Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 221

Dungeon Journal – Episode 222

# 222

Dungeon Journal

81. The Legacy of the High Lord

Why did I only notice it now?

There were countless signs.

Until now, the message windows he had seen only provided explanations suited to the given situation and never directly interfered with his choices.

But the message just now was almost blatant in forcing a single choice.

Moreover, he could strangely feel a subtle hostility emanating from the message.

Everything was abnormal.

To only realize that fact now, he felt like cursing himself for his stupidity.

But there was no time to dwell on self-reproach. First, he needed to determine whether the current situation was a one-off whim of the Dungeon, or if the Dungeon had truly turned its back on him.

“Damn it.”

He realized what he had to do immediately, but he still felt lost. The Dungeon was not someone he could bargain with like a merchant, nor was it an entity he could communicate with. The Dungeon simply existed in its place.

Against the massive monster that was the Dungeon, there was nothing he could do. But as always, the truth would reveal itself without any signs or cause.

This was exactly the case. He suddenly remembered his conversation with Catherine. He didn’t know why he thought of it now, at this moment. Her vivid voice simply echoed in his head.

“Before you, I Awakened, and before me, there were others who Awakened. And they will constantly try to test you, who met me.”

She warned that the first and second High Lords who Awakened before him would try to test him.

“Their tests will be too much for you yet. But you have to overcome them.”

At the time, he scoffed at those words. He thought that at least here on the 9th floor, he could handle whatever the High Lords did, even if they had Awakened first.

But would beings like the High Lords try to test him with such low-quality provocations? Could it be that, like the Black Merchant subtly posing a problem with the Black Tiger’s Labyrinth, he was already in a test without even knowing it?

He couldn’t be sure. If he could have figured it out with a moment’s thought, he wouldn’t have been racking his brains like this.

But just because he couldn’t find the answer himself right away didn’t mean he couldn’t find it forever. He at least knew who the person who knew the answer was.

Catherine, another High Lord and the ruler with the authority of Lamentation, would surely be able to explain the current situation.

“At this rate, we’ll be caught.”

Meeting Catherine to understand the whole story was a matter for later. Right now, the priority was to shake off the pursuit of the half-demon.

“Increase the speed even more!”

Although the Blessing of Succession had disappeared, the Charisma of the Conqueror was still effective. At his command, the tired Nagas increased their movement speed with determined faces.

“My King…”

But the Under Elf scout still didn’t seem to like it. The scout, with a pale face, quietly approached and repeatedly warned.

“This is the best we can do right now.”

If they abandoned the Naga warriors, mages, and fighters, their movement speed would be faster than it is now.

But then the reason for hurrying the retreat, even at the cost of straining the group, would become meaningless. He had no intention of losing a single Naga in this battle.

“If we open a portal instead…”

The scout suggested with an anxious face, but he shook his head.

“If that was the plan from the start, I wouldn’t have bothered coming all the way here on two legs. There’s no need to show the heart of the labyrinth to an enemy of unknown strength.”

Even if they successfully repelled the enemy forces, if the heart of the Great Labyrinth was exposed to the enemy, it would be no victory even if they won.

Every time, he resented the portal that, once opened, would be exposed for 24 hours. If only the place the portal connected to wasn’t the Owner’s Room, he wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

“Wait…”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been stiff the whole time, suddenly raised his hand and stopped the formation.

“The place the portal connects to doesn’t necessarily have to be the Great Labyrinth.”

With those words, he rummaged through his pockets and took out a bundle of faded parchment.

***

“My Lord, I was just about to come and tell you something…”

Mimir, who always rushed over as soon as the portal opened, saying he had something to say, froze in place as usual.

“What on earth is going on here?”

Mimir’s eyes, not understanding the sudden situation and looking bewildered, were directed at the portal over Kim Jin-woo’s shoulder.

“Why are the Nagas suddenly…”

Mimir looked utterly clueless as he watched the procession of Nagas pouring out of the portal.

“We’ve got a tail, and I have circumstances that make it not ideal to fight right now.”

There was no need to explain at length. With just that one sentence, Mimir seemed to understand the whole situation and frowned.

“What an absurd thing to do!”

“Don’t you think you’re wasting time getting angry like this?”

Kim Jin-woo’s attitude was brazen, as if he had put on an iron mask.

“I will definitely get this debt back next time!”

Watching Mimir shout and summon the Black Merchant’s escort mercenaries, Kim Jin-woo leisurely left the scene.

“Portal.”

At the end of a quiet corridor, Kim Jin-woo opened a door and summoned a portal without hesitation.

***

Having successfully returned to the Great Labyrinth via the Black Merchant’s base, Kim Jin-woo frowned as he looked at the message floating in front of him.

[Successfully repelling the enemy’s pursuit, all penalties are nullified.]

[The Blessing of Succession has been reactivated.]

[The weakened Nagas have regained their vitality as before.]

The message, which had been pressuring him with all sorts of threats, only stated a brief result once everything was over.

That felt somehow unsatisfactory, and he was almost beyond anger.

“Master?”

Dominique greeted him with a somewhat surprised face as the portal suddenly opened and the Nagas poured out.

She seemed genuinely worried that something had gone wrong with her master’s sudden return.

“The situation is serious. The enemy’s strength was stronger than expected, and our strength was weaker than anticipated.”

Kim Jin-woo explained the situation outside to her in detail. Throughout the story, she glanced at the portal with an anxious face.

But for a moment, she asked for time to think with a serious face. Since the power imbalance couldn’t be restored overnight anyway, he agreed and went to find Daedalus.

“Hurry up with the work. I need to use the Nagas urgently.”

Daedalus seemed flustered by the sudden request, but he didn’t accept any objections.

“If it’s impossible, I’ll take back the Sea Dragon’s Heart.”

It was just one sentence, but its effect was tremendous. Daedalus, who was about to pout and complain, shut his mouth. He was a brazen labyrinth designer who even forgot his own mistakes, but he seemed afraid of losing precious materials.

Having pressured Daedalus in that way, Kim Jin-woo now sought out Valishus.

He explained all the shortcomings of the restored Moai [giant stone statues] that had been revealed in this battle and said that he wanted all of them to be improved.

Unlike Daedalus, Valishus didn’t make any excuses. He simply placed one of the Moai waiting for restoration on the workbench without a word.

***

Dominique was still unable to come up with any significant countermeasures. Well, it was no wonder.

They were about to go to war with a Duke-class labyrinth that they thought they would only encounter after the war with the Counts, so there was no way a good solution would come out.

Unless the research of Valishus and Daedalus was finished, her worries would not end either.

But that didn’t mean they could just sit idly by while the two madmen finished their work.

Even while he and the Nagas were waiting for the research to finish, the owners of the labyrinths would be scouting the surrounding area and further trying to exert their influence.

He didn’t want things to go that way.

A battle of wills, once pushed back, would end as it was. It was never easy to straighten out a body that had shrunk back from the momentum.

Once they cowered and started watching the enemy’s movements, they would shrink back endlessly, and in the end, it would become difficult even to leave the labyrinth.

“My Lord!”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been lost in thought, raised his head at the sharp voice calling him.

“You’re safe!”

In his eyes, he saw the face of Mimir, who had just crossed over through the portal that had not disappeared in less than 24 hours.

“Profit!”

Mimir, who had to fight 200 powerful summons thanks to that, seemed to be angry to the point where his large head was completely red.

It seemed that he was even more angry at his brazen attitude.

“I will pay the price.”

Even though he was Mimir, who claimed to be the Keeper of the Eternal Vault and bowed his head, he couldn’t help but appease the angry Imp this time.

He must have suffered quite a loss to deal with 200 half-demons.

“The price isn’t important right now…”

“So you’re saying you won’t accept it?”

“I’ll accept it! I’ll accept it! Who said I wouldn’t!”

No matter how angry he was, his nature of valuing treasures hadn’t gone anywhere, and Mimir immediately retorted even as he shouted.

“It’s not that the price is important right now, but if you connect the portal so carelessly, it will put us in a difficult position! Isn’t that why I’ve been hiding all this time!”

“It seems you’ve managed to block them better than I thought, seeing you talking nonsense like this.”

Mimir was so angry at Kim Jin-woo’s still brazen attitude that he flailed his short limbs.

“I managed to block them somehow, but isn’t the problem that you’ve created an unnecessary enemy thanks to you, my Lord!”

Kim Jin-woo, who was somewhat aware of his responsibility, had no intention of simply accepting Mimir’s impudence.

“Is it so unfair that you drove away my enemies for me?”

“What are you…”

Kim Jin-woo sat on the throne and arrogantly lowered his gaze.

“You may have the excuse of avoiding the usurper’s eyes right now, but don’t forget who your master is in the end.”

Mimir belatedly realized his position and shut his mouth.

But the pout that was pushed out unhappily like a sulky child was still there, so it was clear that he hadn’t agreed with his words in his heart.

“But, you know.”

But instead of listening to Mimir’s complaints, Kim Jin-woo asked a question.

“Speak.”

Kim Jin-woo rose to his feet, looking at Mimir’s round head, which had bowed without daring to resist. He strode down the steps and lowered his body to meet his gaze.

“It was only recently that there was a disturbance in the Dungeon. The disturbance was so terrible that even my labyrinth suffered a loss of 70%. But, you know.”

“What are you trying to say…”

“The Black Merchant’s base is intact.”

Perhaps because he received an unexpected question, the Imp’s face was filled with embarrassment.

“Why wouldn’t there be damage? I barely managed to restore it after using all my strength.”

“It’s too much to say that it’s exactly the same as before. If it was destroyed and restored, there should be at least some changes.”

“The situation is busy, so I think you probably didn’t see it properly.”

Mimir, who had been full of complaints just a moment ago, made a fuss as if nothing had happened and showed an attitude that was closer to an excuse. Seeing that, it couldn’t help but be suspicious.

“Mimir.”

Kim Jin-woo, narrowing his eyes, grabbed Mimir’s cheek and forced him to meet his gaze. He slowly said in a stern voice, fixing the constantly rolling eyes on himself.

“I warn you in advance. Do not deceive me and spew lies. I only want the truth.”

The Lord’s one word became a command, and Mimir could only nod without daring to answer. Looking at such Mimir with a cold gaze, he asked.

“Where is the Eternal Vault?”