Ranker's Return

“Yeongchan, do you know the Balder Mountains?” Hyeonu asked as he turned on his laptop.

“Balder? I think I’ve heard of it somewhere before... Ah! It was in the settings. Isn’t it the mountain range that separates the East Continent and the West Continent?”

Hyeonu turned his head toward Yeongchan and made an admiring expression at Yeongchan’s answer.

“Why? Why are you looking at me like that, dude?” Yeongchan felt that Hyeonu’s gaze was strange and darted into his room. Yeongchan didn’t care about such a Hyeonu. This hadn’t happened only once or twice. However, Hyeonu’s mind was already full of the Balder Mountains.

‘Setting, the basic setting...’

Hyeonu opened a famous Arena community on his laptop. Then he started to search them one by one. There wasn’t much information about the Balder Mountains. It couldn’t even be called information. There was only the location. What monsters appeared there? How many levels? What patterns did they have? There was little information.

The lack of information meant that people didn’t go there often. Why didn’t people go there? Most of the reasons were divided into two categories.

First, it happened if the levels of the monsters were too high. It didn’t mean there was no information in these communities. Rather, it meant that the information was hidden instead of absent. Some guilds didn’t share their information. Most of the information on the communities were posted by average players. If an area exceeded the level of a standard player, then the information available would drastically decrease.

Second, this was a field caused by a recent patch. It was natural that there would be no information in such a case. Few people went there, so what information could there be available? In particular, there was no way they could’ve walked around this type of place unless they were a person who only wandered around.

‘Wait... If you’re wandering around in an unusual place...’

At this moment, something flashed through Hyeonu’s brain.

“Pioneer.”

‘Wouldn’t they know about the Balder Mountains?’ Hyeonu immediately cleaned up his laptop. In any case, there was no information available. It was a good thing that he even had the location.

 

***

 

“The Balder Mountains...” Ket, the Pioneer Guild’s leader and one of Hyeonu’s sponsors, frowned.

Hyeonu watched Ket’s expression and asked carefully, “Have you ever been there?” 

Ket was surprised by Hyeonu’s sudden visit, but it was okay as he always welcomed Alley Leader. He just never dreamed that this person would ask about the Balder Mountains. In fact, he didn’t even know why Alley Leader was interested in this place. As far as Ket knew, no one was very interested in the Balder Mountains at present. Everyone was only interested in the Hejin Mountains and the main scenario.

“I’ve been there. But why the Balder Mountains?”

“I received a quest in the Balder Mountains. So I wondered if I could get any relevant information.”

Ket replied, “It is amazing. The monsters are very powerful. Perhaps things will be different after all our members finish the third class advancement, but I don’t think it is possible to hunt there now.”

Hyeonu’s expression crumpled. According to Ket’s explanation, the Balder Mountains was currently a place that didn’t allow any player to enter.

“Are they that strong? The monsters?”

“It isn’t just at the level of being strong. Every named monster in the Hejin Mountains can be found there. So...”

‘If they are named monsters, they won’t be very strong though...?’ Hyeonu thought words that other people would be shocked to hear.

This level was enough for hunting if it was Hyeonu, but it wouldn’t be right for anyone else.

“So?”

“There are many monsters. Basically, there are always three or more monsters together. Therefore, it is more difficult.”

This was a bit of bad news. Basically, Hyeonu would have to be hunting constantly with no breaks. It was also when the difference in level would take some effect. If Ket’s explanation was true, there would be quite a struggle every time he hunted a group of monsters. The hard hunting was also accompanied by mental fatigue. This was a problem.

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll pay you back later for this information.” 

Ket was excited by Hyeonu’s words and grabbed Hyeonu’s hand. “This is for the main scenario. You also added us to this subjugation. We felt it was too daunting alone, so we have decided to join forces with the guild of Streamer Argon, who is your friend.’

This was also shocking news.

‘Why didn’t Yeongchan tell me about this?’

“That jerk...”

Ket asked Hyeonu doubtfully, “Huh? What did you say just now?"

“Nothing, I was talking to myself. Talking to myself,” Hyeonu repeated his words in a panic.

“Do you know what monsters usually appear?” He asked, changing the topic hurriedly.

Ket kindly responded to Hyeonu’s words, “I first entered the Balder Mountains from Derek Castle. There are two types of monsters at the beginning. There are the black-maned lions, which have the form of giant lions, and the harpies. I also only saw it from a distance, but there was a drake.”

Ket’s words were shocking.

Drakes, a dragon-type species, were monsters that were known to have the same physical abilities as dragons, but they had no intelligence or magic.

“There are drakes?” Hyeonu questioned it. 

Ket noticed the meaning of Hyeonu’s words and smiled lightly. “Of course, it was alone. It was so big that it was clearly visible even from hundreds of meters away. It isn’t a normal monster.” 

After that, Hyeonu asked about the Balder Mountains for approximately 10 more minutes. He thought it was better to know a bit more.

“I hope we’ll see each other next time.” Ket finally said farewell to Hyeonu.

It was a pity that he only had this much time to talk to Alley Leader.

“If there is time, I’ll meet up with you.” Hyeonu also thanked Ket.

 

***

 

A man was hiking up a steep mountain. The man’s clothes were unique. He was dressed entirely in black clothes and a long coat. They didn’t go well with hiking. The strangest thing was the bear doll around his neck.

The man, Hyeonu, opened his mouth and said, “Tang-E, it will be dangerous from here. Why don’t you come down?”

Hyeonu persuaded Tang-E to get down. This place, the Balder Mountains, was a dangerous place. According to Ket, no matter how confident a person was, it was unknown as to when they would be logged out.

“I understand, Master dude. Instead, you have to give me a ride later.” Tang-E thumped on Hyeonu’s head a few times and came down smoothly.

Then he buffed Hyeonu. It was like taking a taxi and then paying for the ride.

 

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

 

Hyeonu was outraged by Tang-E’s actions, but he was patient. Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t that bad. In any case...

It was cute.

“Yes, I’ll give you a ride next time.”

‘Still, it is good that no one is here.’

There were other reasons why Hyeonu chose to abandon hunting in the Hejin Mountains and picked the quest instead, but this was the biggest one. It was that there were too many people in the Hejin Mountains. There was a tacit rule between the large guilds and professional teams, i.e. the forces and the general rankers.

One of them was the field premium. It gave exclusive rights to the guild that first acquired the field for 50 days. During those 50 days, only players of that guild were allowed to enter and exit the field. The problem was that once it was over, many players entered the Hejin Mountains, and this made hunting inconvenient for Hyeonu. It wasn’t just that the hunting was slow. Once people recognized Hyeonu, they would come up to him to ask for photos or even attempt PvP.

Hyeonu slowly looked around and saw three lions. At first glance, it was a lion that was nearly 10 meters tall with a black mane. It was the black-maned lion that Ket told him about.

“Tang-E, you stay here. If I’m in danger, use magic—fire, ice, or lightning. Got it?” Hyeonu gave new orders to Tang-E.

However, Tang-E didn’t care about Hyeonu’s worries and just said confidently, “Believe in me, Master dude. I will kill them.”

At Tang-E’s words, Hyeonu silently stroked Tang-E’s head. Then he rushed toward the three lions.

 

[Master of Combat is activated.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘fighting energy’ has caused your stats to rise.]

[The other party is stronger than you.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘dignity’ has caused the opponent’s stats to fall.]

[Mindset of a Murderer has activated.]

[All stats have increased by 15%.]

 

The dignity state lowered the stats of opponents with a lower rank than Hyeonu. The lower the rank, the greater the difference in title and the more the stats were reduced.

‘No matter whether it is a monster or a player, nine out of ten will have it reduced.’

There were no titles for monsters except in really special cases like the vampire nobles. The players were no exceptions. They had a normal rank unconditionally unless they gathered imperial contributions. At the present time, the dignity stat was simply amazing.

Hyeonu’s movements grew faster as he approached the target. Hyeonu lightly waved his sword at the lions, but the power was never light. A dark energy stretched out from Hyeonu’s sword, sharply ripping through the air and aiming at the lion. Then something amazing happened. Hyeonu’s pure energy passed through the black-maned lion’s body. The momentum didn’t decrease, and dozens of trees in the forest were cut.

‘Wow... It’s so strong?’

Hyeonu was astonished by the unexpected result. It was a far cry from sword energy. Why did this power come out? The reason was simple. Pure Energy Manifestation was a completely different skill.

 

[Effect: Increases the strength of magic power by 100% when Pure Energy Manifestation is triggered.]

 

So far, the calculations had been adding up. If a skill increased a player’s magic power by 100% and another skill by 50%, they would be attacking with 150% of their basic attack power. In other words, it would continue to add on based on the initial damage and magic power. 

However, Pure Energy Manifestation was different. After all the bonuses of other skills were applied to magic power, Pure Energy Manifestation increased the final attack power by 100%. Thus, the power was enormous. This was the power of the third class advancement. It was the power of pure energy.

The battle wasn’t over. One lion had its leg cut off and left the battle, but two black-maned lions remained. A black-maned lion rushed to Hyeonu and waved its front paws. Hyeonu avoided the attack lightly. However, there was another black-maned lion waiting in the place where Hyeonu was moving. The moment when the lion’s teeth were about to pierce Hyeonu, he disappeared. This was the regular skill of the Great Gorge set. It was the activation of Blink.

The spot Hyeonu disappeared to was above the black-maned lion. He stabbed the lion’s back without hesitation. Then he used a skill, and a magic power explosion destroyed the lion’s interior. This was the end. The black-maned lion’s body exploded, and it was killed.

 

[A black-maned lion has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

 

Using Mysterious Sky Steps, Hyeonu suddenly reached the other black-maned lion that was still fine. The black-maned lion was a high-level monster, and it instinctively pursued Hyeonu’s movements. Just as the black-maned lion discovered Hyeonu, a strong pure energy that glowed like a star was already approaching the lion’s eyes. The pure energy pierced the lion’s head. No creature could be pierced in the brain and survive, even in a game.

[A black-maned lion has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A black-maned lion has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

 

At this moment, two messages appeared. The lion with the cut leg was caught by Crasul’s curse. It entered the bleeding state and died of bleeding. The battle ended faster than Hyeonu thought. Hyeonu was deep in thought and didn’t pick up the gold coins and materials that dropped.

‘I...’

“Isn’t this stronger than I thought?”