Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Nayeo-ju Saves the World Part 2 Chapter 19
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Korean Awakener Association.
Sama Young sat in the president's office, gazing out the window as he lost himself in thought.
His mind inevitably drifted back to that moment in the Ruins Dungeon when he'd touched the other gate.
His eyes shifted to his fingertips.
“......”
They felt cold. Hard.
Unlike ordinary gates that offered no resistance to entry, this one had been different.
It had rejected him.
As if he didn't qualify.
Knock knock.
The president entered the office alongside a man in his late thirties.
“I've brought Dr. Park Sang-hyun from Gate Prediction Headquarters.”
“Good work. You're dismissed.”
The president showed no sign of displeasure at Sama Young's perfunctory wave, slipping quietly out and closing the door behind him.
Park Sang-hyun couldn't help but let out a disbelieving chuckle at the way he treated the president like a mere subordinate, despite being the master of the top guild.
“Sit.”
Sama Young ordered.
“I'm fine. This won't take long.”
“......Suit yourself.”
“Get to the point. I can't stay away from the lab for long.”
“Fair enough. You're swamped these days, aren't you?”
“......”
Park Sang-hyun held his tongue.
He was the lead researcher on the recently emerged double dungeon phenomenon.
He had a duty to uncover the cause of an anomaly that had never occurred since gates first appeared.
To that end, he was pouring every spare moment into his work—sacrificing sleep and even mealtimes.
And yet here he was, dragged to some pointless meeting.
“So, have you figured out the cause of these double dungeons?”
“......Classified information. I can't disclose it to outsiders.”
“Outsiders? We're alone in the president's office, and he isn't even here. Still haven't caught on?”
“I get it—you've got some arrangement with the president. But that doesn't grant you access to national secrets.”
Park Sang-hyun was a man of unyielding integrity.
His colleagues often chided him with the proverb about jagged stones drawing the chisel, but that didn't change his innate nature.
Which only made the Sama Guild master all the more distasteful to him.
He could guess how he'd won over the president.
Everyone knew the man had a weakness for bribes.
But cheap tricks like that wouldn't break Park Sang-hyun.
“We'll be holding a press conference soon to present our findings. You can hear it then, same as the rest of the nation.”
“Hmm. Sounds like you've found something.”
Sama Young rose slowly from his seat and approached Dr. Park.
“Not in the mood to play nice, I see.”
“St-stop right there and talk!”
Sensing danger on instinct, the doctor stumbled back shouting.
[Charm Earring]
Target's pupils dilate. Will bends to command.
“Good instincts.”
Sama Young smiled at Dr. Park Sang-hyun.
At the same moment, his earring began to glow red.
“St-stop... there... talk......”
Dr. Park Sang-hyun's fear-constricted pupils slackened blankly.
Sama Young kept advancing, but the doctor no longer retreated.
“Don't tell the public. From now on, report all double dungeon research results to me alone. No one else can know. Report directly to me.”
“......Yes, understood.”
Sama Young flashed a satisfied smile at the dazed reply.
Dr. Park Sang-hyun's face flushed as he stared vacantly at those beautifully curved red lips.
Sama Young tapped his flushed cheek with a fingertip.
“Good boy.”
It had already been three days since we entered the Thunder Dungeon.
In that time, we'd circled the forest encircling the plain.
The result of investing every moment except for meals.
“Tired. So tired.”
Huddled under a massive rock that blocked the rain, I muttered as I popped one of Im Cheong-su's tonics into my mouth.
The tonics restored my stamina, but they couldn't touch the mental fatigue that kept piling up.
Guerrilla gates that ended in a day had been manageable.
Regular gates dragging on for days like this were a whole different story.
“I miss Na Baek-ho.”
The dungeon's harsh environment made leaving our familiars behind the right call, but that didn't stop the longing.
That's when a pair of black combat boots crunched into view through the gap in the rocks where I sat.
“Everyone's ready?”
“Yes. They're all waiting for you, Nayeo-ju-ssi.”
“Alright, let's go.”
I pushed up on creaky knees and trudged back into the rain, but something felt off.
My face should've stung from the thick raindrops.
Looking up in confusion, I saw Kang Han's palm.
Shielding the raindrops from my face.
'Surprisingly sweet.'
Whoever ended up dating him would have their hands full.
I shook my head.
“What's that look for?”
“Nothing. Just a thing.”
Under that somewhat overly gracious escort, we reached where the others waited.
Kang Han, still holding one hand over my head, explained.
“The moment we leave this forest, we'll enter the boss monster's territory. Stay sharp, and once we make contact—”
He glanced at me, looking like a drowned rat.
“—we end it as fast as possible and head home.”
“Yes!”
“Agh, I want a hot shower!”
“I just wanna crash in a comfy bed.”
Looks like I wasn't the only one suffering from cabin fever.
Even the ever-patient Han Ji-seong was craving a bed.
“Let's move.”
Led by Kang Han, we exited the forest.
The instant our feet hit the plain, my skin prickled and the air around us shifted.
'Is this an A-rank monster's presence?'
I'd faced A-rank monsters before.
But apparently there was a hierarchy even within ranks.
If even I—with my dull senses—could feel it this strongly, it had to be a powerhouse.
How much farther did we walk?
A massive tree towering in the middle of the plain came into view.
And beneath it, five half-human, half-beast monsters glared at us, half-risen to their feet.
👹 Minotaur Centaur (A)
Half-human, half-beast. Master of the Thunder Dungeon. Alert status. In rut.
👹 Minotaur (A)
Half-human, half-beast. Alert status.
The named one was the boss, and the other four its underlings, probably.
The problem was that all the minotaurs were A-rank.
'In rut? What's that about?'
Bad vibes.
Elephants turned brutally violent during theirs, from what I'd heard.
“Five minotaurs......?”
“They all feel like A-ranks.”
The twins scowled as they drew their weapons from sub-space.
“......No quick trip home, then.”
“Are minotaurs that tough?”
Jang Su-ho gave a curt nod to my question.
“They don't fight one-on-one.”
“You mean they team up?”
“Yeah. Nayeo-ju-ya, you just stay put.”
As I started to shake my head at Jang Su-ho's words—
“Right, Nayeo-ju stays here with me.”
Even Yoo Jin-rok chimed in, telling me to hang back in the safe zone.
“Got it. I'll stay here. If anyone gets hurt, come to me quick.”
I said it like a reminder to the twins, and they grinned.
Jang Su-ho, who'd been loosening up with his shield out, rubbed his massive frame against me.
“What about me, Nayeo-ju-ya? Me?”
“Don't you dare get hurt.”
“Hehe, got it. I'll come back unscathed.”
Times like this, I really hated my total lack of combat skills.
If only I could help somehow.
At that moment, the minotaur pack slowly rose to their feet.
“......Huge.”
Big enough to flick a puny thing like me away with one finger.
Especially the boss labeled Centaur—it looked at least 1.5 times larger than the rest.
“Hmph. Big or not, a cow's still a cow.”
Lee Yu-chan snorted, but his white-knuckled grip on the bowstring betrayed his tension.
“I'll take the boss solo. Su-ho, you lead the others and pull the rest to the 3 o'clock position for the fight. Wrap it up fast and regroup.”
Handling that massive bull-headed brute alone?
But I was the only one with doubts.
The rest sprang into motion around the plain the second Kang Han spoke.
“I'll be back. Nayeo-ju-ssi, stay safe here.”
With that, Kang Han leaped high toward the boss minotaur glaring our way.
He still hadn't drawn his spear.
Instead, clutched in his fist was—
Bzzt-crackle—!
Lightning blazing far larger than usual.