Ranker's Return

[Nano Robot Jackson has won.]

The victory went to Jackson. Mascherano had fallen down.

“I collapsed.”

He was thoroughly beaten. Mascherano had hidden his real skills and left some skills hidden for the next season.

‘However, I don’t think I could win even if I used them.’

“I lost today. I will win next time, Daniel.” Mascherano got up and reached out a hand toward Jackson.

“I’m not Daniel. I’m Robot Jackson.”

“Yes, you can be Robot Jackson.” Mascherano smiled and descended from the sparring field.

“Oh, let me say a few words of apology. Our Nano Robot Jackson has an emergency and will need to leave for around 30 minutes. However, our Masked Fighting King isn’t such a generous place, so we will keep the fights going.”

Once Hyeonu finished speaking, Jackson made a 90-degree bow. “I’m sorry. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

-Add one runaway ninja.

-Name the robot that.

-Runaway Robot. Running away on a live broadcast.

-Won’t it be super fun when this is edited? ㅋㅋㅋ Runaway fun.

The audience’s response was fine. Rather, it was actually good. Hyeonu smiled and thought that this was the excitement of a live broadcast. ‘I think this reaction is better than the game...’

It must be his imagination.

***

Nano Robot Jackson never returned to participate in the matches. Two Fists Clenched Tightly, Kim Seokjung gained two consecutive victories and won with a score of 5-1, winning the title of Masked Fighter King.

“You have become the 1st Masked Fighting King. May I ask you for a comment?” Hyeonu prepared a final interview with Kim Seokjung to produce the closing scene.

“Well, this time it was more boring than I thought.” Kim Seokjung took a break from speaking here.

-Kya, the spirit of the New World Guild’s leader.

-Saying that he was bored!!

-This is the real broadcast of a ranker.

“...I was joking. Everyone seems to be releasing killing intent. I’m looking forward to next week. Who will come out this time?” At the end of his speech, Kim Seokjung logged out. Now there was nothing else for the Masked Fighting King to do. The only thing remaining was to take off the masks of the cast members who hadn’t become the Masked Fighting King.

“Yes, I see. Since no one has lost three times today, we didn’t get a chance to take off their masks and check their identity.”

-That’s right, no masks have been taken off.

-Wow, I only knew it now. 

-You can see how immersive Masked Fighting King is. No one knew. It is like they’re not wearing masks.

“Yes, indeed. No one knew. However, it can’t be skipped. Can all the eliminated people come up here? You have to take off your masks.”

-They are being treated like they won’t appear anymore.

-Eliminated ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-I don’t think they could’ve managed their expressions if they weren’t wearing masks ㅋㅋㅋ

Five players suddenly appeared on the sparring field.

“Now, let’s take off your masks one by one. The first is naturally Bee’s Flight. Please take it off. You swept up all the firsts except for two,” Hyeonu said as his face turned toward Bee’s Flight, “The first victory and the first Masked Fighting King.” 

The viewers erupted at Hyeonu’s spiteful tongue.

-ㅋㅋㅋ A boss at insulting.

-Alley Leader. I think he will be hit by Ryan. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Hey, leader, you’re being too harsh.

“So please take off the mask!”

Magnificent music played, and the magic fireworks that signaled the start of Masked Fighting King appeared once again. Even if the identity was already revealed and Bee’s Flight exposed, seeing it with their own eyes was different from speculating. Bee’s Flight moved his hands behind his head and started to undo the mask’s rope. The straps were soon loosened, and he took off his mask.

-Indeed, it is Ryan.

-The undisputed British uncle.

-No one got it right.

“Hello, I’m Ryan from Manchester.” Behind the cute bee mask, the fact that everyone had expected was revealed. It was a handsome man with a slightly chubby feeling. The symbol of the Manchester Devils and the knight who represented the United Kingdom—he was Ryan.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Ryan,” Ryan greeted with a regretful expression.

Hyeonu saw Ryan’s expression and asked, “Based on your expression, you must think it is a pity?"

No matter who looked at it, Ryan’s expression was obviously a face full of regret. Perhaps it was because he didn’t use his strength properly. “Yes, it is a bit disappointing. I was too unprepared. If I get the chance to come back, I’ll change my weapon or combat style so people won’t know it’s me.”

“I’ll welcome you if you come back. Masked Fighting King is always waiting for rankers. Just contact us.”

***

All the eliminated people were unmasked. The Samba Chu Mercenary was Carey, guild leader of Phoenix. Meanwhile, Medieval Black Knight was Marco, leader of the Mano Guild. There was also a name that everyone knew, like Ryan’s, but couldn’t say. Hungry Boxer was Mascherano of Red Bull America.

Then the last masked protagonist was Nano Machine Jackson. The viewers wondered about his identity. The only masked fighter who could be seen as hiding his identity was Nano Machine Jackson.

-Who is it? I vote for Daniel.

-My guess is the Sword Eagle.

-Locke? Why when he is with JT? He went abroad.

-I see him as Alley Leader.

-The above person is talking bullshit. Keep your imagination in your diary.

Many people were nominated. It ranged from Daniel, who was the leader of the Tank Corps, to Sword Eagle Locke, who had just made his debut as a professional gamer. The most surprising thing was that Hyeonu’s name was briefly visible. At this moment, Nano Machine Jackson took off his mask. “Hello, I’m Daniel.”

The identity of Nano Robot Jackson was Daniel, leader of the German Tank Corps.

-Ah, what? It is Daniel.

-Yes, I was right!

-There is no one other than Daniel who can have this type of skill.

-The first place in the arena ranking uses a spear. Daniel is the best with a sword.

The viewers who saw Daniel responded as such. Daniel had great combat skills. It was just that his style was so plain that they couldn’t be seen. Daniel opened his mouth. “I’m really sorry that I had to leave in the middle for a while. I’m really sorry about that. However, if you watch the broadcast in two days, you’ll see that it was a pretty fun situation.”

-?? It was planned and not running away?

-Don’t tell me... Nike isn’t a fool. Why plan something like that?

-Yes. Don’t think other people are on the same level as you. Please.

At this moment, Nike waved a sign again.

-End the shoot. The closing moment.

After seeing the sign, Hyeonu nodded and started to speak, “How did you enjoy the first episode of Masked Fighting King? Of course, there were some shortcomings as it was the first shoot.”

-Super fun.

-Running away fun.

-There is no need for masks in the future. We know it all. ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ

“However, the next shoot will be different. We will go through thorough training to try and hide our identities. I’ll see you again this time next week.”

The first live broadcast of Masked Fighting King was over, and it faced numerous controversies.

***

Once Masked Fighting King ended, millions of viewers poured into Arena’s communities. They gave information normally referred to as ‘spoilers’ to those who hadn’t seen Hyeonu’s stream.

-Today’s cast was dirty.

-Ryan, Daniel, and who else came out?

-Mascherano, Marco.

-The remaining one is the Masked Fighting King.

-They all fell down.

-Daniel escaped in the middle.

-Wasn’t it live? He escaped? In the middle?

The biggest topic was Daniel’s running away. It was the first time someone had disappeared during a live broadcast since the start of the Arena broadcasting. As a result, Daniel’s last words stirred up even more conversation.

-By the way, what do Daniel’s last words mean?

-A situation will occur in the broadcasted episode.

-He seemed to be saying that. There is a story behind the scenes.

-Does that mean we’ll have to watch the broadcast?

-It is from 6-7 on Sunday evenings. It is for one hour.

The interest in Masked Fighting King grew hotter over time. Even those who didn’t know about Masked Fighting King had to go to the communities to see the hot potato that was called Masked Fighting King once.

-Ah, I want it to be broadcast quickly.

-I’m wondering what the behind the scenes story is.

***

“Good work.”

“You too. You worked hard.”

Yeongchan handed water to Hyeonu after he finished Masked Fighting King. Hyeonu finished the small bottle instantly.

‘Phew, I was nervous because I knew it would be broadcasted.’

Hyeonu felt sweat flowing the moment Daniel called him to say there was a problem. If it hadn’t been for the mask, everyone would’ve thought Hyeonu was strange.

“However, haven’t the rules changed too much? It is a bit different from what I heard,” Yeongchan asked the question he had been wondering about for hours. The real Masked Fighting King was different from the rules he heard from Hyeonu. There were many rules that had been removed.

“Nike did a simulation, and there were many problems. There isn’t enough time.”

Upon hearing Hyeonu’s words, Yeongchan understood the reason and nodded.

‘There isn’t enough time. I forgot it is a program that will be broadcasted, not just streaming content.’

It was impossible to show 28 fights in a limited time of one hour.

“Still, is this okay to go on air?” Yeongchan had a worried expression on his face.

“Well, I will appear anyway, so what is the problem?” Hyeonu thought that Yeongchan’s concerns were ridiculous. In any case, what was the point of editing a live broadcast? What was the point of hiding it when millions of people had already seen it?

“Not that. I’m talking about you.”

“It’s okay. Dude, I’m joining the next shoot.” 

***

GM Jung Dahui heard the news. It was that Hyeonu had released a new content called Masked Fighting King.

“He’s creating content and not playing the game?”

Masked Fighting King was already a hit. Despite only shooting for the first time, it was stuck at the forefront of the communities. It was due to expectations—expectations for Alley Leader and expectations for novelty content. The combination of those two things had already succeeded.

“I don’t like it.” Jung Dahui really hated the articles discussing about Hyeonu’s fashion.

‘What is wrong with Oppa’s fashion?’

In the end, Jung Dahui put her hands to work on making a program. It was a program that chose what the masked fighters would wear.

‘Wait and see.’

No one would be able to escape the appearance of a beggar in Masked Fighting King.

***

Two days passed, and the day of the Masked Fighting King broadcast arrived. Hyeonu was lying on the sofa with Yeongchan. Due to the time, his eyes were currently closed. It was 6 o’clock in the morning and too early to watch TV. At this moment, Hyeonu’s phone rang. The caller was Kale. “What’s going on?”

Hearing Hyeonu’s voice, Yeongchan asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s Kale. It seems he is calling to give his congratulations.”

“What congratulations?”

At Yeongchan’s words, Hyeonu stretched and answered the phone, “Hello?”

-Gang, isn’t it starting soon?

“Yes, I have to watch it, but I’m too sleepy.”

-Ah! It’s morning. I didn’t think about that.

Then the TV started to show an advertisement attached to Masked Fighting King. It was an advertisement featuring a sports car being driven through the city.

-Yes, I wanted to tell you this. You’ll receive a gift when you log into Arena. It is the one you mentioned last time. I sent it.

Hyeonu woke up upon hearing Kale’s words. “I understand. I’ll check it out after the broadcast.”

The advertisement just ended the moment Hyeonu hung up his phone.

-Everyone! Hello! I am Alley Leader! The mystery masked show!! Masked Fighting King has started!!!

This was the moment when Masked Fighting King rode the radio waves around the world.