Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 223

Dungeon Journal – 224

# 223

Dungeon Journal

“How do you feel after seeing the Vault of Eternity with your own eyes?”

Mimir approached and asked as soon as I opened the door.

“Did it meet your expectations?”

Kim Jin-woo looked back for a moment.

“It was different from what I expected, but it didn’t fall short.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear it. The Vault of Eternity is a monster. It’s a ferocious beast that mercilessly devours those who are not qualified. It’s a relief that you returned without incident.”

I had heard it once before when entering, but now that I had seen the Vault of Eternity with my own eyes, the feeling was different.

In reality, the Vault of Eternity had tried to devour him, and he had almost succumbed to its temptation.

“But don’t be disappointed. The moment you inherit the castle of the One-Eyed Monarch, the Vault of Eternity will have no choice but to reveal its inner workings to you, whether it likes it or not.”

I wasn’t disappointed. Although I failed to look beyond the Vault of Eternity, it wasn’t a complete loss.

The Vault of Eternity paid its respects to him for overcoming its temptation and gave him a small gift.

The gift was a bit peculiar, which made me feel complicated, but I cherished it, thinking that it would be useful since it was an item that came from the treasure vault of the powerful One-Eyed Monarch.

“More importantly, how much time has passed since I went inside?”

For a while, I was so captivated by the dazzling lights that I lost my sense of time.

“Not much time has passed, but is it okay for you to stay here? I think you must be worried about the labyrinth….”

He trailed off, but it wasn’t difficult to understand the intention behind his words.

Mimir seemed a bit uncomfortable with him staying in this place and was subtly telling him to leave.

Since he had already seen the Vault of Eternity, he readily followed the guidance without picking a fight and left the place.

Just like when he came, the way back also led through a vault filled with treasures. But the feeling of seeing them was completely different from before.

“Hmm.”

Perhaps because he had seen the fatal light emitted by the Vault of Eternity, the glittering jewels, weapons, and rare items seemed trivial.

*Is this why it was described as junk?*

As if he had unleashed all his desires and regained his cold reason, he felt no emotion even when looking at the precious items.

Perhaps noticing his mood, Mimir spoke to him.

“There are hardly any decent items among the things made since ancient times. Whether they are covered in gold or decorated with silver, they only look good on the surface, and it’s not easy to find anything useful.”

“Is that so?”

Kim Jin-woo looked around with a nonchalant expression and nodded casually. Mimir didn’t say anything more and quietly hurried his pace.

“Last time, I understand it was urgent, but in the future, please give me a heads-up in advance. That way, I can coordinate my actions [move in sync with you], can’t I?”

Mimir had been showing a remarkably docile attitude since he was severely scolded by the Word of Law. It seemed like he had accepted the fact that no matter how much he protested, it would eventually happen if he wanted it and had resigned himself to it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then I will visit you again soon.”

“Ah, I still have something to do.”

“You didn’t come to see the Vault of Eternity?”

Even Mimir, who had let go of everything, seemed afraid of what the capricious monarch would do next.

He was already sweating and rolling his eyes, which was rather pitiful.

“Do you think I would have sought you out just for that?”

“Then….”

“I want to meet the Monarch of Lament.”

Looking around the Vault of Eternity was just a side matter; in fact, his business was with the Monarch of Lament.

He thought that if the unusually hostile message was the work of another High Lord, the Monarch of Lament would be able to explain it.

“It’s not difficult to set up a meeting….”

“It’s not?”

“I wouldn’t recommend visiting her right now.”

When he urged him to explain with his eyes, the voice that reluctantly spoke was rough, as if something was stuck in his throat.

“The Monarch of Lament is furious right now….”

“Hmm.”

“Although she is friendly to you, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect the same behavior from her in the current situation.”

“What made her so angry?”

“Well, I don’t know the details, but I heard that someone stole something she cherished.”

Mimir was right. It was true that the Monarch of Lament, Catherine, was friendly to him, but she was not originally an easy woman.

The madness and hatred hidden behind her cheerful face still remained vividly in his mind, and he couldn’t help but agree with Mimir’s words.

“What did she lose….”

“I don’t know. I just heard that it was something she cherished very much.”

Even if she was a High Lord, if she showed that much affection for something, it wouldn’t be an ordinary item.

He wondered who had touched the sleeping lion’s nose, but looking at Mimir’s face, he didn’t think he would get an answer even if he asked.

So he decided to meet Catherine.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’ll take care of the aftermath, so don’t worry.”

In the end, Mimir, who didn’t have the guts to refuse his order, led him to the land ruled by the Monarch of Lament.

“I can’t go with you, so you have to go alone from here.”

Even if he was lucky enough that the Monarch of Lament didn’t throw a tantrum, that was something that only Kim Jin-woo, who was in an equal position, could hope for, and he couldn’t expect such luck for himself, so he stubbornly refused to accompany him.

He didn’t want to see Mimir in trouble, so he agreed and crossed the portal.

But as a result, he couldn’t meet Catherine.

The lion he had seen before, as if knowing he was coming, blocked his way.

“My master is currently away. She told me to tell you that if you came, she would contact you soon.”

As Mimir said, the situation was really bad. The lion, who was more edgy than before, explained his master’s absence and delivered a short message.

*‘I will come to you soon if you wait.’*

With that short message, he had to turn back. The only gain was that he saw another underground world for the first time.

Unlike his own underground world, which was just a narrow and dark cave, the vast space, which could be described as vast, made the world of the underground seem out of place.

The other underground world, where light flowed in from somewhere and shone faintly, was more like a wilderness on the surface with a slender moon.

He didn’t know if it was a change caused by restoration or if it had been like that from the beginning, but it was definitely a shocking sight.

But if he didn’t know the surface, maybe. His world was never so narrow that he would be shocked all day just because it was wide.

He recalled the sharp attitude of the lion and fell into thought.

“Could it be….”

He suddenly became worried that something Catherine had lost might be someone he knew.

“No way.”

He shook his head, recalling the girl who knew so much about the underground world and was so strong.

Looking back now, the abilities she showed weren’t that great, but she wasn’t someone who could be easily defeated.

That’s why she had survived in the underground world and was still by the side of the High Lord.

Kim Jin-woo shook his head vigorously to shake off his worries and belatedly rummaged through his pockets, taking out something the size of his palm.

The mask, which looked like it was made of ground bones and had a somewhat eerie color, but had no particularly special shape, looked like it could be used in a Peking opera [a traditional Chinese opera] at first glance. It was the item that the Vault of Eternity had given him.

[Mask of the Hypocrite]

[This is a small gift from the Vault of Eternity to you, who overcame the temptation of eternity not with restraint and patience, but with greater greed.]

[It is a mask that was used by someone who was as powerful as a High Lord in the past.]

[Nothing is known about the effects and detailed history of wearing it.]

[The only way to know its use is to try wearing the mask yourself.]

It was called a gift of respect, but even the name of the mask was somehow ominous.

Moreover, even the message that usually tells you its use the moment you hold it was just a brief explanation, and it didn’t tell you what kind of existence this mask was, so he was reluctant to try it on.

That’s because the items that exist in the underground world are not necessarily all auspicious and good.

There were also items that sometimes tricked their owners and even ruined them, and he suspected that this Mask of the Hypocrite was one of them.

He wanted to throw it away because he was curious about its history, but he was uneasy about the aftermath of using it. He just stared at it for a long time without knowing what to do, and eventually put the mask back in his pocket.

He would have tried it at another time, but now that even the underground world, which had protected him in the name of mystery, had turned its back on him, the risk of trying this unidentified mask was too great.

Besides, he wasn’t in a situation where he could afford to hold on to something he didn’t even know what to use for.

He had managed to overcome the crisis for a while, but the labyrinths of the unknown dukes were still lurking in the east, west, south, and north of the Great Labyrinth, and as time passed, they would recover from the earthquake damage and regain their past power.

“Oh, the Gluttony Masses I sent on reconnaissance have all lost contact, so my body is not my own.”

Since he entrusted all the dangerous missions of scouting near the enemy labyrinths to Uther, his body, which had been swollen after absorbing all of Mac’s energy, had become much smaller than before.

“Considering that, you still have a lot of fat.”

Kim Jin-woo didn’t budge at Uther’s grumbling. As he said, no matter how thin he had become, Uther’s body, which had become obese compared to the past, still had many corners to cut off.

“That can’t be. If you take any more off, I’ll die, I’ll die!”

Uther, who had put strength into his body and forcibly pulled up the gelatinous mass, made a dying sound. But no matter how much he put strength into his body, he couldn’t even reduce the volume, and his torso continued to undulate up and down.

“Stop talking nonsense and spread them evenly to the east, west, south, and north.”

“Ugh.”

Uther, who had been grumbling, eventually gave up his greed and began to send the Gluttony Masses here and there again.

“But you know.”

Uther, who had been cutting off his body for a long time, said as if he had just thought of it.

“Where did all the Moai [large monolithic human figures on Easter Island] that were so crowded go?”