Sister of the Ranking 1st (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
It was a candle, half-melted by its own wax. Calming my startled heart, I looked around, relying on the faint light, and caught sight of blurry outlines.
The room, resembling a medieval castle chamber, was filled with items neatly yet chaotically strewn about, as if it were a storeroom.
The pale light flickered, causing the letters on a wall poster to tremble along with it.
Could this be a language from another world? Even Latin seemed simpler than this—just as that thought crossed my mind, my mouth moved on its own.
“[Here, in honor of the Great King’s sacrifice?]”
Though the writing had clearly been unreadable, I could read it nonetheless.
In that instant, euphoria surged within me. Could this script be tied to my lost memories? If so, perhaps recalling them might trigger an awakening…
‘[System:: Abnormal access detected.]’
My vision cleared, as if a fog had lifted. I distinctly remembered seeing a status window appear before my eyes right before getting caught in the Gate—
Even if it had merely been an error.
I wanted to cling to even the vaguest hope. It’s fine. I can survive. Either I’ll awaken at the brink of death, or someone will come to rescue me…
Clank.
I was desperately suppressing my fear when the sound of metal clashing against metal reached my ears—footsteps from somewhere.
Simultaneously, the scent of death thickened. My breath caught in my throat.
The meaning of that sound was unmistakable: something was approaching from beyond the door.
My audible gulp echoed unnaturally loud.
Gritting my teeth to minimize any noise, I pressed myself against the wall beside the door. Please, just pass by without incident…!
Clank… clank. The footsteps that had been steadily approaching from afar suddenly stopped mid-stride.
Had it gone? Or why had the sound ceased? Those few seconds felt like hours. Holding my breath, I peeked through the gap in the door into the corridor.
“…!”
There stood a headless knight.
Corroded black armor, inky smoke seeping from where its head should have been, a sword in one hand, a helmet in the other.
The implication was unmistakable: a Death Knight. A Dullahan.
If a Dullahan was patrolling, this Gate was unquestionably rated S-class.
Only after the clanking faded into the distance did a weak, hollow laugh escape me.
An S-class Gate? Even in an E-class Gate, civilian survival rates plummeted dramatically—but an S-class?
Well, only something at S-class level could cause a synchronization anomaly right inside Guild grounds.
At that moment, I felt as though the floor beneath me had vanished.
I had left paradise behind and returned. To find someone… Who was it I came back for again…?
Ah, my family… Right—I came back to find my oppa.
Because you’d be lonely all alone, so…
But if I die right here like this…
…was there any point in returning at all?
To accomplish nothing, just like this?
A strange sensation enveloped my entire body.
It felt as though I was being separated from myself.
As if something else, not my own will, was moving me…
Countless tinnitus-like echoes screamed inside my head.
Dizzy and overwhelmed, my instincts screamed warnings amid the chaotic noise—but pointlessly, as my hand moved on its own.
The instant my fingers grasped the doorknob, the candle abruptly snuffed out. Thick smoke rose as a man who’d been trapped in a nightmare screamed and bolted upright.
“Aaaaaaah—!”
My hand stilled. The ringing vanished, and sanity returned.
What had I just been about to do?
The man, jolted awake by the commotion, panted heavily. Still disoriented, he muttered something ominous under his breath.
“Better… annihilation… Huh?”
“…Are you awake now?”
“W-what? Where am I?”
“Where else? Inside a Gate. Don’t tell me you’re an Awakened but don’t even know that, mister.”
“Ugh, don’t call me ‘mister’! But seriously—this is really a Gate?”
“Yes. And likely an S-class one, too. Want to recite some Gate info for me?”
“Gate info? Whoa, what is this?!”
The man, now somewhat lucid, babbled incoherently.
Was he still not fully lucid? And he seemed terribly clumsy for a Hunter. I had a gut feeling he wouldn’t help me survive.
Sighing, I scolded him like a child.
“Are you even a real Hunter, mister?”
“Of course I am! Who’re you to judge, you little brat!”
“What’s your rank, then?”
“…”
Don’t say another word.
“If even an unawakened like me knows more than you, that’s seriously concerning…”
“W-what?! You’re the weird one! How do you even know this Gate’s estimated S-class?!”
“Not me—Park Ha Young. A Dullahan just passed by. Dullahans are at least A-rank monsters. If it’s doing patrol as a common mob, this Gate must be at least S-class. Or maybe even ‘Unknown’—anything beyond S-class is categorized as Unknown, after all…”
“…I’m not ‘mister’—I’m Kim Myung Hak. And Park Ha Young? That’s you?”
“Yes. Park Ha Young. Got a problem with that?”
“No, it’s just…”
Kim Myung Hak—who I’d earlier nicknamed “Problematic Uncle”—gave me a strange look. Was there something wrong with my name? Just as I wondered, he suddenly sighed, rubbing his temples with a deeply troubled expression.
“Never mind. So a Dullahan passed by…”
“You do know what a Dullahan is, right?”
“Yeah, of course! Isn’t it that headless knight?”
“…Then please recite the Gate info you just checked.”
My skeptical tone narrowed his eyes. He grumbled but reluctantly provided the information.
[The Black Tomb of the Forgotten King]Rank: ???
Attribute: ???
Party Limit: ???
Notable Monsters: ???
Boss Monster: ???
Truly useless. I hadn’t expected the visible info to be this limited. I’d heard Hunters saw different data, but still…
My exasperated sigh made Myung Hak jump.
“What gives you the right to sigh?! You’re just an unawakened—you can’t even do anything!”
Hearing that, irritation boiled over.
Does he even realize I dragged him all the way here? I really should’ve abandoned him from the start.
Still, talking with someone—anyone—slowly eased my anxiety.
A faint giggle slipped out. When I chuckled softly, Myung Hak outright jabbed a finger at me, shouting that I was mocking him. Honestly, I couldn’t even tell what he was saying anymore.
But something felt… missing.
The moment that thought struck me, a chill ran down my spine. And at the same time, footsteps returned.
Ah, seriously. Nothing ever goes right…
[This is the timeline separator]His deep blue eyes gleamed with gloom.
The man, staring blankly out the floor-to-ceiling window of his unnaturally dark room, let out a short sigh.
“Damn it…”
Frowning in annoyance, he stepped closer to the window. Arcs of electricity sparked around him in the air, unnoticed by anyone.
For a fleeting moment, he felt everything he’d tried to protect had turned meaningless—and laughed.
“So the weak resort to tricks.”
Before him, a crimson system window appeared. Abnormal access. Error. Twisting causality inevitably triggered an error.
Casually dismissing the window, he muttered as if exhaling.
“Shin A Ya… this is for your sake, so stay put quietly.”
His whisper carried an ominous glint in his eyes.
Cheon Shin Woo, South Korea’s Rank 1—busier than the president—let out a brief groan.
Thankfully, no one saw the icy fury in his eyes as he prepared to step forward—when someone entered the room.
“Guild Master! There’s a Gate sync inside the Guild…!”
“Casualty report?”
“We’re still verifying headcounts. Approximately 28 people were synced, including 7 non-combat Awakeneds…”
“Thirty. One rat… and one unawakened.”
“Sir?”
The guild member, reporting the unprecedented crisis, stood dumbfounded. Cheon Shin Woo smirked slightly, his lips tilting sardonically.
“Any other known intel?”
“Ah, they’re verifying now. It’s an uncharted Gate, so there’s zero prior data…”
The reporting guild member’s face paled further. The air grew unnaturally cold—clearly signaling Cheon Shin Woo’s foul mood.
What could possibly anger him this much? Just as the terrified guild member trembled, Cheon Shin Woo indifferently uttered:
“Check Gate info.”
Instantly, readable data appeared before only his eyes.
[The Black Tomb of the Forgotten King]Rank: S
Attribute: Illusion, Death, Darkness
Party Limit: Unlimited
Notable Monsters: Dullahan, Death Knight, Ghost, ???
Boss Monster: ???
Cheon Shin Woo’s eyes lit up as he read the details. His bitter mutter—“Of all things, this one…”—made the guild member flinch again.
“Rank S. Attributes: illusion, death, and darkness. With undead monsters plus illusion-type… there must be plenty of spirit-type monsters capable of mental attacks. Unlimited party size, but numbers won’t help. They’d only die trying.”
“Sir?”
“I’m going. Alert the Association and manage the situation.”
Having said his piece, Cheon Shin Woo moved instantly.
He kicked open the floor-to-ceiling window and leaped from the 30th floor, leaving the guild member gaping in shock.
“He’d better make it back safely…”
Cheon Shin Woo’s final murmur dissolved instantly into the air—heard by no one.
[This is the timeline separator]“What the hell are you doing?!”
My sudden action of clamping his mouth shut made Myung Hak jump. Panicked, I covered his mouth again and shushed him firmly—but the clueless man only grew angrier.
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“Please shut up if you want to live!”
“What? What is it?”
Despite my desperate expression, he merely looked around bewildered. The clanking footsteps were still distant, but I couldn’t afford to relax.
Did this guy have zero situational awareness? Had he forgotten we were in a Gate?
“Monsters! Monsters are coming!”
My whisper, strained to its quietest limit, was barely more than a breathless whimper. Myung Hak looked at me as if asking what the big deal was.
Was this guy’s brain broken or what? Just as I thought that, his expression shifted to sheer horror.
“Mon…!”
Please pick up the damn hint! I clamped my hand over his mouth again before he could scream.
This time, Myung Hak nodded, panting heavily but finally calm. I wanted to tell him to breathe quietly too—but couldn’t demand that from someone staring death in the face.
“If it’s monsters… is it that Dullahan?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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