I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 21

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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 21
Thirty minutes earlier.
I arrived at the Hunket building.
Since it was my second visit, I made my way up to the ninth floor naturally, and the item submission process went smoothly.
The problem arose the moment I pulled out the Serpent’s Venom.
“Ah, please. Come this way, to the inner waiting room.”
“Pardon?”
“S-grade items are extremely rare, so… I’ll call an appraiser right away to assess and process the submission immediately.”
“Pardon?”
“While you wait, I’d like to prepare some tea for you. Please take a look at this menu and let me know which you’d prefer. Feel free to enjoy the refreshments prepared in the waiting room as well.”
“Pardon?”
“It won’t take long, so please bear with us just a moment. Thank you for entrusting your items to Hunket.”
And so I found myself alone in that spacious, luxurious waiting room with an oversized café mocha heaped with whipped cream.
What’s more, they’d assigned a dedicated staff member to attend to me while I was still reeling.
The way they brought out cookies and introduced Hunket’s current inventory via tablet—it was almost overwhelming in its attentiveness.
‘This is suffocating.’
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
The moment I sighed, the staff member rushed over.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Oh, no. It’s fine. Nothing else.”
I couldn’t even sigh in peace.
About thirty minutes later, another staff member entered the room.
“I sincerely apologize for the wait. The appraiser has arrived. However, there is someone who wishes to meet with you. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I’d like to bring them to this waiting room. Would that be acceptable?”
“Um…”
I wasn’t sure whether I had the right to refuse something like this.
From the way they asked, it didn’t seem strictly necessary to the sales process, but if I declined and ran into them outside the Hunket building later, that would be awkward.
‘Even if something happens, it’s safer inside a building with CCTV, right? The staff will be around anyway.’
After a moment’s hesitation, I nodded.
The staff member bowed deeply and left the room.
Shortly after, that person walked in.
Broad shoulders, a sharp suit that couldn’t conceal his muscular build, and a composed, trustworthy face that caught my eye in sequence.
‘Hmm…’
His face looked familiar somehow, but I couldn’t quite place it.
He bowed to me the moment he entered.
“Thank you for accommodating my sudden request.”
“Oh, no. It’s no problem at all.”
I stood up awkwardly and shook my head.
Seeing my discomfort, he approached the sofa.
“Please, remain seated. Would it be alright if I sat across from you?”
“Of course. Yes, yes. Please sit.”
Once he settled onto the sofa, I quietly edged back into mine as well.
Only then did he speak, introducing himself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Seo Il-hak, Chairman of the Hunter Association.”
Then his face suddenly felt familiar.
It was the face of the man who always appeared on screen to give briefings whenever something happened involving dungeons.
“Ah! I thought I’d seen you somewhere! Oh, Chairman. You’re the Chairman.”
My exclamation trailed off as I tilted my head to the side.
“How did you… I mean, what brings you here…?”
Seo Il-hak’s expression remained impassive as he listened to my questions.
His face was businesslike enough that he could launch into a briefing without missing a beat.
“I’ve come because of the Serpent’s Venom. I understand our Association’s staff passed it on to a helpful hunter, so I’ve submitted inquiries to several organizations to locate that item.”
It wasn’t the reason I’d expected.
For that reason, I felt a chill run through me instead.
‘Don’t tell me they’re planning to take it back because the trade isn’t in their favor? After they gave it to me in the first place?’
I barely managed to smooth out my creasing brow.
“It was an item you handed over directly… Is there some kind of problem with it?”
Perhaps my wariness had seeped too obviously into my voice.
Seo Il-hak shook his head with a note of urgency.
“There is no problem. That item clearly belongs to the hunter who took it that day. We’ve been searching for the item in order to locate that hunter.”
He rested both fists on his knees and began speaking calmly.
“The Hunter Association has more than just a Dungeon Wave response team—there are also departments handling hunter crimes and public safety. Are you aware of this?”
“Yes, I am.”
Crime prevention and public safety were core operations of the Hunter Association, no less crucial than Dungeon Wave response—perhaps even more so.
When hunters caused trouble, the Association bore the brunt of public criticism.
“Those departments deal with hunters, not monsters. Naturally, their objective is restraint, not elimination. In such cases, the most essential ability isn’t raw attack power.”
I nodded slightly to show I was listening, and his voice took on a more deliberate tone.
“Curses, ability suppression, poison—what matters most is the power to reduce an opponent’s capabilities and restrain them. That’s why our Association prioritizes recruiting hunters with special abilities over pure combat specialists.”
Now I was beginning to understand where this was heading.
But I still couldn’t grasp why he was telling me all this.
‘Did the item expose me? Was I caught synchronizing on CCTV? Please don’t let my humiliating secret be out. Are there even transformation-type hunters in the world?’
My thoughts spiraled, each one feeding into the next, growing larger and larger.
My mouth went dry by the second.
“The Association members who witnessed that hunter’s abilities spoke with one voice. They said there was a skill that restricted movement and poisoned the opponent.”
Thorn Bush restrains enemies over a wide area, and Falling Flower poisons them—so his description fit perfectly.
I affirmed his words, recalling the skills of the Dark Elf.
“A hunter with such abilities is exactly who we wish to bring into our fold. That’s why I’ve gone to the trouble of tracing this item to this meeting.”
He said this with an apologetic bow of his head.
“I apologize if I’ve startled you. However, I had no suitable opportunity to extend the Association’s offer directly, so I hope you’ll understand my approach.”
Such apologies meant little to me.
He’d at least asked for my consent before entering.
What I really wanted to know was something else.
“But… why are you telling me this?”
Had he discovered that I was the one flying around in that embarrassing form?!
The question of whether he’d connected ‘Dark Elf equals Ha Cho-eun’ was everything.
I moistened my parched lips with the tip of my tongue.
Seo Il-hak slowly turned his gaze toward the item.
“Hunters who wish to remain hidden typically use brokers to sell their items. But contacting a broker requires connections within the hunter community.”
Naturally, I possessed no such connections.
Seo Il-hak seemed to have already reached this conclusion, as he gave a small shake of his head.
“However, even after the Dungeon Wave CCTV footage aired on the news, no hunter claimed to know this person. Everyone was simply curious about their identity. So they lack such connections.”
I listened intently, my eyes fixed on him.
He continued without pause.
“Moreover, items that reach brokers typically move through channels outside Hunket to protect the seller’s identity. That offers better anonymity and potentially higher prices.”
Seo Il-hak added softly, “Though in exchange, one loses the law’s protection.”
That wasn’t an appealing prospect to me.
I was, all things considered, a safety-first person.
Since Seo Il-hak had no intention of promoting the broker’s advantages, he moved directly to his main point.
“But you brought this item to Hunket.”
“Y-yes, I did.”
“That means you lack an independent distribution network. You’re probably not a professional broker.”
Every word he spoke was accurate.
“You’re not a professional broker, yet you registered with Hunket on behalf of a hunter who wishes to remain hidden and sold their item. That’s not a task anyone would entrust without considerable trust.”
He was absolutely correct, which was deeply inconvenient.
“In other words, you must be that hunter’s close relation.”
How could his deduction be so perfectly wrong?
I let out a sincere smile that seemed to bubble up from deep within.
His misunderstanding was complete, but I had no sense of honor that would compel me to correct it.
“I can’t deny it. You’re absolutely right.”
Seo Il-hak gave a stolid nod, as if he’d expected precisely this.
“I’m not asking for much, nor do I wish to coerce you. I simply ask that you convey the Hunter Association’s recruitment offer.”
He withdrew a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.
I accepted it with both hands.
The words “Association Chairman Seo Il-hak” printed in neat block letters on the clean card seemed strangely weighty.
“That… friend probably won’t accept.”
“Even if they reconsider later and contact us, that would be sufficient. For now, I’m satisfied with simply conveying the offer.”
In the end, I carefully tucked the business card into my bag.
Not that I’d ever call.
“Remaining hidden while acting alone is no simple feat. For someone of such ability to not become a hunter would be an immense waste. When that time comes, I hope you’ll think of us first.”
“Of course, I’ll pass the message along.”
To myself.
For some reason, guilt washed over me, and I rolled my eyes away.
He bowed his head slightly, his gesture carrying a note of gratitude.
“I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time. I should be going now.”
“No, it’s not like that at all… Take care.”
I rose partway to bow in return, and Seo Il-hak smiled for the first time—a faint, measured smile.
He left the waiting room with impeccable courtesy, bowing one last time at the threshold.
“Phew.”
My legs went weak, and I collapsed onto the sofa like a puppet cut from its strings.
I’d only just become a hunter, and here I was, tangled up with remarkable people one after another.
‘And I got business cards from both of them, no less.’
Ha Je, Guild Master.
Hunter Association President.
Both of them were luminaries of considerable stature.
Today, for some reason, my bag felt heavier than usual.
I patted the bag gently, trying to settle my nerves.
Knock, knock, knock.
“The appraiser has arrived.”
“Yes.”
My voice came out flat and exhausted.
The staff member smiled awkwardly and ushered the appraiser inside.
The bespectacled appraiser went straight to the table and examined the items.
All the waiting, all that conversation with the Association President—it meant nothing. The appraisal was over in moments.
“Harpy’s Feather, Behemoth’s Horn, Serpent’s Venom. All authentic. B-grade, A-grade, and S-grade respectively. The Harpy’s Feather can be further divided into superior and inferior grades depending on condition.”
“I see…”
Hearing the listlessness in my reply, the staff member quickly handed me a tablet.
My colleague began explaining something intently beside me, but the words barely registered.
I merely nodded automatically, signed the tablet, and that was that.
When I stepped out of the Hunket building, brilliant sunlight greeted me.
My impression of it?
‘Great, I’m so drained I could sleep for a week.’
And that’s exactly what I did—I spent the entire weekend unconscious, just as my exhausted mind had demanded.

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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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