be.

-Alley Leader will stream next week.

-Everyone, Alley Leader is in the middle of trembling. Please be quiet.

However, contrary to the reaction of the viewers, Hyeonu nodded. 

‘Do what I’ve taught you.’

Not long ago, Dwayne had asked Hyeonu, -What if I meet an opponent I’m unlikely to win against in the arena?

‘Then I told him this.’

“Use your killing move.”

Hyeonu’s eyes shone as he watched Dwayne’s ranking battle.

***

Nakamura, a longsword warrior, smiled as he watched the big martial artist rush toward him.

‘Stupid guy.’

This was the problem fighters had in the ranking matches. They had no thoughts except to charge forward and see.

“That’s why you’re stuck here.” Nakamura gripped his longsword. Then he aimed his sword at Dwayne, the fighter running toward him.

Dwayne punched the flying sword energy. His gloves were a unique item and he had a variety of passive skills, so his fists were very strong. Dwayne smashed the sword energy with his fists. Of course, Dwayne received damage, but this was an acceptable price for smashing the sword energy.

Nakamura tried to swing his sword again, but Dwayne had disappeared. This was Seombo. The missing Dwayne reappeared right in Nakamura’s blind spot. It was an exquisite use of skills.

‘Linked Seven Strikes!’ Dwayne’s fists instantly turned into seven. Nakamura only discovered Dwayne when the seven fists were right before his eyes.

“Shit,” Nakamura cursed and raised his sword.

He formed sword energy around his sword and barely blocked Dwayne’s fists with difficulty. The powerful force from Dwayne shook the sword and almost caused Nakamura to drop it. Dwayne’s fists were strong.

‘He is too close.’ Glancing at Dwayne who was less than two meters away from him, Nakamura thought he had to widen the distance between them. Nakamura swung his sword to do just that. It was a threat, but Dwayne didn’t back down. Instead, he charged toward Nakamura.

He was using his killing weapon. “Haaap!”

***

As he watched Dwayne’s ranking battle, Hyeonu felt anxious.

‘I told him, but...’

Knowing it was different from putting it into practice. In particular, once a person encountered a superior opponent, they might panic and be unable to show their true skills.

‘I have to believe in what I taught him.’ 

The only thing Hyeonu could do right now was pray.

“Please let Dwayne win.”

The audience was also praying at this moment. In some ways, they were more desperate than Hyeonu.

-Please let Dwayne lose.

-Please!!

-Lose, lose!!

-Proxy knight, have strength!

-If Dwayne wins here, there will be no stream next week or the week after.

Thus, they were even more desperate. At that moment, Dwayne yelled, “Haaap!” 

It was really loud and an unbelievable shout for a man.

‘That’s it! I’ve won now!’ The uneasiness Hyeonu felt disappeared after hearing this sound.

Dwayne’s skill was Lion’s Roar. It was a type of Fear type skill and a killing move. Presently, the skill proficiency was low and could only cause abnormal conditions at a short distance. The opposing warrior’s movements stopped momentarily. Dwayne’s fist slammed right into the warrior’s face. A barrage of blows soon followed. 

Dwayne’s fists, elbows, knees, and so on attacked the warrior’s entire body. The finishing move was Iron Mountain Attack! The warrior was hit by Dwayne’s shoulder and could no longer stand up.

[Player ‘Dwayne Evans’ has won.]

Dwayne Evans had won. Hyeonu had won too.

***

Hyeonu ran toward Dwayne Evans and hugged him. “Thank you. Really.”

Dwayne was bewildered. He didn’t know why Alley Leader was acting like this to him. It was he who should be thanking Alley Leader.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m more grateful. You are the reason I could get 10 consecutive wins. I never thought a day would come when I would win 10 consecutive matches...”

Hyeonu praised Dwayne’s battle. Dwayne fought a battle worthy of the nickname of ‘number 1’. He showed everything he was taught.

“You fought well. I was proud of everything. It was exactly what I taught.”

-Eventually, he is bragging about himself.

-Taking pride in the victory.

-When will this habit be fixed?

-This can’t be fixed for a lifetime. Keep up the good work.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I admit it. He is a proud and pretentious person—our captain.

“Everyone, the next stream will be Monday in three weeks. Don’t fool yourself. There is no need to come in vain.” Hyeonu slammed a dagger into the viewers who were making fun of him.

Of course, he didn’t want to rest this week.

‘I’ll take a break on Monday and then...’

“Let’s continue to enjoy Dwayne’s bronze medal challenge.”

***

10 consecutive wins...

15 consecutive wins...

Moreover, once he won 10 consecutive victories, Dwayne’s ranking changed from eight digits to seven digits. A bronze medal...

It wasn’t a rating set by Arena, but it was a rating that everyone recognized. Dwayne won a bronze medal.

“You worked really hard, Dwayne.” Hyeonu reached out to Dwayne, who finished his 19th ranking match with a victory. Now the stream with Dwayne was over.

“Thank you so much.” Dwayne was crying. Emotions swelled up inside him. He hadn’t known he could win in the Arena or win a bronze medal. The impossible had turned into the possible. Everything was due to his encounter with Alley Leader. 

A few moments later, Dwayne calmed down and quietly vented his feelings over the last few days to the viewers. “I think that meeting with Alley Leader was the best opportunity of my Arena life. It is just as great as when I met my manager, Jennifer, in reality.”

It was amazing. For Dwayne, Jennifer was a manager, a dear lover, and a strong guardian. Now he said that Alley Leader (Hyeonu) played this role in Arena.

“I don’t know how long this Alley Leader Academy will continue. If I have anything to say, it is to apply unconditionally. Your Arena life will truly become different.”

-Really. It is advice that comes from experience.

-You can say that. His ranking has gone up by nearly 60 million.

-If he recruits from the general public, then I must apply.

-Then when is Nike going to act?

The viewers who listened to Dwayne agreed. It wasn’t go-stop nor was he a medicine seller. This was obviously true. The witnesses were the viewers themselves.

“Everyone, I will end the streaming here today. Dwayne got the bronze medal he was aiming for.”

-Yep, see you on Monday.

-See you on Monday.

-Bye bye.

-Next time~~

The viewers said goodbye as usual as if nothing had happened. However, it was impossible for Hyeonu not to notice.

“Yes, I’ll see you the following Monday.” 

-Ah, he noticed.

-Pretend you don’t know.

-Ah, really...

-He has a good memory.

“Then I’ll see you at that time! Bbeong!”

***

“Phew, this is refreshing!”

Hyeonu successfully finished the production of Alley Leader’s first student and immediately ordered fried chicken. There was also Coke with the chicken.

“Hey, you really weren’t hiding Dwayne’s skills? How did he get a bronze medal in just a few days?” Yeongchan wondered as he picked up a chicken leg. He couldn’t understand it.

‘How did Dwayne get better so quickly?’

Yeongchan himself had a silver medal, showing he was ranked within the top 100,000. He knew the fierceness of the arena, which was why he couldn’t make sense of Dwayne’s meteoric rise.

“Outstanding talent, proper items, and the best teacher—it can be seen as the result of this trinity.”

“What?”

Hyeonu took a big bite of a chicken leg.

‘I was prepared to stream one or two more times.’

However, Dwayne did really well. Alley Leader Academy was also successful. Now all that remained was to choose the second student. Before that, he had to do other things.

“That’s right. Did I tell you about the main scenario?”

Yeongchan questioned, “What’s the main scenario? Isn’t the fourth round over?”

He was shaking his head like he couldn’t understand Hyeonu’s words. The main scenario was already over, and one of the protagonists had been Hyeonu.

“Are you crazy? Don’t you remember it?” Yeongchan reached out his index finger to poke Hyeonu in the head.

“I got the fifth one. It is also a shared one. I don’t know which guild did it, but they set up a meal right in front of me.” Hyeonu grabbed Yeongchan’s finger like he was going to break it. Then he lowered it.

“Kek, what? Let go of me first. You broke into the fifth scenario? And you’re sharing it? Me? With me?!!!”

“You don’t meet the conditions. I was worried about it.”

“What am I lacking?” Yeongchan expressed his displeasure. It was natural. His best friend was doing the main scenario. Yeongchan would understand if Hyeonu had to do it alone. However, he had already solved enough quests.

“Can you throw away your guild? Or are you confident you won’t be stepped on?”

“That... I don’t have confidence.” Yeongchan felt depressed hearing Hyeonu’s words.

“You alone are good enough. You don’t need to be intimidated. The problem is your personality. You can’t throw away your guild.”

‘Just like you have never forsaken me.’

“Wait a bit. It will burst open eventually, and the dogs and cows will come running soon. At that time, you can enter.” 

***

“Patrick! What the hell is going on?” Marco, Mano’s guild leader, was furious.

The fifth main scenario quest he had believed they could monopolize had been snatched from right in front of him. It was seized from a distance that could be obtained just by Marco stretching out his hand.

“It was taken? Is it over?! Bring those jerks over right away! Bring the miner jerks!”

Marco’s anger was understandable. The amount of money he had poured into the miners was astronomical. Of course, he had enough income for it, but it was like the money had flown away in the air.

“Do you know how much money I’ve spent on those incompetent bastards? You should know better, Patrick. So bring them to me. Bring them before I kill them!!” 

Despite Marco’s continued anger, Patrick simply remained silent. The moment he brought the miners here, they would die immediately. They might even die in reality. It wasn’t until Marco’s anger subsided that Patrick opened his mouth to speak. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be taken away when it has reached this point. I take responsibility for all of it.”

“It is like this. Who… Who intercepted it? Which guild? New World? Or a professional gaming group?” Marco asked for the culprit who stole the main scenario after finding his sense of reason. 

“The fifth main scenario opener is...”

“The opener?”

“It is presumed to be Alley Leader.”

“What? Who?” Marco once again asked for the unbelievable fact.

However, Patrick came up with the same answer. “Alley Leader. It is Alley Leader.”