Ranker's Return Chapter 19

"Hap!" Hyeonu ran forward at the start of the duel and cut at one of his unresponsive opponents. Then he swung the longsword again and separated the neck of another opponent.

"What are you doing? Wake up!" Cheron yelled.

Only then did the members of the Black Skull Guild regain their senses. They pulled out their weapons and charged toward Hyeonu. However, they were no different from moths plunging into a fire. They didn't leave a single scratch on Hyeonu.

"Die!" The Black Skull Guild executive, Park Cheolgu wielded his sword. The sword shone with blue light, indicating he had used a skill. However, the use of the skill had to make sense. Due to Hyeonu's dazzling movements, Park Cheolgu couldn't figure out how to swing his sword. He finally swung haphazardly.

"No one will be hit if you swing it like that," Hyeonu gave advice filled with ridicule to Park Cheolgu. Then he immediately received his pay for the advice. The price of the advice was expensive. It was Park Cheolgu's life.

Cheron was stunned. What the hell was going on? The current situation didn't make sense. The duel started, and then three executives were logged out in an instant. There was no such thing as a decent battle. It was just a one-sided massacre. Nevertheless, Cheron was the guild master leading them. He needed to regain his spirit.

"Steady yourself! Hit him all at once. Catch that bastard!!" Cheron roared.

He wasn't speaking to the other executives.

Cheron was shouting at himself.

'You haven't given me any time to think.'

That isn't to say it would be a disadvantage to Hyeonu if he gave them time to think...

It was just that the fun level of the video would drop. This was the reason why.

"Come here. Over here," Hyeonu beckoned toward the remaining 10 opponents. His longsword was placed on his shoulder. The effect of the taunt was great. Cheron's words led to the re-emergence of two Black Skull Guild members who were trying to maintain the formation.

"This jerk?"

"Kill him!"

The two executives, Park Seongwon and Seo Gangsu, were blinded by anger. They had forgotten how their associates died a little while ago. Filled with motivation to kill Hyeonu, they rushed forward with their respective spear and sword. Park Seongwon and Seo Gangsu showed superb teamwork. If he blocked Park Seongwon's spear, he would be cut by Seo Gangsu's sword. However, if he blocked the sword, he would be pierced by the spear. Still, it could only be considered to be at a general level.

It was nothing difficult for Hyeonu, who was much more capable. Hyeonu pushed up Park Seongwon's spear. As a result, Park Seongwon's spear collided with Seo Gangsu's sword, and Hyeonu didn't miss this gap. A thunderous strike hit Park Seongwon.

Park Seongwon couldn't evade Hyeonu and ended up dying.

"Seongwon!" A scream erupted from Seo Gangsu's mouth at the sight.

'This was a monster—an irresistible monster.'

These were Seo Gangsu's last thoughts. It was because Hyeonu's longsword cut him at this time.

"Wah!!!" Hyeonu screamed.

He felt it was a bit of a pity. So far, he had experienced a lot of mental burden. His family had collapsed, and he became the breadwinner of his family. The first part-time job in his life had been hard. There were times when he thought he couldn't do it.

On the other hand, the Colosseum was quiet at this time. In the eyes of others, Hyeonu's cry was like the roar of a monster. Someone outside the normal standards—a monster. So far, there had been no such players like him, even among professional players. No, there was one.

His was a name that had reached the point where barely anyone remembered it. meleegod, the person who went on the first main scenario quest alone—Hyeonu was comparable to this monster. He could compare to a monster, so perfect, he hadn't allowed a single attack and had conquered Arena alone.

"You aren't willing to fight? Then surrender instead of continuing in this wretched manner. It won't change your character deletion though," Hyeonu shouted at the remaining Black Skull Guild members that had gathered together.

'Should I do something a bit more dramatic?'

Hyeonu felt the need to create tension again in this duel. There would be editing, but the effect of the editing would be increased if the quality of the original video itself was better. 

"You blocked a dungeon and killed others with this level of skill?" Severe criticism poured out of Hyeonu's mouth.

It was a thoroughly calculated dialogue. Currently, Hyeonu was like an ancient pioneer, a sage. He was an intellectual who pinpointed absurdities. Hyeonu's criticism sparked a new atmosphere in the Colosseum. Everyone shouted in unison:

Fight!!!

You cowards!!!

Or surrender!!!

The Black Skull Guild had to make a decision. They might have to dismantle the guild, even if they won. Finally, Cheron made up his mind. "We can't do anything in this situation anyway. Let's just all run in at once. How can eight people not win? Isn't that right?"

Eight against one...

No matter who saw it, the group of eight people had the advantage. However, the faces of the eight people didn't look too good. At this moment, the executives bowed toward Cheron. It was a deep bow.

"I'll give up. Thank you for everything."

"I want to grow up again, just like when I first played Arena."

"I'll be with you when I raise my character again."

"Cheron hyung."

They gave up. The executives were already exhausted. This duel with Hyeonu had served as a catalyst. The deformed guild, that had become different from how it had been during their initial pure beginnings, was also hard on them. 

[Player 'GT' has surrendered.]

[Player 'Teullu' has surrendered.]

.

.

.

[Player 'Fab' surrendered.]

All seven executives surrendered. The only one left was Cheron.

'I see...' Cheron realized it. He had changed a lot. At first, Arena was just fun. He had enjoyed catching monsters with his close brothers in Arena, so he made the Black Skull Guild.

'I'll finish this.'

Cheron felt it after a long time. How long had it been since he smiled so happily and freely?

"Go!!" Cheron ran toward Hyeonu.

It was to decorate the end of this stage.

'Thank you.'

***

The Colosseum started to roar at the actions of the surrendered Black Skull members. Their behavior was strange.

"What is wrong with them?"

"Why did they surrender out of the blue?"

"Does this mean they're scared of Alley Leader?"

Hyeonu was no different and also felt very perplexed. He couldn't keep up with the development that was different from his script. According to his plan, they would challenge him continuously until he stood in the arena as the last winner. Yet they had suddenly said goodbye to Cheron and surrendered.

'Suddenly changing their mind...'

Well, it didn't matter to Hyeonu. In any case, his purpose was achieved. Becoming famous and getting rid of future trouble—both aims had already been achieved the moment the Black Skull members accepted the duel. Why? It was because Hyeonu couldn't lose in the duel. Still, the duel wouldn't be a waste of effort. He felt rather good.

'I saved a man from the gutter.'

Hyeonu saw Cheron running toward him.

'Just catching him alone is rewarding.' 

Then Hyeonu also ran toward Cheron. It was to complete the picture he drew.

***

"Thank you," Cheron ended up saying this.

Then his character was deleted.

'That was a cool move. Now my ears won't itch.'

[You have won the duel.]

[The rewards will be paid in accordance with the rule of 'winner-takes-all.']

'The extra income is also great.'

There were a total of 13 inventories handed over to Hyeonu because he was the winner. It was clear that the 13 inventories would be interesting.

"Today's duel ended with my victory. The duel will be uploaded to my Alley Leader channel tomorrow at noon. You'll probably be surprised. I'll say that everything is thanks to you," Hyeonu said this and then logged out of Arena.

He had passed through a crisis, but he still had a mountain of work to do.

'I'm going to send the video to Ellis.'

***

Ellis went to the Colosseum today. He couldn't wait for Hyeonu's video to be sent. In fact, Hyeonu's battle gave off a feeling different from the videos he'd seen.

The momentum...

The momentum was different. Hyeonu truly showed a desire to kill his opponent.

'Isn't that a skill?'

All those standing in front of him would unwittingly shudder.

"It is a good thing that I came." 

Ellis thought it was good that he came here. He hadn't felt anything like this in the videos he received. However, if some highlights were added through editing, the people watching the videos would be able to feel it too.

"I will edit it here in this way."

Due to his illness, Ellis thought about how to edit instead of watching the duel.

***

"OMG!" Dugun dugun. Kale's heart jumped. Kale, who was on a flight to New York, realized what Hyeonu had meant.

"Deleting character..."

The duel had to be stopped, no matter who 'he' was. It was too much to make a gamble like this. Kale couldn't figure out what this person was thinking. Soon, however, Kale realized his worries were useless. Hyeonu was already powerful. He could deal with any opponent who hadn't completed the second class change.

"Amazing. Amazing," Kale let out repeated cries of admiration.

There was nothing else to say. His mouth could only drop open at Hyeonu's overwhelming combat ability. Kale seemed to understand this person a bit better now. Hyeonu was arrogant and greedy. The great justification was merely a lie to conceal his goals. It was because he felt the need to clean up the nuisances.

"No matter how I think about it..."

Kale thought he did a good job of recruiting this person. Then Kale turned off the screen of his tablet PC.

***

Hyeonu was in a very good mood. He even thought, 'Will it be okay to take some time to relax?' 

Now the path in front of him was solid. It was a smooth highway. He gained recognition, and his contract with Nike was successful. If he started streaming, he wouldn't have to worry about his father's hospital expenses and he could pay off the various debts. Yet Hyeonu's feelings soon fell into the gutter. It was because that guy appeared on TV.

-Sword Eagle Locke... or should I call you Jung Hanbaek now?

-Please call me what you like. You are way ahead of me...

That guy had come out. It was also accompanied by the fact that he was making his Arena pro gaming debut.

"That bastard is making his debut in the professional scene?"

'Wake up, Gang Hyeonu!' Hyeonu struck his cheeks. 

This wasn't the time to feel happy. He almost forgot his goal due to a moment of sweetness. It wouldn't be too late to enjoy himself once he got his revenge. Things were now different from when he thought there was no way to get revenge. That damn bastard had become a pro, so revenge would be obtained in Arena.

'The ultimate goal is to be a pro gamer.'

"In order to do that, I have to move faster."

Hyeonu gritted his teeth. He took a firm grip of his mind that had relaxed for a while. A single word was engraved in his heart.

"I have to go ahead with the main scenario as soon as possible. Items obtained from the scenario will help close that gap."

Hyeonu returned to the cube he had just emerged from.

Chapter end