I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 72

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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 72
I beat my wings, gazing down at the gleaming white Temple.
This was already the third time I’d seen the Temple—counting the one I’d witnessed before the True Dragon.
And all three times, the Temple had shut me out.
Learning from that first failure, I’d rushed to evade combat and hidden myself away.
Yoo Ho-yeon had followed me.
He positioned himself in front of me to guard against any unexpected attacks, while I hung back in his shadow, maintaining my Stationary Flight.
Darya Golden glanced back briefly to confirm our position, then swung his sword.
Crack-crack-crackle—!
A sharp frost formed across the ground, and a deafening burst tore through the air.
Ice pillars drove mercilessly through the dragon’s thick scales.
The dragon smashed the ice with its foreleg and scrambled upward into flight.
It seemed its sturdy scales had saved its life.
The dragon didn’t press its luck—it wheeled around quickly.
To avoid being in the dragon’s flight path, I shifted my position with care.
Unlike me, Yoo Ho-yeon reached toward the dragon.
Ten Iron Spears charged with magical power descended toward the dragon’s wings.
Ping, thud-thud! Screech—
Most of them bounced off the dragon’s tough membrane without piercing it, but one tore a long gash across it.
Roooarrr!
The dragon thrashed its wings violently and opened its mouth wide.
It was preparing to unleash its Breath.
But below, Darya Golden moved.
He bounded upward, using the frozen ice fragments suspended in the air as footing, and swung his sword down with tremendous force.
Layered with multiple skills, the blade blazed with enormous magical power as it made contact with the dragon’s neck.
Slash!
Black Dragon’s neck split open deeply, blood pouring down in a steady stream.
The dragon could no longer stay airborne—it plummeted to the ground.
Its massive body struck earth with a heavy thud, sending dust billowing upward in a haze.
Growl.
The dragon let out a ragged, vicious cry, as if gripped by fear.
But it didn’t last long.
Blood flowing from its severed neck formed a small stream, and the light faded from the dragon’s eyes.
Darya Golden released his sword from his grip.
It dissolved into a faint shimmer of light and vanished, and the Temple scattered away with it.
The Hunters who had waited inside the Temple, entrusting their skills and lives to its protection, emerged into the open air.
Yoo Ho-yeon and I descended quietly and joined their side.
“Is everyone all right?”
“Yes. All our wounds were healed by Darya Golden’s skill.”
I turned my head to look at Darya Golden.
Having drawn all our injuries onto himself, he was blotched with red like someone splattered with paint.
I flew forward quickly toward him as he retrieved a Potion from his Subspace.
“Darya Golden, would it be all right if I used my Healing skill on you?”
“I’ll have to decline.”
His refusal, heard through the AI Interpreter, felt even colder than a human voice could convey.
Darya Golden drained an entire Potion bottle and returned it to his Subspace.
That cold gesture spoke volumes.
The misunderstanding had grown like a snowball, and now it was avalanching down.
‘What am I going to do about this.’
I looked to Yoo Ho-yeon, hoping for advice on how to clear up the confusion.
Yoo Ho-yeon just stood there vacantly, motionless.
I’d looked to the wrong person.
I scratched my head and watched Darya Golden’s back.
Thinking I was worried about him, Baek Moon-il stepped toward me.
“Healer, if he says he’s fine, save your skill.”
“But he’s still wounded.”
It didn’t sit right with me to leave an injury untreated.
“If you waste skills now, you won’t have them when you need them. Use your Healing for the whole Conquest team when the time comes.”
Darya Golden’s skills were certainly formidable, but there must be conditions attached to them.
This seemed to be a reminder to conserve my strength in preparation for that moment.
In the end, I accepted Baek Moon-il’s advice without resistance.
But wouldn’t this place an enormous burden on Darya Golden?
I asked Baek Moon-il anxiously.
“How many dragons are there on this 5th Floor?”
“Hard to say for certain, but there must be at least six. We’ve confirmed six so far.”
So far, we’d killed three dragons since entering the 5th Floor.
Two of them Darya Golden had taken down, and one I’d managed to defeat before he could step in.
And to catch just those three, we’d already spent four days.
“The 5th Floor really is impossibly vast. And the packs are scattered so thin, aren’t they?”
I tapped my waist lightly with my fists.
Baek Moon-il chuckled at me.
“Better than a whole dragon pack swarming us at once.”
Fair point.
I lifted my head and gazed up at the sky.
The brilliant blue sky made me forget we were underground.
Yoo Ho-yeon spoke to me casually as he passed by.
“Dragons have no natural predators but their own kind. Think of them like tigers—they don’t cooperate with each other.”
How would he know that?
My eyes widened in surprise, and Yoo Ho-yeon rolled his eyes.
“That’s why dragons usually appear as bosses. Famous boss-class magical beasts get studied extensively.”
But how could anyone conduct ecological research on boss-class magical beasts?
I narrowed my eyes at him, and Yoo Ho-yeon’s expression turned slightly regretful.
He probably regretted starting the conversation.
I had a suspicion about where his knowledge came from, though.
It was likely that delusion of being connected to the future.
I didn’t press him further and turned my head away.
“Then we’ll just have to search harder.”
I sighed and gently stroked the trees around me.
There was a dedicated search hunter, but I volunteered eagerly to speed things along.
“Flowers, will you help me? Find the nearest living dragon nest and tell me where it is?”
The trees swayed and rustled though there was no wind.
Soon all the trees tilted slightly in the same direction.
Baek Moon-il quickly gestured to the search hunter.
A small gust of wind emanated from the search hunter’s hand.
“Thanks to the Healer’s Flower Calling, we can at least pinpoint the general area. Finding nests becomes much easier, and our pace picks up.”
“Even so, I can’t conduct a thorough search.”
My answer was half modesty, half sincere.
My Flower Calling could only locate a general area.
The actual searching fell to the dedicated search hunter.
But Baek Moon-il waved his hand with a smile.
“Don’t say that. It’s faster than searching from scratch. We appreciate it since we want to pick up the pace.”
It was already past two weeks since we’d entered this dungeon.
Extended conquests seemed to be routine among hunters—everyone moved with practiced efficiency—but competence and exhaustion were two different things.
Even I, synchronized as I was, found the fatigue impossible to ignore.
‘Won’t I just collapse the moment I return to my original form?’
I clasped my hands together and stretched long and deliberately.
“Ahhh!”
A sigh escaped unbidden.
Fortunately, other hunters besides me were stretching here and there.
From various places came the sound of joints cracking and sighs.
Everyone seemed to be in much the same state.
“Will you head straight to an Unconquerable Dungeon after you finish conquering here?”
I worried the hunters might be pushed too hard.
Baek Moon-il noticed the concern in my eyes and smiled.
“We won’t move immediately. We’ll take about a week off, then spend two days in tactical briefings.”
Since the environment and enemies differ from dungeon to dungeon, the conquest team needs to be reorganized accordingly, Baek Moon-il explained with a laugh.
“The fixed members will be me, Darya Golden, Yoo Ho-yeon, and the Healer.”
Baek Moon-il and Darya Golden were the backbone of this conquest, and Yoo Ho-yeon was practically the Association representative himself.
The fact that they were including me meant they valued my abilities.
“I really need to rest properly during that week off. I’m not going anywhere—just staying glued to my bed.”
I’d been joking, but Baek Moon-il and Yoo Ho-yeon both nodded.
“Of course. Don’t move—conserve your stamina.”
“Herbal medicine brews work too.”
Was he serious?
“Does Hunter Yoo Ho-yeon drink herbal medicine?”
“I haven’t yet…….”
“Want me to introduce you to a clinic? Red ginseng didn’t do much for me, honestly.”
He wasn’t joking.
Even hunters who looked as steely as they come were still people who felt fatigue.
Listening to them debate whether herbal medicine beat red ginseng, or if regular ginseng might work just as well—it was no different from any office back home.
‘Worn-out, exhausted office workers.’
I bit down on my laugh.
In that moment, I caught sight of white wind coiling in from the distance.
The Search Skill hunter raised his hand, and the wind tangled around his palm and forearm.
Was it far this time? Close?
Everyone waited in tense silence for the hunter to speak.
He held the wind for a moment, feeling it, then let it scatter.
“Fortunately, it’s within the range the wind can reach.”
“Yes!”
“We’re saved!”
Even if I’d found the direction myself, if the Search Skill couldn’t pick it up, I’d have had no choice but to run on foot.
Luckily, it seemed the distance wasn’t too great this time.
“It looks like it’s near the Nest. Three or four hours’ walk, so take your time getting ready before we head out.”
Baek Moon-il glanced toward Darya Golden.
Darya Golden nodded.
“Once we finish recovering the dragon’s corpse, we rest and move. Get ready!”
“Yes, sir!”
The hunters recovering the dragon’s body sped up their movements.
I’d stopped finding the sight impressive.
‘They just want to hurry up and go home.’
Poor office workers, trapped on their fifteenth day in the field.

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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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