I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 103

103.

Song Jin-ho, arriving first, stopped a short distance away, carefully observing Yoo Ji-an.

“Hey, what are you doing!”

“Wait, hold on.”

As Kim Su-hyeok rushed over, Song Jin-ho abruptly halted him, his expression grave.

The air around Yoo Ji-an vibrated strangely. This vibration was also felt by Kim Su-hyeok and Seo-ah, who arrived later.

The black smoke visibly trembled, a sign of a powerful disturbance.

“This feeling is…”

Song Jin-ho instinctively recoiled.

Kim Su-hyeok looked anxiously between Song Jin-ho and the prone Yoo Ji-an.

“Could it be? No way, he didn’t use Thunderclap [a powerful, potentially dangerous skill].”

“He didn’t, but…”

“That smoke is related to mental attacks!”

The unease in their eyes solidified into certainty at Seo-ah’s exclamation.

The black snake now possessed only a single head.

The burnt head was grotesque, yet even this remaining one posed a deadly threat. Still, Ignis was partially blocking it, mitigating the immediate danger.

The black magician’s magical energy seemed severely depleted; the skeletons, once constantly regenerating, now remained still. Thanks to this, Yoon Ah-jeong managed to escape the lakeside and fly towards them.

“Why are you all standing around?”

Yoo Ji-an had fallen from a great height, but no one believed he’d sustained serious injuries. However, she, too, sensed an ominous energy and stopped some distance away.

The black snake flicked its long tongue, gazing down at the fallen Yoo Ji-an.

[Hahaha, you will experience hell. That medicine contains a secret of a thousand years…]

Whoosh-!

Ignis’s blue flames intercepted the black snake’s gaze.

[Hurry. I can’t hold on for long either.]

At Ignis’s warning, the group flinched but remained rooted, staring at Yoo Ji-an.

More accurately, they were unable to move.

The air around him felt particularly heavy and unsettling.

“…No, no way.”

As Kim Su-hyeok muttered, the black mist dissipated, revealing Yoo Ji-an’s face. Yoo Ji-an, who had been lying face down, slowly raised his head, and Song Jin-ho quietly warned.

“Everyone, run.”

From behind, Seo-ah clearly saw Yoo Ji-an’s eyes glowing with a distinct golden light.

“If both eyes change color, run without looking back.”

Was he referring to this moment?

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, get a grip!”

“Ah…!”

Song Jin-ho swiftly grabbed Seo-ah, who stood frozen, and sprinted away. The other hunters quickly followed suit.

Once they had moved a safe distance, Song Jin-ho set Seo-ah down.

They watched the situation, poised to flee at any moment.

Yoo Ji-an slowly rose to his feet.

[To get up even after being poisoned by that medicine, you are amazing. But now it’s over. I will devour you and take your power!]

The black snake opened its massive jaws and lunged to swallow Yoo Ji-an whole.

Yoo Ji-an slowly lifted his head and looked at the black snake.

For a moment, he instinctively wanted to run, but Song Jin-ho was holding Seo-ah tightly.

“……!”

Seo-ah couldn’t bear to watch and squeezed her eyes shut.

When she opened them again, Yoo Ji-an was unharmed and beyond the monster’s reach.

‘He’s safe, that’s a relief.’

Seo-ah couldn’t tear her gaze away from the battle between Yoo Ji-an and the black snake.

Ignis had withdrawn from the fight and was now observing them near Alice.

Yoo Ji-an, seemingly in a ‘berserk’ state, raised Ruin Blade towards the black snake on the ground.

***

“Yoo Ji-an!”

Yoo Ji-an looked at the woman before him, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Baek Eun-hee?”

“How old do you think I am? Why do you keep calling me by my name?”

Baek Eun-hee tried to swat Yoo Ji-an on the back but quickly retracted her hand.

He turned to see why, and a group of S-class hunters, radiating intense energy, entered from the conference room entrance.

Here, at the World Hunter Conference, S-class hunters from major countries were gathered.

“That grinning bastard is unlucky every time I see him.”

Baek Eun-hee muttered, just loud enough for Yoo Ji-an to hear.

She was referring to Oscar Jackson, the world’s number one hunter from the United States. Despite his reputation, he had a mild, scholarly appearance and a peculiar personality: normally jovial, but prone to eccentricity when things went awry.

Baek Eun-hee placed a hand on Yoo Ji-an’s shoulder and stepped forward. The situation felt odd, but Yoo Ji-an quickly understood.

‘Baek Eun-hee is currently ranked number one in the country.’

Yoo Ji-an accepted the situation without argument. The creeping sense of déjà vu was temporarily forgotten as the meeting commenced.

“Today’s meeting is to discuss countermeasures for the ‘Legend Gate’ that has appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”

Yoo Ji-an paused as he reached for the translation earphones attached to the armrest.

He realized he could understand the English being spoken fluently.

‘Has my English improved that much?’

That wasn’t all.

A woman who appeared to be in her early twenties waved her hand dismissively. She was Wang Cheon-yu, the world’s number two hunter from China.

“Is there any countermeasure other than gathering everyone and beating them up? Why bother gathering people?”

He had never studied Chinese, yet he could roughly understand her meaning.

‘Did I get a new skill?’

Yoo Ji-an opened his system window.

[Yoo Ji-an (28 years old)]

[Position: S-Class Magic Swordsman]

[Title: Berserker]

He checked for a translation skill, but there was none. Besides, he would surely know if he had gained such an ability.

More than that, his title caught his attention today.

‘Since I’m still a berserker, does that mean I haven’t found the item yet?’

Yoo Ji-an tilted his head, a natural thought.

‘Wait a minute, what item?’

Just as the sense of déjà vu intensified, the conference room erupted in noise.

“What the hell is this? Who decided this!”

Baek Eun-hee was shouting and protesting at the chairman of the World Hunter Association.

She was protesting the unusually large number of Korean hunters included in the dream team assigned to deal with the Legend Gate.

Yoo Ji-an, who had been observing from his seat, jumped up.

“Wait…”

Suddenly, the surrounding background blurred and shifted.

In an instant, Yoo Ji-an found himself before the Legend Gate, moments after its breach.

Thud!

“Get a hold of yourself, Hunter Yoo Ji-an!”

Cha Tae-woon blocked a monster lunging at him. Yoo Ji-an raised his head.

Hundreds of thousands of monsters poured from the breached Legend Gate.

As expected of monsters from a Legend Gate, each one was incredibly powerful.

“Damn it, support! They said they’d be here right away, why haven’t we heard anything!”

Baek Eun-hee’s ‘Splinter’ [likely a skill or weapon] carved a wide arc, annihilating hundreds of monsters at once. But it wasn’t enough. The number of monsters surging forth far exceeded her kills.

Yoo Ji-an himself was almost mechanically fighting the monsters before him.

Turning to the side, he saw the A-class hunters of the Sun Guild and the Royal Guild struggling. Seeing them, an ominous premonition washed over him.

‘They all… die here.’

Premonition? He possessed no precognitive abilities. But what was this vivid afterimage?

“Yoo Ji-an! Get a hold of yourself! We’re done if you fall back too!”

At Baek Eun-hee’s scream, Yoo Ji-an shook off his thoughts and swung Ruin Blade with all his might.

Dozens of monsters blocking his path were cleaved in two.

He was slightly out of breath. Three hours had passed since the gate’s breach.

It was becoming impossible to hold the line with only twenty or so high-ranking Korean hunters.

‘There’s no support. I have to get out of here…’

As he thought this, Han Seok-hyun, guarding the front lines, vomited blood and collapsed.

“Cough!”

“Han Seok-hyun!”

Song Jin-ho rushed to his side, used his recovery skill, and looked up.

It was the A-class monster Centaur that had struck down Han Seok-hyun.

“An A-class monster already?”

Just as the Centaur’s massive hooves were about to crush Song Jin-ho, someone ran forward and shoved the monster away.

“Song Jin-ho! Get up!”

It was his sister, Song Jin-ah. An S-class healer with considerable combat skills, she, like the other hunters, was fighting tirelessly across the battlefield.

But only for a moment.

“Get out of the way!”

A black blade pierced Song Jin-ah’s abdomen. Yoo Ji-an ran forward and instantly killed the A-class monster [Iron Knight], but it was too late.

Song Jin-ah’s body crumpled, and countless monsters swarmed over her.

“No, Sister!”

It was impossible for Song Jin-ho to reach her and use his healing skills.

Song Jin-ah died where she fell.