I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 145

145.

“Well, that’s…”

As attention focused on her, Seo-ah felt pressured to explain.

Even Yoo Ji-an and Baek Eun-hee, who usually shielded her from such pressure, were looking at her with questioning eyes. Seo-ah realized she had to reveal at least some of the truth.

“Um, it’s because of a title ability I have. I can read emotions to some extent.”

“Read emotions…? So, you can read my emotions right now?”

Song Jin-ah, who was closest to her, asked with curious eyes.

Seo-ah glanced at Song Jin-ah briefly and shook her head.

“It doesn’t work indiscriminately. If it did, I wouldn’t be able to live; I’d be too exhausted. And I can’t read everything either…”

“Putting people aside, you’re saying you can read the emotions of monsters too?”

“Yes, somehow… But they aren’t as complex as humans, so it’s both easy and difficult. It doesn’t seem to work on monsters with no intelligence at all.”

The last part was more of a guess since she hadn’t tested it. Emotion is, after all, a function of the brain.

Suddenly, Choi Eun-gyeol approached Seo-ah with a bright smile.

“You’re really amazing, Noona [term of endearment used by younger males for older females]. I was so touched earlier, Noona. You were so cool.”

Choi Eun-gyeol said, grabbing Seo-ah’s hands and pulling her up.

“Ah… thanks.”

Seo-ah blinked, caught off guard as she stood up to face him.

“So, I was wondering, can you feel my heart too? Huh? You can read it, right?”

The atmosphere turned sweet in an instant at Choi Eun-gyeol’s suggestive tone.

Being this close, he was definitely handsome. And with those pretty eyes sparkling as he stared at Seo-ah, her heart felt like it was melting.

So, this is what idols look like.

“Um… Eun-gyeol…”

“Yes? Noona, what is it?”

She didn’t really want to use [Emotion Transfer], and she felt like she already knew anyway.

As Choi Eun-gyeol looked at her with expectant eyes and leaned closer, someone yanked Choi Eun-gyeol and Park Seo-ah away from each other.

“Let’s save the personal stuff for later.”

“If it’s about using charm, I’m not one to back down either, you know?”

Seo-ah thought it was Yoo Ji-an and Baek Eun-hee, but surprisingly, it was Cha Tae-woon and Song Jin-ah.

“Eek, I was just getting somewhere…”

“Huh? How about me? Aren’t I pretty too?”

Song Jin-ah, who had snatched Seo-ah, grabbed Seo-ah’s shoulders to make her look at her.

Song Jin-ah was also beautiful and lovely. With long, black hair, fair skin, delicate features, and mysterious purple eyes.

She could easily take the center position in a girl idol group. Seo-ah said with a pure heart.

“…You’re pretty.”

“Hehe, right? How about joining our Angel Guild then? We’ll treat you the best in the industry.”

“Uh…”

Seo-ah almost fell for Song Jin-ah’s cute expression and said, ‘Okay.’

But there was no way the others would just stand by and watch.

“Our Seo-ah is prettier.”

Baek Eun-hee hugged Seo-ah tightly from behind, pulling her away from Song Jin-ah. Whether Song Jin-ah’s expression soured or not, Baek Eun-hee asked Yoo Ji-an.

“Isn’t that right? Our Seo-ah is pretty, isn’t she?”

At Baek Eun-hee’s question, Yoo Ji-an stared intently at Seo-ah. Seo-ah’s body stiffened under his gaze.

The feeling was completely different from when Choi Eun-gyeol and Song Jin-ah had been looking at her.

“T-that… um, Unnie [term of endearment used by younger females for older females].”

Seo-ah twisted her body, trying to avoid answering, but Baek Eun-hee only hugged her tighter, finding Seo-ah adorable.

Yoo Ji-an stared at Seo-ah for a long time before opening his mouth, as if he had really given it a lot of thought.

“Pretty.”

Seo-ah’s face turned as red as a tomato in an instant.

“See?”

Baek Eun-hee finally let go of Seo-ah’s waist, and Choi Eun-gyeol shrugged, lightly agreeing.

“That’s true; that’s why M Entertainment scouted her back then.”

“Oh, our Seo-ah had that happen to her?”

“No! No, that was just a coincidence…”

She didn’t know why the focus had suddenly shifted to her appearance. Seo-ah flapped her hands, trying to cool down her flushed face, when a system window popped up for everyone.

[System error has been fixed.]

[System has been normalized.]

“Huh?”

Seo-ah stopped her hands, and the others also noticed the system window in front of them.

“So what if it’s normalized? Just open the exit.”

Baek Eun-hee muttered coldly, as if talking to someone.

As if in response, another system window appeared.

[Main Mission: Capture the boss monster of the temporary gate ‘Another World.’]

“Boss monster?”

“There’s a separate boss monster?”

Yoo Ji-an looked seriously at the fallen centipede, and Baek Eun-hee scratched her head in annoyance.

“Damn it, what’s a boss monster…”

Then, Seo-ah, who had been quietly observing, looked at Cha Tae-woon and said.

“Hunter Cha Tae-woon said before… that the boss here might be a person.”

“I still believe that’s a highly probable theory.”

Cha Tae-woon stated clearly, seeking the agreement of the others.

“Then, do we have to go find him? Or is he coming?”

“No, he’s coming.”

Yoo Ji-an, the most sensitive, reacted first, looking towards the ruined entrance of Neverland.

His eyes narrowed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He looked like he already knew who was coming.

At the same time, the other members also stared at where Yoo Ji-an was looking.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of magic power.”

Choi Eun-gyeol clicked his tongue in admiration.

Even though they were still too far away to be seen by ordinary people, their magic power could be felt.

Cha Tae-woon slowly stepped forward. He warned in a low voice, without taking out his shield yet.

“There’s more than one.”

“What?”

At those words, Song Jin-ah also went to Cha Tae-woon’s side and squinted, looking into the distance.

“Ah, it’s true. There are three of them.”

“They’re not even trying to hide their magic power, coming as if to say, ‘I’m the boss.’”

“This is going to be fun.”

Baek Eun-hee crossed her arms behind her back, looking amused, and Choi Eun-gyeol also stepped forward, showing his unique competitive spirit.

Seo-ah also braced herself, ready to cast buffs immediately.

After watching for a bit longer, Seo-ah could see them too.

There were three people walking from far away. Seo-ah tilted her head, surprised to see them.

A tall, blonde man, a petite Asian woman with short hair, and a burly man with dark skin were walking side by side.

They were walking, but it was as fast as an ordinary person running.

“Foreigners…?”

“Oscar Jackson, Wang Chenyu, and Bacello. Currently ranked 1st, 2nd, and 4th in our world.”

At Yoo Ji-an’s explanation, Seo-ah widened her eyes and swallowed hard.

“1st, 2nd… 4th.”

The 3rd is here, Yoo Ji-an is 3rd.

Of course, the world ranking didn’t mean the hunter’s ‘strength’ itself, but it was clear that top-ranked hunters were strong.

“Well, whatever. I wanted to fight them anyway.”

Choi Eun-gyeol ignited a flame in one hand.

“We should refrain from using ice magic.”

Cha Tae-woon smiled bitterly, scattering the cold energy he had gathered. Cha Tae-woon’s real position was a tank, and he often used ice magic out of necessity, but the opponent was bad.

The world’s number 1 ranked player, Oscar Jackson, who was approaching in a robe, was a water and ice mage.

When the same type of magic collided, the stronger magic could absorb the weaker magic, doubling its power.

As if to prove it, hundreds of ice missiles poured down from the other side as soon as they became aware of Jackson.

“Not so fast.”

Whirr-!

Choi Eun-gyeol spread a curtain of fire in front, melting most of them, and the rest were blocked by Cha Tae-woon’s shield.

It seemed that they weren’t using their full power, probably to gauge their skills.

As soon as the ice missiles disappeared, the three were standing in front of them.

“Not a single ice missile hit… I was wondering how strong the monster was, but the rumors were true.”

Oscar Jackson spoke in English, as expected.

Seo-ah had never set foot on American soil, but she had worked hard on her English listening comprehension, so she understood roughly what he meant.

However, she could hardly understand the words of the girl and the burly man next to him. Judging by the type of language, it seemed to be Chinese and French.

“They’re treating us like monsters here too. All the S-class hunters in Korea were wiped out? What nonsense.”

Surprisingly, Baek Eun-hee understood and retorted immediately. Seo-ah looked at her in surprise, and she showed her the earphones in her ear. It seemed to be a translation item.

But it wasn’t something to be ignored.

They had been fighting Korean hunters all the way here, but they had definitely not met any S-class hunters.

The only one they saw was Yoo Ji-an from the 2nd playthrough, whom Yoo Ji-an and Park Seo-ah had met.

“It’s interesting, but monsters are monsters, so I’ll take care of them right away.”