episode_0096

Jang Dae-han, the president of the association, finds himself confused about what emotions he should feel about what happened before his eyes.

Should I be thankful and feel fortunate that I got in line?

Or, should we deplore this reality where a crazy person suddenly fell from the sky one day and instantly destroyed the Korean hunter society system that we had worked so hard to build?

A waiting room full of silence and tension.

The rankers hold their heads, which are complicated by different thoughts, and think.

Park Jeong-hoon, ranked 11th, suffered.

And that was a playful blow without even being able to fight back properly.

The guy who knocked down the 11th ranked player wasn’t even an existing ranker.

This is the first academy cadet I’ve even heard of.

Those whose rankings were higher than Park Jeong-hoon were feeling a sense of crisis, and those below him were feeling frustrated and helpless.

Of course, Park Jeong-hoon may have let his guard down, or the skills may not have a good compatibility.

Or, the probability that the crazy guy had crazy good luck was not zero.

However, the rankers here knew.

If he is careless enough to get caught, Park Jung-hoon does not deserve to be called a ranker.

Making excuses about skill compatibility is not something a magic hunter would do.

If luck was such a factor in winning and losing, how many years would the team have been in 11th place?

Even if we consider all possibilities and cases,

It was an undeniable fact that that crazy guy over there was no ordinary hunter.

But… why did you two fight…?

“Wow…you got ranked 11th…for speaking informally…and got caught?”

“Speak informally? Yes…that’s right, they fought because I spoke informally. Those two…”

“That guy…no, who is he? Where did something like that come from… not a scoundrel, but a hunter…”

The atmosphere of ridicule and contempt that had been pouring down on Jihoon from the time of the magical power measurement until a little while ago was instantly reversed.

No one looked at him with pitiful eyes and clicked their tongue anymore.

He was just giving me a look filled with restraint and fear.

“… Hunter Kang, is Hunter Park Jeong-hoon…”

The president of the association cautiously approaches Ji-hoon and looks worriedly at Park Jeong-hoon, who is pinned to the ground.

“Ah, I’m not dead. I just fainted. Who do you think is crazy…”

“…”

He’s crazy, isn’t he?

A middle-aged man, who is obviously much older, would be pinned to the ground on the spot just for speaking informally.

Are you saying this isn’t something a crazy person would do?

Jihoon seems to have read the association president’s inner thoughts by looking at his expression, and continues speaking quickly.

“Kuhm…Hmm… It’s not like you’re seriously hurt, take it to a healer.”

“Ah…yes, I understand.”

The president of the association calls and summons employees to carry Park Jeong-hoon out, and begins to clean up the messy atmosphere.

“Now, rankers and new participants, please all quickly move to your seats. Reporters are waiting too long in the press room.”

Following the words of the association president, the rankers, along with the guides, move to their seats.

Some people moved to the press room, but quite a few did not follow suit. The same was true for Jihoon, but he was moving his body in the direction toward the outside exit.

As Ji-hoon gets into trouble again, So-jung, who had been standing far away and cheering him on so as not to get in the way, runs to Ji-hoon again.

“Ugh! Wherever you go, you always make a fuss like this”

“Why is it like that again…It was that guy’s fault, not me…”

“Have you seen that guy’s gray hair? Can you speak informally? Can you ignore that? And is ranking 11th a joke? What would have happened if it were someone much stronger than you!”

“…It was a joke…”

“Quack!!”

As So-jeong opens her eyes and continues to hit Ji-hoon, Ji-hoon begins to run away.

***

“So so? What happened again? Huh?”

“What happens, that’s it”

“Are you hurt anywhere? Of course not, right? But just in case-”

“I’m not hurt. Please leave so I can eat some food”

“That’s right…this is our first meal today, so let’s eat in peace…”

Jerrit

As Sojung wraps around Jihoon, Seolhyun’s sharp eyes fall on her.

Sojung calmly accepts the gaze without avoiding it.

It seems like he has no intention of pushing back.

She didn’t back down even an inch.

A rice noodle restaurant near Jihoon’s house.

Sojung and Seolhyun were fighting on either side of Jihoon, who was eating soup.

“Ah, I should have followed! Why does this damn guild have so many documents to review! Jihoon, I had a hard time~”

“If you’re very busy, it’s okay for Jihoon not to worry about the ranking match. I’m going to go and cheer anyway-”

“I will definitely follow you to the ranking match finals, right? Do you really have that much time? Heung”

“I have a lot of time. The reason Jihoon got to compete in the rankings is because of me… so it’s only natural that I support him.”

“Hururup, hururup… Can’t the two of you sit at a different table and talk? I want to eat alone”

“No!”

“No!”

Seolhyun and Sojung engage in a bloody war of nerves

Jihoon, caught between them, was trying his best to ignore the two and inhaling his rice noodles.

Ji-hoon and So-jung return after rejecting the association president’s request to attend a media interview in the press room a little while ago.

A few minutes after they arrived at the pho restaurant, Seolhyun suddenly appeared and, as if it was only natural, joined them.

“How did you know we were here?”

“Us? Ours?”

To Sojeong’s short question, Seolhyun reacts harshly, as if she is being sarcastic.

“Oh, I see. It’s not even close to your house, is it? How did you find out?”

“There is no way to know everything~ When Jihoon is around, he knows everything~”

Seolhyun answers Jihoon’s words in a playful way.

“It’s strange…Han So-jeong, you always appear like a ghost whenever I eat lunch”

“……”

“Are you guys watching my every move? How on earth do you know and show up?”

“……”

“……”

Sojung and Seolhyun close their mouths at the same time as if they had made a promise.

Jihoon tilts his head once and focuses on the rice noodles again.

“But you know, Jihoon~ Why didn’t you attend the press interview? I heard the president of the association asked for it?”

When Seolhyun asks Jihoon, Sojung waits for his answer as if she was curious about that.

“Well, I was determined to become famous ever since the ranking match came out, but not yet.”

Hururup

Whoop

“What is the need for an interview when you are a new participant? It won’t be too late to interview after ranking first.”

Whoop

Hururup

Becoming number one in the rankings is just a given.

Watching Jihoon slurp down the rice noodles, Sojung and Seolhyun recall how their perception has changed so much from a few months ago.

Ranking 1st place

Even though they were Academy cadets, Rankers were mysterious beings that they would never encounter in person.

Even more so with Hunter Jang Hyeon-woo, who has been ranked No. 1 for over a decade.

There wasn’t much information about that person other than the title of Sword Saint, so it just felt like an imaginary unicorn.

However, the two people who met the unexpected person named Kang Ji-hoon have no doubt that at this moment, he will take first place in the Korean rankings.

If Jihoon does it,

That was something that would come true no matter how absurd it was.

Even if the current number one ranked player had been in that position for over ten years, it didn’t matter even if he was a swordsman who wielded his sword like a ghost.

In Sojung and Seolhyun’s minds, Jang Hyunwoo was already number one in the past.

Above Jihoon, who is inhaling rice noodles with his head bowed, their eyes meet.

Although the two had been engaged in a war of nerves for a while, there was no disagreement at all in the fact that they completely believed what Jihoon said.

Now, we can always be together as cadets at the same academy, but will it be the same even after we become the top ranker?

When the sad thought that Jihoon might become more and more distant comes to mind, the two of them sigh at the same time.

It was then.

Broad shoulders, long golden hair tied back. A man with such a dark face that it’s hard to tell how hard he worked on his tan approaches Jihoon’s table.

“Hello. Please excuse me. Are you two waiting for someone else to come?”

“…?”

When you come to a table where three people are clearly sitting, you say ‘two people’?

It seemed that Jihoon was not visible in his eyes.

“Ah… It’s nothing else, but if you two have the time, I was wondering if you could leave your friend here to eat and go have a drink with us. Haha”

When Jihoon, who was referred to as ‘your friend here’, turns his eyes, he sees a group of tanned men waving their hands in this direction from one table.

Both of them were very handsome men with strong physiques.

“Fuuhu…”

Jihoon understands the situation, bursts into laughter, and orders another bowl of rice noodles.

“ ‘Friend’ will have one more bowl, so hurry up and go. Hehe”

“Hey!! Jihoon Kang!!”

“Jihoon-!!”

Sojung and Seolhyun frown and give Jihoon a scolding look.

The eyes of the two people, filled with displeasure, soon move from Jihoon to the tanned man in front of them.

“Oh… your friend is quick-witted and understanding!”

Unfortunately, the tanning man didn’t seem to have as much insight as his ‘friend’.