I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 60

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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 60
Choe Arin approached me with her head bowed.
“Hey… Ha Choeun. You okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just… I never imagined something like this could happen, so I’m kind of stunned.”
How could anyone have foreseen it?
I let out a hollow laugh alongside my sigh.
“Here I am, and the person I’ve hated turns out to be the one who saved me, and on top of that, I go and make mistakes right in front of him.”
Even I found myself pathetic—I couldn’t imagine how others saw it.
“No wonder Yu Hoyeon must hate me. Seriously.”
“Why are you jumping to that?”
Choe Arin wrapped an arm around my shoulders in alarm.
She even patted my shoulder as if to comfort me.
“Well, from our first meeting, things were off between us, so I just… kept avoiding him and disliking him.”
“That makes sense since you don’t remember!”
Choe Arin seemed intent on soothing me.
I appreciated her sincerity, but it was hard to take it lightly.
“And besides, he didn’t seem to like me much either.”
Choe Arin seemed to realize her comfort wasn’t reaching me.
Instead of forcing more consolation, she simply listened quietly to what I had to say.
“But a while ago, we showed each other decent sides, and thanks to that, we started viewing each other more favorably…”
“Oh, Ha Choeun.”
Even Yu Hoyeon had given me advice, and I’d decided to accept it.
At the time, I’d felt a bit reluctant, but now I realized I should have been grateful.
And yet I’d gone and ruined his instructions and judgment completely.
“I should have thought it through more carefully. I was so focused on the immediate situation that I forgot his instructions.”
“Hey.”
There could have been a way to save Choe Arin while also saving others in that situation.
If I’d only been more deliberate in my thinking.
I pressed hard at the bridge of my nose with my fingers.
Choe Arin grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand down.
“Hey!”
“What are you doing?”
When I answered in a listless voice, Choe Arin fixed me with an angry glare.
“So what—you want me to die instead?”
The absurdity of it struck me first, and I felt bewildered.
I lowered my hand and looked at Choe Arin, who met my gaze steadily.
“What? Why would you die? What are you saying?!”
“If you hadn’t done what you did back there, I would have died. Right? Wouldn’t I?”
Choe Arin spoke to me as if scolding a child.
Faced with a tone I’d heard since childhood, I reflexively answered.
“I… yes.”
“So should you regret saving me? Should you or shouldn’t you?”
“I… shouldn’t, right?”
“Exactly!”
In that moment, I was completely won over by Choe Arin.
Suddenly, all the gloom and regret melted away.
“Stop saying you did something wrong, okay? If anything, it sounds like saving me was the right thing to do.”
“Yeah.”
When I nodded, Choe Arin finally relaxed and withdrew her hand.
Then a mischievous smile played at her lips.
“By the way. I’ve known since way back that you were going to awaken.”
Do people forget people as people, and forget shocks as shocks?
I opened my mouth at what was now the second shocking revelation.
“Really? Why? I mean, how?”
Since it seemed to be part of something I didn’t remember, I found myself naturally hanging on Choe Arin’s every word.
“The day we got caught up in that Dungeon, at the end Hunter Yu Hoyeon saved us—but he didn’t save everyone.”
“Wasn’t there a Hunter who responded to the scene besides him? So why are you saying that?”
Choe Arin pointed at me with her index finger raised.
I mirrored her gesture, pointing at myself with my own index finger.
But even copying the motion, I couldn’t grasp its meaning.
In the end, I opened my mouth and asked.
“Why me?”
“You saved me.”
“What are you talking about? How could I have saved you?”
The words tumbled out without passing through my brain first.
Choe Arin seemed to notice this and changed her story.
“Ah, wait. Now that I think about it, you didn’t actually save me.”
Something about the way she backtracked made me uneasy.
Choe Arin held up her thumb, her eyes unfocused.
All I could sense was her pure intention to mess with me.
“Chloris saved me.”
“Nooooo!”
I knew it! I knew this was coming!
I should have covered my ears! Why is that name showing up here?!
The first Prerydog Choir Competition took place.
Choe Arin took the solo part.
“It wasn’t just Chloris, you know? There was a corrupted Chloris too. And some Demon Lord or other—Kart? Kithreus?”
“Don’t! Don’t say it! La-la-la-la— I can’t hear you. La-la-la.”
I clamped my hands over my ears and raised my voice to drown her out.
“And Cheonho was there too! You had a complete four-personality state, a four-personality state!”
Choe Arin refused to back down, raising her own voice.
She even tried to pry my hands away from my ears.
“The Demon Lord you saw today was real, right? The main character was having so much fun—mmph!”
“Stop talking!”
I clamped my hand over Choe Arin’s mouth.
Covering my ears wasn’t working—I had to seal her mouth shut!
“I get it. I understand what you’re saying. You mean I don’t have to feel sorry toward Yu Hoyeon, right? Message received!”
“Mmph! Mmmph-mmmph!”
“Yep. Thanks, no worries!”
I answered without even listening to what she was trying to say.
Choe Arin thrashed harder, but she couldn’t overcome the strength I’d gained from the Awakening, or whatever this was from shame.
I held Choe Arin’s mouth shut and mulled over what she’d said.
‘A four-personality state? That means four instances of my dark history emerged at once. Is that what happens when you’re completely consumed by a dark history skill?’
At the same time, what came to mind was that Unknown Skill with no explanation.
A choice with nothing but Synchronization Rate written on it.
‘I’d guessed that it might go up the more you become one with the skill.’
It had been only recently that I’d been on guard against it.
The moment Choe Arin’s words met that caution, a rational fear emerged.
‘What if I fall into a four-personality state again if the Unknown Skill’s Synchronization Rate goes up?’
It was a hypothesis more terrifying than any crisis I’d faced.
From now on, I absolutely must not be consumed by the skill again.
I steeled my resolve in my heart.
Of course, I didn’t let it show on my face.
I moved forward while cradling my precious friend.
“But we lost our luggage anyway. Do you have your mobile phone? Should we find somewhere to stay? Or should we just head home like this?”
“Mmph-mmmph-mmmph!”
Choe Arin, her mouth sealed shut, struggled and writhed.
She looked ridiculous and strange, but I had no choice.
If I let go of her mouth, she’d loudly recite every bit of my dark history.
‘Please stop excavating my dark history. I’m dying of embarrassment.’
My face was already flushed to the point of bursting.
* * *
The Dungeon Wave that erupted in the Sea was successfully suppressed.
There was some uproar over casualties and property damage, but the dominant sentiment was relief that the incident—which could have brought the city to ruin—had ended at this scale.
It was the result of the Hunter Association’s swift response.
[There were two mature Krakens that emerged from the Dungeon. One was contained by the Association, and the other was a corpse that washed out of the Dungeon after the situation concluded.
On the news, a Hunter from the Association stood at the podium, reporting on the situation.
My eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from the presentation displayed behind him.
Specifically, the words “death toll count” had seized my attention.
‘Would there have been fewer casualties if I hadn’t gotten involved?’
My thoughts spiraled back into self-reproach.
I shook my head sharply, trying to cast it off.
The Kraken had already demolished the Hotel building anyway.
No matter what happened, there was no avoiding casualties.
The news anchor’s calm voice continued on.
[The Hunter Association has suggested that the Kraken’s ecology resembles that of an octopus, with females dying after their larvae hatch, making the male the primary cause of fatalities. This has been Jeong Seulhui reporting.]
The feed switched from the press conference back to the news desk.
The broadcast moved on to the next story, and I lost interest.
I sprawled across the sofa and opened Shorts.
[We bring you news that Daliya Goden, the world’s top-ranked Ranker, is visiting Korea.]
My phone rang around that moment.
[Henket]
If a saved number starts with 02, I should take the call anyway.
I answered right away.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon, valued customer. This is Choe Hyeeun, seller associate at Henket. I’m calling regarding the item appraisal you requested.”
I’d assumed it was about the Rock Cradle’s Core, but this was unexpected news.
The staff member spoke to me in a tone that was polite yet tinged with awkwardness.
“The collector who requested the item sale would like to meet with you in person to discuss the purchase. And even if you can’t sell the item, they would very much like to see you face to face……”
My mind filled with only one question.
Why?
What for?
Who?
Ah. That’s three things.

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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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