Ranker's Return

Chapter 766

Chapter 766

‘It was good to turn it into a coffin.’

Hyeonu smiled contentedly when he saw Ikta with a coffin on his back and a giant axe at his waist. Originally, he was going to make a stretcher to move the elf, but he changed his mind at Ikta’s suggestion. The elf was 170 centimeters tall at best. Ikta was over three meters tall, so he could move casually, even with a coffin long enough for an elf to fit in. This was according to Ikta’s advice that it was better to conserve power.

Ikta carried the coffin with the sleeping elf while Hyeonu and the Pioneer Guild members naturally moved around Ikta.

-Six men who put an elf in a coffin and guard the moving orc...

-it is really a special stream.

-This is truly special.

-???? It is really funny.

The viewers couldn’t get used to the poor show of harmony and laughed at the sight. Players guarding an orc was a combination they never thought of before—at least, in the world of Arena.

“Ikta, how long is left until we reach Anfra Forest?” Hyeonu asked while looking at Ikta’s back as Ikta walked with the coffin.

“This is just the beginning. We still have a long way to go. At the very least, we will have to go for another fortnight.” Ikta never stopped moving as he answered Hyeonu’s question.

The path that Ikta was taking now was only known by a few, even among the different species. It wasn’t because it was a secret; it was because they had no need to take this path.

The majority of the different species didn’t go out of Anfra Forest at all. There was a very small number who walked through the forest.

‘Me too... I wouldn’t have known for all my life if the great tribe chief hadn’t told me.’ Ikta had also never seen outside Anfra Forest until he was driven out of the League of Different Species.

When the unexpected incident occurred, he had been semi-forced to go through the Anfra Forest. Moreover, it was under the worst conditions possible. At first, he was confident and wondered how strong the monsters in the forest would be. It took him less than a day to realize that his confidence was merely pride brought about by ignorance.

A day later, wounds covered Ikta’s body, and he was seriously injured when he left Anfra Forest.

‘Anfra Forest is never easy.’

He knew just how frightening Anfra Forest was better than anyone else because he had gone through it himself. However, the human in front of him seemed to have no fear.

Hyeonu asked, “Is there a moderately risky but faster way? The shortest distance is also good.”

“It is dangerous. It isn’t just the monsters we need to care about. You also need to pay attention to us. Are you confident you can handle it?” Ikta’s voice sank.

Hyeonu’s face wasn’t visible to Ikta as he was standing behind Ikta and had a mask on. However, Ikta could tell what type of expression Hyeonu might be making. ‘He will have the same face as the mask.’ Hyeonu was smiling. It was obvious.

Ikta’s prediction was true without a single error.

“I can take responsibility for six people, not just in the Anfra Forest. It was the same in the demon world or divine world. There were times when I was responsible for dozens of people,” Hyeonu answered Ikta’s question in a confident voice.

The five members of the Pioneer Guild and one orc—none of them lacked skill. Their average level might be relatively low compared to monsters in the Anfra Forest, but the story changed completely when looking at absolute standards.

‘They have a lot of experience and talent.’

They weren’t bus passengers who didn’t know anything; they were more capable than most of the existing bus drivers. So there was much less to worry about. It might not be easy to travel through Anfra Forest, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do their party.

-Indeed, our Alley Leader has been a bus driver before. He drove the drake bus when going to the East Continent.

-There was the main scenario bus a few times as well ??.

-By the way, isn’t he an airplane captain instead of a bus driver?

-The plane isn’t a normal plane but a private plane that has been modified for a specific person. It must be comfortable. It doesn’t shake at all.

The viewers understood Hyeonu’s confidence. Hyeonu had a career as a bus driver. He had shown many times that he could carry people who were weaker than him. He didn’t drive a bus against beginners in low-level fields like ordinary drivers but against rankers in the best fields.

“If you say so... I will change the way a little bit.” Ikta accepted Hyeonu’s will.

In any case, he wouldn’t have thought of returning to Anfra Forest if it wasn’t for Hyeonu. Moreover, Hyeonu’s show of force played a part in Ikta making this decision.

“Go in a straight line. Move through the forest in a straight line. If we go like this, one week is enough. However, I don’t know much about the actual journey. I don’t know what monsters will appear on the way,” Ikta said.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know at all.

He was well-versed in the structure of the Anfra Forest. It was just that he only knew what the forest looked like. He didn’t know what monsters would emerge and what characteristics they had.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We just need to kill them one by one,” Hyeonu said while shaking his head. It was enough to hunt the monsters when they came out. It was better if a strong monster emerged. He could expect more experience and better rewards.

“That’s right. If a monster comes out, kill it. We can’t do anything if we just avoid it.” Asu, who was walking next to Hyeonu, agreed with Hyeonu’s words.

The Pioneer Guild members weren’t rankers from the beginning. At first, they used money to buy information and hire bus drivers to move around as safely as possible. Then at one point, they realized it wasn’t enough. In this way, it was no different from reality. No, it was rather worse than reality. Even in reality, they didn’t bring bodyguards unless it was a special occasion.

However, in Arena, they always had bus drivers. From that point on, the Pioneer Guild started hunting themselves without a bus driver. They used their power alone to explore remote areas and uncover the mysteries to Arena.

-Yes, the next bus passenger.

-Now they are in first class, right?

-Didn’t they get on a private jet? The driver is ridiculous, right?

-If you are sitting in the back seat, go quietly. It all depends on the person behind the wheel.

However, Asu’s words only drew ridicule from the viewers. Today’s Pioneer Guild wasn’t a group of rankers but passengers in the backseat of a luxury sedan.

***

‘He is truly a monster.’

It didn’t take long for Ikta to accept that Hyeonu’s words weren’t false.

24 hours—it was only one day. They spent one day together, and Ikta now looked at Hyeonu like he was a monster. The moment Ikta changed the route through Anfra Forest, Hyeonu also changed the formation. Hyeonu was far away in the lead while the rest moved together as one.

‘He is acquainted with the great tribe chief for a reason,’ Ikta thought. Since then, those gathered in the back never stretched out their weapons or used their skills. There wasn’t a single monster that escaped from Hyeonu’s hand. There were no monsters who could hold out against Hyeonu and Tang-E’s tremendous attack power.

“Grrrrr!” A wolf that was around the size of a single-family house pushed its mouth in front of Hyeonu and opened it widely. It was an act with the intention of chewing Hyeonu and Tang-E at once.

“It smells. Shut your mouth.” Hyeonu’s reply to the wolf was a punch. His fist was wrapped in a dark purple light as he hit the nose of the giant wolf. The wolf’s head exploded, and red blood spurted in all directions.

“In one blow...!” A sound emerged from Ikta’s mouth. He didn’t know if it was a groan or an exclamation. Ikta knew the identity of this wolf. The claw marks engraved on his back belonged to this wolf.

-Was his class originally a fighter?

-In fact, his class is a fighter, and he was using the sword to hide his power.

-????? Alley Leader hid his weapon ??????????.

The viewers also marveled at Hyeonu’s ridiculous destructive power. They had seen it countless times, but they still couldn’t get used to it. They thought it was natural for Ikta to be surprised.

Hyeonu turned and wiped the blood on his fist while questioning Ikta, “How is it? Do you have faith now?”

“I have to ask you to keep it up for another six days,” Ikta answered while forcing out a smile.

He couldn’t say no. He was helpless against Hyeonu’s show of armed force, but...

The biggest reason was that if he said no, it seemed like Hyeonu’s fist would be swung at him.

***

Beyond the glacier zone in the northern part of the West Continent, a human was walking with a coffin on his back in the same manner as Ikta. The woman who was carrying the coffin stopped at one point and shouted while looking around: “Hey, change it now. Time is almost up.”

However, none of those around the woman looked at her. They walked silently while looking at different places.

“Look at these jerks? I’m a priest, a priest. Do you want to play the game without me?” The woman threw the coffin on the ground and sat with her legs crossed. She physically expressed her intention to go no further.

“By the way, why set up a seat in a place like this? How come you are becoming worse as you get older?” a large man muttered while approaching the woman.

“Then you should listen to me, Crimson.” The woman dressed in white looked at the man with a smug expression and smiled.

“My turn was before yours, right? Ask someone else.” The man, Crimson, shook his head.

Then people gathered next to them one by one.

“Rose, be patient for a little bit. There is only a bit more to go. You never did this until we got here.” A typical Western, handsome man approached Rose, who was sitting on the coffin, and soothed her.

Rose opened her mouth and spoke bluntly, “Can’t you give the priest this much consideration? You acted like you weren’t going to ask me to do anything when you scouted me. You have changed. Kalen, you’ve changed.”

“I have to change. I can’t always remain the same. Who would’ve thought that the Venom Guild would wander the continent just to sell information like this?” Kalen, the president of the Venom Guild, sighed.

Their guild was ruined. No, all the guilds that were in charge of messy things were ruined. In fact, their main customers were the large guilds. They hired people like the Venom Guild when the large guilds were fighting each other and paid them to do all types of dirty work. Then ever since Hyeonu started to lead the trend in Arena, the goal of the big guilds had been to diligently follow in Hyeonu’s footsteps, not antagonize each other. Naturally, the amount of work for the Venom Guild also decreased.

“That is why we are going out into the sun as well. Those kids are making millions a month. We can earn a few times more than that,” Rose continued to grumble.

“I’m telling you that this is the last time. I will invest the money we earn this time to build a decent company. It is enough to do outside activities after that. So please, let’s go.” Kalen rubbed Rose’s neck and shoulders before knocking on her coffin.

“Really? It isn’t a lie? You aren’t putting it off again, right?” Rose asked again and again at Kalen’s words.

“We just have to complete this quest.”

Kalen nodded, and Rose’s eyes lit up.