The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 302

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 2, Episode 123

“A promise?”
Ryu Sang Eun’s face twisted into bewilderment, as if I’d suddenly spouted nonsense.
Ah, this is hard to explain.
After exhaling a warm sigh, I pointed at the screen with my finger.
“Look—he’s asking if you’re watching, aren’t you?”
Kang Han, who had been climbing the mountain for quite some time, had stopped and was staring directly at the camera.
His emerald eyes gleamed with crystalline clarity, catching the brilliant light of the pristine snowy peaks.
His face, pallid and drenched in cold sweat, clearly bore the marks of agony, yet his resolve to conquer this mountain remained unshaken.
Anyone watching this broadcast would understand.
He’s truly my protagonist.
I straightened my posture and let out a soft chuckle.
“That’s why I have to keep watching from here.”
It’s the bare minimum obligation I can fulfill.
Then, suddenly remembering something I’d brought along just in case, I spoke to Ryu Sang Eun.
“If you’re really worried, grab the first aid supplies from my bag.”
“Ah, why didn’t you say so sooner!”
After thanking Ryu Sang Eun as he hurried to find the bag, I turned my gaze back to the broadcast.
The name “Mountain of Hardship” wasn’t given without reason.
By now, Kang Han must be experiencing absolute agony.
Yet I had no doubt that he would eventually plant his feet upon the summit.
You can do this, Kang Han.
I believe in you.

* * *

My body feels impossibly heavy.
“Huff, gasp, haah.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt the full weight of my own body pressing down on me like this.
Kang Han wiped away the sweat trickling down his jawline, struggling to steady his breath as it rose to his throat.
How many hours had passed since I started climbing the Mountain?
My head felt foggy from the shallow breathing, and I couldn’t even gauge the passage of time anymore.
Yet still, I continued my ascent.
The winding mountain path had long since disappeared.
Sung Yo Na and I were now using rocks and boulders as handholds, scaling the steep incline.
Then, at some point, the air surrounding us grew heavier, and a system window materialized before my eyes.

[ You have entered the mid-upper section of the Mountain. ]
[ The weight of hardship increases further. ]

“…Damn it.”
Even crude language I rarely used slipped from my lips.
This Quest was proving to be exceptionally vicious.
An invisible force pressed down on my limbs, urging me forward.
To acknowledge my own weakness.
I barely managed to steady my trembling legs, which threatened to give way at any moment, and regulated my breathing.
Vroooom—
The drone, emitting a low hum, drew closer as if trying to capture my image.
‘Yeo Joo.’
I recalled her, watching from beyond that mechanical camera lens.
Those brown eyes that had always believed in me would be observing right now.
Because we had promised.
Yeo Joo always kept her promises.
Clench.
I gritted my teeth.
Yeo Joo was watching.
Then I couldn’t stop here.
It was at that moment when I reached out with trembling hands to grip the solid rock face blocking my path.
“Yelp!”
Below me, Sung Yo Na, who had been climbing, stepped on a loose stone and slid downward with a screech.
“Yo Na!”
“Don’t come down!”
Sung Yo Na, who had barely managed to stop her descent, shouted up at me.
“Guild Master, keep climbing! I’ll catch up somehow!”
Blood was spreading around her hands, which she had desperately plunged into the snow to stop her slide.
Several of her fingernails appeared to have been torn off—her fingers had been throbbing with pain for a while now.
My entire body ached from the rough snow and the jagged rocks hidden within it.
Yet despite this, Sung Yo Na squeezed out what little strength remained and cried out.
“I won’t give up! So please don’t give up either, Guild Master!”
Don’t give up.
In this moment where each breath—inhale and exhale—brought searing pain, it was the cruelest thing to hear.
With every step, I felt bone-deep that I had truly reached my limit.
Yet I truly did not want to surrender.
I wanted to show people.
By climbing this mountain, I wanted to prove it.
That I, and the Justice Guild, had grown this strong by overcoming the past.
Did that intention reach them?
Even through the harsh blizzard that lashed against my ears, the Guild Master’s voice came through clearly.
“We’ll meet at the summit.”
“Huh.”
After confirming one last time that Sung Yo Na nodded with a strained smile, Kang Han began moving his heavy legs forward again.
The goal was singular: the summit.
Without taking my eyes off that place, now noticeably closer than before, I resumed my ascent of the Mountain of Hardship.

* * *

“Kraaaaaagh—!”
Wendelli Bear roared ferociously and swung its front paws with brutal force, but that momentum did not last long.
Whoosh— crunch, crunch!
As Park Song Hwi’s greatsword came down in a rapid arc, Wendelli Bear’s most threatening front paw was severed, and it lost its balance, crashing to the ground.
Boom!
Before the thunderous sound of impact had even faded, Park Song Hwi drove his blade into the creature’s neck, reducing it to nothing but ash.
Yet even as the monster vanished, Park Song Hwi could not rise from where he stood.
With his sword buried deep in the pristine snow, leaning against it as he struggled to catch his breath, Park Song Hwi finally collapsed to his knees.
“Huff, huff….”
Though the Mountain of Hardship lay far in the distance, Park Song Hwi was tasting the limits of his stamina.
“I’ve never encountered a dungeon like this….”
For some reason, there were far too many monsters wandering the field.
Perhaps it would be better to attempt climbing the Mountain of Hardship now.
Such a thought crossed his mind, but Park Song Hwi shook his head.
He had already expended far too much stamina.
Even if he were to climb the mountain now, he would only end up gasping and trailing behind the Justice Guild.
“I’m sorry, Do Kyung.”
All of this was Park Song Hwi’s own blunder.
As payment for his arrogance and recklessness, two comrades who had once explored dungeons with him in his youth were now injured, and Cheongmun had lost a precious opportunity.
“When we return to the guild, we elders shall step back, older brother.”
Jung Jin Won lowered his bow and let out a bitter laugh, to which Park Song Hwi nodded in agreement.
“…Yes, that would be for the best.”
The Dungeon had changed, and with it, the era had shifted.
Now potions existed that could heal even severe trauma in the blink of an eye—luxuries that hadn’t existed before.
Much had transformed, yet Cheongmun had fallen behind.
‘A stagnant guild blocking the path forward.’
When I first read that assessment on the Hunter Community, how had I reacted?
I’d dismissed it as the jealousy of upstart guilds.
I’d believed Cheongmun’s true strength lay in how the seasoned veterans could guide the younger generation down the righteous path.
I’d thought the elders were serving as sturdy pillars, allowing the young saplings to grow properly—but looking back today, I realized they had somehow become a heavy burden instead.
“Once we leave this Gate, I’ll offer a proper apology to the Justice Guild as well.”
“You should.”
While Park Song Hwi faced off against the Wendelli Bear—now reduced to ash and vanished—Ryu Do Kyung rose from where he’d been sitting, drinking potions to restore his strength, brushing the snow from his clothes as he spoke.
Boom, boom, bang!
“Roooaarrr!”
Another Wendelli Bear, having spotted the Cheongmun Guild party in the distance, came charging toward them.
“Rest a bit longer. I’ll handle this one too…”
Ryu Do Kyung gently placed a hand on Park Song Hwi’s shoulder as he tried to rise.
Boom, bang.
The thundering footsteps of the charging bear came to an abrupt halt.
The Wendelli Bear, following Ryu Do Kyung’s blue gaze, was suddenly lifted high into the sky.
“Kraaahhh! Graahhh!”
Wrapped entirely in invisible force, the beast thrashed and struggled in its own futile resistance.
It only regained freedom the moment Ryu Do Kyung sent it plummeting toward the Snowy Field below.
Booooom!
As the Wendelli Bear crashed to the ground, unable to overcome gravity, Ryu Do Kyung pressed down with his telekinesis.
Crunch.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the bear flattened like a pancake and crumbled to dust, leaving only swirling snowflakes in its wake.
“Learn, awaken, and strive. That is the spirit of Cheongmun that my uncles taught me when I was young.”
Having confirmed that his skill’s power had returned after sufficient rest, Ryu Do Kyung spoke to Park Song Hwi and Jung Jin Won.
“Through this experience, Cheongmun will advance to a new level.”
Though they hadn’t attempted the Quest offered within the Gate, Ryu Do Kyung’s expression remained bright.
“And the competition isn’t over yet. There are many strong monsters in the field, so we have every chance of winning. I don’t know what boss monster awaits at the summit, but ultimately this is a contest to see which guild accumulates more contribution points. So shouldn’t we give it our all, uncles?”
Ryu Do Kyung smiled cheerfully and extended his hand to Park Song Hwi, who was sitting down.
“You really are better than us.”
“Of course! After all, I’m our Cheongmun Guild Master!”
It was then that the two elders, their spirits restored, spoke with beaming smiles.
Boom!
A gust of wind swept through, and the air of the Snowy Field turned bitterly cold.
All three felt goosebumps prickle across their skin as they simultaneously turned their gaze toward the summit of the Mountain.
“What on earth is happening up there…?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————