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...

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“Drake? I know. Then I’ll kill it.” Johannes wasn’t surprised by Hyeonu’s words. He didn’t even panic. To a dragon, a drake was just like an ant, even if it was a boss monster.

“Do you want to go with me or wait here? It will take time if we go together. If you wait here, I’ll be right back,” Johannes asked with an expression of goodwill.

‘I should go. I unconditionally have to go.’ From Hyeonu’s point of view, Johannes’ offer was one he had to accept unconditionally.

There was no reason for him to think about it. The drake was a boss monster that no one had ever killed. Hyeonu might get a title even if he only hit it once. The amount of experience and skill proficiency earned would be a bonus.

“I will be grateful if you take me, but can I hit the drake first?” Hyeonu was shameless and uttered confident words. It could be seen why Tang-E was becoming more and more shameless.

“Whatever.” Johannes raised the white flag.

*** 

They moved to the drake’s habitat using the dragon’s magic. At that moment...

‘It’s really comfortable when this magic is used...’

No one had ever mastered it. The only magic that wasn’t allowed for current players was teleportation. No magician player had ever mastered it, nor had a skill book with the teleportation spell even been seen.

‘Indeed, there is no teleportation magic, so the content consumption speed is this much.’

However, no one complained. Everyone knew how the virtual reality games before Arena had been destroyed. More and more magicians mastered teleportation magic, and the speed at which content was consumed wasn’t controlled. It didn’t take time to move, so they just hunted and hunted, doing quest after quest.

After that, there were raids, sieges, and PvP. It was like a wheel. Everyone followed the same pattern, and the game was destroyed. It was out of all these cases that Arena emerged. Arena declared that there might be return books, but there would be no movement magic for players to move in groups.

“It’s him. He is the oldest drake in this area.” Johannes reached out and pointed to the giant drake.

‘Wow... Isn’t it much bigger than a desert dragon?’ Hyeonu remarked inwardly.

The drake was really huge. It wasn’t just the size of a house. In fact, it was only a bit exaggerated to say that it was a football stadium. The sight of a moving mass that was over a hundred meters long was terrifying.

“Is it possible? He has a solid body. You won’t even be able to scratch him,” Johannes told Hyeonu like he was worried or thought that Hyeonu was ignorant. It was because he didn’t know Hyeonu. Hyeonu had never been unable to penetrate a monster’s defense while hunting.

“Of course. I just need to deal one blow. If I can’t do that well, I’m not a human.” Hyeonu showed confidence.

This wasn’t him being conceited; it was him being self-confident. He had the ‘You and I in One Shot!’ skill that ignored defense, and the Mysterious Sky Sword that increased defense penetration. Once these two things were combined, he would break through the monster’s defense. His absolute attack power couldn’t be low, and he could display most of his attack power.

This was Hyeonu.

Johannes replied, “Really? Then I’ll see it soon.”

‘I will use this opportunity to see his true strength.’ Johannes wondered if this human would be half as good as that confidence of his.

“When do I attack?” Hyeonu asked.

“Whenever you like, but it should be as soon as possible. I don’t have much time,” Johannes replied.

Hyeonu nodded at Johannes’ words. There was never a lot of time. Rather, time was always tight.

“I understand. Then I’ll get ready. Tang-E, buff me.”

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

[You have received Breath of the Wind.]

[Your agility has risen.]

[Your movement speed has increased.]

Tang-E used the buffs silently before withdrawing further away from the drake. It was a rare quick movement from him.

‘The buffs are all being used.’

Hyeonu planned to log out straight away after being rewarded for the battle with the drake. It didn’t matter if he poured out everything possible without thinking about the future.

[Giant’s Power has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[Giant’s Nature has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[Giant’s Origin has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[One Who Yearns has been used.]

[All stats have increased.]

All the item skills that Hyeonu had available were used. In an instant, Hyeonu’s stats skyrocketed. Johannes marveled at the scene. ‘Hoh... Look at this?’

At one point, the pressure around Hyeonu started to change. He didn’t seem to be a human who only knew how to talk. This must be how he killed the lomelon. Hyeonu hadn’t killed it twice by luck. However, Johannes’ admiration didn’t end here. The energy from Hyeonu was changing even at this moment.

[Master of Combat is activated.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘fighting energy’ has caused your stats to rise.]

[The other party is stronger than you.]

[Your stats have increased.]

[The stat ‘dignity’ has caused the opponent’s stats to fall.]

[Mindset of a Murderer has activated.]

[All stats have increased by 15%.]

[Mysterious Sky is activated.]

[Your five senses have sharpened.]

The moment Hyeonu pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword and recognized the drake as the target, the system judged him to be in combat and Hyeonu’s skills started to be activated. One more message window appeared here.

[Solo Raider]

[The title given to a player who has killed a boss monster who is higher than himself 5 times alone.

Effect: There is a 10% increase in stats when dealing with boss monsters.

It was a title that only worked when dealing with boss monsters.

Hyeonu’s stats were increased by 10% with the Solo Raider title added.]

[Desert Dragon Slayer]

[A title given to players who have defeated the desert dragon.

Effect: 5% addition damage is added when dealing with dragon-type monsters.]

The finishing touch was Desert Dragon Slayer. The difference between a dragon and a drake was like the difference between a firefly and the sun, but the effect was triggered because the drake was still a dragon-type monster.

“I will attack. I can only last for five minutes at most. You have to finish it within this time,” Hyeonu told Johannes.

Hyeonu could only maintain the current status quo for five minutes. He didn’t know the drake’s strength, but it was certain that the situation would change after the giant buffs disappeared in five minutes.

“I understand. Five minutes—I’ll remember. If you can’t do it anymore, then get out. Don’t overdo it,” Johannes said.

At Johannes’ advice, Hyeonu nodded and ran toward the drake.

‘It’s five minutes. I only have to use one skill and get out.’ Hyeonu didn’t want to fight for a long time.

Using Crescent Moon Cut and Mysterious Sky Range, he was going to release a lot of magic power before falling back. Once the distance to the drake was less than 50 meters, the drake’s face moved toward Hyeonu. It was to show that it saw Hyeonu.

The reptile’s fierce eyes stared at Hyeonu, but Hyeonu didn’t flinch back at all. Instead, he lowered the Mysterious Sky Sword in an attack posture. A black crescent moon that was nearly 20 meters in length was fired at the drake. Hyeonu’s pure energy narrowed the distance to the drake in the blink of an eye, lightly piercing the drake’s leather and cutting his muscles.

Blood gushed out like a fountain from the drake’s body. However, the drake was so big that it was no different from being stabbed with a needle. Apart from that, Crasul’s curse still fulfilled its role.

[Extra Wide Drake, Caruso, has been inflicted with the ‘frozen’ abnormal state.]

‘It is effective. It’s done.’

Crasul’s curse was triggered. A message announcing the status anomaly was now visible in front of Hyeonu. It was just that the effect was very incomplete. The wounds made by Hyeonu were lightly frozen over like frost that had formed in the middle of winter. The drake had no trouble with his movement.

‘I have to withdraw when I have a chance.’ Hyeonu had already somewhat expected it.

He had known there would come a day when Crasul’s curse wouldn’t be of any help. Thus, he didn’t panic. He just couldn’t hide his regret.

“Kuaaaah!” The drake let out a loud and intense cry that really sounded like an echo in the mountains. It wasn’t a scream of pain; it was one of annoyance. To the drake, Hyeonu’s attack was like a bee sting. It wasn’t negligible, but it wasn’t fatal. The drake was just bitter and irritated when he saw the wound.

He moved his feet, and the ground shook every time. The distance between the two people quickly narrowed. In the short time of Hyeonu blinking several times, the drake appeared in front of Hyeonu and opened his mouth which was full of sharp teeth.

Nevertheless, the drake only bit on empty air. Hyeonu had already used Blink to pull his body out of the way. The sound of the drake’s teeth hitting each other was horrifying.

‘This is why I can’t get rid of Blink.’ Hyeonu immediately cleared his thoughts and raised his magic power to use Mysterious Sky Range. It was different from the usual Mysterious Sky Range that was used with the minimum magic power. Just like a 12-cylinder engine absorbing fuel, Mysterious Sky Sword sucked up Hyeonu’s magic power like crazy.

Crescent Moon Cut seemed to have increased in size by several times. The drake’s surroundings were filled with blades of pure energy that were seven or eight meters in length. The drake’s body was badly damaged by the pure energy. His forelegs, hind legs, torso, head, and tail—the drake was hit everywhere.

Blood and dust rose, obscuring the drake’s entire body. A short time later, the drake’s appearance was revealed. There were places on his body where the wounds were so severe that the skin and flesh had peeled off and bones were visible. Now the drake was clearly full of anger. He didn’t let out a single commonplace cry, but everyone could feel it—Hyeonu, Johannes, and the drake himself.

The drake’s eyes were filled with a strange energy. Its color was in between black and gray. An aura of that color spread around the drake’s body, starting from his eyes. Simultaneously, the wounds on his body started recovering.

‘This...’ Hyeonu’s expression crumpled. He felt it was in vain. Everything he had done so far had been invalidated. Even so, he wasn’t frustrated at all.

‘I’m not the protagonist anyway.’

The drake’s opponent was someone else.

“Johannes!”

The moment Hyeonu called Johannes’ name, there were two suns in the sky. One sun swallowed the gray-colored drake. A short time later, the sun disappeared and left behind only leather, small gems, and countless coins where the drake was supposed to be.

[The Extra Wide Drake, Caruso, has been killed.]

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