I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 201

201.

“…So, I grabbed the back of its neck, see?”

As they ascended the mountain, Seo-ah listened to Mila’s story. It was mostly a heroic tale about Mila’s accomplishments in the last gate.

The tension that had made her sensitive was dulled a little by Mila’s chatter, and Seo-ah listened to the long story without showing any signs of boredom. Her experiences were helpful to some extent.

“What did you do after you grabbed it? Did you win?”

“I wish! I would have cleared it right away! But that thing bit my hand and ran away in an instant! With teleportation, too. Ah, I really needed a teleportation skill at that moment!”

Just then, Seo-ah’s [Genie of the Lamp] reacted. Perhaps because she had raised her affinity to 2, she easily sensed Mila’s wish.

‘But… no, not now. She’ll notice.’

Even though she had become quite close to Mila, she had no intention of telling her about the [Genie of the Lamp]. But the [Teleportation] skill was tempting for Seo-ah as well.

If she didn’t grant Mila’s wish, Seo-ah wouldn’t be able to have it either.

‘Just a little longer, I’ll watch for the right timing….’

Fortunately, there was no time limit for granting wishes. Seo-ah just nodded and mentally set the thought aside.

Two [Holy Knights] led the way, with the prisoner in the middle, and security guards followed on either side and at the rear.

Ruben and Seo-ah’s group stood right behind the [Holy Knights], and the rest were people without combat abilities.

‘If a battle breaks out, I have to evacuate those people.’

The [Holy Knights] led the group near a steep cliff and then into a mine there.

‘A mine?’

Seo-ah secretly took out a magic stone containing the [Treasure Hunt] skill and held it in her hand. The deeper they went into the mine, the darker it became.

How far had they gone? It was so dark that people without night vision could barely see when the two [Holy Knights] in front suddenly stopped.

“What is it?”

The [Holy Knights] suddenly took out bugles and began to blow them. The ominous sound of the bugles echoed deep into the mine.

“Wait a minute….”

She didn’t know what it was, but she felt a dangerous premonition. Just as Seo-ah was about to stop them, the [Holy Knights] suddenly changed direction and quickly ran away.

“What the hell, those bastards!”

Just before Mila could chase after them, Seo-ah lightly touched Mila’s back. It was a fleeting touch that she barely felt.

Then Mila’s body disappeared in a flash and reappeared right in front of the running [Holy Knights]. The two [Holy Knights] were caught in Mila’s hands and returned with her via teleportation.

“Hey, how did you suddenly use teleportation?”

Ruben asked in surprise, and Mila replied in an astonished tone.

“I don’t know, it just suddenly appeared. I tried using it since it appeared, and it’s really good!”

“How can you say that so casually? How many years has it been since you awakened, and you still have skills to unlock.”

Mila shrugged at Ruben’s muttering.

“Well, is there any need to argue? It appeared, so we just have to use it well.”

Mila, who was so optimistic and hated worrying, seemed to let it go like that, and Ruben looked at her with envious eyes.

Meanwhile, Jackson was looking at Seo-ah with narrowed eyes.

Seo-ah took out a pickaxe from her inventory and was mining around. The pickaxe Maker gave her was amazing. It had a synergy effect when used with [Treasure Hunt].

But whether it was because the mine had already been visited by many people or because there were originally few, there was only one high-purity S-grade magic stone.

Of course, even if the purity wasn’t high, it was still useful, so she was tempted, but now she didn’t have the luxury of sweeping up even the small magic stones.

‘Anyway, it’s good that I found at least one.’

Seo-ah held it in her hand and used [Midas’s Hand] to infuse [Fire Resistance] into the S-grade magic stone.

‘Wow?’

It was definitely more efficient because of its high purity. The number of uses reached a whopping 999 times.

In the meantime, Mila used [Teleportation] a few more times to test it out. In fact, Seo-ah wanted to try it too, but there were too many eyes watching, so she held back for now.

Ruben and Jackson were interrogating the [Holy Knights] who had run away. In the end, what they found out through them was that this place was the habitat of the Red Dragon, and the people they brought were bribes to appease the dragon.

“I’ve never heard of dragons eating human flesh. Dragons are originally the embodiment of magic, so they don’t need to eat, right?”

Jackson answered Mila’s question.

“No, they eat meat when they are young because they have to grow. Including humans. From a dragon’s point of view, cows, horses, and humans are all the same.”

“What? You talked like you hated them so much, but in the end, you were just supplying food.”

“Because I thought it was impossible from the start.”

Seo-ah looked at the [Holy Knights] and the civilians.

“It would be better to send them out.”

“No! The criminals must pay for their sins here…!”

“You’re really getting in the way.”

Mila used [Teleportation] to silently approach the [Holy Knight] and slashed horizontally with her greatsword.

Then one of the [Holy Knights] silently collapsed and disappeared from the spot.

“Monsters are so talkative.”

Mila pointed her sword at the remaining [Holy Knight], who was trembling in shock.

“Are you just going to leave, or are you going to die?”

At Mila’s threat, the [Holy Knight] ran out without looking back. And Seo-ah said to the commoners who were hesitating behind her.

“Everyone else, please leave quickly! And stay as far away as possible.”

“Are you… really going to catch the Red Dragon?”

“Yes, we will.”

They had an unbelievable expression on their faces, but they listened well to the order to leave. They occasionally looked back, but left one by one.

Seo-ah, who was watching them leave, flinched at the powerful magical energy coming from inside the cave and turned her head.

Other hunters also gasped.

“This is….”

They thought something huge would come out as the presence got closer and closer. But walking out from inside the mine was a small, young boy.

The boy frowned and looked around at the hunters and their surroundings.

“What, is this all there is today? I’m hungry.”

“That guy is….”

Ruben frowned as he looked at the boy, and Jackson replied in a low voice.

“Hatchling, a baby dragon.”

“Wow, a baby is this strong.”

Seo-ah stared intently at the hatchling, who had transformed into a child. For now, the main emotion the hatchling felt was curiosity.

“You guys are pretty strong? For humans.”

His appearance was quite cute. But the hunters did not forget that this child, even though he was a baby, was a terrifying dragon.

“Let’s just deal with it, we were going to do it anyway.”

Ruben was the first to take out his weapon. And he whipped the child without hesitation.

With a slightly surprised look, the child easily dodged the whip. This meant that they shouldn’t underestimate him just because he was a baby.

“What? You’re trying to pick a fight? You humans?”

“What are you talking about? You’re just a kid.”

“I may be young for a dragon, but I’ve lived for 500 years. You little human.”

Dragons lived so long that they could easily live for 10,000 years. So 500 years was still a baby.

The hatchling sneered at Ruben, who was momentarily speechless.

“Well, the guys I’ve met so far have been too weak, so it wasn’t fun. Rebellious humans, you’ll taste better? I feel like I’m going to enjoy hunting.”

The hatchling was not at all intimidated even with the S-class hunters in front of him. Rather, he burned with fighting spirit and stepped forward.

Seo-ah turned on the State Checker.

[Red Dragon (Sub-adult)]

[Monster Grade: A+]

[A sub-adult of the Red Dragon.

Highly intelligent and capable of using advanced magic. In its true form, it can use fire breath. However, it can only use 1/4 of the length of an adult. It has tough scales and terrifying teeth. Be careful not to get hit by its tail.]

[Items: Soft dragon leather, young dragon’s heart]

‘A⁺ grade….’

The strongest monster Seo-ah had ever experienced was A-grade. Of course, even within the same A-grade, there was a big difference between the orcs that were close to being fodder and the boss-level monsters she met in the A-grade gate. Naturally, the gate boss was stronger and more difficult.

Seo-ah could handle the orcs alone if she took the time to defeat them, but didn’t it take several people to barely catch the boss in the gate where Ignis appeared before? Of course, even in that hunt, there was only one S-class.

But A⁺ grade, it must be much stronger. She could guess its strength just from the overwhelming pressure she felt. Even a sub-adult is this strong, how strong would an S-class adult be?

“Then, let’s have some fun!”

The hatchling used [Flying] while still in human form and quickly escaped out of the mine.