Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 92

Dungeon Journal – Episode 93

# 93

Dungeon Journal

“I don’t know what they’re trying to find, but the 6th and 7th floors are in complete chaos.”

Kim Jin-woo sighed at Chieftain Boar’s words.

The reason humans were scouring the underground was obvious.

The country was boasting about being a labyrinth-holding nation, and with those who had actually become owners of labyrinths, others were trying to become labyrinth owners themselves. Before, they might have thought the labyrinth on the 4th floor was the only one, but now they must be thinking there might be other labyrinths.

That impact had swept through the lower-level labyrinths.

“I’ve heard that some beings in the 5th-floor labyrinths have already been driven out by humans. And even if they’re okay for now, their future is clear, so many owners are packing up and leaving. Even creatures, not just labyrinths, are being pushed down by humans and are constantly descending.”

Humans’ greed was truly remarkable. They had struggled so much during the war, but as soon as their own personal success was at stake, they were completely sweeping through the lower levels without any national support.

“Because of that, the 6th to 8th floors are in utter chaos. The owners of the labyrinths and creatures who have been driven out are causing trouble, so there’s constant noise, and some are even starting wars over labyrinths.”

The 6th floor was also overflowing with humans. Those who had been pushed out were continuously descending, completely disrupting the existing power structure and territory.

“No, even if they’re nominally labyrinth owners, are they really being chased out by people?”

“We don’t have abundant resources like you, nor do we have high-grade labyrinths from the start.”

Chieftain Boar said with a sullen face.

“And unlike the beings below the 9th floor who curl up deep inside and maintain their labyrinths, we haven’t really recovered from the damage we suffered in the war 10 years ago. It’s a bit much to hear you talking so grandly now.”

Indeed, the nobles hadn’t properly stepped up during the war.

Those who had to fight most fiercely against the ground forces in the process were the owners of the lower levels.

If it had been a war in the underground, they would have obtained Down Jams [a type of magical energy source] and labyrinth cores as spoils, but the humans from the surface left nothing behind.

So it was natural that the lower-level labyrinths were weakened after the long war.

Moreover, unlike 10 years ago, the vanguard of the humans was not soldiers armed with personal weapons, but Dungeon Babies [artificial beings created to explore and conquer dungeons]. Bullets could be taken with the body, but the swords and spears wielded by the Dungeon Babies could not be easily dismissed.

They knew the weaknesses of the fierce beasts of the underground better than anyone.

“So, what do you want? Do you want me to clear the area around your labyrinth?”

Unlike before, Kim Jin-woo now had that kind of power.

He could move just a few of his subordinate labyrinths and clear the area around the Great Tusk Boar tribe’s labyrinth in a matter of days.

But Chieftain Boar didn’t seem to have come for that.

“There’s no point in clearing it now; it’ll just be temporary. It’ll soon become a mess again because of the newcomers. I don’t want that.”

“Then what do you want? I can’t keep guarding your labyrinth all the time.”

Unlike before, he now had the ability to exempt one of his dispatched units from the inter-floor penalty due to the Conqueror title’s effect.

Of course, that didn’t mean he had any reason to go to such trouble for the unrelated Great Tusk Boars.

“I want land to migrate to. I want to get out of this wretched 8th floor.”

Chieftain Boar’s words were completely unexpected.

“At first, I was going to ask you to help punish that detestable Blood Lion Marcus, but who knew the situation would turn out like this.”

The expression on Chieftain Boar’s face, saying that he hadn’t intended this from the beginning, was filled with bitterness. He wouldn’t be happy about abandoning the home he had protected for so long and having to migrate.

Kim Jin-woo, who had been lost in thought, belatedly opened his mouth.

“Giving you land to migrate to isn’t difficult. But I don’t want a labyrinth that isn’t under my command to exist on the 9th floor.”

“I’m prepared for that. I’ve been thinking about that issue ever since I heard that the 9th floor had been unified.”

Having said that, Chieftain Boar slammed his head on the floor.

“I, Okunotushi, chieftain of the Great Tusk Boars, pledge my allegiance.”

[The Underground Baron’s authority, ‘Oath of Fealty,’ is activated.]

[Okunotushi the Advancing, ruler of the underground beast Great Tusk Boars, has volunteered to become the Baron’s knight.]

[Will you accept him?]

Instead of answering, he called Dominique.

“Yes, Master.”

“Find a place for the boars to settle. Do they have any preferences?”

Okunotushi, who had completely changed his tone, cautiously replied, unlike his usual self.

The king of these giant boars seemed to want to settle near Naga’s fortress, even if it was just a little safer, now that things had turned out this way.

“Um. Let them have a suitable place just north of the fortress.”

She, who had become the king’s advisor, would give the boars a place to settle in a suitable location without any separate instructions.

Nevertheless, the reason he specifically mentioned the north was that he wanted the boars to assist the satellite labyrinth being created north of the fortress.

He thought that the boars’ charge, which he had seen before, would be enough to intercept enemies attacking the fortress.

“And, and one more favor.”

“What is it?”

Okunotushi, who had been speaking without hesitation, hesitated. After being scolded several times, he finally opened his mouth.

“Please spare some Down Jams to extract cores. I’m ashamed to say that the boars are so gluttonous that they eat up the enemies without even having time to collect Down Jams, so we haven’t had time to prepare for the migration.”

Kim Jin-woo chuckled at Okunotushi’s words, who had reddened his yellow nose, and instructed Dominique.

“Did you hear that? Take immediate action.”

Kim Jin-woo, having concluded the conversation, was about to leave when he heard Dominique’s cold voice from behind.

“First, there are a few things to check before the migration. So you must answer my questions truthfully.”

Having already grasped the fact that Dominique was the real power in this labyrinth through the previous conversation, the large boar politely gathered its front paws and listened to her words.

Kim Jin-woo, who was watching the scene from afar, shook his head, seeing Dominique’s expression completely different from when she was dealing with him.

After parting ways with Okunotushi, Kim Jin-woo immediately looked for the party hall where Yoon-hee would be. He was worried about whether the party hall was okay, since the 8th floor was in chaos.

But the party hall had completely avoided the chaos. Thanks to the summons that specialized in causing various disturbances and confusion, no creatures invaded the party hall.

Rather, Yoon-hee was taking advantage of the current situation to nibble at and encroach upon the surrounding labyrinths, and her skills were considerable.

The party hall, which had already swallowed one of the nearby labyrinths, was developing noticeably.

“I don’t intend to step out in front anyway. It’s obvious that it would only make things difficult for Master if my name were exposed.”

Even so, when he told her to be careful just in case, Yoon-hee’s voice answering was only calm.

“Ah, and.”

She spoke again, turning to him.

“Perhaps a guest will come to visit.”

“A guest?”

“If Father knows my whereabouts, he will try to send someone to check at least once.”

Kim Jin-woo said with a displeased face that there were a few too many people coming and going to the labyrinth these days, as if it had honey on it.

“Should I give them some kind of treat? Thank them for visiting such a humble place?”

“There’s no way. Master is already a dignified ruler of the 9th floor. That’s a great achievement that even the Count of the 11th floor’s depths can’t easily belittle.”

“You’re good with words. More than that, what is Dinariyon’s subordinate going to do here?”

“He will judge by looking at Master’s capabilities and qualities. And he will make a decision based on that.”

“Decision? What decision?”

When Kim Jin-woo, who revealed his uncomfortable feelings without hiding them, asked back, Yoon-hee said.

“Whether to bring the youngest daughter, who was pushed out of the succession, back into the heir structure, or to completely entrust her to you.”

“How arbitrary.”

When he frowned, she spoke in a rare, soft tone.

“It’s not a bad thing for Master. If he maintains the succession rights, you will have the justification to be involved in the 11th floor Count’s heir structure, and if not, he will send you a dowry for entrusting his daughter to you.”

At her words, he finally spat out the curse he had been holding back.

“Treating me like a dog to give or receive. I really don’t like it.”

“There’s no need to belittle yourself so much…….”

“Belittle? This is reality. And if they’re going to throw me a bone like that, I’m going to eat every last bit of meat off of it. Maybe even eat the hand that threw the bone.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had already completed the scenario of advancing to the 11th floor in his head, said with a cold smile. Yoon-hee looked at him and secretly bowed her head with a somewhat admiring face.

It was because his appearance, never shrinking while looking at the high places from the lowest place, looked new again.

Leaving Yoon-hee behind, Kim Jin-woo returned to the labyrinth and took some time before the satellite labyrinth was completed. He needed to go up to the surface and find out the explorers’ recent situation.

“The underground? It’s a mess! Of course, the explorers who are trying to find ownerless labyrinths are running around the 5th and 6th floors. Just getting lucky and finding one can change your life right away. Some of them have even publicly announced that they will find a labyrinth and sell it to the Underground Development Corporation.”

Mr. Baek was somewhat upset at the last meeting, but when Kim Jin-woo threw him high-quality Down Jams after a long time, he quickly changed his expression.

“And this time, it seems the government has openly lifted weapons regulations. They’ve even taken weapons that were previously banned from use in the underground. There’s even a rumor that the government has released military firearms on the black market.”

It seemed that the government thought that getting a labyrinth was the priority, no matter who it was.

Indeed, other countries were quickly discovering labyrinths and their owners were being determined, but South Korea was still in a state where one of the two owned labyrinths had not even found an owner.

Perhaps they were very worried about falling behind in the competition. However, they were worried about the social atmosphere if they released soldiers, and if they sent them in small numbers, they would only be eaten up in the underground, so it would be more profitable to encourage the explorers.

“We’re leaving soon too. We received information that there’s something on the 6th floor.”

The information obtained from Lee Joon-young, who happened to be on the surface, also perfectly matched.

“Ah, you are…….”

But whether it was good luck or bad luck, he even met Kim Jin-tae, the owner of the Harimau Labyrinth, who was on the surface with Lee Joon-young.

His face was somewhat pale, perhaps recalling the past.

“Is your body feeling better now?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. I don’t know why a man is so weak. I was out of it for almost a month.”

Lee Joon-young, who completely trusted Kim Jin-woo, seemed to have no idea that the reason his colleague collapsed was because of him.

“More than that, I heard the underground is very noisy. Is Joon-young’s team okay? I’m worried because weapons have been flowing in in large quantities.”

Although Dungeon Babies are more specialized in dealing with underground beings than ordinary explorers, that didn’t mean that Dungeon Babies were immune to bullets like creatures.

Most Dungeon Babies tended to have extremely low physical defense compared to their attack power.

“That’s why the Development Corporation requested support. Probably within this week…….”

“Lee Joon-young!”

Kim Jin-tae, who was next to her, glared at her with a fierce expression, as if she had leaked security information again.

Indeed, it was natural for his rebuke to be harsh, since it was about his labyrinth, no less.

But Lee Joon-young seemed to completely trust Kim Jin-woo. After all, wasn’t he the one who sacrificed himself to save his colleagues? Of course, it was a thorough, calculated action, keeping the portals and Nagas in mind, but she didn’t know the details.

So she was still bound by the debt of her and her teammates’ lives.

That mindset was revealed in her desire to give him information from time to time.

“Hey, I’m telling you, Jin-woo is trustworthy.”

“Leaving aside whether I trust him or not, the regulations…….”

Kim Jin-tae and Lee Joon-young quickly closed their mouths and looked at him, as if it wasn’t something to talk about in front of the person involved.

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t have any bad intentions either.”

It was impossible to feel good after talking about trusting or not trusting in front of the person involved. But he, who had already grasped all the circumstances they hadn’t told him, rather waved his hand and apologized.

“I don’t know if I’m making you uncomfortable for no reason. I’m done with my business, so let’s part ways now.”

“Ah, that’s not it, Jin-woo.”

But Lee Joon-young seemed to have misunderstood something and stomped her feet, looking at him turning around.