Ranker's Return

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

Read More...

“No! Why are you standing there in a daze? The skeleton over there is being beaten up. You need to send over more help or use magic to support. You must’ve learned more than one or two spells. Are you just going to do nothing?” Hyeonu poured out poisonous words like a machine gun while grabbing the back of his neck.

If this was reality, then his blood pressure would’ve definitely fallen.

“No... I can’t do anything if I don’t see it,” Sunny replied in a small voice. She was embarrassed. She hadn’t expected to be publicly attacked like this. It was something she couldn’t even have imagined five minutes ago.

‘I didn’t expect her to play the game like this. No, can’t she multitask?’ Hyeonu was frustrated. This was the first time he ever felt like this. Sunny was not even fighting the opponent directly. The skeletons, undead, and wraiths were fighting for her instead. All Sunny needed to do was give them the right orders and support. Yet she couldn’t do so.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He eventually burst. Boom~

-He isn’t a man if he can put up with it. He would be at least a monk or a priest.

-Isn’t it a fact that there are fewer viewers when Sunny goes hunting?

-ㅋㅋㅋ She is just a host. I’m not sure if I’m looking at a MC or a reporter.

-There is no real answer as to how to hunt.

The viewers who originally watched Sunny’s stream laughed. The scene was so funny that Alley Leader’s explosion made sense. Alley Leader, who could make a newbie win a bronze medal in the area, was being embarrassed when it came to hunting in the field. In the end, Hyeonu got involved in the hunt and finished it. One slash of Hyeonu’s sword caused the monsters to fall down and shed blood.

‘How did she manage to reach the Hejin Great Mountain Range so far?’

Shortly after the hunt ended, Hyeonu grabbed Sunny and questioned her, “How on earth have you hunted so far? What level are you now?”

“I’m currently level 170. I hunted in parties with viewers or people I knew,” Sunny replied coldly.

It seemed she was angered by Hyeonu’s relentless scolding. Nevertheless, Hyeonu didn’t care. He kept saying what he needed to say.

“Party hunting? A necromancer?” Hyeonu asked again like he couldn’t believe it.

The viewers reassured him in the chat window.

-Seriously. She is a necromancer, but she does party hunting.

-No soloing. Does he need to ask after seeing it?

A necromancer was the symbol of soloing. If 10 soloing players were grabbed, half of them would be necromancers and the rest would have similar classes. Yet such a necromancer was doing party hunting? It was a waste. At this moment, a chat message happened to enter Hyeonu’s eyes like an uncanny coincidence. It was telling Hyeonu to give up.

-So give up. Even Alley Leader can’t do it.

‘In my dictionary, there is nothing that is impossible. Even if they are a fool.’

“Today, I will show you how to solo a low-level hunting ground.”

A strange pride filled Hyeonu’s heart.

-Let’s see in 10 minutes. That confidence will disappear.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 10 minutes is too long. It will be gone in one fight.

-Breaking news: Alley Leader went to hospital to be prescribed blood pressure medication.

-Today must be a cleaning up day.

The viewers laughed at Hyeonu’s attitude. It was ridicule based on their many past experiences.

***

It took exactly 10 minutes for Hyeonu’s confidence to disappear. In the end, Hyeonu couldn’t bear it and shouted, “No, I’ve said it a few times. It isn’t the end after telling the kids to fight. You have to watch the battle with them, use skills in the right place, and pay attention to the placement of the kids!”

Sunny didn’t lose to him and struck back, “It isn’t as easy as it sounds! If it is that easy, then try it once! You don’t know anything and can only explode with your mouth. A man is only good at talking!!”

“Really? Then follow what I say like a parrot. Let’s see what will be different.” Hyeonu could no longer watch from behind. He felt that if he observed quietly for a minute, his heart would burst. The two people made an agreement and looked around. He found a suitable group of monsters.

‘They came.’

The monsters that appeared were demonic goblins. They were one of the monsters that Hyeonu hunted like crazy in the Hejin Mountains in the past. Sunny might be level 170 with good items, but it would still be hard for her to hunt them alone.

“I have to hold it alone? Me?”

“To be exact, it is ‘me’. You just have to follow what I say like a parrot.”

Sunny bit her lips at Hyeonu’s words.

‘I’ll put up with it once. However, I won’t be able to stand it anymore if I can’t kill them.’

She would endure this time. It was because the other person was Alley Leader. She couldn’t say anything to him without any justification. The moment she said anything, she would clearly be buried by the community. If she lost against the demonic goblins, then she would have justification for herself.

‘I will do what I can.’

This should be enough.

“Wake up. What are you doing? Summon your kids.” Behind the mask, Hyeonu frowned.

This woman lacked everything from one to ten. It was just before the battle yet she wasn’t concentrating. Instead, she was thinking about other things. She couldn’t do anything right.

‘She isn’t thinking at all.’

In the past, there were two major aspects in which good and bad players of computer and console games differed—innate talent and the ability to judge situations. Firstly, talent couldn’t be surpassed. There were also geniuses who worked hard. Secondly, there was the ability to judge situations, which could be improved. It involved simulating and re-simulating battles virtually.

This was it. It was no different in virtual reality games. Rather, it was worse. Here, it was all about the body. The player had to do this and then do that. Anyone could pass the level of a fool who was unable to do anything if they had a rough blueprint.

‘This woman won’t get this. She doesn’t have any talent,’ Hyeonu remarked inwardly.

Sunny summoned all the undead she could summon. It started with various skeletons. She was still at a low level and couldn’t summon a dullahan or death knight, but this was enough for Hyeonu.

‘If I were a necromancer, I would be the 1st ranked player.’ Hyeonu imagined hunting with numerous undead and Tang-E. He was thrilled just thinking about it.

His thoughts lasted up to there. Then Hyeonu focused on the battle in front of him. ‘The opponents are five demonic goblins. This...’

Meanwhile, Sunny had a skeleton knight on a horse, three skeleton mages who could use black magic, and five ghouls capable of sharp and relentless attacks.

‘This is enough. There is also this magic shuttle.’

Hyeonu glanced at Sunny and started giving her orders. “Attach the skeleton knight to the demonic goblins and focus the magic of the skeleton mages on one demonic goblin. The ghouls will focus on the demonic goblin the skeleton knight is attacking.”

“W-What? Say it once again.” Sunny was perplexed by Hyeonu’s rapid-fire orders.

How could she understand such quick words? Hyeonu briefly sighed and explained it again. “Use the skeleton knight to attract the goblins’ attention. The mages will prepare magic, and the ghouls will aim for the goblins.”

Hyeonu’s words became simpler, and Sunny started to follow them obediently. The still undead started to move. The skeleton horse started to gallop toward the demonic goblins with the sound of bones clattering.

“Kiruk!!” 

The demonic goblins confronted the skeleton knight with a black dagger. The ghouls dug into the battle at the right places in a timely manner. Since the level of the undead was high, their artificial intelligence was also quite high. They couldn’t do autonomous actions, but they followed orders admirably.

“Don’t lose your mind. Use penetration or debuff magic rather than explosive magic. Combat isn’t just about the undead. Sunny, you’re also fighting right now.” Hyeonu stood still and ordered Sunny around as he watched the battle.

“Understood. Stop speaking. Darkness Missile.”

In contrast to her blunt words, Sunny used magic straight away. Several arrow-shaped projectiles appeared in a variety of colors. Sunny fired a projectile at the demonic goblin swinging a dagger at the skeleton knight. The demonic goblin trying to hit the skeleton knight was frightened by the flying arrow and aimed at the arrow with its dagger. A ghoul aimed for this moment and bit the wrist of the demonic goblin. This meant the demonic goblin was skewered by Sunny’s magic.

“Isn’t this okay?” Sunny snarled at Hyeonu when she saw this scene.

However, Hyeonu’s attention was drawn somewhere else. “Now the skeleton mages’ spells are complete. Command them quickly.”

“Tch!” Sunny didn’t care for Hyeonu’s indifferent attitude and made a sound. Only then did she issue an order to the skeleton mages. “Shoot the injured goblin.” 

The magic cast by the skeleton mages were miniature versions of Sunny’s magic. It was just that since three mages were acting at the same time, the power wasn’t inferior to Sunny’s. Black arrows flew through the air.

“Kiruruk.”

The magic of the skeleton mages cut off the breath of a demonic goblin.

“Did you see?”

“Why aren’t you using curse magic? Don’t rest and rely on the undead. Is the hunt over? Aren’t you full of magic power to summon the undead?”

Sunny once again frowned at Hyeonu’s criticism. The viewers all felt cool when they saw it. Feeling like they were sipping cider, they were in a good mood.

-Phew, he said everything I wanted to say.

-As expected, Alley Leader has discerning eyes.

-He is cold-blooded, so he doesn’t hesitate to assault with facts.

-Honestly, I wanted to say that. Seriously, it is like drinking 10 bottles of digestive medicine.

The battle flowed to Sunny’s one-sided advantage. To be exact, the undead were fighting well. Hyeonu’s spiteful tongue worked. He kept grinding tirelessly at Sunny. Like the stepmother in Cinderella, he didn’t let Sunny rest. Of course, the more he spoke, the more Sunny’s expression distorted and the more she stuck out her lips in a pout.

[A demonic goblin has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

The last demonic goblin’s throat was torn by the ghouls’ teeth. All five demonic goblins fell. Sunny had a subtle expression. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t dislike it either. It was a complex expression.

‘I hunted the demonic goblins by myself.’

To be exact, she had done it as Hyeonu’s puppet, but in any case, Hyeonu hadn’t pulled out his sword. So to speak, Sunny had hunted them alone. This was something to rejoice in.

‘I have to listen to that braggart again.’

The problem wasn’t Hyeonu’s bragging but that she had to keep facing it.

“Aren’t I right? You can’t hunt because you stand there stupidly. Sunny, your specs are good. Soloing isn’t impossible,” Hyeonu praised her.

Sunny’s face brightened as she smiled. However, the smile quickly disappeared. A reversal came after the praise. 

“Of course, if I didn’t help you, it would’ve been game over in a minute,” Hyeonu said, patting Sunny’s shoulder as her expression was about to distort. Then he continued, “From tomorrow, we will add hunting to Sunny’s content. Let’s go.”

The viewers admired Hyeonu’s words.

-Groan... He isn’t just good at games. He is good at push and pull.

-Look at Sunny’s facial expressions. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ She can’t do this or that. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-She actually wants to hit him, but she is enduring it due to the stream.

In many ways, today’s stream was a record-breaking stream for Sunny.

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

(5/6) Weekly chapters. No set days. 

Official Artwork Page

If there are Korean honorifics you don't understand, please check out my Glossary of Common Korean Terms

Glossary of Common Korean Terms