Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 109 : Challengers (1)

Challengers (1)

"We'll have to pray that Alencia does well."

PD Jung Jun-su's expression was less than pleasant, as if he was honestly worried.

Especially after hearing that the Pandemonium guild was participating in this Challengers.

"There's almost no case where two variety shows are filmed at the same time in the same place. If that happened, there would inevitably be overlapping scenes, and editing would become difficult."

But PD Heo Seong-man had intentionally arranged for the Pandemonium guild to participate.

Of course, he had brazenly lied, saying that Pandemonium joined by their own will and that he had nothing to do with it.

"If Alencia and Yeon-ji quickly lose to members of the Pandemonium guild, we probably won't be able to air the Challengers segment at all."

Doing so would not only neglect their duties as broadcasters but would also look bad on camera.

With some clever editing, it might work out, but if PD Heo dared to feature Challengers on his own variety show, they might even be ridiculed for it.

"It'll be fine."

I gave PD Jung a big, reassuring smile.

After meeting Alencia late last night, I felt there was no need for such concern.

"Alencia is the type who excels in real combat."

The trip from Minerva to Denver had taken three weeks.

Whatever she learned in that time had clearly stuck with Alencia.

She herself didn't seem to know this, but once in real combat, she would naturally put it to use.

Just as she had explosively unleashed her abilities during the test.

***

"Alencia! How can you possibly have gotten a B-rank? What sort of trick did you pull?!"

Before the match began, as soon as Alencia entered the waiting room, Derick immediately started talking to her.

He seemed utterly shocked by the test results Alencia had shown the day before.

"You were only F-rank just a month ago, and now you're B-rank? That's impossible!"

His doubts were only natural.

It was almost unheard of for someone to leap from F-rank to B-rank in just a month.

"What are you on about? The test is just to confirm if someone has skills befitting their grade, isn't it? It's not like my official rank was actually promoted, so why make such a fuss?"

Hmph, Alencia crossed her arms and shot Derick a haughty glare.

Just as she said, the test was simply meant to check whether someone had magic power usage fitting their rank by attacking a device.

It was true that the output of Alencia's attack was at a B-rank level, but that didn't mean she was a B-rank hunter.

If grades were based only on that, then supportive-type mages or healers, lacking in offense, would never have a chance of moving up the ranks.

"There's no way you have B-rank offensive power. With your pathetic F-rank magic power—at the very bottom—you couldn't possibly pull that off!"

"Derick."

Just then, while Derick was making a scene, a man with a composed look walked up and pulled Derick by the shoulder.

"What kind of disgraceful behavior is this?"

"H-Hunter L-Liam-nim. But..."

"Do you not realize that your actions are bringing shame to Pandemonium?"

Just as Liam said, the looks from hunters around him were not kind.

It was true that Alencia had shown unexpected skill, but there had been nothing suspicious that looked like cheating.

After all, the test was administered in front of many people with eyes watching closely.

"I... I'm sorry."

"Apologize not to me, but to Miss Alencia Walker."

"S-sorry."

Watching Derick grit his teeth and apologize felt extremely satisfying to Alencia.

'Serves you right.'

But aside from Derick, the obvious strength of someone like Liam made Alencia tense up.

Especially his cold gaze at Derick—it was enough to make her body tremble.

"Now, return."

"... What?"

"I allowed you to participate in the Challengers because you showed strong desire, but seeing your attitude now, it seems I misjudged you."

Liam spoke coldly to Derick.

"If you act like this even after witnessing the test with your own eyes, your conduct in real combat is obvious. I let you join because you had some talent, but perhaps it was too soon."

"N-no way! But Challengers requires teams of two..."

"That's only a recommendation, not a rule. Especially for awakened ones at my level."

Liam was an A-rank awakener and a hunter.

Considering the usual level of awakened who entered the Challengers, even alone, there were few who could stand against him.

"Are you planning to argue with me?"

"N-no, sir."

At Liam's firm words, Derick slumped his shoulders.

He turned and left the waiting room.

But not before casting another glare at Alencia.

"That's why you shouldn't recruit based on talent alone,"

Liam clicked his tongue, watching Derick's retreat.

He then sighed softly and, turning to Alencia, offered his hand with a gentle smile.

"Yesterday's test was quite impressive."

Unlike the fuming Derick, Liam had found the test impressive in many ways.

Remembering that Alencia had taken the awakened aptitude test at the same place as Derick, Liam genuinely regretted missing out on her.

"Miss Walker, as well as Hwang...."

"Just call me Yeon-ji. It just sounds better that way,"

Hwang Yeon-ji interjected.

"Yes, seeing Yeon-ji's actual skills was equally astonishing,"

Liam nodded at the words of Yeon-ji, who had been silent up to now.

He glanced at her with a rather curious look.

'Was she seventeen?'

Even though she was Asian and generally looked younger, Yeon-ji's features seemed even younger than that.

That such a young-looking person could be an A-rank awakener.

What made even less sense was her composure.

Despite this being her first time participating in Challengers, she showed not a trace of nerves.

'No wonder Hunter Eugene shows interest.'

Liam nodded to himself at that thought.

"I hope that someday we get to compete and test our skills."

With those parting words, Liam gave a brief farewell and departed.

With the match starting soon, he needed to make his preparations.

Especially now that Derick was gone and he was alone.

"So Pandemonium is playing for real too, huh? Hunter Liam is considered a rising star at Pandemonium,"

Alencia murmured.

"... Oh, really?"

At Alencia's comment, Yeon-ji looked again in the direction Liam had disappeared.

"Hm, is that so?"

"Huh?"

From Yeon-ji's mumbling, Alencia became aware of a subtle difference in their perspectives. Liam, who reached A-rank around thirty, was considered extremely talented.

Yet Yeon-ji looked at him as if he were just an ordinary person.

'Come to think of it, Yeon-ji was around S-rank hunters all the time.'

Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah.

Both had become S-rank in their early twenties.

Compared to them, Liam really was just an ordinary person.

It made Park Jung-woo, who managed both of them, seem that much more impressive.

Especially considering Soo-ah; Jung-woo had been the one who practically made her S-rank himself.

'I will make you S-rank within a month.'

Jung-woo's statement the day they first met was still vivid in Alencia's mind.

'No, Alencia, don't get your hopes up too much.'

Alencia quickly shook her head.

She knew what was reasonable.

Honestly, she wasn't even aiming for A-rank.

Just being able to display B-rank abilities for short bursts, as she could now, was more than enough for her.

'Let's just focus on the match.'

The important thing was to produce a good result at Challengers.

If she was honest, Alencia was a little curious herself.

To see how much she'd really changed.

***

Nothing was going right.

PD Heo Seong-man scratched his head roughly.

'What on earth is Eugene Garland thinking?'

If the Pandemonium hunters he'd cast defeated Hwang Yeon-ji and Alencia—who were participating thanks to him—then he could seize all the publicity for himself.

Especially since Eugene had taken a disliking to Hwang Yeon-ji over the Minerva pre-departure incident, he'd expected full cooperation.

"Hunter Liam-nim told him to go back?!"

"... Yes."

Including Liam, the A-rank hunter, had been the right call for the Challengers.

But insisting on including Derick, a D-rank hunter, to "even things out"—that was odd.

'What even playing field!'

Winning was what mattered, why bother balancing teams?

He didn't like Eugene's strange move, and now Liam had apparently kicked Derick out of the waiting room.

'So he's going to compete solo?'

He was A-rank, so it was technically possible.

But wasn't there another A-rank among the opponents?

'Why is everything getting so complicated lately?'

Things seemed to be going well after casting Eugene Garland, but ever since then, it had all gone downhill.

"I just can't understand it."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing Derick mutter in a rough voice, PD Heo Seong-man frowned.

"That bitch Alencia, she was F-rank not long ago. Now suddenly she's got skills like a B-rank awakener?"

"Is that true?"

"Yeah! Hunter Liam just buys it without a second thought, unbelievable!"

At Derick's crude words, PD Heo clicked his tongue in annoyance.

'So, basically, seeing someone who used to be below him suddenly show greater skill has given him an inferiority complex.'

He could understand.

It was impossible for someone to go from F-rank to showing B-rank power in such a short time.

'Wait.'

Suddenly, a good idea for taking advantage of this situation popped into PD Heo's head.

"Uh, hunter Derick-nim."

"What?"

At Derick's cocky tone, PD Heo grit his teeth inwardly.

'A D-rank hunter acting so smug just because he's with Pandemonium.'

If he were a D-rank hunter in Korea, he'd be bowing to him.

But acting like he was someone important just because he belonged to Pandemonium—it was infuriating.

"I have a suspicion as to how Alencia Walker's powers suddenly changed."

"What?"

Seeing his reaction, PD Heo realized Derick had taken the bait.

"Park Jung-woo, the manager."

The man who managed Shin Ah-yeon and Lee Soo-ah, and who had now reached out to Alencia.

"He must have done something to Alencia during the last three weeks."

***

「Does anyone know where the Challengers is being broadcasted this time?」

「Isn't Challengers just something for the Yankees to watch?」

It started as a post on a Korean internet community.

「From the new HSN making-of video, it looks like Hwang Yeon-ji is participating this time.」

HSN's consistently-uploaded new variety show, "From F-rank to S-rank," had a making-of video.

In it, there was a brief mention that Hwang Yeon-ji and Alencia would take part in the Challengers.

Hwang Yeon-ji, the genius girl who became a hot topic after an incident at Sillim.

And Alencia, who was recently the subject of controversy as "that Park Jung-woo's" new protégé.

She might not have been well-known in Korea, but in America, people called her "the fake returnee's daughter."

「If Park Jung-woo is coaching her, maybe she also has S-rank talent?」

「Don't be ridiculous, S-ranks don't grow on trees.」

「If she's going to Challengers, we'll see her skills there. Her ability looked kind of weird in the video.」

「All awakeners are about the same anyway. What's supposed to be so special?」

「She recharges her magic power with electricity.」

「Nonsense, lol」

「Watch the video, it's real」

「Probably fake.」

「Why would they fake something that would be exposed so soon?」

Whether Alencia's power was possible or not, a surprising stir arose, increasing interest in the Challengers.

Just how much would this young genius girl achieve?

And were Park Jung-woo's new student Alencia's powers the real deal?

With Korean netizens' curiosity piqued...

The Challengers began in earnest.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】