Ranker's Return

Chapter 615

Translator: rainbowturtle

“Alley Leader!”

“Gang Hyeonu!”

“meleegod!!!”

New York Arena Stadium was filled with Hyeonu’s many names.

The scene of New York Arena Stadium appeared on the screen. Hundreds of millions of people watched it through the television channels or Quency’s official channel on A-World. They all had the same idea: Alley Leader—he really was the best.

At this point, they remembered what the commentators said at the opening ceremony of Arena Week. The reporters turned those words into articles. It was because it was their job and their duty.

[Alley Leader is a god and this is the stage for Alley Leader.]

[What makes the difference between Alley Leader and the other players?]

[The coronation was perfect. No one will be able to cross the stronghold called meleegod in the future.]

[Alley Leader is only playing for one season. This alone has proven it. He is sufficiently qualified to ascend the throne.]

The news articles poured out in an instant like a waterfall. The tone of the articles was consistent. The contents were also similar. It was all about Hyeonu. They couldn’t find a single article about the other players. Even those celebrating Crescent Moon’s overall victory were rare. It was just a short line or two in the article.

Back in the waiting room…

“This Arena Week is over,” Mason muttered to himself as he buried himself in the sofa. It was a face that was filled with a lot of regret.

Sunny sighed and replied, “Yes, it is over.”

Her expression was similar to Mason’s. Regret and lingering feelings. Additionally, a terrible sadness. The end of Arena Week meant they would break up. It meant that the group called Crescent Moon would disappear.

“You don’t have to be too sad. We can keep meeting. We just won’t be living together,” Lee Hoon comforted Sunny.

Crescent Moon—to be precise, the Crescent Moon formed by the six people in the waiting room would disappear. However, this was a story for reality. They would still meet in Arena. Even if it wasn’t every day like it was now, they could meet almost every day. It was because they were a party. Whether it was hunting or quests, everyone was together.

“Dwayne and Mason will stay in the United States, but… we will return to South Korea. We all live in Seoul. What is the problem?” Yuri agreed with Lee Hoon’s words.

Sunny smiled at the two people’s comfort. The hearts of the two people were delivered well.

“That’s right. Just set a date to eat together. In any case, everyone’s schedule isn’t very tight, right? In addition, just move in. Yuri and I live in Gangnam. Hoon and Sunny noona can come,” Hyeonu gave a clear answer.

He could meet the rest except for Mason and Dwayne, who were in the United States.

“Hyung, where is the money for me to move?” Lee Hoon answered Hyeonu’s words in a machine-like manner.

“No money? Stop lying. What about the money you’ve earned since joining?”

Hyeonu knew Lee Hoon’s income to a certain extent. The reason was simple. It was Hyeonu who reviewed the terms of the contract between Crescent Moon and Lee Hoon. It was the same with the contract with Nike Management. Hyeonu knew everything about Lee Hoon when it came to money.

“Or… do you want to open your bank account and donate it? One billion? Two billion?”

Lee Hoon shut his mouth after hearing Hyeonu’s confident words. It was an argument he could never win.

“Then just move in. It isn’t like you have no money. Distinguish between when to save money and when to not save.”

Hyeonu patted Lee Hoon on the shoulder. Lee Hoon frowned at Hyeonu’s powerful grip, but he couldn’t say anything.

Instead of Lee Hoon, it was someone else who attacked Hyeonu, “A jerk who doesn’t pay the management expenses is saying this? You are a complete beggar. There is inconsistency between your words and actions. Spend some of your money. You don’t pay the management expenses, the rent, or the food. Now that I think about it, am I your father or mother? I feed you for free and house you.”

The person who launched the attack was Yeongchan. After the raid time attack, he left the stands and came to the waiting room to meet the players.

“Come to think about it, this is too much. You have probably earned a lot more money… was the down payment too small? You can’t even pay the management expenses?” another man followed-up on Yeongchan’s words. It was Moon Doyeong, the owner of Crescent Moon, who opened the door of the waiting room and entered. He came to the waiting room to celebrate Crescent Moon’s overall first place ranking at Arena Week.

“Club owner-nim, you came?”

Hyeonu was about to become angry at Yeongchan, but he held back his words at Moon Doyeong’s appearance.

“Congratulations to all players of Crescent Moon for the overall number one spot in Arena Week.”

Moon Doyeong smiled at Hyeonu before continuing to talk to the other Crescent Moon players.

“You did really well during the Winter League as well as the four days of Arena Week. It is even more so because we might not be able to come back here next year.”

Crescent Moon would still be maintained after this year. The amount of money needed to run a club wasn't small, but Moon Doyeong’s assets meant he wasn’t concerned about such a thing. Crescent Moon had already recorded a huge surplus this year. The income earned by posting videos on the official channel of A-World, and the goods and portrait rights of the players was huge. Of course, all these surpluses were thanks to Hyeonu.

Hyeonu generated various incomes and his contract terms were favorable to Crescent Moon. This meant that the money Crescent Moon took was superior. However, this was only until the end of the year. No matter how good the professional gamers discovered and scouted next year, it wasn’t known if they would be able to go to Arena Week or not. Most of the good players already belonged to a team, or had no intention of becoming a professional gamer.

“Crescent Moon will be able to go to New York next year. Don’t worry,” Hyeonu gave Moon Doyeong a pep talk. Then he thought to himself. He thought about how to actually help Crescent Moon, rather than just speaking words.

‘How can I help?’

However, he couldn’t think of anything. Hyeonu wasn’t in a situation where he could plug in a player just because he had a wide network of connections.

‘In the first place, it is hard to find someone to become a professional gamer…’

Although there were many rankers in Arena, there was no way to approach them. It was also difficult to come up with conditions to entice them. They were already making huge amounts of money.

‘It isn’t easy.’

Still, he would keep thinking about it. Hyeonu didn’t want to see his team fall to the bottom in an instant.

“Thank you for saying that. I hope Crescent Moon will do well in the upcoming Spring League.”

Moon Doyeong laughed at Hyeonu’s words. It didn’t help much, but he appreciated it.

***

The stage of New York Arena Stadium was filled with many tables and chairs, just like the first day of Arena Week. During the time when the players were resting, the on-site staff rushed out to prepare. It was for the closing ceremony and awards ceremony. The players appeared on stage with bright expressions and found their seats.

“You’ve been waiting a long time. All the main characters are here. From now on, Arena Week’s awards ceremony and closing ceremony will begin!”

Wahhhhhhh!

The crowd cheered the moment the host’s words were over. Their voices were filled with joy and regret. The awards ceremony was fun, but the closing was a pity.

“The results have already been released, so I’ll announce them quickly. The first part to be awarded is the prize given to the winner of the class change event on the first day.”

“The name of the award is ‘I can do it better than you’! The winner of this award is player Gang Hyeonu of Crescent Moon. Player Gang Hyeonu, please come out.”

The host and commentators exchanged words as they held the awards ceremony. Hyeonu got up with a shy expression when his name was called.

Clap clap clap!

A lot of applause rang out through New York Arena Stadium when Hyeonu stood up.

“I will announce the next award as well. The PvP that was held on the second day—it is the award given to the best player in this event.”

“The name of this award is ‘Kneel down under me’! The winner is player Gang Hyeonu of Crescent Moon, who has recorded 33 wins and 0 losses.”

Hyeonu looked flustered by the commentator’s call. He hadn’t expected to win two consecutive awards.

‘Why are the awards like this?’

They should be given to only those who really needed them. There were two awards but one winner, so the gazes were focused.

‘It is embarrassing.’

However, Hyeonu didn’t show his feelings on the surface. Rather, he was more shameless. Hyeonu approached the man who was presenting the award and held out his hand.

“Congratulations, player Gang Hyeonu.” The man holding the trophy and the man standing behind him holding a rectangular plate handed them to Hyeonu. The rectangular plate contained the prizes and bonus prizes. Hyeonu held the trophy in both hands and the two rectangular plates under his armpits as he waved laboriously to the crowd.

“I think it will be hard for you to say the acceptance speech like this, so I’ll hold the microphone for you.” The host smiled when he saw it and brought the microphone to Hyeonu’s mouth.

“Um… First of all, I have received the trophies and prizes well. I also won’t thank anyone. This isn’t an award that I received through a popularity vote. These two awards were received purely because I did well.”

The host heard Hyeonu’s acceptance speech and couldn’t help laughing. Then he coughed several times with embarrassment.

“Cough cough. That’s right. Player Gang Hyeonu received absolutely no help from anyone else to receive these awards. It was with just your skills. You got it with your strength.”

The host tried to receive Hyeonu’s words, but there was already laughter from the audience. Pleasant laughter filled New York Arena Stadium. No one was ignoring or laughing at Hyeonu’s words. They didn’t even feel bad. It was because Hyeonu’s words were too true.

‘I have to promote it while the atmosphere is good.’

Hyeonu opened his mouth carefully when he saw the joyful expressions of the audience members, “That doesn’t mean I’m not grateful to my fans. I love all of you. I hope you can watch my streaming that will take place after returning home. I’ll be back with a lot of content. Thank you.”

Hyeonu bowed at the end of his words and returned to his seats.

“Then I will move on to the next award. The third award is given to the first place team in the siege. It is called ‘It is up to you when you come, but not when you go.’ The winning team is Crescent Moon! The award will be received by the representative of the team, the captain. Player Gang Hyeonu. Where are you going? I hope you come back up.”

Hyeonu paused on the way back to his seat.