I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 63

63.

“Buff skills? This isn’t something that can be solved with just that.”

Song Jin-ah frowned, about to refuse, but Seo-ah approached her.

“It might help a little, and it’s better than nothing.”

Seo-ah said confidently. Song Jin-ah turned to Yoo Ji-ahn, her expression questioning what Seo-ah was talking about.

Yoo Ji-ahn still looked like she was in pain, but she slightly raised the corners of her mouth, as if giving her consent.

“Yeah, well… it’ll be better than nothing, like you said. Do as you please.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure not to be a hindrance.”

Song Jin-ah accepted Seo-ah’s offer with a tone that suggested she wasn’t expecting much.

“Please have this.”

Han Seok-hyun, with impeccable timing, handed Song Jin-ah a Maker’s mana potion. Despite her frown at his sickeningly obsequious [excessively flattering] attitude, Song Jin-ah quickly downed the potion.

Meanwhile, Seo-ah looked at the area where the dagger was lodged and carefully asked Yoo Ji-ahn, “Does it hurt a lot?”

“Yes, so help Song Jin-ah and finish this quickly.”

Seeing Yoo Ji-ahn force a smile, Seo-ah nodded with a determined face.

Song Jin-ah tossed the empty potion bottle aside and vigorously rotated her shoulders and neck.

“Let’s go again.”

She grabbed the dagger’s handle again, and Seo-ah quietly placed her hand on Song Jin-ah’s shoulder. Song Jin-ah’s gaze followed Seo-ah’s hand.

‘Strength and agility won’t be needed here.’

First, she cast the active skill [Love Yourself], which increases magic power and mental strength, on Song Jin-ah. Song Jin-ah, who was slowly gathering mana, turned her head sharply to look at Seo-ah.

“You…?”

It was a familiar reaction now. Seo-ah gestured with her eyes towards the dagger and Yoo Ji-ahn.

“Focus for now, Guild Leader.”

At that, Song Jin-ah closed her mouth and refocused her attention on the dagger’s tip. Just like before, streaks of light flowed along Yoo Ji-ahn’s shoulders and arms.

Her recovery skill, flowing through the blood vessels, sparkled with blue light and fearlessly roamed through Yoo Ji-ahn’s body.

And when it finally reached the fingertips completely, Song Jin-ah took a deep breath.

‘This is no joke.’

But she couldn’t relax. The real work started now.

The wounds were all healed earlier; now, she had to purify the faint traces of chaotic energy remaining in the body. From now on, even more delicate control was needed.

After 10 minutes, the buff disappeared. But before she could even feel disappointed, [Love Yourself] was cast again.

Song Jin-ah glanced at her status window.

‘Is there really a buff like this?’

Song Jin-ah’s mental strength was 9800, the highest among domestic hunters. With Seo-ah’s [Love Yourself] skill effect added, the number 10780 appeared.

If it couldn’t be done with this much, no one could do it. The known stat of the world’s best S-class healer, ‘Adam Swen,’ was around 10600, so it was even higher than that.

‘Is this really crazy?’

And the stat of 10,000 was like a dream number that many S-class hunters found difficult to reach. After that point, stat increases became quite sluggish no matter how many raids they did.

Once she hit 10,000, not only did the number increase, but the utility of the skill that Song Jin-ah felt was completely different.

If it had felt like piercing a road with an awl [a small pointed tool used for making holes] until now, it now felt like drilling through it. Moreover, the sense of finding the root of the disease became distinctly clearer.

‘Ah, I shouldn’t be like this. I keep getting excited.’

She wanted to quit this treatment right away and talk to Park Seo-ah next to her. It was incredibly difficult to suppress the urge.

Seo-ah watched from the side as Song Jin-ah licked her dry lips.

[Skill ‘Silent Night’ is activated!]

At the same time, Silent Night was executed.

‘Song Jin-ah is wavering about something.’

To make the skill effect more certain, Seo-ah touched Song Jin-ah’s shoulder very slightly. Then, she could see the shoulder, stiff with tension, relax.

‘Is she just nervous?’

In any case, Song Jin-ah refocused on Yoo Ji-ahn’s fingertips.

Seo-ah silently gazed back and forth between Yoo Ji-ahn and Song Jin-ah. Yoo Ji-ahn was quietly closing her eyes, whether she was asleep or not.

Still, seeing the black streaks that had stretched to her chest and wrists disappear cleanly, Seo-ah felt much relieved. But with the dagger still embedded in her chest, Seo-ah felt like her own chest was throbbing.

The treatment continued for a long time.

“Uh…?”

At some point, black smoke began to slowly flow out of the silver dagger that had been silent all along. It seemed that the chaotic energy that had been lurking in Yoo Ji-ahn’s body was finally escaping.

Han Seok-hyun made Park Seo-ah step back a little further, just in case.

And after a while, Song Jin-ah opened her eyes, which she had closed to concentrate. Song Jin-ah glanced over Yoo Ji-ahn with a slightly dazed expression, then grabbed the dagger and pulled it out.

A thin stream of blood flowed from where the sword had been lodged, but the wound healed immediately. This was because the body was so full of recovery energy.

Song Jin-ah took a step back and slumped down on the opposite sofa.

“Hoo.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Hunter Song Jin-ah.”

“…Just give me a hefty commission.”

“Hunter Park Seo-ah, thank you for your hard work as well. Your body isn’t fully recovered yet.”

Han Seok-hyun handed Seo-ah the Maker’s mana potion as well. Seo-ah had to recast the buff skill four times until Song Jin-ah finished the treatment.

“I just did what I had to do. It happened because of me….”

Song Jin-ah put the dagger into her inventory and leaned back, holding her forehead with her hand. She seemed quite tired even with the buffs.

Seo-ah hesitated for a moment, then went to her side and sat down. And she cast a recovery skill on her.

“You’ve really worked hard.”

Song Jin-ah glanced at Seo-ah with questioning eyes, then frowned slightly.

“Are you casting a recovery skill on me now? What level is this? Are you perhaps an E-class?”

“Yes, and the skill level is still 2.”

“Crazy, such a terrifying buff skill for an E-class healer.”

Even as she said that, Song Jin-ah didn’t refuse Seo-ah’s recovery skill. Instead, she closed her eyes for a moment and muttered.

“A healer’s personality is reflected in their recovery skill. Your skill is… quite kind.”

“Is that so? I don’t really know.”

After that, the two didn’t say anything while Seo-ah cast the recovery skill. In the silence, Seo-ah saw a system window.

[Skill ‘Warm Sunlight’ is activated!]

Song Jin-ah slowly opened her eyes and stared at Seo-ah. When her large eyes turned to her, Seo-ah smiled awkwardly and met her gaze.

“What’s your name…?”

“My name is Park Seo-ah. I’ve decided to stay with the Taeyang Guild for the time being.”

“Park Seo-ah, Park Seo-ah… Ah, perhaps.”

Song Jin-ah’s eyes widened as if she had remembered something.

“Are you the person Chairman Cha Tae-woon mentioned?”

“Did the Chairman talk about me?”

He said he would keep it a secret, but was the Angel Guild Leader an exception?

“No, he didn’t say exactly who, but he said there was an E-class hunter he was paying attention to. He said we might even go on a raid together if things go well. Is that you?”

Then Seo-ah smiled ambiguously and scratched her chin.

“Probably, that’s right.”

“Ah, geez.”

Song Jin-ah clicked her tongue at her own lack of judgment in not recognizing talent quickly. Then, she gently took Seo-ah’s hand and blinked her eyes.

“The Angel Guild was created to guarantee and treat the rights of healers and support-type hunters. Hunter Park Seo-ah, looking at your skills, I think you’d be a good fit for our guild. How about it? Would you like to come over here?”

“Uh, I’m still an E-class, though.”

“The grade is just an alphabet. With such a buff skill, what does the grade matter?”

Song Jin-ah was openly trying to recruit Seo-ah with an attractive smile.

Seo-ah stared blankly at Song Jin-ah, as if she had completely fallen for the beautiful woman’s charm.

At that moment, Han Seok-hyun, who was laying the sleeping Yoo Ji-ahn on the sofa, approached and put his palm between Seo-ah and Song Jin-ah, blocking their view.

“Hunter Song Jin-ah? Thank you for healing our Hunter Yoo Ji-ahn. We will compensate you for the request as you wish. So please don’t try to poach Hunter Park Seo-ah.”

Han Seok-hyun smiled, but his eyes were sharp as he checked Song Jin-ah.

“I don’t think the Taeyang Guild has the right to control someone who doesn’t even seem to be a guild member yet, do they?”

Of course, Song Jin-ah snorted without yielding to that.

“It is true that our Taeyang Guild is managing Hunter Park Seo-ah’s safety for the time being.”

Song Jin-ah looked at Seo-ah as if asking if it was true, and Seo-ah nodded slightly while watching her.

“Thank you so much for the offer. But my situation is complicated, so I don’t have any intention of joining any guild yet.”

“Too bad… but contact me anytime if you change your mind.”

Song Jin-ah immediately handed Seo-ah her business card. It was a business card with an angel’s wings printed on it. Seo-ah carefully accepted it and put it in her pocket.

“Then, how much is the compensation from the No. 1 guild in the country? Don’t disappoint me, okay?”

Then Han Seok-hyun suddenly suggested, “We can give it to you in gold, but how about a weapon?”

“A weapon? I already have a decent weapon. Well, it’s not a Legend grade, though.”

“Yes, what we’re giving you isn’t a Legend grade either. But you won’t regret seeing it. If you don’t like it, we’ll give it to you in gold.”

Surprisingly, there weren’t many Legend-grade weapons for healers. The Bbyongmangchi [likely a cutesy name for a powerful hammer or mallet] that Baek Eun-hee gave Seo-ah was that rare of an item.

And Song Jin-ah was a healer who mainly used knives, which was unusual. It wasn’t for nothing that her motto was, ‘The best healer eliminates the enemy before their allies get hurt.’

Song Jin-ah seemed to hesitate for a moment but then readily agreed.

“Okay, if you say so, I’ll take a look. It’s not a loss for me anyway.”

Han Seok-hyun and Song Jin-ah were about to walk out, but they stopped and stared at Seo-ah, who was standing still. It was obvious that she was going with them.

“Um, just a moment.”

Before following them, Seo-ah approached Yoo Ji-ahn, who was left behind, and spread a lap blanket from one side of the sofa over her body.

After that, Song Jin-ah smiled as she looked at Seo-ah approaching.

“You’re a really rare and kind hunter.”