Ranker's Return

Chapter 923

Jamie Moore felt his heart return to usual as he stood alone in the spacious arena. It wasn’t thumping quickly any longer. It was so quiet that he wouldn’t know his heart was beating if he didn’t realize it.

‘It is just like usual.’

The tension he felt before the live stream started quickly disappeared. He was as calm as ever.

‘Is that person the opponent?’

Just then, a man appeared quite a distance away from Jamie Moore. The man had his entire body covered with silver armor and was holding a greatsword with both hands. It was a typical knight class.

‘Is it centered around the strength stat?’

Jamie Moore grasped his opponent’s style first. He would find it out through the visible items.

‘The level... I don’t think it is very high.’

It wasn’t because Jamie Moore had a lot of knowledge about items. As the history of the arena lengthened and the influx of new players increased, things called national items emerged like never before. They were usually items between the rare and uncommon rating. These were the items that his opponent wore. Jamie Moore couldn’t help recognizing such national items.

‘I just have to go out as normal.’

The level of his opponent that Jamie Moore identified through his opponent’s items was around level 150. Jamie Moore’s current level was exactly 200. It was an overwhelming level difference. It was a difference where he could never lose if he was vigilant.

Jamie Moore drew his two swords and started running slowly toward his opponent. Every time Jamie Moore’s feet slammed against the ground, he accelerated like crazy. The distance between the two of them shrank in an instant. The man’s eyes widened as he looked at Jamie Moore. It was because it was a speed that could never be seen in a similar ranking range.

However, the man came to his senses surprisingly quickly. The man realized that it was hard to beat his opponent in front of him. Therefore, it was right to relax and fight in the ranking battle.

The man took a step toward the rushing Jamie Moore and swung his greatsword. The greatsword split through the air horizontally. At the same time, the man’s body continued to move forward and rotated.

‘Isn’t he doing something ridiculous?’

Jamie Moore laughed when he saw his opponent rushing at him while using a skill. It was too ridiculous.

‘If I did that, five minutes is right...’

He would be mercilessly hit if he used his skills in this way.

‘Do as you have been taught.’

To be exact, it was to return what had been done. Jamie Moore lightly kicked off from the ground and jumped into the air. He did a somersault in the air. Jamie Moore made a smooth turn without any embellishments and slashed his two swords down. The two swords with dark red pure energy passed through the man’s shoulders. The silver armor was helpless in front of the pure energy.

The man was cut like a piece of paper. Blood gushed like a fountain from the man’s shoulders.

[The player ‘Jamie Moore’ has won.]

The ranking battle was over. It was because his opponent's shoulders were cut in half and he couldn’t fight any longer with his limp arms.

***

“Is the chat window broken? Knock knock knock. Teachers? Are you not watching the live stream?”

Hyeonu saw the stopped chat window and tapped the air. The chatting in the chat window was noticeably reduced from the moment Jamie Moore dealt with his opponent in a flash.

-Are you saying this is relative?

-I just see him getting hit every day...

-By the way, didn’t he previously say that it was a bit tough when he won the 20 consecutive matches?

-He has gained a lot of levels in the meantime. He would have improved his skills even more.

-There seems to be a big difference in specs. It is possible if the specs rise like this, even if it is the same skill.

The viewers emerged from the shock created by Jamie Moore and resumed chatting. The viewers chatted in a lively manner like before.

“Well done, well done. I think I taught him really well. His judgment in situations like this. Was it like this originally? No, it was made by me and the daily instructors.”

Hyeonu smiled at the viewers. It was understandable. It was Hyeonu’s achievement in raising Jamie Moore like this when he had no experience.

-I admit it... it is a little bit like this because of him.

-Still, Jamie Moore is really good.

-It is different from when he was being beaten.

-The opponent is different, so the result is naturally different.

The viewers didn’t like Hyeonu’s smile, but they couldn’t refute it because it was true. Meanwhile, Jamie Moore appeared in the arena where Hyeonu was located.

“Jamie, congratulations on your victory. The start was neat. I have a good feeling.”

Hyeonu held out his hand to the approaching Jamie Moore.

“Thank you, Master Gang. My opponent came out like an idiot and I was able to easily win.”

Jamie Moore bowed slightly toward Hyeonu, who was congratulating him.

“Let’s continue this momentum and go straight to the next ranking battle. You have a long way to go,” Hyeonu urged Jamie Moore.

The person who just returned was put back into the ranking battle.

“You have to win as many matches as possible when you can still easily win. Once you start to feel tired... Jamie, it is you who will have a hard time. Do you know?”

It was the time when Jamie Moore easily beat his opponents. The problem was when the battle really started. From then on, Jamie Moore would have to focus more than he did now and that would return to him as mental exhaustion. It was obvious that the accumulated fatigue would act as an obstacle to performing properly.

“I am aware. Thus, I plan to be as practical as possible.”

Jamie Moore was keenly aware of what Hyeonu was saying. The first 30 minutes weren’t the same as the last 30 minutes. He knew it really well. This meant he wasn’t thinking about fancy things at all.

An uncool victory—this was exactly what Jamie Moore wanted.

***

It was after more than 10 ranking battles passed. Jamie Moore’s opponents were no longer defeated in vain as before. They fought for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Yet with each win, the rise in rankings became even steeper. His ranking went up as much as winning two or three times easily. His winning streak continued and the ranking of his matched opponents rose sharply.

Jamie Moore’s two swords skimmed his opponent’s side and blood gushed out.

‘Okay, I won.’

A smile appeared on Jamie Moore’s face. His victory was decided with this. It was safe to say that he had won. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it was enough to make his opponent’s movements awkward. Nevertheless, Jamie Moore wasn’t in a hurry.

Slowly. He pushed his opponent very slowly. Jamie Moore’s goal wasn’t to push at the weaknesses. It was to make them give up on their own. It was said that even a mouse would bite a cat when cornered. Then what if the rat’s teeth were missing and the nails were gone?

‘Then it can’t bite.’

This was a truth that Jamie Moore had learned over the past hour. Jamie Moore saved his two swords and diligently moved his feet instead. He circled around the opponent and adjusted the distance. Jamie Moore didn’t come in, so his wounded opponent rushed at Jamie Moore. The man made this judgment because he knew he would be at a disadvantage as time passed.

His opponent’s longsword aimed at Jamie Moore’s chest. However, Jamie Moore casually evaded it by taking a few steps back. It was thanks to his constant movements.

The next moment, Jamie Moore’s feet dug into the soft dirt ground of the arena. His bent knees stretched out and Jamie Moore’s body shot forward at an explosive speed. Then Jamie Moore swept past his opponent, who hadn’t yet regained his posture.

Blood spurted from the side of his opponent that wasn’t injured. The man ended up bleeding from both his left and right sides.

“Ack!!” A scream burst out.

The man had endured it once, but twice was hard. Even in this situation, Jamie Moore didn’t rush in. He maintained a reasonable distance while keeping an eye on his opponent. The man with wounds on both sides supported his body by using the longsword as a staff. The man's sides were stinging every time he moved.

However, this was a virtual reality game, not reality. The pain wasn’t that severe. After a bit of time, the man adapted to it and raised his longsword again while staring at Jamie Moore.

‘I don’t know why he didn’t finish it...’

“You will regret it greatly, you jerk!”

The man flinched before rushing toward Jamie Moore. Then the man quickly swung his longsword, which was overflowing with blue pure energy. The blue pure energy that shot at Jamie Moore was quite intimidating.

Jamie Moore’s expression didn’t change when he saw the approaching pure energy. Instead, he crossed the two swords in his hand and swung it vigorously. A dark red cross-shaped pure energy was created following the trajectory of the two swords. Jamie Moore’s pure energy flew toward the blue pure energy.

The dark red cross and blue pure energy collided. A powerful shockwave occurred. Soon after, both pure energies disappeared without a trace.

Just then, two men rushed from the direction the pure energy had flown. Jamie Moore took the lead this time. He fully demonstrated the strengths of the two swords and prevented his opponent from properly extending his sword. This pressure continued endlessly. A skill wasn’t used. He demonstrated the close combat style he had practiced with the rankers who had reached a grand master.

His opponent was helpless. The man tried to counterattack, but the timing didn’t come. The relentless attacks that came endlessly made the man's eyes and hands shake. It happened the moment Jamie Moore's opponent finally lost his sharp eyes and hands...

A dark red pure energy passed through the man’s chest.

***

-Is that a person?

-Who plays a ranking battle like this?

-Just kill him. Win!

-A monster was raised... a monster.

The viewers lamented at Jamie Moore’s brutal behavior. The pursuit of perfection that didn’t allow for even a single variable made it difficult for the viewers. Even if it was cruel, this was too cruel.

“What’s wrong with this? You have to do this to win. I am very satisfied.”

Hyeonu didn’t understand the reaction of the viewers. He felt really good. Jamie Moore's appearance was what Hyeonu himself had ordered. Thoroughly seek a perfect victory without being overwhelmed. This was what Hyeonu had said the most to Jamie Moore. Never go in unless there was a perfect opportunity.

Jamie Moore was doing this.

-Is this normal? You just have to win when you can win.

-It is too much to drive your opponent to the limit.

-I can understand it once or twice. It is the case every time...

-If he continues to grow this way, he will seem like a sub version of Alley Leader.

The viewers immediately responded to Hyeonu’s words. It didn’t matter while they were watching, but it was really scary to think of actually meeting an opponent like Jamie Moore in a ranking battle. In the worst case scenario, it could be traumatic.

“Originally, if you win, then you should win properly. This way, they won’t be able to show their skills the next time we meet.”

This was a truth Hyeonu had realized during his long virtual reality gaming career.

“I am very satisfied.”

Hyeonu gave a deep smile to the viewers.