I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 171

171.

[Main Mission: Defeat the ‘Necklace Queen’ and save the snow-covered world.]

‘Necklace Queen’? Is that the boss monster’s name? Still, based on past raid experiences, you shouldn’t take these missions too literally.

‘Defeating the boss is the cleanest and fastest way, but…’

Of course, the gate will be cleared. But there’s also the chance you might miss out on a bigger reward.

A prime example was [Ignis]. Because I didn’t kill him outright, I got the [Fire Resistance] ability.

‘If I play my cards right, maybe I can get something like [Cold Resistance]?’

As Seo-ah considered this, gazing at the ice castle, the others caught up and stared in awe.

“Wow, what is that?”

“Beautiful….”

Someone blurted out a sincere exclamation. It truly was beautiful. The castle, perched atop the pure white snow mountain, looked like something out of a fairy tale, a palace fit for an ice princess.

‘So, did that princess become a monster because of a curse?’

Seo-ah let her imagination wander as she led the group forward.

Then, the wind, which had been calm since they reached the summit and saw the castle, suddenly picked up again, blowing fiercely.

‘Hmm?’

Seo-ah stopped walking. The group, confused, halted with her. Then the wind died down.

But when they took another step, a cold wind blasted them again.

“The wind blows every time we move!”

Kang Su-jeong exclaimed, sounding surprised.

“It’s like it’s telling us to come closer, or pushing us away….”

Noh Yoon-ji muttered beside her. Hearing this, Seo-ah narrowed her eyes, focusing on the castle.

No, more specifically, she activated [Emotional Transference] and focused on the castle’s presence.

“You’re right, that’s the feeling.”

A monster playing hard to get.

Seo-ah shook her head and stepped forward again. This time, she didn’t stop even when the wind blew, continuing towards the castle.

Soon, they reached the massive castle gate. The gate, blocking entry, was also made of ice. Noh Yoon-ji tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

“What should we do?”

“I’ll melt it.”

Noh Hak-young stepped forward, wielding a [Flamethrower].

The flames roared towards the ice gate. Where the intense heat touched the ice, water droplets formed and trickled down.

However, at this rate, it seemed like it would take far too long to melt the entire gate.

“Hmm… at this rate, we’ll be here forever.”

Kang Su-jeong, watching the process, groaned.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Finally, Seo-ah stepped up. She had wanted to let them handle it, but it looked like it would take half a day at this pace.

Seo-ah lightly tapped the [Laundry Bat], which she had bought before coming here, then swung it with all her might against the ice gate.

Bang! Kurururung-

“Oh, step back!”

With that single blow, the ice gate and a section of the surrounding ice wall crumbled.

“…Ah.”

“Oh my god, she knocked it down with one hit! Annihilated it!”

Noh Hak-young stared at Seo-ah in astonishment.

“Hmm.”

Seo-ah avoided his gaze, looking troubled. She should have held back a little. She hadn’t expected the boss monster’s castle to be so fragile.

Actually, if that hadn’t worked, she was prepared to use [Fighting Spirit] and hit it again, but that turned out to be completely unnecessary.

Noh Hak-young eyed Seo-ah suspiciously.

“Are you really a B-grade healer? How can a healer have… this kind of power?”

“W-Well… yes. Let’s go in quickly.”

Seo-ah quickly cut off Noh Hak-young’s questions and jumped over the collapsed ice.

Noh Yoon-ji and Kang Su-jeong exchanged glances and followed silently, leaving only Noh Hak-young puzzled as he entered last.

As soon as they stepped inside the castle walls, the wind stopped as if by magic. With the wind gone, the singing became clearer.

“Ugh, it’s creepy.”

Kang Su-jeong grimaced and covered her ears. Noh Hak-young and Noh Yoon-ji also frowned. Still, it was only mildly annoying so far, so the group cautiously moved towards the castle’s interior.

The entrance to the main building was already open, requiring no further effort. And as soon as they entered,

Squeak, thump-

The door slammed shut automatically.

“Ah, surprise!”

Noh Yoon-ji pushed against the closed door. As expected, it didn’t budge.

“We’re trapped.”

“Would it be okay to break this one too?”

Noh Hak-young glanced at Seo-ah as he spoke. Seo-ah tapped the door with her hand.

It was sturdier than the gate she had broken earlier, but it didn’t seem impossible to destroy.

“Hmm, I don’t think it’s a good idea to do that right now. The gate will probably open on its own once we defeat the boss. Let’s consider it if we really need to escape.”

“There, monsters!”

Su-jeong shouted and immediately adopted a fighting stance. When they turned around, they saw a unit of snowman monsters, the same kind they had encountered yesterday on their way here. But these were a little bigger than the ones they had fought before.

Seo-ah first buffed the three of them and then retreated, focusing on dealing with any that rushed directly at her.

Thwack!

Noh Yoon-ji used the gauntlet on her elbow to knock the head off a charging snowman. Then she glanced back at Kang Su-jeong.

Kang Su-jeong was struggling a bit with a single snowman, but she kept trying to attack. After finally taking one down, she was hit by a snowball thrown by another snowman and tumbled to the ground. Of course, she quickly got back up and continued fighting.

‘It’s not just my imagination.’

She had been fighting monsters alongside Kang Su-jeong all the way here yesterday. But as time passed, Kang Su-jeong’s movements seemed to be getting faster and faster.

‘Just like that time.’

During the tournament, Kang Su-jeong’s movements had suddenly changed, surprising everyone.

Noh Yoon-ji looked at Seo-ah, who was standing further back.

Seo-ah was watching Kang Su-jeong intently.

‘There must be a connection, right?’

She already knew about Park Seo-ah’s buffs, having received them several times. She couldn’t help but be amazed every time she experienced it.

Noh Yoon-ji’s strength stat was originally around 80, but when she received Seo-ah’s buff, it increased by 30% to 104. And the effect lasted for a whopping 4 hours.

In Noh Yoon-ji’s limited experience, no other buff or item could raise stats so significantly at once.

‘There’s a reason why S-classes value her so much. If it were me….’

Besides, she herself had now become an S-class, so what more could she ask for?

The jealousy or animosity that Noh Yoon-ji had once felt towards Seo-ah had now completely disappeared. Jealousy arises when you are on a similar level, but when the difference is vast, jealousy transforms into respect.

Noh Yoon-ji finished off a snowman, half of its head missing, with a powerful side kick.

As soon as the clumped snow crumbled and scattered on the floor, Noh Hak-young melted the remains with fire to finish it off completely.

Seo-ah nodded unconsciously as she watched them.

‘Now Noh Hak-young is almost in sync.’

It’s a shame that they only achieved this level of teamwork when they reached the boss, but it’s still a kind of achievement.

And Noh Yoon-ji’s feeling was not a delusion.

Seo-ah had been constantly casting [Breakthrough] on Kang Su-jeong since they arrived, and Kang Su-jeong was steadily improving.

She had no intention of casting it on Noh Yoon-ji, as the conditions weren’t right.

Not only had Noh Yoon-ji’s stats not reached the limit for her C-grade, but the monsters here weren’t ‘impossible enemies’ for her.

‘I don’t want this skill to become widely known.’

The fewer people who know about this skill, the better. Actually, that applies to all of Seo-ah’s skills, but there’s nothing she can do about what’s already been revealed.

Still, thanks to the generous buffs, the three of them were able to handle the snowman unit without too much trouble.

After all the snowmen disappeared, they looked back at Seo-ah, panting. No one questioned why she hadn’t joined the fight.

Even Noh Hak-young seemed to have accepted the unspoken hierarchy among hunters, with the leader making their appearance later.

Seo-ah naturally walked ahead through the wide passage where the snowman monsters had vanished.

Just as they passed through the arched passage, a huge scythe came hurtling towards them.

Tang!

Seo-ah quickly drew the [Laundry Bat] and blocked the attack. This time, the impact was considerable.

The vibration from the [Laundry Bat] as it collided with the scythe traveled up Seo-ah’s hands and arms. Looking up at the wielder of the scythe, she saw an ice statue about 3 meters tall.

While Seo-ah was blocking the scythe, the other three stepped forward to support her.

“Be careful!”

The heads of the ice knights, standing in a circle at regular intervals throughout the large hall, all turned towards them simultaneously. It was a sight that sent a chill down your spine.

Seo-ah continued to deftly dodge the scythe attacks and activated ‘State Checker’.

[Guardian Knight of the Ice Castle]

[Overall Grade: C⁻]

[Eight guardian knights who swore eternal loyalty and froze alongside their master.

They will never yield until their bodies are destroyed.]

[Item: Loyalty of the Guardian Knight]

The monster grade was C⁻, the same as the [Suicidal Ghost]. Seo-ah paid close attention to the item listed at the bottom of the description.