Ranker's Return

“Is that guy the boss monster?”

“That’s right. He is the boss monster. We were lucky to find him, but we couldn’t attempt a raid. It is because he makes me shiver just looking at him.”

In response to Hyeonu’s question, the leader of Team Shadow, Tony reached out and pointed to the centaur who didn’t appear much different from ordinary centaurs.

‘Wow... He is full of muscles.’ Hyeonu marveled at the boss monster. The boss monster wasn’t much bigger than the usual centaurs, but his entire body was covered with muscles that looked as hard as armor.

‘Based on this body, he will likely have tremendous speed and strength.’

This type was a very demanding boss monster. It wasn’t just reckless strength. He was of moderate size, used moderate strength, and had fast movements. Additionally, he was half-human and half-horse, so he would be fairly intelligent.

“I can see why you didn’t even attempt it.”

“Right? I’ve been playing Arena for quite a while now, so my discerning eyes rang the alarm bell.”

Hyeonu nodded at Tony’s words. It was possible to carry out a solo raid with a combination of excellent skills, items, and ability, but this group was extremely ordinary compared to him. At best, they only had a few unique items and skills. Hyeonu told them, “Then we should get started quickly. It will be a pain if we drag out the time and other people see it.”

“However, aren’t you using your pet?”

Hyeonu nodded once again at Tony’s question. “I don’t think I need to use him. There is a priest who is about to advance to the third class in the party anyway.”

“Yes... I see. I understand.” Tony smiled at Hyeonu’s words.

‘Is it because I praised his priest?’ Hyeonu thought.

They had only known each other for a short time, but Tony didn’t seem that frivolous. Hyeonu felt that something was a bit strange. ‘Is he so happy that he is laughing like this?’

Hyeonu’s senses, developed from years of gaming, warned him of a crisis. ‘I have to hide Tang-E well.’

He would make use of the fact that the Team Shadow members thought Tang-E’s summoning circle was quite flashy. This was the scene of Tang-E’s summoning that they had seen, so it was natural to think so. They didn’t have any pets, so they didn’t know much.

‘If they try to hit me in the back of the head, I’ll let them know what they are aiming at is actually my forehead.’

A cruel smile appeared on the face of the masked Hyeonu.

***

Hyeonu and Team Shadow approached the vicinity of the centaur boss and were currently preparing for the raid. Hyeonu aimed his timing at this gap and summoned Tang-E in the bushes. Then he barely moved his mouth as he gave orders to Tang-E. ‘Hide and buff me every hour. If anything goes wrong, use magic.’

Tang-E seemed to understand Hyeonu’s words and acted immediately. First, he cast buffs on Hyeonu. As usual, the buffs were adjusted, so there were no outward indications.

[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.]

[You have received Breath of the Wind.]

[Your agility has risen.]

[Movement speed has increased.]

Shortly thereafter, Tang-E hid so well that Hyeonu wouldn’t have found his location if Hyeonu hadn’t been watching from the beginning.

‘Okay. I’m ready.’ 

Hyeonu casually started to issue orders for the raid. “Priests, please buff in the order from me to the tankers and damage dealer. The tankers and damage dealers only need to act as practiced.”

“I understand.” The priest of Team Shadow nodded at Hyeonu’s words and placed buffs on Hyeonu.

This was Hyeonu’s plan. It was better to be hit in the back of the head after receiving the buffs. The buffs used by a priest on the verge of reaching level 200 brought about a huge stats increase. It was better to have something than nothing.

[You have received divine energy.]

[Your weapon is filled with a high divine power.]

[Attack power has increased.]

[You have received the goddess’ blessing.]

[All stats will increase.]

[Movement speed has increased.]

[You have been baptized by the sun.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

[Physique has increased.]

Team Shadow’s priest was a priest of the Sun Temple. The Sun Temple didn’t only have the Liru Monks. They also had priests with the most divine magic. As such, the buff effects were excellent.

‘Okay.’

“Then I will start. Enter as soon as you receive the buff.”

Hyeonu jumped toward the centaur boss monster.

***

Once Hyeonu left for the centaur, Team Shadow gathered together and started the meeting.

“What should we do? I gave him the buffs because of the atmosphere,” the priest player complained to Tony.

The priest was on the verge of crying. Due to his mistake, the original plan was completely disrupted.

Tony calmly analyzed the situation and came up with an answer. “What is the duration of the buff? 25 minutes? We can’t kill the boss monster anyway, so let’s plan it for around 20 minutes from now. Strike when the buff ends. We just need to hit him with one or two spells and a few arrows, and any player will fall down, even if it is Alley Leader.” 

However, they were something they failed to consider.

“He also hasn’t summoned his pet. Don’t you know that the pet buffs are a big part of Alley Leader’s power? This is the perfect opportunity. It is just a little delayed.”

Hyeonu had already thought of the possibility of their betrayal and hid his secret weapon. Tony would never be able to catch Hyeonu unaware.

“Then let’s work harder. We will kill both Alley Leader and the boss monster while receiving money. This is a great opportunity, and we have to grab it.”

The ignorant were so brave. They weren’t scared of anything because they didn’t know anything.

***

‘Bah. It is as Master dude expected.’

Hiding not far from Team Shadow, Tang-E listened to their conversation and clenched his paws tightly.

‘They are suspicious like Master dude said.’

They were planning to kill Hyeonu with attacks disguised as mistakes.

‘However, Master dude is too scary. Master dude is already ready for them.’

Hyeonu first thought that they might hit him in the back of the head, so he then hid Tang-E here.

Although Hyeonu probably didn’t know their plans, he noticed the crisis using his monster-like senses.

“The stupid humans targeting Master dude are going to die today.”

It was always like this.

Tang-E smiled at Team Shadow.

***

The centaur captain’s weapon was a sword with blue blades on both sides of the handle. It was a weapon commonly called a double-edged sword. The centaur’s unique agile movements combined with the double-edged sword, and the centaur captain’s attacks poured down like a summer shower.

Nevertheless, Hyeonu easily dodged the centaur captain’s attack with leisurely movements like he was walking. His movement speed, which was elevated by various buffs, made it possible. Hyeonu could move a few meters by simply moving his feet once. He didn’t have to grit his teeth tightly while moving.

‘Something is suspicious? They’re too slow to join.’

Team Shadow’s behavior was too lacking for them to be called rankers.

...Or they were deliberately delaying the time it took to join him. Perhaps they weren’t used to not buffing their main tanker and having the fight start straight away. However, it was unlikely that they could top the rankings among hundreds of millions of people if they couldn’t adapt to this level. Just then, Tony swung a giant sword at the centaur captain. “I’m sorry. The buffs were twisted, so I joined a bit late.” 

“It’s okay. It wasn’t that hard.”

‘I hope it was a mistake or else you will die. It doesn’t matter if it is by the centaur’s hand or mine.’

Behind the mask, Hyeonu’s eyes narrowed and gave off a sharp light. However, the light was obscured by the mask and couldn’t be seen by the players of Team Shadow.

***

“I will use magic!”

Starting with Tony, the other members joined the battle against the centaur captain one by one.

“Fire Wall!”

A wall of fire appeared, burning from the hooves of the centaur captain to the tip of his head. The fire barrier had a powerful momentum, but it only destroyed the centaur’s hair. The centaur captain was very annoyed. It was annoying that one human was constantly avoiding his attacks by moving back and forth like a fly while another annoying human managed to burn his hair. Eventually, the centaur captain expressed his feelings. “Kuaaaak!”

It was a boss monster’s representative weapon and also one of the most powerful crowd controls.

[You have heard the centaur captain’s Fear.]

[The influence of fighting energy allows you to ignore the Fear of the centaur captain.]

Hyeonu’s fighting energy allowed him to easily ignore the centaur’s Fear. He wasn’t affected, but he didn’t show it. He silently slowed down his movements. It was to give the impression that Alley Leader was also influenced by the centaur captain’s Fear.

[You have heard the centaur captain’s Fear.]

[Player ‘Tony Loton’ has entered a ‘slowed’ state.]

[Player ‘Lania’ has entered a ‘slowed’ state.]

On the other hand, the members of Team Shadow were different. They were truly influenced by Fear. It was just that the priest’s buffs and their own judgment prevented their body from becoming stiff and slowing down due to the Fear. The centaur captain’s eyes watched the battlefield.

A slightly slower human appeared in his sight. There might be some differences, but this wasn’t a normal human. Then the centaur captain’s gaze stopped on one place. It was a magician who couldn’t control his body properly. This was the target. The centaur captain was very clever. He knew who to target. The centaur captain moved like the wind. He moved dozens of meters and arrived behind Team Shadow. Then a blue light emerged from the centaur captain’s sword.

“Ugh!” The magician was frightened by the huge double-edged sword heading toward him. Fortunately, at breathtaking timing, Tony appeared in front of the magician with a shield. Tony’s shield turned silver.

‘Iron Shield.’

Tony successfully used a skill to resist the centaur captain’s blow.

‘It was a close call. If he was a bit late, then the double-edged sword would’ve met the magician, not the shield.’ Hyeonu felt regretful.

Seeing this scene, Team Shadow’s swordsman said to Hyeonu, “The magician was almost logged out.”

He was obviously trying to seek out Hyeonu’s sympathy. Hyeonu was already suspicious of them, but he answered briefly in order to not show it. “Yes. The magician almost died at the start.”

‘A waste. A waste.’ Hyeonu swallowed back the words. Then he stated, “Let’s go help Tony. I feel like this raid won’t be easy.”

‘For you.’