Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 200

Dungeon Journal – 200

# 200

Dungeon Journal

Episode 201

“No way?”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been looking down at the stage with a somewhat indifferent expression, stared at the box in the host’s hand with a dumbfounded face.

The box, adorned with extravagant patterns that didn’t suit the Underground, was something he had seen several times. But as far as he knew, that item was not something a Black Merchant could buy or sell.

Click.

As if to mock his expectations, the host broke the seal on the meticulously sealed box and took out the item.

“That’s!”

“This is insane!”

Several participants jumped up from their seats and pointed. Their eyes widened, and they could only gape in astonishment, unable to speak easily.

“What is it?”

“What’s the big deal?”

The majority of the participants, excluded from the commotion, looked back and forth between the wide-eyed participants and the item in the host’s hand with puzzled expressions, unable to grasp the identity of the item.

“Some of you already recognize the item.”

The host, seeing the surprised faces of the participants who recognized the item, puffed up with pride.

But it was only for a moment. As the participants, unable to contain their curiosity, began to fidget and cause a stir, the host quickly spoke up, not wanting to ruin the rare lively atmosphere.

“Explaining the efforts and history that our Black Merchant put into acquiring this item would take days and nights, so let’s cut to the chase!”

The host raised his short arms high, lifting the item like some hero king from a legend drawing a holy sword.

“The final item of the Black Merchant’s special auction! The last item for the first day is none other than a Noble’s Seal!”

He had suspected it, and it was true. The final item of the Black Merchant’s first-day auction was indeed a Noble’s Seal.

He knew that the Black Merchant was plotting something by luring away the Barons of the 10th Floor, but he never imagined he would see a seal like this. Even he was genuinely surprised this time.

He reflexively looked away from the stage and scanned the VIP rooms. He narrowed his eyes and strained to see, but all he could see were the dark special windows that looked like a painted night sky. There was no way to confirm the faces of the nobles in the VIP rooms.

However, judging from the lack of commotion in the VIP rooms and the host’s confident attitude, he could guess that there was some kind of negotiation between the Black Merchant and the nobles.

“Now, let’s start with 30,000 Gems.”

While he was lost in thought, the host started the auction.

The general seating participants, who had been intrigued by the appearance of the seal, were silenced by the host’s outrageous starting price. Seeing them, the host added a word.

“For your information, the Wraiths that tormented you no longer exist in the Depths, thanks to the efforts of several Counts. And remember once again that the privilege of residing in the Depths is only granted to nobles.”

Among those gathered here, not a single one had been spared from the relentless Moais [powerful, often malevolent, entities]. To them, the Noble’s Seal, which could put an end to over a year of terrible struggle, was like a lifeline appearing at the edge of a cliff.

“31,000 Gems!”

“31,500 Gems!”

Perhaps not many of the general seating participants could afford to pay 30,000 Gems without hesitation.

Nevertheless, they participated in the auction, prepared to pour in the funds they had saved until the very end.

That’s the only way to live.

The participants’ bloodshot eyes blindly chased the Noble’s Seal.

***

In the end, the Noble’s Seal, which had been the final item, was sold for a whopping 52,000 Gems.

The participant who obtained the Noble’s Seal by pouring in a vast sum of money that was undoubtedly their entire fortune was the owner of the 8th Floor Labyrinth. He looked at the seal in his hand with a face of gratitude, as if he had been saved.

“Tsk.”

Kim Jin-woo clicked his tongue, looking at the newly minted noble who was strutting around, basking in the envious and jealous gazes.

Perhaps that person didn’t know.

The Noble’s Seal, which he had exchanged for his entire fortune, would not protect him from the greed of the nobles in the Depths. He had no idea that monsters more terrible and persistent than the Moais would become his neighbors.

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes turned cold as he clicked his tongue.

In any case, a Baron’s Seal alone would not satisfy him or the Great Labyrinth. It was an item he didn’t need in the first place.

What was important to him now was what the Black Merchant’s ulterior motive was for putting the Noble’s Seal up for sale.

What happened to the original owner of the seal? Why were those ill-tempered nobles silent? And what did the Black Merchant want?

Numerous questions followed one after another, but no answers came.

“With this, we declare the end of the first day of the Black Merchant’s special auction!”

The host shouted loudly and added a word.

“For your information, the items that will be up for auction tomorrow will be no less than today’s items, so please don’t be disappointed yet!”

Those words sounded as if Noble’s Seals would be up for sale again tomorrow, and the eyes of the participants, who had been full of regret, lit up with life.

***

“What on earth are you thinking?”

Kim Jin-woo said with a cold face as he saw the Black Merchant slyly poking his head out as soon as the auction closing announcement was made.

“What do you mean?”

The Black Merchant responded with his usual annoying face, as if he didn’t know anything.

“Noble’s Seals—were they such insignificant items that they could be traded so carelessly?”

Kim Jin-woo asked in a frosty voice, and only then did the Black Merchant answer with an exclamation of, “Ah.”

“We are merchants. What is there that we can’t sell if we get the right price?”

It was completely opposite to his attitude of caring for the Underground until now, but there was nothing he could say since a merchant was pursuing profit.

However, whether intentional or not, the Black Merchant’s expression and words had a strange air, and he reflexively asked.

“Are you saying that you’ll sell anything if you get the right price?”

“Even if there are many treasures in a treasure vault, if you just pile them up, all you’ll get is a musty smell. The reward for us merchants is to find the right owner for those dusty items.”

The Black Merchant’s answer was clear, but he couldn’t believe it as it was. The quick-witted Black Merchant quickly noticed his expression and said nonchalantly.

“I don’t know what you need, but you’ll probably be able to get it by the time the auction ends. Of course, if the Lord has the price to pay for the item you need.”

Kim Jin-woo frowned, seeing the Black Merchant acting suspiciously as if he had seen through his inner thoughts. But he soon composed himself and stared straight at the Black Merchant.

“I want to know about the Wailing Lord.”

The opponent knew him, but he didn’t know the opponent, so there was nothing more difficult than that.

So, he pressed the Black Merchant, intending to find out even a little about the Wailing Lord when he had the chance.

“We don’t know much. We only know the name. However, if I may give the Lord some advice…”

The Black Merchant pretended to look around and lowered his voice.

“The Wailing Lord is not your enemy.”

He distorted his expression at the unexpected advice.

“You seem to know something.”

“What would I know? However, the Wailing Lord seems to be paying attention to you in many ways, so I’m just guessing that people of high caliber have something in common.”

“I’ll let it go since you say so.”

After that, he asked about the situation in the Underground where the Wailing Lord belonged and various other things, but the Black Merchant evaded the answers with a vague attitude.

He didn’t ask any further and pretended to believe the Black Merchant’s answer.

“About the meeting that was canceled the other day, if the Lord permits, I’d like to arrange a meeting today. What do you think?”

He thought that the meeting that would bring him a separate benefit would be with the Wailing Lord, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. When he asked about the identity of the other party, the Black Merchant only repeated that he would know if he met them.

“It’s frustrating. You don’t give me a straight answer to anything, so I feel like I’m being teased.”

The Black Merchant quickly bowed his head and apologized when he showed his displeasure, but he never revealed the identity of the other party. Since it was a meeting that he had already permitted once the day before, Kim Jin-woo suppressed his curiosity and nodded.

“Then please return to your accommodation, and I will contact you separately.”

After parting with the Black Merchant, he returned to his accommodation.

“They don’t let me rest at all.”

Kim Jin-woo sighed deeply as he found the Wailing Lord lying on the bed as if it were her room, waiting for him.

“There are so many things I wanted to talk about when I met you. I thought it would end with meeting you once yesterday?”

He shook his head at her brazen words.

“Why are you acting so friendly? Actually, you and I met for the first time yesterday.”

The Wailing Lord’s attitude changed from moment to moment, but the underlying feeling was an inexplicable sense of familiarity and affection, so his question was quite appropriate.

“I admired you.”

He raised an eyebrow at the sudden answer, and she brought up her past in detail.

A chicken coop-like world, and a tunnel. The supervisor’s surveillance and abuse. And survival. Even if he grabbed any Dungeon Baby on the ground and asked, her past, which was not much different, could not be the answer to his question.

“Admiration for a relationship where you can trust and rely on each other… Do you think that’s a reason now? If you’re going to play emotional games like that, go to the surface, not the Underground, and grab a suitable guy. If it’s a surface dweller who doesn’t know the Underground, they’ll match your tune appropriately.”

The Wailing Lord looked parched at his sarcasm.

“You trust surface dwellers? I’d rather trust the sinister Underground folks.”

Kim Jin-woo narrowed his eyes at the somewhat sinister hatred in her voice. But the regret and hatred that appeared on her face disappeared as quickly as they appeared, and only her usual, excessively cheerful self was there again.

“And I’m doing as Sohee asked. She wanted me to be your guardian.”

“You said you were stopping me from meeting you at one point.”

He pointed out her contradictory words, and she brazenly said:

“The timing is a little different, but my words are not false.”

Since she was the type who would never give a proper answer no matter how much he dug into it, he quickly gave up and listened half-heartedly.

The Wailing Lord, who looked upset for no reason as Kim Jin-woo’s attitude became lukewarm, pouted and said.

“Sohee and you are both laid-back.”

From his perspective, who had been desperately struggling more than anyone else to survive until now, it was a word that made his blood boil, but she seemed to genuinely think so.

He tried to get angry, but unlike what he thought, her expression was only serious, so he tried to calm his mind.

“There’s not much time.”

Her words contained conflicting emotions of expectation and fear.

“Night will come to the Underground soon.”

He didn’t grasp the meaning of the words that night was coming to the Underground, where there was no sun, moon, or stars, and only blinked. Seeing him, she whispered softly.

“After that night passes, the Underground will be ‘restored’ to the time before ‘Twilight’.”