Ranker's Return

Supplementary Story 50

“Hello, everyone. I am Alley Leader.”

Many viewers were shocked when Hyeonu’s live stream was first turned on.

-What is going on here?

-Alley Leader walked out of the imperial palace.

-When did it start?

The surprise died down and doubts started to arise.

-It must’ve been a long time, right?

-You only showed us you working because you were too lazy to make content, right? Right?

-So you were having a hard time acting?

“If that was acting, I would’ve become an actor. Everyone, why would I be a streamer? This is the first time.” Hyeonu appealed to the viewers in a resentful voice.

‘This is the third time...’

There were actually two more times, but that had nothing to do with Hyeonu’s intentions.

‘So it is invalid.’

This was the first time Hyeonu had designed an escape from the imperial palace.

“Rather than that, isn’t it more important why I am here?”

Hyeonu quickly changed the topic of the conversation. He didn’t want more words said against himself.

-By the way, where is this place?

-It seems like the southern part of the continent?

-It seems to fit the south.

-It is here. The place where the war broke out.

-Is he going to participate in the war?

Hyeonu’s words reversed the topic of the chat window. “That’s right. Everyone is a ghost. I am near the battlefield right now. Then you know why I’m here, don’t you?”

-You are here to end this war.

-Is the final weapon finally released?

-It seems as if Alley is here to calm things down.

The viewers cheered. They could only see Hyeonu fighting in the arena while he was imperial in the imperial palace. They were thirsty for Hyeonu’s combat.

“That’s right, I am participating in the war. I am going there right now.”

***

“It is pretty good to watch it from here.”

Mason smiled as he watched the spectacular battlefield. Watching the battle in the field felt different from watching it on the walls.

“What is good? Won’t you die if you fight in person? If it wasn’t for my real friend...”

Yeongchan shook his head at Mason, who was speaking softly. His personality meant he didn’t fit with PvP. It was many times better to hunt monsters. He wouldn’t have become involved in such a war if it wasn’t for Hyeonu’s request.

“What if it wasn’t for your friend? Even if this wasn’t the case, wouldn't you be involved in the war anyway?”

“That is true. I will be ruined if I don’t participate in this big content.”

“By the way, why is his expression so serious?”

As he was talking to Yeongchan, Mason pointed to the orc fiddling with the axe with a serious expression.

“Him? Don’t worry about him. He has been like that for a long time,” Yeongchan whispered as he looked at Cancun. Apart from the first few times, Cancun never participated in battle. Since then, he had been like this every time.

“Is that so? He looks dazed...”

Subsequently, Mason kept glancing at Cancun.

“Ah, I’m tired,” Teika complained as he retreated to the rear where Mason and Yeongchan were located, even though the battle was in full swing. He had already been in combat for over two hours. Now his concentration was breaking a bit.

“Thank you for your hard work, Teika,” Mason greeted Teika.

“I’m receiving a greeting from a prisoner... it is a bit weird.”

Teika smiled and sat down next to Mason.

“Hey, Cancun. Why don’t you just sit here and relax? Or go out and come back,” Teika immediately spoke to Cancun.

“No, those humans... They are too weak.”

Cancun put the axe down and lay down on the ground.

“Right, when is Alley Leader coming?”

“That hyung? Won’t he be here in a few days?”

“It might be today or tomorrow. I heard he was getting some fresh air. He already has a plan in place so he can just play around.”

Yeongchan delivered the information he knew about Hyeonu to Teika.

“Is that so? That is a relief. To be honest, these days have been very difficult.”

At Hyeonu’s request, Teika placed more pressure on the empire’s side than usual. It wasn’t that hard at first. It was just a matter of focusing a bit more and fighting for a long time.

‘That isn’t all.’

There was something else that was important. It had to seem plausible to the viewers. The League of Different Species pushed, but it was never enough to capture a castle. That was exactly what was needed.

‘I can take it easy from now on.’

This was only until Hyeonu came.

After that, he could continue the war as leisurely as before.

“Alley Leader doesn’t seem to be able to hunt properly. I wonder how his level is doing.”

Teika often talked to Hyeonu, but he didn’t know any information like Hyeonu’s skills or level.

“His level? If there is a difference from before, it must be even higher. I don’t think it would’ve been reduced?”

On the other hand, Mason knew Hyeonu’s character really well. It was something he knew because he was the head of Nike Management.

“Is that so? It turns out that grinding helps.”

Teika looked surprised. He never dreamed that Hyeonu’s usual duties would give him so much experience.

“I think the experience is certain, but... I’m not very envious.”

Mason shrugged and smiled bitterly. He knew how hard Hyeonu had been living.

‘It isn’t a game, it is torture.’

Just like the protagonist of a movie who was captured without knowing why and ate only fried dumplings, he didn’t want to sit in solitary confinement while only stamping.

“Ack!”

“What is this guy?”

“Stop him now!”

Just then, the battlefield became noisy in a different sense. It wasn’t the sound of fire and ice swirling or pure energies colliding. It was the cries of people.

“What’s going on?”

Teika and Mason shot up from their seats. They could see a young man sweeping through the battlefield.

“Purple magic power?”

“I think he is here.”

The two of them immediately recognized the identity of the man. They had to know. Purple magic power was the symbol of a player that everyone who played Arena knew. Just then, the axe that was stuck in the dirt floor was pulled out.

“Cancun? What are you going to do?”

Teika turned to look at Cancun, who was holding the axe.

“I am going to fight. A strong human has appeared.”

Cancun snorted, kicked off from the ground, and ran to the battlefield.

“Shouldn’t you stop him?”

Mason looked worried as he saw Cancun, who quickly became a dot and disappeared.

“That guy won’t kill Cancun. If he doesn’t want to be beaten to death by Raccoon.”

Teika wasn’t worried at all. He had seen quite a few spars between Hyeonu and Cancun. He was sure it wouldn’t be any different this time around.

‘The difference was enormous...’

Hyeonu’s power was a few times higher than Cancun. It was to the extent that he could subdue Cancun without inflicting any injuries.

“Let’s just relax and watch.”

Yeongchan stood up and brushed off the dirt on his body. Then he wrapped rope around both of Mason’s wrists.

“Now that the guardian has come, I will hand you over.”

***

A man fell from the sky.

This might be a game, but it was still something that couldn’t be easily understood. The battle momentarily stopped and the eyes of those fighting were drawn in that direction.

“Ah, it isn’t a big deal. Please go back to what you were doing.”

Hyeonu waved his left hand and walked in a natural manner.

“Alley Leader?”

“Why is he here when he should be in the imperial palace?”

“We... do we have to fight Alley Leader now?”

Fear started to appear on the faces of the players who were part of the League of Different Species. Most of the players here were top players. It meant they knew Hyeonu’s majesty better than anyone.

“Aish, why would I kill you? I’m just going to take back Mason.”

Hyeonu waved his hand again. Just then—

“Human!”

There was a loud shout from the rear of the battlefield and a huge axe flew.

Hyeonu didn’t even blink as he pulled out his sword and blocked the flying axe. The axe trembled in place like it had been blocked by a wall.

“Hey... I tried to go out peacefully. You can’t do this.”

Hyeonu grabbed the axe that lost its strength and was about to fall to the ground. Then he threw the axe back in the direction it had flown from. The axe flew with a fiercer momentum than the beginning.

“Human!”

The owner of the axe, Cancun, reached out his right hand toward the flying axe. Then the axe was naturally sucked into Cancun’s hands.

“It has been a while since I’ve seen you, but isn’t the greeting a bit rough? Is the last defeat still on your mind?”

Hyeonu’s face was hidden by the mask, but everyone here knew that there would be a smile on his face.

“I will win this time.”

“Are you so excited?”

“I am composed.”

Cancun snorted once before rushing at Hyeonu. The distance between Hyeonu and Cancun quickly narrowed. Cancun’s axe fell from top to bottom.

“You aren’t Raccoon. Avoid fighting like this. You are still weak.”

Hyeonu raised his sword and lightly blocked Cancun’s axe. Then he flicked his wrist. Cancun’s body was pushed back along with the axe. It was because he couldn’t handle Hyeonu’s power.

“No, I’m not weak. I have been training hard.”

Cancun’s eyes turned red. At the same time, a red aura was released from his body. It was the manifestation of fighting energy, a basic thing that orcs knew and their greatest weapon.

“Have you forgotten that your fighting energy doesn’t work on me?”

The same fighting energy was overflowing from Hyeonu’s body.

Fighting energy against fighting energy—previously, only Hyeonu knew about it, but now it was a response that everyone knew.

-Wow, how many points must he have in his fighting energy stat to beat that orc?

-Shouldn’t you be surprised that he is beating that orc?

-Teika couldn’t even use his strength properly in front of that orc.

-He can’t fight with force because he is suppressed with just fighting energy.

The viewers were surprised due to what they knew. Cancun’s fighting energy was unbearable even for rankers. Yet Hyeonu went beyond responding to it and overwhelmed it.

“Come.” Hyeonu held out his unclenched hands toward Cancun. However, Cancun didn’t rush at Hyeonu. He hadn’t lost his composure yet.

“Then I’m coming.”

Hyeonu’s figure faded like a ghost and split into dozens of copies as he approached Cancun. Mixed Sky Steps was used to the extreme. Cancun’s eyes quickly looked around. He tried to figure out where Hyeonu was.

‘They are all real.’

However, he couldn’t tell at all. Therefore, Cancun moved forward with a rough method.

“It won’t work!”

A wave of intense magic power was released around Cancun. The surrounding ground was overturned. Hyeonu’s dozens of copies gradually lost their shape.

“It won’t work? I think it has already worked?”

Suddenly, Hyeonu was standing behind Cancun. Hyeonu’s sword was placed against Cancun’s neck.

“You still have a long way to go, a long way.”