The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 15

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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 15

“Insane.”
“That’s huge!”
The twins bounced around the van in circles, their excitement boundless.
Since today was the weekend, the two high school students had joined without hesitation.
“So you’ve got everything planned out?”
Jang Su Ho spoke to me with wide, curious eyes.
I hadn’t even shown them a hint of the plan yet.
“Taking the train to Chuncheon and then a taxi to Obongsan is such a hassle. I’d rather spend that time mining instead.”
“Though I did catch on when you started throwing around 2.5 billion won checks.”
Ding ding ding—
I heard the affinity notifications rising for the twins and Jang Su Ho.
Though each was only a measly ‘+1’.
Ding—
Han Ji Sung’s affinity rose a beat later.

《 ♥ 12 》

In this barren wasteland of affinity, even this much was a real catch.
As a gesture, I smiled once at Han Ji Sung, then asked the guild members a question.
“Who here has a Class 1 standard driver’s license?”

* * *

In the end, Jang Su Ho became the driver.
Han Ji Sung and Kang Han both held standard Class 1 licenses, but in a Confucian nation like Korea, the decision was made purely by age order—even if the heavens split in two.
“It’s so cold!”
“This won’t be easy.”
“The average temperature is minus ten degrees!”
Unlike the gentle warmth outside the Gate, the interior of the glacial Dungeon was so frigid that my head throbbed.
“This feels like it’s at least minus fifteen degrees.”
Jang Su Ho said, rubbing his hands together.
“You’re surprisingly sharp.”
“What?”
Jang Su Ho was right.
When the Awakeners Association first cleared this Dungeon and during the auction, the Obongsan Dungeon maintained minus ten degrees.
But within just a few days, it had plummeted to minus eighteen degrees.
No matter how skilled Awakeners were, thin spring clothing wouldn’t suffice in such temperatures.
‘That’s actually an advantage for us.’
I opened a subspace and distributed the items I’d prepared.
“Here, cold-weather clothing.”
“Unnie! I really love you!”
Lee Yu Eul, who claimed to hate the cold as much as I did, embraced me and lifted me clean off the ground.
“You’re cold. Put on your clothes, quickly.”
“Yes!”
The insulated padding I’d prepared after measuring everyone’s sizes fit the guild members perfectly.
I also slipped on my own specially prepared B-rank outfit.
Ah, now I can breathe again.
Next came the mining tools.
“These are ice-type Dungeon-exclusive pickaxes. They’ll make things considerably easier.”
“…How much money did you spend exactly?”
Han Ji Sung asked with concern.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it all back later.”
Unlike Han Ji Sung and Kang Han, whose expressions had darkened slightly, the three beagles were absolutely thrilled.
“This is my first time with a C-rank item.”
Jang Su Ho was overcome with emotion, his voice trembling.
Kang Han would feel the same way.
All the C-rank and above items he’d painstakingly scraped together money for had been for the other guild members.
“It seems wasteful to use this just for mining. Should I just switch it to a weapon instead?”
Lee Yu Eul was saying something reckless.
“Tsk. Don’t say strange things—let’s start mining already.”
“Something feels off.”
Kang Han approached me as I was urging them on.
“I don’t sense any monsters nearby.”
Kang Han scrutinized his surroundings meticulously with his vividly green eyes, then spoke with even greater caution.
“It’s colder than usual weather. The monsters must have entered hibernation.”
This was one of the reasons the Obongsan Dungeon was such a goldmine.
Normally, it takes a day or two just to eliminate the monsters.
But because the temperature inside the dungeon had suddenly plummeted, all the monsters were huddled in warm places, meaning we could focus on mining for at least several days without fear of attack.
“…For now, the vice guild master and Yeo Joo will keep watch over the perimeter, and the rest of us will proceed with mining.”
An excellent decision.
Though Han Ji Sung possessed ice-type abilities, his relatively weak constitution made him of little use for mining.
He’d only exhaust himself further.
And as for me.
“Perfect.”
I despise moving around in the cold.

* * *

Even with thorough preparations, the mining progressed slowly.
“If this were a cave formation, we’d have already dug quite a bit.”
At least, unlike the Mansu Mountain operation last time, the workers—or rather, guild members—were high-ranking hunters.
Especially Kang Han and Jang Su Ho, properly equipped with gear, worked at nearly bulldozer efficiency.
Thwack! Crack!
With each swing of the pickaxe, dull sounds echoed and ice shards scattered as glaciers split apart.
“Coming down!”
As Jang Su Ho’s shout rang out, a massive chunk of glacier toppled, and the earth trembled with a deep boom.
The division of labor was working perfectly.
The two strong men would excavate the frozen ground and shatter the glaciers, then the twins would rush in to break them into smaller pieces and extract the mana stones within.
“Oh! A big one came out here!”
“Here too!”
Lee Yu Eul and Lee Yu Chan, having discovered the joy of harvesting, were absolutely delighted.
With runny noses and rosy cheeks, they looked exactly like mischievous street urchins.
“This one’s huge! Yes! That’s a million won!”
“Mine’s bigger than yours! This easily goes for two million!”
…Was I being a bad influence on these kids?
I turned on the heater I’d brought and pondered vacantly.
I’d bought a C-grade model to save money, and it barely prevented frostbite.
“Sa Ma Young would be perfect for this.”
With that flame-type user beside me, wouldn’t it be a bit warmer?
“It probably wouldn’t help much.”
“What? Why not?”
“Glaciers melt into water. Having everything soggy and wet around us would be unsanitary.”
Now that I thought about it, Han Ji Sung was right.
If the melted water soaked through the padding I was wearing, it would be unbearable.
Just thinking about it made me feel cold and clammy.
“Since I have an ice-attribute affinity, I don’t feel the cold much. Please move the heater closer to Yeo Joo.”
It was a genuinely kind thing to say.
If only Han Ji Sung’s hands would stop moving ceaselessly like some classification machine.
Click, click.
“Hmm, this should be around D-rank.”

[ Frozen Mana Stone ( D ) ]

What is this guy? He’s terrifying.
I could identify it because I have the Information Window skill, but Han Ji Sung was classifying purely with his eyes alone.
“How can you tell so accurately?”
“I’ve been crafting ice-attribute constructs for a long time. Mana stones have many similar characteristics.”
Even as he spoke, he placed one into the E-rank pile.
Already at Han Ji Sung’s feet were several piles of pale blue mana stones sorted into E, D, and C ranks.
…Was I having a negative influence on this man as well?
Then Han Ji Sung coughed softly.
“Cough.”
The sound didn’t sit right with me.
“Let me heal you.”
“…Thank you.”
Han Ji Sung didn’t refuse.
That meant he was struggling that much.
“From now on, tell me if you’re having a hard time. Don’t push through it.”

[ Using skill ‘Body Restoration’. ]
[ Stamina decreases by 20%. ]

As the skill activated, I felt strength drain from my body.
Though it left me feeling unpleasant, Han Ji Sung’s complexion improved noticeably.

[ Current Remaining Stamina : 55% ]

It seemed I would need rest to replenish my lost stamina.
I brushed myself off and stood up, calling out.
“Let’s go eat!”

* * *

“Didn’t you say this was a D-rank Dungeon?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why did so many C-rank mana stones come out?”
Jang Su Ho scratched his head as he arrived to inspect the results after the first day’s work was mostly complete.
This was the second reason Obongsan Dungeon was such a goldmine.
The Dungeon had been underestimated from the start.
It was a glacial-type with brutally cold conditions, so thanks to the Awakener Association officials who had done sloppy work, here we were.
If it had been properly evaluated, it would have been classified as C-rank, and we would have faced fierce competition to win the bid.
“But this one has a different color, doesn’t it?”
Jang Su Ho picked up a thumb-sized mana stone that Han Ji Sung had set aside separately.
Unlike the other frost mana stones that glowed a pale blue, this one was completely transparent—at first glance, it looked like a diamond.
“I’m having that one appraised separately.”
I already knew what it was, but I pretended not to.

[ Frost Condensate ( B )
: Wearer’s Stamina +30 ]

Since it was a flat numerical bonus rather than a percentage, it might seem insignificant.
But.
‘System, show me everything in numerical values from now on. Items, Awakener status windows too. Oh, except for addiction levels!’
Addiction levels were more accurately displayed as percentages since the closer they got to 100%, the higher the risk of rampage.

[ System units have been changed. ]

While I was at it, I pulled up Han Ji Sung’s status window.

Han Ji Sung S
1. Absolute Zero ( S )
2. Ice Spear ( A )
3. [Empty]
Status Abnormality – Darkness Addiction 95%, Darkness Vulnerability
Stigma Recovery – None
Equipped Item – Ring of Serene Reinforcement ( B )
Stamina – 31/120

‘If I just process this properly, it should work.’
Once I did, equipping it on Han Ji Sung would at least prevent him from collapsing repeatedly like he had been.
The second day’s harvest was equally rewarding.
While we didn’t find as many high-grade mana stones as the first day, the quantity was substantial.
And the essence of this Obongsan Dungeon that I’d been waiting for—Kang Han discovered it.
“It came from the very bottom of the glacier.”
Kang Han handed it to me.

[ Frozen Solid Key ( ?? )
: A key sealed within a glacier long ago by someone ]

I’d finally found it.
“I’ll keep this safe.”
Kang Han nodded silently.
I quickly stashed the object—which made my skin stick painfully just from touching it—into my subspace.
What is a key?
A tool that opens locked doors or locks.
Which meant something worth protecting behind a lock existed within it.
I hid my face, which was breaking into an uncontrollable smile, by pretending to turn off the heater.
That item I’d seen in 【Sejong’s Record】, the one I’d beaten the ground over thinking ‘that should have gone to Kang Han’s side!’—it was now in my hands.

* * *

By the time the fatigue accumulated from enduring the cold for hours began to fade.
I set out on an outing to Jamsil.
Right beside Seokchon Lake—that building with various nicknames like ‘Sauron’s Eye’ and ‘Korea’s Tallest Building’.
“No matter how many times I look at it, it’s just an upside-down mackerel fillet.”
Regardless, there was a guild that had purchased the entire building.
It was Maestro, a crafting-focused guild.
My destination today wasn’t the item department store operated by Maestro—but rather the small shop tucked away in a corner of its basement that nobody ever found: Workshop Sugar.

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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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