I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 24

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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 24
Splash—!!
Choi Jeongmun, hurled into a puddle, gripped his sword and pushed himself up in one motion.
He flexed his fingers, taking in his surroundings.
…….
There was no one around him.
In that moment, what he felt was a sharp sting of disappointment.
And as if to shake it off, the sound of water came again.
Splash—!
“The healer… Cough!!”
The sight of him stumbling again on the slick, waterlogged ground was all too familiar.
Choi Jeongmun sprinted forward and hauled Lee Jium to his feet.
“Lee Jium—!”
“Hack, hack!”
“You all right?”
Lee Jium coughed violently, shaking his head hard.
“I’m, fine, hack! The healer—!”
“Easy. Catch your breath first.”
Choi Jeongmun patted his back steadily, working through the situation in his mind.
“That wind shear scattered us all to hell.”
Lee Jium wiped water from his nose with his sleeve, scrubbing at it frantically.
“The other survivors are probably scattered in every direction. Add our own team to that search, and things look grim.”
“Our team members can, hack… take care of themselves, can’t they?”
Lee Jium finally stopped coughing.
Yet his worry remained singular.
“The healer—that person has no offensive skills to speak of. We need to find them first.”
“That’s risky.”
Their team had worked with other healers in the early days, several times over.
Mere E or D-rank, but even that had pulled teammates back from the edge of death more than once.
They’d stanched bleeding in the moment before exsanguination, turned desperate final attacks into victories.
“If that healer really is A-rank or even edging into S-rank like you say, then losing them here would be a catastrophic loss. And if we’re the ones held responsible for it…”
They’d take a beating for the damages.
He swept his bangs back and released a long sigh.
As the leader’s expression darkened, Lee Jium felt his stomach tighten and rushed to soften his words.
“But there’s one thing in our favor—that healer was incredibly fast. If they just trust that speed and dodge the creatures well enough, they might… might just make it.”
His tone was anything but certain.
Yet Choi Jeongmun nodded as if that was enough.
“The first order of business was always rescue and search. We move. All we can do is hope the healer is separated the same way we are—hopefully with another team member.”
Whoosh—
Choi Jeongmun slashed through a vine creeping from beneath his feet, severing it.
As the vine parted, water lilies that had been floating around them suddenly bared their teeth and began clicking in threat.
“Damn.”
Choi Jeongmun pushed the lilies aside with the flat of his blade and pulled Lee Jium close.
Their roots and vines were beyond what all but high-tier combat Hunters could handle.
Even seasoned Hunters sometimes ended up as marsh fertilizer at their roots.
“This entire swamp is Carnivorous Water Lilies.”
“The whole thing? Water Lilies are C-rank.”
Choi Jeongmun scanned the area and picked his path toward a space clear of the creatures, moving with long, deliberate strides.
The Water Lilies crowding all sides were impossible to pass without cutting them down.
“This has to be rated high A or even higher.”
Thud.
As expected, the lily-free ground was solid earth.
Only then did Choi Jeongmun release Lee Jium.
Lee Jium staggered, then steadied himself on his Staff.
“Depending on what the boss is, we might not manage on our own.”
A-rank dungeons and above demanded thorough preparation just to attempt them.
But their main objective this time wasn’t conquest—it was rescue.
They’d prepared for the Dungeon with rescue operations in mind, not boss raids.
“Link up with everyone as fast as we can and find the Gate out.”
The two moved without even exchanging a word of acknowledgment, pressing forward at once.
* * *
They didn’t need to walk far.
A subway car, half-hidden beneath dense brush and overhanging branches, soon came into view.
“It’s a mess.”
Shattered windows, torn metal walls, and everywhere—blood trails, scattered bags, debris.
Lee Jium moved with practiced ease, keeping watch on their surroundings while channeling mana into his Staff.
Meanwhile, Choi Jeongmun swept the perimeter quickly, reading the signs.
The soft earth around the swamp held footprints as if pressed in wax.
“Some people made it out alive. This way.”
Rustle—
Lee Jium wheeled toward the sound, Staff raised.
Dense grass trembled faintly, but that whisper of movement was enough.
“Deal with that first before we move.”
Crackle-crackle-crackle—
Something hurtled through the undergrowth, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
As a deep green horn jutted from the rustling brush, fire erupted from Lee Jium’s Staff.
Boom—!
The Magical Beast exploded without so much as a final cry, its corpse dropping like a stone.
Crackle—crackle—
“Unicorn Leopard.”
A green horn and a body streaked with leopard markings.
In a moment, the horn fell away from the corpse with a soft thunk.
Extracting the Mana Stone would mean carving up the body—and they didn’t have time for that.
Choi Jeongmun scooped up the severed horn alone.
“Take this. Leave the Mana Stone.”
“It’s wasteful. A Unicorn Leopard carcass would fetch decent coin.”
“No regrets now. We need to clear out before the noise draws more beasts. We’ll get a chance to fully clear this place another time.”
Lee Jium made a circle with his fingers in agreement.
Life always mattered more than profit.
But their foresight was rendered meaningless in an instant.
“Aaaaagh!”
A distinctly human scream.
Close—just beyond the brush.
Lee Jium and Choi Jeongmun locked eyes.
Both of them pushed off from the ground at once.
As Choi Jeongmun slashed through the undergrowth with his blade, the source of the screams came into view.
“Aaaaagh!”
“Run! Run, now!!”
“Get out, hurry!”
People poured from a small cave like water through a broken dam.
And pursuing them out of that darkness was an enormous serpent.
Its body was thick as a grown man’s torso, and it already had one person clenched in its jaws.
Choi Jeongmun vaulted over the fleeing crowd and planted himself between them and the snake.
The people slowed as they noticed him, hope flickering across their faces.
“A—a Hunter…! A Hunter is here!”
“We’re saved…!”
The serpent’s mouth slid open, fangs bared in a grin.
The person it had dropped lay motionless, skin darkened to purple—already dead.
The snake had eyes only for Choi Jeongmun, and it lunged.
Crack—!
Choi Jeongmun thrust his blade horizontally into the snake’s open mouth, then wrenched it upward with all his strength.
His sword caught on the fangs, forcing the snake’s head back at a brutal angle.
Scales that were normally hard as stone became exposed where they met the ground—soft, vulnerable.
And over that exposed flesh, fire bloomed.
Sssssss—!
“Piercing Flame.”
Lee Jium unleashed a volley of attacks without pause.
Under the onslaught of flame, the serpent’s body faltered, reeling slightly.
In that moment, Choi Jeongmun withdrew his blade and spun with terrible grace.
The spinning force behind his strike severed the snake’s neck in one clean stroke.
Choi Jeongmun wiped the blood from his blade and checked on the survivors.
“Is everyone all right?”
“No, wait—there are more inside!”
The survivor pointed frantically deeper into the cave.
Choi Jeongmun raised his sword reflexively.
A snake shot toward him like an arrow, struck the blade, and bounced away.
But there was only one snake.
“Of all places—a Snake Cave!”
Choi Jeongmun tried to pull his blade free, but he was already too slow.
He gritted his teeth, bracing for pain.
“Thorn Thicket.”
Shriek—!
Without warning, thorns erupted and sealed off the cave’s entrance.
The snakes thrashed against the black briars, their heads struck and bodies writhing in agony.
Everyone present looked up.
But the figure’s eyes met only Lee Jium’s.
“Can you muster the firepower?”
“Pardon?”
“Do you have enough firepower to incinerate all those snakes?”
Lee Jium turned his gaze toward the cave.
Given the defensive strength of the snakes he’d seen earlier, firepower alone might not be enough to kill them.
“I can’t burn them all.”
But that space was cramped and sealed, the snakes tangled together.
“Still, I can generate enough heat to kill them.”
Lee Jium leaned forward on his staff, slowly drawing up his mana.
It flowed like a vast river—slow but voluminous.
“Advancing Flame!”
The staff’s tip unleashed a towering vortex of fire toward the cave entrance.
It was an inferno so fierce it devoured all the oxygen in the cramped space where the snakes writhed.
The snakes’ mouths gaped open, but in the airless void, no sound escaped.
One or two snakes, gasping for life, drove their heads against the burning thorns.
Yet piercing the Thorn Thicket didn’t grant them a breath.
Slash—!
A sword stroke that made up for the earlier misstep sent the snakes’ heads tumbling to the ground.
And that was the end.
As the flames died, a gentle breeze drifted toward the now-empty cave.
A faint wind that swept away the scent of fire and corpses.
And riding that wind, a figure in black descended to the ground.
Lee Jium and Choi Jeongmun froze in astonishment before they could even offer thanks.
The first to recover was Choi Jeongmun, the leader, who found his voice.
“…I’m sorry, but who are you?”
The figure glanced at him without answering.
The response was cold—far colder than merely cool.
Before the question could become awkward, a small child lifted her head from within the figure’s arms.
At the sight of the child’s face, an exclamation of joyful relief burst forth from the survivors.
“Good heavens! Ye-eun!”
“Mom! Mom!!”
The child broke into a radiant smile at the sound of her mother’s voice.
Despite her puffy eyes and ruined cheeks, her relief and joy shone through completely.
The figure set her down on the ground with remarkable tenderness. The child released his collar and rushed toward her protector.
“Mom!”
The mother embraced the child fully, then looked up at the figure.
“Thank you, thank you so much! I thought all was lost when we became separated on the train. I truly cannot thank you enough!”
“I only consoled her when she cried.”
The words were barbed, yet his eyes as he watched the child held a glimmer of relief.
He seemed unaware that his mouth had curved into the faintest of smiles.
Choi Jeongmun decided the man was less sharp-edged than he’d first thought. With that assessment, he found the courage to approach once more.
“Thank you for your aid. I am Choi Jeongmun. Might I ask your name?”
As he spoke, Choi Jeongmun stole another careful look at the man’s face.
His hair was a deep black, his wings translucent black as well, but there was no mistaking his face once you saw it.
“You look quite a bit like the healer who joined our group…….”
Features so identical they might have been cast from the same mold—how could anyone miss it?
Choi Jeongmun asked, half-certain of his guess.
The other person’s brow furrowed slightly, as if displeased by something, before they nodded.
“Twin. My younger brother.”
“Ah, I see.”
Lee Jium, who had been waiting behind them, barely poked his head out.
“I’m grateful for your help too. But may I ask how you came to be here?”
“To rescue my sister.”
The answer came, but only in terse fragments.
Lee Jium laughed awkwardly, embarrassed by the brevity.
“Then would you join us? We’ve been looking for the healer too.”
The dark-winged sibling’s mouth opened slightly, and a soft “ah” escaped them.
There was something oddly reassuring in that reaction—no hint of worry at all.
“I already sent her out.”
“What?”
“I have a skill. I got her out first.”
Choi Jeongmun nodded, understanding dawning on him.
But Lee Jium’s jaw dropped, and he stepped forward.
The other person retreated by the same distance.
“Wait, what? What kind of skill could do that so fast?! Finding the Gate itself is hard enough, but you’re not saying—Spatial Teleportation? You can move from inside the Dungeon to outside it? What’s the range even……?!”
“Lee Jium.”
Choi Jeongmun lowered his voice, calling to him carefully.
Lee Jium realized his mistake a beat too late and covered his mouth with his hand.
Of course, that didn’t help him take back words already spoken.
The dark-winged Twin’s eyes narrowed, clearly displeased by the barrage of questions.
“……I don’t think I need to elaborate on that part.”
Lee Jium fell silent and bowed his head slightly.
The other person turned sharply—coldly—and approached the child.
Only after they had moved away did Lee Jium finally open his mouth again.
“The healer and this person—their atmospheres are completely different. And yet they’re twins…….”
For once, Choi Jeongmun quietly agreed with him.

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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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