Ranker's Return

Supplementary Story 52

Tang-E’s routine on Bung Bung Island was very simple. He trained with his parents, Hugo and Manong, to deal with light and dark attribute magic power respectively. After that, he met Leah.

“Sister, over here.”

Tang-E waved his paws vigorously.

“Hello.”

The white bear, Leah, approached Tang-E with quick, short steps.

“Have you been well?”

Leah stroked Tang-E’s head.

“Tang-E has been well.” Tang-E closed his eyes and leaned on Leah.

“What have you been doing?”

“I’ve been working and eating meat. I also learned the secret arts.”

“The secret arts?” Leah’s eyes widened. It was the first time she heard about it.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I am learning because Master obtained it for me. It is interesting. It is similar to magic, but different.”

Tang-E raised his paws and a purple flame appeared in the air. The purple flame grew in size in an instant. The flame grew infinitely and became smaller at a certain point. It soon became a bead smaller than Tang-E’s paw.

“Be careful. It will explode if you do something wrong. Pop.”

Tang-E held out the purple bead to Leah and cautioned her.

“I understand.”

Leah accepted the bead and carefully turned it around. Countless flames were burning non-stop inside the bead.

‘It feels alive.’

Being alive—it was a strange expression to attach to the bead. However, there were no words more appropriate to describe the bead that Tang-E made with the secret arts. Leah’s eyes showed no signs of moving from the bead.

“Huung...” Tang-E groaned when he saw it. He didn’t really like it.

It was a pointless anger. He didn’t want to see this any longer.

‘What should I do?’

Tang-E’s mind spun quickly. He came up with something quite interesting in a few seconds.

“Eh?”

Tang-E suddenly gave a surprised look and staggered as if he was about to fall.

“Tang-E!” The startled Leah hurriedly grabbed Tang-E.

‘Now!’ Tang-E leaned against Leah and waved his paws through the air. His paw pushed Leah’s paw that was holding the bead. Then the purple bead naturally escaped into the air.

“No!” Leah took Tang-E into her arms when she saw the bead flying away.

‘What?’

After a while, Leah stood up and cocked her head. If the bead was going to explode, it was past the time when it should explode. However, no explosion occurred. Just then, Leah felt movement from her arms and lowered her head.

“You are smiling?”

Tang-E was smiling at her with eyes curved in a half moon shape.

“The bead doesn’t explode. It is a prank.”

Tang-E got out of Leah’s arms and picked up the bead that had fallen to the ground.

“It won’t pop like this.”

Then he tapped the bead several times with his paw.

“Don’t do it.”

Leah frowned. Tang-E said it was a joke, but she was still nervous that the bead would explode.

“Try it, Sister. It really won’t explode.”

Tang-E still had a mischievous expression.

“It’s fine.”

Leah waved her hand when she saw the bead that Tang-E was holding out to her. She wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t be.

‘How can I be angry...?’

Her anger had subsided the moment she saw Tang-E’s cute face.

“You have to be able to handle magic power really well to master the secret arts. Otherwise, you can’t even get started.”

Tang-E turned away from Leah and threw the bead into the air. The bead flew in a strangely slow manner compared to how hard it was thrown by Tang-E. The bead flew freely through the air. It wasn’t simply influenced by gravity, but moved according to Tang-E’s will.

The bead, which had been flying in a splendid trajectory, suddenly soared vertically to the point where the shape couldn’t be seen properly. Then it exploded in the air. The sound of a loud explosion slammed into Leah.

‘It is so strong?’

Leah got goosebumps when she saw the power of the bead. She thought it would be quite dangerous from the first time she saw it. She just never expected it to have such overwhelming power.

“I am studying the secret arts very hard. I will protect the tribe in the future,” Tang-E declared while staring straight at Leah.

“Will you protect me as well?” Leah took a step closer to Tang-E and asked.

“Sister, I will protect you.”

Tang-E’s eyes were completely curved.

***

“Hello, everyone. I am Alley Leader.”

Hyeonu started his streaming with a greeting as usual.

-Streaming outside again?

-What is going on?

-The streamer that I thought was a homebody is actually someone who gets along well with others?

-By the way, where is this place? It is very noisy.

The viewers were puzzled by the background visible behind Hyeonu.

It was a parking lot with many cars parked. It wasn’t in Arena, but in reality.

“That’s right, it is an outdoor streaming right now. I’m finally going to do something called advertising.”

The viewers gave a firm answer to Hyeonu’s exaggeration.

-Advertising? Finally?

-Isn’t it because you were too lazy to do so?

-It is the advertisements that even the seemingly insignificant streamers do...

-The TV appearances are the same. They can come out anywhere.

Alley Leader was a streamer with over 10 million viewers watching his real time streams and he had hundreds of millions of channel subscribers. It would be funny if such a streamer couldn’t proceed because there were no advertisements.

-That is nice. An outdoor streaming is better than the depressing stamping in the corner of the room.

-That’s right. Communication is good, but I like small content like this.

-We’ll have to wait and see if it is small or not. The advertising?

-By the way, where is this place? I don’t think it is Seoul?

“That’s right. This isn’t Seoul. It is a city near Seoul called Namyangju to be exact.

-Namyangju? What are you doing here?

-Where is this place?

-Wait, I think I remember something?

-Where is Namyangju? Is it the name of a city?

The viewers who watched Hyeonu’s live stream were literally from all over the world. While they may know of Seoul, they won't know of Namyangju.

‘Yes, most of them aren’t Korean...’

Hyeonu didn’t realize his mistake until he saw the chat window. However, he had no intention of explaining about Namyangju.

“Oh, you don’t have to know. That isn’t the important thing. There is something else you need to know.”

Hyeonu clapped. Then the camera that was shining on Hyeonu turned to the right. There was a wall that looked like something that would be seen in Arena.

-Uh? Isn’t this a theme park?

-Ah, I remember the place where I heard Namyangju before. It is the site of an Arena theme park.

-By the way, is the construction over? The opening date hasn’t come out yet.

-Based on the fact that Alley Leader is advertising it, doesn’t it seem like it will open soon?

The curiosity of the viewers exploded.

An Arena theme park—it was something that anyone who enjoyed Arena would be interested in.

“It will be opened soon. I came here to promote it and test the rides.”

-I’m jealous, really jealous.

-I will advertise for free.

-I’m ready to devote my body to the test.

-Wow... Are you enjoying the theme park alone?

The viewers expressed their envy at Hyeonu’s words. It might be in the name of publicity, but in the eyes of the viewers, it was enjoying the Arena theme park before anyone else.

“Ah, I’m not alone. There is a guest today.”

-A guest?

-Perhaps?

-Are you going with Reina?

-I’m envious, envious in many ways.

The viewers thought that the identity of the guest Hyeonu spoke about was Reina.

“Hello, I am Argon.” This was until they saw Yeongchan walking over with a sheepish expression on his face.

-???? Wait?

-What is going on? Why is it suddenly Argon?

-Is this the right picture?

-No, Teacher-nim. I don’t think this is right...

The viewers saw Yeongchan and had question marks. The one they wanted was Reina, not Yeongchan. They wanted to see the scene of Hyeonu and Reina together.

“I really can’t help it, everyone. Think about my position as well.” Yeongchan felt wronged. He didn’t come here because he wanted to either.

“Don’t say too much to my friend. He is a hard-won guest. He is a friend who was found on the same day.” Hyeonu approached the camera and growled as if to fight the viewers.

-On the same day? No, when did the advertisement come in?

“Last night. They asked if I could do it tomorrow and I replied that I could.”

-By the way, if it was yesterday, then Reina must not have been available?

“I asked, but I heard she had something scheduled today. It can’t be helped. So just accept it. This is the combination for today.”

Hyeonu patted Yeongchan on the shoulder and passed through the entrance of the theme park. Hyeonu was leading the way, but no one, including the camera, followed him. It was filming Yeongchan.

“Everyone, in fact, this is actually a hidden camera. In a little while, Reina will appear as a surprise guest. So keep it a secret. Understood?” Yeongchan told the viewers a shocking truth.

-Okay. Trust us.

-Believe in me too. It is a hidden camera.

-As expected, Argon is the best when broadcasting.

It was the moment when Yeongchan’s reputation, which had plummeted, was restored.

***

“Wait a minute.”

Yeongchan came down from the ride with a serious expression.

“Why? Are you not feeling well? You are normally good on rides.”

Hyeonu frowned. The Yeongchan he knew was a ride ghost. He didn’t hide from anything, and there was nothing to fear.

‘Rather, I am the one who isn’t good on rides.’

Honestly, he would’ve never come if it wasn’t Mason’s request.

“I must’ve eaten something bad earlier. I have to go to the bathroom.”

Even now, Yeongchan’s complexion was a bit exaggerated with a slight earthy color.

‘I’ll have to buy him something delicious next time.’

“Then hurry and come back.”

Hyeonu looked a bit worried.

"I’ll be right back.”

Yeongchan nodded. Then he smiled like he was looking at the camera and quickly disappeared.

“I’m sorry, everyone. That friend isn’t feeling well. There are many faulty parts. He is a friend who only looks fine on the outside.” Hyeonu had a sad expression on his face as he spoke ill of Yeongchan to the viewers.

-That’s right. Argon might look fine, but he is a very pitiful person.

-He might be pitiful, but where does he look fine? ㅋㅋㅋ

“So please cherish him a lot.”

Hyeonu interacted with the viewers as he waited for Yeongchan. However, Yeongchan didn’t return after five minutes and then 10 minutes. Where did the person who went to the bathroom go?

“Please wait a bit longer. He will be here soon.”

He spoke this way, but Hyeonu was also upset.

‘Why isn’t he coming? Did he unknowingly have constipation?’

Hyeonu was inwardly cursing and scolding Yeongchan when he looked puzzled at the sight of the chat window, which was rising like crazy.

‘What?’

It was a speed that occasionally appeared when he did something. Hyeonu glanced at the chat window that rose really quickly. Then he saw unbelievable words.

-Reina is here.

-Reina is behind Alley Leader.

-It is 100 meters before arrival.

-Now there are 90 meters left.

‘Reina? Why is Reina appearing here?’

“Everybody, don’t lie. How can Reina be here? Today’s guest is Argon. Control your mind. The fantasy world is in the cube. This is reality.” Hyeonu shook his head with a sad expression.

Just then, a hand that was too small to belong to Yeongchan touched Hyeonu’s shoulder. “Hello, everyone. I am Reina. I’m sorry for being late.”