The overflowing sword energy of the opponent approached Yuri like a snake. Yuri ignored the opponent’s attack and silently swung her greatsword. The speed of the opponent’s attack was definitely fast. This was the difference between a warrior class and a priest class. Nonetheless, Yuri still continued to stretch out her sword without shaking.

“I won...?” The opposing warrior instinctively sensed victory and let down his guard. However, above Yuri’s head was the shield unique to the priest class. The opponent’s sword was blocked while Yuri’s advanced.

[Player ‘Kwon Yuri’ has won.]

Hyeonu congratulated Yuri for her clean victory all the way up to her last ranking battle.

“You are now ranked 9,764,223rd. Congratulations, Leah. You have become a bronze medalist. Everyone, congratulate her.”

-Congratulations, Leah!

-The third student of Alley Leader Academy has also won a bronze medal.

-Congratulations to Leah!

-Goddess Leah has gifted you 100 gold coins.

After receiving a congratulatory message from the audience, Yuri disappeared from the arena.

“Everyone, I’ll see you next time!”

Once Yuri disappeared, viewers thought that the stream was over.

-It is finished today.

-The academy is over now.

-No, no. He said there will be a season 2. I don’t know when it will happen.

-I want to be a student in season 2.

Viewers started to express their disappointment. There were some regrets about the stream ending, but the biggest thing was that Alley Leader Academy was tentatively finished.

‘The reactions will be good when I do it later.’

Hyeonu left the viewers’ regret behind him and started on his closing remarks.

“Season 2 will unconditionally come back as long as I keep streaming. Then I will end today’s stream here. Thank you for watching my live stream today. See you next time!”

After the stream ended, Hyeonu didn’t log out of the arena. It was because he still had many things to do.

‘I’m really busy now.’

From the moment he knew Mano was a spy instead of a traitor, the Five Stars-Zenith alliance was no longer a problem for Hyeonu. He would fight them with no hesitation when they met. However, unlike before, there was no need to visit and kill them. They had the danger of Mano, so it was clear they would self-destruct.

‘Looking purely at their strength, their strength combined can’t even reach New World alone.’ Hyeonu was convinced about this.

It was obvious even if Five Stars had a team specializing in PK. This was an unchanged truth. The Liru Monk Corps, including Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu, were monsters in PvP. They were better at PvP than hunting. It was because the class of Liru Monk could improve an individual’s control.

‘I will try to break through the route to Cruise Mountain once again.’

Now that the obstacles of Five Stars and Zenith had disappeared, Hyeonu’s goal was to conquer Cruise Mountain.

That was it.

***

“The kids?”

“I called them. All the commissions they’ve accepted are done, and they are taking a break right now. Thus, we can focus on our plan.”

There was a deep smile on Beyond’s face when he heard Preby’s answer. The plan was underway. The preparations were over, and now only the execution remained.

‘Finally... it’s starting.’

Operation Kill Alley Leader—it was a great scenario. This was just before the start.

“By the way, there are rumors swirling around,” Preby said. His words were enough to erase Beyond’s smile.

Beyond turned his head and focused his attention on Preby. “What are you talking about? Are we in a position to worry about those unimportant rumors, Preby?”

There was a good reason for Beyond’s frown. Preby often heard absurd rumors and told them to him. They were all sorts of ridiculous things.

“I think you should listen. It is pretty reliable this time. It isn’t the same as before.” Preby scratched the back of his head awkwardly upon hearing Beyond’s cold words.

However, he didn’t stop talking. “Won’t you be surprised to know this story is related to us?”

This time, Beyond looked curious.

When he saw that Preby was so confident, Beyond thought it would be different this time.

‘I will smash his mouth if it is useless again,’ Beyond vowed inwardly. Then he asked, “Where did it come from?”

“Venom and Shadow. It was certain that the rumor came from one of them.”

This was definitely amazing. It was about Venom and Shadow. Unlike those who had dozens of people, Venom and Shadow moved with a very small number of people and were myths in the industry. Now Beyond urged Preby, “So what is the rumor? Tell me quickly.”

Preby smiled at Beyond. “One of these two teams had friction with Alley Leader... They were smashed. Additionally, it was done in a terrible manner. It’s probably similar to how Matsumoto died last time? The rumor is at that level.”

After hearing Preby’s words, Beyond snorted. He thought it sounded like a ridiculous dog barking. “Bullshit! Venom or Shadow were smashed like that? The two of them are in the same tier as our Team Hell. Isn’t it too outrageous to say they were smashed?”

Beyond was fed up. What were Venom and Shadow? They were two of the top five teams in the virtual reality world, alongside Five Stars’ Team Hell. If they had been defeated so badly, then it would also be impossible for Five Stars to win.

“It is just a rumor. Don’t worry about it.”

Despite mentioning it to Beyond, Preby didn’t actually believe the rumor as it was beyond ridiculous. It was just a rumor going around, so he mentioned it. Then he said, “Contact Matsumoto. We will start today, so gather immediately.”

***

In the high sky, the sun was shining intensely toward the forest. Deep in the Balder Mountains, the Rick Forest was lush with trees boasting green leaves, which the sun shone through. At first glance, there were almost 50 people hiding their bodies in the forest.

“Did you see Alley Leader?” The man who appeared to be the leader of the group questioned the man standing in front of him.

“He was seen around 10 minutes to the east. Alley Leader is being tracked from a distance."

Beyond heard the man’s answer and looked satisfied.

‘This is a chance!’

The opportunity had finally come. Moreover, it was at a very appropriate time. In addition to Team Hell, there were 20 elite players of Zenith present. It was a golden opportunity. No, it was extraordinary. He didn’t think there would be a better chance.

“Is he alone? His pet isn’t there?” Beyond asked while trying to control his facial expression.

Alley Leader’s pet was one of his main powers. In particular, his pet’s powerful magic and buffs were the main things to be vigilant of.

“No one said anything about a bear. He probably didn’t summon the pet while on the move.”

Now Beyond couldn’t control his smile. “Tell them to follow for another 10 minutes. Contact me every minute. I will gather the other masters.”

Then Beyond’s figure disappeared.

***

Hyeonu was whistling happily while walking. In front of him, Tang-E was hanging onto Hyeonu’s chest. He had his arms wrapped around Hyeonu’s back and his feet around Hyeonu’s waist.

“Master dude, how long do I have to stay like this? Can’t you just hug me?” Tang-E frowned at Hyeonu because his posture wasn’t comfortable.

“Wait a bit longer. Those guys are following me now.”

Hearing Hyeonu’s words, Tang-E grumbled, “Damn guys. Why do I have to be so uncomfortable just because they are chasing Master dude? In addition, how long are you going to let them go? Why don’t you just hit all of them?”

A sharp and cold light emerged in Tang-E’s eyes. His appearance was so eerie that he could be called a ghost.

“Relax your eyes. Your strong gaze should be for when you are in front of other people. Do it in front of the bad guys,” Hyeonu said.

Then he abruptly kicked hard against the ground. The reason for the sudden and quick movement was simple. Hyeonu intended to move away from those observing him from a distance. Shortly thereafter, Hyeonu slapped Tang-E’s head hard.

“Ack! Tang-E is dying. Tang-E is dying!” Tang-E yelped.

The blue light in his eyes disappeared, and water took its place. Tang-E felt his eyes ache from a pain that went right down to his bones, and his claws dug into Hyeonu’s back. How high were his stats that his claws directly pierced through Hyeonu’s leather armor?

“How about this? Damn Master dude, it stings.” Tang-E smiled and raised his head.

Just then, Tang-E’s eyes shook frantically. It was like a magnitude 10.0 earthquake was occurring in Tang-E’s eyes.

“Yes, it stings and hurts, Tang-E.” Burning eyes could be seen gazing through Hyeonu’s mask.

Just then, men dressed in black started to surround Hyeonu. Hyeonu looked up from Tang-E and glanced around.

‘It seems to be over 50... It isn’t more than 70...’

The number of men surrounding Hyeonu seemed to be approximately this number. Hyeonu felt that this type of scene was very familiar. It was like he had seen it somewhere before.

‘Is this deja vu?’

A video he had seen some time ago passed through Hyeonu’s mind. It was a video of that time when the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior died. This was exactly what it looked like. It was a situation in which he had been besieged by dozens of people, and it was very similar to Hyeonu’s current situation.

‘However, I’m different.’

There was a huge difference between the two of them. The big difference was that the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior died while Hyeonu would kill everyone.

“Why are you looking for me so aggressively?” Hyeonu spoke naturally as he started shooting the video. His videos were now for collecting evidence, views, and money.

“......”

Hyeonu’s question was unanswered. It was because there was nothing for the men to say. When they were PKing, they wore masks to cover their faces and removed their guild marks. So what could they say?

“I will leave if you don’t have anything. My time is very expensive. I’m not the type to chase after others like you,” Hyeonu said and tried to pass through.

However, dozens of people pulled out their weapons simultaneously. Swords, spears, a single-edged sword, and even staffs came out.

‘They are well prepared.’ Hyeonu admired the sight. It was a spectacular sight when they all pulled out their weapons at once.

‘So why am I not shaking?’

Miraculously, Hyeonu’s heart was extremely calm. His heart was beating as smoothly as usual. Hyeonu glanced around once again. There were dozens of people surrounding him. In particular, the six people who pulled out weapons closest to him—his gaze stopped on them one by one.

‘These guys are the masters of Zenith and Five Stars.’

The pressure they gave off was different from the others.

“Everyone, you’ve made a big mistake. I canceled my video recording just now. In other words, today’s battle won’t go up on my channel. It also means that you’re going to die terribly.”

With these words, Hyeonu pulled out the Mysterious Sky Sword extremely slowly. The sound of Hyeonu drawing his sword resounded through his surroundings.