Ranker's Return

Chapter 888

‘I thought I would have a bit more time...’

The reason why Hyeonu suddenly retreated was Raccoon.

‘That ghost-like orc. He didn’t miss it.’

Raccoon hadn’t missed the moment when Hyeonu fought against Jeras. The instant the danger of Jeras disappeared, Raccoon pressed Luke like crazy. No, the word pressed wasn’t enough. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Luke was on the verge of being killed.

‘There is a reason why Lebron didn’t appear on the battlefield at all.’

Raccoon had been vigilantly looking for an opportunity—just one chance.

“I would like to apologize to the viewers. Due to some personal reasons, the live stream will be stopped for around 5 minutes. I will be streaming again in five minutes, so I recommend that you wait or watch another streamer for a while.”

Hyeonu even affected the viewers in order to deal with what he did.

-No, what is this...

-By the way, who is the person next to you who is running away with you?

-Do you know him?

-Aren’t you the one who brought him last time as an instructor?

The viewers were more curious about the identity of the man who ran away with Hyeonu rather than the fact that the live stream was being stopped for a while. However, Hyeonu couldn’t answer the questions of the viewers.

‘How can I say it is Tang-E?’

“I’m really sorry.” He responded by bowing his head and turning the streaming screen black.

“Tang-E, how strong is your uncle?” Hyeonu was then able to talk to Tang-E comfortably.

Tang-E also moved his mask upward. “This is also the first time I knew Uncle was this strong.”

His revealed face showed a very surprised expression. It was natural. To Tang-E, Raccoon was no different from the uncle next door. He couldn’t help being surprised when Raccoons showed such an absurd strength.

“Master dude has also become very strong. It is different from before.”

“Of course, I struggled to do so.” Hyeonu nodded at Tang-E’s words, but he had other thoughts in his mind.

‘Is it impossible to kill Jeras alone?’

Hyeonu’s goal was always Jeras. Of course, it would be nice if he could kill Luke, but the possibility was highly unlikely.

‘I have to kill at least one... I can’t just watch Raccoon doing it.’

Hyeonu knew that his turn wouldn’t come to him. Raccoon would try to kill Luke as soon as he got the chance.

‘First of all... Putting aside Jeras, I have to fill up the rest of the conditions first.’

Hyeonu decided to take one step back to advance two steps. It couldn’t be helped as there was no answer in the current situation.

“You fought well. Did you practice diligently?” Hyeonu changed the subject. The topic now was Tang-E’s skills. They had grown to the point where it could be called rapid progress.

“I trained steadily, Master dude,” Tang-E replied with a face full of pride.

“Alone?”

“Yes, I did it by myself. In fact, I haven’t done it for a while... I just got better.” Tang-E cocked his head. This was the part he still didn’t understand. How did his skills become this way?

‘I think I know...’ Hyeonu knew the answer to Tang-E’s question. It was impossible for him not to know. The reason was obvious.

“Are you still practicing magic that is divided by the attributes?”

“Yes, Master dude. I learned hard from my mother and father.” Tang-E nodded. The magic practice never stopped. There was still a lot for him to learn and try out.

“This is the reason. In the end, my method of fighting is about how quickly and accurately I move my magic power,” Hyeonu taught Tang-E the answer.

“Is that so? Then how about using the sword? Won’t it be out of balance later?” Tang-E had a reasonable question. Magic power management was important, but in the end, he had to wield his weapon against the opponent. Being skillful in using magic power was just half of it.

“It is easy to learn such things while being hit.” Hyeonu smiled brightly.

Based on Tang-E’s talent, it would be really fast. Of course, it would be a hellish time for Tang-E.

“No, this demon.” Tang-E shook his head vigorously and covered his face with the mask again. Then he jumped into the battlefield.

“Running away like this doesn’t change reality, Tang-E!” Hyeonu shouted at the back of the running Tang-E. Somehow, Tang-E’s speed seemed to be getting faster.

“I’m sorry, everyone. I apologize for this.” Hyeonu resumed streaming and bowed to the viewers.

-No... No excuses, Alley Leader. The stream too...

-You have to tell us what is going on...

-It is difficult if you keep doing this...

The viewers shot toward Hyeonu. Hyeonu had no way to refute the words of the viewers. Therefore, he used something that could be used once in a while.

“I’m really sorry. My mother called...”

-Ah... Then I acknowledge it.

-If you don’t get in touch with your mother, she will tap on the cube.

-She can knock on your head, not the cube.

-Be careful and be careful again. You will be in big trouble if you are summoned home.

The attitude of the viewers took on a 180-degree change. They understood Hyeonu’s actions. It was a believable reaction to an irresistible force. No matter how much they flew or crawled around in Arena, they couldn’t solve the problems of reality.

“Thank you for your understanding. Then I will continue to work hard to kill the members of the god tribe and the divine creatures.”

Hyeonu jumped into the battlefield with a spear.

***

[Killed a god tribe member using the Guardian’s Spear 1,793/6,666.]

[Killed a senior member of the god tribe 29/100.]

Once the live stream was over, Hyeonu checked the quest window.

‘Won’t this take a while?’

The performance was okay. He might not have hunted with gritted teeth, but the number of monsters he killed by himself was enormous. The number reached nearly 2,000.

‘The items are also good.’

There was also side income. He gained a lot of items to put up as event prizes.

‘At the most, I will fulfill the remaining conditions within a week.’

There was a separate problem.

Jeras and Luke—he had to kill one of them.

‘If I kill Jeras, Luke will also die.’

Honestly, the best thing to do was to kill Luke. The reward for killing Luke was overwhelmingly greater than the reward for killing Jeras.

‘Just look at what Ragand gave... It is much better.’

It was absurd to even make a comparison.

A god and those who weren’t a god—they couldn’t be put on the same line.

Someone approached Hyeonu and spoke to him, “It has been a while.”

It was a huge orc, Dakan.

“It has been a while. Have you been well?” Hyeonu bowed to Dakan and greeted him.

“You’ve become really strong in the meantime.” Dakan mentioned Hyeonu’s change rather than responding to questions about his own well-being. These were the orc-like words and behavior that revered strength.

“I have overcome hardships... Shouldn’t there be some achievements?”

“Hardships... Actually fighting is just as important.” Dakan smiled bitterly.

A sense of shame and resignation flowed out when he saw Hyeonu, who was completely different from when they first met. He felt it the most from the sight of Hyeonu overwhelming Jeras. Dakan was at a bit of a disadvantage when he fought against Jeras. His life would be in danger if the battle continued for a long time. Meanwhile, Hyeonu was different. He completely overpowered Jeras.

‘It is clear that this game has a problem,’ Hyeonu thought when he saw Dakan, who was immersed in his thoughts.

The orcs of Arena were different from other virtual reality games. They were terribly strong. The orc in front of him, Dakan, had fought Jeras without any special buffs. In the end, he was defeated, but this would be reversed if time were to pass by.

‘He just needs to receive Tang-E’s buff, and the result will be easily reversed.’

“What about Cancun? Is he still passionate?” Hyeonu changed the subject. This time he asked about Raccoon’s son, Cancun.

“He is fighting hard. He will gain a lot from this war. He is probably feeling what he previously only heard about in words.”

“Then he will be a good opponent for Tang-E.

“That guy? Hmm...” Dakan carefully examined Tang-E after hearing Hyeonu’s words.

Tang-E was a cute little guy covered in fluffy fur.

‘To fight Cancun...’

“He is good enough. No, rather, Cancun will probably be pushed a lot?” Dakan noticed the immense magic power hidden behind the cuteness. This magic power was too strong for Cancun to handle.

‘If this is a physical ability unique to the Marionette Bears... it is hard to see Cancun as being ahead.’

There was only one thing that he could confidently say that Cancun was ahead in—technique. In other words, it meant there could never be an advantage when it came to innate capabilities.

“You!!! Do you know what you did?” An orc who was bigger than Dakan flew toward Hyeonu just then.

“Raccoon, calm down and speak to me...” Hyeonu didn’t panic and extended both hands toward Raccoon.

“You!!! Running away instead of fighting?!!” Raccoon’s voice contained both anger and confusion.

“There were circumstances. There was a reason for it!” Hyeonu exclaimed urgently.

“The reason?”

“My mother...

“Mother?”

The temperature of the conversation dropped sharply. It froze in an instant as if it moved from a hot bath to a cold bath.

“Then I have to understand...” Raccoon nodded.

‘Mother’—he couldn’t win after hearing this word. It was impossible to counter or defend against.

“Next time... Don’t let the same thing happen again.”

“I understand. Next time, we will see the end.” Hyeonu quickly nodded. It was an action that contained no sincerity.

‘Shall I ask him the question?’ Hyeonu was a bit worried. ‘Yes, it doesn’t cost money to ask.’

Hyeonu made up his mind and spoke to Raccoon carefully, “Raccoon, can I ask you one thing?”

“Ask. I’ll answer anything,” Raccoon replied coolly.

“Is it okay if I can deal Luke one blow with the spear?”

“Spear? You?” Raccoon scanned Hyeonu from top to bottom.

.

Raccoon’s eyes meant one thing. ‘Can you do it?’

“Yes. I can deal him a blow.”

“Luke isn’t a pushover. I am pushing him because it is me. In addition, the weapon you use... It wasn’t a spear, right?” Raccoon ignored Hyeonu’s words. At the same time, he felt bad because it seemed like Hyeonu was looking down on Luke too much.

“I know how to use the spear a little bit. It is also a nice spear.” Hyeonu injected magic power into the ring. Then a spear appeared in Hyeonu’s hand.

“Ohu?” Raccoon exclaimed at the sudden appearance of the spear. It was a good weapon. It wasn’t known where Hyeonu got it, but it was something that would never be inferior to the axe Raccoon was using.

“However, it is a spear that doesn’t feel very good...”

At the same time, Raccoon noticed that the spear wasn’t normal. Still, it didn’t matter much. It was because he thought Hyeonu would handle it well.

“I will give you a chance.”

“Thank you, Raccoon.”

“—If you pass the test.” Raccoon pulled out the axe he was carrying on his back.