I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 48

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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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Chapter 48
The Haje Guild really did offer excellent benefits for its hunters.
If I’d been a guild member, I might have felt genuine loyalty welling up.
“The fifth floor connects to the building next door via a skybridge. That building is the dormitory—where our hunters stay.”
But honestly, none of it was registering properly in my head.
“We’ve got a training facility in the basement. Oh, that’s separate from the fitness center I mentioned earlier—this is a practical combat training hall.”
Because his misunderstanding was becoming an absolute headache.
What if he actually showed up with an envelope of cash to separate me from myself?
‘Please accept this—so our healer will break up with you.’
Lost in that thought, I suddenly realized something.
‘Wait. That’s not… terrible? I mean, I should definitely take the money envelope.’
As I drifted deeper into my melodrama, Baek Mun-il called out to me.
“Healer? You listening?”
I jolted back to reality like I’d been yanked from a daydream.
“Sorry? Yes. You were saying the cafeteria food is delicious.”
“Breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. For people living in the dormitory, they just pay a monthly fee and get all three meals covered.”
For someone too lazy to cook three times a day, it was a blessing beyond measure.
I ended up laughing again at how earnestly Baek Mun-il was promoting these benefits.
Baek Mun-il made a show of wiping his brow theatrically.
“Phew. I’ve still got so many more benefits to explain—at this rate, one day won’t be enough.”
“That does seem to be the case. Just thinking about all the facilities for hunters here, I can already count at least ten off the top of my head.”
“What’s good for hunters is good for the guild.”
We’d barely discussed the benefits when our feet somehow arrived at the first floor.
Even though we’d naturally used the stairs while touring the items on the fifteenth floor.
Whether it was because we were both hunters or for some other reason, the descent from the fifteenth floor felt effortless.
So finding myself already on the ground floor was almost unbelievable.
“I should head out now. I’ve taken up far too much of your time.”
“This was free time anyway.”
Baek Mun-il shrugged as if disappointed.
“I’d give you more if I could, but never mind. Oh—have you decided how you want to receive your dungeon clearance reward?”
“Yes. I’ll take it as items.”
At first, I’d planned to simply take the money for convenience, but my mind had changed.
If I said I’d take cash and had the bank details sent under Ha Cho-eun’s name, the misunderstanding would spiral completely out of control.
Baek Mun-il seemed quite pleased with my decision.
“I’ll get it appraised soon and set aside items to match the value. But for that, you know…”
Baek Mun-il made a phone receiver gesture with his hand and smiled.
I responded by forming a circle with my thumb and forefinger to show I understood.
“Of course. I’ll text you a number. If you need anything, feel free to call that number. I’ll be happy to take the job.”
I made a mental note to get a new phone activated soon.
I wanted to keep this contact separate from Ha Cho-eun’s information.
Baek Mun-il, pleased with my answer, waved goodbye with a bright smile.
I waved back at him and left the Haje Guild.
When I glanced back briefly at the building, Baek Mun-il was still visible in the lobby, waving.
Only then did the worry I’d been putting aside edge back into my thoughts.
“Should I… clarify the misunderstanding?”
Doesn’t seem like I can.
After reason battled viciously against reason, I finally reached a conclusion.
“I’ll deal with it later.”
Worrying about problems I can’t solve right now only leaves me exhausted.
If trouble comes, I can handle it then.
Does a pigeon have to fly with its wings?
It can spin its neck and fly like a helicopter—it’s still flying either way.
I hurled the boulder crushing my chest into the future and turned away from Baek Mun-il.
* * *
Even if I put some things off, what you learn should be put to use immediately.
“If you register with the Hunter Association, you get a new identity, right?”
Naturally, I only knew the standard procedure: registering your citizen ID number and getting issued a Hunter Certificate.
Even searching online only brought up this method—nothing else was explained.
Probably because ordinary people would never need any other way.
‘Baek Mun-il knowing this method is likely because he’s a guild master, isn’t it?’
I decided to make use of Baek Mun-il’s knowledge first.
If it worked out, I could bury my dark past and move on; if not, I could simply give up.
—For Hunter Certificate inquiries, press 1. To report Hunter-related incidents, press 2. To connect with a counselor, press 0.
I waited for the brief AI voice to finish, then pressed the option to connect with a counselor.
There was a short hold, but fortunately the counselor answered quickly.
—Yes, this is Kim Su-ha, a counselor with the Hunter Association.
“Hello. Is it true that if you register with the Hunter Association, they issue you a new ID?”
—Are you a foreigner, by any chance?
“Ah, yes.”
I wasn’t a foreigner, but weren’t my Synchronizations foreign to this world?
Crossing the boundary between two dimensions and three dimensions—from the perspective of an alien.
—Yes. That part is correct.
Baek Mun-il’s information had been accurate.
But both he and I had overlooked something.
—However, it doesn’t happen right away.
The fact was, no nation simply handed out national identity to its people without process.
The counselor took a breath and explained the conditions.
—First, you come in and apply for registration, and we’ll provide you with documents for naturalization into Korea. After that, a criminal record check is conducted.
Fortunately, the conditions weren’t too stringent.
I was already Korean anyway, and I had no criminal history.
Could this actually work?
I let myself embrace the swelling hope.
—Once the investigation and interview process are complete, your identity will be registered and both a Hunter Certificate and Temporary ID will be issued.
The only suspicious thing was that it was almost suspiciously clean—there was nothing at all.
Not in Korea, and nowhere else did these beings have a past.
I listened carefully to the counselor without any hesitation.
—If you continue steadily with Dungeon Clearance and Hunter activities, we’ll eventually issue you a permanent ID instead of a temporary one. Was this helpful?
“Yes.”
The counselor spoke solemnly as a final warning.
—And this service cannot be used if you already have an identity registered in Korea. Using it fraudulently could result in criminal charges.
It was obvious, but hearing the warning made my skin crawl.
I forced a smile and answered brightly.
“Yes, understood. Thank you for confirming.”
—You’re welcome.
I hung up and thought calmly about what came next.
To use this service, distinguishing myself from my original identity would be crucial.
I brought a mirror and set it in front of me.
“Synchronization. Fairy.”
Fortunately, when I synchronized, my facial features changed slightly.
Especially since my hair style and eye color shifted noticeably, I barely looked like the same person.
“But the Fairy and Dark Fairy have identical faces.”
Since they were defined as the same person to begin with, there was no helping it.
I could explain this away as twins.
“Synchronization. Demon King.”
I also tried synchronizing as the Demon King.
At least as the Demon King, my appearance changed again somewhat.
Sharper features, I suppose.
I turned my face this way and that, examining it.
This much ought to make it difficult for anyone to suspect I was the same person based on appearance.
That left one remaining problem.
Fingerprints.
I stared at my thumb. If these remained unchanged, creating a new identity would be all but impossible.
Still, there was one way to check this quickly.
“Hah.”
My phone.
I pulled out my phone from my pocket.
Then, synchronized as the Demon King, I placed my finger on the biometric scanner.
Chime.
Of course, the fingerprint was recognized and the screen unlocked.
Next I tried as the Dark Fairy, and it still recognized me.
The last fairy was the same.
“I’m done for.”
I’d only called first to torture myself with false hope.
Identical fingerprints meant the appearance might differ slightly, but everything else remained unchanged.
When they took my fingerprints, four identities would pop up on the system.
Iris recognition and other biometric scans would be identical too.
“So I’m headed straight for criminal prosecution under a false identity.”
It was an ending too heavy for an ordinary person like me to bear.
“Enough.”
I shut the door on hope cleanly.
If I had one strength, it was that I gave up quickly.
Some would call it a weakness, perhaps, but I believed otherwise and held no doubts about it.
“Sigh.”
Thanks to this dark secret, another day had slipped away.
I lay back down and rolled myself up in the blanket.
With no job to go to, time hung heavy and the days stretched long.
Out of sheer boredom, I was rummaging through my phone when it suddenly rang.
[Seo Il-hak, Association Director]
It was the Hunter Association director, saved under just three syllables. I answered quickly.
“Hello?”
—Good day, Ha Cho-eun. Is this a good time to talk?
“Yes, of course. Please go ahead.”
As I hurried to respond, Seo Il-hak cleared his throat briefly.
—A situation has arisen, and we’d like to request cooperation from the Hunter Association. Do you happen to have a hunter where you are?
There was no need to wonder who the hunter he meant was.
Seo Il-hak had never once needed a healer.
“No. If you tell me, I’ll pass the message along to them.”
—I see.
Seo Il-hak, unaware that telling me meant the message was automatically conveyed, launched into his explanation.
—We’ve received intelligence that a large shipment of illegal items is coming through Pohang Harbor. Since we’re dealing with items, we expect hunters to mobilize.
“Should that person go to Pohang with you and help with the arrest?”
—Exactly.
I had nothing else to do anyway.
I had no intention of refusing.
“Um… when would that be?”
—Ten days from now, on Thursday. The operation begins at two in the morning, but we’ll gather by one in the afternoon the day before to prepare.
My schedule for that day was naturally wide open.
But I saw no reason to say so directly.
“That time works. And how much would the payment be?”
—For this one, the number of personnel isn’t fixed, and it’ll be a large-scale operation. So….
Seo Il-hak seemed to be looking something up.
I heard the sound of papers rustling briefly before it stopped.
—I’d estimate around three thousand at maximum.
I could practically hear my bank account getting richer.
Trusting that he couldn’t see me through the phone, I smiled.
“Understood. I’ll pass that along. When and where should we go then?”
—We’re planning to move carefully so we don’t draw attention. We’ll gather at the Association Wednesday morning at nine and head to Pohang together… would you like to travel with us, or would you prefer to go separately?
Either way made little difference to me, so I posed the question that would settle the matter.
“If we travel together, does that person’s transportation cost come out of the same budget?”
—…….
What? Why the silence!
This is important! Every penny counts if you want to live well!

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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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