Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 210

Dungeon Journal – Episode 211

# 211

Dungeon Journal

Episode 211

Kim Jin-woo, seated on the throne, quietly closed his eyes.

Reducing the labyrinth’s size, as requested by Daedalus, wasn’t a particularly difficult task. He had previously determined the direction of the Great Labyrinth’s expansion when he discovered the lode [a rich vein of ore]. Drawing on that experience and visualizing the image in his mind, he was confident he could find a way.

However, there was one problem: he hadn’t yet fully subdued the Great Labyrinth. He wasn’t sure if this greedy Great Labyrinth, whose very name was Greed, would willingly shrink itself at his command.

And as he feared, the Great Labyrinth flatly rejected his will. The image he had painstakingly conjured was instantly caught in the Great Labyrinth’s fury and crushed.

“Hmm.”

Feeling a slight mental strain, he focused his eyes and glared at the labyrinth’s core.

Groooooan.

The labyrinth, refusing to back down, fiercely growled as if denying his will. It seemed the Great Labyrinth had no intention of readily granting his wish.

But ultimately, the victor was all but decided.

[The Magic Spear, Gungnir, is no ordinary spear.]

[The Magic Spear, which the One-Eyed Monarch never relinquished, has, over a long period, developed its own spirituality. Now, it has become a fragment of ancient authority more powerful than anything else.]

[The Magic Spear is, in itself, a symbol of authority and the dignity of a monarch.]

Gungnir, once the symbol of the monarch, seemed unwilling to stand by and watch the Great Labyrinth act arbitrarily any longer. Although this wasn’t the Great Labyrinth ruled by the One-Eyed Monarch, the Magic Spear’s dignity still had some effect against the Great Labyrinth of Greed.

The moment Kim Jin-woo held the wailing Magic Spear, Gungnir, in his hand, the Great Labyrinth’s momentum began to subside rapidly.

[That’s not to say the Great Labyrinth has completely yielded to you. It has only been temporarily overwhelmed by the dignity of the Magic Spear, Gungnir; the Great Labyrinth still refuses to obey your will willingly.]

[But even so, the Great Labyrinth had no choice but to follow your will.]

The Great Labyrinth, which had been unyielding, finally accepted the dominator’s image and began to change, little by little.

[Do not let your guard down. The moment your will weakens even slightly, the Great Labyrinth will bare its fierce teeth again. You must concentrate until the labyrinth’s size is reduced to the desired level.]

Kim Jin-woo’s face, which had been heavily furrowed, regained its composure. When no more urgency could be felt, the Great Labyrinth began to emit a sound like a plaintive moan instead of a fierce growl.

[The Great Labyrinth has begun to shrink in size.]

[The energy the Great Labyrinth itself needed to maintain its body has been unimaginably vast. But unlike its size, the Great Labyrinth has not had an efficient system in place.]

[The Great Labyrinth’s energy waste is currently at a dangerous level. Most of the energy the Great Labyrinth has used to maintain itself has been wasted.]

Indeed, Daedalus accurately pinpointed the Great Labyrinth’s situation, living up to his title as a labyrinth architect.

Although he had a history of making absurd requests filled with ulterior motives, he succeeded in proving his ability.

[Each time the Great Labyrinth’s size decreases by 1%, the required maintenance cost decreases by a certain level.]

[The required maintenance cost will not decrease below 30% of the current level.]

[Areas that were once part of the Great Labyrinth’s territory are deactivated, and a small amount of energy has been recovered.]

The faint image became clear again, and a map of the Great Labyrinth began to form in his mind.

***

“Ugh, this isn’t as easy as I thought.”

He had devoted an entire day to reducing the Great Labyrinth’s size, but he couldn’t reduce it as much as he had hoped. He had only managed to complete about 20 percent of the work he had initially planned.

He was eager to see it through to the end, but that 20 percent alone had caused him so much mental fatigue that he staggered as he rose from the throne.

But no sooner had he stood up than he had to sit back down, as the Great Labyrinth, which had barely shrunk, began to expand again as soon as he withdrew his will.

“Is the Magic Spear’s influence only temporary?”

He gave a bitter smile and eventually straightened his disheveled mind to recall his will.

[The size of the Great Labyrinth has been reduced by 29%.]

[The efficiency of dungeon energy has increased by 45%, and the maintenance cost required to maintain the labyrinth has decreased by 29%.]

[The Great Labyrinth maintains its satiety for longer than before. The decrease in satiety has slowed, and the time required for hunger levels to occur has increased.]

[Useless areas have disappeared, and a considerable amount of energy has been recovered and stored in the labyrinth’s core.]

Perhaps the Great Labyrinth was surprised by the amount of area being removed, as the progress of the work stalled just before reaching 30 percent.

“Master, you don’t look well. Even if the work is somewhat delayed, you should rest for a while before continuing.”

Dominique, who rarely interfered with her master’s actions, approached him with a pale face and tried to dissuade him.

As she said, Kim Jin-woo looked as if he would collapse at any moment.

Kim Jin-woo let out a long sigh and sat askew on the throne, observing the Great Labyrinth. The realm of imagery was a realm he was approaching for the first time, so the mental exertion was more severe than he had imagined.

Even if the Great Labyrinth showed signs of expanding again, he no longer had the energy to continue working.

But the Great Labyrinth was also exhausted, and it showed no signs of sudden expansion.

There was a slight expansion of the boundary, but the rate was manageable for him.

“Haa, to have to do this again is maddening.”

Kim Jin-woo rarely complained, but the corners of his lips subtly turned upward.

That was because the labor he had just done was not entirely in vain.

*If you don’t move, you’ll be eaten.* Instead of worrying and pondering, he would struggle and find a way to survive.

That was his way of life and his know-how in the underground world.

The realm of imagery and will, which he had experienced for the first time, was something new that completely shattered his method of relying solely on seals and fragments.

Strengthen your will, draw an image, and follow it. Easier said than done. It was nothing but tedious and grueling labor.

However, in the process of doing that arduous work, he found the key to taming the ferocious beast called the greedy and tenacious Great Labyrinth.

The world that had only relied on physical strength was expanding, and a new world appeared before his eyes.

Imagery and will are the source of the High Lord’s great power.

The body had been transformed into a strong one through repeated awakenings, but the mind that moved the body was no different from that of an ordinary person, so the balance of mind and body that had been distorted was finally aligned.

“Hoo.”

With a long exhalation, old dregs were expelled, and his mind began to adjust the scale that had been tilted, little by little.

It wasn’t that his own power suddenly became stronger right now.

But it was only a very small beginning, and as time went by, his mind would become stronger, and his will would become that of a true monarch.

And when he finally finished the change, the world before him would no longer be the same.

Kim Jin-woo, the dungeon baby of the 12th floor’s depths and the ruler of the Nagas [a race of serpent-like beings], had just awakened to the power of a true monarch.

***

The work of reducing the labyrinth’s size continued.

The progress of the work, which had been stagnant at 29 percent, finally began to show progress in the face of a stubbornness that was almost ignorant.

The more he did, the more the distorted balance of mind and body found its place.

“Let’s finish at 40 percent today.”

At some point, the Great Labyrinth no longer forcibly pushed for unreasonable expansion.

Kim Jin-woo didn’t know if it was because he had gained some advantage in the battle of wills with the Great Labyrinth, or if the Great Labyrinth was slowly beginning to recognize him as its master.

But what was certain was that he would no longer have his consciousness invaded by the Great Labyrinth.

When he realized that fact, he felt comfortable with the Great Labyrinth for the first time. And that thought was conveyed to the Great Labyrinth, and the Great Labyrinth cried out with the sound of wind, as if it were trying to ingratiate itself.

Kwaaaaa.

Although it was a bleak wind sound of the Great Labyrinth covered in frost, so it was very bizarre to hear, he couldn’t help but feel good.

“If you wait a little, I’ll feed you as many seals as you want.”

At his words, the Great Labyrinth made a wind sound again, as if excited.

***

When the labyrinth’s size was finally reduced to the planned level, Daedalus couldn’t contain his excitement and fidgeted like a child with a toy in front of him.

“It was not an easy task, so pay special attention to expanding the labyrinth.”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it again if he had to, but the feeling of mental exhaustion was incomparable to physical fatigue, so Kim Jin-woo laid down the law.

“Yes! Yes!”

But Daedalus didn’t care about his thoughts, and just nodded with a feverish face.

“Okay, start renovating the Great Labyrinth!”

No sooner had his permission been given than Daedalus disappeared somewhere. And before half a day had passed, a message window popped up.

[The Great Labyrinth has begun to expand again.]

[The touch of ‘Labyrinth Architect’, ‘Daedalus’ has reached the expansion work of the Great Labyrinth.]

[Although he is a labyrinth architect who does not yet have much fame in the underground world, Daedalus’s ability, which has undergone many trials and errors with the support of the Black Merchant, is already that of an artisan.]

[The expansion of the labyrinth has been further accelerated by the participation of Daedalus, a master of labyrinth design.]

***

The expansion of the Great Labyrinth, which seemed to be coming to an end soon, did not end easily. Only occasional messages popped up about which area had been developed and what advantages it had.

Of course, he couldn’t properly picture the transformed appearance of the Great Labyrinth at this time, so he waited for the construction to be completed with half expectation and half worry.

“Master!”

Kim Jin-woo, who had awakened to the training of imagery and will in the process of reducing the size of the Great Labyrinth, often fell into meditation. Today, he was sitting on the throne, pondering the memories of the past that the Magic Spear had shown him, when Dominique came to the owner’s room.

“Woosuh has come to see you.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had placed Woosuh to cover the eyes of the Moais [large human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island] after discovering the Down Gem lode.

Kim Jin-woo, who belatedly remembered his existence, immediately left the owner’s room to meet Woosuh.

“Woosuh?”

He was able to meet Woosuh, who had entered the Great Labyrinth, not long after walking. But his appearance was completely different from the past, so he looked at Woosuh with a bewildered face.