I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 69

69.

“Because that’s… what?”

Seo-ah was rather taken aback by the immediate acceptance.

“You two should join as well. I was going to ask anyway, so this works out great.”

“Why? So easily?”

Yu Ji-an answered that question.

“Hunters are more dangerous than monsters. It’s great for practical experience.”

“Still.”

“What’s so difficult about it? I was hesitant to suggest it because our levels don’t match, but it’s perfect since you brought it up first.”

“But…”

“Oh, don’t worry. We’re not going to pit Hunter Park Seo-ah against a C-rank in a one-on-one match right away. It would be a disaster if you even got a scratch.”

Han Seok-hyun left those words as if they were pre-planned and disappeared inside.

Yu Ji-an was about to go in as well, but Seo-ah grabbed his sleeve and stopped him.

“Just a moment.”

Yu Ji-an glanced at his grabbed sleeve before turning his gaze to Seo-ah.

“Hunter Yu Ji-an, did you tell them in advance?”

“Why do you think that?”

“It’s just, the way everything is proceeding so smoothly…”

“You’re right.”

Seo-ah was at a loss for words when Yu Ji-an readily admitted it.

“Am I meddling unnecessarily?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just because I’m an E-rank.”

“Are you planning to stay an E-rank forever?”

“…….”

That wasn’t the case. Seo-ah needed to unlock the S-rank supporter.

“The things you’ll be facing aren’t E-ranks anymore. Not monsters, not hunters.”

“But I have no intention of fighting hunters.”

“That’s not something you get to decide either.”

Certainly, if they start a fight, there’s not much I can do.

“Besides, I’m not the one fighting today. Su-jeong will be fighting. I’m just supporting from behind… Ah.”

Seo-ah paused, realizing something mid-sentence.

“Right, that’s your position. It’ll be good practice.”

“I guess so. But…”

Seo-ah looked up at Yu Ji-an with a slightly sulky expression.

“Why?”

Seo-ah looked around, then moved closer to Yu Ji-an and stood on her tiptoes.

Yu Ji-an slightly lowered his head, sensing she had something to say.

“You said… I might kill you. So why are you trying to make me stronger? Is this okay?”

Yu Ji-an stared intently at Seo-ah’s face, now close to his.

He scrutinized her expression, but didn’t see any particular intention, just a genuinely worried face.

“Aren’t you curious about that future too? Whether you can really kill me, and why you would kill me if you did.”

“…….”

Seo-ah stepped back without answering, a troubled look on her face.

“Either way, getting stronger isn’t a loss for you.”

“Still, it comes to mind sometimes. Is there really such a future? Did you see it with a prediction skill?”

“No, I’m a regressor.”

Yu Ji-an answered with utmost honesty, but Seo-ah wasn’t listening at all. She seemed to dismiss it as nonsense.

“I should go in now. I’ve left Su-jeong alone for too long.”

Yu Ji-an watched Seo-ah turn away and leave for a long time. There was confusion in her eyes.

Soon, he too slowly entered the arena, following Seo-ah.

Seo-ah had already taken Su-jeong from the hunter waiting area to the place where the participating hunters were gathering.

A small smile appeared as he watched her running around busily.

“I don’t know everything either.”

Yu Ji-an muttered to himself and walked towards the VIP seats in the audience.

* * *

Noh Yoon-ji scanned the group of girls her age gathering around her, secretly smiling.

One of them spoke to her, seemingly interested in the accessory on Noh Yoon-ji’s arm.

“Yoon-ji, where did you get this?”

“Oh, this? I don’t know. I think my dad bought it as a gift when he went somewhere.”

Noh Yoon-ji said primly, unable to hide her smugness.

“Wow, I heard this is hard to get.”

Noh Yoon-ji glanced at her father, Noh Hak-young, in the VIP seat, then widened her eyes as she spotted Yu Ji-an, who had just entered and was sitting down.

Heo Chae-yoon also recognized Yu Ji-an and pointed to the audience.

“Oh, there. It’s Yu Ji-an. Song Jin-ho is there too.”

“Looks like all the high-rank hunters are here.”

Heo Chae-yoon and the other teenage girl hunters couldn’t hide their excitement as they looked at them.

“I saw Yu Ji-an briefly in the elevator yesterday, and he’s really handsome. It was the first time I saw him that close.”

“Isn’t Song Jin-ho cool too? I saw him last time, and his voice is really nice.”

There was admiration for the high-rank hunters, of course, but as teenage girls, their honest impressions of handsome men were the majority.

“But I heard Hunter Song Jin-ho is dating someone in the guild.”

A boy who was listening chimed in.

“What? Who?”

Noh Yoon-ji grabbed the boy’s arm and reacted sensitively.

“Why, you know. The one the guild leader brought in recently…”

“Could it be… Kang Su-jeong?”

“Huh? I don’t know the name. But, Kang Su-jeong and him have a big age gap. Surely not.”

The boy retorted, flustered, and Noh Yoon-ji glared at him and asked again.

“Then Park Seo-ah?”

“I, is that it? I don’t know?”

Noh Yoon-ji turned her head sharply and looked towards the waiting area, where Seo-ah and Su-jeong were coming towards them.

Noh Yoon-ji strode towards them.

“Kang Su-jeong, why are you here? This is the participant waiting area.”

“I’m participating too. With my sister here.”

“What? Is that true?”

Noh Yoon-ji turned to look at Park Seo-ah. Seo-ah smiled and nodded.

“That’s right, we’re E-ranks, so we decided to fight together. But I’m an E-rank healer, so Su-jeong will be doing most of the fighting. Please take care of us.”

Noh Yoon-ji looked at them with disbelief, then suddenly smiled.

In the early stages of the tournament, you could designate your opponents. So, hunters deliberately sought out weaker opponents to their advantage.

If several people designated one person, that one person would re-select.

Even though there were two of them, two typical E-ranks could barely handle one D-rank. And if one of them had no combat power, there was nothing to see.

Surely many hunters would choose Park Seo-ah and Kang Su-jeong. The hunter world was a world of the survival of the fittest, and as long as the minimum rules were followed, stepping on the weak was a matter of course.

And Yoon Doo-hee was there too. A C-rank hunter who had sparred with Seo-ah before. He had been beaten badly by Yu Ji-an for getting too excited back then.

“…….”

“Okay, okay. Please take a piece of paper from this side. You can write down three tournament opponents!”

At that moment, a competition official came in and handed out a piece of paper to everyone. Seo-ah handed the paper to Su-jeong.

“We have to write down three people?”

“You can write down only one if you want. They’ll match us up anyway.”

Kang Su-jeong wrote ‘Noh Yoon-ji’ without hesitation. Seeing her go that far, it seemed like she had a lot of pent-up feelings.

“Are you okay? I heard that hunter has not only a great background but also outstanding skills.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going out there to win. I just need to punch her in the face once.”

“Good, with that kind of spirit.”

Seo-ah patted Su-jeong’s shoulder. And without realizing it, she looked back at the VIP seats.

Yu Ji-an was staring intently at Seo-ah from that far away, not avoiding her gaze. Their eyes met naturally.

“…….”

It was a bit embarrassing, so Seo-ah looked away again.

Waaaaah-!

The cheers of the audience were heard.

Just now, the first match of the tournament was unfolding in the arena. Groups 1 and 2 were B-rank hunters. The arena was divided into several sections and proceeded simultaneously.

Thanks to this, the routes of the adjacent teams overlapped or were obstructed, but no one objected because this situation was deliberately intended.

A competition official came back into the waiting area where Seo-ah was. He collected the papers with each person’s name written on them and shouted loudly.

“Okay, okay. Please remove all items except for your main weapon. You can use skills, but don’t forget that this is a competition! If any homicidal acts are discovered, you will be permanently expelled from the guild and disciplined by the association!”

At that moment, Noh Yoon-ji raised her hand and shouted loudly.

“It’s okay to get a little hurt, right? That can happen when you’re fighting, right?”

“Yes, we have placed one healer in each area in preparation for injuries.”

Noh Yoon-ji smiled and turned to look at Seo-ah, as if she had heard the answer she wanted.

Seo-ah barely managed to pull down Kang Su-jeong, who was about to raise her middle finger.

Kugugugung, Pow-!

Invisible transparent barriers were placed around the waiting area and the audience seats to prevent the hunters’ skills from splashing out.

Inside, the hunters fought hard.

The matches didn’t take as long as expected. Before long, hunters began to fall one after another, and they were carried out on stretchers by the medical team.

Many hunters surrendered before falling. And, after the first match, the second B-rank match began immediately.

It was almost time to announce the C-rank group assignments.

A competition official stood in front and grabbed the microphone. And he looked around, searching for someone.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, Kang Su-jeong?”

“Yes?”

When Seo-ah and Su-jeong stepped forward, the competition official put down the microphone and spoke in a voice that only they could hear.

“You can choose one person from among these. Who would you like to choose?”

The competition official was holding a total of 19 cards in his hand, and Seo-ah and Su-jeong looked at each other with dumbfounded faces.