Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 68

Dungeon Journal – Episode 69

# 69

Dungeon Journal

#28. Necromantic Steed

Kim Jin-woo quickly scanned his surroundings and then realized that the other mercenaries were kneeling.

Boreas’s presence was so overwhelming that he hadn’t been able to properly assess the situation, which had unfortunately drawn attention.

He belatedly adjusted his posture to match the other mercenaries, but Boreas was already glaring at him with a displeased expression.

“This is a newly hired mercenary. He used to wander around the 9th floor, and he hasn’t shaken off the habits of his wandering days, so he’s always on guard like that…”

The black marketeer subtly stepped in front of him, explaining the situation.

To lower one’s head in the underground, even giving up one’s own line of sight, is truly remarkable.

If the other party were to be ruthless, they could easily behead him defenselessly, so Boreas frowned but ended the matter with just one more comment.

“He holds the nobility in very low regard.”

“As a gesture of apology, I’ll include a few items that might interest you, Boreas, when we settle the bill this time. Please, ease your anger.”

The black marketeer spoke glibly, despite clearly being wary of Boreas. Well, with that kind of nerve and guts, he could roam this treacherous underground as if it were his own backyard.

“I hope the items you bring out will pique my interest. Otherwise, I might get angry again at you and your insolent mercenary.”

With those words, Boreas somewhat eased his anger.

“Of course, of course! I’ll bring out the rarest and finest items!”

The black marketeer exclaimed, his voice much brighter than before.

As Boreas’s attention shifted away, Kim Jin-woo belatedly let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t that he had been careless. Aside from the black marketeer’s warning, the thick smell of blood and Boreas’s fierce aura were enough to put him on guard.

But the problem was the extent of it.

Boreas was excessively strong and violent. Even Anatolius, the Iron-Blooded Count who had visited the labyrinth last time, wasn’t this intense.

Whether Anatolius himself had been concealing his power or had been penalized for leaving his own floor, Boreas was the strongest of the labyrinth lords Kim Jin-woo had ever met.

To lower his head in front of such a powerful being was to deny his very survival instinct. It couldn’t have been easy.

Even at this moment, he had to barely restrain the stiff muscles in his neck from raising his head again.

“Follow me!”

With Boreas’s booming command, the procession began to move forward again.

***

“I told you, didn’t I? Boreas is different from the other nobles on the 10th floor.”

The black marketeer spoke only after they had left the labyrinth’s boundaries far behind, having completed the transaction with Boreas.

The black marketeer was right. Boreas was indeed different from the other nobles on the 10th floor.

He didn’t even allow the Black Merchant’s traders into his labyrinth, nor did he let his guard down.

Unlike those who were gleeful as if they had received a Christmas present, Boreas didn’t hesitate to use threats to fleece the black marketeer, and none of the items he obtained were related to combat.

One could easily guess his inclinations.

In fact, wasn’t Boreas engaged in battle when the Black Merchant party arrived at the labyrinth’s border?

“So that’s the true power of a Baron.”

With creatures on edge and a powerful master, Kim Jin-woo felt like he was finally seeing the true nature of the 10th floor.

“I’m not sure if you suffered a loss because of me. I’m sorry about that.”

Kim Jin-woo belatedly apologized to the black marketeer, who had to bear the loss to appease Boreas, but the black marketeer shook his head.

“Even if it wasn’t because of you, Baron, Boreas would have found some excuse to act the same way. He always has, and he always will.”

“He’s a ruthless one.”

Kim Jin-woo clicked his tongue, and the black marketeer gave him a dumbfounded look.

“No, is he thrifty?”

Kim Jin-woo subtly changed his words, belatedly realizing that he was even more difficult to deal with than Boreas when dealing with the black marketeer.

“If there were only people like Boreas and you, Baron, our Black Merchant group would go bankrupt in no time.”

“Isn’t it just struggling to survive?”

Kim Jin-woo rarely joked, and the black marketeer shook his head.

“You should go back now.”

The initial goal of confirming the power of a true Baron-level noble had been somewhat achieved by meeting Boreas, and they had also been able to update the map of the 10th floor, so this time it was a success in its own way.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The black marketeer opened a portal in a suitable location, and the procession stepped into the crack in space that had opened up.

***

“We’ll use Boreas of the Freezing Winds as our benchmark.”

Kim Jin-woo declared as soon as he returned to the labyrinth, gathering his close aides, including Dominique.

“The security was tight, so I couldn’t see inside the labyrinth, but let’s estimate the overall strength based on the visible forces.”

With those words, he recalled the forces he had seen and began to explain.

“I saw twenty-five Hero-grade troops, all of them on outer patrol. And below that, I confirmed about 150 Elite-grade troops. It’s not a state of war, so we should assume that the actual number is several times higher.”

According to the black marketeer, Boreas of the Freezing Winds, true to his name, was like a cold wind and preferred to constantly roam the vicinity rather than stay still in the labyrinth.

Naturally, his troops also felt more like a patrol unit covering the entire perimeter of the border region rather than guarding the interior of the labyrinth.

Based on the information obtained, Boreas’s estimated forces are as follows:

50 to 55 Hero-grade summons,

750 to 800 Elite-grade troops,

A labyrinth core of at least Grade 9 or higher.

These figures are based on comparisons with the Land of Gluttony, the Graveyard, and the various labyrinths on the 10th floor that were newly confirmed this time, so they shouldn’t be too far off.

Based on those estimated figures, Kim Jin-woo began to expedite the strengthening of the labyrinth’s forces. To resolve the issue of troops reaching their capacity, he generously poured down gems into the Regency Territory [a territory governed by a regent].

Yoon-hee’s Labyrinth Party Hall had already surpassed Grade 4 and was undergoing an upgrade to Grade 5, and the Graveyard was also rapidly restoring the facilities lost due to Valier’s reckless summoning spells.

And along with that, he also provided support to Uther, who had played a significant role in the previous battle. The Labyrinth of Gluttony, which had been stagnant due to a lack of military funds, gained new vitality and began to develop rapidly.

Perhaps the busiest person in the process was the Black Merchant’s black marketeer. The black marketeer had to move several times to fulfill the items Kim Jin-woo ordered.

And when the Party Hall reaches Grade 5, Kim Jin-woo and the Nagas will begin their advance. Once again, a sense of impending war began to loom over the 9th floor.

***

Yoon-hee had been spending more and more time spacing out lately. It was a change that came with the Party Hall reaching Grade 4.

She had always been killing time by staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes, but recently it had become particularly severe.

“Hmm.”

Kim Jin-woo quietly closed his mouth as he watched Yoon-hee suddenly make a blank expression in the middle of giving instructions.

Perhaps she needed time, he thought.

“Angela.”

“Yes, Master.”

He spoke softly to Angela, who suddenly appeared from the shadows.

“Keep an eye on Yoon-hee. There are signs that she’s recovering.”

“Yes. Just watch her, right?”

“Watch her, and if you see any signs of anything, report it immediately.”

The recovery of a Dungeon Baby is quite frightening. In the process of finding their identity, the hellish memories they have experienced are poured out all at once, turning them into monsters that can’t even distinguish between friend and foe.

And if she was born and raised in the depths of the 11th floor, something might happen that even Quantus or Ortega wouldn’t be able to handle.

So Kim Jin-woo couldn’t leave the labyrinth and had to continue to monitor the situation.

“How caring.”

Angela pouted her lips as she looked at him. Lately, he had been so busy that he seemed to only care about Yoon-hee, and she seemed to feel a little resentful.

But he ignored Angela’s words.

The Regency had many restrictions. Unlike his own labyrinth, where a status window was provided, all that came to mind was a simple message, so it wasn’t easy to grasp the exact state of the labyrinth.

In addition, he didn’t have enough time to stay attached and grasp the characteristics, as he did when growing the Naga’s labyrinth.

Operating multiple labyrinths at the same time was quite cumbersome. He hoped that Yoon-hee would come to her senses as soon as possible.

“The Party Hall won’t run properly until she comes to her senses.”

“Yes. I’ll stay right by her side and watch over her. Don’t worry.”

“Be careful not to cause an accident.”

Angela stretched out her answer to Kim Jin-woo’s request and disappeared.

***

But the work was done by someone unexpected, not Yoon-hee.

‘Master!’

Dominique urgently came to find him.

‘Valier is dead!’

Kim Jin-woo frowned at her words.

‘That’s… Balzac said that the Necromantic Steed to be ridden was completed, so I went to see…’

“Damn it! Explain on the way!”

Kim Jin-woo quickly moved his steps and urged Dominique.

***

“What is this…”

In the middle of a wide space is Valier’s corpse. Valier’s body, which was like a corpse even when he was alive, was now completely a corpse itself.

‘He collapsed like that and suddenly died right after handing over the Necromantic Steed.’

The moment Kim Jin-woo heard Dominique’s words, he blurted out a curse.

“That cunning bastard!”

Dominique blinked, not knowing what was going on, but he quickly gave instructions.

“First, find out the location of the Necromantic Steed, and attach Quantus, Ortega, and even Balzac to make sure they don’t do anything foolish until I get there!”

‘As expected, Valier is…’

“Yes, it seems he has found a new body.”

Dominique nodded and replied as Kim Jin-woo said that.

‘Just in case, I had Balzac and Ortega restrain the Necromantic Steed. Would you like to go there?’

“Guide me.”

Fortunately, Dominique seemed to have anticipated this situation.

It was a truly appropriate measure to stop Balzac, who was excited about the Necromantic Steed, from running out and have him watch the situation with Ortega.

“My King.”

Balzac lifted the head he was holding under his arm and pretended to bow. Ortega, who was next to him, also snorted and pretended to know him.

“Where is the Necromantic Steed?”

“It’s here.”

The Necromantic Steed was somewhat in the form of a horse. The marks of mending here and there were hideous, but covering the tattered leather with armor made of horsehide wasn’t too bad.

But the appearance of the Necromantic Steed wasn’t important now.

“Hmm.”

Having rushed over, the Necromantic Steed was obediently bowing its head, and Balzac had the reins in his hand. The sight of it occasionally shaking its head and snorting was so much like a horse that he wondered if he had made a fuss for nothing.

So Kim Jin-woo was almost fooled.

He almost thought that Valier’s source of life had been broken and eventually led to death, and that the Necromantic Steed was his last work.

But that couldn’t be the truth. Valier was clearly the master of the labyrinth, even though he had been deprived of his operating rights as a Regent.

If such a Valier had died, there should have been a change in the operating rights and ownership of the labyrinth set as the Regency.

But Kim Jin-woo had not yet received any messages.

Kim Jin-woo received the reins from Balzac, watching the Necromantic Steed’s eyes flickering subtly as they met his eyes. The Necromantic Steed with the reins grabbed lowered its head even further.

“Well, even if the King said he was the master, I would believe it.”

At Balzac’s simple words, the Necromantic Steed bowed its head even more. Balzac exclaimed once again, perhaps because the sight was quite plausible.

Whether he did or not, Kim Jin-woo stubbornly met the Necromantic Steed’s eyes. And finally, the Necromantic Steed stopped avoiding his gaze with a nod and met his eyes.

A gaze that flickered wildly as if frightened. Kim Jin-woo smiled.

“You’re trying hard, Valier.”