Ranker's Return

Chapter 658

Translator: rainbowturtle

“You’ll probably be hunting the lizardmen for at least a week, right?” Hyeonu asked Jamie with his hands behind his back. His expression clearly showed he was thinking about something.

“It should be like this according to the target Mister Gang gave me. I have to hunt here until level 50.”

“Then isn’t it urgent to figure out how to fight the lizardmen?”

“That’s right.”

Jamie Moore nodded. He didn’t know why Hyeonu was saying this.

‘He can’t call a lizardman.’

There was no such feature in the arena. The only thing that could be summoned in the arena was a scarecrow. It might change with another patch, but it was like this right now.

“Tang-E, come out,” Hyeonu called for Tang-E as Jamie Moore was questioning it.

“Tang-E has come!” After a while, Tang-E appeared on a colorful magic circle. The moment Tang-E appeared on the magic circle, he jumped into the air and landed on Hyeonu’s head.

“What’s going on, Master dude?” Tang-E asked while knocking on Hyeonu’s head.

“My head is ringing. Stop it.”

Hyeonu restrained Tang-E’s action of banging on his head so much that he couldn’t even speak. Even now, he had to protect his head with magic power to get out a few words.

“I understand. Tell me.”

Tang-E placed his paw on Hyeonu’s head and leaned against the back of Hyeonu’s head.

“Transform and have a sword fight.”

“Sword fight? Don’t you know that I’m bad at things like that? My father also said that ‘a man is his fists.’”

“I’m asking you because you can’t do it. I would be the one doing it if I needed someone good. Why would I ask you?”

Hyeonu sighed. In the first place, he made Tang-E do it because he knew Tang-E wasn’t good at using weapons. It was only at this level that the fight would be worth seeing.

“I understand. Then how should I transform?”

“Do you know the lizardmen? The ones we killed in the past. Do it like that. Not too big.”

“Lizardmen? Hrmm…”

Tang-E repeated Hyeonu’s words with a stiff expression.

Lizardmen—it wasn’t that he couldn’t remember. He was just reluctant to transform to one.

“Those guys are too ugly. Can’t I do something else?”

“No. I need a lizardman right now.”

Hyeonu shook his head. Jamie Moore needed to fight a lizardman, not something else.

“Groan, I understand. Master dude, I’ll listen to you this time.”

Tang-E hit the top of Hyeonu’s head, stepped on it, and jumped down. Then he recalled the image of the lizardmen. The ones he previously hunted with Hyeonu. Tang-E’s body was surrounded by light. The initially small figure grew larger and larger. Just before the light subsided, his size had exceeded four meters.

“Isn’t this too big, Mister Gang? It is a bit different from the lizardmen I know,” Jamie Moore muttered when the light around Tang-E disappeared and the complete appearance was revealed. Tang-E was definitely a lizardman, but the size and appearance were a bit different from the ones hunted by Jamie Moore.

“That’s because the lizardman that Tang-E remembers isn’t the lizardman that you have been fighting, but a lizardman elsewhere. It is a swamp lizardman,” Hyeonu explained the identity to the confused Jamie Moore. The lizardmen that Jamie Moore knew was one step below the swamp lizardmen. The swamp was the hunting ground that Jamie Moore would go to next.

“It is a hunting ground that you will have to go to anyway. Think about it as going there in advance and be at ease. Shouldn’t we train harder than the actual performance?”

Jamie Moore couldn’t refute Hyeonu’s words and had to nod.

“Don’t worry too much. Do you think that Tang-E will kill you? He might look like that, but he is someone who thinks deeply.”

Hyeonu and Jamie Moore turned their heads to look at Tang-E.

“It is strange, Master dude. Sniff.”

Tang-E moved his hands and feet continuously like he found his lizardman body strange. Then, regardless of whether he adapted or not, he approached Hyeonu and wagged his tail quickly like a puppy.

‘He is quite big.’

The ground shook every time Tang-E took a step. He wasn’t as big as when he used Giant Transformation, but the difference between a bear and a lizardman made Hyeonu feel this way.

“Now, take this.” Hyeonu summoned a huge scimitar in the air. It was a weapon primarily used by the lizardmen.

“Is this my weapon? I don’t think it is good, but I’ll use it well.” Tang-E accepted the scimitar with an expression that obviously didn’t look very good.

“Try not to use your strength as much as possible. He is a very weak person,” Hyeonu requested of Tang-E.

Don’t use all your strength.

Based on Tang-E’s stats, Jamie could die just from the aftermath of the scimitar.

‘The effect of Polymorph should be focused on strength or agility.’

Using Polymorph basically increased the stats. The difference between Tang-E and Jamie Moore was originally like the difference between heaven and earth. This made it widen even more.

“Okay, I know. That human is weak. He will die from a pat.”

Even Tang-E knew it. He was going to relax as much as possible while fighting.

“Then we are going to start the battle. Jamie, you particularly need to be more focused. Try and gain the upper hand over Tang-E and I will end today’s training there.”

Jamie Moore couldn’t show a firm expression at Hyeonu’s words. He knew that it was impossible to gain the upper hand over Tang-E in the shape of a lizardman in front of him.

‘It is okay to hold on in the beginning. I will just pour it all out.’

However, this didn’t mean he intended to shrink back from the beginning. Jamie Moore had to learn how to hunt lizardmen, not to endure it. In any case, he didn’t have to handle everything alone unless it was solo play. The important thing for him was to insert his blade into the opponent, even if it was for a brief moment.

“Jamie, step back a little bit. Tang-E, you go back as well.”

Hyeonu separated Jamie Moore and Tang-E. The distance between the two of them was 20 meters. It wasn’t a small or a large number. Of course, it could be called a short distance for Tang-E, but he was currently adjusting his abilities to Jamie Moore. He wouldn’t show his ability to narrow that distance in an instant.

“Go ahead and start. The spar will continue until either one of you suffer a fatal injury.”

Hyeonu finished talking and moved his body back. Now nothing stood between Tang-E and Jamie Moore.

‘I am going straight away.’

The moment that Hyeonu fell back, Jamie Moore ran straight toward Tang-E, who was in the form of a huge lizardman. Swords were pulled out of the sheaths hanging on both sides of Jamie Moore’s waist. After arriving near Tang-E, Jamie Moore crossed the two swords and swung them. The two swords covered in dark red magic power left two traces in the air. It was Double Slash, the unique skill of the Twin Swordsman.

‘I can’t just ignore it.’

Tang-E realized it was an attack with sharper energy than expected and moved the scimitar. The scimitar lightly scattered Jamie Moore’s Double Slash. No movement could be seen from Tang-E. He realized that he shouldn’t move.

‘Even if he controls his strength, he can’t help his physique.’

Hyeonu knew the reason. Tang-E had made his own judgment. It was that if he moved here, the meaning of the penalty would disappear.

Strength, agility, and magic power could be limited, but physique was impossible. Obviously, Jamie Moore\'s skill just now was impossible for a typical lizardman to take so casually. It was normal for the posture to collapse, whether it was being pushed back or the arms to fall.

Yet Tang-E was fine like nothing had happened. Tang-E had more than 3,000 physique, so Jamie Moore’s attack couldn’t have any impact on him.

‘Why isn’t he moving?’

Jamie Moore didn’t stop moving as he looked at the still Tang-E and questioned it. He attacked and attacked again. He never stopped moving his feet and two swords for a moment. He steadily knocked on the large scimitar. It was as Hyeonu showed in his confrontation with Ray.

However, there was a difference. Jamie Moore wasn’t Hyeonu and Tang-E wasn’t Ray. Tang-E used the curved part of the scimitar to catch Jamie Moore’s two swords. It was originally impossible but the over four meters size of the lizardman made it possible. Jamie Moore’s swords were quickly sucked into Tang-E’s scimitar.

Tang-E saw that Jamie Moore’s center was off balance and flicked his wrist. Then the scimitar rose slightly in a fierce slide. Jamie Moore’s two swords fell due to the sudden shock caused by Tang-E’s scimitar. It was only natural for Jamie Moore’s body to fall forward since he was holding the swords. Tang-E’s scimitar flew toward Jamie Moore’s neck as he knelt on the ground in a ridiculous manner.

“Stop!” Just then, Hyeonu’s voice rang out through the arena. It was the end of the spar.

“Tang-E, you aren’t joking around? Where did you learn this?” Hyeonu truly admired it. Tang-E seemed to have a talent for swordsmanship, not fist fighting.

‘His ability with the sword is no joke!’

Tang-E showed a technique that was impossible with just a day or two of practice. It was a bit different from the clunky punches.

“Where did I learn it? I was just mimicking you. My eyes aren’t decorations, stupid Master dude,” Tang-E retorted to Hyeonu.

“Then stop using your fists and just use a sword next time. Focus on what you are good at,” Hyeonu sincerely advised Tang-E. Tang-E’s talent seemed to be with the sword, not the fists.

“Bah, I won’t give up the fist. Father said so. A man is his fists.”

Tang-E shook his head.

“Yes, do what you want.”

Hyeonu didn’t continue to persuade Tang-E. It was because the final decision was in Tang-E’s hands. Persuading him for 100 days wouldn’t change anything.

‘Once he meets the limit, he will change on his own.’

There also must be a reason for Tang-E to insist on sticking to punching. Based on the way he kept mentioning his father, it was clear that Hugo used fists as a weapon.

‘He might be learning how to beat Hugo.’

No matter what, Hyeonu was fine. Hyeonu organized his thoughts about Tang-E and looked at Jamie Moore.

Jamie Moore looked at the two swords that had fallen to the ground with a slightly empty look.

“Jamie, don’t be too discouraged. No one is good from the start. For now, Tang-E has easily beaten you, but he won’t win so easily after today,” Hyeonu conveyed words of comfort to Jamie Moore.

The spar ended easily because Tang-E showed off an unexpected technique. Originally, it should’ve ended after a few blows, but it ended in vain because of Tang-E.

“Really? Can I be that different?”

“Please believe in me. I’ll make it that way for you. You just need to follow me. Try hard.”

Hyeonu smiled. The important thing was the effort. Try without giving up.

‘Um, that’s right.’

He shouldn’t give up just because he was beaten a little bit.