Ranker's Return

Larenix’s legacy—he felt delighted just looking at it.

‘Item Information.’

Hyeonu checked the information in order to raise his level of satisfaction.

[Guardian’s Spear]

[A spear used by the guardians who devote their lives to protecting the ancient empire. The last guardian is the one with the noblest status.

Rating: Epic

Restrictions: Guardian of the Luos Empire.

Durability: 9999/9999

Attack Power: 6,000

Effect: All stats +500, 100% increase in attack power, 50% increase in defense penetration.]

‘It is not just good; it is very good.’

Hyeonu admired the gorgeous specs of the spear. They were tremendous. It was the best weapon Hyeonu had ever seen.

‘I think it is better than the Mysterious Sky Sword...’

The Mysterious Sky Sword had a slightly higher attack power, but that was the effect of the +12 enhancement. If he simply looked at the performance of the weapon itself, then the spear in front of him was overwhelming.

‘The problem is that I can’t use this...’

Changing weapons wasn’t difficult, but enhancing the new weapon was a big burden. Hyeonu had no desire to re-establish the skills he had become accustomed to with the sword.

‘It is a problem even if I change it to a sword.’

Of course, he could use the conversion capsule, one of Arena’s systems, to change the appearance of the weapon. Even so, abandoning the Mysterious Sky Sword and using the Guardian’s Spear was clearly a problem. Before the enhancement of the spear reached higher than a certain level, the Mysterious Sky Sword was definitely ahead in terms of performance.

‘I’ll have to find a way.’

However, he didn’t intend to just put it in his inventory and let it rot. It was an epic-rated item. The value was too immense to dismiss it as a decorative item.

Nevertheless, Hyeonu could no longer worry about it while looking at the spear. It was because a black pure energy suddenly flew toward him. Hyeonu hurriedly lowered the center of his body and dropped to the ground. The black pure energy passed over Hyeonu’s head.

‘Watching is work, work.’

The aftermath of the battle between Callioraks and Ragand started to affect Hyeonu as well. Hyeonu could only suck his fingers and not get involved in the battle between the two as there was no proper way he could take part. The current Hyeonu was too weak to face the two of them, so he had to step back a little bit.

“I hope it is over soon.” Hyeonu smiled bitterly and fixed his gaze on Callioraks and Ragand.

***

‘I’m becoming used to it.’ Callioraks felt his skills improve as he continued his battle with Ragand. To be exact, his skills didn’t improve, but he was able to use them more effectively. He didn’t attack in an ignorant manner but fought in moderation.

Ragand’s expression hardened when such a change occurred in Callioraks. It was because he felt the inadequacies in his body.

‘He came too quickly.’ Ragand needed time. However, Callioraks appeared in front of him too early, at a time he hadn’t expected. There wasn’t enough time for him to recover.

‘This human body is too shabby...’

The body occupied by Ragand was of poor quality. It wasn’t satisfactory at all. Its abilities were at a level that was just barely beyond the basics. Therefore, Ragand used the techniques of the ran tribe that he knew to change the body he occupied.

This was a process that required a huge amount of magic power, but it wasn’t too much of a burden for Ragand. It was magic power, so he just needed to drag what was flowing in the atmosphere and keep doing so to his heart’s content. Nevertheless, it required a minimum amount of time. It was impossible to change this low-level body at once. If he had that much ability, he wouldn’t have experienced any defeats.

‘If only I have a bit more time...’

Then he would’ve been able to change the body perfectly to suit his taste.

‘Still, this doesn’t mean the odds are completely zero.’

Ragand didn’t think the situation was too bad just yet.

‘If it doesn’t work out, I can do it later.’

He was thinking about fleeing. Ragand didn’t care about running away. It wasn’t a shameful or disgraceful thing. Nothing remained after death. The final winner was the real winner.

Ragand’s combat pattern changed rapidly. Now he didn’t just use the spear. He also added the magic that was unique to the ran tribe as he realized that he couldn’t beat Callioraks with simply spearsmanship. Ragand slammed the spear hard into the ground, which turned black in an instant. At the same time, it became sticky like it was a swamp.

Like a volcano eruption, the ground exploded. It started off with one explosion before the ground continuously exploded.

Callioraks’ large wings flapped, and he moved quickly through the air. He dodged the explosions leisurely. Just then, Ragand’s body disappeared and reappeared in the air far away. It was precisely next to Callioraks.

Ragand grabbed the middle part of the spear and quickly stabbed it toward Callioraks’ wings. The moment the spear touched Callioraks’ wings, a purple veil appeared around the wings. The veil blocked Ragand’s spear. In return, the veil quickly shattered.

However, this didn’t matter. To begin with, this was the role of the veil—to stop Ragand’s attack just once.

Callioraks quickly turned around and faced Ragand. “I told you that I have mastered magic.”

There was a cold sneer of derision on Callioraks’ face. Others would’ve called it a surprise attack, but it was just an obvious action to him. He was able to stop it without paying much attention. Callioraks had powerful magic after all.

“Don’t proudly say that just because you blocked it once. Pride can be poison.” Ragand’s expression stiffened, and he squeezed the spear hard.

‘When did he use the magic? There were no gaps?’ Ragand hadn’t noticed Callioraks making the barrier. Obviously, they fiercely exchanged attacks and defenses. In the meantime, there was no time for him to use magic to protect the wings. It was a battle where it wouldn’t be strange to die when looking away for even a moment.

Ragand noticed that things had become a bit worse. Obviously, he was strong. Ragand was a genius incomparable to anyone in the history of the ran tribe, and he had lived thinking that the only talent comparable to him was the chief of the ra tribe. He had experienced defeats, but he believed it was possible for him to overcome them at any time.

Now those things didn’t mean anything. He was great, but that was in the past. At the present time, he hadn’t regained his form. He was unable to kill even the dragon in front of him.

Time… It was so heartless. The battle wouldn’t have gone this way if he had been given only a day. If so, his current body could’ve been modified to the desired level and his magic power restored.

‘That human is the problem.’

The beginning of every problem was the human being standing far away. He could know this because he checked the memories of Edward, the owner of this body. The human was an adventurer called Gang Hyeonu. Not only did he cause a change in the demon world, but he also guided Callioraks to this location. Everything was due to this adventurer.

‘I will kill him first.’ Ragand suddenly shifted directions. In any case, he couldn’t win the battle against Callioraks right away, nor could he delay things indefinitely. Still, it was possible for him to delay as much time as necessary. In the meantime, it was possible for him to kill a mere adventurer.

Ragand stomped his feet lightly. In an instant, he divided into several copies. The new figures threw spears simultaneously at Callioraks. A few black spears made a creepy sound as they tore through the air like rays of light. Yet even in this state, there was a difference in speed. Some moved in a straight line at the shortest distance while others curved. Despite this, the timing was the same. All spears struck Callioraks at the same time.

Callioraks kicked the air and swung his right hand as he turned 360 degrees. The claws that were covered in purple pure energy shattered the spears to pieces. However, not all of them disappeared. One spear was still flying through the air.

The destination of the remaining spear was Hyeonu.

‘Why is that flying toward me?’ Hyeonu couldn’t help being greatly flustered when he saw the flying spear. In fact, Hyeonu had been completely relaxed earlier because Callioraks was clearly dominating his battle with Ragand. He had thought there was no way that Ragand could afford to throw the spear at Hyeonu, who was watching from a distance.

‘I am dead if I get hit by that.’ Hyeonu felt it instinctively. The momentum of the flying spear was that fierce. It was darkness itself. The world seemed to turn dark as the spear approached.

There was another reason why Hyeonu was flustered. He was still holding the spear in his hand. After checking the item information, he had been so busy watching the battle between Callioraks and Ragand that he hadn’t even thought about putting it in his inventory.

‘It can’t be helped. There is no time.’

Hyeonu applied force to his hand holding the spear. There was no other option. He felt like he would be hit without being able to defend properly if he tried to put away the spear, pull out the Mysterious Sky Sword, and block. The timing wouldn’t work. The spear that Ragand threw was rushing at Hyeonu like crazy even at this moment.

Hyeonu used his buffs straight away. Right now, there were only two buffs that Hyeonu could use.

‘Giant’s Valor, Acknowledged Giant.’

There might be only two buffs. but they boasted such an overwhelming performance that he felt sorry to compare them to the previous buffs. Giant\'s Valor’s increased his strength by the sum of all his stats. Acknowledged Giant increased his total stats by the sum of all his stats. The performance was so great that it could be called fraudulent.

[Giant\'s Valor has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[Acknowledged Giant has been used.]

[All stats have increased.]

Hyeonu’s body was surrounded by a clear aura with a color like the sky.

“Stay away,” Hyeonu ordered Tang-E and Gom-E, who were sitting on his shoulders. He separated them from him due to the risky situation. They would also be in danger if Hyeonu failed to stop the spear.

“I understand. We’re going.” Tang-E and Gom-E left without complaining after hearing Hyeonu’s unusual tone.

Hyeonu couldn’t afford to look at the two of them. He immediately took action to block the spear in front of him. Hyeonu poured all the magic power he had toward the tip of the spear. The blade of the spear was overlaid with purple pure energy. It was Mysterious Sky Demonic Strength—no, Mixed Sky Demonic Strength.

Just then, a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu, and the entire spear emitted a harsh light.

[You possess the magic power of the guardian.]

[Attack power is increased by an additional 50%.]

[You have the power of the sentry.]

[Attack power is increased by an additional 50%.]

Hyeonu didn’t even have time to look at the message windows that appeared in front of him. He was focused on the clearer and sharper spear blade. Hyeonu lowered his knees slightly and pushed his center of balance forward slightly. Then he kicked off hard against the ground and rushed toward the flying spear.

Hyeonu’s body extended. There was even an afterimage from him moving too quickly. The movement of the afterimage changed little by little, as if the frame of the image were cut.

Someone was running forward, someone was pulling their arm back to gather strength in the spear, and someone threw the spear with an explosive force. This was Cutting the Moonlight but with the spear, not a sword or single-edged sword. To be precise, it was Stabbing the Moonlight.

A silent purple ray crossed the air.