I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 184

184.

“Ugh.”

The moment I came to, a crushing pain engulfed my entire body.

As expected, a teleportation magic circle wasn’t designed for transporting people safely.

If Seo-ah hadn’t been a relatively robust S-class Hunter, she might have been reduced to dust upon arrival.

‘Where am I?’

The air in the dark space was damp and musty. It felt like an indoor location near the sea.

I struggled to gather my wits and tried to stand, but suddenly, I sensed an attack coming from behind.

Seo-ah gritted her teeth, seized the attacker’s arm, and slammed him onto the floor.

“Ugh!”

Then, with precision, she kicked the approaching man in the solar plexus.

“Cough!”

“Grab her! Quickly, put on the restraints!”

“Why are there two of them? I was told there was only one!”

The man shouting at the other recoiled in horror from the flying toy hammer.

Even if Seo-ah was only barely an S-class, subduing an A-class Hunter and his cronies wasn’t too difficult for her.

Seo-ah, standing amidst the four Hunters, brandished her toy hammer menacingly, causing them to flinch and back away.

They spoke Korean, Japanese, English, and Chinese, but they seemed to understand each other perfectly, likely using translators. The same went for Seo-ah.

“Where am I? Let me go immediately.”

“That’s not going to happen. We’ve already received the commission. I didn’t hear anything about two people, ugh!”

Seo-ah didn’t swing with full force, but she leaped aggressively toward the Chinese man in front, enough to be threatening.

Just then, the man at the back shouted.

“Wait!”

It was clear Korean.

Seo-ah tried to ignore him, but she couldn’t disregard the words that followed.

“Do you want this guy to die?”

The men in front stepped aside, revealing the man at the back.

He was holding a knife to the Maker’s neck, who was still unconscious.

Seo-ah flinched, but thankfully, she didn’t panic. [Silent Night] and [Brain] were working furiously.

“I know you can’t kill him anyway.”

Seo-ah didn’t back down, gripping the toy hammer’s handle even tighter. Even as she said that, the situation was precarious.

Seo-ah could defeat these guys and escape alone, but she couldn’t guarantee the Maker’s safety.

But she couldn’t stall for time either. If she lingered, Jackson or other S-class Hunters might arrive.

Then it would all be over.

Seo-ah finished hitting the Chinese man on the head with the toy hammer and then charged at the Japanese man next to him.

As the Chinese man collapsed, the Korean guy at the back shouted again.

“Even if I can’t kill him!”

Seo-ah stopped moving, and the man pressed the knife to the Maker’s ankle, deeply cutting his Achilles tendon.

“I can do this much.”

Seo-ah froze, her lips moving silently at the sight of the gushing blood. What should she do? That level of injury could be treated outside if they acted fast enough.

“He’s a production-type Hunter anyway. Isn’t it enough if his hands are okay? Now, how about this side next?”

As the man threatened to cut the Maker’s other ankle, she couldn’t bear to leave him injured.

As Seo-ah hesitated, the white man quickly slapped mana restraints on her wrists.

Clang.

“Got her! Tie her up!”

She could have pulled her arm away, but she was worried about the Maker’s safety.

‘Anyway, they won’t kill me…’

As the restraints locked, the flow of mana within her body slowed, and her limbs felt heavy.

Just like when she was an E-class.

‘It’s probably close to that.’

Now that she was restrained, resistance was futile. Fortunately, she could still access her inventory, so she stored the toy hammer before they could take it.

“Kneel!”

The white guy roughly forced Seo-ah to kneel and put restraints on her ankles. Then, the Korean A-class Hunter, who had been threatening the Maker, approached leisurely.

“Don’t let your guard down, everyone. This bitch is an S-class.”

“How do you know?”

“It was on the news. Park Seo-ah, right? I wondered why there were two of them, but now I understand. The first S-class Supporter or something.”

“Wow! Then this woman must be worth a fortune!”

The Japanese man looked at Park Seo-ah excitedly and poured potions on the head of the Chinese man, who was regaining consciousness.

It didn’t matter that her identity was revealed. Jackson would find out eventually. Something else was more important.

“Is the Maker okay? Why isn’t he waking up?”

Seo-ah looked worriedly at the Maker, but no one answered. With the restraints on, she was no longer a threat.

They cleaned up the surroundings and looked outside.

“It’s almost departure time.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just knock her out?”

The Korean nodded at the white man’s suggestion, and the Japanese Hunter stepped forward. The Chinese Hunter, now conscious, stood by his side, drinking a potion.

He stood in front of Seo-ah, who was kneeling.

‘It seems like they have mental skills.’

They usually wouldn’t work on an S-class, but what about Seo-ah?

Fortunately, Seo-ah’s passive skills were still functioning, even with the restraints.

“Well, sleep well.”

The Japanese Hunter raised both hands and grabbed Seo-ah’s head.

“…Ugh.”

Soon, Seo-ah’s body slumped powerlessly.

“Hoo, it’ll be quiet now.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s move her. The client will be arriving soon.”

Seo-ah felt someone lifting her body and slightly squinted her eyes.

Of course, Seo-ah had [Silent Night], so she wasn’t affected by the mental skill.

But she pretended to be unconscious, fearing they might drug her or hit her head if she didn’t.

A ship came into view through her barely opened eyes. This was a harbor. That’s why she smelled the sea.

‘It doesn’t seem like we’ve come far. Is it Incheon [a major port city in South Korea]?’

Clunk, clunk.

She heard the sound of climbing onto the deck of the ship.

‘Should I run away now?’

The Korean A-class Hunter was currently holding Seo-ah. With the restraints on, she lacked the strength to overpower him.

She had to wait quietly for an opportunity.

‘They’ll come to save me, wherever I go.’

She was anxious, but she also believed it. If she was alive, the Hunters who cared for her would come to her rescue, no matter where she was taken.

It was also crucial that Seo-ah remained mentally sound. They wouldn’t kill her easily because she was valuable, but anything could happen.

Seo-ah activated [Gentle Sunlight], which had been turned off, and focused on [Emotional Transference]. It was best to do everything she could.

As she focused on [Emotional Transference], the emotions of the man holding her flowed in clearly.

‘Expectation, tension, fear…’

The Korean Hunter hurriedly put Seo-ah down on the floor.

“Let’s finish this quickly and go. I don’t want to face that psychopath anymore.”

‘Psychopath?’

So that’s why the fear was so intense.

“Yeah, they said they’d deposit the money.”

They seemed to be getting off the ship, leaving only the Maker and Seo-ah behind.

‘A little more.’

Seo-ah racked her brain to stall for time.

“Cough!”

She coughed and opened her eyes as if she had just regained consciousness.

“Oh, what! She’s awake!”

The Chinese Hunter pointed at Seo-ah in surprise, and the others quickly returned.

“Damn it, what should we do? Didn’t you do it right?”

The Korean Hunter glared at the Japanese Hunter, who protested.

“What are you talking about? I did it right! It can’t be helped if she has high mental resistance and wakes up quickly.”

“Who is the psychopath you mentioned earlier?”

While they were panicking, Seo-ah asked calmly, without anger, looking them in the eye as if genuinely curious.

[Skill ‘Gentle Sunlight’ is activated.]

She didn’t expect them to reveal anything with just this, but surprisingly, the Chinese Hunter, who had been knocked out earlier, was about to speak. He probably had a gentle personality.

“That’s, the Heaven Guild in America…”

But that was all he managed to say. His words were cut short as a cold, sharp wind blew and froze him solid.

“What…!”

The remaining three and Seo-ah quickly looked toward the harbor.

“Silence about the client’s identity. You have violated the contract.”

Oscar Jackson said quietly as he jumped onto the ship.