I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 110

110.

Seo-ah quickly wiped away her tears and looked out the window again.

‘What… is that?’

*Can flowers really be that big?*

The surreal scene made her hesitate, unable to make a quick judgment.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Help! It’s a monster!”

Just then, she heard people screaming and running in the hallway.

“Ah!”

It finally dawned on her.

Plant-type monsters were spreading throughout Seoul.

Having arrived in Seoul at dawn, Seo-ah had only slept briefly before coming straight to the hospital, so she hadn’t had time to hear about or investigate the plant-type monsters in detail.

“…Geon-hu!”

Realizing the flower was a monster, Seo-ah immediately ran to Geon-hu’s hospital room.

The hallway was in complete chaos. Seo-ah had to try her best not to bump into people as she ran.

Dodging and weaving, Seo-ah reached Geon-hu’s room and threw the door open.

“Geon-hu!”

Seo-ah was shocked as soon as she opened the door.

Plant vines writhed menacingly through the window behind Geon-hu, who was sitting on the bed.

But Geon-hu, wearing earphones, seemed unaware of the situation and looked at Seo-ah with a puzzled expression.

“Noona [term for older sister used by males in Korean]? What’s wrong?”

Thud, thud, thump-!

Crash!

At that moment, the vines broke through the window and rushed in. Without a second thought, Seo-ah threw herself forward, hugging Geon-hu and dodging the attack.

“Ugh!”

Only then did Geon-hu see the monstrous plant invading through the window, and he screamed in terror.

“S-Sister! What is that!”

“It’s okay, Geon-hu. Stay behind me.”

She never imagined she would reveal this to Geon-hu like this. But with their lives on the line, there was no other choice.

“Noona?”

“Just stay back, but don’t leave yet.”

Seo-ah said firmly and calmly turned on the State Checker [an item or ability used to assess the status of something]. The presence wasn’t that of a strong monster, but she couldn’t let her guard down.

[Grotesque Sunflower (Evolved)]

[Overall Grade: D⁺]

[It grows and reproduces by devouring anything living in its vicinity.

The common type stands in one place, luring prey with sunflower seeds, or controlling them to use as bait to catch other creatures.

The evolved form actively seeks out prey. It hunts with its vines, swallowing them in one bite, and constantly spreads its seeds far and wide.]

[Items: Sunflower Seeds (edible), Random Card]

Grade D.

Seo-ah slightly raised the corner of her mouth.

In the past, Seo-ah would never have been able to defeat it alone. But now, Seo-ah was undeniably an S-grade Hunter, even if she was on the lower end and not combat-focused. A D-grade monster was now a piece of cake for Seo-ah.

As proof, Seo-ah was only slightly nervous due to the sudden appearance of the monster and the need to protect Geon-hu, but she wasn’t afraid of the monster at all.

“Stay put!”

Seo-ah shouted to Geon-hu behind her and fearlessly pulled out her Bbyong Hammer [likely a special weapon].

She accurately struck the rapidly approaching vine with the Bbyong Hammer. The vine crashed to the ground with a single blow.

The Grotesque Sunflower, realizing it was no match, quickly fled through the window.

“Let’s go now.”

“S-Sister. What’s going on? And do you hunt too?”

“…I’ll explain later. We need to get to a safe place first.”

Seo-ah grabbed Geon-hu’s hand and stepped out of the hospital room. Clearly, this sunflower wasn’t the only one. She could tell without even seeing it.

The magic power spreading around the hospital was clearly felt by Seo-ah’s senses.

‘So this is what it feels like.’

It felt new to think that Yoo Ji-an, Baek Eun-hee, and Cha Tae-woon usually felt things like this. Of course, they were much stronger than Seo-ah, so they would be even more sensitive and accurate.

Everyone who could move seemed to have gathered in the underground shelter.

“Stay here. It won’t be able to come here.”

At least it was a plant. That was fortunate. Although the vine attacks were extensive, there was a limit as long as the roots were planted.

The patients in the intensive care unit and those who couldn’t move on their own were the problem. They hadn’t been able to evacuate. It was impossible for Seo-ah to move them all by herself.

‘I have no choice but to go out and take care of it quickly.’

As Seo-ah turned to leave, Geon-hu shouted.

“S-Sister! Be careful!”

Seo-ah glanced back, nodded, and then soared into the air.

“It’s a relief there was a hunter in the hospital.”

“Student, is your sister a hunter?”

“She looks really strong, who is she?”

The people gathered in the basement buzzed with curiosity. But Geon-hu didn’t know anything either, so he couldn’t answer.

Geon-hu kept his mouth shut, staring only at the basement entrance where Seo-ah had disappeared.

Seo-ah went straight to the roof.

“Wow, there are more than I thought.”

The Grotesque Sunflower was a plant-type monster, so its mobility was low, but it boasted tremendous growth and reproductive power instead.

In an instant, vines wrapped around the entire hospital, and yellow flowers greedily opened their mouths everywhere.

As Seo-ah looked down at the sunflowers, a strong wind suddenly blew. Turning her gaze, she saw a familiar person standing there.

“Hunter Yoo Ji-an? How did you get here?”

How did he know to come here?

“Let’s take care of this first instead of explaining.”

Yoo Ji-an pointed with a nod at the swarm of Grotesque Sunflowers that seemed to swallow the entire hospital.

Seo-ah nodded, and the two jumped down below the hospital at the same time. And as if they had agreed, they went in opposite directions.

“Hah, yaap!”

With the golden Bbyong Hammer in her hand, Seo-ah climbed up and down the walls, smashing the flowers of the Grotesque Sunflower.

Each one fell with exactly one hit. The feeling was amazing.

On the other side, Yoo Ji-an didn’t even take out a weapon, but grabbed the vines with his hands and uprooted them. With each flash, it seemed like he was frying them with electric magic.

With two S-grade hunters working together, the swarm of Grotesque Sunflowers attached to the hospital was quickly cleared. There was some debris left, but the Hunter Association would come and clean it up and explain it.

By now, a report would have been filed.

Park Seo-ah and Yoo Ji-an checked to see if the patients who hadn’t been able to escape were safe, and then headed to the basement where the evacuees were gathered.

“It’s… Hunter Yoo Ji-an!”

Yoo Ji-an, whose face and name were known, was easily recognized by the people.

But no one recognized Park Seo-ah.

Seo-ah tried to ignore the curious gazes of the people and grabbed Geon-hu’s hand, leading him away.

“Geon-hu, it’s okay now. It’s all cleared up. Let’s go back to the hospital room.”

Geon-hu pointed at Yoo Ji-an, who was walking side by side with Seo-ah, and gaped.

“Sister, this person….”

Seo-ah smiled awkwardly and gently folded Geon-hu’s finger.

“Ahem, you shouldn’t point at people like that.”

Like brother, like sister, doing the same thing when they first met.

Seo-ah returned to the hospital room and closed the door.

Thanks to the hospital staff who were busy running around and cleaning up, the inside of the hospital was quickly returning to normal.

Geon-hu sat on the bed, looking back and forth between Seo-ah and Yoo Ji-an next to her.

“Now tell me… what is it? What I saw? Weren’t you an E-grade healer?”

Geon-hu was looking at Seo-ah with distrustful eyes.

“Um, well….”

She never expected to be questioned like this in front of Yoo Ji-an.

“And why is… that person with you?”

Geon-hu habitually tried to point with his finger again, but folded it back neatly, calling Yoo Ji-an ‘that person.’ Yoo Ji-an’s status was too great to just point at him.

“Hmm, first of all, are you hurt anywhere?”

Seo-ah moved closer to Geon-hu. Geon-hu replied curtly.

“No, you saw it earlier. Now answer me.”

“……”

*What should I say, where should I start explaining?*

*From the day the system threatened me? From when I got caught in the sudden gate?*

As Seo-ah was feeling embarrassed, Yoo Ji-an approached.

“Park Geon-hu, was it? Park Seo-ah’s younger brother.”

At Yoo Ji-an’s call, Park Geon-hu flinched slightly and hid behind Seo-ah.

“Yes, yes….”

Unlike the frightened Park Geon-hu, Yoo Ji-an calmly looked down at him and then extended his hand.

“……?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yoo Ji-an.”

For a moment, Geon-hu’s mind didn’t seem to be working properly. *Why is he holding out his hand?* Then he realized that he was asking for a handshake.

“I-I’m Park Geon-hu.”

Feeling honored and surprised, Geon-hu grabbed Yoo Ji-an’s hand with both of his. As these boys often do, Geon-hu also harbored admiration for Yoo Ji-an.

Yoo Ji-an chuckled, and Geon-hu blinked at his handsome face.

“Um, Hunter Yoo Ji-an. Just a moment….”

“I’ll wait outside.”

As soon as Seo-ah called, Yoo Ji-an understood her intention and greeted Geon-hu again.

“See you around.”

“Yes? Yes, goodbye!”

As soon as Yoo Ji-an left and the door closed, Geon-hu exclaimed excitedly to Seo-ah.

“Wow, did you see that? He’s so handsome. Wow, he’s really cool.”

“Ahem. Well, he is….”

Seo-ah glanced at the door for no reason and then turned her gaze away, pretending not to be.

Looking at his hand in disbelief, Geon-hu suddenly raised his head again.

“Ah, Sister. You still haven’t answered. So what the heck is going on?