Chapter 165
Reina and the other pro-gamers of the New York Warriors headed deep into the camp . They moved to a place that was out of the reach of others .
“I’ll apply for a duel,” Hyeonu said to Reina, who was standing in front of him with an expressionless face . Reina nodded silently in response .
[Player ‘Gang Hyeonu’ has applied for a duel . ]
[Would you like to accept?]
‘I’m different from last time . I will show you my progress . ’
[Yes . ]
Reina had replayed the video of her last defeat countless times . Why had she lost? Alley Leader had yet to go through his third class advancement, and Reina had the overwhelming advantage . All the coaches of the team had rushed in to analyze it . The result was simple .
Alley Leader was just that good . He avoided what he should avoid . He blocked what should be blocked . He attacked when he had to attack . The theory that everyone knew was turned into reality . This was the difference between Reina and Alley Leader .
‘I will definitely lose, but I’ll be acknowledged . ’
She would get him to acknowledge all her efforts in the meantime .
“I said it before, but the rule is that we can only use continuous-type skills,” Reina stated .
Hyeonu set up the rules according to Reina’s words . “I’ve set it up as you said . ”
[Player ‘Gang Hyeonu’ has set the rules . ]
[The set rule is ‘restrict immediately activated skills’ . ]
[Would you like to accept?]
Reina agreed as soon as the message window appeared . There was no reason for her to hesitate since she was the one who set the rules .
[Yes . ]
Shortly after Reina gave the approval, a large dome surrounded Hyeonu and Reina in a corner of the New York Warriors’ camp .
[The duel will start shortly . ]
[5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . ]
The numbers decreased, and Reina felt a pleasant excitement fill her heart .
‘I will do my best . I will show him how hard I worked . ’
[The duel has started . ]
“Isn’t this really crazy? I wonder if he is a person like us . ”
“I always feel in awe when I look at Alley Leader . There is no need to say anything else . ”
The Warriors’ players talked as they watched the fierce duel between Reina and Alley Leader . Reina lunged her white pure energy sword at Hyeonu . Hyeonu took one step to dodge Reina’s attack with minimal movements .
‘The difference is greater than before . ’ Reina was deeply disappointed .
She wasn’t the only one who had been working hard . What had he been doing during all this time? Reina had a feeling of disbelief . 10 minutes had passed since the duel with Hyeonu began . For 10 minutes, it had been Reina’s one-sided offensive .
Hyeonu couldn’t even fight back . No, it was just that he didn’t . He was clearly observing her . She didn’t know about the other players watching from behind, but Reina—the party involved—clearly knew it . Alley Leader was looking at her . Just now, Alley Leader could’ve avoided her attack and then fought back .
Yet he didn’t do so . Reina stopped attacking and stretched out her sword toward Hyeonu . She asked, “W-Why aren’t you attacking? Am I that funny?”
Hyeonu placed the single-edged sword on his shoulder and responded, “Isn’t this a duel to help you? How will it help you if I win one-sidedly? It is my role now to expose your shortcomings . It isn’t just about winning . ”
Hyeonu’s words gave Reina a new shock . ‘Is he caring about me?’
Reina organized her thoughts for a moment before opening her mouth again . “Then let’s compete without the use of pure energy . Just attack . My defense can withstand it . ”
Hyeonu nodded at Reina’s words . ‘This woman is more passionate than I thought . ’
Such an attitude was worth emulating . It was amazing that she had so much passion despite being at the top .
‘Then I’ll do it properly,’ Hyeonu thought .
“I will use a bit more force from now on,” he said .
Then he stomped his feet . Magic power burst from Hyeonu’s body as he moved explosively . The sword covered with a black light was swung .
“Hup!”
Reina was frightened and leaned down to avoid the sword rushing toward her . She never thought of stretching out her sword to block it . It was because the speed of Hyeonu’s attack was much faster than she had expected . At this moment, the trajectory of Hyeonu’s sword changed . It was similar to a veteran car racer turning the steering wheel . The trajectory naturally changed and aimed for Reina’s head . The sword stopped at a small distance away from Reina’s head .
“You won’t be able to stop the next attack if you dodge like this,” Hyeonu said as he reclaimed his sword .
“Was the gap in ability always this big?” Reina asked with a dazed expression .
Hyeonu shook his head . “There might be a difference in ability, but my stats are significantly higher than yours . This is the difference . ”
“However, my level is higher?”
“Don’t you know? In Arena, one’s level doesn’t say everything . ”
There were still titles, skills, stats, and items . The current Hyeonu had more than a dozen titles, was full of unique items, and had unique skills . Reina wasn’t ahead of Hyeonu in a single one of those areas . Once his talent was included, it was obvious that she would lose .
“Do you want to do it again? This time, we’ll slow down,” Hyeonu said .
Reina smiled at Hyeonu’s suggestion and nodded . “I’m not going to lose this time . ”
As soon as she finished speaking, she moved . Like Hyeonu, she used magic to move at an explosive pace . However, there was something faster than Reina’s movement speed—the white sword . The white sword’s identity was Reina’s sword . It was thrust forth in a clean stab aimed at Hyeonu’s shoulder .
Hyeonu lightly deflected Reina’s blow and then extended Dark Star toward her in return . This was a slow counterattack . He made it slower than before to help Reina . Reina intercepted Hyeonu’s attack, and Hyeonu stepped back . If it were normal PvP, he would’ve broken Reina’s defense with his strength . However, this was a spar for her sake . It was right for him to withdraw the moment his attack was blocked completely .
“You are really good,” Hyeonu complimented Reina .
He felt it before, but this woman was truly a great player . She hadn’t become the ace of a team in the world of professional gaming for nothing .
“Then I’ll start again . ” Hyeonu looked at the frowning Tang-E before once again narrowing the distance to Reina . He thought he needed to get it done quickly .
After the spar with Reina, Hyeonu shook the hands of the New York Warriors’ players and left the camp with Tang-E .
“It should be right this time?”
Still, it wasn’t easy to find the waterfall even if he knew the location . It wasn’t called the largest forest in the Hejin Great Mountain Range for nothing after all . Hyeonu didn’t know where the center of the forest was, so he had to move through the forest blindly . Moreover, there were several waterfalls in the forest, not just one . Cold water fell from the cliff, spraying downward .
“This is already the third one . It should be the last one,” Tang-E said like he hoped his wish would come true . There were so many waterfalls in the forest that chances were high it wasn’t the one Hyeonu wanted . Hyeonu had already failed twice .
“I hope so too, Tang-E . ”
Hyeonu and Tang-E carefully approached the waterfall . The moment he arrived at the edge of the waterfall, Hyeonu saw the message window he so desired to see .
[Are you sure you want to enter Bung Bung Island?]
“Tang-E, we’ve found it!” Hyeonu picked up Tang-E and shouted the moment saw the information window in front of him .
Then Hyeonu said without hesitation, “Enter!!”
They finally arrived at the end of their journey .
Hyeonu enjoyed the changes in the surrounding landscape . Would the Garden of Eden be like this? It was a forest filled with lush green scenery . The stream flowing through the forest boasted a white color .
‘It is truly worthy of all the boasting Tang-E has done about it . ’ Hyeonu admired it .
It was a superb sight that was hard to see in reality . Bung Bung Island was beautiful . Hyeonu watched the scenery for a long time before turning his head toward Tang-E . “Tang-E, where should we go now?”
Tang-E’s expression changed strangely after hearing Hyeonu’s words . “To my house, of course . Now you have to meet my parents . Be prepared, Master dude . ”
“Huh?” Hyeonu was flustered by Tang-E’s answer . It wasn’t unexpected, but it was embarrassing to hear the word ‘parents’ come from Tang-E’s mouth .
“Really? Then I should go to see them . . . By the way, is it far from here? How far? How long does it take to get there?”
Tang-E’s head shook from side to side at Hyeonu’s constant questions . “It should be soon . 10 minutes is enough . This is close to my home . ”
Hyeonu shook his head at Tang-E’s resolute words . Tang-E continued to say to Hyeonu, “Right, you better take off that mask . My father doesn’t like it . Additionally, take off those gloves . Are you going to show such a bad thing at the first meeting?”
Tang-E’s words made sense . Hyeonu’s mask, ‘Crasul’s Curse’, and gauntlets, ‘Memories of Murder’, were items that were filled with killing intent and resentment . In other words, they were items that were quite awkward for NPCs to face .
At Tang-E’s words, Hyeonu took off his mask and gauntlets straight away . Then he placed Tang-E on his shoulder and moved according to Tang-E’s words .
“By the way, do your parents look like you?”
It was a question Hyeonu had from the moment he heard they would meet . Tang-E looked like a 50-centimeter-tall teddy bear . So what about Tang-E’s parents? Did Tang-E’s parents look like him? Did they have small and round appearances?
“No, my mother and father are different . They are bigger than me—much bigger,” Tang-E said with a proud expression .
‘Much bigger?’
When Hyeonu heard Tang-E’s answer, some images rose in his mind .
A polar bear . . .
A grizzly bear . . .
A brown bear . . .
A sun bear . . .
“Pfft!” Hyeonu couldn’t resist the laughter that emerged . A mother bear, father bear, and baby bear—there were three bears . The main character in the rhyme was Tang-E .
“Let’s go quickly, Tang-E . ”
There was no sense of panic anymore . Hyeonu’s heart was full of childlike innocence .
As Tang-E stated, they walked for around 10 minutes . Then in the dense forest, something appeared in his field of view .
“Tang-E, is that your house?”
“To be exact, it is a village—a village for my clan . ”
Hyeonu was pointing at a huge fence . Then he approached the fence, and a black figure appeared .
“You . . . ? How are you here?”
“Uncle Tommy, this is the human who is my master . I brought him through the outside entrance . ”
“Is that so? Your father will be very happy to know you’re back . ” The person called Uncle Tommy disappeared into the forest after speaking .
Hyeonu asked Tang-E, “Is he your uncle?”
“That’s right . Why? What are you complaining about?”
Hyeonu questioned with a baffled expression, “He is a person, right? You’re a bear!!”
That’s right .
The existence that Tang-E called Uncle Tommy wasn’t a bear but a human .