Ranker's Return

Chapter 703

The journey with John Blake was much more comfortable and rewarding than traveling with the emperor. John Blake didn’t feel uncomfortable, unlike the emperor. Rather, he tried to take care of Hyeonu.

“Does your teacher treat you well?”

“We don’t meet often, but... I think it is the point where I’m not envious of anyone.”

“Really? It should be like this. People are attached to their first disciple.”

John Blake was surprised by Hyeonu’s answer, but then he thought it was possible. The first disciple was always special. This was why he cared more about Lebron than the emperor.

‘That is why they fought a lot.’

To be precise, the emperor felt discriminated against and harassed Lebron.

“You should be using what you learned back then well, right?”

“Yes, it is really useful. Can I show it to you once? I have something I’m curious about,” Hyeonu smiled and answered John Blake’s question about Magic Spirit Creation.

“If you have any questions, I’ll teach you,” John Blake stopped walking and said.

“I’ll show you right away.”

Hyeonu released magic power as soon as John Blake stopped in place. Hyeonu’s magic power started to take a certain shape. A small bear that was around 30 centimeters tall appeared. The bear with purple hair flew to Hyeonu. The bear in Hyeonu’s arms looked around before raising his head and making eye contact with Hyeonu.

“Huh? Brother isn’t here. Am I alone today, Master dude?”

“You are the only one today.”

Hyeonu raised his hand and stroked the head of the purple magic spirit, Gom-E.

“Is this guy your magic spirit?” John Blake observed the bear in Hyeonu’s arm with an interested gaze.

‘It is unique, unique.’

Hyeonu’s magic spirit was unusual. It had evolved in an unexpected direction even for John Blake, the person who created the Magic Spirit Creation skill. John Blake’s magic spirit also had an ego, but this didn’t mean he could speak like Hyeonu’s magic spirit, the bear. It was right to think of the bear as a child rather than a magic spirit.

“Yes, this is my magic spirit,” Hyeonu looked away from Gom-E and answered John Blake.

“Is that guy the originator of this one?”

John Blake was referring to Tang-E. He hadn’t forgotten the bear who buffed him during his battle with Rubolle. He didn’t know it when he first saw Gom-E, but he kept looking and was able to think of Tang-E.

“If you are talking about this guy, you are correct.”

A bear with radiant golden fur appeared above Hyeonu’s head.

“Yes, that’s right. It is more like this.” John Blake nodded as he alternated staring between the two bears with perfectly identical forms.

“I’m not sure what happened either. One day, he was like this.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know how the change in the magic spirit began. It was the change in rating. That was probably why the magic spirit changed.

‘However, it has an effect that didn’t exist before...’

There was just a need to doubt other factors.

“You don’t have to take it too seriously. He embodies your imagination and willpower. It isn’t strange for him to get close to what you imagined.”

Unlike Hyeonu’s heart, John Blake didn’t think that Gom-E’s change was significantly strange. He thought it was an entirely possible phenomenon.

“He can’t talk, but his ego is very firm.”

A huge snake head appeared above John Blake’s head. The snake’s head soared into the sky and an elongated body appeared after that. The body of the snake continued to stretch out. Soon after, the snake started to coil up his huge body.

“No, now he can talk. I’ve confirmed the possibility.”

The moment that John Blake’s words were over, the black snake’s shining eyes emitted a terrifying energy.

[Um... Should I say hello?]

The snake’s voice was heard. It wasn’t a sound, but a direct echo in their heads.

“Yes, you should say a greeting.” John Blake smiled happily at the sight of the snake that was able to speak. Then he turned around and looked at Hyeonu again. “I was able to get something interesting thanks to you. I should give you something as well...”

Hyeonu was looking forward to it when he heard John Blake’s words. What would John Blake give him?

Just then, Hyeonu’s mood sank. It was because the worst possibility came to mind.

‘Is this the quest reward?’

There was one unidentified reward among the quest rewards received from the emperor.

????’s gift.

‘Is it perhaps this? It can’t be.’

Hyeonu opened his mouth while eagerly hoping this wasn’t the case, “I want to make sure I’m not on the wrong track, Duke. We don’t have the type of relationship where if you give something, you get something in return, right?”

This sentence was completely different from his heart.

“Yes, it isn’t that type of relationship.”

John Blake burst out laughing. Hyeonu’s words were right. The two of them didn’t have such a relationship.

“Originally, isn’t it a relationship where I should give things to you endlessly?”

It was John Blake’s position that he should give things to Hyeonu without any conditions. It was because John Blake was the former commander of the Knights of Keon and Hyeonu was the Preliminary Commander of the Knights of Keon. John Blake was obliged to make Hyeonu stronger.

“Let’s talk while walking. I think it will be a long story.” John Blake slowly started moving.

‘Hmm... I think this is an unexpected profit.’

John Blake’s gift seemed to have nothing to do with the queset. Just then, a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[The quest has been updated.]

[????’s gift -> the emperor’s gift.]

The message window proved that Hyeonu’s speculation was correct.

‘They are both mine.’ Hyeonu sighed with relief and followed after John Blake.

John Blake was walking slowly, like a man who really came out for a walk, so it took less than a few seconds for Hyeonu to catch up.

“Why don’t you start talking about what you’ve learned so far?”

It was important to grasp the current state correctly in order to teach something.

Lebron and the emperor—John Blake knew this very well as he had raised two monsters.

“Teacher taught me how to control and train my magic power, Duke Blake.”

Hyeonu learned two skills in total from his fourth class advancement.

Magic Power Domination and Magic Power Training—they were all continuous skills, but they were better than any other type of skill. The synergy with Hyeonu’s other skills was outstanding.

‘The growth potential is great.’

They were unique rated skills and the growth range was enormous.

“Really? You learned so much...”

John Blake heard Hyeonu’s response and smiled with satisfaction.

“What you’ve learned so far are the basics. They are the foundation for learning the following things.”

It was only when the foundation was solid that the subsequent things could be learned. The sandcastle could be built up quickly, but it was quick to collapse.

“You’ve built up the foundation well, so it is time to learn the right things.”

John Blake was thinking of teaching Hyeonu to utilize this foundation. It was the same method as the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art that Hyeonu was familiar with.

‘This is the foundation?’

Hyeonu was already half out of his mind. The skills he learned since becoming a Knight of Keon were something that everyone would envy. John Blake’s words that they were the foundation was shocking.

“The things I’ve learned so far are very good, but they are just the foundation...”

“That is where you are mistaken. It isn’t everything you learned, but most of them are the foundation. Think about the essence.”

Most of what Hyeonu learned belonged to John Blake’s standards of the foundation. This was a classification independent of the skill’s rating and effectiveness.

'Essence? Ah!’

Hyeonu opened the skills window and looked at what he had learned. Most of the skills associated with the class were continuous skills related to magic power. The effect of using them together stood out more than using them alone.

“It is good if the foundation is solid. However, if you don’t have the skills to use it properly... there will be a lot of regrets,” John Blake continued to talk when he saw Hyeonu’s expression of enlightenment, “There isn’t enough time right now. I can only teach you one thing. Dealing with many enemies and dealing with one enemy. Which one do you want to learn? Pick one.”

There were many things he could teach, but there wasn’t much time. He was only able to teach Hyeonu until they arrived at Alfore.

‘Thinking about the characteristics of adventurers, one is enough...’

It was better to learn one familiar thing than a few things half-heartedly. Clumsiness would one day cause accidents.

“I want to learn something useful when dealing with one enemy.”

Hyeonu didn’t worry over John Blake’s words and picked one option. This was what Hyeonu needed.

‘I have many wide area skills.’

However, he had no skill to attack a single target apart from Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength.

“I guess this is something you’ve thought about normally. Then I’ll teach you right away. It is easier to understand if I demonstrate it before explaining.”

John Blake smiled at Hyeonu’s resolute answer. The resolute answer was proof that Hyeonu had always contemplated his shortcomings.

“In a one-on-one fight with someone, the most important thing is to match the attack without being attacked,” John Blake muttered as he pulled out the sword hanging from his waist.

Then he bounced out at an explosive speed like a spring full of pressure and swung the sword. A black solid line left a scar on the spot where John Blake’s sword passed. The solid line continued constantly.

John Blake returned to his original position. The solid black lines filling the air took one shape. It was a huge sphere. It was great enough to be reminiscent of the sun or moon.

“However, if you can hit with your attack before the opponent moves, then isn’t that also not being attacked by the opponent?”

John Blake inserted his sword into the sheath. Then he drew his sword again like lightning. The stealthy and fast sword crossed the world with no sound. The black sphere was split in half. The dark sky was split and even the real clouds in the sky split in half. There was only the sound of John Blake retrieving his sword.

“This is one of the secret techniques passed down only through the knight commanders. It is called Cutting the Moonlight.”

John Blake turned around and looked at Hyeonu. Hyeonu looked at the sky like a man possessed by something.