I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 49

49.

“Th-This, damn it, how…!”

Seo-ah’s prediction was correct. He was indeed the King of Parasites and the boss of this gate. And as the number of parasites decreased, his power also gradually diminished.

The man hurriedly tried to approach the people. Knowing his intentions, Seo-ah stretched out her arm to block him.

“Since… when… hic.”

The man’s pupils rolled back, and the whites of his eyes turned red. To escape from the man trying to reach out, Seo-ah took a few steps back.

“Me… I… outside… to, to lay… eggs….”

The man’s voice, barely piecing together human language, trailed off.

Swish.

Baek Eun-hee’s Splinter, which had been sweeping away the ant swarm, changed direction and flew, slicing off the man’s head.

“Kkeureuk!”

The man’s body, separated from his head, collapsed to the floor.

Surprised by the sudden event, Seo-ah looked at Baek Eun-hee, but not with a blaming expression.

Leaving the somewhat cleared battlefield behind, Baek Eun-hee approached the man, glaring at him.

“How dare you glare at me.”

“Unnie!” (Korean for older sister, used by females)

“Ah, it was okay to kill him, right? I thought you seemed hesitant earlier.”

Seo-ah quickly looked at the people. They had stopped vomiting and were looking down with shocked faces. Their vomit contained the eggs of the worms.

“Yes, I think it’s okay.”

And surprisingly, not a single drop of blood came from the fallen man’s body. Instead, a long worm, seemingly impossible to fit inside a human body, burst through the skin and wriggled.

The worm desperately tried to crawl towards the people, but it was crushed and killed by Seo Ah-hyun’s approaching axe.

[You have defeated the boss of the ‘Parasitic Desert,’ ‘King Chimgeumchung’!]

The system window appeared.

It must have appeared several times before, but Seo-ah had always been unconscious and hadn’t seen it properly.

“That guy is fearless. He carries the boss around and doesn’t even bat an eye.”

Yang Tae-woo clicked his tongue and approached Seo-ah.

“I couldn’t help it. He was holding people hostage… Also, we wouldn’t have been able to catch him this easily at first.”

In fact, the man wasn’t detected by the ‘State Checker’ [a skill or device used to assess a person’s condition or status] when they first saw him. That’s why she was confused.

“The monster we were initially introduced to as the boss was actually a host for the ‘Cradle.’”

The Cradle was detected by the State Checker as soon as she saw it, and Yang Tae-woo noticed it right away. But even then, they weren’t sure if the man was the boss.

When the parasites were still strong, the boss skillfully hid himself with considerable magic power. He was also highly intelligent, acting and speaking like a human.

Then Seo-ah realized that the individuals who became hosts there didn’t feel pain. And she saw the man walking and running without any discomfort, even with his mangled feet.

That’s when she first realized that the man wasn’t just a human.

And the man was detected by the ‘State Checker’ when Yang Tae-woo used a recovery skill on the ‘Cradle host.’

There must have been countless baby parasites living inside that Cradle. The moment the numerous parasites inside the Cradle took a hit, his power decreased slightly, and she was able to see the man’s true identity for a brief moment.

[King Chimgeumchung (Boss)]

[Overall Grade: A⁺~C⁻]

[The individual cannot live alone and survives by parasitizing a host. The more hosts it parasitizes, the stronger it becomes, and it can even form an army with the hosts.

For reproduction, it needs a Cradle made of a healthy ‘female’ life form. The characteristics of the individuals born depend on what kind of life form the Cradle is.

When King Chimgeumchung is threatened, it can always escape through the eggs planted in other hosts.]

[Acquirable Item: Parasite Egg]

The reason Seo-ah decided not to kill the man until the very end was because she quickly read this explanation.

If she hadn’t noticed the boss at this time, or if she had tried to catch the boss while leaving the eggs behind, a rather tedious game of hide-and-seek would have continued.

Of course, it’s not easy to utilize the explanation just by reading it once, but fortunately, Seo-ah’s [Brain] skill enhanced her judgment.

“But why didn’t he stop us? He could have killed us when the Cradle was hit.”

Yang Tae-woo expressed his doubts, and Seo-ah paused for a moment, searching for an answer.

“I don’t know exactly, but he must have wanted something else, right? At first, he wanted us as hosts, and then….”

The Parasite King seemed to have curiosity and longing for the outside world.

“I think he wanted to escape this gate through us. It’s strange that a monster inside the gate would think that way….”

“That’s right, it’s strange. The monster knows that this is a confined space? Even though it’s intelligent.”

Baek Eun-hee, who was listening to Seo-ah’s explanation, muttered with a questioning look.

Yang Tae-woo, who had been quiet, glanced at Seo-ah.

“Well, whatever. Honestly… it was amazing. I was with you, but I couldn’t make such a judgment.”

Yang Tae-woo grumbled but conveyed his honest feelings. And at the same time, a system window appeared in front of Seo-ah.

[Mission 2-2 Clear! Choose your reward.]

“…Ah.”

Yang Tae-woo’s words were recognized as ‘praise’ by the system.

While Seo-ah was showing a bewildered reaction, Baek Eun-hee also patted Seo-ah’s shoulder.

“You worked hard. Seo-ah, you did really well. Even more than I thought.”

Seo-ah looked around at Baek Eun-hee and the people around her. They didn’t say it one by one, but they were smiling warmly at Seo-ah.

Seo-ah felt a bit shy and mumbled with her head down.

“I didn’t do that much. I couldn’t do almost anything when fighting….”

“Don’t say that, Hunter Seo-ah. I was really surprised. It was the first time I saw someone withstand continuous wide-area attacks like that!”

“We couldn’t have finished this quickly without Hunter Park Seo-ah. Thank you.”

Even Seo Ah-hyun, who hadn’t said much, added a word.

Seo-ah only moved her lips and couldn’t say anything.

In the meantime, one of the residents inside the gate hesitantly walked forward. It was the mother of the child who was injured earlier.

Seeing them, Seo-ah quickly ran to them.

“What’s wrong? Ah, the child hurt his head earlier, right? He needs to get more treatment. Hunter Yang Tae-woo…!”

“No, that’s not it. It’s not that….”

As Seo-ah was about to call Yang Tae-woo, the woman stopped her by holding Seo-ah’s hands with both of hers.

“Thank you for saving us. I wanted to express my gratitude.”

“Ah. I didn’t do it alone. Everyone worked hard.”

“If you hadn’t given us the medicine, we would have become like the people who went ahead.”

And behind the woman, other people also approached and gave bright smiles. The smiles were so clear that they felt faintly like an illusion.

“So, we’re going to give you a small reward.”

“A reward?”

“Please accept this.”

A sun-shaped ornament appeared in the woman’s empty palm. The round jewel in the center was uniquely shimmering with a golden light.

As soon as the ornament was handed to Seo-ah, the item information appeared.

[Guardian of the Desert People]

[You have saved the people of the desert and gained their trust and favor! As long as you have this, the desert will always be kind to you.]

[Effect: All stats in the desert +5%, perfect adaptation to the desert climate]

“This is….”

Seo-ah blinked and looked at the woman and the people of the desert. They bowed politely to Seo-ah and the hunters.

“Just a moment! There!”

“Thank you so much. We will not forget you.”

Then, as if the desert sand was being swept away, all the people who were there disappeared.

“…….”

Seo-ah blankly looked back and forth between the jewel in her hand and the place where they had disappeared.

Baek Eun-hee came behind her and patted her shoulder.

“Let’s go out now, Seo-ah. The exit is open.”

A familiar vortex had formed a few steps away from where they were.

Seo-ah glanced at the open gate and then looked again at the place where the people had disappeared.

“Eun-hee Unnie, the people who were just here… why did they disappear?”

“I’ll explain it outside.”

Baek Eun-hee put her arm around Seo-ah, who wasn’t trying to move from that spot, and slowly led her.

Seo-ah barely took one step at a time, led by Baek Eun-hee.

“They were definitely here….”

“Yes, they were.”

“But why did they disappear?”

“I don’t know the exact reason either. But….”

Seol Jin-ah and Seo Ah-hyun passed through the gate first. And Go Geon-hoo glanced at Seo-ah and stepped into the vortex.

Yang Tae-woo hadn’t left yet and guarded their rear.

“I’ve seen cases like this before. It’s not the first time I’ve met the residents of the gate, but they also disappeared after defeating the boss. I don’t know if they simply disappeared or became invisible to us. Usually, monsters disappear like this….”

“But the items remain.”

“That’s right, they still remain if they are itemized. Like the token you received. I don’t know exactly why they disappear. Maybe no one knows.”

Seo-ah clenched the token in her hand tightly. Baek Eun-hee stared at Seo-ah.

“But we have to go back. Seo-ah.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Seo-ah looked back one last time. She felt relieved to have cleared the gate, and also felt a slight sadness about what had disappeared so fleetingly.

Baek Eun-hee silently waited for Seo-ah.