The Girl I Saved Came Back As An S-rank Hunter

EP.12 Anger and Apology Time

“Mr Won-woo?”

Choi Soo-jung was caught off guard, focusing on the dungeon core, when Lee Won-woo suddenly charged at her and pushed her away. She was bewildered by his actions.

As she lost her balance and was pushed back, she was about to express her annoyance when she saw Lee Won-woo lying in her place, being showered with a green acidic liquid. Won-woo took the full brunt of the attack meant for her.

-Hisss

The liquid poured onto Won-woo’s back and began to dissolve everything it touched, making a sizzling noise as it burned through.

“Mr Won-woo!”

Choi Soo-jung called out to him in anguish without even realising it.

As she raised her head towards the ceiling, she saw a pair of round yellow eyes staring at her. Although half-hidden in the darkness, the creature’s features gradually became visible.

Long, thin legs covered in hair, an extremely thick body compared to its legs, and a hideous mouth opening and closing. The acidic liquid that hadn’t been completely spit out was dripping from its mouth.

An A-rank boss monster, the Acidic Spider.

It should not have been present in a C-rank dungeon, yet it was hanging from the ceiling, looking down at Choi Soo-jung.

“Why is there an Acidic Spider here? Why is an A-rank boss monster in this place?”

At that moment, Won-woo looked at her with concern, trying to say something, but ultimately lowered his head and lost consciousness.

Choi Soo-jung’s heart sank in an instant as she faced the unbelievable reality.

The memory of the Gate incident, when Won-woo saved her life, played in her head.

Won-woo, who had thrown himself in harm’s way to protect her.

But again, he sacrificed himself to protect her.

She was excited about the thought of having more time together once this was over, so she carelessly ran around the dungeon without any caution or tension despite being an S-rank. It was a foolish act that caused Won-woo to get hurt again.

Without realising it, she had the complacent thought that nothing would happen here because she was S-ranked. Even if she were caught off guard, she could get hurt, suffer, and die just the same.

Won-woo threw his life on the line for her once again, even though she had ignored his warning.

Unlike before, I’ve become much stronger.

But I was protected by him once again.

I had vowed to protect him.

But I was protected again.

Why did this happen?

Because I didn’t listen to Mr Won-woo.

What should I do then?

I must apologise. I must tell Mr Won-woo that I was wrong and keep apologising, even if he hates me for the rest of his life.

What would I do to the one who hurt Mr Won-woo?

I will tear it apart.

Choi Soo-jung’s mind was instantly filled with murderous intent.

Her ruby-like red eyes lost focus and became blurry, and only anger remained in her expression.

Swish.

At that moment, the Acidic Spider spewed a web at the fallen Won-woo.

It was an instinctive action to secure its meal by hanging it on a web in advance.

However, the spider web turned to dust before it even reached Won-woo and was scattered in an instant.

“How dare you try to touch Mr Won-woo’s body?”

The Acidic Spider hesitated as Choi Soo-jung’s low, threatening words were directed at it, and its yellow eyes turned to her.

In the meantime, Soo-Jung, worried about Won-woo’s condition, reached out her hand and cast “Cradle of Light.”

A golden rectangle formed and covered Won-woo, and the wounds on his back began to heal ever so slightly.

Judging by his condition, his life wasn’t in danger, but they needed to get out of here as soon as possible for proper treatment.

“Mr Won-woo, please wait a little longer.”

The sorrow in her eyes as she looked at Won-woo disappeared quickly.

Only anger remained on Choi Soo-jung’s face as she stretched out a hand and summoned her exclusive weapon, ‘Mark.’

A giant scythe the length of the slightly shorter-than-average Soo-jung appeared with a blue glow.

The silver blade shone ominously, sharply standing as if it could cleave everything in its path.

Realising that Soo-jung was the one who blocked its web, the Acidic Spider simultaneously spat out several bundles of webs towards her.

Soo-jung saw this and casually swung her scythe upward.

Swish.

At that moment, the incoming white bundles of spider webs disappeared into the air, melting away before they could even touch her.

Not stopping there, the Acidic Spider continued to shoot bundles of the web, but they were instantly dealt with by Soo-jung’s scythe, rendering them meaningless.

Kweeeeeek!

The Acidic Spider made a bizarre sound, seemingly angered that its predator attacks were easily blocked by a simple human.

It began to swell its massive body once again to create more acidic fluid.

Choi Soo-jung smirked and raised her magical power.

As the golden magic that erupted from the tips of her hair enveloped her entire body, it surged upwards, reaching the ceiling where the Acidic Spider was hanging.

Startled by Choi Soo-jung suddenly disappearing from its sight and reappearing, the Acidic Spider hastily spat out the acidic fluid it had been holding inside.

Since it couldn’t store as much as before, the acidic fluid was fired in a thin, straight line like a water jet.

Soo-jung was easily hit, seemingly with no intention of dodging.

Thinking that the brazen human had underestimated it, the Acidic Spider took the opportunity to continuously shoot more acidic fluid.

To the point that the acidic fluid inside its body was running out, and it believed that she couldn’t withstand any more attacks.

Mocking the Acidic Spider’s judgement, Soo-jung effortlessly began walking through the air towards it again.

“It won’t work. I’ve encountered plenty of creatures like you.”

The acidic fluid that hit Soo-jung’s body didn’t dissolve anything, and it instantly evaporated like water as soon as it touched her golden magical power.

It was the effect of Soo-jung’s unique skill, [Magic Armour], which protected her body by enveloping it in magic and converted the damage into magic consumption.

Only Soo-jung, who had both a top-ranking amount of magic power among hunters worldwide and delicate magic control, could create this skill.

The only drawback of the skill was that it couldn’t be reused for two weeks after use.

Kuru…

The Acidic Spider instinctively felt fear at the being that neither dodged nor backed down from its attacks and approached it head-on.

Realising that it wasn’t a predator but rather a prey, it stretched its legs in the opposite direction, trying to create an opening to escape while shooting bundles of webs.

But as if she already knew this, Soo-jung swung her scythe diagonally twice.

The bundles of webs were again effortlessly disassembled, and although her weapon wasn’t within reach, one of the Acidic Spider’s long legs was cleanly severed as if hit by something invisible, and it fell to the ground.

Kweeeeek!

With a pain-filled sound, a fluid that looked like blood dripped from the severed leg. Soo-jung smiled at the sight of the spider trembling in fear.

“Just a mere insect daring to hurt my Mr Won-woo? Haha, I’ll make sure you die the most painful death in this world.”

Soo-jung, who had suddenly closed the distance, extended her scythe and swung it left and right.

Kueeeek!

With each swing, the Acidic Spider’s legs fell to the ground, and the cave echoed with its anguished, eerie cries.

Once all ten legs were severed, the spider barely clung to the web with its face and body.

“Hmm, should I sever that filthy mouth next? Or gouge out those unfortunate eyes?”

Kueek!

The Acidic Spider tried to resist belatedly, spewing the little remaining acidic fluid at the approaching Soo-jung.

Even though it spat out more fluid than before, Soo-jung didn’t care and drove her scythe deep into the spider’s eyes.

Kuuueeeek!

“You don’t have to try so hard; I’ll kill you anyway. Just stay still. I won’t kill you gently. I’ll tear you apart, piece by piece, painfully.”

All that remained on Soo-Jung’s face as she stepped on the Acidic Spider’s face and looked down at it were her pupils devoid of light and a twisted smile.

*

“Uhm…”

“Are you awake?”

As I turned my head towards the source of the voice, I saw Kang So-young’s face with a somewhat displeased expression.

Looking around, I could tell I was in the familiar medical room where I had spent a day before, with the familiar arrangement of machines and beds.

“Ugh…”

As I tried to get up, a pain that felt like a scream not to do so surged up my spine on my back.

“Stay still. Miss Soo-jung treated you well enough to recover from a six-month-long injury, but you still need at least a week of rest.”

At those words, memories of the moments before collapsing came to mind.

Worried, I urgently grabbed Kang So-young’s shoulder and asked,

“Is Soo-Jung okay? And the dungeon?”

Kang So-Young frowned for a moment at my question before responding curtly,

“Yes, both the dungeon and the Young Lady are absolutely fine. It seems like you should take care of yourself rather than stressing about her right now.”

“Haha, you’re right.”

Embarrassed by Kang So-young’s sharp words, I awkwardly let out a laugh and agreed.

Then, to break the silence, I looked at Kang So-Young and said,

“Since I followed the secretary’s advice right before entering the dungeon and kept Soo-jung from getting hurt, I shouldn’t get scolded twice, right?”

“You must be foolish to have taken that seriously.”

‘I knew it was sincere, Miss Secretary.’

But perhaps she felt guilty since I actually got injured. It seemed like she was making excuses.

“Well, anyway, I’m happy that Soo-jung didn’t get hurt, even if I was foolish.”

“You… sigh… never mind. Now that you are awake, I will bring the Young Lady to you. She has been by your side the whole time, and I forcibly sent her away to take a break for a while.”

Kang So-young, who seemed to be about to say something, sighed, quickly got up, and then left the room.

“Did something happy happen?”

She usually didn’t speak warmly, but today it felt even more low-spirited.

Wondering if I had made a mistake in my words, I thought about it but couldn’t figure it out, so I decided to just think that she was in a bad mood and move on.

“But it seems she managed to defeat that by herself. That’s really amazing.”

Just before I collapsed, the monster seemed to be an A-class boss monster, an Acid Spider.

It was one of the boss monsters that even a party of A-class hunters had a hard time dealing with, so I was worried, but it seemed like it was an unnecessary concern.

Moreover, according to Kang So-young, Soo-jung was unharmed, which meant she defeated it overwhelmingly on her own. Once again, I realised that the person who used to laugh beside me was really incredible.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, there was a knock on the treatment room door.

“Yes, come in.”

Then, Soo-jung opened the door without a word and cautiously entered.

She didn’t come straight to me but lingered at the entrance, cowering.

“What are you doing? Soo-jung?”

“Uh, well…”

Roughly guessing the reason for her behaviour, I spoke to Soo-jung.

“Don’t stay there by the door; come here. You have something to say, don’t you?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Reluctantly accepting my suggestion, Choi Soo-jung approached and sat down on the chair in front of me.

Usually, she would look at my face, smiling brightly, or approach me while joking around. But now she was restless, not knowing what to do while looking elsewhere.

“I heard from the secretary earlier that you’re not injured at all. That’s amazing. You defeated the Acid Spider all by yourself!”

“Not a big deal. Compared to Mr Won-woo, anyway.”

“Huh? I went down in one shot.”

“…”

Although she tried to speak with a bright and cheerful tone, Soo-jung’s eyes seemed as if tears would leak out at any moment as she couldn’t continue speaking.

At times like this, I didn’t know what to say.

Even when I was dating Yura, I was scolded for not understanding a woman’s heart.

But I didn’t want to see Soo-jung making such a sad face in front of me, so I decided to speak my mind.

“It’s okay. It’s no big deal.”

“Huh?”

As Soo-jung looked up at me, she asked again.

“It’s nothing. Being in the hunter’s world means putting your life on the line like this all the time. You know, right? It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

As if my words were a signal, tears streamed down Soo-jung’s red eyes and along her cheeks.

And then, sobbing, she brought out the words she had been holding back.

“But still… *sob* Because of me, Mr Won-woo almost… almost died. And it’s not the first time. *sob* You almost died again. Aren’t you mad at me? Don’t you hate me? Why…”

“Well, I think it’s also my fault for not stopping it from the beginning. I should have made a quicker judgement. It was your first time in a C-rank dungeon, Soo-jung. I should have told you to be even more cautious in a lower-ranked dungeon.”

At those words, Soo-jung seemed shocked and was momentarily stunned before suddenly standing up from her chair, kneeling on the ground, and saying,

“That’s absolutely not true! I foolishly didn’t listen to Mr Won-woo in the dungeon and let my guard down, which caused you to get hurt! It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Soo-jung, who was offering an apology to me in an excited voice, looked pitiful.

“Stop it. It’s okay; get up.”

“I can’t forgive myself. I vowed to protect Mr Won-woo no matter what happened, but instead, I’m the one being protected again. I’m really the worst. What kind of S-rank is this? Pathetic…”

It seemed that her deep affection for me and the guilt of owing me a life weighed much heavier on her shoulders than I had thought.

Everyone makes mistakes. It’s no different, even for an S-rank hunter.

And she was only 20 years old, just becoming an adult.

Predicting that such an incident would occur in a C-rank dungeon, not an A-rank, in a hunter’s life that never experienced failure was close to impossible.

Even if I had warned her, there would be a clear difference between hearing and experiencing it.

Can we dare to imagine dying in a beginner’s hunting ground after reaching the max level in an RPG game?

I personally think it’s no different.

If this incident brought significant mental growth to Soo-jung, it would be more than valuable.

“Come on, stop being like that and get up.”

I forced myself to approach Soo-jung, who was kneeling.

A tingling pain surged through me as if electricity were flowing through my back.

“Huh? Mr Won-woo, you shouldn’t move your body yet.”

Soo-jung tried to stop me in surprise, but I didn’t care, and I bent one knee and looked at her face.

Her bloodshot eyes and silver hair still looked smooth but seemed slightly roughened.

Her outfit was still the same as when we entered the dungeon together. There were small traces of what appeared to be monster fluids on her clothes.

It was obvious without seeing it. She had been worried and stayed by my side until I woke up.

Thinking about it now, the reason Kang So-young looked at me with dissatisfaction when I opened my eyes was probably that she thought Soo-jung was having a hard time.

“Let’s stop this and get up now.”

I put my hands on Soo-jung’s shoulders and gave her the strength to stand up. Fortunately, she didn’t resist and got up.

It seemed like she was following my lead because she thought resisting might strain my body.

“Please lie down quickly, Mr Won-woo.”

With anxious urging, I reached out to touch one side of Soo-jung’s cheek.

At my sudden action, Soo-jung didn’t know what to do and blushed. I gently stroked her cheek.

Her skin was as tender and smooth as it looked. Despite her fatigue and poor condition, it was incredibly soft.

Soo-jung’s tears, which had stopped at my touch, burst out again.

“Mr Won-woo… *sob* If you died, I was going to die with you. A world without you has no meaning for me. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

I wiped away her tears of atonement with my hand, but they continued to flow.

“I’m still here, alive and well. Don’t say such scary things. It was nothing. It’s okay.”

As I said that, her shoulders trembled severely, and without saying anything, she buried her face in my chest and hugged me.

And, leaning on my chest, she shook and sobbed quietly.

I carefully embraced Choi Soo-jung, not as an S-rank hunter but as a fragile young woman.

And I patted her back, hoping to comfort her and stop her tears.

At the same time, my mind warned me of a big problem.

That my feelings for Choi Soo-jung were changing and growing into something bigger.

T/N: I’m sorry, but I’m dropping this novel. I’m going to quickly explain why I’m dropping this novel below:

1. Lack of interest in the novel – Reading further into the novel made me lose interest in the novel, at first I enjoyed the novel because Won-woo was not as dense as a Japanese Isekai protagonist when it came to Soo-jung’s feelings, but the feeling I got from that was lost not too much further into the story.

2. Time – I simply don’t have the time to translate a novel that I no longer enjoy reading myself.

I will say, though, that I’m planning to pick up other Korean novels in the future, as there are a few Korean novels that I’m interested in and would like to translate. If you want to read another Korean novel and don’t mind a change of genre from this one, you can read my latest novel, Mu-ryeong’s Spirit, a BL novel.