130. Ranker Announcement Ceremony (2)
World Rankers.
They were players who stood at an exalted height, the so-called big shots among players.
The world’s strongest, selected by a system with unquestionable credibility.
Just by making it in there, they would receive VIP treatment in any country they went to.
Nations and corporations alike.
They lobbied, trying to get even the slightest connection to them.
“We had a dream. Just one! We desperately wished that even a single player would break through the wall called the world rankings. And at last, that dream has finally come true!”
World Rank 91, Hwang Juwon!
That was the beginning.
[World Rank 90, Maimoena (Indonesia)]
[World Rank 89, Yatsuka Rie (Japan)]
[World Rank 88, Donovan Tate (USA)]
As the rankings kept rolling by, they created yet another Korean star.
[World Rank 87, An Gijeong (South Korea)]
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Uwoooooah!”
An Gijeong, originally ranked fourth in Korea, had also made it into the world rankers.
“As expected of the Poison King!”
“Of course! If Hwang Juwon got in, then An Gijeong had to get in too!”
“They’re the old Ilwol brothers!”
The citizens raised another toast.
“Ahem.”
An Gijeong stroked his chin, his face twitching.
“So I’m a big shot now too, huh?”
He said it like it was nothing, but inside, he was immensely relieved.
He was also excited.
‘I was worried I might get pushed behind brother Juwon, but still, thank goodness.’
They had sparred with each other hundreds... no, thousands of times.
Each knew the other’s abilities well.
That’s why.
Glance.
He looked over at the guild members watching the TV broadcast.
Each of them was tense.
They probably all thought that, aside from Song Yeonhee and Hwang Jiwoo, who were still beyond reach from the start, everyone else would make it in, right?
And then.
[World Rank 47, Oh Sunyoung (South Korea)]
Orang!
Oh Sunyoung had taken 47th place.
“Huh!”
At the announcement, she drew in a long breath, trembling all over before speaking.
“.....I, I really...”
Her expression was full of emotion.
Originally, she had even been cut from the national team, but thanks to Baek Jinwoo, she had joined the World League...
And now she had even made it into the world rankings.
“Unni, congratulations.”
“Congratulations, noona!”
“Uhahhahahat! Congratulations to Sunyoung’s family too!”
“Let’s have a drink!”
Yoobaek City was, quite literally, in festival mode.
Every time an announcement was made, the fireworks Yoo Jia had prepared shot into the sky, and the family members raised their beer glasses.
Swoosh.
Oh Sunyoung rose from her seat.
Then she walked over to Baek Jinwoo, who was sitting down, and bowed her head.
“Thank you, Master.”
She bent almost at a right angle, then continued.
“From now on, I’ll trust only you and follow you well, Master. I look forward to your guidance.”
“Yeah.”
Baek Jinwoo grinned.
For some reason, even though she was two years older than him, he always ended up speaking casually to her.
Maybe because she was his first disciple?
“It’s because you followed well. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Master!”
And then again.
[World Rank 46, Benyapa Jinbrasom (Thailand)]
[World Rank 45, Chen Qiaoen (Taiwan)]
[World Rank 44, Iosif Zasulich (Russia)]
[World Rank 43, Guillermo Montiel (Argentina)]
[World Rank 42, Ian Hayes (France)]
[World Rank 41, Ryan Cork (United Kingdom)]
The list kept going down.
And the lower it went, the more spectacular the real-time chat reactions became.
ㄴ Whoa.
ㄴWhat is this?
ㄴ Seriously?
ㄴ The fact they still haven’t shown up lol.
ㄴ Are there really more? Higher than this? That’s actually insane.
There were five candidates who still hadn’t appeared.
Hong Ari, Gi Jaehyuk, Kang Jiho, Kang Geonho.
And Baek Jinwoo.
ㄴ But even Ryan Cork is too much, isn’t it?
ㄴ Seriously though.
ㄴ He’s only 10th in the UK
ㄴ10th? Makes me feel Britain’s greatness again.
ㄴ 10th place in the UK is World Rank 41...
Still, it was fine.
Because a Korean ranker had beaten that Ryan Cork.
[World Rank 40, Kang Jihoe (South Korea)]
“Hwaaaaaaaaaaap!”
Kang Jihoe shouted so loudly it seemed the space itself would be torn apart.
At the age of a high school senior!
The moment he became a big shot!
“Jihoe!”
“Jihoooe, sob, sob!”
His family rushed over and hugged him.
To them, this moment was far happier than if their son had gotten into Seoul National University or some famous university overseas.
A world ranker?
Even compared to athletics or the arts, it was beyond an Olympic gold medal.
It was simply a position on an entirely different level.
Shiiiiiik!
As if celebrating their master’s blessing, his summons Mad Demon (A-rank) and Snowflake Berserker (B-rank) performed a dazzling flurry of sword strikes in the air.
ㄴ Kyaa.
ㄴ Kang Jihoe is 40th!
ㄴ This is insane.
ㄴThen what about Gi Jaehyuk and Kang Geonho? Ah, Hong Ari too, right?
ㄴ Whoa, then those three are even higher?
ㄴ Right. Just going by domestic rankings, that’s how it should be!
ㄴ Baek Jinwoo is obviously even higher.
But.
There was one man who could not enjoy the festival by himself.
“...”
It was Kang Geonho.
He knew.
That his talent did not measure up to Gi Jaehyuk or Kang Jihoe.
In fact, even after sparring with them countless times, he had never beaten them.
To be honest.
His training time had been far too little.
Those kids had received focused care from Baek Jinwoo since the early days, while he had not.
And what did that mean?
‘So I fell out of the world rankings.’
Kang Geonho bit down hard on his lip.
He had wondered, just in case.
But to think he would even fall behind Hwang Juwon and An Gijeong...
What on earth had gone wrong?
Clench.
His fist tightened, and the muscles in his jaw trembled, but...
He did not feel wronged. He was simply frustrated.
He blamed himself for not working harder, for not being able to join in that celebration.
[World Rank 39, Roberto Nesta (Italy)]
[World Rank 38, Didier Jaquet (France)]
[World Rank 37, Julian Kimmich (Germany)]
[World Rank 36, Gabriel da Silva (Brazil)]
This time, the number one players from each country appeared.
All of them were famous figures, their nations’ No. 1s, known by the vast majority of their citizens.
Starting from rank 40, it really was...
One heavyweight player after another.
And then.
[World Rank 35, Gi Jaehyuk (South Korea)]
“Jaehyuk!”
“Brother Jaehyuk!”
“Niiiceeee!”
Gi Jaehyuk was 35th.
Not a bad result.
Everyone congratulated him in much the same way they had Kang Jihoe, and Gi Jaehyuk too was so happy that he even shed a few tears.
Next.
[World Rank 34, Casey Lavelle (USA)]
[World Rank 33, Ella Toone (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 32, Emily Sonnet (USA)]
[World Rank 31, Ellen White (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 30, Le Tuan Tai (Vietnam)]
[World Rank 29, Janella Salvador (Philippines)]
Now the five great powers belonging to the Five Emperors were starting to appear one by one.
The mid-tier players of the UK and US national teams, and in the cases of Vietnam and the Philippines, the exceptional number one players of their respective countries.
And finally!
[World Rank 28, Hong Ari (South Korea)]
Hong Ari entered at 28th place.
It was obvious that the all-kill record she had shown against Venezuela in this league had earned her a high score.
ㄴHong Ari!
ㄴThe peerless beauty, Hong Ari!
ㄴScream your hearts outtttt!
ㄴSeriously, this is such a relief.
ㄴ So now only Baek Jinwoo and Kang Geonho are left?
ㄴ At this point, I think Kang Geonho is going to be tough.
ㄴ Well, judging by performance, yeah.
ㄴ No matter how I think about it, compared to what Hong Ari showed, Kang Geonho hasn’t shown anything.
At the same time.
The citizens were also slowly realizing that Kang Geonho had failed to make it.
Because from the top 20 onward...that was the realm of true monsters.
[World Rank 27, Shi Jinhang (Taiwan)]
[World Rank 26, Tsai Ing-wen (Taiwan)]
Shi Jinhang and Tsai Ing-wen were Taiwan’s 2nd and 3rd ranks.
They were tremendous powerhouses, known as the left and right hands of Baekcheon, one of the Five Emperors!
[World Rank 25, Dmitry Tarasov (Russia)]
[World Rank 24, Denis Glushakov (Russia)]
These two were Russia’s 2nd and 3rd ranks, respectively.
They too were the left and right hands of Moscowman!
[World Rank 23, Bangladesh Police (Bangladesh)]
[World Rank 22, Takahashi Shusuke (Japan)]
[World Rank 21, Keira Walsh (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 20, Jonathan Pacheco (Mexico)]
Police was Bangladesh’s number one!
Our familiar Shusuke was Japan’s 3rd-ranked player.
The scary thing was that Britain’s Walsh was only 7th in the UK rankings.
And Pacheco was Mexico’s number one.
Next came the 10th-19th ranks!
[World Rank 19, Evan Parker (France)]
[World Rank 18, Amanda Rizkaputri (Indonesia)]
[World Rank 17, Lanre Kehinde (Nigeria)]
[World Rank 16, Jackson Singh (India)]
These too were each their country’s number one players!
[World Rank 15, Sandy McKiver (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 14, Emily Fox (USA)]
[World Rank 13, Shirato Sakura (Japan)]
[World Rank 12, Joel (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 11, Rory Sharp (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 10, Clint Jones (USA)]
From here on, it was completely dominated by the five great powers.
ㄴ The UK and USA are freaking insane.
ㄴDamn, how are there so many monsters in one country who are even stronger than other nations’ number ones?
ㄴ That’s why they’re great powers.
ㄴOur country will probably become like that soon too, right?
ㄴI heard SKY is increasing its members, and with the power of that famous God Ji-nu, I think we could totally surpass Britain.
ㄴ Right, did you see this league’s performance?
ㄴThat’s a bit much.
ㄴ Baek Jinwoo is basically a nonhuman species.
[World Rank 9, Kobe Pochettino (USA)]
[World Rank 8, Gareth Bale (United Kingdom)]
Rank 9 is Pochettino! He’s famous as America’s second-in-command!
Rank 8 is also Britain’s 3rd-ranked player, a hot player whose stock is rising together with Olivia!
Next?
[World Rank 7, Olivia Abernathy (United Kingdom)]
[World Rank 6, Zhuo Longtai (Taiwan)]
Olivia and Baekcheon appeared.
Rank 7 is Olivia! An expected result, of course! And from rank 6 onward, the Five Emperors appear! Which means...! That Baek Jinwoo can really contend for world rank 1 or 2!
ㄴ Kyaaa
ㄴZhuo Longtai! Old man Tak Youngtae is 6th?
ㄴSeriously…..
ㄴThis is crazy, one of the Five Emperors is only 6th?
ㄴHe got pushed down by one spot! Because of Baek Jinwoo!
ㄴBaek Jinwoo! Go for number 1!!!
In exactly four years.
For the first time, one of the Five Emperors was pushed down by a single rank.
[World Rank 5, Alexander Veskov (Russia)]
[World Rank 4, William Xenos (USA)]
One, two.
As the world rankings approached the very end, silence fell over South Korea.
The commotion faded, and everything grew quiet.
Everyone, palms sweating, stared at the screen with tense expressions!
[World Rank 3, Yoshida Hikaru (Japan)]
Hikaru, the Sugoi who had always been fixed in 2nd place, was pushed down to 3rd.
ㄴ Please.
ㄴ Pleeease.
ㄴ I beg you, I beg you.
ㄴ Let’s gooooooo!
When everyone’s fervent wish reached the screen.
Beep!
[World Rank 2, Rachel Rose (United Kingdom)]
The board told them everything.
The complete end of Britain’s reign as the hegemonic nation—and the beginning of Baek Jinwoo’s legend!
“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwoooooooooooah!”
Everyone burst into cheers toward the sky, and Yoobaek City too became a cauldron of utter frenzy.
“Guild Masterrrrrr!”
“Jinwoo!”
“Uahahahahahat!”
The fact that Rachel, who had seemed eternally immovable, was ranked 2nd could only mean one thing.
Baek Jinwoo was number 1!
Ten more seconds passed.
Beep.
[World Rank 1, Baek Jinwoo (South Korea)]
At last, the world ranking announcement came to an end.
A proud first place!
It was the moment God Ji-nu reclaimed the seat of the One Heaven once more.
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!