I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 237

237.

“Time?”

Seo-ah nodded in response to Baek Eun-hee’s question.

“Why do you think so?” Jackson asked, and Seo-ah carefully explained her reasoning.

“It’s not just that Earth’s time has been reversed several times. When I created the [Time Stop] skill, the system mentioned the ‘Final Being.’ Also, when I used [Emotional Transference] on the system administrator, I heard the sound of a clock. And lastly…”

Seo-ah couldn’t finish her sentence and grimaced in pain.

“It’s okay, that’s enough, Seo-ah,” Baek Eun-hee said, understanding Seo-ah’s distress and trying to reassure her. But Seo-ah bit her lip and revealed her final piece of evidence.

“When my parents passed away, they were caught in a dimensional rift and aged incredibly quickly—in just a few seconds. So…”

“I see, so that was aging,” Yoo Ji-an murmured, as if something had just occurred to him, after listening to Seo-ah. Seo-ah turned to look at Yoo Ji-an.

“During the third iteration, I felt all my strength drain away and just died. I think I encountered something, and if it was a being related to ‘time,’ it makes sense.”

Seo-ah nodded at Yoo Ji-an’s explanation and closed her mouth.

“Time… If that’s true, it’s quite daunting. Does something like that really exist?”

Of course, they said it *might* be related to ‘time,’ but neither Seo-ah nor Yoo Ji-an could give a clear answer. It was too far removed from human common sense.

“Alright, time or whatever it is, who cares.”

Wang Cheon-yu, who had been leaning against a pillar, stood up and took out his chain.

“So, do we kill that bastard or not? He gives me the creeps, and I want to kill him. Will there be a problem if we kill the system administrator?”

Wang Cheon-yu’s chain rattled as it circled the system administrator.

“I’ve already killed him before.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing. Nothing happens even if you kill the administrator. Instead, you’re immediately transported to the Final Battlefield without any procedure.”

“Then what exactly *is* the administrator? Why does it exist?”

Seo-ah looked down at the administrator with a cold gaze. Then, she crouched down and lightly touched the slimy surface with her fingertip.

The deep resignation and despair, the worn-out disappointment she had felt while watching the video, were still being conveyed through [Emotional Transference].

Who was he disappointed in, and what had driven him to despair? Had he always been like this from the beginning?

While she was pondering, a system window appeared in the air.

[Do you want to move to the ‘Final Battlefield’?]

Seo-ah looked up and saw that the others were glancing at each other, as if the same window had appeared for them as well.

“Um, uh.”

Baek Eun-hee looked flustered and scratched around her chin with her finger.

“What are we going to do?”

“What do you mean? It’s absurd to back out after coming this far!” Wang Cheon-yu said excitedly, but Yoo Ji-an spoke cautiously.

“But if we go and get helplessly defeated without even putting up a fight, like I did before, it’s not very meaningful.”

Jackson nodded in agreement with Yoo Ji-an’s opinion.

“Indeed, some countermeasures seem necessary. It would be nice to at least know the enemy’s identity. If the suspected identity is really ‘time,’ what countermeasures can we even take?”

As they voiced their opinions and pondered, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to shake.

“Uh, uh? Why is it suddenly like this?”

To be precise, it wasn’t the ground but the system administration room itself that was shaking.

Thud, thud-

It sounded like something was hitting the space itself from the outside. The monitors and mechanical parts filling the walls and ceiling shook and creaked in unison.

“What’s going on!”

“Shouldn’t we go to that Final Battlefield thing now, even if it’s just for now?”

As Wang Cheon-yu shouted and the hunters hesitated, another system window appeared.

[The number of people who can move to the ‘Final Battlefield’ is 1.]

“What? One person?”

The hunters’ faces were filled with bewilderment. One person? Then why did they call five people to the waiting room in the first place?

The thumping sound from outside grew louder, and the vibrations intensified. Even a corner of the ceiling was gradually collapsing, and parts were falling down.

[The ‘Final Enemy’ urges you to choose.]

The hunters looked back and forth between the strange creature wriggling on the floor and the unseen presence outside this space.

“But only one person…”

“I’ll go. It’s better for someone who’s been there before to go.”

Yoo Ji-an readily answered, and the hunters frowned as if they didn’t like it, but they couldn’t find any words to refute him. *If* it’s one person, wouldn’t it be better for the strongest, Yoo Ji-an, to go?

But Seo-ah quietly said,

“I already answered that I would go.”

“What?”

“Seo-ah!” Baek Eun-hee called out in surprise, and Yoo Ji-an urgently grabbed Seo-ah’s shoulders and looked at her.

“No, Seo-ah. Cancel it.”

“I can’t, there’s no such thing as canceling. You know that.”

“What… what are you thinking?”

Yoo Ji-an’s hands on Seo-ah’s shoulders trembled slightly. He lowered his head and pleaded.

“No, I can’t… I can’t lose you like this. Seo-ah, please.”

His fear was directly conveyed to Seo-ah. Seo-ah gently placed her hand over his.

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back. The system administrator told me something. I have to go.”

It was a lie. Seo-ah hadn’t heard anything from the administrator, and she wasn’t sure she would return safely. But she had a sense of it.

The things the system administrator had shown her, his emotions, and the expected identity of the final enemy…

She could instinctively feel that all of these things were calling her.

In any case, Seo-ah lied to reassure Yoo Ji-an and everyone else.

“And if something happens to me, the Earth and all of us will end as well. It’s not just me who will disappear.”

Thud, thud, thud!

As if knocking, some enormous being was striking the interdimensional space as if to break it. Was that the final enemy? Or something else?

Yoo Ji-an slowly raised his head. The corners of his eyes were red and wet. It was the first time she had seen him like this—Yoo Ji-an crying.

Seo-ah put her arms around Yoo Ji-an’s neck and hugged him gently.

“I’ll be back.”

Yoo Ji-an hugged her back without answering. After that farewell with him, Seo-ah looked at Baek Eun-hee.

Baek Eun-hee took Seo-ah’s hand and stroked it.

“I don’t want to let you go either, Seo-ah. But if it’s already decided, there’s no need to drag it out.”

“Thank you, *unnie* [older sister or close female friend]. For understanding.”

“Tch, I was beaten to the punch.”

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Jackson asked, and Seo-ah replied.

“I’m going to use [Focus]. Your magic power here will be quite substantial. Please cooperate when the window appears. I don’t know what will happen when I go.”

“If we can help you even in that way…”

Although he said, “even in that way,” the other four people gathered here were all top-ranked hunters.

The combined amount of their magic power was probably similar to or greater than the combined amount of those from below them up to the top 100.

After talking with everyone, Yoo Ji-an gave Seo-ah some final advice.

“Seo-ah, the enemy’s identity may really be related to ‘time.’ So use [Time Stop] as soon as you get there. And you should think about the next step.”

Seo-ah nodded, taking Yoo Ji-an’s words to heart.

“I understand.”

Seo-ah, who had been looking at Yoo Ji-an, smiled slightly and slowly closed her eyes. And a new window appeared in front of everyone.

[Hunter ‘Park Seo-ah’ is requesting to share magic power with you.]

All four answered ‘yes.’

Afterward, Seo-ah collapsed as if a fuse had blown. Yoo Ji-an safely caught her and laid her down.

“She’s already in a spiritual body state, but if she leaves again, where will she go?”

No one answered Baek Eun-hee’s question. But Wang Cheon-yu suddenly flinched and shuddered.

“Wow, but this is no joke? It’s already draining out quickly.”

Seo-ah’s magic power had drained away in just a few seconds after she lost consciousness.

“It’s only a moment in this world, but we don’t know how much time Seo-ah will experience over there.”

Thud, thud, thud!

But then the knocking sound came again.

“What, isn’t it over yet?”

Thud!

As they panicked and gathered around Seo-ah, a corner of the space suddenly collapsed with a huge impact.

[SYSTEM ERROR!]

[SYSTEM ERROR!]

A red system window flashed.

Then, the ominous sound of insect wings flapping grew louder and louder from the collapsed ceiling hole.

Tzzzzzz.

Jackson looked up and his expression hardened. Seeing the insects pouring in through the hole, he said,

“[Black Flies] [Monsters that travel between dimensions].”

[Black Flies]. They were monsters that traveled between dimensions. Their appearance meant that this space was distorted.

“Gather around Seo-ah!”

The hunters gathered even closer around the lying Seo-ah.