I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 123

123.

Seo-ah and Baek Eun-hee shot to their feet as Song Jin-ah and the doctor emerged from the room.

“How is he?”

Baek Eun-hee asked Song Jin-ah, who gestured towards the doctor beside her.

The doctor adjusted his glasses, his voice trembling slightly. “Surprisingly, his vital signs have returned to normal. I’ve only heard of such things, but it’s truly… amazing that this is possible.”

The doctor kept glancing at Song Jin-ah with an expression of disbelief.

“As I said before, he barely made it through the critical moment. This isn’t a real cure,” Song Jin-ah said, removing her mask and sterile gown.

“I’ll run a few more tests and then move him back to a regular hospital room.”

Seo-ah grasped Song Jin-ah’s hands in hers.

“Thank you, thank you… really.”

As Seo-ah sincerely expressed her gratitude, Song Jin-ah looked at Baek Eun-hee with a hint of embarrassment, then turned back to Seo-ah and smiled brightly. “Well, you’ll have a chance to repay me someday.”

After seeing Park Geon-hoo moved back to a regular hospital room, Baek Eun-hee and Song Jin-ah left.

Seo-ah watched Geon-hoo for a while, then stepped out into the hallway. She walked a few steps and then slumped onto a chair.

“…Ha.”

A sigh of relief mingled with a bitter sigh. Seo-ah hugged her knees and buried her face in them.

She had rushed to the hospital in a daze after hearing that Geon-hoo was in critical condition.

The fear of being truly alone in this world had risen in her throat, choking her the entire time.

Seo-ah still couldn’t accept the possibility of her brother’s death.

Tears flowed freely, soaking her knees. She couldn’t control her trembling shoulders and wept silently.

Someone approached, watching Seo-ah with pity.

“Really… I can’t just stand by.”

A sighing voice came from above Seo-ah’s head. Seo-ah slowly looked up and saw Yoo Ji-an standing before her.

Seo-ah’s eyes were brimming with tears, and she could only move her lips to speak.

Yoo Ji-an carefully wiped under her eyes with a seemingly indifferent touch.

“How can you…”

“Let’s go, if that’s what you want so badly.”

“……”

Seo-ah blinked, not understanding. Tears that hadn’t yet fallen dripped down her cheeks, and Yoo Ji-an knelt in front of her.

He looked up and wiped her cheeks more carefully.

“We have to go get the Elixir.”

Seo-ah’s lips parted slightly, as if she hadn’t expected that at all.

“B, but, it’s not… possible.”

Yoo Ji-an bitterly raised the corners of his lips. He had clearly concluded that it was impossible rationally, but seeing Seo-ah cry like this, he couldn’t leave her alone.

“We can go if we prepare thoroughly.”

“…Really?”

Can we do it by preparing thoroughly? Can we really beat that guy?

Unlike her realistic worries, Yoo Ji-an nodded coolly in front of Seo-ah.

“Yes. So…”

Yoo Ji-an paused for a moment and looked into Seo-ah’s eyes.

“Don’t cry anymore.”

As soon as he said the words, Seo-ah, still sitting on the chair, wrapped her arms around Yoo Ji-an’s neck as he knelt before her.

Yoo Ji-an froze for a moment, then slowly returned the hug. He awkwardly stroked Seo-ah’s back.

Yoo Ji-an felt the faint trembling warmth in his arms and closed his eyes tightly.

‘…Elixir.’

To get it, he had to dredge up as much of his past memories from the second playthrough as possible.

***

Crackle, crackle-

Yoo Ji-an quickly jumped back.

The guy was using the same electric magic as him.

‘How did this happen?’

If he had been even a little late, he would have been roasted alive. The enemy attacked exactly along the path Yoo Ji-an was moving, as if he knew his behavior patterns.

He had faced countless enemies so far, but this was the first time he had faced such an enemy. Yoo Ji-an had faced even stronger monsters than this before.

It wasn’t like the overwhelming difference in power he felt against the Red Dragon he met in his first life or the boss of the S-class gate.

But it was much more difficult to deal with.

The boss resembled a human shadow.

‘Wait, a shadow?’

No sooner had he thought it than the guy rushed at him. Yoo Ji-an took out Ruin Blade and blocked the attack.

Bang-!

“Ugh.”

There was no time to think. Yoo Ji-an had to move almost by instinct.

Squeak, squeak-

Clearly, there was no overwhelming difference in power. It was a close fight, where victory or defeat seemed to hinge on each moment’s judgment. But even so, Yoo Ji-an was gradually being pushed back.

“Who are you? Are you my shadow?”

Bang-!

He tried to ask, but the guy amplified his power and blew Yoo Ji-an away.

When Yoo Ji-an, slammed to the ground, raised his head, it seemed like the guy was saying something. But there was so much noise that he couldn’t understand a word.

“Damn it….”

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

That last attack was a shockwave that felt like his organs were twisting.

‘He can even use [Explosion].’

Each of the attacks he had received so far was so similar to his own. Could this be a mental attack? Summoning a monster similar to himself and making him fight.

The enemy watched Yoo Ji-an stagger to his feet for a moment and then rushed at him again.

Every time he blocked, the shock was transmitted directly.

‘I can’t die here.’

Yoo Ji-an entered this gate just to find a decent item.

A gate break [a phenomenon where a gate connecting different dimensions collapses, releasing monsters into the real world] had occurred in the middle of Seoul, and he had collected [Creation Cards] while dealing with the monsters that poured out of it.

And he opened the gate with 20 cards that he hadn’t turned in. He was curious if there might be an item here that he could use in the final chapter.

He didn’t find such an item, but instead, Yoo Ji-an obtained a panacea called ‘Elixir’ as soon as he arrived. This medicine might play a very useful role at some point.

Yoo Ji-an calmed his mind. And while blocking the guy’s attacks, he tried to find his weaknesses as much as possible.

Then, behind the guy, a smaller shadow flickered.

‘Another enemy?’

He’s already struggling with one, but another enemy appears.

Just as Yoo Ji-an was about to despair, the guy moved away from Yoo Ji-an as soon as the small shadow appeared and stood in front of the small guy. As if protecting him.

‘Then, that’s the guy’s weakness.’

Yoo Ji-an rushed towards the little guy without delay. As expected, the big guy immediately pushed him away.

But there was something unexpected, the guy’s power was much stronger than before.

His arm was aching from the force of the collision.

“Ugh.”

As if it had been a joke until now, he was even embarrassed by the incomparably stronger power.

‘Was this his original power?’

Or was the guy more desperate to protect the little guy?

A situation full of questions.

Throughout his first and second lives, Yoo Ji-an had never experienced such a situation.

‘But I can’t die here.’

Yoo Ji-an decided to run away.

A gate break might occur because of the guy he couldn’t handle, but he might be able to deal with it if he was with other S-class hunters.

As he thought about running away, the guy chased after him.

He blocked his path with a much faster speed than him.

Yoo Ji-an changed direction at that moment and ran to the little guy and swung Ruin Blade.

The tip of the sword barely touched and grazed him. Damage must have been done.

But the next moment, the enemy who had chased him again blocked Yoo Ji-an’s path, and Yoo Ji-an felt that the guy would not let him go easily.

All or nothing.

Yoo Ji-an bit his teeth.

And risking the danger of rampage, he unleashed his ultimate skill [Thunderstorm].

Crackle, crackle- Bang!

But before Yoo Ji-an could cast it, the guy used [Thunderstorm] first. It was the exact timing as if he had read his mind.

Yoo Ji-an was hit head-on by the exploding [Thunderstorm], and the pain that felt like his whole body was being torn apart ran through his spine.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

Yoo Ji-an couldn’t stand it and screamed in pain and eventually collapsed.

Smoke rose from his fallen body.

He should have died instantly at this point, but maybe because it was the same power as him, Yoo Ji-an hadn’t lost his mind yet.

But he knew that he would die soon. The magic power in his body was slowly dissipating.

Tap, tap, tap.

He heard small footsteps. He knew it was the sound of someone approaching him, but he couldn’t even move a finger.

He had never thought that death, which he had already experienced once, was scary, but Yoo Ji-an heard his heart beating wildly in the face of death.

When he barely opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the shape and face of the little guy clearly.

‘…A woman?’

The woman slowly reached out to him and covered his eyes with her palm.

Before he could figure out what she was doing, his heartbeat slowed noticeably and soon became comfortable. And then darkness came.

Yoo Ji-an’s second life ended like that.