I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 200

200.

‘Red Dragon!’

Finally, I’ve got a clue about the main mission. So, is the mission going to appear here?

Judgments were handed down to the prisoners standing before them one by one. Each time, the number of people cheering or despairing increased.

Before long, it was Ruben’s turn.

Jackson, Mila, and Seoah stood behind him. Ruben, bound in chains, stepped forward. The merchant who had argued with Ruben earlier was also there.

“This guy suddenly stole goods from our store, and when I protested, he beat me to the ground! Like this!”

The merchant even pretended to fall, reenacting what had happened at the time.

It wasn’t exactly beating, but rather tearing off, but from the victim’s point of view, it was as good as being hit.

‘If he’s found guilty here….’

The lord narrowed his eyes and examined Ruben and the group behind him.

“You are skilled warriors.”

But that was all. The lord returned to his bored expression.

“Guilty.”

“Tch.”

Perhaps because he had expected the result to some extent, Ruben didn’t react much. Even though he had a temper, he was an experienced hunter, so he probably had a sense of how things were going.

“Lord, the judgments are all finished.”

“Alright, gather the criminals here.”

The lord called those who had been found guilty and gathered in one corner to the center.

All sorts of people were mixed in. Most of them, like the old woman from earlier, seemed to have no combat power at all.

Seoah and her group, except for Ruben, were not criminals, but they simply stood there and looked at the lord.

“Listen, you criminals! The Red Dragon, who had been quiet for hundreds of years, has recently become very ferocious! Claiming their territory, they are telling us to leave! The reason is that the Red Dragon has given birth to a baby. There’s no reason for us to leave the base we’ve built for hundreds of years because of a mere lizard baby! Go and annihilate the Red Dragon and its baby!”

“I knew it, the Red Dragon was the boss.”

Ruben’s expression twisted, and at the same time, a system window popped up for all the hunters.

[Main Mission: The Lord’s Request. Please deal with the ‘Ferocious Red Dragon’.]

“Ha, I thought so when I saw the medieval fantasy setting.”

The group, except for Seoah, became slightly serious when the unknown fact was revealed. Dragons were originally quite strong creatures even in other gates [dungeons or instances].

They were large, ferocious, and intelligent, with both strong attack and defense power.

Moreover, the dragon here would definitely be S-class. How strong it would be was beyond their ability to predict right now.

Anyway, the criminals called the subjugation party headed behind the castle walls under the guidance of the paladins.

Seoah and her group also followed along for now.

“Is it okay for us to go alone like this? It’s S-class, so we should wait for other teams to join us.”

Jackson answered Seoah’s cautious words.

“But Ruben is being dragged away right now, so we have no choice. Let’s check the situation as we go. He’s coming this way.”

Seeing Jackson turn on the map, Seoah quickly approached to look at it as well.

The Korean team, including Yoo Ji-an, was approaching this place quickly. Jackson stared at Seoah’s face, which had been tense but was now relaxing, with a stiff expression.

“Do you have the coat?”

“Ah, I’ll give it to you now.”

“Not that….”

Before Jackson could say anything, Seoah took off her coat and handed it to Jackson. Jackson felt inexplicably annoyed by her lack of attachment.

“If we encounter the dragon first, we’ll end up having to fight.”

“But….”

Yoo Ji-an had told her to use peaceful methods as much as possible before entering here.

But Seoah couldn’t think of what that was, so she decided to chase after them for now.

***

“That must be the cave.”

The mission the Japanese team received was to bring back the treasure in the cave.

They were bewildered by the relatively easy mission, but they climbed the mountain to carry it out. After wandering around the mountain for a couple of hours, they found something similar to a cave. First, they hid in the bushes a little away from the cave and looked around.

“There must be a guardian inside.”

Chinese mercenary hunter Tang Wei lightly threw a throwing star [shuriken] toward the inside of the cave.

Swoosh-

With a sharp tearing sound, the throwing star disappeared deep into the cave. They waited for a while, but it was quiet.

“Looks like there’s nothing there?”

Tang Wei was about to throw another throwing star just in case, when a small creature walked out of the cave.

“Goblin?”

“I’ve never heard of goblins having jewels in their caves. Goblins don’t even live in caves in the first place.”

Russian healer Lilya, who belonged to the Japanese team, spoke with a cautious expression, stating the knowledge she knew.

“Even so, we can’t not do the mission. Let’s go, it’s just one goblin. There may be more inside, but it doesn’t matter.”

Shizuka, the leader of the team, held the twin pistols she was wearing on her waist in her hands.

In the meantime, the goblin walked away and disappeared. This was the chance.

“Let’s go.”

Led by Shizuka, Tang Wei, Lilya, and Hitoshi headed to the cave in turn. They entered the cave one by one, guarding their surroundings.

The group that entered inside couldn’t help but be surprised.

The inside of the cave, where not a single ray of sunlight entered, was quite bright, and there was a space as wide as a sports field.

“Wow, what is this?”

Someone muttered, pointing to the center.

Soft-looking straw and feathers were spread out in a circular shape.

“It looks like some kind of nest….”

“Okay, no time. Let’s find the treasure quickly.”

Finding it wasn’t difficult. There was only one door connected to a large chamber.

When they opened the door, which had no locks, it was filled with all kinds of gold and silver treasures.

“I found it.”

Shizuka and Tang Wei swept up the treasures, and Hitoshi kept watch.

“This is complete theft.”

Even as he said that, Tang Wei’s hands were moving quickly.

“It can’t be helped, it’s not like we want to do it either.”

Meanwhile, Lilya quietly touched the wall of the cave and used the [Fragment of Memory] skill.

This [Fragment of Memory] was a skill that randomly showed a scene from the past.

Just as they were about to put all the treasures away, Lilya shouted in surprise.

“E, everyone hurry! We have to get out of here quickly!”

“Why?”

“Quickly, quickly! This… this is a dragon’s nest!”

“Dragon…?”

Shizuka came out of the treasure vault and looked at the wide chamber again. Come to think of it, it made sense if it was a dragon’s nest.

“Let’s go, let’s get out of here!”

With this number of people, they could never face a dragon. Even if it was just A-class, if the dragon was a boss monster, it was quite strong and they would have a hard time.

They rushed out of the cave and moved away from there without looking back.

But after a while, a huge roar echoed from the cave along with tremendous vibrations.

“I think we got caught!”

And the system window popped up in front of them.

[Main Mission: The Lord’s Request. Please deal with the ‘Ferocious Red Dragon’.]

“What is this, the Lord’s request?”

Shizuka was shocked as she ran, and Lilya calmly said as she ran with her.

“It looks like another team received the main mission. It must be popping up for the hunters at the same time.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have done this mission in the first place, I think we just stirred up trouble.”

Of course, there was no creature that wouldn’t be angry if its nest was robbed.

Shizuka’s expression hardened at Tang Wei’s muttering, but she didn’t slow down her running speed.

“It can’t be helped, we’ve already done it. Let’s complete the request and join up with another team.”

Another roar that shook the earth was heard. Shizuka felt uneasy and gritted her teeth and ran out.

And after visiting the requested village and giving them the treasure, they received an identity pass and some medicinal ingredients.

It was a medicinal ingredient that temporarily created [Fire Resistance] when chewed.

At the end of the run, they saw the entrance to the city. And they felt those with strong magical power approaching at a rapid pace from behind the road.

Only after quickly turning on the map did they realize who it was.

“It’s the Korean team.”

Yoo Ji-an, Baek Eun-hee, Song Jin-ah, and Choi Eun-gyeol also sensed them and slowed down as they approached.

“You guys received the main mission too, right?”

Yoo Ji-an nodded at Shizuka’s question.

“Let’s hurry.”

They headed to the castle gate without further conversation. Both sides had identity passes, so they passed through easily.

And when they tracked Seoah’s group, they were already climbing the mountain.