Ranker's Return

“2,000 gold...”

He felt relaxed. 2,000 gold was left in Hyeonu’s hands after selling the elixir and spending on all his expenses. This gold would lay the foundation for him to grow as quickly as possible.

He already decided what items he would buy—Wind Armor and Mole Pants. They were items that Hyeonu selected after scouring the community site.

***

The first thing he obtained was a leather coat. It was the so-called Wind Armor. This was a rare item he purchased from the Arena store for 1,000 gold.

[Leather Coat with a Lower-grade Wind Elemental]

[-A leather coat where a lower-grade wind elemental dwells. For some reason, it seems to make your body lighter while you’re wearing it.

Rating: Rare

Restrictions: None

Durability: 200/200

Defense: 35

Effect: 15% agility, makes the body lighter and movements faster.]

It was just hard to find the Mole Pants. No one was selling them. Hyeonu had been staring at the items in the corner of the auction house for more than three hours.

“Uwah! I finally bought it. I bought it.”

[Red Mole Leather Pants]

[-Pants made from the hide of the red moles that inhabit the southern part of the continent. 

Rating: Rare

Restrictions: More than 25 strength.

Durability: 180/180

Defense: 30

Effect: Agility +10, all stats +10 when at least one foot touches the ground.]

***

Hyeonu wore the items that cost 2,000 gold and showed up at the nearby workshop. Why did Hyeonu appear in the workshop when he already bought all his items? The reason was simple. It was due to the items from Park Junu’s inventory. He came to change the shape of this longsword, which boasted an unparalleled sharpness compared to low-level items.

[Sharp Longsword]

[-A sword made by a blacksmith with great skill.

It is a pretty good weapon on its own.

Rating: Rare 

Restrictions: 45 strength, more than 30 physique.

Durability: 550/550

Attack: 100

Effect: Strength +15, Defense Penetration +5.]

Hyeonu stood in front of a capsule that had a slightly different feel from the one that made the elixir.

‘Leave the cosplay to me!’

This was the name of the capsule. The function, which matched the name, changed the shape of an item to the user's desired shape. Of course, enough materials needed to be provided. It might be a game, but it didn’t make sense for a sword made of 1kg of steel to change to a sword made of 3kg of steel for free.

Hyeonu carefully opened the capsule and inserted a sharp longsword. Then a message was printed on the front portion of the capsule.

[Please determine the shape you want to convert to.]

Hyeonu applied the shape of the tutorial weapon he was currently using. On the screen of the capsule, a longsword that was 1.3 meters long and 4 centimeters wide appeared.

[You have insufficient materials.]

[Add one steel ingot.]

Hyeonu added one of the steel ingots he had prepared. Then the music and progress bar appeared, just like when making the elixir.

[0%...10%...20%...50%...100%.]

[The production is a success!]

[Take the converted items.]

The lid of the capsule opened, and there was a smooth sword lying inside. Hyeonu admired it. He really liked this system. If he got a good weapon now, he could wear it even if the size didn’t match him.

“They made some really good content,” Hyeonu muttered as he looked around.

That’s why it was so popular.

[Sharp Longsword]

[-An ambitious longsword made by a blacksmith of great skill. It’s a shame that it isn’t enchanted with any magic.

Rating: Rare

Restrictions: 50 strength, more than 30 physique.

Durability: 550/550

Attack: 100

Effect: Strength +15, Defense Penetration +5.]

All the preparations were finished. Hyeonu was a bit excited. How much had Arena changed in the last two years?

‘It is interesting.’

Hyeonu’s face was full of smiles.

***

Outside the east gate of Aslan, there was a player with a suspected aesthetic problem. He was wearing red pants with a green coat. So far, this much was understandable. It was the addition of a yellowish longsword that made viewers frown.

“A traffic light?”

“Is that a human’s fashion?”

“Wow... If he is going to look like that, he should give me his face.”

“I’m going to film this and upload it to the world.”

The person involved wasn’t bothered. It was Hyeonu’s fashion sense that was more painful for viewers. Hyeonu didn’t care about the reaction of these players. The thing he needed now was a high performance ability, which meant he needed a weapon with a good price-to-performance ratio rather than good appearance. Cool items could be equipped as much as he wanted later on when he had a higher level.

“Should I start on a quest?”

Right now, the important thing wasn’t a comfortable hunting ground but a deserted hunting ground. It would be even better if it gave a lot of experience. Gold or items didn’t matter. The level of items that could be obtained right now was limited anyway.

“What should I clear first...”

Currently, Hyeonu had received two quests. They were commissions from Chief Dell and Lance, the owner of the grocery store.

[Chief Dells’ Request]

[Wolves frequently appear in the forest on the eastern outskirts of Aslan. Kill the wolves and bring the fangs as evidence.

Rating: F

Conditions: Forest wolves killed 0/15, Forest Wolf’s Fangs 0/15.

Rewards: Experience. Dell’s gift.]

[Lance’s Request]

[Lance needs grass that only grows in caves. In recent years, goblins have been found in the nearby cave, making it inconvenient to collect them. Clean the cave for Lance.

Rating: F+

Conditions: Cave goblins killed 0/15, Cave Goblin’s Thumbnail 0/15.

Rewards: Experience. Lance’s Special Potion.]

“The goblins are trickier than the wolves...”

“I’ll catch the forest wolves first before catching the cave goblins.”

Hyeonu’s choice was the chief’s quest. That was natural since the goblins were stronger than the wolves. In any case, he had to clear both quests. If he caught the wolves after the goblins, then it was obvious the amount of experience he could gain would be reduced.

Hyeonu diligently walked toward the outer forest where wolves were known to appear.

***

Around the time that Hyeonu was heading to the outer forest, Yeongchan lay down on the couch and searched the Arena communities on the big wall-mounted TV. He searched around. Then an article caught Yeongchan’s eyes.

[Common Spirit of those Lacking Knowledge.jpg]

Yeongchan was curious and clicked on the title. Then a picture appeared with the text.

[Yesterday, I went to Aslan to give my friend a bus ride when I saw a beginner going out of the east gate alone. It is a really tiring spirit.]

-Milk Drinking Yuljae: Crazy. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Power Muscle King: He really doesn’t know anything.

-Pro Dreamer: What is he going there to do? ㅋㅋ

-Unexpected Death when Touched: If it were me, I would go to the south gate.

The comments were naturally mocking the man in the photo.

“…?!!!”

After seeing the photo, Yeongchan rubbed his eyes before looking back. He couldn’t believe it.

“Isn’t this Hyeonu?”

“I said I would give you a bus...” Yeongchan muttered. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand his friend’s unwillingness to be beholden to him. It was just that Hyeonu didn’t know how much give and take was acceptable as friends, making it a bit awkward. 

Yeongchan left the article behind and started to look at another one. Then Yeongchan found another title that caught his eye.

“What else is this?”

[Real-time Aslan Fashion.jpg]

[There was another weird man after the spirited person who knows nothing from yesterday.

He had the best fashion in Arena.

See more photos.]

The photo was of a man dressed as a traffic light.

-Milk Drinking Yuljae: Crazy. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Power Muscle King: The person who knew nothing yesterday and then the fashion today. ㅋㅋㅋ

-Pro Dreamer: This sense of class...

-Unexpected Death when Touched: Is that a person or a beast? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

“This is also? Gang Hyeonu? This is also talent. Truly.”

Kukukuk. Yeongchan couldn’t help laughing. It was because Hyeonu’s fashion exceeded the unbearable level. At this moment, a good idea flashed in Yeongchan’s head.

‘I will collect this well and start streaming Hyeonu’s dark history later.’

“Cough cough. It is publicity, publicity.”

No one asked, but Yeongchan answered alone.

***

“Isn’t this too much?”

The first things Hyeonu saw when entering the forest were five pairs of eyes watching him. The owners of the eyes were forest wolves that were approximately 150 centimeters tall with grey fur. The five wolves started to circle Hyeonu like he was prey. They seemed to be looking for the timing to attack.

Hyeonu pulled out his longsword and gently raised it to his shoulder. It was his unique way of preparing since his days as meleegod. Hyeonu stretched out his left hand and provoked the wolves. “Come here. Come here.”

The wolves instinctively rushed toward Hyeonu who provoked them, despite not knowing what Hyeonu’s hand gestures meant. Arena’s communities estimated that the forest wolves were level 8. Due to the pack nature of the wolves, it was recommended to have a level 10 party to catch them. Yet most of their items such as the leather and fangs weren’t worth much. Therefore, the forest was in the top 10 worst hunting zones.

A forest wolf opened its mouth to bite Hyeonu. However, this was a big mistake. The longsword on Hyeonu’s shoulder moved like a lightning flash. As expected, expensive items were worth the price.

He blocked the open mouth and cut the wolf in two.

‘This is the power of money.’

There was no time to marvel at the power of the weapon. It was because the other forest wolves rushed in. Hyeonu experienced the power of the items that were beyond his level and felt overgeared. His longsword was unstoppable as it moved through the forest wolves.

He cut them up one by one. It didn’t matter if it was a claw, a head, or a torso. He was just busy slicing. Finally, the body of the last forest wolf was split apart, and Hyeonu’s first hunt ended.

[You have killed a forest wolf.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power are restored.]

[-Forest wolves killed: 5/15.]

Hyeonu was expressionless. The battle was more boring than he had expected.

‘Wake up, Gang Hyeonu!’ 

Hyeonu struck his cheeks. It was to wake himself up. Then he started to control his thoughts.

“This isn’t a game to be enjoyed. I am risking my life,” Hyeonu murmured in a low voice. The future of his family was on the line.

In the meantime, the corpses of the wolves disappeared, leaving only blood behind. The dropped items consisted of a small amount of bronze, wolf leather, and two fangs.

“What? Only two? The drop rate is worse than I thought.”

[-Forest Wolf’s Fangs: 2/15.]

At this speed, more than 20 wolves needed to be caught to clear the quest. Hyeonu thought he should speed up his hunting. Thinking about how there was still the goblin quest, he felt there wasn’t enough time.

“I have to move quickly if I want to clear them today.”

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