I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 24

24.

“Ugh, seriously!”

Song Jin-ho grumbled, but no one paid him any attention. Instead, Yoon Ah-jung just stared at Seo-ah with a bewildered expression.

“Oh, you’re not dating?”

“No, Hunter Song Jin-ho is just giving me lectures… I don’t know why you’d say that.”

Seo-ah looked at Song Jin-ho with a troubled face.

“I’m sorry, it seems like strange rumors started because of me.”

“No, strange rumors! I’m rather…”

Song Jin-ho, who was about to say something, stopped talking as he glanced around.

“Um, let’s not do this here and go up first. I need to wash off this poison quickly.”

“Let’s do that; my head keeps hurting.”

The poisonous mushroom monster was C-grade, but its poison was potent enough to intoxicate even B-grade Hunters. These A-grade Hunters didn’t die, but they were still affected.

On the other hand, Yoo Ji-an, who had taken the most poison head-on, seemed completely fine.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, I think I need to take care of these guys.”

“Ah, go ahead. Of course, you should.”

“So, later…”

“Let’s go up together.”

Yoo Ji-an suddenly cut in and said to Seo-ah. Seo-ah blinked and asked again.

“Me?”

Yoo Ji-an stared intently at Seo-ah while pressing the elevator button. Seo-ah hesitated for a moment before getting on the elevator.

As the others tried to get on, Yoo Ji-an blocked them with his arm.

“You guys take the stairs.”

“Ugh… !”

“It’s the 84th floor. Go ahead.”

“Okay.”

Yoo Ji-an also stepped back after only Seo-ah got on.

It was only natural. If toxic substances spread in a confined space like an elevator, it would endanger others.

Especially Seo-ah, an E-grade Hunter, could die within minutes. Knowing this, they complained but walked up the stairs.

“Why me…”

However, Song Jin-ho, who was not affected by the poison, felt a little wronged, but he had no choice but to go up the stairs due to Yoo Ji-an’s fierce gaze.

Kim Soo-hyuk, who was climbing for a while, asked Yoo Ji-an.

“But, hyung [older brother or male friend], do you know Hunter Park Seo-ah too?”

“A little.”

“Hmm…”

Yoon Ah-jung made a meaningful sound but didn’t say anything more. Yoo Ji-an was too scary to joke around with like Song Jin-ho.

Seo-ah, who took the elevator, got off comfortably on the 84th floor. But just 5 seconds after Seo-ah arrived, the door to the emergency stairs opened, and the Hunters arrived.

They had come up at almost the same speed as the elevator.

“You came quickly.”

The 84th floor was like a common lounge or living room.

It was equipped with a large TV, sofa, small kitchen, shower facilities, and recreational facilities such as a table tennis table.

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, please sit here first. If you want something to drink, you can take it out of the refrigerator over there.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Song Jin-ho gave Seo-ah a simple guide. Seo-ah, who was about to feel awkward, was very grateful for his consideration.

When Yoo Ji-an’s eyes reached him, Song Jin-ho pretended not to notice and went to the A-grade Hunters.

“Go quickly, wash up roughly, and come out. Throw away all your clothes.”

“Okay, ugh, annoying.”

“Are you not going to wash and just do it [endure the discomfort]? No, go wash up.”

After a while, Yoon Ah-jung came out first and sat on the sofa. Song Jin-ho, while grumbling, cast recovery and purification skills on her as if he was used to it.

Since Yoon Ah-jung was a tanker [a character specialized in defense], she suffered the most damage among the group.

“There’s some internal damage. It seems like it’s recovering on its own, but how did you get hit?”

“The boss was a snake bastard, and while avoiding its tail, I happened to step on a poisonous mushroom. But who would have known it was a monster.”

“Hunter Seo-ah, watch carefully. When you’re poisoned like this, grab the pulse on the wrist and push it along the blood vessels. Then you’ll feel something different. It’s hard to explain in words…”

Seo-ah carefully watched Song Jin-ho using his skills and cautiously suggested.

“Then, can I try it once? I think it would be more certain to experience it directly.”

“Ah, okay.”

Song Jin-ho readily gave up his seat, and Yoon Ah-jung, who had suddenly become a teaching aid, looked at Seo-ah and Song Jin-ho with a reluctant expression. She had a lot to say.

“How did Hunter Park Seo-ah get into the Taeyang Guild?”

“Um, that’s…”

Seo-ah was embarrassed. She had thought it was a question she would receive someday, but she had put off thinking about what to answer because she didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, the people she had met so far had all been grateful and hadn’t asked why.

Song Jin-ho seemed curious too and was quietly waiting for Seo-ah’s answer.

“I have a skill that hasn’t been unlocked. Hunter Yoo Ji-an recognized it and decided to help me.”

“An unlocked skill? What is it?”

“That’s…”

“That’s enough.”

Yoo Ji-an approached from behind.

Yoon Ah-jung grumbled as if she was disappointed.

“Oh, come on, why? Let us know too, Hunter Yoo Ji-an. It seems like something very important.”

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

“Because this kid is weak.”

“No, even so, it’s too much to say someone is weak in front of them.”

Yoo Ji-an held out his hand to Seo-ah. Seo-ah placed her hand on his without realizing it, and Yoo Ji-an pulled her up strongly and then let go of her hand.

“Let’s go.”

“Oh, I haven’t thanked Hunter Song Jin-ho yet…”

“I’ll tell you.”

Seo-ah said goodbye to Song Jin-ho and Yoon Ah-jung with her eyes as she watched Yoo Ji-an walk ahead, and then she scurried after him.

“Seriously, that’s unusual; he’s completely acting like a protector?”

“…”

Yoon Ah-jung chuckled at Song Jin-ho, who didn’t respond.

“Why are you like that? Like you lost a friend. Or not a friend… maybe…”

“Enough, give me your arm.”

Song Jin-ho cut her off and forcibly pulled her arm to continue the treatment.

Yoon Ah-jung just smiled and looked at Song Jin-ho. She had a feeling that something interesting was about to happen in the bleak Hunter life.

* * *

“Oh, the 75th floor? That’s my dorm.”

“…Aren’t you going to let me in? If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll go somewhere else.”

“No, that’s not true.”

Seo-ah came to the Taeyang Guild because of Yoo Ji-an in the first place, so there’s no way she wouldn’t let him in.

And Seo-ah wanted to talk to Yoo Ji-an. After all, Yoo Ji-an was the only one she could be honest with about her condition right now.

Seo-ah, who opened the door by recognizing her fingerprint, entered first and then smiled awkwardly.

“Come in, oh, here are slippers.”

Yoo Ji-an obediently changed into the slippers Seo-ah gave him and went inside. He looked around quickly and spat out a word.

“It seems a bit small.”

“Huh? No way.”

Absolutely, absolutely not small. Rather, it was very large.

It wasn’t that Seo-ah didn’t know because she lived as a pauper, but it was objectively so. The living room alone was the size of Seo-ah’s entire house.

The Taeyang Guild divided one floor of a large building into quarters and assigned it as the dorm for A-grade Hunters.

It couldn’t be compared to Yoo Ji-an’s dorm, which used an entire floor, but still, not only the Taeyang Guild but also no one would treat A-grade Hunters carelessly anywhere.

Moreover, Seo-ah was not an A-grade but an E-grade Hunter, so it was already very undeserved.

“Please sit here, what to drink…”

Seo-ah opened the refrigerator after seating Yoo Ji-an, who was looking around the house, at the island table.

“…Oh.”

All she had to drink was one chocolate milk, one banana milk, and water. Even this was because Kang Soo-jung was staying here, so she had bought a few from the convenience store.

Seo-ah solved most of her meals in the common dining room, so she didn’t particularly buy anything here. If she requested it, the guild would have filled the refrigerator, but it seemed like a waste, so she had never used it until now.

“…Which one…would you like to drink?”

Seo-ah took out one chocolate milk and one banana milk and held them out. Seo-ah turned her gaze away in embarrassment as she saw Yoo Ji-an’s pupils shaking. Seo-ah thought she should prepare some coffee for the next time, just in case.

Yoo Ji-an silently picked up the banana milk, and Seo-ah picked up the remaining chocolate milk and sat opposite him.

“What did you talk about with Song Jin-ho?”

“Um. We mainly talked about healers. He told me about skill operation and weapons.”

“Healer… But you’re not a healer.”

“I’m a healer now, well, because the supporter hasn’t been unlocked.”

“Supporter?”

Yoo Ji-an asked back as if he was hearing it for the first time. Come to think of it, she had indirectly told Yoo Ji-an about her condition, but this was the first time she had mentioned it directly.

Seo-ah was secretly surprised that she had blurted it out without realizing it, but she also thought that she had gained that much trust.

“Yes, the name of the locked position is Supporter.”

“Supporter… Just by the name, it sounds like an auxiliary type.”

“Right? It’s probably someone who helps, as the name suggests. The skills that have been unlocked now are also of that kind. Um, but I don’t know if it will be useful even if the supporter is unlocked.”

“That’s nonsense. If you weren’t useful, you wouldn’t be in this position. I guarantee it.”

“…”

Seo-ah was rather embarrassed by Yoo Ji-an’s definitive answer. She hesitated, wondering what to say, when there was a loud noise at the front door.

“Unnie [older sister], Unnie!”

“…”

Kang Soo-jung, who was throwing her schoolbag in the living room, and Yoo Ji-an made eye contact.

“Oh…”

Soo-jung froze, and Yoo Ji-an asked indifferently.

“Are you living together?”

“Yes, well, it seems like she has nowhere to go. Is it okay?”

“Yeah.”

It was a short answer, but Yoo Ji-an’s answer was cool. Soo-jung, who had been frozen for a while, slowly approached, looking at Yoo Ji-an.