I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 188

188.

Seo-ah and Maker noticed the change in the ship’s movement and fell silent for a moment, examining the situation outside.

“It’s a port.”

“Are we already in Japan?”

“I don’t think so, not timewise. It hasn’t been that long since we left.”

Seo-ah stated definitively and stood up. The A-class Korean Hunter, whom Seo-ah had saved, was standing guard in front of the cabin door.

Still, it wasn’t difficult to look out the window.

Tung, tung, koong.

Three light impacts hit the ship. Then, someone spoke in English.

“Three more people boarded.”

“Tch, that’s not good for us.”

Seo-ah nodded grimly, seemingly agreeing. Suddenly, the cabin door rattled and opened.

A doughy, pale face peeked inside, giving Seo-ah that familiar smile.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, could you come out for a moment?”

“Are you going to keep me locked up here?”

Maker asked bluntly, as Seo-ah was the only one being called out. Jackson replied.

“You’re more of a risk right now. We don’t know what you might be hiding in there.”

“Risk, my foot. You guys were after me first. But it seems your interest is more in Seo-ah.”

Jackson was caught off guard but didn’t show the unpleasant look from before. He simply smiled more intensely at Seo-ah.

“I won’t deny it. But you’re also a valuable target, so please remain calm.”

Seo-ah wore a disgruntled expression during their conversation and followed Jackson out.

“I’ll be right back.”

Stepping outside the cabin, she saw three new people had boarded as expected. They must have jumped on without properly docking.

Her mana detection was weak, so she couldn’t sense it inside the cabin, but it was clear now.

‘Two are S-class, and one is A-class?’

All three of them stared at Seo-ah as she came out. The intensity of their gazes varied.

Seo-ah hardened her expression and stared intently at Jackson.

“What exactly do you want from me? Is it to join the Heaven Guild?”

“Before joining the guild, I’d like Hunter Park Seo-ah to cooperate with me willingly—to unleash your abilities to the fullest.”

“Are you taking me to the Japanese gate?”

“I’m considering whether to confine you here, send you to America, or take you with us.”

“You probably want to take me, right? You’re curious about me.”

Jackson frowned at Seo-ah’s gaze before plastering on another smile. That smile must be a habit.

“Satisfying my curiosity is important, but completing the mission is also crucial.”

“Take me. I need to know a few things too.”

Jackson raised an eyebrow, meeting her gaze.

“What do you need to know?”

“I’m valuable—enough for you to kidnap me personally. That’s just based on my known abilities, but I have even more unknown ones. So I need to know if you have what it takes to earn my cooperation.”

Seo-ah smoothly said things she would normally be too embarrassed to say. [Silent Night, likely a skill or item enhancing her confidence] was helping her acting.

“Unknown abilities, you say.”

Jackson asked, but Seo-ah naturally kept her mouth shut. Jackson’s smiling lips twisted subtly.

“Okay, but I can’t just take you. I need to set up a safety measure.”

Jackson took out a Fragment of Oath from his inventory. She heard they were quite expensive, yet he carried it around like that.

“After hearing that, I’m definitely taking you with me. You must keep me and my colleagues alive until we leave the gate. By any means necessary.”

“……”

“The dangers there aren’t just monsters, right? I want you to protect us there.”

The ‘danger’ Jackson was referring to was the Korean hunters. Since Seo-ah was captured by them, they would surely attack Jackson to rescue her.

“What if it’s not kept?”

“If someone dies, the person in the cabin will lose a leg, one at a time. After both legs are gone, they’ll lose an eye, one at a time. You don’t need legs to make items, but it would be troublesome if you lost both eyes.”

“Why are you involving Maker’s legs in my business!”

“It would be inconvenient to bring you along if your legs were gone.”

“Then I refuse. Forget it. I don’t have to go.”

Seo-ah turned around, but Jackson roughly grabbed her shoulder.

“Didn’t you hear? I said I must take you.”

Jackson’s pressure loomed over Seo-ah. [Silent Night] flickered a few times.

Her usable mana was limited right now. If it weren’t for the [Mana Battery, an item that stores mana], she would have been quite dizzy.

“Do you often hear that you’re being dictatorial?”

Seo-ah said clearly without batting an eye, and Jackson looked puzzled.

“Is this also one of your abilities? Well, it doesn’t matter. And… I looked into a few things while in Korea, and I heard you care a lot about your younger brother.”

Seo-ah’s expression hardened when Gun-hoo’s name came out of Jackson’s mouth.

“Don’t make that face, I haven’t done anything yet. Nothing at all. And I won’t, as long as you cooperate.”

“If you touch Gun-hoo, I will never cooperate with you. No matter the cost.”

“You said you wanted to come with me anyway, right? Just do as you’re told. Protect us.”

Seo-ah bit her lip slightly.

She seemed to have achieved her goal of going to the gate, but there were too many conditions attached. Jackson must have been anticipating this situation. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have prepared the Fragment of Oath in advance.

“The promise we’re making now is only until we leave the gate. After that…”

“We’ll talk about what happens after that later. Even I don’t have the luxury to talk about the future with an S-class gate ahead of us.”

“You’re asking me to protect you, though. I understand, you must be so nervous. Hunter Yoo Ji-an wouldn’t be like this.”

She deliberately brought up Yoo Ji-an.

Seo-ah knew from [Emotional Transference, a skill that allows her to sense emotions] that Jackson had a subtle inferiority complex towards Yoo Ji-an. It felt good to see him get annoyed.

Seo-ah realized today that she could also be quite sarcastic. And, of course, she would join the Korean side as soon as she left the gate.

Jackson would try to stop her, but she wouldn’t need to protect him from then on.

“One more thing, your abilities must only be used for me and my team.”

“You mean I shouldn’t help other teams?”

“That’s right.”

This seemed like Jackson was just being spiteful out of anger. Seo-ah hesitated for a moment before answering. She had to cooperate anyway if they were targeting Gun-hoo.

“I won’t help them willingly.”

“Put your hand here.”

Seo-ah placed her hand on the Fragment of Oath that Jackson held out. A bright light flashed, and her palm tingled.

“Ugh.”

Turning it over, Jackson’s signature was engraved in the middle of her palm. Similarly, Jackson had the Korean word ‘Park Seo-ah’ engraved on his palm.

In fact, there were many loopholes in the contract they had just made with the Fragment of Oath.

Seo-ah had the obligation to protect Jackson’s team, but there was no contract stating that she had to help them catch the boss or bring them more profit.

And Seo-ah didn’t have to stick with them all the time. She would have to move with them to some extent, though.

Jackson probably knew about these loopholes but let them slide. He must be confident in his abilities.

“Then come this way. I’ll introduce you since we’ll be working as a team for a while.”

Jackson took Seo-ah to the three people who had boarded the ship earlier.

Before Jackson could speak, an S-class black woman approached and offered a handshake. She had a sleek and sturdy build.

“You must be Hunter Park Seo-ah. I’m Mila.”

“Park Seo-ah.”

Seo-ah glanced at her hand and lightly shook it. She was glad that [Gentle Sunlight, likely a skill that enhances relationships] was working well.

“I saw you in the news in Korea. They said you have a lot of useful skills.”

As soon as she shook hands and let go, Affinity 1 popped up for Mila. She felt that [Emotional Transference] and [Gentle Sunlight] were working better over time.

“There might be debuffs, can you just grab her hand like that?”

Next to her was a white man looking at her with wary eyes. He seemed to be S-class as well. Mila introduced him.

“I understand your concern. This stuffy guy is Reuben Barnes.”

Seo-ah nodded silently. She didn’t feel like being so friendly when she had been kidnapped.

“Who said you could say my name…!”

Mila smacked Reuben on the back of the head.

“Hey, do you see what’s on her wrist? What can she do with that thin arm while wearing that? You petty and stupid guy.”

Seo-ah looked away from them and turned to the last person. The relatively small person seemed to be Latino and looked intimidated among the others.

Jackson introduced him instead.

“This is Jose, our team’s A-class healer.”