Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 7

# 7

Dungeon Journal

Episode 8

#3. Imp

Kim Jin-woo snapped back to consciousness, shivering from the intense cold. He blinked a few times, his scattered thoughts slowly coalescing.

‘What on earth happened…?’

He lay on the cold stone floor for a moment, disoriented, before abruptly sitting up. The memory of the voice he’d heard just before blacking out flooded back.

“Ah……”

A new doorway had materialized in the stone chamber wall. The previously sealed room now opened onto… somewhere else. Darkness billowed from the opening, revealing a simple, unadorned passage beyond.

He stared, dumbfounded, at the new exit, then quickly touched the emblem on the back of his hand.

[Naga’s Labyrinth] (Activated)

□Owner Kim Jin-woo (Rank 4)

□Rank 1 Labyrinth (Size 4X4)

□Durability 201/1050

□ Facilities

*Owner Room (Rank 1)

*Portal (Activating 19:38:13 0/1)

*Gate (100/100)

*?

-The owner’s ability to manage the labyrinth is insufficient.

-The labyrinth’s facilities cannot be activated.

The status window displayed a stark difference from before his collapse. He stared, bewildered, at the portal’s activation timer. Realizing he’d been unconscious for nearly four hours, he worried his family might have noticed his absence. He started to rise, but a rustling sound stopped him.

Keeek!

A strange, unfamiliar noise. He focused, his senses sharpening, and peered into the shadows.

Sasaak.

Something moved again, too fast for an ordinary person to track. But he was no ordinary person; he was a Dungeon Baby [a person born and raised in a dungeon environment, granting them unique abilities].

He saw a small shape darting into the shadows of the stone chamber and reacted instantly, throwing himself forward.

“Kyaaaek!”

He snagged the creature by the scruff of its neck in one fluid motion. It struggled fiercely, surprisingly strong for its size, but he landed a solid right fist.

“Kak!”

The shadow yelped and went limp. Only then could he properly see what he had caught.

The creature’s body was like that of a six-year-old child, but red-skinned, with a large, bald, round head. Two horns sprouted from its forehead, and a long tail trailed from its rear. He knew instinctively what it was.

“Imp?”

As the word escaped his lips, the creature’s limp body trembled.

He saw the skin beneath its eyelids twitching; it was faking.

“You little bastard, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Enraged, he gripped its neck tightly with both hands and hoisted it up, causing it to cough and sputter.

Realizing its ruse had failed, the imp flailed its arms and legs, but its short limbs were useless against his grip.

“Give me back my money!”

At Kim Jin-woo’s furious demand, the imp froze.

That money was hard-earned, precious, meant for his younger sister’s wedding. He still seethed over the fifteen million won [roughly $12,000 USD] this creature had stolen.

And now, the thief had come to him.

The imp’s eyes, glowing with the eerie blue light of the Underbeasts [monsters native to the underground world], met his, and it coughed, whimpering.

“Give me back my money!”

He shook the imp violently. Its large head lolled back and forth, and it screamed, convinced it was about to die.

But Kim Jin-woo, once angered, didn’t let go easily. Judging by the situation, he suspected it had come to scavenge his unconscious body, and his grip tightened.

“Kieeeek.”

After enduring the abuse for what felt like an eternity, the imp gestured frantically, trying to explain something.

It was a monster that shouldn’t even be able to speak, but Kim Jin-woo somehow understood its meaning.

“It’s gone? The money’s gone? What do you mean, it’s gone!”

He roared, raising his fist as if to smash its head, looking utterly savage. The imp cowered, rummaging through its arms with its short limbs, pulling something out.

“I don’t need this, bring me my money…….”

Kim Jin-woo stopped shouting, his words dying in his throat as he saw what the imp held out. He recognized the small object on its tiny palm.

“A Down Gem?”

The red gem on the imp’s fern-like hand glowed brilliantly.

***

Down Gems are special gems found only in the underground world.

They can be found buried deep in the earth, or held by rare plants that grow in the darkness.

Underbeasts and other creatures sometimes ingest these precious gems, and explorers brave the dangers of the underground to capture these creatures and collect the gems.

Down Gems are highly sought after and traded on the market for exorbitant prices, reflecting their rarity.

A small one, about 1 carat, can fetch millions of won, and those larger than a certain size are considered priceless.

But the red Down Gem the imp held was about the size of his thumb joint. Even Kim Jin-woo, ignorant of market prices, knew it was worth tens of millions of won.

“Kak Kak!”

He must have tightened his grip in surprise. The imp coughed, scratching at its neck. Just as he was about to loosen his hold, the imp rummaged through its arms again and produced a blue Down Gem.

“Kaaaak!”

It seemed to think he wasn’t interested in Down Gems. The two gems now rested on its palm.

Just as Kim Jin-woo reached for them, the imp suddenly struggled.

In the chaos, one of the gems, the blue one, tumbled onto the altar.

The imp, freed from Kim Jin-woo’s grasp, scrambled away to a safe distance.

It jumped to its feet, stamped its tiny foot, and made a gurgling sound in its throat.

It seemed resentful and angry that Kim Jin-woo had taken the Down Gems.

But perhaps fearing recapture, it vanished into the darkness beyond the gate.

“That bastard!”

He belatedly realized what had happened and lunged for the imp, but it was already gone.

Sighing, he grabbed the remaining red gem and frantically searched for the blue one that had rolled onto the altar.

“It’s gone again?”

Had another imp appeared in that brief moment? The blue Down Gem was nowhere to be seen.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Now thoroughly enraged, he searched the area around the altar with renewed intensity.

He checked under the stone chairs, in every corner, crawling on the floor, desperate to find the missing gem. But it was gone.

[A mid-grade Down Gem has been offered to the altar. The quality is not optimal due to the imp carrying it around in its arms while wandering deep underground, but it is sufficient to restore and upgrade the damaged labyrinth’s durability.]

The message appeared in the air, hitting him like a physical blow.

[24 hours left until the durability is restored, and 72 hours left until the labyrinth is upgraded.]

He stared blankly at the message, then exploded.

“Who decided that!”

[Once a Down Gem has been offered to the altar, it cannot be returned.]

The message mocked his anger, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. The imp had stolen his money, jeopardizing his sister’s dowry.

And now, just when he’d caught the imp and recovered a Down Gem, the labyrinth had snatched it away.

He was beyond furious.

But no matter how much he raged, the labyrinth remained unmoved. Resigned, he left the labyrinth with the remaining Down Gem.

***

“17 million won! I can’t give you any more than that!”

The appraiser’s voice was sharp. Kim Jin-woo fought to keep his expression neutral, seeing the appraiser’s eyes darting around, trying to gauge his reaction.

“It’s big, but it’s hollow inside. Some creature was carrying it around until the shell was smooth. No matter how big it is, it won’t fetch a good price.”

He remained silent, refusing to rise to the bait. Having grown up in a dungeon and lacking social skills, he knew that silence was often more effective than awkward attempts at bargaining.

“18 million won! Go somewhere else if you want more. I can’t give you any more either.”

As expected, the appraiser caved, pretending to reach for the red Down Gem on the table.

The appraiser clicked his tongue and looked away, signaling that he wouldn’t budge any further.

“I’ll sell it.”

“Ugh. If you include the processing fee, I won’t even be able to cover the labor costs.”

The appraiser grumbled, but Kim Jin-woo ignored him.

The appraiser’s face showed disappointment, but Kim Jin-woo stood his ground.

Finally, Kim Jin-woo sold the red Down Gem for 18 million won and left the appraisal office. He sighed as soon as he stepped outside.

18 million won – enough to replace the stolen money and leave him with a surplus of 3 million won [approximately $2,400 USD]. He had recovered his losses.

It was a shame he couldn’t use it when he needed it most, but it was a relief nonetheless.

When he returned home, his parents were discussing business ideas for their retirement.

He greeted them briefly, went to his room, locked the door, and summoned the status window.

[Naga’s Labyrinth] (Activated)

□Owner Kim Jin-woo (Rank 4)

□Rank 1 Labyrinth (Size 4X4) (Upgrading 48:35:11)

□Durability 626/1050 (24:35:11)

□Facilities

*Owner Room (Rank 1)

*Portal (Available in 00:24:22 0/1)

*Gate (100/100)

*?

-The owner’s ability to manage the labyrinth is insufficient.

-The labyrinth’s facilities cannot be activated.

The labyrinth, having slyly devoured the Down Gem, was ostentatiously upgrading and repairing itself.

He was so angry that he decided to skip visiting the labyrinth for the first time. He simply summoned the status window periodically to watch the numbers decrease.

But as time passed, he regained his composure. Even considering the stolen 15 million won, the 3 million won profit was unearned income.

His anger subsided. Moreover, he became curious as he watched the numbers on the status window constantly flashing and decreasing.

Thinking about the gate that had appeared after the synchronization, he knew something would change.

So, he visited the labyrinth again exactly 72 hours after the upgrade was completed.

The sensation of the portal, which he thought he would never get used to, felt slightly more familiar.

He regained his senses more quickly and looked around the stone chamber.

The first thing he saw was a wall of message windows.

[The labyrinth upgrade is complete. The labyrinth’s rank is upgraded from Rank 1 to Rank 2. The locked facilities have been newly activated.]

[With the activation of the labyrinth, beasts and creatures that were a little further away recognize the existence of the labyrinth.]

[It is still safe, but you must hurry and prepare your defenses.]

[You can now summon a Rank 1 Naga worker through the nest.]

Startled by the flood of messages, he stepped back, and saw something lurking in the darkness.

“You!”

He shouted, and the small imp, peeking out from the shadows, ran away. Kim Jin-woo gave chase.

“Kyak!”

The imp looked back as if warning him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He wasn’t yet aware that he was the owner of the labyrinth, but he didn’t like the imp constantly trespassing.

Once Kim Jin-woo started running, he was like lightning. He ran faster than the nimble imp, catching it by the scruff of its neck.

“Kakakak!”

The imp screamed and slumped, its sullen face like a rabbit caught in a hunter’s snare.

But Kim Jin-woo wasn’t focused on the imp. He was looking at his own body, bewildered.

Something had changed.

He hadn’t even exerted himself fully, but his body had moved on its own. He had caught the imp in the blink of an eye, and he couldn’t believe it.

Dazed, he estimated the distance he had run and was shocked. He had covered almost 100 meters [approximately 330 feet] in an instant.

He picked up a stone and clenched his fist.

Crack!

Kim Jin-woo widened his eyes at the sight of the split stone.