I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 66

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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 66
While Baek Mun-il explained the dungeon he would be clearing, I held my mobile phone in my lap.
Like a student texting during class, I’d dimmed the screen to its lowest brightness and was searching for Daria Gorden.
I’d sifted through countless websites, but reliable information was scarce.
Worse, Daria Gorden’s domestic visit had only amplified the problem.
With information already thin on the ground, the internet was flooded with sightings and fabrications.
A video played with the sound off, showing Daria Gorden’s photograph.
The short clip made vague claims about Daria Gorden without offering a single concrete detail, and the comments had dissolved into arguments.
I quietly closed the video. Watching any longer would only stress me out.
Besides, it felt rude to be distracted at length while someone I knew was presenting up front.
Even as Baek Mun-il spoke and advanced through his slides, my mind was consumed with curiosity about Daria Gorden’s abilities.
‘The world’s number one Hunter, and yet there’s so little information about his Skills.’
For Hunters, Skills were life-or-death personal information, so I understood the secrecy.
Various interviews and broadcasts had featured people who’d cleared dungeons alongside Daria Gorden, but they’d all been discreet, refusing to reveal anything about his Skills.
Moreover, Daria Gorden himself had never shown his face on camera.
Perhaps that’s why my curiosity only grew.
‘A Supporter who’s the world’s number one… what kind of Skill could he possibly have?’
More than anything, he was the only person besides me who could interpret Stone Slates.
I wanted to know what ability could make that possible.
If I could find where our capabilities overlapped, maybe I could identify the conditions for interpreting Stone Slates.
‘Surely his trait isn’t a dark history too? His trait probably isn’t the condition for Stone Slate interpretation.’
I felt a slight laugh escape at the thought, then my expression soured.
I suppressed the bitter chuckle and stole a glance at Daria Gorden’s silhouette.
Fortunately, plenty of others were doing the same thing, so it wasn’t particularly noticeable.
While I was lost in thought that way, the dungeon explanation seemed to have finished.
The Hunters seated around the room raised their hands and posed questions one by one.
“How will the conquest distribution be handled?”
“With a dragon swarm, there should be considerable byproducts.”
“Who handles the distribution of items and byproducts?”
Unlike me, who knew nothing, the Hunters in this room were veterans.
They were equally sharp when it came to protecting their own and their guilds’ interests.
I was listening vaguely to the discussion when my eyes met Daria Gorden’s.
Daria Gorden glanced at me briefly, then naturally shifted his gaze forward.
He seemed equally uninterested in the distribution and dividends as I was.
‘Then again, he’ll just take the lion’s share anyway.’
As a Healer, I always received the best items and the largest dividend when I exited a dungeon.
Hadn’t my first dungeon-clearing companions, with whom I still kept in touch, told me as much?
That it was only natural for a Healer to take the most.
‘Being a Healer does have its perks… but if I get this much, imagine what the world’s number one Supporter—the so-called dungeon destroyer—must take home.’
Daria Gorden’s expressionless face came back to me as he’d handed over the blank check.
He’d destroyed dungeons deemed impossible to clear in multiple countries; money would never be an issue for him.
I finished my train of thought and nodded to myself.
Seo Il-hak and Baek Mun-il fielded the Hunters’ questions from the front.
“The distribution will be handled by the Hunter Association. We plan to divide it according to the number of participants and Contribution Rate from each guild or party, so please rest assured.”
“Additionally, ten percent of the conquest results will go to Hunter Daria Gorden. You’d do well to account for this when reviewing your distribution.”
Everyone nodded in agreement about Daria Gorden’s dividend rate.
The name of the world’s number one carried weight.
“And the Healer has already been secured.”
Me?
I wasn’t sure when the Healer had come up, but suddenly all eyes were on me.
I reflexively straightened and met their gazes.
Baek Mun-il was pointing at me from the podium.
“While Association registration hasn’t been processed, the anticipated Rank is A-class or higher. There should be no issues with the Healer.”
Perhaps it was the words “A-class or higher Healer.”
The Hunters’ eyes widened in surprise.
I kept my mouth firmly shut and tried to look indifferent.
For a moment there, I was afraid a smug smile would slip out, which embarrassed me.
Even Daria Gorden turned to look at me.
He examined me briefly and gave a light nod.
It didn’t feel bad, as though he approved of me.
‘Choosing to come as a Healer was the right call.’
My prediction that every dungeon break would need a Healer had proved exactly right.
“The Healer will participate as an individual, not affiliated with any guild. There’s nothing to worry about.”
I wasn’t sure what question had been asked, but the Hunters visibly relaxed.
From somewhere in the group, Choi Jeong-mun waved at me as if we were acquaintances.
Only then did I drop my awkward expression and smile back.
Baek Mun-il, standing at the podium, scanned everyone’s faces before advancing the presentation with a pointer.
A map of the dungeon’s interior appeared, and Baek Mun-il smiled slightly.
“Now then, we’ll proceed with personnel confirmation and tactical briefing for the dungeon clear. I’ll hear opinions in order.”
At the announcement of the formal briefing’s start, boredom already washed over me.
Meetings were tedious whether at a company or anywhere else.
I discreetly swallowed a yawn beforehand.
* * *
Whether I paid attention or not, the meeting proceeded smoothly.
The results came out clearly.
Each guild selected personnel suited to each floor’s environment and enemies, and they agreed to supply and lend each other necessary potions and items.
The contracts grew lengthy as a result, but it seemed a familiar process for them.
My contract was comparatively thin — I had neither personnel to select nor items to lend.
If anything, being brief was a relief.
And then came the day of the long-awaited clear.
“Healer! Welcome.”
I stood among the raid party as the only Healer for this dungeon break.
“Hello, Hunter Seo Jo-yang. I’m counting on all of you today.”
“We’re the ones who should be asking for your help. We came here talking about how reassured we feel with a Healer present.”
The Haje Guild had dispatched a considerable number, including Baek Mun-il and Hunter Seo Jo-yang, while only Yu Ho-yeon would participate from the Hunter Association.
Seo Il-hak’s Curse Skill had poor compatibility with dragons that had high resistance, and the Association Director couldn’t leave his post with concerns about security.
“Dragons lack intelligence but aren’t stupid. Be careful. And absolutely don’t leave the rear.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for worrying about me.”
Even as I acknowledged Seo Jo-yang’s courtesy, my eyes wandered.
Naturally, I was searching for Yu Ho-yeon.
The conversation we hadn’t finished at the café still weighed on me.
This time, I was determined to find Yu Ho-yeon and finally ask about what happened eight years ago.
‘Whether now or during the clear, I should be able to find a moment.’
As I searched intently, Yu Ho-yeon finally came into view.
“Oh, I need to see someone for a moment. Hunter Seo Jo-yang, I’ll talk to you again later.”
“Of course.”
I let his response go in one ear and out the other as I moved toward him.
But before I could reach Yu Ho-yeon with quick strides, someone else got there first.
“Hunter Yu.”
Daria Gorden stood before Yu Ho-yeon.
Yu Ho-yeon turned his attention to Daria Gorden.
“Hunter Daria, moving to the front is dangerous. You should stay in the center.”
Was it just my imagination that Yu Ho-yeon’s voice sounded oddly familiar?
The Yu Ho-yeon I knew had a voice that was slightly sharp and cold.
Not because he was rejecting me, but because he was wary of me.
Yet I had heard him speak like that before.
On the day he gave me advice, or on the Beach when he approached me with warmth — Yu Ho-yeon had that very demeanor with me.
A soft voice, tinged with goodwill. Strangely, it lodged in my chest.
Was it because Daria Gorden was someone whose mindset as a Hunter was fully formed?
Ever since I heard about Daria Gorden’s resolve, I’d been thinking of Yu Ho-yeon, and now I began to suspect crimes I hadn’t even committed yet.
‘Is it possible I’m prioritizing my acquaintance and ruining something? Is that why things go wrong? Is that why he tries to exclude me and resolve things with Daria Gorden instead?’
My thoughts spiraled and leaped illogically.
Even knowing this, I couldn’t stop them.
I wished some ninja would roll in and interrupt my spiraling thoughts.
Daria Gorden said something to Yu Ho-yeon.
It was in English, so I couldn’t understand it even if I tried.
But when Yu Ho-yeon heard those words, he smiled faintly.
That was truly unbearable.
With me, didn’t it take quite a while just to get him to smile?
‘Of course, Daria Gorden doesn’t seem like the type of person who’d cause problems like I do.’
It was unfair, but I couldn’t deny the parts that made sense.
Still, seeing someone discriminated against so blatantly right in front of me…….
It irritated me, hurt me, made me furious.
“I want to punch him and demand what the hell he saw in me.”
I’m at the point where I’d grab him by the collar and ask why I alone am being singled out for discrimination based on what I supposedly do in the future.
Because of that, the words I’d only been thinking in my head suddenly spilled out.
And in that same moment, my mouth ran away with me.
“The Healer?”

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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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