Ranker's Return

Chapter 693

“Everyone is gathered,”Hyeonu said as he looked at the six men and women standing in front of him.“You don’t have to look so nervous. Today isn’t anything special. I just called you to test your skills lightly.”

Hyeonu looked at the new faces standing there with very nervous expressions—Go Eunho, Cho Yeonghun, and Yoo Hyeonsu. Those who just joined Crescent Moon couldn’t relax at the idea of their first training session.

Lee Hoon added onto Hyeonu's words, "Yes, that's right. You don’t need to be nervous. In any case, it is Hyeonsu hyung and I who will be working hard today. Just the two of us.”

He also felt the tension of the three newcomers. They looked noticeably nervous.

“Hey, Hyeonsu will be even more nervous if you say that. How can you say that?” Hyeonu rebuked Lee Hoon, but they were just words.

Hyeonu’s face was smiling. He was joking to relieve the tension of the three men. The faces of Go Eunho, Cho Yeonghun, and Yoo Hyeonsu started to relax little by little as if Lee Hoon and Hyeonu’s efforts were working.

“The thing I mentioned a few days ago… How did it go?”Hyeonu was referring to the communication between the team members. Communication within the team was more important than anything else when it came to raids and sieges, as opposed to PvP where they competed individually. Therefore, Hyeonu suggested that they talk a lot.

“Wasn’t there a presentation a few days ago? They made a self-introduction. I never thought they would do this.” Lee Hoon laughed when he recalled what happened a few days ago.

“Presentation? What are you talking about?”Hyeonu revealed his curiosity at something he was hearing about for the first time. A presentation meant presenting something in front of ordinary people.

“So… they organized their own specifications and gave a presentation. Well, it was something like this?”

Hyeonu was soon able to imagine what Lee Hoon described.

‘They had quite a lot of fun?’

Hyeonu had just expected them to get a bit closer, but they had done more than that.

‘It is very good behavior for professional gamers.’

The pro-active behavior was very desirable. This alone allowed him to see how attached they were to being professional gamers.

“We don’t know the other people who are coming in, but we know each other’s skills,”Yuri said with a smile.

“This is very good? Then I should work harder too.”Hyeonu took out equipment from his inventory one by one and started to wear them.

Lee Hoon frowned when he saw this. It was because he realized that Hyeonu’s words weren’t a joke. Yoo Hyeonsu saw Lee Hoon’s face crumple up like a piece of paper dumped in a trash can and questioned it, “Why? Isn’t it very good to have a spar? You are learning from Alley Leader.”

Learning from Hyeonu was something that anyone who played Arena dreamed of. It wasn’t something to dislike like Lee Hoon was doing.

“Hyung, you still don’t know. He is a complete monster. An unacknowledged monster,” Lee Hoon said as his memories of the last Winter League came to mind.

It was torture. Due to his poor PvP skills, he was really beaten up like a dog. He learned like this for three months. However, nothing changed. It was clear that his skills had increased, but Hyeonu still showed more skills endlessly like the Great Wall of China. Naturally, Lee Hoon continued to be beaten.

‘I can’t be beaten any longer,’ Lee Hoon pledged inwardly as his entire body shook. It was enough to be pushed unilaterally during the Winter League. Starting from today, it wouldn’t continue to happen.

“Hey, anyone who hears that would think I am a bad person.” Hyeonu shook his head at Lee Hoon’s words. Then he turned his head toward Yoo Hyeonu. “The first time is special. Tell me what you want to learn. PvP? Or siege?”

Today was the first training session. He wanted to give Yoo Hyeonsu the training the latter wanted.

Yes, it was one of the two-PvP fighting with limited stats and skills or a siege without such restrictions. This was the choice given to Yoo Hyeonsu.

“I want to stick to the siege. I will also receive the help of my other colleagues.”This was the reason why Yoo Hyeonsu picked the siege. He wanted to try out the skills of the other players that he had learned from the presentation.

‘I picked the captain well.’ Hyeonu noticed why Yoo Hyeonsu chose a siege from his words about being helped by his colleagues.

“That is an excellent choice. By the way… it doesn’t matter what you picked. I was going to do both.” Hyeonu laughed loudly. Originally, he was going to try both. He was sorry there weren't 12 people present, but the six people should work together with tacit understanding.

“I will give you time to use all your buffs. It is the time given in the original siege,” Hyeonu said.

He provided around five minutes for the Crescent Moon players. Generally in a siege, the players could receive all the buffs before the opposing team showed up. Now that a spar started suddenly, they needed time to receive buffs.

“Everyone, gather around.” Lee Hoon gathered the Crescent Moon players far away from Hyeonu.

Then he made eye contact with Yoo Hyeonsu, Go Eunho, and Cho Yeonghun—the three who had just entered the team—and started to explain: “Noonas, you will already know. These hyungs are the problem. Hyung is very strong. Really strong. If he goes all out, we will die instantly. Haven’t you seen the videos? One shot like that will kill us… However, it won’t be training, so he will probably adjust it appropriately. We need to really concentrate.”

Lee Hoon’s face was stiff. The three newcomers hadn’t known Lee Hoon for a long time, but they were nervous due to seeing an expression they rarely saw on his face.

“Still, the rest of the hyungs will be a bit better. I’m just worried about Hyeonsu. The first time you are beaten, you will really feel like you are having a mental breakdown,” Lee Hoon said.

Lee Hoon was worried about Yoo Hyeonsu. Go Eunho and Cho Yeonghun were a priest and a magician respectively. They didn’t need to be beaten up, but even if they were, it would only end with one or two hits. Meanwhile, Yoo Hyeonsu was different. Like Lee Hoon, Yoo Hyeonsu was the team’s shield. A harsh beating would be waiting for him.

“Even so, it is better to be beaten here. It is ugly to be beaten up in the competition,” Yoo Hyeonsu replied with a serious expression.

He said this, but he didn’t feel comfortable about it. The Lee Hoon he knew wasn’t a person who would speak weakly. He only did this when it was about Arena.

“We have five minutes, so let’s talk about it. How can we deal with that monster?”

Hyeonu was plotting far away while the Crescent Moon players talked to each other.

“Tang-E, you will have to work hard today in order to eat delicious meat.”

Like the six players of Crescent Moon, Hyeonu wasn’t alone. He also had a colleague.

“Understood, Master dude. Who should I hit? What type of guy? Tang-E will blow flames at his cheeks."Tang-E nodded and jumped around in front of Hyeonu.

‘If it is Tang-E’s magic… Everyone will be surprised.’

In the Winter League, Tang-E didn’t participate in the siege exercises. There had been no need for him to do so. When Hyeonu was present, the opposing team poured magic at him and didn’t fire it at the Crescent Moon players who were standing far away. No, it was that they couldn’t fire it at them. There was a monster right in front of them. How could they think about the enemies in the rear? It was unreasonable.

“Don’t hit them hard. Do it moderately, to the point where it is annoying. Just enough to the point where it will hurt in a big way when they're hit,” Hyeonu said.

However, this didn’t mean that Tang-E would be the center. Tang-E was the one to keep them in check. It was a role that distracted the opposing magician and consumed the priest’s shield magic.

“Understood, Master dude. Tang-E will show a marvelous performance,” Tang-E said with a confident expression.

Hyeonu stroked Tang-E’s head without saying anything.

“If you are ready, let’s start.” Hyeonu pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword and started walking toward the players of Crescent Moon.

As Hyeonu approached, the Crescent Moon players looked nervous and gave strength to the hands holding their weapons. Making a clear distinction between public and private matters, Hyeonu said loudly to the players the moment the training began, “I’m going to take into account the lack of melee classes. Please do your best.”

‘Should I smash the undead first?’

The Crescent Moon players were unique. It was a unique arrangement of personnel that couldn’t be seen in any other team. The undead summoned by Sunny filled the front. Lee Hoon and Yoo Hyeonsu were hiding between them like they were also undead.

‘The death knights are quite strong.’

Sunny’s undead were showing their strength as her level and skill proficiency increased. It was difficult to raise her level and skill proficiency, but they were good once they were raised. It was a typical example of high risks and high returns.

“First of all, the goal is to test their skills. I will clean up the obstruction and start.”Hyeonu thrust the Mysterious Sky Sword forward.

At the same time, he used Mysterious Sky Steps. Hyeonu’s figure instantly split into dozens of copies. The dozens of Hyeonus appeared in the arena while wielding the Mysterious Sky Sword. Purple lines decorated the arena, and the undead collapsed.

The death knights, dullahans, and skeleton knights—regardless of their identity, their bodies were split apart, and they collapsed onto the ground. The only ones still standing were Lee Hoon and Yoo Hyeonsu, who were standing among the undead.

“This monster! He has become stronger!” Lee Hoon shouted with an outraged expression.

He was so shocked that he even lowered the shield that was covering his body. Lee Hoon knew just how powerful Sunny’s undead were.‘I have to fight for at least 10 minutes just to get rid of a death knight.’ Yet Sunny’s undead had just been melted away with one blow. It was to the extent where it was impossible for them to recover.

“Since when did you fight with your mouth, Hoon? Come on. I am going to make sure that your senses haven’t rusted after such a long time,” Hyeonu said. Unlike his words, Hyeonu moved toward Yoo Hyeonsu first.

“Isn’t it normal to match your words with your actions? Why aren't you coming to me?” Lee Hoon shook his head and raised his shield to protect himself.

Then he kicked off hard from the ground and raised his magic power. It was Shield Charging, one of the representative skills used by a paladin. Lee Hoon’s shield was dyed white, and he continued to speed up. In an instant, Lee Hoon was right in front of Hyeonu.

Hyeonu moved one step to the side and lightly moved the Mysterious Sky Sword from bottom to top. A dark purple pure energy pierced the white divine power and shook the balance of the shield. As a result, Lee Hoon failed to overcome the inertia from running and rolled on the ground.

“Even though I told you not to use your skills recklessly… Who will be beaten if you use it like that? Are people buildings? Am I going to stand still and wait for you? How did you become so bad in one month?” Hyeonu clicked his tongue at the fallen Lee Hoon.Then he turned his head and looked at Yoo Hyeonsu, who seemed nervous.“Now, our Captain Yoo-nim? Come on.”

Hearing that, Yoo Hyeonsu moved carefully. He didn’t approach Hyeonu with a charging skill like Lee Hoon had done. Instead, he approached carefully. While Yoo Hyeonsu moved slowly, Hyeonu also started to move his feet. They were expressive movements; he used Mysterious Sky Steps again.

Yoo Hyeonsu had wide eyes as the afterimages of Hyeonu disturbed his vision, and he gave strength to the hand holding the shield. It was so he could stick it out at any time.

Just then, Hyeonu’s voice rang in Yoo Hyeonsu’s ear: “Will you be able to hit me when you are so slow?”

Yoo Hyeonu clearly heard it in his ears without any sense of distance. He quickly turned his body and swung the shield with a surprised expression on his face. However, Hyeonu wasn’t there anymore. He had already returned to his original spot.

“Welcome to Crescent Moon.”Hyeonu’s eyes were curved in a very gentle manner.