Ranker’s Return

“That…
no, Master dude…
I didn’t hide it.
It just felt heavy when I picked it up, so I put it away for a while.
I never hid it.” Tang-E looked up at Hyeonu and shook his head.
He even stuttered because of how nervous he was. Then he pulled out the thing he had hidden away in his space and gave it to Hyeonu. The item was a purple bead, which emitted a strange spiritual energy.

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“Wait a minute.” Hyeonu took the purple bead with one hand while his other hand continued to press down on Tang-E’s head. 

Hyeonu checked the item information. ‘Item Information.’

[Spirit of Rollan Forest]

[The essence of the Rollan Forest.
The nature of the energy has been changed by someone’s energy.
It is why the darkness bognet queen made it her secret garden.

Rating: Unique

Conditions: Dark attribute, race can’t be human, over 4,000 magic power.

Effect: Stats will randomly increase when taken (a maximum of 250 points per stat).
There is a high probability of creating a skill.
There is a normal probability of creating a stat.
There is a low probability of creating a title.]

The identity of the bead was an essence. So far, he wasn’t surprised at all. Hyeonu had seen over 10 essences while playing Arena. He was happy to see the essence, but he wasn’t surprised. However, Hyeonu was definitely bound to be surprised this time. The purple bead had an effect that he was now seeing for the first time.

‘Eh?’

“Title?” Hyeonu was surprised due to the bead’s effect of creating a title. It was his first time seeing an effect like this since he began playing Arena.

‘It’s for Tang-E.’ Nevertheless, Hyeonu’s interest in the essence quickly cooled as he knew it couldn’t be his. The usage restrictions were a problem. He had the dark attribute and more than 4,000 magic power, but he was human. Hyeonu couldn’t bypass the limitation of his race.

“Tang-E, take this.” Hyeonu returned the purple bead to Tang-E. It wasn’t a waste that Hyeonu couldn’t use it.

‘I will be stronger if Tang-E becomes stronger.’ 

In the end, it was the same no matter who used it as long as they were on the same side and getting stronger together. While watching Hyeonu hold out the purple bead, Tang-E had an unusual gaze, and his eyes watered up.
“Master…”

Hyeonu saw Tang-E’s face and smiled.
“Did you think I would take it away or do something? I just thought it might be bad, so I checked it for a moment.”

He waved the hand that held the purple bead and said, “Eat it.
Don’t save it.”

Tang-E’s mouth dropped open at Hyeonu’s meaning of wanting to feed the essence to Tang-E directly.

“Now, eat it.” Hyeonu carefully pushed the purple bead into Tang-E’s mouth. The purple bead disappeared at once like sugar melting in water. Tang-E consumed the essence of Rollan Forest and sat on the ground with closed eyes. Starting from that moment, purple light was emitted from Tang-E’s entire body.

Hyeonu stepped back and continued to observe the changes that were happening to Tang-E. While the light kept streaming out, there was also a purple airflow. This purple airflow was molded into different shapes. Two paws with sharp claws, a slightly thick tail, a hard-looking abdomen, slightly thinner front legs than hind legs, huge wings—all of these combined into a form that everyone knew.

‘A dragon.’

A giant dragon had appeared above Tang-E’s head. The light that emerged from Tang-E’s body started to be absorbed by the dragon. As the dragon continued to absorb the light, it became even more vibrant. There was luster in its scales and vitality in its eyes. Its features had changed.

The purple dragon glanced at Hyeonu before immediately raising its head to the sky. Then it opened its mouth and let out a cry. This was what people called ‘Dragon Fear’. “Kuaaaaaah!!!”

The dragon that was crying out was once again absorbed by Tang-E at the next moment. While witnessing this series of processes, a name emerged in Hyeonu’s mind: ‘Callioraks!’ It was the name of the purple-haired man who was actually a dragon. There was also the item description about the essence having been changed by someone’s energy.

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‘What did he do here?’ This wasn’t the only doubt Hyeonu had. He was also worried about whether it would have a bad effect on Tang-E.

Just then, message windows appeared to inform Hyeonu of Tang-E’s change. Hyeonu read them more carefully than ever.

[The strength stat has increased by 250 points.]

[The agility stat has increased by 250 points.]

[The physique stat has increased by 250 points.]

[The magic power stat has increased by 250 points.]

[The wisdom stat has increased by 250 points.]

‘What? Why is it so much?’ Hyeonu was stunned speechless upon seeing the message window. All the stats had risen by 250, the maximum number of points a stat could rise by. Then something else ridiculous happened, so Hyeonu’s astonishment didn’t stop here. The subsequent messages shocked him even more.

[A skill has been created.]

[Dragon Blood]

[The unique blood of a dragon that contains the magic power of a dragon.
The dragon blood contains enormous power.

Type: Continuous

Rating: Epic

Skill Proficiency: F

Effect: All stats have increased by 20%.
Magic-power-related effects are increased by 20%.
Use some of the powers of a dragon.]

Hyeonu read all the descriptions of the new skill and exclaimed in a distressed voice, “Isn’t this ridiculous?!” It was truly ridiculous. The effects of the skill didn’t make sense. It increased stats and magic-power-related effects. These two effects that everyone dreamed about were present in one skill.

‘What is this again?’

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[The influence of Dragon Blood has created a skill.]

Right then, yet another message had appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[Polymorph]

[Dragons can change their appearance as desired.
Even their physical abilities can change with their appearance.

Type: Continuous

Rating: Unique

Skill Proficiency: F

Effect: Appearance can be changed as desired.
Depending on the appearance, the stat points will be redistributed.]

[Polymorph has absorbed the Giant Transformation skill.]

[Polymorph has absorbed the Demi-human Transformation skill.]

[The effect of Polymorph has increased.]

‘Again?’ He was in a daze as the messages continued. An end couldn’t be seen. Hyeonu was no longer surprised upon seeing the next messages because Tang-E had experienced many changes in this short period of time.

[Polymorph]

[Dragons can change their appearance as desired.
Even their physical abilities can change with their appearance.

Type: Continuous

Rating: Epic

Skill Proficiency: F

Effect: Appearance can be changed as desired.
Depending on the appearance, the stat points will be redistributed.] 

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The highest stats increase was 20%.

‘One essence has given two epic skills, and the stats have risen by 1,250…’

It was an outrageous development. The changes that were caused by taking one essence were close to fraudulent.

‘At least there is no title.’

Hyeonu couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or a waste. Objectively speaking, it wasn’t good for Tang-E since his combat effectiveness wasn’t increased, so it was regrettable. However, Hyeonu felt happy when he thought about the sense of deprivation and loss he would’ve felt the essence did give a title.

‘Tang-E’s status window.’

Hyeonu opened Tang-E’s status window to identify Tang-E’s current status.

[Status Window]

[Name: Tang-E

Level: 319

Species: Marionette Bear (Third awakening)

Title: Bung Bung Island’s Heir

Stats: Strength: 2,847  Agility: 2,871  Physique: 3,285  Magic Power: 6,059 (+908)  Wisdom: 2,111

The heir of Bung Bung Island.
Bear-like physical abilities and high magic power are racial characteristics.
He is very affectionate, unlike his prideful tone.

Intimacy: 100

Skills Possessed: Bear’s Momentum, Forest’s Blessing, Magic Power Affinity, Lightning, Giant Transformation, Roar, Ice, Fire, Subspace, Burning Magic Power, Breath of the Wind, Wish Bead Transmutation, Dancing with a Bear, Dragon Blood, Polymorph

Retained Attributes: Dark]

‘I’m envious.’ Hyeonu was madly envious. Tang-E’s status window was really gorgeous, even just looking at his stats alone. Of course, Hyeonu’s absolute stats were higher when they were corrected by various items, but Tang-E’s magic power stat was still higher.

‘If I had that stat…’

Perhaps Hyeonu would pretend to be crazy and try hitting a demon king. While Hyeonu was checking Tang-E’s status window and skill window with a complicated heart, Tang-E opened his eyes. The essence had caused a change in Tang-E’s appearance this time. His eyes had turned purple.

Tang-E looked around and ran toward Hyeonu, who seemed to be staring blankly into the air. “Master dude!”

Hyeonu heard the voice calling his name and turned his head as he closed the status window.
“Huh?”

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Tang-E jumped up and was caught by Hyeonu. 

“I have become stronger.
Now I can help Master dude even more,” Tang-E said with a laugh.

“Yes, thank you,” Hyeonu replied.

Only Tang-E’s stats, skills, and eyes had changed. Everything else was still the same.

***

As Hyeonu was clearing the instance dungeon, there were other people who were also very busy. Among them, the busiest ones were those who just arrived in New York. The world’s most famous teams had come to New York to participate in Arena Week.

“It has been a long time.
How long has it been?” Mascherano waved his hand toward a man at JFK Airport.

“What long time? It has only been a year,” the blond curly-haired man who received Mascherano’s greeting responded with a jovial laugh.

“Don’t talk like that when you haven’t moved, Leo.” Mascherano also laughed pleasantly.

They were very similar laughs. Leo, the blond curly-haired man, was a professional gamer with the nickname ‘Aike’. 

The best star player in France—this was Leo’s identity.

“Moved? I might’ve never left France, but you are different.
You had time to go to South Korea but not Europe?” Leo fired back at Mascherano. He knew about Mascherano’s visit to Seoul.

“How do you know about that?”

“How can I not know when you posted it on social media? It’s ridiculous.”

Mascherano’s social media had included photos of Seoul and hotels, as well as photos with Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu. It was impossible for Leo not to know about it.

“Ah, is that so? I forgot.
Still, that isn’t the important thing now.
Right, friend?” Mascherano said and quickly changed topics.
“There is something else that is more important.
Arena Week is what’s important.”

“That’s right, my friend.
That is what matters.” Leo’s expression suddenly became serious.
“Don’t you know? The competition is different from before.”

Mascherano’s expression stiffened at Leo’s words.
“I’ve heard…
Is it really to that extent? It isn’t just them being salty?”

Rain had told Mascherano about the battle that day, and Teika had told Leo about it too. It had been shown in the stream, but only the parties involved knew the exact details. In the past, Teika was friends with Leo.

“It seems it is true that the five grandmasters failed to inflict a proper wound on Alley Leader…”

At the end of Leo’s words, they both fell silent.