I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 218

218.

If Yoo Ji-an’s sword had gone just a bit deeper, Vachelo might have been in serious trouble.

Vachelo took Yoo Ji-an’s hand and helped him up.

“Thank you for the match.”

“It was decent enough.”

Yoo Ji-an replied casually, having only raised himself to a sitting position. Both of them were battered and bruised.

As Vachelo tried to heal Yoo Ji-an, Yoo Ji-an refused, pulling his hand away.

“Why…”

“Leave it.”

Yoo Ji-an’s gaze was fixed on Seo-ah, who was rushing towards them.

“Are you okay?”

Seo-ah crouched next to Yoo Ji-an, examining his face and body. Her expression was full of worry.

“No, it hurts.”

Yoo Ji-an frowned, exaggerating his pain.

“Where, where does it hurt? Let me see.”

Seo-ah bit her lower lip when she saw that one of Yoo Ji-an’s cheeks was swollen. She immediately used a level 2 recovery skill.

Yoo Ji-an watched Seo-ah, who was concentrating, with a gentle smile.

“Ahem.”

A somewhat embarrassed cough came from behind Seo-ah.

Seo-ah turned around, startled.

Camilla, who was holding back laughter, and Vachelo, who looked bewildered, had approached.

Seo-ah looked at Vachelo and spoke as if she had just remembered his presence.

“Ah, Vachelo…!”

She was about to ask for a recovery skill, but Yoo Ji-an stood up, preemptively refusing.

“It’s okay.”

“But…”

Yoo Ji-an pulled Seo-ah’s arm, helping her to her feet. Then he tapped his cheek.

“It’s enough.”

On the surface, the red marks and swelling had subsided, but it must still have been tingling.

Yoo Ji-an smiled at Seo-ah, who still looked dissatisfied.

“Hehe, you two are in love, how romantic.”

Seo-ah blushed and glanced back at Camilla. Then she quickly regained her composure and returned to the original topic.

“So… do I seem useful to you?”

“What do you think, Vachelo?”

“Amazing, and great. I think Mademoiselle is an angel sent from heaven for me.”

“For you? Oh, Vachelo. This older sister hopes you live a long and healthy life.”

“Huh? What does that mean…”

Vachelo, who was replying blankly, saw Yoo Ji-an and stepped back in horror. The expression on his face seemed to be smiling, but it also radiated a murderous aura.

It was Seo-ah who broke the chilling atmosphere.

“Geez, we came to invite you to join the alliance, why are you glaring like that?”

At Seo-ah’s nagging, Yoo Ji-an slyly averted his gaze.

“Anyway, does that mean I passed?”

“Yes, Vachelo is completely captivated [넋이 나갔네요 – a Korean expression meaning ‘넋이 나가다’ which translates to ‘넋이 나가다’]. Come this way. We’ll really treat you properly now.”

Seo-ah smiled slyly as she watched Camilla and Vachelo walk ahead.

In the last moment of the battle with Yoo Ji-an, [Genie of the Lamp] reacted to Vachelo. Seo-ah was watching for the right timing to put 창 [chang – spear] away and deliver it at the appropriate time.

They entered the guild headquarters.

Surprisingly, there was an escalator inside the European-style building. As they rode it up, they came to the guild leader’s private office and reception room.

The reception room was decorated in a flamboyant and beautiful style, as if recreating the era of Marie Antoinette.

On the table were tea and cute desserts.

“Are you hungry? Let’s sit down, eat, and talk.”

“Wow, it’s so pretty. How can I eat it?”

Seo-ah sat down in a chair with sparkling eyes, and Yoo Ji-an sat next to her.

While tasting the tea and desserts, Camilla looked at Yoo Ji-an and spoke first.

“You hardly used any skills when you fought.”

“Because I didn’t need to.”

“I don’t understand, why are you hiding your strength? Even if Vachelo is your opponent, if you unleash all your power, the rankings will change. You’d probably be the overwhelming number one.”

“I’m not hiding it, but I don’t want to show off. I just use as much power as I need when I need it. And no matter how strong you are, if you don’t reach your goal, you’re still weak.”

Seo-ah listened quietly and understood what he meant. No matter how strong Yoo Ji-an was, if he couldn’t beat the final boss, his power would be futile in his eyes.

Seo-ah took out the alliance application form from her inventory and handed it to Camilla.

“…Full support and cooperation. There are no specific numbers or grades written down?”

“Yes, you can contribute as much as you want, considering the risk. But the benefits will be less.”

Attacking the Legend Gate could literally mean risking your life, so they couldn’t force anyone.

Of course, if they couldn’t stop the Legend Gate, the lives they had saved would soon disappear as well. But it didn’t seem necessary to explain that yet.

Camilla carefully read the application form and signed it at the bottom.

Seo-ah, who received the application form, smiled faintly and said.

“Then I’ll give you a gift to commemorate your joining the alliance.”

“A gift?”

“Hunter Vachelo, hold out your hand.”

Vachelo hesitantly held out his palm, and Seo-ah gently placed her hand on it. She used a recovery skill, adding a bit of visual flair with light.

As Seo-ah’s [Genie of the Lamp] was activated, the skill [Maximum] was transferred to Vachelo. In fact, it was created during their fight earlier, but she was waiting for the right moment to deliver it.

[Maximum: Increases the power of one skill by 3 times. However, other skills cannot be used for 1 minute after use.]

Vachelo’s lips trembled. He looked back and forth between Seo-ah and the system window that appeared in front of him, repeatedly muttering, ‘No way.’

Seo-ah explained to Camilla, who was curious.

“Hunter Vachelo should have created a skill he wanted.”

Camilla looked at Vachelo as if to ask if that was true, and Vachelo nodded emphatically.

“It’s a skill called Maximum. This is what I’ve always wanted…”

If [Maximum] was used well, Vachelo could use one of his skills as a finishing move whenever he wanted, in any situation he wanted.

“That’s too much for a gift. Now that it’s come to this, I won’t say anything even if I take Vachelo and use him as a carpet.”

A friendly atmosphere was established with Seo-ah’s skill gift, and Camilla asked.

“Do you know why I wanted to meet Hunter Park Seo-ah and Hunter Yoo Ji-an in person?”

Seo-ah met Camilla’s gaze.

“You probably know that my skill is unique.”

“I heard you have the [Premonition] skill.”

“That’s right, it’s a skill that everyone covets. In fact, I peeked into your futures before you came here.”

“How was it?”

Seo-ah showed interest in the idea that Camilla had peeked into the future.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah’s future… I couldn’t see it. Nothing came up.”

Not being able to see the future. The very words felt ominous.

“Hunter Yoo Ji-an’s future showed so many overlapping images that I couldn’t estimate it. Both cases are firsts for me.”

Why couldn’t Camilla’s [Premonition] see it?

Seo-ah felt like she knew the reason, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.

“That’s why I called you two. I wanted to meet you in person. But you were more ordinary than I thought. I guess my [Premonition] isn’t good enough to see your futures.”

Seo-ah glanced at Yoo Ji-an.

Yoo Ji-an didn’t show any change in expression, but instead, Yoo Ji-an’s voice echoed in Seo-ah’s ear.

– Camilla’s [Premonition] is seeing my past lives.

It was the voice heard through the short-range communicator that they had shared when they went to the S-class gate before.

– Past lives? Hunter Yoo Ji-an’s?

– Yes.

If so, the fact that Yoo Ji-an’s future looked overlapping meant that the multiple lives were being seen together because of the repeated regressions.

– But the fact that my future is not visible…

– It’s not recorded. As a hunter.

Seo-ah felt a pang at the nuance of the word ‘record’, but she considered why Yoo Ji-an said that.

Anyway, what Seo-ah needed from Camilla was information about the Legend Gate seen through [Premonition]. Yoo Ji-an had explained it in words, but she wanted more vivid information.

To see that information, relying on Yoo Ji-an’s [Premonition], his 3rd round experience, would definitely be the most accurate and clear.

“Hunter Camilla, you said that Hunter Yoo Ji-an’s future looks overlapping in several ways. Isn’t there a clearest image among them?”

“Hmm, there is. But I still can’t interpret it. I’m not good at handling this skill to that extent yet.”

“What if your skill ability increases?”

Camilla, who did not understand the intention of Seo-ah’s question, hesitated and answered.

“Maybe it will be clearer than now? It might even be possible to show it to the other person.”