Chapter 43
“Yea, at this rate you’re going to collapse.”
“No, senior. There are only two days left until the ranking match. No matter what, I need to resolve this issue at least a little.”
“……”
Lucy vanished before Jung Hwan-jae even got up. When he woke and saw I had stayed by his side the whole time, he was so guilty and restless that he ended up buying me a meal.
Not only that—he even escorted me home. Judging from Riri’s grumbling that he’d checked if I went inside my room and turned the lights on, it seemed he lingered around even afterward.
Having someone who trusted and cared for me this much made me realize I couldn’t stay the same. So from that day, I threw myself into special training.
[Riri: Yea, I did say that stamina is important when singing, but I didn’t mean you should push yourself this hard.]
‘I know, but since singing skill won’t improve in a week, I figured at least I should raise my stamina.’
My average stats were, at best, around B-rank. Even reaching that in such a short time was impressive, but the opponents I had to face were at least A-rank.
And among those A-ranks, most were either just shy of S-rank or had been underestimated simply because they weren’t fighting seriously.
So I pleaded to be allowed into A-rank hunter training. I argued that working nights at part-time jobs and bouncing around various tasks had given me enough stamina.
‘But I never imagined it would be this extreme…’
Even A-rank hunters struggled with this training. For me to endure it was absurd.
I thought a week would be manageable, but—
‘Now, run from here to there in under 3 minutes. You can’t take more than 100 steps.’
‘You should be able to handle about 100kg easily.’
‘In the mock evasion test, Miss Yea, you died in 298 out of 347 attacks.’
I was a fool. I regret it so much now.
They weren’t training to strengthen their stats, but to diversify skills on top of already-maxed stats.
That was the difference: they started from “already complete stats.” I had completely overlooked that.
After just four days of training (skipping one), I felt like I was dying.
“Yea… maybe you should really stop.”
Jung Hwan-jae seemed worried sick about me. Since that day, he came by the training ground often, bringing juice or recovery potions.
The guild leader wasn’t even an S-rank, yet he was hanging around in an A-rank training hall, making other hunters uneasy. But I couldn’t bring myself to stop him.
Without the potions he offered, I might’ve just collapsed and stayed unconscious until the ranking match was over.
Today again, he arrived with bags of stamina food and recovery potions.
“If Guild Leader says one more time to quit, I really might—”
“Let’s quit.”
[Riri: I agree with the Guild Leader today, Yea. I really think it’s best to rest. Even though your strength and speed are steadily improving, no matter how I run the numbers, it’s impossible to raise your stats beyond B-average right now. Better to rest than overdo it and get sick.]
I wanted to protest that they were trying to break my will, but he was waiting for me to say yes, and even Riri was backing him up.
The problem was… I was too exhausted to refuse.
Maybe dying 298 times in the laser simulations had drained even my willpower.
Yesterday, I would’ve flatly refused. But today, with my deathly pale face, I couldn’t answer at all—and Jung Hwan-jae’s eyes lit with hope.
It was as if he thought: If she just rests a little, she’ll recover and succeed.
He crouched beside me and whispered,
“There are only two days left. Managing your condition is just as important. What if you get muscle pain? Let’s rest.”
“…You think so?”
“Yes. I’ll take you.”
As if afraid I’d change my mind, he lifted me up in his arms.
Logically, I knew Riri’s protection would keep me from suffering muscle pain, but my body simply refused to move.
He carried me carefully, like I was a sacred relic. The hunters inside applauded as I was taken out.
“Miss Yea, honestly, lasting four days is amazing. Even newly awakened A-ranks collapse in less than a week here.”
“For real! No joke. You might actually rise in rank during the match!”
“…Thank you…”
Still, could they not cheer for someone being hauled out half-dead? I covered my face, more embarrassed than grateful.
Jung Hwan-jae ignored them all and strode out briskly.
“My clothes are drenched in sweat, sorry…”
“Not at all. I’ll bring you to the showers first, then take you home.”
I didn’t protest, just followed him into the showers. But something felt odd.
I’d only been on shift two hours today, yet he acted as if I were completely off duty.
Even after I washed and changed, the doubt lingered—he was waiting in the lobby as if he had no other guild business.
Since only ranking participants were active now, all dungeon raids and dangerous missions were prohibited a week before the match. Even the association wouldn’t disturb us unless it was a national emergency.
“Senior Hwan-jae, I came out because you said you’d take me, but isn’t this too much like neglecting my duties…?”
“Yea, do you have any unfinished guild work? Did you leave something behind?”
“No, not exactly. But I should at least prepare for the ranking match…”
The more I spoke, the weaker my excuses sounded. Riri had already said it—pushing myself these few days wouldn’t make much difference.
Resting or focusing on solving my E+ singing problem would help far more.
But I was the type who couldn’t relax unless I worked hard. Being forced to stop left me lost.
I admitted, “I started late, and now everything feels too overwhelming. I don’t know what else to do.”
He nodded slowly, as if he understood. But his determination to make me rest hadn’t changed.
“I’ll cast a buff on you today that helps you relax and rest. That should ease your mind.”
“A buff? You can do that, senior?”
As far as public knowledge went, “Reaper” Jung Hwan was never known to use buffs. At most, people speculated he could only cast them on himself—or not at all.
Because he couldn’t buff himself, he was said to always fight to end battles quickly, making him weak in drawn-out fights.
But really, what could rumors matter to the rank 1 hunter? I had never researched it deeply myself.
Jung Hwan-jae smiled faintly. Out of nowhere, I thought—it was such a handsome smile.
He lowered his head, cupped my cheek, and whispered,
“I can do most of what others can. It’s just more efficient to leave buffing to those who specialize in it.”
“Wow…”
“And my guild members don’t really want buffs from me anyway.”
It was pure awe. So this was a ranker’s dignity. I let his hand rest against my face without resistance. A crimson-black smoke rose.
What others might find ominous felt warm and comforting to me.
I closed my eyes slowly. My racing heartbeat calmed without me realizing it.
“Senior, I really feel calmer…”
“The only skill I can’t copy from anyone is—”
“Hm?”
I opened my eyes to look at him. His expression was unreadable. His lips moved.
“It’s you, Yea.”
