A Ranker’s Guide to the Good Life
Chapter 6

Dohyeon had met her on a day when humanity almost met its demise. Sudden gates had appeared in the hundreds all over the country all at the same time.

It was the first large-scale outbreak ever since Babel Network had raised the status of the country to a “Top Priority Country.” Waves of monsters had poured out of the gates without an end in sight.

The hunters put up resistance from their respective locations to the best of their abilities, but it wasn’t enough. Things were especially bad around Jamsil Bridge, where a small yet elite guild like Babylon had taken charge.

The hunters were pushed into a corner without any backup. Then the bridge quickly began to collapse from all the shock. They were nearing their limit when their guild master Jirok Gyeon took a hit for Dohyeon Baek. after he landed in a risky position while rescuing some civilians.

“Jirok! No! Get up! Open your eyes, Jirok!”

“F*ck... That hurts like hell.”

“This is no time to be laughing! Your arm... damn it!”

His shoulder was completely crushed, and the terrible sight left Dohyeon speechless. Jirok, however, smiled even while coughing up blood.

“Dohyeon... Our kindhearted Mr. Nice Guy, Dohyeon. What if I told you I had an unused trump card up my sleeve? Why do I get the feeling you’re about to scold me for not using it sooner?”

“This is no time for jokes! We need to stanch the blee—”

Dohyeon was about to stand when Jirok suddenly grabbed his collar.

With a wild look in his eyes, he whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about what you’re about to see.”

Without warning, the guild master crushed the necklace he always wore in his bloodied hand. What followed seemed like a fantastical dream. To start off, the color of the sky changed. Then a rumble of thunder cut through the air like a signal going off, and the monsters that had been running rampant were thrown to their deaths into the Han River.

The air reverberated with each thunderous crackle accompanied by the whistling of vast wings tearing through the atmosphere. As Dohyeon stared up at the ongoing chaos, Jirok lay unconscious in his arms.

The shadow filling the sky grew larger and darker until he spotted a black dragon flying down and someone sitting on top of it. Although it was his first time ever seeing the person, he instinctually knew who it was. Korea’s rumored, unshakeable #1 hunter “Jo.”

Sorcerer King!

Sorcerer King landed softly on the ground before walking toward them. Dohyeon’s eyes widened at the extraordinary sight. The space around Jo was mending as the hunter approached them. It was as if time was turning back with Sorcerer King’s every step.

Then Jo asked, “Did you do that to Jirok?”

“I... can’t say I’m not partially at fault.”

“If you did, then you’re a dead man. Choose your words wisely.”

“I didn’t wound him, but I am the reason he got hurt. You’re a friend of my guild master, right? I have no excuse if you want to hold me accountable. I’m... I’m so sorry.”

“What’s your name?”

“Dohyeon. Dohyeon Baek.”

There was a brief silence, then the top hunter pulled back the hood covering the top of their face. Their eyes met as sunlight spilled over from behind... her.

She’s a woman, Dohyeon thought.

His eyes twitched as a powerful sensation he had never felt before overwhelmed his body. It felt as if he had just been ambushed. He had to fight back tears at the unexpected appearance of Sorcerer King.

Jo grinned as she said, “I’m just as surprised as you are. Those are some fancy titles you’ve got there, Dohyeon. You must be quite a handful for your acquaintances.”

“What do you...?”

“Never mind. I don’t want to get mixed up with you. ‘Brave and virtuous protector,’ right? That’s why I revealed my identity to you. Take a good look. I don’t look like a bad person, do I? I’m taking Jirok with me, so don’t worry.”

And that was the end of it. The black dragon rose into the sky once more as the sun set. As it was both the first and last conversation he ever had with her, it became a powerful memory. Dohyeon never told anyone about it after that—not even Jirok—but he hadn’t been able to forget the image of her flying away ever since either. The image stayed with him right until his life came to an end.

* * *

In the present, Dohyeon Baek was reliving the same life for a second time. Jo looked just as small, cute, and uninterested as she was the day they met.

“Ugh... There’s nothing to eat here. How do you live in a place like this?”

Dohyeon stared at his “guest” in silence.

“Whaaat?! Th-there isn’t even a proper bed! What the hell is this place?! It’s bumming me out.”

He continued to stare as he thought, I... I don’t remember her being like this.

Sorcerer King had resigned to wrapping herself in his blanket, then poking her head out. The sight was making it difficult to remind himself that she was the #1 hunter in Korea.

“Pardon me,” she said.

“Hm?” he finally answered.

“Could you order me some spicy rice cakes? I haven’t had to work in a while, and I’m pretty hungry. Like really hungry.”

“‘Spicy... rice cakes’?”

“Oh man... My stomach’s gonna eat itself! All because some rando forced me to get involved… Now I can’t even move my arms! In fact, I think I’ll die at this rate.”

“Um... Which kind should I order?”

“The spiciest ones. Actually, order half and half. Ask for spice levels 1 and 2. And don’t forget to add cheese, please.”

This doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel right at all.

After Dohyeon placed the order, Jo muttered something about corn dogs going perfectly with the rice cakes. Before he knew it, he was forced to put his shoes back on to go buy those as well.

“Oh! And grab some popsicles on your way back.”

He didn’t answer as the door closed behind him.

Where’s the convenience store around here again?

He knew there wasn’t one anywhere near his hideout. Since he’d only just arrived from the past, he hadn’t taken stock of his surroundings yet.

This might take longer than I’d like, but… I’ll have to hurry!

Love was a restrictive emotion humanity endured of their own volition. Thus, the faithful border collie who hadn’t forgotten his first love hurried out of his home.

* * *

Two hours prior, Jio had received an ability from her celestial. Its functionality could be compared to an archive or a digital library.

“Librarification.”

Simply put, it was similar to the way advanced monsters could shift their surroundings to create optimal battlegrounds for themselves.

Whenever she used this ability, she gained several skills as both the master of the library and the sole representative of her celestial. In the zone she controlled, she could document others’ information, review it, edit the “developments” or “endings” in the timeline of the real world, and even find “records” and make them manifest in reality.

When her brother first learned about the ability, he raged about there being no justice in the world and how she was the most unbalanced, overpowered, god-tier character he had ever seen. Even so, her celestial had insisted that she still needed experience and suggested that she start climbing the local tower.

As if to prove that point, the proficiency level shown in her status window for the librarification skill was only 17%. In any case, that did not change the fact that she was extremely powerful.

I guess my ability is... pretty amazing.

After writing in the air with a quill, she did a gesture to make it vanish.

“Modification” was a difficult and dangerous ability category even for grand mages who had inhuman capacities for calculation. But at present, she had someone who traveled from a different timeline and knew every detail about the incident. That made her job significantly easier.

Thus, every possible outcome on the current timeline vanished after she edited out the entire Seolleung Station gate incident. Everything had been restored to a perfect clean slate.

As Jio repressed a prideful smile, she raised her hand to bid farewell as she said, “Well, I didn’t particularly like meeting you, so I hope I never see you again.”

“W-wait!”

“No way. I’m going after my own happiness—free from the chains of this harsh world.”

Dohyeon had no time to stop her since she dashed off at a speed worthy of a hunter with an agility specialty. After zigzagging this way and that, then hiding in an alleyway near a Sunbucks, she lost him.

Modern-day fantasy novel protagonists were scary people. A long-standing genre trope suggested that when a character like him encountered a powerful being, he would exploit them until they had absolutely nothing more to offer.

Thus, since Jio was the #1 hunter, she was the most powerful person around. If she were to get mixed up in his affairs, and he got the notion later that she would make a great sidekick, it would be all over for her.

Not a chance in hell. Who said you could make me your sidekick?

She had no intention of being in service to anyone.

Not to mention, the guy looks like a pedigree border collie. Then if you add in the fact that he traveled back in time...

[Your celestial Fate Reader marvels at your truly sharp survival instincts.]

Her phone vibrated.

Who’s texting me in the middle of an emergency?

[Mom’s son: (Photo)]

[Mom’s son: (Photo)]

Well, that’s Sunbucks for you.

She was reminded of the café franchise’s top-of-the line Wi-Fi service. Even from outside, she was receiving signal. While marveling at the sheer capital of such large corporate franchises, she unlocked her phone.

Nooooo!

Jirok had sent her two photos of her room. All the furniture had been completely cleared out. She felt a tug at her heart strings as she stared at the faint traces of where her bed once sat.

She quickly read the rest of the messages with mounting shock in her eyes. The bits about a Buddhist temple in Gangwon Province and having to pray daily especially made her eyes bulge.

“Gangwon”?! That boarding school in Yongin was terrible enough, but now she wants me to go to a temple out in the boonies?!

Her brain lurched into overdrive. She hadn’t even put her mind to work urgently either time she took her college entrance exams. It didn’t take her long to reach a decision.

All right. I’ll do whatever it takes to put off the pain of tomorrow. I’ve made up my mind!

Jio stepped out from behind the telephone pole she had been using to hide, then leaned on one leg.

“Hey, mister!”

Dohyeon had been searching for the runaway Sorcerer King and spun around in shock to see her suddenly behind him.

She studied his pure, trustworthy, and kind-looking face for a moment, then asked, “You look pretty well-off. Got any money? Or a house?”

* * *

She sounded exactly like a teen runaway when she said that, Dohyeon thought while reminiscing on how he had gained his houseguest.

People would often say that when a person takes in a stray cat, the cat is the one choosing them rather than the other way around. He was starting to understand exactly what that felt like.

Although Jo was technically a human, she was a tiny woman who greatly resembled a household feline. She was shameless, lazy, didn’t like to move around much, and seemed to believe she had the right to order others around.

“What’re you looking at?” she asked while yawning.

She’s also very standoffish.

“Hey, Baek. I’m sleepy. Be a pal and turn off the lights.”

She’s... so cute. No! I need to keep it together! What am I even thinking? Since when were you such a pushover, Dohyeon?!

He shook his head in an attempt to get his thoughts under control, then set his face to look colder and more detached to match his persona as the hardened time traveler who had lived through a number of terrible battles.

“You should brush your teeth before bed. Here, I bought you a new toothbrush. Get up.”

“Ugh... That sounds like a pain.”

“You have to. Your teeth will rot if you don’t. You had two popsicles earlier, remember? Come on.”

Jio reluctantly rose from under the blanket. She followed him home since she had nowhere else to go and needed to avoid her mother, but for a young guy, he was pretty relentless. He scolded her for spilling some of the spicy rice cakes, then glared at her for eating all of the corn dogs. On top of that, he told her off for leaving her popsicle sticks on the floor after she finished eating them.

I was practically kicked out of my house, man. Would it kill you to be a bit nicer to me?

[Your celestial Fate Reader nods emphatically. He appears worried and says that not everyone is as pure as this Dohyeon fellow.]

What can I say, Big Sis? Guess I’ll have to be the bigger person and put up with him.

[Your celestial looks uneasy and says that his precious avatar can be a little too nice for her own good sometimes. He sounds very upset while describing how scary this world is, and how his little kitten is making him nervous by staying in a strange man’s home.]

Wel—

[“Spoiled Child” trait advances one level!]

Both Jio and her celestial fell silent at the unexpected alert.

Damn it, Babel!

Somewhere far, far away, an overprotective astral being was clearing his throat since he didn’t know what to say about the level up. The hunter resigned herself to quietly brushing her teeth.