Ranker's Return

Chapter 771

‘As expected, there is an uproar.’

During the time when Hyeonu moved to Viper and witnessed a ridiculous tragedy with his own eyes, the Arena community was in a state of turmoil. A few photos released by the Pioneer Guild were the main cause of the turmoil.

-It is an elf, an elf.

-It is real. As expected, Quency are good developers.

-From today, I’m leaving to find the elves.

-By the way, are there species other than the elves?

-Why does that matter? Elves are the only ones that matter.

People were crazy about elves. The important thing was that the elves weren’t just monsters, but also NPCs. NPCs were able to communicate differently from monsters. It meant a relationship could be established. It was like saying there was a way to obtain quests.

The world of Arena became a bit wider. People’s interest didn’t stop. The emergence of a new species called the ‘elves.’ There was also the emergence of a new continent and a new kingdom, the League of Different Species.

-So where is Alley Leader?

-Why is only the Pioneer Guild enjoying such luxury?

-Did he go somewhere else by himself?

-He is doing it all by himself again. As expected, greedy Alley Leader.

People looked for Hyeonu. The Pioneer Guild posted an update, but Hyeonu wasn’t there. The Pioneer Guild didn’t mention Hyeonu’s name. They didn’t know Hyeonu’s whereabouts either. They knew he moved somewhere with Raccoon, but that was Hyeonu’s private matter. It wasn’t something they should talk about.

Naturally, people looked for Hyeonu who had disappeared. During his streaming, he only showed arena content and didn’t show the outside scenery at all. Their thirst to find Hyeonu grew even greater. However, Hyeonu couldn’t afford to resolve the viewers’ curiosity. The situation he was currently facing was too different for him to turn on streaming.

“You can’t break it again, Brother. The budget is tight. The complaints of the dwarves are soaring,” Dakan stood behind Raccoon as they entered the meeting hall and proclaimed.

It was a request to calm his temper. Ever since the last time Raccoon killed Shurai, Dakan had received huge protests from those responsible for the league’s finances. It was because their already scarce supplies had to be used to rebuild the building.

“It’s fine. It is a bit tight right now, but the income will increase significantly soon. Right?”

Raccoon said so, but he looked like he didn’t care at all. Raccoon knew that no one would argue with him even if he did the same thing again.

‘How can they speak?’

Hyeonu smirked while inwardly ridiculing it. Arguing with Raccoon was no different from risking their lives. It was just like how the nobles couldn’t move in front of Lebron.

“By the way, why are you taking me with you again this time? Wasn’t it over last time? Can’t that elf do it if you need a witness?” Hyeonu asked in a blunt tone.

He was busy. He had come to the League of Different Species with the elves, so he had to find the magic circle that could move to the divine world. It was only then that he could bring back the descendants of the Luos Empire in the divine world.

‘Additionally, the revenge for the giants.’

However, Raccoon didn’t let go of Hyeonu. He kept dragging Hyeonu.

“I won’t ask to take you with me from tomorrow. Hold on a bit longer. This is really the last time.”

Raccoon grinned. As always, his sharp fangs stood out. Hyeonu was at a loss for words and could only nod.

‘Since it is the last time...’

It wasn’t because he was scared or anything like that. Absolutely not.

“I understand. Instead, shouldn’t you give me a hint about what you are looking for?”

Hyeonu made a deal with Raccoon. He couldn’t just be dragged around. He had to try hard to get what he could.

“A hint... I’ll give you this much. I will have no conscience if I don’t give it to you.”

Raccoon grinned and accepted Hyeonu’s terms. However, there was an unknown insidiousness behind the smile.

“Then let’s go in.”

After a moment of smiling, Raccoon moved inside the meeting hall. Hyeonu followed Raccoon.

Dakan tapped Hyeonu on the shoulder a few times and sent a strong look as if asking for help. Hyeonu nodded lightly and disappeared into the meeting hall. The meeting hall was already filled with many beings. There were many species that Hyeonu had never seen before. They might have been seen in other virtual reality games, but it was the first time in Arena. For example, the water people species. Yet among them, there was a familiar face that Hyeonu knew.

“Hugo,” Hyeonu approached Hugo, who was in human form, and greeted him.

“It is nice to see you here. How is the league? Are you having a good time in Viper?”

Hugo rose from his seat and warmly welcomed Hyeonu. His bored expression had disappeared and he was smiling.

“It is neither good nor bad. I’m originally not a city person. I prefer places like Bung Bung Island.”

Hyeonu didn’t particularly like Viper, the capital of the League of Different Species.

‘It is very uncomfortable. It isn’t interesting.’

The eyes of the other species kept looking at him and there was nothing particular to do. There weren’t any suitable hunting grounds.

“Is that so? Then come to Bung Bung Island often. I’ll welcome you.”

Hugo expressed a subtle pride at Hyeonu’s words. It was acknowledging that Bung Bung Island, where he lived, was better than the capital of the League of Different Species.

“You are all busy, so I will quickly announce why I called the talks today.”

As Hyeonu and Hugo were lightly conversing, Raccoon opened his mouth. The sounds of conversations taking place here and there disappeared. All eyes were on Raccoon.

“Hugo, do you know why Raccoon gathered all the great tribe chiefs?” Hyeonu whispered softly in Hugo’s ear.

“I also don’t know but Raccoon wouldn’t have called us for a light matter. He is a friend who always does big things when there is an incident.”

Hugo shook his head. Raccoon simply took him to gather in Viper. There was no detailed explanation.

“Yet you all came?”

However, the great tribe chiefs of the League of Different Species gathered without any exceptions.

“The League of Different Species is part of nature after all. The law of the jungle exists. If you don’t have strength then you have to listen to the strong.”

Hyeonu found something strange in Hugo’s words. Raccoon and Hugo were friends. It wasn’t a relationship where strength and weakness existed. However, Hugo clearly had a superior.

“Did Manong tell you to attend?”

Hugo looked at Hyeonu with a surprised expression.

“How did you know that? You aren’t spying on us, are you?” Hugo spoke nonsense, but such jokes were brief.

It was because Raccoon continued with his next remark, “First, let me give you a piece of information. Shurai, the great tribe chief of the dark elves, was caught and killed in vain. He planned to disrupt the order of the league. So according to the law of the league, we will proceed with the expulsion of the dark elves.”

The meeting hall was filled with noise. The majority of the chiefs gathered today didn’t know what Raccoon had done.

“What did he do to bring up the law?” a man with rich, silvery chest hair asked as their representative. He was the great tribe chief of the lycanthropes.

“Shurai tried to disrupt the order of the league. Was it a revolution? Well, something like that almost happened. Fortunately, we learned about it in advance and prevented the revolution from taking place. That is the human who made a contribution in the process.”

The attention of those in the meeting hall was drawn to Hyeonu. Hyeonu, who had been joking with Hugo, looked bewildered by the sudden attention. His expression was clearly visible because he wasn’t wearing a mask.

“That human?”

“A human? I thought he was a Marionette Bear?”

“How did a human get acquainted with Hugo?”

“Wasn’t that tradition ended in the first place?”

The great tribe chiefs talked about Hyeonu regardless of Hyeonu’s expression. They had generally similar reactions. How did a human being know and become friendly with Hugo, a Marionette Bear? The death of Shurai, the great tribe chief of the dark elves, and the expulsion of the dark elves from the League of Different Species.

No one wondered about it. It was to a strange degree.

‘Isn’t that more important?’

“It is a bit strange. Isn’t it more important to focus on the dark elves rather than me right now?” Hyeonu asked Hugo very quietly.

“Why? Why should the great tribe chiefs care about the dark elves? They reap what they sowed. The fault of the goblin tribe in the great mountains led to their expulsion from the entire league. The same is true of the kobolds. If you do something wrong, you will be kicked out. That is the rule of the league. If you want to stay inside the fence, you have to fulfill your duties and responsibilities,” Hugo answered with a rare serious expression.

‘There is no mercy.’

Shurai’s conspiracy went beyond a yellow card and a red card was directly received. Furthermore, there had been other species that had been expelled, so there was naturally no need to drag things out.

“I see... do I have to introduce myself?”

“If they are curious, then they can find out themselves. Hyeonu, you don’t have to go out.”

Hyeonu sat still as Hugo said. He didn’t think of answering the questions of the great tribe chiefs. There was no reason for it. It was because the eyes of the chiefs went from Hyeonu back to Raccoon.

“From now on is the reason why I called you. I, Raccoon, the great tribe chief of the orcs, propose to implement a species quota system as of today,” Raccoon revealed the real reason why he gathered the chiefs today.

A species quota—it was content stating that a certain number of each species should live outside the League of Different Species and contribute to the league’s finances.

“This sounds very good. I agree unconditionally. We can’t keep hammering in front of the fire forever. I want to drink and sing. There should be something to enjoy. Why struggle for those who sit back and eat while doing nothing...?” the dwarf great tribe chief agreed with Raccoon’s comments.

The dwarves were the best workers of the league as recognized by everyone. It was impossible to maintain the league without them.

“Isn’t this a bit harsh?”

“You can handle iron, so the influence...”

“What do you mean all of a sudden? You should at least give it time.”

Most of the great tribe chiefs protested against the dwarf great tribe chief’s stinging accusation. It wasn’t criticism, but severe criticism.

The dwarf great tribe chief called most of them good-for-nothing. It was natural since there were only a few species living outside the League of Different Species.

“Nile, you should say something as well. I don’t think there is a single elf outside the league,” one great tribe chief asked for help from Nile, the great tribe chief of the elves. He was someone who didn’t think deeply. The dark elf great tribe chief Shurai was killed by Raccoon. It was Raccoon who did it.

Nile was quiet. Only one conclusion came out when these three things were combined, but he didn’t think about it.

“I agree. Kapa’s words aren’t wrong. It is true that many species have sucked the blood of the dwarves. I also agree with Raccoon’s opinion. The league must change. Stagnant water will rot.”

Nile failed to meet his expectations. It was in a natural manner.