I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 27

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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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Episode 27
Heat suddenly surged into my head, and I pressed the civilian we were supposed to rescue.
I even snapped at the team leader as if telling him to abandon the person.
I didn’t need to wonder how badly my image had been damaged in front of the others—it was obvious.
‘Why on earth did I do that?’
Because that person was repulsive and pathetic!
My emotion, not yet fully suppressed by reason, protested in that voice.
But that didn’t justify my behavior.
I approached the strategy team. My steps slowed of their own accord, but what needed to be done hadn’t changed.
‘I should apologize for lashing out at the civilian while letting emotion take over.’
I took a moment to steady myself with deep breaths.
The sensation of my emotion acting independently from reason, moving my body—it still felt strangely vivid.
Normally, I couldn’t have spoken to someone like that with such pressure, but something felt off.
“Um…”
As I approached the strategy team, Choi Se-i lowered his shield and smiled warmly at me.
“Oh, you’re here. Thank you for your hard work just now.”
I paused at Choi Se-i’s greeting.
I couldn’t remember what hardship I was supposed to have endured.
‘Is he apologizing because I got caught up in the Dungeon suddenly?’
I was about to make my own judgment and respond when Lee Jae-cheon scratched his head and spoke.
“Just when you think you’ve seen everything, one of these types pops up again. We’d be in for it today if it weren’t for you wrapping it up so quickly. Seriously. I was about to step in myself.”
“Once you start soothing them, there’s no end to it.”
Choi Se-i nodded in agreement, his voice low enough to keep others from overhearing, his tone full of amusement.
“We’re already busy with the rescue itself—why do we have to manage a grown adult’s feelings too? Dealing with that kind of nonsense is the worst.”
The team members lamented like office workers facing a difficult customer, rubbing their shoulders in frustration.
Choi Jeong-moon caught my eye, laughing softly.
“You stepped in first, so the situation was resolved quickly. Thank you for that.”
“Ah, yes.”
It was a limp response, but it was the best I could manage.
Their reaction was so different from what I’d expected that confusion weighed on me.
Perhaps sensing my bewilderment, Choi Jeong-moon added more.
“People like that show up about once in every ten or twenty rescues. Most people aren’t like that, but there are rare occasions when the elderly or infirm are viewed negatively.”
My brow furrowed subtly again.
It seemed my reaction amused him—Choi Jeong-moon pressed his lips together to stifle a laugh.
“So sometimes we take a firmer approach. One of our team members steps in to play the role you just did. After all, elderly survivors are people we ought to rescue safely too.”
Choi Jeong-moon’s mature, professional words earned my respect.
“The Hunter Association doesn’t even accept complaints about things like that. Since it’s not harming a survivor or committing a crime.”
“So when you see problem customers, just intimidate them. It’s the fastest way.”
Lee Jae-cheon raised his thumb, and I lost all respect and trust in him.
Fortunately, Choi Se-i bent Lee Jae-cheon’s thumb backward and subdued him.
‘So people file complaints with the Association too, huh.’
Should rescuers really have to deal with complaints after saving lives? That question struck me.
But it was reassuring that the Association filtered complaints appropriately.
We came in to rescue, not to sort people worth saving from those not worth saving.
“I worried my emotional outburst might have caused you trouble, so I’m relieved it actually helped.”
The team members’ eyes widened at my words, and they waved their hands.
“What? It wasn’t like that at all.”
“Right. As long as you don’t hit us, it’s fine.”
“To be blunt, that guy was the one acting up first.”
“Keep your voice down, it’s too loud.”
Though they lowered their voices as much as possible, the liveliness couldn’t be hidden.
Was it because they were a close-knit strategy team? The atmosphere felt like friends on a picnic.
Choi Jeong-moon settled the chatter with a single clap.
“Alright! Let’s move out and rest. Tomorrow we’ll go searching for a Gate.”
With a much lighter heart, I could answer loudly.
“Yes.”
* * *
After resting through the night at a safe location, my body felt considerably lighter.
I stretched thoroughly and savored the morning sun.
‘In a Synchronized state, my stamina is boundless. I thought I’d be exhausted to death.’
Every morning’s exhaustion felt like a lie in retrospect.
Thanks to the Synchronization, my body felt lighter and more at ease than I could have imagined, considering I’d supposedly fallen asleep on the bare ground.
Would I wake up this refreshed every time if I synchronized before sleep?
‘I should try that next time.’
“Oh, you’re awake, junior?”
Lee Ji-eum cut short my idle musings with a sleep-drunk voice.
Unlike me, he seemed to have stiffness all over—he rubbed his shoulders and lower back as he hauled himself upright.
“Ow, my back.”
A low groan escaped him.
Beside Lee Ji-eum, Song Hye-yum also woke with a pained murmur.
At his gesture, the enormous Man-in-Sa steadied its tail to help him to his feet.
It was as if the beast had become Song Hye-yum’s own limbs.
Considering the Synchronization rate, I should have let it be, but curiosity overwhelmed me.
I couldn’t resist approaching him.
“I thought you were a mage, but you’re a Tamer?”
Song Hye-yum’s eyes went wide at the sudden question.
He hesitated for a moment, then answered awkwardly, as if shy.
“No, I’m a mage.”
He gestured for me to look, turning the Man-in-Sa’s head toward me.
Now that I could see it clearly, the Man-in-Sa’s eyes were completely hollow.
Not figuratively—literally pitch-black, without even pupils.
“It’s from the Beast Manipulation lineage, so it looks like taming, but it’s not.”
His answer was kinder than I’d expected.
Though surprised at how thorough his explanation was, I nodded quietly.
“I thought mages were all people who shot fire or ice, but that’s not always the case, is it?”
“That type is common enough that the misconception is understandable. Mages of these specialized branches are quite rare.”
Song Hye-yum fiddled with his hair as if embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Lee Ji-eum, finished with his preparations, approached us.
“What were you two talking about?”
“I was just asking if he wasn’t a Tamer.”
At my casual remark, Lee Ji-eum threw his head back and laughed loudly.
“Ah, he gets that misunderstanding all the time. Beast Manipulation tends to have more Tamers than specialized mages anyway.”
So I wasn’t the only one confused. I’d almost embarrassed myself.
“Besides, specialized lineage mages are less common on Dungeon-clearing teams. Mages like Hye-yum tend to support from the rear more often than excel in direct combat.”
As he spoke, Lee Ji-eum pointed with his thumb toward the back.
There stood a Hunter named An Je-hwan, who had joined us alongside Song Hye-yum.
“He’s from the Alchemy lineage too, so you could say he’s a rear-support mage. He makes healing potions, poisons, things like that.”
“So not every Hunter goes into Dungeons?”
I murmured softly in fascination.
At that, both Lee Ji-eum and Song Hye-yum broke into quiet laughter.
“Exactly. Everyone has their own aptitudes, after all.”
“Still, even rear-support types must be better at fighting than ordinary people, right? Hunters are Hunters, after all.”
Song Hye-yum nodded beside Lee Ji-eum, affirming his confident assertion.
Hearing about a world of Hunters far broader than what I’d known, I found myself captivated, my ears attuned to their every word.
The pity was that circumstances didn’t allow this conversation to continue.
“All right, let’s move out! Anyone elderly or frail, please go with the Hunter over there who has the serpent. Hye-yum! Could you give those folks a ride?”
Song Hye-yum gave a slight bow and moved to follow the leader’s instructions.
The child who had clung to my side yesterday now climbed onto the back of the Man-in-Sa.
Whether frightened or fascinated by mounting the serpent, the child’s eyes gleamed as they kept waving toward me.
I waved back gently toward the child.
* * *
Crunch, crackle—
I descended carefully and returned to the group’s side after taking flight under their protection to search for the Gate.
“Did you find the Gate?”
“Not at all.”
When I shook my head, the shoulders of the ordinary people drooped as if they might touch the ground.
Though it wasn’t my fault, I felt oddly uncomfortable and rubbed the back of my neck.
“There was a small hill, though. It had a door on it—completely out of place for a forest like this.”
Choi Jeong-moon’s brow tightened slightly at those words.
Choi Se-i spoke with his arm hooked over his shield.
“Isn’t that the way to move between levels? What’s there to worry about?”
“Move between levels?”
Choi Se-i gave me a bewildered look at my question.
Since I knew little about Hunters or Dungeons, I could only stare back at him with the same expression.
Fortunately, the others quickly remembered that I wasn’t well-versed in Dungeons.
“Oh, you must have heard about it from Jae-cheon before? How each zone had different terrain and caused them trouble?”
The story about how the first zone had flowing lava, but the second area was a snowy plain.
I slowly nodded, searching my memory.
“We call those levels. Usually, levels are connected by stairs. When you climb or descend the stairs, the zone changes and a completely new area appears. The more levels there are, the higher the Dungeon’s rank.”
I shouldn’t have envied Hunters for making so much money.
I felt myself growing a bit weary.
“So do we have to move through all the levels to find the Gate?”
“Of course not. Each level has a Gate leading to the outside, so don’t worry about that.”
“Ah, I understand. So if there’s a door, are the stairs nearby?”
Choi Jeong-moon shook his head lightly.
“Not exactly… Usually, where there’s a door, there’s a Boss. And since the Dungeon’s Boss is typically located at the deepest part of the Dungeon, it often appears together with stairs.”
“And the Boss chamber is often sealed by a door. So generally, if there’s a door, you should assume there’s a Boss beyond it.”
Lee Ji-eum added his explanation.
After hearing all that, I still couldn’t understand Choi Jeong-moon’s dilemma.
Was there even anything to worry about?
“So what are you worried about?”
Choi Jeong-moon lowered his voice as he answered Choi Se-i’s question.
He seemed cautious, as if concerned his words might cause confusion.
“No matter how much we look around, we can’t find a Gate. I want to check what’s beyond the door. Just to be sure.”
The leader’s judgment left the entire party deliberating.
“What if there’s a Gate inside?”
“We go in.”
“What if there’s a Boss too?”
“… We fight.”
“Ah, well, that’s true, but…”
The party’s gaze gradually turned toward the civilians.
Lee Ji-eum bit his lower lip, troubled.
“That makes sense, but this Dungeon’s rank must be quite high. Can we defeat the Boss while protecting civilians? We’ve prepared our equipment more for rescuing survivors than for Boss raids.”
Choi Jeong-moon shrugged as if trying to ease the tension.
“But we can’t wait here either. We can only hope the Boss isn’t too strong.”
The party said nothing more about the leader’s decision.
They gripped their weapons, waiting for orders.
“Primary objective: confirm whether a Gate exists. If one is found, immediately defeat the Boss and secure the Gate. Song Hye-yum.”
At the sudden call, Song Hye-yum’s eyes widened.
“You don’t enter. Wait outside the door. Once combat with the Boss begins, protect the people from outside. I trust your ability to respond flexibly from multiple angles.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll ask my younger brother to provide cover fire from a distance and weaken the enemies during the battle.”
“Yes.”
Choi Jeong-moon said nothing more to the others.
They must have already known their routes and roles.
It was the first time I realized that such silence could actually be reassuring.
“Oh, one more thing.”
Choi Jeong-moon looked back at me while checking his weapon.
I nodded with an oddly tense feeling.
Choi Jeong-moon spoke with a suppressed smile.
“Please guide us to the door.”
Right.
I was the only one who knew the way.

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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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