The Struggles of the #1 Rank - Chapter 9

As Joo-ah hurried out of the training room, her teammates began preparing to leave. They checked the items in their system windows and inspected their inventories.

 

Emergency disaster alerts flooded their phones. An alarm sounded, announcing that monsters had appeared outside the training center.

 

Joo-ah quickly followed her teammates as they left the special-class room.

 

When she stepped outside the training center, people were moving in an orderly rush. The area was bustling and chaotic. Monsters resembling birds were flying wildly across the sky.

 

As they reached the fifth Tower, swarms of monsters rushed toward them and attacked. Jae-rim pulled out his taser gun and shot the monsters, followed by Yeon-joo, who unleashed her freezing magic.

 

Once the surrounding area had been cleared, they calmly made their way into the Tower.

 

Chan-hee and Yeon-joo entered first, while Joo-ah followed behind Jae-rim.

 

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah.”

 

Jae-rim, who had been walking ahead of her toward the Tower, suddenly stopped.

 

He turned around and met Joo-ah’s eyes.

 

With a firm expression, he spoke.

 

“Stay here.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Joo-ah asked as if she couldn’t understand what he meant. Jae-rim’s expression remained stiff as he spoke again.

 

“We can’t climb the Tower with you, Hunter Seo Joo-ah. You’re the one who knows the reason better than anyone.”

 

Joo-ah looked momentarily surprised by his words, then asked in a more subdued voice,

 

“Is it because of my rank?”

 

“That’s right. No E-rank Hunter has ever climbed the fifth Tower. If something goes wrong, it could cause serious trouble not only for you but for us as well.”

 

Joo-ah listened quietly before shifting her gaze toward Yeon-joo and Chan-hee. Neither of them reacted, seemingly agreeing with Jae-rim.

 

Joo-ah bit her lower lip and clenched her fists.

 

Her pride was hurt. She wanted to argue with him, but she couldn’t.

 

There wasn’t a single thing wrong with what Jae-rim had said.

 

The fifth Tower was filled with high-level monsters. With her severely limited stamina, joining them might indeed put her teammates in greater danger.

 

“…Understood.”

 

With no other choice, Joo-ah stepped back and nodded.

 

As soon as she answered, Jae-rim left with his teammates without the slightest hesitation.

 

Another team followed Joo-ah’s teammates into the Tower.

 

Joo-ah stared helplessly at the entrance she had been denied access to.

 

Why had she assumed she would naturally be allowed to enter with them?

 

She was no longer the No. 1-ranked Hunter or an SSS-rank Hunter.

 

For a moment, she had forgotten reality.

 

Lowering her gaze, Joo-ah gave a small, bitter laugh and turned away.

 

The real mistake had been assigning someone of her E-rank to a team of higher-ranked Hunters in the first place. If she had been assigned to a team with Hunters of similar ranks, she wouldn’t have been excluded like this.

 

It might even have been easier for her to improve her abilities.

 

When a Gate opened, teams that hadn’t received an emergency call were also allowed to climb the Towers freely. However, individual activity was prohibited, except for members of the elite units.

 

If Joo-ah wanted to climb a lower-level Tower, she needed her teammates to accompany her. But there was no way Hunters who only challenged high-level Towers would waste their time climbing lower floors with her.

 

It would be a waste of time.

 

As Joo-ah returned to the training center, she glared toward the Association.

 

“This is all that bastard Yoo Tae-jun’s fault.”

 

She cursed the Chairman of the Association for assigning her to such an absurd team.

 

Joo-ah entered the training center and looked for the receptionist in charge of the regular training rooms.

 

“Are there any regular training rooms available right now?”

 

The special-class rooms were assigned to fixed groups, who used their designated training rooms. Regular rooms, on the other hand, could be reserved by different teams as needed.

 

Normally, there were no vacant regular rooms, but many Hunters were currently climbing the Towers.

 

“May I have your name?”

 

The receptionist typed her name into a laptop, then tilted her head in confusion.

 

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah, you’re registered to use a special-class room.”

 

“My group assignment was messed up. Because of that, I haven’t even been able to use the training room properly.”

 

After Joo-ah explained the situation, the receptionist readily nodded.

 

“In that case, you’ll have to give it up as soon as another Hunter arrives. The rules generally prohibit someone assigned to a special-class room from using a regular room as well.”

 

“Yes, I’ll leave as soon as another team arrives.”

 

Having already learned about the receptionist’s personality back when she was Kwon Eun-young, Joo-ah had no trouble borrowing a regular training room.

 

The receptionist was flexible about allowing Hunters to use the training rooms according to their circumstances.

 

【Select a virtual monster to fight.】

 

【F-rank】

 

【E-rank】

 

【D-rank】

 

【C-rank】

 

【B-rank】

 

Unlike the special-class room assigned to Joo-ah, the regular room had no separate resting area for Hunters. It led directly into the training arena.

 

After thinking for a moment, Joo-ah repeatedly selected D-rank. Five D-rank virtual monsters appeared in the center of the training arena.

 

Joo-ah pressed the timer function on the watch around her wrist.

 

00:08:00

 

Her goal was to finish the training session within exactly eight minutes.

 

As the monsters charged toward her, Joo-ah reached into her inventory. She drew a sharp longsword and swung it through the air, producing a fierce rushing sound.

 

The monsters, which resembled four-legged beasts, attacked with their teeth bared.

 

Joo-ah swiftly dodged and thrust her sword into one monster’s head. Its roar echoed throughout the training room.

 

One monster disappeared.

 

There was no time to waste. Another monster attacked from behind, and she immediately swung her blade.

 

She was outnumbered. While Joo-ah focused on one side, a monster leaped at her from the opposite direction. In an instant, it knocked her to the ground.

 

“Damn it.”

 

She muttered a curse and stared at the monster that looked ready to devour her at any moment.

 

Its needle-sharp teeth were right in front of her eyes. Thick saliva dripped from the monster’s mouth onto her cheek.

 

Joo-ah raised her foot and slammed it into the monster’s stomach. As it fell backward, she seized the opportunity and swung her blade.

 

The monster collapsed after being struck by her sword, then disappeared in a flash of white light.

 

Three monsters remained.

 

There were about three minutes left.

 

Joo-ah charged toward them, her silver blade threatening the monsters.

 

Sensing danger, the monsters suddenly glowed white. The three of them merged into one.

 

A blue system window appeared before Joo-ah, displaying a message.

 

【The monsters have merged, increasing their level.】

 

【D-rank → C-rank】

 

In an instant, the monsters evolved into a single beast with three heads.

 

“Disgusting.”

 

Joo-ah muttered, furrowing her brows.

 

Red light gathered inside the monster’s mouths. In an instant, scorching flames burst toward her. With three heads, the monster could unleash a continuous stream of fire from its mouths.

 

Joo-ah quickly dodged the flames, but a small spark caught the edge of her uniform.

 

She brushed the fire off her clothes as if shaking away dust. While her attention was briefly distracted, the monster charged at her.

 

Joo-ah barely evaded its attack and tried to stab its back with her sword. However, the monster turned around even faster.

 

Its teeth snatched the sword away in an instant, and it began chewing the blade to pieces.

 

Joo-ah quickly pulled a taser gun from her inventory and pulled the trigger.

 

Bang!

 

Bang!

 

She tried to shoot each of the three heads in succession, but she ran out of mana before she could finish off the last one.

 

Joo-ah checked the timer.

 

00:00:28

 

There was hardly any time left. With no other choice, she returned the taser gun to her inventory and drew a dagger.

 

Now it was all or nothing.

 

Joo-ah rushed forward and swung her blade at the monster. It tried to attack her, but it was helpless against her swift strikes.

 

Squeal!

 

The monster let out one final groan as the blade pierced its head.

 

00:00:00

 

The timer ran out.

 

The monster disappeared, and Joo-ah’s training session ended.

 

Her teammates returned the following morning after defeating the boss in the Tower.

 

Normally, after clearing a Tower, Hunters spent about five days recovering their bodies in the dormitory.

 

While her teammates were away, Joo-ah practiced Restoration magic alone in the special-class room. Whenever a Gate opened, she always borrowed a regular training room and fought lower-ranked monsters.

 

“…You’re sleeping here again today.”

 

After returning from the Tower, Yeon-joo and Chan-hee didn’t visit the training center even once during those five days. Jae-rim, however, came to the training center every dawn. He trained until his entire body was drenched in sweat, then lay down on the sofa and fell asleep.

 

Every morning when Joo-ah arrived at the training center, she found Jae-rim curled up alone on the sofa, fast asleep.

 

Each time, she used Purification magic to help him sleep a little more comfortably.

 

It annoyed her that he treated her as if she didn’t exist, but the deep furrow between his brows, twisted as though the skin itself had been crumpled like paper, was painful even for someone else to look at.

 

“I have to succeed today, no matter what.”

 

Joo-ah entered the training room and sat in front of the flowerpot. Her hands wrapped around the round, brown pot.

 

A clear stream of Restoration energy flowed through her skin.

 

The withered leaves inside the pot repeatedly regained their vitality, only to dry up again. Whenever they seemed on the verge of coming back to life, they drooped helplessly once more.

 

How many times had this process repeated?

 

Joo-ah’s lips curved into a gentle smile.

 

The green leaves inside the pot straightened with renewed strength, and a beautiful flower blossomed.

 

Her Restoration magic had finally worked perfectly.