I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 86

86.

“Um, a Spiritist is in the village?”

Kang Hae-in seemed to have overheard something important and didn’t bother asking how to catch Ignis. The Fire Spirit King [Ignis] wasn’t a creature you could simply defeat like a monster.

Lower-level spirits like [Salamanders] still possessed a physical form, making that possible, but it was impossible for Spirit King-level beings.

All the fire within this gate fueled [Ignis]’s power. Because of this, he wielded an almost infinite amount of power. Also, due to the nature of fire, he could quickly revive even after seemingly being destroyed.

And the Spirit King’s intellect was quite advanced, allowing direct communication with humans.

Could the usual concepts of death or annihilation even apply to a being closer to a natural phenomenon than a living creature?

“Is Ignis the boss of this gate?”

So, this needed to be confirmed first.

Yoon Ah-jung asked, and Yoo Ji-an readily shook his head.

“Ignis is responsible for this situation, but he’s not the boss.”

“So, there’s another boss.”

Yoo Ji-an didn’t elaborate on that.

“Anyway, let’s head down to the village for now. Maybe we’ll figure something out when we get there.”

Kim Soo-hyuk, as usual, leaped ahead to scout.

He had high agility and a vision-related skill befitting a sniper, allowing him to see great distances.

The hunters followed behind him.

Seo-ah walked with them, grumbling inwardly.

‘It feels like I keep ending up in hot places.’

The last sudden gate was a tropical rainforest, and the gate before that, which she went to with the Royal Guild, was a desert.

And now, this was a village that had incurred the wrath of the Fire Spirit.

They didn’t rush while Kim Soo-hyuk scouted the way to the village entrance.

And Song Jin-ho kept talking to Seo-ah along the way.

“Are you uncomfortable at all?”

“No, I’m not. But it seems like we have to deal with people inside the gate again this time.”

“Hmm, that’s right. That’s more common with higher-level gates.”

“I think I’d be more comfortable just beating up monsters.”

“I agree; people are more unpredictable.”

Kang Hae-in and Yoon Ah-jung also walked a little apart, continuing their conversation.

“Hae-in oppa [older brother/term of endearment], how long do you think you could withstand Ignis’s fire with your magic?”

Kang Hae-in considered this in response to Yoon Ah-jung’s question.

“Well? I’ve never fought Ignis before. But wouldn’t I last at least 2 minutes?”

Then Yoon Ah-jung glanced at Park Seo-ah and gestured with her eyes.

“Hey, can we get that?”

Here, ‘that’ referred to Park Seo-ah’s buff skill. Since both of them had directly experienced Seo-ah’s buff, the conversation was quick.

Kang Hae-in lowered his voice without realizing it.

“Ah, um. If we get the buff… 3 minutes? I don’t know. But that was amazing, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t say it earlier, but I see why they’re trying to recruit her. But while it’s good for us, does the other side need it too?”

The ‘other side’ Yoon Ah-jung was referring to was Yoo Ji-an.

Even if this whispered conversation wasn’t audible to Seo-ah, it was obvious that S-class hunter Yoo Ji-an would hear it.

But the two didn’t seem to care much, and Yoo Ji-an didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, the stronger, the better, right? Since it’s calculated as a percentage, the numbers that go up will be different.”

“Seriously, hunters are something else.”

They walked a little further when suddenly Yoo Ji-an stopped abruptly.

“Wait.”

At his words, the other hunters also stopped and looked at the active volcano beyond the village.

Seo-ah also stared at the volcano along with them. Even at a glance, an ominous energy was overflowing from the crater.

Krrrrrrrr-

The volcano’s activity became so vigorous that the ground shook.

‘That’s not a real volcano; it’s because of the Spirit King [Ignis].’

Not only the volcano but also the scorching sun was because of Ignis, which didn’t match the common sense of Earth.

“This, this. Why is he so angry?”

Kim Soo-hyuk, who had gone ahead, quickly ran back, clicking his tongue.

“If we leave it alone, it’ll engulf the village, won’t it? It’s really on the verge of exploding.”

Yoon Ah-jung pointed to the end of the crater. Seo-ah couldn’t see that far, but she could tell that something was wrong.

“I have to go.”

Yoo Ji-an took out Ruin Blade.

“Are you okay? Alone?”

“If it explodes and the Spiritist dies, then we’ll have to face Ignis directly.”

Instead of saying he was okay to Kang Hae-in’s question, Yoo Ji-an explained why he had to go.

“…That won’t do.”

“Wait a minute, you’re not going to face Ignis alone right now, are you?”

Seo-ah interjected and grabbed Yoo Ji-an’s sleeve tightly. Yoo Ji-an looked at his grabbed sleeve and smiled faintly.

“No, not yet. Those are lower-level spirits reacting to Ignis’s emotions. They’re similar to the ones we saw earlier.”

“Ah… still.”

Seo-ah looked anxiously between Yoo Ji-an and the distant crater.

The [Salamanders] from earlier were scary enough. It wasn’t until Kang Hae-in poured water bombs and Yoon Ah-jung covered them with piles of dirt that they calmed down.

“Hey, don’t worry too much.”

Yoon Ah-jung replied to Seo-ah’s anxiety in a bright voice.

“Ji-an oppa is strong enough. He’s much stronger than all of us combined. Don’t worry. It’s not like he’s going to face them all head-on anyway.”

“Is that so?”

Seo-ah checked with Yoo Ji-an with her eyes, and Yoo Ji-an nodded slightly. Only then did Seo-ah slowly let go of his clothes.

“Still, be careful.”

“Seriously, I’ve seen it before, but Park Seo-ah is the only one who worries about Ji-an hyung [older brother].”

Seo-ah didn’t respond to Kim Soo-hyuk’s joking words. How could she not worry at all when he was going alone to a dangerous place, no matter how strong he was?

But the other team members didn’t seem to be worried at all, perhaps because they had worked with Yoo Ji-an a lot or because they trusted his strength.

“Ah, then before you go.”

Seo-ah cast [Fighting] and [Love Yourself] on Yoo Ji-an.

“It only lasts about 30 minutes, though.”

“30 minutes, that’s amazing. What buff lasts 30 minutes? The longest is 1 minute.”

Yoon Ah-jung retorted to Seo-ah’s words, and Yoo Ji-an lightly placed his hand on top of Seo-ah’s head.

“You should stick close to the others.”

“Okay, let’s move quickly. It’s not good to stay here for long.”

Since Yoo Ji-an was leaving, Kang Hae-in took on the role of leader instead. Kim Soo-hyuk also grabbed Seo-ah’s arm and pulled her along.

“Let’s go, let’s go. Stop worrying about hyung.”

“Ah, okay.”

Seo-ah’s group moved first, and Yoo Ji-an made eye contact with Song Jin-ho.

“Leave it to me.”

Song Jin-ho nodded and walked close to Seo-ah.

After they left, Yoo Ji-an stood for a moment, looking at his palm.

Thanks to Seo-ah’s buff skill, he felt a power surging in his hand that he had never felt before.

Park Seo-ah was valuable just for this alone. But the reason Yoo Ji-an wanted Park Seo-ah wasn’t just because of her buff skill.

Yoo Ji-an looked at Seo-ah’s group moving away.

Originally, when he first contracted with her, he was planning to properly test Park Seo-ah’s value in this raid. But now, his thoughts had changed a lot.

He didn’t want to put her in danger.

His test meant a situation where she could go berserk, so it was actually quite dangerous.

‘I need to control it well from the beginning.’

Yoo Ji-an resolved himself and kicked off the ground. And soon, he quickly reached the volcano.

* * *

“That’s the entrance.”

“Hmm.”

The group first hid in the bushes and surveyed the atmosphere around the village entrance.

It felt desolate, but the village itself was quite bustling. There were more people than expected.

But they all looked tired and expressionless.

“First, we need to change our clothes, right? These clothes are too flashy here.”

They were wearing modern combat uniforms, but as expected, the villagers were wearing medieval clothing.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

The group, except for Seo-ah, took out small buttons from somewhere and pressed them. Then their clothes changed at once.

“Ugh, this is too cumbersome.”

The clothes seemed to be randomly selected from those appropriate for the era. The first outfit Yoon Ah-jung wore was a robe that a clergyman might wear.

She grumbled and pressed the button again, and this time it changed to a uniform that a knight might wear.

“This is better.”

“Uh, um… excuse me.”

Seo-ah, who had been quiet, carefully called out to them.

“Ah, right.”

Then Yoon Ah-jung said ‘oops’ and looked at Seo-ah with a troubled face.

“What are you doing now?”

“This is a costume change item, so Hunter Park Seo-ah wouldn’t have one yet.”

“That’s an amazing item. Does it automatically change your clothes?”

“That’s right, we can’t carry clothes suitable for each gate every time. You can keep using it once you buy it, but it’s quite expensive….”

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

“How much is it?”

“It’s 1000 gold. I wish I could buy it for you, but it’s an item that you have to buy and apply yourself.”

“Ah….”

Of course, she didn’t have 1000 gold. Even if she did, she probably wouldn’t use it.

“Wait a minute, wait here.”

Yoon Ah-jung quickly opened the hunter shop [in-game store].

“The vegetable market should also sell medieval clothes. Ah? Oh, come here.”

Yoon Ah-jung, who had been searching here and there, beckoned to the hunters except for Seo-ah. They flocked together and looked back and forth between the shop window and Seo-ah.

“How is it? Pretty, right?”

“Hmm, is it okay? Isn’t it more flashy in this kind of village?”

“How about it? They’ll think a princess has arrived. Pretending to be high-status might be advantageous.”

“I’m in favor.”

Kim Soo-hyuk laughed cheerfully and stepped back. Kang Hae-in didn’t say anything, and Song Jin-ho smiled awkwardly and looked at Seo-ah.

“What is it?”

As Seo-ah tried to see together, Yoon Ah-jung quickly dodged and pressed the payment button at the same time.

And what she was holding in her hand was a fancy dress with lots of frills.