Ranker's Return

“Every player has to be courageous, confident, and passionate. I want a team that isn’t lacking materially and can only look at one road. Oh, I also want a team of players with good personalities and clean pasts,” Hyeonu said with confidence.

He seemed to take things for granted, like a person looking for money they had left at the bank. Kale couldn’t help laughing in a dumbfounded manner at Hyeonu’s attitude. -Cough! What did you say just now? Mister Gang. Is there a team that matches such conditions? It would be faster if we made it.

“Then you can make it. Is it difficult? Doesn’t Nike have money? Or do you have no people? Then use my name. Then companies will rush over like a bunch of bees to pay for it.”

Kale had nothing to say to Hyeonu’s words. Still, Hyeonu’s words weren’t wrong. There was nothing wrong about them. It was true that many companies wanted to be Alley Leader’s sponsor.

-This isn’t a decision I can make. I will report to the CEO.

‘Maybe the CEO will approve it. Moreover, he’ll probably do it willingly.’

Kale showed a negative attitude, but once he knew that Hyeonu’s will was firm, he began taking steps to create a club in Nike. It was because they couldn’t refuse to accept the request of Alley Leader, the best streamer of Nike Management. This might not be Hyeonu’s intention, but from Nike’s position, they had to consider Hyeonu’s opinion.

‘Moreover, it won’t cost much.’

Of course, the cost of operation would be high. However, it was a small amount of money compared to the publicity effect that the team Alley Leader belonged to would generate. On the contrary, it was beneficial for Nike if they signed a management contract under the pretext of recruiting players.

“I understand. Please contact me as soon as you’ve made a decision.”

Hyeonu hung up after wrapping up the business deal.

***

The purposeless hunt exhausted Hyeonu. One week…

For one week, he had scoured the outskirts of the Balder Mountains. It wasn’t without profit. His level had increased and the proficiency of many skills had risen. The problem was that there were no big gains.

‘This isn’t an RPG from 2010. What type of labor is this?’

He hadn’t made any progress in the quest.

[Trail of the Previous Generation]

[Discovered the diary of the former master of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.

Read the journal and chase his trail.

Rating: A+

Condition: xxxx’s trail 0/1

Rewards: Experience, xxxx’s keepsake.]

He came here to clear the quest, but he couldn’t find the slightest clue. The difficulty of Trail of the Previous Generation was A+. Based on the level of the Balder Mountains, the clue had to unconditionally be at the entrance. If he went deeper, then it would never have an A+ rating. Even so, Hyeonu didn’t find it.

“Uwah, I give up, give up!”

Hyeonu eventually raised the white flag. He decided to leave the Balder Mountains. After all, he had things to do, and there was no need for him to be tied up by this quest.

‘I don’t know when I’ll be able to find it...’

“Tang-E, do you know how to get to Bung Bung Island?” Hyeonu asked Tang-E sitting on his shoulder.

Hyeonu was interested in Bung Bung Island. He thought it would be better to go to Bung Bung Island where there were some expectations of finding something, rather than keep doing a quest without any results.

“I asked someone. The way...”

“The way?”

“I can’t remember. Wait a minute! Let me recall it,” Tang-E exclaimed with an urgent expression when he saw Hyeonu making fists.

‘Remember. I heard it clearly. Forest... Yes, it’s a forest!’

“Y…Yes. The entrance to Bung Bung Island is in the forest where nature breathes.”

“A forest where nature breathes? Where is that?” Hyeonu cocked his head at the place he was hearing of for the first time.

“He said it was in the great mountain range.”

There were many mountains in Arena, but there was only one area called the Great Mountain Range.

“The Hejin Great Mountain Range!”

Within weeks of moving to the Balder Mountains, Hyeonu shouted his return to the Hejin Great Mountain Range.

***

“It has been a while, Brother.” Hyeonu waved to Kim Seokjung, the man in front of him.

Kim Seokjung saw Hyeonu and ran to embrace Hyeonu. “How long has it been? Your face is really expensive.”

Hearing Kim Seokjung’s words, Hyeonu scratched the back of his head. “There was a quest, so I went to the Balder Mountains.”

“Eh? The Balder Mountains? I still don’t have information on it... Little brother, you must’ve done it by yourself. In any case, it is nice to see you. Since you’ve returned, there must’ve been a harvest?”

Hyeonu shook his head at Kim Seokjung’s question. “I gave up. It is going nowhere. I will go back later if I have nothing to do or if another quest comes up. What about you, Brother?”

The answer came from behind Hyeonu.

“We’ve been hunting and doing the arena. Haven’t you seen the videos during this time? We also did a few raids. The miners are working hard, but the next main scenario seems to be far away.” It was Gang Junggu, who gave off a slightly oppressive impression.

“Is that so? Well, this main scenario was unusually fast. Normally, it takes at least 3 to 4 months for a new one. It is common to hunt hard these days.”

“Little brother, did you know? The other guild guys are in a hurry these days. They have increased the number of miners. The guild elites are even risking their lives on quests without much profit.”

‘The large guilds are increasing their miners? Isn’t the scenario over at this point?’

Kim Seokjung’s words made Hyeonu think a lot. Why were they increasing the number of miners, and why were they having the elites do quests without much reward when they should be leveling through hunting? Hyeonu thought for a moment before noticing why. “Do they need imperial contributions? Do they want to gain a territory?”

“You are much better than the idiots in my guild. That’s right. They are trying to obtain a territory.” Gang Junggu nodded at Hyeonu’s words. ‘He isn’t just good at games. He is also very quick at judging situations.’

The more Gang Junggu looked at Hyeonu looked, the greedier he became. If he could bring Hyeonu to New World, then New World would remain the best guild until Arena’s final day.

“However, isn’t it impossible to give contributions to someone else?” Hyeonu asked. This question was still unanswered. As far as Hyeonu knew, the imperial contribution was impossible to be shared like experience. It meant it couldn’t be exchanged like gold.

“You don’t know? Imperial contributions can be donated to guilds. That is why they’re busy.”

“Is that true? Then individuals will really be at a disadvantage. Someone like me would have to be an imperial dog for the rest of their lives in order to get a territory.”

Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu burst out laughing at Hyeonu’s words. Kim Seokjung laughed for a long time before suddenly opening his mouth and saying, “Little brother, this is why you should come to us. Then I can give you an estate.”

It was a repeated offer. It meant they were very greedy for Hyeonu. Before Hyeonu could reject Kim Seokjung’s proposal, Gang Junggu said, “It isn’t just about you owning a territory. Professional teams are also turning their eyes to gain territory. Do you know what that means?”

“It means that if one is sold, it will be very expensive. The more urgent the customer gets, the higher the price of the item will rise.”

The opening pro league was approaching. Once the next pro league started, all clubs without a territory would end up in the second division. It was no wonder that the professional teams were busy. Once the professional league was held, they would have less time to invest in the actual Arena. That’s why they wanted to buy a territory, even if it cost a lot of money. After all, it didn’t matter if their players could get a territory or not. It was the common concept of a safety net.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Brother, why don’t you seem interested in a territory?” Hyeonu wondered.

In Hyeonu’s mind, the territory would be one of the main contents of Arena in the future.

“There is no need to rush. If I do it slowly, I’ll get it eventually. Then there will be no difference with the other guilds,” Kim Seokjung replied with a laugh.

“I think the concept of time is very meaningful. Oh, it is almost time for my appointment. Then I’ll be going now. See you next time, Brother.” Hyeonu absorbed the latest information, pretended to look at a watch that didn’t exist and quickly left. ‘They will definitely keep asking me to join the guild if I’m caught by them.’

Once Hyeonu disappeared, Gang Junggu murmured, “I had something to say... Well, I guess there was an urgent appointment. I’ll tell him next time.”

There was one piece of news that hadn’t been conveyed to Hyeonu.

***

After escaping from Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, Hyeonu started to wander through the forests of the Hejin Great Mountain Range. However, the great mountain range wasn’t quite a mountain range. It wasn’t enough to look with his eyes when he didn’t know where or what the entrance of Bung Bung Island looked like. Furthermore, it wasn’t enough to just pay attention to his surroundings. Rather, they had to be observed in great detail. This alone was quite exhausting. 

Additionally, like any other field, the Hejin Great Mountain Range was a paradise for monsters. There were monsters wherever he went. In particular, Hyeonu was wandering through forests scattered around the mountains, so there were few hunting teams and guilds around. He was forced to hunt day and night. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to walk around. There was a limit to hiding. In the end, the weary Hyeonu shut down Arena.

‘This won’t do.’

After this, Hyeonu started to scour the community for information. He stared at his laptop for a while before eventually exploding. “Aish, where is the forest where nature breathes!”

There was a loud noise as he struck the sofa. None of the Arena communities had any information about ‘the forest where nature breathes’ that Hyeonu sought. He wondered if such a thing even existed in the first place.

“Hey, you truly don’t know anything?” Hyeonu turned his head toward Yeongchan, who was lying next to him and munching on snacks.

“Me? How would I know if you don’t know? You are the one who is teaching me now,” Yeongchan answered while continuing to eat snacks, leaving nothing but a mess.

It was very disgusting.

Ttaak!

In the end, Hyeonu’s hand moved. It was to hit the back of Yeongchan who was eating the snacks.

“Oh, my hand accidentally slipped. I’m sorry,” Hyeonu said deftly. It could be mistaken for someone else hitting Yeongchan. Hyeonu naturally cleaned his laptop and quickly entered the room.

‘What? Just now...’ Yeongchan was left alone and made an expression that showed he was half confused and half aggrieved.

Then after realizing the situation, he knocked on Hyeonu’s door angrily. However, there was no response.

“Gang Hyeonu!!! Open the door, you bastard!!!”

Only Yeongchan’s unanswered screams rang through his quiet house.