Chapter 48

The conference room was in chaos.

“Seventeen people have returned alive!”

“Seventeen...?! Are you sure that number’s right? It’s not a counting error?”

“Yes. Oh! They say it’s up to twenty now.”

The Field Exploration Team employees sent into the promising Darkness that morning had suddenly returned en masse.

This complete reversal of their predictions had momentarily paralyzed their response.

“You said the case study was complete, that they’d escape in small groups, one after another. What on earth happened?”

Faced with the unexpected, everyone had something to say. Were these really the employees they had sent in? Shouldn’t they all be examined in the lab?

But as their bewilderment subsided, another thought crept into their minds... the exhilarating prospect of success.

Wasn’t this an encouraging result?

Several of those who had pushed this operation forward had similar thoughts.

'If this really is the survival rate...!'

Their bold, wise decision had made the investment a success!

They hadn’t expected such a high success rate in securing supplies. It was almost disorienting.

'Shouldn’t we get people talking about this right away?'

'Wait, I should start mentioning my contribution now.'

But all that confusion, excitement, and concern vanished at once.

After just one more piece of news arrived.

“They say it’s B-grade.”

“Oh.”

An appraisal of the first escapee’s Dream Essence Collector had classified the solution as B-grade.

In other words, the “A-grade with a high survival rate” they had dreamed of... did not exist.

The mood in the conference room instantly sank into disappointment.

“Ha... Figures.”

“Maybe all that premature excitement about it being A-grade jinxed us.”

“Still, isn’t a survival rate like this rare for B-grade? Don’t you agree, Section Chief Kwak?”

Researcher Kwak Jegang, who had been summoned in a hurry, smiled.

“Of course! It’s quite an achievement.”

No, it wasn’t merely an achievement... it was staggering!

Did these people have no idea what the initial employee survival rates were for each grade?

That was why they couldn’t even grasp how extraordinary this was! Why they weren’t frothing at the mouth to find out what had happened during the exploration!

'Wow. Incredible.'

Kwak Jegang found it laughable to watch them exchange pleasantries and consolation, all to the tune of, “We were unlucky, but our judgment was sound.”

Did this look like a situation that called for consolation?

'Do these people have no sense of reality whatsoever?'

The average civilian survival rate for B-grade was in the two-percent range.

Sending in employees en masse without a proper manual had itself been a poorly planned gamble, and their response to this staggering result was disappointment and self-congratulation?

They had even rushed through the expert consultation, ticking that box by adopting only the opinion of the one research team section chief who told them what they wanted to hear.

The reason was obvious.

'Because they wanted to do it!'

He, for one, was delighted at the prospect of analyzing such fascinating results. Still, he could only marvel that this company functioned at all with people like that at the top of its Development Department.

Deep down, Kwak Jegang found it regrettable. The company needed to last if he was to keep studying all these captivating anomalous phenomena!

Wasn’t having people like this in its grandly named “Innovation Development Strategy Office” a risk to the company?

Granted, family-run companies were generally disorganized shitshows when viewed from the inside.

'I’d heard the rumors, but... are all the higher-ups attached to the owners’ family like this?'

Of course, not everyone present was like that.

Kwak Jegang glanced at someone sitting a little apart from the others.

Someone who hadn’t attended the previous meeting.

'One of Director Ho’s people.'

They had taken a seat after asking, “I’m interested in this agenda item. Might I sit in briefly?”

Even given how often the Development Department’s higher-ups meddled in the Field Exploration Team’s affairs, this was unusual.

What was more, they were openly receiving separate remote updates from their own people.

Like this.

“I’m told a single employee played a major role in this mass escape.”

“Pardon?”

The atmosphere was more wary and tense than eager to please.

But the words that followed shocked everyone.

“A new recruit.”

“...!”

“Apparently, he actually ‘broadcast’ the escape method to all the employees... We’ll need to look into exactly how he did it.”

“...”

“Someone has expressed an interest in the matter.”

Director Ho, then.

The Strategy Office staff exchanged looks and began rambling as though making excuses.

“Ah, yes. We’ll forward the details as soon as the exploration report comes in.”

“Of course. People tend to be out of their minds right after field exploration. They say all sorts of nonsense.”

“Still, surely they wouldn’t invent something that never happened?”

“Well...”

“On that note.”

Director Ho’s representative cut them off.

“The director is also curious what decision the ‘Innovation Development Strategy Office’ will make.”

“...”

“Regarding the employee’s reward.”

* * *

“Congratulations, Supervisor Kim.”

“... Pardon?”

I nearly spat out the iced Americano I was drinking in my infirmary bed.

After a quick physical, I’d spent the past few hours sprawled there, having been told, “You worked hard, rookie. Just get some rest”—words that nearly brought tears of gratitude to my eyes.

I’d expected to head home soon and only get a proper rundown of this exploration when I came to work tomorrow...

Supervisor?

“Yep, you heard me right. Supervisor Kim.”

Deputy Eun Haje grinned.

“You’re getting promoted. Faster than anyone since this company’s Field Exploration Team was founded!”

“...!”

“Honestly, I knew this would happen. No more hearing our Roe Deer address me so formally.”

“Hey, at this rate, give him another six months and he’ll be dropping the formalities with me too.”

This wasn’t some neighborhood corner shop. What kind of company promoted an Employee to Supervisor in two months?

'Isn’t that just the usual office rumor?'

I put that a little more politely when I asked, but the answer was firm.

“No, you earned it. Do you know how many employees you saved this time?”

Deputy Eun Haje folded her arms.

“Twenty-six, including you.”

“...!”

“Roe Deer, seventeen of them escaped because they heard your announcement!”

“And if you count the people who came out late after seeing others escape, you pretty much saved them all.”

The deputy added that even a few civilians had escaped.

“Isn’t this the kind of record you see once every few years, if that? Honestly, a promotion shouldn’t be the end of it. They ought to give him something else.”

“Exactly. Let’s sound out the team leader after his meeting tomorrow. I get the feeling they’ll give him something.”

I appreciated my superiors being as excited as if this were happening to them, but I was dazed.

A promotion.

... A promotion after sixty days at a major corporation!

How could any modern working person’s heart not flutter?

“Brace yourself. Special personnel appointments like this get posted fast.”

And she was absolutely right.

The very next day, I saw the official promotion notice on the intranet.

[Special Personnel Announcement]

There was my name, “Kim Soleum,” as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“...”

BZZZZZZ.

My smartphone was buzzing. Congratulations seemed to be pouring in from all over...

W-wait.

'It looks like they’re rushing this through to minimize internal resistance.'

The Field Exploration Team was staffed by human beings too. Obviously, that meant they felt moved or grateful when someone helped save their lives.

In that sense, well, twenty-seven people probably felt something resembling gratitude toward me, so there wouldn’t be much pushback...

The timing of the announcement suggested a determination to promote me before that opportunity passed.

But why...? Why go this far to promote me?

'H-how much harder are they planning to work me?'

Wasn’t mostly sending me into newly registered ghost stories without manuals enough?

As increasingly terrifying possibilities came to mind, I contacted an elite superior from another team, but...

[“Are you an idiot? It would be stranger if you weren’t promoted.”]

“...?”

[“I heard you even found the missing employee in charge of manual reviews. With accomplishments like that getting people talking, of course someone upstairs would take notice.”]

Team A’s Deputy Jin Nasol clicked her tongue.

[“I should’ve just brought you onto our team when we had the vacancy. Tsk. Why did you have to turn it down?”]

“...”

[“Anyway, congratulations. Even if you were bound to get promoted.”]

“... Yes, um, thank you.”

In the end, I had to hang up feeling hollow.

I leaned back in my office chair and thought.

Right.

I’d denied reality, but apparently I’d reached this stage after all...

'Me... an elite employee?'

A special character worthy of being listed as a Named Employee in <Records of Dark Exploration>?

The kind some hard-line creators would try to kill off plausibly and remove from the wiki to preserve the setting’s atmosphere...

Only for videos on Wetube and elsewhere to make him popular and recognizable enough that they eventually gave up and left him alone... That kind of character?

People sometimes called that a Mary Sue...

'How did it come to this?'

No, perhaps it had been inevitable.

Honestly, having read all of <Records of Dark Exploration> was practically cheating!

'Considering I could die on the spot if I didn’t use that knowledge, I’ve kept it as inconspicuous as possible.'

The problem was...

'What the hell do I do if they find out I’m a coward now?'

Even thinking it would end with a transfer to the Cleanup Team had become wishful thinking.

There was no telling how far the repercussions would spread.

If they started wondering, “How has a coward achieved so much all this time?”...

'I feel like interrogations and experiments would be waiting for me...?'

I could vividly picture being dragged off to the research team the moment they discovered I came from a parallel dimension.

It felt as though cold sweat was streaming down my forehead.

N-no.

I got up and took a lap around the break room with my coffee.

The caffeine cleared my head a little.

Right.

'If I can’t avoid this, I need to improve my chances of survival here.'

If I’d already caught their attention, continuing to perform at that level could, paradoxically, help me avoid unnecessary scrutiny.

'I just need to make them think I’ve always been this competent and unusual.'

It wasn’t as though there weren’t employees like that already. Team Leader Lizard, or Deputy Jin, the Butterfly Mask, for instance.

They would classify me as another Named Employee, and that would be that.

Although the odds of being sent into more dangerous ghost stories had gone up—gone up... Ugh, no. This could actually be a good thing.

If they treated me as valuable personnel, they might be less likely to send me to certain death!

'And I’ll be able to earn points faster too.'

The more I thought about it, the less terrible it seemed as a way to escape this world quickly...

But there was an essential step I had to take first.

'A persona. I need to build a persona... .'

I had to come across naturally enough as a “competent, special unit” that no one grew suspicious.

Keeping it within reasonable bounds, the way I’d acted like a lunatic around Baek Saheon.

And to do that...

'... I’ll need more cards to play as character traits.'

“...”

I looked up.

The thing that had been flashing above my head ever since I escaped the exhibition was still there.

[Records of Dark Exploration Real Goods Box]

-New merchandise usage rights unlocked! (!)

Opening it would mean making more plans, so I’d put off checking it until I’d recovered my strength and could think clearly again.

One of the pieces of merchandise I’d bought at the pop-up store.

'It’s time to claim it.'

But I had no idea what “usage rights” I’d earned at the exhibition.

The number of items used?

Moving as though I were stretching, I lightly touched the black notepad glowing beside my head.

CLICK.

With a faint, clear sound, a small, light object wrapped in plastic dropped into my hand.

“...”

Gleaming silver, shaped like a little shield, with the word “CHARGE” embossed in calligraphy...

It was a badge.

'Oh.'

I understood.

The condition I’d fulfilled was “doing good deeds.”

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau

/ Items

Silver Heart Badge

The wearer inspires awe in others according to their accumulated altruistic actions.

It strongly reflects its creator’s belief that “Society functions most efficiently when altruistic people gain power.”

Item usage requirement: Must have earned credit for saving at least 12 people from a supernatural disaster.

* * *

Also known as the “Certified Good Person Badge.”

It was an item the Disaster Management Bureau had produced and distributed. Its prominence had exploded after it played a major role in the exploration records for a certain train-explosion ghost story sealed by the Bureau.

All the more so because of its unique properties.

As you could see, it was exclusively for good people.

An object that let good people exert influence over a group.

'To think I’d ever meet its requirements... .'

It was almost a little overwhelming.

Unusually, most uses of the item had been heartwarming, but on one occasion it had caused a catastrophe of insane proportions.

'That’s a ghost-story setting for you.'

As the records piled up, at least one terrifying incident always slipped in to keep the tension alive.

So while there had been records of it being distributed to exceptionally good-hearted civilians in the past, that had changed. Now it was only lent to Bureau personnel under strict regulations.

I’d watched the wiki update in real time.

What did that mean?

It meant that, at this point in time, practically no one could predict that a Daydream Inc. employee would suddenly be using this Silver Heart Badge!

'Which actually makes it usable.'

I had enough trouble keeping myself alive, so I didn’t know how many good deeds I could manage in the future. Still, couldn’t I at least benefit from its basic effect?

At the very least, giving my coworkers the impression that I was someone impressive would make it much easier to appear competent.

'Good. Let’s keep it safe.'

There was still a way to survive.

I tucked the Silver Heart Badge safely into my pocket and left the break room feeling considerably lighter.

And there was another reward for the exhibition exploration waiting for me.

“Roe Deer! It’s not in the official notice yet, but they’re giving you an additional prize!”

“...!”

“Ugh, of course our Roe Deer deserves it. It’s honestly sad that we live in a world where this comes as a surprise...”

“Exactly. Do they think B-grade is some fucking joke? Those bastards would die the second they went in... Do Urban Legends look like shit-tier trash to them?”

Um, yes. Thank you...

“At least the prize is pretty decent.”

“Decent”?

By Deputy Eun’s standards, that was glowing praise.

There was even a hint of admiration on her face. This was no ordinary prize.

“... What is it?”

“A Regeneration Potion.”

“...!!”

“The name alone doesn’t tell you much, does it?”

It told me plenty.

The item was too famous not to know!

This wasn’t like the stamina-recovery potions they handed out at the infirmary.

-One of the magical medicines in <Daydream Inc.>’s prized official product lineup.

A miracle cure.

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Daydream Inc.

/ Potions

Regeneration Potion

A magical medicine that regenerates all body parts lost to physical injury.

It grows more powerful and takes on a deeper green color as its grade increases.

* * *

“Basically, it’s a medicine that grows body parts... and it’s C-grade. Even if you lost all four limbs, it’d just grow them back.”

“...!”

“Even Exclusive Equipment for section chiefs and above can’t do that much. It’s one of this company’s specialty medicines. In points, its list price is ten thousand.”

The deputy grinned and patted my back.

“It’ll come in handy someday. We’re in a dangerous line of work. Isn’t it great that even if your arms and legs get blown off, or you lose your eyes, nose, and mouth, they’ll grow right back?”

I think I could have done without that last part...

“And... this next bit might be disappointing or it might be good news. Want to hear it?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re not the only one getting one.”

* * *

“Soleum!”

“Hello.”

I greeted Go Youngeun as she waved at me. Baek Saheon was sitting beside her.

The company had brought the three of us together to present our prizes and stage a photo op.

It was the first time I’d seen them in the few days since escaping the exhibition.

Wasn’t Baek Saheon my roommate? These days, he hardly ever left his room. Thanks to that, I’d even been able to watch TV in the living room with Braun in peace.

“Did you get some rest? Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine. What about you, Ms. Go...?”

As I spoke, I realized.

Go Youngeun had been watching my mouth, trying her best to read my lips.

“I still can’t hear.”

“...”

Of course.

Fortunately, the rental devices in her ears had been automatically returned the moment she left the exhibition, so it seemed no “exhibition staff” would be coming after her.

Besides, Go Youngeun held the prize the company had just given her.

Inside a box decorated with luxurious gold leaf and mural-like artwork lay a beautiful glass bottle sealed with wax.

A pale green like fresh shoots rippled within the glass.

: Daydream Potion :

Regeneration

C (excellent)

A C-grade Regeneration Potion.

Go Youngeun lifted the glass bottle.

Her eyes were filled with hope, anxiety, and anticipation.

“Then, um, I’ll go ahead and drink mine now.”

“Of course.”

Go Youngeun opened the Regeneration Potion.

And drank it all in one long swallow.