Ranker's Return

Chapter 662

Translator: rainbowturtle

Hyeonu placed his hand into his inventory and pulled something out. It was the bead he had previously received from the emperor. Hyeonu politely presented the bead, and the emperor reached out for it, slowly sucking it into his grasp.

[Handed the emperor the glass bead 1/1.]

The emperor held the glass bead for a long time before saying, "Hrmm… It is a good thing you stopped at five.”

He checked the information stored in the glass bead. It was as Hyeonu said. The distance between the cities of the demon world was several times further compared to those in the middle world. This meant it would take at least a month or two if he had to move with a large army.

“I should praise you for going around these five places so quickly. Don’t you think so, Marquis Hyeonu?” the emperor said.

Hyeonu bowed silently. He had nothing to say. He couldn’t decide if the emperor’s words were sincere or sarcastic. At such a time, silence was the best response.

[Demon World Map Creation has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[20, 382 imperial contributions have been acquired.]

‘The reward is really…’

The reward made Hyeonu feel as salty as the Dead Sea. It was too shabby for all the time he spent wandering around. However, Hyeonu quickly brushed it off. The reward he received now had the same concept as a taster. It was just a teaser. This word matched it the best.

The emperor held the glass bead and told Hyeonu, “I will start a war in a week. The scale is big, so I will need that much time.”

‘One week? This action is very quick and hasty.’

Hyeonu hid his inner thoughts and replied, "I see, Your Majesty. The adventurers will be ready in a week.”

He didn’t know what would hit him if he expressed his thoughts.

“The recruitment of the invasion force will also end in a week. After that, you will get nothing no matter who participates in the war.”

The emperor’s words awakened Hyeonu’s spirit.

‘Right, there was still that left,’ Hyeonu realized. The Demon World Invasion Force Recruitment was one of the reasons that he desperately promoted the demon world. Ever since Hyeonu received the quest, all those who received the quest were donating their contributions to Hyeonu without their knowledge.

‘It is until one week later? How many are there now?’

Hyeonu quickly opened the quest window to understand its status.

[Demon World Invasion Force Recruitment]

[Recruit players to participate in the demon world war that the emperor will start. Using the emperor’s name will make recruitment easier.

Some of the achievements of the players you recruit will be yours!

Rating: MS

Conditions: Players recruited 2,689/???

Rewards: Experience and imperial contribution (the higher the number of players recruited, the higher the level of rewards you will receive in the future.]

‘2,689 people…’

It was more than he expected. This was because there were currently around 2,700 players in the demon world.

‘I will receive the biggest reward in the main scenario even if I stay still.’

It was like stocks. Many people worked hard to do what was given to them and received stocks. Yet in the end, the person who profited the most was the one who had a lot of stocks. Hyeonu held an enormous amount of stocks.

‘If there is anyone who is still hesitant… I need to bring them in further.’

Even so, Hyeonu wasn’t satisfied with this alone.

More rewards. He wanted rewards that were overwhelming compared to what anyone else might receive. To do so, more players had to join the war.

Hyeonu raised his head and said carefully to the emperor, “One week… Let’s increase it to 3,000 in that time.”

“3,000 people… I hope there are 5,000 people,” the emperor added.

He made it 5,000 people rather than the 3,000 people that Hyeonu spoke of.

“To be honest, the level of the adventurers isn’t as high as I expected. Of course, Duke Lebron and I will be present, so there won’t be any defeat in combat. Still, if the three of us, including you, were going to fight like that, you wouldn’t have traveled around the demon world in the first place.”The emperor candidly revealed his inner thoughts.

He felt that the growth of adventurers had stagnated in recent years. No one took any chances. They weren’t worthy of the name ‘adventurers’. They were just happy to hunt demons and demonic creatures in the vicinity of the city like bred animals.

“I will try my best.”Hyeonu had no choice but to give this answer after hearing the emperor’s words. He also knew that the growth of the rankers, with the exception of a few, had slowed.

‘The difference is too big.’

The real top rankers like Kim Seokjung and Reina were still growing quickly. They organized parties and went hunting far from Etono. They also discovered instance dungeons and killed a demon noble from time to time, although it was only a baron.

Meanwhile, the rankers below them didn’t do the same. They had no intention of leaving the area around Etono at all. Even if they didn’t do anything, numerous demons and demonic creatures came rushing in. They hunted the same monsters every time and quickly increased in level and proficiency. The amount of experience needed to level up increased while the amount of experience gained was the same. Thus, it was natural for growth to slow down.

‘I need to make these people become alert.’

They would have to be stronger if they didn’t want to be kicked out.

[The quest has been updated.]

[Players recruited 2,689/??? → players recruited 2,689/5,000]

Hyeonu pondered on the message that appeared in front of him.

***

‘It isn’t hard to attract people…’

Hyeonu’s words and actions were of interest to numerous people. In such a situation, it was easy to catch the attention of large guilds.

‘They will swarm like bees as long as I say a word or two.’

It wasn’t just them. Other rankers also had to be attracted. They weren’t people with poor skills but real rankers.

‘I hope money-crazed people will come…’

Money-crazed people—in other words, people who did anything for money. They would sell information about quests, items, instance dungeons, and so on. These people would be a great help in filling up the quota of 5,000 if they stayed.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Hyeonu fiddled with the headband covering his forehead. The larger the bait, the more likely it was that fish would bite it. At this time, there was no bait more tempting than epic items.

Hyeonu moved his fingers to write the stream title. It was a spell to attract the money ghosts trapped in a corner of Arena.

[Streaming to reveal the items obtained by clearing an instance dungeon (feat. Epic).]

“They probably won’t be able to go back without coming to see it?”

A dark smile appeared on Hyeonu’s face.

***

As Hyeonu intended, his stream title attracted the attention of many people. Large guilds that had yet to make their way to the demon world were in a frenzy. It was too well known that Hyeonu was only active in the demon world now, not the middle world.

However, no one expected an epic item to appear in an instance dungeon. Instance dungeons were just instance dungeons; they weren’t the main scenario.

“Get ready to go to the demon world right away. Bring the collected information!”

“What is with epic items being released in instance dungeons?!”

“Let’s hand over the hunting ground to the kids below and just go!”

It was difficult for large guilds to show immediate movement due to their size. Even if a decision came down from the leaders, it took a minimum period of time to move because they had to go through all types of procedures. However, those who moved on a small scale were different.

“Epic items are coming out of instance dungeons? Won’t I make money by selling the information?”

“Selling epic items is a life reversal. I can buy a building when adding it to the money I’ve saved.”

“Don’t we have to gather people to use the magic circle to move to the demon world?”

“Call all the people you know. We will go when they come. What’s the problem? There is a treasure island in front of us.”

“It is an opportunity to make a big fortune from a single occasion. Gathering a lot of dust will eventually form a great mountain? What is this nonsense? We have to gather a great mountain to get a great mountain.”

They moved right away and immediately contacted the people they knew.

Birds of a feather flocked together. They all thought the same thing—they had to go to the demon world. The demon world was even more of a blue ocean than the middle world, which had become a relatively large blue ocean due to the absence of large guilds. They gathered in Phinis in groups of twos or threes to go to the demon world.

This information flew into Hyeonu’s ear.

***

-From Lee Hoon:Hyung, what did you do?There are a lot of people gathered in Phinis?

Lee Hoon, who had returned to Phinis with some New World guild members, immediately sent a whisper to Hyeonu when he saw the procession of people forming a large line in front of the magic circle.

‘Already?’

- To Lee Hoon:It isn’t a big deal, so don’t worry too much.Don’t waste time elsewhere. Come back quickly and hunt.You should be an example to the new members.Understood?

As Hyeonu replied to Lee Hoon, he smiled. He couldn’t believe that people were flocking like this just from the stream title.

‘Won’t it be even more crowded when I disclose the item?’

“Everyone. Do you really want to see the item information? If you want to see it, please fill up the chatroom with hearts.”

- ??????

- ??????

- ??????

- ??????

The chatroom was flooded the moment Hyeonu’s words ended.

“Then I’ll reveal the item I found. Don’t be surprised when you see it. This is the class of the demon world.”

Hyeonu checked that hearts filled the chat window and revealed the item information.

[Greedy Minister]

[A headband made by working with the third eye of Devlon, a demonic creature who binds not only lives but also the soul. It can be worn separately from helmets or hats.

Rating: Epic

Restrictions: Possess abnormal status resistance skills, 2,000 physique, and 3,000 magic power.

Effect: All stats +200, ‘Eye of the Minister’ can be used (cooldown time: 12 hours.)

Eye of the Minister: Induces a strong status abnormality in the target by making eye contact. The greater the difference in stats, the stronger the status abnormality (Duration: 30 seconds).]

It was an item that had a great effect. In addition to increasing stats, Eye of the Minister had great CC.

-Wow, this is really crazy.This will increase stats by at least 800.

-It will be 1,000 points if even one new stat is created.

-The unique effect is even more fraudulent.It is a forced status condition.

-It is also painful to use an item or skill that releases abnormal statuses.

-Something big would’ve happened if he hadn’t retired.

When Hyeonu saw the item information, he ended up feeling a sense of admiration and fondness for the item, but the viewers were different. They were very astonished. It was really ridiculous to call it an item.

-By the way, he got this from an instance dungeon after killing the boss monster?

-In the demon world, the instance dungeon’s boss gives an epic item.

-Why aren’t you all going to the demon world?Run to Phinis.

‘I have to explode it one more time here.’

Hyeonu’s preparation didn’t end with just one epic item. He would now reveal the main scenario, which had become an open secret among the large guilds.

“Oh, you should come quickly if you intend to come to the demon world. The main scenario is scheduled to begin in earnest in a week of Arena time…”Hyeonu was speaking excitedly only to trail off at the end. His expression seemed like he had made a mistake.

“Ah… I shouldn’t have said this…”

-Isn’t this obviously on purpose?

-Right, it seems so.

-The acting is awkward, awkward.

-The expression that makes it seem too much of a mistake proves that it is acting.

The viewers weren’t fooled, but Hyeonu didn’t do this to deceive the viewers. It was for someone to see Hyeonu’s behavior and write about it in the communities.

‘Spread it out further.’