The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 24

“Ah…”

 

Joo-ah let out a small gasp and looked up.

 

“Th-thank you, Hunter Shin Jae-rim.”

 

She thanked Jae-rim awkwardly as he held her head in his large palm. At the same time, the monster that had crashed into the glass wall fell to the floor and disappeared from the virtual training room.

 

Watching it happen, Jae-rim sighed and withdrew the hand that had been shielding her.

 

“You startled me.”

 

Jae-rim spoke in a low voice.

 

Joo-ah glanced around awkwardly, then replied sheepishly.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

She wasn’t sure if she needed to apologize to Jae-rim, but imagining him rushing over to her in a hurry made the words slip out naturally.

 

Jae-rim had just woken up when he noticed the A-rank monster flying toward Joo-ah, so he had rushed over to her.

 

Fortunately, there was a sturdy glass wall in front of Joo-ah, and it hadn’t broken.

 

That was only natural.

 

Far more intense battles had taken place in the training room thousands of times. If the glass could break from a collision like that, it would be difficult to continue other training sessions.

 

Besides, the monsters were virtual, so they couldn’t actually destroy the training room.

 

The training room itself was also a virtual space. No matter how badly it appeared damaged, everything returned to its original state once training ended.

 

Joo-ah awkwardly got to her feet. Jae-rim immediately entered the training room and tapped the 【End Training】 button above the system window.

 

The SS-rank monster that had remained behind finally disappeared. The training room, which had been filled with swirling dust, returned to its original state.

 

Jae-rim closed the training room door and came out. With a baffled expression, he asked Joo-ah,

 

“What on earth happened? The monsters were attacking others of their own kind, while Hunter Seo Joo-ah was standing outside watching them.”

 

It seemed Jae-rim had only seen the monster flying toward the glass wall. He clearly hadn’t witnessed Joo-ah training while casting magic on the monsters earlier.

 

Joo-ah glanced around for a moment before casually lying.

 

“I think there was a bug in the training room’s program. Virtual monsters suddenly appeared on their own and started fighting each other.”

 

Joo-ah continued with a shameless expression.

 

“It’s a good thing I wasn’t inside the training room. I almost got myself killed.”

 

“…Is that really true?”

 

Jae-rim still looked confused.

 

However, program errors occasionally occurred at the training center, so he had no choice but to accept her explanation. Otherwise, there was no other way to explain what he had just witnessed.

 

“I’ll have to contact the Association and ask them to inspect it.”

 

Joo-ah nodded as if it were a good idea.

 

“Oh, right.”

 

As if to change the subject, she glanced around and reached into her pocket as though she had just remembered something.

 

“Hunter Yoo Chan-hee told me to give you this.”

 

Jae-rim took the item she offered and looked at it in confusion.

 

“What is this?”

 

“He said they’re sleeping pills.”

 

Jae-rim’s face twisted at her answer.

 

“I clearly told him I didn’t need this kind of thing…”

 

Hearing him mutter, Joo-ah tilted her head slightly and spoke.

 

“Sleep is important, isn’t it? If it’s difficult to deal with the problem on your own, there’s nothing wrong with getting some help from medication.”

 

Jae-rim looked at the medicine in his hand, then raised his eyes to meet hers. Joo-ah smiled sweetly and added,

 

“Besides, you seemed to be sleeping quite soundly earlier. You didn’t wake up even when Hunter Yoo Chan-hee and I were talking right in front of you.”

 

After quietly listening to her, he spoke.

 

“Until now, I’ve never been able to get a proper night’s sleep. But recently, I’ve managed to sleep deeply a few times.”

 

She smiled warmly and replied,

 

“Really? That’s good to hear.”

 

Jae-rim gazed quietly at Joo-ah before asking in a matter-of-fact tone,

 

“And whenever I wake up after sleeping deeply, Hunter Seo Joo-ah is always standing in front of me.”

 

Caught off guard by his unexpected words, Joo-ah’s smile faded. She looked at Jae-rim with an awkward expression.

 

He asked in a low voice,

 

“Is it a coincidence?”

 

Joo-ah looked momentarily flustered before answering belatedly.

 

“Well, I suppose it is.”

 

Jae-rim nodded without showing any particular suspicion. Then, as if he had noticed something, his eyes widened slightly and his lips parted.

 

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah, has your level increased?”

 

He seemed to have only just noticed that her mana was different from usual.

 

Joo-ah smiled brightly and announced it proudly.

 

“Yes! I’m D-rank now.”

 

Jae-rim raised his hand and tapped her system window.

 

After confirming the information that read D-rank, just as she had said, he looked puzzled.

 

“How did you raise your level? Did you confront monsters when the Gate opened yesterday?”

 

“That’s right. I happened to acquire a skill then. Thanks to it, I survived the battle and even raised my level.”

 

Joo-ah briefly explained what had happened the previous day, looking pleased with herself.

 

“I did well, didn’t I?”

 

Jae-rim looked up from her system window. Seeing Joo-ah smiling happily, he gave her a slight smile in return.

 

“Yes, you did well. You worked hard.”

 

Joo-ah smiled beautifully, apparently pleased with his answer. However, not long afterward, she remembered something and wore an uncertain expression.

 

“Oh, but the Chairman caught me.”

 

At her sudden remark, Jae-rim furrowed his brow as if asking what she meant.

 

Joo-ah calmly added,

 

“He said he’d discipline me if I didn’t respond to the next emergency call.”

 

Understanding what she meant, Jae-rim let out a dry laugh.

 

“The Chairman said that?”

 

Joo-ah nodded emphatically, like a child reporting someone else’s misdeeds.

 

Jae-rim raised a hand and ran it through his hair, looking frustrated. His dark brown hair fell softly back into place.

 

“I’ll have to meet with the Chairman and discuss this.”

 

Joo-ah tilted her head at his words.

 

“Discuss what?”

 

Jae-rim looked at her seriously before speaking.

 

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah, the reason you shouldn’t climb the Tower with us isn’t simply because you’re lower-ranked than the rest of us.”

 

He paused to catch his breath before continuing slowly.

 

“If you go to the upper floors and encounter high-level monsters, you’ll be in danger. We might be able to protect you once or twice, but we can’t do that every time. Just like what happened at the banquet recently, the worst-case scenario could occur at any moment.”

 

In other words, he intended to visit the Chairman and ask him to transfer Joo-ah to a group suited to her rank. She simply wasn’t a good fit for their team.

 

He wasn’t wrong. Joo-ah had never intended to remain on this team in the first place.

 

Even though her rank had increased by one level, she was still far too weak to remain in a higher-ranked group.

 

There was no reason for her to feel hurt.

 

“I understand what you mean.”

 

Joo-ah nodded as she spoke.

 

Jae-rim said he would discuss it with the other team members after their vacation ended. Then, looking exhausted, he left the training room.

 

In the quiet silence, Joo-ah stared at the firmly closed door before turning around.

 

She picked up the flowerpot by the window and carried it to the table. Withered flowers rested in the pot.

 

Yeon-joo had searched every corner of the Awakener Training Center to find them for Joo-ah’s training.

 

After quietly looking at the flowerpot for a while, Joo-ah cast Restoration magic.

 

A single flower bloomed alone in the dry mound of soil. The quiet atmosphere felt especially bitter today.

 

When lunchtime arrived, Joo-ah headed to the cafeteria inside the training center. Perhaps because a special meal was being served that day, there were more people than usual.

 

Higher-ranked Hunters were always served expensive dishes, but Hunters below their rank could only enjoy an equal-quality meal once every three months.

 

For lower-ranked Hunters like Joo-ah, it was almost better to pay for lunch outside than eat at the cafeteria. She couldn’t afford to miss an opportunity like this.

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been treated like an actual person.”

 

Joo-ah muttered as she sat in a chair at the table. The food was served in courses, one after another.

 

The first course consisted of a light alcoholic drink to stimulate the appetite, boiled vegetables tossed in mayonnaise, and smoked salmon.

 

After that came warm soup, followed by the main course.

 

Joo-ah had not enjoyed such a filling meal in a long time. She finished her dessert and stood up. If she had been able to leave the cafeteria without anything happening, it would undoubtedly have been an extremely satisfying meal.

 

“Oh my, looks like our Joo-ah came for the special meal too!”

 

However, a voice calling out to her ruined her lunchtime.

 

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

 

It was the same group of people who had picked a fight with Joo-ah the last time she carried the flowerpot away.

 

One of the Hunters looked Joo-ah up and down before speaking with an unpleasant expression.

 

“You sure are walking around confidently for someone who only survived the banquet because of Boram. Did you even thank her?”

 

“Oh, that’s right. Boram accidentally saved her at the banquet, didn’t she? She didn’t even need to save someone like her.”

 

Mocking voices surrounded Joo-ah.

 

She naturally recalled the day the monsters had attacked the banquet.

 

Most of the people present believed Boram had awakened her potential and blocked the monsters’ attacks.

 

“Boram, why don’t you tell her yourself? She owes you her life, so shouldn’t you at least get a thank-you?”

 

Boram, who would normally have eagerly joined in, had remained silent. One of her friends spoke to her first.

 

Only then did Boram, who had kept her mouth shut the entire time, turn her head and look at Joo-ah.

 

It was their first encounter since they had lain side by side in the training center’s infirmary.

 

Boram’s gaze slowly lowered from Joo-ah’s face to the scarred back of her hand.

 

“Boram?”

 

When she didn’t say anything, her friend urged her to answer.

 

Even then, Boram continued staring at the back of Joo-ah’s hand with an expressionless face. Finally, she furrowed her brow and spoke.

 

“I don’t know. I’m hungry, so let’s just eat.”

 

Boram walked past her friends and headed toward a table. Her friends looked at her in confusion, then hurriedly followed.