I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 248

Side Story 3

“Oh, Guild Leader. There’s no such thing as college. And who would bully Park Seo-ah…? Unless they have a death wish.”

Yang Tae-woo glanced at Yoo Ji-an, but Baek Eun-hee misinterpreted his look.

“Well, our Seo-ah is an S-class hunter, after all. I’ve known her since she was an E-class, so I still think of her as a little chick.”

As Baek Eun-hee settled down, mouthwatering Korean beef sirloin was placed on the grill. The four hunters stared intently at the sizzling meat.

Yang Tae-woo reached out with his chopsticks for a perfectly cooked piece, but it vanished instantly, transferred to Seo-ah’s plate. The next piece, and the next, suffered the same fate. All the cooked meat went to Seo-ah.

Yang Tae-woo glanced at Yoo Ji-an, who was wielding the tongs.

He had offered to do the grilling, but Yoo Ji-an had insisted on taking charge. Was this the reason for his meatless fate?

“Thank you for the food.”

Seeing Seo-ah eating with obvious enjoyment and Yoo Ji-an watching her with satisfaction, Yang Tae-woo couldn’t bring himself to complain.

Besides, even Baek Eun-hee, the leader of his own Royal Guild, was watching Seo-ah eat with a proud expression.

“Is it good?”

“Yes, it’s been a while since I had Korean beef, and this is definitely top quality.”

At Seo-ah’s casual remark, Baek Eun-hee shot a disapproving look at Yoo Ji-an.

“You don’t even treat her to Korean beef regularly? Look how much she’s enjoying it.”

At Baek Eun-hee’s words, Yoo Ji-an put down the tongs and looked directly at Seo-ah, speaking in a serious tone.

“I didn’t realize you liked it this much. I’ll make sure to remember that from now on.”

“Ah, no. It’s only especially delicious when it’s a treat…”

Yang Tae-woo, who would ultimately be footing the bill for the expensive meat, received not even a sliver of attention and could only resignedly chew on the slightly burnt pieces.

For dessert, they ordered cold noodles [Naengmyeon: a Korean noodle dish typically served in a chilled broth].

Just as the bowls of cold noodles were placed in front of them and they were about to pick up their chopsticks, the S-class hunters suddenly froze.

Amid the sudden silence, Seo-ah spoke first.

“It’s only 7 o’clock…”

“The location feels a bit different, too, doesn’t it?”

While Baek Eun-hee was responding, Yang Tae-woo blinked, completely lost.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Yoo Ji-an put down his chopsticks and gripped Seo-ah’s wrist tightly.

“Get ready, everyone.”

“Prepare for what…?”

Yang Tae-woo’s voice rose in anxiety. But he soon understood. He could feel the unmistakable pulse of magical energy. It was the telltale sign of a gate break [a sudden tear in reality leading to another dimension or world].

“Tae-woo, you first… !”

Before Baek Eun-hee could finish her sentence, a swirling vortex engulfed them.

Seo-ah struggled to keep her eyes open.

But unlike previous gate transitions, this time they passed through the dimensional passage so quickly that the scene before her eyes changed almost instantaneously.

Thud!

“Ah, ouch…”

Seo-ah, who had landed hard on her rear, rubbed the sore spot and looked around.

“Huh?”

Yoo Ji-an had definitely been holding her wrist, but she had been separated from him. Not to mention the others.

Seo-ah found herself sitting in a field in the middle of a dense forest. Looking more closely, she noticed that the trees and grass seemed unusually large.

“So, where is this…?”

[Main Mission: Find the princess’s true love, complete the fairy tale, and defeat the boss monster.]

“Snow… White?”

Was it the Snow White fairy tale that everyone knew?

While she was blankly staring at the system window, she was suddenly struck on the head with a sharp thwack.

“Ouch!”

Rubbing her aching head, tears welling up in her eyes, she turned to see a small child glaring down at her with an angry expression.

“Hey, Number 8! Everyone else is working, and you’re the only one lying around sleeping?”

“Who…”

“Who do you think? It’s Number 5! Get up quickly!”

The child had a pickaxe slung diagonally across his shoulder. Seo-ah flinched and scrambled to her feet, as if he was about to strike her again.

“You shouldn’t hit adults like that…”

She started to scold him, but something felt profoundly wrong. Everyone else had stood up, but her eye level was still nearly the same as the child called Number 5. No, it seemed even lower than that.

“Huh? Huh?”

Seo-ah looked down at her hands and feet. Small and dainty. Come to think of it, this fairy tale was Snow White, so this child and she were… Dwarves?

“Follow me quickly! We have a lot of work to do today!”

Seo-ah followed the child, subtly checking the flow of magic power within her.

‘Since this is essentially a gate, monsters are bound to appear.’

Fortunately, her magic power as a hunter was intact, and she could still use her skills. Even if a boss monster appeared in a B-class gate, her life wouldn’t be in any real danger. Not only Seo-ah, but the others as well.

‘By the way, where did the others end up, and what roles have they been assigned?’

Following Number 5, she arrived at a mine.

Clang, clang, clang!

People of short stature were swinging pickaxes at the rock face and shoveling away the broken stones. They seemed to possess considerable strength.

One, two, three… There were a total of eight people, including herself. As Seo-ah stood there blankly, another dwarf approached and handed her a sack. He was about the same height, but his face looked a couple of years older than Number 5. But he was still just a child.

“Number 8, put the stones you collect in this sack.”

“What number are you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m Number 3. We need to hurry and fill our quota for today.”

“…”

Seo-ah took the sack for now. And she began picking up the loose stones, trying to organize her thoughts.

‘What exactly is the story of Snow White again?’

Just then, she overheard Number 5 and Number 3, who were returning to work, talking.

“But when did we become eight?”

“What are you talking about? There have always been eight of us.”

Seo-ah, feeling a pang of guilt, pretended to be even more focused on picking up stones.

‘There are originally seven dwarves…’

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, likely due to the system’s influence.

It meant that even though the administrator was gone, the system was still functioning as it was originally programmed.

Seo-ah picked up a stone, looked at it thoughtfully, and muttered, trying to recall the details of the story.

“The princess’s true love is… the prince. Where is the princess, and where is the prince?”

After working in the mine for a couple of hours, she began to feel hungry. The dwarves gathered in a group and began to share the food they had brought.

Among them, Number 1 bit into a potato and said.

“I’m sick and tired of doing this for 30 years.”

30 years? Seo-ah took a kernel of corn and looked closely at Number 1’s face. He looked like he was in the 6th grade of elementary school at best. Working for over 30 years meant he was at least 30 years old.

‘The dwarves age differently, or perhaps they are ageless.’

Then Number 2 lay down next to him and muttered.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], it’s been 28 years for me too. How long has it been for Number 8 then?”

“Cough!”

At the sudden mention of her, Seo-ah choked on the corn she was eating.

“Here, water.”

The youngest, Number 7, quickly fetched water for Seo-ah.

“I’ve been here for about 5 years… Number 8 has been here for even less time. She’s the youngest.”

5 years… Number 7 was really young then. But he was still working diligently in the mine.

“The youngest, yes… She’s our youngest.”

Some people tilted their heads in confusion, and some nodded in agreement, but she managed to get through the moment without raising suspicion. Seo-ah quietly put down the corn she was eating and looked up at the sky.

‘So, where is Hunter Yoo Ji-an… Where on earth could he be?’

* * *

A woman with snow-white skin, jet-black hair, and strikingly beautiful features was staring intently at her reflection in the mirror.

The woman suddenly frowned and punched the mirror.

Smash-

The mirror shattered into countless pieces.

Behind her, her stepmother, the queen of this country, was trembling, hiding partially behind the door and watching the scene unfold.

“Snow White! You broke the mirror I cherish…!”

The woman called Snow White turned around sharply. And she approached her stepmother with a terrifying look in her eyes.

“What did you just say?”

“I, I was just about to throw it away because it was old, so I wanted to say you did a good, good job.”

While the terrified stepmother was babbling incoherently, Snow White stared intently at her stepmother, the queen.

[Snow White’s Stepmother]

[Overall Grade: B⁺]

[The boss monster of the Snow White fairy tale. A witch disguised as the queen of the kingdom and Snow White’s stepmother. Beware of the witch’s apple.]

[Item: Poison Apple]

Snow White gave a cruel smile.

“To meet the boss as soon as I arrive. Good, I can finish this quickly.”

[Ruin Blade] materialized in Snow White’s hand, which had been previously empty.

“Snow White, what are you saying? What is that, eek!”

As Snow White raised the greatsword and prepared to swing it, an unknown force grabbed her arm, stopping her.

[Warning! You cannot attack ‘Snow White’s Stepmother’. Find Snow White’s true love.]

“Damn it.”

The stepmother was protected by the system. Snow White muttered a curse and dispelled [Ruin Blade].