Ranker's Return

“How was it today?” Hyeonu was comfortably talking to the viewers like it was his own stream.

The owner of the stream, Sunny, was already sitting down, half out of her mind. For six hours, Sunny had hunted while listening to Hyeonu’s relentless words. Hyeonu trained Sunny with the goal of her being able to hunt alone, even if he wasn’t confident about achieving it. The result was the current Sunny.

Hyeonu glanced at such a Sunny and proceeded casually. “I can see that Sunny isn’t answering. I think this is a positive. Do you all agree?”

-Isn’t this the answer?

-It is already a legendary video. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-It seems to be a dark history for someone.

-Still, she did well on her own later. It works.

-It’s all Alley Leader’s doing. If he can’t fix it, then Sunny’s hunting content would be over. She would have to be a game channel MC. Why be a streamer?

The viewers all agreed. Recently, Sunny’s stream had never been as entertaining, with as many topics, as it was today.

“Then I’ll sort out this stream on Sunny’s behalf. The next streams will be broadcast tomorrow and on Tuesday. Probably. Meanwhile, my stream will start at 6 p.m. on Friday. Please watch it. Then I’ll see you next time!” Hyeonu finished with the closing statements.

Then Sunny ended the stream.

“The next time there is a chance, we should stream together one more time. I enjoyed today.” Hyeonu said farewell to Sunny.

There might’ve been some conflicts during the stream, but they were exaggerated for the stream. In reality, she wasn’t offended at all. Sunny smiled and said to Hyeonu, “Yes, I’ll see you next time. I am grateful for today.”

***

Cheong Chen slammed hard on the desk. The person watching this was worried about how hard he hit it. Unsurprisingly, blood started to drip from Cheong Chen’s hand. The moment Rudd saw it, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Cheong Chen. “Here, General Manager-nim.” 

Cheong Chen naturally wiped his wound with Rudd’s handkerchief. “They dared to reject my offer?”

“It wasn’t exactly a rejection, more a provisional hold. They said it’s impossible right now. They have no idea where Alley Leader is.”

Rudd’s answer caused Cheong Chen to be even more furious. “What are you saying? You can’t find a streamer who is streaming openly? Are you telling me to believe that bullshit?”

It was as Cheong Chen said. Alley Leader was a streamer and celebrity. This meant that no matter how well Alley Leader hid, his whereabouts would be revealed on the day of streaming. Additionally, dozens or even hundreds of people spotted Alley Leader a day. It could be said that Alley Leader’s whereabouts were always half-publicized.

“However, it’s hard to tell if the claimed sightings are real. I don’t think we should believe them since they’re not experts.”

Of course, these sightings were always half and half. They were either real or fake. That’s why Rudd and Cheong Chen couldn’t do anything. The two people used Arena as a means of investment but didn’t put their lives into it. On the surface, they were sharp, but they were actually ignorant of the situation.

“That’s the problem. There is no way to figure it out if we don’t pay money. How can there be such an uneconomical business, Rudd?” Cheong Chen twisted the innocent handkerchief in a frustrated manner.

No matter how he thought about it, he still felt like he was being deceived. To think that they dared do this to Adidas’ general manager... Since that’s the case, he had to deal them a blow as well.

‘There is a saying that a presumptuous hunting dog needs a beating.’

“I will report to the chairman and reduce the amount of support given to them. The reason is that their performance is sluggish.”

Cheong Chen still had the power to do this much. It wasn’t that big a blow since it wasn’t official, but it was still a blow. He still had the power to cut off the breaths of the few gamers who didn’t follow orders.

***

“I have been informed that the amount of support will be significantly reduced from this month. To be exact, a notice came. There was no answer even when I asked again. I personally feel sorry,” Karen, the guild leader of the Venom Guild, said after gathering his guild members together. His expression was slightly stiff, with an apologetic gaze in his eyes.

It was natural. Adidas’ support was great and allowed them to invest all their time and effort into Arena. They didn’t completely rely on Adidas, but it was true that the amount Adidas gave them was huge.

“It was because of that decision, right? That jerk Cheong Chen must’ve cut the funding. That idiotic cheapskate. He doesn’t know anything except how to make money,” Rose grumbled.

Yet in her head, she was already thinking about the future. ‘It will be hard to raise the specs for the time being. It might be different if we find a few jackpot dungeons though.’ 

The jackpot dungeons were hidden. It was unknown when they would show up, so there wasn’t any big income right now. They didn’t do streams, but that didn’t mean they could afford to sell their items. This was because they had gold and expensive items.

“Yes, we don’t blame you for the choice. We definitely talked about it for a long time. We have to be responsible for the aftermath of the outcome together.” Crimson added to Rose’s words with a distorted expression.

Crimson was annoyed that Cheong Chen had reduced the funding, but it was just annoyance. Furthermore, the annoyance was never directed toward Karen. After all, they had all made the decision together. He couldn’t hold Karen, the leader, responsible.

“No, the decision was perfect. Did you see the other day? Didn’t you get goosebumps? Did it make sense for a player who only started playing Arena a few months ago to kill that monster? Additionally, in the Balder Mountains?” Rose shouted in an agitated manner.

They remembered what they had witnessed a few days ago.

It was the day when the Venom Guild members gathered once a week to explore the Balder Mountains. They stumbled upon Alley Leader hunting. Of course, they didn’t want to be caught by Alley Leader, so they stepped back and watched. It was with shock and horror.

The Venom Guild had to take a lot of risks when exploring in the Balder Mountains. They would pour out all of their skills and use a generous amount of potions when hunting a group of monsters. In other words, the current Balder Mountains was a place where only the top-ranking party, who boasted better cooperation than pro-gamers, could hunt.

Yet Alley Leader was sweeping through the Balder Mountains alone. The black pure energy rose, and the monster’s body was cut like a radish.

“It is crazy to catch a guy like that. Do you think we would be different? The monsters had their limbs sliced off in one blow. We will unconditionally die in one blow. It is like that for the fighters and tankers, let alone a priest,” Crimson said with a helpless expression.

It was crazy to face Alley Leader. In Crimson’s eyes, Alley Leader was already far away out of their reach. It was unlikely that they could fight one-on-one against him. Alley Leader was a monster beyond common sense.

“For the time being, we’ll have to tighten our belts. Be prepared,” Karen finished saying with a bitter expression.

***

Hyeonu looked at the ring like that creature from a certain movie. His eyes were full of greed, and his mouth moved relentlessly.

“This is the last item of the set—a unique set item. Unique...”

Anyone who saw Hyeonu would obviously think he was a madman. The madness was visible from his back. Hyeonu soon placed the ring onto an empty finger on his left hand. Then a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[Giant of the Age of Mythology (3/3) has been worn.]

[The three-part set effect is applied.

-All stats +100.

Giant’s Symbol can be used.

Giant’s Symbol: Your strength stat is increased by 100%.]

[Ring Containing the Origin of a Giant]

[A ring containing the origin of a giant. The origin of a giant from the past mythical era can be felt from it.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: None

Effect: Strength +50, Magic Power +50, ‘Giant’s Origin’ is available (Cooldown time: 2 hours).

Giant’s Origin: Gain additional strength stats according to the value of your physique and magic power stats.

Duration: 5 minutes.]

“This...” Hyeonu lost his voice upon seeing the messages that showed absurd effects. The set had an enormous effect. All stats +100 was just a bonus. The important thing was Giant’s Symbol that followed. It increased his strength stat by 100%. This was the first time he had received such an increase to his strength stat.

Based on some simple calculations, it appeared as if the increase doubled his stat. However, this wasn’t actually the case. The stats that were raised through Arena’s skills weren’t displayed in the status window. No matter how many skills raised the stats, the stats written in the status window were the ones that became the standard.

In other words, stats were raised in proportion to the number in the status window. Considering everything, the strength stat would’ve risen by around 30 to 40%. Then...

“A rise in strength is equivalent to a rise in attack power,” Hyeonu said and turned his head with a satisfied smile.

His gaze was now directed toward Tang-E, a small teddy bear with golden fur. Hyeonu was looking at something that he hadn’t seen before on Tang-E’s body. The item had only appeared recently. It was a white bone tooth necklace. At first glance, it was a necklace that resembled the Symbol of the Meadow that Dakan had given Hyeonu.

‘When did he start to wear this?’

“Where did you get that?” Hyeonu pointed at the necklace hanging around Tang-E’s neck and wondered.

Tang-E seemed a bit flustered by Hyeonu’s sudden question, but he still replied in his usual harsh tone. “I picked it up on Bung Bung Island. It seems cool, so I’ve been wearing it for some time. Why? Do you want it?”

Hyeonu waved his hand at Tang-E’s words. “Where would I use such a thing? I have too much already, so you wear it.”

It might be a unique rated item, but Hyeonu didn’t covet it at all. After all, it was much better to have the current Mysterious Sky Guardian that he was wearing. Additionally, Hyeonu previously had no idea that his pet could wear items. Thus, it was easy for him to be fooled.

“I know, Master dude.” Tang-E was glad that Hyeonu didn’t seem to care much. ‘He will take it away if he knows I picked it up in a dungeon. Damn Master dude.’

The necklace hanging around Tang-E’s neck was the necklace that Chroma, the fallen shaman, had dropped. Tang-E had picked it up and placed it in his Subspace when Hyeonu was talking to Floyd.

[Source of Corruption]

[The reason why the fallen shaman, Chroma, became depraved.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: 800 strength, 1,500 magic power.

Effect: Increases magic defense penetration by 10%, generates the attribute ‘corrupted.’]

Tang-E cherished this necklace. ‘It is a cool necklace.’

“Hehe.” 

Tang-E smiled brightly.