Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 106

Dungeon Journal – Episode 107

#42. Nightmare

He was a resident of the damp, subterranean world.

No, strictly speaking, he was more like livestock being raised *by* the residents of the subterranean world.

As a child, he suckled on the milk of an unknown monster instead of his mother’s. As he grew, he lived in a fenced-off area where faint light was all there was, eating food akin to all sorts of filth. For him, that small, chicken coop-like world *was* his entire life.

It was dark, and there was nothing to play with, but he got along with the other beings in the pen and lived each day peacefully.

If he waited, he could eat even crude food, and if he was sleepy, he could lie down and sleep. It was a narrow world, but it was a cozy world for him.

But as they say, there is no eternal paradise.

As dark hairs began to grow between his legs and his body thickened, he was thrown out of the coop.

His narrow but cozy world was no more, and the vast, wide world outside was even harsher to him.

The first thing given to him in this unfamiliar world was a sack that reeked of a terrible smell. That defined his life.

Except for the minimum amount of sleep time needed for a living being, he had to carry dirt and stones.

A being with a single eye that shone even in the dark was always watching him. No, it wasn’t just him; it was watching everyone who was carrying dirt.

The small workers who were occasionally seen sometimes messed up the work, perhaps because they were overwhelmed, and each time, the spider overseer watching them mercilessly lashed out. It was an unfamiliar sound that was rarely heard on the work site.

Even though it was a terrible sound, he secretly perked up his ears and enjoyed the lingering echo of the screams whenever it occurred. It wasn’t because he had sadistic desires.

It was simply because that was the only deviation in this monotonous workplace.

But his little amusement didn’t last long. The small workers soon disappeared.

After that, the workplace repeated the same routine as usual. He, too, melted into it, carrying dirt and stones, and carrying them again.

The reason he was more engrossed in his work than anyone else wasn’t for any special reason.

It wasn’t because he had a sense of calling that made him work without rest, nor was it because he diligently moved his body out of fear of the violent overseer.

He was just immersed in something he was given for the first time since he was born.

Without that, he simply couldn’t bear to be in this boring workplace.

How much time had passed carrying dirt and stones like that? Little by little, his workplace moved deeper into the cave.

At first, he was just organizing piles of dirt in the open space where the tunnel began, but now he had to go quite deep into the tunnel to carry the sack.

It was a small change, but he was happy. In the repetition of a monotonous daily life, he accepted his gradual progress into the tunnel as a new game.

But it wasn’t long before he realized that the game he was so engrossed in was actually a terrible thing that was dragging him into a swamp of death.

Something other than a sack was given to him, who had now grown so large that his body was covered in small muscles.

It had a shape he had never seen before, with a curved piece of iron attached to the end of a long stick.

The metal, which seemed to be made of a fairly hard material, had a blunt end, but it seemed quite suitable for digging something out.

He later learned that what he had received at that time was a pickaxe. Also, the being who told him the word “pickaxe” told him that they were tunnel workers, and that receiving a pickaxe meant that their death was near.

The subterranean world was made up of endless tunnels and labyrinths. Most of the residents of the subterranean world lived in narrow open spaces and never moved throughout their lives.

So he mistook himself for a resident of the subterranean world as well. But the being who told him the word “tunnel worker” sighed at his words.

Unfortunately, they were not chosen residents of the subterranean world, but merely slaves who expanded the labyrinths of the subterranean dukes.

At this point, he couldn’t fully understand the word “slave” and had to tilt his head.

The being in front of him, who was complaining about the meager food, hard labor, and lack of freedom, seemed strange to him.

He eats when he’s hungry. Also, when he gets sleepy, he lies down and sleeps anywhere. He couldn’t understand what was bad or upsetting about being a slave at the time.

Since the conversation was exchanged through thoughts rather than language, he was able to learn a lot through that opportunity.

The elderly opponent showed him his entire life without filtering it, perhaps because he didn’t even have the energy to control his thoughts.

Now that he looks back on it, he was able to indirectly experience many things, but he didn’t care much.

It was only important to him that his blocked mouth was opened through that experience, and that he learned what a name was.

The work became a little more enjoyable. He kept talking non-stop even while pickaxing. Among the many beings who came and went around him, some showed interest in him.

They all kept talking about their names, but it was hard for him to understand. He just listened to the stories they told him and happily worked day by day.

Time passed.

Now that he had gone more than halfway into the tunnel, he met even more beings. Seeing him always talking, countless people gave him the nickname ‘Chatterbox’.

He thought he had gotten a name, but someone passing by said that a nickname was different from a name.

Heartbroken, he tried to create a name for himself, but he couldn’t because he knew so little.

Then one day, he met someone. He was a being who was often ignored by those around him because he couldn’t see well in the dark, but he was delighted to find him.

The being who greeted him was as talkative as a chatterbox, but he didn’t remember much. If he remembered anything, it was only one thing: his name.

Kim Jin-woo.

Only the name remained in his memory. He, who couldn’t properly distinguish the darkness, disappeared from the workplace after a few days, as expected.

Until now, countless beings had disappeared from the workplace like that, but he had never wondered where they had gone.

Just like always, someone else filled that spot, so now the disappeared workers had become insignificant to him, not even worth paying attention to.

But this time, the disappearance of the man named Kim Jin-woo remained a special memory for him. Since those who disappeared from the workplace never reappeared, he came up with a sly plan.

It was the first active thought in his life. He decided to use the name Kim Jin-woo himself.

And as always, he kept talking non-stop at the workplace, and everyone was in pain because he kept saying ‘My name is Kim Jin-woo!’ from the beginning to the end of the work.

Thanks to that, he was beaten all over by the spider overseer for the first time in his life. He cowered at the unfamiliar pain, but he was incredibly happy that he had a name.

The next day, it was difficult to work due to the unfamiliar pain, but he, no, Kim Jin-woo, was still talking. Some of the workers around him looked at him with pity.

In their eyes, Kim Jin-woo was no different from raised livestock. Kim Jin-woo’s appearance, who didn’t know what freedom or happiness was and just worked out of habit, was not much different from the appearance of the cattle they remembered.

Nevertheless, he seemed happy. He seemed happier than themselves, who were frustrated by the hard work and the desperate future that remained for them.

A being who was more pitiful than anyone else but seemed happier than anyone else.

Kim Jin-woo was a strange being to them. That seemed to move their hearts. One by one, workers gathered around Kim Jin-woo, who was busy talking alone.

Before coming to this workplace, they were carpenters, lawyers, soldiers, and technicians. They were also singers, chefs, and businessmen.

They began to tell Kim Jin-woo the stories of their lives. That’s when Kim Jin-woo learned for the first time that listening to someone’s story was as fun as talking.

Through them, Kim Jin-woo became a singing singer and an officer commanding soldiers. He also became a baker baking bread with an excited heart.

Because of them, Kim Jin-woo gradually developed an ego. He realized what joy was, and he realized what kind of life he didn’t have.

And he despaired.

Because he realized that he could not escape from this cave. Unlike them, he did not know about the blue sky, nor did he know how beautiful the stars in the night sky were.

And he instinctively realized from their strange expressions that he would not have the opportunity to do so.

Kim Jin-woo withered day by day. He began to skip meals and shut his mouth tightly.

The workers who had gathered around them noticed this fact late, but it was already too late.

Kim Jin-woo’s once closed mouth did not open again, and the being who had shone so brightly among them had already disappeared.

Instead of Kim Jin-woo, whose work speed had noticeably slowed down, the surrounding workers began to move forward one by one.

And they were desperate to convey something they knew to him. Knowing from the beginning that they had no future, they wanted to leave something behind through Kim Jin-woo.

But they also knew that sooner or later, Kim Jin-woo would face the same future as them. Nevertheless, they were desperate to tell him and explain new things to comfort him, who had lost his light.

Kim Jin-woo now listened to their stories and pickaxed as if it were a habit.

One by one, other beings disappear from his surroundings.

By the time Kim Jin-woo realized that his surroundings had become quiet, there was only one being left who was talking around him.

He told Kim Jin-woo that they were workers in the labyrinths operated by the dukes of the subterranean world. That the further forward they went, the closer they got to death, and that the moment this tunnel met another tunnel would be the moment they met their end.

Now, even he has left Kim Jin-woo’s side. And in his place, beings he had never seen before began to push forward.

The giant spiders, several times larger than the spider overseer, who he thought would be the scariest in the world, and with a terrifying appearance, quickly passed by him.

Kim Jin-woo, who was frozen stiff by the murderous aura he had never seen before, ran forward as if fleeing from them.

And the moment he arrived at the front, he was able to see the beings he had so longed to see.

They were pickaxing with dark expressions, and they were shocked to see Kim Jin-woo, who had suddenly appeared.

“You idiot! Why did you come here!”

The being who introduced himself as a sergeant in the Republic of Korea Army shouted at him. It was the first time someone had shouted at him.

Even the violent spider overseer had only silently moved his long legs when he lashed out.

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes welled up for some reason at the worker’s shout, which was mixed with some unknown emotion. The workers flocked to him, who was confused by emotions he couldn’t understand himself.

“What are we going to do about this? Hyeong-tae, how much is left?”

The worker who had previously introduced himself as a soldier asked the worker next to him.

“I don’t know! It’s right in front of us! They’re breaking in from that side, so we won’t last long!”

The workers looked determined at his desperate cry.

“I, I just… y, you guys……”

Kim Jin-woo opened his mouth to the workers with clumsy pronunciation, and a light of pity appeared in everyone’s eyes looking at him.

“I’m not angry. So don’t cry.”

The worker who had shouted at first came to Kim Jin-woo and stroked his head. It was the first time someone’s hand had touched him.

But for some reason, he didn’t feel bad. Kim Jin-woo unknowingly opened his mouth blankly.

The workers felt so sorry for that appearance. They felt so sorry for Kim Jin-woo, who had come to this place without knowing it was his deathbed.

“Listen carefully, Jin-woo.”

The clanging of metal began to be heard from inside the tunnel. And from the end of the tunnel, beyond that wall, a strange shout was heard.

“We are tunnel workers. We are the ones who dig tunnels at the forefront. But now we have dug a tunnel right up to the tunnel of another labyrinth. Do you understand what I mean?”

The worker who was a non-commissioned officer looked into Kim Jin-woo’s eyes and continued.

“Now, when this wall disappears, this place will become a battlefield. And we are the weakest and most insignificant beings here. Neither the enemy nor the ally cares what happens to us.”

Kim Jin-woo only blinked his eyes at the worker’s words.

“I can’t do this, Jin-woo. Just do as I say. When this wall collapses, hide yourself somehow. And don’t come out until you don’t hear any sound. Never, no matter how hungry you are, no matter how curious you are, don’t come out until the surroundings are quiet. Got it?”

Kim Jin-woo, who didn’t understand the previous words properly, only understood the words to hide. He nodded, but the workers repeated the same words several times.

“Be sure to hide.”

“You must live.”

“Our poor Jin-woo.”

Everyone said a word and hugged him tightly.

The embrace was so warm that Kim Jin-woo wanted to be in that embrace forever, but the workers had already turned around.

He reached out his hand with a feeling of regret, but the ground began to shake.

Krrrrrrrr!

And at that moment, a roar was heard. The clanging noise was now right behind him, and unknown shouts filled all directions.

“The tunnel has been breached!”