Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 135

Dungeon Journal – Episode 136

# 136

Dungeon Journal

Episode 136

Only after Kim Jin-woo returned safely could the waiting troops be dismissed.

The Dragon Knights, Warriors, and Fighters, exhausted from three consecutive battles, scattered and returned to their original positions.

“Hoo.”

As he slumped wearily onto the throne, Dominique quickly rushed over to massage his arms and legs. Dominique, who had solidified her position as the King’s advisor, still acted as his handmaiden before him, never hesitating to do even the most trivial tasks.

The overused muscles gradually relaxed under her gentle touch.

“Hmm…”

As the massage continued, his body relaxed to the point of drowsiness. Kim Jin-woo, who was languidly entrusting himself to Dominique’s touch, frowned as he noticed Morrigan standing guard.

“Is my answer still insufficient?”

“The only answer I received was that there was a fragment.”

“There was a fragment of an Ancient Monarch within the Special Forces, and I merely absorbed it. Is any further explanation necessary?”

Contrary to his indifferent response, she showed no signs of giving up easily.

“That’s enough, Dominique. Thank you.”

At his gesture, Dominique stopped her hands and quietly retreated.

“Don’t disturb the King’s rest for too long.”

Even as she retreated, Dominique didn’t miss the chance to say a word to the fierce crow. Regardless, Morrigan didn’t even glance at Dominique, instead staring straight at Kim Jin-woo.

“How on earth does Master possess the power of an Ancient Monarch?”

“I picked it up.”

He had explained several times that there was a fragment of an Ancient Monarch within the Special Forces, but the conversation was going nowhere, so he answered irritably. Morrigan bristled at his insincere answer.

“It’s not like fragments of Ancient Monarchs are scattered like Down Gems in the underground. Does that even make sense?”

“Whether it makes sense or not, the fact is that I obtained that power by chance.”

With that, Kim Jin-woo pulled himself up from the throne.

“Stop!”

Morrigan, still unconvinced and about to pour out more questions, shut her mouth at his word.

“You act as if you are my master.”

It seemed he was upset that the repeated questions felt like an interrogation. Seeing the anger rising on Kim Jin-woo’s face, Morrigan closed her mouth. But he, already upset, did not easily quell his anger.

“Don’t be mistaken, Morrigan.”

Kim Jin-woo’s demeanor changed abruptly. A blue light streamed from his eyes, and his aura became fierce, as if facing an enemy.

“I am your master, not your friend.”

Kim Jin-woo’s energy, which had become incomparably stronger in the past year, was so threatening that it made even the infamous Crow of the Battlefield cower.

Before, she wouldn’t have given his threats a second thought. But now, he had become a monster even she couldn’t handle.

The commander of unwavering victories, who had never been defeated in countless battles and life-threatening situations, was a being that even the Counts of the Deep Layers couldn’t treat carelessly.

“Remember your place. If you cross the line again…”

Morrigan clenched her teeth, raising all the feathers on her body to resist his energy. But the feathers and beak that had barely been sharpened soon lost their strength and drooped.

The situation had reversed in just one year.

Only after seeing her slightly trembling body did Kim Jin-woo finally calm down and show a satisfied expression.

“Withdraw. Stay confined until I call for you again.”

“As the King wishes…”

At his words, she clenched her teeth, answered, and stepped back.

After Morrigan left, Kim Jin-woo slumped back onto the throne. In just one year, he had managed to tame that fierce crow.

It was an incomparable improvement from before, when it took Balzac, Quantus, and Ortega taking turns to barely subdue her.

But even so, he still felt lacking in power.

The Heart of the Sea Dragon, essential for upgrading the Fortress by one level, was still nowhere to be found. The subjugated labyrinths were sufficient to protect his territory from enemy invasions, but insufficient to aim for the Deep Layers.

In addition, with the recent problems in supplying Down Gems, which could grow his forces, it felt as if the driving force for growth itself had disappeared.

A breakthrough was needed.

The underground war, which might continue indefinitely, and the relationship with the Counts of the Deep Layers, with whom he would eventually have to cross swords. There were still mountains of unresolved issues.

If there was one thing that made his situation better than other underground lords, it was that he was a Surface Dweller.

And he had Surface Dwellers like himself under his command. Even if that subordinate had never left the underground, it was clear that they were fundamentally different from the beings of the underground.

“You’re here?”

Yoon-hee, who was in the Owner’s Room, greeted him with a smile.

“Anything unusual?”

“Well, as you know, nothing special.”

It was the Party Hall he hadn’t visited often because he was busy with the 9th Floor. As he asked about the situation, Yoon-hee’s face wasn’t very bright.

“Is the situation bad?”

“I think there’s a limit to holding out on the 7th Floor any longer.”

“You’ve lasted longer than I expected.”

Even at Kim Jin-woo’s words, Yoon-hee simply shrugged without a word.

Amidst the chaos of the entire underground, the Party Hall had never faced a crisis. This was thanks to the labyrinth’s summons and facilities, which were specialized in bewilderment and stealth rather than combat.

Thanks to this, the Party Hall was able to grow stronger when other labyrinths were worried about survival. They survived by attacking labyrinths caught up in the war and taking their spoils.

But that war boom was now over. The 7th Floor, more than half of which had been occupied by the enemy, was such a harsh battlefield that it could no longer survive alone.

“The illusions cast by the Shadow Magicians are no longer effective. We sacrificed a few summons to divert the enemy’s attention, but there’s no guarantee it will work again next time.”

Yoon-hee honestly admitted her lack of ability.

Considering that she had endured despite the numerous relocation proposals that had been made, the situation on the 7th Floor must be quite bad for her to say this.

“Besides, the enemies have been devouring Down Gems indiscriminately, so the Down Gems on the 7th Floor have dried up. We’re surviving on what we’ve plundered from other labyrinths for now, but if this continues, it will be difficult to even maintain the labyrinth.”

Was the situation any different on other floors? It wasn’t just the 7th Floor that had difficulty maintaining the labyrinth.

Even the 9th Floor, which had relatively successfully defended against enemy invasions, was having difficulty supplying Down Gems. Knowing this fact, her mentioning relocation meant that the situation on the 7th Floor was at its worst.

“When are you planning to relocate?”

“I’m planning to do it within this month. There’s a labyrinth I’m working hard on right now, so as soon as that’s done, I’ll move to the 9th Floor.”

It was obvious what she was working hard on. She was probably planning to attack the rear of a labyrinth whose defenses had been weakened by enemy attacks.

“Move up the schedule. I’ll lend you the 부족한 [insufficient] troops.”

At Kim Jin-woo’s words, Yoon-hee narrowed her eyes.

“Is there something I can help with?”

“It’s not a bad thing for you either.”

Perhaps because it was relatively far from the Fortress, or because she herself was a Dungeon Baby who had partially 벗어난 [escaped] the underground system, she did not absolutely rely on him like other subjugated labyrinths.

Thanks to this, a little explanation was needed to persuade her.

“It’s not that there’s no space for the Party Hall to settle down, but the 9th Floor doesn’t have plenty of Down Gems either. No, in some ways, the situation is even worse. Since there are no disputes here, there’s no way to obtain Down Gems unless they’re accidentally discovered.”

Under the rule of a powerful ruler who does not even allow disputes, the labyrinths on the 9th Floor were slowly withering away.

The situation was different from the labyrinths on other floors, which hastily attacked other places to supplement their 부족한 [lacking] Down Gems. Kim Jin-woo did not allow 교전 [engagement/combat] between allies under any circumstances.

“So? Are you thinking of going to other floors to 채집 [collect] Down Gems? In this 난리통 [chaos]?”

Yoon-hee’s response was skeptical. With Down Gems being rapidly depleted by the forces of other undergrounds that suddenly opened passages and rushed out, it was not easy to find Down Gems anywhere in the underground.

“No, even if we 털어 [plunder] other floors, we won’t even 건지지 [salvage] enough Down Gems to 보충 [replenish] the 소모된 [consumed/depleted] troops.”

He wouldn’t have come out like this with a plan that would clearly result in more losses than gains if he were unlucky enough to encounter the enemy.

“Then are you going to 노리 [target] the Deep Layers?”

“Is the situation any different in the Deep Layers?”

The Counts of the Deep Layers were also struggling. Thanks to this, they had not been spared from having their Down Gems 약탈당 [plundered] by enemy attacks.

“Then where on earth are you going to obtain Down Gems? What, are Down Gems going to 뚝 떨어지기 [fall] from the sky…”

Yoon-hee, who was continuing her words, suddenly widened her eyes and closed her mouth.

“Could it be…”

There was one thing she could 짐작 [guess] from the fact that he had sought her out despite having numerous subordinates. But because it was so unrealistic, she shook her head as if 부정하듯 [denying] her 짐작 [guess] and muttered to herself.

“There’s no way, right? It would be a 명분 [pretext] for war, especially now.”

She also knew that 크리쳐 [creatures] and 비스트들이 [beasts], who had been 밀려난 [pushed out] from the underground’s 먹이사슬 [food chain] competition, were 넘고 [crossing] the 경계 [boundary] between the Surface and the underground. Thanks to this, she also knew that the humans on the Surface were 예의주시 [closely watching] the underground.

“You’re right in your 짐작 [guess]. What I’m 노리는 [targeting] is not the underground.”

But he 오히려 [rather] laughed 껄껄대며 [heartily] as if her 추측 [speculation] was 기꺼운 [welcome].

“I’m thinking of 찾아볼 [searching for] the 행방 [whereabouts] of the Down Gems that have been 유출 [leaked] to the Surface.”

“But if you 까딱 잘못했다가는 [make a wrong move]!”

“What do you mean by 잘못되는 [going wrong]?”

The underground and the Surface were different. Kim Jin-woo asked 천연덕스럽게 [innocently] at her 우려 [concern].

For a 지저의 존재 [being of the underground] to go up to the Surface and 약탈 [plunder] Down Gems. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

The 지저의 존재 [beings of the underground] are 누구나 묶여 [all bound] to their 거주 층 [dwelling floor] and cannot 발휘 [exert] their 힘 [power] on the Surface.

하물며 [furthermore], if things go wrong, it could give the Surface a 빌미 [pretext] to 침공 [invade] the underground 대대적으로 [on a large scale] again.

Of course, war wouldn’t break out so easily, but the current 위태로운 [precarious] underground could not 여유 [afford] to 받아 넘길 [take on] even 사소한 도발 [minor provocation] from the Surface. That’s why her face turned 하얗게 [pale].

“If your 정체 [identity] is 발각 [exposed] while you’re looking for Down Gems…”

“So how would I be 발각 [exposed]?”

Kim Jin-woo’s reaction was 시종일관 시큰둥 [consistently indifferent].

“Well, you could be 잡힐 중간에 [caught in the middle]…”

Having 모아온 [gathered] a lot of 정보를 [information] about the Surface, Yoon-hee 늘어놓으며 [listed] various 이유 [reasons] to 반대 [oppose] his 계획 [plan].

But there was one thing she was 간과하고 [overlooking].

“나나 그대나 겉보기에는 완벽한 인간인데? [Aren’t you and I perfect humans on the surface?]”