I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 132

132.

Yoo Ji-an strode over, lightly touched Seo-ah’s shoulder, and scanned her up and down.

“How’s your condition? Did you get enough sleep?”

“Ah, I’m good. I slept well.”

“Good, well done.”

Seo-ah blankly stared at Yoo Ji-an’s smiling face for a moment. *Indeed, this man is the most handsome*, she thought.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, I don’t recall hearing that name before, so I presume you are the newly added S-class Hunter. Pleased to meet you, I am Choi Dal-soo, Vice Minister of the Special Abilities Department.”

Choi Dal-soo, who had approached unnoticed, extended his hand to Seo-ah.

“Nice to meet you, Minister?”

Then, Baek Eun-hee, who was beside her, snatched Choi Dal-soo’s hand instead of Seo-ah and shook it vigorously.

“Ahahaha, Hunter Baek Eun-hee! You are as beautiful as ever! By the way, Hunter Park Seo-ah is…”

As Choi Dal-soo turned his attention back to Seo-ah and reached out his hand again, this time Yoo Ji-an grabbed it instead.

*It was a situation he had seen many times before somewhere*, Seo-ah thought, recognizing the familiar power play.

“Why did the Minister come all the way here? Is your position quite leisurely?”

The Minister flinched slightly at Yoo Ji-an’s bluntness but forced a magnanimous smile.

“Why else would I be here, if not to encourage the Hunters?”

“I see.”

Yoo Ji-an released his hand and tried to leave the spot with Seo-ah. However, Choi Dal-soo still had something to say.

“As I mentioned to Hunter Cha Tae-woon earlier, please say a word of thanks to the current administration during the official interview after the raid. Ah, yes.”

This time, Choi Dal-soo was quick. He grabbed Seo-ah’s hand, who was caught off guard.

“It would be great if Hunter Park Seo-ah could do it! A rising star in the Hunter world! Thanks to the current government’s generous support of the Hunter community, she was able to grow into an S-class Hunter!”

“Uh, uh…”

It wasn’t that she lacked the strength to pull away. *Was it okay to just shake off the Minister’s hand?* she wondered.

While she was contemplating, Baek Eun-hee pulled Seo-ah back, and Yoo Ji-an pried off Minister Choi’s hand.

“I’m telling you this because you don’t seem to know, but not touching a Hunter’s body before a raid is a basic courtesy.”

Including the handshake from earlier, Yoo Ji-an clearly conveyed that he was giving him a break.

However, the Minister, unaware of how much Yoo Ji-an had been tolerating, finally seemed to have reached the end of his patience and revealed his true colors.

“Listen, Hunter Yoo Ji-an! Do you think you’ll be okay treating me like this? No matter how much of an S-class national hero you are, do you think you can continue your Hunter life safely without government cooperation?”

Those nearby, including Seo-ah and the Hunter Association officials passing by, gaped.

It wasn’t because they were worried about Yoo Ji-an’s remaining Hunter life. It was because they were worried about whether that Minister would be safe.

“If I’m not safe?”

“I can refuse approval for this raid right now. Do you know what that means? This, this whole thing becomes illegal.”

“Illegal, huh? So, what can you do if I open a gate illegally?”

“Well, since you disobeyed the government’s orders, you’ll be arrested as soon as you come out…”

*There was no way he could arrest him. If an S-class Hunter decided to cause trouble, neither the government nor the Hunter Association could stop him*, Seo-ah realized.

Before the situation escalated further, Cha Tae-woon stepped in.

“Minister, let’s continue this conversation in private.”

From Cha Tae-woon’s perspective, Minister Choi Dal-soo’s behavior was also unwelcome, but making enemies would be troublesome.

Choi Dal-soo glared at Yoo Ji-an, but knowing that he was not his match, he followed Cha Tae-woon.

“I’m truly disappointed; I’ve been looking out for the Hunters’ convenience so much.”

“Anyway, Minister. If what you want is a mention of the administration…”

In fact, contrary to Choi Dal-soo’s claims, the current government was not very friendly to the Hunters.

They emphasized that they were dangerous beings and constantly argued that they should belong to the government system, like the military or police.

From the Hunters’ point of view, such a government was not welcome.

After the conversation with Minister Choi Dal-soo, Yoo Ji-an, contrary to expectations, didn’t seem bothered at all.

He checked the location where the gate would be generated with the Hunters from the Association and determined the positions of the high-level Hunters in preparation for any possible situation.

Soon, Seo Ah-hyun from the Royal Guild and Han Seok-hyun from the Sun Guild arrived simultaneously. Han Seok-hyun took a quick look at the scene and immediately went to Cha Tae-woon and Choi Dal-soo to greet them. *Han Seok-hoon was perfect for this kind of thing*, Seo-ah thought, observing his social skills.

“The Minister came; it seems like a bigger deal than I thought.”

As Seo-ah whispered to Baek Eun-hee, Baek Eun-hee snorted and replied.

“Not really. It’s just that things get bigger because those guys are trying to freeload. Since when have we received greetings from the Minister when we run raids? They don’t care how many die usually.”

*As expected, nothing good comes out of her mouth*, Seo-ah thought, amused.

Judging by the fact that reporters hadn’t gathered yet, it seemed that it hadn’t been made public to the media.

Song Jin-ah also arrived and waved her hand, coming towards Seo-ah and Baek Eun-hee. Choi Eun-kyul had not yet appeared.

“Eun-kyul is even more secretive than you. He’ll show up right before.”

*Well, he’s an idol, after all. It’s better to reveal his face as little as possible*, Seo-ah reasoned.

Han Seok-hyun, who had been talking with the Minister for a while, came this way.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, you’re finally going today.”

“Yes, I’m a bit nervous.”

“Haha, you’ll do well. You were so active even when you were E-class, so you’ll do even better as an S-class.”

“I’m just barely an S-class, though…”

Seo-ah scratched her head and then, realizing it, asked what she had been wondering about earlier.

“By the way, what the Minister said earlier… do I have to do it? Something about a rising star in the Hunter world.”

“No, you don’t have to do it. Unless you particularly support the current administration.”

“Ah, no! That’s a relief.”

“Yes, if you take one side, you’re bound to be attacked by the other side.”

*This directly meant attacks from the opposition party. If a celebrity takes one side, they are bound to become an enemy to the other side*, Seo-ah understood.

“20 minutes left! Please do your final checks!”

Hunter Oh Hyun-soo from the Association announced loudly to everyone.

Seo-ah also checked the weapons and consumables in her inventory. Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-an approached and gathered everyone.

*Is Choi Eun-kyul still not here?* she wondered.

As she thought and looked around, suddenly a ‘Boo!’ sound came from behind Seo-ah. Seo-ah was startled and turned around to see Choi Eun-kyul there.

“How did you get here? The door is that way?”

At Choi Eun-kyul’s earnest request, Seo-ah decided to drop honorifics with him from today.

“Me? I flew here.”

Choi Eun-kyul pointed to the sky above with his finger as if it were obvious.

*Umm, right. He flew here*, Seo-ah thought, reminding herself of his abilities.

Baek Eun-hee also called Seo Ah-hyun and instructed her on a few things within the guild. The other guild leaders were the same. Since they were the heads of each guild, they seemed concerned about being away for a long time.

The time to open the gate came, and Seo-ah took out the cards and handed them to Yoo Ji-an.

Yoo Ji-an gathered 20 [Creation Cards] and placed them on a small table.

“Everyone, step back.”

At Yoo Ji-an’s warning, everyone stepped back a few paces.

He seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, then placed his right palm on the [Creation Cards]. And he drew out the magic power within his body and poured it into the cards.

A storm of magic power raged, creating a whirlwind around Yoo Ji-an.

“Ugh!”

Leaves, sand, and small grains of stone flew in all directions.

The high-level Hunters were fine, but everyone else was pushed back further by the wind.

When the color of the wind turned black, Yoo Ji-an also stepped back. Now, the magic power itself stirred up the wind, rotating as if to swallow everything around it.

Seo-ah watched the scene with her mouth tightly shut. Now that she was S-class, Seo-ah could clearly feel it.

The gate being created now would be quite strong.

Seo-ah’s body tensed up involuntarily. But seeing the other Hunters looking relaxed, Seo-ah also tried to relax.

How long had it been? A gate in the form that Seo-ah knew was created.

However, while a normal gate was blue, this one was black.

“Wow, just looking at it…”

Song Jin-ah continued Choi Eun-kyul’s exclamation.

“Isn’t it fun?”

“Is that even a question?”

Yoo Ji-an stood in front of them and said.

“Don’t panic no matter what kind of place comes out as soon as we go in. Just remember that it’s a gate.”

“You’re talking like you’ve been there before.”

At Baek Eun-hee’s casual remark, Yoo Ji-an turned his head and looked at the wriggling gate.

“Let’s go now.”

Cha Tae-woon stood forward, wearing a black combat suit with a subtle sheen, not the usual suit he wore.

He was the tanker, so he was first anyway.

Next was the healer, Song Jin-ah, then Yoo Ji-an and Baek Eun-hee, and then Park Seo-ah. The mage, Choi Eun-kyul, was last.

“Seo-ah.”

“Park Seo-ah.”

Just before entering, Yoo Ji-an and Baek Eun-hee turned around and reached out their hands to Seo-ah at the same time.

She was no longer a weak E-class, but the two still acted as Seo-ah’s protectors. Seo-ah didn’t dislike it either.

Seo-ah smiled brightly and grabbed Baek Eun-hee’s and Yoo Ji-an’s hands with both of hers.

And following Song Jin-ah, who had disappeared ahead, the three of them entered the gate all at once.