Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 125

Dungeon Journal-125

# 125

Dungeon Journal

Episode 126

Kim Jin-woo, who had been silently staring at Marcus as he trembled and backed away, slowly began to move.

[The dignity of a lower noble is activated.]

[The dignity of a lower noble has been deactivated by your own will.]

Jin-woo didn’t want Marcus to be unable to exert his full strength because he was overwhelmed by the dignity of a noble. So, he forcibly deactivated the noble’s ability.

He wasn’t sure if it was possible to arbitrarily control the ability, but he was able to succeed without difficulty.

After confirming the message that the dignity of a lower noble had been deactivated, he grinned. It was a cold and chilling smile with only one corner of his mouth raised.

“I didn’t know it was yours. If I had known, I wouldn’t have touched it.”

Even though the dignity of a noble had been deactivated, Marcus spoke to him with a suppressed expression. He looked too pathetic to be the strongman of the 8th floor, whose reputation was known even on the surface.

Well, in a way, it was only natural.

There was a difference in class, as Jin-woo was born to be the master of the 8th and 9th floors. Compared to him, who had obtained the title of Commander of the Inheritance by defeating powerful enemies and amplifying the strengthening effect, Marcus was just one of the many dungeon lords.

“Yeah. It would have been nice if that were the case. If I had put name tags on them, I wouldn’t have had to face you like this.”

Although the content of his words seemed to agree with Marcus, his expression and actions were completely different. He didn’t stop walking, nor did he withdraw his murderous intent.

“Exactly! So, now that you know, let’s not get upset with each other.”

Marcus, looking uneasy, clung to the end of his words. It was as if he wanted to believe that by doing so, he could escape the current situation.

However, Kim Jin-woo had no intention of reversing this situation. His right hand, which had been drooping, grabbed the handle of the cheap alloy sword hanging from his waist.

“I’d like to do that too, but you touched something I cherish.”

“Cherish?”

Marcus swallowed hard as he asked, sensing the unusual atmosphere.

“That lady over there is one of the people I cherish. She can’t even take care of her own body, but she’s a woman who would smile even if her limbs were cut off for me. There’s no way I wouldn’t cherish such a lady.”

It was Risha Shada, who had returned covered in blood in the past and completed the mission of the messenger. If it hadn’t been for Risha Shada at that time, Kim Jin-woo and the Nagas would have been killed by the Gyo Ryong King [Dragon King] and the Gyo Ryongs [lesser dragons].

“I can’t believe it.”

It seemed Marcus had misunderstood. Kim Jin-woo’s attitude of protecting an Under Elf, who was known to be worthless and lowly in the underground world, made him suspect that he had been aiming for this situation from the beginning.

“Are you willing to shed blood for a mere Under Elf?”

Now realizing that it was impossible to smooth things over, Marcus’s attitude changed. The ferocity and cruelty that had been somewhat suppressed appeared on his face, and his hesitant feet stood firmly on the ground.

“Blood? What blood?”

Looking at Marcus, Kim Jin-woo raised the corner of his mouth.

“I’m not the one who’s going to shed blood. The Blood Lions are the ones who will bleed here.”

His gaze swept across the battlefield. Marcus was bothered by his gaze, but he didn’t turn his head. However, he belatedly remembered something, and his expression hardened.

Only then did he realize that the surroundings were quieter than necessary. Realizing this fact, Marcus turned around abruptly and looked around.

“When……”

His Blood Lions, who had prided themselves on being the strongest on the 8th floor, were lying on the cold floor, struggling.

The strong arms had fallen off and were rolling on the floor, and the nimble and tough legs were brutally broken and twisted in unsightly directions.

On the other hand, the Dragon Knights who had fought the Blood Lions looked relatively unscathed. Among them, there were some Guardian Dragons with various injuries, but there were no Guardian Dragons who had lost their riders.

It was truly an overwhelming defeat. Marcus stared at the miserable corpses of his subordinates with a blank face.

“The cleanup here is complete too.”

To make matters worse, or so it seemed to Marcus’s perspective.

Even Morrigan, who had retreated to the rear of the Under Elves to deal with the Striped Ground Wasps, had returned, so it must have been a hopeless situation.

“A few escaped, but I’ll take care of them separately later.”

“I don’t have time to waste so much on the 8th floor.”

“It won’t take long. Just give me some time to go alone quietly.”

A conversation that lacked any sense of reality. Marcus watched the two men and women, who were talking as if they had even the Striped Ground Wasps’ dungeon, one of the strongest on the 8th floor, in their hands, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Only then did he realize that the reputation of the Commander of the Inheritance was not false.

However, that didn’t mean Marcus had given up on everything. No matter what anyone said, Marcus was one of the strongest on the 8th floor, and he had recently driven out even the Great Tusk Boars, his most powerful enemies.

Things had gone wrong, but no matter how much the opponent was the Commander of the Inheritance and the one and only conqueror of the underground world, he was confident that he would not be defeated in vain.

So, instead of tucking his tail between his legs, he puffed up his mane and glared at Kim Jin-woo with a challenging look.

“Oh.”

“You have quite the spirit, don’t you? You’re much better than that boneless, squishy guy, Prior Ji.”

Kim Jin-woo admired Marcus, and Morrigan added a word.

“You’re not going to let me go anyway, are you? Weren’t you aiming for this situation from the beginning?”

Marcus, who had regained his dignity as the master of a dungeon whose infamy was known even on the surface, spat out the words. Looking at Marcus, Kim Jin-woo shrugged his shoulders and began to move his stopped feet.

“No.”

The steps that were slow at first became an explosive leap the moment he finished that short word.

“Kuh-huh-huh!”

Marcus followed Kim Jin-woo’s blurred shadow and flew his body, pulling out long fingernails from both hands. The fingernails, which had instantly grown to about 1 meter in length, slashed wildly through the air, and each time, an unpleasant noise erupted as if the air was being finely torn apart.

“I wasn’t even thinking about you in the first place.”

However, even that fierce attack failed to find Kim Jin-woo’s true form, so Marcus was startled by the low whisper he heard from behind and waved both hands again.

“I’m just angry because you said that was insignificant.”

This time, his whisper came from the left.

“Because of the Under Elf.”

The whisper came from the right again. Marcus groaned as he tried to draw his fingernails.

“Cough!”

Marcus’s thick and strong neck was bent back as if he was groaning.

And below Marcus’s neck, there was a hand that was grabbing his mane roughly. As if in retaliation for Risha Shada’s severed hair, Kim Jin-woo’s two hands tore off Marcus’s mane.

“Kuaaaak!”

The head of the ferocious Blood Lions, who had never screamed in his life, screamed at the top of his lungs.

This was because the flesh was exposed in an unsightly manner as the mane was torn off.

It was a serious injury that would have immediately caused shock in an ordinary human, but Marcus was indeed qualified to call himself the strongest on the 8th floor.

Even though Marcus was screaming, he did not forget to swing both hands fiercely.

“And you know what? You’re unlucky. No. You’re very unlucky.”

However, Kim Jin-woo, who easily avoided Marcus’s attack, did not care about such desperate attacks.

“I’ve been very curious about how strong I’ve become.”

Kim Jin-woo said that and then mercilessly struck Marcus’s abdomen with his other hand that was not holding the sword.

“Cough!”

Marcus, who had been swinging both hands nimbly, stopped his hands momentarily and opened his mouth wide. Thick saliva dripped down his huge maw.

“The amplification effect is too great on the 9th floor, so it’s meaningless. But if I go to another floor, there’s no suitable opponent.”

Kim Jin-woo said that and waited for Marcus to come to his senses before kicking him again. Marcus, who had barely caught his breath, rolled miserably on the floor with that careless kick.

“Wouldn’t the Blood Lions of the 8th floor be a good opponent in their own way?”

Even though he said that, his tone was full of ridicule for Marcus, who was rolling around helplessly at his attacks. Even in his dazed state, Marcus gritted his teeth.

“How dare you!”

Marcus, who had been twisting his body to avoid Kim Jin-woo’s attacks, succeeded in grabbing Kim Jin-woo’s shoulder by swinging both hands fiercely.

Marcus, who had a smile of triumph on his face, thrust his fingernails, as if to grab Kim Jin-woo’s heart, in an instant.

“But you know……”

Marcus, who had been smiling in victory, opened his eyes wide at his voice. And only then did he discover that the opponent was still wearing a cold face and opened his mouth wide.

Clang.

At the same time, an unpleasant noise was heard. The fingernails that had pierced Kim Jin-woo’s chest were all broken and rolling on the floor.

“It seems I was wrong.”

Marcus, who had grasped the situation, tried to pull his body away but froze. The opponent’s hands, which had stretched out at some point, were gripping his two hands so tightly that he couldn’t move.

“You’re too weak to test my strength.”

Even as he spoke, Marcus was struggling to escape his grasp, opened his mouth wide, bared his sharp teeth, and tried to swallow Kim Jin-woo’s head.

However, his fangs could not even get a speck of dust on Kim Jin-woo’s head. Just before his teeth closed, Kim Jin-woo kicked him wildly while holding his hands.

Marcus’s mouth, which had been wide open, fell open as if his jaw was dislocated.

“You were just too unlucky. So, don’t blame me.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been kicking Marcus while looking at him with unfocused eyes, released his hands that had been gripping his hands and grabbed Marcus’s head.

Then, he slowly pulled his head back and slammed his huge head into him.

Crack.

A sound like a watermelon bursting was heard, and after a moment of silence, Marcus collapsed as if he was crumbling.

***

“Hmm. He’s really become a monster now.”

Morrigan, who had been watching the battle between Kim Jin-woo and Marcus, clicked her tongue. She knew very well that the Blood Lion named Marcus was not a particularly outstanding strongman, but he was not someone who would be so easily toyed with.

One of the strongmen representing a floor was being toyed with by her master in this way, so she was reminded of her first meeting with him.

The attrition warfare using his subordinates, followed by the amplification effects on his body, and then driving her, who had just awakened, into a corner, he was not someone worth paying attention to.

So, even though she swore allegiance, she was inwardly dissatisfied.

However, that thought did not last long.

Her master, whom she thought was insignificant, was strong enough to not give her up even under the threat of the 11th floor Count, and he had the skill to play with and annihilate the noble allied forces of the 10th floor who had set out to retaliate.

The only thing he lacked was his combat ability, which was inferior to that of the nobles on the 11th floor, but otherwise, he was no less than the high-ranking nobles of the deep floors.

And now, her master was slowly balancing his physical body with his other abilities.

“Sometime……”

Morrigan, who was looking at her master, who had become unbelievably strong in a short period of time, licked her lips and made an excited face, wondering what method he had used.

“Not yet……”

However, that was only for a moment. She soon shook her head and sighed. He had become stronger, but her master still had many shortcomings compared to her.

He lacked innate combat sense and experience, and he lacked a decisive blow. Even now, the way he finished off that huge Blood Lion was by headbutting him.

Perhaps if there had been no amplification effect, the battle would have been a little more intense.

Maybe he would have struggled.

So, she decided to give her master a little more time.

If he gets a little stronger there, the amplification rate of the amplification effect will increase several times more. Thinking that, she smacked her lips and swallowed her saliva, and Kim Jin-woo, who had dealt with Marcus, shook off the blood and mane on his hands and said.

“It’s harder to suppress the amplification.”

Kim Jin-woo, with a face that showed no joy of victory, muttered like a complaint. And even Morrigan could not help but be surprised by his one word this time.

“Then just now……”

“I told you. I’ll test it out if I see a suitable opponent.”

Kim Jin-woo replied in a nonchalant tone, looking at her surprised face.