Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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📰 Chapter 116
Chapter 115: How to Steal XXX's Woman (1-20)
Min Ha-yeon ignored the chats scrolling up in the chat window and stared intently at the blessing note.
The points she needed were 140,000.
At first, she'd plugged in absurdly high stats, demanding an astronomical amount of points, but she'd gradually dialed it down to a usable figure.
"...".
She had written it with absolute confidence at the time.
And there was merit to it.
But... once a blessing was set, that was it. No take-backs.
The chat window kept trying to persuade Min Ha-yeon.
As the chat room said, the blessing Min Ha-yeon had chosen was tied to Seong Su-ho.
Which meant if he died or vanished, her blessing might as well not exist.
Even Min Ha-yeon, who'd been watching the chats closely, couldn't help but hesitate.
But the hesitation she felt wasn't about losing the blessing.
'...What if Su-ho starts hating me and leaves?'
Min Ha-yeon trusted Seong Su-ho, but she didn't trust the creature known as "man."
Even Seong Su-ho, who had shown such single-minded devotion, had pressed his skin against hers in a moment of danger.
No one could predict what might happen in even riskier situations down the line.
Which meant Seong Su-ho could fall for another woman.
But after a moment's deliberation, Min Ha-yeon...
...chuckled at the chat window.
And thought.
'It really must be something special...'
The fear of death had shattered her convictions, and a single act had made her obsess over one man.
The process didn't matter.
Thanks to the man who'd broken her convictions, Min Ha-yeon steeled her resolve.
Recalling what they'd done earlier, she smiled and applied the blessing from the note.
A blessing was added to her status window.
Blessing: When target (Seong Su-ho) enters a crisis, physical abilities increase 3x.
My plan was simple.
While Han Yeo-reum rested in a safe zone, I'd predict the next one he would head to and activate it ahead of time.
Predicting the next safe zone was straightforward.
'He'll probably flee in the opposite direction from where he came.'
[Psychologically, there is a higher probability that a person will flee in the completely opposite direction rather than escaping at an awkward angle.]
'Yeah, I thought so? Oh, there it is.'
I entered the safe zone on his predicted path and checked the time.
Maintenance time was a measly 5 minutes max, and it only held two people.
One of the worst nearby safe zones.
Furthermore, Safe Zones were designed so that once activated, time continued to flow even if no one was inside.
So by the time Han Yeo-reum got here, it'd have 1-2 minutes left.
'Wow... was that 1-hour one pure luck?'
[It seems you were truly lucky. If things continue like this, Han Yeo-reum will soon head toward an area with no Safe Zones.]
If Han Yeo-reum successfully reached this Safe Zone, the situation could be considered practically over.
As Armonia said, after this, the path led toward the safe zone where Min Ha-yeon and I had been stayed, but there probably wouldn't be any more for a while.
Given Han Yeo-reum's stamina, he would likely collapse en route and get nabbed by Shock Bees.
I sat on the safe zone floor, deep in thought.
'Haa... timing the warp is tricky.'
[Would you like to warp now?]
'...No. Let's wait until the situation is certain.'
It was a gamble, but this was a critical moment.
No warping until I was certain of Han Yeo-reum's death.
For now, I commed Armonia.
'Let's make anti-magic potions first.'
Upon hearing my words, Armonia immediately produced the inner core of a blue slime..
I used alchemy to create a beginner-grade anti-magic potion and drank it immediately.
Thud, thud.
While focusing on alchemy, I noticed someone entering the Safe Zone.
I whipped around in surprise and...
"Huh? ...What the hell! Why are you here!?"
"...".
Min Ha-yeon stood there, lips pursed in a pout.
It was utterly baffling.
She'd seemed so obedient earlier.
I yelled at her silence.
"What is this!? Why are you here!?"
"I was worried..."
"Haa..."
I swallowed my boiling rage and bowed my head.
I was glad she'd come out of worry, but I was just as mad.
Min Ha-yeon gazed at me weakly and said,
"As for being scolded...."
"...?"
"I'll let you scold me as much as you want later.... So, let's just survive together."
"...".
She hunched her shoulders like a guilty puppy, peeking at my expression.
Seeing her like that, my rising anger slowly ebbed.
How could I stay mad at that face...?
As I approached, Min Ha-yeon flinched, scared of what I might do.
I pulled her into a hug and said,
"I'm seriously gonna chew you out later..."
"Heehee..."
Min Ha-yeon giggled and hugged my waist.
Min Ha-yeon immediately asked Seong Su-ho to make her some potions.
He produced 20 green ones and handed them all over.
"What, why so many?"
"Use them for now and keep the rest. Use them again if there's another emergency."
Seong Su-ho explained the situation after passing the potions.
"Han Yeo-reum and Park Jin-hee are over that way, but they'll come here soon. We'll escape together then."
"Huh? Can't just the two of us go? I know it's selfish, but if we wait for them, we might end up being chased too."
"No, let's escape together for now. I think if we have more people, we can increase the survival rate by splitting up later."
"...Okay. Got it."
Min Ha-yeon wasn't fully convinced but went along.
She eyed the timer in the safe zone center.
'First, I've met Su-ho. And my leg is healed.... Now, if a dangerous situation arises, I must absolutely save Su-ho.'
Min Ha-yeon reaffirmed the blessing inwardly.
-Physical abilities increase threefold when the target (Seong Su-ho) faces a crisis situation.-
Gazing at it, Min Ha-yeon grinned to herself.
'I'm really lovesick. Protecting a guy I've known a week.'
Then a sound shattered her relaxed mood.
Bwoooong...
(Fuck!!!)
((Yeo-reum! Don't leave me behind!!))
Two people were running this way.
Sensing their approach, Seong Su-ho spoke to Min Ha-yeon,
"I'll hold them off with magic for now. Ha-yeon, you escape with those two."
"No."
"...".
"...I'm escaping together. With you...."
Min Ha-yeon glanced at Seong Su-ho, anxious about his response.
Will he be angry? Will he actually hit me this time? Just as her mind was filled with these thoughts, Seong Su-ho placed a hand on her shoulder and said.
"Yeah... let's escape together."
"...".
Only then did Min Ha-yeon smile, her mood lifting.
Han Yeo-reum and Park Jin-hee entered their view.
The fleeing pair spotted the safe zone and yelled,
"A safe zone! Huh?! Min Ha-yeon!"
"S-Save us!!"
Seong Su-ho stepped out and shouted at them rushing toward it,
"Keep running! Less than a minute left here!"
"Bullshit!!"
Han Yeo-reum ignored Seong Su-ho's words and lunged into the Safe Zone.
Once in, he yelled at Min Ha-yeon,
"Ha-yeon! You're alive! I was so worried!"
"...".
Min Ha-yeon met his joyful expression with icy coldness.
She had never liked him much, but the fact that he had spat insults at Seong Su-ho made her feel even more disgusted..
Clueless as ever, Han Yeo-reum failed to notice the atmosphere and shouted upon seeing the sign in the center of the Safe Zone.,
"Fuck! Why only 1 minute left!?"
"...".
Min Ha-yeon ignored Han Yeo-reum, stepped out of the Safe Zone, and stood behind Seong Su-ho.
Park Jin-hee was running toward them, completely exhausted, her legs giving way.
"S-Save... haa..."
Seong Su-ho extended a hand toward Park Jin-hee and fired superconducting bullets.
Bang! Bang!
"Kyaaak!!"
The target was the Shock Bees chasing her.
Two took hits, writhed in agony, and crashed to the ground.
"Th-Thank you..."
"Lets flee together for now."
"Haa... haa... Yes..."
Min Ha-yeon eyed Seong Su-ho.
'Haa... what now... the Blessing's too limited.'
She didn't regret it, but because the Blessing only activated during Seong Su-ho's crises, there was nothing she could do right now.
Seong Su-ho looked at Min Ha-yeon and said.,
"Let's run!"
"Yeah!"
Turning at his words, they saw Han Yeo-reum had already abandoned the three of them and was running away with all his might.
"...".
"...".
"...".
The trio stared blankly before snapping to and running.
Min Ha-yeon clicked her tongue at Han Yeo-reum running in the lead.
'Why did I ever like a piece of trash like him...'
As she ran hard, Min Ha-yeon briefly checked the condition of Seong Su-ho running beside her.
'...What if he likes another girl too?'
She worried, recalling bitter memories from the past, but quickly snapped back to reality.
'What am I thinking right now.... This is no time for that...'
Just as Min Ha-yeon regained her focus, Seong Su-ho shouted toward Han Yeo-reum,
"Don't go that way!! You might run into something else if you're not careful!!"
Han Yeo-reum, running hard toward the south, sneered at Seong Su-ho,
"So what!? Why should I listen to you?"
"...Haa."
Min Ha-yeon's head throbbed at her words.
But the headache faded fast.
"Fuck!! What is this!!"
Suddenly, Han Yeo-reum turned around and was sprinting back toward the three of them.
Two Shock Bees trailed him.
"...Su-ho, we can just leave him."
"...".
Seeing Han Yeo-reum running toward them, Seong Su-ho stopped and reached his arm out toward the northeast.
"Just run that way for now!"
The two women immediately followed Seong Su-ho's words and began to run.
However, Seong Su-ho did not flee; he stayed in place and extended his arm toward Han Yeo-reum.
It was at that moment.
"Fuck, move!"
"What!?"
He shoved Seong Su-ho, who was trying to save him, to the side and bolted away.
Min Ha-yeon stopped running and looked back at Seong Su-ho.
Seong Su-ho staggered and fell, and it was the moment a Shock Bee lifted its abdomen to fire a stinger at him.
"Su-ho!!"
That moment, Min Ha-yeon's blood surged like boiling lava.
The time of everything around her began to flow slowly, and the only thing moving normally was the act of nocking an arrow and aiming.
For Min Ha-yeon, who had spent her life training and competing in matches focused on hitting stationary targets, hunting was not an easy task.
Targets moved constantly, and there were allies around the targets.
Firing an arrow in such situations was difficult.
But right now, this moment was similar to a competition.
A stationary Shock Bee and a stationary Seong Su-ho.
'...I have to hit it!'
With the single-minded determination to save Seong Su-ho, Min Ha-yeon released the bowstring.
Pwaang!
With a fierce sonic boom, the arrowhead Min Ha-yeon fired struck the Shock Bee's abdomen.
THWACK!!
The moment the arrow connected, it embedded itself in the Shock Bee's belly, sending it crashing to the ground.
BZZZT!! BZZZZZT!
The Shock Bee wasn't dead, but it was flailing, spilling brown blood from its abdomen.
'I did it!!'
The fact that she had dealt a critical blow to a monster she hadn't even been able to scratch until now caused a surge of vitality to well up within Min Ha-yeon.
The helplessness that had accumulated since arriving here vanished in an instant, replaced by a soaring passion.
The Shock Bee next to it, perhaps overwhelmed by Min Ha-yeon's momentum, suddenly landed slowly on the ground and began to act defensively.
Relieved by this, Min Ha-yeon reached out to grab Seong Su-ho's arm to pull him up, but then...
"Su-ho! Get up!"
"W-Wait, Look at that!!"
Seong Su-ho didn't get up; instead, he extended his arm and pointed his finger toward Han Yeo-reum.
"Huh?"
"Kwaaaak!"
The scene Min Ha-yeon saw when she turned her head was..:
"Uh..."
A scene where a massive stinger was impaled in Han Yeo-reum's head.
..
..
"...Huh?! What!? Where am I!?"
Min Ha-yeon panicked at the sudden view shift, looking around.
Blue walls everywhere—unidentifiable.
A safe zone.
"Wh-What... This place is...? Ah! Su-ho! Seong Su-ho!!!"
As she regained her senses, the first thing she looked for was Seong Su-ho.
Seong Su-ho, whom she had been trying to pull up just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.
"Seong Suho!!! Where are you!!!"
She wiped the tears gathering in her eyes and looked around, but there was no one.
"Hic... What... What is this..."
Exhausted in this incomprehensible mess, Min Ha-yeon looked around.
Blue barrier... hard stone floor... and...
"...The Blessing... note?"
Floating gently in the safe zone center was the first blessing note she'd ever received.