I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 100

100.

“Listen carefully. Just a bit further in, you’ll see an uphill path to the right.”

Yoo Ji-ahn spoke quickly, keeping a close watch on the skeleton soldiers. Seo-ah listened intently.

“Yes.”

“If I clear a path, head straight up. There’s an exit at the top.”

The path wasn’t visible yet, but Seo-ah nodded.

“Okay.”

Seo-ah didn’t ask about leaving Yoo Ji-ahn alone. She knew it was more helpful to leave quickly and get help than to stay and potentially become a burden.

“Remember, no matter what happens, just keep running forward.”

With that, Yoo Ji-ahn swung the Ruin Blade at the approaching skeletons.

*Kwang!*

A small whirlwind tore through the air, shredding the skeletons. Those caught in it were instantly destroyed.

Yoo Ji-ahn jumped into the gap he’d created.

The skeleton soldiers swarmed him. He didn’t bother defending, just smashed them with the Ruin Blade, pushing further in.

*Thud! Pasuseu-* Each swing of his sword shattered skeletons, but they quickly regenerated.

As Yoo Ji-ahn advanced, the skeletons’ formation shifted away from Seo-ah.

He had successfully drawn their attention, but from Seo-ah’s perspective, it looked incredibly dangerous.

‘Is he really going to be okay?’

Only when Yoo Ji-ahn was completely surrounded and out of sight did the uphill path he’d mentioned appear on the right.

‘That’s it.’

Seo-ah activated the invisibility cloak she’d brought. She ran as fast as she could, trying to minimize her noise.

A skeleton turned, but the invisibility held.

“Hoo….”

The path was barely wide enough for one person. A wall of tree roots lined one side, a cliff the other.

Below, Yoo Ji-ahn battled the skeletons. Seo-ah glanced down.

“…….”

To an S-class Hunter like him, each skeleton was individually weak. The problem was their sheer number and their ability to regenerate.

‘At this rate, it’ll never end.’

Seeing him lost in the swarm, she couldn’t help but worry, no matter how strong he was.

Seo-ah cast a minor recovery spell in his direction. It wouldn’t do much, but she hoped it would help.

Yoo Ji-ahn’s Ruin Blade flashed again, and the skeletons around him collapsed.

Despite Seo-ah’s worries, Yoo Ji-ahn was holding his own.

Relieved, Seo-ah continued running. The path narrowed, forcing her to hug the wall.

*Clang, clang, thud! Kwarrrrr-*

The sounds of battle echoed from below. She was curious, but the exit was close.

She squeezed through a narrow passage and reached the end of the path.

There was a small, flat area. A hole in the wall looked like the exit.

‘Is that it?’

No time to hesitate. Seo-ah approached the hole. As she bent to crawl through, something stopped her.

“Uh! Ugh.”

The black magician, who had spotted Seo-ah, grabbed her by the neck. Even with the invisibility cloak, he’d found her.

[You have a strange item.]

Before he could tear off the cloak, Seo-ah deactivated it.

“Let go of me!”

She threw [Stone Knight’s Pride] at his face and struck his hand with a toy hammer.

The brief distraction allowed her to escape his grip, but he blocked the hole.

‘What do I do? Attack?’

[You are a disobedient child. A beating is in order.]

The black magician spread his arms.

‘Ah, no, this…’

The gas from his robe was the same drug she’d inhaled at the lake.

“Ugh.”

Seo-ah tried to cover her mouth and nose, but her fingers went numb. She’d already inhaled some.

[Go to sleep. If I take you hostage, that guy will be easier to deal with… Ugh!]

Suddenly, something flew up from below and slammed the black magician into the wall.

“Hunter Yoo Ji-ahn!”

Yoo Ji-ahn, somehow aware of the situation, had launched himself upwards and pinned the black magician.

“Go.”

Yoo Ji-ahn said, looking at Seo-ah. He was breathing hard, covered in scratches.

Seo-ah crawled into the hole. Her limbs felt weak from the drug.

She bit her finger hard.

“Ugh.”

The pain and the taste of blood seemed to help. Sensation returned to her arms and legs.

‘I have to hurry.’

Seo-ah crawled forward, leaving the sounds of battle behind. Her knees were raw, her palms scraped, but she couldn’t stop.

She crawled through the seemingly endless passage until she suddenly tumbled out.

“Heut.”

Dizzy, she blinked.

She was lying face down, the ground wet beneath her hands. Next to her was a lake.

“Here is….”

It was similar to the lake in the black magician’s subspace, but this place had a sky. A starry night sky, and a gentle breeze.

“Did I… get out?”

As she got up, she heard voices behind her.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah!”

“Seo-ah!”

Turning, Seo-ah shouted.

“Everyone…! Hunter Yoo Ji-ahn is!”

***

After confirming Seo-ah’s escape, Yoo Ji-ahn stabbed the black magician with the Ruin Blade.

[You are quite strong.]

But the black magician vanished like smoke.

Yoo Ji-ahn whirled around.

*Tak!* A spear flew past his cheek, embedding itself in the wall. A hair’s breadth difference, and it would have pierced his head.

Yoo Ji-ahn grabbed the spear and pulled it free.

‘I can feel the magic power.’

A skeleton with epaulettes stood before him.

“It’s you. The hunter trapped here a century ago.”

His posture was different from the other skeletons.

“Unable to escape in that state….”

He was still using magic after a hundred years as a skeleton. He must have been a powerful hunter.

Yoo Ji-ahn dragged the Ruin Blade and faced him.

“I’ll set you free.”

He raised his sword and charged. The enemy barely dodged, receiving a spear from another skeleton.

In the brief skirmish, other skeletons joined, firing arrows.

The arrows didn’t even graze Yoo Ji-ahn.

Yoo Ji-ahn slid down the wall. As his feet touched the ground, a pure white light erupted.

*Flash- Kwaaaang!*

Yoo Ji-ahn unleashed the lightning magic he couldn’t use with Seo-ah present.

Lightning struck the narrow valley, turning skeletons to ash. Those who avoided the lightning were smashed by Yoo Ji-ahn’s sword.

‘Amazing.’

Yoo Ji-ahn admired inwardly.

Thanks to Seo-ah’s buff, his strength and agility exceeded 10,000.

It wasn’t just the numbers. The skill operation was easier, and his magic power was stable.

Seo-ah’s skill had a balance adjustment ability not reflected in the numbers.

Yoo Ji-ahn punched the head of a skeleton stabbing from behind, crushing it. He grilled it with lightning before it could regenerate.

*Pajijijik-*

The epaulettes fell onto the dust-covered remains.

Yoo Ji-ahn caught his breath and surveyed the remaining skeletons. A few were regenerating slowly, but not many were standing.

“It would be easier to just give up.”

Yoo Ji-ahn’s destruction speed far exceeded their regeneration.

“The magic power seems to be running out.”

The black magician’s magic power sustained the skeletons’ regeneration. It wasn’t infinite.

Yoo Ji-ahn stepped on a skeleton whose head had just reformed and walked forward.

“This can’t be all.”

Yoo Ji-ahn spoke confidently. The hunter from a hundred years ago was stronger than this. This couldn’t be the end.

But silence. He was hiding.

Yoo Ji-ahn stood in the middle of the area and plunged the Ruin Blade into the ground. He smiled and spoke clearly.

“If you don’t come out, I have no choice but to destroy everything.”