Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 150

Dungeon Journal – Episode 151

57. Awakening

[The vast territory encompassing the entire 9th floor is worthy of being called a kingdom. And you, who have risen to the rank of High Lord, are fully qualified to become its ‘King’.]

[High Lord Kim Jin-woo has become the true ‘King’ of the 9th floor.]

[The existing labyrinth is changing.]

[Until the transformation is complete, no one can enter or leave the 9th floor.]

No sooner had the message ended than the whole world began to tremble. The ceiling sagged as if about to collapse at any moment, and the floor heaved.

[Time remaining until transformation completion: 359:59:54]

***

The Counts of the 11th floor were the first to sense the anomaly.

“Kkeueeeek!”

The giant Moai, once surely a notable lord, but now reduced to a state worse than a mere beast due to its ruined body and twisted spirit, let out a grating scream.

A situation where it wouldn’t be strange for it to be annihilated immediately, especially with the Iron-Blooded Anatolius as its opponent.

However, Anatolius, who was gripping a steel sword and about to deliver the final blow, froze in place for some reason.

“Lord Anatolius!”

At the sound of the piercing scream, Anatolius snapped back to his senses. Before his eyes, he saw the Moai raising its slimy body.

Its appearance, rushing in to engulf the world like a tsunami, was threatening as if it were its last struggle.

He reflexively swung his sword.

Compared to its threatening aura, the enemy’s massive body was easily cleaved apart. Half of the severed body hurriedly melted into the darkness.

“I’ve been had.”

Anatolius bitterly smiled, having futilely missed the opportunity to capture the leader of the Moai that had relentlessly tormented his territory.

But only for a moment, as he soon stared into the darkness beyond with a serious expression.

“What on earth…….”

Just before destroying the core of the giant Moai, he felt a familiar yet strange surge of power.

The surge was so violent and ferocious that he was distracted even with the enemy in front of him. As a result, he missed the opportunity he had been waiting for so long, but that didn’t matter.

Right now, he was more concerned about the unknown surge of power than dealing with the leader of the thousand Moai.

The energy, which spread out explosively and then subtly enveloped everything, was something familiar to him.

The light of creation, which he had always seen whenever a new labyrinth was established in the underground, closely resembled the current energy.

But this was absurd.

The energy he felt had not originated from the 11th floor at least. Such an immense energy felt even beyond the floor meant that at least a Duke-level noble and labyrinth had been born. But as far as he knew, none of the nobles were about to rise to the rank of Duke.

“My King!”

Anatolius was awakened from his thoughts by the voice of his subordinate calling him. The face of the knight in the iron mask was filled with anxiety instead of questions, asking whether to pursue the scattered Moai.

“At this rate, we’ll lose the enemy!”

The knight in the iron mask repeatedly shouted at Anatolius, who still seemed to be wandering in a dream.

“Give the order quickly!”

“Ah, divide the forces into three and chase the enemy’s main force…….”

Anatolius, who was giving the order, closed his mouth again with a stiff face. The surging power had momentarily soared and then disappeared.

“The Nagas…….”

At this moment, the Iron-Blooded Anatolius thought of the king of the Nagas, who must be lurking on the 9th floor. He didn’t know why, but at this moment, he felt that this strange phenomenon was definitely related to him.

At the same time, Anatolius was not the only one who noticed the anomaly. And among the Counts, Dinariom of Nightmare and Parthenon of Despair, who had ties to the 9th floor, also thought of the king of the Nagas like Anatolius.

***

While the Counts of the deep floors were watching the situation from the periphery of the anomaly that occurred on the 9th floor, those residing on the 9th floor were at the center of the change.

The labyrinths adjacent to the fortress, including the Land of Gluttony, began to change first.

“Huh? Huh?”

Worse, who was sitting and watching the videos sent by the Gluttony Masses, let out a dumbfounded sound at the sudden vibration.

If he didn’t have a body made of slime, he would have rolled off the throne and made a pathetic sight.

“No one saw that, right?”

Worse, who coughed awkwardly while looking around for no reason, straightened his face and sat back on the throne, then found a mass of slime stuck to the ceiling staring down at him.

“Ahem.”

Even Worse, who was frivolous, reigned like a king in his labyrinth, so he cleared his throat and glared at the mass of slime as if trying to save face. They were his own slime masses like his children, but at times like this, he couldn’t figure out what they were thinking.

No, did they even have thoughts in the first place?

Thud!

Worse, who was grinning with trivial thoughts, braced his whole body at the vibration he felt once again.

“What, what is it?”

Belatedly realizing that something serious was happening, he tried to grasp the situation, but the sudden burst of light swallowed him even faster.

“Kkeu, kkeuek! Save me!”

Leaving behind a single scream, he was soon completely swallowed by the pure white flash.

The same situation occurred in various places on the 9th floor underground.

The ground shook and the ceiling sank. Dust billowed up, and soon a dazzling burst of light swallowed the labyrinth.

By the time Kim Jin-woo noticed the anomaly, all the labyrinths on the 9th floor had already been submerged in the light.

The light surrounding the labyrinths did not allow him to approach, and he had to return to the fortress without meeting anyone.

And the Naga’s fortress he returned to was also submerged in pure white light like other labyrinths.

The only difference was that, unlike other labyrinths, the light that swallowed the fortress did not reject him.

Barely finding the owner’s room in the world that had turned pure white, he called out to Dominique.

“Dominique!”

She, who would have appeared immediately upon being called, did not show up. Quantus and other subordinates were the same.

It felt as if he had been left alone in the underground.

All these phenomena had occurred after he had risen to the rank of High Lord.

[Time remaining until transformation completion: 311:38:24.]

The fortress’s status window was also not visible. All that was visible was a number that continued to decrease.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Since the portal wouldn’t open, he couldn’t go to the surface. If he stayed like this, he would have to be alone in the desolate underground until the indicated time had passed. It was a terrible thing.

Because this place was by no means a pleasant place to be alone.

Perhaps that was why. He was so delighted at the appearance of Morrigan, whom he didn’t particularly like.

“My Lord.”

Morrigan, whose attitude had completely changed since rising to the rank of High Lord, walked gracefully and knelt before him.

“What on earth is going on?”

He was delighted at the thought that she, who had appeared alone at this time when everyone had disappeared, might know something. But he seemed to have expected too much.

In fact, Morrigan was also bewildered because she didn’t know the situation either.

“Damn it.”

In the end, it meant that there was no other option but to wait.

A tedious time passed. A week had passed, but the world that had turned white was still the same, and he and Morrigan were the only ones alive.

If he had anticipated this situation in advance, the precious time that could have been used meaningfully had passed somewhat in vain.

Thinking of the Counts of the deep floors who were still spurring to push back the Moai, time felt even more precious.

So he made the maximum preparations he could do right now. The first thing he did was to absorb the noble’s seal, the fragment of ancient authority, obtained from the war with the 10th floor.

There was no explosive change, but he could feel that his power had been strengthened even by absorbing the seal.

Kim Jin-woo sparred with Morrigan to gauge the increased power.

Morrigan, who had returned to her raven form in battle, exuded an even more ominous aura than before. Since the world had already turned pure white, the black aura flowing from her body was particularly noticeable.

Like a stain on a pure white cloth, she was there.

“Give it your all.”

The ominous aura that started from her, the scent of death, gradually spread around and then exploded at some point.

“I was going to do that anyway.”

He was startled by the deep and eerie voice that seemed to have flowed out from somewhere deep in the underground. It was because Morrigan, who had been somehow floating as if walking through a flower garden recently, had suddenly turned fierce like she was facing an enemy.

“Please be careful. The beak of the harbinger sometimes has to sing unwanted misfortunes.”

She, who called herself a harbinger, spread her wings wide.

Indeed, Morrigan, who had regained the name of the Black Harbinger through resonance with the fragment of the One-Eyed Monarch, was incomparably stronger than before.

Flap, flap!

The ominous flapping sound echoed loudly from all directions, and feathers with stiffened ends flew in from all directions.

Kim Jin-woo dodged dozens of feathers by simply twisting his body slightly without overdoing it. But the black feathers persistently followed as if they had homing devices.

Eventually, instead of dodging, he drew his sword from his waist and swung it around. Dozens of black feathers were bounced off with a heavy impact.

Clatter!

The feathers dug into the floor and ceiling, shattering the solid rock to pieces.

“Hmm.”

However, he missed Morrigan’s whereabouts while paying attention to the attacks flying in from the air. As a result, he had to frown as he saw Morrigan’s claws reaching his heart.

“Do you know what your problem is, Master?”

Morrigan whispered, staring intently at Kim Jin-woo, who was making all sorts of faces.

“You are definitely strong. But that strength is not absolute.”

There was no reason why he couldn’t counterattack if he pushed himself, but there was no reason to do so in a sparring match, not a real battle. So he suppressed his displeasure.

“You don’t have enough experience.”

The achievements of the Commander of Conquest were genuine. Nevertheless, Morrigan said he had no experience.

“There are not many who can exert more power than you against a large number of opponents. At best, some of the Counts of the deep floors are at a similar level. In fact, you have never lost against a large number of opponents. But what if the opponent is not an ordinary multitude, but a real powerhouse, just one person?”

Only then could Kim Jin-woo understand what she was trying to say.

“The strongest person you have ever faced is Boreas. He is excellent, but he is only a Baron of the 10th floor.”

Morrigan was right. The strongest people he had faced were only nobles of the 10th floor, not even the 11th floor.

He had proven his overwhelming superiority in power against them, but that fact did not mean that he had a lot of experience with strong people.

The people he would have to face in the future were at least Counts of the deep floors, and perhaps he would have an early encounter with Dukes and Usurpers.

“What should I do?”

Kim Jin-woo asked, smoothing out his frowning face. He had thrown away his petty pride far away.

“It is more important to be able to properly utilize your abilities now than to increase your power. There is an enormous amount of power dormant in your body that you have not yet fully digested. And the fastest way to digest that power is…….”

Morrigan’s claws, which were touching his heart, gained strength. He reflexively swung his sword at the pain of piercing flesh.

“It’s practice.”

Flap, and the sound of flapping wings was heard, and Morrigan began to rampage again.