Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 264

Dungeon Journal-265

# 265

Dungeon Journal

Sweat trickled down my back. Had the air in the Underworld ever felt this heavy? For the first time, Kim Jin-woo felt burdened by the prospect of facing Dominique alone.

“Ahem.”

He cleared his throat awkwardly, but the atmosphere remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Dominique’s expression shifted constantly.

Her face flushed red as she shook her head, only to adopt a determined look moments later.

Then, as if struck by another thought, she cupped her cheeks and hung her head low.

But then, at some point, she stopped showing any signs of unease. As her face settled into a serene expression, it was Kim Jin-woo’s turn to feel anxious.

He still couldn’t meet her gaze, only stealing glances, but the look in Dominique’s eyes, when they occasionally met, seemed unnecessarily resolute.

Combined with the naga’s [a mythical creature, often depicted as half-human, half-serpent] characteristic coolness, it made him feel like a herbivore facing a predator, his fur standing on end.

“Dominique?”

He called her name, shrinking back almost unconsciously, and she shook her head.

“Yes, Master.”

The light in her eyes vanished in an instant, and he belatedly breathed a sigh of relief. But,

[The naga queen is an infinitely gentle yet strong being. She sought a way to navigate this awkward atmosphere and finally found it.]

It seemed it was too early to relax. Dominique hadn’t given up. Beyond the flashing message in front of him, her face drew closer.

[The queen has decided to help her indecisive master make a decision. Like the wise naga she is, she knows that everything is difficult the first time, but the second time is not.]

What was she even saying? Kim Jin-woo, seeing the naga’s uniquely gleaming eyes, involuntarily took a step back.

[A queen with the qualifications of a consort has decided to activate her abilities.]

[The ‘courtship’ ability towards the king has been activated. Every gesture of hers melts the heart of a man. There is no man in this world who can withstand her pure yet incredibly sensual gestures. No, even if there were, it’s definitely not you.]

[Having watched over the king for a long time and knowing his tastes better than anyone else, her seduction is a special act of courtship just for you.]

In the midst of his dazed mind, a soft sensation reached him.

[The High Lord’s mighty mental strength resists this deadly temptation.]

[Resistance successful. The queen’s courtship can no longer shake you.]

His eyes snapped open, and his mind returned. But he didn’t bother pushing her away.

Beyond the soft, warm sensation, he saw the shyness of a woman trembling with fear of being rejected.

[Having successfully resisted, you can completely stop the queen’s courtship if you wish.]

Kim Jin-woo smiled wryly at the message in front of him. The Underworld’s system was terribly lacking in romance. It was pushing him to coldly reject a woman trembling so pathetically before him.

He simply shook his head, dismissing the message before him. Then, he embraced Dominique.

Their lips met, and a gasp escaped from her luscious lips.

“Ah…”

The electrifying pleasure and dizzying sensation pierced his mind.

A kiss with a vampire was savage and decadent. The ecstatic experience of tongues intertwining gave him a dizzying pleasure, but at the same time, he felt a threat as if his very existence was collapsing. But this time, it was different.

The warmth spreading throughout his body from simply kissing her was incredibly languid and pleasant.

Fullness outweighed pleasure. He was truly moved, and thanks to that, he could completely erase his last hesitation.

Dominique, her eyes slightly unfocused from the rapturous kiss, wrapped her arms around his waist, urging him on. The cold sensation of her scales had never felt so good.

He unconsciously caressed the shimmering scales. He must have touched her in just the right spot, because she tilted her chin up and tightened the tail wrapped around his waist.

“Hmm? Tail?”

In that instant, Kim Jin-woo realized the presence of something that shouldn’t be there at this moment and blurted out a dumbfounded sound.

The naga queen only appeared in human form during the deepest night, and unfortunately, it wasn’t night now.

He saw the naga’s tail, swaying mischievously in his sight.

***

“Ugh.”

Once the firewood, which had been so reluctant to catch fire, finally did, it showed no signs of going out easily.

But he had to put it out, even if he had to force it. Kim Jin-woo frowned at the tail wagging in front of him.

Dominique, perhaps having tried to connect with him again, seemed to guess the reason for his sudden somber expression and gave him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, Master. Angela suddenly appeared and pushed me from behind…”

An excuse unlike her, he tried to wrap up the situation by stroking her head, trying to appear magnanimous.

“S-Shall I come again at night?”

He didn’t answer. But sometimes, things can be understood without words. This was exactly one of those times.

The subtle atmosphere from just now was nowhere to be found, and the faces of Kim Jin-woo and Dominique, as they conversed, were nothing but serious.

“Mimir’s words that the Underworld might perish don’t sound like a lie.”

“Why do you think so?”

She answered his question without hesitation.

“The beings of the Underworld, with the exception of a few, have already forgotten how to naturally reproduce.”

It was an unexpected story. That was because, from Kim Jin-woo’s perspective, who wasn’t originally a being of the Underworld, they were just beings that could be summoned through the Summoning Stone.

Naturally, the reproduction or survival of the species wasn’t his concern.

However, now that the topic had suddenly come up, he couldn’t pretend not to know until the end.

“And the war is endless, and countless people are perishing within it. Among them are the few who can reproduce naturally and the masters who can prosper their clans even through the Summoning Stone.”

Only then could Kim Jin-woo realize what Dominique was worried about.

The destruction of a labyrinth meant the extinction of an entire race.

And as time went on, more and more labyrinths would be caught up in the war and disappear, and as time passed, the Underworld would eventually become empty.

“Then the Wish Stone is?”

“If my guess is correct, the Wish Stone is something with a special power that governs the creation and destruction of a clan.”

Dominique’s words were quite reasonable.

“Even if that’s not the case, it’s at least the key to something with similar power.”

“If the Underworld perishes, I can only think of self-destruction as the reason, not any other. Those born and raised in the Underworld are beasts who don’t know coexistence.”

She repeatedly emphasized that the Underworld was slowly dying.

“Ugh, then am I accelerating the destruction?”

He had destroyed countless labyrinths while dealing with thousands of rioters, and just recently, he had destroyed three labyrinths corresponding to the Duke class.

If the destruction of the Underworld was imminent, then he was one of the main culprits accelerating the destruction.

“Self-destruction, self-destruction…”

The destruction of the Underworld was such a big and distant story to him, who had only brought one floor under his control.

No, to be honest, he didn’t care much whether the Underworld perished or not. As long as he and the nagas were safe, he didn’t care about the Underworld.

“But would that cunning Mimir be so engrossed in the cause of preventing the destruction of the Underworld?”

It was impossible. At least, the Mimir he had experienced was neither so devoted nor so great.

“If, as expected, the Wish Stone is something that holds the creation and destruction of the Underworld in its hands, then the power contained within it must be truly extraordinary. He may be aiming for that power. No, maybe it’s both.”

Recalling the insidious imp, he couldn’t help but consider even the worst-case scenario.

How would he look in the eyes of Mimir, who was trying to prevent the destruction of the Underworld? Probably a bastard to be killed, nothing more, nothing less. Wasn’t he one of the main culprits who continued to sicken the Underworld, which was already dying even if left alone?

If Mimir had even a speck of concern for the cause, he would eventually reveal his true colors to him.

The lord of greed, who devoured everything, was the most Underworld-like being, a ruthless ruler who didn’t know coexistence.

“In the end, it’s certain that we can’t be together until the end.”

Whether he would no longer rely on Mimir and the Black Merchant’s information network to find contact with the ancients, or whether Mimir would find what he wanted first, the question was ultimately whose usefulness would run out first.

“For now, let’s put aside the Wish Stone. It’s unsettling, but the immediate problem we need to worry about isn’t the destruction of the Underworld, which may or may not happen, or Mimir’s dark intentions.”

Looking at Dominique, he said,

“In the end, what matters is power. Getting treasures requires the help of the goddess of luck, but protecting them ultimately depends on your own strength.”

Whether that treasure was the Wish Stone, the Underworld, or something else, what he needed now was power.

“Summon User and Rickshasha. They have something to do.”

He knew exactly what needed to be done right away, and there was no hesitation. And in the meantime, the postponement of his and Dominique’s grand event was unavoidable.

***

The first thing Kim Jin-woo did was to bring the entire 9th floor completely under his control.

Now that the dukes who had dominated the east, west, south, and north had fallen, there was no one left to oppose him, but that didn’t mean he knew the entire 9th floor inside out.

He tore off two-thirds of User’s body and scattered the masses of greed in all directions, and he urged the Under Elves, including Rickshasha, to focus on restoring the information network.

With no more obstructive dukes and even the wild creatures gone, there was nothing to hold him back on the 9th floor.

The work went smoothly, and he easily brought the entire 9th floor under his surveillance.

While focusing on reconnaissance on the outside, he continued to strengthen the labyrinth internally using the spoils of war. The astronomical spoils obtained from defeating the three dukes and the enormous treasures sent by Mimir as tribute were continuously used to strengthen and repair the Great Labyrinth.

The number of nagas had increased to nearly 10,000, and surprisingly, all the summoned nagas were Hero-class.

With a force that wouldn’t be pushed back no matter who they faced in the Underworld, he slowly began to contemplate turning his expanded power outward again.

“If you want to eat, you have to check if the rice is cooked in the rice cooker first.”

Kim Jin-woo recalled the counterfeit Great Labyrinths of the earls he had seen before and dispatched patrols to the deeper levels.

If they still hadn’t imprinted on the labyrinths, as they had done back then, it wouldn’t be bad to start collecting them around this time.

He could have waited longer, but in the Underworld, where it was difficult to see even an inch ahead, there was no need to do good for others for no reason. As the saying goes, you can be too thrifty.

He prepared to head to the 11th floor at any time, according to the reports of the patrols. But the patrols he had been waiting for did not return, and instead, someone unexpected came to the labyrinth.