Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 315

Dungeon Journal- Episode 316

# 316

Dungeon Journal

Episode 316

The message felt more like a threat than a recommendation.

[The potential within the Wish Stone is more valuable and significant than any other power.]

[The mysteries of the underground will never disregard your efforts and decisions. Perhaps, for the first time in the history of the underground, you will be recognized as its one and only ruler.]

[The Usurper has reigned as ruler for a long time, and you, too, have been called a tyrant, gaining king-like authority, but that authority and power are only half-baked, achieved through overwhelming violence.]

[If you receive the recognition of the underground’s mysteries and the Underworld Tree, you will be able to make the remaining half entirely your own.]

[Will you return the Wish Stone to its original place and receive the Underworld Tree’s reward?]

As I stared blankly, unable to make a decision, the message reappeared.

[Becoming the true king of the underground is an unimaginably great thing. Countless beings will be wary of you, and you will be able to directly and indirectly influence all the labyrinths and their inhabitants in the underground.]

[You can be involved in the birth of a new race.]

[You can bestow endless misfortune upon those who oppose you, leading them to their own destruction.]

[You can claim ownership of everything in the underground. No one will be able to oppose your opinion.]

[If you only make the decision, the mysteries of the underground will gladly recognize you as the sole king of the underground.]

[Will you return the Wish Stone to its original place?]

Whether it was just my imagination, I couldn’t tell, but I felt like the message was getting impatient.

Unlike the somewhat detached stance it had taken until now, it was actively urging me to return the Wish Stone to its original place.

Even the authority of the complete Underworld King, which it touted as so great, felt like a cheap giveaway at a shoddy event.

[To reign as the king of the underground is no different from saying that you can live in the underground without the threat of survival or any danger.]

[As long as the mysteries of the underground exist, this absolute authority and influence will never disappear.]

Until then, my face, which had been full of hesitation, subtly changed.

“As long as the mysteries of the underground exist, the authority is guaranteed…”

[The roots of the Underworld Tree will never rot, and its branches will not break. Even the smallest leaf hanging at the end will not fade and will be eternal, so the Underworld Tree is as good as an immortal being.]

[The mysteries of the underground will also never disappear unless darkness vanishes and sunlight shines in the underground.]

My mumbling must have sounded as if I was worried about what would happen if the Underworld Tree or the mysteries of the underground disappeared, because a message suddenly popped up as if in response.

“Okay. I’ve decided.”

At this moment, even the message, which had been chattering like a street vendor, waited for me to continue speaking. The silence felt somehow ridiculous, and I chuckled.

“Guide me. To wherever that original place is.”

[That is an excellent choice. The Underworld Tree and the mysteries of the underground were impressed by your patience in overcoming small greed. They are also willing to acknowledge your dedication and effort for the underground and have decided to bestow a fitting reward.]

As soon as the message ended, the small roots and blades of grass that had been filling the floor laid down in one direction.

“Am I supposed to follow this?”

[The place where the Wish Stone should originally be is the highest branch sprouting from the Underworld Tree. Originally, no one would have been able to touch it, but the terrible war that completely changed the underground caused even the fixed Wish Stone to roll down.]

[You have gained the honor of being the first in the underground to step on the trunk and branches of the Underworld Tree.]

“That’s quite an honor.”

Unfazed by the grandstanding message, I expressed my feelings nonchalantly and turned around.

“Then I’ll be off.”

“When you return, you will be a true king.”

Angela, who had been storing the Wish Stone until now, seemed to know about the rewards it offered. She rejoiced as if what I was about to gain was her own.

“May everything go according to the king’s will.”

“May the king achieve everything he desires.”

The summoned creatures, including Quantus and Rickshasha, also offered words of congratulations and quietly saw me off. I listened attentively to all the greetings and farewells and nodded in response.

“Master.”

Dominique, who had not come forward until the last moment, strode forward and called out to me.

However, she alone, unlike the other summoned creatures who were elated with victory, looked anxious and uneasy.

“Be careful.”

Even that word, cautiously uttered, wished for my safe return, so Angela, who had been looking back and forth between the Underworld Tree and me with an excited face, interjected with a puzzled expression.

“Even though the Nagas are from the Abyss and Master has inherited the power of the night, the merit of sealing the monster and finding the Wish Stone is by no means small. With this much merit, even if it were a prisoner of hell rather than the Abyss, the mysteries of the underground would have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

Her words made some sense. The future that the One-Eyed Monarch had foreseen by offering one of his eyes—the destruction of the underground—was due to the night.

And I was the savior who had sealed the monster of that destruction in my right hand and held the Wish Stone that the Usurper had leaked.

With such merit, the message would not have mentioned the rightful throne of the underground as a reward.

“Please come back safely.”

But Dominique was still full of worry. And I, too, did not look like someone who had been promised a huge reward, and my expression was somehow stiff.

That appearance looked as if I was facing a desperate battle, and Angela looked utterly incomprehensible.

But neither Kim Jin-woo nor Dominique opened their mouths to convince her.

“Then I’ll really be off.”

Leaving those short words, I turned my body. Before me was a forest bowing in reverence.

“What on earth is going on…”

“Now… now don’t ask anything, just quietly pray for Master’s return.”

Behind me, I heard Dominique patting Angela. Kim Jin-woo did not look back again. I simply followed the guidance and walked towards the Underworld Tree.

The Underworld Tree was enormous. The massive trunk, which I didn’t know when it had existed, was too large to fit in a single glance, and no matter how high I raised my head, I couldn’t even guess where the highest branch was.

“It’s really big.”

Kim Jin-woo was newly impressed by the enormous size. But nowhere in that expression was there any sign of being overwhelmed by the Underworld Tree’s overwhelming divinity and majesty.

It was unknown whether it was because the mysteries of the underground were guiding me, or because of the Wish Stone I was tightly clutching.

[The Underworld Tree has existed since the underground was so narrow and small that even the smallest imp could barely lie down. As the underground grew, the Underworld Tree also grew, and now it has become so large that it can be seen from anywhere in the underground.]

At some point, the message began to speak directly to me and answer me. Thanks to this, I was able to know that this unidentified message was the mystery of the underground itself.

It was no longer surprising. The mysteries of the underground had probably been operating the underground in this way. By simply offering appropriate rewards and penalties instead of directly intervening, countless labyrinth owners and summoned creatures were bound to be drawn to the Underworld Tree’s intentions.

I, too, had made many decisions based on the information in the message so far, and I don’t know, but many of my decisions may have been in line with the Underworld Tree’s intentions.

While I was lost in thought, stairs that I didn’t know when they had appeared appeared before my eyes. The stairs, made of thick trunks and leaves, spiraled around the trunk of the Underworld Tree endlessly.

“It’s going to take a long time just to climb up.”

[No one in the underground has ever climbed the Underworld Tree. Just by setting foot on the smallest and most insignificant branch, your name will be remembered in the underground.]

[Pay homage to the utmost glory and revere your own heart.]

The message popped up as if to rebuke my rash words.

“As if I wouldn’t.”

But I was still nonchalant.

[Climbing the Underworld Tree with a wicked mindset is not recommended. The mysteries of the underground can bestow blessings and rewards that will never be seen again in the underground, but conversely, they can also inflict unimaginable curses.]

This time, the message was coming on quite strong, but Kim Jin-woo was the one holding the knife.

“You don’t want this?”

The Wish Stone, a stone that looked too shabby for its value, was held in my hand, and my touch was so precarious that it seemed like I would throw it down below at any moment.

The message did not reappear. It seemed to have realized who was in control.

Only then did Kim Jin-woo make a satisfied face and set foot on the natural stairs created by the Underworld Tree.

How long had I been climbing like that? I had now reached a place so high that even the largest Naga and Einherjar were no longer visible. But even so, had I only climbed halfway? The branch located at the highest point of the Underworld Tree was nowhere to be seen.

“Now the real underground has become one.”

Standing in a high place and looking around, I could see the changed terrain of the underground at a glance. Of course, I couldn’t see the underground beyond the deep darkness, but just seeing the underground, which stretched out endlessly without any distinction between floors, made me feel its vastness.

I suddenly stopped walking and looked down at the underground.

[Governing and operating that vast underground is by no means an easy task. Countless labyrinths and even more creatures are beings that live with individual intentions, and dominating them requires tremendous effort.]

[If you want to achieve all of that on your own, complete domination of the underground will be a distant dream.]

[But the mysteries of the underground can help you with that. If the mysteries of the underground bestow their blessing, no one will be able to avoid your eyes, and no one will be able to go against your will.]

It certainly made sense. Dominating the underground, which I didn’t know how wide it had expanded, was closer to impossible.

Numerous labyrinths and the owners who ruled them were each terribly greedy and ambitious. No matter how wide you open your eyes and how much you prick up your ears, there were bound to be invisible parts and things you couldn’t hear.

The old monarchs were sacrificed to the ambition that grew in the blind spot of darkness, and even their glorious names were tarnished. There was no reason why I shouldn’t follow the same path.

[You must hurry. There is still a long way to go. If you linger in a place like this, you will never reach the top no matter how much time passes.]

Kim Jin-woo, who had been lost in thought, frowned. Seeing the message, which was now even urging me on, it seemed that the mysteries of the underground were anxious.

But I had no intention of wasting time in a place like this, so I hurried my steps again.

And after walking several times longer than the time I had climbed up, I was able to reach the place where the highest branch of the Underworld Tree was located.

[Finally, your journey is coming to an end. If you put the Wish Stone on the branch in front of you, all missions will be completed.]

Kim Jin-woo chuckled at the message, which even felt somehow excited.

“But is the authority of the king really eternal?”

[As long as the mysteries of the underground do not disappear, that authority is eternal. No one will be able to deny the authority and majesty recognized by the mysteries of the underground.]

“Is that so?”

I retracted my hand, which I had held out as if I were about to put it down right away.

“Then what about the mysteries of the underground?”

Whether it was because it didn’t understand my question for a moment, the message, which had been chattering so well until now, didn’t answer this time.

“Can the mysteries of the underground deny the authority of that king?”

[The majesty and authority of the true king are certainly great, but the mysteries of the underground are not bound by anything. The mysteries of the underground are the underground itself and the foundation that supports this dark world.]

[But that does not mean that the authority and majesty of the king are impaired. The underground does not step forward to rule and govern itself, and the countless people who live in the underground will only be directly ruled by you. Of course, no one can deny your majesty.]

No matter what it said, there was nothing with a higher status than the mysteries of the underground, and that was no different even if it was the king of the underground. And that meant that the mysteries of the underground could take away the throne at any time if they wanted to.

I had known that fact since before I climbed this giant ash tree. Nevertheless, the reason I came here was because I had something else in mind.

“You know.”

Kim Jin-woo slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ve been used my whole life. There hasn’t been a time in my life when other people’s hands haven’t touched me from beginning to end.”

As I said that, I raised my hand and shook the Wish Stone.

“What would I feel if you told me to gratefully accept the puppet king position?”

[The mysteries of the underground are……]

“Mysteries of the underground, mysteries, mysteries. I’m so sick of it.”

Before I knew it, my hand, which had turned black, seemed about to grab the Wish Stone.

“So please, just get out of my life.”