I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 65

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 65
After parting ways with Yu Ho-yeon in Hunket, curiosity set my blood on fire.
Yu Ho-yeon had gotten it all wrong.
“Did you really think running away would solve everything?”
I was the sort of person who’d wade into dungeons driven by nothing but curiosity.
‘Season two of the blind-sided by curiosity chronicles…….’
But as I’d noted before, if I had any real patience, I’d be a college student back in Korea by now.
Normally, I would’ve steered clear of Yu Ho-yeon, but not this time.
I clenched both fists as I counted down the hours until we’d meet again.
Of course, that meeting was scheduled for the dungeon strategy briefing with Dariyan Gorden.
My earlier worry about running into Yu Ho-yeon at the meeting had evaporated—now my mind brimmed with determination to get answers.
‘I don’t care if she’s a Healer or anything else, I’m dying to know. I’m going to grill her until she cracks. I really am.’
The Hunter Association Building wasn’t as imposing as the Haje Guild Building.
It had the distinctly formal air of a government office, which somehow put me at ease.
I pushed through the main entrance with strides that were less confident than commanding.
Banners and directional signs greeted me from the entryway.
I followed the arrows with bold steps.
[Unclerable Dungeon Strategy Meeting]
[Conference Room 1]
“Hello!”
As I stepped into the conference room, familiar faces turned to greet me.
Members of the Dungeon Wave Countermeasure Team.
Since it was a dungeon-related event, they must have been dragged in as participants.
Those who’d been arranging refreshments dipped their heads respectfully toward me.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Healer. Thank you for answering our dungeon strategy request.”
Come to think of it, this was the first time meeting them in my Healer guise.
Introducing myself as a stranger to people I’d worked alongside felt oddly stiff.
“My twin has told me so much about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet.”
“Ah yes, I heard you two are twin hunters. Both of you are remarkably talented, from what I understand.”
“Thank you for the kind words.”
I exchanged these pleasantries while surveying the room.
Several people were already seated. All unfamiliar faces.
That was natural—I had no connections in the hunter world.
But I did find myself disappointed by one absence in particular.
If Yu Ho-yeon had arrived and taken a seat early, I could have claimed the spot right beside him.
‘I’m going to get the truth out of him, come hell or high water.’
I swallowed my disappointment and took an inconspicuous seat toward the back.
As the meeting’s start time approached, more people filtered in.
With the crowd growing, a familiar face finally appeared.
Choi Jung-moon’s eyes widened when our gazes met, and he waved enthusiastically.
I waved back with genuine warmth.
“You two know each other?”
Thud.
The voice that suddenly came from beside me startled me so badly I nearly jumped from my seat.
My reaction caught him off guard as well—his expression shifted to one of surprise.
“Guild Master Baek? When did you arrive?”
I’d been staring at the door and hadn’t noticed him come in.
At my evident alarm, Baek Moon-il gestured awkwardly toward the podium.
“I’m facilitating today’s meeting, so I was in there checking the presentation.”
“In there, you mean…….”
A sudden thought struck me, and my eyes widened.
“Is the Association Director in there too?”
“Yeah.”
“Is Yu Ho-yeon in there by any chance?”
At my barrage of questions, Baek Moon-il tilted his head quizzically. That reaction seemed ominous somehow.
“Him? He’s not participating in today’s meeting.”
Why not?
My face crumpled at the unwelcome news.
Oblivious to my disappointment, Baek Moon-il volunteered an explanation.
“Since Yu Ho-yeon is temporarily affiliated with the Hunter Association, there’s no need for duplicate participation with the Director. And because there’s potential for dungeon-related incidents during the meeting, he’s on standby outside.”
I never expected this.
The moment my resolve shattered, the strength drained from my body. As my head drooped, Baek Moon-il looked at me with confusion.
“Wait—did you know Yu Ho-yeon the Hunter beforehand? I thought you were moving with the Hunter Association because of your sibling.”
The statement hit like a hammer, and my posture snapped upright.
Now that I thought about it, I’d never met Yu Ho-yeon while in Healer form.
Suspecting I’d acted too strangely, my eyes began darting about of their own accord.
“Ah, well… I heard he gave my sibling some advice. I wanted to thank him for that.”
“What kind of advice?”
I’d thought it was a decent excuse, but apparently it wasn’t.
The problem wasn’t with the excuse itself—it was poor from Baek Moon-il’s curiosity perspective.
Baek Moon-il pulled the chair beside me closer and settled into it fully.
“Just things that would be good for weapons and dungeon strategy.”
Baek Moon-il rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought for a moment.
“I heard while we were preparing for this dungeon strategy that there’s a Weapon Crafting Skill… do you really need weapon advice?”
‘Well, you see, my twin sibling isn’t actually my twin sibling, so it’s necessary.’
Unable to tell the truth, I simply laughed.
“Besides, neither of them is purely a combat type. From what I can tell, Defense Items and Skill Effect Enhancement Items would be more useful.”
“Ah, actually we’ve already prepared those! We’re planning to use them for this dungeon strategy.”
Baek Moon-il raised his thumb approvingly. Even as he did, he continued questioning me as if to confirm something.
“Is it a Healing Skill Effect Boost?”
“No. Those are too expensive and rare—I couldn’t afford one.”
The price was steep, and the increase rate was pathetic.
As I let my disappointment show, Baek Moon-il actually chuckled.
“We have some in our guild.”
Here we go again—another guild recruitment pitch.
Every time I heard it, the desire to join the guild flared up, but I couldn’t take it seriously.
I turned my head away preemptively, and Baek Moon-il continued playfully.
“The items are there, but we don’t have a Healer to actually use them. Hey, where can I find a Healer? A Healer anywhere?”
I shouldn’t laugh in a conference room, but I couldn’t help myself.
As I lowered my head and laughed quietly, Baek Moon-il looked satisfied beside me.
Even so, I barely managed to form an X with my two arms.
“Maybe later. I’ll think about it.”
That meant no. Baek Moon-il, as always, understood what I meant.
“Just don’t forget that I’m always ready to help.”
Baek Moon-il smiled warmly at me as he said it.
Without burdening me, and with genuine thoughtfulness.
He knew how to lighten the weight of words with nonverbal expression.
He really was a good person. But…
“…Yeah, okay.”
How was I supposed to tell him that his help wasn’t necessary?
I felt sorry toward Baek Moon-il.
Though the misunderstanding was his own doing, it unsettled me that I knew about it yet couldn’t correct it.
‘Why would he jump to that conclusion… It’s not like I gave off such a bad impression. This is unfair.’
I tucked away my resentment and apology, steering the conversation elsewhere.
“Anyway, why is the guild director leading this dungeon strategy conference? Isn’t this the Association’s job?”
“Oh, that?”
Even though I’d deliberately changed the subject, Baek Moon-il answered without hesitation.
“Completely Unclerable Dungeons are managed by designated guilds.”
Usually, when a dungeon received an Unclerable rating, it was because the Boss Magic Beast was excessively strong or the environment was too dangerous.
In such cases, the guild abandoned hopes of complete clearance and instead managed the dungeon by culling the monster population to prevent saturation.
But the Association, lacking sufficient personnel and capability, couldn’t manage dungeons that way.
So naturally, dungeon management fell to the guilds.
And naturally, Haje Guild—the nation’s number one—wouldn’t be absent from such dungeon management.
“This dungeon has a Dragon Pack stationed there. Most guilds can’t manage it at all, so we took the contract.”
“A Dragon Pack?”
It was an expression I rarely heard.
Perhaps because I wasn’t an experienced Hunter, I’d never heard that dragons formed packs.
Baek Moon-il nodded as if acknowledging my confusion.
“Dragons that usually form packs are Lesser Dragon Species like wyverns—creatures with limited ability. But for some reason, this dungeon has proper dragons forming a pack.”
As an added detail, the A-rank Strategy Party that had first entered to measure the dungeon’s rating had been annihilated.
“Fortunately, the problem is only in the final floor. Floors one through four are clearable, so management has been straightforward.”
“There are cases where management is difficult starting from the first floor?”
“Abroad, not in our country. From what I’ve heard, Dariyan Gorden closed those gates too.”
A fitting anecdote for someone bearing the title of the world’s number one Hunter. I’d have to look it up when I got home.
“Boss Magic Beasts are still manageable in comparison. It’s dungeons with difficult environments that are truly brutal to clear. The dungeon I mentioned earlier was likely one of those.”
By now, I’d heard enough to know that dungeons varied wildly in their environmental conditions.
“Wow, what exactly is Dariyan’s ability that he can clear dungeons like that so easily? Does he have incredibly high stats? Or maybe exceptionally high attack or defense power?”
At my murmuring, Baek Moon-il tilted his head as if questioning what I’d said.
“His exact skills are private information, but it’s not due to stats, attack power, or defense power.”
At Baek Moon-il’s firm statement, my head tilted to the side this time.
A commotion broke out outside.
I turned my head toward the door along with the noise.
A face I’d seen in Hunket appeared again, and Baek Moon-il’s voice reached my ears from beside me.
“Dariyan Gorden is a Supporter.”
“Pardon?”
What did you just say?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————