âHuh? Are you serious about that?â Reina asked like she couldnât believe it.
It meant that Hyeonuâs words werenât easy to believe.
âYes, I think this is the best for Crescent Moon.â
Hyeonu nodded. He confirmed that Reina didnât hear it incorrectly.
âI will talk to the team first. They will probably like it. A scrimmage between Crescent Moon in PvP...â
This was what Reina heard from Hyeonu. It was about periodic scrimmages between the New York Warriors and Crescent Moon.
âWe canât meet all year round unless it is Arena Week. There canât be a team with better conditions than this.â
Hyeonu had several reasons for making this suggestion. Hyeonu alone wasnât that efficient in improving Crescent Moonâs skills. Hyeonu was one person and there were six players participating in PvP. During the time when he practiced with one person, the other five had to practice among themselves. It was much better to bring in other PvP opponents for them to gain experience.
The opponents he found were the New York Warriors. They were better than the players of Crescent Moon and they wouldnât meet in each otherâs leagues, so there was no fear of exposure of power. Of course, they might meet at Arena Week, but that was too far away.
They wouldnât even be able to go to Arena Week if they didnât perform well in the league. He had to do this no matter the difficulties or obstacles faced. The conversation about work ended here. They arrived at the cafe that was their destination.
âWhat do you want to eat? I will have an iced Americano and a cheesecake.â
Hyeonu entered the cafe and immediately decided on what to order.
âUm... I will have a chocolate cake, two egg tarts, two macarons, and a hot latte.â
Hyeonu wasnât embarrassed by Reinaâs large order. This was also familiar now.
âIt is clear that she has a separate stomach for dessert.â
After ordering, Hyeonu and Reina settled down beside the window of the second floor of the cafe.
âDo you have any plans for the evening?â Hyeonu sat in a chair and asked Reina.
âThis evening? I think Iâm just going to play Arena,â Reina thought for a moment and answered Hyeonuâs question.
âThen do you want to go to Arena together?â Hyeonu joked. He was suggesting to go to a Korean club with the same name as Arena, the virtual reality game. It was a joke using the same name.
âHuh? Go to Arena together?â Reina couldnât understand Hyeonuâs words properly and asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The only Arena she knew was the virtual reality game.
âNo, letâs go to Arena together,â Hyeonu spoke in English the second time, not Korean, as Reina didnât seem to understand. Perhaps it was because she learned Korean quickly, but she didnât understand things like puns very well.
âArena? Where is it?â
Even if he said this, Reina couldnât understand Hyeonuâs words because she didnât know what Arena was. She just guessed that Arena was the name of a place.
âIt is a fun place. Would you like to come with me?â
âYes. Iâll come.â
Reina nodded. She didnât know what Arena was, but if it was with Hyeonu...
There was no reason not to go.
***
The hunt in the Mapa Tribeâs Special Training Center, an instance dungeon within an instance dungeon, also ended. The hunt in the special training ground wasnât very difficult. At first, there was a slight risk when examining the different patterns. It became quicker after he realized the pattern of the troll shaman.
He killed them instantly before the troll shamans could cast their powerful magic. In the process, Cutting the Moonlight achieved remarkable growth.
[The shaman of the Mapa Tribe has been killed.]
[Experience has been acquired.]
[The skill proficiency of Cutting the Moonlight has increased to E.]
âIt has increased again.â
Hyeonu smiled when he saw that Cutting the Moonlight had increased in proficiency once again. It was now a more frequently used skill than Crescent Moon Cut. He used it unconditionally every time the cooldown ended. This was how powerful it was. In particular, the more magic power he poured out, the more the power rose.
Hyeonu was able to pour out magic power freely because he could restore it in proportion to the damage caused to the monster. He used the skill more frequently so the speed at which the skill proficiency rose also increased.
âMaster dude, this is the end of it.â
Tang-E approached Hyeonu, who was smiling happily while looking at the skill window. They had searched the instance dungeon, the Mapa Tribeâs Special Training Center. However, they couldnât find a boss monster anywhere. In such a situation, there was now only one area where they hadnât hunted.
"Yes, this is the end. So we wonât rest and will go right away.â
Hyeonu picked up the gold coins that had fallen to the ground and moved straight to the remaining field. Trolls appeared steadily as they moved. One or two appeared and swung a wooden stick at Hyeonu but their offense ended with just one move. They werenât given the chance to swing it twice.
After one attack, Hyeonu also swung the Mysterious Sky Sword once. That was the end of it.
âThat guy?â
Hyeonu found a troll in the distance. Outwardly, this troll wasnât much different from the other trolls. There was just a clear difference on the face.
âHe is old.â
Even the trollâs regenerative power couldnât withstand the passage of time. Wrinkles were everywhere on this trollâs face. Tang-E cocked his head when he saw the trollâs face.
âMaster dude, he looks familiar,â Tang-E suddenly clapped and whispered in a small voice to Hyeonu.
âHuh? Familiar? Where did you see him?â
Hyeonu cocked his head like Tang-E after hearing Tang-Eâs whisper.
âWhere did Tang-E see that troll?â
âIt must be an illusion. Where did you see something like this?â
As far as Hyeonu knew, Tang-E had experienced very little of the world before joining him. The number of times he left Bung Bung Island could be counted using his fingers.
âI guess? That is why I asked you, Master dude.â
At Hyeonuâs resolute words, Tang-E shook his head slightly and smiled at Hyeonu.
âStill, I canât just ignore it.â
Unless Tang-E made it up, he mightâve seen a creature similar to the troll one day. Being a bit cautious wasnât a bad thing. Hyeonu carefully approached the old troll. He got closer and the old trollâs appearance became more clearly visible.
âHe looks like a shaman.â
The old troll was wearing all types of ornaments made of bones. Unlike the other troll shamans, he was carrying a well-cut wooden staff. Hyeonu saw this and his gaze moved up and down.
âHe is somewhat familiar...â
Unexpectedly, the appearance of the old troll was also familiar to Hyeonu.
âWho is it?!â
It happened at this moment...
The old troll yelled sharply while turning his head in the direction where Hyeonu was standing. At the same time, he extended the wooden staff in his hand. A thunderbolt poured toward Hyeonuâs head, but there was nobody in the spot where the thunderbolt struck.
Hyeonu and Tang-E had already escaped. The thunderbolt fell in an instant, but the time it took the old troll to wield the wooden staff was long enough for Hyeonu to avoid it.
âIsnât this greeting a bit rough?â
âYes, Master dude. Tang-E doesnât like a fierce greeting.â
Hyeonu and Tang-E appeared quite far away from the thunderbolt. They both pretended to be fine, but they were quite surprised. They never imagined that the old troll would speak or that he would attack like this.
âIt doesnât fit my personality to just be beaten.â
âYes, Master dude. It didnât hit, but he obviously attacked. We have to do it once.â
Hyeonu and Tang-E were in sync. Before making a physical attack, they first shook the opponentâs mind with words.
âTang-E will pay him back first.â
Tang-E summoned a golden orb, a Heart, and focused his magic power on the Heart. Huge magic power flowed out of Tang-Eâs body and moved into the Heart. The Heart full of magic power dropped a ray of lightning from the sky. Lightning struck the old troll and it was several times louder than the thunderbolt of the old troll.
âWho do you think will be hit so easily?â
The old trollâs expression distorted and he swung his wooden staff. Then a blue film formed over his head. Tang-Eâs lightning was blocked by it. The blue film around the old troll started to crack. It couldnât withstand Tang-Eâs lightning. Then a wedge was driven in such a crack. Hyeonuâs purple giant sword completely shattered the blue film.
âThere are two of us.â
âSet, set. You stupid troll.â
Hyeonu and Tang-E threw mocking words at the old troll, whose shoulder was crushed by the giant sword.
âThis... I canât die like this. Spare me. Then... Iâll give you a treasure.â
The old trollâs expression changed suddenly. There was a very urgent expression on his face.
âTreasure? Master dude, he says he will give you a treasure. What are you going to do?â
Tang-E instinctively stared at Hyeonu when the old troll said the word âtreasure.â Hyeonu briefly made eye contact with Tang-E before shouting at the old troll.
âThere is no need for that. All I need is your life!â Hyeonu shouted firmly.
Tang-E showed a surprised expression at Hyeonuâs words. It was a completely unexpected answer. Hyeonu refused a treasure.
âWhat enmity do you have with him? No... we are obviously meeting for the first time today.â
Tang-E made a confused expression.
âKuooh... If only I had a bit more time... if so...â
The old troll looked helpless as he pulled out the giant sword embedded in his shoulder. No, it was correct to say that he crushed it rather than pulled it out. It was because the giant sword was made with Hyeonuâs magic power. It would naturally lose its form when Hyeonuâs magic power was scattered.
âEnmity... there is no enmity, but... what if youâve had an experience where you were almost hit in the back of the head?â Hyeonu answered Tang-Eâs question with his eyes fixed on the old troll. The old troll was dispersing the magic power of the giant sword with a pained expression. Then he heard Hyeonuâs words and turned to look at Hyeonu.
âWhat? It has been so long that you donât remember me?â Hyeonu spoke derisively to the old troll.
âYou... who are you to say this to me? Reveal your identity, human!â the old troll yelled at Hyeonu.
âYou canât even remember the face that killed you. I donât know how you came back to life, but I will kill you again, Chroma.â
The eyes of the old troll, Chroma, widened at Hyeonuâs words.