Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 101

Dungeon Journal – Episode 102

# 102

Dungeon Journal

“The first defense line has been breached! Second defense line engagement underway! But they won’t hold for long!”

“Damage report? No, survivors?”

“Exact casualties are still being assessed. But based on the current situation, the chance of survivors is less than 3 percent!”

The operators in the situation room shouted as if they were screaming. Each time, the face of Team Leader Lee Ho-joon, responsible for the dungeon’s defense, contorted horribly.

“Damn it!”

Everything was a mess.

Barely 20 minutes had passed since an unidentified group attacked the dungeon, and the first defense line had already fallen. They had deployed military-grade weaponry and carefully selected Explorers, yet they couldn’t even hold out for 20 minutes.

“The defensive weaponry is completely ineffective!”

“The intruders are maintaining speed and colliding with the second line! Bunker line! It couldn’t hold! Line breached!”

The defense systems, designed to handle creatures from the 5th, no, even the 6th floor, were neutralized in a flash.

Expanding the passages to secure the range of the military weaponry had backfired.

Based on data from the last war, they thought these defense systems would provide sufficient resistance, but it was all misjudgment and arrogance.

The heavy weapons they trusted only managed to tear the creatures’ hides, further enraging them.

And now, the central passage that the Harimau Dungeon had put so much effort into had become a highway for the enemy to run freely.

“Goddamn it!”

At Lee Ho-joon’s curse, one of the operators cried out with a pale face.

“Casualties among the regular Explorers are severe! Further engagement is meaningless!”

“Don’t pull them back! If even the regular Explorers retreat, the Dungeon Babies [Explorers raised and trained within the dungeon] will be in danger! We have to hold out until reinforcements arrive!”

“But!”

“Hold! Even if we all die, we must protect it!”

A ruthless order; the operators stared at him with shocked eyes before turning away.

“Damn it, you think I feel good about this?”

He wanted to rush out and join the battle, but his role was to protect the dungeon until reinforcements arrived. So, Lee Ho-joon clenched his fist so hard that his nails dug into his skin and tried to calm himself.

But maintaining composure while watching the screens from the wired cameras was not easy.

Everywhere he looked, there was blood splattering.

“Let’s deploy the Black Tigers instead.”

Kim Jin-tae, who was beside him, said. Each Black Tiger was a valuable sample, but there was no other option now.

“We can always summon more Black Tigers. But the Explorers won’t come back.”

The decision didn’t take long. The situation on the second defense line was so critical. If the second defense line fell, it would be the central passage connected to the heart of the Harimau Dungeon. There were defense systems and troops several times stronger than the outer perimeter, but it was uncertain how much resistance they could provide.

So, Lee Ho-joon deployed the Black Tigers into battle.

“50 Black Tigers! Joining the front lines!”

The sight of massive beasts with black fur and menacing red stripes rushing through the central passage was captured on camera. Everyone in the situation room watched the screen with grim faces as the Black Tigers charged with a momentum no less than the invaders.

“Ah…!”

Was it not enough to stop the enemies with the Black Tigers? The Black Tigers, who had charged in with great vigor, were torn to pieces, scattering blood and flesh everywhere.

The faces of the operators watching the scene turned even paler.

“What are you doing! While the Black Tigers are buying time, gather the troops and pull them back!”

But Lee Ho-joon already knew that the Black Tigers alone were not enough to turn the tide.

The Black Tigers were quite strong on the 5th floor, but that was only true on the 5th floor.

If the Black Tigers could have improved the situation, the battle wouldn’t have gone so badly from the start.

“Inform the teams waiting in the rear! Stop the enemy in the central passage at all costs.”

Meanwhile, the Black Tigers continued to be attacked relentlessly.

The enemies tore the massive Black Tigers in half as if they were dealing with children, and then tore them into pieces again. Nevertheless, the number of Black Tigers did not decrease because Kim Jin-tae kept summoning them.

But these were enemies that even the existing Black Tigers, enhanced through various experiments, could not stop. The newly summoned Black Tigers were simply being slaughtered.

“Why aren’t the bastards who were supposed to provide support here yet? Are they going to come after everyone is dead?”

***

“The situation doesn’t look good.”

Jung Chan-shik said with a stiff face as he watched the Black Tigers running along the passage.

“If even the Black Tigers are being mobilized, that says it all.”

Jung Chan-shik frowned at Lee Jun-young’s reply. As soon as they heard the news that dungeons in other countries were being attacked, a summons was issued.

Almost all teams belonging to the Development Bureau, except for those out on expeditions, were currently gathered at the Harimau Dungeon.

The number of Explorers deployed to the front lines was over 200. And now, additional Black Tigers were being deployed to the front lines.

And not long after dozens of Black Tigers ran down the central passage, additional Black Tigers reappeared.

“This is dangerous. They’re not just being pushed back, they’re being completely destroyed. The Black Tigers that just passed are ones we haven’t seen before.”

The Black Tigers had filled the total capacity that the dungeon could accommodate. But now that new Black Tigers were appearing, it was obvious what had happened to the Black Tigers deployed to the front lines.

“Oh? The guys in the front row are coming back.”

At someone’s words, the faces of Jung Chan-shik and the Dungeon Babies turned cold.

“Forty-two, forty-three… is that all?”

Lee Jun-young groaned as he saw the number of people running towards them, covered in blood. Out of the 200 Explorers who had been deployed to the front lines, less than 50 were returning, and they were in terrible shape.

“What’s the situation?”

Jung Chan-shik grabbed a relatively unharmed Dungeon Baby and asked. The Dungeon Baby stared at him blankly and said in a trembling voice.

“It’s hell up there.”

***

Among the Explorers who had escaped from the front lines, the seriously injured were excluded.

The number of Explorers remaining was thirty-four. The low percentage of injuries was because the battle was so fierce that there was no time to evacuate the injured.

“What do we do? There was nothing like this in the contract. We were only supposed to stop the creatures on the 5th floor…….”

“We barely made it up here after living like slaves in the dungeon our whole lives, and now you want us to fight and die for the dungeon again? That’s ridiculous. I’m out.”

The Dungeon Babies waiting in the rear were wavering. It was perhaps inevitable.

From the beginning, they had a relationship with the Harimau Dungeon through a contract, without much loyalty. In this unfavorable battle situation, they had no obligation to protect the dungeon to the end.

“We have to earn our keep. Since when have Explorers been living this life like gangsters, assessing the situation?”

Lee Jun-young growled at them. If left unchecked, the already limited forces would be halved, so he didn’t like those who were looking for a way out by bringing up the contract. His expression naturally turned fierce.

“We’ll pay the penalty. But when you think about it, it’s not our fault. We agreed to exclude unreasonable missions from the beginning, didn’t we?”

They were supposed to be carefully selected by the Underworld Development Bureau, but in the end, they were splitting apart in the face of the enemy.

“You, you…….”

Jung Chan-shik grabbed her as she stepped forward in anger.

“Leave them be. It’s not something we can’t understand.”

“But!”

“Did you forget? Survival is the greatest virtue; that was our principle.”

The Dungeon Babies were not superheroes armed with a sense of justice and conviction. They were just survivors from the harsh underworld who had finally made it to the surface after seeing all sorts of dirty things.

The Dungeon Babies who talked about loyalty and a sense of justice never even set foot on the surface. They were too kind and inflexible to survive in the harsh underworld.

There was even a joke that the only good Dungeon Baby was a dead Dungeon Baby.

Besides, this was not a situation to appeal to the unique bond of the Dungeon Babies. It was just a contract tied with money, and they could just shake it off.

“Let’s get out of here together. The Black Tiger was torn apart like a toy. Is there anyone among us who can handle a Black Tiger like that?”

Rather, they were trying to persuade Lee Jun-young and Jung Chan-shik. This was the best favor they could show. But Lee Jun-young couldn’t accept it.

“If we leave too…….”

His colleague Kim Jin-tae was tied up with the core. In the meantime, the intervals between the Black Tigers departing from the rear and crossing the passage were getting shorter.

It wasn’t good. That meant the consumption of Black Tigers deployed to the front was extreme.

“Support is coming soon! Just hold on until then!”

She shouted, but the Dungeon Babies didn’t even turn their heads.

“There are security regulations, where are you going to get support from? Even if they come, it’ll only be one or two teams.”

It would be nice to have support from the military, but the Development Bureau and the military were enemies. They had even clashed over the operation rights of the dungeon, so there was no way the military would step in now.

From the beginning, their relationship with the military was not good, so they had to barely assume the defense facilities were for creatures from the 5th and 6th floors.

“Then I’ll pray that you make a decision before it’s too late.”

Thus, half of the Dungeon Babies who had remained in the rear left.

Now, the only ones left were those who had a direct connection with Kim Jin-tae or those who hadn’t left yet because they were watching the situation.

“Damn it!”

Lee Jun-young kicked the innocent ground with a distorted face.

“Kuaaaaak!”

At that moment, one of the Black Tigers that was newly running towards the front lines was torn apart with a scream. And beyond that, the enemy finally revealed itself.

Taratatarat!

Dozens of automated heavy machine guns installed in the passage began to spew flames.

***

Kim Jin-woo, standing in front of the portal, tilted his head as he watched the men pouring out.

“Hey, if you’re here because you received a support request, just go back. It’s hell in there, hell.”

One of the men blocked his path and said coldly.

“Hell?”

“There are guys running around that you’d only see in the deep layers. We can’t stop them with just us. The existing forces are also retreating, so don’t take unnecessary risks.”

The man’s whole body was covered in blood, as if he had just been in a fight. Judging by his red, bloodshot eyes, he had been participating in the battle until just before he pulled out.

“What are you doing!”

Section Chief Kim Joo-hyuk, who appeared at that moment, shouted at the man. The man clicked his tongue and left with a word.

“I warned you.”

Kim Jin-woo’s words remained in his head, and Kim Jin-woo demanded an explanation from Section Chief Kim Joo-hyuk with his eyes.

“Ugh. As you heard, the situation is not good. The existing forces are also running out of steam and returning to the surface.”

It seemed that Section Chief Kim Joo-hyuk had decided to tell the truth instead of wasting time with lies.

“Are there any other support forces besides me?”

“We have currently gathered forces with Dungeon Babies of level 8 or higher.”

“Why aren’t you deploying them immediately…….”

He had urgently requested rescue over the phone, but now they had gathered the forces and hadn’t deployed them, which made him wonder. Kim Joo-hyuk said as he saw him frowning.

“We were waiting for Kim Jin-woo.”