Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 16

Dungeon Journal – Episode 17

# 17

Dungeon Journal

Episode 17

#8. Parasite

Lee Jun-young was persistent. Despite already giving gifts worth millions of won [Korean currency, roughly equivalent to thousands of US dollars], she wasn’t satisfied and kept bothering Kim Jin-woo.

When he avoided her calls because he felt burdened, she even went to the trouble of finding his new home, showing her tenacity.

“My life isn’t that cheap.”

Whether she had a strong sense of pride or other intentions, she remained unmoved.

So, Kim Jin-woo told her what he needed instead.

“Information about the labyrinth? Why all of a sudden?”

“Because I need it.”

He answered briefly, and she looked disappointed. But only for a moment. Soon, she seemed genuinely pleased to have something to help with and said with a welcoming expression.

“Are you planning to go back to the underground? If so, why don’t you join our team?”

It wasn’t a bad offer. Although the request to hunt hellspiders had failed, her team was a solid group of dungeon babies [individuals born and raised in the dungeon environment] with fairly high levels.

During the last exploration, she and her teammates had done their part.

The hunt failed only because the number of hellspiders was higher than expected, not because their skills were lacking.

After a moment of thought, Kim Jin-woo accepted her offer.

Anyway, he had to frequently visit the underground to get the Down Jams [a valuable resource or currency within the dungeon] needed for the labyrinth’s growth.

It wasn’t bad to have a companion to fill the 5-year gap.

“Okay. But…”

“You hate being bothered?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her quick understanding and grin.

Their relationship was decent, and her skills were good. On top of that, she was perceptive, so he could say he had good partner luck.

“Our team has seventeen dungeon babies. All of them were born and raised on floors 5 through 8. There aren’t many exploration teams in Korea with better performance than us right now.”

Lee Jun-young, who was introducing her team as an excellent choice, suddenly turned serious and asked.

“But Jin-woo, which floor were you really born on?”

Kim Jin-woo hesitated for a moment. While he was pondering, she asked again.

“Judging by how you fought the hellspiders last time, it’s definitely not floor 7, maybe around floor 9? Were you born on floor 9?”

As she made various guesses, Kim Jin-woo made up his mind and revealed his level.

“I was born on floor 12.”

He had already shown his skills, and there was no need to hide it, so he spoke honestly.

However, Lee Jun-young only blinked at his answer without saying anything. Her face was blank.

“Floor 12?”

That was all she managed to say after a long time. Kim Jin-woo smiled wryly, already expecting this reaction.

Floor 12 was an unknown land that humans had never set foot on, even during the war. And it was just as dangerous.

Even when dungeon babies who gained freedom after the war poured out onto the surface, there were no dungeon babies from floor 12.

It was only natural. Even dungeon babies born on floor 10 had an incredibly low survival rate.

The masters of the labyrinth had only released them, not given them tickets to safely ascend to the surface.

If fifty dungeon babies returned alive from floor 10, less than ten returned alive from floor 11.

And he was the only dungeon baby who returned from floor 12.

“The person who returned alive from floor 12 is…”

“Only one person.”

Even though there was no reason to lie, she still seemed unable to believe it.

He didn’t feel the need to persuade her and quietly waited for her next words. Finally regaining her composure, she said in a trembling voice.

“Floor 12 is where the labyrinths of the underground dukes are…”

“Yes. I was born in the labyrinth of the Spider Duke.”

“Are, are you perhaps that level 12 dungeon baby who’s the only one in Korea?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kim Jin-woo was quite famous in his own way. It would be strange if he wasn’t famous, being a dungeon baby born in the deep levels, which were not very common in the world.

Moreover, he was a rare dungeon baby born in the labyrinth of the underground duke, so it was no wonder Lee Jun-young was surprised.

“But that person was said to have died in the underground…”

“That’s just a rumor. I was just away from the underground for personal reasons.”

It seemed that rumors had spread that he was dead because he had been away from the underground for so long.

Well, all the dungeon babies born in the deep levels were enjoying tremendous success, so it was no wonder people thought that way.

“I knew you were a high level, but to think you were a level 12 dungeon baby…”

Lee Jun-young still couldn’t hide her shock.

She couldn’t believe that she had met the highest-level dungeon baby in Korea, who had been in the spotlight so much in the early days of the post-war period.

“Let’s talk about work instead.”

Kim Jin-woo drew a line, not wanting to share any more personal stories.

Despite his words, she was stunned for a while before belatedly regaining her senses and explaining the upcoming schedule.

Lee Jun-young’s team consisted of relatively successful explorers in Korea. As a team that had been consistently exploring, the barrier to entry was high.

But that was irrelevant to Kim Jin-woo. The skills and achievements he had already shown in the hellspider request were more than enough to join the team.

On top of that, with the title of the highest-level dungeon baby in Korea, her team should be clinging to his coattails.

“Let’s go to our office sometime. Should we go now while we’re at it?”

He shook his head at her incredibly proactive suggestion.

“No. I hate being bothered. Please keep my level a secret for now. I don’t want to attract attention.”

Remembering that he had hidden his level even when giving up his share in the last exploration, she readily nodded.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise.”

Lee Jun-young seemed quite excited about Kim Jin-woo’s joining.

But he didn’t intend to stay with her team for long. It would be enough to adapt enough to fill the gap.

That’s because his portals and nagas [snake-like humanoid creatures], which were one of his greatest strengths, were things he couldn’t show to others.

There was no reason to continue working with others while bearing the penalty.

Kim Jin-woo smiled and casually saw off Lee Jun-young, who left the house, without telling her the inside story.

Several days passed after expressing his intention to join Lee Jun-young’s team. And finally, the exploration schedule was set.

[This time, we’re planning to go up to the 6th floor. The schedule is expected to be about two weeks. The team consists of five dungeon babies, including me and Jin-woo, and ten regular explorers.]

“You’re going quite deep.”

[It’s not profitable to just go around the lower floors.]

It was a statement befitting a successful dungeon baby. Even though there were creatures and beasts on floors 1 to 4 that produced fairly high-quality Down Jams, Lee Jun-young’s team didn’t seem to care.

[There are three days left until departure, so there should be enough time to prepare. We’ll prepare all the equipment, but you’ll have to prepare your own personal weapons or favorite items.]

“Okay. Not really…”

He had a sword and protective gear purchased from the black marketeer, but they weren’t something he could show to others.

Kim Jin-woo finished the call and opened the portal. He had to move quickly since he would be away for a while.

‘Master, you’re here.’

As always, Dominique greeted him. He nodded and sat on the throne to check the construction status of the facility.

Additional naga workers had been deployed, but it seemed that it would still take quite some time to complete the construction because it was a Tier 4 facility.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to come for a while. Dominique will have to work hard.”

‘Ah, I won’t be able to see Master’s face for a while.’

Dominique rarely complained, but she seemed more disappointed that she couldn’t see Kim Jin-woo than burdened by the increased workload.

“I can’t show the labyrinth to others yet.”

‘I see. After all, Master is a being of the surface.’

Perhaps trying to see his face a little longer, Dominique stared at him with her purple eyes for a long time.

“It can’t be helped. The Down Jams that the naga workers collect are barely enough to cover the maintenance costs of the troops.”

Kim Jin-woo appeased her and left the labyrinth.

He had a lot to do. He had to create an alibi so that his parents, who were always worried, wouldn’t think his absence was strange, and he also had to meet with Teacher Baek to continuously obtain information about the labyrinth.

Perhaps that’s why he came to his senses and realized that it was already the day he would enter the underground.

Kim Jin-woo met the team members in advance and was introduced to them by Lee Jun-young. This time, there were also a large number of relatively high-level dungeon babies ranging from level 5 to 8.

“Oh, you’re Kim Jin-woo, the guy who saved our Jun-young? Nice to meet you.”

A man who introduced himself as Jeong Chan-sik greeted him with a sly smile.

Even among dungeon babies, there were age differences. But the dungeon babies, who had lived like beasts without counting their age, were all friends and comrades. Kim Jin-woo greeted him with a smiling face at his friendly attitude.

“Thank you for last time.”

Two of them were people he had met during the last hellspider hunt. They all welcomed him with gratitude that was almost overwhelming.

“Then, now that we’ve roughly introduced ourselves, let’s depart right away.”

This time, the introduction of the explorers was omitted. The explorers also moved according to Jeong Chan-sik’s orders without looking upset.

As always, the group quickly moved after undergoing a simple inspection and entering the gate. It seemed that they would skip most battles until they reached their destination.

“Many enemies ahead, let’s turn right at this intersection.”

For some reason, Jeong Chan-sik, not Lee Jun-young, who had the highest level except for Kim Jin-woo, was leading the group, and there was a reason for that.

He cleverly detected the presence of creatures and beasts in the vicinity and skipped all unnecessary battles.

Thanks to this, the group was able to reach the entrance to the 4th floor in less than four days after entering the underground.

“From here on out, there are a lot of guys whose presence I can’t detect, so let me know right away if you sense anything strange.”

The explorers nodded at Jeong Chan-sik’s words.

The 4th floor of the underground was distinctly different from the 3rd floor.

Unlike the 3rd floor, which was at least partially paved with concrete in the main passages, the 4th floor was the underground in its original state.

The group, which had been making rapid progress until now, slowed down significantly due to the uneven ceiling protrusions and the winding passages on the uneven ground.

“Let’s change the formation. Sang-sik and I will go to the front, Hyun-il will be the driver, the spearmen will be in the center, and Jun-young and Jin-woo will be in the rear.”

The formation quickly changed as Jeong Chan-sik gave instructions.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Lee Jun-young, who met him at the rear, spoke quietly. He nodded, and she smiled and said.

“Chan-sik is a bit unique. He has the ability to read presence even though he wasn’t born in the deep levels.”

It was true that only dungeon babies born in the deep levels had special abilities, but there were rare cases of those born in the lower levels who also had abilities. Jeong Chan-sik seemed to belong to that category.

“But why didn’t you come to the hellspider hunt last time…”

“I know, right? If we had gone together, that wouldn’t have happened. At that time, Chang-sik was already on another request, so he couldn’t go with us.”

It seemed that Lee Jun-young’s team was more actively entering and exiting the labyrinth than he had thought.

“Stop for a moment!”

The group stopped walking while they were talking. Wondering what was going on, he looked at Jeong Chan-sik, who was gathering the dungeon babies.

“From here on out, it’s a labyrinth. Originally, this was the fastest way to pass through, but just in case. After all, you never know what might happen in a labyrinth.”

Come to think of it, the passage in front of the group was distinctly different from the paths they had passed through so far. Although it was broken in places, the floor of the passage was relatively well-maintained.

“It’s a labyrinth that’s been abandoned for over 10 years anyway. At most, there will be beasts or creatures wandering around the 4th floor.”

“Then everyone else agrees?”

The dungeon babies nodded at Jeong Chan-sik’s question.

“What about Jin-woo? Are you okay with it too?”

As he asked that, Kim Jin-woo was standing a little away from the group, staring at the entrance in front.

As if revealing the fact that it was the entrance to a labyrinth, a geometric emblem was engraved on the wall.

For some reason, it felt strangely similar to the emblem engraved on the back of his hand, so he unconsciously reached out and touched the wall.

“Hmm?”

He felt a strange sensation for a moment. As he was about to touch the emblem again out of curiosity, Kim Jin-woo turned his head at the sound of someone calling him.

“Yes?”

“There’s an abandoned labyrinth ahead, and we’re going to pass through it. Are you okay with it?”

“Well, I heard that’s what we’re doing anyway, so what’s there to be okay or not about? I don’t mind.”

“Okay. Then, knowing that there are no objections, let’s go!”

The group began to move forward again at Jeong Chan-sik’s words.

The labyrinth was complex. No matter how abandoned the labyrinth was, its origins were still there, and there were various traps everywhere. The passages were also twisted and winding, making it difficult to find the way, but Jeong Chan-sik managed to find the way.

In this way, the group reached the owner’s room, which could be said to be the center of the labyrinth.

“We’ll sleep here tonight and completely leave the labyrinth tomorrow. It’s safer here than on the outskirts.”

In fact, where is there a safe place in the underground, but no one objected because the owner’s room was made to be advantageous for defense.

Complete darkness and silence.

The night spent in the labyrinth was terribly quiet. Breaking the silence, Lee Jun-young woke Kim Jin-woo.

“If anything happens, shout and let me know right away. I’ve installed motion detectors in front and in the corner, but there are some guys who don’t get caught by that.”

Since it was a night watch to prepare for the approach of a secret enemy in the dark, the dungeon babies took turns guarding.

It was the only time that the explorers, who were in charge of all sorts of chores, could relax.

“Okay, go to sleep.”

He greeted her, and Lee Jun-young, as if she wasn’t completely free from fatigue, slipped into her sleeping bag with a sleepy face. Kim Jin-woo, who was watching her fall asleep, snoring softly like a insensitive dungeon baby, got up from his seat.

After looking around for a while and checking for any signs, he carefully moved his steps. The place he was heading to was the altar where the dungeon’s core had once been placed.

For some reason, it felt similar to the altar in the naga’s labyrinth, yet different, so he stared blankly at the place where the core had been placed for a while, when suddenly a message appeared in front of his eyes.

[Something invisible to your eyes has been caught by the parasite’s senses.]