Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 41

Dungeon Journal – Episode 42

The net snapped open with a *pang* and flew towards the Beastkin woman. She, who had been charging straight at the Seekers, contorted her face fiercely upon seeing the net, then kicked off the floor and began to climb the wall.

“Do it right, you bastards!”

“Team 2!”

The Seekers immediately noticed something strange about her unusual movements. Another net flew, and this time the Beastkin climbed upside down on the ceiling before jumping back down to the floor.

The man watched the Beastkin woman darting around the narrow passage and gritted his teeth.

“Something’s wrong! Forget capture, form a combat formation!”

“What? At that level, she’s at least top-tier…”

“We can’t tame her! Just kill her!”

As expected of a Dungeon Baby [a term for someone raised in the dungeon, implying experience and adaptability] who had rolled around in the underground for a long time, his judgment was sound. But while they hesitated for a moment, the Beastkin woman had already reached the front-line ordinary Seekers.

“Bunker!”

A massive shield, a Body Bunker, erected a wall. The Beastkin woman rode straight over the shield wall that had appeared in the middle of the passage.

Her movements were so fast that only the sound of her footsteps could be heard after she passed. The Seekers fired crossbows and thrust spears in unison, but none of their attacks reached the Beastkin.

*We can’t stop her.*

Kim Jin-woo, who was hiding in the darkness using camouflage to watch the battle between the Seekers and the Beastkin woman, was certain. The Seekers would not be able to stop that Beastkin.

Of course, Dungeon Babies born in the lower levels were strong. But even their hides weren’t that tough.

Whether it was a Dungeon Baby or an ordinary Seeker, being stabbed and cut by a knife meant death.

And the Beastkin had the quick feet to evade the Dungeon Babies’ attacks, and the sharp claws to tear apart their fragile bodies.

“Kkeuaaaak!”

While he was lost in thought, the Beastkin woman leaped over the Seekers and reached the Dungeon Babies. And the slaughter began.

“Iiek!”

The first to fall to the Beastkin was the Dungeon Baby who had been scolded by the man who seemed to be the leader. He ground his teeth and swung his sword, but he became a headless corpse without even realizing what had happened to him.

“Woo-young!”

Seeing this, the Dungeon Babies surrounded the Beastkin and launched fierce attacks, but it was useless. The Beastkin dodged the attacks with incredible skill. And as the attacks missed, another Dungeon Baby collapsed with a deep wound that spilled his intestines.

“You bitch!”

“Die!”

The Dungeon Babies, enraged by the death of their comrade, attacked desperately again, but they only increased the number of victims without even touching the Beastkin’s body.

In the blink of an eye, the Dungeon Babies were annihilated.

It had happened so quickly that Kim Jin-woo, who had been wondering whether to side with the Seekers, realized it was too late.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

The Beastkin woman, sitting down amidst the carnage she had created, the scene of that horrific slaughter, howled for a long time.

The sound of her victory cry was too sharp and precarious, piercing his ears, and Kim Jin-woo frowned.

“Kyak!”

At that moment, the Beastkin woman, who had been howling for a long time, suddenly pricked up her ears and began to look around. Her cute nose twitched as she scanned the area sharply, as if she had noticed Kim Jin-woo’s presence hidden in the darkness.

But even with such sensitive senses, she didn’t seem to be able to pinpoint his exact location.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be struggling to find him while he was right behind her.

Kim Jin-woo reached out, looking at the small and fragile back of the Beastkin woman, who had slaughtered so many Seekers, and the faint stripes that resembled those of a tiger.

It wasn’t to make her pay for the deaths of the Seekers or Dungeon Babies.

The dead victims and the Beastkin had fought with their lives on the line, which was just one of the common occurrences in the underground.

He was simply trying to eliminate a danger in advance.

The Beastkin woman seemed to be directly searching for traces of the Seekers. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t run into her again while moving.

And this fierce and violent Beastkin woman was agile and stealthy enough to be difficult for him to deal with.

That was all.

“Keok!”

The Beastkin, who had been pricking up her ears and guarding her surroundings, was suddenly grabbed by the neck and coughed out a suppressed cough.

“I have no emotions. You and those guys were just doing your jobs.”

If he had to say, he disliked the Seekers who hunted Beastkin and sold them as slaves even more.

“Kaek, kaek!”

The Beastkin, barely turning her head at his low voice, emitted a blue fire in her eyes.

Her fierce hostility towards humans told him that something bad must have happened.

“Keuaaang!”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the sudden impact as he tried to break the Beastkin woman’s neck.

The Beastkin woman, who had been grabbed by the neck, kicked him in the back with incredible flexibility. It was a powerful attack that would have ruptured the intestines of an ordinary Seeker or a decent Dungeon Baby, but he was not an ordinary Dungeon Baby.

“Kak!”

The Beastkin screamed. She seemed to be in pain after launching the attack.

That was because the armor Kim Jin-woo was wearing was made from the leather of the Coiling Dragon King Anaxthus.

This sturdy leather, which even a Dungeon Owner with amplified abilities could not scratch, still boasted formidable defensive power, though not as much as when the Coiling Dragon King was alive.

She should be grateful that her leg didn’t break after kicking him with all her might while he was wearing such armor.

“It would have been nice to meet you on the 9th floor…”

How wonderful would it have been if this fierce and strong Beastkin had been a mercenary who had found his labyrinth? His regretful and disappointed feelings kept delaying his decision.

Perhaps it was because he was reminded of the Cat Beastkin woman who had been lying flat on the floor of the tavern, trembling.

But this Beastkin woman was too dangerous to leave alive. So he broke her neck. No, he tried to break it.

If the Ring of the Underground Baron on his finger hadn’t suddenly emitted light and gone berserk, the Beastkin woman would have surely died with a broken neck.

[The power of the Underground Baron is activated.]

[The Beastkin have traditionally served the nobles of the deep. But for some reason, many Beastkin have recently been pushed down to the lower levels. This Tiger Beastkin woman is one of them.]

[Will you take her in?]

He chuckled as he looked at the suddenly appearing message window.

“Does this originally work this arbitrarily?”

[The most sacred duty given to the Beastkin is to serve the precious ones of the underground. This is their destiny and their duty given from birth. She will also gladly serve the noble nobles of the underground.]

A message appeared as if in response, and the Beastkin woman, who had been glaring and struggling to death just a moment ago, had become unbelievably docile since the ring began to glow.

[Will you take in the Tiger Beastkin woman, Hoya?]

“I will.”

He was in a situation where he felt uneasy about letting her live, but also uncomfortable about killing her. In the midst of that, a new option appeared, so it was naturally welcome.

[You have accepted the Tiger Beastkin woman, Hoya.]

[She is a Tiger Beastkin, the most combat-capable among the Beastkin. Although her attack power is insufficient to penetrate the tough hides of large creatures, she will demonstrate excellent ability in blocking the knives in the darkness that aim for the precious ones.]

Several lines of messages appeared before the ring began to glow again.

And when the light of the ring completely disappeared, the Tiger Beastkin woman, Hoya, was looking up at him with her hands neatly gathered like a docile new bride.

***

The search was over. He didn’t expect to achieve his goal in one go from the start, so he didn’t hesitate to turn back.

Besides, he unexpectedly gained a powerful subordinate.

But there were many issues to worry about before leaving the underground as it was. Hoya was the immediate problem.

If he took her out as she was, there was a possibility that troublesome things might happen, and if he opened a portal, he would have to guard the front of the portal, which would not close for 24 hours.

So, he thought of one of the abandoned labyrinths that he had cleared out using the Parasite during his last underground schedule.

Once he got there, he could open the portal without being disturbed by anyone.

If it was an abandoned Owner’s Room that no one visited anymore, there would be no major problem in defending it even if the core was exposed beyond the portal.

But everyone knew that things in the world didn’t go as planned.

“No, who is this? Isn’t that Jung Chan-shik, that Dungeon Baby who used to hang out with Lee Joon-young?”

Just as he was about to reach the abandoned labyrinth and turned the corner, he heard the voice he least wanted to hear.

“Why are you alone today, leaving the others behind? Did you perhaps leave the team?”

It was Song Jong-chul. The fact that he had run into Song Jong-chul in this vast and expansive underground was almost absurd.

“Going in? Or going out? But why alone?”

He ignored him and turned around, but Song Jong-chul kept following him and bothering him, which made him frown. He was already prioritizing getting Hoya to a place where she wouldn’t be seen by people, so Song Jong-chul, who kept bothering him in front, was an eyesore.

“Go your way. I’ll go mine.”

“Kya! You’re talking down to me as soon as you see me. You’ve got guts. Right?”

Song Jong-chul babbled to his lackey next to him, whether he was teasing or sneering.

“But what’s that behind you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Jong-chul reached out to suddenly rip off Hoya’s hood.

Hoya reached out and knocked away Song Jong-chul’s wrist in the middle, but as a result, Hoya’s wrist full of stripes and long nails were revealed.

Seeing that, Song Jong-chul immediately recognized Hoya’s identity, he didn’t know how.

“I’m still an executive of the association, so you can’t ignore me like this. You have to cooperate to this extent in the future… Oh, what’s this? It’s a Beastkin?”

At Song Jong-chul’s words, Kim Jin-woo frowned and pulled Hoya closer. He was going to open a portal in a suitable place because he was worried about this, but things had gone awry.

“What is this? Did you go Beastkin hunting?”

With such a bad first impression and this happening, Kim Jin-woo’s eyes became even more fierce as he looked at Song Jong-chul.

Song Jong-chul flinched and stepped back at the sharp momentum, apologizing repeatedly, but his face was somehow full of goodwill.

“I see, I see. That makes sense. I was wondering why you were separate from Lee Joon-young’s group. They can’t stand things like this.”

He seemed to have misunderstood something.

“Wow, friend, I misunderstood. You should have said so earlier. I thought you were just as old-fashioned and narrow-minded as Lee Joon-young’s guys.” He chuckled.

Kim Jin-woo suppressed his disgust at the laughing face. In the current situation, it was more advantageous to leave the misunderstanding as it was than to clear it up.

“So that’s why you broke up? Lee Joon-young’s side doesn’t like this kind of thing. Well, it’s just the complaints of losers who can’t read the trends. Isn’t that right? This makes money, so what’s wrong with catching monsters that aren’t even people and selling them? They don’t even think about their own people, oh, Seekers, dying to protect useless things. They’re really selfish. Right?”

Song Jong-chul, who had been talking to himself, suddenly became serious and said,

“So, are you a freelancer now?”

It seemed like he was asking if he had no affiliation. It wasn’t worth answering, but Kim Jin-woo gave a suitable response to smooth things over.

“Really? You seem to be quite a high level. Chan-shik’s guys originally don’t make much money and are just picky. They don’t even accept anyone who isn’t from the lower levels.”

With that, Song Jong-chul rummaged through his pockets and took out a business card.

“The place isn’t right now, so let’s meet up separately sometime and talk. If that thing still doesn’t have an owner, tell me. I’ll connect you without a commission.”

“I’ll take care of it myself, so don’t worry about it.”

“Kya. Okay, okay. You’re transporting a precious item, so did I bother you too much? Well, I was just happy to see you. Please understand. Anyway, congratulations! It looks like a female! Congratulations on hitting the jackpot!”

Kim Jin-woo ignored Song Jong-chul and turned around, feeling like he would be caught and have to listen to nonsense if he stayed there.

“Wait a minute. We’re not done talking yet. Where are you going…”

Kim Jin-woo whispered softly at the voice coming from behind the corner.

“Camouflage.”

Kim Jin-woo’s body melted into the darkness. Hoya, who had already made eye contact with him in the meantime, ran towards the abandoned labyrinth without panicking.

Song Jong-chul, who belatedly turned the corner, stood there for a long time, searching for the disappeared traces, and then grumbled.

“He seemed to have quite a promising seed, and I was going to ask him to join our team.”

“Well, can’t we just look up his contact information in the management office data? Let’s talk about it again then. Honestly, it’s better to work on commission like us than to just do exploration work that doesn’t make money. He’ll be tempted once he hears about it.”

“Well, let’s talk about that again when we get out. We’ll have to see each other again anyway.”

“But are you just going to let him go? That kind of high-quality item would be worth at least hundreds of millions…”

At the man’s words, who belatedly revealed his greed, Song Jong-chul’s expression changed.

“What, you son of a bitch?”

The man flinched and stepped back at the fierce momentum, stammering excuses.

“No, that’s not it… It seems like he doesn’t have a group…”

“Ha, you son of a bitch. Do you see me as a market gangster because I’m fighting and biting with the guys outside the association these days?”

“That’s…”

The man’s face turned white as Song Jong-chul’s appearance was unusually fierce.

“Hey, you son of a bitch, even if we bite and tear each other apart, we have a minimum of decency. Is there anyone other than the Dungeon Babies who understood your feelings when you came up to the surface?”

“No, sir.”

“But what are you doing now with the same Dungeon Babies?”

The man belatedly lowered his head and apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, even if the people of the world say that what we’re doing these days is messed up, let’s at least keep what we have to keep. Huh? Even if we fight like crazy in the underground, we’ll all be screwed if we get squeezed from above once. But are we going to waste our strength on each other?”

Song Jong-chul’s face finally relaxed when the man showed a face that sincerely understood.

“By the way, where did he disappear to? Sigh, it’s time for me to retire.”

Song Jong-chul licked his lips in disappointment and turned around.