Ranker's Return

“I have an appointment for lunch.” Hyeonu left through the front door without looking back.

“An appointment for lunch? Is it with Reina?” Yeongchan quickly came up with an answer, but it was too late. Hyeonu had already closed the door and left.

“You should’ve said it earlier... I prepared two servings for nothing.”

Yeongchan sighed and chewed on the still-wet cabbage.

***

The relationship between Hyeonu and Reina had changed a bit since the stream at the Arena theme park. It was correct to say they had become a bit closer.

“Have you been waiting?” Reina asked as she approached Hyeonu, who was standing with a cup of coffee.

Hyeonu shook his head and held out a brown drink to Reina. “No, I just brought something to drink. Ice cafe mocha with no whipped cream, right?”

Reina smiled sweetly as she received the drink. “Thank you. I’ll treat you to lunch today. We’ve come to a delicious place.”

She took her yellow car keys out of her pocket and shook them.

“You know that I’m on a diet, right?”

“Yes, it is a low-calorie restaurant with salads.”

“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it.”

“It isn’t far from here, so let’s walk slowly.”

Hyeonu and Reina walked the streets leisurely as they talked. They looked no different from a couple. Some people recognized the two people, who were walking affectionately, and quietly murmured:

“They look very friendly.”

“Do you think that is just being friendly? They are more than just friends. If they aren’t dating, they are at least in the pre-relationship stage. That is my conclusion.”

“It doesn’t matter if they are dating or not. They will handle it.”

“I hope they will date. It isn’t easy to match so well like that.”

The passersby lowered their voices to be careful, but there was no way their conversation wasn’t heard by Hyeonu and Reina. Nevertheless, the two people in question didn’t really care about it. To begin with, Hyeonu was someone who didn’t really listen to people he didn’t know.

‘It has improved a lot.’ Reina, on the other hand, was pleased with the fact that this was being said. This meant that she had developed a closer relationship with Hyeonu.

‘I think we just need to go a bit further...’ Reina realized that the goal wasn’t far away, judging from Hyeonu’s recently changed attitude. Thinking about the first time she met Hyeonu, it felt like the fickleness of fate. However, Reina couldn’t be satisfied with just this. She wanted more.

‘Step by step.’

At a certain point, she would be able to get what she wanted. Reina believed it.

“By the way, why didn’t you bring a cup holder? The water keeps dripping.” Reina raised her wet hand to Hyeonu.

“I forgot. I came out in a hurry.” Hyeonu scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” Reina held Hyeonu’s hand with her wet hand. “I can do this.”

Then she gave a very mischievous smile. She was making progress little by little.

***

The Arena communities were still hot with activity. Recently, there were four or five issues a day, so they couldn’t be quiet even if they wanted to. At the center of such a problem was Alley Leader as always. Hyeonu didn’t directly cause any incidents. The problem was that the name Alley Leader was mentioned no matter what issue occurred.

-If Teika and Alley Leader fight now, who will win?

-Rain VS Alley Leader. Who is your choice?

-The black knight, the northern raid monster, VS Interim Emperor Alley Leader. Who will win?

-Let’s predict Alley Leader’s earnings this year.

Most of the posts had nonsensical content.

‘Is this the only thing they are talking about?’

“Hey, it isn’t interesting.” Hyeonu pushed away the laptop and lay down on the couch.

“Why are you annoyed again? You went out with such a happy face during the day.” Yeongchan frowned at the now cramped space.

“Is the community always this boring? It is no fun at all?”

“It is fun when something fun happens. Then it is always fun. Is there anything interesting these days? It isn’t like that in the northm but in other battlefields, it is a pretty equal match.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“It is because you aren’t interested, this guy.”

Hyeonu suddenly sighed and stared intently at the ceiling. “It has already been a month.”

“What?”

“The war.”

“Yes, it is around that much time. Thanks to this, I’m doing PvP endlessly. Now I wish to fight monsters.”

The war was boring. At first, Hyeonu just enjoyed the idea of comfortably increasing his level and skill proficiency. Then the more he fought, the more he became desensitized to these stimuli and wanted different stimuli.

“I’m also going crazy. I thought he would come out by this point. However, he is stuck in the Holy Kingdom and isn’t coming out at all.”

“Still, you originally expected him not to come out. Don’t you have any other strategies?” Yeongchan asked with a puzzled look. He definitely remembered hearing about some of Hyeonu’s plans before the war.

“Yes, it is very absurd.”

“What is it?”

“John Blake smashes Heizer.”

“Will that make the emperor come out?”

Hyeonu shook his head. This plan had nothing to do with Alexander.

“If Heizer falls down, there will be no one in the north to stop John Blake, right?”

“I guess so. Even if John Blake didn’t do his best, he has already broken the hyung-nims.”

“What if I step out?”

“You?” Yeongchan blinked and fell into thought.

‘If he stops John Blake...’

The city wouldn’t be able to be taken away.

‘Still, it is only for a moment...’

This was only a temporary measure. Hyeonu had to return to the capital one day. Then it didn’t make sense for Heizer to try and stop John Blake again. It wouldn’t be strange for him to lose at any time since he had already lost once.

“Are you going to keep blocking everything? Then won’t it mean nothing?” Yeongchan asked.

“Yes, that is the case. I will have to keep blocking him.”

Hyeonu’s plan was simple. He would go to the north and fight John Blake. The imperial palace would inevitably become empty, so...

“Heizer will become emperor and guard the imperial palace. How about it?”

“You are going to change positions?”

“That’s right. I will go north, and Heizer will go to the capital.”

“Isn’t it okay? Heizer wants to be emperor anyway. Then just pass it over. Start the process tomorrow.”

Yeongchan felt that Hyeonu’s plan was very good. There wasn’t much to be desired.

“What is there to hesitate about? Isn’t it over once you hand it over? It can’t be taken back. It is just like you.” Yeongchan’s words were the decisive wedge.

Hyeonu quickly got up from the sofa and ran into his room.

‘I will see the end in a week.’

He did so with very big aspirations.

***

Heizer quickly dodged the sword of the black knight, which flew with an intense force. The ground that was touched by the sword of the black knight exploded. Sweat dripped down Heizer’s neck when he saw it.

‘Something is different.’

The black knight’s attack was greatly different from what he had shown in the past month. It was much stronger and sharper.

‘Was he not using his full strength until now?’

Otherwise, this couldn’t be explained. The black knight couldn’t have become this strong overnight.

‘Ick!’ Heizer’s thoughts ended here. He wouldn’t be able to dodge if he didn’t focus on the black knight’s attacks. Moreover, the black knight becoming stronger didn’t change anything for Heizer.

‘I can’t back down.’

The only one here who could stop the black knight was him. If he stepped down, the rest of the people would die or get injured. Even if they were fine, they would have to abandon their homes and flee from the undead.

‘I am going to block him no matter what.’

Heizer poured more magic power into his sword. It was an action that came with the idea that he would be able to increase his power because he was being pushed to the limits.

“Haap!” Heizer swung the sword covered by a sharper pure energy. He used a lot of magic power, so his attack was incomparable to before. It was much faster and more powerful.

Heizer’s sword tore through the air like a ray of light. The black knight slammed the sword heavily toward the sword of the approaching Heizer. The sword covered with pure energy and the sword with no pure energy clashed.

Surprisingly, the winner was the black knight. The black knight’s sword tore apart Heizer’s pure energy. He swung his sword at Heizer again in this position.

Heizer responded to the black knight’s attack with a startled expression. Unable to overcome the shock, Heizer was pushed back. The black knight’s attacks didn’t stop. He clung to Heizer in an instant and stabbed his sword. Meanwhile, Heizer responded by raising his sword to fend off the black knight’s attacks. However, his sword failed to overcome the black knight’s attack and was broken.

“Uh?” Heizer looked perplexed at his sword, of which only the handle remained. It was the first time this had happened in his life. However, the black knight’s sword was still active even in Heizer’s momentary loss of concentration. The black knight’s sword slashed diagonally across Heizer’s upper body.

Blood gushed out of Heizer’s body. At the same time, Heizer collapsed and knelt down on the ground.

“Heizer!” Gang Junggu shouted with a flustered face when he saw it.

‘He can’t die here.’

Heizer had to live and become the emperor. He was an NPC who shouldn’t fall here.

‘I need to save him.’

Gang Junggu blew away the opponent undead in a single breath and ran toward Heizer. In the meantime, the black knight approached the fallen Heizer and raised his sword high.

“No!” Gang Junggu shouted as he saw the black knight’s falling sword.

Just then, a purple meteor fell from the sky. The sword of the black knight, which had fallen toward Heizer’s neck, naturally soared toward the sky instead and blocked the purple meteor. Sharp metallic sounds occurred non-stop. Then the identity of the purple meteor was revealed. It was a spear spinning at a tremendous speed.

“The timing is amazing. Isn’t that right, Hyung-nim?” The owner of the spear fell from the air.

“Hyeonu!” Gang Junggu called out to the owner of the spear.

“Hyung-nim, please take him and heal him quickly. He doesn’t look good.” Hyeonu winked and showed a humorous smile.

“Okay, don’t overdo it.” Gang Junggu nodded, lifted the fallen Heizer, and quickly retreated to the city walls.

“I’ll deal with you now.” Hyeonu pulled out the Mixed Sky Sword and aimed it at the black knight.

“There is also Tang-E.”

“There is also Gom-E.”

At the same time, two bears appeared behind Hyeonu. They were Tang-E and Gom-E.

“You guys, stay back.” Hyeonu resolutely removed the two bears from the battlefield.

“Understood, Master dude.”

“Win, Master dude.”

Tang-E and Gom-E retreated without protesting as if they knew they were of little help in this battle.

Then Hyeonu said, “Please teach me a lot this time as well, Duke Blake.”