Ranker’s Return

-Wow, isn’t this too tricky?

Sponsored Content

-Lee Hoon is also a professional gamer.
Why is it impossible for the rest?

-Then all those streaming right now aren’t possible? Most of them streamed on behalf of someone else in the arena.

-Then won’t the resources be drastically reduced? I know many aspiring professional gamers who were proxies in the arena.

The viewers were concerned after hearing Hyeonu’s standards. It was because they were too tricky. Lee Hoon was already an exception to the standards for professional gamers, so to some extent, the standards in the viewers’ minds had been relaxed a lot. This was why Hyeonu seemed too stubborn.

‘I made it like this…’ Hyeonu saw the reaction of the chat window and smiled bitterly.
It felt like karma.

‘The act of bringing Hoon into the team caused this result.’

It was a butterfly effect. A few months ago, Hyeonu recruited Lee Hoon to Crescent Moon to overcome the urgent situation. In the process, he erased Lee Hoon’s past as neatly as possible. The stigma of a proxy knight didn’t disappear, but he had diminished it.

This was done entirely because Hyeonu knew Lee Hoon well.
The problem was that this one incident created the perception it wasn’t a big problem for a proxy knight to debut as a professional gamer.

‘I can’t go back, so…’

Hyeonu gave a small sigh and slowly opened his mouth. “In the case of Lee Hoon, I chose him because I had time to figure out what he was like as a human.
He regretted his past activities and had already stopped acting as a proxy knight for a few months.”

He calmly continued to talk. His voice was very low and solemn. It was a very strange voice for him.
This was also the first time the viewers had heard it.

“Still, it is obviously my mistake and my fault.
I picked Lee Hoon because I was in a hurry and prevented any accusations and criticisms directed at him.
I’ll accept whatever you want to say.”

Hyeonu bowed his head. His waist was also bent. Eventually, he even knelt down.

“Hyeonu…” Reina saw it and sighed. In fact, she too hadn’t felt particularly good when she first heard about Lee Hoon. A proxy knight was going to become a professional gamer. She felt uncomfortable the moment she heard it. Then the immediate apology, the apology videos, and community service activities like donations reduced some of that displeasure.
Nevertheless, she didn’t feel very good about it. It was at the level of ‘just nodding’.

Even so, it didn’t make sense for Hyeonu to kneel like this.

‘Is it because I am close to Hyeonu?’

It was possible. Everyone wanted to take care of the person they were close to.
However, it was the first time that a person who didn’t cause the controversy apologized like this.

‘I still don’t understand.’

Not all players in the decades of e-sports history were clean. Controversy had always existed. Even recently, there was the match-fixing incident that was treated as the worst crime in any sport. Despite that, none of the parties involved had apologized like Hyeonu.

It wasn’t only Reina who had these thoughts.
Some viewers thought the same way.

Sponsored Content

-Didn’t you talk about this before the league started?

-Why is it being brought out again? People who are angry about it should’ve protested then.

-Those who manipulated the matches didn’t apologize.
Why should Alley Leader apologize as a third party?

Most importantly, this was already over a few months ago.
They asked if it was necessary to bring it up again after so much time had passed.

“I will also answer why it is possible for Lee Hoon and impossible for anyone else…
I don’t have enough time.
I have to select players as soon as possible through the audition and start training.
I don’t have time to watch people for months.
The Spring League will start in a few months.
I am picking players for that time.
Isn’t it contradictory to wait until then?” Hyeonu’s words were convincing enough. 

Time was needed in order to get to know someone. It was possible to get acquainted with someone in a day or two, but time was essential to identify a person’s personality and know their insides. He needed time to observe and talk to them deeply.
Otherwise, they had to show something. This wasn’t possible in the audition called New Moon. There was no time for that from Crescent Moon’s perspective, who had to quickly select players and make up for their weaknesses.

“That is all I want to say.
I will take questions from now on.”

Hyeonu started communicating with the viewers with a relieved heart because he released all the words he intended to.

-What is your level now?

The moment Hyeonu finished speaking, questions filled the chat room. There were hardly any questions related to Lee Hoon or New Moon. They had too many questions about Hyeonu to be interested in such things.
Hyeonu chose one of the questions, and it was about his level.

‘My level?’

He opened the status window to check his level, stats, and number of titles. The question only asked about level, but it was obvious that viewers would soon ask about other things in the status window.
“My current level is…
level 352.
I have 48 levels to go until level 400.”

-Level 352?

-Does this make sense? Other rankers say they raise their level by two a week.
So why is he level 352 alone?

-Doesn’t this mean he can get his fifth class advancement in a few months?

-I am only level 200 now…

-There are only a few fourth-class rankers…

The viewers were surprised to hear Hyeonu’s level.
It was unsurprising to hear his level was high, but this was too high.

-So what is the level of Reina next to you?

The subject of the question was moved from Hyeonu to Reina.

Sponsored Content

“Um… I think this is a slightly impolite question.
I revealed it because I’m not a professional gamer.
But…
Reina is still a current pro gamer.
Let’s pretend I didn’t see the question just now.” Hyeonu blocked the question without hesitation before Reina could even open her mouth.

-What type of spokesperson are you today? You are cutting off all the questions alone.

-This protection is at the level of a mother.

-I thought you were an employee of Nike Management, not Alley Leader.

The viewers frowned at Hyeonu’s powerful defense.
Hyeonu didn’t even allow the question to touch Reina.

“It doesn’t matter.
Just because my level is known doesn’t mean information about my power will get leaked,” Reina said.

The time when the level became important was before and after the class advancement. There was no reason to hide her level until just before level 400. It was because an increase in one or two levels didn’t rapidly increase power.

“Since you are saying so…
I have nothing more to say,” Hyeonu replied. He had no right to stop Reina who said it was fine. How could Hyeonu stop her from revealing her information?

“I am currently level 324.
I think I will be able to level up if we hunt for a few more hours,” Reina stated, revealing her level.

She was level 324. Reina’s level was very high considering that Rain was estimated to be level 330.
It was much higher than people were guessing.

-Level 324… Isn’t this enough to be in the top 30?

-It seems to be the top 10, not 30.

-Second place is Rain, and his disclosed level is 330. Considering that Alley Leader is overwhelmingly ahead… I think she can be in fifth place.

The viewers discussed Reina’s level. What would her level ranking be? It was a common comparison.

“I will take the next question.
Please raise it.”

-Do you have a girlfriend?

-Who do you like?

-What is your hobby?

-What do you normally do when you aren’t playing Arena?

In an instant, various questions popped up and disappeared. There were so many messages that it was impossible to get a good look. However, Hyeonu skillfully picked and answered questions.
Hyeonu picked several questions and answered them all at once: “There is no girlfriend.
I like my parents.
My hobbies are eating and sleeping on the sofa.
Really.
I love it.
If I’m not in Arena, I’m exercising, sleeping, eating, or drinking.
It is very likely that I’m doing one of these things.”

Sponsored Content

-Are you rapping? You should speak a bit more slowly.

-Parents? You seem to have misunderstood the intention of the question.

-Answer according to the questioner’s intentions.

-By the way, what is wrong with this pattern of life? You are a healthy game junkie.

-Do you just stay at home when you aren’t playing the game? How can you only go out to exercise?

“I really don’t like going outside my house.
It is annoying.
So is washing up.
The house is good.
I like the sofa and bed that I can lie down on.” Hyeonu’s expression relaxed.
It was as if he was releasing his languidness as he lay on a warm electric blanket in the middle of winter.

-Looking at this, it is a real unemployed person’s constitution.

-He is moving here and resting in reality. Well, something like that.

-If he moves here and in reality, he’ll be tired. Mentally.

The viewers understood Hyeonu’s words, but it was hard to understand why he loved the house so much.

“Then the next question? There is none? Is it over already?” 

Hyeonu acted like he would soon end the communication, and the declining number of chat messages exploded again.

-By the way, why doesn’t Tang-E change into a human being these days? I want to see it.

One viewer posted a question about Tang-E.
Hyeonu saw this and pondered on it. Had Tang-E shown his child form in the streaming recently?

‘None?’

There hadn’t been any occasions at all of when he did that.
During the Alley Leader Academy streams or communication streams, Tang-E had always looked like a bear.

‘It isn’t hard to show it.’

“Tang-E, come over here,” Hyeonu called out to Tang-E.

“Why are you calling me, Master dude?” Tang-E, who was playing well alone, stopped and approached Hyeonu.

“Tang-E, will you do that appearance for the first time in a while?”

Sponsored Content

“That appearance?’

“You know.
Your child form.”

“Why? Do you want to see it? Is that so?”

-Yes, I want to see it.

-Please show us.

-I really want to see it.

Tang-E had asked Hyeonu, but the answer came from the viewers. Tang-E just couldn’t hear it.
Instead, Hyeonu gave the answer that viewers wanted: “Yes, I want to see it.”

“Cough… Then I should show you.
Wait, Master dude.” 

Tang-E stood with his back to Hyeonu and lowered his head slightly.
Then a golden light burst from Tang-E’s body.

“That’s it.”

The light disappeared, and a cute little boy appeared instead of a small bear.

“Groan, my child.
You are so cute.” Hyeonu hugged Tang-E and rubbed his face against Tang-E’s face.

-I’m envious.

-I’m crazy with envy.

-I should be standing there.

The viewers were envious at the sight of Tang-E’s child form. Hyeonu smiled slightly when he saw these chat messages.
However, he quickly hid the traces of his smile.

“……” Hyeonu whispered softly in Tang-E’s ear.
The whisper was so soft that even Reina standing next to him couldn’t hear it.

“Really?” Tang-E’s eyes widened at Hyeonu’s words.

“Yes, really.” Hyeonu smiled at such a Tang-E.
It was a bright smile, but he couldn’t get rid of his sly look.