The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 124

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Yeo Joo Saves the World – Episode 124

I checked the map in my hand once more before asking Kang Han a question.
“That hot spring is the one on the map, right?”
We had left behind the arid, shimmering region that felt like an oven and were now entering a more humid area with elevated temperatures.
And the culprit causing this change was the hot spring flowing before us like a small stream.
Kang Han, seeing the section of the map I pointed to with my finger, nodded his head.
“It appears so.”
“Then we’ve come over halfway now.”
It was meant to be encouraging.
The guild members’ reactions bordered on despair.
“Ugh, we’re only halfway through!”
“Regular dungeons really are massive….”
“More than anything, it’s too humid. It’s annoying.”
I fully agreed with Lee Yu Chan as he wiped his glasses.
Thanks to the uniform crafted by Master Gwak Ho Young, I wasn’t greatly affected by the heat, but the moisture in the air was felt keenly against my skin in an odd way.
The dungeon map, made from relatively sturdy paper, had even begun to wrinkle slightly.
I carefully folded the map to avoid any tears and placed it into my subspace.
Still, the dungeon conquest was progressing faster than expected.
We had just passed eighteen hours since entering the dungeon and had already cleared more than half of the right passage.
Considering how significantly slower our movement had been in the early stages because of me, this was quite encouraging progress.
“Guild Leader, please carry me again.”
“I’ll have to wait a moment, Yeo Joo.”
Kang Han, who had been about to carry me as usual, straightened up and spoke.
His gaze was directed toward the ground some distance away from where we had been resting.
‘Another monster.’
I wondered if it was only the path we chose that had this many.
I had lost count of how many times we had encountered monsters.
“Sigh, Lee Yu Eul.”
“Yes, unnie. Let’s go!”
Lee Yu Eul scooped me up in a princess carry and bounced backward.
Ever since entering here, I had been carried around like baggage against my will—was this really right?
Lee Yu Eul carefully set me down once we reached a relatively safe location.
Meanwhile, combat was in full swing ahead.
But something about the monster’s condition seemed off.
“What is that now.”
Crimson hands jutting abruptly from the ground—what an unsettling sight.
They didn’t even possess complete bodies; their height barely reached my knees.
“Ah, those? Foreigners call them Magma Hands, but we just call them Lava Hands here—they’re C-rank common monsters.”
Unlike me, who had been suddenly thrust into this world, Lee Yu Eul had received systematic theoretical education at the Awakener School since childhood, and she readily answered my curiosity.
“Those are C-rank?”
Watching them surge from the ground like moles to target hunters’ legs, I could understand the classification.
Moreover, they retreated back underground with surprising speed, making them difficult to strike.
Glowing as intensely as well-heated charcoal, one misstep that allowed them to grasp an ankle would surely result in severe burns.
“…Shouldn’t we call Ji Sung back as well?”
“Sister, despite appearances, Ji Sung is also S-rank. You’re the one I’m worried about. Look—he’s dodging perfectly.”
“That oppa makes even evading monsters look beautiful.”
Watching Han Ji Sung gracefully and skillfully weave through the flame hands as though performing a waltz, I found myself marveling involuntarily.
And Han Ji Sung’s magnificence didn’t end there.
“Everyone, it’s dangerous—let’s fall back for a moment.”
With those words, Han Ji Sung extended one arm toward the hot spring.
The steam rising from the hot spring instantly transformed into fine, razor-sharp ice fragments.
Whoosh—!
As Han Ji Sung swept his arm in a broad arc, a fierce wind roared and an ice storm blanketed the ground where the Lava Hands had emerged.
“That’s it! Hyung! They’re frozen!”
Lee Yu Chan, watching from the closest vantage point, shouted loudly.
“Forget shields or anything—just stomp them!”
Jang Su Ho trampled the frozen creatures underfoot as though crushing insects crawling on the ground.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end.
The ones hiding underground seemed unaffected by Han Ji Sung’s attack, as more crimson hands suddenly erupted from various points in the earth.
“Oof, my legs. I need to sit this one out. Yu Eul, go lend a hand.”
“Me too? Will you be okay alone, sister?”
“Yeah. I’m back here where nothing can reach me—what could happen?”
“I suppose. Then I’ll go call Yu Chan. I’d feel better if you weren’t completely alone.”
“Sure, thanks.”
I watched Lee Yu Eul’s retreating figure grow distant before collapsing onto the dirt ground.
Though it was bare earth with no nearby rocks to sit on, I had no choice.
While others flew and leaped in combat, sitting idle felt somewhat embarrassing.
But combat-type and non-combat-type Awakeners had fundamentally different base stamina, so it was unavoidable. I consoled myself with this thought as I removed my shoes and socks.
I planned to rest briefly and massage my feet.
That’s when it happened.
“Yeo Joo!”
A familiar voice.
I looked up to see Kang Han rushing toward me at incredible speed, as though leaping through space itself.
‘But why does his face look so pale?’
I stared blankly, seized by that thought.
“…What?”
Before something could seize my exposed, pale foot.
It was a lava hand that had erupted from the ground.
Each joint blazed with crimson fire.
“Ah…!”
A moment later, excruciating agony flooded through me.
The pain was so instantaneous and severe that my mind went completely blank.
“Ugh!”
I instinctively tried to wrench my foot free, but the hand of molten stone refused to release my ankle.
Instead, the sound of crackling filled the air, accompanied by the sickening smell of burning flesh.
“Tch.”
My teeth clenched involuntarily as my entire body trembled from the horrific pain.
Crack—!
Kang Han’s rough hands tore the magma hand apart with his bare hands, arriving in a cloud of dust and debris.
He’ll get hurt doing that.
That was my thought as my consciousness wavered.
“Yeo Joo! Yeo Joo!”
Lee Yu Eul’s scream snapped me back to reality.
Along with a pain that seared through my mind.
“Ah… Hah. Ugh….”
The agony had already stolen my words.
I could only tremble uncontrollably, watching as Kang Han tore the lava hand from the ground and Jang Su Ho crushed it to dust beneath his foot.
“W-what do I do? Yeo Joo, are you okay?”
“How could she be okay, you idiot! Yeo Joo, can’t you use healing? This needs to be fixed right away….”
At Lee Yu Chan’s murmuring, I looked down at my ankle.
My tears blurred my vision, but the charred handprint was unmistakably visible.
‘No wonder it hurts.’
Absurdly, that thought crossed my mind.
I opened a Subspace and retrieved one of the wound-treatment potions Im Chung Soo had prepared, handing it to Kang Han.
“This… on the ankle….”
Though I managed only two words, Kang Han understood.
He uncorked the potion with one hand and drew my head against his chest, whispering.
“Don’t hold it in. Scream if you need to.”
And the pain I thought could not possibly worsen doubled in an instant.
“Ahhh!”
Kang Han told me to scream, but even that became impossible.
When pain becomes too severe, the body produces no sound.
Even with my eyes squeezed shut, light flashed behind my eyelids.
My consciousness seemed to flicker in and out.
The strength drained from my hands, which had been gripping Kang Han’s clothes as if to tear them.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself cradled limply in Kang Han’s arms.
“Haa, haa….”
I felt tears streaming down the corners of my eyes.
I’m still alive.
Along with that wave of relief came the sight of the guild members’ faces, pale as blank paper, and Kang Han, who seemed to be suffering even more than I was.
“I thought I was dying.”
And that was the first thing I said after regaining my senses.
But it was one hundred percent sincere.
You can go into shock from pain that severe!
I moved my head, heavy as lead, to look down at my ankle, and the wound had already healed cleanly.
Despite the excruciating pain, the burn that had exposed the very muscle fibers was completely gone in an instant.
“I’m fine. I’m completely okay now.”
“Do you have any idea what your complexion looks like right now, Yeo Joo?”
Kang Han spoke in a low voice, clearly upset.
“And you, Guild Master? Anyone looking at you would think you were the one who got hurt… Oh! Your hand!”
I hurriedly grabbed Kang Han’s hand—the one he’d used to tear away the lava hand with his bare skin.
“You’re not hurt.”
Just how strong was an S-rank body?
There wasn’t even a red mark on Kang Han’s hand.
Then came the embarrassment, washing over me like a wave.
I’d nearly gone into shock from a C-rank monster while taking off my shoes and massaging my feet.
And on top of that, all of this was being broadcast live right now.
‘Should I just pass out again?’
But Im Chung Soo’s potion was so effective that, aside from being drenched in sweat, I was actually in pretty good condition.
“My shoes….”
I was looking around for them when it happened.
Without a word, the sneakers that had been rolling on the ground were slipped onto my injured foot.
“….”
It was Lee Yu Eul, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
I spoke to her firmly.
“I was the one who told you to go help. Don’t think like that, Lee Yu Eul.”
“…Yes.”
She clearly didn’t understand a word I said.
Her face was painted even darker with guilt.
“If we keep doing this here, we’ll be here all night. Guild Master, could you carry me again?”
I lifted myself up from Kang Han’s arms and spoke as casually as I could manage.
In truth, I wanted to jump up and show everyone how perfectly fine I was, but my body had no strength left in it.
And who knew what might happen if I went stumbling along alone.
Ever since I’d fallen into this world, I’d been grateful to be a non-combat class, but now I desperately wished I were a sturdy combat class instead.
“Everything’s been taken care of, so let’s go now… Ugh.”
My vision suddenly shot upward.
Kang Han had lifted me into his arms.
Just as Lee Yu Eul had embraced me with both arms moments before.
Kang Han, his face set harder than usual, issued orders to his guild members.
“From now on, we don’t stop. If monsters appear, two of you peel off to handle them, then catch up on your own.”
“Yes, sir.”
A grim determination settled over the Justice Guild members.
Somehow my injury had become a kind of catalyst for the guild members.
‘Well, whatever works is fine.’
With that thought, I surrendered my full weight to Kang Han’s solid embrace.
Never mind the bed-like comfort—if I grew weak and we fell behind, losing to Tae San, I might literally die of shock.
“Let’s go.”
With Kang Han’s brief command, the Justice Guild’s speedboat, which had paused momentarily, surged forward.

* * *

“Huff, huff!”
Ragged breathing erupted from Gwak Ho Young’s mouth.
“Th-there! The Boss Room entrance!”
Kim Han Kwon shouted, spurring the guild members onward.
“Damn it, move!”
The always-immaculate Gwak Ho Young was long gone.
Squeezing out his last reserves of strength, Gwak Ho Young stumbled forward—already a wreck.
He’d rolled across the ground countless times, caked in dust and dirt, and his fluorescent orange flame-resistant suit had been torn to shreds long ago.
‘We made it. We’re almost there!’
A smile spread across Gwak Ho Young’s parched lips as he considered how much he’d suffered in a single day.
It had been a grueling forced march, skipping meals, sleep, and rest.
Along the way, some guild members had sustained serious injuries, but the healer had patched them up enough to keep moving.
The healer, having pushed herself to the limit, was now being carried on Kim Han Kwon’s back, but none of it mattered.
As long as they arrived before the Justice Guild.
“Huff, huff, we won…!”
As Gwak Ho Young rounded the final corner and threw both arms up in triumph, the footsteps of every Taesan Guild member froze simultaneously.
Several round tents were pitched in front of the massive Boss Room door.
In the center, a small campfire was even burning—the picture of a perfect base camp.
“Wh-what is all this…?”
Gwak Ho Young muttered, unable to believe his eyes.
Just then, the entrance to the largest tent opened, and the Justice Guild’s healer poked her face out, waving her hand playfully.
“Oh, you’re just arriving now?”
“Oh, are you here now?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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