I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 46

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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 46
Outside the bed lies danger.
I unwound myself from the blankets and shed all the exhaustion that had accumulated.
‘Synchronization does ease fatigue, but it’s only easing it—not eliminating it entirely.’
I couldn’t escape the tiredness completely.
Realizing this belatedly, I sank back into proper rest.
“Ngghhh!”
As I stretched, my stiff body creaked and groaned.
Thanks to my sudden unemployment, I had time to spare.
‘No, unemployed sounds too depressing. Let’s call it freelancing.’
I rubbed my eyes with my sleeve and checked my phone. Now that I thought about it, I had quite a bit to do.
I needed to confirm the severance pay from the company, and I still had to figure out how to receive the compensation for clearing this dungeon.
While I was at it, stopping by the bank to sort through my accumulated savings seemed worthwhile.
‘Being unemployed, or rather… being a freelancer does have its perks.’
There’s no need to agonize over when to fit in a bank visit.
I washed up and stood before the mirror.
The wound on my shoulder had shrunk considerably since yesterday.
I’d felt it before, but the effects of Awakening were truly remarkable.
A wound of this magnitude healing so rapidly—it was extraordinary.
With Potions and this recovery speed, I’d never need to set foot in a hospital again.
As I examined the wound carefully, something caught my eye—something I hadn’t noticed before.
Well, not something I’d completely missed.
“Oh! This!”
It was something I’d had strapped to my wrist the entire time I was clearing the dungeon.
I let out a startled cry.
“I brought this home with me!”
The Spatial Storage Item I’d borrowed from the Haje Guild was dangling from my wrist exactly where I’d left it.
I quickly opened my phone and pulled up the Gamja App.
I sent a message to Seo Jo-yang, the tanker, about the Spatial Storage Item.
Thinking it might take a moment for him to see the message, I changed my clothes.
But the notification sounded the instant my head popped through my shirt.
Ding!
Had he been waiting?
I entertained this unreasonable fantasy as I opened the chat.
Seo Jo-yang’s message was quite terse.

Did you arrive home safely yesterday?

I think I need to check with the management department about the item.
I never thought the blunt tone of the Gamja Market would feel this burdensome.
Feeling as if I’d just received a message from a business contact, I typed a reply.

Yes ㅠ I’m sorry. How should I get it to you?
Seo Jo-yang seemed to be in contact with the management department, so no immediate response came.
I fidgeted with the item while waiting for his reply.
How many minutes had I waited?
Just as boredom was beginning to set in, a new message appeared in the chat.

Come on, don’t apologize for something like that lol lol
This was unmistakably not Seo Jo-yang’s tone.

Guild Master?

Bingo!
Baek Mun-il messaged in the casual, light tone of a friend.

This is on us for forgetting and not making sure to handle it. It’s not your fault.

Still. I should have brought it back to you.

Haha, so why don’t you come see our guild this time?
Baek Mun-il dangled the proposal he’d failed to land yesterday.
It wasn’t really a proposal at all.
Either way, she’d have to stop by the Haje Guild to return this item.

Sure. I’ll drop it off and take a look around while I’m at it.

I should get the staff to do a deep clean.

What if you turn into a corrupt guild master?

If I can just get a healer, that wouldn’t be so bad.

I’m not really comfortable with sweatshop operations, though.

Deep clean cancelled.
It felt like bantering with a friend.
I laughed and snorted a bit before getting back to business.

When should I bring the item by?
Baek Mun-il didn’t reply right away—he seemed to be checking the time.
Still, he didn’t let the opportunity slip and pinned down a time immediately.

Anytime works. How about this afternoon?

That works for me too.

Great! Just find me in the lobby.

Okay.
I closed the chat and set my phone down.
I figured I’d stop by the Bank first, coordinate the timing, and then head to the Haje Guild.
‘Maybe I’ll swing by Hunket on the way.’
I fingered the Penalty Reduction Necklace.
After venturing through the dungeon, I’d come to understand how important the grade of penalty-removal items really was.
‘Wonder if any high-grade ones ever show up in the auction.’
I wished I’d been keeping steady watch, but regret came too late.
‘Might as well ask if they have any in stock.’
I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out the door.
* * *
When it rains, it pours.
I’d felt that sentiment before, but never quite like this.
“Hello, it’s been a while. Ha Cho-eun.”
Beside Seo Il-hak.
“What brings you here?”
Beside Yu Ho-yeon.
“So you’re… someone they both know?”
Beside Ahn Je-hwan.
“You’re wearing the bracelet I gave the healer?”
And Baek Mun-il too.
It wasn’t just raining—it was a downpour.
I blinked in bewilderment, scanning each of the four faces in turn.
Looking at them again, they were definitely the same people.
While I stood frozen, just blinking, Baek Mun-il stepped forward.
“Someone the healer knows?”
Meeting under these circumstances for the first time, he spoke casually.
I nodded quickly.
Baek Mun-il rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then counted on his fingers.
“But then why are you wearing something the healer was supposed to give me?”
At the subtle note of suspicion in his voice, my mind spun into overdrive.
Fortunately, a plausible excuse flickered to mind just in time.
“Oh! She wanted to acquire an item like this! I came to help her look for one!”
I quickly grabbed Seo Il-hak by the arm and pulled him forward.
“You see, the one with the Debuff and her—they’re twins.”
“So the twin sisters awakened as one with a Debuff and one as a Healer?”
“Exactly.”
Seo Il-hak looked surprised, but he smoothed over the misunderstanding for my sake anyway.
“Guild Master Baek Mun-il, allow me to introduce her. Do you remember the Curse Skill Hunter I mentioned before?”
“I do.”
“This is Ha Cho-eun—a friend who helps that person operate anonymously.”
Baek Mun-il’s expression relaxed once he heard the explanation.
Now he extended his hand to me with a smile.
“Guild Master of the Haje Guild, Baek Mun-il.”
But that smile didn’t feel good in any sense.
Look—he’d used formal speech from the very first meeting with the Healer, yet now his tone had turned curt.
Something about him seemed displeased.
……Or perhaps he’d only put on an act in front of the Healer he wanted to recruit.
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard quite a lot from that Healer friend. You take good care of her, apparently.”
“Is that so?”
Baek Mun-il’s eyes curved pleasantly into crescents.
It seemed he liked my half-truth—or rather, my lie that wasn’t quite a lie.
“Well, that aside—I had no idea the Healer had a sister. If I’d known her sibling was such an exceptional Hunter, I’d have asked about her sooner.”
“Guild Master, she’s someone the Association is actively trying to recruit.”
“Trying is trying. But you haven’t succeeded yet, have you?”
Baek Mun-il shrugged with brazen nonchalance.
Seo Il-hak’s expression soured.
Baek Mun-il himself simply laughed off the mood, as if the remark had been nothing but a joke.
“So—a friend who works for the Healer’s sake?”
His eyes swept over me from head to toe, a gaze far too cold to be mere curiosity.
I found myself self-conscious, adjusting my bag strap.
“Then I ought to treat you well.”
“Oh, no……. Um, that’s really not necessary. The Healer already thinks well of you anyway.”
“Still, a friend’s endorsement helps. Tell her the Haje Guild’s benefits are outstanding.”
Hah. These solicitations really should be made in the person’s absence, Guild Master.
I’m the person in question.
I smiled silently, keeping the secret I could not speak.
“So what exactly do you need? A Spatial Storage Item? Is that all?”
“Yes, well…….”
I’d been thinking about buying Potions and Penalty Reduction items too, but I hadn’t intended to mention that.
Baek Mun-il seemed to have read my mind, smirking knowingly.
“What a loyal friend, keeping secrets so carefully. The Healer is lucky—you can tell a person’s weaknesses by the items they buy. It’s good to guard secrets well.”
“Haha.”
Except the secret was my own.
I laughed off his praise.
Then I cast about for a way to change the subject, eyes darting around.
Fortunately, I found two topics of conversation right beside me.
“By the way, who are these two?”
Ahn Je-hwan and Yu Ho-yeon looked at me as the conversation shifted to them.
Baek Mun-il stepped forward and introduced Ahn Je-hwan first.
“Ah, this is Ahn Je-hwan, team leader at the Dungeon Research Institute. I happened to run into him, so we were discussing this dungeon.”
The way he said it made me deeply uneasy.
“But it’s not proving very helpful…….”
At Baek Mun-il’s words, Ahn Je-hwan’s face contorted.
“What do you mean unhelpful? Didn’t I explain in detail? A being like an avatar of flame appeared and brought down the Queen.”
A sharp intake of breath nearly escaped me.
I barely swallowed the cry that threatened to burst out.
Fortunately, they didn’t notice my reaction.
“Right, tremendously powerful and beautiful and magnificent. But you said you don’t even know if it’s a monster or human.”
“That’s beauty that transcends species. Just as the concept of flame belongs to no single race or classification, this was……!”
Ahn Je-hwan bristled and launched into a rebuttal.
His praise was embarrassing enough to make my skin crawl.
Thankfully, Baek Mun-il cut him short.
“In the end, nothing’s actually been analyzed.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Ahn Je-hwan’s shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon.
I felt sorry for him, but not particularly regretful.
I quickly looked away from Ahn Je-hwan.
The moment I did, my eyes met Yu Ho-yeon’s.
Had he been watching me the whole time?
Flustered, I blinked—and he took a step closer.
“Um, did you need to say something?”
Without a word, Yu Ho-yeon held out a red Potion to me.
I accepted it awkwardly with both hands, then tilted my head in confusion.
“What’s this for?”
Yu Ho-yeon’s eyes shifted to the side for a moment, then returned.
In that brief instant, I noticed his gaze had been fixed on my shoulder.
‘Is it showing? It’s not even that painful.’
I pretended to adjust my bag strap while touching my shoulder to check.
There was a dull throb, certainly, but nothing severe.
Then Yu Ho-yeon, who had been silent until then, spoke.
“A Potion won’t heal a wound perfectly. Especially not a serious one.”
“Ah, right.”
Noticing that I was answering without really listening, Yu Ho-yeon’s face crumpled in frustration.
“So go to the hospital regularly.”
With that, he spun around and left as if fleeing.
I couldn’t make sense of his behavior.
Glancing around to see if anyone else understood, I found the other men wore equally baffled expressions.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“I’m not sure. We came to buy Potions since we’re raiding a Dungeon under Association supervision.”
“He gave me that? Why would he do that?”
Should I be reading this as concern?
I awkwardly turned the Potion over in my hands.
The bottle felt strangely warm.
It was as if someone had been holding it tightly for a long time.
‘Does he hate me, or is he worried?’
He was someone I couldn’t figure out, no matter how hard I tried.
I watched Yu Ho-yeon disappear into the distance, then gave a small bow to the others.
“I should get going. I’m supposed to meet the Healer on time.”
“Right, take care. And be nice to the Healer, would you?”
Baek Mun-il gave a thumbs up as he said it.
Ahn Je-hwan, having shown no real interest in me from the start, went his own way without fanfare.
Seo Il-hak, now alone, studied me with a deadpan expression for a moment.
“I suspect I’ll need your assistance soon. Please make sure to connect me with the Curse Hunter.”
“Of course, just get in touch.”
Seo Il-hak bowed respectfully and set off in the direction Yu Ho-yeon had gone.
Only then did I adjust my bag and turn to leave.
The wound, which had been pressed by the bag strap, throbbed with a sharp ache.
As I acknowledged the pain, the Potion in my hand grew harder to ignore.
‘I wonder if the hospital wait is long.’

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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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