I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 148

148.

Jackson screamed, a sound like a wail escaping his lips.

‘The final gate? What does that mean?’

While everyone was still reeling from the implications, Yoo Ji-an surged forward. Without a moment’s hesitation, he plunged the Ruin Blade into Jackson’s chest.

Kwararararang!

The members quickly understood the urgency of Yoo Ji-an’s actions. The sound was akin to the sky itself collapsing.

Jackson’s attack had indeed been the key.

With the Ruin Blade embedded in his chest, Jackson crumpled, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. Yet, paradoxically, there was also an expression of relief.

As Yoo Ji-an withdrew the Ruin Blade, Oscar Jackson dissolved into thin air.

Even after witnessing such disappearances multiple times, the sight of a person vanishing remained unsettling.

Perhaps Oscar Jackson never realized, until his final moment, that he was the final boss monster of this gate. Nor would he ever know that the ‘monster’ he faced was, in fact, a human.

‘Maybe, the monsters we killed….’

A chilling thought crept into Seo-ah’s mind: what if there had been people among them?

As Jackson vanished, a distinct crack appeared in the sky.

“The gate….”

Choi Eun-gyeol gazed at the sky, a hint of fear in his eyes.

He had witnessed gate bosses attempting to escape during raids on several occasions.

But this was the first time he had seen the sky of a gate actually collapsing.

If it collapses, if the gate, an entire world, collapses like this, what happens next?

Just as these fearful questions swirled in everyone’s minds, a system window materialized.

[You have defeated the boss monster of the temporary gate !]

[Calculating rewards.]

[The exit of the gate has been created.]

With the world crumbling around them, there was no time to dwell on the rewards.

“The exit is that way!”

Seo-ah shouted, pointing towards the exit. It was a considerable distance away.

The cracks in the sky were rapidly widening, with chunks of the world breaking off and falling.

“Run!”

Baek Eun-hee yelled. Yoo Ji-an swiftly scooped up Seo-ah and began to run. The others followed, sprinting desperately towards the exit.

Thunder roared deafeningly close, and the ground bucked and heaved beneath their feet.

The S-class hunters ran, leaping over crumbling terrain, and finally reached the exit. Without hesitation, they plunged into the swirling vortex.

Even amidst the chaos, Choi Eun-gyeol remembered to activate his transparent cloak. However, Seo-ah chose not to use it this time.

After this raid, Seo-ah was going to be revealed to the media anyway.

As soon as Seo-ah entered the vortex, she glanced back to ensure everyone had made it. Fortunately, it appeared they had all escaped safely.

“Hoo….”

Seo-ah sighed in relief, pausing to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, then reopened them, feeling dizzy from the swirling passage of the gate.

Seo-ah, still held securely by Yoo Ji-an, asked him in a soft, almost whispered voice.

“Yoo Ji-an Hunter, is the world we live in… real?”

It was a question that had been nagging at her throughout their experience in the gate.

Yoo Ji-an’s arm, which was holding Seo-ah, tightened slightly. He replied in an equally hushed tone.

“Probably.”

It was only a half-affirmative answer, but Seo-ah found it strangely reassuring, especially knowing this was his fourth life.

After a while, the scene before them gradually brightened, and a familiar mountain landscape came into view.

They emerged a little higher than the original entrance and landed safely on the ground.

“Ji-an!”

“Guild Leader!”

Han Seok-hyun and Seo Ah-hyun, along with the hunters who had been waiting near the gate, shouted with joyful voices and rushed towards them.

Only then did Seo-ah allow her tense muscles to relax.

Yoo Ji-an carefully set her down on the ground.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Fortunately, the area around the gate had been secured, preventing them from being immediately swarmed by reporters upon their exit.

Due to the unpredictable nature of temporary gates, a security perimeter was still in place to prepare for a potential gate break [a catastrophic event where a gate collapses and releases monsters into the real world], and most people seemed to be kept outside of it.

Only a select few from each guild and the association were permitted to approach and attend to the returning hunters.

Among them was the very person she had killed within the temporary gate.

“Guild Leader, congratulations. You’ve returned safely once again.”

“…Seo Ah-hyun.”

Baek Eun-hee’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke her name. Suddenly, Baek Eun-hee embraced Seo Ah-hyun tightly.

“Guild Leader?”

Seo Ah-hyun looked at the other hunters, stiffening in embarrassment. But no one offered her an explanation.

Song Jin-ah of the Angel Guild and Cha Tae-woon, the president of the association, were also observing their companions with peculiar expressions.

As Seo-ah met their gazes with a complicated look, a sweet voice whispered near her ear.

“Seo-ah noona [term of endearment used by a younger male to an older female], I’ll go first. See you later.”

“Ah!”

Seo-ah was startled by the sudden voice, but she quickly realized it was Choi Eun-gyeol, still cloaked in his invisibility.

It sounded like he was chuckling.

Choi Eun-gyeol slipped into a waiting car nearby, and soon his substitute, a middle-aged manager in his 40s, emerged and stood beside them.

“The reporters are all lined up outside. Hunter Park Seo-ah, are you ready?”

“We’re not doing an interview right now, are we?”

“No, we’re just taking pictures, and the press release from the association will be published. The interview date will be scheduled separately. Please come out when I give the signal.”

Han Seok-hyun went out first, and Seo-ah flinched, recalling his words.

“Ah, pictures….”

It was the first time she was being revealed to the public, and she desperately didn’t want to be photographed looking unattractive.

“Um, is there anything on my face?”

Seo-ah asked the person closest to her without thinking, and it happened to be Yoo Ji-an.

“Ah, no, it’s, Eun-hee unni….”

Seo-ah realized her mistake and tried to retract her words, but Yoo Ji-an stopped her.

“What do you mean no? Wait a minute.”

Yoo Ji-an’s face drew closer. Seo-ah flinched and instinctively tried to back away, but Yoo Ji-an said calmly.

“Stay still, there’s something on you.”

“…Ah.”

Seo-ah simply closed her eyes. Yoo Ji-an’s face was so close that she couldn’t bring herself to keep them open.

The tip of his finger gently touched below her eye. It felt softer than she had anticipated.

He rubbed it off and said.

“Done.”

“Ah… yes, thank you.”

Seeing that the tip of Yoo Ji-an’s finger was tinged with red, it seemed that blood had splattered on her face during the battle.

But Yoo Ji-an didn’t move away and continued to stare at Seo-ah. As a result, Seo-ah’s face flushed crimson.

“Why, why? Is there something else on me?”

“No, I was just wondering if you were okay.”

“…I’m fine, why?”

“Your heartbeat is audible from here. Was this gate that hard on you?”

“My… my heartbeat?”

Seo-ah instinctively pressed her hand against her chest and took a few steps back.

Her heart was indeed racing, but it wasn’t solely due to the intensity of the gate they had just cleared.

Of course, Seo-ah could feel her own heartbeat, but she hadn’t realized it was audible to others. No, it must be because Yoo Ji-an possessed such exceptionally sensitive hearing.

Was he doing this on purpose? Why would he even mention it?

“Are you okay? Park Seo-ah. If you’re feeling unwell, you should go to the hospital right away….”

“I’m, I’m okay!”

Yoo Ji-an’s face was etched with genuine concern. Seeing his expression, Seo-ah managed to calm down.

“I’m really… okay. I’m just nervous about facing the reporters.”

“Yeah, that’s understandable.”

Seo-ah hastily reassured Yoo Ji-an and went to join Baek Eun-hee and Song Jin-ah.

Baek Eun-hee noticed Seo-ah approaching and put her arm lightly around her shoulder.

“Seo-ah, you worked hard this time too.”

“Thank you for coming with me, unni. Thanks to you, I got the elixir.”

“Hehe, thanks to you, I had a good experience too. And I got a good reward.”

Seo-ah thanked Cha Tae-woon and Song Jin-ah as well, then glanced at the car that Choi Eun-gyeol had entered.

He was probably watching them. Seo-ah waved her hand slightly and headed for the barrier exit, guided by the agents.

“There is a stage prepared in front. Please go up one by one and stand there for a moment.”

“You told the reporters that we’re skipping questions today, right?”

Baek Eun-hee asked with a weary expression, and the agent replied.

“Yes, I informed them that we’re only taking pictures.”

Hearing the answer, Baek Eun-hee turned to Seo-ah.

“You don’t have to smile. Just try to look natural.”

“Ah, yes. I will.”

“But don’t close your eyes. I’ll be annoyed if a squinty-eyed picture comes out.”

Song Jin-ah added, and finally, the door opened.

As soon as it opened, a barrage of camera flashes erupted, and the hunters emerged one by one.

Cha Tae-woon, the president of the association, went out first, followed by Yoo Ji-an, Baek Eun-hee, Song Jin-ah, and Choi Eun-gyeol’s substitute.

When Seo-ah finally stepped out, the shutter sounds intensified to a frenzy.

“That person…!”

“What’s her name? Park Seo-ah?”

The voices of reporters could be heard occasionally.

Seo-ah took a deep breath and calmly walked towards the stage where the other hunters had gathered.