The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 52

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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 – Episode 52

Kang Han caressed Baek Young’s chin while habitually checking his status window.

Kang Han S
Growth Type
1. Punisher’s Lightning ( S )
2. Charging Spear ( S ) – Inactive
3. Counter Opportunity ( A )
4. [Empty]
5. [Empty]
Engraved Resonance – Baek Young
Equipped Item – Common Worn Blade ( D )

Last night, he’d asked a Personnel Office director he knew to lend him a Dungeon.
He’d wondered whether there might be some difference between a real Dungeon and the subspace, no matter how authentic the latter seemed.
Despite training through the entire night with only a brief moment of rest, his status window showed no changes.
All he’d gained was a crushing fatigue that weighed upon his entire body.
Kang Han wiped the sweat trickling down his jaw with a towel and pondered.
‘There has to be a way.’
He clenched his fists as he recalled the moment of his re-awakening.

[ The system recognizes ‘innocent victim’. ]
[ The system recognizes your noble spirit of sacrifice. ]
[ Your action has been judged as ‘righteous fury’. ]
[ Skill ‘Current’ re-awakens as ‘Punisher’s Lightning’. ]

An innocent victim, and righteous fury.
The system’s message was unmistakable.
To awaken once more, a ‘catalyst’ was necessary.
I resolved to attempt everything within my reach alone.
‘This cannot continue.’
I had to grow stronger to restore the Justice Guild to its former glory.
Stronger still.
To achieve that goal, Kang Han intended to push himself to the absolute limit.
‘Tonight as well, the Dungeon….’
That was what I was thinking while declining Jang Su Ho’s proposal.
Suddenly.
A soft, warm hand grasped mine gently.
In that instant, all my thoughts scattered and my mind fell silent.
“What were you doing last night?”
Only Yeo Joo’s two eyes, fixed directly upon me, came into sharp focus.
Those pale brown irises became everything I could think of.

* * *

This man!

Kang Han S
Abnormal Status – Darkness Addiction 85%

I’d worked hard every single day to bring it down to 40 percent, and yet!
“Tell me right now. What were you doing last night?”
“Wait, I went to the Dungeon….”
“Did you pull an all-nighter at the Dungeon or something?”
“….”
“Good grief.”
There were limits to how stubborn a person could be!
If it were a deactivated skill that could be undone like that, I would’ve re-awakened it long ago!
I sighed once, then asked Kang Han.
“Are you impatient?”
Kang Han didn’t answer.
But his hardened expression spoke volumes instead.
“You know that just training alone won’t make it happen, right?”
“But I can’t just sit idle and hope for luck either.”
“I understand that sentiment to some degree.”
Kang Han was the type who thrived on effort.
So naturally, without doing something, he’d feel anxious and restless.
“Let me cast a heal for you.”

[ Using Dark Purification skill. ]

As if Kang Han’s fatigue were being transmitted to me, my vision swayed for a moment.
But the results were worth it.

Kang Han S
Abnormal Status – 75%

“Feeling better?”
“Thank you.”
Kang Han nodded, rolling his shoulders as if amazed.
I stood up first and patted those shoulders lightly as I rose.
Then I pointed toward the Simulation Training Ground and spoke.
“Let’s refine what you already have for now.”

* * *

I manipulated the simulation environment with a flick of my fingertips.
A cave-type C-rank Dungeon.
The same environment where Kang Han had undergone his re-awakening.
“Five in the United States, five in China, two in Japan next door, and one in our country.”
At my sudden remark, Kang Han gazed at me silently.
“The number of S-rank Hunters who pull their weight with just a single skill.”
After saying that, I pushed Kang Han forward.
“Let’s go in and give it a try.”
The large Kang Han obediently entered the Simulation Training Ground at my urging.
The moment the door closed, he turned back, apparently grasping my intention from the environment that unfolded before him.
Though from this side, I wouldn’t be able to see anything now that the space had been completely configured like an actual Dungeon.
I pressed a button and summoned a C-rank Wingbat, just like before.
Kiiiiiek—!
The Wingbat fearlessly lunged at Kang Han according to its programming.
Up to this point, it was the same as last time.
But.
Crackle—!
A yellow light gleamed in Kang Han’s eyes as sparks danced across his palm.
And the moment he swung his right hand lightly, as if tossing a ball to a child.
Boom—!
A sinister bolt of lightning crashed down upon the Wingbat with a deafening roar.

[ Monster has been neutralized. ]

I quietly pressed the microphone button and spoke.
“How’s that? Quite different from last time, isn’t it?”
Standing alone in the Dungeon, Kang Han shook his head and spoke curtly.
“A-rank, please.”
His ambition.
He wasn’t satisfied stopping here.
I clicked my tongue once in disapproval, but I obliged Kang Han’s request.

[ Dirt Dragon ( A ) ]

A monster commonly found in cave-type S-rank Dungeons, it resembled a dump truck-sized lizard, but its distinguishing feature was the eight legs sprouting from its body.
“Ugh, disgusting.”
Because it had the habit of moving underground and suddenly bursting out to attack, it was an awkward monster to deal with unless you possessed flight skills or agility skills that could instantly boost your body’s reaction speed.
Kang Han was no exception.
Boom!
Crash!
Screech—crash!
He moved with such blinding speed that my eyes struggled to keep up, launching attacks in rapid succession, but the Dirt Dragon’s rock-like scales simply deflected them all.
“Your attacks are still too weak.”
It was frustrating to watch.
He was attacking like he was hurling a spear, but the spear itself was small and its blade dull, so what else could he expect?
“But I can’t just let him wander the Dungeon at night like this either.”
If he went berserk alone inside the Dungeon, the real problem would be mine to deal with.
I paused to think for a moment, then moved my feet.
I pushed open the door to the Simulation Training Ground and stepped inside, and it felt like I’d been teleported directly into the heart of a fierce battle raging within a Dungeon.
Boom!
Crash!
The sounds that had been merely audible from outside now reverberated through my entire body with a physical tremor.
“Well, whatever.”
It’s all fabricated anyway.
I deliberately made loud thumping sounds as I sprinted toward the center of the materialized Dungeon.
“Screech?”
The Dirt Dragon’s target shifted in an instant.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The creature burrowed through the hard bedrock and began moving toward me, and I felt the eerie vibration transmitted through the soles of my feet.
“Three, two, one.”
Boom!
The ground split open exactly two steps away from where I stood, and the Dirt Dragon erupted upward.
“Roooaaarrr!”
Its gaping maw drew closer and closer.
“Yeo Joo!”
I heard Kang Han’s voice calling out from a distance, but the Dirt Dragon’s scorching breath was far nearer.
In that moment when I thought my body would be torn to shreds by dozens of razor-sharp teeth.
Electricity condensed within Kang Han’s grip.
Crackling with energy, the spear-like weapon with barbed edges materialized in an instant and struck directly into the Dirt Dragon’s gaping maw.
Roooaaarrr—!
A deafening boom echoed throughout the Dungeon, loud enough to make my ears ring.
The Dirt Dragon froze in place, still lunging toward me.
Whoosh—
With the sound of sand scattering, the Dirt Dragon crumbled to dust.
Beyond that, Kang Han was approaching with rough, heavy breathing.
“Are you alright?”
Large hands gripped my shoulders as he asked.
“I’m fine. Besides, it’s all virtual anyway. But how about you? How does it feel to take down an A-rank in one blow?”
“Haa.”
Kang Han swept his wet bangs back as he answered.
“Now I understand why you did something like this.”
“Right? The Guild Master’s skill power increases when there’s someone to protect….”
“Don’t ever do something like this again.”
The look in his eyes as he gazed down at me was serious.
“Why not? It worked, didn’t it? Besides, it’s all fake….”
“It’s a simulation, but the attacks from the materialized monsters do cause real impact.”
“Huh? Really?”
That’s not true though.
I only manifested them as holograms in the subspace.
“…You didn’t know. Well, that explains why you did it.”
Kang Han placed his hands on his hips as he spoke to me.
“There’s a reason why another Guild member always accompanies Jang Su Ho whenever he enters here for combat training.”
“Oh, I didn’t know!”
If I had known, I would’ve sent Jang Su Ho instead!
“If you’d taken that attack directly, you probably would’ve woken up in the Awakened Hospital again.”
“I almost got another lecture from Doctor.”
“Yeo Joo.”
Kang Han called my name in a low voice.
“I’m telling you. Never do something like this again.”
But it worked!
Be a little happier about it!
I wanted to argue back like that, but the atmosphere didn’t feel right for it.
“Okay.”
“Haa.”
Only then did Kang Han let out a deep sigh and stride out of the Simulation Training Ground.
Though I didn’t know that even fake monsters could land attacks on me, one thing became clear from this incident.
What is Kang Han lacking right now?
“Challenge.”
The Guerrilla Gate last time must have felt like a children’s soccer class to Kang Han.
C-rank monsters that can be handled with a single sweep of the hand are too weak to trigger any instinctive sense of threat.
In other words.
“He needs stronger, more dangerous dungeons.”

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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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