A Ranker’s Guide to the Good Life
Chapter 7

[Congratulations, Korea!]

[Babel Tower - 38th floor has been cleared!]

[The “Daybreak” guild tolls the victory bell.]

[Republic of Korea - Babel Tower 39th floor has been unlocked.]

It was around eleven o’clock that night. Those who had been winding down after a hard day’s work raised their heads in unison. Some of them approached the window to stare into the distance.

The faint, faraway dinging of a bell could be heard. Even Jio opened her eyes. The tolling was coming from the Korean Babel tower. Whenever someone reached the final point on a floor of the tower, a bell would appear. Thus, it came to be known as the “victory bell.”

Once a team overcame all of the floor’s challenges and tolled the bell, the next floor would open. Naturally, the current one would be marked complete as well.

It’s a real rush to ring that bell, thought Jirok.

Jio’s brother would often smile and say the experience was the most cathartic he had ever known in his young life. According to him, the hunters who put their lives on the line and did anything they could to progress up the tower might actually be addicted to the sensation of ringing the victory bell.

▷ Locale — Republic of Korea

▷ Domestic Ranker Channel #1

| 3 | Alpha: Good work, Twilight :)

| 8 | Dawit: That dogged bastard... Who’d have thought he’d manage it in one day?

| 12 | Imagination: He got lucky. We gave up halfway, and that was our third attempt. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the rankings changed at all :D

| 6 | LateNightSnackKing: &/&:/ Where you at, you son of a b*tch? Send me your location right now£%}+

| 4 | Yansae Ha: I’m sure you all haven’t forgotten that the thirty-ninth floor is next. That means it’ll be ridiculously difficult since it’s the last of the thirties.

| 4 | Yansae Ha: I think we should round up the elite hunters from each guild like we did last time with the 29th floor. That’ll prevent unnecessary casualties.

| 8 | Dawit: Hey, uh... #1 -_-

| 8 | Dawit: You reading all this? You were at Seolleung Station today, weren’t you? How long are you gonna show the misterious act?

| 1 | Jo: 6_6

| 1 | Jo: It’s “Mysterious” not “misterious”...

| 4 | Yansae Ha: And it’s “play” not “show.”

| 8 | Dawit: Damn it! You grammar prudes are such a pain in the ass!

| 5 | Bambi: Where are you at, Jo?

Jio only ever spoke on the channel to respond to Dawit from time to time. Dawit Choi was her favorite hunter. It warmed her heart each time she saw her. She was like a warm soup that provided solace for the #1 hunter’s soul.

I knew it. I may not study much, but I’m still pretty smart.

Jio was of the opinion that people like Dawit were the only ones who should go on TV in order to protect everyone else’s self-esteem.

I bet if Mom saw that, she’d finally understand just how clever her eldest is.

Then without warning, her phone buzzed.

[Mom’s son: Hey]

[Mom’s son: Hey!]

[Mom’s son: Aren’t you coming home?]

[Mom’s son: What the hell are you thinking? You really don’t give a damn about anything, do you?]

Jio turned over to lie on her side. The lights were off in the small room, and the ceiling was low, so it was hardly a few meters from the floor.

Dohyeon was living in a studio near a university, which he had evidently attempted to make seem bigger by dividing the single room with partitions. Like its tenant, it was fairly clean, yet it reeked of poverty. It had genuinely surprised her. Given how good-looking he was, she had expected him to come from money.

Dohyeon readily allowed his guest to use his mattress before lying a blanket down in front of his kitchenette to sleep on. Since she could see rather well in the dark, she could make out the outline of his shoulder blades through his white T-shirt as he lay with his back turned to her.

“I know it’s a bit late to be asking this question, but...” she began.

He sighed before muttering, “You’re not asleep yet?”

“Do you live here alone?”

“Yes.”

“How come?”

“Um... Because I don’t have any siblings. And... both of my parents died in an accident when I was little. I lived with my uncle until I got to middle school, then lived on my own ever since.”

“All by yourself like this?”

“Yeah, ‘like this,’” he replied with a chuckle.

Even his answers are pure and simple.

“Then what about college? Or... do you work?”

“I guess I did start working sooner than others my age. But I had to quit a few days ago because something came up. By the way, why are you suddenly asking all these personal questions?”

“‘Cause you’re a stranger and a guy. I figured I should know a few things about you if I’m gonna stay at your place.”

“But you’re a stranger to me too. That’s hardly fair. I don’t even know your real name.”

Jio sat up in surprise before asking, “You don’t?”

“No. All I know about you is that you go by Jo online and by... Sorcerer King. Ah! And you said on the way here that your friends are twenty, but you’re still nineteen because you were born just before the cut off for the school year. That’s it.”

“Hmm...”

Dohyeon’s eyes shot open as the hum of her voice was suddenly very close to his ear.

Oh my god!

Without any prior warning, Jio was standing over him and looking down with her hand on her chin. Aside from a bit of pale moonlight coming through the window, it was a dark night. As she squatted in the darkness, her figure resembled a cat even more. It was almost strange to him that... she almost didn’t look human at all.

Her eyes look so young, yet so old at the same time.

There also appeared to be something in her eyes as they glinted in the moonlight. It was something undetectable by mere humans.

“I’m just surprised because you acted like you knew everything about me,” she explained.

“Oh...” he mumbled.

“And didn’t you say you traveled back in time? Why don’t you know?”

“Wait... How do you know that?”

“Oh, wow... You really have no clue, do you? You told me your real name without even knowing what I can see?”

“Well... I suppose I’ve experienced something like this before.”

The first time we met, you asked for my name as well.

She had smiled after he told her as if she knew everything, then went as far as to reveal her face to him. Her smile that day remained forever engraved in his mind.

Dohyeon gulped as he thought, She’s... so close.

He couldn’t get up even if he wanted to. As he lay under Jio’s scrutinizing gaze, his eyes traveled from her forehead to her lips.

She laughed as she concluded, “Then I guess we weren’t close at all.”

“I would have... preferred that,” he began.

But Jo had been so distant. No matter how famous he became or how much recognition he gained as a rising star hunter, she had already been at the top long before any of his achievements. Hers was an unassailable throne, so she was completely out of reach even when the world met its end. That was why he was finding it difficult to believe how close she was to him at that moment.

“We only spoke once. After that, I only saw you a few other times from a distance. By the way, about earlier... I’m sorry if I seemed rude today.”

“Jo.”

“Uh... What?”

“Jio.”

Once a nickname was set in Babel Network, it could never be changed. There were a number of hunters who had done embarrassing things without realizing they’d never be able to outrun their dark pasts, but Jio thankfully wasn’t one of them.

She had always liked simplicity, which was further proven by her nickname.

“Ji-o. That’s my name.”

Dohyeon didn’t say a word.

“In a way, you did sort of know it already, right?”

Hey, don’t look at me like that, Mr. Time Travel! You’re making me feel all weird.

* * *

“This is driving me up the wall!”

“What is?”

Babylon was one of the top five guilds in Korea since all of its hunters were ranked so close to the top. Jirok was both their young leader and their highest ranking hunter. And as one might expect of a guild infamous for being part of the orthodox camp, it was known for being filled with hunters who believed in climbing the tower religiously.

“What else? That enemy on the inside.”

“You mean your sister? The one who’s studying for her third attempt at the college entrance exam?”

“Hey, keep it down! It’s humiliating enough as it is. Don’t make me kill you ‘cause you can’t keep your mouth shut.”

The vice guild master of Babylon Sejong Sa ranked twelfth in the nation and could afford to laugh at the young guild master’s threats.

“Hey, failing that exam is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Ugh! Why do you keep bringing that up?” Jirok grumbled while tsking in annoyance. Then in a more serious tone, he added, “It really isn’t her fault though. In my opinion, it’s the universities that have gotten sort of weird recently. She might not have been top of her class or anything, but she is smart. Who knows? Maybe the schools are only letting in kids whose parents are alums or something.”

“Uh... Sure...”

“Hey, think you could look into it? I mean, your family’s loaded. Don’t you all have some unofficial connections with a few of the big universities?”

This bastard’s such a sucker when it comes to his sister, thought the vice guild master. Well, it’s not like this is the first time.

Sejong decided to redirect the conversation back to the original topic.

“So what’s bugging you about your sister this time?”

Jirok muttered something unintelligible through his clenched jaw, which forced his vice to ask, “What?”

“She ran away from home, damn it!”

That useless, cat-eyed glutton! her brother added inwardly. I wish I could yank out all her hair or something. How could she actually run away?! Has she finally lost her mind? Doesn’t she know how dangerous the world is?

The “deranged deer” then began to pace the room in a rage. Other guild members began to enter the room since they had a meeting, but they whispered to one another upon noticing their young guild master.

“Does he need to go to the bathroom or something?”

“Why’s he groaning like that?”

“What’s with the guild master today?”

“I heard his older sister ran away from home.”

“Ha! I can understand her one thousand percent! Imagine how stuffy her life must be! You guys have no idea how bad it can get for an eldest daughter in Korea,” guild member Mi Doh explained.

She, of course, had no idea what sort of person Jio Gyeon was.

Thus, Jirok burst out angrily, “You have no idea! She left without even taking a credit card or anything with her!”

Huh?

The guild members were all collectively confused by that statement since it was completely out of the blue. As he noticed their expressions, the young leader became even more frustrated and thumped his chest as he broke out into a speech.

“Don’t you guys get the gravity of the situation? My mom cut up my credit card, so that idiot ran out into the streets empty-handed! She didn’t even finish eating before she left. And the weather’s gonna get cold soon, but she was in slippers! What are you guys, heartless?!”

Shuddering at the callousness of his companions, Jirok turned away in a huff. He had already turned Jio into a poor orphan girl who was freezing out in the cold.

Mi stared for a moment before saying in a suspicious, yet cautious tone, “Don’t tell me he’s... crying.”

“I’m so... disappointed in all of you,” he muttered.

Man, working under such a young boss is rough, Sejong thought as he clicked his tongue while leaning against a wall.

Not only had Jirok recently rushed out of the tower in the middle of clearing a floor without warning, he was currently bringing down everyone’s spirits right before their meeting. The young hunter was at the age where his emotions were still hard to control. In truth, a few of the older members were actually amazed that their guild hadn’t fallen apart yet.

Sejong would have led a mutiny if he wasn’t only an S-tier hunter himself.

Why is it that all the powerful ones have such flawed personalities?

He often wished he could ask the celestials why they made a habit of choosing such questionable individuals. He was one of the rare possessors of common sense in the hunter world, yet all he could do was bitterly organize documents.

[Suggestion for collaboration between the five major guilds for floor 39]

[Babylon - Proposal for general reinforcement (AKA, Recruitment of new hunters) for the tutorial]

Between the newly opened thirty-ninth floor and tutorial season being just around the corner, they had two important events ahead of them. Even so, having a proper discussion proved yet again to be the most out of reach goal for Babylon.

* * *

Around the same time, there was another individual who was suffering because of a girl who shared the Gyeon name. Dohyeon fell silent as he stared at his small room. His humble home had become more like a dungeon in just two days.

His small TV was on, but no one was watching it. There were popsicle wrappers and snack crumbs everywhere, and a pile of his blankets was moving. He could see the back of his guest’s small head with her headphones on as she tapped away on her phone.

“Suck it!” she shouted as she played some unknown game.

The bag full of fried chicken and ice cream suddenly slipped out of his hands at the unsavory sight.

“Oh, there you are. You bought the right brand of ice cream this time, right? If you got the wrong one again, I’m sorry to say you’ll regret it.”

Jo scurried over, rummaged through the plastic bag, then rushed back to her spot.

Is living with someone supposed to be this difficult?

[“Kind, Gullible Stranger!” trait acquired. Good luck, you’ll need it!]

Mom, Dad... please give your son strength.

24-year-old Dohyeon Baek was already struggling to live out his second attempt at life,

but he was beginning to realize that taking in the nation’s #1 hunter may have been an irreparable mistake.