Ranker's Return

Chapter 807

“Did you rest well?” Hyeonu looked at the Venom Guild members who all showed up together and waved.

“Yes, we rested well. Alley Leader, did you rest well?” Kalen received Hyeonu’s words on behalf of the other guild members.

“I am in good shape. I think it is okay to see Edward now.” Hyeonu didn’t really care.

He had taken care of the live stream, which was like homework, and his mind was fine after getting sufficient rest. Hyeonu was ready to bear the stress.

“Edward?” Kalen looked confused by Hyeonu’s words. They had just crossed the snowy mountain and entered the glacier zone. Edward’s location was an iceberg very deep in the glacier zone. It was difficult to go there straight away.

“Yes, Edward. I have to hurry up and see him. Is there any need to drag it out? I am fine, but... aren’t you in a hurry to level up? The fifth class advancement isn’t something light,” Hyeonu provoked the Venom Guild with a sharp laugh.

“I know that we are in a hurry.” Kalen smiled bitterly and nodded.

Currently, the fifth class advancement was a feat accomplished that only Hyenou had achieved. No one had managed to attain it after him. Rain, the next highest level player after Hyeonu, was now level 390. Naturally, information about the fifth class advancement was limited. No one knew the details, be it the viewers or the rankers. Yeongchan was the only one who knew about the fifth class advancement after hearing about it from Hyeonu.

In this situation, succeeding in the fifth class advancement faster than others meant they could preempt the large number of viewers who were interested in it. Absorbing viewers meant the growth of their A-World channel and live streams. There was a much more complicated backstory than simply increasing the ranking.

“Then let’s hurry up and go. I can’t hold back those who are in a hurry for so long.” Hyeonu moved quickly without hesitation. It seemed he had no intention of giving the Venom Guild any more time.

Hyeonu walked leisurely and spoke to Kalen, “Will there be the dark elf undead at the iceberg as well?”

“I don’t know that either. This is the first time we’ve crossed the snowy mountain.” Kalen didn’t know that either. There were no gamers who had broken through the snowy mountain before Hyeonu and the Venom Guild, so there was no information available.

“Really? Nobody has gone there? Everyone is blinded by the fifth class advancement. This is the main scenario, but they’re not interested.” Hyeonu clicked his tongue.

The dark elves of the snowy mountain were strong and demanding. Hyeonu beat them in one go as if they weren’t a big deal, but the reality was that the Venom Guild alone would struggle when facing more than three dark elves at a time. However, that was all. It wouldn’t be difficult to break through the snowy mountain if the famous large guilds made up their minds to rush in. The more priests there were, the easier it would be.

“It needs to be a formal attack force to show the viewers.” Kalen nodded. The large guilds weren’t particularly interested in this incident. They just used the northern matter as content for streaming.

“I guess they will try to insert a spoon into it sooner or later. They now know that they can participate to a certain extent even without opening the main scenario.” Hyeonu knew the exact reason from a story he heard directly from Kim Seokjung, who led a large guild called New World. “In the past, the main scenario was small, but hasn’t it grown ridiculously big these days? It is absurd for one or two guilds to monopolize it.”

“That’s right. It is a trend that is getting bigger and bigger. Perhaps it is Quency’s internal policy. I think they are trying to get a lot of people involved and increase player loyalty,” Kalen agreed with Hyeonu.

This wasn’t just Hyeonu’s idea. They were words that had come up a lot around Kalen. There was no need to sacrifice time to find the main scenario. There was nothing wrong with intervening at a leisurely pace later.

“However, that is what people who don’t know anything would say. The benefits of preempting the main scenario are enormous.”

“Isn’t that just a story of when you preempt it? The risk seems too great. Honestly, preempting the main scenario has only happened twice so far. It was by New World and you, Alley Leader. Who wants to jump in later?”

Hyeonu had to shut his mouth at Kalen’s words. He had nothing to say. It was true after all.

‘Did I eat too much?’

The first main scenario was opened by Hyeonu, and the one after that was opened by New World. Then Hyeonu returned to Arena and swept up all of them. It was literally a solo stage. There was no concession at all.

“Well... Then I have nothing to say. I have to take good care of them since they are making concessions.”

Even so, he had no intention of giving up the main scenario. It was something that the other guilds had to take away from Hyeonu.

Hyeonu and the Venom Guild broke through the glacier zone while talking a bit more naturally than when they crossed the snowy mountain.

***

A group of undead appeared in front of Hyeonu and the Venom Guild as they passed through the glacier in a straight line. The number seemed to be well over 100. The appearance of the undead was different. They ranged from giant beasts to skeletons just over one meter in size. However, they had something in common.

‘They don’t look strong at all?’

Hyeonu wasn’t nervous when he saw the group of undead. There was only one reason. The undead didn’t seem particularly strong. He could defeat them alone. To be honest, the dark elf undead in the snowy mountain felt much stronger. Hyeonu didn’t say anything to the Venom Guild and ran toward the group of undead alone.

‘I don’t need to hunt them together.’

It was enough to deal with them without the help of the Venom Guild.

“Tang-E, Gom-E.”

Hyeonu had his pet Tang-E and the magic spirit Gom-E. These two were enough.

“Tang-E, give me the buffs. Gom-E, stay next to Tang-E.”

Of course, neither of them had to participate directly in the battle. It was enough for Hyeonu alone to fight. He was full of confidence due to this successive increase in specs. It reached its peak while dealing with the dark elf undead.

“Understood, Master dude. Fight well and come back.” Tang-E placed the buffs on Hyeonu with an expression like it was normal now.

Gom-E stood next to Tang-E and held Tang-E’s paw.

“Master dude is strong. Too strong. There is no need to worry.”

“That’s right. Master dude is strong. He is a monster.”

Tang-E and Gom-E muttered when they saw Hyeonu running toward the group of undead. No matter what anyone said, Hyeonu was a player who could defeat 1,000 enemies.

‘Start with Crescent Moon Cut.’

Hyeonu ran quickly, pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword, and swung it. His choice was the Crescent Moon Cut full of magic power.

A gigantic purple crescent pierced the glacier. A huge elephant-shaped undead standing at the head of the undead was dyed with a black energy as it rushed toward the purple crescent. The blackened elephant’s nose collided with Hyeonu’s pure energy.

The result of the collision was very one-sided. The purple pure energy from Hyeonu flew forward and split the elephant in half.

[The cursed snow mountain mammoth has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

Even after that, the purple pure energy moved without hesitation. The undead threw their bodies to block the pure energy, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. The purple crescent moon continued to ravage the undead.

Hyeonu checked his full magic power and swung the Mysterious Sky Sword again.

Every time Hyeonu’s sword cut through the air, a huge pure energy flew toward the undead. It was a group of undead that couldn’t even properly handle Crescent Moon Cut. There was no way they could stop the more powerful Mysterious Sky Range.

There was no undead with a leg left intact on the ground in the spot where Mysterious Sky Range swept through.

“The number of undead is slowly increasing,” Hyeonu said while kicking the bones that had been torn down in front of him. Unlike the dark elf undead who were relatively clearheaded, the typical undead now appeared. They were skeletons that moved with no blood or flesh left.

“They are monsters that originally appeared in the glaciers or snowy mountains, so they don’t seem to be as difficult as the dark elves. Instead, the problem is that the number is a bit high... Well, we have Alley Leader, so I don’t think it will be a big deal.” Kalen’s face was full of vigor. He couldn’t believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes.

‘Does it make sense to kill them that easily?’

It was clear that the undead before them now were weaker than the dark elf undead, but they were by no means low-level monsters to be ignored. Yet these more than 100 undead were knocked down in just two attacks. Kalen’s feeling of surprise went beyond admiration.

‘I got the right bus driver.’

However, the surprise was brief. It was temporary, but Hyeonu was moving with the Venom Guild. It might be different if they met as enemies, but he was more reassuring when he was an ally. The stronger Hyeonu was, the more likely he was to get the main scenario.

‘If I upload this video, I will get at least a few thousand more subscribers on my channel.’

In Kalen’s eyes, Hyeonu was now seen as a savior. He would lead them on the road to success.

“What are you doing? Come on, let’s go. The undead aren’t as strong as you think. You can pierce through as well,” Hyeonu urged the Venom Guild.

“Yes, yes. Let’s go.” The Venom Guild members followed Hyeonu’s words with a gentler attitude than before.

***

The idea that they could easily break through the glacier didn’t last long. It soon shattered. The level of the undead that appeared every time they broke through the glacier rose exponentially. The first group of undead was really easy to hunt. From then on, an army of skeletons appeared and dozens of death knights as well.

At this moment, the most powerful undead army had appeared.

‘This... isn’t it.’ Hyeonu shook his head at the sight of the undead army in the distance. It wasn’t at a level to argue whether it was worth fighting or not.

“In any case... I think it will be hard to see Edward again, Alley Leader,” Kalen barely managed to say when he saw the undead army.

“We have to kill as many as possible before dying. This way, we won’t lose money, right?”

“Yes. I will use all my skills to the death today.”

The other Venom Guild members looked tired too. The number of the undead army was enormous. Everywhere they looked was filled with the undead. It was no different in the sky.

“A bone dragon...” Hyeonu sighed when he saw five bone dragons floating leisurely in the air. It was very burdensome. No matter how much his specs were upgraded in New World, the five dragons that were seen were a different matter.

A moment later, a knight in gray armor appeared above the head of the largest bone dragon floating in the air.

“Humans who don’t know their ruler... You came here to die again. How stupid are you?”

It was the man Hyeonu was looking for—Edward.