How the Rank 0 Chef Survives 085: Ambush at the Desert Border
Somewhere between the sand desert and the rock desert. Right at the boundary where the rocky wasteland began to take shape. The late afternoon sun blazed relentlessly, stubbornly clinging to the humans and wringing every drop of sweat from their pores.
"Where the hell is it...?"
Napaladin, clad in heavy plate armor, wiped the sweat from her brow and muttered under her breath. She shook the potion bottle filled with the blue energy leaking from the Twin Crystals.
The stifling heat made every breath feel clogged. The armor trapped the sweat, pouring off her like rain. And now this blue energy was acting up just when it was almost complete.
"Ugh..."
Her patience was fraying at the edges.
"Damn it!"
Boom!
Napaladin exploded in frustration and stomped her foot. Crack! The hard ground split like shattered glass, fissures spiderwebbing out from the impact.
The other rankers searching nearby jumped in surprise and shot her dirty looks, but she ignored them.
Then it happened.
Rumble... Roooar!
"Wh-what?"
An ominous rumble echoed from deep underground. Tap-tap, plink! Pebbles danced like they were doing a tap routine.
Roooar!
The ground began to shake violently. The other rankers glared at her even harder.
"N-no, I didn't stomp that hard..."
Napaladin stammered an excuse, but their glares only sharpened.
Then—
Kabooom!
"...!"
Only then did they realize this wasn't her fault. The shockwave originated from far deeper underground. Vibrations from some massive subterranean cavern were rippling up through the earth. It felt like a huge underground cave had just collapsed.
Thud! A nearby boulder-strewn hill couldn't withstand the force and toppled over.
But the rankers didn't flee. Instead, they charged in, venting their boredom by pummeling the crumbling rocks.
Slash! Boom!Rat-tat-tat! Kaboom!Crunch!
Sliced, shattered, smashed, pulverized. In moments, the massive rocky hill was reduced to dust scattering in the wind.
Rumble...
The quake dragged on for quite a while. Napaladin steadied herself on the shaking ground, pondering.
...A sudden earthquake?
Earthquakes weren't common in the fantasy world. They didn't happen without a trigger like a new event, a dungeon spawning underground, or a massive quest shaking the crust. In other words, quakes here were side effects of some event—not random geological shifts like in the real world.
"...!"
Napaladin instinctively sensed that the one she was hunting was tied to this quake. She pressed her hand to the ground, closing her eyes to feel the vibrations. Where had it come from? Where was it heading?
The other rankers caught on one by one, focusing intently on the tremors rising from below.
"......"
The vibrations tunneled straight ahead like a mole burrowing through the earth.
Rumble...
The quake gradually subsided.
Thud...
And finally, it stopped.
Whoosh!
The rankers shot toward the epicenter without a word—the point where the shaking halted, or perhaps beyond it. Something had to be there.
They scoured the area meticulously, overturning every blade of grass, every stone.
And at last—
A high-rank thief let out a triumphant yell.
"Found it!"
He'd discovered an entrance hidden behind bushes between two rocky hills.
Swoosh! All eyes turned to him.
"Eep!"
He clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The rankers swarmed him like locusts.
"I found it! I found it!"
He brandished his dagger threateningly and shouted at the top of his lungs, but they showed no mercy.
"I foun—"
Bam!
Napaladin batted him aside with her shield and checked the entrance. A deep vertical tunnel leading straight underground.
"...Hiding in a place like this?"
That explained why the blue energy had been crawling along the ground. What a joke.
"......"
Napaladin, Rank 11. She was by far the strongest high ranker here.
As she blocked the entrance, the rankers—now united against a common foe—surrounded her. Swords hissed from sheaths. Mages began casting. Archers nocked arrows. Gunners took aim.
Before things escalated, Napaladin barked,
"You idiots! Baek Bal Baek Jung's about to show up—fight among ourselves and what do you think happens?!"
"......"
"Use your heads, you blockheads!"
"......"
Shing...
They sheathed their weapons.
"And I've chased that bastard longer than anyone! Lost 5,000 gold because of him! Don't I deserve first dibs?"
Shing! Weapons drawn again.
"...But this time, I'll yield. Let's team up."
Shing...
Confirming they'd holstered, Napaladin sighed deeply.
My rotten luck...
But no time for sighing. Baek Bal Baek Jung would arrive soon. Catching that slippery eel required solid prep.
"First priority: trap Baek Bal Baek Jung so he can't escape! Catch first, think later!"
The rankers nodded at her sensible words.
"Mages, set up anti-teleport barriers! He bolts with a return scroll, we're screwed! Flyers, take the skies! Ranged DPS, hilltops! Warriors, behind me!"
Under Napaladin's command, they wove an airtight net no ant could slip through.
Dozens of rankers in position, fully prepped.
The original discoverer—the thief—pressed his ear to the bush-hidden entrance and waited. Soon, he shot his hand up high.
Signal: Baek Bal Baek Jung incoming.
He dashed to his spot on the hilltop, and the group held their breath.
Rustle...
At last, the target emerged, parting the bushes. Baek Bal Baek Jung strode out confidently.
Then he froze. His expression hardened.
Napaladin, blocking his front, raised her hand. She folded fingers one by one in countdown.
3. Mages began chanting.
2. Archers drew bowstrings taut.
1. Shing! Swordsmen unsheathed.
Rustle! Just as the last finger bent, Hura burst out squinting.
"Ow, so bright. Ugh."
Napaladin flinched, unfolding her fingers. The others swallowed hard, holding position.
"Phew... leaving this place doesn't sound half bad."
Muttering, Hura spotted the frozen Baek Bal Baek Jung and tilted his head.
"Baek Bal Baek Jung?"
Then he looked up and saw them.
"......"
Tension thickened the air. Silence weighed heavy.
A standoff laced with stillness ensued.
* * *
...Of course it'd turn out like this. Things were going too smoothly, luck be damned. Blue skies, bolt from nowhere.
Spearman hovering midair with angelic wings fluttering. Swordsman gripping his blade like it'd leap from the scabbard any second. Mage chanting flashy spells. And a horde wielding all sorts of weapons.
Each one a monster I'd never seen before.
Perfectly surrounded, just me and him.
"......"
We're screwed.
No visible escape.
Leading the pack up front: a woman whose mere stance felt like a towering wall of intimidation.
I knew her.
"...Napaladin."
Baek Bal Baek Jung said in a low, steady tone.
"...Baek Bal Baek Jung."
Napaladin met his gaze.
"...Long time no see."
"Yeah."
"No point in that ridiculous disguise now that you're busted, right?"
"..."
Baek Bal Baek Jung glanced at me, then declared boldly,
"It's not even funny."
"......"
But I casually removed my turban.
...Hard to keep it on in this solemn mood with dozens watching.
"That Twin Crystals. You gave it to Hura, huh?"
Napaladin side-eyed me.
"Wouldn't give it to me if your life depended on it."
"If I had, you'd have tracked me down and killed me ages ago."
"Don't think not giving it kept you safe?"
They growled, glaring daggers.
"......"
Whatever beef they had, could they argue later? The rankers' auras boiled like heat haze. Their pressure squeezed my heart smaller by the second.
"Ahem."
The rankers apparently agreed the timing sucked; a few coughed awkwardly, signaling Napaladin.
She turned to me.
"Hura. Fancy meeting you again."
"Yeah."
I forced calm.
"We're here for Baek Bal Baek Jung, not you."
"What's the business?"
"More like a grudge."
Napaladin glared at Baek Bal Baek Jung again; the others followed with murderous stares. Even clueless me felt the killing intent rippling.
...Baek Bal Baek Jung, reaping what he sowed with that Mad Archer rep. Should've shot less recklessly.
"Not after his Rank 10 spot?"
"Bonus, if anything."
"......"
"We just need to nab Baek Bal Baek Jung. No beef with you, Hura."
"I don't love fighting either."
"Perfect."
Thinking we'd connected, she flashed a small smile.
"He might be your precious subordinate, but to us, he's blood enemy number one."
"...Subordinate?"
"Pardon?"
"Baek Bal Baek Jung's my partner."
"Ah, sorry. Misspoke."
Napaladin bowed slightly, then shot him a side-eye.
"Nice personality you've got, partnering with trash like that."
Baek Bal Baek Jung fired back,
"Pot calling the kettle."
She tsked at him, then refocused on me.
"Leave him and go. We'll let you leave safe."
"Ditch my partner and run alone?"
"Not running. Trust me. He's not worth risking your life over."
"......"
What the hell happened between these two?
But no time to wonder.
"Choose wisely."
...What now? Back off, and Baek Bal Baek Jung's dead for sure. Worst case, I get dragged in too. Classic tactic: split allies, pick off one by one.
Napaladin didn't seem the type, but one of these dozens might think differently.
"If you join him, you'd hit us hard, sure."
Seeing me hesitate, she pressed.
"But look: dozens of us, two of you. You'd die."
Not persuasion—threat? But true. Even Baek Bal Baek Jung couldn't flee this many rankers. Especially encircled.
And our only exit—the tunnel below—was long collapsed.
I scanned the dozens surrounding us, meeting their eyes.
"......?"
Weird. They were averting their gazes.
I read an emotion in their eyes. One I never expected.
"Please step back."
Napaladin said politely, sidestepping. Those behind her parted, opening a path.
The ironclad encirclement split, revealing a straight road ahead.
Baek Bal Baek Jung nodded faintly at me: I'm fine, go.
"......"
Leave now, I'd probably be safe. High odds.
But Baek Bal Baek Jung? Dead meat.
Didn't sit right.
So what to do...? I checked my cards.
Napaladin called him my "subordinate" earlier. Said I'd deal big damage fighting with him.
And these top-tier monster rankers were dodging my eyes.
Oddly, the emotion in their gazes was fear.
...They overhyped me way more than I deserved. Strong enough to have Rank 10 as a sub. Ridiculous overestimation.
Come to think of it, video comments called me an "unofficial ranker."
...To them, I was an "unknown power, stronger than Rank 10 Baek Bal Baek Jung—top high ranker unofficial tier."
Fear stems from the unknown.
They were straight-up scared of me.
"Oh ho."
A smirk tugged my lips.
Nice hand.
No backing down now. I grinned wide.
"What if I say no?"