Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 118

Dungeon Chronicle – Episode 119

# 119

Dungeon Chronicle

Episode 119

Red muscles exposed, skinless, a grotesque sight. Yet, the weapons these half-corpse creatures wielded were all too familiar to Kim Jin-woo.

No wonder. The swords and spears were identical to the alloy blades commonly used by Explorers.

A thought, a mere possibility, flashed through his mind, quickly solidifying into certainty.

Song Jong-chul and the other Explorers showed no surprise at the creatures’ sudden appearance.

They nonchalantly unloaded their backpacks, chuckling amongst themselves.

“You’re too late this time.”

Surprisingly, one of the creatures spoke. A giant, easily 2.5 meters tall. Song Jong-chul casually responded to the creature’s bizarre words, as massive as its size.

“Late? What are you talking about? Our guys were just here a while ago.”

With that, Song Jong-chul winked at Kim Jin-woo. In that instant, Kim Jin-woo understood what Song Jong-chul meant by the secret passage.

Song Jong-chul had connections with the forces of the Underworld. Clearly, connections with forces linked to the Depths [the lower levels of the dungeon].

Otherwise, there was no way Song Jong-chul, offering to show him a secret passage, would have visited a random Labyrinth [a complex, maze-like dungeon].

“People need to use their heads, you know? If you just keep fighting, there’s no progress, right?”

Song Jong-chul, acting all high and mighty, revealed the identity of the secret passage as if it were a great secret.

“We use this to enter the Depths. Of course, it’s not free, but it’s a very cheap price to pay for reaching the Depths without any effort.”

“Price?”

“Actually, the price is just surface junk. Funny, isn’t it? The Underworld guys treat useless surface items like treasures.”

Song Jong-chul chuckled, glancing at the creatures with a low voice.

Now, feeling like all his questions were answered, Kim Jin-woo understood what was in the large backpacks the Explorers carried.

And he recalled how obsessed the nobles of the 10th Floor were with collecting surface items.

“Wait, I’ll introduce you. That way, our Jin-woo can use this passage too.”

“No, thanks. Knowing what it is is enough.”

Song Jong-chul said it as if he were doing him a favor, but Kim Jin-woo refused.

“Oh? Are you scared? Don’t worry. We’ve been trading with these friends for quite a while. They’re more honest than most humans, so you don’t have to be so wary, even if you can’t completely trust them.”

Song Jong-chul rattled on, presuming his thoughts, but the real reason he was reluctant to be introduced to the creatures was different.

He was a Dungeon Baby [a being born and raised in a dungeon] and Explorer of the Surface, and at the same time, a proud noble of the Underworld and master of a Labyrinth.

Right now, his status was so much higher that the opposing creature didn’t notice his presence, but if he stepped forward and spoke, things would change.

In the worst-case scenario, his identity could be revealed in front of Song Jong-chul and the others.

He had to avoid that situation at all costs.

So, he tried his best to hide his presence, making himself seem as if he barely existed. Fortunately, the creatures, preoccupied with the Explorers’ backpacks, didn’t pay much attention to him.

“No, I’d like to decline. I don’t think I’ll be going to the Depths anyway. I’ll just be satisfied with seeing the secret passage.”

“Being level 12 and still playing it safe. Well, that’s probably how you survived all the way back to the surface from that deep.”

Song Jong-chul clicked his tongue, whether in mockery or admiration, and then turned back to the creature.

***

Returning to the surface with the group, Kim Jin-woo was able to obtain more information from Song Jong-chul than he had expected.

Apparently, Song Jong-chul saw him as completely on their side after this trip to the Underworld, and he held nothing back.

The information he obtained was merely fragmented Underworld information, and even that was fabricated and a mess, but it was enough for him to realize that the Explorer’s Association had connections with the Underworld.

“Anyway, think about it again. When things calm down, let’s go to the Depths together. Like I said before, there’s no Explorer team with as much experience in the Depths as we have.”

He went on and on about what could be obtained in the Depths before finally letting him go.

After parting ways with Song Jong-chul, Kim Jin-woo immediately opened a gate to the Party Hall.

“Master.”

Yoon-hee, who seemed to be busy with something, belatedly appeared and greeted him.

“Never mind. I’m here for other business today.”

He briefly looked around the Party Hall, which had developed remarkably, and then immediately left. The goal of this trip to the Underworld was not the Party Hall or Yoon-hee.

The unidentified Labyrinth allied with the Surface was his target.

Following the completed map through his Guide ability, he soon reached the Labyrinth he had visited with Song Jong-chul’s group.

Kim Jin-woo, having pulled the hood he had prepared all the way over his head, quietly stood in front of the Labyrinth, waiting for someone to come out. The wait was not long.

As soon as he appeared, the Labyrinth’s security forces, who had been hiding here and there, revealed themselves.

“I wish to meet your king.”

He spoke, displaying his aura to the fullest, and the authority of an Underworld noble was immediately activated.

The creatures, who had surrounded the uninvited guest and were brandishing spears and swords, trembled all over at the overwhelming difference in status.

“Bring your king to me.”

Although the words were not understood, the meaning was properly conveyed. One of the soldiers, resembling a corpse, went inside.

And soon, he returned with the giant who had greeted Song Jong-chul.

[The unique ability of an Underworld noble, the Dignity of a Lower Noble, has been activated.]

[The opponent is a subordinate of another noble. Normally, the opponent is too weak to resist your dignity, but steadfast loyalty protects his mind.]

[However, the difference in existence is too great to completely succeed in resisting.]

[The opponent has partially succeeded in resisting the Dignity of a Lower Noble. A limited oppressive effect has occurred. The opponent will waver between fear and wariness towards you.]

[The limited oppressive effect is causing him great confusion.]

[If subjected to a strong shock, he may be released from the oppressive effect.]

Kim Jin-woo, seeing the giant half-opening his rotten jaw and stammering, smiled and asked.

“Who is your master?”

“I, I serve Baron Ustus of the Depths…”

Thus, his interrogation began.

***

Thanks to the oppressive effect not working completely, Kim Jin-woo was able to hear many facts.

The opponent, whose confusion had reached its peak, had lost the distinction between friend and foe and was babbling all the facts he knew.

The name of the skinless creature was Molzak, the King of Ghouls, and he was a being specially taken in by Baron Ustus of the Depths for trading with surface dwellers.

Perhaps due to the effect of forced loyalty, Molzak refrained from mentioning Ustus even in his confused state, but he revealed everything about the surface dwellers without hiding anything.

Among the information he heard from Molzak, there was a surprising fact hidden.

“There were Dungeon Babies released before the agreement?”

It was known that all Dungeon Babies were released only after the armistice agreement.

However, Molzak said that there were Dungeon Babies released before that agreement, and that he had been acting as a channel connecting these individuals with the nobles of the Depths.

The moment he heard that story, one assumption naturally came to Kim Jin-woo’s mind.

Defectors.

There were Dungeon Babies who had colluded with the Underworld.

And Song Jong-chul was likely at the center of it. The Explorer’s Association he had suddenly created, the excessive loyalty and obedience of the Dungeon Babies who followed him—everything fell into place.

But he couldn’t figure out their purpose.

So, he pressed Molzak to arrange a meeting with Ustus of the Depths. Molzak, confused and unable to distinguish whether the person in front of him was a noble of the Underworld or a surface dweller, readily opened a portal.

Kim Jin-woo, examining the other side of the opened portal, tilted his head. For some reason, the scene beyond the portal was unfamiliar. The core that should have been visible was not there, and neither was the throne.

Kim Jin-woo, gripping the sword at his waist and ready to summon his forces at any moment, cautiously stepped through the portal.

“Hmm…”

As expected. The portal was connected not to the center of the Labyrinth, but to a remote secret chamber. The fixed idea that portals between Labyrinths were naturally connected to the core had been shattered.

After briefly looking around, he cautiously opened the door to the secret chamber. As soon as he opened the door, dozens of creatures waiting outside surrounded him.

Kim Jin-woo, turning back to the portal behind him to retreat, clicked his tongue as he saw the ghouls and Molzak, who had already surrounded him.

Molzak’s face looked as if he had never been suppressed by the oppressive effect.

“I’ve been had.”

Seeing that cold look, he realized that Molzak had regained his senses long ago and had been acting.

Kim Jin-woo spat out a bitter word and then firmly gripped the sword at his waist. He had been prepared for this much anyway.

There was no way it wouldn’t be dangerous to infiltrate the depths of a Labyrinth with no connection to him.

Moreover, a knight’s portal could only be opened with the owner’s permission. It wouldn’t be strange if Ustus’s forces were waiting.

But despite all this, he had taken this risk because he was confident that he could escape the 10th Floor in any situation.

Blue demonic fire began to flow from his eyes.

“If you had just let me go, there would have been no harm done. Tsk.”

He uttered a chilling word and glanced sideways, comparing the forces in front and behind him to assess his escape route.

“Hoo.”

His thoughts were long, but his actions were short. Kim Jin-woo, lowering his body as if to pounce on the relatively manageable 7th Floor ghouls, had to straighten up again before he could even leap.

“Welcome, Commander of Inheritance and the one and only Conqueror of the Underworld.”

A dignified voice calling out to him was heard.

Kim Jin-woo, turning around, could see a bizarre object staring straight at him.

A large, round body—no, it was questionable whether it could even be called a body—the appearance of the monster, entirely composed of one large eyeball, was simply grotesque.

“Greetings. I am Ustus, the king of all one-eyed beings in the Underworld.”