“What is it?” Gi-Gyu, on his way out, looked back.

Tae-Shik replied, “I think an unofficial ranking match is still necessary.”

“Pardon?” Gi-Gyu asked, genuinely confused by Tae-Shik’s answer. Didn’t Tae-Shik just say he was officially a ranker now since the association acknowledged him as one? So why was he suddenly talking about a ranking match? Gi-Gyu thought hard, but he just couldn't understand. 

Tae-Shik scratched his cheek, remembering he never explained the proper process. “Ah! I guess you don’t know. Do you really think the other rankers will be okay with an association-appointed ranker? They each spent so much effort for that position, so what do you think their reactions would be if the association deemed a random player a ranker? It definitely won’t be ‘I understand. Have a nice day.’”

Gi-Gyu shook his head. Now that he thought about it, he realized Tae-Shik was right. He hadn’t been putting much thought into this whole thing, but now, he could understand how annoyed the other rankers would feel. 

‘After all, the rankers and the high rankers took great pride in their position.’

There was no way the other rankers would accept Gi-Gyu just because the association ordered it. Tae-Shik explained, “That’s why an official ranking match must occur. You must battle an existing ranker with at least three other rankers as witnesses. An official match calls for at least three rankers and an audience; your match...