Ranker’s Return

Chapter 493

“Then today’s stream will end here. I would like to thank the many viewers who watched Alley Leader’s stream today. Then I’ll see you next time.” Hyeonu neatly spoke words that signaled the end of the stream.

-I enjoyed today’s streaming surprises.

-There are still a lot of streams left, so it is even better.

-I must use the strategy I got today to challenge Shalun Mountain.

-Now that Rupiah is no longer in control of Shalun Mountain, we can go right now.

At the end of the stream, the viewers gave a different goodbye from usual. The content of today’s stream was hunting strategies on Shalun Mountain, but the biggest reason for the viewers’ excitement was that Hyeonu said there could no longer be a monopolized control of Shalun Mountain. He wouldn’t put up with the injustice he had seen.

Hyeonu’s words were likely to become a reality. No one in Arena could treat Alley Leader’s words lightly. Alley Leader was already overwhelming alone, but he also had New World behind him. New World was Arena’s number one guild, so it was even more terrible.

“If you are lucky, I might see you in Shalun Mountain. I’m going to be hunting here for the time being.”

Hyeonu ended the stream with these words.

‘I didn’t finish it before 12 o’clock.’

Hyeonu’s stream was over, but he didn’t quit Arena. The stream was one thing. He still had many other things to do.

‘Is everyone on?’

Hyeonu opened his friends window and confirmed the names of people who were logged in. Mason, Yuri, Sunny, Lee Hoon, and Dwayne—everyone was connected.

‘Okay, I have to go to the arena.’

It was clear that the five people were gathered at the arena since they had made an appointment beforehand.

“Everybody has gathered.” Hyeonu appeared in the arena and found all the other members of Crescent Moon sitting down.

“Uh, Oppa has arrived?”

“Hyung, you’re here?”

“Hyung, you came the latest.”

“He can be late. He came here after doing homework that he put off because of the Winter League.” 

The players happily welcomed Hyeonu without knowing the fate that would unfold before them.

Hyeonu approached them with a bright expression on his face. When Hyeonu remained silent, Mason opened his mouth instead and asked, “Why did you gather us today? Is there any reason for us to gather in the arena?”

Mason wasn’t the only one who was curious about this. They had been talking about this until Hyeonu came. Why had Hyeonu called them to the arena?

“The reason? We need to get ready for Arena Week. We need to prepare for it harshly. Everyone, be nervous. From today, I will work you really hard.”

The five players could only blink at Hyeonu’s sudden notice. They were shocked and couldn’t say anything.

“Why the special training all of a sudden?”

“Don’t we just need to do it properly? We’ve been doing well.”

Dwayne and Lee Hoon denied the reality in front of them. They knew what Hyeonu meant by tough training.

Yuri approached Hyeonu and asked, “Surely not me? I’m a priest, Oppa.” 

Apart from Mason and Sunny, the other three were worried. They’d experienced Hyeonu’s special training every once in a while. With continually changing conditions, they fought without a break for hours. Sometimes, they fought according to the PvP rules, and other times, they fought using the siege rules. Hyeonu would use everything ranging from his fists, swords, and spears. The results were consistent. Of course, the special training helped their skills increase a lot, but the mental pain was enormous as well.

“Why do the two of you look so relieved? We are practicing the siege today. I will call you separately for PvP,” Hyeonu said.

Mason and Sunny’s expression darkened upon hearing that.

“In addition, we have guests today. No, they are teachers who will help us.” Hyeonu stopped talking so he could send a whisper. A short time later, two people appeared in front of the group—Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu.

“Long time no see, everyone. How are you? Let’s do well in the future.” Kim Seokjung approached and hugged them without hesitation. It was his way of saying hello.

“It is only a short time of one month, but we will help you get good results. In particular… I will make you much better than you are now.” Gang Junggu’s finger pointed at Lee Hoon.

Lee Hoon turned his head left and right to confirm the faces of the people standing beside him. They were Mason and Sunny, so Lee Hoon was naturally forced to notice that he was the ‘you’ Gang Junggu mentioned.

“No… it’s okay… really…” Lee Hoon stuttered with a pale stricken face.

Gang Junggu didn’t seem to care about this. He approached Lee Hoon and placed an arm around the latter’s shoulder. “Come, we are going to have a group PvP battle today. I think you’ve become too used to the many against one battles, so I asked two people to help out.”

Hyeonu had a lot of worries after the Winter League. Crescent Moon’s combat power had risen a lot, but this was clearly only in South Korea. It was unclear if it would be enough at Arena Week, where only the best teams from each league were gathered.

‘It might work with Hoon, but…’

Hyeonu thought it was absolutely impossible for him to fight alongside Yuri or Dwayne. A battle in the siege needed to be fought more persistently and closely. Their tempo was slow right now. A team like Red Bull America or New York Warriors would crush them in no time.

‘I can’t be the only one shining.’

For Hyeonu, it wouldn’t be hard to wipe them out by himself, and he couldn’t lose even if he wanted to when he summoned Tang-E. Yet if this happened, the other five people in Crescent Moon would lose their significance. This might cause them to be hit by all types of media criticism.

‘It is why I prepared this.’

“Let’s make a room and start practicing. There is no time to fool around like this.”

***

“Then fight against the two of us. Dongsaeng will be the judge.”

First, it was a battle against Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu. Hyeonu didn’t participate in it. This was a type of test to assess the teamwork and personal skills of the five people.

“I understand, Hyung-nim. Then I will set the rules. If your health falls below half, you will be unable to fight. If you don’t receive a healing skill within three seconds, you will be out. You will have to get out of the battle.” Hyeonu put forward harsh conditions.

They would be removed from combat even if their health was only decreased by half. The thing that had to be obtained from this battle was a rise in their basic skills. It wasn’t important to use everything but to increase their experience.

‘There is only that much talent…’

If the Crescent Moon players had talent like that of Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, Hyeonu wouldn’t have put forward such conditions. Every time the two men fought, they absorbed everything like a sponge.

“Now, let’s get started. There isn’t enough time,” Hyeonu said. Wings formed behind his back, and his body floated up. It was the usage of the skill attached to Blood-stained Night. Hyeonu looked down at them from midair like he was shooting with a Jimmy Jib camera.

‘Anyway… they will be broken badly.’

The outcome of the battle was clear. The abilities of the Crescent Moon players weren’t good enough to beat the duo of Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu. It wasn’t only Hyeonu who knew this but the Crescent Moon players themselves.

“It will be hard to win. Let’s just show as much as possible.”

“Just do as we’ve practiced. It’s impossible for our abilities to go up like crazy in only a few days.”

“Don’t feel daunted! We just need to fight with confidence.”

The players gave advice to each other—that they shouldn’t be nervous and just show their skills since it was hard to overturn the results anyway.

“They’re not dull people, right?”

“If they were like that, Hyeonu wouldn’t have accepted them in the first place. He is pretty good at reading people.”

Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu smiled as they looked at Crescent Moon. However, that was a separate thing from training. Rather, they thought they should be sincere in order to help.

“Relax your strength the moment you hit, Junggu. It will be a waste if the sandbag bursts,” Kim Seokjung said.

“Isn’t this my specialty? You don’t have to worry.” Gang Junggu let out a strange laugh. Then he took out white gloves that had impressive golden patterns from the inventory and placed them on both of his hands. The material of the gloves was leather, so there was a sound every time he moved his fingers.

“Wait a minute, Hyung-nim. Isn’t it a bit strange right now?” Lee Hoon stammered while waving both arms when he saw that.

‘This is just…’

As far as Lee Hoon knew, there were only two classes that wore gloves and acted like this. They were doctors and people who used fists. Gang Junggu’s appearance was close to the latter, rather than the former.

“Ah, these gloves? They are a new weapon, but they are quite good. The enhancement is already +8. Still, you don’t have to worry too much. I won’t kill you.” Gang Junggu proudly shook his gloved hands.

“I… Is that so? The gloves look good. Isn’t it too much to use them to deal with us?” Lee Hoon had no intention of resolving Gang Junggu’s misunderstanding of his words. It was a beautiful misunderstanding. This was a happy result for everyone.

“I won’t let you off even if you praise me like this. Otherwise, there is no point in me and Hyung-nim helping you,” Gang Junggu stated. He clenched his fists and then quickly punched the air. The fist that shot out without any preparatory posture burst straight up into the air explosively. It was an unbelievable amount of power for a light jab.

“I’m going to attack now. Get ready,” Gang Junggu said with a gentle smile. Just then, a black figure emerged from behind Gang Junggu. It was Kim Seokjung.

“Focus. A fight isn’t a joke.” Kim Seokjung had a rare serious expression. By the time Kim Seokjung’s words finished, he had already appeared before Lee Hoon. Kim Seokjung’s fist stretched out toward Lee Hoon. Lee Hoon quickly raised his shield to block the attack, but his body was still pushed back like he had slipped on an ice sheet. When he finally stopped sliding back, his heels were piled up with dirt.

‘Why is it so powerful?’ Lee Hoon had a look of astonishment. There was sharp pain in his hand that held the shield. This was the price he paid for preventing Kim Seokjung’s strike. If Lee Hoon hadn’t instantly focused his magic power on the shield, he might’ve lost the shield entirely. Kim Seokjung’s strike was that powerful.

‘Did Hyung normally let me off the hook?’ Lee Hoon wondered inwardly. His usual sparring opponent was Hyeonu. Hyeonu was recognized as the strongest player in Arena, and there were numerous pro gamers and rankers below him. Kim Seokjung was no exception. However, Lee Hoon didn’t remember being attacked so strongly when he trained with Hyeonu. It was because Hyeonu had always controlled his power.

‘All the aces of the teams we are going to fight are on this level,’ Lee Hoon realized.

The level of the aces of the teams participating in Arena Week was similar or lower than that of Kim Seokjung. After realizing this, Lee Hoon cried out curiously, “It isn’t as strong as I thought. Is it because it is hard to train with Hyeonu?”

Less than five minutes later, Lee Hoon realized that his curiosity was ill-advised bravery.