Ranker's Return

“God, how about thinking about a successor?” Jeras knelt down in front of Luke and started to speak.

“A successor? Does that make sense?”

Luke’s expression didn’t look very good. Succession was for the future. For the ra tribe, the present was more important than the future. It wasn’t too late to think about a successor after winning the war in front of him.

“There is a stronger backlash from the middle world than expected. I would rather have a long term perspective and prepare for the future,” Jeras tried to persuade Luke with plausible words.

“The future...” Luke muttered as he looked into the distance. At the beginning, the war was started due to greed, but it was now pride.

‘What about the future?’

Luke had a sober mind for the first time in a while.

Could they win this war? What if they lost? What would happen if they won? Predicting the future wasn’t that difficult. There weren't many scenarios.

Losing the war was the end. There was nothing more to consider. Defeat in the war meant the death of Luke himself.

‘Even if we win... the damage won’t be small.’

There were still problems if they won. He could deal with the human with a sword, but it was impossible to win against the orc without any damage.

‘For the sake of the future, there must unconditionally be a successor.’

Luke became aware of the need for a successor at the end of his contemplation.

“Jeras.” Luke turned his head and stared at Jeras. “My successor is you. There is no time to raise a successor from scratch. If I die... you shall lead the tribe.”

Jeras looked up. It was obvious how thrilled he felt just by looking.

“God...” Jeras called out to Luke in a trembling voice.

“I won’t fight in the war tomorrow. Instead, I will give you the secret arts. It isn’t just because of the successor matter. It is because it is necessary to win the war.”

Jeras might’ve led the tribe well on Like’s behalf, but the appointment of Jeras as his successor was an essential choice to win the current battle. Currently, two powerhouses came out separately, but it wasn’t known how long this would last. He had to prepare for the day when the two of them joined the battlefield together.

“It is an honor, God...”

Jeras bowed his head again so it was almost touching the ground. There was a dark smile on his face that couldn’t be hidden.

***

“Is today a holiday? Why aren’t those guys here?”

Once it was time for the god tribe to come, Hyeonu roamed near the battlefield as usual. However, the god tribe couldn’t be seen.

“I am unlucky. The level up was right in front of my nose...”

Yeongchan sighed from where he stood next to Hyeonu. The timing of the god tribe not showing up wasn’t good. The war had to stop the moment his level up was approaching.

“Why don’t you just take the day off? You just have to fight twice as hard tomorrow.”New chapters are published on (f)ir(e).nᴇt

Hyeonu was already ready to leave the battlefield. He held Tang-E in his arms and turned toward the castle.

‘I have work to do.’

Hyeonu had no regrets. It was fine if he didn’t hunt for the day. He just had to do what he had put off.

“They won’t come for another three or four days. Be nice to others.”

Hyeonu waved his hand and said goodbye to Yeongchan.

“Where are you going?!” Yeongchan screamed at the disappearing Hyeonu. However, Hyeonu didn’t answer Yeongchan. He just waved his hand and walked away.

***

The war between the undead and humans in the northern part of the West Continent was fierce. There was someone running through the terrain of the northern glacier that was cut off from people. The person moved so quickly that the undead couldn’t even reach out a hand. Even if the undead stood in front of him, he would smash through them by simply extending his right hand casually.

His left hand never stretched out. No, he couldn’t stretch it out. It was because he was holding something with his left arm.

‘You must become stronger, Tang-E.’

The person who was running through the glacier zone at the same speed as a horse, Hyeonu, glanced at Tang-E sitting on his left arm.

‘This way, I have a better chance of becoming an emperor.’

There were clear limits no matter how strong Hyeonu became. The probability of Hyeonu fighting the emperor one-on-one and winning was zero. Other helpers were naturally needed. Among them, the most reliable one and the one with the most potential for growth was Tang-E. He had a versatility that other players didn’t have. Additionally, his background was great.

‘He is everything to me.’

This was why Hyeonu was running through the glacier zone right now.

It was in order to grow Tang-E more rapidly.

“Get out of my way, get out of my way!!!” Hyeonu shouted loudly as he swung the Mixed Sky Sword. A huge pure energy swept through the glacier zone. It destroyed everything it touched. It didn’t matter if it was the terrain or the undead. The result was the same.

Hyeonu continued to run non-stop. After one day, two days, and then three days, Hyeonu finally arrived at the iceberg that existed beyond the glacier zone. Hyeonu only remembered that Edward was somewhere on the iceberg but he had long forgotten the exact location. Still, it was okay to forget about such a trivial thing. It was enough to get the other person to come to him.

Hyeonu climbed the iceberg while swinging the Mixed Sky Sword and releasing pure energies that were over 10 meters long. Hyeonu’s actions lasted less than five minutes before someone finally appeared in front of him.

“Hello, Hyeonu.” The one who appeared was someone Hyeonu knew well. They had met a few times so Hyeonu had to know him.

‘Well, he isn’t exactly a person, but an undead?’

“Yes. How is Edward doing?” Hyeonu asked as he put the Mixed Sky Sword back into the sheath.

“Master is doing very well thanks to you,” the guardian replied with a smile.

“That is good news. If he is doing well, I can take the gift without any pressure.”

Hyeonu also smiled. The guardian saw it and clapped his hands. Then a black light enveloped Hyeonu and the guardian. After a while, the light was gone and Hyeonu and the guardian had disappeared.

***

“I want you to be a bit more polite on someone else’s land... is that too hard a request?” Edward saw Hyeonu appearing with the guardian and said with a slight frown.

“Let’s see... I’ll pay attention the next time I come,” Hyeonu cheerfully agreed.

After all, he wouldn’t have a reason to return to the iceberg for a while. By the time he came back, Edward would’ve already forgotten about today’s situation and it would be fine again.

“Make sure you remember this.”

Edward gritted his teeth. This was pride. No matter what, the iceberg was Edward’s domain. It was also the most secret space. Messing around in such a place was like ignoring Edward himself.

“Why do you come without contacting me?”

“I’m here to get a gift.”

“A gift? I don’t think I remember promising that...?”

Edward cocked his head. He never heard about it before. What gift? The even more questionable thing was that the person was Hyeonu.

“The secret arts you wrote down. You still have them, right?” Hyeonu spoke directly. He didn’t beat around the bush.

“The secret arts? I didn’t give it to him, so it naturally still remains... why are you asking this?”

“It is the gift.”

“The secret arts is the gift?” Edward asked back with a stunned face. “Isn’t that useless to you?”

This was what Edward couldn’t understand. The secret arts weren’t something that adventurers could learn. Very demanding conditions were required in order to learn it. There was a reason why the ran and ra tribes, who had the secret arts, didn’t pay attention to any other species except for the giants.

“I will decide whether it is useful or not,” Hyeonu answered firmly. Tang-E had already learned the secret arts of the ra tribe. There was no reason not to learn it just because it belonged to the ran tribe.

“That doesn’t mean I can give it to you. The secret arts belongs to the tribe.”

The secret arts were literally passed down in secret. It wasn’t something that could be leaked to an outsider, Hyeonu.

“Then I’ll use the last remaining request to ask for this. Can I do that?”

Hyeonu put his hand on the handle of the Mixed Sky Sword. At the same time, Tang-E escaped from Hyeonu’s arms and came down to the ground. He showed a willingness to fight.

“I didn’t even answer... but you are grabbing your sword. Did you come to fight from the beginning?” Edward’s expression stiffened.

“No? I didn’t mean to do that?” Hyeonu shrugged. He didn’t mean to fight. It was just a show of force. At the same time, it was an unspoken threat that he could go this far in the worst case scenario.

“There is nothing I can’t give you if you use your last remaining request. In any case, what I wrote down were really the basics. You can’t return it just because it is useless.”

Edward’s meaning was that things couldn’t be undone. It meant the request couldn’t be invalidated just because the secret arts couldn’t be learned and it was useless.

“Of course. I’m not that shameless.”

Hyeonu naturally nodded. He didn’t think that Tang-E wouldn’t be able to learn the secret arts of the ran tribe.

“I understand. I want you to keep your word.”

Edward reached out his hand toward the air. Then black waves appeared in the air. Edward’s hand naturally broke through the waves and entered in between. Edward’s shoulder moved a few times before he withdrew his arm. Edward returned to his previous place and there was a small book in his hand. At the same time, the black waves in the air disappeared.

“Take this. It was what I was going to give him.” Edward threw the book to Hyeonu.

Hyeonu took the book lightly. Then he immediately checked the information of the book.

‘Item information.’

[Basic Secret Arts of the Ran Tribe]

[It contains the basics of the secret arts learned by the ran tribe, one of the ancient tribes.

Rating: Unique

Restrictions: Possess the dark attribute, 3,000 physique, 5,000 magic power, at least two magic power-related skills with a proficiency of S-, and at least one immediately activated skill with a proficiency of S-.]

“Hah...” Hyeonu checked the information of the book and burst out laughing. He was speechless. The restrictions to learn the skill were absurd.

‘This is why he said it can’t be learned.’

First of all, it was a problem to have a high amount of points in the opposing stats of physique and magic power. Rather, it was enough to raise the skill proficiency. Even at level 350, there was at least one S- attack skill. Needless to say, it was a continuous skill.

‘Tang-E can learn it.’

There were no problems for Tang-E. Tang-E’s physique stat was over 5,000 and his magic power stat was over 10,000. Additionally, the skill proficiency was also satisfactory.

[Magic Power Affinity (S+)]

[Burning Magic Power (S)]

[Lightning (S+)]

The criterion was S- proficiency. Meanwhile, Tang-E already possessed S+ skills. It was the result of not having many types of skills.

“Then use it well.”

Hyeonu smiled and handed the book to Tang-E. Tang-E took the book without hesitation and raised it to his chest. Just like the scene that Edward showed, the book disappeared into Tang-E’s chest.

“See you next time.” Hyeonu waved and exited the iceberg.