Ranker’s Return

“How can you win one match like this?” Hyeonu coldly mocked Lee Hoon, who was lying on the ground.

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“You are too different when talking to me, Coach Gang.
Isn’t this too hard? Is this your taste?” Lee Hoon opened his mouth while laying on the ground.

‘I’m dying.’

He didn’t have the energy to move the other parts of his body that weren’t his mouth. He was literally exhausted.

‘Is there a bigger difference in abilities?’

It was a few times harder than preparing for Arena Week. He felt really suffocated.

‘This guy’s debuff…’

It was fighting energy that made things the hardest for Lee Hoon. To be exact, it was fighting energy that decreased stats. Hyeonu had adjusted the stats, but a debuff was still a debuff.

‘My mind remembers the best condition, but my body can’t follow…’

This feeling made Lee Hoon feel tired more quickly.

‘Why does he use a sword so well?’

He was appalled by the iron sword that stabbed at his weaknesses more sharply. At the same time, he felt like he was going crazy. He didn’t even have the wish to deal one blow.

“Get up.
Your turn is over,” Hyeonu glared briefly at Lee Hoon, who was lying on the dirt ground, and opened his mouth soon after.

“Really?” Lee Hoon listened to Hyeonu and stood up.

“Start again with Jaeyeol.
I am going to use this weapon this time.”

The iron sword in Hyeonu’s hand disappeared and a waiting spear was held.

“A monster…”

Lee Hoon felt another nightmare hit his head.

‘There is no weapon he can’t handle.’

During the time when they prepared for the Winter League, Hyeonu carried all the weapons used by professional gamers. It was from common longswords, daggers, narrow swords, spears, and even bare fists. They practiced to be able to cope with any situation they would face.

“I don’t know.
In any case, it is Jaeyeol hyung’s turn.”

Still, Lee Hoon was happy. He could take a break from now on.

 

***

 

The sparring continued until Hyeonu’s weapon changed from a long spear to a pair of gauntlets. It took less than an hour to get to this point. It meant Hyeonu limited his rest time.

“He is truly a monster.
We split it into 20 minutes.
Can a person who has been sparring for an hour be so energetic?” Lee Hoon, who was beaten to the end, made a complaint.

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Unlike Lee Hoon, Yoo Hyeonsu, and Han Jaeyeol, who lost their energy, Hyeonu was fine. He seemed like he was just about to start the spar.

“Do you still have the energy to speak? Should we have a good time with just the two of us left?”

Hyeonu smiled as he raised Lee Hoon from the ground.

“I will be going, Coach Gang.
I’ll see you next time.”

Lee Hoon left without looking back at Hyeonu’s mischievous words.

“You should go now.”

Hyeonu waved to the other players.

“Oppa, you’ve worked hard today.”

“Please look after me next time.”

The players said goodbye to each other and disappeared from the arena. All the other players disappeared and only Han Jaeyeol remained in the arena.

“Jaeyeol? Why aren’t you going?”

Hyeonu looked up when he saw Han Jaeyeol standing still.

“I have something to say to you,” Han Jaeyeol opened his mouth as he approached Hyeonu.

“Something to say? To me?” Hyeonu pointed to his own face with his finger.

“Yes.” Han Jaeyeol nodded.

“What is it?”

“Jinyong hyung came to me today.”

“JInyong hyung? Who is that?”

Hyeonu frowned.

‘Jinyong?’

Jinyong.

He seemed to have heard it before, but it wasn’t a familiar name.

“JT Telecom’s captain, Kim Jinyong.”

Han Jaeyeol explained Kim Jinyong’s identity to Hyeonu.

‘His skills were good and his mentality was particularly good.’

Hyeonu recalled who Kim Jinyong was. JT Telecom’s oldest member. He was a player whose unique leadership stood out.

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“Ah! That person! What about that person?”

So why was Kim Jinyong looking for Han Jaeyeol?

“He asked me if I had any thoughts about joining JT Telecom.”

“JT Telecom? It is true that they are missing one person…”

Hyeonu perfectly understood the circumstances behind Kim Jinyong’s visit after Han Jaeyeol’s words.

‘They have to fill in the blanks, but there is no one.
Thus, they have to go to their connections.’

Hyeonu knew it because he had been through it. In South Korea, it wasn’t easy to get professional players. Streaming was a few times more profitable when it came to making money. Of course, they could stream even if they became a pro gamer.

However, there was a clear difference in earnings due to the difference in absolute streaming time. Therefore, those without a clear goal weren’t suitable to be pro gamers.

“I haven’t announced it publicly yet, so he must’ve come because he thought you were just a streamer.”

“Yes, so in fact…
I told him I was contracted as a pro gamer.”

Han Jaeyeol bowed his head and reduced his voice. He had answered Kim Jinyong without really thinking about it, but after returning to his dormitory, he realized this wasn’t something he could freely reveal. He should’ve said he would give an answer later and then talked to people like Hyeonu, Kang Ujong, and Jeong Byeongjin.

“So, what about it? Who can he tell? At most, it is his own front desk.
Additionally, I told you before.
I am going to reveal it on the next livestream.
The data will probably be released at the club level on that day.”

Contrary to Han Jaeyeol’s thoughts, Hyeonu didn’t consider it to be a big deal. It was information that would soon be revealed. Even if Kim Jinyong said it somewhere, it was likely to be a player or official of JT Telecom or another team. Hyeonu wasn’t worried about leaking information to the other side, but the exposure of information to the public.

‘All I need is people’s attention.
The rest isn’t a problem.’

It was a problem when people’s attention was dispersed to situations he didn’t intend, but he didn’t think it was a problem for it to be known by people in the same industry. Despite Hyeonu’s explanation, Han Jaeyeol still had a stiff expression.

‘Is he unconvinced?’

Hyeonu didn’t understand Han Jaeyeol. He didn’t know why on earth this was so important.

“Now, Jaeyeol? Think about it.
You are the supervisor of JT Telecom.
JT Telecom needs a magician.
Then you accidentally found out that Jinhwan will enter Crescent Moon as a player.
Then what are you going to do?”

Hyeonu started detailing his thoughts to Han Jaeyeol, who still didn’t understand.

“……”

Han Jaeyeol was silent. He had nothing to say.

Kim Jinhwan entering Crescent Moon—it didn’t seem to have much to do with the supervisor of JT Telecom, no matter how much he thought about it.

“Will the supervisor try to take Jinhwan out of our team? Will Jinhwan leave? This is Crescent Moon? It is a groundless worry,” Hyeonu asserted. Even if that happened, those who had already signed with Crescent Moon would never leave the team.

‘This place is the best.
Where are they going to go?’

There was a precise reason for his conviction. Honor was the reason why they became pro gamers. There was no environment as good as Crescent Moon to get it.

—At least, domestically.

“We have not lost a single game since we were founded and we won Arena Week.
The undefeated captain, Alley Leader, remains as the coach.
There is also Supervisor Kang Ujong, who is said to be the best in South Korea.
What fool would leave this team behind? So don’t worry and go hunting.”

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Hyeonu patted Han Jaeyeol’s shoulder lightly and disappeared from the arena.

‘I would’ve understood if I talked like this.’

 

***

 

The rankers in Alfore felt that the time was coming. It wasn’t just due to the quest that the emperor gave them. It was due to the increase in the amount of demons and demonic creatures appearing near Alfore. The amount was too enormous to simply see it as regeneration.

The change was felt not only by the rankers, but also by those watching the streaming. It was because hunting had become much more dynamic than before. However, the changes they felt were very abstract. There were only feelings and speculation, but no one knew it exactly. The only exception was Hyeonu.

“It is around time they come…”

A week in Arena time had passed since Hyeonu returned to Alfore. Hyeonu’s expected time period was a week.

‘I think it is roughly right…’

Hyeonu’s prediction wasn’t wrong. The growing number of demons and demonic creatures proved it. Still, it was just a precursor phenomenon.
The actual demon world army wasn’t seen. This made Hyeonu’s heart uncomfortable.

‘What are they doing?’

At this moment, Hyeonu saw a group moving in his vision. Even from a distance, the men running toward Alfore seemed flustered. Hyeonu raised his body and jumped from the wall.

“I almost died.
These jerks.”

“So let’s go back early.
It is right to rest today.”

“I only heard about the increase in monsters.
I never expected it would increase in this way.”

As the distance with them narrowed, the conversation started to enter Hyeonu’s ear.

‘Has it increased to such an extent that they can’t hunt?’

Hyeonu received unexpected information from their conversation. The number of monsters appearing near Alfore had increased so much that ranker parties couldn’t hunt.

“It isn’t important that there are more monsters.
The problem is that some boss monsters are grouping up like that.”

“It takes a long time to kill just one.
How can anyone beat that?”

Then Hyeonu’s eyes widened at the conversation that followed.

‘The nobles are going around together?’

This wasn’t a story to laugh off lightly. Demon nobles weren’t easy to see. The fact that they were united meant the demon world army was within reach of Alfore.

‘They came, they came.’

Hyeonu smiled brightly. Finally, the demon world army he had been waiting for was arriving at Alfore.

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‘I should start the streaming.’

Hyeonu first entered A-World and turned on the streaming. He didn’t know what would happen in the future. If there were unforeseen circumstances, he might not have the time to turn on the streaming. Thus, he turned it on in advance.

‘I can’t hand over the climax to anyone.’

No matter what anyone said, this main scenario was led by Hyeonu. There was no thought of giving the sweetest fruit to others.

-Eh? What is with the sudden streaming?

-What is going on?

-Did he turn it on incorrectly? What if he suddenly turns off the streaming and runs away?

-It has already happened more than once or twice. It is reliable speculation.

Viewers who knew nothing had question marks at Hyeonu’s sudden streaming.

“Everyone, you know it right? There is a quest.”

Hyeonu started to dispel the doubts of such viewers. It was very kindly, like a daycare center teacher.

-Yes, I know.

-However, no one knows when it will start.

-I heard that the quest suddenly appeared one day.

-Perhaps…?

“That’s right.
It is because I have a quest.
The demon world army is approaching Alfore.
That is why I turned on the streaming.”

-By the way, did he turn on the streaming because he knows the demon world army will come?

-So he is going to keep streaming until they come?

-I hope they come tomorrow.

-I want the day after tomorrow. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The viewers laughed at Hyeonu’s words. It was a wait without promise. There was already a history of guilds wasting a week waiting for the demon world army that they didn’t know was coming when.

“Ah. That is naturally a possibility if I stay still.
Then what if I come out here?”

The moment Hyeonu finished speaking, he kicked off from the wall and popped out of Alfore. If the demon world army didn’t come, then he would go.

-Look at the change in thoughts.

-What is this new suicide method?

-I never imagined he would come out like this.

Viewers were unable to speak about Hyeonu’s behavior.