Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 42

Dungeon Journal – Episode 43

#17. The Owners of the 9th Floor

After ditching Song Jong-cheol and his group, Kim Jin-woo immediately deactivated his camouflage ability. He needed to stop Hoya, who was running ahead without caution.

“Stop. We need to be careful from here on out.”

Hoya’s eyes widened at his sudden appearance, and she nodded, looking impressed.

He reminded her several times not to walk ahead and carefully retraced his steps from memory.

After a tedious journey, Kim Jin-woo and Hoya finally arrived at the abandoned labyrinth’s owner’s room.

“Portal.”

As soon as he spoke, one side of the stone chamber cracked open, and a door appeared. Hoya was startled by the sudden event and took a step back.

“Let’s go.”

He offered a reassuring smile and held out his hand. Hoya hesitated, looking at the portal, but eventually approached and took his hand.

“Hic!”

She, who had fearlessly slaughtered dozens of explorers, now looked so vulnerable. Kim Jin-woo shook his head and pulled her hand firmly, stepping through the portal.

“Ugh!”

Hoya, experiencing the unique floating sensation of the portal for the first time, retched and shuddered.

‘Master?’

Dominique, who had been waiting, greeted him but narrowed his eyes when he spotted Hoya.

‘A beast-kin [a humanoid creature with animalistic features]?’

“Found her on the way.”

Dominique looked bewildered at the curt, uninformative answer.

“We’ll talk later. Can you call Quantus? I opened the portal in a deserted area on purpose, but it would be a headache if someone found it and came through. Gather a suitable number of troops and send them over here.”

‘Ah, understood.’

The protection afforded by his Baron status only applied to intelligent creatures or beasts within the labyrinth.

And such creatures were primarily found on the lower floors. The 2nd floor, where the portal opened, was mostly populated by creatures driven more by instinct than intelligence, so caution was necessary.

“Hoya.”

Hoya, who looked somewhat dejected as she looked around, rushed over when he called her name.

“From now on, this is where you’ll be staying.”

“Ah…”

Was it because this was the haven she had finally obtained after wandering aimlessly? Hoya prostrated herself, tears welling up in her eyes.

“It seems to be a custom for beast-kin to bow their heads first.”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head, seeing that she was no different from the other Myoin [a specific type of beast-kin] woman he had seen at the tavern.

***

Kim Jin-woo began his return journey 24 hours after the portal disappeared. After confirming with his own eyes that the portal had vanished, he left the abandoned labyrinth and headed straight to the surface.

Although he hadn’t achieved the results requested by Mr. Baek, he had gained a powerful ally in Hoya, so the exploration wasn’t a complete failure.

“Ugh. I understand. Still, this should keep the client quiet for a while. Of course, he’ll start nagging me again after some time passes.”

“I’m planning to go in again soon, so let’s talk about it then.”

Kim Jin-woo, not wanting to prolong the conversation, briefly wrapped things up and took out some of the Down Jams [a type of magical stone or crystal found in dungeons] he hadn’t sold yet.

Since he had just come from the underground, Mr. Baek didn’t suspect the source and paid him the price.

“Ugh. It seems the amounts are getting bigger and bigger. This is about 300 million here. If I add up the money I took last time, I’ll have enough to buy an apartment in Seoul. As expected, a level 12 Dungeon Baby [a term for someone who explores and profits from dungeons] is quite something.”

Kim Jin-woo left the appraisal office without replying, simply offering a greeting.

Leaving the appraisal office, he began to take care of the things he had been putting off. First, he met Lee Jun-young to fulfill the dinner promise he had made months ago, and he heard about the conflicts between the Explorer Association and ordinary Dungeon Babies, as well as the beast-kin hunting.

“To be honest, putting it bluntly, we know, even if other people don’t. Those beast-kin, they’re just like us. They think and feel the same way; they’re no different from us. But the fact that our Dungeon Babies are selling them is making the world go crazy.”

After grumbling for a while, she released various information again.

The Explorer Association was, as the name suggested, an association created for explorers.

However, it seemed that their methods were focused on making money, which caused friction with the existing high-level Dungeon Babies in various ways.

However, it seemed to be receiving a positive response from low-level Dungeon Babies who were born in places that weren’t even the lower levels and didn’t have suitable means of earning money, so they mingled with ordinary explorers.

“It’s crazy. I don’t know why they keep taking the guys who lived in the underground and putting them on the surface. They’re not only selling beast-kin, but now they’re even catching smaller creatures and beasts and putting them on the black market. If something big happens later, we’ll all be screwed, but everyone is blinded by immediate profits…”

In the end, it ended with another complaint mixed with resentment, but Kim Jin-woo was able to obtain some useful information.

After sending Lee Jun-young back, he headed straight to the labyrinth.

‘Master, the Blood Tablet’s Heart that you entrusted to the smithy is finished.’

The Blood Tablet’s Heart that she handed over was quite different from the one the Naga [a race of serpent-like humanoids] mages had given him. If the previous one was in its original form, the Blood Tablet’s Heart from the smithy was a polished jewel itself.

[Blood Tablet’s Heart (Top-Grade Down Jam): This top-grade Down Jam, accumulated by hunting countless creatures, contains the power of the Blood Tablet. The Blood Tablet’s Heart, painstakingly crafted by enthusiastic novice Naga blacksmiths, retains the power that the Blood Tablet wielded in life.]

[The Blood Tablet was a tracker who relentlessly pursued and captured its prey. The Blood Tablet’s Heart, refined by the Naga blacksmiths, contains the Blood Tablet’s incredible tenacity and persistence in life.]

[When equipped, it grants the Blood Tablet’s special ability, ‘Tenacious Hunter’s Sense’.]

Unlike the Blood Tablet’s Heart completed by the Naga mages, it seemed that it had to be attached to something rather than used as a raw stone.

“Ugh. I should keep this for now.”

Kim Jin-woo entrusted the Blood Tablet’s Heart to Dominique, as he didn’t have a suitable use for it right away.

Dominique, touched by the fact that he had entrusted her with a precious item, guided Kim Jin-woo to every corner of the labyrinth with a slightly excited face.

The upgraded smithy had a hotter furnace than before that never went out, and the novice blacksmiths, who had become quite skilled in the meantime, were diligently making new weapons for the Nagas to use.

Since they had been using the weapons they had when they were summoned, they were primarily making shields and spears that had become tattered from the battles.

‘Once all those weapons are made, our labyrinth’s strength will be further enhanced. If that happens, no one will be able to ignore us anymore.’

Dominique explained with an excited face, as if she was boasting.

It wasn’t just the smithy that had been upgraded. The laboratory, the Naga’s nest, and the breeding ground had all changed beyond comparison.

As Kim Jin-woo looked around the labyrinth, he was impressed by the wyverns [a type of dragon] snorting in the enormously enlarged breeding ground.

‘The Naga riders aren’t always with the wyverns, so they usually stay in the breeding ground like that.’

The wyverns, with their long, outstretched legs, looked sleeker than the ones that followed Wyvern King Anaxthus.

“But the person managing them…”

‘It just so happens that the Myoin you requested is quite skilled at handling wyverns, so we’re having her work here.’

Dominique explained as she watched the Myoin woman fearlessly approaching the wyverns, which were several times larger than her, and removing their dead scales.

“I see. So she was useful after all.”

Kim Jin-woo nodded unconsciously, seeing that she looked quite stable, unlike when he had seen her at the tavern.

Dominique smiled at him and explained.

‘The wyverns are so ferocious that they don’t even allow anyone other than their riders to approach them, but for some reason, they’re obedient to her. So these days, the riders seem to be taking care of her quite a bit.’

The labyrinth, which used to not function without his orders, now had a life of its own and was moving on its own.

The Naga workers who had finished their work gathered at the tavern, drinking an unidentified liquid and talking loudly, and the Naga warriors and fighters shouted even louder so as not to be outdone.

The Naga mages were holed up in the laboratory, doing something without going out, and the blacksmiths were tinkering with something on the anvil and furnace all day long.

He could feel a huge vitality that he hadn’t felt before.

Kim Jin-woo looked at Dominique with an awkward face, feeling a strange sensation that made his heart clench for some reason.

‘The small world of the underground, that’s the real labyrinth. And this is Master’s territory.’

Dominique spoke with a proud face, as if she had guessed his inner thoughts.

“Yes, this is the real labyrinth, and this is my territory.”

Kim Jin-woo repeated the same words several times, feeling that her words somehow resonated with his heart.

***

The Naga’s labyrinth was developing rapidly.

It hadn’t been long since the war with Wyvern King Anaxthus ended, but the Naga’s labyrinth was unrecognizable from its previous state.

Although not flashy, quite elegant decorations were placed at the entrance of the labyrinth, and all sorts of facilities were being expanded even at this very moment.

The labyrinth’s defenses, which had caused the most trouble, had become so strong that no one on the 9th floor could easily deal with them.

On the outskirts, Naga riders were constantly patrolling with long-range patrols to strengthen the defenses, and internally, powerful beings such as Quantus and Ortega were guarding the gates with an iron wall.

There was no need to worry about intrusions from other labyrinths like before.

‘Now, not even the Wyvern King, let alone anyone else, will be able to covet our labyrinth.’

Kim Jin-woo nodded at Dominique’s proud words.

The units composed of warriors and fighters led by Quantus and Ortega alone were elite troops, all of whom had reached the elite rank and were equipped with weapons and armor painstakingly crafted in the smithy.

In addition, Rickshasha was leading the long-range patrols and showing more capabilities than expected.

She was setting up traps in key areas and blocking the approach of wandering creatures.

Even Dominique, who didn’t seem to like her activities very much, acknowledged her contributions.

“I hope this peace continues.”

Although it wouldn’t be possible to achieve extreme growth like the fruits gained from the war with the Wyvern King, steadily gathering strength would lead to stable growth.

But as always, unexpected things often happen in the underground. And that was especially true in Kim Jin-woo’s case.

“My Lord!”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at Rickshasha’s sudden return, who should have been in the middle of a long-range patrol mission.

Since she was the one who announced the start of the war with the Wyvern King, he felt a clenching in his heart whenever she rushed over like this.

“Speak.”

Kim Jin-woo said, revealing his discomfort, and Rickshasha shouted urgently.

“An army has appeared on the outskirts of the territory!”