Ranker’s Return - Chapter 9

Hyeonu rubbed his eyes and rubbed them again. He hoped that the reality in front of him was an illusion.

“No!!”

‘Please. Please!’

He wanted someone to tell him it was a dream. Hyeonu closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe it. The only pet that appeared was a ‘teddy bear.’ Hyeonu seemed to lose strength in his legs, and he knelt on the ground. This must be a dream. Hyeonu closed his eyes and prayed.

“This isn’t a dream.”

“??” Hyeonu opened his eyes as he heard a voice that came from somewhere.

“Open your eyes. This moron...” The teddy bear in front of Hyeonu said.

“You can speak?”

“You thought I couldn’t speak?” The bear asked. Then he added, “Worshipping this body the moment I appear? That is a good attitude, Human.”

Hyeonu was so fl.u.s.tered he couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe he was talking to a teddy bear. Yet the teddy bear didn’t even give Hyeonu time to panic. He started bombarding Hyeonu’s mentality, “You are my servant. Come on. Carry me, insignificant human.”

The moment he spoke, the teddy bear jumped up and then landed on Hyeonu’s shoulder, hugging Hyeonu’s head.

“Let’s go. Human dude.”

Hyeonu unwittingly followed the bear’s words. Then Hyeonu woke up and threw the teddy bear to the ground.

“This damn teddy bear doesn’t know who he is going against...”

Hyeonu quietly grabbed the neck of the bear and dragged him into an alley. 10 minutes later, the bear’s attitude changed a lot after coming out of the alley. The extremely courteous attitude he had toward Hyeonu was a burden for Hyeonu. If only it wasn’t for that unpleasant tone...

“Master dude would even slap a woman on the side of the road,” the bear muttered to himself.

It was as if Hyeonu couldn’t hear it.

“Daring to do this to me, the heir of Bung Bung Island. He truly is my master dude.”

Pretending not to hear, Hyeonu followed behind the bear. Hyeonu was quiet because he was checking the bear’s information.

[Status Window]

[Name: ???

Level: 5

Species: Marionette Bear

Title: Bung Bung Island’s Heir

Stats: Strength: 15 Physique: 30 Agility: 15 Magic Power: 50

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: 0

Skills Possessed: Bear’s Momentum, Forest’s Blessing]

“Wow...” Feeling surprised, Hyeonu thought that the bear’s rating might be higher than expected. The basic stats were different. There were only two skills but they were both great.

‘I quite like this?’

“Master dude. Hurry up and give me a ride.”

If only he could get rid of that dirty personality and tone...

“Your name is Taeng from now on.”

[The name will be changed from ??? -> Taeng.]

[Intimacy has increased by 5.]

“Taeng? I like it. Master dude.” The teddy bear, Taeng, started dancing with both arms raised like he liked his name.

‘Yes, your name is Bear Taeng. Bear Taeng.’ (TL: Brown bear species known to be extremely foolish)

Hyeonu knew the hidden meaning of the name and watched Taeng with a pleased smile.

***

The sight that Yeongchan saw when he entered the living room was truly a spectacle. The television and laptop were turned on. Additionally, his friend was sleeping on the couch.

“Hey! Wake up!” Yeongchan kicked Hyeonu who was lying on the couch, but Hyeonu didn’t react.

Instead, he kept drooling. “...Taeng... I’m dying... Bear Taeng...”

“Dying? What are you dreaming about? Crazy guy! Just...”

Seeing Hyeonu smiling happily in his dream, Yeongchan couldn’t bear to wake him up. Yeongchan pushed Hyeonu to a corner of the sofa and took over his laptop.

“How to raise a pet? ...No way, did this bastard...?”

Yeongchan understood after seeing the article that Hyeonu was reading. Hyeonu had acquired that egg. Yeongchan’s mind became complicated when he thought of Hyeonu, who might’ve wasted his one chance.

“Oh, this guy!” Yeongchan kicked Hyeonu.

“...Taeng... pick it up... hmm.”

***

Hyeonu scoured the Arena communities overnight on his laptop. It was to find a hunting ground that suited him. The conditions were tricky, and it was hard to pick a hunting ground.

Firstly, it had to be a place without any players. Secondly, the monsters there should be humanoid. Thirdly, they couldn’t be monsters that attacked from a distance. Fourthly, the monsters had to be below level 50.

There were two hunting grounds that met those conditions—the skeleton dungeon, where the skeleton soldiers were mainly present, and the Black Forest’s two western areas where the dark elf warriors he faced in the tutorial mainly appeared. The one that Hyeonu selected was...

“Master dude. Where is this place?”

“Call me Master! This is the Black Forest. We’re here to catch some dark elves.”

It was the western part of the Black Forest that contained the dark elves. He thought the dark elves would be easier to deal with than the undead skeleton soldiers. Then he found that his idea was undoubtedly correct.

[The dark elf warrior has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

“Kuock... to a human...” The dark elf spoke ill of Hyeonu as it was dying. Meanwhile, Hyeonu was casually shaking blood off his longsword. There were already many scattered bodies of dark elves in front of Hyeonu.

“Ah. Taeng, aren’t you the best?”

“Ah hem. Do you understand now? You need to bring me.”

At Hyeonu’s praise, Taeng struck the chest of his small body that was less than 50cm tall. Hyeonu stroked Taeng’s head. Taeng’s buffs were definitely worth it. Bear’s Momentum increased strength and physique while Forest’s Blessing increased defense and gave continuous recovery. This was superior to any priest of the same level.

[Bear’s Momentum]

[-Gives a bear-like strength and physique.

Type: Buff

Rating: Rare

Skill Proficiency: F

Increases the target’s strength and physique by 5% for 5 minutes.

Skill Cooldown Time: 1 minute.]

[Forest’s Blessing]

[-Grants the vitality of the forest.

Type: Buff

Rating: Rare

Skill Proficiency: F

Increases the target’s defense by 5% and restores health by 0.1% per second for 5 minutes.

Skill Cooldown Time: 1 minute.]

This was the effect of the F-rank skill, so he didn’t know what the power would be like when the proficiency was higher.

***

Team Holic, consisting of three men and one woman, was a vicious professional PK party that used PK to steal equipment from wealthy, solitary players. They were completely different from their party’s cool name.

“Look at that guy over there. Surely he has a lot of money.”

“Mole Pants, Wind Armor, and a pet... It is clear he has money.”

“Then is that guy today’s goal? His sword looks pretty good as well.”

“Based on that face, he’s never had a hard time? He’ll experience it today.”

They didn’t specialize in PK originally. They started out as ordinary Arena players. It was by chance that they obtained equipment from PK and made money, leading them to become an active professional PK team.

“What concept should we go with today?”

“How about a friendly party?”

“Friendly?”

“This is good.”

Team Holic picked the prey and completed their made-up scenario. Now they just had to execute it properly. However, there was something they hadn’t thought of.

“What if that guy is cosplaying as a beginner?”

“I don’t think so? He doesn’t look like he would do that.”

“Why would he want to do a beginner’s cosplay in the deserted Black Forest? You’re too worried about nothing.”

There were two types of users who moved alone in these low-level areas—a young master who didn’t know anything or a player cosplaying as a beginner. Yet Hyeonu was neither. Instead, he was a solo player with both skills and items.

***

“Hello?”

Hyeonu looked at those who disturbed his rest. There were three men and one woman. Two warriors, one archer, and one priest—it was a common combination in the area. However, their appearance and behavior were somewhat unsettling.

‘These damn guys are making a move.’

Hyeonu sensed it. They weren’t ordinary players. They felt like hyenas.

“Yes, hello? Did something happen?”

“You seem to be hunting alone. Would you like to join our party?”

Hyeonu started to paint a big picture because he couldn’t directly aim his sword at them, even though their dark intentions were clear. He would ignore their plans in the beginning.

“Ah! I’m really thankful.” Hyeonu pretended to be new and that he didn’t know anything.

The idiots didn’t know this and were happy things had worked out.

“My name is Len. My warrior friends here are Carl and Crawford, and this priest is Sunny.”

“My name is Yeongchan. Pleased to meet you,” Hyeonu sold the name of his friend, Yeongchan.

It was hard to give his own name.

***

The hunt went smoothly. The PK team mostly aimed at people who had a lower level than them. Therefore, their level was also superior to the hunting ground.

‘Bash!’

‘Heavy Blow!’

Hyeonu was excited. He momentarily forgot that this was a vicious PK party.

‘The skill proficiency increase is high!’

[The dark elf warrior has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

All he had to do was hide behind the tanker and use his skills when the cooldown was over. There was no need to aim for the vital points. He just had to hit somewhere while the finishing touches were taken care of by them. Hyeonu never ran out of magic power. It was because he leveled up before his magic power reached rock bottom, after which it would be restored.

This was the best bus ever.

***

[The dark elf warrior has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

‘Now I’m level 20. It was faster than I thought.’

[Status Window]

[Character Name: Gang Hyeonu

Level: 20

Class: Warrior

Title: Warrior Acknowledged by Khan.

Stats: Strength: 40 (+68) Agility: 45 (+28) Physique: 40 (+50) Magic Power: 25

Remaining stat points: 0]

“It is all thanks to them.”

Hyeonu’s level rose really rapidly. According to Hyeonu’s plan, it would take him more than a day to reach level 20. However, properly utilizing the PK team reduced this plan to a few hours.

‘I think it is time to throw the bait.’

The moment that Hyeonu was organizing his stats, the members of Team Holic had gathered and were talking to each other.

“How long do we have to wait?”

“Isn’t this too much?”

The two warriors, Carl and Crawford, complained. They already wanted to take away this person’s items. It was their leader Len who dissuaded them, “Let’s catch the chief and pretend to kill him by mistake. Our good intentions became twisted.”

“Good thinking, Len.”

They didn’t know there was someone eavesdropping on their conversation. It was the teddy bear Taeng, who showed off his chic appearance while leaning against a tree.

‘You’ll kill Master dude? Bah.’

Taeng would protect him. Taeng thought so as he used his short legs to run.

***

Hyeonu’s expression was peaceful when he heard everything from Taeng. He had already expected it. It was what they should do. Rather, it had been strange that they had been quiet so far.

‘Hit me in the back when we’re catching the boss?’

“I’ll hit you first.”

Team Holic and Gang Hyeonu—they started acting while hiding their inner thoughts from each other.

“Yeongchan, we are going to catch a boss. Do you want to join?” Len asked in a polite tone.

Hyeonu smiled inwardly at Len. This pretentious look was too funny. They picked the wrong target to PK. However, he didn’t show any of it on the surface. Hyeonu pretended to be seriously troubled. He would let these jerks burn.

“Um... Will I be of help? I think I am just a nuisance...”

“What nuisance? Yeongchan’s attack power is enormous.”

‘Shit. Wanting to leave now?’ Len made a desperate gesture to his teammates with a hand that Hyeonu couldn’t see. It was a signal for help.

“Yes. How could we have gotten here without Yeongchan?”

“We came all the way here, so why not try catching the boss once?”

At Len’s request, the priest and warriors persuaded Hyeonu.

Hyeonu pretended to fall for the persuasion. “Then I’ll go catch it with you. Let’s proceed.”

Then he clung to the priest’s side. Len was dumbfounded by Hyeonu’s sudden change in attitude. It was like he was playing with them. Nevertheless, Len endured it when thinking about the event that would occur soon.

‘You will see soon!’