Ranker's Return

Chapter 707

Chapter 707

Gang Junggu approached Hyeonu and asked again, “How does a man who left Alfore because of a quest be appearing here right now?”

As far as he knew, Hyeonu was busy with a quest.

“Was the quest around here?” Gang Junggu guessed. There was only one reason why Hyeonu could appear before his eyes. The quest must be conducted near this area. That was it.

‘It's natural to think like that,’ Hyeonu thought. Unfortunately, Gang Junggu’s thoughts were wrong. Hyeonu had almost completed the quest. He had guided John Blake to Alfore, so he was free once that was done.

[John Blake meeting the emperor 1/1]

Hyeonu smiled as he saw the message window in front of him.

‘Okay, it is really over.’

The quest was complete. He just had to go back and get rewarded.

Hyeonu shook his head and said, “No? I was doing it somewhere else. I ran over after the quest.”

“Why is that important? It is just important that we have our brother here.” Kim Seokjung blocked the mouth of Gang Junggu, who wanted to say something. What mattered now was that Hyeonu was picking them up. It didn’t matter why he was here.

“That’s right, Hyung-nim. What matters is that I’m here.” Hyeonu moved toward the members of New World. “Let’s go back to Alfore. I don’t know when the demons will come. Surely you don’t want to miss it?”

Hyeonu suggested that those who had run tirelessly start moving again. No, he ordered them.

“Yes, there is no time to rest. In addition, aren’t your bodies itchy?” Kim Seokjung actively agreed with Hyeonu’s words.

Honestly, there was little difficulty in getting from Etono to Penn. The difficulty of the field hunting differed significantly from before the main scenario. Nobles no longer came out. There were also no more demanding intermediate demonic creatures or advanced demons. The monsters that appeared were only the lowest- or low-grade demonic creatures and demons below the intermediate level.

“To be honest, I was really bored.”

“I know that boss monsters won’t appear, so there is no need to be nervous. It was fun when there was the unique surprise of the demon world.”

The guild members of New World started to agree with Kim Seokjung’s words one by one.

“Honestly, would we have managed to come here without Mei?” One of them held and stroked his pet called Mei.

It was true that the march these days was tedious compared to the previous hunts. There was nothing interesting. They ran like a machine and repeated easy hunts. The reason they could stick to it was due to the happiness they got from looking at their pets.

“So let’s go to Alfore!” Hyeonu raised his fist in the direction of Alfore.

***

Hyeonu received all types of buffs and served as a really capable bus driver. He led New World without exposing them to a single risk. A guild member of New World looked around and muttered to himself in a small voice, “It almost feels like this is an outing.”

Hyeonu adjusted his power to make it possible for New World to finish the monsters off. The players of New World simply needed to attack the monsters that received critical injuries from Hyeonu.

“Everybody is lucky. This is a bus that can’t be obtained anywhere,” Lee Hoon said to the other guild members.

“Yes, where else can we ride this?”

“This is the first time I’m taking a bus. I didn’t know that a ride would be this smooth.”

Several guild members nodded. As Lee Hoon said, this was a bus that couldn’t be seen anywhere else. A bus that led over 200 players who were over level 300 was something they couldn’t even imagine.

“I think this will become a habit. It is so comfortable.”

“Every day, those around me ask me to give them a bus ride. It is my first time sitting on one. Now I know why a bus is a bus.”

The others were fascinated by Hyeonu’s bus. They had never ridden such a bus before, even though they were all players of New World. As such, they admired the luxurious bus ride that Hyeonu offered.

A guild member of New World who was close to Lee Hoon asked Lee Hoon a question: “How many times have you ridden it?”

“I’ve ridden it once. It was over the Balder Mountains. We killed the drake and hunted a lot in the mountains.” Lee Hoon recalled old memories after a long time.

In fact, it was too embarrassing to call it the old days. It was less than a few months ago. After joining Crescent Moon, he was able to step onto the East Continent faster than anyone else except for Hyeonu. This was all due to Hyeonu’s consideration.

‘It was really hard to match my actions with people I just met...’

At that time, he didn’t know the meeting with the Crescent Moon players would be such a precious connection.

Lee Hoon reflected on his memories.

***

At the time when Hyeonu was acting as a bus driver for New World, Alfore was full of the tranquility before a storm.

“I, your teacher, brought this old body of mine over, but... there isn’t anyone to welcome me. Even if I raised my disciples incorrectly, this is too wrong,” John Blake’s voice alone rang out in the silent inner city.

“I would rather have the child called ‘Hyeonu’. His talent, enthusiasm, and personality are good... I’d rather take him as a disciple...” John Blake continued his monologue like he was talking to someone.

Then surprisingly, a man with brown hair appeared in the air where there was no one present. It was Lebron.

“You came, Teacher,” Lebron said as he bowed toward John Blake.

“Yes. It’s not like you didn’t know I was coming. You are much too late in picking me up. Are you still crazy about training? I didn’t teach you that...” John Blake clicked his tongue when he saw Lebron.

“It wouldn’t be different even if I didn’t learn the magic spirit. I am lacking magic power itself, not techniques,” Lebron replied.

“Then correct it. I even let you borrow the magic power stone...”

“Is it so painful to lend that to your disciple once?”

“It isn’t a pity to give it to your disciple. If you were as good as that child, I wouldn’t be so sad.”

“Groan...” Lebron groaned. He couldn’t win in a war of words against his teacher even if he died. It was true that he hadn’t noticed John Blake’s arrival due to being engrossed in training.

“Ah! I also taught that child Cutting the Moonlight and Land of Mirrors. He has a lot of talent. He learned both while coming here.”

“Huh? Cutting the Moonlight and Land of Mirrors?” Lebron asked with a disbelieving expression. The two techniques couldn’t be played off lightly as jokes.

“Yes, both of them. I taught them in advance. I thought he could accept them, so I taught them. I am saying it now because I hope there will be no misunderstandings in the future.”

Lebron heard John Blake’s words and thought for a moment. It wasn’t a big deal for Hyeonu to learn both skills. Any disciple of the knight commander would learn them one day. It was just amazing that he learned two skills from John Blake during the time it took to come from the city where John Blake was located.

“To think it’s to this extent? I knew his talent was outstanding, but...”

“Outstanding? It shouldn’t be at just that level? I was really surprised to see your disciple learning Cutting the Moonlight. He is a man of talent. I never thought he would be able to use pure energy at that level...”

Lebron understood what John Blake was talking about. What was the thing that troubled him the most when he learned Cutting the Moonlight? It was to move magic power to form pure energy in a split second.

‘Why didn’t I remember this?’ Lebron thought.

Hyeonu had learned such magic power control from him at the very beginning.

“I taught him how to release that pure energy. He learned it quickly at the time. It didn’t take him long.”

Still, it was clear that Hyeonu’s learning ability was beyond imagination.

‘If I really want to raise another disciple... Hyeonu will be a really big mountain to them.’

If Lebron’s words to the emperor were to become a reality, the person who would become his disciple at that time would be really pitiful. It was because Lebron would always take Hyeonu as the standard.

“It has been a long time, Duke Blake.” The emperor appeared at this moment. He was using a different tone than usual. It was a strange tone filled with respect yet also disrespect.

“I greet Your Majesty.” John Blake bowed his head to show courtesy to the emperor.

“What is this greeting? To be greeted like this by the duke—didn’t I tell you that it was uncomfortable? Speak casually. Aren’t you my teacher before you are a duke of the empire?” The emperor waved his hands.

“No matter what you say, how can I speak to the only emperor of the empire like that?”

“Then you do so. I won’t persuade you any longer.” The emperor didn’t say it twice.

Once was the end of this matter. John Blake groaned when he saw the emperor’s firm change in attitude.

“In any case, I haven’t seen you for a long time. It has been around 5 years? I almost forgot your face, Duke.” The emperor just continued with what he wanted to say without worrying about John Blake’s attitude.

“I wandered the continent for the peace of the empire... I didn’t know Your Majesty wanted to see this old body.”

“It is because of envy.”

“Isn’t it a waste for Your Majesty to envy an old noble?”

“It is only in the imperial palace. You need to know how the empire works.”

“How can you say such a thing when you know there is no place in the entire empire that Your Majesty’s eyes and ears can’t reach?” John Blake firmly refuted the emperor’s words.

“If I had known that the throne was such a boring and difficult place... I never would’ve sat down on it.” The emperor, however, wasn’t that easy; he ignored John Blake’s words and said what he wanted to say.

“You shouldn’t say that, Your Majesty. The throne is an extremely important thing. Don’t take it lightly.”

“A friend whom I spent my childhood with is stuck in his mansion in the capital while my teacher wanders the continent. How heavy is the emperor’s position, Duke?”

Lebron got the chills as he listened to the emperor’s conversation with John Blake. He thought, ‘The saying that ‘words are scarier than knives’ is used in these situations.’

This fierce fight between a disciple who sought the freedom of his teacher and a teacher who never wanted to give up the freedom that he had obtained for many years—Lebron couldn't take his eyes and ears off it.