I Became the Rankers’ Number One Pick - Chapter 1

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Seo-ah was fast asleep when she heard a strange beeping sound.

“Mmmph… Ugh.” She covered her ears, but the disturbance seemed like it was coming from inside her head.

A blue system window was floating in front of her eyes when she opened them.

[ If you don’t activate your capabilities as an S-class supporter within the given time period, you will die! (D-99) ]

Seo-ah rubbed her eyes.

Was she still dreaming?

Slap!

No, no she wasn’t.

“There was nothing like this yesterday…” she mumbled.

Of course, she’d fallen dead asleep the day before, so she hadn’t really read the system window or anything else.

‘…die! (D-99)’

‘…die! (D-99)’

‘…die! (D-99)’

Those letters stood out to her despite being the same size as the rest of the text.

“D-death!? I’ll… die?”

She hurriedly opened her status window.

[ STATUS ]

[ Park Seo-ah (21). Position: Healer (E-class), Supporter(!) (S-class/Locked). Title: None. Life: 10/10. Mana: 12/12. Stats: Insignificant and cannot be displayed (Values below 1 are not displayed). Physical Strength: 3. Mental Strength: 10. Active Skills(!): Recovery (Lv. 1), Locked(!). ]

“Yeah, there was no such thing…”

Seo-ah berated herself for not paying more attention to her notifications.

[ If you don’t activate your capabilities as an S-class supporter within the given time period, you will die! (D-99) ]

The words were still there, clear as day.

“So, what is a… ‘supporter’?”

As if responding to her musing, the words in the status window sparkled. She tapped on them.

[ Supporter: A person who boosts morale, provides encouragement. ]

“…”

Seo-ah didn’t know that the system window included dictionary functions. Astonished she set her eyes on the other unfamiliar words on the status window.

[ Skill Activation Guide ]

“This might help.”

Then her shoulders trembled, her face turning red.

[ Mission 1: Touch the Hunter ]

“You want me to t-touch…? Where…?”

***

Yesterday.

Rumble.

“Hic!”

“Shh.” Seo-ah quickly pulled the panicking child into her arms.

Crunch. Crunch.

A toad-like, house-sized monster was stomping closer, all while chewing something.

She didn’t even want to think about what that was. When she was first caught in the gate, there were definitely dozens of people with her, but now most of them had disappeared.

‘We’re the only ones left.’

The handful of survivors was now hiding under the rubble of the collapsed building.

“Ugh…”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The monster’s steps grew louder as they approached. Its large feet became visible through the rubble.

Seo-ah hugged the child tightly and screwed her eyes shut. Those who were gasping in pain also covered their noses and mouths. From what they’d seen so far, the monsters in this location were particularly sensitive to noises.

‘How long has it been?’

Fortunately, the toad passed them entirely and went farther and farther away.

She sighed in relief as soon as the footsteps became inaudible, then glanced at her watch.

‘It’s been a while…’

All gates were open for the first 30 minutes after their creation and remained closed for the next 1-2 hours.

In this world, the word ‘gate’ was used interchangeably with the concept of the entryway and the other world that lay beyond it.

So, if it was a ‘D-class gate’, it referred to both the world with mostly D-class monsters and the door to it.

Right now, their only hope was that they could escape in half an hour.

People crept back to Seo-ah.

“Hea… ler…”

“Oh.” She frowned, already exhausted from using unfamiliar skills.

However, she couldn’t just turn a blind eye to those who were suffering.

“…Show me.”

“Thank you, Healer!”

In the end, she treated every last person.

“Healer, are you alright?”

“Yes, yes. Let’s get a move on.” She waved their concern away.

They were in a devastated city, behind a gate that seemed to replicate the apocalypse one usually saw in the movies.

Seo-ah was an E-class healer, but in fact, she had never entered a gate before or used her skills properly.

‘If it weren’t for this situation, for that hunter’s sacrifice, I wouldn’t have revealed myself at all.’

“Oh, the gate…!”

Everyone raised their heads at someone’s hopeful cry.

Indeed, a blue vortex had appeared in the middle of a half-collapsed wall. Considering its size, though, it seemed that it could not accommodate the passage of a large group of people.

“Wow, I’m saved!”

The people cheered.

“Hush! If you shout like that, the monster…!” Seo-ah warned them, but it was too late.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

One of the monsters in this world ran to their hiding place.

“Let’s get out of here!” The man who was just in front of the gate ran in first.

On average, it took 5 seconds for a single person to pass. As the rumbling grew louder, people stampeded towards the gate in fear.

“Get out of my way! Next time, I’ll…!”

“Argh! Me first!”

The vibrations further weakened the collapsed building, causing concrete debris to fall from above.

“Run!” Seo-ah pushed the child in when there were only four of them left.

She was yanked away at that moment.

“Out of my way!”

“Ugh!”

Seo-ah was an E-class healer whose physical prowess was no different from that of ordinary people. Still, not a single one from those she’d healed thought to help her leave.

It was no time to be disappointed, though. From the sound of the monster’s trilling, it had probably already discovered them.

The frightened people screeched, having forgotten that they had to keep quiet.

In the meantime, there were only three of them left in this world. Then two.

Seo-ah tried to hide by sticking to the wall.

“Get away!” The man, who had clung to her when he had a broken foot, threw her to the floor without hesitation and scrambled to the gate.

“Mmph, that was too much.”

The monster was right above her, but she could no longer move.

‘I’m screwed.’

Its eyes stared down at her through the broken ceiling.

She was terrified.

It swung its arm once and the concrete was blown away entirely, the gray sky filling her vision.

Seo-ah couldn’t even lift a finger as she stared back at her looming death.

Just then, however, a blue window popped up.

[ The system has discovered your hidden abilities. ]

“…?”

The monster’s hand stopped moving. Everything went silent. It was as if time had stopped.

[ This process will take a few minutes… ]

She blinked. Was this a hallucination? The light one saw before death?

The window changed.

[ Park Seo-ah (21)… You are an S-class supporter (Locked)! ]

Well, she didn’t know what that was, but she knew what ‘S-class’ meant.

“What’s a supporter?” she blurted out.

But there was no answer, and the system window disappeared. At the same time, the monster’s hand quickly descended.

Seo-ah rolled sideways with all her might.

Bang! Crack!

There was a huge dent on the floor where she’d just been.

She managed to avoid the first attack, but she was still far from the exit. The monster struck again without giving her the time to breathe.

“Hah…”

There was no longer anywhere to go, and she really was exhausted.

Seo-ah crouched and covered her head.

Then she was lifted and placed right in front of the gate in an instant.

“Wha—?” She opened her eyes and saw the monster’s severed hand.

It backed away, howling in pain.

“…Oh.”

There was a very handsome man staring at her.

The turn of events seemed impossible, but… it was definitely something this man could do.

Seo-ah cried out in surprise, “Yoo Ji-an!”

Yoo Ji-an was an S-class hunter who was ranked first in Korea and third in the whole world. There was no one who didn’t know his face.

And he was looking at her wordlessly, the intensity of his gaze deafening.

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