I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 28
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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 28
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Song Hye-yum had the Demon Beast coil around the civilians.
To the other Demon Beasts, it would appear as though the serpent were merely coiling in place.
The civilians swallowed hard, fear-stricken at the thought of being ensnared by a Demon Beast.
But we trembled for an entirely different reason.
“The Boss Room has stairs and an exit. Both of them.”
Choi Jeong-mun whispered softly as he surveyed the interior.
It was the worst-case scenario we’d hoped to avoid.
The most disheartening part was that the worst didn’t end there.
“A pack of Lamias is guarding the Boss. It appears to be a pack led by the Boss itself.”
A Lamia had the lower body of a serpent and the upper body of a woman—a Demon Beast we all knew well.
I remembered them escaping the Gate multiple times and causing casualties among civilians.
With their deadly venom and high intelligence, they hunted in organized packs, and the damage was considerable.
“If it’s a Demon Beast strong enough to lead a pack of Lamias……”
Everyone’s expression darkened.
At the center of the Lamia pack, a massive serpent lay coiled in sleep.
At first glance it resembled a many-headed snake, but the vibrant coloring and the prominent crown-like pattern atop its head set it unmistakably apart.
“A Basilisk.”
Someone muttered a curse.
I couldn’t have agreed more. Lamias carried venom, yes, but nothing compared to a Basilisk’s deadly poison.
And the real problem—none of us had the ability to neutralize such toxins.
‘Maybe I should have just stayed in the healer role.’
Lee Ji-eum glanced at me sideways, then deliberately looked away as if unbothered.
It was a considerate gesture, but it made me uncomfortable. I had to force my expression into composure.
An Je-hwan stepped forward toward the troubled group.
“Does everyone have an Emergency Antidote?”
“We do, but an Emergency Antidote can barely hold off a Lamia’s poison. It won’t work at all against a Basilisk.”
At Choi Se-i’s answer, An Je-hwan began making gestures into the empty air.
With each gesture, a Flask, Medicinal Herbs, and a Mana Stone materialized at his feet, one by one.
“Please gather all the Emergency Antidotes you have. I’ll prepare an antidote quickly.”
“Is that even possible?”
“With no time and poor conditions, I won’t be able to make much. It’ll last ten minutes. Just ten minutes—it’ll block any poison entirely.”
The team members’ eyes widened.
I was no different from them.
If we could fight freely without fear of poison for ten whole minutes, wasn’t that nearly equal to my own skill, Gaehwa?
The team members hurriedly pulled out their Emergency Antidotes.
The alchemist poured each antidote—two or three per person—into the Flask one by one.
Then he crushed the Medicinal Herbs and Mana Stone, added them to the Flask, and began channeling Mana.
“Red stone, I beseech thee for wisdom and knowledge.”
With archaic words, the Mana Stone began to glow softly, and the Medicinal Herbs dissolved.
“Let it mix and separate. Yet grant it strength to shield them all.”
Layers began to form in the Quick Antidote Bead.
What settled was murky; what rose was transparent green.
Then the Mana Stone flared once more, fading as transformation occurred.
From within the green layer, dense drops began to rise like beads.
Those drops sank to the bottom of the antidote like pearls.
“There.”
The alchemist exhaled the breath he’d been holding and slowly inverted the Flask.
He discarded the liquid and the Mana Stone now drained of light; what remained in his hand were ten beads, each the size of a fingernail.
“Here you go.”
As An Je-hwan held out the beads, the team members fell speechless, staring at them in wonder.
An Je-hwan tilted his head and asked.
“Aren’t you taking them?”
We snapped back to attention, shaking off the spell of the miraculous sight.
Choi Jeong-mun cleared his throat and spoke.
“Ah, forgive us. It was just so remarkable. I didn’t expect it to come together so easily.”
An Je-hwan neither confirmed nor denied the compliment with false modesty.
Choi Jeong-mun accepted the beads with an expression of mild embarrassment.
“Each of us takes one, and Lee Jae-cheon and Choi Se-i, you two take one extra since you’ll be on the front line. The last one……”
“Team leader, you’re on point too.”
Choi Jeong-mun laughed at Lee Jae-cheon’s half-joking remark and pocketed another bead.
I secured my own bead carefully and loosened up with a few light stretches.
“Be careful not to drop them, and if you get poisoned by the Basilisk’s venom, take the antidote immediately.”
Choi Jeong-mun tucked his own antidote away and gripped his sword firmly.
“All right, let’s move in.”
“Our leader Jeong-mun is walking through the door—literally!”
The tension that had been building suddenly evaporated, and laughter rippled through the group.
Lee Jae-cheon grinned and yanked open the Boss Room door.
The Lamias positioned inside turned their gaze toward us in an instant.
There were so many writhing together it was sickening to watch.
But the denser they packed, the better for me.
[Current Synchronization Rate]
98%
When things clump together like that, poison is always the answer.
“Nakwha!”
Black flowers poured forth at my command.
The Lamias touched by the rain of petals blackened and convulsed in agony.
Most of them collapsed to the ground, bleeding out.
But among them were a few with stubborn will.
Shrieeeek—!
“Not so fast!”
Choi Se-i batted away an advancing Lamia with his shield marked with the Haetae pattern.
The heavily poisoned Lamia flew backward from the single blow.
“What about the Basilisk?”
At Choi Se-i’s question, everyone’s gaze flicked briefly toward the Basilisk.
The Basilisk seemed to realize intruders had entered its domain and slowly rose to its feet.
Its spread membrane trembled, producing a bell-like sound.
“Uh, it looks completely fine.”
“Of course! It has high resistance to poison.”
Lee Ji-eum called out while dodging an advancing Lamia.
Lee Jae-cheon and Choi Jeong-mun had already torn through the swarm of Lamias and were charging toward the Basilisk.
As the Basilisk turned its head toward them, Lee Ji-eum stepped forward.
“Fire Burst!”
Fireballs hammered against the Basilisk’s scales.
The Basilisk couldn’t focus on the front line while dodging the assault.
In that opening, the two swords found their mark.
Screech—!
“It connected!”
“Shallow! Fall back!”
Contrary to my elation, Choi Se-i shouted urgently.
The Basilisk threw its head back sharply and opened its maw wide.
Venom sprayed from the creature’s fangs in an instant, flooding down on the two.
Lee Jae-cheon blocked it with his shield, but Choi Jeong-mun wasn’t so fortunate.
The venom reacted the moment it touched his skin.
Red blisters erupted, bursting immediately and spraying blood.
Choi Jeong-mun quickly pulled out his antidote and swallowed it.
The blisters that had risen gradually subsided.
He steadied his breathing and retreated a step.
But the Basilisk didn’t stop—it sprayed more venom.
This time, it was An Je-hwan who intercepted it.
Crack!
The glass bottle he threw shattered against the venom.
Something pale and milky spread from the bottle, forming a wall that shielded against the poison.
Thud!
“W-what is that?”
“A defensive substance inspired by urethane foam. We’re still testing it…….”
The Basilisk, annoyed by the object blocking its attack, lashed its tail and shattered it.
Against the crumbling wall, An Je-hwan muttered quietly.
“The durability is still weak.”
“Still, blocking the poison like that—that was impressive.”
“Thank you…….”
I yanked An Je-hwan forward and extended my hand, unleashing Hanpuri.
The Lamia that had been lunging through the gap crashed to the floor with its head pierced clean through.
“……sir.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The reply was perhaps too gracious—my Synchronization Rate didn’t budge.
I hastily composed my expression and gestured toward the Basilisk.
“If you can, keep defending.”
“There was only one.”
“…….”
[Current Synchronization Rate]
20%
Ah—it went up.
I shook my head at the unintended effect and gathered my mana steadily.
Lee Ji-eum was occupied with pinning down the Basilisk, while Choi Se-i was busy defending the three of us.
The Lamias still crawling across the floor, still hunting for an opening—they were mine to handle.
“Jae-cheon, behind!”
Before Lee Jae-cheon could even react to Choi Se-i’s cry, my hand was already moving.
“I’ll take care of it.”
My Hanpuri tore through the Lamia’s arm, limb, and torso in succession before it could lunge at him from its death-feigning sprawl.
Lee Jae-cheon was raising his thumb when he hastily gripped his shield instead.
The Basilisk’s head rammed straight into him, shield and all.
“Ungh!”
As he was driven backward, the tail came sweeping in next.
Caught off guard by the sudden aberrant strike, Lee Jae-cheon’s body went completely airborne.
“Lee Jae-cheon!”
Choi Se-i cried out his name like a wail.
No answer came back from where he’d been slammed against the wall.
What came instead was the harsh grinding of his teeth.
The Basilisk that had felled Lee Jae-cheon licked its maw slowly as it advanced toward Choi Jeong-mun.
He raised his sword straight to intercept it.
Perhaps the creature took offense.
The Basilisk opened its maw wide and lunged at him.
As I spread my wings to shield him, Choi Jeong-mun rolled his body to the side.
In his hand—somehow—was a crimson recovery potion.
The moment he turned to carry it to Lee Jae-cheon.
Crunch.
“Agh!”
A Lamia hiding among the corpses of its kin lunged out and clamped its jaws on Choi Jeong-mun’s ankle.
He severed its neck without an instant’s hesitation, but the ankle was already caught.
The Basilisk unleashed its venom at him.
Fortunately, the antidote’s effect still held—he took the poison full on and sidestepped without flinching.
But that move only gave the Basilisk certainty.
It abandoned the venom and hurled its body at him instead.
“Flame Pillar, rush forth!”
Lee Ji-eum fired a pillar of flame at the Basilisk’s head.
Screeeech!
The Basilisk twisted its body in panic to evade the lethal strike.
Directly toward us.
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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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