I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 76

76.

The bus carrying the hunters of the Sun Guild arrived in Gangwon Province a little after noon.

After a quick lunch, they finally arrived at a secluded beach after a four-hour drive.

Both sides of the beach were blocked by high mountains and cliffs, making it easy to control access from outsiders.

During the peak summer season, civilians were allowed access, but during the off-season, it was used as a training ground for the Sun Guild.

This beach and the luxurious resort not far from the beach were all owned by the Sun Guild.

Despite having such a resort, the hunters set up camp near the coastal windbreak forest.

Tents and barracks were set up between the large trees, and various supplies were neatly stacked outside.

As soon as the preparations were roughly finished, Han Seok-hyun clapped his hands to draw attention.

“Alright, everyone! Attention! Please come this way.”

He was definitely an A-class hunter.

Without a microphone, Han Seok-hyun projected his voice so that everyone could hear without straining.

The hundred or so hunters scattered here and there slowly gathered. As the hunters gathered from the back, Seo-ah naturally moved forward.

Seo-ah pretended not to notice Yoo Ji-an looking at her.

‘Why is he staring at me like that when there are other people around?’

Seo-ah was aimlessly rubbing her feet on the ground when Han Seok-hyun suddenly called her.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah.”

“Yes, yes?”

Seo-ah, who hadn’t expected to be called, was surprised and looked up.

“Could you come forward for a moment?”

Han Seok-hyun kindly pointed to the front and center spot next to him.

“Why… me?”

“It’s nothing. Please come forward. I need Hunter Park Seo-ah’s help.”

Seo-ah flinched at the word ‘help.’ For some reason, Seo-ah had always found it difficult to refuse requests from people asking for help.

Seo-ah stepped forward. Naturally, Yoo Ji-an was on her left and Han Seok-hyun on her right.

Her face turned red from the attention, and her head lowered. She felt like she could hear their thoughts.

She glanced to the side and saw Song Jin-ho with the other A-class hunters, slightly away from her.

When their eyes met, Song Jin-ho waved slightly. He meant well, but Seo-ah unconsciously turned her head away.

‘I shouldn’t have listened to that story.’

She was clearly conscious of it alone. These people didn’t even have any thoughts about it.

“Everyone, you can see that high mountain peak over there.”

Han Seok-hyun pointed to a high mountain. The faces of the hunters turned pale all at once.

“No way.”

“No, it can’t be.”

“It is, it was like that last year too….”

Seo-ah’s gaze also turned to where Han Seok-hyun’s finger was pointing.

She saw a particularly high mountain peak.

It looked close because it was so big, but in reality, it was quite far away.

It would take more than half a day to walk just to the foot of that mountain.

“What about the mountain peak?”

Han Seok-hyun looked down at Park Seo-ah, who was looking up at him with an innocent expression.

Her eyes made him want to tease her, but he barely resisted, mindful of the scary beast [referring to Yoo Ji-an] behind her.

“That mountain is the summit we will conquer today.”

Seo-ah tilted her head, looking at Han Seok-hyun, who was smirking. Then, the sighs and groans of many hunters echoed.

“Agh!”

“I knew it. It was like that last year too!”

“Wow, how many meters high is that?”

Seo-ah looked at the mountain again. It was far and high. Even if she couldn’t properly estimate the height of the mountain, she could definitely tell that.

A Sun Guild official approached and handed Yoo Ji-an a backpack filled with many flags.

“Yoo Ji-an will be at the summit. Get a flag from him and come down!”

Seo-ah looked up at Yoo Ji-an with a curious face.

“Wow, you’re participating too.”

She was a little surprised that he would participate in something like this.

Yoo Ji-an looked at Seo-ah with a nonchalant expression and opened his mouth.

“It’s a rougher mountain than it looks. You better be prepared.”

At Yoo Ji-an’s warning, Seo-ah looked at the mountain with a nervous face. Han Seok-hyun spoke loudly again.

“Hunters will depart every 10 minutes, starting with the lowest rank. If there is a hunter who comes down later than Park Seo-ah, then!”

Han Seok-hyun paused and looked around. His gentle expression turned cold.

“They will be expelled from the Sun Guild.”

The hunters’ eyes were filled with tension at the firm and cold words.

But the most embarrassed person was Seo-ah.

‘I’m the standard for expulsion,’ Seo-ah thought. Seo-ah opened her mouth and looked at Han Seok-hyun. Han Seok-hyun looked at Park Seo-ah again with a light smile.

“Of course, Hunter Park Seo-ah, you shouldn’t go too slow on purpose either.”

Han Seok-hyun leaned slightly and whispered to Seo-ah.

“If you beat even one person, I’ll give you a prize. The amount is….”

Seo-ah’s eyes widened at the amount.

‘Money!’

Seo-ah clenched her fists and looked at Han Seok-hyun, determined.

Seo-ah threw away the realistic thought of how an E-class could beat a C-class in front of money.

“That’s a good attitude.”

Han Seok-hyun nodded with satisfaction, but Yoo Ji-an’s eyebrows twitched.

“What did you talk about?”

“Hmm? Just a story that would make Hunter Park Seo-ah determined.”

“What is it?”

While Yoo Ji-an was curious, Seo-ah stepped back a little to secure space on her left and right. And she started stretching hard.

Her body, which had been cramped from the long bus ride, began to regain its vitality.

Seeing this, the other hunters also slowly began to warm up.

They thought, ‘There’s no way I’ll lose to an E-class,’ but if they got caught up in that ‘no way,’ they would be expelled from the guild.

“Ah, to protect our weak E-class hunter, let’s add one more condition.”

“What, what is it!”

“Hunter Park Seo-ah can attack other hunters. Of course, other hunters cannot attack Hunter Park Seo-ah.”

“Ugh, how can you do that!”

The hunters protested, but Han Seok-hyun didn’t budge.

“I will also participate, so don’t feel too wronged.”

“Woo, an A-class is mocking us!”

Jeers and sighs poured out together. Then, Kang Su-jeong in the front row raised her hand.

“Guild Leader, what should I do?”

Han Seok-hyun pondered for a moment, looking at Kang Su-jeong. Kang Su-jeong was an E-class, but thanks to Park Seo-ah’s support skills, she had far superior stats than other E-classes.

If Kang Su-jeong’s rank were to be re-evaluated, it would be similar to a lower-ranked D-class.

“Hunter Kang Su-jeong, you can choose. Whether you go under the same conditions as other hunters, or you play the role of helping Hunter Park Seo-ah.”

Kang Su-jeong hesitated slightly and looked at Seo-ah. She had already made up her mind, but Seo-ah seemed to be bothering her. Seo-ah shrugged her shoulders.

“Do whatever you want, Su-jeong.”

“Then, I’ll go under the same conditions as other hunters.”

“Good. Since Hunter Kang Su-jeong is an outsider, I can’t impose the expulsion condition from the start, but I will deduct points instead.”

“What? My points! No way!”

Kang Su-jeong covered her deflated cheeks with both hands.

Han Seok-hyun accurately grasped what motivates people and didn’t hesitate to use it.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, are you ready?”

A staff member handed Seo-ah a bottle of water. There was a risk of dehydration if she walked on the mountain path for a long time. Seo-ah attached it to her belt.

“Yes, I’m ready.”

“Hunter Park Seo-ah will depart, and Hunter Kang Su-jeong will depart 10 minutes later.”

“See you later, Unnie [Korean term for older sister]!”

Kang Su-jeong greeted Seo-ah, and Seo-ah nodded slightly and started running towards the mountain.

There was only one path to run on, so there was no chance of getting lost.

She didn’t sprint to conserve stamina, but she didn’t run slowly either, as she had to create as much distance as possible in 10 minutes.

Anyway, an E-class is still a hunter. The stats she had raised so far shone, and she ran smoothly for a distance that Seo-ah couldn’t have dreamed of before.

‘If I keep going like this, I’ll be fine, right?’

She was thinking that as she was running. Suddenly, she heard a rattling sound behind her.

Before she could turn around, someone passed her.

“Unnie, I’m sorry!”

It was Kang Su-jeong. Had 10 minutes already passed?

While she was panicking, Kang Su-jeong was getting further and further away. Seo-ah’s eyes widened.

‘No, my money!’

I’m sorry, but this wasn’t something I could let Su-jeong get away with.

Seo-ah immediately cast [Fighting] on herself. Her agility and strength increased, and her limbs became a little lighter.

She moved her legs with all her might, and barely managed to catch up with Su-jeong.

“Huff, huff. Su, Su-jeong….”

“Unnie? When did you get here!”

Su-jeong was surprised and ran even faster, and Seo-ah also chased after her with all her might. But unfortunately, the distance was gradually widening. Su-jeong’s stats had reached 30 thanks to Seo-ah’s [Breakthrough].

Seo-ah slightly regretted growing Su-jeong at this moment. But there was still a way.

‘Sorry, Su-jeong!’

In no time, Seo-ah had a Bbyong Hammer [a toy hammer that makes a ‘bbyong’ sound] in her hand.