Ranker's Return

Chapter 610

Translator: rainbowturtle

New York Arena Stadium was now in the third round. They were full of curiosity about the boss monster that would be summoned in the raid time attack that would mark the finale of Arena Week.

“What will be the last raid boss monster? Do you know about this?” the host sitting in the middle of the broadcasting booth asked the commentators sitting on his left and right sides.

“I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know either. I’m also curious. I’m excited to see what type of monster will come out.”

This time, the commentators didn’t know either. They only knew one thing.

“It is called a random summoning, but that doesn’t mean it is a monster that has never been heard or seen. Only monsters that players have met before will appear.”

“Then it might be advantageous for some players. There will definitely be a big difference between having experience dealing with them or not.”

“Still, I don’t think you need to worry about that. In fact, apart from a small number of instance dungeons, they usually hunt similar monsters and publish a lot of videos.”

The moment the host raised questions about the summoning method, the commentators answered like they had been anticipating the questions. It was so there would be no fuss. The three of them were reading the contents of the cue card.

***

“Hyung, aren’t you curious about what will come out? I personally hope a monster Hyung knows will come out,” Mason said with a smile as he sat next to Hyeonu.

“Don’t say such a terrible thing. We’ll be in big trouble if that happens. You don’t know how many monsters there are.” Hyeonu got goosebumps the moment he heard Mason’s words.

A raid boss monster based on Hyeonu’s data should never come out. It would be a disaster.

‘If the emperor or Lebron comes out…’

The stats would be limited to the level, but a disaster was still a disaster. A smaller-sized volcano didn’t mean that the nature of a volcano had disappeared. It was still dangerous when it exploded.

“Just think about how you can use magic better. How can you do your part when using magic like that? Huh? How about you try Alley Leader Academy? I’ll take responsibility and make you a ranker. How about it?” Hyeonu offered.

Mason made the same expression as Hyeonu. It wasn’t just his expression; even his words were the same.

“Don’t say such a terrible thing, Hyung. What Alley Leader Academy? It is an express train to hell. I’d rather go to my father and take a business class,” Mason replied without hesitation. If his father or housekeeper heard it, they would jump with joy.

Mason didn’t want to take a PvP class with Hyeonu. It was because he had seen the appearance of the team members when they were caught by Hyeonu too many times. Hyeonu grabbed onto a very small mistake and trained them on it for one hour, two hours, or endlessly. Moreover, it was a problem that only Hyeonu pointed out. No rankers who helped them practice pointed it out.

Hyeonu smiled as he spoke to Mason, “Then pray quickly. Please let an easy boss monster come out.”

Mason heard this and muttered with a grim expression, “Please let an orc come out.”

***

Mason’s words became reality for the last game that decorated the end of Arena Week. The boss monster for the third raid time attack was unveiled.

“The last boss monster is an orc, an orc!”

“A boss monster that's easier than expected has been summoned. I don’t think we need to know which player’s play record that this monster was extracted from.”

“This has allowed the lower-ranked team to feel a bit of hope for the record of this raid time attack.”

The summoned orc was extremely ordinary compared to the two previous raid boss monsters—Clone and the elemental hydra. He had a height of around 2.5 meters, and dense muscles covered his entire body. Additionally, there was a large axe hanging from his back.

“What? Is it just an orc?”

“This is bland. Boring.”

“I didn’t expect the last one to be like this. The last game decorating Arena Week will be boring.”

The crowd expressed their regret. The orc seemed too weak compared to the ridiculously powerful boss monsters. He wasn’t big and didn’t seem to have any special characteristics. The reactions of the players who had to participate in person were slightly different. They were a bit relieved, but they didn’t like it very much.

An orc with the power of a raid boss monster—it wasn’t much different from humanoid boss monsters. In some ways, he could be scarier than Clone. It was because this orc wasn’t an artificial intelligence but a boss monster with a proper ego.

“Ah… No! This isn’t…” However, there was one person who didn’t like it at all. It was Hyeonu. Hyeonu was in despair. He shook the television on the wall like a distraught man.

“Hyung, what’s wrong with you? Is it an orc that you know?” Mason asked with an uneasy expression. If it was a monster that Hyeonu knew, it was highly likely it would be unusual. His experience was unique.

“He is truly a monster, a monster… One of the best monsters I’ve encountered…” Hyeonu replied.

The orc’s name was Raccoon. He was the leader of the Meadow Wolf Tribe and the father of Tang-E’s friend, Cancun. In addition… he was the strongest orc who taught fighting energy to Hyeonu.

“Don’t be careless. The elemental hydra is a joke compared to Raccoon. Clone is also a joke. The finale of this competition will be terrible.” Hyeonu’s expression didn’t relax at all.

***

“The faces of all the players are bright. It is probably because the last raid boss monster is an orc.”

“Or perhaps it is because they can see the end of Arena Week. It is a festival for us, but it is great pressure for the players.”

The commentators looked at the expressions of the players entering the Cube. The expressions of the players were generally bright as they believed the last boss monster wasn’t that difficult to defeat. In addition, the players would get to rest after the end of Arena Week. The Spring League was held in May. Arena Week was in mid-January, so it guaranteed at least three months of rest.

“However, player Gang Hyeonu’s expression isn’t very bright. He has a very determined look. It is the first time I’ve seen him look like this.”

“It is like a tragic but brave resolution. It can even be said that he is a soldier going to war.”

The commentators were surprised by Hyeonu’s serious expression.

“Do you think Alley Leader knows that orc? Moreover, it’s strong enough to make him nervous…”

“Then the players of the other teams should be really nervous. However, they won’t be able to hear us because they’re already in the cube.”

By the time the broadcasters pulled out these words, all the players had already entered the cube.

“It is the last time. Let’s do it properly this time. We can’t show people a clumsy look to the end. Think about the fans.”

JT Telecom’s oldest member, Kim Jinyong, gathered the players shortly before the boss monster was summoned. There was no place to retreat to anymore. It was over if they didn’t get good results again this time. They would have to return home with the worst results.

Do Jeonghyun, a magician of JT Telecom, secretly glanced at Jung Hanbaek while responding to Kim Jinyong: “Hyung, you’re right. We have to do well this time. Don’t make mistakes.”

There was only one person in JT Telecom who could be evaluated as making a mistake in today’s raids—Jung Hanbaek. Apart from him, the other players had never caused enough problems to be criticized properly.

“I won’t make a mistake this time.” Jung Hanbaek nodded like he knew it.

“Yes, let’s kill him quickly this time. He is an orc. He won’t be very hard to beat,” Kim Jinyong said. Then he stepped back and returned to his position. The number in midair dropped to zero, and an intense light appeared in the field.

The third raid boss monster, Raccoon, appeared. Raccoon’s appearance was nothing special. He just stood quietly with both feet on the ground. The thing that stood out was the huge axe on his back. It was an axe with an impressive white handle, and a crazy energy flowed from it.

“Use the buffs according to the set process and start exploring!” Kim Jinyong shouted. At the same time, his hands moved quickly. The light that extended from Kim Jinyong’s hands permeated Jung Hanbaek’s body. It was a buff. The priest standing next to Kim Jinyong also buffed the other players.

Jung Hanbaek and Yoo Bin received the buffs and ran toward Raccoon.

“Hyung, he might be an orc, but his specs are excellent. Should we take a look at the attack pattern first?”

“Of course. We also shouldn’t face the weapon hastily. Let it flow unconditionally first.”

Jung Hanbaek was quite alert. He forgot about the situation with the elemental hydra and focused on the raid. Yoo Bin and Jung Hanbaek stretched out their swords, from which different colors blossomed brilliantly.

Just then, the still Raccoon moved. He instantly pulled the axe off his back and swung it. The air was split, and space cracked along the trajectory of the axe. In the end, even the ground was cut, creating a deep furrow.

“How rough. It is too rough,” Raccoon said as he turned the axe in the air. However, no one could hear his words. They were all busy avoiding the disaster Raccoon had created. Someone was floating in midair while someone else was rolling on the ground. There was also one person who barely saved his own life.

“Groan…” Yoo Bin avoided Raccoon’s attack from the closest distance. In the aftermath alone, he lost more than half of his health and suffered an injury on his right arm, where his flesh was torn off.

“When attacking, you should do it with the intention of killing your opponent. You useless novices. You can’t catch a bug if your heart is empty and you just swing the knife,” Raccoon continued speaking, regardless of whether anyone listened to him or not. “It is just like this.”

The moment Raccoon’s words ended, a red vortex started to blow around him. The eyes of the JT Telecom players widened at the sight. This appearance…

It wasn’t the same, but they knew something similar.

“Alley Leader’s fighting energy?!”

The technique Alley Leader used was similar to this. A ridiculous debuff skill called Fighting Energy—the orc in front of them was using it now.

“How can that orc have that?”

“Is this orc taken from Alley Leader’s game record?”

The players of JT Telecom shouted one by one. Even so, it didn’t change anything. The red chains that flowed from the red vortex started to bind their bodies. The pressure was so great that they couldn’t even breathe properly. This was more serious than the pressure they felt from Alley Leader’s fighting energy. It wasn’t just their stats; their health was also cut.

“What the hell is going on…” A sigh emerged from a player’s mouth. He couldn’t understand it. How could such a boss monster be on the same level as the elemental hydra?

It wasn’t just JT Telecom who had this thought. This same thought struck the minds of all the other teams’ players. They all had questions about Raccoon’s strength.