The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 202

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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
Part 2, Episode 23

In the Desert Dungeon, an oasis existed in virtually every location—save for the rarest of exceptions.
The surrounding areas were lush with vegetation, and the temperatures were relatively mild, so hunters made it standard practice to locate an oasis and establish it as their Base Camp when conquering the Desert Dungeon.
Yet the completed map contained no oasis.
Therefore, there was no area where vegetation had taken root.
There was nothing but an endless succession of barren sand dunes.
“We need to finish this quickly and get out.”
Ji Sung, who was sensitive to heat, already had a thin sheen of perspiration on his brow as he wiped it away with a wry smile.
“Right. We just need to clear it and leave.”
“Since it’s all sand, the monsters are easy to spot too.”
As the twins joked around, the rest of the group chuckled softly, and the tense atmosphere began to dissipate.
But one person—Kang Han—did not laugh.
With a face as rigid as when he had entered the Ure Dungeon, he merely gazed intently across the vast desert.

* * *

It had been three days since entering the Desert Dungeon, and fifty-six hours had just passed.
“It feels more like 560 hours than 56 hours.”
I sat up in the single-person tent Jung Je Hwa had prepared for me and muttered to myself.
“God, I want to wash up.”
Fine sand penetrates as effectively as water.
Sand clung to every inch of my body—inside my shoes, tangled in my hair, everywhere.
Part of me wanted to stay buried in this tent longer, but it was nearly time for the guild members who’d gone out hunting monsters to return.
My poor mobility meant I couldn’t move with them, so I was stuck waiting at the Base Camp.
Zzzzzzzip.
As I unzipped the tent and crawled out, a wave of scorching heat crashed over me.
“Yeo Joo’s up.”
Yoo Jin Rok, who’d been standing guard nearby, smiled when he saw me.
“I told you to rest in the tent, teacher.”
“I can’t do that. If something happens to you while I’m in there, I’ll never hear the end of it from Ga Young.”
“You’re taking your stamina potions regularly, right?”
“Of course. The elixir Chung Soo prepared is excellent.”
I shook my head as I walked, and Yoo Jin Rok began following along beside me.
“The view is nice, at least.”
In this dungeon without an oasis, the highest sand dune peak was where we’d established our Base Camp.
Fortunately, there was no wind, so sand movement was minimal—making it a viable choice.
I plopped down on the sand and rummaged through my Subspace for a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
I’d hesitated about this resort-style combination at first, but I’d long since abandoned vanity in the face of survival.
The people watching the strategy broadcast would understand.
Our situation was simply that dire.
I pulled out what little drinking water remained from my Subspace and drank it, when a system warning suddenly flashed before my eyes.

[ Warning! Stamina is low! 39 / 150 ]

“Ugh…”
The heat, the stuffiness, the thirst—all were unbearable, but my greatest problem was something else entirely.
Stamina.
The temperature regulation effect on my Justice Guild uniform mitigated some of the heat, but not enough to fully escape the scorching intensity of this A-rank Desert Dungeon.
As a result, my stamina kept draining without me doing anything particularly strenuous.
The others managed their stamina by using potions they’d brought along appropriately, but I couldn’t do the same.
‘Damn this penalty.’
It was the system’s drug abuse penalty.
Since entering the Dungeon, all I’d done was lie in the Tent, yet I’d already consumed two potions.
I had only three stamina potions left to drink going forward.
As my stamina depleted, a nauseating dizziness began creeping in. I kept my eyes closed, feigning drowsiness, when—
“Noona! Yeo Joo Noona!”
It was Lee Yu Chan’s voice.
Yoo Jin Rok and I bolted upright and ran toward the source of the shout.
Sliding partway down a sand dune, I spotted Guild members trudging through the sand toward the Base Camp.
“Noona! Ji Sung Hyung is…”
I didn’t need further explanation.
Han Ji Sung’s face, piggyback on Jang Su Ho’s shoulders, had turned a sickly pale blue.
“Poison?”
“A monster that looked like a cross between a centipede and a scorpion disappeared underground and then attacked from behind…”
“Get to the Tent. Guild Master, carry him quickly to the Tent.”
Jang Su Ho carried Han Ji Sung while Kang Han lifted me, both moving at rapid speed up the sand dunes.
Within seconds of returning to the Tent, the moment Jang Su Ho set Han Ji Sung down, I grabbed his limp hand.

Han Ji Sung S
Status Abnormality – Darkness Intoxication 33%, Darkness Vulnerability, Poisoned
Stamina – 12/168

His condition was worse than it appeared.
I retrieved a Stamina-Boosting Elixir from my Subspace and poured it into his mouth.

[ Detection: ‘Stamina-Boosting Elixir’ consumed. ]
[ Warning. ]
[ Drug abuse is dangerous. ]
[ Virulent toxin detected: ‘Sand Centipede Scolki (A)’. ]
[ Proceed with detoxification? ]

Beneath the tiresome warning message, new information appeared.
Given that the monster had a name, it was undoubtedly the master of this Dungeon.
However, the fact that no system window announcing Dungeon clearance had appeared suggested that Ji Sung had halted combat and returned to Base Camp after sustaining an injury.
Given Ji Sung’s condition, it had been a wise decision.
If his return had been delayed even slightly.
I pushed away the dreadful hypothetical from my mind and activated the skill.

[ Detoxification initiated. ]
[ Estimated duration: 26 minutes. ]
[ Do not break contact for successful detoxification. ]

The vitality elixir would last twenty minutes.
I could endure the remaining six minutes or so.
No—I had to endure it.
How much time had passed?
The system displayed a new window.

[ Expanding physical contact range increases detoxification efficiency. ]

Why didn’t the system inform me of this sooner?
Without hesitation, I slipped my hand behind Ji Sung’s neck and leaned my body diagonally against his, embracing him.
As a result, the estimated duration decreased by four minutes.
‘Good. If I maintain this, it will be more than enough….’
I was running through hopeful calculations when it happened.
“Ah.”
My head spun once, and a small system window materialized before my eyes.

[ 95/150 ]
[ 90/150 ]
[ 87/150 ]

Twenty minutes had passed, and my health countdown had begun.
As my vitality drained away, my body felt as though it were sinking into the earth.

[ 80/150 ]
[ 70/150 ]

My breath grew ragged, and my head began to ache.
But for now, I could still endure.

[ 65/150 ]
[ 58/150 ]
[ 50/150 ]
[ 40/150 ]

It was agonizing.
Tears streamed down my face as if my body itself was rebelling.
That’s when a voice, barely more than a whisper, called out to me.
“Yeo Joo… hey.”
It was Ji Sung.
Ji Sung, whose complexion had improved dramatically compared to moments before, was looking at me.
“…stop… please. You’re… struggling….”
“Shh.”
I moved the hand that had been holding the back of Ji Sung’s neck and covered his blue eyes with my palm.
Long lashes trembled delicately, tickling my skin.
“It’s okay. Everything will be fine soon.”
Whether I was speaking to Ji Sung or to myself, I could no longer tell.
The distinction had blurred entirely.
“It’s okay.”

[ 33 / 150 ]
[ 29 / 150 ]

Wait, did I get it wrong?
What if the detoxification fails?
But surely there’s been some effect from enduring this long, right?
There has to be.

[ 24/150 ]
[ 22/150 ]

That’s when I felt the fingers covering Ji Sung’s eyes trembling uncontrollably.

[ You have successfully detoxified the deadly venom of the ‘Sand Centipede Scourge (A)’! ]

“Haah.”
We survived.
Both Ji Sung and I.
The tension drained from my body in an instant, leaving me utterly spent.
“Yeo Joo! Yeo Joo!”
I heard someone calling my name, but I lacked the strength to lift my head.
“I’m… fine…”
Or maybe not.
Either way, I’d done everything I needed to do. Surely I could rest now.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my consciousness began to fade, and the last thing I felt was Ji Sung’s warm embrace holding me close.

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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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