The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 6

Tower, Floor 999.

 

A massive bolt of lightning struck the end of the spiraling staircase. At the same time, bat-shaped monsters let out shrill cries and collapsed.

 

“You’re in the way.”

 

Se-hyeon, who was controlling a wolf-like monster, spat out irritably. Eun-young, watching him from right behind, clicked her tongue.

 

“Why waste your energy on low-level monsters?”

 

As they climbed the stairs, they reached the final floor, where a chilling silence hung in the air.

 

Chae-rin, her red hair tied up in a bun, looked puzzled.

 

“Where are the monsters? The final boss managing the Tower should be here.”

 

As she looked around, Eun-young pointed somewhere.

 

The final floor of the Tower was circular. In a secluded corner that Chae-rin had failed to notice, there was a massive chair.

 

Someone was sitting in it with their back turned to them.

 

“What the… Is that a person?”

 

Chae-rin muttered, frowning.

 

The person was facing away from them in the enormous chair, so they could not see his face. However, the end of his sleeve resting on the armrest caught their attention.

 

A pitch-black suit.

 

Two golden buttons on it.

 

The back of his hand, resting on the armrest, was marked by faint wrinkles and prominent veins.

 

His fingers tapped against the armrest a couple of times.

 

Se-hyeon, who had been silently watching ahead, took a step backward as if he had sensed something.

 

“…That’s no ordinary human.”

 

Chae-rin looked at Se-hyeon with a grim expression. He turned toward her and spoke urgently.

 

“We have to run. That thing isn’t someone we can fight.”

 

Se-hyeon possessed a skill that allowed him to manipulate souls, so he could estimate an opponent’s abilities without even checking the system window.

 

Eun-young, on the other hand, could only obtain information about monsters through the system window. She scanned the boss’s level.

 

“I said we don’t have time for that right now!”

 

Se-hyeon shouted in frustration.

 

But it was already too late.

 

The boss’s hand, which had been tapping the armrest, suddenly stopped. Then he summoned something above the Tower.

 

“Damn it.”

 

Se-hyeon muttered a curse and quickly took control of the wolf monster in front of them.

 

However, before the creature summoned from the white light could even take shape, it killed the wolf monster in a single blow.

 

THUD!

 

A massive hand swept through the air, creating a powerful gust of wind.

 

Chae-rin hurriedly pulled two swords from her inventory.

 

The sharp sound of blades rang out.

 

The white light blocking their vision faded, revealing a monster that spread its enormous wings.

 

Chae-rin stared ahead in shock and shouted.

 

“W-what is that?!”

 

Se-hyeon, gritting his teeth beside her, spoke.

 

“Can’t you tell? It’s a dragon.”

 

The moment he finished speaking, the dragon soared toward the ceiling. An eerie sense of pressure swept over them.

 

Chae-rin exclaimed in disbelief.

 

“Just what is that boss? How can it summon something like a dragon so casually?!”

 

It was Eun-young who answered her question.

 

“I don’t know, either. Everything in the system window says it’s impossible to measure.”

 

This time, Eun-young moved her finger toward the dragon.

 

“Huh? What is this now?”

 

At the dismayed sound of her voice, Chae-rin gave her a look that seemed to ask what she had found this time.

 

Eun-young shifted her gaze toward the dragon, her expression hardening as she muttered.

 

“…This is a rank I’ve never seen before.”

 

【Dark Attribute Dragon: EX-Rank】

 

At that moment, a magnificent light began gathering inside the dragon’s mouth. It was a strange energy so intense that it seemed capable of blinding them.

 

Fear washed over them.

 

Chae-rin’s hands trembled as she gripped her swords.

 

Even Se-hyeon, who had been staring at the dragon, could do nothing.

 

It was a suffocating fear.

 

No, it was something even more terrifying.

 

Eun-young stepped forward.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

She firmly clasped Chae-rin’s and Se-hyeon’s hands and spoke calmly.

 

“We’re not going to fall apart over a fight like this.”

 

Black flames began to seep from Eun-young’s body. Her powerful mana enveloped her teammates, forming a sturdy barrier around them.

 

“We can’t let things end this pointlessly. Right? Think about how hard we worked to get here.”

 

Soon, a corrupted beam of light erupted from the dragon’s mouth and swallowed Eun-young and her teammates whole. A tremendous explosion shook the Tower.

 

The black flames surrounding them slowly faded away.

 

Joo-ah’s eyes flew open.

 

She stared at the ceiling with a confused expression for a moment before letting out a distant sigh.

 

She hated being bound by the past and had tried not to think about it. Yet, in the end, those memories had found their way into her dreams, forcing her to relive them.

 

Joo-ah sat up and covered her forehead with one hand.

 

A throbbing headache washed over her.

 

Joo-ah went to the special-class room early that morning.

 

After spending the night haunted by an unexpected nightmare, she planned to take advantage of the time before her teammates arrived to get some training done.

 

However, one of her teammates had arrived even earlier than she had.

 

“Why is he sleeping here…?”

 

It was Jae-rim, lying asleep on the sofa.

 

His tightly closed eyelids were visible beneath his soft, light-brown hair. She had no idea how long he had been there, but he seemed to be sleeping quite deeply.

 

Joo-ah silently looked down at him before turning to enter the training room.

 

“…Please.”

 

Just then, a faint voice slipped from Jae-rim’s lips as he lay in a deep sleep.

 

Joo-ah stopped walking and looked at him.

 

“Don’t die…”

 

Jae-rim’s brows were tightly furrowed.

 

He seemed to be dreaming, and the way he pressed his lips together made him look heartbroken.

 

Tears had gathered beneath his long eyelashes. The tears, barely clinging to his eyes, finally spilled over and rolled down his cheeks.

 

Joo-ah looked at him in confusion.

 

Who was he pleading with so desperately not to die?

 

In truth, the word death was not unfamiliar among Hunters. Their work involved so many hardships and dangers that the government even provided them with generous hazard pay.

 

Joo-ah raised her hand and touched his system window. Among the various pieces of information, one line caught her attention.

 

―Special Note: The team was reorganized three years ago due to an unexpected accident.

 

Perhaps the nightmare he was experiencing was closely connected to the unexpected accident mentioned in his system information.

 

Joo-ah turned back around instead of continuing toward the training room.

 

She quietly watched Jae-rim sleeping on the sofa before raising her hand and gently covering his eyes.

 

A warm sensation flowed through her hand and into his skin.

 

It was one of Joo-ah’s magic abilities, Purification.

 

Although her stats were considerably low, the purity of her magic was exceptionally high.

 

That meant she could at least help stabilize Jae-rim’s current condition a little.

 

At the very least, she could help him sleep peacefully without having nightmares.

 

“…”

 

Joo-ah withdrew her hand.

 

The deeply furrowed lines between Jae-rim’s brows had relaxed. His tears had stopped flowing, too.

 

In the quiet room, only the faint sound of Jae-rim’s breathing could be heard.

 

After watching him silently for a moment, Joo-ah walked into the training room.

 

A blue system window appeared before her eyes.

 

【Select a virtual monster to fight.】

 

【A-Rank】

 

【S-Rank】

 

【SS-Rank】

 

【SSS-Rank】

 

【Random】

 

Since the special-class room was where higher-ranked groups trained, the monsters available for summoning started at A-rank.

 

Joo-ah hesitated for a moment.

 

For an E-rank Hunter to summon an A-rank monster was practically an act of suicide.

 

Although the monsters were virtual, the damage they inflicted was the same.

 

However, it did not take her long to make up her mind.

 

Joo-ah touched 【A-Rank】 with her finger. At the same time, white light surged from the center of the training room, and a muscular monster appeared.

 

Joo-ah immediately took a longsword from her inventory. Her usual specialty had been the taser gun, but it was not suitable for Seo Joo-ah’s body.

 

A sword that consumed the least amount of mana was a better choice.

 

A lion-like monster began charging toward her. Joo-ah stood her ground instead of running away. The monster attacked her with its sharp teeth, and she quickly blocked it with her sword, trying to push it back with all her strength.

 

However, her defense and physical strength were far too weak. The monster’s weight forced Joo-ah’s feet backward.

 

In the end, she changed her attack pattern. She stomped on the monster’s body, leaped upward, and attempted to plunge her blade into it in one swift strike. The weaker she was, the more advantageous it would be to shorten the duration of the battle.

 

Quickly, and as fast as possible.

 

Joo-ah gritted her teeth and swung her sword. But the monster was faster. It bit her in an instant and threw her forcefully to the ground.

 

“Ugh.”

 

A terrible pain spread throughout her body. But before she even had time to fully register the pain, the monster charged at her again.

 

Joo-ah rolled sideways to barely avoid the attack and picked up the sword lying on the floor. When the monster thrust its face toward her, leading with its teeth, she drove the blade into its face.

 

The virtual monster’s agonized roar echoed loudly throughout the training room. However, the room was thoroughly soundproofed, so the noise would not reach outside.

 

The monster thrashed its head from side to side in a frenzy. Joo-ah’s body was dragged along with the sword she was holding, but she quickly stepped on the blade and climbed onto the monster’s body.

 

The sword remained embedded in the monster’s face, refusing to fall out even after its owner had let go.

 

Struggling to hold on to the monster’s back, Joo-ah used her other hand to take the taser gun from her inventory.

 

She pointed the muzzle directly at the monster’s head.

 

A monster’s weakness was usually its head. Therefore, even with a weak taser gun, she could kill it in three shots as long as she aimed properly.

 

Just as Joo-ah was about to pull the trigger, the training room door suddenly burst open behind her.

 

The monster she had been clinging to abruptly disappeared.

 

As a result, Joo-ah fell throu

gh the air and hit the floor, letting out a small groan.

 

Someone quickly approached her and suddenly shouted.

 

“Have you lost your mind?!”

 

Joo-ah rubbed her painfully bruised elbow and raised her head.

 

The person standing before her was none other than Jae-rim.