The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 19

The voices of the people chatting noisily gradually died down. Every Hunter was staring at the same spot.

 

Jae-rim, whose expression had been stiff, widened his eyes in surprise. Yeon-joo and Chan-hee beside him looked just as astonished.

 

“…That’s impossible.”

 

Yeon-joo muttered under her breath, looking utterly bewildered.

 

Joo-ah and Boram, who had disappeared behind the thick white smoke, were standing there perfectly unharmed.

 

Joo-ah had one arm wrapped around Boram’s shoulders and her head turned to the side. She slowly shifted her gaze.

 

Among the many Hunters, she spotted her teammates standing with dazed expressions.

 

Without a word, Joo-ah glanced at Boram, who was leaning against her, then turned her head again to look at her teammates standing some distance away.

 

A strange silence settled over the room, as though every sound around them had been muted. Amid the silence, a refreshing notification rang in her mind.

 

【The Anonymous Constellation’s eyes sparkle as it asks how she liked borrowing its power.】

 

Joo-ah quietly stared at the status window floating before her, then curled her lips into a thin smile.

 

“How was it? It was fucking amazing.”

 

Joo-ah’s body immediately collapsed limply.

 

【Hunter Seo Joo-ah’s abilities cannot withstand the ‘God’s Protection’ skill, causing her to temporarily enter a ‘Sleep’ state. (Recovery time: 3 hours)】

 

As Joo-ah slumped over Boram’s body, Yeon-joo rushed toward them.

 

She placed her fingers beneath Joo-ah’s nose. Feeling her faint breathing, Yeon-joo let out a relieved sigh.

 

“She just fell asleep. Thank goodness.”

 

Jae-rim and Chan-hee approached from behind her. Chan-hee spoke with a bewildered expression.

 

“I really can’t understand her. Why would she bother saving a woman who was bullying her?”

 

Chan-hee was referring to the moment he had seen Lim Hyuk-jae trying to kill Boram.

 

Jae-rim furrowed his brows and spoke.

 

“More importantly, how did she survive? Did the monsters disappearing somehow affect their attacks?”

 

Chan-hee replied indifferently.

 

“I’ve never seen that happen before. Even when monsters disappear, the attacks they’ve already launched usually remain.”

 

Yeon-joo, who was carefully checking Joo-ah’s condition, spoke in a casual tone.

 

“If it wasn’t Hunter Seo Joo-ah’s power, then it must have been this woman’s ability.”

 

She pointed her chin toward Boram.

 

“Of course, it makes no sense for a B-rank Hunter to withstand an S-rank monster, but there have been several cases where someone’s dormant power erupted at the worst possible moment.”

 

After saying that, Yeon-joo turned toward Boram’s teammates, who were standing together, worrying about their own safety.

 

“How long are you going to keep pretending you don’t know her? Hurry up and take her away.”

 

Only then did Boram’s teammates hurriedly approach and help carry her away.

 

Meanwhile, Association staff members were slowly guiding the Hunters outside from one corner of the banquet hall.

 

The people who had been crowded together began leaving one by one. Jae-rim carried Joo-ah on his back while Yeon-joo supported her.

 

“Hey.”

 

Someone called out to them as they were about to leave the banquet hall.

 

“You impressive Hunters should at least greet each other when you meet, don’t you think?”

 

Lim Hyuk-jae approached them with an unpleasant smile. Yeon-joo and Jae-rim, who didn’t know who he was, looked puzzled. Chan-hee’s expression, on the other hand, changed ever so slightly.

 

Lim Hyuk-jae.

 

Aside from Eun-young, he was one of the few members of the Elite Unit whom Chan-hee knew personally.

 

After spotting Chan-hee, Hyuk-jae greeted him as if they were old acquaintances.

 

“Hunter Yoo Chan-hee, you keep getting more handsome. Must be those superior genes of yours.”

 

He patted Chan-hee’s shoulder in a friendly manner before glancing at Joo-ah, who was sleeping soundly on Jae-rim’s back.

 

“I was wondering who was making such a fuss, only to find out it’s a member of our impressive Higher-Ranked Group.”

 

Hyuk-jae muttered sarcastically.

 

Yeon-joo asked Chan-hee if he knew the man, but he didn’t answer.

 

Hyuk-jae, meanwhile, looked displeased as he stared at Joo-ah, who was peacefully asleep on Jae-rim’s back.

 

He turned toward Chan-hee and spoke.

 

“I can let the other Hunters slide, but you and I should at least acknowledge each other, Hunter Yoo Chan-hee.”

 

He added, stretching his lips into a long smile.

 

“The world is already harsh enough. People who know each other should get along, don’t you think?”

 

Chan-hee looked completely unwilling but gave him a brief nod.

 

Hyuk-jae let out a mocking laugh before walking past them and leaving the banquet hall.

 

Yeon-joo frowned and asked Chan-hee.

 

“Who on earth is that guy? Why are you so intimidated by him?”

 

It was the first time she had seen Chan-hee act so stiffly around another person.

 

He was one of the few SS-rank Hunters in South Korea, yet he had completely dropped his playful demeanor and adopted such a serious expression. She couldn’t understand why.

 

Furthermore, Hyuk-jae was the only Hunter who wasn’t wearing a uniform. Yeon-joo wondered whether he belonged to an outside organization or was a Hunter affiliated with the Special Awakener Association like them.

 

Jae-rim also quietly waited for Chan-hee’s answer.

 

Chan-hee let out a small sigh before speaking.

 

“You don’t need to know. Getting involved with him will only cause trouble.”

 

He slipped both hands into his pockets and began walking.

 

Yeon-joo and Jae-rim looked puzzled, but Chan-hee’s expression made it clear that he didn’t want to talk about it, so they didn’t press him any further.

 

Jae-rim slowly started walking with Joo-ah on his back. Yeon-joo followed behind them.

 

Joo-ah woke up in the infirmary inside the training center. When she raised her upper body, she saw Boram lying on the bed beside hers.

 

Joo-ah quietly watched her before closing her eyes and holding her head. Her headache felt as though her skull were about to split apart.

 

【The Anonymous Constellation says her body hasn’t fully recovered yet and tells her to stay in bed a little longer.】

 

Joo-ah slowly opened her eyes, which she had closed while holding her head.

 

She had nearly lost her life to the S-rank monster’s attack. The only reason she had survived was the power of the Constellation.

 

【God’s Protection.】

 

It was an extraordinary skill that made her temporarily invincible with the help of an omnipotent God.

 

When the S-rank monster’s attack was about to hit her, Joo-ah had selected God’s Protection from her system window in the briefest instant.

 

After that, there was no need to explain what happened.

 

All her stats had reached the highest possible range. They had increased far beyond the limits of her usual numbers, becoming so immense that she could easily have been mistaken for an SSS-rank Hunter.

 

No, perhaps her power had been even greater than that.

 

With such strength, stopping an S-rank monster’s attack hadn’t been particularly difficult.

 

Her invincibility lasted until almost all her stamina and mana had been depleted. By the time Joo-ah lost consciousness, the power had disappeared as well.

 

Lowering the hand she had placed on her head, Joo-ah muttered.

 

“But how were all my stats completely full? Even if I hadn’t used much stamina, more than half of my mana had already been depleted…”

 

There were conditions for using God’s Protection. Both her stamina and mana had to be completely full.

 

At the time, she had poured all her mana into the barrier, leaving her with less than half. On top of that, she had used Purification magic on Boram.

 

She could have used all her remaining Low-Grade Mana Recovery Potions, but before she could do anything, her stats had already increased, and the monster’s attack had immediately followed.

 

Joo-ah turned her gaze toward Boram, who was lying on the adjacent bed. Her chest slowly rose and fell as she breathed.

 

Joo-ah remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. Then someone opened the infirmary door and walked inside.

 

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah.”

 

The person who had come to the infirmary was none other than Jae-rim.

 

He approached the bed where Joo-ah was lying.

 

“Are you feeling any better?”

 

Joo-ah nodded, looking surprised by his question.

 

“Yes, I’m fine.”

 

“I see. That’s a relief.”

 

At his quiet response, Joo-ah gave a small laugh and spoke.

 

“This is really unexpected. I thought you wouldn’t care much about what happened to me, Hunter Shin Jae-rim.”

 

She hadn’t meant to be sarcastic. She was genuinely surprised that he had come to visit her.

 

His soft-looking light brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes gave him a calm and gentle appearance. His neatly worn uniform made him look even more proper and composed.

 

Perhaps because of that, he seemed like someone who would smile warmly at anyone and treat people kindly.

 

But in reality, he was the exact opposite.

 

Jae-rim seemed like someone who had built a thick wall around himself to prevent others from getting too close.

 

Joo-ah had never seen him smile.

 

There was a coldness about him, as though he lacked warmth.

 

Although he had come all the way to the infirmary to see her, it felt like nothing more than an obligatory gesture.

 

Jae-rim spoke with an expressionless face.

 

“The shadow of death always follows Hunters. Even if Hunter Seo Joo-ah had met an unfortunate end because of this incident, I would have calmly prepared your funeral.”

 

Joo-ah let out a derisive snort.

 

“That’s a bit harsh. You’re telling me you would have held my funeral while speaking to me when I’m perfectly alive?”

 

“I’m saying this because you seem unaware of something, Hunter Seo Joo-ah.”

 

He fell silent for a moment and looked at her before continuing in a composed voice.

 

“We’re only temporary teammates. Therefore, we shouldn’t expect anything from each other. We simply need to maintain a reasonable level of courtesy.”

 

Joo-ah tilted her head slightly and asked.

 

“Then did you come to the infirmary just now simply to be polite, Hunter Shin Jae-rim?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

His answer was cold. But Joo-ah didn’t seem bothered. Instead, she flashed him a wide grin.

 

“Still, showing courtesy to a temporary teammate isn’t necessarily easy. So I’ll thank you for that.”