I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 107

107.

Even though Seo-ah had just become an S-class hunter, Yoo Ji-an still felt protective of her.

【Hey.】

As they were about to exit the gate, Ignis called out to Yoo Ji-an. When Yoo Ji-an turned around, Ignis had transformed back into Alice.

【You know, don’t you? The secret of this world.】

“…….”

Seo-ah looked back and forth between Yoo Ji-an and Ignis, a puzzled expression on her face.

“I don’t know either, but what’s certain is that even if I tell you now…”

Yoo Ji-an stared intently at Ignis for a moment without saying anything. Then, he spoke again.

“When we meet again, you’ll ask me the same question.”

【Has this happened that many times?】

Yoo Ji-an didn’t answer. He gently put his arm around Seo-ah’s shoulders and strode into the vortex.

Until the moment they entered, Seo-ah kept looking back at them. Alice waved at Seo-ah, and Seo-ah gave a slight smile.

“I need to do this.”

Just before entering, Yoo Ji-an made sure to drape the invisibility cloak over Seo-ah’s shoulders and secure it.

Thump-

The moment they were completely engulfed in the vortex, she felt like she was plummeting downwards. Startled, she flinched, but she felt Yoo Ji-an’s hand firmly holding hers.

Still, she didn’t feel as much pressure as when they came in.

‘Is it because I’m an S-class now that I don’t feel it as much?’

Even though the system window said she was an S-class, she hadn’t had a chance to test it yet, so she didn’t know what had changed.

Even though she didn’t feel the pressure, it still took just as long to arrive. Seo-ah suddenly looked around.

Then, things that Seo-ah couldn’t see before slowly began to come into view.

“…Ah.”

In the vast, pitch-black space, countless stars and galaxies swept past beneath her feet.

It was a scene she couldn’t see or even have time to see when she was an E-class. Did Yoo Ji-an or Baek Eun-hee see this every time they passed through a gate?

“It’s really beautiful. And scary too.”

Yoo Ji-an turned to look at her.

“It seems like you can see it now.”

“Yes, it’s like… walking in space.”

“You can’t always see this. The higher the level of the gate, the longer the stay in the passage, so you get to see it. It probably means that Earth and spacetime are that much farther apart.”

Just as he finished explaining, she felt the direction of gravity change. She definitely wasn’t as nauseous or dizzy as before, so it seemed like something had changed in her body.

After a while, the surroundings gradually brightened, and she smelled a damp, salty scent.

“Waaah!”

Splash! Splash!

Whether the island around the gate had disappeared or not, she fell straight into the sea as soon as she came out.

“Ugh…!”

She immediately surfaced and started swimming, and a large boat approached them.

“Ji-an!”

On the boat were Han Seok-hyun, who had come to pick them up, and the A-class hunters who had come out earlier.

Seo-ah hopped onto the boat without any help. She was amazed.

‘My body is definitely lighter than before.’

She wanted to be alone quickly and check her status window properly. When she had glanced at it earlier, it seemed like there were a lot more things attached to it than before.

Following her, Yoo Ji-an climbed aboard, and Han Seok-hyun looked around, asking.

“Where is Hunter Park Seo-ah?”

Oh, right, I’m invisible because of the invisibility cloak.

“I’m, here….”

“Waaah!”

Han Seok-hyun seemed to have forgotten that he had told her to wear the invisibility cloak when she came out. He was horrified and stepped back when he heard a voice from nowhere.

“It’s me, it’s me. I’m here.”

Seo-ah slightly released the invisibility to show herself and then made her body invisible again.

Because dozens of reporters with cameras were waiting for them on the shore.

“Ah… Hunter Park Seo-ah.”

Yoon Ah-jung, who was drying her wet hair with a towel, snickered.

“Our guild leader is still a scaredy-cat.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Han Seok-hyun ignored Yoon Ah-jung’s teasing and pointed to the shore.

“As soon as we dock the boat over there, reporters will swarm us. Before that, someone needs to protect Hunter Park Seo-ah and take her to the car….”

Han Seok-hyun looked around at Yoo Ji-an and the other A-class hunters, and he was puzzled by their expressions.

“Why do you guys look like that? Do you not want to do it?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that we don’t want to… it’s just that we’re wondering who’s supposed to protect whom.”

Kim Soo-hyuk scratched the back of his head and looked in the direction where Seo-ah was, then at Han Seok-hyun, and finally at the place where they would dock.

“Just protect Hunter Park Seo-ah safely and discreetly to the car before the reporters swarm us.”

“So, protect…”

“I’m okay, Guild Leader. I can go alone.”

When Seo-ah’s voice was heard from the air again, Han Seok-hyun flinched but still offered his words of concern.

“No, even if you use the invisibility cloak, you might get caught if you don’t move quickly. Reporters are very persistent. Shouldn’t we go safely from the start?”

“Ah…! About that, I became an S-class, Guild Leader.”

“So, you need to move at least at the speed of an S-class… What? What did you say?”

While he was talking, the boat docked. The reporters and staff who had been waiting rushed in.

“We just need to go to the big car in the parking lot over there, right? See you later!”

She had to go before they completely blocked the road. Seo-ah jumped off and ran lightly across the front of the reporters towards the bus.

Whoosh-

“Ugh, why is the wind blowing so suddenly?”

“Is the wind the problem now! Yoo Ji-an, Yoo Ji-an is getting off! Take a picture quickly!”

The reporters who were running were pushed back by a sudden gust of wind blowing from the side, and then they came to their senses when they saw Yoo Ji-an getting off first and pointed their cameras at him.

“What’s going on? Yoo Ji-an ignores cameras and everything else after a raid, right?”

“So, we need to take a lot of pictures at this opportunity!”

Even though she jumped lightly, Seo-ah arrived at the limousine bus in an instant. She was amazed by her legs. How much did her stats increase?

She was thinking of checking it out in the car when suddenly someone jumped out and hugged Seo-ah’s neck tightly.

“Sister!”

“Ah, Soo-jung?”

“Sniff, I missed you. Sister… I was so worried because it took so long, I really thought something had happened.”

As Seo-ah comforted Soo-jung and got into the car, she tilted her head.

“It took a long time? How long has it been?”

“It’s been exactly one month since you went in, Sister!”

“…It’s been a month?”

Seo-ah turned on her phone with a serious expression.

“December 7th…?”

When she left, it was still November 8th. D-Day [the day of the prophesied disaster] was set to 33 days.

It was the day Seo-ah first received the death warning from the system.

Come to think of it, the branches of the trees outside the window looked more barren than when she first saw them.

The air was cold too. Seo-ah thought it was just because she had fallen into the water.

‘Wow, if I hadn’t succeeded in this mission, I would have had 33 days left to live.’

Seo-ah stroked her neck once for no reason.

“Sister, what happened in the gate for a month? Seoul is a mess right now.”

“Seoul? What’s wrong with Seoul?”

“That’s….”

Just then, Seo-ah’s phone vibrated. Looking at the number, it was Health Hospital, where Geon-woo was hospitalized.

“Just a moment, Soo-jung.”

Seo-ah excused herself to Soo-jung and answered the phone.

– Hello, this is Health Hospital. Are you the guardian of patient Park Geon-woo?

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

– We need to explain the results of patient Park Geon-woo’s CT scan. When would you be able to come in?

“Ah… just a moment.”

Looking at the time, it was already 5 PM. Since this was Gangwon-do, even if she went to Seoul right now, it would be late at night.

“I’ll go first thing tomorrow morning.”

– Yes, then we will schedule an outpatient appointment for 9 AM.

“Yes, thank you.”

As soon as she hung up, she tried calling Geon-woo, but he didn’t answer, probably because he was sleeping. She had entrusted the hospital matters to Han Seok-hyun, so it seemed like she would have to get an explanation from him.

“Ah, sorry. What did you say was wrong with Seoul?”

“A strange plant has been spreading in Seoul these days, and hunters are going around catching it.”

“Plants? Why are hunters catching plants?”

“It’s a bit strange. First of all… it’s too big.”

Just then, Yoo Ji-an and Han Seok-hyun got on the bus, probably after the interview was over.

“Phew, it was hard to shake them off. How are reporters so fast even though they’re not hunters?”

“That’s how scary persistence is.”

“By the way, it hasn’t been a few days there, but it’s already been a month here….”

Everyone took their seats, and Yoo Ji-an and Han Seok-hyun sat facing each other in front of Seo-ah.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

“Guild Leader, you said it’s been a month here.”

“Yes, that’s right. A lot has happened here in the past month. We’ve been incredibly busy. A strange creature appeared in a residential area in Seoul.”

“Ah, I heard it from Soo-jung. What exactly is it?”

Han Seok-hyun leaned his elbows on his knees and said with a serious expression.

“It’s a plant-type monster. But everyone is wondering because the origin is unknown.”