I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 78

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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 78
Dareia Godden shook my hand with unbridled delight.
The force behind it made my entire body sway.
“Thank you so much! Let’s do our best together!”
Joy overflowed in Dareia Godden’s voice.
‘At least he’s happy about this,’ I thought, catching myself drifting into pointless rumination.
I pulled my attention back to the present.
Dareia Godden released my hand at some point.
Yu Ho-yeon, who had been watching us from the side, finally opened his heavy mouth.
“Then let’s exclude the Healer from future Dungeon Conquests.”
“Pardon? Why?”
Could he really dislike me that much and want me excluded?
Or had I caused some problem in the dungeon that I’d foreseen?
I instinctively formed an unfavorable hypothesis in response to Yu Ho-yeon’s words.
Yu Ho-yeon explained matter-of-factly.
“Dungeon Conquest is dangerous. Right now, you’re closer to that role than Godden is. You’re going to be more essential for interpreting and neutralizing the Stone Tablet.”
Yu Ho-yeon glanced at Dareia Godden as if seeking agreement.
Dareia Godden furrowed his brow slightly, seeming to weigh Yu Ho-yeon’s words.
“However… the Healer’s abilities are tremendously valuable. The synergy with my skills is excellent. It would be wasteful not to venture into the dungeon.”
Dareia Godden was right. He wasn’t saying it for money—it seemed he genuinely needed my abilities.
During the Dungeon Conquest, my skills had saved the entire team multiple times over.
I had played no small part in leading the conquest without a single casualty.
Even the dungeon’s system had acknowledged it.
Contribution Rate: Second Place.
As Dareia Godden and I exchanged glances, Yu Ho-yeon shook his head.
“But the Healer can’t be protected by Godden’s skills. Even this time, you were hit by the dragon’s attack and nearly died. It’s dangerous.”
“Ah.”
I blinked slowly.
‘True—I did nearly die from one direct hit,’ I admitted to myself.
But a Healer is naturally more fragile than a Tanker. There was nothing to be done about it.
I couldn’t take a hit from a dragon and bounce back up like a Tanker could.
Even with defensive items equipped, there were limits.
Dareia Godden seemed to be thinking along the same lines, slowly nodding in agreement.
Yu Ho-yeon gave us both a little push from behind.
“We’ll handle finding the Stone Tablet in the dungeon and getting out. What if you focus on interpreting the tablet and managing the situation outside?”
“Do you really think I’m needed to manage outside situations?”
Unless Dungeon Saturation occurred, hunters stationed outside dungeons were essentially doing nothing.
Yu Ho-yeon tilted his head at my tone, as if to ask what I was talking about.
“The most talented veteran hunters from each Guild and conquest team have been deployed to the Impossible Dungeons. Managing the High-Grade Dungeons beneath them will become difficult.”
Hearing the dungeon management situation I hadn’t considered, I understood.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
If First-Tier Hunters disappear, Second-Tier Hunters will have to enter High-Grade Dungeons.
Naturally, they won’t be as skilled at managing them as First-Tier Hunters.
So the likelihood of injuries and deaths would spike.
‘If a Healer were there, it would be much safer.’
I’d been so focused on the Impossible Dungeons that I hadn’t thought of it before.
“Once Godden Hunter reports the situation to the Association, that should do it. Seo Il-hak, the Association Chairman, is already struggling with that very issue.”
Good? Bad? Either way, it was something.
I turned my gaze to Dareia Godden to get his agreement.
Dareia Godden deliberated for a moment, then nodded.
“I understand. I would prefer to protect you. I’ll inform the Association.”
“Thank you.”
Dareia Godden smiled at my thanks as if it were nothing. He moved straight into the main point without hesitation.
“In preparation for the Stone Tablet appearing in the dungeon, I’d like to first understand how the tablet was closed.”
As he spoke, Dareia Godden pointed to the Stone Tablet bearing my handprints.
“Could you tell me what happened at your location? I’d like to know what occurred where you were.”
I picked up the Stone Tablet so the handprints would be clearly visible.
I’d done so because these prints seemed connected to the tablet’s stasis.
“I was too panicked to remember clearly what exactly happened.”
As you can see, I’d been too busy gripping the door with both hands to close it.
“I definitely remember seeing eyes—something like darkness inside—when this Stone Tablet cracked open.”
“Eyes.”
Not the kind that translate to “snow,” right?
I nodded while listening carefully to Dareia Godden’s voice through the interpreter.
“More precisely, I felt like those eyes shouldn’t cross over into this side.”
I shook the Stone Tablet before any follow-up question could come.
It was the only option I could choose, since I couldn’t wave my hands freely with the Stone Tablet in them.
“It wasn’t something I knew for certain—just a feeling.”
“Instinct matters.”
Fortunately, Dareia Godden affirmed my feeling.
‘Thank you.’
I spoke with a bit more confidence.
“And at some point—I’m not sure exactly when—I got the instinct that I could close the door.”
And the door actually did close. When exactly was that?
I looked down at my own hands with fresh eyes.
Now that I thought about it, when I’d come out of the dungeon, my hands hadn’t been covered in that much blood.
Though it definitely seemed like it had been a mess before.
I tried hard to piece together my memories, and Yu Ho-yeon, sitting beside me, offered a clarification as if to help.
“Come to think of it, I heard you shouting inside Dareia Godden’s skill—telling it to get lost since the door was already closed.”
“Wait, I said ‘get lost’?”
Yu Ho-yeon nodded. A Healer cursing like that—I suddenly felt embarrassed.
I covered my mouth with my fist and coughed dryly.
Watching me, Yu Ho-yeon’s eyes shifted between my hands and the Stone Tablet.
“Speaking of which, when the Dragon got you, you coughed up blood. Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, well, I drank a Potion, so I’m fine. To be honest, my mind was so scattered I’m not even sure if I felt pain.”
It felt like being hit by a dump truck and flying through the air—my mind was completely gone.
I must have been so out of it that I caught blood in my hand like it was phlegm.
‘I thought I was coughing and covered my mouth with my hand, but it was blood I was spitting up.’
Suddenly I wanted to wash my hands. The blood I’d spit up on them…….
‘The blood…….’
My eyes went wide. The answer to the question Dareia Godden had asked earlier suddenly came to me.
“Blood! My blood!”
At my shout, Dareia Godden and Yu Ho-yeon both startled.
I pointed at the handprints and cried out again.
“This is my blood! It’s my blood!”
And the moment I realized that, I remembered when the door had closed.
It was definitely after the blood had seeped in.
“The blood on my hands must have seeped into the Stone Tablet. And not long after that, the door closed.”
I looked at Yu Ho-yeon with a bright face.
“Was that why you brought up the blood—to help me figure this out?”
Was this information he’d obtained from the future? Or had he been carefully observing the situation and storing it away?
Either way, it was a brilliant hint.
But Yu Ho-yeon himself blinked, looking flustered at my gaze.
“I just remembered it when I saw the bloodstains.”
“…….”
Ah, well. Right.
Good timing, I thought, and gave him just a quick thumbs up.
Yu Ho-yeon deftly dodged my thumb.
Through the gap, I heard Dareia Godden murmur.
“Your blood…….”
Dareia Godden quietly pressed his lips shut.
He seemed to be a mixture of resolve, anticipation, and tension.
He moved his hand through empty space.
What Dareia Godden deftly pulled from the subspace was a Dagger.
Without hesitation, Dareia Godden slashed his own palm.
“Hunter Godden!”
Depending on how deep he’d cut, blood flowed heavily enough to drip onto the table.
Dareia Godden rubbed that blood all over his palm.
Then he brought his hand down directly onto the Stone Tablet.
Thud.
‘Oh, blood!’
I squeezed my eyes shut at the sight before me.
Dareia Godden was far more injured than I was.
Dareia Godden pressed his bloodied palm against the Stone Tablet long enough to coat it thoroughly, then pulled away.
Dareia Godden took out a Potion and treated his palm wound.
With his palm already beginning to heal, Dareia Godden turned to me and spoke.
“Please wipe the blood away with tissue or a wet wipe.”
“Oh, just a moment.”
I turned to search for tissue in the room. There was a box of tissues on the side table next to the sofa.
I pulled out several tissues and handed them to Dareia Godden, meaning to wipe the blood from his palm.
But Dareia Godden withdrew his hand and shook his head. He even offered a somewhat embarrassed smile.
“No, not me. The Stone Tablet.”
……How mortifying.
Had I misunderstood him?
I closed my mouth firmly and glanced sideways at Yu Ho-yeon.
Yu Ho-yeon was quietly wiping the Stone Tablet with tissues he’d pulled from the box.
‘I must have misunderstood.’
I carefully reached down toward the Stone Tablet.
But Yu Ho-yeon blocked my hand with his arm.
“It won’t come off.”
“What?”
I pushed Yu Ho-yeon’s arm aside and looked down at the Stone Tablet.
There wasn’t even a smudge where Yu Ho-yeon had rubbed it with tissue.
The crimson handprint lay stark against the surface of the Stone Tablet.
The three of us looked at each other simultaneously.
The smell of blood seemed to hang thick in the air around us.

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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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