I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 142

142.

Amidst the incessant beeping, Seo-a clutched her head and jolted upright, quickly casting buffs [temporary magical enhancements] on everyone.

They were unsure what dangers lurked ahead.

Before those receiving Seo-a’s buff skills for the first time could express their surprise, the ground began to shake.

“Park Seo-a!”

Yu Ji-an called out to Park Seo-a, and Cha Tae-woon, who was nearby, steadied her.

“Looks like the boss is coming out.”

“What’s with the system error again? Is this even safe?”

Choi Eun-gyeol asked, his voice laced with anxiety, but no one could answer.

Yu Ji-an seemed uneasy and tried to approach Seo-a.

But then, the moment Yu Ji-an took a step, the space suddenly began to tear apart.

“Ah, damn it…!”

It wasn’t just the ground they were standing on that was tearing. The space itself was splitting and separating.

Yu Ji-an and Baek Eun-hee hurriedly tried to move towards Seo-a, but the separated space on their side sped away at the speed of light, quickly becoming smaller than dust, leaving no trace.

“What is going on!”

They were still on the intact Neverland.

Only the space where Park Seo-a, Cha Tae-woon, and Choi Eun-gyeol were located was neatly separated and fell away. There wasn’t even a trace that they had been there.

“Could the system error we saw earlier be related?”

Song Jin-ah asked the two with a nervous face, but no one could answer. This gate was full of first-time experiences, even for S-class Hunters [the highest rank of monster hunters].

“What’s certain is that he’s panicked enough to cause a system error.”

Yu Ji-an, clenching her fist tightly, glared at the empty space. Baek Eun-hee and Song Jin-ah didn’t say anything but seemed to agree silently.

Every S-class Hunter was consciously aware of ‘that bastard’s’ existence, directly or indirectly.

The rumbling of the ground, which had briefly stopped when the space tore, began again.

“Looks like he’s trying to give us some entertainment while he cleans up.”

Baek Eun-hee glared at the ground beneath with a grinding voice.

Yu Ji-an also ignited a gloomy gaze and drew Ruin Blade.

“Let’s quickly take care of it and chase after them.”

“Do you know where they’re going?”

“Roughly.”

Yu Ji-an had briefly encountered the ‘Final Enemy’ during her third run. She didn’t know where Park Seo-a had been taken, but she knew where the administrator was.

It wasn’t easy to get there, but nothing was impossible if they risked their lives.

“Then there’s no need to hesitate!”

Kwarururung-

At the same time as Baek Eun-hee leaped high, a boss-level monster raised its head from the ground she had been standing on.

A centipede with a shiny black, hard exoskeleton and hundreds of legs was the boss of this area.

What was strange, however, was that fragments of numbers like [0101011] were sparsely attached to various parts of the monster’s body.

The system error hadn’t been fully corrected.

But regardless of the error, the centipede was a threatening monster. Normal centipedes spread venom by biting with their mandibles [jaws], but the monster boss centipede had venom on each of its numerous legs.

Also, dozens of venomous spines flew out from each bending joint. An ordinary Hunter would be too busy just trying to avoid them.

But they were S-class Hunters, and Seo-a’s buff was still in effect.

“Let’s go!”

Baek Eun-hee dodged the flying venomous spines and launched Splinter. The fiercely rotating saw blade fell from above, cutting off dozens of the centipede’s right legs. The severed legs fell to the ground and immediately turned into baby centipedes.

Pajijijik-

Yu Ji-an dealt with those that fell to the ground by electrocuting them with lightning magic.

Song Jin-ah also dealt with the ones that fell while simultaneously casting a barrier on Baek Eun-hee. A faint membrane enveloped Baek Eun-hee, freeing her somewhat from the venomous spines.

Yu Ji-an and Song Jin-ah had to move constantly to avoid the venomous spines from below.

This time, Yu Ji-an jumped up.

With a single leap, Yu Ji-an reached the top of the centipede’s head and plunged Ruin Blade into the centipede’s joint.

Kieeeek!

Yu Ji-an used [Explosion] directly above the struggling centipede’s head.

The centipede, struck in the head, staggered and collapsed, destroying the facilities of Neverland.

Not missing the moment, Song Jin-ah and Baek Eun-hee also joined the attack.

They were in a hurry.

In particular, Baek Eun-hee and Yu Ji-an were entirely preoccupied with the thought of rescuing Seo-a and her group, who had been dragged away as the space separated.

Perhaps thanks to that, they worked together perfectly without needing to say much, and the centipede’s massive body began to gradually disintegrate.

***

“Ugh.”

Choi Eun-gyeol clutched his throbbing head and barely opened his eyes.

“You’re awake.”

Cha Tae-woon’s voice was heard from the darkness.

“Yeah, which way?”

“This way.”

Cheeee-

As a faint lighter flame flickered on, Cha Tae-woon’s face came into view.

“Ah, damn it. Where is this? Where’s Seo-a noona [term of endearment for an older sister or female friend]?”

“She hasn’t woken up yet.”

The mage Choi Eun-gyeol used [Lightning] to illuminate the surroundings a bit more brightly.

Cha Tae-woon was holding Seo-a’s shoulders. It was fortunate that he hadn’t let go. If he had lost her in a place like this, he might never have found her.

Hunters have night vision and can see in the dark, but this darkness was different from any other darkness.

It was a pitch-black darkness that seemed to erase existence itself. Because of this, night vision was useless, and they couldn’t see anything without light.

It wasn’t just that they couldn’t see in front of them, but they also couldn’t distinguish up from down. Their feet weren’t touching the ground.

“This seems a bit similar to the Dark Maze.”

Choi Eun-gyeol muttered, and Cha Tae-woon replied.

“It would be fortunate if it were the Dark Maze. At least there’s a way to clear it.”

At Cha Tae-woon’s words, an uneasy look crossed Choi Eun-gyeol’s face.

The Dark Maze was also a rather tricky type of gate [dungeon or portal to another dimension].

They had to wander through the darkness, defeat monsters, and find the exit, but there was no telling how long it would take. If they were lucky, it would take a week; if they were unlucky, it could take hundreds or thousands of years.

Usually, with this type of gate, it was more important to prevent mental breakdown than to defeat monsters. This darkness wasn’t just dark; it was a darkness that gnawed at people’s minds.

Therefore, Hunters who fell into the Dark Maze were mostly missing and never returned.

Of course, Choi Eun-gyeol and Cha Tae-woon were also seasoned S-class Hunters and had experienced the Dark Maze before, and they had safely escaped after much hardship.

But the process was by no means easy.

Yet Cha Tae-woon says it would be fortunate if it were that ‘Dark Maze’.

“Then what does Association President think?”

“……”

After much deliberation, Cha Tae-woon carefully opened his mouth. His tone expressed a hope that his guess was wrong.

“With the system error occurring, we may have fallen into the gap between dimensions. I hope that’s not the case.”

At those words, Choi Eun-gyeol’s expression became much more serious than before. If Cha Tae-woon was right, they had become ‘dimensional strays [lost between dimensions].’

“That stupid bastard, doing his job like this.”

Choi Eun-gyeol unleashed a barrage of curses towards the empty space. As he did so, he glanced at Park Seo-a’s face, who had not yet regained consciousness.

Wrinkles were clearly etched between Seo-a’s beautiful eyebrows.

“Is she having a nightmare….”

Even as he said that, Choi Eun-gyeol let out a hollow laugh.

The reality they were in now was a nightmare, so could there be a worse nightmare?

The situation was so dire that he couldn’t easily decide whether it was better for Seo-a to wake up or not.

“Well, there’s not much we can do then. Right now.”

“That’s true, but it seems like that bastard can’t stand seeing us idle.”

Cha Tae-woon used a long cord to tie Seo-a’s body to his back, securing her in place.

Choi Eun-gyeol also let out a hollow laugh and stood up. He nervously swept back his fine silver hair and muttered in a self-deprecating tone.

“It’s better this way, than just wasting time.”

Tsuzuuzzzut.

Unpleasant flapping sounds were heard from all directions.

Choi Eun-gyeol opened his magic book and split the single sphere of light into several, scattering them far and wide.

Then, the true forms of the creatures making the flapping sounds were revealed. It was a sight that made goosebumps rise on their skin.

Each one was a fly the size of a human head, swarming and targeting them.

“Ugh, I hate bugs.”

Fortunately, they appeared on the status checker [a system that displays information about monsters].

[Black Fly]

[Overall Grade: C]

[Cleaners that process discarded waste between dimensions. Their number is infinite.]

[Item: None]

This confirmed it. This wasn’t some ‘Dark Maze.’ As Cha Tae-woon had predicted, this was the gap between dimensions.

Seeing that they were Grade C, the [Black Flies] weren’t strong monsters. But their number was infinite.

In other words, their lives ultimately depended on how long they could hold out.

Cha Tae-woon and Choi Eun-gyeol exchanged glances.

Choi Eun-gyeol shrugged, and Cha Tae-woon nodded.

With the sleeping Seo-a between them, Cha Tae-woon and Choi Eun-gyeol began to block the swarming flies from both sides.