The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 268

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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 89

“A Quest…?”
The Sama Guild hunters, encountering a Quest for the first time during a Gate conquest, exchanged bewildered glances with one another.
“The Temple was attacked? Explain properly.”
“T-they suddenly…, ah, the Lord…we…Mother….”
Sa Ma Young pressed coldly for answers, but the man, as if he’d expended every last ounce of energy bestowing the Quest upon us, had begun muttering incoherently with unfocused eyes.
Life was draining from him rapidly.
Seized by urgency, I grasped his blood-soaked hand and attempted to use a skill.

[ Using skill ‘Body Restoration’. ]
[ This target is not eligible for skill usage. ]

As expected.
I’d attempted it on a whim, but the skill proved ineffective.
A person was dying before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do.
It had been a long time since awakening my abilities that I’d felt such helplessness.
I exhaled softly and tried to withdraw my hand, but the man suddenly seized it with a vice-like grip.
From a body on the brink of death came such tremendous force that I couldn’t help but gasp.
The man, pulling me with all his remaining strength, spoke with crystalline clarity.
“If you hear the sound of wings, you must hide. Only then can you survive. Remember my words. Listen carefully to the sound of the wind.”
My hand throbbed with pain from his grip, so I nodded to indicate I understood.
“Y-yes, I understand….”
“The Temple…please….”
There’s a phenomenon where the dying briefly regain their vitality before the end—a final flicker of consciousness.
The man, who had entreated me until his last breath to reclaim the Temple, closed his eyes.
His face, which had been contorted in anguish moments before, now bore the peaceful expression of someone in restful sleep.
“Is he dead?”
“A human appearing in a Dungeon instead of a monster—we’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“And the language was different.”
“Yet the meaning came through clearly.”
Sa Ma Young and his associates stood surrounding the dead man, conversing among themselves.
Then Bang Ri Ri offered a plausible conjecture.
“Could he be a hunter from another country?”
But Bang Wi Jin shook his head.
“For someone claiming to be that, his attire is far too simple. I’ve never even heard the language he was speaking before.”
“Then what exactly is this person?”
Bang Ri Ri’s sharp question prompted Bang Wi Jin to study the man carefully before answering with deliberation.
“Since he asked us to protect the Temple, he must be a Priest. Like an NPC that appeared to give us a Quest.”
“An NPC? This isn’t even a game.”
Bang Ri Ri looked at him as if he were spouting nonsense, but Bang Wi Jin simply shrugged at his cousin and offered an explanation.
“Gates suddenly started appearing everywhere, and Awakened ones even have status windows. So why would it be strange for NPC-like beings to show up?”
They continued their conversation, piecing together the truth.
Under normal circumstances, I would have actively participated in their discussion, offering hints wherever I could.
But I couldn’t bring myself to release the Priest’s hand.
I could feel the warmth gradually fading from his palm, which only made it harder.
This Priest was exactly as Bang Wi Jin said—a character created for a Quest.
‘But that doesn’t mean his life was fake.’
It was the same as refusing to treat this world as merely a recreation of the contents of 【The Chronicles of Sejong】.
Many of the characters from the book had already become meaningful to me, and because of that, I couldn’t simply turn the page on this Priest’s death as if it were nothing.
Then, with a soft chime, a system window appeared.

[ Your synchronization rate with this world has increased. ]
[ Your ‘Body Healing’ ability has advanced one stage. ]
[ Current Stage – Intermediate III ]

I stared at it blankly before dismissing it from my view.
I roughly understood what synchronization rate meant.
And why my healing skill improved each time my synchronization rate rose.
I had leveled up in a sense, but it brought me no joy.
‘If my synchronization rate keeps increasing like this…’
Would I be able to endure it?
Lost in such thoughts, Sa Ma Young approached me.
Kneeling on one knee just as I was, he quietly released my hand from the Priest’s and lifted me to my feet by the shoulders.
Then an entirely unexpected sight unfolded.
Sa Ma Young removed the coat he was wearing and draped it over the dead Priest’s body.
Not only I but Sa Ma Young’s attendants were startled.
“My lord…!”
“Why does it matter who this Priest is?”
At Sa Ma Young’s question, Bang Ri Ri and Bang Wi Jin, who had still been debating, fell silent.
After casting a warning glance at the two of them, he gently brushed away the tears dried on my eyes and cheeks, then smiled fiercely as he spoke.
“Whatever is occupying that Temple, I’ll kill it all for you, Yeo Joo.”

* * *

After receiving a Quest from the dead Priest, the Sama Guild and I continued walking for quite some time.
I was coming to realize that conquering a Jungle-Type Dungeon was difficult not merely because of the heat and torrential rains.
“This path is blocked too.”
I blew my bangs upward as I stared at the massive boulder lying in the middle of the path we were traversing.
I’d lost count of how many times this had happened.
Unlike other Dungeons where you could map once and simply follow the map without fear of getting lost, the Jungle-Type Dungeon had a bewilderingly complex layout.
This was already the third time the path had been cut off like this.
The main road we’d taken initially had a broken bridge spanning a gorge, and the side path we’d found afterward was so overgrown with grass—taller than a person’s head—that it seemed no one had traveled it in ages.
I’d gone through considerable trouble stopping Sa Ma Young from setting it on fire to clear a path.
A forest fire could easily break out, and I had no desire to suffocate before even completing the Quest.
But since this was the third blocked path, even Sa Ma Young’s patience seemed to be wearing thin.
“Oh Young In.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Destroy it.”
Even for an A-rank Hunter, was he really going to pulverize a boulder that massive?
I retreated a few steps with skeptical eyes, discreetly pulling out one of Chung Soo’s medicinal tonics from my Subspace.
It was in case Oh Young In sustained considerable injuries if the attempt to destroy the boulder failed.
Boom!
Crack!
There was no loud shout of exertion.
Oh Young In, who had stepped back several paces, simply rammed his body against the boulder using his shoulders and elbows.
Yet that massive boulder shattered into countless fragments.
There was no sharp cracking sound—it was as if dynamite had detonated, with portions reduced entirely to powder.
Not content with destroying the boulder in a single blow, Oh Young In moved his massive frame to scatter the rubble in all directions, clearing a path for others to pass through, before respectfully bowing to Sa Ma Young and stepping back.
The others, accustomed to such displays, proceeded forward one by one without hesitation, but I did not.
I slowed my pace and approached Oh Young In, whispering in a low voice.
“Oh Young In.”
“…Please speak.”
“Do you happen to know Jang Su Ho?”
Oh Young In, who had been staring at me as if the name were unexpected, soon nodded.
“I do.”
“Would you ever be interested in having a sparring match with him later?”
Though it was brief, I thought I saw Oh Young In’s sharp eyes gleam at my suggestion.
This would make things easier.
“He’s the type who’s strongest when fighting bare-handed, just like you. I think the two of you could learn a lot from each other if you fought.”
Of course, given his experience, Jang Su Ho would likely gain far more from such an encounter.
But Oh Young In, who seemed ready to nod immediately, answered in a low voice.
“If my lord permits it, I would be delighted at any time.”
It didn’t seem to be merely a matter of needing the Guild Master’s permission.
But as the saying goes, even tigers come when called, and Sa Ma Young, who could never be called a gentleman, linked his arm around my shoulder and asked.
“What are you two whispering about so secretively?”
It was just a simple question, but an undertone of subtle reproach colored his words.
Did he resent another guild approaching his precious A-rank hunter?
I had no such intention, and fearing Oh Young In might be misunderstood, I answered quickly.
“Nothing important. I just asked if he’d be interested in a sparring match with one of our guild members sometime.”
“Hmm.”
Yet Sa Ma Young’s demeanor grew even colder.
“Oh Young In, is that really all?”
“Yes, sir. We were discussing a sparring match between Yeo Joo and Jang Su Ho. I apologize.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
An apology would only make the atmosphere more awkward!
Just as I was about to protest in confusion—
Sa Ma Young tilted my chin up with his fingertip, forcing me to meet his gaze as he leaned his face closer.
“So now you’ve taken a liking to Oh Young In?”

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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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