Ranker's Return

Chapter 648

Translator: rainbowturtle

“There are so many gaps, Ray. Have you forgotten all the things I showed you earlier?” Hyeonu said while pressing his two swords against Ray’s greatsword. “How long will you wield the greatsword like this? Don’t try to swing strongly. The greatsword is strong in itself. Just do it lightly like with the longsword.”

Hyeonu collected the two swords and took a few steps back.

-You should’ve said this earlier.

-I think he came to his senses after relieving all his stress.

-He is treating Ray like a dog.

The viewers laughed at such a Hyeonu. Hyeonu’s behavior was so outrageous. It was normal to teach Ray immediately after the first collision. Meanwhile, Hyeonu only spoke after hitting Ray with the sword for over 10 minutes. It wasn’t what a person ought to do.

However, Hyeonu and Ray, the parties involved, couldn’t see the words of the viewers. They were too focused on the battle.

‘Not strong but quickly!’

At Hyeonu’s words, Ray finally recalled the movements he’d practiced for hours. Hyeonu’s overwhelming skills had caused Ray to forget about what he’d practiced.

‘If the specs are matched, I have the advantage in a strength fight.’

Using two swords inevitably required a high agility stat. He needed a high agility stat for fast colorful movements. Ray strongly kicked off against the ground, and the sand of the arena flew in all directions. It was the best speed at which he could move. As he appeared in front of Hyeonu in an instant, the tendons on Ray’s arm protruded like a worm.

Ray’s greatsword shot like a thunderbolt over Hyeonu’s head and ended up smashing into the empty ground. Hyeonu was already out of Ray’s attacking range. Ray quickly recovered the greatsword. It was as if he had anticipated Hyeonu would avoid it. The greatsword crossed through the air again, moving swiftly from left to right.

Hyeonu also kicked off against the ground once more. Avoiding this attack was good enough. There was no need to face it directly unless he was forced to. Just then, Ray’s body turned like a spin top. He resisted the strong pressure and stepped forward. Then his greatsword appeared in front of Hyeonu with even stronger momentum.

‘Hmm…’ Hyeonu flew back again. Originally, he would’ve dug forward, but now he had to adjust his skill to a certain degree. He showed a play that could be seen from any platinum ranker.

‘Even so, it is still early.’ Hyeonu was disappointed with what Ray showed. Ray was attacking more aggressively than before, but he still had many weaknesses.

‘Still, he is getting better. It is a good thing.’

Hyeonu wielded the two swords. The two swords moved through the air to create a single shape—a huge cross. The purple cross and Ray’s greatsword collided.

Ray’s spinning stopped, and blood flowed from his mouth. He hadn’t been able to raise his magic power to face Hyeonu’s unexpected counterattack.

“No matter how specialized your skills are in killing large monsters, it doesn’t mean you can use them on people. If you use them at the right time, you should be able to kill your opponent instantly. However, at this rate, you can only kill demonic creatures, not demons,” Hyeonu said.

Ray was definitely strong. He had an attack power that couldn’t be beaten by those with similar rankings, but this didn’t mean he could ignore utilizing his skills for PvP. Hyeonu pointed this out, suggesting it was perhaps the reason for Ray’s loss.

“Don’t relax for a moment. Even at the moment of victory.” Hyeonu once again raised his swords. There was still plenty of time before the spar would end.

***

“Did you make the roster?” Kang Ujong revealed his appearance between the dizzying amount of documents and scratched his disheveled head.

“If I fill in three more people, it’s 50. No matter how I look, I can’t see a possible candidate…” Jeong Byeongjin sighed. He looked several times more haggard than Kang Ujong.

Jeong Byeongjin had spent some time remembering and seeking out the names of those who could be recruited to Crescent Moon. It was just that the number wasn’t large, and their resources were really limited. No matter how much he thought about it and searched, it was hard to fill up the quota of 50 people. A few people had personality problems, but most of the problems were elsewhere.

“Why aren’t there any clean ones? Why are there so many arena proxies? There isn’t one brat that hasn’t done it!” Jeong Byeongjin burst out angrily. It was all due to the arena. There was a lot of proxy knight content in the streaming section. It was as common as dogs and cows. This meant it was much harder to find one person who hadn’t done it.

“It is because they have to make money… It is hard to attract people’s attention.” Kang Ujong sighed.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand their behavior. They felt nervous and desperate when the number of viewers didn’t increase. It was understandable that they would touch the taboo that they shouldn’t have touched. Not many people had a strong heart, especially when they were young.

‘Understanding is different from tolerating it.’ Kang Ujong was very firm in this respect. It was to an extent where he could be called cold-blooded. Unlike his mild personality for which he could be called a Buddha in the Korean e-sports world, he was stubborn about this. It wasn’t just a one-time thing. There were no second chances from him.

“Don’t fill it up. Just contact the kids on the list that you’ve already filtered.” Kang Ujong grabbed the piece of paper from Jeong Byeongjin’s hand.

Kang Ujong scanned the names on the paper, and his expression gradually stiffened. ‘What is this?’

There were no players he had expected. Most of the names weren’t those who were promising or active. Rather, they were those who had been eliminated from the competition and forced to retire. Kang Ujong couldn’t accept this fact and asked Jeong Byeongjin again, “Is this the best? Really?”

However, this didn’t change the names on the paper.

Jeong Byeongjin sighed. He was the writer of the scouting report, so he knew what Kang Ujong was talking about.

“They are what I’ve found. South Korea doesn’t play virtual reality games. It is clear they are crazy about money and don’t intend to be professional gamers. There are a few rankers, but few of them are willing to make their debut as professional gamers,” Jeong Byeongjin lamented.

Kang Ujong placed a hand on Jeong Byeongjin’s shoulder and said, “It isn’t your fault. By the way, looking at it… There are a few people who stand out. Let’s get in touch with them.”

Jeong Byeongjin nodded. He thought so as well. If he were candid, he only wanted to write down the names of 10 people. Apart from them, the rest were just for the sake of filling up the quota.

“But will they come to Crescent Moon?” Kang Ujong was worried about something else.

Would those who entered his eyes really come to Crescent Moon? It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Crescent Moon was just a shell now that Alley Leader was gone.

“They need to have the courage to drink from the poisoned Holy Grail. The thing they don’t know is that it is actually holy water inside the Holy Grail.” Jeong Byeongjin stared at Kang Ujong and smiled.

He thought that Kang Ujong’s worry was groundless. It was clear they wouldn’t refuse when Crescent Moon made the scouting offer.

Jeong Byeongjin added, “Think about it. A high annual salary and good contract terms. What is there to hesitate about?”

First of all, the treatment was very good. Crescent Moon was a team run by Moon Doyeong who really loved e-sports. The guaranteed salary and welfare were no less than what would be offered from any other large company.

“From the moment they join, they will become aware of it. So what if the results are slightly worse? So what about being scolded? If they are a player, they can lay a good foundation for streaming. Then once they retire, they will be popular without being jealous of any famous streamer,” Jeong Byeongjin continued.

It wasn’t just that.

There was another merit to be gained from entering Crescent Moon. In some ways, it was the greatest merit. He concluded, “There is no reason to refuse when they can learn from Alley Leader and improve their skills. Hyung, The thing we have to worry about is deciding who to drop when everyone agrees.”

Kang Ujong nodded. Thinking about it, Jeong Byeongjin was right.

‘Yes, it isn’t us who are unfortunate…’

It wasn’t Crescent Moon who was grabbing at straws. It was those who wanted to be professional gamers but didn’t have a team to belong to.

“Only six people can be picked, including the candidates. Let’s split it in half and contact them. If we start quickly then we will finish quickly.” Kang Ujong split the paper in half and put the other half in Jeong Byeongjin’s hand.

He sat in front of his computer and started writing emails to send to those on the scouting report.

‘I have to do this again…’

Unlike his inward sighs, there was a slight smile on his face.

***

“Today’s stream will end here. Thank you for watching my stream today. Don’t forget to go to my A-World channel to comment and get a chance to win a rare item.” Hyeonu made his closing remarks to the viewers.

The stream was over. Throughout the stream, Ray was hit and hit again. As a result, he became a different person from who he was in the beginning. The viewers couldn’t believe it.

-It is selling medicine.

-What selling medicine? He’s a crazy guy.Ray isn’t a crazy guy.

-Still, it is a fact that his skills improved when he was beaten up.

-That’s right.

-Let’s just go do the event.

The viewers said what they had to say and left the stream one by one. It was natural to leave now that it was over. Ray saw this and sighed with relief. ‘It is finally over.’

He repeatedly folded and unfolded his hands, trying to hold onto his mental state. Ray was satisfied that the spar, where he seemed like a pushover, was over. Nevertheless, there was one man who was suffering a lot of anxiety from watching Ray.

It was Jamie Moore.

‘Do I have to do such a spar?’ Jamie Moore was nervous after seeing Hyeonu persist in fighting to the point where he could be called cruel.

At the same time, a lot of Jamie Moore’s confidence disappeared as he felt that he would also have to do such a spar.

Hyeonu approached Jamie Moore and said, “Jamie, you will be doing the sparring from next week as well. So please level up as much as you can. I’ll select hunting grounds for each level and send you as many items as possible. Jamie, level up and focus on hunting.”

It went without saying that Jamie Moore’s expression stiffened after hearing Hyeonu’s words.

Hyeonu added, “Ah, for the time being, I won’t be in charge of Jamie’s sparring. There is a special instructor.”

Jamie Moore’s stiff expression completely relaxed again after hearing that. However, he didn’t know who was waiting for him.