The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 1.2

“Did you hear the news? Hunter Min Chae-rin, who returned from the 999th-floor Tower in a coma, woke up after three years!”

 

“Of course I did. Everything was in chaos yesterday. I heard even the Association was turned upside down.”

 

Seo Joo-ah, who was heading to the Special Awakener Association, briefly stopped walking when she overheard the conversation beside her.

 

“No wonder, considering not a single Hunter who returned from there came back unscathed. Hunter Han Se-hyeon lost sight in one eye, and Hunter Kwon Eun-young still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

 

Joo-ah resumed walking. She had no time to waste standing around here.

 

Under normal circumstances, she would have entered the Awakener Training Center today. However, there was something strange about the team she had been assigned to yesterday. She needed to visit the Special Awakener Association and ask about it in person.

 

“How may I help you?”

 

“I’m registered with the Special Awakener Association. I think there might have been an error in my team assignment.”

 

“May I have your name?”

 

Without the slightest hesitation, she answered the receptionist’s question.

 

“Seo Joo-ah.”

 

The receptionist, who had been typing on her laptop, nodded.

 

“Team assignments are managed by the Management Department, so you can go to the third floor and ask them. I’ll contact them in advance.”

 

After watching the receptionist pick up the phone, Joo-ah was about to leave.

 

“Please wait a moment, Hunter Seo Joo-ah!”

 

If the receptionist hadn’t called out to her urgently while continuing the phone call, she would have already left.

 

Joo-ah turned back after having only half turned away.

 

The receptionist gestured for her to wait, apparently still on the phone.

 

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah, do you have some time right now?”

 

After finishing the call, the receptionist asked out of nowhere. Joo-ah furrowed her brows.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Apparently, instructions were given in advance to escort you to the Association Chairman’s office when you arrived.”

 

Joo-ah exclaimed in surprise.

 

“The Association Chairman’s office?!”

 

The receptionist shrugged as if she had no idea what was going on either.

 

Joo-ah wasn’t particularly pleased about this, but she couldn’t exactly refuse a summons from the Association Chairman.

 

“Please go right away! The Chairman’s office is on the twelfth floor!”

 

She could hear the receptionist shouting from behind her.

 

With heavy, dragging steps, Joo-ah made her way to the elevator. The doors opened shortly afterward, and she pressed the button for the twelfth floor.

 

The elevator slowly ascended.

 

“…I thought I could finally breathe easy since I hadn’t seen him in a while.”

 

She muttered something incomprehensible to herself. Soon, the elevator doors opened, revealing the Association Chairman’s office.

 

Joo-ah stared blankly at the sign above the door, looking completely drained.

 

She weakly knocked on the door. After a long while, a young man’s voice came from inside.

 

“Come in.”

 

Joo-ah reluctantly opened the door, her movements making it obvious that she had absolutely no desire to enter.

 

“Could you sit over there and wait for a moment?”

 

The Association Chairman hurriedly sorted through some documents and pointed toward the sofa.

 

Joo-ah walked over and sat down as though she were familiar with the place.

 

The Chairman glanced at her briefly before returning to the unfinished paperwork.

 

Even after a considerable amount of time had passed, he showed no sign of coming over to speak with her.

 

Just as Joo-ah was about to lose patience and ask how much longer she had to wait, he finally spoke.

 

“You don’t need any tea, do you?”

 

The Chairman had apparently finished sorting through his documents and was now sitting across from her with a smile.

 

“I don’t really like tea.”

 

Normally, tea is offered not because the host wants to drink it, but as a gesture of hospitality toward the guest, you know?

 

Joo-ah swallowed the words she wanted to say and simply nodded.

 

“You came to the Association because of a problem with your team assignment?”

 

Joo-ah answered calmly.

 

“Yes. I think there was an error in my team assignment.”

 

At her words, Tae-jun’s eyes quickly shifted from the documents to meet hers.

 

“I was the one who conducted the final review of the team assignments.”

 

He carelessly tossed the documents onto the table and crossed his legs arrogantly.

 

“I absolutely despise anything that isn’t perfect. So if there had been any mistakes in the team assignments, they wouldn’t have received my approval in the first place.”

 

Joo-ah slightly furrowed her brows and opened her mouth.

 

“But…!”

 

“Congressman Seo Jae-hyung.”

 

Tae-jun interrupted her with a mischievous smile, bringing up a name all too familiar to Joo-ah.

 

Her expression stiffened as she asked,

 

“…Are you saying my father was involved in my team assignment?”

 

“Otherwise, how could someone like Miss Seo Joo-ah, an E-rank, end up in a group consisting entirely of higher-ranked Hunters?”

 

Tae-jun spoke in a dry voice.

 

Only then did Joo-ah finally notice what had been bothering her from the beginning.

 

Ever since he had first met her, Tae-jun had consistently addressed her as ‘Miss Seo Joo-ah’. Although it might have seemed harmless on the surface, it was a subtle way of looking down on her.

 

Special Awakeners were generally addressed as Hunters. However, Tae-jun had been treating Joo-ah like an ordinary civilian all this time. To him, an E-rank wasn’t even worthy of being called a Hunter.

 

Joo-ah bit her lower lip before speaking again.

 

“Even so, this is far too dangerous. How can you expect me to train with a higher-ranked group when I’m only E-rank? Besides, once I enter the training center, I’ll be able to participate in actual combat…”

 

Those selected as Special Awakeners went through the Academy before entering the training center. The Academy focused on teaching basic knowledge, while the training center also involved actual combat.

 

In other words, they could enter the Tower and hunt monsters.

 

Being matched with a higher-ranked group meant that Joo-ah’s training courses would also be designed for higher levels. There was a high chance that her actual combat assignments would take place on the uppermost floors as well.

 

Tae-jun placed a hand against his forehead and spoke with an expression of sudden exhaustion.

 

“This is exactly why I dislike people who rely on their connections.”

 

His increasingly cold gaze swept over her.

 

“Do you think I’m someone you can push around, Miss Seo Joo-ah?”

 

Joo-ah remained silent.

 

“I’ve already informed the congressman that being matched with a higher-ranked group would put you in danger.”

 

Joo-ah couldn’t respond.

 

The team assignment had already been forced through at Seo Jae-hyung’s request. Now his daughter, Seo Joo-ah, had come to bring up the same issue all over again. Naturally, Tae-jun was displeased.

 

“I only wanted to see just how shameless you were in person, but that was a mistake.”

 

He stood up as though he had nothing more to discuss.

 

“You may leave now. Spending time in the same room with a low-ranked Hunter has given me a headache.”

 

Tae-jun turned his back and walked toward his desk.

 

Watching him quietly from behind, Joo-ah spoke in an unhurried voice.

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

Tae-jun stopped abruptly. He turned around with an incredulous expression.

 

“…What did you just say?”

 

His eyebrows twitched. Until then, he had looked bored, but Joo-ah’s words had clearly struck a nerve.

 

After all, an E-rank Hunter had just talked back to the Association Chairman himself. It was only natural for him to be taken aback.

 

However, Joo-ah knew Tae-jun very well.

 

He wasn’t the kind of person who could easily be swayed by flattery. He was stubborn and would firmly stand by what he believed was right.

 

Joo-ah was certain that even if a high-ranking official offered him money or fame, Tae-jun would never abandon his principles.

 

She spoke with an unconcerned expression.

 

“It’s just hard to believe that someone like you, Chairman, would simply take my father’s word for it.”

 

“…Are you suggesting that I agreed to Congressman Seo Jae-hyung’s request for some other reason?”

 

He let out a scornful laugh before continuing.

 

“Do I look like I have that much free time? Enough to spend so much of it on someone like Miss Seo Joo-ah, who’s only E-rank?”

 

“That’s something we can’t know for sure.”

 

Joo-ah replied with a light shrug.

 

She was certain that he had matched her with the higher-ranked group for some reason of his own. The only problem was that she couldn’t begin to guess what that reason might be.

 

“I don’t know what gives you the confidence to act so boldly.”

 

Apparently intrigued by her, Tae-jun returned to the sofa and sat down again.

 

“Still, you seem to be quite perceptive. Let’s have a slightly deeper conversation.”

 

“A deeper conversation?”

 

Joo-ah asked, frowning slightly.

 

“Recently, a strange rumor has been circulating within the Special Awakener Association.”

 

He continued, the corners of his lips curling into a smooth smile.

 

“It’s about a certain type of person whose existence hasn’t been clearly confirmed in our country yet. A ‘Contractor.'”

 

At the word Contractor coming from Tae-jun’s mouth, Joo-ah’s eyes widened.

 

A Contractor.

 

It was a term used to describe someone who had formed a contract with a Constellation. There were only around thirty such people overseas.

 

Constellations.

 

Great beings possessing supernatural abilities that surpassed the power of humans.

 

Hunters chosen by them could rise to the upper ranks in an instant, regardless of how low their original levels were.

 

There were many names used to refer to the Constellations.

 

Some called them gods who watched over humanity. Others called them the kings of the stars, while those who followed a religion sometimes referred to them as the Lord.

 

After watching Joo-ah with a meaningful expression for a moment, Tae-jun finally spoke again.

 

“Apparently, one of the students who graduated from the Academy this year has formed a contract with a Constellation.”

 

Joo-ah furrowed her brows. This was the first time she had heard that such a rumor was circulating within the Association.

 

With a relaxed expression, Tae-jun held up two fingers.

 

“There are only two things I know. The person graduated from the Special Awakener Academy this year, and they possess the light attribute.”

 

Only then did Joo-ah begin to understand why Tae-jun had specifically summoned her to his office.

 

“There were only three Hunters with the light attribute among this year’s Academy graduates.”

 

He raised his hand and opened Joo-ah’s system window.

 

【Name: Seo Joo-ah

 

Level: E-rank

 

Ranking: Unranked

 

Attribute: Light

 

Special Skill: Angel’s Blessing

 

Special Notes: Primarily uses healing abilities, but their effectiveness is limited due to her low rank.】

 

“Most light-attribute Hunters who have formed contracts with Constellations overseas have one thing in common. They’re all women.”

 

At Tae-jun’s words, Joo-ah let out a hollow laugh.

 

“Don’t tell me I’m the only woman with the light attribute among this year’s Academy graduates?”