Ranker's Return

Chapter 104

Translator: rainbowturtle

Editor: LD & Jyazen

Hyeonu set aside a month to put Kunta Plateau in the hands of Red Bull America. The longest amount of time given to Hyeonu was a period of 40 days. Two or three months later, the rebellion would occur. Before that, he had to find and clean up Alkyl’s base. However, he thought it would only require him one month to occupy the Kunta Plateau.

“Don’t you think you’re too relaxed?”Yeongchan expressed his concern because he thought this wasn’t enough time. It would only require one month just because he had the right to wander around the Kunta Plateau. That didn’t make sense.

“There are those JT Telecom jerks. Additionally, what is a month? A month is the maximum, the maximum. If I shake those JT kids quickly, it might end in 1 to 2 weeks. Besides, how can I fail to find that base? Don’t you know who I am?”

Yeongchan knew it well. Hyeonu was Arena’s only detached force member—it was extreme sweetness.

“Indeed... It seems I was worried for nothing. Who was I worried about?”

‘I should be worrying about me...’

“Relax your expression dude. Didn’t you hear me? If a rebellion happens, one of the spots will be yours. I’ll give it to you. Take your guild and sweep it away.” Hyeonu patted the shoulder of Yeongchan who was making a dog-like expression. “So level up and work hard. Gang Hyeonu isn’t the type of person who will abandon his friends.”

***

The opportunity arrived faster than he thought. It had been a week since Hyeonu started wandering the Kunta Plateau like it was his own house. Hyeonu had turned on his stream and was wandering the Kunta Plateau when he was approached by members of the Mano Guild.

“Hey, what are you doing in our guild area?”

Those who were present in the Kunta Plateau couldn’t be regular guild members. The same was true for Mano, a large guild. The Kunta Plateau was currently a disputed area, so only the elites were present. It was because it was common to get logged out if they were caught by an opposing guild when moving around.

“I’m a streamer, Alley Leader. I’m currently streaming,”Hyeonu responded naturally in a manner that seemed to know nothing.

“I’m not asking that right now! I don’t care if you are Alley Leader or Alley Leader Bread! That isn’t what I want to know. Why did you come into our Mano territory so confidently?” Boreik, the Mano Guild’s executive, yelled. It had nothing to do with whether the man in front of him was the real Alley Leader or not. The important thing was that he had now set foot on the Kunta Plateau.

Hyeonu replied, “Is this an area that the Mano Guild has taken over? I entered with permission from Red Bull America.”

“...? Are you joking? This is an area belonging to the Mano Guild! It isn’t the domain of those red bastards!”Boreik’s face turned red.His trembling fists showed how upset he was. The viewers saw it, and the number of messages increased.

-Prepare the popcorn.Cheese popcorn.

-Kya, will justice be implemented after a long time?

-The opponent is Mano, so there is nothing better.

-He is one of those jerks.

-It is starting with Mano. The JT guys should be shaken up as well.They did something last time.

‘Okay, the reaction isn’t bad.’Hyeonu stared at the chat window and was relieved that the viewers’ reaction wasn’t bad.

Then he prayed, ‘Come on, pick a fight. Give me a justified reason.’

However, Boreik didn’t show the attitude that Hyeonu desired. Instead, he was thinking, ‘It would be painful if he really is Alley Leader. I have to report to the master.’

Boreik warned, “I will let you go for now. Next time, you’ll leave that neck here.”

Then he left quickly. Hyeonu felt the heat leaking out of him. It was a great opportunity. However, his opponent wasn’t a newbie.

‘It is regrettable, regrettable.’

The viewers felt the same way. They wanted to see the Mano Guild, one of the streaming guilds who had deceived them, kneel down at the feet of Alley Leader. However, Boreik’s response meant the chance for a good spectacle had disappeared.

-Ah, he was scared.

-Alley Leader could’ve killed the Mano Guild members.

-They have been scamming us for almost a year.Yet they made a very good escape from here.

-By the way, would Alley Leader win against Mano?It seems a bit tough.

-He won against Reina.Mascherano as well.Why can’t he beat Marco?

Hyeonu smiled when he saw the chat window. The reaction of the audience was heading in the direction he wanted. Some people doubted his skills, but they were buried in an instant by other viewers.

‘Pretend to avoid fighting as much as possible. Pretend I don’t want it.’

“Phew, I’m glad. I thought it would end up in a PK. I’m a pacifist, so I don’t like to fight...”

-Wow, this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard since I was born.

-If Alley Leader is a pacifist, then I’m a gold spoon.

-Really, the sound of dogs barking is good.

-There is no answer.It is a bluff again.Look at this personality.

The streaming atmosphere was the same as usual thanks to Hyeonu’s remarks. There wasn’t a single viewer who felt that Hyeonu deliberately caused friction with other guilds.

‘Then why do I feel so dirty?’

Unfortunately, the first opportunity he came across flew away.

***

“Hyung, what are you going to do?” JT Telecom’s coach, Jeong Byeongjin, asked Manager Kang Ujong.

“What?” Kang Ujong was watching an Arena video when he was bothered by Jeong Byeongjin’s sudden question and didn’t know how to answer.

“The Kunta Plateau. Shall we give it up? Or are you going to gather the second division and push them all?”

Kang Ujong clapped as if he had only just thought about it when he heard Jeong Byeongjin’s words.“Ah! Ah!!! That... Tell them to take care of it themselves. The incident from last time—they handled it their own way. (TL: He’s talking about the remarks they made about Hyeonu on their stream) What good is a manager, Byeongjin?”

Kang Ujong’s sigh caused Jeong Byeongjin’s expression to stiffen.

Jeong Byeongjin told him, “Didn’t this situation pass after their apology? Just relax and move on, Hyung.”

“No, Byeongjin. I’ve already contacted the front desk. The processing is over as well. Maybe you will act as manager this season, Byeongjin.”

Upon hearing Kang Ujong’s words, Jeong Byeongjin’s expression crumpled.

He grabbed Kang Ujong’s shoulders. “Are you crazy? Hyung, you have nowhere to go if you quit now!”

However, Jeong Byeongjin’s actions were meaningless. Kang Ujong had already left JT Telecom.

“I want to have a break. So in the future, you think about it and decide. I’m sorry, but I want to rest alone.” Kang Ujong buried himself in his chair. The appearance of Kang Ujong was like a person filled with nihilism and pessimism.

“Hyung... I understand. This time I’ll take care of it.” Jeong Byeongjin closed the door of the manager’s office.

Kang Ujong was left alone and murmured, “Byeongjin, please stop them. JT will fly away if they bump into him. Our year of hard work will fly away.”

The video of Alley Leader was being played on Kang Ujong’s monitor.

***

‘Ujong hyung is quitting? Then I will lead JT alone?’

He had never thought about the possibility that he would have to manage JT alone without Kang Ujong. After all, he had a long relationship with Kang Ujong. He had also been with Kang Ujong in the games before Arena. There was no point in Jeong Byeongjin’s career where there wasn’t the name ‘Kang Ujong’.

‘It has been hard recently.’

It was a long time ago that Korea was an e-sports powerhouse. Due to continued regulations and loss of players, it had been a long time since they were overtaken by other countries. Now it was just another country. In such a South Korea, Jeong Byeongjin and Kang Ujong had created an outstanding team called JT Telecom. JT Telecom wasn’t a world-class team, but it was able to mix with the world.

Jeong Byeongjin arrived at the player’s quarters as he thought this. ‘Why are there so many shoes? Has everyone gathered here?’

Jeong Byeongjin ended the dormitory and found all the players of JT Telecom gathered.

“Why are there so many shoes?”

The spacious living room was full.

“Coach, you’ve come?”

“Byeongjin hyung, you’re here?”

Only Yoo Bin and Kim Jinyong greeted Jeong Byeongjin from where they were standing in front of the whiteboard for a briefing.

“Yes, don’t get up. What are you doing now?” Jeong Byeongjin asked while stopping the players who wanted to get up to greet him.

“We are working on a strategy in case there is a dispute with the Mano Guild,” Yoo Bin replied.

“Is Red Bull America still there?” Jeong Byeongjin questioned.

This time, there was no answer.

“What will you do if you fight Red Bull America? Who will mark Mascherano? Have you tried an alliance proposal?”

It was silent. In the end, the frustrated Jeong Byeongjin couldn’t help shouting, “Are you fools? Don’t you think? Didn’t you think about forming an alliance and pushing to the hardest place? It was just the same in the stream the other day... Think about it. Think!!”

Jeong Byeongjin stormed out of the dormitory. He couldn’t stand it.

‘Were the kids originally so stupid?’

“Sigh...” Jeong Byeongjin sighed and asked for a cigarette.

It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to quit smoking this year.

***

The second chance for Hyeonu seemed to come pretty quickly.

Marco, the master of the Mano Guild, received a report from Boreik and ordered, “It is okay to kill Hyeonu as soon as you see him.”

Hyeonu didn’t know this and moved a bit more aggressively. He was constantly pursuing the Mano Guild’s hunting grounds based on the information he obtained from traveling around the Kunta Plateau. Then he became eye-catching... just like right now.

“Ah, we meet again.”

Hyeonu stated, “Leave me alone. If you hit me, you won’t be the only one receiving damage.”

“The master said we could kill you.”

At the words of one Mano Guild executive, the other executives stared with wide eyes.

“Do you have confidence?”

“Eh, eh? Why? Aren’t we one body? Why is it only me? If I fight, then we should all fight.”

“Yes, I’ll help. Think of loyalty in the meantime.”

Hyeonu listened to the conversation between the Mano Guild executives and felt frustrated. ‘Why are they just talking? If you’re a man, you should fight with your body.’ At this moment, the direction of the dialogue progressed differently. It headed in the best direction that Hyeonu wanted.

“If he really is Alley Leader, won’t we become a star as soon as we kill him?”

“Does it matter if he is fake or not? It is enough to make our name known.”

“In any case, I think people need some fun. There is nothing like making an issue.”

“Shall we try it? Well, it doesn’t matter as long as it isn’t a character deletion bet.”

In the end, the executives of the guild slowly started to walk toward Hyeonu.

‘Nice!!’ Hyeonu’s face was smiling brightly behind the mask. It was the moment when the efforts of the past 10 days were returned to Hyeonu.