I Awakened With My Dark History - Chapter 13

========== CHAPTER 13 ==========

Taking the escalator to the 10th floor, the hallway was bustling with people.

The entrance to the auction house reminded me of a musical or a classical concert hall.

And as is typical for concert halls, staff members were guarding the entrance.

“3 minutes until entry! Those who haven’t entered yet, please hurry!”

I hurriedly handed my ticket to the staff member before the doors closed.

The staff member stamped my ticket and gestured inside.

My first impression upon entering was this:

‘It really is a concert hall.’

There was nothing to look around at.

I went to the seat written on my ticket and sat down.

Most of the people around here were wearing comfortable clothes like me.

Near the stage, people dressed in suits stood out.

Just looking at the backs of their heads, I could feel they were very nitpicky and uptight people.

‘Smells like a manager, better not get involved.’

I steeled my resolve.

Soon, the lights in the auction house went out, just like before a performance began.

The host stepped onto the stage, which was the only thing illuminated.

“Greetings. First of all, thank you to all the customers who have come to the Hunket auction house. As always, the auction items will proceed from the lowest grade to the highest grade, and I am Choi Jin-hae, the host who will assist with this auction. Then, let us begin the auction immediately.”

As the host announced the start of the auction, staff members brought in items and placed them on the table in the center of the stage.

“First item. It is a B-rank buff item.”

The buff item was in the shape of an earring.

It was an item that increased magic by 15% and created a one-time shield every 3 days.

The explanation was added that if the two were separate, it would have been an insignificant item, but thanks to both effects being combined, it made it onto the auction block.

“Starting bid, 2,000!”

“2,100!”

“2,300!”

People raised their hands one by one, driving up the auction price.

The host confirmed the responses of the people raising their hands one by one and continued the auction.

‘They’re calling out those amounts just like that. They say hunters make good money… I guess it’s true.’

I just rolled my eyes around, reading the room.

In the meantime, the B-rank earring was sold for 3,150.

As the winning bidder took the placard, the next item came up on stage.

The next item didn’t take long to sell either.

After watching three more items, I lost interest.

It was boring to watch when it wasn’t something I was going to buy.

Looking around, I noticed others besides me who were suffering from boredom.

Some had their eyes closed and were half-asleep.

‘Can’t I go outside?’

I hadn’t been told that I couldn’t leave midway.

I quietly got up and left my seat.

As I approached the door, the staff member next to the auction house door, who had been dozing, spotted me.

He quickly straightened his posture and greeted me.

“Are you leaving? If you leave, it will be difficult to re-enter until the auction is over.”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

At my answer, the staff member looked around and grabbed the doorknob.

The moment he pushed the doorknob slightly…

Deol-keong.

“Huh?”

A bewildered sound escaped the staff member’s lips.

I looked over the staff member’s shoulder, blinking in confusion.

The staff member touched the lock under the doorknob and pushed the door again.

Deol-keong.

But the door still wouldn’t open.

The staff member turned back to me with an awkward expression and whispered quietly.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll guide you to another door.”

“Yes.”

I followed the staff member, trailing behind him to another side door.

Deol-keong.

And this door was the same. When the door didn’t open and only made a rattling sound, people near the door looked over.

The staff member seemed very flustered.

“This, the door is…”

On the contrary, I had a bad feeling.

It was the moment the staff member asked for my understanding and took out his walkie-talkie.

Chi-ik— Chi-ik—

Before he could even press the button, a rough sound poured out of the walkie-talkie.

At the same time.

Pung—!

Tu-du-du-duk.

Along with a small explosion, the lights in the entire auction house went out.

As the lights in the entire auction house went out, a sense of agitation rose from the people.

“What?!”

“What’s going on?”

People hurriedly took out their phones and turned on their flashlights.

Flashlights poured out, and the auction house brightened up here and there.

However, cell phone flashlights couldn’t make the entire auction house bright.

At least the host on stage pulled himself together and calmed the people down.

“Everyone, for a moment… it seems like a system or electrical failure has occurred. Customers, please take the emergency lights, follo—…”

The host’s words slowed down and then cut off.

It sounded like something had collapsed with a thud from the stage.

“No, the sound of someone falling just now…!”

But that sound was just the beginning.

Sounds of people collapsing came from all over.

Even the staff member next to me collapsed toward me.

“Whoa.”

I caught the staff member by surprise and laid him down gently on the floor.

In that brief moment, those nearby had also all collapsed as if they had lost consciousness.

I blinked blankly at the eerie sense of panic and fear approaching.

Ting—

And an alert sound that seemed to be heard only by my ears awakened my mind.

[Mental infiltration is taking place. Synchronization is recommended.]

[Synchronization is recommended.]

I didn’t even have time to think about what mental infiltration was.

“Sy, Synchronization.”

As I shouted ‘Synchronization’ as the alert window instructed, petals poured down from above my head, and my hair turned white.

‘Doesn’t strength increase in this state?’

I recalled the moment I lifted the melee dealer in the previous dungeon and grabbed the doorknob again.

Kki-gi-gi-gik—

Of course, the doorknob didn’t turn.

Now, the only thought left in my head was these three words: ‘I’m screwed.’

“What do I do?”

While I was clutching my head in agony, I heard a strange sound from above.

Kwang!! Kwang-kwang!!

To be precise, it was the sound of someone trying to smash the door down.

It seemed there was someone else who hadn’t fainted besides me.

“I’m not really feeling this.”

It couldn’t be helped.

Pa-ra-rak.

I spread my wings and hurriedly went up to the 2nd floor.

In front of the 2nd-floor door, a person was standing and kicking the door hard.

“Ha…”

Perhaps realizing quickly that the door wouldn’t open, he pulled back his leg and turned around.

The moment I saw that face, I opened my mouth and shouted loudly.

“Haje Guild! Guild Leader! Baek Mun-il!”

He wasn’t even surprised by my sudden shout.

Instead, he smiled as if he were used to it.

“That is correct, but you startle me a bit when you call my name so suddenly.”

“Ah, gasp! I’m sorry. It’s my first time seeing such a famous person in person.”

As I apologized quickly, the synchronization rate at the edge of my vision rose a little.

‘Why…? I only greeted him, so why am I being treated like a naive idiot?’

Anyway, I have to raise my synchronization to use skills.

I decided not to dwell on the reason why the synchronization rate was rising anymore.

……If I didn’t try even that, I felt like I would die from worrying.

“It’s nice to be recognized, though. Are you a healer?”

“Huh? That’s right. How did you know?”

He just shrugged his shoulders and didn’t tell me how.

Was it a skill or his ability?

I had that thought, but I wasn’t that curious. Because it would be useless to know anyway.

If I get out of here, I won’t have any reason to get involved with him in the future.

He checked me and the people who had collapsed around us, then muttered.

“That aside, it seems your resistance is quite high, too.”

“Resistance? Ah, that thing in the stats?”

Baek Mun-il nodded at me.

I don’t even know exactly what stat resistance is.

Did my doubt show on my face?

Baek Mun-il shrugged and added an explanation.

“The resistance stat is a stat that resists debuff attacks. The higher it is, the better you can protect yourself from debuffs. Are you an unregistered rookie?”

“Ah, yes. Well. Wait a second, stats.”

When I called up my stats, the stat window popped up in front of my eyes.

My resistance was 187; I couldn’t tell objectively if it was high or not.

I wanted to ask once, but I was worried it would be rude.

As I rolled my eyes, Baek Mun-il spoke first.

“My resistance is on the high side even for an S-rank, so it’s hard to gauge what level this mental attack is. Is it okay if I ask what your resistance is?”

If he asks, it’s only polite to answer.

Since I was curious about it in the first place, I answered him without hesitation.

“Yes, mine is 187.”

As I answered honestly, the synchronization rose a little again above my field of vision.

I should have just said it was a little under 200…

I didn’t know I’d be taken for a naive idiot if I answered honestly.

Baek Mun-il frowned and quickly finished his judgment.

“That’s A-rank. This skill must be A-rank or lower.”

He was calm, as if this situation wasn’t new to him.

I looked around and checked the collapsed people.

“You don’t know who did this, do you?”

“I don’t know that, but I do know what did it.”

Baek Mun-il gestured toward the stage. Following his gaze, subtle black smoke was flowing out from the stage.

I opened my eyes wide and stuck to the railing, staring at the black smoke.

The black smoke crawling on the floor slowly gathered into one, creating a huge shape.

The meaning of this phenomenon, which seemed disconnected from reality, was clear.

Monster.