I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 141

141.

“So, about what I said before about potentially killing Hunter Yoo Ji-an…”

“Yeah, I was talking about what happened in the second run. It was my mistake.”

Yoo Ji-an lowered himself, following Seo-ah’s lead. He frowned, examining Seo-ah’s bleeding shoulder. It was a wound caused by the Yoo Ji-an of the second run.

“You got hurt earlier.”

Yoo Ji-an quickly took out a recovery potion and sprayed it over her clothes. Seo-ah, watching his actions, said awkwardly,

“Strangely, recovery skills aren’t working well. Is it because my skill level is too low…”

“Wounds from the Ruin Blade don’t heal easily.”

“Hunter Yoo Ji-an, you foresaw this situation coming here.”

His constant anxiety stemmed from knowing about his second run self.

Yoo Ji-an readily agreed.

“Yes, I came hoping it wouldn’t be, though.”

Seo-ah stared intently at Yoo Ji-an as he replied.

The wound throbbed, but she didn’t care.

Seo-ah’s attention was entirely focused on Yoo Ji-an’s feelings.

“…….”

She couldn’t even begin to imagine.

‘Four regressions.’

What does it mean to have a life repeated four times? Is this person really okay?

Yoo Ji-an’s affinity was level 4.

Usually, she could guess his feelings just by making eye contact.

But right now,

‘I don’t feel anything.’

She couldn’t grasp what he was feeling, even in her mind. Was it because it was beyond her understanding? There were almost no emotions Seo-ah could read.

But he couldn’t be as unaffected as he seemed.

Maybe he was trying to hide it?

Perhaps Yoo Ji-an had suppressed his emotions so deeply into his subconscious that he himself wasn’t aware of them.

Thinking that, Seo-ah felt a pang of sorrow.

Watching Yoo Ji-an apply potion and bandage her wound, Seo-ah’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Why?”

Noticing her gaze, Yoo Ji-an, having finished bandaging, met Seo-ah’s eyes.

His emotions, vaguely discernible, flowed towards Seo-ah. After a moment of silence, Yoo Ji-an stood up first.

“Let’s find the exit now. To do that, we need to catch the boss…”

But inadvertently, Seo-ah grabbed Yoo Ji-an’s hand as he stood up.

“Um… Hunter Yoo Ji-an, just a moment, ah…!”

The moment their skin touched, Seo-ah gasped.

“Park Seo-ah?”

Yoo Ji-an flinched as Seo-ah gripped the tip of Yoo Ji-an’s fingers tighter.

“What’s wrong?”

Seo-ah’s mind became hazy with a sudden surge of pressure.

‘This isn’t my emotion. This is…’

The moment she grabbed Yoo Ji-an’s hand, [Emotion Transference] seemed to have activated properly. The emotions submerged in his subconscious surged like a wave.

She felt suffocated, a weight pressing down on her shoulders, and a continuous onslaught of pain and despair that felt like her throat was being torn apart.

And at the end of it was loneliness.

A sense of isolation, as if left alone in a distant world, blurred Seo-ah’s vision.

The emotions Yoo Ji-an had felt while repeating his life were being transmitted to her unfiltered.

‘How, how…’

How could this person endure this and live on?

Sensing that Seo-ah’s condition was not normal, Yoo Ji-an knelt down again and examined Seo-ah.

“Park Seo-ah, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

With her eyes reddened, Seo-ah looked at Yoo Ji-an and slowly embraced his neck.

“Park Seo…”

Yoo Ji-an, about to call out to Seo-ah again, stopped. Unable to hug her back or push her away, he hesitated in an awkward posture, but Seo-ah blamed herself and apologized.

“Because I coveted the elixir, the you in the second run died painfully. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”

She couldn’t tell him that she felt his emotions now. That would be rude.

So, Seo-ah apologized to the Yoo Ji-an of the second run instead.

Although it was the Yoo Ji-an of the fourth run who killed the Yoo Ji-an of the second run, Seo-ah’s desire to find the elixir was the reason they came here in the first place.

Yoo Ji-an chuckled softly, as if sighing.

“And here I was, wondering what it was.”

Yoo Ji-an muttered nonchalantly, gently stroking Seo-ah’s back.

“It’s already in the past. The me in the second run would have killed the current me and you if I had the ability. I’m just glad I won.”

“But…”

Seo-ah hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“It must have been hard. I can’t even begin to imagine.”

Yoo Ji-an’s hand, which had been stroking her back, stopped. Although it seemed like Yoo Ji-an was comforting Seo-ah, Seo-ah’s unique gentle aura had been enveloping Yoo Ji-an throughout her embrace.

Seo-ah’s skill [Silent Night] was working on both of them.

Yoo Ji-an opened his mouth quietly.

“Still, I’m looking forward to this life.”

Seo-ah moved slightly out of his arms and made eye contact.

“Why…?”

Yoo Ji-an also looked back at Seo-ah’s eyes without avoiding them.

Whenever he looked into her affectionate, brown eyes, he felt a strange form of impulse.

“That’s…”

Yoo Ji-an’s face gradually drew closer.

Just as his dark eyes were almost touching her nose, he suddenly let go of Seo-ah and stood up abruptly.

Seo-ah was flustered and lowered her gaze. The pounding of her heart echoed in her head.

‘Just now… I thought we were going to, kiss.’

As she tried to calm her racing heart, a familiar voice was heard in the distance.

“Seo-ah!”

Seo-ah quickly raised her head and looked towards the sound.

“Eun-hee unnie [older sister/female friend]? Ah, everyone!”

Baek Eun-hee and the other S-class hunters were coming towards Yoo Ji-an and Park Seo-ah.

Did he step away knowing Baek Eun-hee’s group was coming? If they hadn’t come, maybe…

Seo-ah glanced up at Yoo Ji-an.

Meanwhile, Baek Eun-hee, looking pale, approached and checked Seo-ah’s condition.

“Oh no, you’re hurt?”

“Ah, I got a little hurt.”

“Let me see.”

Song Jin-ah, who came after her, immediately approached Seo-ah, and Baek Eun-hee stepped aside so she could see.

Choi Eun-gyeol and Cha Tae-woon also arrived in turn.

“I’m sorry, someone went ahead of us.”

As soon as Cha Tae-woon saw Yoo Ji-an and Seo-ah, he apologized for not being able to complete the mission. But their appearance was also a mess.

It looked like they had been in a big battle.

“Don’t worry about that.”

At Seo-ah’s words, everyone’s attention turned to her.

Seo-ah took out the elixir she had put in her inventory and showed it to them.

“Ah, you found it!”

Choi Eun-gyeol shouted as if relieved. Song Jin-ah, who was treating Seo-ah’s wound, looked at her with a questioning look.

“How did you get it? The traces alone suggested it was a very strong guy.”

Then she turned her gaze to Yoo Ji-an.

Seo-ah didn’t know what to say and just moved her lips, and Yoo Ji-an answered calmly.

“Because of Park Seo-ah’s buffs. It wasn’t that difficult.”

“Ah.”

“It’s a relief that you got the elixir. So, we need to get out now… Do we need to catch the boss?”

Baek Eun-hee put her hand on her hip and looked sharply around.

As expected of an S-class hunter, she predicted what would happen next without much explanation.

“I’m all better, would you like to try moving around?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Song Jin-ah stepped back a little from Seo-ah, and Seo-ah swung her arms around. She didn’t feel any pain, and she even felt refreshed.

“I’m completely healed, thank you.”

Seo-ah smiled brightly and looked at the S-class hunters, including Song Jin-ah. In fact, she was pretending to look at them, but she was looking at the system window.

[Unique ability ‘Emotion Transference (S-class)’ has evolved to ‘Emotion Transference (L-class)’.]

‘S-class wasn’t the end? What’s different?’

Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-an and Cha Tae-woon were looking at the gate map and discussing where the boss was likely to appear.

“Considering the patterns so far, it is likely that the boss is also a person.”

Cha Tae-woon’s guess was reasonable.

“A strong person, like you.”

Certainly, it wouldn’t be surprising if another Yoo Ji-an appeared as the boss of this gate. But Yoo Ji-an shook his head.

“The boss won’t be me.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“That’s just before…”

Yoo Ji-an’s gaze reached Seo-ah, and the S-class hunters nodded as if they already knew.

“So, it was you, Yoo Ji-an, who collected the ingredients for the elixir.”