Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 214

Dungeon Journal-214

# 214

Dungeon Journal

Episode 215

Ortega turned, his expression one of pleading at the word ‘fugitive.’ One of the Drakans, filling the massive passage, stood behind him and sighed, stepping forward at the gaze.

“Please forgive the child, as promised.”

It was Agripitus, the Dragon Emperor, Ortega’s father. He squeezed his eyes shut, a miserable expression on his face, seemingly ashamed of his son’s pathetic state.

Kim Jin-woo decided not to press the issue, as further taunting could create animosity with the powerful duke of the deep layers, and simply nodded.

“A promise is a promise.”

At those words, the Dragon Emperor opened his eyes and offered a look of gratitude.

“But he seems to be in better condition than I heard.”

“The curse that gnaws at his mind and body is temporarily suppressed. He couldn’t possibly meet his liege lord being carried on a stretcher. I no longer wish for his pride to be further damaged.”

In truth, there was no pride left to damage, but he didn’t bother to say that out loud and provoke the Dragon Emperor.

“Good. But you see.”

Kim Jin-woo’s gaze landed on Ortega. Perhaps sensing the attention on him, the cowardly Drakan flinched once more.

The Dragon Emperor sighed again at the pathetic sight, and Kim Jin-woo smirked.

“Are you mute? Or has the curse of language rotted your tongue?”

He didn’t like Ortega’s attitude of hiding behind the Dragon Emperor and ignoring all his past faults.

So, he gestured to stop the Dragon Emperor from intervening again and pressed Ortega.

“The deal with the Dragon Emperor is already done. He offered a price, and I agreed to accept it. But the rest is your responsibility, isn’t it? Or do you want your father to step in and speak for you again this time?”

Ortega trembled all over as the gaze intensified.

“What I agreed to forgive is a coward, not a spoiled brat. Ortega, if you have any of that so-called pride left, finish this with your own mouth.”

Ortega looked at his father once more, but this time, the Dragon Emperor didn’t step in to help him. He simply urged his son with a stern look he had painstakingly created.

“P-Please forgive me. I must have been possessed back then.”

Even with the stammered words of apology, Kim Jin-woo still didn’t soften his fierce gaze.

“I will make up for the loyalty I failed to show then, dedicating the rest of my life.”

Ortega said again, watching his reaction.

“Please forgive me. I will never repeat the same mistake.”

“Let there be no lie in those words.”

Kim Jin-woo finally responded after a long pause, and Ortega nodded, his face brightening.

“I suffered from the pain of my body rotting and my soul scattering due to the curse. I can confidently say that there is no more terrible pain in the world than this.”

It sounded as if he would run away again if an even more terrible pain came, but he probably meant to express his determination.

Kim Jin-woo stared at Ortega for a long time with a clear gaze before opening his mouth again.

“I will believe you.”

“T-Thank you.”

“Thank you, Commander of the Inheritance.”

Ortega quickly bowed his head in gratitude, and the Dragon Emperor also offered his thanks with a relieved face.

However, Kim Jin-woo still didn’t relax his expression for some reason, and a chilling voice flowed from his mouth.

“But why are you still so upright?”

“W-What…”

“You clearly said with your own mouth that you came to offer the loyalty you failed to show, so why are you still holding your head so stiffly!”

Startled by the fierce shout, Ortega quickly knelt down, and the Dragon Emperor, unable to bear to look at the sight, turned his head away in shame.

“Good, welcome back.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been staring at Ortega for a long time, shifted his gaze to the Dragon Emperor and smiled.

“Good, shall we calculate the price for accepting your son back now?”

***

“Ugh, you’re terrible. If you had been born on the same floor as me, I probably would have run out of storage and become impoverished long ago.”

“I know very well how abundant the dukes’ warehouses are. So, stop complaining about just a few Down Jams [a valuable resource in this world].”

Not only did he know, but Kim Jin-woo had also been involved in the construction to expand the Spider Duke’s warehouse during his days as a tunnel worker.

“Good, now the most important thing remains.”

Kim Jin-woo, watching the Naga workers carry away the boxes full of Down Jams that Agripitus had handed over as compensation, clapped his hands to draw attention.

He hadn’t even blinked at the massive amount of Down Jams, but this time, for some reason, he had a very expectant look on his face.

Toward him, the Dragon Emperor handed over a large box he had been carrying in his arms.

“It’s bigger than I thought?”

Unlike his grumbling mouth, his face was beaming.

The item inside the box that the Dragon Emperor handed over was a rare item that he had been desperately searching for but couldn’t find.

How could he not be happy to get such a rare item for free, thanks to a half-wit Drakan?

“Now that all the payment has been made, all that remains is for you to keep your promise.”

“Good, good. As promised, I will take good care of Ortega, whom you cherish so much.”

Kim Jin-woo couldn’t take his eyes off the box, constantly bursting into laughter.

“I will trust you.”

Leaving those short words, the Dragon Emperor turned as if to leave immediately, then turned back again.

“Did you also buy a restored item from the Black Merchant?”

Kim Jin-woo, wondering what this was about, belatedly understood the meaning and mumbled an answer.

He had deliberately welcomed the Dragon Emperor far away from the boundaries of the Great Labyrinth, but it seemed that he couldn’t completely deceive the eyes of this powerful duke.

“Ah, well, yes.”

“The price must have been considerable. You’re quite resourceful. I heard that even the counts of the deep layers emptied their warehouses paying the price.”

It was a passing remark, but the Dragon Emperor seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the situation on the 11th floor. So, he involuntarily showed a wary face.

Knowing the movements of the deep layer counts meant that he also knew what they were aiming for, so he couldn’t let his guard down.

However, whether the counts had done a better job of covering their tracks than he thought, there was no sign of the Dragon Emperor being wary of the old monarch in his eyes.

“I’m going to try to block it somehow with the Down Jams you gave me.”

The Dragon Emperor nodded with an expression that he didn’t care about such things and immediately continued.

“Since I owe you a debt, I will give you one piece of advice.”

The Dragon Emperor’s fiercely gleaming eyes were toward the distant Great Labyrinth, and the wariness was stronger than necessary.

“Beware of the Black Merchant. Also, do not be deceived by the rare items they have sown in the Underworld.”

It was a completely unexpected remark, and Kim Jin-woo was momentarily so startled that he thought Mimir and the Black Merchant’s identities had been revealed.

“What do you mean?”

Belatedly recovering his expression, he asked back, and the Dragon Emperor answered with a glint in his eyes.

“The guise of a merchant is merely an illusion, and dealing with them will destroy you.”

Kim Jin-woo didn’t know how much the Dragon Emperor knew, but he knew that he didn’t simply regard the Black Merchant as a mere merchant group.

His head became complicated, and he asked the Dragon Emperor, trying to hide his inner thoughts.

“The items they sell are essential for a new labyrinth owner like me. If I hadn’t traded with them, I wouldn’t have grown this much.”

The Dragon Emperor’s golden eyes flashed at his brazen words. He felt uncomfortable with the unfathomable gaze, but he didn’t avoid it and met his gaze.

“It’s not unreasonable to think so. But I warn you, what they sell is not rare items but delusions and destruction, so you should be careful not to become like the barons at the entrance of the deep layers.”

It wasn’t wariness. The Dragon Emperor, Agripitus, was clearly hostile to the Black Merchant.

The moment he realized that, Kim Jin-woo thought that the Usurper might already know the identity of the Black Merchant.

“The Underworld will soon become noisy, so keep your center and don’t be shaken.”

And that thought became certain the moment he finished listening to Agripitus’s words.

The Usurper already knew the identity of the Black Merchant. Also, the nobles of the deep layers, who seemed to be moving as they pleased, were still under the influence of the Usurper.

“I alone cannot stop the storm, so I ask that you do not take my words lightly. When that time comes, even if my son is in your arms, it will not be a shield.”

If the previous warning was vague, this warning was more explicit and clear.

Agripitus hoped that his son would not be caught up in something that would soon happen, and a strong smell of blood permeated that wish.

“If, if I get caught up in that commotion, what happens?”

Agripitus hesitated to answer and opened his mouth after a long time.

“I will do my best to protect your labyrinth. But if that is not possible, I will separate life and death to relieve my son of the duty he bears.”

***

After Agripitus returned, Kim Jin-woo left Ortega in a suitable place and immediately sought out the Black Merchant’s headquarters.

Tearing off the parchment that Mimir had left behind in case of emergency, the Black Merchant’s auction house, which he had visited several times, appeared before his eyes.

“My Lord?”

Mimir rushed over as soon as the portal opened and asked the reason for the visit.

“Things have gone wrong.”

Kim Jin-woo, who started by saying that, told him all the conversations he had with Agripitus and warned him.

“You should also prepare in your own way.”

“Well, this is getting complicated.”

However, Mimir’s answer was calm, unlike the situation.

“You’re not very surprised.”

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t think my identity would never be revealed.”

Mimir continued the story, saying that the Usurper might have known his identity all along.

“The reason the Usurper left me alone may be because he wanted me to collect the treasures of the Eternal Warehouse that he reluctantly had to give to the nobles due to promises. And now that the counts’ warehouses are empty with the restored items of the Great Labyrinth, he must have thought that time was near.”

Even in a crisis, with the terrible opponent called the Usurper targeting him, Kim Jin-woo was a little impressed by his composed appearance.

He had even thought of giving up his attachment to the Eternal Warehouse and cutting ties with Mimir in the worst case, but he changed his mind after seeing Mimir’s calm appearance.

Sitting in the chair that had been prepared in advance, he said with an interesting face.

“You seem to have something up your sleeve.”

There is a saying that a fox does not dig only one hole. And in Kim Jin-woo’s eyes, Mimir was several times more cunning and sly than a fox.

Thinking that there was no way Mimir could not have anticipated this situation, he asked for a solution.

“Do you know that there is nothing eternal in the Underworld?”

Mimir twisted the corners of his mouth grotesquely, his glassy eyes gleaming.

“Even a heavy boulder is eroded and worn away by the wind over time, so how can loyalty be eternal?”