Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 190

Dungeon Journal – 191

71. Transaction.

It was as he expected. The sudden return of the Naga warriors was the condition of the deal presented by the Great Labyrinth.

“You must want the Baron’s Seal.”

As he took out the seal he had kept hidden, the core of the Great Labyrinth flashed brilliantly.

“Tsk.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the blatant desire contained within the blue and yellow flashes.

“A masterpiece, a labyrinth proposing a deal to its master.”

As he dangled the seal with a leisurely expression, the Great Labyrinth made strange noises as if it was getting impatient.

“Are all Great Labyrinths like this by nature?”

He asked, staring at the blinking core as he gripped the seal tightly.

“Or are you just unique?”

The Great Labyrinth did not answer. It simply craved the seal endlessly.

“Well, either way, it doesn’t matter.”

After teasing the Great Labyrinth for a while, he finally made a decision and strode towards the altar.

“I accept the deal, Great Labyrinth.”

The seal he tossed was instantly engulfed in a swirl of light and disappeared.

[The fragment of ancient power, the Baron’s Seal, has been offered to the altar.]

[The Great Labyrinth is a greedy being that is never satisfied, even after devouring thousands of rioters and even more Moai [stone statues with torsos]. But even such a Great Labyrinth could not help but be satisfied with the pure energy contained in the Baron’s Seal.]

[Satiety instantly reaches its maximum and will not decrease for the time being.]

[Fragments of power are the source and foundation of the vast energy employed by the High Lord and the Great Labyrinth. The Great Labyrinth absorbs the Baron’s Seal and begins to grow on its own.]

[The Great Labyrinth wants even more fragments of power.]

As if the name ‘Greed’ was not given in vain, the Great Labyrinth wanted another seal even after devouring one.

More, a little more.

The inaudible voice of the Great Labyrinth seemed to whisper in his ear. At that desperate and blind greed, he stepped back from the altar with a cold face.

“If you want something, pay the price.”

The seal in his hand flickered.

***

Following the return of the Naga warriors, the Nagas began to return one after another. A hundred Naga warriors were the first to appear, followed by a few priests and mages.

The returning Nagas were all more valiant than before.

The momentum they displayed was so palpable that it was more than just a feeling, so Kim Jin-woo personally tested them. And he was able to find out that the Nagas had grown even stronger than before.

The warriors had become so tough that they would not even be scratched by ordinary swords, and the fighters had become stronger and fiercer than before. The spells cast by the priests and mages were also incomparably more profound than before.

However, even the upgraded Nagas could not fill the void left by the Dragon Knights who had not yet returned.

“Does this mean two seals are not enough?”

The Great Labyrinth returned the strengthened Nagas in exchange for the seal but did not return the Dragon Knights, the labyrinth’s greatest force. It was a silent protest to offer the seal if he wanted to get them back.

“Playing quite cute.”

Kim Jin-woo simply laughed at the childish and blatant trick. Now that he knew what the Great Labyrinth wanted, it was only a matter of time before the labyrinth regained its former glory.

Perhaps one more seal would be enough for the Great Labyrinth to spit out the Dragon Knights it had been hiding.

“The problem is that there are no more nobles left on the 10th floor.”

Not many nobles were able to withstand the Moai’s offensive, and even those who survived were either lured away by the Black Merchant or met their end at his hands.

In fact, it would not be wrong to say that the 10th floor was destroyed.

“Hoo.”

A sigh escaped him.

For some reason, the Underworld never easily gave him what he wanted. He was always threatened with survival and had to fight against the conspiracies of the strong.

But even so, he had never failed to get what he wanted, for he was the one and only conqueror of the Underworld, the commander of the inheritance, and the lord of greed.

If he couldn’t find it on the 10th floor, he could find it on the 11th floor.

As he repeated this to himself, he saw Ariane tiptoeing around the labyrinth.

***

When she was first released, Ariane was afraid of the Conqueror and could not wander around the labyrinth recklessly.

But that was only for a moment. Soon, she realized that the master of the labyrinth was away and plucked up the courage to explore the Great Labyrinth.

The Conqueror did not return even after a month, and she, who had only been circling around her residence, gradually became bolder.

“Go back. You are not allowed here.”

The eyes of the ancient hero blocking her way were sharp.

“I was just looking around because I was bored.”

Still, she was annoyed that she, who had once ruled hundreds of succubi, had to mind the whims of a mere summon, but these were only her inner thoughts.

For some reason, there was no one ordinary here, from the master of the labyrinth to the summons.

Even the Suin [beast-kin] woman, the lowest class of the Underworld and a humble slave, had a subtlety and tenacity that was hard to find even on the 11th floor.

‘I have to be careful. How did I even survive?’

She gritted her teeth, bowed her head, and turned away. Feeling the cold gaze following her, she began to wander the Great Labyrinth again.

Perhaps resembling its master, this terrible labyrinth thoroughly distinguished between friend and foe. Because of this, her sense of direction and distance was a mess.

But she could not stop this exploration, which might be meaningless. Only then could she avoid being severely punished by her ruthless master when she returned to the 11th floor.

‘Perhaps this is the owner’s room.’

She marked the place she guessed to be the owner’s room on the crude map she had drawn in her head.

“Hmm?”

As she wandered around the Great Labyrinth for a while, she stopped without realizing it when she saw a woman in the distance.

“Krrang.”

A Huin [another type of beast-kin] woman appeared in front of her, baring her fangs.

“Ah, I’m just… No, I guess this isn’t the way.”

She bowed her head even to the most humble Suin, unaware of that fact.

‘It’s her! The descendant of the Fairy Lord that my master was looking for!’

The target she thought would be hidden away, the descendant of the Fairy Lord, was openly roaming the labyrinth. She secretly followed the Under Elf with her eyes, while still avoiding the Huin’s fierce growls.

“Kuaaaak!”

Seeing her lingering, the Huin woman deliberately pulled out her long fingernails.

“Ah, I know. I’m going. I’m going. I was just a little dizzy.”

The Huin was not someone you could talk to. This beast-like woman bared her teeth at anyone who was not her master. If she offended her carelessly, she would be severely punished by her sharp fingernails.

Ariane hurriedly left the spot.

Her face was flushed with excitement and anticipation.

From that day on, Ariane’s exploration began to have a more specific goal.

She barely found the passage where she first encountered the Under Elf and lingered there several times.

And as a result, she finally saw the descendant of the Fairy Lord again.

‘I didn’t see it wrong. She is definitely the descendant of the Fairy Lord.’

The slender Under Elf, lightly armed, was hurrying somewhere as if she had a mission.

She wanted to follow her, but Ariane had to turn back when she noticed the blatant change in the guardian’s murderous intent.

Even with her lingering steps, her eyes were brighter than ever before.

There were two pairs of eyes watching Ariane disappear into the darkness.

“She’s more passive than I thought. I thought she would move quickly.”

“She must have been punished by the master, so she can’t move easily.”

Kim Jin-woo and Dominique, who suddenly appeared, clicked their tongues.

“I’m bored of waiting any longer.”

“Shall we shake her up?”

Dominique asked as if she had a plan, without much worry.

“Even after two months, Ariane’s caution has not diminished at all. If we leave her alone, the timid her will not move until everything is certain.”

A reply that was as good as permission, Dominique nodded and confidently assured him that he could leave it to her. Kim Jin-woo gave her a few instructions with a relaxed face.

“Be careful, she is a tough woman who did not show all her cards even when facing death. If you are careless, you will only lose the bait you have carefully prepared and miss the fish.”

Ariane had been half out of her mind in the fear of annihilation, but surprisingly, she never fully revealed her inner thoughts.

“That’s why you have something to do, Master.”

Despite his concerns, Dominique still seemed confident.

***

“Your master is not showing much sincerity. At this rate, haven’t we just wasted our time?”

The Conqueror, whom she met again, had a grim expression, unlike when she last saw him. He had a fierce face, as if it were a lie that he had treated her gently because he was in an alliance with her master.

“Hope and hope again, may your master move before this tedious wait finally exhausts my patience.”

The clear threat and the murderous intent contained within could never be taken lightly. The faded brand of violence resurfaced vividly, and Ariane unknowingly cowered and trembled.

“The reason I treat you as a guest is because the deal your master proposed was quite a good one. The moment the deal falls through, you are no longer a guest. At that time, your situation will be incomparable to what it is now.”

“I, I will keep that in mind.”

Avoiding the Conqueror, who was staring at her with clear eyes like a predator looking down at its prey, she fled the spot.

‘I have to find a way. This time, he’s really going to kill me.’

The heart that had been quite relaxed since finding the descendant of the Fairy Lord boiled over as if it had been put in a pot that had been heated up at once.

Perhaps neither her master nor the Conqueror would easily reveal their cards.

And while the two of them were fighting a war of nerves, it was she who was dying. That ruthless Conqueror would not hesitate to kill her in order to pressure her master.

Recalling the Conqueror’s mercilessness, she trembled with a pale face.

“I have to meet my master.”

After finally coming to her senses, she shone her eyes as if she had made up her mind.