Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 272

Dungeon Journal-272

# 272

Dungeon Journal

96. The Ruler and Residents of Valhalla

The gates of Valhalla opened, and once again, the golden ramparts and spires revealed themselves.

[The gates of Valhalla have fully opened. No one knows what awaits you beyond, whether it be a legacy passed down from ancient times or an unexpected threat.]

[Perhaps the trial prepared by the one-eyed lord awaits you.]

[Will you enter Valhalla?]

[Once you enter Valhalla, you cannot return unless you become the master of Valhalla.]

[In the worst-case scenario, you may become a wraith guarding the empty castle alone.]

[Will you still enter Valhalla?]

Kim Jin-woo involuntarily looked back at Anatolius’s iron mask lying on the floor.

Becoming the master of this monster, which only those who have been frustrated and failed can possess, would not be easy. In the worst case, he had to risk losing all the achievements of his accumulated lore.

Nevertheless, he managed to raise the corners of his mouth in a wry smile.

When was it ever not dangerous? Even the acquisition of lore was merely a reward for the numerous dangers he had faced.

Having come this far, his journey had been too arduous to cower in fear of defeat and do nothing.

Having become a High Lord after being pricked by thorns, cut, and miserably struggling, he was a survivor from the start.

“I thought the Lord would fail.”

“Only a lord who has been broken, frustrated, and fallen into the abyss can become the master of that terrible monster, built by piling up the despair of warriors who ultimately failed to achieve their dreams.”

Mimir’s voice seemed to echo in his ear.

“I’ll be back.”

He took a step, watched by a pair of anxious eyes.

With just one step, the world changed. The monochrome scenery of the underground disappeared before his eyes, and the landscape of a fortress, its gold tarnished by time, greeted Kim Jin-woo.

Thump!

The gates slammed shut with a dull thud. And a message popped up.

[Welcome to Valhalla.]

[The gates have closed. Valhalla and the outside world are now completely isolated.]

[Unfortunately, the keyhole only exists outside the gate, and there is no way to open it from the inside. The gate will only open again when the master of Valhalla orders it to be opened.]

The message seemed ominous, but it didn’t matter. He had no intention of returning until he became the master of this grumpy monster anyway.

Thud. Thud.

A huge, empty castle. Only his footsteps echoed in the suffocating silence. He went straight to the center of the castle without being distracted by the glittering gold.

There were no traps, and no guardians protecting the castle. Thanks to this, it didn’t take long to reach his destination.

“Ah…”

He exclaimed as he finally arrived at the place and discovered a throne engraved with a golden ash tree and a circular object emitting a faint light.

[Before the days when the High Lords ruled the underground, there was a castle that stood tall alone. Many strong individuals challenged to become the master of the castle, but only the mighty lord, Wotan [Odin], succeeded.]

[Wotan had to give up a lot to become the master of the castle, and he had to experience frustration deeper than the abyss. Having overcome despair in that way, he finally sat on the throne located at the highest point of the castle, and he could finally become the king of the one-eyed ones.]

[Wotan was not one-eyed from the beginning. One of the prices to pay to become the master of Valhalla was one eye.]

[Wotan’s one eye, which was sacrificed as a price, became the driving force that made the giant castle come alive and became its heart.]

The round object visible behind the throne engraved with the ash tree filled his eyes. A giant crystal ball with red lines drawn like cracks rolled in place, and a black stain headed straight for him.

[You have discovered the core of Valhalla, the fortress of the Einherjar [fallen warriors chosen by Odin].]

Only then did he realize that it was the eyeball of a one-eyed giant. And when he realized that fact, Wotan’s eye became a sharp gaze and glared at him.

[The core that governs Valhalla, Wotan’s eye, is scanning you.]

[Although it is a castle that has been left unattended for a long time, it seems that it has no intention of giving away the ownership of the castle for free.]

[A sharp gaze has pierced through the authority of the one-eyed lord sleeping inside your body.]

[Wotan’s eye has noticed that you have inherited Wotan’s name, although you are not complete.]

A creepy gaze, as if he had been stripped naked, swept over his body. He straightened his shoulders at the blatant gaze and cast his gaze back.

[Wotan’s eye is very confused. It seems that it has sensed the energy of the numerous lords sleeping inside your body.]

[However, all that is needed to inherit Valhalla is the name of the lord and the magic spear Gungnir. Wotan’s eye still hasn’t solved the question, but it has acknowledged your qualifications.]

Although he had received the recognition of the core, Kim Jin-woo was not careless.

This was because he knew very well that Valhalla had not yet recognized him as its master, even though resonance should have occurred and the engraving process should have started right away.

And he instinctively knew what the next test would be.

A bizarre throne surrounded by ash trees made of gold as if alive, Hliðskjalf [Odin’s throne that allows him to see into all the nine realms], was waiting for him.

[You have discovered Hliðskjalf.]

[The one-eyed lord who lost one eye was able to see the underground because of this ash tree throne.]

[Hliðskjalf has the powerful authority to look around the underground even while sitting. Even the darkest and blackest curtain of night could not cover the eyes of this throne of authority, so Hliðskjalf is the greatest treasure in the underground.]

[Only when you are recognized as the master of Hliðskjalf can you finally become the master of Valhalla.]

It was as he had guessed. Wotan’s eye had only examined the right to inherit the lord, but it did not examine the qualifications to become the master of Valhalla. The real test would begin when he sat on Hliðskjalf.

[Becoming the master of Hliðskjalf is never easy. Wotan had to offer one of his eyes to become the master of Hliðskjalf.]

[What Hliðskjalf will ask of you cannot be known without directly entering the test. Perhaps the price will be one eye like Wotan, or something else, but it is impossible to know at this time.]

[However, one thing that can be known is that if the weight of the frustrations and despair you have experienced so far is heavier than the weight of the throne, the price may be lighter than you think.]

[Conversely, if your despair and frustration are not enough to become the master of Valhalla, Hliðskjalf will not hesitate to present you with new despair and frustration to balance the scales.]

Kim Jin-woo smiled after checking the message.

He grew up like a beast in the darkness of the labyrinth without even his parents knowing, and he lived without even knowing that it was unhappiness.

A life literally marked by deficiency and loss. He didn’t know what the weight of the throne was, but he didn’t think that the frustration and despair he had experienced were light at all.

“Now that I’ve come this far, the test is comparing who is more miserable. It’s not even funny.”

Of course, would the price that Hliðskjalf demands be only that? If that were the case, the one-eyed lord would not have plucked out and offered one of his eyes.

But even so, he smiled. It was a ridiculous and frivolous test that made him feel silly for being nervous.

[Will you weigh your life on the scales of Valhalla?]

Kim Jin-woo did not answer. He simply sat on the throne without a word.

Swish.

The ash tree engraved on the throne moved its branches and twisted its stems as if it were alive, and wrapped around his body.

And the true test of Valhalla began.

***

At the same time that Kim Jin-woo was sitting on Hliðskjalf and facing the test, the Great Labyrinth was facing an unexpected commotion.

“Why did you only realize it now? Didn’t I tell you to thoroughly guard the vicinity!”

Dominique rebuked the patrols and Overseers in a rare fit of excitement.

“The lumps of gluttony did not play their role because the labyrinth was frozen.”

The Overseer, standing before the queen who was acting on behalf of the king, desperately made excuses, bubbling with bubbles all over his body.

“It seems that the patrols’ search range was wide, and they flowed in through the gaps. Although it is late, I have told some of the patrols to return and prepare for the defense.”

Ricksha also acknowledged the queen’s authority and bowed her head as if she were facing the king. Quantus was the same.

Although he was not directly rebuked by the king, he was aware of his responsibility for Anatolius’s departure, so he seemed to feel a considerable sense of self-reproach when the incident happened again.

“It’s too late. For this to happen now, when the master is not here…”

The timing was coincidental. It even felt as if someone was watching from the sidelines and causing the incident.

“I will select Nagas and prepare for battle right now! I guarantee that the current Nagas will have no difficulty stopping them!”

Quantus was burning with enthusiasm because there had already been a mistake. But Dominique did not listen to the enthusiastic words of the Naga Royal Guard Captain.

“I heard that some Moai who followed the master are mixed in. Although they were not as useful as I thought, they were once people whom the master restored and tried to use with importance. We can’t recklessly involve them now that the master is not here.”

While the Great Labyrinth was frozen solid to prevent the damage of the second restoration, all the missing Moai returned.

The number of them increased even more than before, and they flocked to the Great Labyrinth as if they would fill the entire underground.

Dominique did not want to recklessly slaughter them now that Valishus had found a way to control them, who were contaminated with malice. It wasn’t out of sympathy.

It was just because of the expectation that they might be useful.

“Ugh.”

The Overseer groaned, and Ricksha and Quantus frowned.

“We must hurry to make a decision. I have received a report that their vanguard is already very close.”

While Dominique was troubled and looking for a solution to Quantus’s words, Angela appeared.

“It’s strange.”

Angela’s sudden words in an already troublesome situation made Dominique frown.

“What’s strange?”

Instead of answering Dominique’s question, Angela asked Ricksha.

“How can you be sure that the direction they are heading now is here?”

Without thinking, Ricksha said that this was the only labyrinth in the path of the Moai’s movement.

She replied that they would have to wait for the patrols who had gone on long-distance patrols to return to find out if another labyrinth had been created, but for now, they could only think that the Great Labyrinth was their target.

“No, no. Why do you think that only our labyrinth is on this side? There’s a new one that was created recently, right?”

At Angela’s words, Dominique’s eyes flashed as if she had realized something.

“Valhalla!”

And the moment she realized that the Moai’s target might not be the Great Labyrinth, Dominique realized who the residents of Valhalla were.

The dead of the battlefield who failed to achieve their purpose, the Einherjar. They were the defenders and residents of Valhalla.

And she thought that there were no people more suited to the words “warriors who have been frustrated and despaired” than them.