I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 116

116.

– Attention, citizens. We advise all citizens to refrain from going outside today. Those already outside should remain in the nearest shelter. I repeat, attention, citizens… –

The announcement blared every hour from yesterday until today.

Seo-ah stood on the railing of a tall building, gazing into the distance.

‘I wonder how other districts are doing?’

The thought suddenly occurred to her. Seo-ah decided not to call a helicopter and instead visit other districts on her way back.

The Songpa, Gangnam, and Seocho districts, which Seo-ah would pass through, were under the jurisdiction of the Sun Guild.

‘Shall I drop by?’

Having made up her mind, Seo-ah looked at the next building standing tall before her. And then the next, and the one after that.

After roughly estimating the distance between the buildings, Seo-ah fearlessly leaped, moving from one building to the next.

In this way, Seo-ah was adapting to the body and abilities of an S-class Hunter.

She was enjoying herself when something suddenly flew in and blocked her path.

“Eek!”

She barely managed to stop before colliding. Looking up, she saw a handsome face smiling brightly.

“Park Seo-ah, right.”

Even though Seo-ah was wearing a mask, making her face different from usual, he recognized her immediately.

Thump.

As always, her heart reacted first.

“Hunter Yoo… Ji-an.”

“Yeah.”

It was only a day since she last saw him, but she was quite glad to see him again.

Yoo Ji-an took a step back and scanned Seo-ah’s stiff body from head to toe.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“N-no.”

Even after Seo-ah became an S-class, Yoo Ji-an treated her the same as always. Seo-ah didn’t dislike that.

However,

The [Affinity LV.4] above Yoo Ji-an’s head bothered her quite a bit.

Considering Kang Su-jeong was level 3 not long ago, this was the highest she had encountered so far.

‘…Why.’

Her face inexplicably flushed.

Yoo Ji-an slightly lowered himself, bringing his handsome face closer.

“You look like you’re not feeling well. Your face….”

“Ah, no! I’m not sick! How is it here? Is it somewhat organized?”

Seo-ah quickly distanced herself from Yoo Ji-an and changed the subject.

Fortunately, Yoo Ji-an didn’t make a big deal out of it. He looked down from the building and said.

“The upper-level Hunters have mostly finished their work.”

Seo-ah also glanced at the areas he was looking at and nodded.

“Where have you been?”

“I went to support the Gangdong district. Oh, and I rescued an E-class Hunter there….”

Seo-ah paused, pondered for a moment, and then continued.

“Have you heard of an Elixir? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“You mean a panacea [a remedy believed to cure all diseases].”

“You know about it. That person said they wanted it. But does something like that really… exist?”

Seo-ah asked, cautiously looking at Yoo Ji-an.

“…….”

Yoo Ji-an simply stared at Seo-ah for a moment without saying anything. Seo-ah, who had been meeting his gaze, subtly lowered her eyes. If she maintained eye contact for too long, she felt her emotions would be conveyed against her will.

She was curious about Yoo Ji-an’s feelings, but at the same time, she didn’t want to know.

Moreover, Yoo Ji-an’s affinity level was a whopping 4. The intensity would be much stronger.

After a moment of silence, Yoo Ji-an opened his mouth.

“I’ve heard of it, but it’s just a far-fetched story. Something like that doesn’t exist.”

His tone was somehow stern. It was so firm that Seo-ah could not ask further and simply nodded.

“I see….”

Yoo Ji-an quietly stared at Seo-ah’s downcast head. He seemed to know why she was asking. It must be because of her brother’s illness.

But as far as Yoo Ji-an knew, Seo-ah shouldn’t be interested in this. Absolutely not.

“Unnie [term used by younger women to address older sisters or close female friends]!”

A familiar and welcome voice came from below amidst the silence.

“Su-jeong!”

Kang Su-jeong, having spotted Seo-ah, jumped up and down, expressing her joy.

Without hesitation, Seo-ah leaped down and headed towards Su-jeong. Yoo Ji-an didn’t bother to follow and watched from above.

‘Elixir, huh….’

If he could get it for her, he would want to. But this was something Yoo Ji-an really couldn’t do. So he felt frustrated and sorry.

***

That evening, Seo-ah visited Geon-hoo at Health Hospital again.

“Geon-hoo, are you asleep?”

The room was quiet, with only the regular beeping of machines and the hissing of breath.

His breathing had become rougher recently. And he was sleeping more. It seemed the medication he was taking was strong.

“…….”

His condition had worsened in the meantime.

Seo-ah knelt on the floor, clutching Geon-hoo’s hand that was sticking out from under the blanket. She buried her face in the bedsheets and remained still for a while.

In fact, Seo-ah deeply understood the feelings of the E-class Hunter she had met during the day. So much so that she didn’t even need to use her emotional transference ability.

That person was desperate enough to cling to even a far-fetched story. What about herself?

Seo-ah raised her head, her eyes wet with tears.

Seo-ah spent the whole night looking at Geon-hoo’s face.

***

The next day, Seo-ah headed towards the Mapo district.

That area was managed by the Royal Guild. However, it was now mostly cleared, and passage was possible except for a few dangerous areas.

The monsters in the city center had been mostly dealt with, and they had to hunt down those remaining in the mountains or sparsely populated areas.

Perhaps because they had grown without interference, each one was quite large.

Seo-ah searched for the area where the Hunters were gathered and climbed the mountain, spotting a familiar back and quickly approaching.

“Hello, it’s been a while!”

“Huh… that voice.”

He tilted his head, seeming to recognize her, so Seo-ah pointed to her name tag again.

The small name tag read ‘Park Seo-ah.’

“Hunter Park Seo-ah!”

Go Geon-hoo looked quite pleased to see Park Seo-ah.

“How have you been?”

“I’m the same as always. You must have had a hard time coming all the way here.”

“Yes? Ah, yes, I did.”

Seo-ah glanced down. Since there was no hiking trail on the mountainside, it would normally be difficult to walk up.

Moreover, there were monsters in between, so if Seo-ah was still an E-class Hunter, just getting here would have been quite a struggle.

‘Eun-hee hasn’t told them yet.’

She was both surprised and touched by Baek Eun-hee’s discretion. She wasn’t trying to keep it a secret from them, but it seemed necessary to be cautious.

“Is there much left?”

“The number of individuals isn’t large, but it’s taking a while to find the ones that are hiding.”

“Hunter Go Geon-hoo! Over here!”

“Just a moment.”

Go Geon-hoo excused himself to Seo-ah and ran towards the person who had called him.

Seo-ah looked around for Baek Eun-hee and made eye contact with someone.

It was Yang Tae-woo.

Yang Tae-woo squinted, looking doubtful, and approached. This person probably couldn’t recognize her right away because of the mask either. Seeing this, Yoo Ji-an, who had recognized her at once yesterday, was special.

“It’s Park Seo-ah, Hunter Yang Tae-woo. How have you been?”

“Ah, I see. It is you.”

Yang Tae-woo didn’t express his pleasure as openly as Go Geon-hoo.

“There’s no need to come all the way up here. You could have waited below and met us.”

He replaced his welcome with a pointless grumble. Seo-ah knew this was Yang Tae-woo’s true nature, but she suddenly wondered. What were his true feelings?

‘Affinity check.’

Yang Tae-woo was [Affinity LV.3]. Higher than she thought. 3 was the same level as Kang Su-jeong? Was she that close to this person?

“I came up because I missed everyone.”

“Is that so? Then… stick behind me. Don’t interfere and get in the way.”

Yang Tae-woo grumbled and took care of Seo-ah. He still thought of her as an E-class and was trying to protect her.

As proof, as soon as he saw a very small, wriggling grotesque sunflower sprout next to Seo-ah’s foot, he smashed it with his rod.

“Ah, damn it.”

The sprout died instantly, but Yang Tae-woo somehow looked displeased.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, well… never mind, would you even understand if I told you? Just follow me.”

Yang Tae-woo went ahead, and Seo-ah stared at him quietly as she followed.

Yang Tae-woo took the lead, dealing with the monsters before they could even attack Seo-ah, grumbling every time he did.

‘Should I use it now?’

Seo-ah activated [Emotional Transference]. Then, some of his feelings flowed into her.

‘Pleasure, joy, frustration, sadness…?’

What was this disharmony?

Yang Tae-woo, who was clearing away monsters and going ahead, suddenly stared intently at something. At the same time, the emotions flowing in from him converged into one.

‘Is this envy?’

At the end of his gaze was Seol Jin-ah. Every time Seol Jin-ah swung her staff, light poured out, and the grotesque sunflower swarm melted away in that light.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing, I just thought it would be easier.”

Yang Tae-woo smiled bitterly when their eyes met. And then, a system window appeared in front of Seo-ah.

[Hunter ‘Yang Tae-woo’s Wish Received. Skill ‘Genie of the Lamp’ is activated!]