The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 321

—————

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 142

“Damn it….”
A sharp curse spilled from my lips for the first time in ages.
I should have realized something was wrong from the moment they said an S-Grade Gate with immeasurable difficulty would open in Cheonho-dong of all places.
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, but the volcanic peak towering impossibly high and the volcanic ash scattering in the scorching wind refused to disappear.
“This is insane.”
An active volcanic crater, a time limit, and a supreme existence.
I am now inside the Cheonho-dong Gate that had triggered the fifth Dungeon Break.
The very same Dungeon that had consumed Kang Young Won, Kang Han’s mother and a Hunter, along with all members of the Justice Guild, leaving tens of thousands of victims in its wake.
‘Technically, this is a recreation of that Dungeon.’
But what difference did that distinction make?
The horrifyingly vivid sense of reality—indistinguishable from the original—had been suffocating me ever since I crossed the golden Gate in Yeouido.

[ Unable to read data from the Dream Master ‘Kang Han’. ]
[ Data detected from companion ‘Yeo Joo’! ]
[ Forming Dungeon based on collected data. ]

Now I understood the system window I had read while crossing through the Gate.
Kang Han had no idea what happened inside the Cheonho-dong Gate.
Even now, while the Guild Cup was in full swing, the consensus remained that ‘a dungeon break occurred due to the Justice Guild’s reckless conquest.’
Kang Han would believe that narrative too.
That countless people died and were injured because of his mother’s irresponsible actions—and those of the Justice Guild hunters who were like family to him.
That’s why the guild bore no responsibility for the dungeon break’s damage, yet he gave everything he had to compensate financially.
Because he felt he had to apologize in whatever way he could.
So the Land of Dreams—I created this place based on information I knew from reading books.
‘I never intended for him to find out like this.’
I clicked my tongue in frustration.
Though he seemed quite bright now, I remembered how Kang Han always walked with his head bowed like a criminal when we first met.
How dark his expression became whenever people pointed fingers at him.
‘That’s why I don’t understand even more.’
I thought, watching Kang Han, who had somehow come to stand beside me, his face perfectly composed.
This was inside Kang Han’s dream.
A space where his intense desires—those held by the compass—were being realized.
But why?
Why was the Cheonho-dong Gate being recreated—the one where every hunter who entered had died?
“Why are you frowning?”
Unaware of my thoughts, Kang Han gently smoothed my furrowed brow and spoke softly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Yeo Joo.”
“…It’s all because of the Sub-guild Master.”
Why did she have to choose this dungeon of all places?
…No, wait.
It’s because of me.
Because I gave Kang Han the compass, thinking it would be easier for my companion to recognize reality.
As my insides twisted and I bent over, the startled Kang Han reached out his hand.
But I pushed it away.
I didn’t deserve a gentle touch.
“….”
Kang Han looked down at his rejected hand with a complicated expression, and just as he was about to say something.
“Mapping complete!”
Gye Young Ho, a hunter from the Justice Guild who had been pouring mana into an item, shouted loudly.
With a faint hope, I limped over and checked the map, but it was as I suspected.
Dungeon areas positioned downward, piercing through the ground rather than heading upward toward the crater.
As I had guessed, this was indeed the Cheonho-dong Gate.
My dark gaze naturally turned toward the crater.
“Something’s not right.”
Kang Young Won, who was always smiling, muttered with a rigid expression.
The other hunters’ expressions weren’t any better either.
“They said it was S-Grade or higher.”
“My skin is tingling all over.”
Being S-Grade hunters themselves, they all seemed to sense the presence lurking deep within the Volcano from a distance.
Unlike the others who couldn’t hide their anxiety and murmured nervously, Kang Young Won, who had been silent until now, spoke.
“We don’t have time for this. The countdown has already started—let’s focus solely on clearing this Dungeon. Hunter Han Ji Sung.”
“Yes, Guild Master Kang Young Won.”
“We’ll begin the strategy first, so Hunter Han Ji Sung, you go outside the Gate and call for reinforcements.”
“…Understood.”
The Volcano Dungeon was an extremely disadvantageous environment for Han Ji Sung, a frost-barrier mage.
Kang Young Won’s plan was sound.
But not everyone agreed.
“Chae Jung Woo, the Sub-guild Master of Utopia, will go with him.”
“Guild Master!”
“You go too. Go out and…”
Ha Young Hyun trailed off.
But everyone in this place understood what those words meant.
Don’t come back in—it’s too dangerous.
It was a decision typical of Ha Young Hyun, who protected her guild members as if they were her disciples, her children.
“…Understood.”
Chae Jung Woo, answering with a pained expression, walked toward the Gate alongside Han Ji Sung.
It was surprising that the other hunters didn’t oppose Utopia’s actions, but regardless, it was all meaningless.
“The Gate… it’s sealed.”
After confirming the Gate’s surface, which wouldn’t budge, Han Ji Sung shook his head and spoke.
“Of all things, it’s a sealing-type.”
“Damn it…”
There was no way out of the Gate.
Whether they liked it or not, they were all trapped in this Dungeon until the boss monster was slain.
I gazed one by one at the unfamiliar expressions of the S-Grade hunters who couldn’t hide their dismay.
Faces of people who would surely die.
And finally, my eyes settled on Kang Han.
You absolutely cannot die.
“The only way to open a sealed Gate is to clear the Dungeon. Let’s move instead of wasting time worrying.”
Watching the hunters’ backs as they began hurrying forward at Kang Young Won’s command, I grasped the hem of Kang Han’s clothes.
Until now, I had waited.
Waited for Kang Han to become aware of reality through the accumulating sense of dissonance.
But now there was no more time.
“Kang Han.”
“Tell me.”
“Remember quickly. You can do it. This place is real…”
I gasped, my breath catching.
Blood flooded my mouth as if someone had forcibly clamped my jaw shut.
The Land of Dreams had imposed a gag order upon me.
‘I still have to say it.’
I swallowed the blood rising from my throat and forced my trembling jaw open, squeezing out the words.
“The… lie… is… is….”
Boom!
The ground erupted violently just steps away, spraying crimson lava in all directions.
Had Kang Han not scooped me up faster than the blast, I would have melted into nothingness right there.
This was undoubtedly the Dungeon’s attack, targeting me as I tried to speak the truth against the gag order.
And the magma eruption didn’t stop at just one.
Crash! Boom! Rumble!
As the lava continued to burst forth, splitting the earth and beginning to flow like a stream, Kang Han spoke urgently.
“Whatever it is, let’s discuss it later.”
Like the crimson lava creeping steadily into the Dungeon’s depths to drive the hunters inward, blood rose from my twisted insides due to the gag order, searing my esophagus raw.
Damn this cursed Dungeon.
I instinctively sensed that if I tried to break the gag order again, I would vomit up my entire organs.
Grinding my teeth, I looked up one last time at the Crater belching black smoke before descending underground.
‘Do you really think I’ll give up like this?’
Just because I couldn’t speak directly didn’t mean I would stand here helpless with my hands folded.
‘No matter what it takes, I’m escaping this godforsaken Dungeon with Kang Han.’
I wrapped my arms around Kang Han’s shoulders and held tight, cementing my resolve.

+++

We arrived at a massive cavern where a river of lava flowed.
The heat melted the earth, and the lava burrowed downward before surging back up, creating scattered footholds in between, though it was impossible to know when they might collapse and crumble.
The passage to the next area lay beyond that river.
But what guarded the passage was far more than just the river of lava.
“…An army?”
Sung Ro Sa swallowed hard, his face tense.
According to the records in the 【Sejong Chronicles】, the name of this first area was the ‘Lava Legion Defense Line’.

—————

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

—————