The New Number Eight
I wiped the blood off my sword.
We had just cleared the 50th floor, a run dedicated to training the team to adapt to flying monsters.
The corpses of harpies lay scattered all around us.
Cha Yerin stood catching her breath, her giant hammer resting on her shoulder.
Baek Harim leaned against a wall, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead.
Woo Jumin was sprawled flat on the floor, panting heavily.
"Great job, everyone," I said.
I was the only one who still looked perfectly fine.
Today, I had handled about eighty percent of the harpies myself.
I left the remaining twenty percent to the team.
Through continued training, I planned to gradually increase their share to thirty percent, forty percent, and eventually over fifty percent.
Fortunately, everyone was growing fast.
It was likely thanks to all the time we had spent working together.
"Alright, now go harvest the nests."
"H-Hyung, can we please rest just a little bit...?"
Woo Jumin looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"Hey, didn't I tell you not to slack off on your basic physical training?"
"It's exam season lately, so I really don't have time..."
"That's just an excuse, kid!"
"*Sob*, not everyone is a monster like you, Hyung..."
Whining dramatically, Jumin dragged himself off the floor.
I tossed him a bottle of our new potion, Cyclone.
*Catch.*
"Drink up."
"W-Wow! This is Cyclone!"
"Yeah. The final product is launching soon. They gave me some samples to test out, so I brought them along."
Even though it hadn't officially launched yet, demand was already through the roof.
Contract requests were pouring in from both domestic and international markets.
For now, we decided to sell it exclusively to hunters officially registered with the Hunter Administration Office.
Having tried it myself, the potion's efficacy was top-notch, so the response upon release was bound to be explosive.
Construction on a second and third factory was already underway.
Even the mighty GR Group was currently pouring all its resources into this venture.
According to Go Juhee, the proud chairman of the GR Group wanted to meet me in person.
'I told her to just make up an excuse about me being too busy, but...'
Anyway, everything related to the potion business was sailing smoothly.
Especially since France's collapse had made high-grade potions incredibly scarce on the market.
To be honest, I found the business side of things annoying, so I just left it all to Go Juhee and acted as a rubber stamp.
'It's not like I don't have a million other things to do...'
Indeed. Between training sessions like today's and fulfilling the collaborative raids I had promised to other guilds, I was constantly short on time.
On top of that, there were countless places requesting my testimony regarding France's "Cannibalism Project"...
I was being summoned here, there, and everywhere. It was one of those times when I wished I could clone myself.
Of course, the Hunter Administration Office was doing its best to accommodate my schedule, but still.
"Whew, huff..."
"Huff, puff..."
Dripping with sweat, the team members returned and handed me the rare magic stones they had harvested from the harpy nests.
"Thanks," I said, sweeping the magic stones into my inventory.
Actually, I had suggested we split them evenly, but the three of them adamantly refused, insisting that I take all the rare magic stones.
At this point, I probably had about thirty rare magic stones in my possession. At this rate, I might hit a hundred soon.
Well, it felt wrong to reject their gesture, so I told them to split all the harpy eggs among themselves instead.
Apparently, those eggs fetched a pretty penny on the market.
After opening our respective reward chests, we prepared to leave.
"Shall we head back, then?"
We used our return scrolls.
"Good work today!"
"Great job!"
"See you later~!"
We high-fived and began to disperse, when—
"W-Wait, what?!" Woo Jumin suddenly cried out in shock.
What now? Why is a healer drawing aggro like a tank? I glanced back at him.
"H-Hyung!" Jumin called out, his eyes wide as saucers.
"What?"
"Hyung!!"
"What is it?"
"Hyung! Hyung! Hyung!"
"Spit it out."
"I-Is this for real?"
"Is what for real?"
Jumin shoved his phone right in front of my face. On the screen was a breaking news alert.
"What in the world..." I snatched the phone from his hand and looked closer.
"...Huh?"
Wait. What was this about?
"You're eighth! Eighth!" Jumin shouted, his voice cracking with excitement. "World Rank Number Eight!!"
"Quiet down for a second." I began reading the article.
Rank eight... wasn't that the spot previously held by China's Jang Wonryong?
And I was taking it? Suddenly? Why?
I thought the position had remained vacant since Jang Wonryong's death.
"..."
I stared silently at the phone for a long time. Of course, doing so didn't change the name written in the article.
"What the hell is this..."
I mean, I knew I'd make it onto the world rankings eventually, but...
'I didn't expect it to be today.'
I stared blankly at the screen.
"Is this real?"
"O-Of course it's real!" Jumin replied, his voice trembling with excitement.
Cha Yerin and Baek Harim, who had also checked the news on their own phones, smiled and offered their congratulations.
"Eighth place... That's truly amazing, Taepyeong!"
"Congratulations, Hunter Lee!"
I scratched the back of my head, looking bewildered. Me, World Rank No. 8? Out of nowhere? Why?
'If I remember correctly...'
The World Hunter Rankings were determined by three main criteria.
First, the highest cleared floor. This was the most critical metric, to the point where it practically dictated the rankings on its own.
Second, level. This wasn't much different from the highest cleared floor, as a higher level naturally correlated with climbing higher floors.
Finally, cumulative contribution points. The more you cleared the tower, and the more prominent your role in those clears, the more contribution points you earned. Thus, cumulative contribution points served as a direct reflection of a hunter's capability.
'Did the contribution points I got thanks to Park Kangsu get factored in?'
Since contribution points carried the least weight among the three criteria, it probably didn't have a massive impact, but still...
The World Hunter Rankings were typically updated once a year. Since a year hadn't passed since the last update, it shouldn't have been time yet. The fact that they pushed an update now, calling it "unprecedented"...
'It means the World Hunter Association has been keeping a close eye on me.'
Starting from China's special floor, resolving the Tsushima Island outbreak in Japan, and most recently, crushing France's Cannibalism Project.
Given everything that had happened, I figured my name would show up in the next regular update, but I hadn't expected an emergency update.
And to break straight into the TOP 10? Although my cleared floor was high, I wasn't even level 40 yet, so I hadn't held high hopes.
Could it be...?
Lucien Moreau was unregistered, so there was no official data on him, but maybe he was incredibly strong? Perhaps the system had recorded my kill of Lucien Moreau and factored it in...
'...Well, whatever. It feels good anyway.'
It wasn't like I was desperate to get ranked, but now that I was, things would probably get a bit easier. Having an objective metric of my strength meant something.
It would significantly reduce the chances of arrogant punks like Kenji or Arnaud picking fights with me. *Heh.*
"Hunter Lee! You're back—!!"
Kang Mina came rushing into the gate station, completely out of breath.
"T-The world rankings...!"
"You mean this?" I showed her the phone screen. "I already saw it."
"Y-You did...!"
She panted, catching her breath, before screaming at the top of her lungs.
"CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!"
Jesus, she startled me.
"I knew it! From the very moment I met you, Hunter Lee, I knew you were destined for the world rankings! But I never imagined it would happen this fast! It's absolutely incredible! World Rank No. 8!!! Honestly, I think even the No. 1 spot is too small for you! At this rate, you'll get even stronger and soon become the world's strongest hun—"
"...Take a breath before you speak."
"*Cough, cough!* Y-Yes, sir...!"
"Anyway, thank you." I gave her a simple smile and shook her hand. "It's all thanks to your support."
"Hehe, I will continue to do my absolute best to support you!"
Mina even saluted. She really could be a bit dramatic sometimes.
"Well, since this is a milestone, I was thinking of having a celebratory dinner. Want to join us?"
"Oh, can I really come?"
"Why not? I'm paying anyway."
"T-Then I'm in!"
"Beef?"
"Oh, absolutely!"
"Let's go."
It had been a while since our last team dinner!
"Eighth? Not second?"
"Yes."
"Strange. Taepyeong is easily strong enough to be second."
"I agree, but that would draw too much attention to him."
"Hmm..."
"If that happens, trouble will inevitably follow. Just in the opposite way of what happened in France."
France's "Cannibalism Project" had occurred precisely because they didn't know how strong Lee Taepyeong actually was.
The purpose of this emergency ranking update was simple: to warn the world that Lee Taepyeong was not an easy target, so they shouldn't dare mess with him.
However, if they placed him at the terrifying rank of second? It would only pique people's curiosity.
"...Well, that's true. It would be troublesome if *he* took an interest in him," Leo White said, nodding.
"Perhaps the Association President made the right call this time."
World Rank No. 8. At that level, no one would dare think of touching Lee Taepyeong.
"What about France?"
"They keep sending requests for aid, but we are declining them as you instructed."
"Cut off all channels of communication entirely."
"Understood."
"There's no way we're helping people who did that to Taepyeong," Leo White said with a smirk, scrolling through the flood of news articles.
"We need him."