I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 41

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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 41
An Je-hwan was indeed a capable Hunter, skilled enough to receive cooperation requests from the Ha Je Guild.
I’d suspected as much since the Basilisk incident, but it hadn’t felt real until now.
Now it felt real.
“Extraction.”
An Je-hwan gripped a beaker in both hands and poured his Mana into it.
The poison separated from the swamp water.
He gathered the poison with a Dropper and divided it into Test Tubes.
He dropped Mana Stones of different colors into each one, observed the reactions, and selected one.
Several more Mana Stones of matching color tumbled out from his subspace.
An Je-hwan portioned them into Flasks one by one, then began dumping in Potions and materials I couldn’t identify.
Finally, An Je-hwan recited an Incantation.
“To the crimson stone, I entreat wisdom and knowledge.”
Contrary to my worry that my presence might make this awkward, An Je-hwan’s expression remained nothing but grave.
“Melt and blend, become one. Yet I beseech—harm not what dwells within.”
His words came like stage directions from a play, and light began to swirl inside the Flask.
The light intensified, and the Potion, Mana Stones, and materials inside began to transform.
An Je-hwan now concentrated entirely on channeling his Mana steadily into the mixture.
Soon the light faded, leaving only transparent liquid.
I couldn’t wait for him to speak and blurted out a question.
“Is it done?”
“Probably. Let’s test it.”
Drink it? Spray it?
An Je-hwan retrieved Matches from his subspace and set fire to the liquid inside the Flask.
The moment the flame touched it, the liquid erupted with a soft Pop and transformed into billowing smoke.
The cloudy vapor enveloped us, seeping in gently through our skin.
“Now extinguish the Incense Candle, please.”
The Incense Candle producing the smoke had only about five minutes’ worth remaining.
Even with the Skill he’d used, extinguishing it still felt slightly risky.
I glanced around for a moment.
The other Hunters were leaning their heads out from beyond the incense smoke, eyes bright with curiosity.
An Je-hwan, too, wore the face of someone who never doubted his own success.
My anxiety dissolved into something like embarrassment as I extinguished the candle.
The smoke from the Incense Candle dissipated quickly.
After the smoke cleared, everyone sat there looking perfectly fine.
“It’s working well.”
An Je-hwan concluded tersely.
This time, I didn’t hide my admiration.
“That’s incredible. So you’re completely immune to the poison now?”
“To the Poison Swamp’s toxin, yes.”
Unlike me, whose detoxification only worked while my Skill was active, he enjoyed continuous protection.
In some ways, it seemed more efficient than what I could offer.
I spoke the thought aloud.
“So you’re better than a Healer when it comes to poison?”
“No.”
Despite my carefully measured praise, I was met with immediate denial.
Perhaps he noticed my confusion.
An Je-hwan explained it like a teacher.
“The mechanism is different. What my Alchemy does is block the poison’s effects—that’s a Vaccine. A Healer’s Skill is a Cure.”
Understanding bloomed instantly. His explanation was so clear that I nodded along.
“Which is why this only protects against the Poison Swamp’s toxin. If you’re hit by a venomous creature from the swamp itself, a Healer has to step in.”
“So what you’re saying is, Healers are truly precious.”
Baek Moon-il, who had approached without a sound, interjected.
His silent arrival startled us both.
“Guild Master.”
At our reaction, Baek Moon-il’s face scrunched up, suppressing a smile.
“You two were having such an enjoyable conversation over here. By the way, how long does this antidote last?”
“For the Poison Swamp’s toxin specifically, over a week.”
The first floor had taken four days to clear.
If the second floor took roughly the same time, that left plenty of margin.
Baek Moon-il nodded in agreement, clearly thinking along the same lines.
“If it’s An’s skill, I can trust it. Guess we don’t need to fear the Poison Swamp anymore.”
Having witnessed it myself through the basilisk’s eyes, I nodded in agreement.
At the same time, I let a touch of envy slip into my voice.
“And the incantation is so cool too.”
The moment the words left my mouth, An Je-hwan’s lips pressed into a thin line.
Since his expressions rarely shifted, this change felt all the more pronounced.
Had I misspoken somehow?
I glanced sideways at Baek Moon-il for help.
He wore the look of someone desperately holding back laughter.
When our eyes met, he lost the battle and burst out laughing.
“Ha ha ha. You shouldn’t bring up incantations around An. He’s famous for not liking them.”
“Really? But they’re so elegant.”
Especially compared to mine, his was like a celestial being.
Every time I thought of myself cheerfully shouting “Flower Spirits, arise!” I wanted to die of embarrassment.
Yet An Je-hwan disagreed firmly.
“They’re too fussy and bothersome. Short and simple is better. My skill won’t activate at all unless I maintain the exact phrasing and form. You have no idea how much trouble I went through finding these two things.”
He’d clearly accumulated quite a bit of frustration.
‘Mine activates regardless of the phrasing,’ I thought.
Now I wasn’t sure who was the celestial being.
‘Maybe neither of us is.’
An Je-hwan clenched his fists tight, grinding his teeth audibly.
“I don’t even understand why such things are necessary to activate a skill. It would be better if they didn’t exist at all.”
Feeling a kinship with his frustration, I nodded in sympathy.
“Exactly. Like the Ha Je Guild Master.”
“Huh? I had one too, back in the day.”
Baek Moon-il shrugged his shoulders.
Both An Je-hwan and I, unfamiliar with this story, widened our eyes.
“Originally, I couldn’t activate my skill without an incantation.”
“Then how did it disappear?”
Apparently it wasn’t much of a secret—Baek Moon-il spoke casually.
“While I practiced raising my mana first so I could activate my skill, the incantation just vanished. I was trying to increase the skill’s speed… and it increased dramatically.”
Envious! So incredibly envious!
An Je-hwan beside me must have felt the same—his eyes lit up.
He immediately pulled out a notebook and pen from his pocket space.
“What kind of practice method did you use? Are there other documented cases? Or… would you consider visiting our research institute?”
Baek Moon-il’s expression immediately shifted to that of someone who’d made a grave mistake.
He clearly hadn’t anticipated An Je-hwan’s research fervor extending to skill theory.
It really was a shame.
“Yes, please tell us. How do you make mana do something like that?”
I couldn’t take Baek Moon-il’s side in this.
I needed to learn this too. Removing the incantation!
Baek Moon-il glanced around, searching for an escape route.
But unfortunately for him, we blocked his path from both sides.
Baek Moon-il had no choice but to begin explaining.
“Back then, the prevailing theory was that incantations moved your mana and served as the trigger for skill activation.”
Baek Moon-il had awakened in the early days when dungeons first appeared.
His “back then” likely referred to an era when dungeon research was still primitive.
“So someone suggested: what if you move your mana yourself first and then pull the trigger? We decided to experiment and see if it was possible.”
“Which research institute’s theory was that?”
An Je-hwan looked ready to dash off to that place the moment he heard the name.
Baek Moon-il raised his eyebrows as if questioning the question.
“We hunters tried it ourselves. Back then, researchers and hunters weren’t really connected. Real combat was the best experiment.”
“So you saw results in actual combat?”
If true, could I eventually remove my incantation too through continuous real-world practice?
Noticing my hopeful tone, Baek Moon-il shifted his eyes awkwardly.
“Well… something like that. Strictly speaking, it seemed to disappear as my mana sensitivity and control improved.”
Baek Moon-il spoke as if he himself wasn’t entirely certain.
He tilted his head several times, struggling to explain, but it only grew more confusing.
“Can you pull the trigger with just mana alone? Hmm… does the mana move and the skill activate on its own? I’m not sure how to describe it.”
Knowledge gained through bodily experience proved difficult to translate into words.
An Je-hwan and I found ourselves equally bewildered.
An Je-hwan set down his pen altogether.
“Perhaps you could visit the research facility instead.”
“I’ll pass on that.”
Baek Moon-il refused swiftly.
An Je-hwan’s frown deepened, clearly displeased.
“I don’t understand why field Hunters dislike visiting research facilities so much. It’s an opportunity to better understand and evaluate your skills. Director, if you’d just set a better example yourself…….”
“Ah, we should get moving! Everyone’s rested enough, so no more dawdling — let’s depart, depart!”
Baek Moon-il wielded his authority as guild director and fled.
An Je-hwan’s frown grew even more pronounced.
Fully grown adults certainly knew how to play around.
Just then, An Je-hwan turned to me sharply.
“Healer, wouldn’t you consider coming instead?”
“I’m sorry?”
I noticed far too late that An Je-hwan’s eyes had taken on a peculiar intensity.
He rattled off rapidly—
“I could analyze and evaluate your skills for free, so why don’t you come and let me test out the method I just learned?”
Mad scientist! Mad scientist!
The forgotten term jolted me awake.
Baek Moon-il, who’d abandoned me to my fate, waved from a distance.
‘Sneaking away and grinning like that! What a rotten person!’
I swallowed my rising indignation and sprang to my feet.
“Oh! It’s time to depart! I’m all prepared! Ready to go!”
An Je-hwan smacked his lips in disappointment, seeing through my escape.
I barely managed to slip in among the Hunters.
Baek Moon-il gave me a subtle thumbs-up from the front.
At the same moment, my Synchronization Rate ticked upward slightly.
[Current Synchronization Rate]
62%
Whether it was their humor or the situation itself, I couldn’t say.
Laughter spilled from me unbidden.
“Speaking of the research facility…….”
“Move out!”
Of course, laughter and the research facility were separate matters.
I had no real desire to go either.
* * *
Even with the toxin’s effects diminished, wading through the Poison Swamp meant an endless series of unease and discomfort.
Splash.
“Deep here. Watch your step.”
The vanguard Hunter used his shield to test the ground before extracting his foot.
The swamp clung to their legs so tenaciously that even high-ranked Hunters stumbled.
Each forward movement produced a wet, squelching sound that echoed loudly.
Then Baek Moon-il raised a hand.
“Halt.”
Flap-flap.
Wings resembling a dragonfly beat and thrummed with a loud whirring.
The sound came because I alone refused to step into the Poison Swamp.
Hovering in place meant beating my wings constantly, which naturally produced noise.
The Hunters paid no mind to the sound of their ally and kept their focus ahead.
Crackle—crackle-crackle—
“Above!”
The vanguard tanks raised their shields upward and deployed their skills.
A hemispherical Barrier enveloped the entire expedition.
Bang—!
Simultaneously, countless creatures poured down upon the transparent Barrier like bullets.
They collided with the Barrier and detonated.
Hiss! Crack!
As the explosion’s flames met the swamp’s waters, steam billowed thick and heavy.
The Hunters’ movements grew more urgent in turn.
“Our vision’s blocked! We need to clear our line of sight!”
Beyond the murky haze, shadows loomed—each one the size of a human torso.
I forced my eyes to focus, trying to make them out.
“What kind of beast is this…!”
There wasn’t just one.
Concealed within the steam, they climbed skyward again.
“Powder Water Sparrows,” An Je-hwan said. “They detonate on impact. Fall back. They’re coming again.”
An Je-hwan pulled me down, shielding us both.
Bang! Crash! Bang! Bang!
The second wave of Powder Water Sparrows descended, explosions erupting from all sides.
The Barrier held strong, but against dozens upon dozens of strikes, there was no defense.
Shatter—!
The Barrier shattered, and the sparrows drove down at our feet.
Bang!
Brilliant red flames tore across the space in all directions.

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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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