Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 265

# 266

Dungeon Journal

93. Lost in the Fog

“You look much better than before.”

I met Catherine after a long time, but her complexion wasn’t good. Her high-class presence was still there, but Kim Jin-woo thought she looked tired.

“I heard you were busy looking for something you lost. It seems like things have been resolved.”

He felt a bit uncomfortable with her unexpected visit. The fatigue and subtle impatience she showed, unlike her confident self, bothered him.

“I came because of that, actually.”

Catherine didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

“There’s something I want to hear from you.”

“I also had something I wanted to ask you. Let’s ask and answer each other fairly.”

Information about the Wish Stone, and even the hidden story behind its restoration. There were so many stories he wanted to hear.

Catherine seemed to realize belatedly that he was quite calm despite her sudden visit, and her eyes sparkled.

“You’ve changed a lot. You’re more relaxed. And you seem much stronger too.”

“A lot has happened on my end as well.”

He casually brushed off Catherine’s admiration.

When he first saw her at the Black Merchant’s auction house, he was just a rookie. His body was strong, but his mind was weak, and his use of authority was clumsy.

That’s why he felt a sense of crisis and was intimidated when she showed her power. But now, he no longer felt threatened by her.

Facing the memories of the Magic Spear, devouring all the Counts on the 9th floor, the growth of Naga [a mythical serpent-like being], and the strengthening of the Great Labyrinth, all of these things made him stronger.

The Lord of Lament was no longer above the Lord of Greed.

“I suppose so. The energy of the labyrinth and your aura are completely different from before.”

Catherine was genuinely impressed, but she didn’t forget her purpose.

“First, answer my question. After that, I’ll answer anything I know.”

It wasn’t a losing deal.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

As soon as he accepted her offer, Catherine opened her mouth.

“Sohee. I want to hear about Sohee.”

What was this all of a sudden? Kim Jin-woo frowned at the unexpected mention of Sohee’s name.

“If it’s about my sister, wouldn’t you know better? You were with her until recently.”

He also learned about Sohee being alive through her. Naturally, he thought she would know more about Sohee than he did.

“That’s true, but what I want to hear is how Sohee met you before she met me, and how she lived.”

“It’s not difficult to tell you that much. But you’ve probably heard most of it already, right?”

Kim Jin-woo couldn’t understand why she was trying to revisit a story she already knew. So he asked, and her eyes immediately deepened.

“I want to hear it directly from your mouth. Everything I’ve heard has been through Sohee.”

Her tone was somehow ambiguous, and he sharply raised his eyes.

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t overthink it; it’s exactly as I said. I just want to know about the Sohee you’re talking about.”

He couldn’t help but ask why.

“Why?”

“I want to know the truth without lies.”

An answer that didn’t fit the situation, and a corner of his heart turned cold.

“I can no longer trust anything Sohee said about her past.”

Catherine’s voice was low and strangely resonant.

“That’s why I came to you. I thought I could hear the real story from you.”

***

“That’s how I parted ways with my sister, and naturally, I couldn’t imagine that she would be alive. Back then, we were at the very bottom of the food chain. After that, well, as you know, I found out that my sister was alive thanks to you. That’s all I know.”

Kim Jin-woo’s voice was calm as he spoke of the past that hadn’t faded even after time had passed.

Whether it was because so much time had passed that the gloomy memories of the past no longer gave him any emotion, or because it was a story about Sohee, who had been the only warm presence in those dark memories, he himself couldn’t tell.

“It’s not much different from what I heard from Sohee.”

Catherine looked visibly disappointed. But she quickly shook off that look and spoke again.

“You must be very grateful to Sohee. In a way, she was your protector and your only friend.”

“You’re not wrong. I wouldn’t have been able to climb to the surface without my sister. No, before that, I might have spent my whole life digging dirt and died somewhere in a narrow cave.”

When all the adults had died, he was immersed in grief and had lost all motivation.

Death was a phenomenon that the young him couldn’t understand, and he suffered from a great sense of loss, being left alone. It was Sohee who lifted him up.

She warmly held his scarred hand and helped him speak again after he had lost his words.

The cold, damp air of the underground felt a little warmer just by her being there.

“I’ve told you the story you wanted, so now it’s my turn to ask questions.”

Looking at Catherine, who was lost in thought, he chose a question.

“I was originally going to ask a different question, but I can’t help but ask this first. What do you mean you can’t trust my sister anymore?”

“Wait a moment. It’s a little different from the agreement, but I’ll ask just one more question. After that, I’ll answer your questions as much as you want.”

She asked for his understanding instead of answering. He frowned but accepted her offer, and she asked again.

“Do you trust Sohee? No, before that, how much of what I say can you believe?”

It felt like he had swallowed sand, and his mouth felt gritty. He couldn’t easily answer the increasingly ominous feeling.

“I can’t make a judgment right now on whether it’s right to tell you this story. I’m starting to think that we might become uncomfortable with each other.”

Her hesitant attitude was unsettling, so he tried to suppress his ominous feelings and said casually.

“Was there ever a time when we were comfortable with each other in the first place? You’re worrying about nothing.”

“I thought we could at least be allies since we had the same enemies to face. Well, fine. It makes me feel better that you say that.”

She seemed to have completely regained her composure now.

“If you meet Sohee again, what will you do?”

“You keep asking questions without answering.”

“This is the last question. So answer me.”

Catherine looked straight at him with clear eyes.

“What will you do if you meet Sohee as an enemy?”

***

“Master?”

Kim Jin-woo, who was sitting on the throne staring blankly into the air, woke up from his thoughts at Dominique’s voice.

“Ah, Dominique.”

“You look tired. How about going to the surface for a change? There are no enemies threatening the labyrinth right now, and it will take some time for the patrols to return.”

Dominique recommended rest with a voice full of concern.

“No, it’s not necessary. And I feel more comfortable here if I rest.”

Since the day he ascended to High Lord, the stuffy air of the underground felt more comfortable. So he didn’t feel the need to go to the surface.

“But I need to clear my head.”

He recalled the conversation he had with Catherine just now.

“What does that mean? Meeting my sister as an enemy?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds. I asked you what you would do if you met her as an enemy.”

“That’s baseless. Explain properly.”

“You know I’ve been away for a long time, right? I wandered around the underground for a while looking for her because I completely lost contact with Sohee. But you know what? I met an unexpected being while looking for her. Do you know who that is?”

“Don’t waste time with unnecessary questions; just continue the story.”

“You’re so heartless. Well, fine. Since I’ve decided to tell you anyway, I’ll get straight to the point. I met the second High Lord who awakened among the High Lords who awakened first, the one I told you about before.”

If it was just this, there would be no reason to be so troubled.

“But he was also looking for Sohee.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it funny? How does he know Sohee? Don’t be surprised. He said that he also grew up with Sohee when he was a digger.”

“That’s absolutely impossible.”

“It’s not impossible. It’s just hard to believe.”

“My sister grew up with me. When we slept, when we carried dirt, when the tunnels suddenly connected and the passage became a battlefield, she was always with me.”

“He said the same thing. I even checked if it was a different person with the same name, but the appearance and all the actions matched Sohee.”

He tried to deny that it could never happen, but there was no reason for Catherine to lie. In fact, she also looked confused when she said that.

“Do you understand? Sohee is not an ordinary dungeon baby. She’s hiding something.”

“Hiding something—what on earth?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a small matter. At least it’s certain that she has something to do with the High Lords.”

“You’re saying whatever you want.”

“Out of the four awakened High Lords, three of them know Sohee. This is definitely not natural.”

Catherine said that she stopped by to check before going to find the remaining High Lord, the first High Lord who awakened first.

“Master, that Sohee person must be very precious to you.”

Once again, he woke up from his thoughts at Dominique’s voice.

She wisely tried not to show the information she obtained through her empathy ability, but this time his thoughts were so intense that she couldn’t ignore them.

“If what the Lord of Lament said is true, she might be……”

“That’s enough, Dominique. Don’t say any more. Nothing is certain yet.”

Kim Jin-woo knew what Dominique couldn’t finish saying. But he tried to shake off the words echoing in his head.

“It’s not certain yet. Not yet……”

Kim Jin-woo sighed, having only accumulated more questions while trying to solve the mystery.

***

He had to bear an uncomfortable riddle, but the information he obtained through Catherine was not small. She told him that the High Lord who awakened first was the ruler of the beastmen, and also told him the identity of another High Lord.

Giants and beastmen, the positions inherited by the two High Lords who awakened before them.

She answered his questions faithfully, but unfortunately, she didn’t know anything about the Wish Stone.

She left a brief warning.

“Don’t assume that dominating the Guardians is necessarily depravity.”

The more he knew, the more he felt like he was falling into a deeper fog. Kim Jin-woo tried to shake off the confusion.

“Master! The patrols have returned.”

Fortunately, he had something to focus on. The patrols reported that the Counts’ territories had completely merged with the Great Labyrinth’s replica, and he headed to the Counts’ labyrinth without hesitation for even a second.