The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 18

Chan-hee, who was sitting in a chair across from them, curled his lips into a smirk as he watched a monster slowly emerge from the ground.

 

“You managed to summon such a powerful monster with that tiny amount of mana.”

 

Its appearance seemed no different from the monsters inside the barrier, but the energy radiating from it was clearly on another level.

 

Joo-ah moved her hand and opened the monster’s system window.

 

Level: S-rank

 

Attribute: Metal

 

Special Skill: Laser Beam

 

Special Notes: Appears to be a monster from Tower 6, Floor 726 Gate.

 

The Hunters inside the banquet hall stared at the monster with tense expressions.

 

S-rank.

 

It had far higher stats than the monsters trapped inside the barrier.

 

Perhaps the only saving grace was that they were facing it outside the Tower.

 

Generally, monsters were strongest inside the Towers they inhabited.

 

“Wow, their teammate is about to die, but they’re too scared to even approach.”

 

Yeon-joo formed an ice crystal in her palm.

 

Chan-hee furrowed his brows and spoke.

 

“There’s no need to help them. People like that always end up grouped together anyway.”

 

However, someone ignored Chan-hee’s words and rushed forward. It was none other than Jae-rim.

 

He took the Sword of Destruction out of his inventory. It was a sword designed exclusively for S-rank Hunters, boasting tremendous destructive power and accuracy.

 

Jae-rim swung his blade, and a massive vortex engulfed the monster.

 

CRASH!

 

Nearby plates shattered, and chairs and tables overturned.

 

The monster let out a terrible shriek and threw Boram, whom it had been holding, against the wall. Joo-ah saw Boram swallow a groan and spit out blood.

 

There was no time to let their guard down.

 

The monster charged toward Jae-rim at tremendous speed. Jae-rim quickly raised his sword to defend himself, but the sheer weight of the attack forced him backward.

 

Chan-hee, who had been watching silently, cursed under his breath and took out his Taser Gun. Yeon-joo also unleashed the ice bombs she had formed in her palm toward the monster.

 

BOOM!

 

Their attacks struck one after another, turning the banquet hall into a disaster zone. All the Hunters watched the fight with bewildered expressions.

 

Joo-ah stared at the spot where the monster had been, her brows knitted together.

 

It was hidden beneath a cloud of white smoke. Its immense mana was still present. It clearly hadn’t suffered even the slightest damage.

 

“It’s underground! Be careful!”

 

At Yeon-joo’s warning, a faint tremor shook the ground. The monster burst out from the spot where Boram had fallen.

 

“Aaaah!!!”

 

The monster’s enormous hand struck her. Boram writhed in agony. Her entire body was already drenched in blood.

 

Even after seeing this, Boram’s teammates hesitated to act.

 

The other high-ranked Hunters merely watched, while the ordinary Hunters couldn’t even bring themselves to attempt an attack.

 

One of the monsters’ characteristics was that they tended to target whoever attacked them first.

 

That was why the Hunters weren’t moving.

 

They were either afraid of getting hurt or simply couldn’t be bothered.

 

Joo-ah almost let out a hollow laugh at such an obvious reason.

 

“You’re seriously getting on my nerves.”

 

Chan-hee cursed under his breath and fired his Taser Gun. When his Controller ability enhanced the special bullets, their attack power increased fivefold.

 

BANG!

 

The monster flew into the wall, releasing Boram from its grasp. Yeon-joo used ice magic to freeze it.

 

Joo-ah’s gaze remained fixed on Boram.

 

Her stamina had dropped considerably, but her mana remained unchanged.

 

If Boram lost consciousness or died, her remaining mana would disappear automatically. Unfortunately, her stamina was ridiculously high.

 

“We need to get rid of that woman’s mana. Otherwise, another monster will appear.”

 

As if he had read Joo-ah’s thoughts, Jae-rim spoke in a low voice.

 

CRASH!

 

“Another one! Another one appeared!!!”

 

Just as expected, an A-rank monster emerged outside the barrier.

 

Everyone began moving frantically.

 

Even the Hunter who had been pouring mana into the ice barrier didn’t know what to do. The mana flowing over the barrier trembled slightly.

 

Joo-ah shouted at him.

 

“Keep pouring your mana into the barrier! Otherwise, the monsters trapped inside will come out again!”

 

Only then did the Hunter refocus on releasing his mana.

 

Joo-ah turned her head and looked at Boram, who was lying miserably on the floor.

 

She had to get rid of Boram’s mana. Only then would the monsters stop approaching them.

 

【The Anonymous Constellation asks what you’re worrying about so much and recommends using a skill.】

 

Joo-ah wrinkled her nose.

 

“What skill could possibly help right now?”

 

She moved her hand and scanned her system window.

 

【Special Skill: Angel’s Blessing】

 

First Awakening: God’s Protection

 

Second Awakening: ??? (Defeat 100 monsters. 2/100)

 

Joo-ah moved her finger and tapped the words Angel’s Blessing.

 

Angel’s Blessing: Grants the power most needed at this very moment through an angel’s authority. (Failure rate: 87%)

 

To use her Special Skill, her mana had to be completely replenished. Fortunately, she could solve that problem with the several Low-Grade Mana Recovery Potions she had purchased in advance.

 

However, using her Special Skill at her current rank was dangerous. The failure rate was far too high.

 

If she failed, she would only waste her mana. Moreover, since she had already released the scent of mana by using an item, there was a high chance that another monster would appear.

 

If she encountered a monster while completely defenseless, she would be as good as dead.

 

But she couldn’t recklessly borrow a Constellation’s power in a place filled with so many people, either.

 

“You’re making a simple problem unnecessarily complicated. Just kill her.”

 

A man sitting casually on top of a table spoke without a care in the world.

 

Joo-ah turned toward the voice.

 

The man, dressed in casual clothes, chewed his gum noisily and pointed a finger. His gaze was directed at Boram, who lay on the floor. Black smoke began forming around her neck.

 

Joo-ah cursed under her breath and started walking.

 

Boram clutched her throat and coughed as if she were suffocating. Joo-ah quickened her pace.

 

For a moment, Jae-rim, Chan-hee, and Yeon-joo glanced in her direction. But when the monster broke through the ice, their attention immediately returned to the fight.

 

The battle resumed.

 

Joo-ah stopped when she reached her destination. At her feet lay Boram, her face deathly pale as she clutched her neck with both hands.

 

Joo-ah briefly raised her gaze. In the distance, she saw a blond-haired man watching her.

 

Name: Lim Hyuk-jae (Elite Unit)

 

Level: SSS-rank

 

Ranking: Korea No. 2 / International No. 32

 

Attribute: Darkness

 

Special Skill: Soul Collapse

 

Special Notes: Possesses many dangerous techniques that can inflict fatal damage.

 

Joo-ah had rushed over to prevent Boram’s death because she knew Lim Hyuk-jae wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with.

 

The Elite Unit was divided into two teams. Lim Hyuk-jae was a member of Team X.

 

His information would probably appear as Locked to everyone else. The Elite Unit’s information was normally hidden from ordinary Hunters.

 

The reason Joo-ah could see his information was probably that Eun-young resided inside her body.

 

Lim Hyuk-jae rarely attended Association events. However, whenever he caused trouble at the training center, Tae-jun would force him to attend events as punishment.

 

This was probably another such occasion.

 

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Lim Hyuk-jae to be here.

 

Joo-ah lowered her gaze from him and looked at Boram. Across the hall, her teammates were still confronting the monster.

 

“P-Please… help me…”

 

Boram noticed Joo-ah and managed to force out the words in a strained voice.

 

Joo-ah looked down at her with indifferent eyes before slowly bending her knees and crouching. Then she reached for Boram’s neck.

 

【The Anonymous Constellation urgently warns that if his big sister comes into contact with Lim Hyuk-jae’s ability, she’ll be left with an ugly scar on her hand.】

 

Black smoke was rising around Boram’s neck. Like a magnet, it crawled up Joo-ah’s hand. It felt as though her skin were burning away.

 

The sensation was deeply unpleasant.

 

“Please… save me…”

 

Boram raised her hand and grabbed Joo-ah’s wrist. Joo-ah studied her hand for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the black smoke.

 

A dazzling light flowed from Joo-ah’s hand.

 

Purification.

 

It was the magic she had previously used on Jae-rim when he couldn’t sleep because of his nightmares.

 

Since only a tiny amount of Lim Hyuk-jae’s mana had flowed into the smoke, she should be able to deal with it using her own power. However, the spell was too much for Boram, who had already suffered severe bruising.

 

The black smoke twisted and tangled into the golden light.

 

A moment later, the smoke lingering around Boram’s neck disappeared. Boram coughed weakly and gasped for breath.

 

Joo-ah looked at her own hand. Painful, uneven scars had formed on it, as if she had suffered burns.

 

Staring at them blankly, Joo-ah suddenly widened her eyes. She hurriedly tapped her system window.

 

Stamina: 263 / 263 (+67)

 

Mana: 193 / 193 (+137)

 

Joo-ah looked bewildered.

 

She couldn’t understand why her stamina and mana had suddenly increased. The ability she had used was Purification, not healing magic. Furthermore, healing magic used on herself couldn’t increase her mana.

 

“E-rank!!! Watch out!!!”

 

Chan-hee’s voice rang out from not far away.

 

Joo-ah hurriedly turned her head. At the same moment, the S-rank monster unleashed a massive beam of light in her direction.

 

It was the monster’s Special Skill, Laser Beam.

 

BOOM!!!

 

An enormous noise rang out as the surroundings were swallowed by white smoke. A heavy silence followed.

 

In an instant, the monsters trapped inside the barrier disappeared.

 

The S-rank monster and the A-rank monster that had attacked Joo-ah after detecting the scent of mana also vanished.

 

“The Hunters who were called in must have finally defeated the boss!”

 

Only then did the others breathe a sigh of relief.

 

However, Jae-rim, Chan-hee, and Yeon-joo stared helplessly at the spot where Joo-ah had been standing, their faces stiff with shock.

 

The white smoke slowly began to clear.