Ranker's Return

It was a fight between a dragon and tiger, and their skills were roughly equal. Ryan and Kim Seokjung’s confrontation was fierce. No one was pushed one-sidedly. However, victory was already leaning toward Kim Seokjung. The sword energy filled with killing intent passed over Kim Seokjung’s face. It was just that Kim Seokjung’s expression under the mask didn’t change at all.

‘It is a technique I’ve already experienced many times, so it isn’t very intimidating.’

Kim Seokjung had already faced Ryan several times and had the experience of winning all of them. He had fought and won both in the arena and in the field. This time, he would win again. A white light was fired from Kim Seokjung’s fist and struck Ryan in the shoulder.

“Ugh.” Ryan was helpless at Kim Seokjung’s ensuing charge. Kim Seokjung’s exquisite leg skills deprived Ryan of the balance in his lower body and ended the first match.

[Two Fists Clenched Tightly has won.]

Kim Seokjung won the first match—his first victory.

‘I have to win four more times before I can meet my little brother.’

***

[Nano Machine Jackson has won.]

“It is too bad.”

Kim Seokjung was defeated. Nano Machine Jackson really fought like a machine. The sword split apart the space. He read all of Kim Seokjung’s attacks completely. Then he stubbornly aimed at the areas where Kim Seokjung couldn’t block. In some ways, Nano Machine Jackson could be seen as a degraded version of meleegod in the past.

Anyone would boil up when they saw the battle. The difference was the lack of boldness. There were many chances where he could win more easily. However, he didn’t aim for those chances. No, he couldn’t. Nano Machine Jackson fought to be overly perfect. He lacked the heart to tear flesh and take the bones.

“Then Two Fists Clenched Tightly has three victories and one loss. Nano Machine Jackson has one victory. Let’s have a 10-minute conversation with the audience again.” 

After Hyeonu finished speaking, Nike’s staff came out with a huge mirror. The purpose of the mirror was the chat window. In an instant, the mirror was filled with comments.

-Wow, I know this person really well.

-Have you given up on hiding your identity?

-This is no different from a bare face.

-That uncle who was beaten. Jin Sijong right? An uncle’s scent is coming out.

All the masked fighters started to deny it when asked about their identity.

“No? Who is Jin Sijong?”

-Uncle, your dialect is coming out? Then say, ‘Jin Sijong is a gangster’. Shout it out once.

“Ugh. Jin... Jin Sijong... Why should I say this?”

-It is the uncle. Totally fun. A broadcast should be like this.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Uncle is bursting with charms. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Kim Seokjung was caught. He was too simple. Simultaneously, another masked fighter was also suffering hardships. It was the first man to fight Kim Seokjung, Ryan.

-Then the bee is Ryan, right? The one who plays for Chelsea?

-Right. That Grand Cross is the skill of Chelsea’s Ryan.

-Is he the only one who uses that? 

-That’s why he uses Grand Cross every time Chelsea plays.

“Why is it Chelsea?!!! I am from Manchester! Manchester!”

-ㅋㅋㅋ Ryan has confirmed it.

-I will catch a ranker like this today.

-Stupid. ㅋㅋㅋ He was caught. ㅋㅋㅋ 

“I’m not Ryan. I don’t know anyone like that.”

The audience had caught the fish.

Hyeonu saw Ryan and shook his head. ‘That fool. Brother is the ace, ace. Couldn’t they hold on for an hour?’

“The 10 minutes are over. Please prepare for the next match.” Hyeonu hurried with the progress of Masked Fighting King because he thought he had to start one more match before the identity of another person was revealed.

‘I’ll have to run a chat room program before the next one.’

***

“Who will make a challenge? If no one challenges in 30 seconds, I’ll have to give a loss to everyone except for Two Fists Clenched Tightly.”

No one stood up when Hyeonu finished speaking.

Perhaps they were hoping for someone else to come forward and pull down Nano Robot Jackson. [1]

“I’ll start counting. 5, 4, 3, 2...” Just before Hyeonu’s countdown ended, someone threw themselves onto the sparring field. It was Hungry Boxer, the man dressed in tattered clothes. “Yes, Hunger Boxer has come up. Do you want to say any words before the match?”

“I’ll prove that this robot is just a can.”

“So are you thinking of hiding your identity?”

“Not at all. I’m going to use everything possible to smash that robot.”

Hyeonu heard this and frowned. He didn’t like Hungry Boxer’s words.

‘These guys aren’t thinking about broadcasting at all. You should hide something in the beginning.’

“Ah, it is frustrating.” 

-Alley Leader is exhausted. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-This is entertainment content yet there is no entertainment. ㅋㅋㅋ 

-Next time, performance members will be brought. ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ

Hyeonu only made one mistake. He hadn’t anticipated the players’ desire to win despite their names being obscured. This was the biggest mistake that turned the current Masked Fighting King into a documentary, not a variety show.

“Yes, then the match will start.”

[Nano Robot Jackson vs Hungry Boxer]

A bell rang to announce the start of the match.

***

The first one to start was Hungry Boxer. It was natural since the reach of a fist was shorter than a weapon. Thus, it was essential to narrow the distance. Hungry Boxer seemed to disappear as he approached Jackson and quickly swung his fists. First was his left hand and then his right hand. It was a powerful one-two punch. In fact, it was so powerful that the air exploded. However, Jackson was also formidable. He used his excellent vision to escape Hungry Boxer’s attack.

‘Perhaps this guy...?’ Hungry Boxer, Mascherano, realized the identity of his opponent. He sensed it after facing Jackson directly. Mascherano knew who used this style of combat.

“It has been a long time, Daniel. You actually appeared in a place like this. Your personality has really changed,” Mascherano said.

There was no method more effective for dealing with him than this. Daniel, leader of the Tank Corps—he was a German whose swordsmanship was unmatched by anyone else. He was a textbook example of the swordsman class and second place in the current arena rankings. It was said that he would have the upper hand if his character stats were exactly the same as the person in first place.

Daniel had weaknesses. A major one was trash talk. He had a clean and elite personality that couldn’t endure such things. Mascherano just had to scratch him lightly with words and then engage in a close battle. “Is your face okay after facing me the other day? You were completely smashed. No one else saw your shattered face, but I saw it.”

“Friend, I’m not Daniel. I’m Nano Robot Jackson.”

However, this time it didn’t work. Mascherano was caught by Nano Robot Jackson. He was dumbfounded.

‘It isn’t Daniel? Bah, this combat style belongs to Daniel no matter who looks at it. There are only two people with this style. It is terrible.’

“I’m Nano Robot Jackson at the moment, Hungry Boxer.” Jackson wielded his sword.

Mascherano got goosebumps by the robot-like swordsmanship that was exactly the same as in the previous match against Kim Seokjung.

‘Damn, it has changed. His weakness has disappeared.’

Mascherano could barely stop Daniel’s sword energy.

It wasn’t powerful, but the timing was right and the targeted location was exquisite.

‘Damn, damn. Damn!!!’

All he could do was curse Daniel in his heart.

‘This damn guy. Kill him.’

If this guy were stabbed, he would bleed blue blood instead of red.

‘Let’s pretend it didn’t happen and start over from the beginning.’

Mascherano soon accepted it. Daniel with the mask was different from the unmasked Daniel. His weaknesses were gone. It was just like meeting him for the first time in the arena. This was what Mascherano thought.

Mascherano was also a ranker. He was within the top 50 in the arena rankings. His opponent might be Daniel who was called a textbook, but Mascherano wouldn’t be pushed that badly.

‘I don’t know what he’s thinking, but the power of the sword has weakened from before.’

“Look at this.”

It was a good thing for Mascherano. This level of sword energy was certainly terrible, and it was undoubtedly inferior to Daniel’s original sword energy. At this moment, there was a sound that interrupted Mascherano’s thoughts. It was the sound of the air tearing.

‘Shit, it is Crescent Moon Cut!’

The crescent-shaped sword energy cleverly targeted Mascherano’s movements and was unavoidable. Mascherano frowned and aimed his fists at the sword energy. Wrapped in blue energy, Mascherano’s fists managed to stop the crescent-shaped sword energy.

“It is my turn.” Mascherano’s fists stretched out like lightning toward Jackson. Then his hands split into dozens of copies.

‘Is this Mascherano’s move—Successive Strikes?’ Jackson thought.

“It isn’t as powerful as I thought it would be.”

Jackson moved lightly and dodged Mascherano’s fists one by one. Finally, he raised his sword and started to stab it toward the fists. There was the sound of metal scratching something. This meant that Jackson’s sword properly touched Mascherano’s fist.

Mascherano sensed his attack was being read and leaped out of Jackson’s range. ‘Damn, the power of his sword has weakened, but in return, his swordsmanship has become a monster.’

Mascherano threw himself back at Jackson, who showed a real robot-like swordsmanship.

‘I’ll stick close to him as long as I can.’

***

It wasn’t just Hungry Boxer and Nano Robot Jackson. Somewhere else was burning up. It was the chat room. Watching the showdown between Hungry Boxer and Nano Robot Jackson, the viewers who saw Hungry Boxer approach Nano Robot Jackson with his fists inferred the identity of Hungry Boxer. No, it was certain. There was only one ranker with such skill—Red Bull America’s ace, Mascherano.

-Isn’t this Mascherano’s move—Successive Strikes?

-It seems so?

-It’s a pity that such a stupid guy is the ace of our Red Bull.

-Why are they all so impatient?

Now viewers started to scold the masked fighters. There were few broadcasts that were so eye-catching. No, there were none. There might’ve been one or two, but it was through a special arrangement. To avoid being like other broadcasts, the masked fighters shouldn’t reveal their identity. A minimum of effort was required.

-Just a little amendment! The next cast should change their weapons!

-It will be abolished if it continues like this.

-That isn’t allowed! Where else can I see this again?

If the mask was meaningless, then Masked Fighting King could no longer survive. From then on, there wouldn’t be a single thing that was different from PvP between rankers. If so, Quency would no longer cooperate with the Masked Fighting King. It was clear that Nike wouldn’t stay invested in Masked Fighting King. If so, rankers would no longer appear in Masked Fighting King. Everything was just the worst.

Public opinion was at its worst when the chat room froze. Messages were no longer rising in the chat room. Jackson’s sword pierced Hungry Boxer’s fist. This was truly what was called ‘reading the path’. Jackson thrust his sword in the position of Mascherano’s fist in advance. If it were seen by a person who didn’t know anything, Mascherano would appear to be insane as he swung his fist at the sword. It was truly fantastic swordsmanship.

Then the match was over. Jackson had won.

[1] Robot is not a mistake and is done deliberately, for reasons that will be revealed. At least, that's what I presume from what I read and without specifically asking the author.