Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 165

Dungeon Memoir – Chapter 166

64. Preliminary Survey

The construction workers had recently started avoiding Kim Jin-woo.

He had saved Mr. Kim, who had suffered an accident, from the brink of death. Since then, he had repeatedly played a role in preventing numerous potential disasters. Yet, despite all this, none of those gathered at the construction site looked at him with friendly eyes.

Instead, they avoided his gaze as if they had encountered a monster.

Perhaps it was because his superhuman strength, far surpassing that of ordinary Seekers [individuals with supernatural abilities], made them unable to see him as human.

A suffocating silence fell over the site. It was to the point where their previous unreasonable resentment and complaints felt more human.

“Is that a person or a monster? Did he grow up on monster milk? He looks like a person on the outside, but he’s a monster on the inside, isn’t he?”

“It’s not that the site is strange; it’s that the owner has bad luck attached to him.”

Nowhere in their expressions was there gratitude or admiration for the man who had saved a colleague’s life. Rather, they showed a deeper level of disgust than before, back when they had done nothing.

Disgust, fear.

The Eye of Truth [a skill or ability to perceive true intentions] also repeatedly confirmed the way they were looking at him. But Kim Jin-woo’s expression did not change.

He remained calm even as gazes poured down on him as if he were a dirty monster, with no gratitude for his good deeds.

It was only natural.

He had never wanted to be understood in the first place, nor had he expected to be. That was why he had lived apart from ordinary people.

He knew better than anyone that this was the unfiltered gaze of humans looking at Dungeon Babies [individuals raised in or connected to dungeons], and their honest feelings.

In the end, even now that he was on the surface, he was still a stranger who could not blend into the group.

Kim Jin-woo quietly looked at them and then sought out the supervisor.

“Let’s wrap up today’s work here. The atmosphere is chaotic, and it would be a disaster if another accident happened.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t manage the workers properly.”

“From now on, please gather reliable people. Work can be fast or slow, but I don’t want to see this kind of accident happen again.”

Because of the workers’ avoidance of Kim Jin-woo, the supervisor had to handle all communication. Naturally, they had to have quite a few conversations. But the supervisor still looked at him with wary eyes.

“What, do you have something else to say?”

It was strange that the supervisor, while being so wary, did not avoid his presence, so he asked. At the cold voice, the supervisor flinched more than necessary and opened his mouth.

“That’s….”

The supervisor, who should have stepped back by now, kept sighing in front of him for some reason.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly. I’m tired from using my strength.”

At his urging, the supervisor hesitated and then opened his mouth.

“That jewel from the underground, the Down something or other….”

As if he had decided to brazenly go ahead since he had opened his mouth, the supervisor strode up to him and opened his arms.

“Could you take a look at this?”

The supervisor took out a dirty pouch as if he were showing off something great, and a stone came out of it. The shape of the stone looked familiar.

“I bought it for a high price, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect.”

“What is this?”

“That Down something or other, the one that’s good for energy depletion and health… Do you happen to know anything about it?”

At the man’s words, Kim Jin-woo narrowed his eyes, looked at the stone, and frowned.

“Where did you get that?”

Looking at the stone through the eyes of the Parasite [referring to Kim Jin-woo’s unique perspective or ability], it was literally a dud with all the Dungeon energy drained out.

It was almost amazing how they had extracted the energy without damaging the appearance.

“I heard that rich people carry one of these around, so I bought it for a high price.”

When asked where he got it, the supervisor went on and on about how hard it was to get the item.

“I bought it for a whopping 5 million won [approximately $4,000 USD]. My son’s tuition is already a burden, but I bought it thinking of my body as my wealth and taking out expensive insurance.”

Kim Jin-woo, looking at the supervisor who kept talking nonsense, asked about the source again.

“Where did you get this?”

“It was some kind of association; they said it was a Seeker association recognized by the country.”

At the supervisor’s words, Kim Jin-woo frowned.

“Are you sure this came from the Seeker Association?”

“That’s right. I bought it at the Seeker Association office in Ilsan [a city in South Korea]. I checked the sign, and I’m sure of it.”

Looking at the supervisor who was proudly talking, he nodded after some thought.

“If you got it from the Seeker Association, well, it might have some effect.”

“That’s right. Oh, I feel a little relieved now that our Seeker boss says so. I was so worried that I had been ripped off for nothing.”

Perhaps he asked him, known as a Seeker, because the Down Jam [a type of energy stone] he bought for a high price didn’t have the effect he had heard about. In reality, it was just an empty shell of a Down Jam, but Kim Jin-woo didn’t bother to tell the supervisor.

In the first place, it would be difficult to explain to an ordinary person what a Down Jam was, and he wasn’t going to offer help, so he kept his mouth shut.

The person himself didn’t even think there was anything wrong with the Down Jam, so even if it was a futile placebo effect, it would be effective as much as he believed.

“Well, then, as you said, let’s stop for today and ask again tomorrow. Please pay special attention to the management of the workers, and please speed up the pace again.”

The supervisor, who had carefully put away the empty Down Jam, quickly came to his senses at his words and bowed in response.

“Just leave it to me. I’ll be careful in selecting people from now on.”

***

“Angela.”

“Yes, Master.”

As if she had been hiding in the darkness and watching the situation, Angela immediately responded to his call.

“Where did Baek sell the Down Jams?”

“It was a pretty tall building, and there were some unpleasant guys at the entrance, so I couldn’t go inside.”

“Do you remember where that building was?”

“I can’t explain it, but I can find it again if you ask me to.”

Kim Jin-woo nodded at Angela’s words and made a serious face.

“Why all of a sudden….”

“I need to check something.”

Seeing his serious expression, Angela narrowed her eyes.

“What are you thinking again?”

Instead of answering, he turned and went down to the basement.

Dominic, who had been lost in thought despite the commotion outside, was still pondering with the same expression, unaware that he had come down.

“Bring Yoon-hee.”

Kim Jin-woo, glancing at Dominic, ordered Angela to find Yoon-hee.

“Did you call me?”

Perhaps realizing that her survival on the surface would be greatly affected if she didn’t get proper recognition from him, Yoon-hee’s attitude was more polite than ever.

Looking at her current appearance, she seemed even more loyal than when she was bound by the vassal contract.

“Let’s start little by little.”

“Is the construction already finished? Surface people are amazing. Even at a glance, the scale of the construction is enormous.”

Dominic and Yoon-hee were both bumpkins from the underground. She subtly revealed her longing for the surface and made a surprised face.

“No way. We’ve only just covered it with dirt and sand. It will take a few more days for the construction to be completed.”

There was no way that the outer construction, which completely surrounded the vast land bought at a cheap price, would be finished so early. But even with this much construction, the energy of the Labyrinth could be prevented from leaking out to some extent.

“Since it will take some time anyway, it’s better to start in advance.”

Kim Jin-woo, explaining the situation, looked straight at Yoon-hee and said.

“I need the power of the Shadow Magician.”

The reason why the party hall lasted so long on the 7th floor was the power of illusion that blinded visitors and turned them away. He ordered Yoon-hee to cast an illusion.

***

“Hoo.”

After the subtle distortion spreading around, and after the sense of incongruity given by the distortion completely disappeared, Kim Jin-woo finally threw the Down Jam into the altar of the Labyrinth, which had been suppressing growth.

[A mid-grade Down Jam has been offered to the altar.]

[The air on the surface is not very good for the growth of the Labyrinth. Twice as much Down Jam is consumed for the upgrade.]

[The upgrade will take longer than usual. 120 hours are required for the Labyrinth to complete its growth.]

[It is not very efficient to grow the Labyrinth on the surface. Do you still want to upgrade the Labyrinth?]

Kim Jin-woo frowned as he checked the message. The consumption of nearly twice the time and Down Jam was not good news at all.

“Upgrade.”

But despite that, he forced the upgrade of the Labyrinth.

[The upgrade of the Labyrinth has begun.]

[119:59:59 remaining until the Labyrinth reaches level 2.]

Looking at the core of the Labyrinth, which began to grow with a flash of light, he realized that it was just the beginning and his eyes lit up.

Around the time the upgrade of the Labyrinth had progressed to some extent, Angela appeared.

Under Kim Jin-woo’s orders, who was worried that the power fluctuations caused by the upgrade might spread to the outside, Angela and Yoon-hee were watching the movements of the underground from the surface.

But no matter how long they waited, they didn’t feel any signs, so they came down to the basement.

“Master, when do you start….”

She closed her mouth as she saw the core that had begun to grow, scattering light.

“It seems to be more effective than I thought.”

“I don’t feel any signs at all from the outside. I didn’t even know you had started the upgrade.”

As if it wasn’t just words, she was really completely unaware, and she exclaimed in admiration as she looked at the thick concrete connecting the underground and the surface.

“Now all that’s left is to wait.”

The upgrade of the Labyrinth had no part to intervene until it finished on its own. So he decided to take care of the things he had been putting off.

The first thing to do, he decided to track down the whereabouts of the Down Jam that Angela had identified.

Time was of the essence, but Kim Jin-woo did not hesitate and left the hideout.

His life had been spent mostly in the dark and damp world, not in the bright world. The night was his time.

Also, Angela, who followed him, was a vampire called the Night Clan, so now was the perfect time for them to move.