Ranker's Return

Chapter 612

Translator: rainbowturtle

The spectators and broadcasters watching Hyeonu fight with Raccoon couldn’t say a word. They just held their breaths. It was their first time witnessing such a fierce battle in Arena Week. This was a totally different level from the previous games. The battle between the two people, Raccoon and Hyeonu’s exchange of attacks and defense, was far from that of other players. It was hard to think of it as a battle in the same arena.

The bigger reason was that, apart from Crescent Moon, the rest of the teams were in an almost one-sided battle. There was no one who could properly exchange blows with Raccoon. They were pushed, just like when they fought PvP against Hyeonu. No, it was even worse. Some players were even busy fleeing from Raccoon’s white axe.

Unsurprisingly, the only raid time attack game shown on the screen belonged to Crescent Moon. Screentime for the other teams was nothing but an object of greed for them.

“Really… amazing. Combat of a very high level is taking place. There are countless intentions in a simple attack.”

“The strength gap between player Gang Hyeonu and other players is now clearly revealed. If player Gang Hyeonu succeeds in killing Raccoon, it will be a perfect finale.”

“Even if he can’t kill Raccoon, it will be a more splendid retirement ceremony than anyone else’s. In just this short battle, Alley Leader proved why he was the best in the past and the best today. He will probably be the best in the future.”

The commentators praised Hyeonu. No, they did more than that; they gave him the highest praise. In the eyes of the commentators, Hyeonu was a god—a god of combat. The name ‘meleegod’ truly wasn’t a waste on him. Comparing Hyeonu to other players was an insult to him.

Just then, Hyeonu disappeared from the screen, and his position was filled by the players of Zenith. Most of Zenith’s players were lying on the ground with blood dripping all over. They managed to avoid logging out, but that was it. There were only two players who were standing on both feet.

They were Karelin and Sergei. Only the aces of Zenith were still standing tall. However, they barely managed to do so. These two people also had wounds all over their bodies.

Karelin looked at Raccoon, who possessed a ridiculous force, and speculated angrily about the player who provided the data of this monster: “Who met this monster? Is it really Alley Leader?”

“Probably. I’m sure it is him. Yet how did he beat such a monster? No… How did he not die?” Sergei had questions.

Everyone knew that Hyeonu was a no-death player. He never died while playing Arena. That was the case in everything, be it hunting or PvP.

‘He won’t be able to tell lies with his personality.’

Sergei wasn’t a good friend of Hyeonu, but he could roughly understand Hyeonu’s personality just from what he saw on the streams and at Arena Week. Hyeonu didn’t exaggerate or show off. He just put forward precisely what he had. However, it was so great that everyone felt comfortable brushing it off as a bluff.

“By now, the rest of the teams, apart from meleegod’s team, will be in a similar state to us. Haha…” Sergei gave a blank laugh. It had been a really long time since he last died in such a meaningless manner.

‘I don’t even know how I should fight.’

The orc in front of him was truly a monster. Raccoon swung an axe that was nearly two meters in size like he was swinging a branch. He seemed to be wielding the axe slowly, but it hit those in front of him soon enough. Due to the inability to overcome the repulsion, the raid members bounced back and lost health.

“At least we can move. The rest could only stand still and suffer.” Karelin remembered the tragedy that took place in just a few minutes. Their teammates who lost control of their bodies due to the red energy and fighting energy were beaten by Raccoon’s axe.

Raccoon didn’t kill easily. He swung the axe without creating pure energy, and he struck with the handle of the axe. Yet despite such attacks, the priests and magicians all fell from one blow. They couldn’t breathe properly and rolled around on the ground. That was what happened up to this moment.

“How the hell can we beat this monster?!” Karelin screamed and ran toward Raccoon. It was his last struggle.

***

Hyeonu’s situation was very good compared to the other teams, considering he was still able to fight. It should be relatively good, but the situation wasn’t actually that great.

“Master dude, fight well. Even if he looks like that old man.”

Tang-E participated in the battle, not with actions but words. It wasn’t to encourage Hyeonu’s combat effectiveness; this was at the level of belittlement. He chewed on a fruit he got from an unknown place and shouted at Hyeonu.

Tang-E noticed that Raccoon hadn’t taken out all of his power in this battle. To be precise, he noticed that this monster didn’t copy the original Raccoon’s ways, so there was no need for him to worry much about Hyeonu. Now, it was purely up to Hyeonu to win or lose.

‘Once this is over, I will definitely hit him on the forehead five times,’ Hyeonu thought.

He would punish Tang-E, who wouldn’t remember this, at the end of Arena Week. The Tang-E summoned to Arena Week was slightly different from the actual Tang-E. The Tang-E summoned to Arena Week copied the memories of the real Tang-E in Arena, but the real Tang-E only had memories of Arena and no memories of Arena Week.

“Where has your mind gone? Don’t you know that not paying attention when fighting can seriously get you hurt?!” Raccoon didn’t miss this momentary gap and rushed at Hyeonu, waving his fist. A fist the size of an ordinary adult’s face burst through the space and approached Hyeonu.

‘Uwah.’ Hyeonu spread open his legs and lowered his body in surprise. Raccoon’s fist grazed over the top of Hyeonu’s head, missing it by a really small gap. If Hyeonu had been a bit later, his body would’ve been battered by Raccoon’s fist. Nevertheless, Hyeonu didn’t just avoid it. Being close to Raccoon was also an opportunity for Hyeonu.

Purple energy overlapped over Hyeonu’s gauntlet. Hyeonu stretched out the purple gauntlet with sharp protrusions. However, it was Raccoon’s fist that greeted Hyeonu. Raccoon had stretched out his fist to block Hyeonu’s attack.

“This is very good. In close combat, defense is like an attack,” Raccoon praised Hyeonu.

Yet separate from the compliment, Raccoon’s fist continued to move, and it did so in a very brutal manner. Raccoon’s right shoulder leaned back slightly. Hyeonu saw that and awakened all the senses in his body.

Then his eyes focused on Raccoon’s shoulders. This was a preparatory action. It was Raccoon’s body saying he would stretch out his right fist. Yet it wasn’t his right hand that moved but his left.

‘Left hand?!’ Hyeonu exclaimed inwardly.

Raccoon’s fist hit Hyeonu in the face. Hyeonu had not expected the left hand to move, so his eyes widened as he was struck by the fist.

“It is a simple bluff. You were fooled by this?” Raccoon said slyly to Hyeonu. It was a mischievous move that didn’t fit the orc. Even so, Hyeonu’s expression wasn’t very dark.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought? It’s refreshing—perfect for a massage,” Hyeonu stated.

Raccoon’s expression became slightly distorted as he felt it too. His blow hadn’t been dealt properly.

“I can’t believe you stole and learned it secretly in the meantime… It is a great talent. Aren’t you very dangerous?” Raccoon remarked.

Hyeonu had copied Raccoon to a certain extent. He hadn’t returned the impact to the opponent like Raccoon’s green membrane did, but he did manage to significantly offset the damage. It was just like how monsters surrounded their bodies with magic power to reduce damage. Although Hyeonu’s attempt was clumsy, the effect of the Empty Dragon set and Empty Willpower corrected it.

“You should share good things. Isn’t that a good world?” Hyeonu replied and stepped back quickly. Then he gripped the Mysterious Sky Sword tightly again.

‘I can’t see an answer.’

It was impossible to fight properly because he was fighting without buffs. This battle was all about fighting back or meaninglessly consuming magic power and mental power. Considering that Raccoon was the raid boss, he must have more physical strength and magic power than Hyeonu.

‘My team is first anyway…’

Hyeonu made a decision. The other teams would’ve been all eliminated already. No one had the specs to hold out against Raccoon.

‘I will pull everything out.’

Honestly, it didn’t matter if Hyeonu lost. Nevertheless, he would have a great increase in strength just by pouring out everything.

‘Giant’s Power, Giant’s Nature, Giant’s Origin, and One Who Yearns.’

He used his buffs. Then he used debuffs on Raccoon.

‘Seal, Dragon Fear.’

Seal and Dragon Fear affected Raccoon. Originally, the real Raccoon wouldn’t have been affected, but this was a copy that was weakened to meet the requirements of the raid time attack. Thus, Raccoon was affected by the demon world dragon’s attack.

“Hmm… You have a pretty annoying thing. Good. It is a good idea to use them well,” Raccoon commented. He didn’t seem flustered. In fact, he treated the debuffs like a buzzing fly.

‘Both of them didn’t work properly.’ Hyeonu realized from Raccoon’s attitude that Seal and Dragon Fear didn’t work properly on Raccoon. Ultimately, a monster was a monster, even in this state. Still, there was no need for Hyeonu to be discouraged. Things were much better now than before.

“What can’t I do to win?” Hyeonu held the Mysterious Sky Sword and rushed at Raccoon.

Raccoon smiled and swung the handle of the white axe. Just then, the atmosphere became heavy. Raccoon’s magic power started to dominate the atmosphere. In the meantime, only Raccoon’s green pure energy moved rapidly.

This time, Hyeonu didn’t avoid it either. He swung the Mysterious Sky Sword that was filled with a lot of magic power. The pure energies collided with each other. Unsurprisingly, there was an explosion, and shockwaves occurred. Hyeonu pierced through the gap and continued to approach Raccoon.

Raccoon stood still with his axe and watched Hyeonu. Then Raccoon swung the axe down all at once. Something amazing happened. Under Raccoon’s axe, Hyeonu was there, holding the Mysterious Sky Sword. His feet dug over 30 centimeters into the ground. It was the result of Raccoon’s massive outpouring of power.

‘Truly a monster!’ Hyeonu clicked his tongue as he looked at Raccoon, who seemed to anticipate his movements. The orc was a ridiculous monster.

‘I have to deal a blow this time.’

Hyeonu smiled meaningfully and raised the Mysterious Sky Sword upward, strongly kicking off from the ground. His enhanced power from the buffs was enough to push away Raccoon’s axe. Raccoon gently used Hyeonu’s pushing power to swing the axe downward again. Then Raccoon’s axe suddenly stopped moving. There was a purple bear in front of his axe.

Hyeonu didn’t miss this gap when Raccoon stopped. He swung his fist and hit Raccoon’s abdomen.

“Bah, I was deceived.”