I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 47

47.

“Run away together?”

“I can’t miss such a golden opportunity.”

“A golden opportunity, you say?”

“Aren’t you people from the outside world? I want to escape this world and go there too.”

“…….”

Seo-ah didn’t answer, focusing on running.

But their escape didn’t last long. A scorpion was blocking the passage they were trying to escape through.

In fact, their combat abilities weren’t even enough to take down one scorpion. But they couldn’t stop. More scorpions were following from behind.

The man looked at Seo-ah and Yang Tae-woo as if asking what to do. Then Seo-ah took out a stone from the air and threw it hard.

“With just that…”

Thwack-!

The [Infected Scorpion] tilted and fell over from just that one stone. The two didn’t miss the moment and ran forward.

What Seo-ah threw was [Stone Knight’s Pride], which she had received from Kang Su-jeong after finishing the old D-grade gate.

[Stone Knight’s Pride]

[A crystal containing the pride of the D-grade boss Stone Knight. If you possess this, you can deliver a final blow to the enemy at the moment your life is in danger. The power is the user’s strength x100, and the enemy’s defense is ignored at this time.]

They barely made their way through and ran again, but this time a swarm of ants appeared.

These entities were also infected. They were weaker than scorpions, but there were too many of them.

“Ah….”

Yang Tae-woo let out a desperate voice.

They were in a dilemma, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Seo-ah glared at the ants and took out her squeaky hammer.

“You’re not thinking of fighting, are you?”

The man asked. He didn’t seem to feel much of a crisis, even while running away with them.

Seo-ah didn’t bother to answer.

Instead, she looked at the tracker on her wrist.

‘Just a little bit, if we can just hold on a little longer.’

But unfortunately, the ants attacked first. One ant lunged at Yang Tae-woo.

“Ugh!”

Yang Tae-woo barely blocked it with his rod, and Seo-ah smacked the ant’s head with her squeaky hammer.

But with the strength of an E-grade hunter, she couldn’t even scratch the ant’s hard exoskeleton.

The ant’s powerful jaws approached as if to devour Yang Tae-woo. And the other ants wiggled their antennae as if to join in.

But then, suddenly, the ceiling above the ants collapsed.

Some ants were buried under the pile of dirt and fell.

At the same time, the ant that was threatening Yang Tae-woo was cut in half vertically.

“Ugh, I almost died.”

Yang Tae-woo slumped down and gasped for breath.

“Seo-ah!”

“Sis!”

It was the welcome voice they had been waiting for. She was so happy that she felt like crying.

Baek Eun-hee and her team members had found their location and had even collapsed the ground.

Go Geon-hoo’s reliable back blocked Seo-ah’s path.

“Rest assured now, Hunter Park Seo-ah. Sorry for being late.”

“No… it’s okay. Ah, there are more inside. People are being held captive too…!”

As Seo-ah tried to get up and run again, Seo Ah-hyun stopped her.

“Leave it to us, Hunter Seo-ah. You should rest.”

“…Ah.”

In fact, she was a mess. She had been dragged from the water to the cave, and she hadn’t even treated the scorpion’s pincers’ wounds.

Seo-ah stood quietly behind Go Geon-hoo again. And while casting recovery skills on herself, she chugged potions.

Meanwhile, Baek Eun-hee’s splint [a type of weapon] flew around freely, cutting both the ant swarm and the following scorpions in half. The sight of things with hard exoskeletons being torn and split like paper was quite impressive.

But even after being cut in half, they wriggled and tried to get up. Seol Jin-ah burned and melted them all away with light magic.

After things were somewhat settled, everyone gathered around Seo-ah.

Baek Eun-hee then discovered Seo-ah’s miserable appearance and hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Seo-ah. It’s all my fault. You must have been so scared. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Sis, I’m okay. I’m not seriously hurt….”

“Yes, that’s a relief. I thought my heart was going to disappear.”

Baek Eun-hee, who continued to pat Seo-ah’s back and head, glanced sideways. There was a man watching with admiration.

Baek Eun-hee’s eyes darkened slightly. She hugged Seo-ah tighter and whispered in her ear.

“Seo-ah, the boss?”

Seo-ah shuddered. As expected, the S-grade hunter’s senses could feel something. Instead of answering verbally, Seo-ah replied in the team chat.

– Still… there are people inside. And if we try to defeat the boss now… I think it will run away.

“Okay, I understand what you mean.”

Baek Eun-hee pulled Seo-ah away from her embrace and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Let’s go together from now on. Don’t ever leave my side.”

Park Seo-ah smiled brightly as she made eye contact with Baek Eun-hee.

“Yes, this way.”

“Oh, is Tae-woo okay too?”

Belatedly, Baek Eun-hee turned to Yang Tae-woo and asked how he was doing. Yang Tae-woo waved his hand as if to say he was fine.

Seol Jin-ah, who was following behind, poked Yang Tae-woo in the side.

“Why? You’re not jealous anymore?”

“Jealous? When did I ever get jealous?”

Yang Tae-woo brushed it off like that, but Seol Jin-ah could definitely see that Yang Tae-woo’s attitude had changed. Could it be that they had become closer while overcoming the crisis together?

She chuckled and walked through the damp passage when suddenly the ground shook.

“Seo-ah!”

“Everyone, gather around!”

Baek Eun-hee took care of Seo-ah in the face of the tremendous vibration that threatened to collapse the dirt ceiling, and Go Geon-hoo raised his shield.

Thud, thud, rumble-

Something kept pouring down on Go Geon-hoo’s shield, but he received them without shaking, protecting the group.

When the earthquake stopped, their gazes turned to the sky. Baek Eun-hee frowned slightly.

“That thing is…”

“Yes, it’s the Cradle.”

It was the monster that Yang Tae-woo had hit with a recovery skill and ran away from. As expected, the monster was not dead and was still alive.

But the ‘humanoid’ appearance they had first seen was nowhere to be found. Tens of thousands of parasites tore apart the host and mixed together to form a mountain.

The size of each individual had grown several times larger than before. It seemed to have ‘grown’ suddenly.

“We need to take care of that thing first.”

“Sis, just a moment.”

Just as Baek Eun-hee was about to rush out with her splint clenched, Seo-ah quickly brushed Baek Eun-hee’s wrist and cast [Fighting] and [Love Yourself] on her.

Baek Eun-hee looked at Seo-ah with touched eyes. Seo-ah cast buffs on the others in turn.

“I, is this for real?”

Seol Jin-ah’s eyes were filled with astonishment as she received Seo-ah’s buff for the first time.

“Go Geon-hoo, stay close to Seo-ah. Ah-hyun and Jin-ah, help me from time to time and watch the rear. Tae-woo, support both sides!”

“Yes!”

Go Geon-hoo took Seo-ah and retreated a little further. Meanwhile, Baek Eun-hee, Seo Ah-hyun, and Seol Jin-ah ran towards the mountain of parasites.

The tens of thousands of parasites moved as if they were one, attacking those who were running towards them.

First, Seo Ah-hyun scattered jet-black darkness and swung the Black Double Axe greatly.

The center of the mountain was dented by the rapidly swirling black axe blade. Hundreds and thousands of them fell to their deaths with a single blow. But there were still more alive.

The living ones rushed in like ravenous beasts.

They threw their bodies and tried to bite anything they could get their hands on. And they tried to leave their eggs on those wounds at all costs.

The sight of the bugs raining down was so gruesome that it sent shivers down your spine just to look at it.

But those who were fighting fended off and avoided the numerous bugs, gradually inflicting damage.

Baek Eun-hee was moving at an almost invisible speed, befitting an S-grade hunter. Holding the splint, she stepped on the air and drew diagonal lines, literally cutting down the mountain.

Every time the splint drew a circle, the parasites’ corpses fell down in droves. At first glance, it looked like a waterfall was pouring down.

After repeating this several times, the thick mountain of parasites was gradually cut into a pointed and thin shape. When she thought it was enough, Baek Eun-hee shouted to Seol Jin-ah.

“Jin-ah, go up!”

“Yes!”

Last, Seol Jin-ah flew to the highest point.

“Oh, there are so many disgusting things!”

She looked down and shuddered, raising her staff. At the same time, the bead at the end of the staff flashed white.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly. She, who always spoke in a bright voice, muttered ominously.

“Melt away.”

After a while, pure white light poured down from the sky. Seo-ah briefly closed her eyes at the dazzling spectacle of light.

The next moment, she heard the sound of Mount Tai collapsing. After that, their height was noticeably and definitely lowered.

The battle was going smoothly. Certainly, when S-grades and A-grades worked together, it seemed that a mob with only numbers could be easily dealt with.

Seo-ah glanced at the man’s side. He looked anxious for some reason.

“Oh, over there?”

Yang Tae-woo, who was watching the situation, pointed to a place a little away from the mountain of parasites.

Seo-ah also looked there and had a surprised expression.

“We have to go save them!”

People were crawling out of the cracks where the ground had collapsed.