Hugo’s clear and warm answer meant Hyeonu was able to gain some time. Hyeonu spent that time on Bung Bung Island, enjoying its spectacular views with Tang-E. Of course, Hugo came like a ghost when it was time for the meal. However, it was only a few times. Manong eventually caught Hugo eating with them and forcibly took him away. Since then, Hyeonu and Tang-E devoted themselves to exploring Bung Bung Island in a harmonious manner.

“Today is the last day,” Hyeonu said when he saw Tang-E eating the meat so deliciously.

“It is okay, Master dude. I got enough rest.” Tang-E put down the meat and smiled at Hyeonu. He had known as well that this break wouldn’t last forever.

“The next time you go to Bung Bung Island, I will introduce you to a very good friend,” Tang-E, who was seated on Hyeonu’s head, said while looking at the scenery of Bung Bung Island.

“Yes, let’s come back to see that friend.” Hyeonu stroked Tang-E’s head.

***

Hyeonu collected information in real life while resting on Bung Bung Island in the game. He searched for sightings of elves.

“What? Elves? I’ve killed a dark elf. There are no elves in Arena yet, right? I haven’t even seen an NPC elf,” Yeongchan replied like he had never heard of it.

“Elves? Let’s see... I don’t remember seeing any? Junggu, have you seen them?”

“I also haven’t seen them, Hyung-nim. The dwarves are in Hyeonu’s territory, but I haven’t heard about the elves being seen anywhere.”

Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu were the same. They had also never seen an elf.

“Elves? Why are you looking for the elves?” Reina first asked why Hyeonu was looking for the elves. It was a different reaction from what the others gave. Then like the others, Reina shook her head and said she hadn’t seen the elves: “Um... I've never heard of elves being seen either.”

‘There is really no one who has seen them?’

At this point, Hyeonu was losing hope. However, there was always a breakthrough in the end.

“Elves? I heard that the Pioneer Guild has been wandering around looking for the elves. Please contact them. You’re close with them, right?” Mascherano mentioned something different from previous answers. He remembered hearing about the elves.

‘Pioneer...’ Hyeonu thought.

Those in the Pioneer Guild were all strange people. It wasn’t the strongest guild, but it was the freest guild. At the same time, it was a guild supported by numerous players. It was because they were those who coveted the mysteries of Arena.

‘We’ve been involved again and again... Will we meet again here?’

Hyeonu felt that their relationship was certainly not a shortlived one. In particular, the guild leader of Pioneer, Ket, was Hyeonu’s biggest supporter. He provided Hyeonu with all types of benefits that went beyond the simple sponsorship payments, including cars. They also had many experiences together such as dungeon raising and hunting.

‘Let’s look at the community first.’

Hyeonu didn’t contact Ket straight away. Instead, he first gathered information that was already known in the communities. It was easy to find articles about the actions of the Pioneer Guild. Once he entered the Arena communities and searched for the Pioneer Guild or Ket, similar content came out.

-The Pioneer Guild has been on a strange quest in the southern part of the West Continent for more than a month. This is the information they have revealed themselves, and it has been proven on occasional live streams.

Mascherano’s words were true. The Pioneer Guild was really looking for elves. Once it was confirmed, Hyeonu immediately sent an email to Ket. The content of the email was simple: could he join their journey to find the elves? If that couldn’t work out, could they share the location when they found the elves in the future?

He wrote down only these two things. Hyeonu soon received an answer.

-After a discussion, we concluded that it is okay if it is Alley Leader. However, I would like to let you know in advance that the quests are very tedious and far from being useful for leveling up. If you still want to participate, please come to the southern pioneering village and contact me.

The Pioneer Guild readily approved Hyeonu joining them. In fact, there was no need to stop it. They weren’t sensitive to interests and having one more companion was fine. If that companion was Alley Leader, then... it was a plus.

‘In any case, leveling up doesn’t mean much anymore.’

It wasn’t urgent for Hyeonu to level up immediately now that he had reached level 400. He had already crossed a big wall; there was no rush. Now the important thing was the quest, not leveling up.

Hyeonu sent an email to Ket again. It was an email stating that he would join immediately.

***

“Did he really get in touch?”

“Are we going to see him again?”

“Is he interested in the elves? As expected, Alley Leader is also a man.”

The Pioneer Guild members trembled when they heard that Hyeonu sent a message expressing a desire to join.

“There must be a reason to look for the elves. Do you think Alley Leader is the same as you?” Ket muttered as he looked at the people talking all over the place.

Even so, Ket couldn’t help smiling at the news that Hyeonu was coming. Alley Leader was Ket’s idol. He started later than others, but he was one step ahead of everyone else and showed a different playstyle. This was the same goal that Ket pursued.

“How strong is he now?”

“I’ve seen the latest video. It was incredible. It is incomparable.”

“Then he will be a big help. We can complete the quest quickly.”

“He is a person who is good at clearing quests. Then we will be able to see the elves soon.”

The Pioneer Guild was now blocked by a wall. So far, they had cleared dozens of linked quests. Some of them were strange quests that were really insignificant while others were strangely difficult. However, as a party of five heavily armed rankers with strong financial resources, they broke through the difficulties. Now they had reached their limit.

“He’s coming, over there.”

“Where, where?”

“The one on purple clothes over there.”

A Pioneer Guild member was pointing to Hyeonu, who was walking leisurely in purple armor.

“Hello, everyone in the Pioneer Guild. It has been a while. How have you been?” Hyeonu bowed his head slightly to the five men sitting around and greeted them.

“We’ve been well. Alley Leader, how have you been doing? Are you sick anywhere?”

“You did a good job in the demon realm. I really wanted to participate in the event...”

“We had our own work, so we left the demon world early and couldn’t participate in the main scenario. It is a pity.”

“I heard that you are building a new team. How come you don’t need a sponsor? Now the number of players has increased and you will need more money...”

Except for Ket, the four members rose from Hyeonu and rushed to Hyeonu right when he greeted them.

“If you officially send any sponsorship-related story to the club, we will take care of it. There are still two spots left.” Hyeonu wasn’t flustered at all and responded to the Pioneer Guild members one by one.

“Stop. We didn’t call Alley Leader for this.” Ket couldn’t continue watching them anymore and intervened in the conversation between Hyeonu and the Pioneer Guild members.

“That’s right. Alley Leader wanted to see the elves.”

“Hurry up and move. Let’s go see the elves.”

“What elves? The elf will freeze to death first. We haven’t even killed him yet.

Hyeonu saw the Pioneer Guild members talking to each other and thought they had changed a lot from before.

‘They have become very bright.’

They had either brightened up or become more active. It was clear that there was a change in those directions. However, Hyeonu didn’t express it and only asked about the elves: “By the way, who is the ‘him’ you mentioned? What are you killing?”

“Ah, Alley Leader doesn’t know. We are currently working on an elf-related quest, and the situation has become bad.”

“A quest to kill a boss monster appeared, but the five of us couldn't do it. We were thinking about whether to give up or not when we received your message.”

After finding out how the situation was, Hyeonu opened his mouth with a smile and said, “Then shall we go and kill the boss? You will ride the bus again after all this time. It will be like back then.” 

Hyeonu was full of confidence. After all, defeating monsters was his specialty. The monster blocking Pioneer’s way couldn’t kill Hyeonu unless it was a demon king.

“Please.” The Pioneer Guild took Hyeonu into the forest where it was located.

***

Hyeonu was following the Pioneer Guild through the forest when he suddenly opened his mouth: “By the way, you said it was a ‘him’. But... what type of monster is he?” 

He didn’t even know what type of monster he was going to kill right now. He was just going along with them.

“Ah, I didn’t mention it. He is an orc. He is characterized by dark red skin and red eyes. He is also very intelligent, making him difficult to deal with. We barely managed to overcome the crisis of death. We barely managed to run away,” Asu, the magician who gave off a cold impression, answered Hyeonu’s question.

Asu trembled as he described the red-skinned orc and recalled the situation at the time. It was a crisis that had almost forced him to log out.

‘An orc?’ Hyeonu was startled by the word ‘orc’.

The image of a muscular orc flashing a brief smile while he wielded his axe appeared in Hyeonu’s mind.

‘No, there are no two monsters like that.’ Hyeonu shook his head.

It couldn’t be Raccoon. There also couldn’t be another orc that was as strong as him. It would obviously break the balance. If there were two such powerhouses among the orcs, the West Continent would be in a close battle with the orcs, not a human paradise.

“Is he very strong? What about the patterns? What do you know?” Hyeonu asked with a slightly urgent expression.

“The CC is very tricky. It is blood-like red energy, and when we touched it, our movement speed slowed down. We also fell into a state of fear after hearing its Fear. The moment he slams the ground with a weapon, a shock wave will occur. If we get caught in that, we will fall into an abnormal condition...” Jewel, Pioneer’s only authentic tank position, released information about the CC he experienced.

Unlike Jewel, who was explaining things excitedly, Hyeonu’s expression was calm. ‘It is okay.’ 

This orc could be considered as merely a strong boss monster.

‘It isn’t impossible to move. I don't think there's much of a difference.'

Hyeonu had experienced being unable to move when monsters like Raccoon and Lebron used their full strength. Therefore, he didn’t even blink an eye during CCs like slowdown or fear. There was no guarantee that the CC would work on Hyeonu.

“That is enough. Let’s hurry up and go. I will kill him for you.”

The anxiety that had built up in Hyeonu’s heart completely disappeared.

(1/7) Weekly chapters. No set days. 

Editor: LD

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