Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 220

Dungeon Journal- Episode 221

# 221

Dungeon Journal

“Kkyaaaaaaak!”

With a horrifying scream that made his hair stand on end, the last centaur fell, and a system message appeared, indicating victory in the battle.

Kim Jin-woo silently retrieved Gungnir [a magical spear] and surveyed the battlefield.

Centaurs with severed limbs or holes in their chests were scattered all around.

And beside them lay the precious ancient hero-grade summons, though few in number.

The creatures, resembling a combination of goat, human, and eagle, were as fierce and savage as their grotesque appearance suggested.

Thanks to them, the battle, which he had expected to be overwhelming, resulted in unexpected losses. Some of the ancient summons that Valishus had painstakingly restored were torn to shreds.

Only after losing several summons that he had expected to be at least the masters of lower-level labyrinths did he have to admit that the enemy’s strength was greater than he had thought.

It was fortunate that he realized it now. If he had stepped in from the beginning and used Gungnir, there would have been no losses, but it would have been difficult to compare the strength of both sides.

This made it clear: the Nagas alone could not handle them.

Although they had not perfectly regained their past power, the ancient summons, each incredibly powerful, had suffered three casualties despite their numerical superiority.

If the Nagas had been投入 [thrown] into the battle, the losses would have increased exponentially.

“Unfortunately, there are no survivors.”

Morrigan stepped forward to report the casualties. She didn’t seem to care about his instruction to leave a couple of enemies alive for interrogation. After all, the Black Harbinger governs death, and it was an unreasonable command from the start to ask her to spare even enemies for questioning.

“That’s a shame.”

Kim Jin-woo, contrary to his words, didn’t seem disappointed at all. That’s because he had only just dealt with one of the enemy’s reconnaissance units. There were still plenty more to replace the dead.

“Recover the life stones and move immediately.”

***

The battle continued. In each battle, one or two ancient hero-grade summons were sacrificed.

As a result, after a total of ten battles, the number of summons excluding the Nagas was less than fifteen. In the continuous battles throughout the day, nearly half of the restored Moai [ancient statues brought to life] had been sacrificed.

Although the losses were greater than expected, Kim Jin-woo’s expression was not particularly dark.

The number of Moai waiting to have their bodies restored still numbered in the hundreds. This level of loss was acceptable.

It would have been a different story if it were just meaningless damage. What he gained in the fierce battles was considerable.

First, he became accustomed to Gungnir, which he had only used in the memories of the Magic Spear.

The Magic Spear, said to be unerring and never missing, was indeed as legendary as it was said to be, and with the addition of the weakness detection ability, a life was sure to disappear each time he thrust the spear.

Kim Jin-woo, who had been using whatever weapon he could get his hands on, had finally found his own weapon.

If using the Magic Spear in actual combat was a small gain, then learning about the strengths and weaknesses of the unit was a greater gain.

The restoration of the Moai, which he had believed could be his main force, was not perfect.

They were powerful but slow, and because they lacked intelligence, they were vulnerable to enemy cooperation or tactical attacks. As a result, damage accumulated each time a battle broke out.

If he intended to use them as his main force, improvements had to be made.

Up to this point, everything could be considered additional gains.

The biggest gain was related to the goal he had set when he left the labyrinth: he finally knew how the restored underground floor had changed.

However, he couldn’t just be happy that he had achieved his goal. This was because the worst-case scenario he had imagined had become a reality.

“I won’t know for sure until I meet the master of the labyrinth, but considering the strength of the enemies we’ve faced so far, they’re not just Baron-level riffraff. At the very least, they’re Count-level or higher, and we can’t rule out the possibility of a Duke-level labyrinth.”

Kim Jin-woo said in a calm tone, shaking the blood off Gungnir.

“If the enemies are really from a Duke-level labyrinth’s army…”

“We’ll have to fight the Duke’s army without any inter-floor penalties.”

Even if he had experience starting wars against the deep layers, the Nagas had only faced corrupted Barons at best.

“Now that things have come to this, I think it might be better to launch a preemptive strike.”

Morrigan advised him to devour them all, saying it was a good thing. And he was thinking the same thing.

It’s best to avoid a wounded beast, but that’s only when the beast’s wounds are considerable.

Now that the Great Labyrinth has suffered nearly half its damage, the damage to other labyrinths will be even greater.

It was worth considering hunting the wounded beast, skinning it, and extracting its fangs.

Of course, that was impossible right now.

In the first place, he hadn’t organized his forces with a full-scale war in mind, and the opponent was too strong to make up for it with the charisma of the Commander of Conquest and Victory.

“Let’s return to the labyrinth.”

So Kim Jin-woo decided to return after annihilating fifteen enemy reconnaissance units. But things in life don’t always go as planned.

“We’re being followed.”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the news from the Under Elf scouts who had broken away from the main force and were scouting the vicinity.

“They still haven’t given up?”

His expectation that reconnaissance activity would be curtailed, even for a short time, after stirring up the vicinity to this extent had been dashed.

“The enemy’s size is about two hundred; it doesn’t seem to be for reconnaissance purposes.”

Contrary to his expectations, it was not an additional reconnaissance unit that had burst out of the labyrinth, but a real combat unit.

Should he turn around and fight the enemy? Or should he return as is and wait for the next opportunity? He had to make a decision right now.

Once the battle started, he could no longer withdraw. The title of Commander of Conquest and Victory was a double-edged sword that did not allow even a single defeat or retreat.

Kim Jin-woo looked at the Nagas who were waiting for his decision. Their loyal faces showed that they didn’t care about being outnumbered. But war was not about loyalty.

They were certainly brave warriors, but they were not strong enough to face the Duke’s army.

“Evade the enemy and return to the labyrinth.”

He had already achieved his goal. He had identified the enemy, and the enemy’s reconnaissance unit that had annihilated the Under Elf scouts had already been dealt with. There was no need to fight an unreasonable battle.

“Scouts, cover our tracks and follow us.”

[Excellent. A wise commander does not fight on unfavorable battlefields.]

[Your decision has avoided an unnecessary battle.]

[However, apart from your excellent tactical insight, your decision is somewhat inconsistent with the reputation of the Commander of Conquest and Victory. Although you did not turn your back and run away from the enemy, it is clear that you missed the opportunity to show the majesty of the Commander of Conquest and Victory to an unknown enemy.]

[The amplification effect given to the Nagas temporarily disappears, and a penalty is applied.]

[The bodies of the brave warriors who lost the opportunity to fight due to the commander’s decision become heavy. They will move slower and tire more easily than usual.]

[The duration of the penalty is until the unit returns to the labyrinth. If a battle breaks out, the situation may become quite dangerous.]

[All penalties will disappear upon successful return.]

“Damn it.”

It was a situation that made him curse. The system criticized his decision as if it had been waiting for it.

[It’s not too late. If you turn the unit around and fight the enemy, the penalty imposed on the unit will disappear, and the blessing of victory will be with you again.]

[Are you ready to turn around and face the enemy?]

It was like being pushed to fight.

“Don’t you even know tactical maneuvers? You’re being more strict than I thought.”

He spat out a complaint that wouldn’t reach anyone, annoyed that the message was holding him back when he should be leaving the battlefield with all his might.

[Excuses will not work. The name ‘Conquest’ is not so cheap that it can be won by easily winning only the battles you like.]

[Will you reverse your decision?]

A message popped up as if in response to his words.

“No. I will fight the enemy in the ‘battlefield’ I choose.”

He emphasized the word tactical judgment instead of retreat, as if protesting the narrow-minded message.

[A penalty has been applied to the entire unit.]

[Movement speed has decreased, and stamina and strength have been greatly reduced.]

[The morale of the unit has decreased. A strand of anxiety sprouts in their hearts, which once knew no fear.]

[The reputation of the Commander of Conquest and Victory has somewhat declined.]

But even so, the message was relentless.

As the blessing of victory disappeared and a penalty took its place, confidence rapidly disappeared from the faces of the Nagas.

They weren’t suddenly frightened, but the Nagas had a look of anxiety that he had never seen before.

No, it wasn’t that he had never seen it before. He had just forgotten.

When he first inherited the Naga Labyrinth, the Nagas had always suppressed their fear and fought desperately to overcome the enemy.

That was the case in the war with the Kyoryong King, and it was the same when the insignificant horned rats attacked the labyrinth. They were just one of the many summons born on the 9th floor.

Nevertheless, the reason he had overestimated the power of the Nagas was that the charisma of the conqueror had always been with them, and the blessing of victory had been blessing them.

His mouth was bitter. Was this the feeling when he first saw the bare face of his lover who was always wearing makeup? It was like the scales had fallen from his eyes.

That’s not to say that Kim Jin-woo suddenly began to despise the Nagas, or that he realized the limitations of the species and was disappointed.

He had simply realized the reality and more clearly recalled the direction he had to move forward.

“Hah, there’s one more reason to hurry back to the labyrinth.”

With a short sigh, Kim Jin-woo shook off the stray thoughts in his complicated mind and hurried the unit’s movement.

[Your decision to choose evasion instead of honorable combat is now irreversible.]

It was a message that had forced him to do homework several times before, but it had never been as resentful as this time.

The current message felt like some annoying person somewhere was pushing him on the back, eager to see a fight.

But it was only for a moment, and he soon kicked off the back of the Guardian Dragon and increased the speed of the unit. There was no time to be caught up in worthless delusions.

***

The penalty was more severe than he thought. The unit’s appearance was more powerless than it should have been, just because one title had disappeared and a penalty had been applied.

The Guardian Dragons, who had pierced through the 9th floor in an instant, complaining that the floor was narrow, were exhausted and panting within two hours, and staggered on both legs as if they were drunk.

“We are doing our best to hinder the enemy’s pursuit, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before we are caught.”

The Under Elf scouts informed him of the situation with tired faces.

“Damn it, if it weren’t for the penalty.”

He thought he should avoid the Nagas being massacred before using the Sea Dragon’s Heart.

That thought was still unchanged, and he didn’t think it was wrong. Preserving his forces and deciding whether to advance or retreat as needed was what he had always done.

Besides, this wasn’t the first time he had made a strategic retreat, but he couldn’t understand why the message was setting such strict standards as never before.

It felt as if the system, which had been a reliable support, had turned its back on him.

Kim Jin-woo shuddered all over when he thought that far.

“Could it be?”