Ranker's Return

Chapter 902

Hyeonu stood there blankly and stared at the fruit. It was hard to believe even though he saw it with both eyes.

‘There’s a class?’

A profession or class—it was one of the most important elements of Arena. This was also the most obvious way to express the player’s identity. It was amazing to know that such a thing could be obtained just by taking one item.

‘If Tang-E eats it, will he get a class?’

In Hyeonu’s memory, there was no class column in Tang-E’s status window.

‘If something happens, will there be a class column?’

His surprise disappeared, and curiosity took its place. Could Tang-E obtain a class?

‘I should not eat it.’

Hyeonu hadn’t intended to eat it in the first place, but he didn’t want to eat it even more after checking the item information. It would be a big problem if he changed his class.

‘It is standard to get to choose, but… things don’t always work out as usual.’

He had to prepare for any eventuality. If he were forced to change class… that would be the worst. It was a loss that couldn’t be recovered even if his stats increased by a few hundred.

‘It must be a class related to the ra tribe.’

Hyeonu roughly predicted what type of class could be obtained.

‘There is no merit unless one learns all the secret arts that Luke has mastered.’

This was why he was even more reluctant to eat the fruit. It was a low probability, but he didn’t want to take the risk.

‘By the way, Tang-E can meet the conditions of use, right?’

If there was one thing that bothered him, it was that the light attribute was required under the conditions of use.

‘There is chaos... I’ll have to feed it first.’

Nevertheless, the chaos attribute was at a higher level than the light and dark attributes. Therefore, Hyeonu was just going to give the ‘Concentrated Pureness’ to Tang-E. There was nothing that could be done if Tang-E couldn’t eat it.

“Tang-E,” Hyeonu called out to his companion in a low voice.

“Master dude!” Tang-E appeared from the colorful magic circle as usual and rushed to Hyeonu.

“Is that mine? Huh?” Tang-E’s gaze was drawn to the fruit in Hyeonu’s hand. This was Tang-E who couldn’t wait to consume essences. Right now, there was an essence in front of Tang-E that was of a higher quality than any other essence he had eaten. So it wasn’t odd for him to rush like this.

“No, it’s mine?” Hyeonu played a joke on Tang-E. It was because it wasn’t fun to just give it to him.

“Hiing...” Tang-E pouted and stretched his shoulders. His two ears, which always stood up in a tight circle, were folded in half and touched the top of his head weakly.

“Actually, it is yours.” Hyeonu smiled at the sight of Tang-E and told him the truth.

“Really, Master dude?!!!” Tang-E regained his energy in an instant and shook Hyeonu by the collar. He was ready to do anything to change Hyeonu’s mind if Hyeonu answered ‘no’.

“That’s right. It’s yours.” Hyeonu nodded. He was suffocating and had a hard time speaking properly.

“Uwah! Thank you, Master dude.” Tang-E expressed his joy by shaking his entire body. However, it was only Tang-E who was happy. Hyeonu was flustered as he endured Tang-E’s immense strength.

‘What did he grow up eating?’

This strength was too much. Now it was hard for Hyeonu to breathe once he was caught.

“Give it to me.” Tang-E struggled for a long time before starting to whine to Hyeonu. It was an act to obtain the fruit even a little bit faster.

“Eat it now.”

In the end, Hyeonu raised the fruit to Tang-E’s mouth. Tang-E opened his mouth wide and swallowed the fruit in one bite. Upon confirming Tang-E had eaten the fruit, Hyeonu immediately moved backward. He did this because he didn’t know what would happen to Tang-E.

Hyeonu’s made an excellent judgment. The moment Hyeonu stepped back, magic power started to explode from the body of Tang-E, who had swallowed the fruit. At the same time, white light filled the surroundings.

Lebron approached Hyeonu’s side and asked curiously, “Is it originally always like this when he eats something?”

“It is similar every time he eats an essence, but... today seems a bit more intense, Teacher,” Hyeonu replied as he recalled what happened every time Tang-E ate an essence so far. To be honest, he couldn’t really tell the difference. Every time, there was a blinding light and a storm of magic power.

“This is a bit of a ty.” Lebron casually accepted Hyeonu’s answer and focused on the sight in front of him.

A noticeable change occurred in Tang-E. The magic power flowing from Tang-E’s body formed a clear shape with the appearance of a typical dragon. The purple dragon moved above Tang-E’s head and opened its mouth violently. White light rushed to the dragon’s mouth. The light that gathered there was swallowed by the dragon.

Flash!

A flash of light burst from the dragon’s eyes.

“You raised him well. You must’ve had a hard time.” Lebron smiled widely as he looked at Tang-E.

The more he saw, the more amazed he became. It was a much more overwhelming feeling than what he felt from what he saw normally. This even made him feel that he wasn’t able to show his skills properly. The magic power he felt from Tang-E’s body was that tremendous.

Hyeonu nodded and answered, “I fed him a lot.”

“Didn’t you eat in moderation?”

“I even fed him my share.”

Tang-E’s changes were completed during the time when Hyeonu and Lebron were talking casually. At the same time, message windows full of explanations about Tang-E appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[The strength stat has increased by 350 points.]

[The agility stat has increased by 350 points.]

[The physique stat has increased by 350 points.]

[The magic power stat has increased by 350 points.]

[The wisdom stat has increased by 350 points.]

“Is this right?” Hyeonu read the message windows and let out a bitter laugh. The stats increase didn’t make sense.

‘Is it really random?’

He was speechless. The maximum increase was clearly 350. However, all five of them increased by the maximum of 350.

‘There are five stats, so it is... 1,750.’

The total figure was 1,750 stat points that players would need to gain 350 levels to gain. Of course, players had a great way of adjusting the stats with items and skills.

‘I’m really envious just from looking at the numbers.’

Yet in the end, a stats adjustment was merely that. It wasn’t a way to raise the stats themselves.

‘If I got 350...’

If Hyeonu had eaten the fruit, it would’ve been many times more efficient than a simple stats increase of 350. This next moment was when Hyeonu explicitly expressed his envy. Other message windows appeared in front of Hyeonu. They hurt Hyeonu’s stomach several times more than the ones before.

[A skill has been created.]

[Basic Secret Arts of the Ra Tribe]

[The basic secret arts of the ra tribe, which has existed since ancient times. It specializes in dealing with the light attribute magic power. New skills will be opened up whenever the proficiency increases by two levels.

Type: Secret arts

Rating: Unique

Skill Proficiency: Stage 1 (the proficiency of the secret arts is indicated by the stage unit)

The attribute is fixed at the light attribute.

The power of magic power is increased by 30%.

‘Heart of Light’ can be used.

Heart of Light: If attacking with the light attribute, the power of the attack is increased by 30%.]

The level of the newly created skill was different. It wasn’t a continuous or immediately activated skill; it was a skill with the same concept as Hyeonu’s Mixed Sky Demonic Martial Art.

‘Although it is closer to Mysterious Sky Demonic Art than Mixed Sky Demonic Martial Art...’

As for the skill level, it was a case where one skill was added every time the proficiency became an odd number. Tang-E’s luck didn’t stop there.

[The title ‘Beginner Secret Arts User’ has been created.]

[Beginner Secret Arts User]

[A title given to a non-practitioner who is new to the secret arts.

Effect: Increase the effectiveness of the secret art skills by 10%.]

‘This is a bit...’

It was a bit unbearable now. Tang-E might be his pet, but Tang-E had gained too much. Hyeonu tried to think positively, but a fit of serpent-like jealousy soared deep in his heart.

‘Is this the end...?’

There was a reason Hyeonu was even more envious. It was because the things Tang-E gained ended here. He didn’t acquire a strange class. The risk that Hyeonu had worried about was meaningless.

‘Tang-E’s status window.’

[Status Window]ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovel(F)ɪre

[Name: Tang-E

Level: 420

Species: Marionette Bear (Fourth awakening)

Title: Bung Bung Island’s Heir, Beginner Secret Arts User

Stats: Strength: 4,534 Agility: 4,558 Physique: 5,493 Magic Power: 9,292 (+1,409) Wisdom: 5,030

The heir of Bung Bung Island. Bear-like physical abilities and high magic power are racial characteristics. He is very affectionate, unlike his prideful tone.

Intimacy: 100

Skills Possessed: Bear’s Momentum, Forest’s Blessing, Magic Power Affinity, Lightning, Giant Transformation, Roar, Ice, Fire, Subspace, Burning Magic Power, Breath of the Wind, Wish Bead Transmutation, Dancing with a Bear, Dragon Blood, Polymorph, Darkness is My Friend, Basic Secret Arts of the Ra Tribe.

Retained Attributes: Chaos.]

‘This is a scam, a scam.’

Now he was just a one-man army. He was incomparable to any ranker. As far as Hyeonu knew, there were few rankers with higher stats than Tang-E. Hyeonu was covered with unique or higher-rated items, so his own stats were twice as high as Tang-E’s. However, the difference in the magic power stat was much smaller. Tang-E’s stats were overwhelming.

“Master dude, I ate well this time. Thank you.” Tang-E sorted everything out and approached Hyeonu. There was no change in his appearance this time. He was the same as usual.

“Is it the same this time?” Hyeonu asked Tang-E.

Hearing Hyeonu’s words, Tang-E looked back and forth. “Huh? Is it the same this time? Huh?”

Then he thought for a moment before making a small bead. The identity of the bead was Tang-E’s Heart, which had changed from a mana heart to a wish bead.

“How about this, Master dude?” Tang-E asked Hyeonu while holding out the bead.

“Wait...” Hyeonu picked up Tang-E’s Heart and examined it. Then he started to compare it to Tang-E’s Heart in his memory.

‘The overall color is similar... There is a white air current inside.’

There was clearly a change. Something that had never been seen before had appeared in Tang-E’s Heart. It was probably the effect of the essence swallowed this time.

‘The color is fancy...’

Looking closely, he could clearly see everything about Tang-E in the Heart.

‘There is chaos, fire, ice, lightning, darkness, and even light.’

There were many essences that had been eaten. It was really extraordinary.

“Take this.” Hyeonu gave the Heart to Tang-E.

“Is it the same? Master dude?” Tang-E pulled the Heart toward his chest the moment he received it. The Heart naturally disappeared.

“No? It is just obvious that you ate it. Well done.” Hyeonu patted Tang-E on the head. This was great. It seemed impossible to produce a better result. The value of feeding him the essence was sufficient.

“From now on, you have to listen to me better.” Hyeonu stroked Tang-E’s head. At the same time, he drew a different plan in his head.

‘The secret arts I was looking at... I am going to get them.’

Hyeonu didn’t have his eyes set on anything else. He could do anything for Tang-E’s growth.