I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 1

Became the Top Rankers’ One Pick – Episode 1 (1/255)

Episode 1.

Ding, ding, ding.

I was deep in sleep when I heard a strange warning sound.

“Ah… Ugh…”

I covered my ears, but there was no way to block the sound that was ringing directly in my head.

Eventually, I opened my eyes. At the same time, a blue system window floated in the air.

[※ If you fail to activate the position ‘Supporter (S-Rank)’ within the deadline, you will die! (D-99)]

Seo-a rubbed her eyes. Was she still dreaming?

Slap-!

A sharp pain spread across her cheek, so it wasn’t a dream.

“Ouch, what… no, wait. There was no such message yesterday.”

Of course, she had fallen asleep almost instantly yesterday, so she hadn’t even read the system window properly before drifting off.

You will die! (D-99)

Even though it was the same size as the other letters, only those words stood out.

“Die, die? I’m… going to die?”

Park Seo-a hurriedly opened her status window.

[ STATE ]

[Park Seo-a (21 years old)

Position: Healer (E-Rank), Supporter (!) (S-Rank/Locked)

Title: None

HP 10/10 MP 12/12

Stats: Too insignificant to display. (Stats below 1 are not displayed.)

Stamina 3 Mentality 10

Active Skill (!): Heal (LV.1), Others Locked

……]

“Yeah, there was no such message…”

She shouldn’t have skimped on reading it yesterday.

When she moved her gaze to the ‘…’ omitted at the end, the hidden letters popped out.

[※ If you fail to activate the position ‘Supporter (S-Rank)’ within the deadline, you will die! (D-99)]

The sentence she had seen earlier was clearly embedded as if to show off.

“No, so what the heck is a Supporter?”

Then, as if responding to Seo-a’s words, the ‘Supporter (!) (S-Rank/Locked)’ letters in the status window twinkled as if asking her to look at them.

So she opened it.

[Supporter: A person who supports, sponsors, and cheers to boost morale]

“…”

She didn’t know that a dictionary function was included in the system window. Dumbfounded, she stared at the window and then opened ‘Skill (!)’ as well.

[Skill Unlock Guide]

“Ah, at least this will be helpful.”

However, the next moment, Seo-a’s shoulders flinched as she opened it.

[Mission 1. Touch a Hunter.]

“To, to touch? Where… ?”

Seo-a’s face turned red as she mumbled in embarrassment.

So, the beginning of this all goes back to yesterday.

* * *

Rumble.

“Hic, hiccup!”

“Shhh.”

Seo-a quickly pulled the child next to her into her arms. The child was already in a panic, and Seo-a was on the verge of going crazy.

Rumble, crunch, crunch-

A house-sized monster that looked like a toad was chewing on something and walking closer on two feet. She didn’t want to know or think about what the ‘something’ it was chewing on was.

When she was first caught up in the sudden gate, there were clearly dozens of people together, but now most of them were gone.

‘This is all that’s left.’

Now, about a dozen people were hiding under the rubble of a collapsed building.

“Ugh…”

Thump, thump, thump-

The monster’s footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Growl-

The monster’s huge foot was visible right in front of them through the rubble. Seo-a hugged the child tighter and closed her eyes tightly.

The people who were panting in pain also covered their noses and mouths. As far as they had seen, the monster was particularly sensitive to sound.

How long had it been?

Fortunately, the monster didn’t find the people and passed by, gradually moving away.

“Huu…”

When the monster’s footsteps were barely audible, a sigh of relief was heard. Seo-a glanced at her wristwatch.

‘Not much time left…’

All gates could be entered 30 minutes after they were first created and closed again after 1-2 hours.

In the hunter world, the word ‘gate’ meant ‘entrance’ and at the same time, ‘another world’.

So, a ‘D-grade gate’ referred to both ‘a world with D-grade monsters’ and ‘the door leading to that world’.

Anyway, the only hope for these people was that they could escape this place in 30 minutes.

As the monster passed, people slowly gathered back to Seo-a.

“Heal, Healer-nim…” [Healer-nim is a Korean honorific title for a healer.]

“Ah…”

Seo-a frowned.

She was already running out of magic [mana] and stamina from using unfamiliar skills.

However, given Seo-a’s personality, she couldn’t coldly turn away from the people who were tearing up in pain.

“…Show me.”

“Thank you, Healer-nim!”

In the end, she ended up healing the last person.

“Healer-nim, are you okay?”

“Ugh. I’m fine, go away.”

Seo-a waved her hand and collapsed.

This place was a desolate city, a gate that seemed to recreate the apocalypse from a movie.

Seo-a was an E-grade healer, but in fact, she had never been in a gate or used her skills properly.

‘I would never have used it if it weren’t for this situation.’

If she hadn’t been caught up in a sudden dungeon, if she hadn’t seen the tearful sacrifice of the low-level hunter who had died earlier, Seo-a would never have revealed that she was a hunter.

“Oh, the entrance… !”

At that moment, everyone raised their heads at someone’s hopeful shout.

Indeed, a blue vortex had appeared in the middle of a half-collapsed wall. It was a gate leading outside. However, judging by the size, it didn’t seem like many people could pass through.

“Wow, we’re alive!”

People cheered with joy.

“Shhh, be quiet! If you shout like that, the monster… !”

Seo-a warned belatedly, but it was already too late.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

The monster, hearing the human voices, was running from the other side, shaking the ground.

“O, let’s get out of here!”

The person right in front of the gate jumped in first. It happened to be a one-person gate. The time it took for the vortex to shrink and transport the person who entered was about 5 seconds.

As the monster’s footsteps grew louder, people rushed towards the gate in fear.

“G, get out of the way! I’m next… !”

“Ugh! I’m first!”

Even in a situation where they were pushing each other, one by one, they got out.

The thumping vibrations were about to collapse the already collapsed building. Concrete debris was constantly pouring down on their heads.

“Run quickly!”

When there were four people left, Seo-a quickly pushed the child in first.

“Get out of the way, don’t be a nuisance!”

As soon as she put the child in, Seo-a herself was pushed back in the scuffle.

“Ugh!”

In fact, Seo-a was an E-grade hunter, but she had a body that was no different from an ordinary person. No one told Seo-a, who had been healing them until just now, to go out first.

But there was no time to be upset.

Rumble-

The monster’s snorting sound was heard right above her head. Finally, the monster had found the humans.

“Ugh…”

The people who were terrified didn’t even realize that they shouldn’t make a sound anymore.

Even in the midst of that, the number steadily decreased to three, then soon to two.

Seo-a also desperately tried to hide her body against the collapsed wall.

“Get out of here!”

The man who had broken his leg earlier and clung to Seo-a, crying, threw Seo-a to the ground without hesitation and pushed his body into the gate.

“Ugh, that’s too much.”

The monster was now right in front of her. But Seo-a couldn’t get up.

‘Ah, I’m doomed.’

The monster’s eyes, revealed through the broken ceiling, were staring down at Seo-a, and Seo-a’s body stiffened.

Due to the clear difference in ‘level’ with the toad monster, Seo-a’s body was terrified.

Bang!

The monster only swung its arm once, but the entire upper part of the concrete building was blown away. The gray sky, with nothing to hide, was clearly visible.

Even until the monster reached out its hand towards Seo-a, Seo-a couldn’t move a finger.

She couldn’t even close her eyes, and she was just staring straight at the approaching death.

‘I’m going to die.’

But right then, a blue window floated up.

[The system is searching for your hidden abilities.]

“…?”

The monster’s hand stopped right in front of Seo-a’s nose. The surroundings were as quiet as a mouse. The oppressive feeling that had been weighing down on her body disappeared. It was as if time had stopped except for her.

[This process will take several minutes ……]

Seo-a blinked and stared blankly at the system window. What is this? Is this a dream? Is it like a dying person’s flashback?

No sooner had she thought that than the system window changed.

[…Found it!]

[Park Seo-a (21 years old)……

You are an ‘S-Rank Supporter (Locked)’!]

Wow, I don’t know what it is, but it’s S-Rank. But…

“What is a Supporter?”

Surprised, her voice popped out.

But there was no answer, and the system window disappeared. At the same time, the monster’s hand, which had been stopped, quickly approached.

Seo-a rolled her body to the side with all her might.

Bang! Thud.

The spot where the monster’s palm touched was dented like it had been hit by a bomb.

“Huk, huff…”

She barely avoided the first attack, but Seo-a was actually moving further away from the exit. The monster attacked again without giving her a chance.

“Ugh.”

She thought she was really dead now. There wasn’t enough space to avoid it, and her stamina was running out. Seo-a covered her head and curled up her body.

But suddenly, someone lifted her by the nape of her neck and instantly brought her to the front of the exit.

“Huh?”

No sooner had she realized it and opened her eyes than the monster’s hand was cut off.

Kuaaaaak!

The monster, whose hand had been cut off, screamed in pain and stepped back.

“…Ah.”

When Seo-a came to her senses, a very handsome man was standing tall and staring at her.

Two things happened simultaneously in a split second. Was this possible? But as soon as she recognized who the man was, she concluded that it was possible.

Seo-a was startled and shouted.

“Y, Yoo Ji-an!”

Yoo Ji-an was an S-Rank hunter who was ranked 1st in the country and 3rd in the world.

There was no one in Korea who didn’t know his face. Even spies knew Yoo Ji-an.

Yoo Ji-an didn’t say anything, but he was staring intently at Seo-a, not the monster, with a look that seemed like he would devour her.