Chapter 96: Taking Responsibility

The internet was ablaze after the announcement that the Dungeon’s difficulty would rise once again.

Many were posting, convinced that Nada was an outsider from another dimension, but the majority of the public opinion was negative.

[The ground must be collapsing. What’s going on?]

“Does even a dragon know about this kind of talk?”

Red tilted his head in confusion at the sight of me sighing.

That made me let out a faint laugh.

“It’s just… I felt like I really stirred things up this time.”

I had no words to explain further, so I kept it brief.

Then Shahin, who had been sitting silently watching me, spoke up.

[The rise in the Dungeon’s difficulty isn’t Lord’s fault.]

His tone was light, as if to say, “Why are you worrying about such an obvious thing?”

Among the commanders, Shahin was the one who understood this situation best.

Hearing him say that was somewhat comforting.

Shahin, who had been sitting in the chair, approached my bed.

Seeing him peeking at my phone made it clear he wanted to check the public sentiment about me.

I quickly hid my phone in my clothes and motioned for him to leave.

I didn’t want to show him such unfavorable opinions.

“These are things you don’t need to see.”

Shahin stepped back obediently and said,

[Then, those are also things Lord doesn’t need to see.]

After saying that, he sat back in the chair, crossed his legs, and looked down at me.

Noticing that his gaze implied he was right, I only rolled my eyes before glancing at the phone in my hand.

It was obvious I needed to know the public’s opinion, but now wasn’t the time.

I was already mentally exhausted from checking it so much earlier that morning.

“Then I’ll stop looking at my phone for today and think about what to do next.”

I placed my phone on the desk and lay back down on the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, all sorts of distracting thoughts flooded in.

‘What does Do Ihyeon think of me?’

Since he was the only one who knew my true identity, I worried most about how he would react.

The status window appeared yesterday, but he still hadn’t contacted me, so there was no way to know his thoughts.

What if his feelings changed and he deemed me a threat?

What if he exposed my identity to others?

Still, I didn’t have the courage to reach out first and ask, “Have you seen the status window? What do you think?”

Other friends felt the same.

I was scared they’d turn their backs on me even if I was an outsider from another dimension.

‘If that happens, will I be able to keep living here?’

In group chats with Yeon Ha-yeon and the Four Heavenly Kings, or among the top ten Awakened, no one directly mentioned me, but I got the sense they didn’t think well of Nada.

Honestly, it would be hard to think well of me if I were in their shoes.

At least in the chat room with the top ten Awakened, where Nada was also present, people seemed more cautious with their words.

When the Dungeon’s rank increase status window first appeared, everyone panicked and flooded the chat with messages, but later, they realized Nada was also in the chat.

The group chat with my friends was a bit different.

‘Ban Eunhyeol is surprisingly quiet.’

I thought he’d say something since the Dungeon difficulty rose, but the quietest person was Ban Eunhyeol.

‘I don’t know.’

Even though everyone was trying to be cautious, I felt like I had already taken all the curses I’d ever deserve.

The criticisms were on a whole different level compared to the usual curses from people in the possessed world just because I summoned commanders.

It was the difference between an Awakened with frightening power and an Awakened who opened Gates and raised the Dungeon’s difficulty.

I stared blankly at Bishap, who had been flying in circles above the ceiling since earlier.

Then I suddenly sat up.

“Guys, things are going to get busy from now on.”

At my words, Bishap and Red tilted their heads in confusion.

Shahin immediately understood what I meant.

“From now on, I’ll have to close as many Gates as possible.”

Since the Dungeon difficulty went up because of me, I had to take responsibility.

That was my way of handling things.

To prevent the Awakened tackling the Dungeons from getting hurt, I would go out first and close as many Gates as I could.

I wouldn’t be going to school for a while, and I’d have a lot of free time.

At least during the vacation, I’d have to work hard closing Gates.

‘Since I have the mask, maybe I should try going out during the day too?’

When I was alone, I usually went out late when there were fewer people around, but now I needed to go around as much as possible.

I couldn’t just limit myself to night.

Dungeon breaks wouldn’t wait for me.

Outside the window, the short winter sun was already setting.

I’d been holed up in my room all day, only checking the internet for public opinion, and the day was almost over.

Just as I was about to open the window and go outside,

“Oh my, what’s going on? That outsider from another dimension is causing a mess.”

“If it’s Iljin Sang High School, that’s my neighborhood school. How did A-rank Awakened get hurt like that? The world’s getting so dangerous.”

I couldn’t ignore the voices of my parents talking nearby.

I hurried out to the living room and checked the news first.

There was a report about a sudden Gate appearing in a neighboring district, where two students from the notorious Iljin Sang High School were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital.

“Dana, do you have any friends at Iljin Sang?”

“Do I? Dana’s friends are all at Gamsung High.”

“Well, you can still get along with students from other schools.”

Dad brought up Iljin Sang first when he realized I was watching the news, but it quickly led to a quarrel with Mom.

For a while, they seemed to be getting along, but as soon as the Dungeon difficulty rose, the arguing started again.

It felt like even this was my fault now.

“I do know some people… but…”

I trailed off, narrowing my eyes as I watched the news.

Two A-rank Awakened students from Onsemilo at Iljin Sang High, the guild leader rushing to the hospital…

‘Wait a minute.’

My heart sank as I watched the report, remembering two familiar faces more and more.

‘Two A-rank Awakened from Onsemilo… Iljin Sang High… it must be them, right…?’

Haemalkkeum and Kang Yedam.

Add to that, Do Ihyeon had a close relationship with both, enough to rush to the hospital urgently.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Like a broken robot, I turned around and went back to my room, picking up my phone as soon as I sat down.

My trembling fingers typed slowly, one letter at a time.

[Are you okay…]

I started typing a message asking if they were okay but deleted it.

If the news said they were seriously injured, they probably weren’t okay.

I held the phone, unsure what to say to Do Ihyeon.

In a way, it was my fault, and anything I said felt like an insult.

While struggling, a chat window popped up in front of me.

[Ocean(5): Are the Iljin Sang students who got hurt Haedam and Malkum?

◆Giyomi(9): Seems like it… ᅲ_ᅲ

Σ(Ju)Euddeum(8): Send me the hospital address, bro.

Gaonnuri(2): I’ll send it later.]

‘So it really is them.’

I suspected it, but having Do Ihyeon confirm it made the weight on my heart even heavier.

‘If they’re badly hurt, how badly? They have to be okay.’

I searched through articles about this sudden Gate incident, looking for details on Haemalkkeum and Kang Yedam’s injuries.

There was nothing beyond the news of serious injuries.

[How are the others? Sorry.]

Mustering courage, I sent a message asking Do Ihyeon about the condition of our friends.

The reply came almost immediately.

[Why are you sorry? They got hurt while working.]

A short while later, another message arrived.

[They’re not that badly hurt. They’ll recover soon.]

Though the news said serious injuries, he said they weren’t that bad.

It was obvious he was trying to comfort me.

‘Of course, since they’re A-rank Awakened, their recovery should be quick, but still, if it’s bad enough for the news…’

I paced the room with a heavy heart, opened the window, took out my mask, put it on, and used shadow transformation to quickly head to the hospital where the two were taken.

***

Inside an emergency room at a university hospital in Gangnam.

An inappropriate, almost playful argument was taking place.

“Just looking at the blood on your clothes, it’s a lot.”

“Does more blood mean worse injury? Your arm’s hanging limp.”

“It’ll heal fast. Can’t you see your stomach’s pierced?”

“What are you talking about? It just grazed.”

Doctors, who had gathered around the Awakened who were bleeding, rubbed their foreheads and shook their heads.

If these were ordinary people, they wouldn’t be able to speak so normally with injuries like these, but since they were Awakened, it was different.

Watching this, Do Ihyeon spoke in a low voice, warning them.

“Both of you got hurt similarly, so be quiet and get treated.”

At his words, Haemalkkeum and Kang Yedam closed their mouths simultaneously, as if on cue.

Do Ihyeon sighed quietly.

At first glance, they looked okay, but from the conversation just now, it was clear they were badly hurt.

They were arguing over who was less injured in this Dungeon with heightened difficulty.

‘Dana’s going to feel sorry when she sees this.’

That was why he deliberately didn’t send the hospital address to the group chat.

Although he said he would send it later, he planned to share it only with the other Awakened who said they would visit, excluding Dana.

Do Ihyeon rubbed his forehead while watching his friends, who were covered in blood but pretending they were fine.

The reporters had already gathered outside the emergency room, probably following them in the ambulance.

If he had followed them, the friends wouldn’t have been hurt this badly.

But because they split up to cover different Gates, this happened.

As Do Ihyeon looked around to check if any reporters had entered the emergency room, his eyes caught sight of a suspicious person.

‘What’s this?’

The figure was definitely human and felt familiar, but for some reason, Do Ihyeon couldn’t place who it was.

Every time he tried to recall the face or build, the recognition slipped away.

He only knew there was a person standing right there.

Slowly rising from his seat, Do Ihyeon walked toward the suspicious figure.