I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 31

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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 31
Choi Jeong-mun and Lee Ji-eum looked healthy when we met again in front of Hunket.
I composed my expression and bowed my head to them both.
“Hello, you two. I’m relieved to see you’re both safe.”
“It’s been a while. We’re just as relieved that you made it through unharmed.”
Choi Jeong-mun nodded and smiled warmly.
“When we heard you’d left without going to the hospital together, we were quite worried. I know a Healer doesn’t need to worry about such things, but the heart doesn’t always listen to reason.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Since silver hair was too conspicuous, I’d taken on the appearance of a Dark Elf, and kept my speech deliberately measured.
I ignored the slight uptick in Synchronization Rate visible at the edge of my vision.
“My sister heard about you both and worried terribly. She asked me to tell you she’s sorry she didn’t stay.”
“Not at all!”
Lee Ji-eum waved both hands urgently.
“We’re the ones who should apologize for not protecting the Healer. If you’d been injured…”
Lee Ji-eum finished the thought with a deep sigh instead.
“Please tell her we’re grateful you escaped safely. And thank you for coming. If there’s a chance in the future… I hope we can help each other again. Both of you.”
“Of course, I’ll pass it along.”
I managed only the smallest of smiles, conscious of the Synchronization Rate.
Once the conversation had settled, Choi Jeong-mun began drawing items from thin air, one by one.
“Let me start with the items. First, the Petals of Flesh Lotus.”
I received them one by one and stacked them carefully in my bag.
Finally, Choi Jeong-mun handed me the stele.
“Here it is.”
“Thank you.”
Despite being called a stele, it wasn’t enormous—about the size of a sheet of A4 paper.
The moment I grasped it, a system window materialized above the stele.
It flickered and distorted as if corrupted, but it was unmistakably a system window.
However, it wasn’t as garbled as the message Lee Ji-eum had sent me.
Looking closely, I could make out a few characters within it.
[Snake Altar Stele]
Their god ▒▒▒ gave ▒▒ ▒stone.
▒ ▒▒ ▒language and ▒▒▒ ▒hidden.
As I stared silently at the stele, Lee Ji-eum tilted her head with concern.
“Is something wrong with the item?”
“Ah…! No, it’s fine.”
I quickly shook my head and shoved the stele into my bag.
Then I asked them both one final question to be sure.
“You can’t read any of the text on this, right?”
“Pardon? No, that’s correct.”
Lee Ji-eum answered with puzzlement, as if she didn’t understand the question.
Choi Jeong-mun added in a confident tone.
“We both checked thoroughly, but the system could only properly display the first phrase. After that, there was nothing we could make out.”
‘Then… the rest of the text is only visible to me?’
I pressed the stele felt through the bag fabric, then let it go.
Perhaps the text appeared differently depending on a Hunter’s stats.
Once I get an appraisal at Hunket, everything will become clear, so I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
I steadied myself and slung my bag over my shoulder.
“Thank you for taking such care with the loot, even though I’m not a Healer.”
“We were the ones who benefited from the Conquest Team working together. Perhaps we’ll meet again next time.”
I clasped Choi Jeong-mun’s hand and shook it gently.
Lee Ji-eum waved from behind in farewell.
We bowed to each other repeatedly as we drifted further apart.
Once they had disappeared completely from view, I pulled the stele back out of my bag.
The system window still displayed noise.
‘Let me see, let me see…’
I closed the window and examined the stele properly.
The characters on the stele bore no resemblance to any writing system I knew.
In one way they resembled pictographs, yet in another they evoked phonetic script.
It was definitely an unfamiliar language.
“Open… name, is it? …land. Will be saved.”
Strangely, though, I could make out scattered words here and there.
It felt like reading a second language I’d studied back in high school.
I recognized a few simple words, but grasping the whole sentence was beyond me.
Yet the biggest mystery was just one thing.
“Why can I read this?”
If anyone from the Conquest Team could have read the characters on this stele, they would have told me.
That they hadn’t shared the information meant none of them could read it.
‘Is it because my trait is unusual? But my trait is a dark secret, not translation.’
I rubbed my finger across the characters on the stele, sinking into thought.
‘I figured this was something I’d flip for quick cash……’
If nobody else could read these characters, what was this thing actually worth?
Conversely, why shouldn’t I bother figuring out why I could read them?
“Ugh, I shouldn’t have taken this thing.”
Picking up some useless object had only cluttered my head.
I shoved the stele into my bag and quickened my pace.
The stele wouldn’t sell, but there was plenty else to unload at Hunket.
‘Above all, the C-Serpent Venom sold!’
I nearly burst out laughing right there on the street.
I’d look like a lunatic. I smoothed my expression and hurried into the Hunket building.
I stopped by the restroom to release my Synchronization Rate, then settled into the elevator, which by now felt almost familiar.
―Ninth floor.
The elevator doors slid open with the announcement.
The staff member at the desk immediately noticed me and stood up.
“Welcome to Hunket. How may I assist you?”
“I’d like to sell some items and settle the payment for the C-Serpent Venom.”
“Ah!”
The staff member brightened as if they’d been tipped off beforehand and bowed politely.
“Thank you for visiting. Please allow me to show you to our inner waiting room so we can assist you properly.”
“Thank you.”
I followed the staff member to the waiting room, moving a bit too quickly.
This time, I was treated more comfortably, offered refreshments and snacks.
Soon, the appraiser and a staff member knocked and entered the waiting room.
“Thank you for choosing Hunket again, valued customer.”
The appraiser bowed with a warm smile.
He approached and extended a tablet to me with a grin.
“Fortunately, because the item sold domestically, the commission and tax were quite reasonable. There was interest from overseas buyers, but comparing commissions and taxes, the domestic sale proved more advantageous, so we proceeded that way.”
The documents were filled with figures comparing auction prices, commissions, and taxes.
To be honest, it was all just a dizzying jumble of numbers to me.
“Please review it, and then I’ll need your signature on the final line.”
The only figure that mattered to me was the final confirmed sale amount. I skipped past the meaningless numbers, and when I reached the end, my jaw dropped on its own.
Payment amount: 125,000,000 won.
‘That’s…… extraordinary.’
I barely managed to close my mouth.
I still couldn’t quite believe that such a figure was about to appear in my account, but I couldn’t let it show.
With trembling hands, I finished signing and returned the tablet to the appraiser.
“Now I’ll complete the identity verification and finalize the payment. May I see your Hunter certificate or ID?”
I naturally handed over my ID.
He verified it and tapped the tablet several times.
“Everything checks out. The payment will be processed within three business days.”
“Understood.”
The appraiser finally set down the tablet after finishing his explanation.
He looked at me with anticipation in his eyes.
“I understand you have more items to sell today. If you’d bring them out, I can appraise them and process the sale.”
“One moment.”
I opened my bag and laid out the items I’d brought one by one.
The appraiser quickly examined each piece as I removed it.
And finally, the Stone Tablet came out of my bag.
“Will you be selling everything?”
“Actually, could I just have the Stone Tablet appraised for now? I’d like to decide whether to sell it after the appraisal.”
The appraiser looked at me for a moment as if surprised, then smiled and examined the Stone Tablet.
“Normally there’s an additional fee for extracting emotions alone, but I’ll handle this as a courtesy. I do ask your patience—the grade is high enough that verification takes some time.”
“Of course, that’s fine.”
The appraiser drew a pair of spectacles from his pocket and examined the Stone Tablet with meticulous care.
I settled in to wait, helping myself to the complimentary pastries he’d set out.
By the time the pastries were gone and the wrappers had accumulated, the appraiser finally set the Stone Tablet down.
His expression was deeply unsettling.
“I apologize, sir. This is an item I cannot verify through standard appraisal.”

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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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