Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 157

Dungeon Journal- Episode 158

# 158

Dungeon Journal

60. Gluttony

The Eye of Truth isn’t perfect. It doesn’t delve into the depths of someone’s heart; it merely confirms a part of their psychological state.

So, Kim Jin-woo kept shaking things up.

Threats and enticements, then more threats. Anyone showing even the slightest suspicious behavior was subjected to relentless interrogation. As a result, four more individuals with connections to the Deep Layer Counts, or bound by subservient relationships, were discovered.

“So much for being absolutely unable to betray. How flimsy, how flimsy.”

He didn’t believe the vassal’s contract was absolute.

The vassal’s contract merely stipulated that if the contractor’s labyrinth was destroyed, the vassal would share the same fate. But this clause of the labyrinth’s destruction was truly ambiguous.

If someone was willing to die, this restriction would be useless.

No, even without risking death, extracting information didn’t require taking such risks. Simply observing from the sidelines and relaying information was something anyone could do.

Despite knowing these loopholes, Kim Jin-woo felt bitter when he found more spies hidden on the 9th floor than expected.

“Devour them all.”

No sooner had he spoken than the spies knelt and begged for forgiveness. But he didn’t retract his words.

Groooooan!

The Great Labyrinth’s meal began, and the survivors, including Malakus, had to witness the gruesome sight once again.

***

[Malakus and the dwarves have become residents of the Great Labyrinth.]

[The dwarves’ value is not in combat. Their true worth is revealed not when wielding axes on the battlefield, but when holding hammers and anvils.]

[The dwarves need workshops and studios to do their part. Even without orders, they will try to earn your recognition by creating useful things.]

With the allocation of space to Malakus and his clan, the chaos on the 9th floor finally came to an end.

The number of those who luckily escaped the calamity was ten. They would not be able to leave the Great Labyrinth and would dedicate themselves to him and the Great Labyrinth for the rest of their lives.

Having finished that task, Kim Jin-woo took the time to resolve the remaining issues.

“Ariane.”

Completely overwhelmed by the Great Labyrinth’s irrational power, Ariane trembled, unable to even answer.

“What was Dinari’s purpose in sending you?”

He couldn’t imagine that a Deep Layer Count would go to such lengths out of concern for his daughter.

“The power of the old sovereign, the key to it.”

As expected, Dinari’s reason for sending Ariane was not simple. Ariane stammered, desperately trying to reveal everything she knew.

“The mighty authority not permitted to the current beings of the Underworld, the clue to that was with the King.”

As Ariane’s story continued, Kim Jin-woo’s expression changed. And when her explanation finally came to an end, he,

“Hahaha!”

was laughing.

“Every one of them has ulterior motives.”

But when his laughter ceased, he was no longer smiling.

Ariane said that the power of the old sovereign was an open secret among the Deep Layer Counts. The only wish that would fulfill their desire to descend to the lower floors was the power of the old sovereigns.

With this, even Anatolius the Iron-Blooded’s conditions were likely false. The Parthenon’s demand for Morrigan was also likely a pretext.

Perhaps they all approached him with the same purpose.

Realizing this, he felt like applauding the Deep Layer Counts’ acting skills. It was admirable. But the admiration didn’t last long.

His anger was greater than his admiration for the Deep Layer Counts’ schemes.

He had been living each day as if walking a tightrope over a cliff—a situation where one wrong step would send him plummeting into the abyss. He had overcome all those adversities and hardships. Or so he thought.

But to think that the ones holding the ends of that tightrope and shaking it were the Deep Layer Counts. He scoffed at his own arrogance.

He also gnashed his teeth at the thought of the Deep Layer Counts, who might be toasting to his High Lord awakening at this very moment.

“But things won’t go your way.”

He growled lowly, having regained his cold reason. Ariane, watching him, anxiously sized him up.

“Then what about me……”

Kim Jin-woo turned to her as she barely managed to ask after hesitating for a long time.

“I’ll spare you as promised.”

“Th, thank you! I will never forget this grace……”

“However!”

Ariane, who had nearly collapsed with exhaustion, shut her mouth again.

“There is something you must do.”

“What……”

When he finished speaking, Ariane could no longer smile.

“You must do that much, so you won’t even think about betraying me again.”

Kim Jin-woo said coldly, looking at her, who had dropped her head in despair.

***

Ariane was imprisoned in the heart of the Great Labyrinth. As always, Hoya was in charge of guarding her.

Hoya was usually a lazy glutton who did nothing but purr and sleep under the throne in the owner’s room, but when given a mission, he became a relentless guard who didn’t even sleep.

To Ariane, who deceived enemies with futile dreams, this sleepless cat would be a natural enemy.

“If you see even the slightest suspicious sign, deal with it immediately without reporting to me.”

Even if Ariane had to be disposed of, Hoya would be sufficient to assassinate Ariane, who lacked close combat abilities.

“Kreung.”

Hoya thumped his chest, saying to leave it to him.

“Then Hoya, I’m counting on you.”

Kim Jin-woo, having entrusted Ariane’s surveillance to Hoya, sat in the owner’s room.

“Master!”

Dominique saw him and rushed to him with a delighted expression. Behind her, the Hero-grade Nagas and the ancient war heroes, including Morrigan, had the same resolute expressions.

“Everything was handled well.”

“That’s a relief, that’s a relief.”

Dominique, embraced in his arms, repeated the word “relief” several times.

She seemed very worried about her master’s recklessness in stepping alone before thousands of rioters.

Normally, she would never have sent him alone before thousands of enemies.

But this time, she couldn’t help it, because the Great Labyrinth, which had swallowed thousands of rioters, was not yet completely under his control. The uncontrolled Great Labyrinth was a dangerous entity.

In fact, the Great Labyrinth, which had swallowed the rioters, was still not full.

[Great Labyrinth (Grade 1)]

[Satiety 72%. Not completely full, but feeling moderately satisfied.]

[Hunger 00%.]

[*The Great Labyrinth in a state of hunger is a dangerous entity.]

[When satiety reaches 0%, hunger begins to rise. If hunger rises above a certain level, the Great Labyrinth will randomly devour the residents of the labyrinth.]

[If you do not continuously fill its satiety, the Great Labyrinth may try to fill its own belly. If you do not want the pitiful residents to be sacrificed, continuously supply energy to the Great Labyrinth.]

Unlike before, the detailed figures had all disappeared, and the Great Labyrinth’s status simply showed satiety and hunger.

He had looked at the status window hundreds of times over the past few days and tried to figure it out, but he couldn’t grasp the unknown existence of the Great Labyrinth with just that.

If it weren’t for Morrigan and Heimdall, who had lived through the ancient Great Labyrinth, he wouldn’t have been able to control even a single part of the Great Labyrinth yet.

The power of the Great Labyrinth that he had barely managed to control after all sorts of efforts was ‘Gluttony,’ and with that one power alone, he could deal with thousands of rioters in the blink of an eye.

But thinking about the Deep Layer Counts, who might reveal their ambition at any moment, relying on the power of Gluttony alone was foolish.

The nobles of the Deep Layers were the ones who had ousted the once-powerful ten monarchs, and they would surely know the weaknesses of the Great Labyrinth.

To face them, he had to first increase his power.

“We have driven out the rioters, but there are too many who have their eyes on the Great Labyrinth.”

Kim Jin-woo, having barely shaken off Dominique, who didn’t want to let go, turned to the Hero-grade summons and opened his mouth.

“And we have lost the majority of our elite forces. There are new ones we have accepted this time, but we should consider that none of them can fight properly. So, for the time being, we will completely suspend external activities and focus on maintaining the labyrinth.”

The Moai would run rampant, and the defense line that had been painstakingly maintained for a year would collapse, but it couldn’t be helped. He and the Great Labyrinth could not survive unless they locked the doors.

Fortunately, the Great Labyrinth had the ability to arbitrarily close and reopen passages, so he could buy time until he started activities again.

And during that time, he had to completely bring the Great Labyrinth to its knees and bring it under his control.

“Damn time limit, it’s not even new anymore.”

He spat out a self-deprecating remark and then urged the summons to assign them tasks.

“Dominique, find a way to revive the lost forces.”

“Yes! Master!”

“Morrigan, Heimdall, you two monitor those who have been incorporated into the labyrinth this time.”

“As the King wills!”

“Ricksha, perfectly grasp the boundaries of the labyrinth and report them on a map!”

“I shall do as you command.”

Orders were issued in an instant, and the Great Labyrinth, which had been holding its breath, began to move again.

***

“Is all the pending work done now?”

Kim Jin-woo, who was sitting alone in the owner’s room after everyone had left, turned his head at the familiar voice.

“You’re not surprised.”

The woman, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath as if it was hard to even walk, looked at him with a disappointed face.

“Because I already knew.”

Although he couldn’t control the Great Labyrinth yet, he could easily sense someone’s approach.

So, instead of a surprised face, he showed a worried expression.

“Don’t make that face; I’m really okay now.”

The woman, straining her hollow eyes, was none other than Lee Jun-young.

While some were swallowed up as the labyrinth evolved into the Great Labyrinth, others benefited from it. Lee Jun-young was one of them.

She, who had been addicted to Down Jam and was no different from a *pyein* [a Korean term for a social recluse or shut-in], no longer sent the same hazy gaze as before.

“What happens to me now?”

She asked, meeting his face squarely with her hollow face.