Ranker's Return

Chapter 810

Reina returned to New York and was in the midst of preparing for the Spring League. It was time to regain the cooperation that had fallen after a month. In the meantime, there was a break.

‘It is hard.’

Reina missed her life in South Korea, which had been relatively leisurely. Her life now was markedly different from last year. Both her mind and body desperately wanted rest.

‘I want to rest a bit.’

The passion from when she first became a professional gamer had disappeared. In particular, it became even more futile once she achieved her first goal of winning the Winter League.

“Why is your face like that? Who is stopping you from eating bread these days?” Reina’s close friend and rival, Mascherano appeared and patted Reina’s shoulder.

“Uh? No. I’m not a child who is unable to eat bread,” Reina said and frowned at Mascherano’s sudden words. Then she shot back at Mascherano, “Aren’t you practicing? You must be very busy. Why are you in New York?”

“I’m not a wanted criminal. Why can’t I come to New York?” Mascherano responded to Reina’s sharp question in a casual manner.

Reina’s aggressive words and actions were familiar.

“So why are you making that face? Did something happen? Who said they were going to retire?” Mascherano spoke like it was a joke. However, he saw that Reina’s expression was very serious.

‘I’ve seen that face too many times...’

The reason that Mascherano felt this way was because he had seen many people with the same expression as Reina. They all quit what they were doing, whether it was being a professional gamer, a streamer, or any other job. They all made the same choice.

Reina shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. Practice is going well. The game is good.”

Nothing had happened.

“Then that is fine. Tell me about South Korea.”

Mascherano didn’t bother to ask any further questions. She didn’t have to say it if she didn’t want to. Instead, Mascherano showed curiosity about life in South Korea.

“South Korea? It was fun and good. It was comfortable to live there. The people are friendly as well,” Reina answered Mascherano’s question with a small smile.

‘She’s smiling?’ Mascherano could tell from Reina’s change in facial expression what happened. ‘She either misses South Korea or is tired of the life now. It is one of these two reasons.’

In other words, she wasn’t satisfied with her current life. It was like the end of Reina’s pro gamer life was just around the corner. It was hard to rekindle a flame once it was extinguished.

“Really? I also want to live there once. The South Korea that a picky person like you says is good.”

However, Mascherano didn’t show what he knew. In this state, the help of those around them meant nothing. They had to overcome it themselves.

‘Or they have to adapt.’

Otherwise, they had no choice but to choose retirement. Truth be told, life as a pro gamer was a series of choices from the moment their passion cooled down. There were easier ways if money was the goal. She just had to be a streamer. If the purpose was to play Arena itself, it was good enough to remain a famous gamer.

“We lost in the Winter League, but this time we will win unconditionally,” Mascherano provoked Reina for no reason. Having a friend in the industry was bound to be a strength just because of their presence.

***

Hyeonu finished washing up and made a phone call without drying his hair. There was a ringing tone, and a thick male voice came from Hyeonu’s smartphone: -Hello?

Hyeonu heard the man’s voice and replied in English, “It’s me, Alley Leader.”

-Yes, Alley Leader.

The man with a thick voice politely changed his attitude the moment he confirmed that the person who called him was Hyeonu.

“Is the video ready? Kalen?”

-Yes, the upload will be finished with just one click.

The person Hyeonu called was Kalen, the master of the Venom Guild. “Did you do a good job with editing?”

-It isn’t as good as the video that will be uploaded on Alley Leader’s channel, but... I did my best.

“Then put it up straight away.”

-Huh? Right now? Kalen asked with a surprised voice. He had originally planned to upload it in two days.

“Yes, something happened. You have to upload it now to properly get people’s attention,” Hyeonu explained the reason.

“I met the emperor. There will probably be a massive quest related to the north sooner or later. We must first grab the players before other guilds take the lead. I will catch the current.” Hyeonu also roughly explained what had happened with the emperor.

‘I worked hard and can’t pass it onto someone else.’

It was Hyeonu and the Venom Guild who broke through the snowy mountain and met Edward. The reward for their efforts was a change in the number of viewers and subscribers of the videos uploaded to A-World. However, if the emperor granted Hyeonu’s request, a quest related to the north would be created. If the large guilds who received it revealed it to the viewers...

The spotlight that Hyeonu and the Venom Guild should take would be shared with the large guilds.

“I will be sure to promote it on my live stream tonight. Upload your video quickly. I also hope we will maintain a good relationship in the future.”

***

[Urgent Announcement]

Hyeonu connected to Arena the moment he saw the video posted on the channel of the Venom Guild. Then he immediately turned on his live stream.

-Urgent announcement?

-What is it? Did something happen?

-Has our Alley Leader made a decision?

-Is it a dating announcement? Please...

-If it is a relationship... Reina? I wish he would at least say if he is dating. There are rumors these days.

-Ah, that rumor? Things like that can happen. Living together. There is only one known friend.

-Honestly, it is more credible than him having nothing with Reina...

The viewers were surprised by Hyeonu’s unscheduled live stream. At the same time, they argued over the streaming title of an ‘emergency announcement’. However, the story that caught the viewers’ attention the most was about Hyeonu’s personal life.

‘Rumors?’

Hyeonu frowned when he read the chat window. Public opinion in the chat window was flowing to a strange place.

‘This...’

Hyeonu appeared on the screen without hiding his unpleasant look. Anyone would be uncomfortable seeing the chat window.

“Please refrain from making ridiculous assumptions. I like girls. I really like them.”

-So why hasn’t anything happened with Reina?

-You mean you don’t have a relationship with Reina?

-Have you had a recent romantic fling?

-No, is there a woman you are in contact with?

-Hyung, if you are going to live like that, can’t you give me your face and body? I will use them well.

-I’m confident I can use them in a good place. Hehe.

The viewers casually ignored Hyeonu’s words.

His previous history was already brilliant.

The answer was that there was no relationship despite Hyeonu being seen out with Reina several times, but this only amplified their suspicions of Hyeonu.

“The reason I turned the live stream on in a hurry today is to make an announcement. Do you know what is the hottest issue in Arena these days?” Hyeonu lightly refuted the viewers’ words before explaining why he turned on the live stream.

-An issue? Isn’t it that issue?

-The north.

-Isn’t it just before the northern city flies away?

-There is a story that Alley Leader entered the snowy mountain some time ago.

-Right, there were a lot of people who saw it. I heard he went through everything by himself?

The viewers remembered Hyeonu’s breakthrough not long ago. There were guilds who were streaming at the time, so Hyeonu’s activity was well-known.

“That’s right. What I am going to tell you now is about the north.”

Hyeonu clapped and caught the attention of the viewers.

“I didn’t go to the north alone. I worked with the Venom Guild. Don’t you all know it? It is the same guild that filmed Edward, who appeared as a raid boss monster in the main scenario in the past.”

He emphasized the Venom Guild to the fullest extent.

“I joined with the Venom Guild and crossed the snowy mountain. Then I saw Edward’s appearance. I even confirmed that the undead army is coming down to the north.”

-Coming down?

-Once the undead army comes down... Isn’t this a war?

-It is a struggle just to stop the monsters now...

-The guilds in the cities in the north will be scared to death.

The viewers started talking in a heated manner at Hyeonu’s words.

“I turned on the live stream to deliver the news. For more details, I would appreciate it if you could watch the video on the Venom Guild’s A-World channel. It will be uploaded on my channel at a later date due to editing issues.”

Hyeonu promoted the Venom Guild’s A-World channel. After all, his channel got over 100 million views even with no publicity. Uploading it a bit later than the Venom Guild wasn’t a big problem.

‘I have to take care of them here. That way, they will come back next time.’

Just as Heungbu treated the swallow’s leg, Hyeonu promoted the Venom Guild once. This way, the Venom Guild would come back with a quest, just like the swallow that brought back the gourd seed.

‘Give me one more bite. Just once.’

In this world, there was no such thing as a favor done without expecting anything in return.

***

Hyeonu ended the live stream and immediately left the middle world. He used the return function, the unique authority of a territory, to move to Etono in the demon world.

‘It has been a while... It is still crowded here.’

Etono was crowded with far more players than when Hyeonu left the demon world. After the main scenario ended, the demon world was the most popular spot for large guilds and rankers.

‘I’m making good money.’

Etono’s condition was very satisfactory when he checked it after a long time. There was as much growth here as in Phinis. It was overwhelming in terms of efficiency. Phinis earned a high income from taxes generated by many players, while Etono got a similar income just by consuming the larger guilds and rankers. It was pointless to compare them.

‘I will go to meet Duke Blake first.’

Duke Blake and Lebron were likely to be together anyway. They had endless politics with each other.

‘A disciple who wants to bring his retired teacher back to do work. The fierce battle of wits of a master who wants to pass everything onto his student...’

He couldn’t help smiling as he thought about how the two people got along.

“Why are you smiling so happily?” Someone’s voice rang out from behind Hyeonu just then.

‘Who is it?’

There were three people who came to Hyeonu’s mind. John Blake, Lebron, and...

“Callioraks?”

Callioraks—he was the only remaining dragon in the demon world and the one who gave the chaos attribute to Hyeonu and Tang-E.

“You’ve grown up well.” The purple-haired man, Callioraks, glanced at Hyeonu and smiled with satisfaction.

“Did you come to see me?”

“I came here... That’s right, I’m here to see how big the seeds I sowed are.” Callioraks came up with an unexpected answer.

‘Big seeds? What is he talking about?’

Hyeonu put aside Callioraks’ words that were hard to understand.

‘I’ll have to ask about that matter first.’

“Do you perhaps know anything about the fragments of the demon god, Callioraks?”

The smile on Callioraks’ face disappeared in an instant.

“Where did you hear about that?”