The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 259

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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 80

I wasn’t the only one anticipating two representative guilds of the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance joining forces to clear a dungeon.
“I’ve prepared plenty of popcorn today!”
“And nachos too!”
Team Three leader Lee Tae Yoon and Team Two leader Yang Hwa Yeon laughed, gesturing at the snacks piled high on the table.
It wasn’t just the two of them.
Among the roughly twenty people gathered in the break room, not a single person was without food in hand.
Everyone had come thoroughly prepared to watch the dungeon clear broadcast.
“You saw that, right? If I’m alone in my room on a day like this, I’ll cry.”
“…Understood. Don’t cry—watch it here with all of us. If you feel unwell at any point, tell me immediately.”
“Oh, that won’t happen, I promise.”
As I answered, Kang Han let out a small sigh and handed me a caramel-flavored popcorn from the various kinds Lee Tae Yoon had brought, nestling it into my palm.
How did he know that was exactly what I wanted?
I giggled and popped one piece into my mouth, and the sweet flavor that burst across my tongue made my mood even better.
Delicious things should be shared.
I picked up another piece and held it out toward Kang Han.
“I don’t think you’d like this sort of thing, but try it once.”
Unlike me, who preferred sweets and desserts to meals, Kang Han never ate snacks outside of proper food.
Even when he occasionally had tea or coffee, he chose only things like those—
bitter and unsweetened varieties.
So if I didn’t encourage him like this, he’d probably never taste caramel popcorn in his entire life.
“…”
As expected.
Kang Han simply stared at the single piece of popcorn I was offering.
And suddenly it was I who felt embarrassed.
It wasn’t good for his health, and there was no need to force snacks on him, so I was about to toss the popcorn into my own mouth instead—
when Kang Han slowly lowered his head and ate the popcorn from my hand.
Along with the surprisingly soft sensation of his lips brushing my fingertips came the sight of his downcast eyes and his long, delicate lashes all at once.
“Wait, I didn’t—”
I meant for him to take it, not to eat it directly from my hand.
It was only a brief touch, yet his warmth lingered on my fingertips, and I found myself curling them slightly.
Kang Han observed me for a moment before speaking.
“It’s delicious.”
“Well, I’m glad then.”
“Why don’t we try one more?”
“…Here.”
Unlike before, I held out the container of popcorn to Kang Han.
The gesture meant there was plenty here, so he should take some and eat it.
But when he said he’d try one more, Kang Han alternated his gaze between the popcorn in the container and me.
“Won’t you pick one more for me?”
“…Kang Han, eat it yourself.”
“Then never mind.”
What is this, seriously.
Kang Han placed the popcorn container back in my arms, stood up, and spoke.
“Soo Ho is late. He must be so absorbed in training that time slipped away. Let me go fetch him.”
Dumbfounded, I shook my head as I watched Kang Han’s retreating figure grow distant.
Just when I think he’s one way, he turns out to be another, and when I think he’s a certain type of person, he proves me wrong.
I can never quite pin him down.
“He’s really a strange person.”

* * *

As night deepened, the Utopia and Fantasia Guild alliance team arrived at the boss’s domain.
Given that it was an A-rank medium-sized Dungeon, their speed was absurdly fast.
It was only possible because of Ha Young Hyun, the Utopia Guild Master and an S-rank buffer capable of boosting the entire raid team’s abilities.
Despite the Storm Dungeon’s harsh weather, the raid team tore through the massive Forest surrounding the boss area at incredible speed and escaped without a single battle.
“Looks like they’re planning to clear it quickly by taking down the boss in one go.”
“Both guilds dropped out of the top five this time, so they must be determined.”
“The auction price for this Dungeon was that high anyway. They had to clear it, even at that cost.”
Listening to the conversation between Shin Dan Ju and Shin Dan Bi of Team 2 as they watched the footage of the Dungeon battered by endless rain and wind, I nodded in agreement.
The clearance attempt by the two guilds under the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance was a thoroughly calculated decision.
[ “That’s an excellent strategy. Given this Dungeon’s characteristics, it will be far more advantageous to establish a position and begin combat in one location.”
“Ah, the moment I mentioned it, it started! Viewers, the first monster wave is pouring out of the Forest!” ]
This was precisely why the top-tier guilds’ S-rank Guild Masters had formed an alliance raid team.
A-rank Dungeon monster waves had numerous monsters to defeat, making them perfect for raising guild rankings.
The difficulty was also reasonable.
It wasn’t like S-rank or Double Dungeons where you had to risk your life entering the Gate, but A-rank was challenging enough to be worthwhile.
My assessment proved correct, as the first wave ended anticlimactically.
The elite members of Utopia and Fantasia, composed entirely of A-rank hunters aside from the two Guild Masters, made short work of the monsters.
In fact, Sung Ro Sa, the Fantasia Guild Master, didn’t even step forward.
It was only during the third wave, when far more monsters poured in, that Sung Ro Sa appeared on the front lines and used his skills for the first time.
[ “Move aside.” ]
At Sung Ro Sa’s command, an injured Fantasia hunter staggered backward.
Simultaneously, Sung Ro Sa swept his hand sharply toward where the monsters were clustered.
A light gesture of the hand, as if summoning a breeze, yet the destruction it wrought was catastrophic.
Boom—!
Tiny clusters of light gathered above the monsters’ heads like fireflies, then exploded violently outward, obliterating more than half of the third wave in a single strike.
Just one attack.
“Phew. Your skills are absolutely incredible, Sung Ro Sa.”
Yang Hwa Yeon whistled in admiration.
I clapped my hands beside her in agreement.
Whether her body had warmed up by the third wave or not, Sung Ro Sa began to truly unleash her power starting from the fourth and fifth waves.
Especially when the fifth wave began, even I couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
[ “Field of Judgement
(Field of Judgement)
.” ]
As Sung Ro Sa chanted quietly, light flooded the field where the monsters rushed toward the raid party.
It created the illusion of spotlights shining down from the heavens onto that single location.
And before long, I understood the meaning of the skill “Field of Judgement.”
Crash! Boom! Crash!
A rain of light poured down across the brightly illuminated field with nowhere to hide.
The sight resembled a meteor shower, almost beautiful at first glance.
If only it weren’t for the screams of monsters pierced through by the light and dying instantly.
Thus, Sung Ro Sa alone held back the fifth wave.
I shook my head in disbelief and asked Sung Yo Na, who sat nearby watching the raid broadcast with me.
“Yo Na, is your sister always that strong?”
Then Yo Na, unable to tear her eyes from the screen, answered with a faint smile.
“Well, she is S-rank after all… But today, with the Utopia Guild Master here, her attack power seems to have increased even more.”
“Wow, now I understand why people say buffers are the best.”
Of course, the most striking figure in today’s alliance team was Sung Ro Sa.
Regardless of her personality, her appearance wielding brilliant light magic looked like a saint from legend.
But what I focused on was actually Ha Young Hyun, the Guild Master of Utopia.
Realizing how much impact a single buffer—one who could enhance the abilities and natural regeneration of chosen targets—could have on an entire raid gave me chills.
The camera captured Ha Young Hyun watching over the alliance team’s raid from a safe position.
She looked like an ordinary middle-aged woman you’d pass on the street, but her sharp gaze was like that of a lioness protecting her pride.
In reality, Utopia was no different from a pack of predators.
It was a guild with an unusually high number of hunters bearing rough pasts.
And they moved like a single family, centered around their Guild Master, Ha Young Hyun.
Conventional morality and justice held little importance for Utopia.
To them, the world was divided into only “us” and “enemies.”
“I envy them.”
I’d naturally assumed they would join the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance, but it was a shame.
‘Still, at least I didn’t die this time.’
In the 【Sejong Curtain】, Utopia entered the Mooak Mountain Fixed Dungeon and was annihilated.
As long as I remained alive, I could create opportunities to grow closer to Ha Young Hyun whenever I wished.
“Wow, they cleared an A-rank mid-sized Dungeon in just eight hours.”
While I’d been lost in thought, the Gong Gil Yeon Alliance team had apparently completed the Gate.
One by one, the hunters collapsed to the ground, their breathing ragged and labored—and with that final image, the dungeon broadcast cut out.
However, the streaming itself had not yet ended.
The broadcasting station displayed a simplified ranking chart on screen, reflecting the alliance team’s newly updated contribution scores.

【 South Korea Guild Ranking 】
1. Sama Guild
2. Dongbaek Guild
3. Fantasia Guild
4. Maestro
5. Utopia Guild
6. Cheongmun
.
.
.
30. Justice Guild

Our name appeared at the very bottom of the chart.
It was a dramatic rise thanks to the contribution points we’d earned from clearing the Cheongra Double Dungeon and the Moo Ak Mountain Double Dungeon.
Yet I couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied that twenty-nine guilds still ranked above Justice Guild.
I turned to Kang Han.
“When is the next Gate auction?”
“It will be held in four days.”
“This time, we should participate as well….”
I was about to explain my plan to Kang Han when it happened.
Trrrrrr—.
My phone rang, and a saved name appeared on the screen.

[ Sugar Workshop ]

“Yes, boss.”
[“Yeo Joo.”]
I checked the time as I heard Jung Je Hwa’s voice coming through the phone.
It was past one in the morning.
[“Would you come outside for a moment?”]

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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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