Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 180

Dungeon Journal – Episode 181

# 181

Dungeon Journal

68. Nightmares of the Counts

The Association was practically collapsing. Song Jong-cheol and the core executives had all been eliminated by Kim Jin-woo, and many of the major offices were destroyed.

Park Seong-jin completely seized control of the emptied Association from within. There were executives who had avoided the disaster because they were out on assignments, but he eliminated them without much difficulty.

Originally, it would have been a difficult task, but with Kim Jin-woo’s help, taking control of the Association was easier than snapping his fingers.

Thanks to this, despite all the commotion, the battle in Paju and the tragedy that occurred in the Association’s office were not widely publicized.

「There are those who question the disappearance of the executives, but most of them are not deeply involved with the Association, so you don’t need to worry too much.」

Park Seong-jin, who had his life-like core held hostage for ignoring the warning and opening the portal, seemed to have completely turned to Kim Jin-woo’s side.

To be sure, he had been severely punished once, but with Song Jong-cheol, who had been arrogant and overbearing, gone and Park suddenly sitting in the top position, he had gained more than he had lost.

「Then I will contact you again if something comes up.」

After ending the call, Kim Jin-woo sighed deeply.

The state of the Association, as Park Seong-jin had discovered, was truly appalling.

Among those who were considered influential in South Korea, there was no one who didn’t have a stake in the Association’s business, and no one who didn’t covet the Underworld [a separate dimension or realm].

The Association was moving according to the intentions of countless people intertwined in this way, rather than Song Jong-cheol’s personal will.

There was a reason why the Explorer Association was able to establish itself so quickly despite repeated misfortunes, and why it was able to brazenly display its signboard despite numerous misdeeds.

“Park Seong-jin takes care of the surface side on his own, but….”

The problem was the Underworld. Even after Song Jong-cheol disappeared, Bruntest still wanted to trade with the Association.

For now, perhaps conscious of him, they had not made any significant trade proposals, but they were continuously sending Tyrenon [likely a resource or item], showing their willingness to trade.

“What kind of deal was Song Jong-cheol making?”

It wasn’t that he regretted getting rid of Song Jong-cheol now.

Since Park Seong-jin, who had taken control of the Association, would listen to his orders, what they wanted would come to his ears, whether he liked it or not.

“Jun-young, it’s time to return.”

With the Association’s obstacle gone, there was nothing for Lee Jun-young to avoid.

Jung Chan-sik had cleverly noticed the abnormality and gone into hiding, but he lacked the ability to plot something on his own.

“I don’t think I need to enter the Association when Park Seong-jin is there.”

However, Lee Jun-young did not welcome his suggestion, perhaps because she liked her life here.

Kim Jin-woo also did not force her, as there was no reason to push her into the Association.

“Shouldn’t you go see your father soon?”

Kim Jin-woo was startled by the word ‘father’ being so natural, but he tried to maintain a calm face.

His father, who had been rescued from Park Seong-jin’s labyrinth, was very weak, but there was nothing particularly wrong with him.

His father was conscious enough to suggest hiding the conflict between the Association and his son, fearing that his family would worry.

Thanks to his father’s decision, the family still did not know about the Association’s conspiracy and simply welcomed the return of the head of the family.

The family, who had barely found peace after many twists and turns, returned to their daily lives as if nothing had happened.

He found his missing father and eliminated Song Jong-cheol, who had been plotting insidiously. It was a bonus to have gained the subjugation of Park Seong-jin, who had taken control of the Association.

In addition, Lee Jun-young, an outstanding Dungeon Baby [a person born or raised in a dungeon, often with unique abilities], had begun to do her part, so activities on the surface began to pick up and return to a level that could not be compared to before.

So, Kim Jin-woo decided to leave the surface to Park Seong-jin and Lee Jun-young for the time being and focus on the tasks he had been putting off.

The will that had been eroded by the Great Labyrinth; to prevent the same thing from happening again, he had to gather the fragments of the old authority and increase the power of the High Lord.

And the fragments of the old authority were in the Underworld.

“I’ll be back.”

Kim Jin-woo headed to the Underworld again. It was the same step as always, but the difference was that his base was the labyrinth on the surface, not the Great Labyrinth on the 9th floor.

“Hmm.”

The malice of the Great Labyrinth invaded as soon as he crossed the portal. Kim Jin-woo frowned and hurried through the corridor of the Great Labyrinth.

The place he arrived at was Valishus’ workshop, which had newly established itself in the Great Labyrinth.

A Naga magician [a snake-like humanoid creature], who was collecting the corpses of Moais [large, monolithic human figures carved on the Chilean island of Easter Island] from somewhere and studying something, was startled and prostrated himself when he saw him.

“Your Majesty.”

The identity of the Naga magician was Valishus, who had finally been recognized for his loyalty and had escaped the body of a Naga worker.

He prostrated himself, not daring to raise his head, expressing extreme respect.

“Valishus.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been standing still and staring at Valishus, opened his mouth after a long time.

“Did your labyrinth also have Underworlders?”

Valishus tilted his head at the sudden question and replied.

“There were a few, but they were weak and died quickly. Some of them were made into the undead, but they were not very useful.”

“Were there any Underworlders who survived?”

“Well, there was one bright one that I used quite usefully, but I let him go later.”

“Do you remember his name?”

“To remember the name of a lowly Underworlder….”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at Valishus’s nonchalant reply.

Park Sung-jin, who had newly formed a subservient relationship with him on the surface, was a dungeon baby born on the 9th floor. And he was Valishus’s slave.

“The Underworlder who was once your slave seems to have become the master of a labyrinth now.”

“Is that so?”

“And I have taken him under my command.”

Valishus seemed utterly unable to understand why he was being told this story.

His blue Naga eyes, staring blankly at him and waiting for the next words, held no emotion other than puzzlement.

At that blatant indifference, Kim Jin-woo muttered to himself.

“Perhaps he, too, might be the same as you.”

He recalled the powerful monster of the 12th floor, with its hideous carapace and sharp legs, and his face grew as complicated as his thoughts.

“More importantly, what were you doing?”

Kim Jin-woo, not wanting to waste time on unnecessary emotional expenditure, changed the subject. At his question, Valishus excitedly explained, looking at the Moai corpses [large, monolithic human figures carved on Easter Island].

“If I make undead out of these guys, I think something very interesting will come out.”

“They don’t seem like very high-quality materials, though.”

“That’s the thing.”

Perhaps because he was borrowing the body of a Naga magician, Valishus’s eyes showed an excessive obsession with research and madness, as if he was taking on the personality of the Naga.

“These guys, you see, if I do it right, I might be able to restore them to their original bodies.”

This time, even Kim Jin-woo, who had been listening with a nonchalant face, couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Is that possible?”

“I still need to tinker with them more, but if you give me a few days, I will definitely restore them to their original forms.”

Watching Valishus confidently declare this, his mind began to race.

Kim Jin-woo, having finished his meeting with Valishus, sought out Ariane.

“Arrange a meeting with Dinarion.”

The war on the 11th floor, which should be completely over by now, led him to set the 11th floor as the destination for his return to the Underworld. And before that, there was something he needed to receive from Dinarion.

***

When Kim Jin-woo opened his eyes, there was hell.

Corpses everywhere, and among them, the highest pile of corpses, and on it, a giant stood.

*If there were a Demon King, would he look like that?*

The luster of the once-splendid armor was dulled by blood, and the tip of the spear clutched in his hand was badly damaged, but the giant’s presence was overwhelming.

The countless armies surrounding the mountain of corpses, and the monsters at their head, could not dare to detract from the giant’s majesty.

The giant stood alone, towering and gazing intently at the tens of thousands of troops with his single eye.

At first glance, it seemed that the tens of thousands of troops were surrounding the single giant, but it was the tens of thousands of soldiers who were actually on edge. The army surrounding the mountain only shouted and dared not climb it, and at this moment, it was clear that the giant dominated the battlefield.

The giant seemed as if he could scatter the tens of thousands of troops with his mere presence.

However, the discipline of the tens of thousands of troops was not light either, and a hundred or so large and small monsters began to climb the mountain of corpses.

Soon, a battle broke out, and the result was horrific.

The giant’s might was overwhelming, and each time the giant’s dulled spear was swung, the bodies of the soldiers climbing the mountain were torn to shreds and scattered into the air. In an instant, dozens of soldiers were killed and became part of the mountain.

But even so, the number of those climbing the mountain did not decrease. The large army waiting below finally began to advance.

“Anatolius!”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been watching the horrific battle from afar, inadvertently blurted out a word.

It was because the sight of the bronze giant striking the one-eyed giant’s back with a spear and falling away was familiar.

Although the iron mask, which was like his symbol, was broken, and even the splendid armor was in tatters, it was not difficult to recognize the bronze giant.

Not only that, but Kim Jin-woo’s eyes widened as he saw the man screaming, gripped in the one-eyed giant’s crude hands.

The black membrane wings were unfamiliar, but the man was definitely Dinarion.

“Kuaaaaak!”

While he was momentarily lost in staring at the familiar faces, the one-eyed giant tore off Dinarion’s wings. With a terrible scream, Dinarion rolled down the mountain of corpses.

“Dinarion!”

The scream he uttered without thinking caused the world to suddenly shake and then disappear.

“Commander of the Transmission, it’s been a while.”

And from the collapsed world, Dinarion’s voice was heard.

“What on earth is this……”

Even though that desperate scream was still vivid, Dinarion’s voice was so calm that Kim Jin-woo couldn’t quite come to his senses.

“My ability is nightmare; this time, it seems you experienced my nightmare.”

Only after hearing Dinarion’s words could he finally regain his sense of reality. The mess in his head cleared up, and the scene he had just seen came back to him clearly.

“Could it be that the giant I just saw……”

“That’s right. He is the strongest and wisest of the ten lords who once ruled the Underworld, and the monster who took my wings.”

Dinarion, who looked back with a stiff face as if his back was aching from the aftermath of the nightmare, replied with a hardened face.

“The one-eyed lord, Botan.”