Ranker's Return

For the time being, he had no reason to come to Edward. It might be different for the people standing behind him.

“How can there be no broker at the first meeting? I have come out to introduce you to each other,” Hyeonu, the man standing in front of Edward, replied with a smile.

“Are you doing a good job? It will take quite some time to do five, right?”

Then he changed the subject.

The five dead guardians—Hyeonu knew that Edward was aiming for the resurrection.

“Time will take care of it. It isn’t something to be rushed.”

Edward was relaxed. He wasn’t rushed and there was no need to rush. Instead, there was someone who would draw attention and buy time for him to revive the guardians.

“It must be fine seeing the way you are relaxed.”

Hyeonu scratched his head at Edward’s attitude, which was different from before.

‘Ragand’s memory has changed him.’

There had obviously been a change. Edward wasn’t such an imposing and laid-back man.

“These are familiar faces. Do I have to accept them?”

Edward glanced at the Venom Guild standing behind Hyeonu before fixing his eyes on Hyeonu again.

“That’s right. You just have to accept them.”

Hyeonu nodded. This was the reason he came here today. It was guiding the Venom Guild to Edward.

“Coming under me means abandoning the empire. It is giving up everything you have built up so far. Do you still have the confidence to not regret your current choice?” Edward asked while making eye contact with the members of the Venom Guild.

“There was nothing built up in the first place.”

“I don’t think it would be bad to start over from scratch.”

“I think this is the only opportunity for us to get ahead.”

The Venom Guild didn’t care about Edward’s words. It didn’t make sense to give up here. They wouldn’t have come this far in the first place if they were going to give up.

“Okay, then you will receive special treatment from me so that you don’t regret your choice.”

Edward snapped his fingers with a satisfied smile. A noise was heard from his fingers and skeletons started to appear from somewhere. The skeletons were in pairs and held boxes that were one meter in size. There was a strong impact sound as the skeletons laid the boxes down on the ground. It proved that the boxes were very heavy.

The skeletons opened the boxes they had put down on the ground. There were all sorts of things inside the boxes.

Colorful beads and books. Numerous types of battle gear. It was obviously full of treasures with just a rough glance.

“There are essences that help with growth and some great artifacts. There are also books that contain magic or techniques. Pick one each,” Edward explained the identity of the boxes to the Venom Guild.

“Really?”

“I can choose one of them?”

The Venom Guild members shouted in an excited manner. In their eyes, the boxes were nothing more than treasure troves.

“Yes, pick one for each of you. I have prepared it for you.”

Edward’s head moved up and down. Meanwhile, Hyeonu’s eyes were shaking as well.

“What about mine?”

“Yours? Why are you looking for me? Shouldn’t you go to Alexander and ask for it? Your master is Alexander.”

Edward looked at Hyeonu like he was a madman. The things he prepared belonged solely to the Venom Guild. There was nothing for Hyeonu. Edward prepared them for the subordinates who would work for him.

“I’m not expecting it. I’m not expecting it.”

Hyeonu hid his regret and pretended to be casual.

“I have a gift for you.”

At this moment, Edward looked at Hyeonu and smiled meaningfully.

‘It is clear that this isn’t very good news...’

Hyeonu saw Edward’s smile and was instinctively convinced that this gift wouldn’t be the same as what the Venom Guild received.

“I decided it would be difficult to build the front lines on my own. In the southern part of the East Continent, the god tribe will open up a new front line. It could be today or it could be a month from now. I don’t know when it will happen but it is confirmed that there will be a front line.

Hyeonu’s expectations weren’t wrong in the slightest. The words that came out of Edward’s mouth came as a shock to Hyeonu.

‘This jerk? Isn’t this completely crazy?’

The god tribe—Edward’s account of bringing the god tribe to the middle world was that surprising.

“You don’t even know the date? How did that come about? Did the god tribe come to visit you?” Hyeonu asked Edward in an urgent voice.

“That’s right. The god tribe came. To be precise, their god came to visit me. He knew like a ghost that Ragand was dead.”

Edward recalled his meeting with Luke not long ago.

‘He’ll be back soon.’

Then he naturally recalled the promise he made with Luke. The promise to hand over some of the ran tribe’s secret arts.

‘This is the first and the last.’

These were all the secret arts that Edward was going to hand over. The foundation of the basics. There was nothing else.

“Next time you come, I hope you come with a famous dwarf craftsman. I’m asking you.”

Edward looked at Hyeonu and smiled.

“I will be sure to remember the incident you caused this time. The day will come when I will surely pay it back,” Hyeonu shot back at Edward before tearing apart the return amulet.

Hyeonu’s body was enveloped in a white light and disappeared from the iceberg.

“By then.... you won’t be able to do anything to me.” Edward smiled strangely. Then he turned his head and shouted at the Venom Guild members, who were still examining the boxes, “Hurry up and choose! You won’t have a chance to choose again later.”

***

The place where Hyeonu headed after disappearing from the iceberg was Linakalu, a city in the southern part of the East Continent. It was the city with the largest number of players in the East Continent and it was where the Samsungga of the Gucheon Secret Department was hidden.

‘The atmosphere in the city is no joke.’

Hyeonu could feel a desolate atmosphere the moment he appeared in Linakalu. The players were still there, but the faces of the NPCs were stiff. Now anyone could tell the difference between NPCs and players.

‘Should I go right now?’

Hyeonu was troubled for a moment. Should he go straight to the Samsungga and meet Chen Long? Or... should he start the settlement that had been delayed because of Ragand?

‘I will check the specifications first.’

Hyeonu quickly regained his mind. It didn’t matter if he delayed going to Chen Long for a while, but he could only see the changes now. He didn’t know how breathless he would be once he started moving again.

‘Should we start by looking at the ring?’

It was Rainbow of Desires, the ring with the greatest potential among the rings Hyeonu wore. The fifth stage had been unlocked.

[Level up 15/15.]

[The stage 5 open conditions are satisfied.]

[The item effect of \'Rainbow with Desire\' has changed.]

[All stats +400 → all stats +500.]

[Stage 5 Cruel Eyes: If the opponent’s level is lower than the player’s, all stats will be reduced by 20%.]

[Stage 6 opening condition: Monsters killed 0/1,000,000 (only monsters up to 20 levels below the player’s level are allowed).]

‘If worn by the demon king... it has an amazing effect.’

Hyeonu admired the new effect of the ring, but it was very weak. Few of the monsters that Hyeonu killed now had a lower level than Hyeonu.

‘I think I got a title...’

It was buried in the level up messages that rose too many times, but he remembered seeing a message stating that he got a title.

‘There is one.’

The moment the title window was opened, a newly created title entered Hyeonu’s eyes.

[First Person to Kill a God]

[A title given to the first player to kill a god.

Effect: Attack power is increased by 50%.]

‘This is it, this is it.’

Hyeonu checked the information of the title and immediately knelt on the ground. There was a dull sound, but it didn’t matter. All of Hyeonu’s nerves were focused on the title that had a ridiculous effect.

‘Items? I don’t need it.’

It was so good that it didn’t matter that the spear obtained from killing Ragand wasn’t usable. This one title meant he could give up the rest.

‘If titles have ratings...’

“This would be at least an epic rating.”

The smile that appeared on Hyeonu’s face was very deep. Then that smile disappeared in exactly three seconds.

Someone sent him a whisper.

Hyeonu’s expression hardened when he saw it. Hyeonu kicked off hard against the ground with a stiff expression and jumped high into the sky. Then he immediately started heading south.

***

A beam of purple light quickly crossed the sky of the East Continent. The identity of the beam of light was naturally Hyeonu. The reason why Hyeonu was forced to move so quickly was the whisper Yeongchan sent him.

‘The city of the different species has been attacked?’

The city of the different species was raided by unidentified monsters.

Yeongchan and the other players didn’t know the identities of the monsters when seeing them, but Hyeonu knew the monsters just by listening.

‘The god tribe...’

To be precise, it was the ra tribe. The thing Edward mentioned had already been done.

‘The timing is like a beggar.’

He couldn’t help cursing. This happened as soon as he went to Edward and heard about the ra tribe.

‘No, I think this is pretty good?’

It was better to know the source of the problem rather than to suffer without knowing anything. The words ‘fortune out of misfortune’ were best suited for the current situation.

‘I just hope the orcs haven’t died...’

Hyeonu was hoping for an absurd situation. He wished the orcs hadn’t died when the city of the different species was devastated. However, it was absolutely impossible for this to happen considering there were quite a few orcs in the city of the different species and their inclination was to not retreat.

‘Raccoon will go wild...’

The thing that would happen once Raccoon went on a rampage was obvious. The ra tribe had a ridiculous purpose for invading the middle world and it was clear that it would be difficult for anyone to escape with their lives.

‘Before that god comes...’

Based on what Hyeonu felt, the king of the gods, Jeras, was no different from Raccoon. Hyeonu ran nonstop and finally arrived near the city built by the different species. Hyeonu was still a bit far from the city, but his footsteps had already slowed. It was because the panoramic view of the city of the different species was so eerie.

The entire neighborhood was stained with blood. The ground and trees were black-red. Blood that was as sticky as lava was flowing. The biggest reason why Hyeonu couldn’t move was due to the huge, green figure seen in the city of the different species.

‘Raccoon is here...’

The figure was Raccoon. He was very angry.