Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 121

Dungeon Journal-Episode 122

# 122

Dungeon Journal

Episode 122

“I will not return.”

It was an unexpected answer. Kim Jin-woo had expected Morrigan to say she would return if she could. After all, she always talked about her most glorious days.

“I will remain here.”

However, she defied his expectations and chose to stay in the fortress. He felt the plan he had in mind collapsing entirely.

“Why is that? Didn’t you miss your former master?”

“What I learned from my former master was a warrior’s pride, not longing for parents.”

“Ah…”

Why did he only realize it now? Since when had Morrigan been looking at him with unwavering eyes? Her expression even seemed to reproach him for testing her.

“And the master I know is a relentlessly persistent being who never lets go of what he has in his grasp. He wouldn’t let go of me, whom he didn’t release even amidst the threat of the Parthenon.”

He had forgotten one thing: before she was an excellent warrior, she was a renowned strategist. She now accurately grasped the essence of the situation.

From the beginning, Kim Jin-woo had no intention of letting her go. Nevertheless, the reason he asked such a question was to set a trap to bind her even more strongly.

However, she understood all of that and decided to stay by his side from the start.

It seemed she thought that if she couldn’t escape anyway, she would rather maintain at least her dignity than be completely battered.

“And it seems like fighting on this side will be more fun.”

Morrigan, who spoke with a grin, even had an excited look on her face.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped involuntarily. The crazed look of a raven obsessed with war and battle had something that made people cringe.

So, Kim Jin-woo quickly forgot that his plan hadn’t even been attempted and exclaimed.

“Please make me happy. I won’t refuse any battlefield.”

In the end, Kim Jin-woo, giving up completely, had to leave Morrigan behind. If he stayed there any longer, he felt like he would be infected by her madness.

“Consider the surveillance on Morrigan as canceled. She has decided to stay here.”

“But how can we trust those words…”

Dominique rarely questioned his words, but she immediately closed her mouth with just a glance from him.

“Instead, maintain the surveillance on Heimdall as it is. We can’t figure out what he’s thinking.”

Unlike Morrigan, Heimdall seemed like he would leave the labyrinth immediately if given the choice, so he decided to control the story itself about Ustrus and the fragments of the One-Eyed Monarch.

Thanks to this, Heimdall was unaware of how the situation was unfolding and only watched the darkness, looking for signs of war.

After handling the general matters, Kim Jin-woo sat on the throne with the Summoning Stone and a pile of Down Jem [a type of magical energy source].

He remembered the Parasite belatedly after seeing Uther devour the Down Jem and Summoning Stone.

Since the Parasite had eaten the Heart of the Blood Mark, it would definitely not reject the Down Jem and Summoning Stone either.

“The Parasite’s growth will definitely be helpful to Master.”

Dominique, who had been quietly watching him, gave him advice. She also seemed to think very positively about him growing the Parasite.

Indeed, the Parasite’s abilities shown so far were worth the value of the Down Jem used for its growth.

“Still, this guy is kind of like a bug, so it feels like a waste.”

He shuddered, recalling the memory of the Parasite wriggling and burrowing into his hand.

But only for a moment. He soon readjusted the hand holding the Down Jem and clenched his fist tightly.

[The Parasite has consumed a Medium Down Jem.]

[The Parasite has devoured all the energy contained in the Medium Down Jem. As a result, the Medium Down Jem has become an ordinary stone.]

[The Parasite is pleased with the long-awaited feast.]

[However, the energy provided was not enough for the Parasite to grow. The Medium Down Jem is not a very satisfying meal for the Parasite, which has grown significantly since consuming the Heart of the Blood Mark.]

[To grow the Parasite, you need to provide even better quality Down Jem.]

As expected. He didn’t expect the Parasite to grow with just one Medium Down Jem.

Without any change in expression, he began to feed the Parasite the prepared pile of Down Jem one by one.

[The Parasite has consumed a Medium Down Jem.]

[The Parasite has devoured all the energy contained in the Medium Down Jem. As a result, the Medium Down Jem has become an ordinary stone.]

[The Parasite is pleased with the long-awaited feast.]

[To grow the Parasite, you need to provide even better quality Down Jem. The Parasite is not yet satisfied.]

The Down Jem disappeared one after another. He was now providing even High-Grade Down Jem beyond Medium-Grade, but the Parasite still showed no signs of growth, as if it was not satisfied.

“It eats quite a lot.”

Kim Jin-woo said with a bitter smile.

With even the High-Grade Down Jem exhausted, only the Top-Grade Down Jem and the Summoning Stone remained. The number of Down Jem used to boost the power of the entire 9th floor and motivate the masters of the labyrinth had been enormous.

The military funds received from Anatolius and the spoils of war had long been depleted, so Naga’s fortress had not been financially well-off recently.

Because of this, Kim Jin-woo didn’t want to use the Top-Grade Down Jem if possible. But what could he do? He felt like he had to see it through, even if it was because he regretted the Down Jem he had used so far.

After hesitating for a moment between the Top-Grade Down Jem and the Summoning Stone, he picked up the Summoning Stone.

[The Parasite has consumed the Summoning Stone.]

[The Parasite has devoured all the life force contained in the Summoning Stone. As a result, the Summoning Stone has become an ordinary stone.]

[The Parasite is very satisfied with the taste of the Summoning Stone, which it tasted for the first time.]

[Signs of change are beginning to appear in the Parasite’s body.]

[The Parasite’s growth is not far off.]

It felt like he was gambling. He realized that his appearance of continuing to invest because he was thinking about the principal was not much different from that of a gambler who was hovering around the edge of the board in a disheveled state.

Moreover, even the message that appeared in front of him was urging him to make additional investments.

Looking at his left hand with a complicated feeling, he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his hand for some reason. So, Kim Jin-woo pretended to be crazy and fed all the remaining Summoning Stones to the Parasite.

And when he finally fed the last Summoning Stone to the Parasite, a change began to occur in the Parasite’s body.

[The Parasite has consumed the Summoning Stone.]

[The Parasite has devoured all the life force contained in the Summoning Stone. As a result, the Summoning Stone has become an ordinary stone.]

[The Parasite is very satisfied with the feeling of fullness.]

[The Parasite has exceeded the maximum amount of energy its body can accept. The Parasite enters the metamorphosis process to accommodate all the energy and grow.]

[Until the Parasite’s growth is complete, the Parasite’s special abilities ‘Search’ and ‘Mana Eye’ cannot be used.]

[The ‘Camouflage’ ability, which is the basis of the ‘Stealth’ ability, cannot be used temporarily. The ‘Stealth’ ability is also deactivated.]

The message filling his vision was so welcome. If the Parasite had not entered the metamorphosis process this time, he would have had to use the Top-Grade Down Jem, which he really regretted.

He was not stingy with investments, but he couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart due to the fortress’s situation, which was in the midst of war preparations.

So, he unknowingly cheered.

“Master?”

“It’s done! The Parasite has entered growth!”

He clenched his fist, showing it to Dominique, who was looking at him with a puzzled face.

***

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Before Kim Jin-woo was the Naga worker Valishas, ​​crying with a touched face.

“It’s a reward for doing well all this time.”

Now he was thinking of giving Valishas the reward he had promised before.

Valishas, ​​who had created an army of 300 undead, was no longer the King of the Dead who was constantly looking for an opportunity to stab his master in the back like before.

Valishas, ​​who had been forcibly injected with loyalty by the spirit dominated by the Naga worker’s body, was now completely a member of the fortress.

So, he provided Valishas with a new body.

The newly provided body was the battered body of a Naga [a serpentine humanoid creature]. Although parts of the limbs were torn off and burned, Valishas seemed very satisfied.

That was because the body he was provided with was the body of a High-Grade Naga magician who had died in an explosion during research. Although it was incomparable to the body of the former king, it was clear that the situation would be better than the body of the Naga worker, who had to have most of his spells sealed due to the limitations of his abilities.

Perhaps that’s why Valishas even praised him with flattery, unlike his usual self.

“Stop talking nonsense and take care of your body first. After all, even if it was preserved with cold air, the condition is not very good.”

“As you wish!”

At his words, Valishas immediately bowed down and grabbed the Down Jem in his hand. The Naga worker’s body could not even perform the spell to move his body, so he had to rely on the help of the Down Jem like this. Valishas was filled with excitement for the new body instead of being pessimistic about his miserable situation.

“Hmm…”

After a while, Valishas collapsed. And the corpse of the High-Grade Naga magician lying on the floor stood up.

“Is it a success?”

Kim Jin-woo narrowed his eyes and looked at the High-Grade Naga magician Valishas, ​​and Valishas, ​​who had been standing blankly for a while, shouted with joy.

“It’s a success.”

It was a success without question. If it had failed, the High-Grade Naga magician would still be lying on the cold floor.

[The body of the High-Grade Naga Magician (Normal) has evolved into a High-Grade Naga Magician (Heroic).]

[The body of the High-Grade Naga Magician has accepted Valishas’s morale and has been reborn as a new being.]

[The High-Grade Naga Magician has become a ‘Necromancer’.]

[The High-Grade Naga Magician is not sufficient to use Valishas’s abilities, but it is not insufficient either.]

[The category of Necromancy ‘Soul Arts’ can now be used.]

[The category of Necromancy ‘Summoning Arts’ can now be used.]

[The category of Necromancy ‘Necromantic Magic’ can now be used.]

[The secret art of the Necromancy category ‘Undead Creation Arts’ is maintained.]

Valishas, ​​who had gone from the King of the Dead to a Naga worker, then to a mortician, and now back to a necromancer, was so happy to have regained his morale that he repeatedly summoned and scattered his morale several times.

“I will be loyal to the King!”

Valishas, ​​who had been so excited and running around for a long time, belatedly prostrated himself on the floor and swore allegiance.

Since it was forced loyalty as long as he was trapped in the body of a Naga, Kim Jin-woo had no great emotion and only waved his hand insincerely.

“Focus on creating a new army that you will lead from now on. There are plenty of corpses to use for research now.”

Since almost all labyrinths were focused on hunting creatures, Kim Jin-woo promised to provide corpses infinitely.

“I will make even death kneel before the King!”

Valishas, ​​who was already excited at the thought of creating a new army, wriggled and disappeared.

“Ugh. But it seems like he’s become a bit more fussy because it’s the body of a Naga magician. I hope he doesn’t cause an accident like the real Naga magicians.”

Kim Jin-woo said worriedly at Valishas’s unusually light attitude, and Dominique shook her head.

This time, she was not sure that Valishas would not cause an accident either.

After all, the body that Valishas was provided with was the body of the most troublesome magician who led the synthesis of the labyrinth core and the research of the Summoning Stone, so who could guarantee Valishas’s future?

As Kim Jin-woo was hurrying to prepare a new force through Valishas, ​​he frowned at the sudden pain in the back of his hand.

[The Parasite’s metamorphosis is complete.]