I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 67

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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 67
I heard my name called and belatedly covered my mouth with one hand. My eyes flicked quickly to check my Synchronization Rate.
[Current Synchronization Rate]
12%
Since I hadn’t checked beforehand, I couldn’t tell whether the rate had stayed the same or increased.
‘Please don’t tell me it went down.’
Worried by that thought, I turned my head to the side.
Baek Mun-il stood there with an odd expression, watching me—though I wasn’t sure when he’d approached.
Had he heard what I said?
As if he’d picked up on my concern, Baek Mun-il’s mouth opened.
“Who were you planning to hit? Not someone from our Guild, right?”
He’d heard it all.
I dropped the hand covering my mouth and greeted him first.
“Hello, Guild Master.”
“Hey. Got a case of the Mondays? Why do you look so angry?”
Once I greeted him as usual, the awkwardness faded from Baek Mun-il’s face.
Baek Mun-il smiled good-naturedly and held out an In-ear to me.
I took it and made up an excuse on the spot.
“It’s nothing much. I had a fight with my sibling this morning.”
“Really? A fight with your sibling? What about?”
“Oh, come on—what siblings don’t fight?”
According to my friends who have brothers and sisters, a sibling is an enemy from both past and present lives.
Shamelessly, instead of actually fighting, I threw under the bus a twin sibling who didn’t even exist.
I felt a pang of guilt toward the dark elf character.
Baek Mun-il, who seemed to know something about siblings himself, laughed lightly and agreed.
“That’s true enough.”
Once I saw the excuse was working, I steered the conversation elsewhere.
“But what’s this In-ear for?”
“Ah, an AI Interpreter. We need it if we’re going to communicate with Hunter Daria Goden inside the Dungeon.”
Looking around now, I could see that each of the Hunters had an In-ear hooked over their ear.
It made sense—an interpreter couldn’t actually enter the Dungeon, so they’d resort to using this.
But Baek Mun-il didn’t have an In-ear on.
“You don’t use one, Guild Master?”
“I can manage conversational English to some degree.”
“Wow, truly befitting a large Guild’s Guild Master.”
I let my admiration out without holding back.
Baek Mun-il seemed embarrassed, as if this kind of praise had never occurred to him.
“It’s because I often go out on foreign Dungeon clearances. Besides, in the early days, the AI Interpreter’s performance was absolutely terrible.”
The way he answered almost like he was making an excuse felt strange.
“Really? How bad was it?”
“It was worse than useless. Now the world’s come a long way.”
Baek Mun-il spoke like an old man.
Hearing his joke, my mood lightened and I let out a laugh too.
“Language really is something you learn best in the field. English picked up running around in a Dungeon like that must be incredibly practical, wouldn’t it?”
“Exactly. Completely practical. So I can manage necessary conversations in the Dungeon, but everyday conversation is a bit rough.”
Baek Mun-il shook his head. He was acting troubled even though it wasn’t all that troubling.
“Ah, the Healer doesn’t need to come if they’re confident in their English.”
As if.
My English knowledge had turned to ash along with my black notebook long ago, right after the college entrance exam.
“Wait a moment!”
As I hurriedly put the In-ear on, Baek Mun-il burst out laughing.
At his laughter, people’s gazes turned this way. Daria Goden and Yu Ho-yeon looked over as well.
I felt uncomfortable being looked at by both of them, so I turned my body away.
“Should we get ready to head out now?”
“Yeah. You got all your gear equipped? Did you take your potions?”
“Yes.”
I touched the Subspace Ring fitted on the index finger of my left hand. Even after putting items and potions in it, the weight felt nothing at all.
Baek Mun-il’s gaze briefly touched my finger. He seemed to recognize it as a subspace item.
He nodded.
“If you’ve got everything, let’s head out.”
“Yes. I’ll fall back to the rear then.”
As I hurried backward like a fleeing coward, I felt a sharp gaze boring into my back.
I couldn’t tell if it belonged to Yu Ho-yeon or Daria Goden.
* * *
In just two days, I understood why this Dungeon was deemed impossible to clear.
“Ahhh!”
From the first floor, a forest teeming with ogres emerged.
Ogres alone were formidable enough with their superior recovery and strength, but the manticores spouting up here and there kept us all in chaos.
Someone’s blood sprayed across the ground.
The manticore lunged straight for the Hunter’s head.
It was happening in the instant before he fell victim to the lion-like creature, massive enough to bring a rhinoceros to mind.
Daria Goden flicked her wrist.
A translucent stream of water surged forth, wrapping around the Hunter’s body.
The manticore’s enormous tail pierced through both the water and the Hunter in a single stroke.
Because of the water, the manticore’s attack didn’t fully penetrate the Hunter.
The Hunter slipped free in that gap.
Yu Ho-yeon stepped in front of the manticore, blocking its pursuit.
Clang—!
The Hunter seemed unharmed, but there was no relief to be had.
The scorpion-like tail carried venom just as a scorpion’s would.
Baek Mun-il, knowing this, called out to me.
“Healer!”
I’d lost count of how many times I’d used this skill.
“Bloom!”
My Synchronization Rate plummeted to 4% in an instant.
I poured magic continuously into the skill, shouting as I did.
“I’ll maintain the skill! Don’t worry about your wounds!”
At my cry, the Synchronization Rate climbed again.
Daria Goden looked toward me, then extended her hand toward the Hunters. A chant fell lightly from her lips.
“—”
It was a language I couldn’t understand, but I felt magic spreading across the ground beneath us.
The spreading magic seeped directly into the Hunters.
‘What’s the effect?’
Unlike me, Daria Goden offered no explanation whatsoever.
The Hunters learned the skill’s function through their own bodies.
“Push forward!”
“Roaaaah!”
The Hunters surged ahead in unison. With no need to worry about their injuries, those who had been attacking from behind the Tanker now took the front line.
The manticore attacked confidently against the Hunters rushing toward it.
The monster too seemed to trust in its own thick hide.
Slash—
“Huh?”
The Hunter who’d struck the manticore’s leg cried out in surprise. Though the wound was shallow, he clearly hadn’t expected his attack to land so cleanly.
Growl.
The manticore, sensing its hide had been marred, swept its front leg in fury.
“Ugh!”
The startled Hunter mistimed his retreat.
Instead, Daria Goden’s skill came to his aid. Once more, the manticore’s attack was blocked by a water barrier, failing to reach the Hunter properly.
The manticore’s claw only grazed the Hunter’s shoulder.
That small wound vanished at once under my Bloom.
The manticore’s eyes rolled, as if searching for the source of this situation. Its gaze soon settled on me and Daria Goden standing in the rear.
It seemed to sense our magic.
The manticore flapped its membrane-like wings and made a powerful leap.
“Gasp!”
I reflexively moved my wings. My body shot backward, evading the manticore.
While I’d slipped away quickly, Daria Goden held her ground firmly where she stood.
At that moment, as if waiting for it, Yu Ho-yeon blocked the manticore’s path.
Clang! Clang-clang!
The sound of the Iron Spear and the manticore’s claws clashing rang out loudly.
Yu Ho-yeon grasped the Iron Spear directly while keeping Daria Goden behind him.
His Iron Spear pierced through the Manticore’s wing.
Screech!
The membrane wing tore open with a sickening rip, and the Manticore shrieked in agony.
In that moment, the melee Hunters closed in, surrounding the beast.
Baek Mun-il’s command followed immediately after.
“Magic support! Full output!”
“Flame, I summon thee.”
“Blow upon us.”
With Bloom in effect, even the Mages didn’t need to hold back their power.
There was no danger of allies getting caught in the crossfire and dying.
Amplified magical attacks hammered against the Manticore’s hide. Naturally, Baek Mun-il was among them.
Crack!
Ice finally drove deep into the Manticore’s once-hardy body.
Baek Mun-il poured his Mana directly into the ice embedded in the creature’s back.
Rumble!
As the ice consumed the Mana and swelled, the Manticore thrashed wildly.
It wanted to expel the ice, but it was already too late.
Crack!!
The ice finally split the Manticore’s body in two.
Even the scorpion tail, which had writhed long after death, now hung limp.
I let out a relieved sigh and withdrew my Bloom.
“Thank you for your hard work, Healer.”
“I should be thanking you.”
“Don’t mention it. Does anyone still have any wounds?”
“Not at all. We won’t even need to visit a hospital.”
Seo Jo-yang waved her hand as she spoke, but my unease didn’t fade.
As I examined the Hunters’ condition carefully, they made a show of moving about, proving their wellness.
My Synchronization Rate climbed steadily, reaching 37% once more.
‘I’ll need to build it back up to 90 before we encounter another Manticore.’
I set my worries aside and retrieved a Mana Potion from my Subspace Ring.
Even if my Synchronization Rate were full, I couldn’t use my skills without Mana.
As I replenished my Mana, Daria Goden approached my side.
“Your skills have excellent synergy with mine.”
The AI’s mechanical voice mixed with Daria Goden’s English, creating an odd blend.
The Hunters and I turned simultaneously.
Daria Goden stood among many Hunters, looking only at me.
The remark was clearly directed at me.
I found Daria Goden slightly awkward, but not so much that I’d refuse a compliment.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
From what I’d observed of Daria Goden’s skills so far, they were fundamentally tied to defense.
They appeared to work like honey, boosting defensive stats, yet they performed considerably better.
‘It seems to reduce incoming damage.’
Used together with my abilities, it felt like we could make a Demon Beast’s attacks ineffective altogether.
But that was all it amounted to—a skill good for layering effects.
‘It doesn’t warrant such a strong endorsement, though….’
I tilted my head, a bit puzzled. Daria Goden caught my expression and smiled.
“Let’s use them together another time.”
“Of course. We’ll need to soon enough.”
It was obvious that meeting Daria Goden’s Dungeon Clear conditions would still take considerable time.
There would be plenty of opportunities for Daria Goden and me to use our skills in combination.
Aware of this, Daria Goden calmly turned away.
“Let’s move to the next area.”
I scratched my head and retreated to the rear, finding my position in formation.
That was when my eyes met Yu Ho-yeon’s—though I wasn’t sure how long he’d been watching.
Yu Ho-yeon naturally looked away from me and approached Daria Goden.
He handed her a bottle of water and spoke.
Daria Goden nodded seriously.
In that oddly tender moment, the image from before flashed back into my mind.
Yu Ho-yeon, keeping watch over Daria Goden, and Daria Goden, standing as though she’d known he would come.
For some reason, my stomach twisted uncomfortably.

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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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