Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 21

Dungeon Journal – Episode 22

# 21

Dungeon Journal

Episode 22

At Kim Jin-woo’s urging, Dominique, accompanied by a Naga warrior and an archer, followed Rickshasha.

After that, Kim Jin-woo had to endure nearly a week alone in the labyrinth. Knowing that there was another labyrinth nearby, he couldn’t rashly abandon his post.

His insides were burning with anxiety. He believed he’d done his best at the time, and he didn’t think it was the wrong decision then. He truly did his best.

But thinking about it now, he realized he’d been too naive. He had to do not only what he could do, but also push himself beyond his limits.

He seemed to have mistakenly believed he was exempt from the harsh realities of this underground world. It was as if he thought the ‘law of the jungle’ didn’t apply here.

But his days were far from easy, so he couldn’t afford to dwell on past mistakes. Instead of passively waiting for Dominique and the Nagas to return, he started looking for tasks to occupy himself.

[Abandoned Labyrinth Fragment (11/30)]

[Not Yet Fully Ripened Down Gem (3/20)]

[Not Yet Fully Ripened Down Gem (2/13)]

[Fragment of a Broken Down Gem (1/5)]

First, he dealt with the labyrinth fragments and Down Gems that the parasite had located during the last exploration.

As usual, he threw the fragments and gems onto the altar and waited for them to be converted into dungeon energy. Then, his eyes widened in surprise.

The Down Gems were quickly converted into 6 dungeon energy and disappeared, but no matter how long he waited, the labyrinth fragments remained.

The expected message didn’t appear. Instead, a strange message window popped up.

[Abandoned Labyrinth Fragment: This stone fragment, once part of a mighty labyrinth, has been neglected for so long that it is almost indistinguishable from an ordinary Down Gem. But in the hands of Kim Jin-woo, the master of the labyrinth, a new possibility has emerged.]

[Collect all the Abandoned Labyrinth Fragments. Labyrinth Fragments (1/17)]

[Extracting dungeon energy from an Abandoned Labyrinth Fragment will destroy the fragment. Do you want to extract energy from the Abandoned Labyrinth Fragment?]

[(Y) Obtain 11 dungeon energy. (N) The Abandoned Labyrinth Fragment remains intact.]

Kim Jin-woo, who had been contemplating summoning a creature, was dumbfounded, unsure of what was happening.

The message window blinked, urging him to choose immediately, but unable to fully understand the situation, he decided to postpone his decision.

Dismissing the message window, he checked the list of available summons.

…

□ Naga Priest (Lower) (17)

*These are the priests who serve the First Serpent. As wise men and healers of the underground, the Naga priests tend to the wounded Nagas.

□ Naga Gatekeeper (25)

*A steadfast guardian and a reliable warrior. More powerful and patient than any other Naga, the Naga Gatekeeper will not open the way to anyone without your permission.

The Naga Gatekeeper, a new type of soldier that became available when the labyrinth reached rank 4, was essential to Kim Jin-woo right now. However, he was worried because the dungeon energy required for summoning was quite high.

After much deliberation, he checked his remaining energy and summoned one gatekeeper and ten Naga soldiers.

This instantly depleted the dungeon energy he had been steadily accumulating.

But it was worth it.

The sight of ten Naga soldiers lined up in a row was reassuring. Among them, the Naga Gatekeeper was particularly impressive.

The Naga Warrior was already a head taller than the Naga soldiers, but the Naga Gatekeeper was on a completely different level.

Nearly 3 meters tall with broad shoulders, wielding a glaive [a polearm weapon with a single-edged blade] and a large shield, he looked incredibly dependable.

“Ha!”

The Naga Gatekeeper, making a whooshing sound as he slammed his spear into the ground, swished his thick tail and left the owner’s room. He hadn’t been given any specific orders, but he went to the gate to defend it on his own.

“You and you guard the warehouse, and the rest go to the entrance.”

Kim Jin-woo, after assigning the Naga soldiers who had been staring blankly at him, felt relieved. He felt that his lacking forces had been somewhat reinforced.

Of course, he couldn’t be completely at ease with this number of troops, but he had taken the best possible measures for the time being.

Less than a day after the Naga Gatekeeper and soldiers were deployed, Rickshasha and Dominique returned.

Dominique looked unusually disheveled, as if the journey had been uncomfortable. But she disregarded her dusty appearance and immediately reported.

‘That Under Elf was right. There was another labyrinth less than four days away.’

Kim Jin-woo groaned. He had hoped it wasn’t true, but Rickshasha’s words had proven accurate.

“How does it compare to our labyrinth?”

At his question, Dominique stared intently at Rickshasha and closed her mouth. After hesitating for a moment at the blatant expression of disbelief, he dismissed Rickshasha.

“Thank you for your hard work. Go and get some rest.”

Without showing any resentment, Rickshasha bowed and disappeared. Dominique, confirming that she was far away, spoke with a stiff expression.

‘There were patrols, so I couldn’t get close, but just from a rough observation, the other labyrinth’s forces seemed definitely superior. If we don’t hurry to defend ourselves, it won’t be easy to stop them.’

“I summoned a Naga Gatekeeper and ten soldiers while Dominique was away. Wouldn’t that be enough to try?”

‘I’m including that in my assessment. Just looking at the visible forces, our labyrinth is at a disadvantage, and I haven’t even been able to determine how many troops are inside the labyrinth.’

It was one problem after another. Just when he thought things were improving, something even bigger happened, and Kim Jin-woo felt like he was going crazy.

But the bad news didn’t end there.

Dominique discovered a hero-class summon among the troops guarding the entrance to the opposing labyrinth.

“I’m going crazy.”

It was already difficult to deal with ordinary forces, but the other side had a hero-class summon specialized in combat.

Even if they were both hero class, unlike Dominique, who was limited by being a Naga maid, the other side’s summon was a proper fighting force.

‘The only good thing is that they don’t know we exist yet, and we have some time to prepare.’

That was the only comforting thing she could say. Still, just in case, he asked how she knew they were unaware of their presence, and Dominique stated firmly.

‘If they knew, they wouldn’t have left this place alone like this. They would have attacked long ago.’

Looking at it that way, she was right. But now wasn’t the time to admire Dominique’s wisdom. It was time to quickly prepare to defend the labyrinth.

“For the time being, let’s make it a top priority to find Down Gems…”

Kim Jin-woo, recalling the lowest-grade Down Gems that Naga workers occasionally found, trailed off.

‘Master?’

“Where is the workshop?”

Leaving the question unanswered, Dominique led him to the Naga workers’ workshop. When he arrived at the workshop, he stopped and called out to Dominique.

“Dominique.”

‘Yes?’

“I’m a fool.”

At the sudden words, Dominique widened her narrow eyes and looked at Kim Jin-woo.

“I was really stupid.”

‘Master?’

Dominique, startled by her proud master’s sudden self-criticism, pursed her lips and tilted her head. She noticed that the corners of his mouth were raised, contradicting his words.

Leaving the questioning Dominique behind, Kim Jin-woo scanned the workshop. Looking around, he finally began to laugh out loud.

‘Master…?’

Even at Dominique’s worried voice, he didn’t stop laughing. No, he couldn’t stop. How could he remain calm when he saw the shining green light emanating from various parts of the workshop?

[Something invisible to your eyes has been caught by the parasite’s senses.]

[Parasite’s ability, Exploration, has been activated.]

[The parasite’s senses have caught something.]

[The parasite feels something is wrong.]

[The parasite is…]

The message window popped up so frequently that it blocked his vision.

***

[You have offered the lowest grade Down Gem to the altar. Although it is a small and poor quality Down Gem, the large number of them has allowed you to obtain a considerable amount of dungeon energy.]

[A total of 55 dungeon energy has been accumulated.]

Kim Jin-woo was delighted to see the message appear before his eyes. The dungeon energy that had been depleted by summoning the Naga Gatekeeper had instantly increased by 55.

“Summon!”

Sitting on the Naga throne, he replenished his troops again. But Dominique still maintained that their forces were inferior.

‘It’s not just a matter of numbers, it’s a matter of the quality of the troops. But there’s no way to improve that right now. We have no choice but to proceed this way.’

“Is there no other way?”

‘If we had time, we could have upgraded the labyrinth or hired mercenaries. But we can’t afford to wait for mercenaries who may or may not arrive.’

She explained that the Naga labyrinth didn’t have enough fame or notoriety yet, so no one would be looking to work for them.

His worries deepened. But there was nothing else he could do. He used the parasite’s exploration ability to the fullest to gather all the Down Gems he could find in the vicinity, but their grade was too low.

Moreover, upgrading the labyrinth was a long way off, so the number of troops they could accommodate was almost at its maximum.

“We have to find a way.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had become one with the core of the labyrinth, couldn’t help but worry even more.

Then, as if sensing his predicament, a guest arrived.

“Oh! How are you liking the parasite? I’m telling you again, it’s one of the few left in our Black Merchant…”

The dark merchant, who had visited the labyrinth again, flapped his short limbs ridiculously and made a fuss.

“It seems you’re not happy that I came.”

The dark merchant, seeing Kim Jin-woo staring blankly at him without even offering a greeting, looked excessively disappointed. But his expression quickly returned to normal.

He had made a pretty good deal last time, but the dark merchant was still an uncomfortable presence. Somehow, it was unpleasant to talk to him for too long.

So he asked directly what he had come for.

The dark merchant complained about his impatience, but soon got down to business.

“Are you experiencing any difficulties right now?”

“What?”

Kim Jin-woo looked dumbfounded, wondering what this nonsense was all about. He didn’t know where the merchant had heard the story, but the dark merchant’s face was filled with a sly smile.

“Originally, newly created labyrinths require a lot of attention. You have to upgrade the labyrinth, expand the troops, and chase away the nasty creatures. Oh, just thinking about it makes me sweat. In fact, now that I’m talking about it, I wouldn’t take on a labyrinth even if I were paid. I’d rather live as a wanderer. There’s so much to do and so many things to worry about, and how many guys are aiming for your position?”

The dark merchant, who was exaggerating as if he were acting in a play, said with a serious face.

“Therefore, we at Black Merchant are dedicated to helping new labyrinths overcome their difficulties.”

Kim Jin-woo, who belatedly understood the dark merchant’s boisterous words, asked.

“Help overcome difficulties?”

“Yes.”

The dark merchant, narrowing his large eyes, asked with a somehow sinister expression.

“Isn’t there something you need most right now?”