I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 82

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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 82
An Je-hwan tucked his frost-bitten hands into his pockets.
They were stuffed in along with the beaker, so whether they’d actually warm up was questionable.
Still, it seemed better than leaving them exposed to the open air, and he hunched his shoulders.
“Sense of duty, you know. It’s not like it’s anything grand. Show up to work on time, keep up with your tasks—that’s having a sense of duty. And there are plenty of people who can’t even manage that.”
I found myself at a loss for words at the casual way An Je-hwan delivered this.
“Ah, yes. Right?”
From an office worker’s perspective, that was indeed a sense of duty.
An Je-hwan glanced at my face and continued.
“Besides, I’ve noticed that sense of duty doesn’t come from something as grand as you’d think. I haven’t really seen many cases where a great cause generates a sense of duty.”
“Isn’t that just the sense of duty not showing up?”
I spoke with a slight smile, and An Je-hwan shrugged.
“It does show up. When a client disrespects us, we bristle up like professionals and it appears. When we’re desperately managing a situation that could blow up into something serious, it appears too…….”
An Je-hwan continued speaking, then rolled his eyes slightly. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
“When you’re actually angry or managing a crisis, you don’t consciously feel it as a sense of duty. But when you look back, you realize you had one all along.”
I found myself listening intently to what he was saying.
“Our work matters. This must be done. I want to uncover this myself. That sort of thing.”
Unlike a regular company employee, as a researcher he would have had cause to conduct work with a sense of duty.
But even that seemed to stand apart from the sense of duty required as a Hunter.
An Je-hwan appeared to understand that fact as well.
“Of course, Hunters are a profession where sense of duty is especially important. That’s why there are so many lectures, why Guilds emphasize and teach sense of duty.”
Even as he said this, An Je-hwan let out a short sigh.
“Of course, just teaching it doesn’t make it appear right away……. Like I mentioned earlier, when a situation hits you, you move without choice, and then you think, oh, so that was my sense of duty.”
I turned my eyes toward the researcher rummaging beneath the tree.
“Still, doesn’t that researcher back there have a decent sense of duty?”
“Ah, that’s…….”
An Je-hwan rolled his eyes and surveyed the surroundings.
Only after confirming that the researcher and hunters were far enough away did An Je-hwan lower his voice.
“Public relations in front of an important client. You can’t say you’re working just because you got paid in front of a client, you know.”
It was the kind of thing worth saying quietly.
‘The team lead’s a hundred percent calculating.’
I thought this quietly, but curiosity made me open my mouth.
“Was the bonus for clearing the S-Rank Dungeon that large?”
An Je-hwan nodded quietly.
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
An Je-hwan’s expression was so serious it made holding back the laughter even harder.
An Je-hwan delivered the final flourish.
“Money has a way of summoning sense of duty.”
“Kheh……!”
I let out a small laugh despite myself.
An Je-hwan glanced at me, then relaxed his shoulders slightly, looking relieved.
Only then did I understand what An Je-hwan had been getting at.
‘Was he trying to comfort me? I’m not sure if I should thank him.’
I was just about to open my mouth when
An Je-hwan beat me to it.
“I’ve seen too many people talk about company spirit, sense of belonging, sense of duty, then get hit with burnout and end up submitting their resignation.”
“Ah…….”
It was comfort infused with the team lead’s own bitter experience.
An Je-hwan rubbed his forehead with one hand.
“Keep your sense of duty just as high as the pay you receive. And once you’re paid, carry your sense of duty in proportion.”
“Right…….”
You had to work as much as the money you received. It was an iron law—those who don’t work shouldn’t eat.
An Je-hwan looked at me as if giving me a warning.
“If the country’s only top-grade Healer comes down with burnout and retires, that would be a problem.”
“Ahem.”
I’m just working to make some money.
‘Lost my office job anyway.’
I hadn’t worked as a Hunter enough to develop burnout.
“But if you want to work with a sense of duty, visit the Research Foundation.”
“The Research Foundation? Why?”
Do you conduct research motivating Hunters too?
When I tilted my head in confusion, An Je-hwan broke into a bright smile.
The career instinct of a salaried man set off alarm bells. This was the smile of someone with a hidden agenda.
Sure enough, the word spilled from An Je-hwan’s mouth.
“If you could cooperate with the research out of a sense of duty…”
I quietly turned my head the other way.
An Je-hwan shuffled his feet to enter my line of sight.
“Isn’t it worthwhile? Cooperating with research to uncover the secrets of Hunters and dungeons—it requires genuine conviction, and most Hunters won’t do it…”
I raised my gaze toward the sky.
An Je-hwan rose onto his tiptoes, trying once more to enter my field of vision.
I quickly spread my wings and positioned myself above the crown of his head.
“This really does require that kind of dedication, truly. The pay’s decent compared to the effort, if not quite as good as clearing dungeons.”
“Not interested. Not buying it. Not happening.”
An Je-hwan’s face fell with disappointment, but mercifully, a voice called out from one of the researchers assisting me.
“Team Leader! We’ve found another Seoshi Grass! Three roots clustered together—we should be able to extract them all at once.”
“Coming.”
Since the Seoshi Grass took priority over me, An Je-hwan reluctantly turned away.
A flask containing green liquid emerged from his subspace.
When he’d been pressing me to help with research, he hadn’t seemed like a team leader at all—but now, examining the Seoshi Grass, that gruff, businesslike air returned.
He severed it, extracted it, stored it away.
An Je-hwan moved with practiced efficiency, activating his skills in rapid succession.
I descended from where I’d been hovering in jest, landing my feet back on solid ground.
The snow crunched and squeaked beneath my weight with a satisfying sound.
That crisp noise felt like it was wiping my chest clean.
‘So that means nothing can be known until the moment actually arrives.’
When that moment comes, I’ll make the right choice. Yes, I will.
I repeated the same resolve to myself, standing in place.
Over and over.
* * *
Usually, a dungeon’s size and grade were proportional.
Not only was the expanse larger with higher grades, but the number of floors increased correspondingly too.
“This is an S-Grade Dungeon, but it only has two floors—instead, each floor is extraordinarily vast.”
I listened to the Leader’s explanation while finding it impossible to look away from the surrounding landscape.
“According to reports, the area is roughly half the size of Seoul. Since we already know the locations of the boss chamber and the exit, we’ll head straight to the boss chamber, eliminate it, and move to the exit.”
Sweat trickled down beneath the thick parka bundled around my body.
‘The first floor is a snowy plain, but the second is a volcanic region.’
Whoever designed it—they were cruel, I thought.
Who, when, where, and why would anyone prepare a snowy plain and a volcanic region together in a single dungeon?
Lost in thought, the tip of my shoe nearly touched the lava flowing like a stream below.
“Oh my goodness.”
I jerked my foot back in alarm, but the sole had already begun to scorch slightly.
I rubbed the blackened toe of my shoe against the ground.
In response to my action, the Leader raised a hand and halted everyone.
“Everyone, remove your parkas and outer layers first, find a spot where we can set up camp, and then change into appropriate clothes.”
“Understood.”
The heat was so intense, as if we were sitting near a fire, that my body was already damp with perspiration.
The Hunters and researchers hastily stripped off their parkas and layered outer wear, tucking them into their subspaces.
Still, the thick garments like fleece and knitwear remained, so the heat didn’t abate.
Everyone was fanning themselves with their hands, visibly uncomfortable.
I too held my palms against the heat rising from the lava, exhaling a weary sigh.
“At least my skin isn’t burning painfully—that’s a relief.”
“That’s thanks to your Resistance. Burns are classified as a status abnormality in the system, so Resistance blocks them. If you were an ordinary person, you’d be suffering severe burns by now.”
An Je-hwan explained it to me thoroughly.
I nodded and filed the knowledge away.
Each time like this, everyone glanced at me, as if reminded that I was still a beginner.
I kept my expression impassive and lobbed questions at An Je-hwan.
“If Resistance is high, does it also block out some of the heat and cold?”
“To some extent, yes. Dungeon environments are extreme and saturated with mana, so you feel the temperature acutely, but outside the dungeon it’s less pronounced.”
“Really?”
“Once your Resistance exceeds fifty thousand, you could wear a fur coat in summer and a sleeveless shirt in winter and be fine.”
Perhaps it was because he was a researcher, but the numbers he provided were precise.
And at the same time, I felt the danger of the S-Rank Dungeon.
The Healer’s Resistance was over 180, yet it was so hot and oppressive like this.
Splash.
Lava sprayed from beside us. The researchers shrank back, and the Tankers moved forward to shield us.
Crack!
A bright red tongue suddenly shot out and stuck to the Tanker’s Shield.
The Tanker braced himself to hold firm, and a Dealer stepped forward to slash the tongue away.
Screech— croak—
What emerged with a sound of pain was a Magical Beast that resembled a toad.
With its body submerged in the lava, the toad-like Beast fixed its gaze on us.
The problem was that there wasn’t just one.
I couldn’t bear the revulsion and whispered to An Je-hwan.
“……Do toads normally live in groups?”
“I can’t speak to regular toads, but Toad-like Beasts do live communally.”
Nothing but knowledge about Magical Beasts overflowing from him.
Croak— screech— croak—
The toads kept their eyes fixed on us as they waded out of the lava, one deliberate step after another.

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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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