I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 182

182.

“So, you’re saying that even if I tie up and lock away Hunter Park Seo-a, it won’t do much good because of that affinity thing, and the thing I absolutely can’t say out loud.”

Seo-a nodded.

The latter condition was, of course, a lie. It was something she added to hide the [Breakthrough] she had cast on the C-rank earlier, and she used it on Song Jin-a as well.

“Then, we’ll have to treat you even more preciously, Hunter Park Seo-a. We do now, but we’ll have to even more so in the future.”

“…Oh, no. Um.”

She couldn’t bring herself to agree. But Seo-a had another reason for coming here: she needed to ask for Song Jin-a’s cooperation.

Song Jin-a, noticing this, spoke first.

“Is there something you want from me?”

“It’s nothing much. I just hope you can help me from time to time when I need it in the future.”

“I was planning to do that even if you didn’t ask. Since ‘affinity’ is important, it’s better to be closer than just colleagues, right?”

As she said that, Song Jin-a, who had been showing business-like kindness until just now, gave a warm smile.

A pretty person looked even prettier when they smiled like that.

***

Seo-a, leaving the Angel Guild building, turned around as she walked. In her hand was a card as white as the building’s exterior.

Now, Seo-a was free to use all the facilities in that building. Furthermore, she could receive the same support as a guild member whenever she wanted.

Even though Seo-a didn’t specifically ask, Song Jin-a handed her the card, telling her to use it. Of course, it wasn’t necessary to carry the card; it was more of a symbolic gesture.

The Sun Guild and the Royal Guild had already given Seo-a the same benefits, so this was the third time.

‘Anyway, it was a good experience.’

Since she was a support type, she figured she would need help from time to time.

Seo-a walked and looked at the [Mana Battery] skill that she hadn’t saved earlier.

‘I guess I have to remove this. If I remove it, can I never use it again?’

She felt a pang of regret, but she couldn’t avoid it.

[Mana Battery] was a very useful skill for her future hunter life. She had no choice but to remove something relatively less important.

Seo-a deleted [Treasure Hunt] from the slot and put [Mana Battery] in its place.

[The skill ‘Treasure Hunt’ will be deleted from slot 2. (Temporary storage period: 30 days)]

‘Ah, it’s still stored for 30 days. I should say that’s fortunate.’

As soon as [Mana Battery] was applied, Seo-a felt a little more energetic than before.

Even now, skills like [Silent Night] and [Brain] were active, so mana was constantly being consumed.

Fortunately, the two passive skills consumed mana at a rate similar to the rate at which mana was being replenished, but they still caused a slight sense of fatigue.

Anyway, Song Jin-a became the first person to whom she mentioned [Genie of the Lamp] directly.

‘Hmm.’

But Yoo Ji-an probably already knew. [Genie of the Lamp] had manifested while stopping his [Rage].

‘Eun-hee unnie is…’

Of course, she was planning to tell Baek Eun-hee without being prompted, but she was still cautious. It wasn’t because she was afraid that Baek Eun-hee would covet her power, but because she cherished her too much.

“Well, I’ll look for an opportunity.”

She was going to use [Genie of the Lamp] for Baek Eun-hee too. She could tell her when the time came. Cha Tae-woon and Choi Eun-gyeol were still under consideration. She couldn’t really call this a secret anymore.

Still, it was better to be careful. She could really get kidnapped. Of course, Seo-a was an S-class now, so she wouldn’t be easily kidnapped.

As Seo-a walked, she looked up at the sunset sky. She folded her fingers and counted the days.

‘Was it today?’

The day the Maker’s Gate opened.

Seo-a, who had something to ask, decided to visit there today.

***

Sun Guild Leader’s office.

Han Seok-hyun sighed deeply and handed Yoo Ji-an the key card.

“Here, R Tower, 97th floor. The person on the 96th floor won’t leave even if you give them several times the amount.”

Yoo Ji-an silently took the key card.

Han Seok-hyun made an absurd expression at the faint smile that formed on Yoo Ji-an’s face.

“Are you that happy? Huh? I’m already busy; how much real estate did I have to go through to find that place… Why are you suddenly moving when there’s a perfectly good house here?”

“Thanks for your trouble.”

“Yeah, I had trouble… huh?”

Han Seok-hyun looked at Yoo Ji-an with disbelief. For those words to come out of this guy’s mouth, it was a sign of the world turning upside down. Was it some kind of trap?

Han Seok-hyun looked at Yoo Ji-an suspiciously, but Yoo Ji-an was already waving his hand and heading for the door.

“I’m going.”

“…Uh, wait a minute!”

Yoo Ji-an stopped and turned around at Han Seok-hyun’s urgent voice.

“Why?”

“Stop by the secretary’s office and take some rice cakes with you.”

Yoo Ji-an frowned slightly, and Han Seok-hyun said nonchalantly.

“Don’t you know that when you move, you give rice cakes [tteok, a traditional Korean rice cake] to your neighbors? They don’t really do that these days, but the new secretary insisted that it was a must.”

“No, you can take it and eat it.”

Yoo Ji-an was about to leave, but he stopped for a moment and asked again.

“Did you say the secretary’s office?”

***

Ding-dong-

Yoo Ji-an looked at the shopping bag he was holding with an awkward expression. Inside was a *sirutteok* [steamed rice cake] that was still warm.

Anyway, the only neighbor Yoo Ji-an was thinking of was one house.

– Oh, Hunter Yoo Ji-an?

Geon-hoo’s voice was heard from the intercom.

“Yeah.”

The door soon opened, and Yoo Ji-an went inside, wondering if Park Seo-a liked rice cakes.

Geon-hoo rushed out.

While Seo-a was at the gate with Noh Yoon-ji, Yoo Ji-an often stopped by, so the two were now quite comfortable with each other.

“Oh, hello!”

“Hi. Where’s noona [term for older sister or female friend]?”

Yoo Ji-an’s brow furrowed slightly at the news that Seo-a hadn’t come in yet. He had come to find her because she wasn’t answering the phone.

He handed Geon-hoo the shopping bag first.

“Rice cake?”

“How long has she been gone? Do you know where she went?”

“I think she said she was going to the Angel Guild this morning. But what’s with the rice cake?”

“Angel Guild?”

“Yes, would you like to come in?”

Yoo Ji-an shook his head and turned around.

“No, just make sure you lock the door.”

“Yes, I will enjoy the food!”

Geon-hoo greeted him politely and went back inside to continue the game he had been playing.

Yoo Ji-an called Seo-a again, but she still didn’t answer.

He immediately called Song Jin-a.

– What’s going on? You’re calling me directly?

“Did you meet Park Seo-a?”

– Hunter Park Seo-a? It’s been a while since she came to our guild and left during the day. Why?

“She’s not answering the phone.”

Unlike Yoo Ji-an’s voice, which was filled with anxiety, Song Jin-a was calm.

– I don’t know what’s going on. She must be busy. You know it’s not easy for an S-class hunter to get into an accident, right?

Song Jin-a’s words were true. But that was just a rational judgment, and Seo-a was still vulnerable in Yoo Ji-an’s eyes.

The fact that there were not many people in the world who were not weaker than him in front of Yoo Ji-an didn’t matter much.

– But why is Hunter Yoo Ji-an looking for Hunter Park Seo-a? What’s really going on between you two?

“I’m hanging up.”

From Yoo Ji-an’s point of view, it was okay to tell her, but he knew Seo-a’s cautious personality. It could definitely be annoying.

But as soon as he hung up, the bell rang again. This time, fortunately, it was Seo-a.

“Where are you?”

– Oh, I… well, here.

“What’s wrong?”

– Nothing’s wrong, but I’m at the Maker’s Gate.

– [I was wondering when I would see you again, but I’m seeing you here again.]

A foreign voice cut in between Seo-a’s voice. And it was in English, not Korean.

Yoo Ji-an’s face instantly hardened.

“The Maker’s Gate?”

– Yes, that’s right.

“Okay.”

Yoo Ji-an hung up the phone and tried to press the elevator, but instead went out to the emergency stairs and went up.

As Song Jin-a said, in normal cases, the probability of an S-class hunter having an accident was extremely low.

But it was a different story in front of the world’s number one ranked hunter.

He already knew that the guy was showing strange interest in Seo-a. An uneasy feeling swept over him.

Yoo Ji-an, who went up to the 101st floor rooftop, glared in the direction of the Maker’s Gate. Then, without hesitation, he jumped off that high place and moved quickly, moving to the next building and the next building.