I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 219

219.

Seo-ah clapped her hands together, a smile suggesting things were going well.

“Then let’s do it. I’ll help you.”

Seo-ah pulled up a chair and sat facing Camilla. Camilla looked at Seo-ah with a mixture of disbelief and anticipation.

“I’m going to use [Maximum], the skill I just gave Hunter Baccello, for you.”

“Hunter Seo-ah Park can also use [Maximum]?”

“Yes, I can.”

Seo-ah didn’t bother to explain at length and answered simply. Camilla didn’t ask further. Instead, she held out her hand to Seo-ah.

“I’ll show you the clearest part of Hunter Yoo Ji-ahn’s future. Close your eyes.”

Before closing her eyes, Seo-ah glanced at Yoo Ji-ahn once. He was watching Seo-ah with a calm expression. That alone was reassuring. Seo-ah slowly closed her eyes.

First, she applied [Maximum] to Camilla. It was the first time using the skill, but it wasn’t difficult since it was just a matter of applying it.

Soon, an image formed inside her eyelids. This was Camilla’s [Future Sight]. At first, scenes filled with noise flashed by, like watching a broken TV.

Then, at some point, the focus adjusted, and the image gradually became clearer.

As Camilla said, blurry images were mixed in from time to time, but there was no problem recognizing them.

This was a resort island on a blue sea, seemingly peaceful at first glance.

‘This is Hunter Yoo Ji-ahn’s third round memory,’ she realized.

Only rough breathing echoed in the excessively quiet space.

Around them, the corpses of unidentifiable monsters were scattered. Turning her gaze, she saw familiar figures.

‘Ah, Eun-hee unnie [older sister/friend]. And Jackson….’

She was glad to see some familiar hunters, but she was also suddenly afraid. None of those strong hunters looked to be in good shape.

If so, then Yoo Ji-ahn too…

At that moment, a system window popped up. But some of the letters were unreadable.

[Gate Mission Clear! Your consciousness moves to ■■■ ■■.]

Thud.

The sound of a body falling to the ground was heard.

Since this was Yoo Ji-ahn’s perspective, it must have been Yoo Ji-ahn who fell.

Soon the view changed, and a spectacle of stars densely packed against a dark background unfolded below.

This was a scene Seo-ah also knew. It was the background seen every time they passed through a gate [a portal to another dimension]. Her eyes were drawn to the Milky Way flowing beneath her feet, and soon she felt the surroundings brighten.

Beep, beep beep, beep.

After an unknown amount of time, irregular electronic sounds were heard. Seo-ah was shocked by the sight that greeted her as soon as she opened her eyes.

A wall filled with thousands? Tens of thousands? No, an enormous number of screens beyond counting.

And each of those screens showed a different scene. Not only the scenes but also the creatures appearing were different. Some appeared to be human, and others were like the monsters commonly seen in gates.

In one screen, humans were being devoured by swarming monsters.

As Seo-ah blankly watched them, she frowned at a foul, rotten odor wafting from somewhere.

‘Ugh.’

Looking around for the source of the smell, she saw some kind of creature gliding over the screens.

No, could it even be called a creature? It resembled a mollusk, or perhaps just a mass of organic matter. She couldn’t even tell if it had eyes, nose, or mouth, but she had the feeling that it was looking this way.

With the scene of it rapidly approaching, Camilla’s [Future Sight] came to an end.

“…Gasp.”

Seo-ah opened her eyes, gasping for breath.

“Are you okay?”

Yoo Ji-ahn patted Seo-ah’s back and looked at her with concern. Seo-ah turned her head and looked at Yoo Ji-ahn’s face. Yoo Ji-ahn probably knew roughly what Seo-ah had seen.

Yoo Ji-ahn, meeting her eyes, smiled faintly as if to reassure her.

“It’s okay, it’s in the past.”

Seo-ah nodded slowly. But the person who seemed more shocked than Seo-ah was Camilla. Camilla must have seen the same scene as Seo-ah.

“Wh-what was that just now?”

Camilla shuddered, her face pale.

“What’s wrong, sis? What did you see to be like that?”

Baccello asked, but Camilla looked at Seo-ah, demanding an answer. Seo-ah wore a troubled expression.

Having seen this much, she would have to tell them the truth to some extent, right?

“A ‘Legend-grade Gate’ will open on Earth soon.”

“Legend-grade… Legend-grade, you say? Oh, my god! If something like that opens, the world will be destroyed.”

As a hunter, Camilla knew well what a Legend-grade Gate meant. Even an S-grade Gate, if not stopped in time, could turn a country into a wasteland.

Legend-grade, or L-grade, wasn’t just stronger than S-grade. The greater the power of the gate, the shorter the time it took to break after it was created.

Camilla, who was speaking, suddenly wore a look of realization.

“Ah! So that’s why you created the Union!”

“Yes, we need to gather the strength of all hunters into one.”

“Yes, that’s right… If we can’t stop it, we’ll all be annihilated anyway. But what was that strange thing? That… slimy yet eerie thing.”

Seo-ah couldn’t answer that either. Yoo Ji-ahn, instead of answering with words, wrote letters on the table with his finger.

“Sys…!”

“It’s listening even now.”

Yoo Ji-ahn gestured for her to be quiet at Camilla’s exclamation. She immediately shut her mouth.

Seo-ah, who had been silent, spoke.

“I thought that entity had been helping us until now.”

“It has been helping, but it has a purpose. When that moment comes, it won’t be helpful anymore.”

Under the anxious gaze of Camilla and Baccello, Yoo Ji-ahn stopped explaining further. From here on, it was full of things he didn’t know either.

Camilla, thinking that he wouldn’t tell her anyway, didn’t ask how they knew such things.

Having successfully concluded the contract with Camilla, they came outside. At that moment, Seo-ah’s phone vibrated.

It was Choi Eun-gyeol.

“Eun-gyeol, what’s up? Yeah, France? Re-really?”

Seo-ah’s expression grew increasingly excited as she answered the phone, and she kept glancing at Yoo Ji-ahn’s face. After hanging up, Yoo Ji-ahn asked.

“Why?”

“T-PLEX is on an overseas tour, and Eun-gyeol happens to be in Paris too. She said she’s free today and wants to see me….”

“Wants to see you? Then go ahead. The schedule is all done anyway.”

“Ehehe, that’s right. I can see her! She said she’ll come pick me up if I wait in front….”

Seo-ah took Yoo Ji-ahn to the roadside with a bright expression and waited anxiously for the car to come.

Soon, a cute yellow car stopped, and Choi Eun-gyeol, wearing sunglasses and a hat, leaned out from the passenger seat. Seeing the purple hair sticking out, she must have dyed it recently.

“Get in the back! We’re going to our accommodation.”

The two got into the back seat of the car. The driver was Choi Eun-gyeol’s manager, whom they had seen often.

“Hello.”

Seo-ah greeted, and the manager nodded in the rearview mirror.

“Are all the T-PLEX members really there? Even Sung Min-woo?”

“Yeah, they’re all there! What, noona [older sister/friend], were you a fan of Sung Min-woo? You said you were my fan before!”

“Huh? Ah, no… um, I was your fan, of course.”

Seo-ah glanced at Yoo Ji-ahn in embarrassment, but Yoo Ji-ahn seemed to be avoiding Seo-ah and only looked out the window. At the same time, he muttered in a barely audible voice.

“I see, so that’s why you were so happy….”

“Wow, noona [older sister/friend]! You said I was your bias [favorite member], but this is too much.”

While Choi Eun-gyeol was still complaining and Seo-ah was sweating, the car arrived at the hotel where the members were staying.

Choi Eun-gyeol got out and answered a phone call.

“Right there? Okay.”

Then she hung up and said to Seo-ah.

“Noona [older sister/friend], let’s have a meal before you go. They’re all at the restaurant.”

“Is it okay for us to join? While you’re eating….”

“Of course, they’re all waiting.”

Seo-ah’s eyes widened at the word ‘waiting.’ Choi Eun-gyeol smiled at the sight.

“Noona [older sister/friend] and Ji-ahn hyung [older brother/friend] are stars too!”

Saying words that didn’t feel real at all, Choi Eun-gyeol led them into the elevator.

“But do those people know you’re a hunter?”

“Huh? They know, they know. It’s hard to work together if they don’t.”

“Ah, I see. Then I guess it’s okay to speak comfortably.”

The elevator opened, and Choi Eun-gyeol entered the restaurant and walked familiarly to the back of the hallway. It seemed like she had been here often.

And when she opened the door there, all six T-PLEX members turned to look at them.

“Wow!”

“It’s Hunter Seo-ah Park!”

“Yoo, is that the real Hunter Yoo Ji-ahn?”

Seo-ah hesitated to enter at the unexpectedly reversed reaction, and Yoo Ji-ahn strode inside. Then, after scanning the members, he said one thing.

“Who is Sung Min-woo?”