The Return of the Genius Ranker of All Times

Chapter 45

Whenever he saw them, he couldn’t decide whether to call them consistent friends or just plain annoying.

Kang Do-hyeon, brushing them off without a second thought, finished cooking stew and setting the table.

As he took a spoonful, the harmonious blend of just the right amount of saltiness and the flavor of fermented soybean paste spread throughout his mouth.

As expected, his mother’s soybean paste stew was exceptional.

Do-hyeon quickly finished a bowl, then flopped down on the sofa.

Familiar scenes flickered on the TV.

Although Do-hyeon wasn’t familiar with dramas or variety shows, this time, it was a channel he was more specialized in than anyone.

“What the, why’s God of Savior on? You play God of Savior too?”

“Who doesn’t these days?”

“Huh, seriously?”

“Yeah. I’m actually pretty high level. I’m level 71.”

“No way.”

He was genuinely shocked.

The person who wouldn’t even glance at games was now playing God of Savior?

And their level was much higher than his!

“If you’re level 71, you’ve played quite a bit? You usually don’t play stuff like this.”

“I’ve been playing for about six months. A friend offered to help me power-level, so I started playing, and it turned out to be pretty fun.”

“Hm, does it usually take about half a year?”

“You don’t know? Unlike someone who dumps 10 hours into the game every day.”

“…”

Do-hyeon couldn’t think of a response and shut his mouth.

To be fair, what they said was normal.

It was abnormal to be like him, worrying about how to use every second efficiently because even 10 hours wasn’t enough.

With being a ranker now completely out of the question, most people just played games casually for fun.

‘This is the only way I enjoy it.’

Do-hyeon found people like that fascinating, but he knew that if he said that, Hyun-ah would just shake her head, saying, “Ugh, you reek of no-lifer vibes.”

So, Do-hyeon wisely chose to stay quiet and watch TV.

“-Today’s God of Savior broadcast~ We have some very hot news for you today!”

A God of Savior broadcast.

Thanks to quick investments, God of Savior had established itself as the most popular program delivering game news.

The witty banter between MCs Jin Hyun-mo and Jang Ye-na was also one of the reasons for the show’s favorable reception.

Once again, the two were chatting enthusiastically.

“Is it another one of those top 10 guild raids? The viewers are getting tired of that.”

“Haha, we’d love to meet your expectations, but sadly, today’s news is about something else! It’s still about guilds, but this time, it’s the Hero Guild, not a top 10 guild!”

“The Hero Guild? Oh, I know them. They’re really famous, right?”

“You only know because the guild master is handsome, right?”

“Hmm, no, that’s not it! Okay, he is my type, but… I, Jang Ye-na, can distinguish between personal and professional matters!”

‘Huh?’

At the familiar guild name, Do-hyeon mumbled without realizing it.

“Hero Guild?”

“Huh? What, oppa, you know the Hero Guild?”

“Well… yeah, I do.”

Hyun-ah stared at Do-hyeon intently.

Her expression was odd, and then she suddenly put on a serious face and started speaking in the deepest voice she could muster.

“Only weaklings join guilds. Such people aren’t worth remembering.”

“…?”

“Where did that person go? You weren’t even in middle school anymore, but you still spouted stuff that made me cringe to death. But now you’ve changed after coming back from the military.”

“…Ah.”

Do-hyeon furrowed his brows, recalling an old memory that suddenly resurfaced.

Back when he was 18 and going through his delayed “middle school syndrome” during his second year of high school, Hyun-ah had once asked him something about DemRock. He found it bothersome and answered like that.

It wasn’t just because he was annoyed—back then, he had genuinely thought it was cool. But now, it was nothing short of a cringe-worthy black history.

“You kept saying things like, ‘Life is all about solitude’… Ugh, every time you spewed those cringe lines, it gave me goosebumps.”

“…Did I? I don’t really remember.”

“I couldn’t bring my friends around you out of sheer embarrassment.”

…Now he understood why she had avoided introducing him to her friends.

Do-hyeon couldn’t blame her; even he would have been scared of himself back then.

He had no excuse—he really had been a crazy person. But there was some reasoning behind it.

At that time, Do-hyeon had been on a winning streak, thanks to his superb control, which naturally attracted many players.

Some of them wanted to mark their presence, but there were several times more who wanted to stab him in the back.

Because of that, he had become suspicious of anyone who approached him.

‘Just hearing the word “guild” made me sick.’

Later, entire guilds started targeting him, so he grew to hate guilds entirely.

Everyone was always bragging about being part of a guild, or that they were an executive or something.

It felt no different from local thugs calling in their big brothers for backup after taking a punch.

As a minor who had faced such challenges early in the game, wasn’t it only natural to develop a critical view?

He tried to comfort himself with that thought, but he couldn’t deny it was still a cringey part of his past.

“Ahem. So, the Hero Guild is pretty famous? They must be if they’re even on TV.”

Avoiding her gaze, he feigned ignorance, and Hyun-ah, after giving him a scrutinizing look, sighed and turned away.

It seemed she had decided to let it go.

“These days, the Hero Guild is all the rage among people in their 20s. In terms of popularity, they’re practically on par with Myeolsal.”

“Huh? Why? They’re not even a top 10 guild.”

“Well, they mainly focus on discipline, they have a good mission to become heroes, the guild’s average age is young, and most importantly, the guild master is handsome.”

“…Ah.”

So, in the end, it was all about appearances.

While the guild had the trends young people liked, he was convinced that last reason played the most significant role.

“Guys seem to like Myeolsal more, but girls usually prefer the Hero Guild.”

“I see… That makes sense.”

In other words, Myeolsal was the guild that excited men, while the Hero Guild’s master was the one who captivated women.

Although he replied casually, he actually understood.

“-There probably aren’t many who don’t know about the Hero Guild. They rank high even among large guilds and are one of the few that challenge the ferocity of the top 10 guilds.”

“In terms of PvP and assassinations, they’re practically top-tier, right? I heard they’re nearly on par with the top 10 guilds in that area.”

“Yes, the Hero Guild was initially established with the purpose of eliminating villains.”

“Of course, there are other reasons, but the fact that the guild master, Berge, is incredibly handsome also plays a role. Even men admit he’s attractive.”

The short hunting clip showing Berge made him look like some sort of prince from a fairy tale.

Although he had heard Berge was Korean, his dyed hair and foreign-looking character customization made him look like a noble from a romance fantasy novel.

“Doesn’t he look a bit too much like a pretty boy?”

“That’s what they call being ‘handsome and pretty.’ Women go crazy for faces like that.”

“…”

If he’s handsome, he’s handsome. If he’s pretty, he’s pretty. But what was this “handsome-pretty” thing?

Trying to understand would only make him tired, so Do-hyeon decided to let it go.

‘I should head to the gym.’

It would take about 20 minutes to walk to the gym, just enough time to digest the food.

Besides, he hadn’t overeaten on purpose.

Just as he was about to get up with that thought in mind—

“But I heard the Hero Guild issued another assassination order today?”

‘…What?’

That familiar term made Do-hyeon freeze.

“Oh, that news spreads fast. As most people in Raven know, there’s a lot of toxic players who enjoy exploiting newbies.”

“Right, right. I got wrecked so many times when I was in Raven…”

“Didn’t Jang Ye-na punish them?”

“Well, I thought about going easy on them because they were kinda cute, but… Is that really important right now?”

“Haha. Anyway, these toxic players brazenly tried to rally support through posts, which eventually caught the attention of the Hero Guild. Now there’s trouble… Let’s check out the footage.”

The footage began with interviews from people who had been victimized by AssassinBoy and his group.

“They’re total trash. I still can’t get over what they did to me.”

“I was new to the game, and they pretended to help me. I was so grateful… Then I found out it was all a trap. That’s how they lure newbies.”

“I’ve hit level 24, but they still won’t let me go. Why? Because they find it fun.”

“Even though it’s just a game, it’s so infuriating. There’s no law that applies to this, and there’s no one to complain to… It drives you crazy.”

Many victims expressed their anger, and the reenactments showed how they had been tricked.

Then, with grand background music, the scene shifted to the Hero Guild, showing five heroes.

To be precise, it was the five heroes versus AssassinBoy’s group.

Compared to the last time, AssassinBoy’s and his crew’s gear had become ridiculously shabby, and they were being slaughtered repeatedly by the Hero Guild.

“Wow, that feels so good. There really are a lot of scumbags like them, huh?”

“That’s just how games are.”

The dramatic presentation made it all the more satisfying for the viewers.

A handsome-pretty guy punishing evildoers?

It was no wonder he had fans.

If this were on a mainstream network, some might find it offensive, but most of the viewers watching the God of Savior broadcast were young and found it refreshing instead.

“Aren’t all games like that?”

“All the games I’ve played have been like that.”

Though the only games she had played were DemRock and God of Savior, both notorious for their toxicity, they probably weren’t much different from other games.

It was proof that people needed to live virtuously.

Those guys had lived wicked lives, and now they were getting their just deserts, even being broadcast for all to see.

Hyun-ah, nodding her head, muttered, “No wonder…”

“Lately, YouTube videos about ‘discipline’ are really popular.”

“YouTube?”

“Yeah. You know, those videos like ‘Pranking toxic players,’ ‘Pretending to be a newbie and baiting PK,’ and stuff. Oh, you wouldn’t know since you just got out. These days, YouTube is all about God of Savior.”

Do-hyeon’s interest piqued.

The content seemed fresh and entertaining, but what caught his attention more was the fact that God of Savior had even taken over YouTube.

‘Well, they did say God of Savior had absorbed just about everything. It makes sense YouTube would follow suit.’

While he wasn’t someone who never watched YouTube, he only used it when necessary.

Now that he thought about it, most of the videos were indeed about God of Savior.

The content was diverse too.

From raid videos to arena matches, pranks, songs, and even videos about building fantasy structures…

“Every one of these videos has over 10 million views?”

Even more shocking was the number of views.

Before he joined the army, videos typically had around a million views…

“That’s old news. Popular videos now get over 100 million views.”

“What?”

“Everyone’s playing God of Savior now, but it’s hard to succeed. There are tons of people who don’t even get picked up by the algorithm.”

As with any market, it all boiled down to supply and demand.

There was high demand, but there was far too much supply, meaning most videos were things people had already seen. Naturally, only the freshest and most entertaining ones got attention.

“If a video has 100 million views… they must make a ton of money, right?”

“Probably? I heard the Hero Guild master makes billions each month just from YouTube.”

“Wait, billions?”

“Yeah. People like Myeolsal rake in about 1 billion won a month from various sources. They’re really living in another world.”

“A billion…”

His head began to spin.

Even when he was holding onto the top spot in DemRock, he’d barely managed to make about 10 million won a month. But a billion?

And by the end, making 100,000 won a month felt like a miracle.

‘But a billion…’

YouTube?

Back then, just having someone watch his videos felt rewarding and made him grateful.

He had never dreamed of making money from it.

That’s why he hadn’t cared about it at all.

But now, the world had changed.

“A billion…”

“Huh? Oppa, you’re not thinking something weird again, are you?”

“A billion… What could I do with that much money? How many Big Macs could I…”

Hyun-ah looked at him with a suspicious gaze, but Do-hyeon was too preoccupied to notice.

His mind was consumed by that staggering figure.

For the first time in his gaming life, the concept of YouTube entered Do-hyeon’s awareness.