Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 110

Dungeon Journal – 110

# 111

#44. Mirror Specter

As usual, he opened a portal and stepped through the door of space, only to freeze. A bizarre sight he had never imagined greeted him.

“What is this…?”

“What is this…!”

“What is this…?”

“What is this…!”

Before Kim Jin-woo’s eyes, mirror specters mimicked his words like parrots. Moreover, their faces were not just familiar but identical to his own.

The feeling of dozens of caterpillars crawling on his naked body made his heart sink.

***

Kim Jin-woo’s face, as he sat on the throne, was utterly pale. His parched lips and sunken eyes were filled with deep fatigue. Considering his vitality just moments ago, the change was hard to believe.

What he had just experienced was so horrifying that even he, who prided himself on having seen all sorts of things in the underground, felt chills.

A sight he never wanted to see again, a sight that instantly stirred up hostility and murderous intent.

Even now, he struggled to suppress the rising homicidal urges whenever he saw the shadows flickering before his eyes.

“Ugh.”

After sitting on the throne for a while, groaning, Kim Jin-woo stood up. As if mimicking him, the specters sitting on the floor sprang to their feet.

“Damn it…”

His face twisted horribly as he saw dozens of specters with his exact appearance staring up at him with gleaming eyes.

This is really dangerous.

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his very identity threatened, and turned his head. He felt he couldn’t control his anger if he looked at the mirror specters any longer.

The impulse to tear them limb from limb and obliterate their nonchalant faces from existence was overwhelming. So, he had to leave the Mirror Specter’s Labyrinth without even using the summoning stone he had brought.

“Master?”

Dominique, who had been holding the distributed summoning stone and hadn’t left the owner’s room, tilted her head at his pale complexion.

Normally, he would have explained the situation to her, but this time, he kept his mouth shut, clenching his teeth to shake off the lingering sense of identity crisis.

Perhaps, just perhaps, he wondered if he had created something more dangerous than he thought, and his worries deepened.

Kim Jin-woo did not visit the Mirror Specter’s Labyrinth after that. The threat to his identity, which any living being would naturally possess, was too stressful.

But that was only a temporary escape. The moment the Mirror Specter’s Labyrinth was upgraded to level 5, he had to visit it again.

Fortunately, for some reason, the specters were nowhere to be seen today. Instead, he was greeted by a message window filling his vision.

[The labyrinth upgrade is complete. The labyrinth’s rank has been raised from 4 to 5. Locked facilities have been newly activated.]

[Espesto, the King of the Mirror Specters, who had not shown himself, has appeared.]

The whitish figure that had sprung up on the altar gradually took shape and soon fully formed.

“Ah…”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been worried that it might mimic his appearance like the mirror specters, breathed a sigh of relief at Espesto’s appearance.

Espesto wore a gray cloak pulled over his head, with only a deep black shadow where his face should be.

“Aaaah…”

[Espesto, the King of Specters, who reflects all things and crouches within, has awakened.]

[The King of the Mirror Specters pledges allegiance.]

The specter, fluttering and prostrating on the floor, cried out in a bizarre voice.

[The one who reflects the soul, Espesto, the King of Specters, has joined Naga’s Fortress.]

[The King of the intangible specters is like the reflection of oneself seen before death. The King of the Mirror Specters is the most terrifying mimic and a skilled magician in the underground.]

[The newly born Mirror Specter tribe has finally become a proud race, welcoming the king of their slumbering tribe.]

[The Mirror Specters are terrible plunderers who steal everything from others, but they are also weak beings who cannot achieve anything on their own. The same is true of their king, Espesto.]

[Espesto, who has just been born into the world, is weak, unlike his title of king. Until he finds something to fill his empty soul, he is not much different from other mirror specters.]

[Sharing some of Espesto’s abilities.]

He frowned as he checked the message window. He was once again reminded that the essence of the mirror specters was mimicry.

And now, the mirror specters, whose very existence was a secret to the outside world, could not leave the labyrinth. Naturally, the only being they could see was their master.

In the end, that meant that he was the only one they could imitate.

Indeed, Espesto’s formless face gradually took shape, and its features were becoming familiar.

“Stop! Stop!”

He shouted, his murderous intent rising without him realizing it, and only then did Espesto stop changing. But the face that had stopped changing did not return to its original form; it looked like a distorted version of himself.

Kim Jin-woo warned in a low voice at the unpleasant sight.

“No one is allowed to imitate my appearance.”

“Aaaah…”

Fortunately, Espesto seemed to understand his words and did not change any further. He just stared at him with a collapsed face.

He shuddered at the seemingly clear gaze that seemed to see through him and warned again.

“Never imitate me.”

Only then did Espesto avert his gaze.

“Ugh.”

Kim Jin-woo, groaning, quickly sat on the throne and upgraded the labyrinth’s facilities.

His mouth and hands moved busily, wanting to get out of the Mirror Specter’s Labyrinth as soon as possible.

“Specter Summon.”

“Facility Upgrade.”

“Labyrinth Upgrade.”

Most of his Down Gems had been spent on making summoning stones, so he didn’t have much money left, but it was enough to upgrade the level 5 labyrinth to level 6.

The core of the labyrinth shone brilliantly and resonated, and countless specters sprang from the altar, busily moving around the labyrinth, eagerly constructing and expanding the facilities.

“Hmm?”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been concentrating on upgrading the labyrinth for a while, turned around with a strange sense of unease and was startled to find Espesto.

Espesto, standing silently like a ghost, had changed his appearance to look exactly like Dominique.

The one who reflects the soul, the plunderer, the mimic.

Belatedly, he realized that what the mirror specters stole was not only the external appearance but everything from the living.

Kim Jin-woo was about to say something at the chilling sight, but he realized that Espesto’s appearance was somewhat different from Dominique’s.

Everything was similar, from the black hair, purple eyes, delicate features, and graceful curves of the body, but there was one crucial difference: where the lower body of a snake should have been, there were straight legs.

“Master.”

Espesto, looking like Dominique, said to him. Kim Jin-woo blinked blankly at Espesto’s appearance, which perfectly reproduced Dominique’s unique, gentle, and pleasant voice.

“Please have mercy on this intangible specter. The time to exist without substance is limited, so please look after the karma of this poor species that will eventually disappear if it does not imitate someone.”

“Ah…”

Espesto’s explanation made Kim Jin-woo realize why the specters had imitated his appearance when he revisited the labyrinth.

The mirror specters were beings who could not survive unless they stole someone’s appearance, so they must have instinctively imitated him to survive.

Barely managing to regain his composure, he asked.

“But how could you imitate Dominique’s appearance?”

“I have dared to glimpse a part of the master’s consciousness. I will gladly accept punishment, but please do not take away the honor of serving the king.”

That was not a pleasant experience either. It was something he had already experienced through Dinarion, but it was extremely unpleasant for someone to look into his past and memories.

But right now, the priority was to resolve his curiosity. So, he forced himself to maintain his composure and pressed Espesto.

“But why Dominique of all people?”

Espesto answered his question without hesitation.

“Feeling that the master was displeased with our existence, I imitated the appearance of the most trusted being in the hope that you would have mercy on us. If my shallow trick was unpleasant, please punish me.”

“But why…”

It was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t an incomprehensible reason. However, he didn’t know why Espesto, who had imitated everything almost perfectly, had a human lower body, so he asked the reason.

“This is the most ideal form that the master desires.”

***

“Master?”

Dominique, her face flushed for some reason, called out to him.

“Ah, yes?”

“Is there anything you wanted to say?”

“No. Why?”

“But why do you keep staring at me…”

Kim Jin-woo, belatedly realizing that he was staring at her, cleared his throat at her shy voice.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Even as he said that, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. His gaze, subtly directed downwards, was towards her long, graceful tail.

Dominique, seemingly quite embarrassed, squirmed, her ears turning red.

“Master, if you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to work…”

Even as she said that, she seemed somehow pleased. Kim Jin-woo, feeling inexplicably embarrassed at the sight, shook his head and averted his gaze.

“Dominique.”

But before long, he called out to Dominique again.

“Yes, Master.”

“By any chance.”

She was looking at the map in the center of the owner’s room, pondering something diligently, and immediately answered his call. Looking at her, he hesitated and opened his mouth after a long time.

“Are there any Nagas with legs among the Nagas?”

Dominique looked puzzled at the sudden question. Realizing what he had asked, he hurriedly mumbled.

“It’s nothing. I was just curious. You don’t have to answer.”

What was he expecting? He blamed himself and tried to leave the owner’s room as if running away, but Dominique gave a somewhat late answer.

“Not all Nagas are like this.”

He stopped walking at her answer.

“The most honorable Nagas are allowed the glory of standing on the earth with two feet.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head at Dominique’s question and left the owner’s room, but somehow the corners of his lips were faintly curved.