The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 11

Joo-ah ground out a curse and tightened her grip on the sword in her hand.

 

She let out a helpless sigh at the sight before her.

 

“It’s not fair when it’s one against a whole crowd.”

 

Joo-ah muttered quietly as she looked at the numerous monsters gathering in front of her.

 

Just then, the monster she had fought first began letting out another deafening roar.

 

Only then did she understand.

 

The roar was a way of calling its companions.

 

The other monsters had gathered here after hearing the noise it made.

 

“Damn it.”

 

Joo-ah quickly turned around and swung her blade at the monster she had fought first. Its weak spot was its head.

 

Her massive longsword struck the monster’s head precisely, and it collapsed on the spot.

 

But the fight had only just begun.

 

The other monsters charged at Joo-ah in an instant. She swung her blade frantically without even stopping to catch her breath.

 

Amid the chaos, a blue system window appeared before her eyes, accompanied by a cheerful notification sound.

 

【Hidden Quest, ‘Duel Against Monsters’ Completed!】

 

【First Awakening Unlocked.】

 

【Check ‘Personal Information’ for Details!】

 

She remembered the contract with the Constellation that she had almost forgotten.

 

Perhaps the skill she had just learned could help her deal with this shitty situation more easily.

 

Joo-ah swung her blade to push the monsters back and quickly tapped the system window.

 

【Special Skill: Angel’s Blessing】

 

First Awakening: Divine Protection

 

Second Awakening: ??? (Defeat 100 monsters. 0/100)

 

Joo-ah tapped the words ‘Divine Protection’ once more. The detailed description of the skill appeared before her eyes.

 

【Divine Protection: With the help of an omnipotent God, you become temporarily invincible. (Requires all Mana.)】

 

“Holy shit, this is ridiculously good!”

 

Her clear mutter drew a response from the Constellation.

 

【Anonymous Constellation boasts that their big sister still doesn’t seem to realize who she has contracted with.】

 

“If it was this good, you should’ve told me sooner! I could’ve gone around beating up anything I found and learned the skill earlier.”

 

【Anonymous Constellation screams that their big sister is cute for getting angry at them when she was the one who wasn’t interested.】

 

“Your idea of what’s cute is weird. Get a grip.”

 

While attacking a monster with her longsword, Joo-ah kicked another monster in the abdomen as it bared its sharp teeth at her from the side.

 

For now, she needed to buy time. She could only use Divine Protection when her Mana was completely full.

 

The Restoration magic she used on herself only restored her stamina. To replenish her Mana, she had no choice but to buy time and wait for it to recover naturally.

 

【Mana: 179 / 193 (+1)】

 

Because her level was low, her recovery speed was inevitably slow.

 

She saw the monsters charging toward her again. Joo-ah ground out another curse.

 

“At this rate, that skill is just a pie in the sky. I’ll get to see heaven before I can even try using it.”

 

She barely dodged a monster charging at her and was about to resume attacking when…

 

BANG!

 

At the gunshot from the opposite side, Joo-ah’s eyes widened.

 

BANG!

 

BANG!

 

Bullets flew from somewhere, striking the monsters’ heads one after another with flawless accuracy.

 

Normally, when Hunters killed monsters, their corpses remained until the boss was defeated.

 

BANG!

 

But the bullets fired from a Taser Gun made even the monsters’ corpses disappear completely.

 

That meant the attacker’s rank was so absurdly high that it couldn’t even be compared to that of ordinary monsters.

 

“I didn’t expect to run into you in a place like this, Miss Seo Joo-ah.”

 

Tae-jun approached her as he put his Taser Gun into his inventory. The countless monsters that had surrounded the area had already vanished without a trace.

 

Joo-ah stared at him in surprise.

 

“…Chairman?”

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

Unable to hide her confusion at Tae-jun’s sudden appearance, she nodded.

 

“No. Thank you for helping me.”

 

Joo-ah secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

 

She had almost revealed that she was a Hunter who had contracted with a Constellation.

 

“What were you doing here alone?”

 

Tae-jun asked as he looked down at her.

 

Joo-ah put the longsword in her hand into her inventory before answering.

 

“A monster pretended to be a person and tricked me, so I somehow ended up here.”

 

“Intelligent monsters use all sorts of methods to harm people. In particular, they can make loud noises to attract nearby companions, so you need to be careful.”

 

“Yes. I was so startled when the monsters suddenly swarmed toward me.”

 

Joo-ah gave an awkward smile before lowering her head.

 

“Thank you for your help. I’ll head back to the training room now.”

 

Since he suspected that she was a Contractor, it was better to keep their interaction as brief as possible.

 

Joo-ah naturally walked past him, intending to leave, but Tae-jun turned around and called out to her.

 

“Miss Seo Joo-ah.”

 

Joo-ah stopped and turned back with a puzzled expression. Tae-jun quietly met her gaze before speaking.

 

“It seems you’re left-handed.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I noticed you were holding your sword in your left hand earlier.”

 

When had he even noticed that?

 

Joo-ah’s eyes darted around before she replied with a straight face.

 

“No, I’m ambidextrous.”

 

At her response, Tae-jun slipped his hands into his pockets and curved his lips into a faint smile.

 

“It’s not unusual to find ambidextrous Hunters. Being able to handle a weapon flexibly with both hands is more advantageous when fighting monsters than relying on just one.”

 

“…”

 

“However, most Hunters become ambidextrous through training, so it’s usually possible to tell which hand they used more often before.”

 

He tilted his head slightly and added,

 

“Like how you swing your sword with your left hand more often, Miss Seo Joo-ah.”

 

He was right. Hunters who became ambidextrous through training generally still favored their right hand.

 

“I knew a Hunter who was also skilled with her left hand.”

 

At Tae-jun’s next words, Joo-ah held her breath.

 

“Although she still hasn’t woken up in the hospital.”

 

It wasn’t difficult to figure out who he meant.

 

Someone Tae-jun knew well, who favored her left hand and was currently lying unconscious in a hospital.

 

Kwon Eun-young.

 

He was talking about her.

 

“I’m not sure why I suddenly thought of that Hunter. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t seen someone hold a sword with their left hand in such a long time.”

 

After finishing his sentence, Tae-jun walked away first.

 

Joo-ah had never expected to hear her own name brought up by him, and she stared blankly at his retreating figure.

 

The sun slowly emerged from behind the clouds. The monsters threatening the people had disappeared, suggesting that the summoned Hunters had safely defeated the boss.

 

Only then did Joo-ah finally begin to move again.

 

Joo-ah was about to enter the special-class room at the training center when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

 

“…Chan-hee oppa…”

 

She had spotted a man and a woman tangled together on the sofa inside the room.

 

The woman’s top was half removed, while the man straddling her leisurely rubbed his face against her hair and kissed her skin.

 

Joo-ah stood there holding the doorknob, wondering what to do.

 

Should she quietly leave and pretend she hadn’t seen anything? Or should she ignore Chan-hee’s outrageous behavior in a shared space and head straight to the training room?

 

Today was the day her teammates were returning to the training center.

 

Joo-ah, who usually arrived at the special-class room earlier than everyone else, had taken her time getting ready today and arrived at the training center around the time her teammates were expected to return.

 

Was that the problem?

 

She had ended up witnessing something she never expected, in a room where neither Jae-rim nor Yeon-joo had arrived yet.

 

“Mmm, that tickles…”

 

The woman giggled with a flushed face and pulled Chan-hee closer to her.

 

Chan-hee grabbed both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head. Grinding out a curse, he kissed her even more passionately.

 

Joo-ah stared at them in disbelief. How absorbed in each other did they have to be to engage in such intense physical affection without even noticing someone had entered?

 

It was almost embarrassing to interrupt them.

 

In the end, Joo-ah let out a small sigh and prepared to leave the special-class room. She had no choice but to wait in the hallway until Yeon-joo and Jae-rim arrived.

 

However, Chan-hee’s movements abruptly stopped while he was entangled with the woman.

 

Joo-ah paused while closing the door and looked at him.

 

“Chan-hee oppa, don’t stop…”

 

The woman’s coquettish voice echoed through the quiet room.

 

Forgetting that she had been about to leave, Joo-ah stared at the woman with fascination as she drew out the last word.

 

Chan-hee had been kissing the woman’s collarbone, but he raised his head. At the same moment, his eyes met Joo-ah’s.

 

“What’s wrong? Is someone here?”

 

The woman looked up at Chan-hee and tried to turn toward the door.

 

“No.”

 

But he cupped her face with his large hand and turned her back toward him.

 

Chan-hee’s lips curved

smoothly into a smile.

 

“Nobody’s here.”

 

As if nothing had happened, he began kissing the woman’s lips again, sucking on them without any restraint.

 

Then his gaze slowly lifted and settled on Joo-ah, who was still standing by the door.