Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 122

Dungeon Journal-123

# 123

Dungeon Journal

Episode 123

Kim Jin-woo didn’t even register the message that appeared before his eyes. He had to grit his teeth and focus, battling the intense pain as if the back of his hand were being torn off.

He was a man who wouldn’t even flinch at ordinary pain, but this was so severe that his whole body was instantly drenched in sweat.

“Master!”

Dominique, belatedly noticing his expression, screamed. Angela clung to him, adding to the chaos.

“Priest! Call a priest! Ah, no! You, you can use healing magic now!”

Angela, her pale face as white as a corpse, frantically looked for a priest, then grabbed Dominique and shook her. The light that had just begun to gather at Dominique’s fingertips scattered.

“Just stay still!”

Dominique’s usually soft voice was sharp and commanding. Angela, surprised by the uncharacteristic outburst, stepped back, then clung to Kim Jin-woo again, stomping her feet.

“I’ll stay still, so do something!”

“I know, so stop panicking.”

Dominique, effectively silencing Angela, located the source of the pain and poured healing magic into it. Her healing power, amplified by her status as the King’s Advisor, materialized and enveloped his left hand.

The more intense the light, the quieter Kim Jin-woo’s groans became.

“Ugh…….”

As quickly as the intense flash, his face relaxed.

“Master, are you feeling better now?”

Kim Jin-woo, seeing the two women anxiously asking the same question, replied in a hoarse voice that he was okay.

“Why suddenly…….”

“The Parasite… the Parasite has finished its metamorphosis.”

Messages floated before his eyes, which were barely regaining their normal color.

[The Parasite has completed its metamorphosis and become a Parasite (Mochung) [Mother Chung].]

[The Parasite has gained the special ability ‘Reproduction’.]

[The Parasite will be able to produce Jachung [Child Chung] under certain conditions in the future. Jachung that are more than a certain distance away from Mochung will automatically disappear after 12 hours. Jachung only follow the orders of Mochung.]

[The Parasite, which had only lived by its survival instincts, is no longer a lowly bug. Through metamorphosis, the Parasite has gained a complete ego.]

The Parasite’s metamorphosis was dramatic, but there were no immediately noticeable changes. It seemed the difference would only be apparent when the ‘specific conditions’ were met and Jachung were produced.

However, since he didn’t know what those specific conditions were, there was no way to test the Parasite’s new abilities right now.

So Kim Jin-woo soon put the Parasite’s metamorphosis out of his mind. He had tons of other things to deal with, even without the Parasite.

He started by addressing the most urgent tasks. First, he needed Ustus’s help to understand the exact situation on the 11th floor.

Through Ustus’s labyrinth, stealthy long-range patrols and Gluttony masses [large groups of Gluttony monsters] set off for the 11th floor. He also formed a search team to find Rickshasha, who had lost contact, and dispatched them.

“When did so many beastmen come to our labyrinth?”

Kim Jin-woo frowned as he observed the increased number of beastmen milling around the labyrinth.

“It seems the rumor has spread that beastmen are not abused in our labyrinth. It’s common for beastmen in other places to be treated worse than savage creatures.”

“Hmm. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

It would be ideal if all the beastmen were excellent assassins like Hoya or as diligent and obedient as the Myoin woman, but that was unlikely.

In fact, there was a precedent of a Gyeonlang warrior hired to prepare for the battle with the Gyoryong [a type of dragon] running away, so Kim Jin-woo was wary of the beastmen.

“Still, they’re useful for odd jobs, so it wouldn’t be bad to keep them around for a while. If they prove useless, we can just kick them out.”

Dominique was ruthless, even with beastmen standing nearby.

It was natural that the proud Naga and the King’s Advisor looked down on the beastmen who lived like slaves.

“I hope there are some useful ones among them.”

They would otherwise end up as food for savage creatures, captured by other labyrinth owners, or even humans, so he hoped they would find a purpose here.

“But it wouldn’t be wise to accept them indefinitely. The fact that more beastmen are coming here means other labyrinth owners have fewer slaves to exploit.”

Angela muttered worriedly from the side.

“At least on the 9th floor, no one is brave enough to complain to the master. And the existences on the 10th and 11th floors won’t recklessly plot against the 9th floor, and the 8th floor goes without saying.”

Dominique spoke with strong confidence, daring anyone to try. It seemed she was waiting for another labyrinth to provoke her.

Angela shook her head, watching Dominique’s grim smile, commenting that she would test the newly formed fortress troops in the process.

“She didn’t used to be like that, but she’s completely changed by the master. She used to be docile, but now she’s a war maniac.”

“War is the best fertilizer for our fortress.”

Dominique calmly accepted Angela’s sarcasm and turned to Kim Jin-woo.

“Rather, we should use the beastmen living in the fortress to spread rumors. Now that the entire 9th floor has become the master’s territory, if we use them well, the beastmen will become the master’s eyes and ears.”

As expected, Dominique didn’t easily trust anyone except the master.

Kim Jin-woo, Dominique, and Angela, pondering the sudden influx of beastmen, suddenly felt the labyrinth grow noisy.

“Your Majesty, the patrols who went to find Rickshasha have returned!”

He was delighted by Quantus’s words, but his expression hardened when he saw the returning long-range patrols.

The long-range patrols who went to find Rickshasha were covered in blood.

***

“Form ranks!”

Rickshasha, who never lost her composure, shouted, her voice strained. But her cry was soon drowned out by genuine screams.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Save me!”

Under elves screamed and scattered in all directions.

“Fight back! We outnumber them!”

Rickshasha tried to shout again, but none of her tribesmen listened.

“Kya!”

A sturdy under elf man trampled a fallen tribesman as he fled. The trampled young under elf screamed and writhed, and a huge shadow fell over her.

Blood splattered and flesh was torn apart.

“Ah…….”

Rickshasha, who had reached for her curved blade to save the young tribe member, dropped her hand, her face blank.

Screams and red blood were everywhere. Hundreds of tribesmen were screaming and crowding in the narrow passage, pursued by dozens of shadows.

Pandemonium… if hell existed, would this be it?

Rickshasha stared blankly at the scene.

Where had things gone wrong? Gathering the scattered tribesmen had seemed like a good idea.

When she saw the tribesmen who had gathered after hearing the rumors, she had smiled, believing their return was near.

She had been happy that she would soon be able to return to the master who awaited her, and that a thousand tribesmen would reach a place where they would no longer be oppressed or hunted.

But things had started to unravel.

Some of the labyrinth owners had become wary of the under elves’ gathering and attacked. But even that had seemed manageable.

The tribe were born spies, skilled at stealth, and the labyrinth troops who followed their tracks couldn’t find them and had to turn back.

The tribe, having shaken off the last pursuer, seemed to have relaxed too soon. Predators as skilled at tracking as the tribe themselves had followed them from behind.

To make matters worse, even the pursuers who smelled blood had joined the chase.

And the result was this.

They had been ambushed by the striped ground wasps, the most persistent and violent of the pursuers.

“Ah…….”

Before her eyes, the body of a young under elf was torn apart, and sturdy under elf men were crushed by the wasps’ powerful mandibles.

“Ah, the master will be here soon…….”

She was about to shout to the tribe, but she quickly stopped herself.

Some of the Naga long-range patrols dispatched by the master, concerned for her safety, had been killed by the ground wasps. They had fought bravely, like the great master’s army that conquered the 9th floor, but the opponent was too strong.

The striped ground wasps were a powerful labyrinth army that dominated the 8th floor. Facing them, the Naga patrols, weakened by the inter-floor penalty, were outmatched in a direct confrontation.

Nevertheless, they had bravely fought the ground wasps, and they had died.

Perhaps if there had been a few Naga dragon knights, or even warriors or fighters, the outcome would have been different.

If they had been skilled in guerrilla warfare, they could have effectively held the opponent back even with a small force.

But the under elves were not as brave as the Naga warriors, nor as skilled in combat as the Naga fighters. Besides, they were cowards.

The under elves had abandoned the Naga patrols who were fighting for them and fled without looking back.

Naturally, the patrols, only twenty in number, were surrounded by ground wasps and couldn’t display even half their skills.

“Ah…….”

She had no face to face the master. She had left the labyrinth with such confidence, but Rickshasha had never imagined that the tribe she had found would be so weak.

The curse of the underground had taken away more than just the glory of the past. The tribe, screaming and running in front of her, possessed no pride or courage.

Her tribe had been completely tamed as livestock of the underground for too long.

And the master’s glorious army had shed blood for such livestock, so even if she survived, she would be ashamed to face him.

“Run away.”

A few Naga long-range patrols who had survived the fierce battle were startled by her words and turned to her.

All the Nagas looked similar, but the faces of the Nagas covered in blood were familiar. They had likely worked together in past operations.

The faces of her allies, who had been so reliable, were exhausted.