I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 44

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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 44
When something goes wrong at most companies, all eyes turn to the person at the center of it.
Since the Guild operates much like a company, I suppose the same rule applies.
The moment something went wrong, every eye locked onto a single person.
Unfortunately for me, that person was myself.
Crack-crack-crack—
The sound of wood snapping?
No, wait.
I’d heard a sound like this before.
It was the same noise that came when I’d expanded a wooden floor at the Auction House.
And that sound was happening right beneath my feet.
“Mother of—!”
The instant realization struck, my body rocketed skyward.
It wasn’t my wings doing it.
“Guild Master, the boss—!”
In a heartbeat, the entire Raid Party and all the trees below me vanished from sight.
“I can fly, so—”
I flapped my wings, desperate to rejoin my allies.
But unfortunately, this Dryad Queen was cleverer than I’d given her credit for.
“Urgh!”
Wooden vines wrapped around my body and wings like logs, binding me tight.
I cast a desperate look toward the Raid Party, pleading for help.
Despite their experience, not one of them could hide their shock.
“The Healer! The Healer’s been caught!”
“How did the boss leave its territory?!”
Thankfully, the most seasoned among them stepped forward.
“This happens from time to time! Focus on getting the Healer back!”
Would I actually die?
My eyes darted around until they landed on the figure beside me.
Dangling from the vines, bound and helpless—
“Team Leader?”
“I’m hanging upside down here and about to pass out—could you maybe grab my hand?”
“My hands are tied.”
An Je-hwan thrashed about uselessly, his effort to come along proving pointless.
The Queen found his squirming annoying and wound vines around him too.
I couldn’t help myself—I had to say something.
“One-plus-one sale.”
An Je-hwan’s head drooped as though in shame.
Even though I’d been swept away, the lingering effects of the honey seemed to persist.
The Hunters launched their assault on the Queen.
But the lesser Dryads below her weren’t simply watching from the sidelines.
They surged forward with vicious intensity, as if settling scores for everything they’d endured.
Seeing their approach, the Queen rotated her body and began to move.
At her gesture, cradling us gently in her hands, hope flickered.
“Wait—we’re not going to die?”
“Dryads possess the Enchantment ability. She may be trying to charm you so she can use you.”
……
“I knew Magical Beasts with intelligence rivaling humans existed, but this is remarkable. To recognize a Healer and abduct them specifically—”
……
“Would it be all right if I included this in a paper?”
Paper this, paper that!
I swallowed the urge to scream.
There was something far more pressing to consider.
“If I get charmed—will I come back to normal?”
“There are potions that cure abnormal conditions, or a Healer can treat it. Don’t worry.”
An Je-hwan offered reassurance in a voice utterly devoid of conviction.
“Since neither of us are combat specialists, subduing us shouldn’t be too violent.”
“I’d rather avoid being subdued and needing a potion in the first place.”
“For that to happen, you’d really need to be more nimble.”
If I dropped this man from this height, would he die?
I lowered my eyes for a moment.
And just then, the Queen moved again.
Crack—crack—
Each time the Queen shifted, dozens of wooden trees interlocked and creaked in unison.
Tense, I watched her other hand rise toward us.
That hand reached down and seized An Je-hwan.
“Oh, no.”
An Je-hwan’s face twisted in dismay as he bit his lower lip.
“Sir? Right now, is the Queen…what is she doing?”
“Guess one plus one wasn’t enough for her.”
His joke fell flat—his face had gone pale with dread.
I thrashed wildly within the hard wooden bindings.
An Je-hwan shook his head at me, silently urging me to stay still.
“I’m a Hunter in my own right—I won’t die just from the fall. I’ll regroup with the others and find my way back.”
Not dying from a fall and surviving what lay below were two very different things.
Below would be teeming with enraged Dryads.
The odds of An Je-hwan surviving in their grasp were vanishingly slim.
“So don’t struggle and get yourself killed trying to—”
“Sir!”
The Queen hurled An Je-hwan to the ground as casually as discarding trash.
Then she kept only me in her grip and moved forward at a leisurely pace.
I was so focused on watching where he landed that I only belatedly realized we were approaching the boss chamber.
A tree loomed before us—twice the size of all the others.
And embedded in that tree was a door.
Hiss—hiss—hiss—
Sha…sha—
Dryads emerged from the surrounding growth, weapons in hand, greeting their Queen.
The sounds they made were almost musical.
As I listened, my mind raced.
‘Enchantment? They’re trying to enchant me? Because I’m a Healer?’
It was impressive tactical thinking—but it rested on a fundamental error.
“I’m not a Healer anymore!”
I shouted as loudly as I could.
“Synchronization!”
Fire wrapped around my body, and the Queen recoiled in shock.
I’d already seen from the Raid Party’s actions that fire was their weakness.
This form would be deeply unsettling for them.
Snap!
The wooden bindings ignited and snapped apart easily.
And the wings bound beneath them finally broke free.
Flutter—
Unlike the dragonfly-like hum of fairy wings, mine made a heavy, resonant sound.
Shrieee—
For the first time, the Queen opened her mouth and cried out.
White flowers bloomed from what I’d thought was the boss chamber.
It felt as if the Queen and that tree were connected as one.
“That must be her True Body.”
The petals swirled like a whirlwind and rushed toward me.
But there was nothing to fear.
“You’ll regret bringing your True Body out.”
I caught one of the incoming petals in my hand.
The Synchronization Rate I’d raised as a Healer plummeted to zero percent.
But I didn’t need that Rate to face these Dryads.
Whoosh.
I set the petal ablaze through sheer will alone.
The small petal burned to ash in moments, but the flame did not die.
I guided it toward the Queen’s face.
The fire that clung to her face obeyed my will.
Roaaaaar—
In an instant, the expanding inferno consumed her face.
Shriek!
At last, a cry like that escaped the Queen’s lips.
I didn’t stop there.
Whoosh.
With a heavy sound, enormous wings lifted my body aloft.
Unlike the thin wings I’d worn before, these felt reassuringly solid.
I took to the air and flew straight toward the Queen’s True Body.
Hiss! Hiss—!
The Dryads beneath the True Body intercepted me, hurling their weapons.
But those missiles were far too slow to reach me.
I evaded their fire and pressed my hand against the Queen’s True Body.
Whoosh!
I didn’t stop.
Divine Flame, a skill the Demon King possessed, could ignite fire wherever I touched and bend those flames to my will.
I descended in a sweeping arc, setting fire to everything my hand grazed.
The flames spread in all directions, obedient to my intent.
Now the Queen’s True Body looked less like a towering tree and more like a campfire.
The Dryads below shrieked at the sight of their Queen and her burning body.
‘That should do it.’
There was nothing more I needed to do now.
Now I just had to find An Je-hwan.
I left the dazed Dryads behind and took to the air again.
Whoosh— Thud!
“Ugh!”
I rolled across the ground, evading a sudden attack from behind.
I quickly turned to see what had struck me.
“The Queen? But—!”
Somehow the flames clinging to the Queen’s face had already faded from view.
I stared in disbelief, mouth agape, studying her face.
Looking closer, the wooden bark that had covered the Queen’s face was peeling away like skin, and fresh wood was already sprouting in its place.
Who could have predicted she’d extinguish the flames so brutally.
The Queen showed no inclination to let her attacker escape unscathed.
Her burning True Body at her back, the Queen came at me with fury.
Crash-bang-crash!
Wood Spears erupted from her hand, raining down on me.
I dodged the spears and launched myself higher into the air again.
If the True Body dies, the Dryads die.
Then I held the advantage against a Queen whose True Body was burning.
‘Drag this out while I search for An Je-hwan.’
I weaved through the Queen’s attacks, scanning my surroundings.
If An Je-hwan were clashing with the Dryads, there would be noise—but the landscape remained eerily silent.
All I could see were traces of the Raid Party.
Thanks to the dust and ice pillars that didn’t belong in a forest, they stood out plainly.
‘I should have crossed paths with An Je-hwan on the way here.’
The moment I worried, vines like hair shot forth from the Queen’s head.
Before they could entangle my body, I seized them first.
“Hgh!”
Crude as the method was, grabbing and pulling the vines was the right call.
The Queen lurched forward violently.
I seized the opening and drove my fist across her forehead.
Crack!
A shallow gash split her brow, and sap-like fluid wept from within.
I didn’t stop.
Through the vines still in my grip, I called forth fire once more.
The Queen pressed her attack even as the flames drew near.
A Wood Spear launched from her hand and pierced my shoulder.
“Nngh!”
I released the vine and quickly wrenched myself free.
Sensing she had the upper hand, the Queen kept firing spears at me.
‘Why is she still unharmed?’
The tree that appeared to be the True Body was already charred black, yet the Queen remained unscathed.
It seemed I would have to strike the Queen directly to finish her.
‘Divine Flame alone won’t be enough.’
I needed to fall back and regroup with my allies.
I made my decision and slowed my pace slightly to shake off the Queen.
The moment she closed in, I spun around and shot forward toward her instead.
The Queen realized the trap, but it was too late to evade.
“Take this!”
I crashed into the Queen’s upper body with all my force.
Crash!
Under the impact, her body split and flew backward.
I planned to flee before she could rise again.
But as I turned, something caught my eye.
[Current Synchronization Rate]
94%
“How is that possible…….”
Was someone else here?
Even if they were, how could the Synchronization Rate jump above 90 like that?
As I looked around, a small voice reached my ears.
“How did you get here…….”
An Je-hwan stood before me, blood dripping steadily from his back and arms.
His eyes shone so brightly that I felt I had become something extraordinary.
‘No. That’s not what matters right now.’
With a Synchronization Rate of 94%, I could handle the Queen’s stubborn vitality.
I spoke the skill quietly.
“Night’s Blessing.”
A hole opened in the Dungeon’s perpetually gray sky.
Night fell as if only in that spot.
[Cooldown]
00:19:59
Current item effect active.
Cooldown –15%
Attack power and skill effectiveness increased. I rose and shot in a straight line toward the Queen.
I felt Magical Power gathering in my fist.
Not just my hand but my entire arm burned with heat.
I drew my fist back to drive that heat into the Queen.
“Supernova.”
Boom—!!
With an explosion that shook the entire Dungeon, the Queen’s body burst apart.

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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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