Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 131

# 131

Dungeon Journal

52. The Power of the Old Monarch

Unlike the 9th floor, the underground of the 11th floor wasn’t a maze of narrow tunnels. Though large and small rocks jutted out, partially obscuring the view, the passage was quite wide, with large open spaces every few steps. For Kim Jin-woo, accustomed to the cramped underground, it felt like a breath of fresh air.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on the 11th floor.”

He had briefly passed through the 11th floor to escape the Duke’s Labyrinth. Now, after a long time, he returned to the 11th floor, not as a fugitive, but as a proud noble of the underground.

He sighed deeply, a mix of complicated feelings swirling within him.

“What is this? They look weaker than I thought.”

Before Kim Jin-woo stood the hero-grade summons that the Counts had carefully selected and sent. Judging that they could no longer afford to weaken the power of the 9th floor, he had come to the 11th floor alone. These were the forces he would have to use as his hands and feet.

But this special unit that was given to him…

“The Counts are using this opportunity to pawn off all the useless ones.”

They were all ancient heroes who were difficult to deal with. Each had a sinister and crooked air about them, even more so than Morrigan, and as he suspected, they were extremely uncooperative. He could tell without even asking how poorly they had been treated by the Counts.

“Useless? It’s cute to hear a little whelp like you say that.”

A giant covered in pure white fur sneered at him. Seeing that rebellious attitude, Kim Jin-woo had to revise his initial assessment.

Comparing these guys to Morrigan was an insult to the raven of the battlefield. Though sinister and violent, Morrigan possessed a certain dignity. But the other ancient heroes he met were of surprisingly low caliber.

The way they swaggered and sneered was just like thugs in a marketplace.

Kim Jin-woo frowned and looked around.

There were fifteen giants, four in the forms of wolves, lions, and other beasts, and two with human-like appearances—a total of twenty-one summons glaring at him.

Kim Jin-woo sighed. He could already foresee the stress he would endure working with them. If he could, he would immediately summon his loyal subordinates from the 9th floor to this place.

But that was just wishful thinking. While living on the 11th floor, he had to live with them, whether he liked it or not.

The moment he acknowledged that fact, Kim Jin-woo’s aura shifted.

Blue light surged and flowed down in streams, and the atmosphere, which had been languid, sharpened dramatically.

“Okay, shall we see the little one show off a bit?”

The face of the snow giant, who had been spoiling for a fight, stiffened. He must have been surprised by the unexpectedly fierce and sharp aura.

“More than just a grain of rice, it seems….”

The snow giant’s words, whether admiration or sarcasm, were cut short by Kim Jin-woo.

[The Commander of Conquest’s unique amplification effect has been activated. Combat ability is dramatically increased.]

[The Conqueror’s title has been activated. The Conqueror’s true nature is revealed when conquering something. And at this moment, you have decided to ‘conquer’ them.]

[The strengthened body undergoes another dramatic enhancement. Physical abilities have increased tremendously.]

Beyond the system messages, he could see the snow giant’s horrified face.

Kim Jin-woo’s specialty was deploying his power through surprise attacks, exploiting the opponent’s weaknesses and carelessness. Even the mighty raven that the Counts couldn’t handle had been brought to its knees by this sudden assault, and the snow giant quickly became overwhelmed.

***

“So, you had a fight as soon as you arrived?”

“You should have sent me some more obedient guys.”

He had only met Dinariyon’s true form through nightmares, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Dinariyon still hid his sinister and ominous nature behind his ordinary appearance and didn’t reveal his true intentions.

“Is that your method? I wondered how you tamed that fierce raven, but now I see.”

“It depends on the opponent, but I don’t think my belief that a beating is the best medicine for a dog that doesn’t listen will ever change.”

“So, was it effective?”

“You can’t expect to be full on the first bite.”

Dinariyon burst into laughter at his lukewarm answer.

“These guys have really met their match. It looks like they’re in for a lot of trouble.”

“I doubt you came here just to chat?”

Kim Jin-woo cut off Dinariyon’s words and urged him with a look to get to the point. Considering the naga [snake-like mythical creatures] of the 9th floor who were fighting desperately at this moment, he had to achieve results as soon as possible and send reinforcements from the 11th floor to the 9th floor. Of course, he couldn’t afford to relax.

“Well, neither you nor I have much time.”

Dinariyon’s Labyrinth was also under attack by enemies, so the conversation was very concise.

“Your mission is to lead the special unit, travel around the battlefield, and spread the Commander of Conquest’s unique amplification effect evenly. It is up to you whether you participate directly in the battle or not.”

From the beginning, what the Counts wanted was the amplification effect of his title, so it was an expected request. So, he accepted the mission without any particular objection.

“Since the other Counts are very busy, I will continue to be in charge of contacting you. Anatolius, who has a connection with you, may look for you separately.”

“Whoever acts as the messenger, as long as I get paid properly, that’s all that matters.”

It was the moment when the great Nightmare Monarch was treated as a mere messenger, but Dinariyon didn’t care. Rather, he wished him good luck with a cheerful smile.

Without even having a chance to meet with the other Counts, Kim Jin-woo was thrust into the mission.

The enemies who invaded the 11th floor were even larger and fiercer than the monsters on the 9th floor. And they were even more blindly devoted. But that was it. They were just stronger and larger, and their appearance, which was not much different from the ones he had seen on the 9th floor, didn’t give him any particular impression.

“This is the Counts’ army.”

Kim Jin-woo instead paid attention to the Counts’ troops fighting against them. He wouldn’t have many opportunities to see the power he might have to fight in the future.

The Count’s soldiers he observed were incomparably stronger than the forces on the 9th floor. Even the forces that the 10th floor nobles boasted about were rather shabby in comparison.

Even though the elites, who could be said to be the Counts’ true power, had not yet come forward, they were overwhelming.

It was rather incomprehensible that they were not able to push back the enemy with such power.

“Everyone seems to have their own agenda.”

If he, an outsider, could see through it, then the other Counts would also know the situation. Nevertheless, the reason why they were still moving passively was because they couldn’t let their guard down against each other.

After sorting things out, Kim Jin-woo began to roam the battlefield in earnest. His mission was to spread the amplification effect of the Commander of Conquest throughout the entire battlefield.

He never appeared on the front lines of battle. He only showed up in battles that he was guaranteed to win, and he never went to unfavorable battlefields.

The title he possessed was only maintained when he continued the conquest. He had no intention of weakening his own power just to fulfill the demands of the 11th floor Counts.

But even he couldn’t completely avoid battle.

In the continuous battles, the ancient hero-grade summons had no choice but to feign obedience to his orders in order to survive. And that forced obedience soon became genuine obedience, and by the time Kim Jin-woo had been on the 11th floor for a month, there were no summons among them who refused his orders.

The crisis continued.

Kim Jin-woo, who had set out to support the Parthenon, gritted his teeth as he saw the suddenly surging enemies. Considering that the ancient hero-grade summons, who were sensitive to danger, had not detected it in advance, it was clear that the Parthenon had been up to something.

He had been trying to avoid encountering the Parthenon as much as possible, fearing this situation, but in the end, it had happened.

He hurriedly pushed the summons back and deflected the enemies’ attacks. He was barely able to avoid the crisis by subtly guiding the enemy’s attack to where the Parthenon’s forces were waiting.

But the Parthenon’s trickery didn’t end there. They subtly did everything they could to tarnish his Commander of Conquest title. Now that the entire 11th floor was relying on the Commander of Conquest title to reduce losses, it was truly petty and mean-spirited behavior.

In the end, something went wrong.

Because the Parthenon’s troops had withdrawn without any warning, Kim Jin-woo and the ancient hero-grade summons were left isolated.

A blood-draining battle ensued. The enemies kept pouring in endlessly.

The blades had long been broken, and the summons were desperately engaged in close combat, their fingernails and toenails broken. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to protect his own life, let alone the Commander of Conquest title, but Kim Jin-woo instead smiled.

He was just looking for an excuse to return to the 9th floor. In the meantime, the Parthenon had given him an excuse, so from his point of view, it was rather welcome.

There had been countless sabotage attempts, but there had never been a case where they had completely handed over their allies to the enemy like this. If it became public, the Parthenon would be fiercely criticized and isolated by the other Dukes.

“But that’s only if we make it back alive from here.”

While he was lost in thought for a moment, the situation on the battlefield worsened. Kim Jin-woo briefly looked around and slowly began to step forward in front of the summons.

“Form ranks and take turns fighting the enemy! The number of enemies won’t decrease if you scatter and waste your strength!”

Although they had given him a lot of trouble, the summons gathered here were all strong individuals at the hero level. Although they had been provided by the Counts, they were food that wouldn’t cause any problems if he consumed them, since they had been treated as unwanted guests.

So, from some point on, he began to treat the summons with care.

“The ones with low stamina should go inside first!”

At his words, the summons gathered around him. As they relied on each other and fought together, it felt like they had more breathing room than before. Of course, how much breathing room could they have in a situation where they were surrounded by enemies from all sides? But it was enough to catch their breath.

As their breathing returned, the summons’ attacks began to sharpen again.

“The leader should rest too!”

The snow giant, Hogeo, who had once swaggered around and had to be brutally beaten, stepped into Kim Jin-woo’s place and said.

“There’s still some breathing room, so help the guys on the other side instead of me!”

“It doesn’t look like we can win by fighting for an hour or two, so don’t be stubborn!”

His tone was still swaggering, but there was a sincere concern for him inside. Even in the midst of the urgent battle, he felt inexplicably proud and reluctantly stepped back to rest.

How much time had passed?

One of the ancient hero-grade summons approached him. The wolf-shaped summon, who had remained one step back and had not come forward even when the others had repeatedly resisted and argued with him, had a strangely faint presence.

“What are you….”

But the summon who approached him suddenly bit his wrist. He reflexively thought of betrayal and tried to cut down the wolf, but soon realized that there was no pain and frowned. But that was only for a moment. He tried to shake off his hand and pull it out, but he froze like a stone.

[A fragment of the Radiant Monarch, one of the ten monarchs who ruled the ancient underground, is being transferred.]

“What is this?”

Sudden action and an unexpected message. The summon said with an anxious face.

“All of this was foreseen, so I will pass everything on to you.”

“Speak so I can understand.”

“I’ve wasted too much time avoiding the Counts’ eyes. If it’s not now, when the Parthenon is taking away troops because of his greed, there will never be another chance. Just follow me without saying anything.”

With those words, the summon’s body began to be enveloped in a brilliant flash.

[You have obtained a clue to the High Lord, the throne of the ten mighty monarchs who ruled the old underground.]

[But unfortunately, the power of the fragment has been greatly lost over the long years.]

[All that has been fully inherited through the fragment is the qualification of the High Lord.]

“You are…….”

“I am one of the thoughts that the Radiant Monarch scattered in the underground. You are the only one among the beings of the underground who has lost their qualifications who does not belong to the underground, so you are qualified to uphold his will.”

With incomprehensible words, the wolf-shaped summon was completely enveloped in light and soon disappeared.

Kim Jin-woo, who was unknowingly standing blankly, chasing the scattered light, came to his senses at the sound of a fierce shout coming from afar.

“Crush the enemies!”

Following the shout, the sound of noisy hooves was heard, and then the elite troops led by Anatolius appeared and began to push back the enemy.

Anatolius, who leisurely approached the place where the iron-blooded knights had passed, smiled at him.

“You’re a mess.”

“Well, thanks to some bastard.”

Kim Jin-woo, who remembered the Parthenon’s trickery that he had forgotten because of the flash, snarled fiercely. Anatolius, who had heard the whole story, immediately took him to Dinariyon and explained the situation.

“Is that true?”

It was Anatolius who answered Dinariyon’s question instead.

“There were so many enemy corpses that it was difficult for the iron-blooded knights to charge. But none of the Parthenon’s soldiers were to be seen.”

“Ugh, he’s completely insane.”

The fact that the Parthenon had a petty nature was already no secret. But Dinariyon seemed surprised that he had been so blatant in trying to resolve his grudges.

“Anyway, let’s end the contract with the Counts with this. I don’t want to go to the battlefield with a knife that I don’t know when it will be stabbed in my back.”

Dinariyon became speechless at Kim Jin-woo’s sharp rebuke. Anyway, it was Dinariyon himself who had brought the Naga King to the 11th floor, and it was Dinariyon himself who had guaranteed his safety. From Dinariyon’s point of view, who valued his face and honor, it was an embarrassing situation.

“Since you guys broke the promise first, I will finish the mission here and receive the compensation.”

“I will guarantee that your request is reasonable.”

Anatolius added strength to his words. In the end, two Counts agreed and guaranteed, and the existing request was canceled.

In the process, Kim Jin-woo, who had been promised much more military funds and troops than originally promised as compensation for the Parthenon’s unilateral actions, was finally able to return to the 9th floor.