Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 18

Dungeon Expedition Log – Episode 19

#9. Underworld Wild Dogs

“Lure them in and catch them.”

At Jeong Chan-sik’s command, the searchers planted their shields into the ground. Spearmen wedged their spears between the shields, and the Dungeon Babies stepped forward.

“Who’s going to lure them?”

“I’ll do it.”

Kim Jin-woo stepped forward and said.

“Okay. They’re right around the corner ahead, so try to lure only a few, if possible.”

“Be careful, Jin-woo.”

Kim Jin-woo gave a casual nod to Lee Jun-young’s caution, then carefully ventured into the darkness. He hadn’t walked twenty steps before he reached the corner Jeong Chan-sik had mentioned.

He cautiously peeked around the corner.

The six monsters revealed in the darkness resembled monkeys. The way they sauntered about made it seem as peaceful as a monkey family outing.

However, their size, larger than any gorilla, the extra pair of arms sprouting from their sides, and the occasional glimpse of sharp teeth inspired a primal fear in anyone who saw them.

After identifying the creatures, Kim Jin-woo poked his head back around the corner and said,

“They’re Nepal Monkeys. Six in total, five big ones and one small one.”

The Dungeon Babies exchanged quick gestures and then nodded.

Presumably, that meant they were ready.

Seeing the searchers’ battle line tighten even further, Kim Jin-woo carefully stepped out from behind the corner.

The Nepal Monkeys, not yet aware of his presence, were playfully bickering with each other. He took a light breath. Then, he clapped his hands.

Instantly, the monkeys snapped their heads up.

“They’re coming.”

Seeing the large eyes, as big as their heads, turn towards him, Kim Jin-woo warned his companions and quickly retreated. At that moment, two Nepal Monkeys burst out from the group.

[The battle with the Nepal Monkeys has begun.]

Seeing the message window appear before him, he shouted to his companions,

“Two males!”

No sooner had he spoken than two Nepal Monkeys rounded the corner after him.

The monkeys, upon discovering the humans waiting just around the corner, froze momentarily, startled. Before they could fully recover, Jeong Chan-sik said quietly,

“Flash.”

The flashlights attached to the searchers’ shields flashed simultaneously. The Nepal Monkeys, accustomed to the darkness, screamed and covered their eyes with their arms, but it was too late.

Kim Jin-woo, who had already turned and closed his eyes the moment Jeong Chan-sik said ‘Flash,’ immediately opened his eyes and charged at the monkeys. Two monkeys, blinded by the sudden flash, clutched at their eyes and howled. He bared his teeth and slashed down with his sword.

Kuaaaaak!

Warm blood splattered, soaking his cheek. The monkey, its collarbone pierced in one strike, flailed its arms.

But only for a moment. Kim Jin-woo strengthened his grip on the hilt and, with a powerful twist of his shoulder, severed half of the Nepal Monkey’s thick neck, killing it instantly.

At that moment, a monstrous roar echoed from beyond the corner, followed by thundering footsteps. He turned his head to check on the others and his eyes widened.

“Die!”

A savage roar, like a growl. One of the Dungeon Babies brought down a brutally thick sword.

The Nepal Monkey raised an arm, covered in thick muscle, to deflect the blow, but another Dungeon Baby stabbed a sword into its armpit.

Kuaaaak!

The monkey screamed, flailing its arms. Behind them, Jeong Chan-sik leaped up and brought his sword down on the Nepal Monkey’s head.

But perhaps his strength was insufficient to break the skull. Instead of collapsing, the monkey roared ferociously and reached for Jeong Chan-sik.

He dropped his sword and drew a crossbow from his waist, firing a bolt into the wounded armpit. Meanwhile, other Dungeon Babies struck the monkey’s knees from behind.

Uooooh!

A pathetic sound, like an adult man wailing. The Dungeon Babies giggled at the monkey’s scream.

“Trip it! Get out of the way!”

One of the Dungeon Babies, silent until now, plunged a sword into the back of the Nepal Monkey’s knee, which was now covered in blood.

The Nepal Monkey screamed and fell. Swords and blunt weapons rained down upon it.

The Nepal Monkey flailed its arms in a final struggle, then went limp.

Kim Jin-woo stared at the Dungeon Babies, his eyes wide.

They were completely different from when they were dealing with low-level creatures. The Dungeon Babies were savage, as if they had returned to their days wandering the Underworld.

The coordinated attacks, like gears turning, were over in the blink of an eye.

‘I’m different.’

Unlike himself, who had come to prefer stabbing vital points due to facing tough creatures lurking in the depths, they were relentless, as if they would keep hacking until something broke.

But the reason they didn’t seem dangerous was because of how well they worked together.

“More are coming!”

Kim Jin-woo urgently warned as footsteps approached rapidly.

Uwoh uwoh!

The four Nepal Monkeys that appeared from around the corner howled upon seeing the corpses of their fallen kin. It was a close call. The Dungeon Babies, who had completely butchered one Nepal Monkey, prepared for battle again.

The Nepal Monkeys, enraged by the sight of their dead, were brutally aggressive. They showed no sign of the cunning hunters of the underground. But they had chosen the wrong opponents to vent their anger.

The Dungeon Babies were survivors who had returned from the deepest parts of the Underworld.

While Kim Jin-woo sought out vital points to stab, Lee Jun-young, Jeong Chan-sik, and the Dungeon Babies dealt with the monkeys in a similar fashion as before.

Kiyaaaaa!

The Nepal Monkey screamed as a Dungeon Baby’s slash severed its groin, emitting a bizarre cry.

“You’re not even a man, you bastard!”

Another Dungeon Baby jeered, then struck the fallen Nepal Monkey behind the neck. Around him, Lee Jun-young and Jeong Chan-sik frantically stabbed and slashed.

It was a brutal, if efficient, battle. In less than ten minutes, the remaining four Nepal Monkeys were also dealt with.

“Whew, it was so much easier thanks to Jin-woo taking on two of them.”

“Wow, seriously? I heard you were on the 8th floor, were you in some famous labyrinth?”

The Dungeon Babies left the corpses of the Nepal Monkeys to the searchers and surrounded Kim Jin-woo, saying.

They were clearly amazed by his feat of taking down the monkeys with fatal strikes. Kim Jin-woo, on the other hand, was surprised by the Dungeon Babies’ skillful teamwork.

But the Dungeon Babies seemed even more impressed. They surrounded Kim Jin-woo and made a fuss.

“I just aimed for the vital points and got lucky all three times.”

“Hey, can you really do that with just luck? Were you really in some labyrinth?”

Lee Jun-young had faithfully carried out his request not to cause a commotion, but it had led to this awkward situation.

Seeing the Dungeon Babies’ gleaming eyes, he made a troubled face. Lee Jun-young stepped in.

“Jin-woo was in Marcus’s Labyrinth.”

“See? I knew it. It had to be Marcus’s. Chan-sik was also born on the 8th floor, but he’s not as good as Jin-woo.”

The Dungeon Babies made a noisy fuss at Lee Jun-young’s improvisation.

Indeed, Marcus’s Labyrinth, named after her, was also known as the Labyrinth of the Blood Lion and was ruled by a notorious powerhouse of the Underworld.

Located in the deepest part of the 8th floor, this labyrinth was a monster that devoured countless people until the end of the war.

“Ugh. No wonder his movements are so unusual. If you were born in Marcus’s Labyrinth, you must have passed through labyrinths ruled by a series of vicious guys on your way up. You’ve suffered a lot.”

Jeong Chan-sik said with a newly impressed face. Kim Jin-woo awkwardly avoided eye contact and frowned at Lee Jun-young.

She conveyed with her whole body that she had no choice.

“Thanks to you, this trip will be a little easier.”

During the short time the Dungeon Babies were chattering, the searchers, who had thoroughly rummaged through the corpses of the Nepal Monkeys, expressed their disappointment that they had found nothing of value.

“Stop chatting and let’s move. It’ll be troublesome if something comes running because of the blood smell.”

There was no reason to stay in a place full of blood when there was nothing more to gain. The group cleaned up the smell and started moving again.

***

Indeed, the 5th floor was on a different level from the 4th floor. If they let their guard down even for a moment, they would be attacked by creatures from the darkness, so the group couldn’t afford to relax for a single moment.

Among them, Kim Jin-woo’s performance was, of course, the most outstanding.

“It’s really amazing. Are you also specialized in sensing things, Jin-woo?”

“I guess I just struggled to survive…”

He couldn’t reveal the combat messages that only he could see, so he vaguely glossed over it. He tried to close the conversation because it was an uncomfortable topic, but the Dungeon Babies chimed in one by one.

“Yeah. Just now, that flat snake bastard, it was just waiting without moving even though we stepped on its body. If it weren’t for Jin-woo, at least two of the searchers would have died.”

“How did you really know? There wasn’t even a sign.”

Kim Jin-woo looked at Jeong Chan-sik at the front, seeing the Dungeon Babies chattering away, forgetting the request to refrain from talking.

Normally, he would have warned them to be careful in preparation for an attack, but the fact that he wasn’t saying anything meant that the senses of the newly joined Dungeon Baby were superior to his own.

Lee Jun-young looked proud at the Dungeon Babies’ praise, even though it wasn’t her business. Kim Jin-woo cleared his throat and turned his head, feeling too embarrassed.

“We’ve arrived.”

The group exclaimed at Jeong Chan-sik’s words.

“We’ve had the easiest time getting here, right?”

“You crazy bastard, do you think there haven’t been one or two guys who went to hell looking for comfort here? Stop talking nonsense.”

“Still, we haven’t been suddenly attacked and suffered casualties. This is the first time the searchers haven’t suffered any damage, even if we don’t count.”

Indeed, none of the ordinary searchers, who usually died one or two at a time as soon as they entered the Underworld, had died.

“Jin-woo, you’ll keep working with us in the future, right?”

It was a difficult question to answer, so he just awkwardly smiled. Some of the searchers looked at him with pleading eyes, as if begging.

It seemed they had judged that Kim Jin-woo’s presence greatly increased their survival rate.

“Stop chatting. Let’s go down. If we go down and walk a little further, there’s an open space that’s good for a campsite, so let’s rest there today.”

At Jeong Chan-sik’s words, the group quickly formed a line and jumped into the pit.

***

The 6th floor had relatively wide passages compared to the 5th floor. The passages, where even the Kalni Bats [a type of bat] had to hop instead of spreading their wings, were now as wide as two-lane roads.

It felt like the stuffiness in his chest was clearing up a bit, but this wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The wider the passage, the more room there was for huge creatures to move around.

In fact, the creatures on the 6th floor were fewer in number, but each one was large and strong. If the battles so far had been many against many, from now on, it would be a difficult fight against a single, powerful enemy.

“Stop.”

Kim Jin-woo, lost in thought, raised his head at Jeong Chan-sik’s voice. His voice, which had been somewhat relaxed until just now, saying that they would soon arrive at the campsite, had turned sharp.

“Looks like we have guests.”

With only one corner left to the campsite, tension filled the group’s faces.

“The scale is similar to ours, maybe even more… Oh no…”

Jeong Chan-sik stared ahead and hardened his expression. It was because he belatedly discovered the motion detectors flickering on the ceiling and walls.

“They’re coming to greet us. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”