Ranker's Return

“Cancun, is your body okay?”

“Thanks to your help, I’m fine now.”

Cancun posed to show off his muscles. Now, he was no longer wearing a fur coat. He didn’t have to wear the cumbersome clothing after the curse was released.

“Then are you going to return to the Black Forest?”

“Yes, I have to go back to the tribe. I want to see Father.” Cancun’s eyes were full of nostalgia for his home.

“Good bye, friend. I will be with this master in the future,” Tang-E said his goodbye from within Cancun’s arms. Tang-E’s words were said coolly, but he was inwardly disappointed and didn’t leave Cancun’s arms.

“Then I’m going.” Cancun put down Tang-E and placed the huge broadsword on his back.

After that, he left without looking back.

***

Hyeonu returned from sending off Cancun to see the Pioneer Guild members arguing.

“Isn’t this for me?”

“You’re a priest, idiot. This is an item for magicians!”

At this moment, Jewel noticed Hyeonu approaching. Jewel looked so cool and composed that it was unknown how often he had experienced this. Yet once he saw Hyeonu, he felt embarrassed.

“You’re here? Is the orc gone?”

“Yes, he went home. By the way, what is this?” Hyeonu pointed to Maha and Nix, who seemed like they were going to start punching each other at any moment.

“Well, they’re always like this, fighting over items. I would just buy it myself.” Jewel shook his head.

It was different if it were among themselves, but it was embarrassing for an outsider to see this, especially when it was Alley Leader.

“What is the item?”

“A rare item that reduces cooldown time and has magic power attached. The cooldown reduction option is rare, and it is even rarer to have magic power. Thus, their fight this time is a bit larger.”

Jewel was just giving an explanation to Hyeonu when something finally happened. The two men swung their fists at each other. Eventually, the guild leader Ket had to intervene between the two people.

“Get out of here!”

“Don’t stop me!! I’m going to kill that little bastard!!!”

However, a magician and priest couldn’t go against the power of the warrior, Ket. The two people were scolded, and they stepped back.

“I’m sorry to show you this.” 

“You don’t have to apologize. Are the two of them okay?”

“Yes, they’ll be talking again in five minutes. They have been close friends since they were children, so you don’t have to worry.” Asu approached Hyeonu with a smile of shame. Then he held something out. “Take this item.” 

Asu handed over a ring.

Hyeonu asked, “Why are you giving this to me?”

“It is natural. You practically caught it alone.”

‘I should take what is given.’ Hyeonu hesitated before reaching out. It was because it would seem too tacky if he accepted it instantly.

Asu added, “If you want to sell that ring, I would appreciate it if you sell it to me.”

“Is this a ring with the cooldown reduction option?”

“Yes, the price will be more than the market value.”

After checking the ring, Hyeonu decided the options weren’t attractive for him and decided to sell it.

‘I can only wear one more ring, and it can’t be a rare rated one.’

“I’ll sell it.”

Once Hyeonu expressed his intention to sell it, Asu smiled and handed over a pouch. “Here is 20,000 gold.”

“It’s so expensive?” Hyeonu accepted the money and was surprised by the price. It was considerably higher than he thought.

‘A rare item for 20,000 gold? Moreover, the options are just so-so.’

He was glad that he was wearing a mask. Otherwise, he would be showing a ridiculous look at the price.

“Um?”

Asu grabbed the ring and returned to where his group had gathered. Hyeonu confirmed the options of the bracelet he had received.

[Cursed Bracelet]

[An outstanding black magician engraved this bracelet with long-term magic.

Rating: Rare

Restrictions: More than 400 strength.

Effect: Magic Power +50, ‘Cursed Spear’ is available (Cooldown time: 60 minutes)

Cursed Spear: Create a spear filled with black magic energy. The health of the target hit will be reduced by 1% per second. It lasts 20 seconds (However, it only applies if the target is a creature).]

“Isn’t it amazing? Good.”

Hyeonu liked the bracelet. More specifically, he liked the skill attached to the bracelet. This was the bracelet with the unidentified spear that Cardum had used. It was a conditional option that only applied to creatures, but with the exception of undead and golems, almost all monsters in Arena were creatures. In short, it was like saying he could reduce the health of nine out of 10 monsters he met by 20%.

“One every hour...”

Once again, it wasn’t just at the level of being good.

‘Why does this only have a rare rating?’

It was a question that came out naturally. This skill alone meant it should be at least the unique rating. There seemed to be no better skill in boss raids. Hyeonu was basically aiming for soloing. He would hunt alone, kill bosses alone, and do raids alone. In the case of a desert dragon, at least a few hours were needed to kill it. Yet with the Cursed Spear, he could decrease the dragon’s health by 20%, and this would reduce the time needed by at least an hour.

“This is the best for me.”

Hyeonu wasn’t troubled at all as he wore the Cursed Bracelet on his empty right wrist.

***

After Hyeonu separated from the Pioneer Guild, he pondered on the suggestion Ket had made, “I want to sponsor you personally.”

Hyeonu had refused the offer. After signing with Nike, he hadn’t added a single sponsor.

It was obvious that if things became messy, it would lead to trouble. Hyeonu refused, but Ket just suggested it again like he had expected Hyeonu’s rejection.

“Then I’ll suggest it again the next time we meet. I hope you’ll give me a positive answer at that time.” Ket said goodbye politely and left. He said he was exploring another remote place.

“It looks like he is enjoying Arena in a romantic manner.” 

Hyeonu was left behind and became somewhat bitter.

***

It was a fragrant smell that greeted Hyeonu who left the A-Cube. Hyeonu frantically ran to the living room, which was the source of the smell.

“Chicken!! Give me chicken!!!” Hyeonu screamed as he ran into the living room.

Hyeonu was greeted by Yeongchan and the chicken. “Uh, you came out?”

“Wings, wings, wings!”

Hyeonu only looked at the chicken wings. His favorite part of the chicken was the wing. Hyeonu was a wings believer who believed that although the wings were small, the essence of a chicken was contained in them.

“It’s here. This guy... Eat. I don’t eat the wings anyway.” Yeongchan loved the legs, so there weren’t any problems when the two people ate fried chicken. Hyeonu liked wings while Yeongchan liked the legs. It was a very harmonious combination.

Yeongchan asked, “What level are you?”

“Me? I’m now level 93. Why?”

Yeongchan inhaled the chicken quietly before asking Hyeonu this question once he was full, “You should appear in it—the comprehensive competition.”

“Me? I’m not a pro though?”

“It is all about money this time, dude. If you stream it, you can save on content. Then you can edit it into a video and upload it, gaining more subscribers.”

Hyeonu thought about it and put down the piece of chicken he had bitten. The comprehensive competition—only players below level 100 were allowed to participate in it. It was also called a platform or lottery for players—a platform to be noticed by large guilds or professional gamers. If a player was lucky at the comprehensive competition, they could get good skills and win the lottery.

“Then I should go. By the way, what are the events?”

“PvP, magic power test, and achievements evaluation.”

“Yes, those three.”

It was like an extension of the tutorial. The tutorial consisted of two parts—the magic power test and the monster killing. In fact, the comprehensive competition had been created with great care by Quency, the developer of Arena.

‘How can I prevent players from falling behind as much as possible?’

The answer was to compare themselves with others. After stimulating a competitive mentality, players being in the competition would receive decent rewards in the name of a ‘random reward’. Players in the lead would gain good rewards from winning the competition. As a result, nothing changed.

However, it was different in the hearts of the competitors.

‘Ah, I can also be like that.’

Those who were lacking thought this. They weren’t lacking because of their own flaws. It was because they didn’t have this skill or this item. If they had the skill or item, they wouldn’t be any worse than the people in the lead.

‘Ah, I’m better than those people. So I ought to do more.’

This was a natural desire to keep doing what a person was good at. It was much more enjoyable and fun to play a game they were good at than one they were bad at. Quency was aiming for this point. They were the same but had different dreams. The comprehensive competition was Quency’s commitment to prevent players from losing motivation.

***

“Is Alley Leader going to appear in the comprehensive competition?”

“Yes, Boss. It will probably be used as streaming content.”

Jamie and Kale had met very often in recent times. It was also just the two of them. This was because Kale was a figure who had newly emerged in Nike. They were the only two people who talked about Hyeonu freely. Even within Nike, the information about Hyeonu was top secret. It had been made so in order to prevent any information leaks.

“Will he break all the records?”

“So far, he is only known in the tutorial for magic power testing. I think he can set records that can’t be broken in the other two areas.”

“Yes, no player has ever maintained a bronze medal in the arena below level 100,” Jamie agreed with Kale positively.

This was the reason why Alley Leader was becoming more of a hot topic. He was a player who gained a bronze medal 30 levels below the average level. It was the first time this had occurred since the launch of Arena’s service. A recent magazine survey showed that the average level of an arena bronze medal was 120, a silver medal was 142, and a gold medal was 170.

“It is important to keep an undefeated streak below level 120. It is an achievement, but it is a predictable result. He is definitely of the highest standards,” Jamie’s tone expressed that he was convinced of it.

“Boss, did you see the video of the dullahan?”

“If you’re talking about this, I’ve already seen it.”

Jamie pressed a button, and Hyeonu’s video started to play on the small screen at the other end of the office. Both Jamie and Kale watched the video silently. They had both seen it many times, yet they still couldn’t stop watching every time. Soon, the video was over. It was a very short five-minute video, and the two of them felt very sad when it ended. Everyone who had seen the video probably felt the same way.

“Is the trailer finished?”

“Yes, it just needs to be spread now.”

“Then it can be seen from anywhere in the world tomorrow? Mister Kale.”

“Of course, Boss.”

The Masked Fighting King trailer was about to be released to the world.