Ranker's Return Chapter 99

The dummy’s appearance was that of Argon (Kwon Yeongchan) in Arena.

‘Yeongchan, I have no bad feelings toward you. I just think you’re a good choice.’

“Die!”

Hyeonu had no mercy. He poured out all the possible combinations of skills toward Yeongchan. In the first place, Stage 9 wasn’t to test the person’s skills but to determine their mental state. Yeongchan was weak. He was level 150 at most. However, his health was ridiculously high like a troll.

“Die, die, die!!!”

Hyeonu was excited as he beat at the fake. He used all sorts of techniques that wouldn’t be used in reality. It took a while, but finally, the dummy lost its health and disappeared.

‘I’m sorry, Yeongchan.’

-You have passed the given test perfectly. Compensation will be paid before moving on to Stage 10.

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

[A skill has been created.]

“A skill? A skill!”

Hyeonu quickly opened the skill window to confirm the information of the newly created skill.

[Immovable Heart]

[You possess an unwavering heart.

A disciplined mind rules the body.

Type: Continuous

Rating: Unique

Skill Proficiency: F

You will be immune to an opponent’s abnormal condition skill in a situation where the opponent’s magic power value is lower than yours.

There is a 5% chance of resisting an opponent’s abnormal condition skill in a situation where the opponent’s magic power value is higher than yours.]

“Kyah! I’m drunk. Drunk.”

This was it—the reason why he cleared dungeons and the reason why he played RPG games. One blow… It was exhilarating when something burst out in one blow.

“I play Arena for this taste.”

Hyeonu continued to praise himself. He said that his choice was a great one and that coming here was a divine move.

‘He must be crazy. Otherwise…’

“You can’t act like that.”

Tang-E looked at Hyeonu and clicked his tongue.

***

“Look at him. He is a very vicious guy. Beating his loved one so brutally?”

Suped went wild when he saw Hyeonu beating up Yeongchan. After all, Suped knew better than anyone what Stage 9 was and what it wanted. However, Hyeonu’s behavior was too much.

“The moment I entered Stage 9, I ran forward with my sword. It was very exciting,” Lebron defended Hyeonu.

Suped frowned and refuted it, “That was because it was Duke Blake. It’s a different case!”

“What’s the difference? I swung my sword toward my master. Based on what I saw, he is my disciple’s friend. It is just beating up a friend… Isn’t it understandable?”

“Umm… He is coming here now. Be prepared.” Suped groaned as he watched the video and spoke to Lebron.

At this moment, Hyeonu and a small bear appeared with a flash of white light.

Hyeonu exclaimed, “Eh? Master?”

“You’re here? How was the dungeon?” Lebron continued asking questions to distract Hyeonu from thinking about Stage 10.

“It was good. It wasn’t hard and the rewards were excellent. It will be coveted by all adventurers.”

“Really? Then why not open it up to adventurers who contribute to the empire?”

“That is a bit…”

“There is only one chance to enter this place. It is over if you fail in the middle. Still reluctant?”

Hyeonu didn’t want to share such a good place with others, even if it was only a one time opportunity. “Yes, I think it is better not to open it publicly. By the way, why did I come here after entering the gate for Stage 10? Isn’t this Stage 10?”

“Ask that guy. I don’t know.” Lebron pointed to Suped.

Suped was stunned. “So… There was no Stage 10. It was blown up by my research and hasn’t recovered well. It will take a few months.”

Suped’s voice trailed off. This was obviously his fault. Not long ago, he had a funny idea for an experiment, and a big explosion occurred. As a result, Laek’s Stage 10 became blocked. It was gone altogether. Suped used all sorts of methods to recover it, but none of them worked. It seemed that time was needed to fix it.

“This fellow, why did you come to see me? Garon was supposed to come…” Suped changed the topic.

However, Hyeonu didn’t answer. Hyeonu was only thinking about Laek’s possible recovery. ‘How long will it take? I’ll probably have to come back here a few months later…’

“Then how can I come back here, Suped?”

In any case, he couldn’t clear Stage 10 right now, but it wasn’t completely gone. Hyeonu might covet the Stage 10 reward, but Suped was a great magician of the empire. He didn’t know Hyeonu’s thoughts about Stage 10 and kindly answered Hyeonu’s question, “I’ll give you a few return books to come back here. Are five enough?”

Five return books. Aside from the one that Hyeonu himself would use, he could distribute the remaining four to others.

‘Who should I give them to?’

The four return books could become a big weapon depending on how they were used. There was one more thing to worry about. “The reason I came here is because Garon requested it of me. It is to give news of the outside to you. A group that denies the natural order has appeared. It is called Alkyl…”

“Alkyl? Is it really Alkyl? How do you know?” Suped was startled by Hyeonu’s words.

“Alkyl? It was really them…” Lebron only nodded like he had guessed.

“There is an adventurer in the group. They gave me information. The name of the organization they belong to is Alkyl. I intend to keep getting information from them. Won’t that be easier for this subjugation?”

The two people nodded at Hyeonu’s words. The group could be wiped away as long as the information was reliable. It wasn’t because of a lack of power that the group wasn’t wiped out. Rather, it was because the location of the group couldn’t be found.

“It seems there is a chance to pull out the roots this time.”

“We’ve been fighting them for decades. It is time to finish this.” Suped was talking with Lebron before suddenly turning his head to Hyeonu. “Tell this to Garon. I will join the subjugation expedition. Be prepared.”

Clap clap. Suped clapped, and Hyeonu’s body was engulfed in white light. It moved him to the Hejin Great Mountain Range where Garon was located.

***

“As a great magician, aren’t you sending people away too casually? You should at least tell me before sending me away,” Hyeonu muttered as he appeared in the Hejin Great Mountain Range.

A short time later, he headed straight to Garon. It was to get the reward for clearing the quest.

“Garon, I’ve received a message from Suped.”

Garon looked stunned when Hyeonu showed up. He never dreamed that Hyeonu would come back so soon.

“Are you back already? It isn’t a place that is easy to deal with… Surely you didn’t give up halfway in the middle?” Garon’s eyes widened. He thought it was suspicious. What type of place was that? It was a place where you had to read two terrible books. If he didn’t pass the test, then Suped wouldn’t even summon him to the laboratory.

“Groan, yes.”

“What did Suped say?”

“He said he will join soon. He told you to be prepared for the subjugation expedition.”

“I will naturally do so. Good work. Thanks for the trouble.”

[Great Magician Suped has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

[Garon’s gift was acquired.]

The reward messages came out, but there was no sign of Garon giving a gift.

‘Huh? Why isn’t he giving anything?’

“What will you give me?”

“Haven’t I given it to you already?”

There was a flood of message windows at Garon’s words.

[Garon’s Standards have been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have received a quest from Garon.]

[A quest has been created.]

[Imperial Detached Force]

[Form a detached force to sweep through the inside of Alkyl.

Shake up the interior of Alkyl.

Rating: MS

Conditions: Acquire internal intelligence on Alkyl 0/1, eliminate Alkyl’s executives 0/???

Rewards: Experience, imperial contribution.]

“Eh?” Hyeonu showed a silly expression.

He was wearing a mask, so Garon couldn’t see it. Otherwise, he would be ridiculed for at least a year. Garon’s gift was none other than passing his test. The significance of Garon’s test was to see his strength, not necessarily his level and skill. Passing Laek and meeting Suped was proof of Hyeonu’s strength, so he passed the test. Of course, Garon didn’t know that Stage 10 currently wasn’t functioning.

“You are going to act as a detached force from now on. You’re the first among the adventurers.”

[The title ‘First Detached Force Member’ has been created.]

[First Detached Force Member]

[A title given to the first member of the detached force to deal with Alkyl, the dark force going against the empire.

Effect: Attack power and movement speed are increased by 5%.]

‘Giving me a title?’

As expected, this was the main scenario. The level of compensation was different. He just cleared a few quests yet he ended up receiving this title?

“Thank you. By the way, where is Alkyl’s base? Don’t I have to know this before infiltrating it and assassinating people?”

“Why are you asking me this? Didn’t you get it from your informant? I’m not the one who can tell you that. All I know is that it is somewhere in the Kunta Plateau.”

“Kunta Plateau?”

The Kunta Plateau—it was one of the most difficult hunting grounds in the Hejin Great Mountain Range currently open to the public. The monsters that appeared in the Kunta Plateau were called the Kunta Tribe. They were around 4 meters tall and resembled a gorilla, and their movements were fast and strong. It wasn’t just that the hunting ground was difficult. They had high intelligence and the aggro wasn’t easily captured, so it was unknown when they would run out.

‘The biggest problem is…’

The Kunta Plateau was now a conflict zone. Three forces were competing over the Kunta Plateau—Marco’s Mano Guild, Red Bull America with Mascherano, and JT Telecom that had suffered two consecutive losses to Hyeonu and had their pride broken. Among them, the only one Hyeonu had a decent relationship with was Mascherano of Red Bull America.

“I understand. Then I’m going.”

Hyeonu couldn’t find an answer no matter how much he thought about it and decided to log out. His body and mind were tired from the continuous hunting. His head wasn’t working too well.

“Then I should do streaming… Let’s sleep a bit.”

Hyeonu took a break from streaming last week, so he decided to do one tomorrow as a surprise event. He could rest according to the agreement, but Hyeonu was well aware that he had to do surprise streams at times like this to get enthusiastic responses from viewers.

“Streaming is tomorrow.”