Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 31

Dungeon Journal – 32

[The Parasite’s senses have located a cloaked enemy. The Evil Eye is temporarily activated.]

Just as I felt a sudden burning sensation around my eyes, the deep darkness of the underground, which felt like it had gathered all the darkness of the world, became bright.

And time seemed to slow down.

Rickshasha’s mouth moved. She seemed to be shouting something, but no sound came out.

Even the movement of her mouth was slow. I frowned at the strange sense of disconnect. Behind Rickshasha, the air shimmered slightly.

The subtle distortion grew, solidifying into the form of a large beast.

The beast that appeared was a blood leopard with ominous crimson fur, a predator of the underground.

Its presence was so immense that I wondered why I hadn’t noticed its large size filling the passage until now. And there weren’t just one, but two of these blood leopards.

One was right behind Rickshasha, and the other right next to the Naga mage.

The huge bodies of the blood leopards, moving stealthily, finally opened their jaws wide. It looked as if Rickshasha and the Naga mage would be torn apart in a shower of blood any moment.

But for some reason, none of the Rickshasha and Nagas seemed to notice the presence of the blood leopards. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be looking around with the blood leopards right in front of them.

*Swish!*

The sound of drawing the sword from behind my waist echoed, strangely drawn out.

The sound was muffled, as if it were underwater. Only after that awkward noise ended did the slowed-down world return to normal.

And at that moment, Kim Jin-woo was already in front of Rickshasha.

“Run away…”

Rickshasha’s voice was dazed. She still hadn’t noticed the large jaws that had nearly engulfed her.

*Kuaaaa!*

A scream erupted. Pulling Rickshasha by the waist, the sword he swung became a streak of light, slicing the blood leopard’s jaw horizontally.

“Kieaaaaa!”

And the scream of the Naga mage, whom Kim Jin-woo failed to protect, echoed.

[The Evil Eye’s duration has expired. The Parasite has entered hibernation to replenish its depleted power.]

[Battle has begun.]

The battle notification message appeared belatedly.

***

Rickshasha looked at her master with a sense of resignation.

He was called her master, but she didn’t have any particular loyalty.

She hadn’t been with him for long, and she had rarely seen his face because she had been wandering outside the labyrinth due to strict oversight from other aides.

But despite that, at this moment, she wanted Kim Jin-woo to escape this place. She didn’t know if it was because his appearance was similar to hers, unlike the other masters of the underground, or because of his nature, which, though emotionless, did not abuse her.

She pursed her completely frozen lips and desperately uttered a word.

“Run away…”

But the small master who should have run far away was not there.

*Kuaaaa!*

Before she could even grasp the situation, a chilling scream was heard from behind, and she felt a strong hand grabbing her waist.

“Kieaaaaa!”

The Naga mage’s waist snapped not far away, and a fountain of blood gushed out.

“Prepare for battle!”

The voice from behind snapped her back to her senses.

“Quantus!”

“Ha!”

The voice of the master giving instructions, and Quantus’s voice, unique to Naga warriors and filled with determination, were not at all frightened.

Quantus struck the head of the blood leopard that was biting the Naga mage’s waist with a blunt weapon.

*Keah!*

The blood leopard screamed at the fierce attack and spat out the Naga mage it was holding in its mouth.

“Benatla Koom!”

The waiting Naga priest ran up, grabbed the mage’s waist with his intestines exposed with both hands, and chanted a spell.

“I’ll take one! Buy time somehow!”

The moment Rickshasha saw the blue light overflowing from Kim Jin-woo’s eyes, she realized. None of them had given up on the fight.

*Kuaaaa!*

The blood leopard’s scream and the Nagas’ shouts erupted in succession.

***

[You have achieved victory against the ferocious and brutal underground predator, the Blood Leopard. Your achievement of leading the predator, who terrified countless Kyo-ryongs [a type of dragon] and underground beings, to victory without any damage will remain in the underground forever.]

[The Nagas are truly impressed by your fearless courage. Your charisma increases incredibly.]

[The Naga warriors who have achieved an amazing victory have become even more courageous. They are now elite Naga warriors.]

After a grueling battle that was so difficult, Kim Jin-woo collapsed to the floor, his entire body exhausted.

Torn here and there by the blood leopard’s sharp claws, his blood-soaked body was a complete mess.

But there was a reward for the hardship.

[Elite Naga Warrior Quantus has grown into a Heroic Naga Warrior.]

[The low-level Naga mage has become a mid-level Naga mage. The grown Naga mage will crush enemies by wielding more diverse and powerful spells.]

[The low-level Naga priest has become a mid-level Naga priest. The grown Naga priest will perform miracles to bring back comrades driven to the brink of death.]

The eyes of the Naga mage and priest deepened further. And Quantus was emitting light all over his body, showing a change worthy of the name of a heroic summon.

[Under Elf Ranger Rickshasha, who sought refuge with you, is truly impressed by you for achieving this incredible victory. Rickshasha has now decided to shed her mercenary status and become a true member of the labyrinth.]

Before the message could even finish, Rickshasha came forward, prostrated herself on the blood-soaked floor, and swore allegiance.

“This humble servant will dedicate her life to her master. Please grant me the grace to prostrate myself at the feet of my glorious master and gaze upon a ray of light.”

[Rickshasha has sworn allegiance. You no longer need to pay Down Gems to receive her devotion. Rickshasha will be a loyal ranger of the labyrinth.]

Kim Jin-woo nodded, seeing the heat-filled gaze in Rickshasha’s eyes, and soon realized that Quantus’s transformation was complete.

[Naga Warrior Quantus is no longer an ordinary Naga Warrior. Quantus has become a Heroic Naga Warrior, stronger than any other warrior. Strength, stamina, and agility have increased incredibly.]

Quantus, who had grown so large that he almost surpassed the gatekeeper, now beyond the limits of a Naga warrior, let out a roar of victory.

“My King!”

Surprisingly, Quantus suddenly spoke.

It was a rough and rugged voice as befitting his brave and fearless appearance, but the respect contained within was genuine, and Kim Jin-woo couldn’t help but smile.

[Kim Jin-woo, who once again overcame the odds and achieved an incredible victory, has become a valiant commander from an ordinary commander in an instant.]

[The fame of Kim Jin-woo and the labyrinth, who finally defeated a pair of Blood Leopards that even the Kyo-ryongs could not handle, spreads throughout the underground. More people will visit the labyrinth’s tavern in the future.]

Kim Jin-woo pondered the last message for a long time, then struggled to get up and said.

“The Down Gems will be extracted back in the labyrinth. Take care of the Blood Leopard’s corpse.”

“Everything as the King wills.”

***

‘Master!’

“What is this…”

Dominic and Ortheaga widened their eyes as they looked at the Blood Leopard’s corpse filling the passage.

“Something happened in the middle, so I caught the wrong guy.”

‘Even so, this is…’

Dominic seemed quite surprised and couldn’t calm down easily.

“There’s one more!”

It was a huge Blood Leopard that barely passed through the fairly wide gate. Ortheaga was shocked by the fact that he had caught not one, but two of these Blood Leopards.

“I almost died because of it.”

It wasn’t a joke, he really had a hard time. Fortunately, if it hadn’t been for the Blood Leopard’s large body stuck in the passage, many of the Nagas would have died.

“I suffered so much because of this guy!”

It seems Ortheaga had encountered the Blood Leopard before. It would be quite interesting to hear what kind of hardships this Drakhan [a type of dragonkin], who is full of pride and bluff, had gone through, but Kim Jin-woo decided to wait for the next opportunity. He was too tired now to care about anything else.

But Dominic and Ortheaga didn’t seem to want to let him go easily.

“What tricks did you use? I only met one, but I lost a third of my subordinates. There’s nothing to be afraid of in a head-on fight, but it’s such a secretive guy.”

‘Master, you didn’t have to take such a risk. If you wait a little longer, the labyrinth upgrade will be completed.’

Ortheaga, who didn’t want to look weak until the end, was spouting nonsense, and Dominic, who was terrified of the terrible monster just by looking at it, was pouring out his worries, and they wouldn’t stop talking.

“Ah, okay, let’s talk later. Let’s deal with the Blood Leopard’s corpse first.”

Kim Jin-woo, who didn’t even extract the Down Gems because he couldn’t bear to throw away the Blood Leopard’s corpse, which had tough skin, sharp fangs, and claws, returned to the labyrinth.

At his tired words, Dominic immediately shut his mouth and called the Naga workers.

‘M, Master, the highest grade Down Gem has come out!’

Dominic made a fuss when he saw the Down Gem that the Naga worker, who had somehow managed to decompose the tough and sturdy Blood Leopard’s skin, held out.

“There really was one.”

Kim Jin-woo couldn’t help but admire the highest grade Down Gem, which was as big as an adult’s fist.

That’s because the radiance and color were incomparable to the Down Gems he had seen so far.

Despite being freshly taken out from the cold Blood Leopard’s corpse, the Down Gem was hot. As he carefully took the Down Gem, a message window appeared in front of him again.

[You have obtained the Blood Leopard’s Heart (Highest Grade Down Gem). This highest grade Down Gem, accumulated by hunting numerous creatures, contains the power of the Blood Leopard. If processed through a special method, its power can be drawn out. But the current highest grade Down Gem is just a gem rich in energy.]

[To check the Blood Leopard’s Heart effect, a blacksmith and a laboratory are required.]

There was no need to think. Kim Jin-woo invested 50 Dungeon Energy each and ordered the construction of a blacksmith and a laboratory.

It was one day with 10 days left until the labyrinth upgrade.