Second Life Ranker

Torca glared at the Ice King with a flabbergasted face. However, the Ice King took a step back, clearly not interested in getting involved.

‘This is why we shouldn’t work with old people.’ Torca could feel the last of his respect towards the Ice King disappearing. The Ice King was too fearful for Torca’s taste. What was the Hoarder anyway to make him act this way?

Torca nodded at his subordinates in the back. The warriors of Iron Lion all raised their weapons at the Hoarder. Kashing! Torca silently raised his twin swords, his trademark weapons, and stepped forward. 

* * *

『I didn’t want to show this side of myself, haha…』 Victoria smiled bitterly and looked at Yeon-woo as he held her in his arms. Through her blood-drenched hair, he could see that her eyes were focused somewhere behind him. Her vision had been destroyed. 

‘She’s in danger.’ Yeon-woo’s eyes hardened as he looked down at Victoria. She was in critical condition. One of her hands had been cut off, and her entire body was covered with burns. On top of that, she had internal injuries from forcing out her magic power. Things weren’t looking good.

Healing and Recovery were at work, but they weren’t enough and her life was draining quickly. ‘The Adamantine Nova.’ Yeon-woo saw the Adamantine Noval rolling around on the ground out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t glowing as it normally did, but it still emanated a powerful wavelength of magic power.

When Yeon-woo stretched his hand out, the Adamantine Nova floated up and landed in Victoria’s hand. Urrrng, urrrng! Victoria rubbed it. She’d tried to snatch the Adamantine Nova and failed, but it was now back in her possession. However, her eyes continued to look blankly ahead. 『This time…I wanted to be of help.』

Yeon-woo thought Victoria was blaming herself for leaving Kahn behind at the Five Mountains of Penances. Her regrets still weighed heavily on her heart. Yeon-woo didn’t know what to tell her, and all he could do was hold her tightly.

『Boo.』

At his call, Inferno Sight flared like will-o’-wisps behind Yeon-woo. 「Yes…Master.」

『Save her. No matter what it takes.』

「Yes…Master.」

Urrrng! The Adamantine Nova began to tremble and glow with a brilliant light that wrapped around Victoria. Her eyes widened. How was this possible? The Adamantine Nova was a tricky item to work with. 

Even Anastasia could only use it as a core to seal in artifacts, and Victoria herself could only extract magic power from it through a tool like her bracelet. When it had broken, she couldn’t use the Adamantine Nova anymore, but the Lich who appeared to be Yeon-woo’s subordinate was unaffected and could use it easily.

Also, it was using a superior magic called Healing Potion. It wasn’t the kind of magic that Lichs, who dealt with death, could normally use. However, Boo ignored her curiosity and focused on healing her as Yeon-woo ordered.

As Yeon-woo was preoccupied in supplying magic power for Victoria’s treatment, many players began to surround them, their eyes full of greed.

『Hand over Red Deodara, Hoarder.』

However, they couldn’t see that Yeon-woo’s face was colder than ever behind the mask. Instead of replying, he slashed his Fire Wings to the side, creating an intense heat that swept aside those faces that he didn’t want to see.

The expressions of the players stiffened. Everyone who had been within the range of attack was completely vaporized. There wasn’t a single survivor, not even those who managed to raise barriers and other defenses. Only ashes were left.  

The great heat continued to circulate around Yeon-woo. Swoosh!

『Everyone, be careful!』 Torca realized the danger first and shouted as he dashed forward. The commanders of Iron Lion followed him, and even bounty hunter Moon Walker Streege stepped forward.

Each time the Fire Wings lashed out, intense heat waves spread around them, boiling the atmosphere. Dust clouds rose, blurring their sight. 

『Hup!』 Yeon-woo suddenly popped up next to Moon Walker. He moved as stealthily as a ghost and Moon Walker didn’t sense his presence at all. Moon Walker’s eyes widened as he tried to defend himself, but Yeon-woo was faster.  

Boom! Yeon-woo’s fist flashed. It was a simple punch, but its destructive power wasn’t simple at all. Moon Walker was blown away, his armor crushed. The blood that poured from his mouth contained pieces of his internal organs.

Even though he was still holding Victoria with one arm, Yeon-woo had demonstrated a shocking strength. And it wasn’t even over, yet. Yeon-woo’s Fire Wings expanded and he chased after Moon Walker. Since Moon Walker had cut off Victoria’s hand, Yeon-woo planned to slice his throat.

『Where do you think you’re going?!』

『Stop!』

The mercenaries of Iron Lion shot forward. Streege covered them from behind them, planning to launch the Shot of Moonlight to keep Yeon-woo busy. However, Yeon-woo didn’t clash with them directly. He paused in the air and spun, his Fire Wings creating a huge tornado around him. The heat grew so intense that the players couldn’t approach him, and then creatures began to pop out.

At first, the mercenaries thought it was Yeon-woo trying to escape the fire himself, but instead, they came face to face with monsters dripping with Disabling Poison Blood. Behind them, ashy ghosts appeared.

[The 2nd Spirit]

Kyaaa!

『Wh-what is this!』

『Aaack!』

The Guai grew in number until there were around fifty, and they quickly scattered among the mercenaries. Blood spurted out as they clawed the mercenaries, who fell to the ground with pale faces as they were poisoned.

『Where is he?』 In the confusion, Streege hesitated. His arrow was already nocked, and ready to fire. ‘He’s gone?’

He didn’t see Yeon-woo at all. Where had he disappeared to? Feeling shivers down his back, he quickly turned around.

『You’re too late.』 Yeon-woo appeared behind him and was already slashing out with his Magic Bayonet. A fountain of blood splattered out, and the headless Streege collapsed. Another corpse lay next to his. It was Moon Walker’s. Two rankers had died in an instant. 

『You…!』 A red-faced Torca tried to run forward but a monstrous energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere before he could reach Yeon-woo. Boom! There was an explosion behind him, and he turned to look with a frown to see a Gumiho the size of a house. She howled, her nine tails pointing up. The sound made him shiver.

『A mere human has dared to lay a finger on my disciple?! A mere human?!』

Torca wasn’t given the chance to reply. The Gumiho stamped one of her paws, and Fox Fire flared up around her in an instant, sweeping the rest of the players away.

『Aaah!』 Torca found himself scooting back on his butt, already semi-conscious. The monstrous energy of the Gumiho had killed his fighting spirit.

『Die.』 That one word was enough to completely kill the rest of his will and cause his death. He was gone even as the Gumiho stared at him.

Yeon-woo looked at the only survivor. 『What about you, sir? Would you like to fight?』

『Leave me out of this. I didn’t join the fight when you appeared.』 The Ice King smiled wryly as he looked around at his comrades—or rather, the remnants of his comrades. One bad decision and now they had been reduced to this.

Yeon-woo nodded. He had been planning to deal with the Ice King, but because he didn’t seem to have any intention of fighting, Yeon-woo didn’t do anything. 

『Allow me to take care of the corpses.』

『Feel free to do so.』

『Thank you.』 The Ice King bowed with genuine gratitude and quietly murmured to himself, 『It’s loud this time, too.』

“There’s always a commotion whenever the Hoarder appears.” Rumors of the Hoarder’s actions spread through the Tower all the time, and now there was added fuel for them. As the most powerful mercenary clan, Iron Lion, wouldn’t let this go easily. Also, with two rankers dead, those pursuing Kahn would be shocked.

The Ice King already felt tired from the questions he expected to receive. 

* * *

『This is all because of you.』 After returning to her human form, Anastasia held Victoria in her arms as she spoke to Yeon-woo. 『If you hadn’t appeared and encouraged this child, this wouldn’t have happened.』 Anastasia left with those words.

「What’s up with that granny? She’s so rude. Why is she talking to you like that?」

Shanon muttered to himself in annoyance. Would Victoria have searched for Kahn even if Yeon-woo hadn’t visited? Shanon thought so. Yeon-woo was just the fall guy, and Anastasia needed someone to blame. 

Yeon-woo didn’t say anything for a while. He had experienced something similar in the past. His gaze was fixed on Victoria. She was trying to rescue Kahn, and he was trying to find his brother’s soul. The two things overlapped.

「Master?」

『Huh? What?』

「Why are you acting like this?」

『It’s nothing.』

Yeon-woo shook his head. Shanon was worried about him, but he didn’t think about it and quickly turned around. 

「What are you gonna do now? That granny has quite an attitude.」

『We have to find out what happened here.』

Victoria, who could explain the situation, had gone off with Anastasia. Who else could he ask? He looked around aimlessly and saw that the Ice King was about to leave after taking care of the corpses. It was rude to stop him after telling him he could leave, but Yeon-woo didn’t have a choice. ‘And it’s a bit annoying.’ He felt wronged by Anastasia’s words. She had blamed him for what was technically the Ice King’s responsibility. 『Please wait a moment.』

Thinking that he had done something wrong, the Ice King straightened his back and turned to Yeon-woo. Sweat dripped down his back. 『What’s wrong?』

『I’ve changed my mind. I think you should stay here with us.』

The Ice King laughed awkwardly. 『What is it?』

『I need someone to explain what happened.』 Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed. 『Do you refuse?』 He spread his palm open. Black fire flared up and disappeared. Whoosh!

The memory of Torca and the others being swept away by the fire in an instant flashed through the Ice King’s head. Also someone with his skillset was especially vulnerable to fire. 『Hahaha…』 He laughed awkwardly. 『Of course not! I’ve always got time for you, and I can answer your questions. Besides, I know your teacher, too. Ask me anything you want.』 He smiled brightly.  『So. Where should I start?』