Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: The Heroine Saves the World
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Lee Ji-yeon, a freshman at a university located in Sinchon, had lately fallen into a state of utter disillusionment with life, feeling like what comes must go.
In short, life was just plain boring.
She had staunchly believed the adults' words that getting into a good university would unfold a great life ahead, enduring the hellish final year of high school crammed with exam prep.
But even after enrolling in college, life remained a mystery, and her daily routine felt unbearably monotonous and dull.
No, it was as if the exam grind had never ended.
She had partied wildly without a care in the first semester, but as the second one began, that vibe slowly faded.
Everyone was starting to sense the next ordeal approaching.
Job hunting.
She still didn't know what career she wanted for life—or even what she liked—and now they were telling her to prepare for employment.
So there she was, dragging her heavy feet toward the lecture hall once more.
"Why are all these people gathered here?"
Startled, she looked around. A massive crowd had swarmed like clouds around the bell pavilion on New Year's Day, and the path to the academic building was completely blocked off with blue tape.
"A gate opened, right?"
"Yeah. Didn't you get the text? It's C-rank."
A spark lit up in Lee Ji-yeon's eyes, which had been as lifeless as fish left out from the fridge for days.
'A gate opened?!'
And right on the way to the lecture hall, no less?
Gates were natural disasters.
Obviously, skipping class once due to one was an act of God.
Her heart began to race.
"E-excuse me, let me through just a bit. Sorry, coming through."
Braving the glares, Lee Ji-yeon pushed her way forward through the throng.
Finally reaching right up to the blue control line, she pulled out her phone.
And checked the disaster alert she'd ignored just moments ago.
"Oh, Justice Guild."
She vaguely knew they were the hot guild online lately.
"Gotta snap pics and brag in the group chat."
That was when it happened.
The area beyond the control line grew rowdy, and soon the Justice Guild came into view.
Lee Ji-yeon quickly hit the video record button.
But even as she tried to stay quiet while filming, a comment slipped out unbidden.
"Are they filming a movie?"
No, it felt like she'd wandered into one without realizing.
It was because every member of the Justice Guild had flawless looks, each uniquely perfect.
"What's with the silver hair and suit guy?"
"That big guy's got that athletic jock vibe. What's his name?"
"Lee Su-ho? Kim Su-ho? Something like that."
"The ones in school uniforms look like idols fresh off a music video shoot..."
"Who's the cutie in the dress?!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
But Lee Ji-yeon stayed silent.
She was solely focused on capturing the approaching Justice Guild in perfect footage.
"Ah..."
As their backs receded up the path toward the open gate, she let out a wistful sigh.
Her hand trembled slightly as she hit stop on the recording.
Unlike the others drifting away, interest spent, she couldn't tear herself from the spot.
Hand on her pounding chest, she murmured to herself.
And belatedly remembered her major: Advertising and Public Relations.
"Guilds have... PR teams too, right?"
Thankfully, this time there was no need to shove through crowds like at the Gangnam Station guerrilla gate.
The association had already set up the control line to clear a path.
But this came with its own hardships.
"Why are they all in full casual gear? What've they been up to?"
"First time seeing a hunter enter a gate in a dress."
She regretted not changing clothes despite the rush, but at the same time, thought maybe rushing straight from a photoshoot wasn't so bad.
"Who's that guy? He's insanely handsome."
"Kang Han doesn't get enough photo cred online..."
"Right? I've seen some raid vids, but the camera couldn't capture his full glow."
The guild members, polished by professional styling and shining brighter than usual, drew every eye.
'This might actually not be so bad.'
I whispered softly to Kang Han walking beside me.
"I'm out of breath, so slow down a bit."
He glanced at me with concern, then nodded silently.
It was to maximize exposure to the crowd's cameras, anyway.
We walked slower than usual to the end of the control line.
An anxious association staffer waited there.
"The gate opened 13 minutes ago."
No, even for Sinchon, we'd gotten here plenty fast.
Or they could've sent a teleporter.
I grumbled inwardly as I listened to the staffer's briefing.
"This gate at Seyeon University campus in Seodaemun-gu, Sinchon-dong, measures at C-rank hazard. Confirmed as a fairy tale dungeon. Time until dungeon break: 3 hours."
"Three hours?"
No wonder they were rushing us.
The fully open gate shimmered black like a ticking time bomb about to blow.
"Got it. Heading in now."
"Wait. The broadcast crew hasn't—oh, there they are."
The staffer who'd scolded us for lateness said nothing to the even later camera team—fellow company folks, after all.
Arms bend inward.
"All set for filming?"
"Man, we're dying here. Yeah, prepped and ready."
They'd come with the space awakener the association assigned, it seemed.
Embarrassed by their delay, the crew hammed up the exhaustion.
"Then let's go."
Kang Han said that and plunged into the gate first.
His back hurried more than in other gates.
He didn't even greet Im Cheong-su, left behind.
Considering what happened during the last dungeon break, it was fully understandable.
The 'three hours' the staffer mentioned probably felt like thirty minutes to Kang Han.
"Rest in the tent."
I nodded to Im Cheong-su and followed Kang Han through the gate, swallowing a small sigh.
"Fairy tale dungeon, huh? It's really a campus."
As Jang Su-ho said.
Even after passing through the gate, the scenery looked unchanged.
"High fidelity."
Han Ji-seong adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses in admiration.
"But the doors won't open!"
Lee Yu-chan shouted after yanking a nearby building door.
But I had no leisure to survey the dungeon.
"So... many mannequins."
I just muttered that and subtly hid behind Kang Han.
'Why mannequins, of all things.'
One of the few things I truly hated.
Mannequins, masks, human-shaped dolls.
Couldn't explain why, but it'd been that way since childhood.
A couple in a store was fine, but this dungeon crawled with eyeless, noseless, mouthless white ones.
"Fairy tale dungeon—seems even the campus people are replicated."
Kang Han glanced back at me approaching and asked.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just creeps me out."
I tried to sound nonchalant.
"Let's head deeper first."
At Kang Han's words, we began moving slowly.
But something was off.
"Non-aggressive dungeon?"
"Yeah. They're all just... doing their own thing."
Eerie scene.
They surely detected the intruders, yet the mannequins ignored us.
Student B-14 (C)
Undergraduate heading to lecture hall.
Even using skills yielded only such descriptions.
One moved slower, feet dragging oddly—we checked its info.
Grad Student V-61 (C)
Grad student heading to buy coffee.
'Looks like we can clear this quick.'
Guerrilla dungeons end by defeating the boss monster.
Couldn't even imagine what the boss was in this campus-synced dungeon.
Disaster struck when one relaxes with relief.
"Shall I smash one?"
"Hey, Jang Su-ho! Don't—!"
Too late by the time I yelled to stop him.
Jang Su-ho had smashed the head of one mannequin in a couple taking a selfie on a lawn bench.
"Eek."
I ducked behind Kang Han again.
Hundreds of mannequins froze mid-motion like hitting pause—then all turned toward us.