The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 238

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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 59

I suppressed the urge to hang up immediately and asked instead.
“Where exactly has the Double Dungeon opened?”
[ “It’s the Mooak Mountain Fixed Dungeon.” ]
“Mooak Mountain… I see.”
I cleared my throat with a soft cough and responded.
“Understood. I’ll head there immediately.”
After ending the call with the Gate Prediction Division, I looked up to see Sa Ma Young and Kang Han just finishing their own conversations.
Kang Han, noticing my visibly tense expression, asked.
“Did you also receive a mobilization order, Yeo Joo?”
“Yes, was that call for you as well, Sa Ma Young?”
“Finally, my chance has come.”
True to his nature—a moth drawn to flame—Sa Ma Young’s voice brimmed with excitement.
He looked almost as innocent as a student anticipating a school trip.
“Well, we don’t really have a choice anyway.”
I was speaking as much to myself as to them, trying to steady my own nerves.
It was a protocol announced by Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director I’d brought in, and just moments ago during the hologram conference, everyone had agreed to accept the mobilization order.
So there was nothing for it but to go.
Then, a sudden realization struck me.
“Wait. If the closest S-rank hunters are the Guild Master and Sa Ma Young…”
Just as exclamation marks seemed to materialize above our heads, the elevator chimed.
Ding!
The elevator doors slid open with a cheerful sound in the otherwise quiet break room.
Han Ji Sung stepped out, glanced around, spotted Kang Han, and rushed over with a delighted expression.
“Han! Did you get the call too?”
“Ji Sung.”
I’d suspected as much.
The three closest S-rank hunters to the Mooak Mountain Fixed Dungeon were Kang Han, Sa Ma Young, and Han Ji Sung.
“Oh, but Guild Master Sa Ma Young…?”
Han Ji Sung’s stride faltered as he caught sight of both Kang Han and me.
In those few brief seconds, understanding flickered across his chiseled features like scattered fragments.
His blue eyes trembled as if shaken by an earthquake, and a small voice emerged.
“…Ah.”
If no one were watching, I would have walked over and patted Han Ji Sung’s shoulder to comfort him.
“You don’t think this combination is right either, do you?”

* * *

Despite the forced requisition, the Awakener Association dispatched a staff member with a spatial transfer skill.
Thanks to that, we arrived quickly without wasting time, which was good.
“Ugh.”
I’d only just arrived at the Gate, but the motion sickness already had me craving Chung Soo’s stamina tonic.
“Are you alright?”
I waved my hand reassuringly at Kang Han as he approached with concern, then swallowed hard to settle my stomach.
As Kang Han patted my back gently, I took in my surroundings.
The Gate was naturally situated deep in the mountains, and with the control perimeter established due to the Double Dungeon, there was no one around except for Awakener Association staff.
Mooak Mountain Fixed Dungeon was a landmark of sorts—the first thing I’d asked Seo Yu Baek about when I first entered this world to get my bearings.
It produced an unusually high amount of mana stones, and even now, over a decade since its first clear, the Association managed it directly and conducted periodic mining operations.
Just as someone living in Seoul might think, “I should definitely take a cruise on the Han River someday,” I’d vaguely thought I should enter Mooak Mountain Fixed Dungeon at least once.
“And here I am, visiting it like this.”
I was thinking how random life truly was.
“Everyone’s here.”
Ji Jung Hwi approached us, leading a few Awakener Association staff members.
Then he noticed me with Kang Han rubbing my back and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Motion sickness.”
“…You too.”
I mean, even a healer can get motion sickness from spatial transfer! If there were fewer eyes watching, I’d have made a comeback, but that’s unfortunate.
For a moment, Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director, looked at me with pity before turning his gaze to the three men.
“We did call the three closest people according to protocol, but how did we end up with this combination….”
My thoughts exactly.
Of all times, why did the Double Dungeon have to open when Sa Ma Young was attacking?
The Association Director sighed like a professor looking at a failed group project, then returned to his official demeanor and spoke.
“Let’s hear the briefing first.”
I straightened my hunched back and focused on the staff member who’d received the Association Director’s instructions.
“At approximately 3:30 PM today, an accident occurred during mining operations at Mooak Mountain Fixed Dungeon. One psychic-type Awakener among the mining personnel went berserk and attacked five nearby colleagues. Three of the five attacked were killed instantly at the scene, and a Double Dungeon Gate opened at that location. According to witness testimonies, there was a System Message containing the words ‘condition fulfilled’ and ‘sacrifice ritual.'”
“…Sacrifice ritual?”
Kang Han furrowed his thick brows.
“Are those three people who died from the berserk colleague’s attacks supposed to be sacrifices?”
Even I, knowing the full story, found the word unsettling, so how must others feel?
Even Sa Ma Young seemed displeased, running his tongue over his lower lip as he glared at the Gate.
“I’ll relay the statement from the Gate Prediction Division. Based on the wavelength measurements of the Double Dungeon, the predicted danger level is ‘moderate,’ and the expected grade of appearing monsters is… S-rank.”
I wasn’t surprised by the fact that S-rank monsters would appear inside, as I’d already anticipated it.
I had already anticipated that an S-rank monster would appear from inside, so I wasn’t surprised.
However, one thing piqued my curiosity.
“I’m asking for comparison data. Do you have information on the last Cheongna Double Dungeon? I’d like to know its danger level.”
“Ah, that’s….”
The Association Staff member, who had been rifling through the documents he was holding, answered.
“The last Cheongna Dungeon had a danger level of ‘Low.'”
“That was rated ‘Low’ difficulty?”
Han Ji Sung asked in disbelief.
I understood his sentiment.
Kang Han had nearly died clearing the Cheongna Double Dungeon, yet this one was supposedly more dangerous.
But thinking about it, the Cheongna Double Dungeon’s circumstances had been unique.
The approach to where that thing called the God’s Shell appeared was difficult, and the time limit made the strategy complicated.
However, the dungeon’s boss had been buried underground, making it difficult to land proper attacks.
Sa Ma Young, apparently sharing my thoughts, spoke in a measured tone.
“At least this boss won’t be buried underground.”
It was a lighthearted remark, almost like a joke.
Yet neither Sa Ma Young who said it nor those who heard it laughed.
Despite roughly ten people gathered there, the area before the Gate remained deathly silent.
The heavy silence was broken by a small commotion from beyond the control line.
“Association Director!”
At the familiar voice, I turned to see Seo Yu Baek crossing the control line and walking toward the Gate.
The white coat he was wearing fluttered with each step, as if he had rushed out from the Hospital.
By the time Seo Yu Baek reached the Gate, his characteristic composed composure was nowhere to be found.
“Why wasn’t I selected? I was much closer than Yeo Joo.”
It wasn’t as if Seo Yu Baek was desperate to enter the Double Dungeon like Sa Ma Young.
The reason he had abandoned his duties and rushed here to confront the Association Director directly could be easily inferred from his character.
‘It’s because of me.’
He couldn’t simply stand by and watch as I entered a dangerous situation that, by protocol, should have been his responsibility.
“Director Seo.”
Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director, explained in a calm voice.
“Director Seo was never a candidate for selection from the start.”
“…What?”
“You’re the director of the Awakened Hospital, aren’t you? If anything were to happen to you inside the Double Dungeon, the damage would be far too great.”
It was a direct answer without any roundabout phrasing, perfectly suited to the situation.
Seo Yu Baek stared at me with wide eyes, as if seeking confirmation.
I gave him a small nod.
The number of people selected in the hologram meeting held this morning was four from the start.
A number that included only healers belonging to other Guilds, myself included.
Without needing to reach agreement through discussion, all the Guild Masters had naturally excluded Seo Yu Baek.
The larger the Guild, the more it faced the constant risk of major injuries, and thus the better it understood the importance of the Awakened Hospital.
“So….”
Seo Yu Baek stood speechless as Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director, turned to address me and the three S-rank Hunters.
“Just down the base of this mountain lies the Awakened Healer Hospital. Even as we speak, countless patients are receiving treatment there. Which is why a Breach absolutely cannot occur. However.”
Ji Jung Hwi’s eyes darkened as they fixed upon the Gate.
“This will be an extraordinarily perilous raid. Frankly, I would prefer to send no one inside. I’ve already told the filming crew who will enter with you, and I’m telling you four the same thing: come back alive. If it seems excessively dangerous, retreat.”

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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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