Ranker's Return

A time when the situation or power was very prosperous. Some people looked at Arena and said, ‘Arena has no heyday.’

Arena was better today than yesterday and there was the conviction that tomorrow would be better than today. It was a fact that everyone acknowledged. It wasn’t just one person saying it.

The current Arena was more active than before. People’s interest in Arena increased even more. According to Quency’s announcement, it surpassed 900 million subscribers in early February. This was a figure that no virtual reality game had achieved so far.

Why was Arena so successful? It was because it had something that previous virtual reality games didn’t have. Superstars, ongoing topics, and great content. That was the difference between previous games and Arena. Previous virtual reality games didn’t have a star to symbolize the game.

Due to this, it didn’t catch people’s attention. Even if it caught people’s attention, it didn’t last long because there wasn’t a lot of content. There were no topics related to virtual reality, so the number of additional people playing gradually decreased. That was how the virtual reality games walked the path of decline.

Meanwhile, Arena had a prominent star—Alley Leader.

Zero flaws, perfect, the best—a player with skills that didn’t feel excessive no matter what modifier was attached to him. Alley Leader wasn’t just excellent when it came to skills. His star quality was unique. Based on his overwhelming skills, he showed things that other people couldn’t show.

That wasn’t all. Alley Leader had a ridiculous story. An early ranker called meleegod. Then Alley Leader who overcame the two year gap and appeared. They were the same person. It was an event that overturned common sense.

Arena also had endless content. Content continued to spring up like an infinite fountain of water that wouldn’t be depleted. It had the credit of Quency’s dedication to content development, but there was also the power of those who constantly discovered such content. It was Hyeonu/Alley Leader who had the largest stake in this.

Kim Seokjung burst out laughing as he poured whiskey into Hyeonu’s glass, which was full of ice. “So the war was all designed by our brother?”

Kim Seokjung’s face was really bright. It was enough to make him seem drunk even though he only had one glass right now.

“Yes, Hyung-nim. It somehow happened that way.” Hyeonu smiled bitterly at the full glass.

“I don’t think our brother would do anything without thinking. What are you thinking?” Kim Seokjung poured the same amount of whiskey as Hyeonu’s glass into his own glass and held out the glass to Hyeonu.

“Let’s see... I didn’t have much in mind. Still, wouldn’t it be fun to see such a big event that moves and flows as I thought? Additionally, isn’t it beneficial to me? Just like this time.”

Hyeonu’s glass and Kim Seokjung’s glass collided and a clear sound was heard.

“Beneficial... to be honest, shouldn’t it be said that the benefits come from the demon world more than this war? Those who didn’t know anything must’ve already died a few times in the demon world.”

Just then, Gang Junggu returned from the bathroom and interjected in the conversation between the two of them.

“Junggu’s words are right. I think the biggest benefit was to leave the demon world without being stubborn.”

Kim Seokjung nodded. He agreed with Gang Junggu’s words. The benefits that the New World Guild gained from participating in the northern war wasn’t great. The experience and skill proficiency was no different from any other hunt. That was all. Additionally, they didn’t participate in the northern war because they wanted to participate.

In fact, there was no need to intervene. Even without New World, there were many large guilds participating in this war. The reason why New World participated was because there was no suitable hunting ground. The best hunting ground for the large guilds was the demon world, no matter what anyone said.

However, New World trusted Hyeonu’s information that was delivered in advance and dared to abandon the demon world. They chose to replace it with this city restoration war.

“Isn’t it only those who stayed who saw blood? I think they were trying to level up nicely. Well... the damage is pretty big based on the news I heard.”

Gang Junggu was well-informed about the news from the demon world. It was obvious. As an example, his stomach hurt when his relative bought some land. Then what if that land was meaningless? What if all that money was blown away? It was nothing more than setting the house on fire.

“Have they not given up yet?”

Hyeonu emptied the glass and asked Gang Junggu with a frown. Hyeonu was baffled by the news coming from the demon world. He didn’t have much interest. He just shared information in the hope that the people around him wouldn’t lose money.

“It isn’t even their city, but they aren’t giving up. If it was me or Hyung-nim, we would’ve left sooner. What reason do they have to protect it like that?”

Gang Junggu smiled bitterly when he recalled the behavior of the large guilds. The large guilds were blocking the demons and demonic creatures. They became one.

“Still? This is a bit surprising... do they have the power to do that, Hyung-nim?” Hyeonu’s eyes widened at Gang Junggu’s words and he asked. To Hyeonu’s knowledge, the number of large guilds left in the demon world wasn’t that large. Many large guilds left the demon world and headed to the battlefields of the East Continent and West Continent. It was a ridiculously small number compared to the past. Yet they were still holding on.

‘It is amazing.’

It was literally amazing. Hyeonu thought that even if they were pushed back, they would’ve been pushed back already.

“I have to say that the guilds remaining are thoroughly united. They calculate the time to sleep and are holding on. I don’t know how long they will last, but they are holding out well for now.”

In Gang Junggu’s opinion, the large guilds left in the demon world were already in a crisis. They were overdoing it now. They were limits to a person’s physical strength. Enduring blindly was just a short-sighted solution. At least one or two guilds had to rest a day. It wasn’t enough to get a few hours of sleep like now.

“Really? It isn’t even their own territory. Why are they so persistent? I don’t understand it.”

Hyeonu cocked his head. It didn’t make any sense.

“It isn’t meant to be understood in the first place. Stop whining and have a drink.”

Kim Seokjung shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t know why the large guilds were moving like this. However, he didn’t want to pay much attention to it. It was because the result would be the same anyway. They would give up the city within a few days.

‘Unless reinforcements come from somewhere...’

The number of demons and demonic creatures continued to increase. As a result, the players’ rest would gradually decrease. Then, when the limit came...

“It is going to pop and burst.”

Amber liquid filled the glass full of ice.

***

“Sigh... It is hard.”

On the third day of the battle, Hyeonu sighed heavily. Today was much fiercer than the last two battles. The number of undead increased and the guardian became more active in combat. Perhaps it was because the battle was still going on, but neither the players nor the undead paid much attention to the battle between Hyeonu and the guardian. They kept a moderate distance from the two and continued to fight.

‘Have I been fighting for around an hour?’

Therefore, Hyeonu couldn’t stop fighting the guardian. The proper timing didn’t come out. He kept fighting.

‘Only the skill proficiency is going up.’

The skill proficiency rose well because the level of the guardian was that high. On the other hand, his experience hardly increased. It couldn’t be helped since he didn’t kill the guardian.

‘I have to turn on the live stream.’

Hyeonu didn’t turn on the live stream during the siege. To be precise, the live stream was briefly turned on and off just before the siege began. The reason he turned on the live stream was to get people’s attention. It was just in case anyone didn’t know.

“Hello, everyone. I am Alley Leader. I turned the streaming back on as promised.”

Hyeonu made an appointment with the viewers. After the siege was over, he would resume streaming.

-I saw your performance in the siege well.

-I think you are becoming more and more proficient.

-Don’t you want to share a bit of that skill?

-What content will you be doing today? Do you have any plans?

Hyeonu turned on the live stream and the viewers entered at a rapid pace. It was a speed like they had been waiting.

“Thank you for the compliments. This skill isn’t going anywhere. I also think it is very mysterious. Maybe my skills will get better every day...”

Hyeonu casually accepted the praise of the viewers. The days of humble acceptance were over. It was a time to boldly take care of things.

-Where did the humility go?

-It has left the house.

-By the way, it is true that he is good...

-That is more of a problem. There is no rebuttal.

The viewers were surprised by Hyeonu’s receptive attitude. It was different from before. He just accepted any words spoken. There was this aspect in the past but now that tendency was even stronger.

“Additionally, I have content today. You know the regular content, right? Alley Leader Academy is ready.”

Hyeonu prepared Alley Leader Academy for today’s live stream. Jamie Moore’s growth was faster than expected and he streamed frequently.

-Jamie Moore is coming out today?

-He is coming out often.

-He is really lucky. How can he be so good?

-It won’t take long to reach the bronze medal, right? I really like his items. Not to mention his skills.

-It will be over in April. The growth momentum means that by that time, he will have grown enough to cover the level difference.

The viewers responded favorably to Hyeonu’s words about Alley Leader Academy. Jamie Moore was someone who was of much interest to the viewers.

A late start and a series of good luck. He even had a teacher called Alley Leader. It went beyond envy and jealousy and they were just curious. How far could this person go?

‘Before March comes... I might be able to end it.’

Hyeonu was looking at Jamie Moore’s graduation from the academy, i.e. achieving a bronze medal, by the end of February. The possibilities were sufficient. Jamie Moore’s items and skills were fine. Additionally, the two swords were optimized for dealing with players rather than monsters. Things were good for Jamie Moore in many ways.

“I personally gave Jamie Moore some homework after the last live stream. Today, I will check how well he has done the homework.”

-Homework? What homework?

-Did he do homework after turning off the live stream?

-What? Is it hitting level 200? Is it something like this?

-Is that possible? He isn’t Alley Leader.

-I don’t think even Alley Leader can do that. There isn’t enough time.

The viewers showed a sharp interest in Hyeonu’s words that there was homework. They were curious. How absurd would the homework that Hyeonu presented be?

‘It isn’t such an impossible mission...’

Hyeonu smiled at the reaction of the chat window. “Well... it isn’t much. It is just a homework assignment to figure out his current level. I told him to do the pre-ranking battle placement fights.”

-Just that?

-Isn’t it difficult to do 10 ranking battles?

-Is that homework? Boooo.

-Just joking.

“Of course, that isn’t all. I told him to win 20 matches in the ranking battles,” Hyeonu said with a smile like it wasn’t a big deal.