Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 25

Dungeon Journal – Episode 26

#10. Drakkanus Ortega

Bang!

“Kkeuaak!”

A dull gunshot was followed by a bizarre scream. But Kim Jin-woo pulled the trigger again as if he hadn’t heard anything.

“Stop! Stop!”

Only when the fiercely looking Drakkan Ortega teared up did Kim Jin-woo finally put down his gun.

“Hmm, guns have their limits after all.”

He looked disappointed at the unscathed golden scales.

“Y, you……!”

Since he wasn’t human to begin with, it was impossible to know what Ortega’s expression was, but it was clear that he was angry.

However, this poor Drakkan, who had already sworn allegiance, couldn’t make any complaints and just thumped his chest.

‘But even this is amazing. Unless it’s as tough as a Drakkan, it won’t be completely unscathed.’

After the Naga workers’ performance in the last battle, Dominique became increasingly interested in human weapons.

It was too appealing to her, who couldn’t overcome the limitations of being a Naga handmaid, even though she was hero-grade.

“But tearing the leather and wounding the fabric won’t do much damage. In fact, the hero and the gatekeeper did all the finishing in the last battle.”

‘What about that bomb? I think that would be quite useful.’

Ortega shuddered at the word bomb. The shock of the explosion that tore through his scales was still vividly remembered.

“I can’t get that easily either. And if I use it carelessly, the nearby passages might collapse.”

In fact, using guns and bombs in the underground was problematic in many ways.

The problem was that the noise was too loud compared to the power, which could attract nearby creatures and beasts, and in the case of bombs, there was a high possibility of being caught in a collapse accident if used carelessly.

But despite that, Kim Jin-woo had no hesitation in using guns.

His position was different from that of the explorers who wandered the underground without a base. Unlike them, who had to dig into the territory of beasts and creatures, the Nagas were fighting in their own territory.

Even at this moment, the Nagas were constantly patrolling the vicinity to drive out beasts and creatures, and now that three months had passed since the labyrinth opened, most of the ordinary ones had been cleared out.

The only problem was the power. Unless he could get a powerful weapon that could catch even an elephant, the gun wouldn’t be very effective.

And it was impossible for Kim Jin-woo, who had no connections in Korea, to get such a weapon.

“The last battle was lucky. It seems that the magician’s magic was more timely than the gun.”

‘That’s a shame. If used properly, we could have grown the labyrinth quickly.’

Ortega shuddered at her words, as if regretting that his scales were intact.

“I don’t know how humans managed to drive out the masters of the labyrinth.”

Records from that time remained in several places, but it was impossible to know how humans had won in some of the major battles that determined the outcome of the war.

Regretting that, Kim Jin-woo tapped the butt of his shotgun.

“I, if it’s all over now, I’ll be on my way.”

While Kim Jin-woo was lost in thought, Ortega tried to slip away.

But he had no intention of letting this Drakkan, who had many uses, go.

“Wait, let’s test a few more things.”

“Kkeuaak! Although I swore allegiance to you, treat me with respect! I have pride…….”

Bang!

As if he had no intention of listening to the end, Kim Jin-woo pulled the trigger of the newly drawn K2 rifle with an indifferent face.

“Descendant of the high Drakkan…….”

Tatatatatang!

“Drakkanus Ortega… Kkeuaak! Stop! Please stop!”

Ortega was very fussy compared to his pride and solid body.

In fact, Ortega would be very upset. He had lost more than thirty subordinates and had his military funds taken away, and now he had to swear allegiance to his enemy.

Of course, from Kim Jin-woo’s point of view, the Drakkan was just an intruder, and there was no room to be moved by the allegiance he had sworn in exchange for his life.

And he wasn’t soft enough to treat the enemy who invaded his labyrinth generously.

The stolen military funds had already been used to upgrade the labyrinth, and the Drakkan would be exploited even more than the Nagas.

“Kkeuaak!”

The test was barely over after emptying one magazine.

***

Although he was fussy, the Drakkan’s strength was real.

A terribly solid body and an absurd amount of rushing power. If the Weakness Detection ability hadn’t worked, Kim Jin-woo wouldn’t have been able to guarantee victory.

Besides, now that he had sturdy gatekeepers and heroes to back him up, the Drakkan was sure to show more strength than expected, unless he was unlucky enough to be attacked in the reverse scale [the Drakkan’s weak spot].

Thanks to that, Kim Jin-woo was able to escape from being unable to leave the labyrinth and head back to the surface. While the Drakkan was there, he would be able to buy enough time even in urgent situations.

“What’s the rush… Eiiing.”

Back in his office, Mr. Baek shook his head as he looked at Kim Jin-woo. He must have been very curious since he suddenly left his seat last time.

“I’m sorry about that. I had something urgent to do.”

“What was so urgent, Eiiing, never mind. You won’t tell me anyway, so what’s the point of asking.”

Kim Jin-woo answered Mr. Baek’s nagging with silence.

“More than that, I want to hear the story I couldn’t hear then.”

Seeing Kim Jin-woo, who always said what he wanted to say, Mr. Baek clicked his tongue and opened his mouth.

“The Anakstus’s Labyrinth of the Sea Serpent King is on the 9th floor. It’s one of the labyrinths discovered by the soldiers of the Army Search Unit during the Under War [a past conflict involving labyrinths]. There was no major battle, but it seems that there were a few small clashes near the end of the war.”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the word 9th floor. He vaguely thought it was deep underground, but it was deeper than he thought.

“How is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Those sea serpents, and that Sea Serpent King. Are they strong?”

Now that he knew it was the 9th floor, it was time to get information about the opponent. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory, so information about the enemy who could attack at any time was essential.

“First of all, guns don’t work. In fact, none of the soldiers who actually fought said they killed the enemy.”

“They’re troublesome guys.”

“But that’s not always the case. These sea serpents are incredibly tough, but they’re also incredibly slow. They move at the speed of an average adult walking a little faster, so even if it’s hard to kill them, you can avoid them as much as you want if you want to.”

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes lit up. He felt like he had found the sea serpent’s weakness.

Of course, how to attack this weakness was a problem he had to solve, but it was true that he had obtained useful information.

“How is the Sea Serpent King?”

Since his name was known, there was no way there wouldn’t be information. But even Mr. Baek, who had been giving out information so willingly, was reluctant to speak this time.

“This is quite high-level information.”

“I’ll pay the price.”

He had several low-grade Down Jams [items used for trading or enhancing abilities] in his arms, and the number would continue to increase as the Naga workers continued to collect them.

He had the ability to pay for the information without having to owe anyone a favor.

“No, no. I don’t need Down Jams.”

Mr. Baek shook his head as he watched Kim Jin-woo rummaging through his arms.

“Just do me a favor.”

Kim Jin-woo narrowed his eyes as he took out his empty hands at Mr. Baek’s words.

“Looking at you asking me about Anakstus’s labyrinth, you’re going to go quite deep this time, aren’t you?”

He must have misunderstood. From Kim Jin-woo’s point of view, this misunderstanding was rather welcome, so he didn’t bother to deny it.

“Tell me when you have a plan. I’ll tell you then.”

“Without knowing what kind of request it is…….”

“It’s definitely not an unreasonable request. If it’s really unreasonable, you can listen to it and refuse. In that case, we can just settle it with something else.”

It wasn’t a bad offer, so Kim Jin-woo nodded.

“Anakstus is…….”

***

The Naga’s labyrinth has been getting noisy lately. The Naga workers were practicing shooting from time to time, and several battles broke out due to the wandering creatures that were attracted to the sound.

Every time, Ortega stepped up and tore the enemy apart as if he was venting his anger.

In addition, the labyrinth was undergoing expansion work.

The explorers’ surveillance equipment and motion detectors that Kim Jin-woo had brought were installed in key areas leading to the labyrinth, and traps were buried here and there to fill in the loopholes in the defenses.

‘It only works for wandering creatures and beasts. This is also a temporary measure.’

But Dominique and Kim Jin-woo’s faces didn’t brighten.

“I hope the upgrade is completed soon.”

‘If we reach level 5, we can bring in Nagas who can fight the sea serpents.’

“The problem is time. We have to make sure that Anakstus doesn’t notice us during that time.”

As always, time was the problem. Upgrading to level 5, which took more time than any other time, would create a way out if they could just hold on.

But the time in the underground was not on his side, as always.

WEEEENG!

Suddenly, a siren rang, a warning device connected to a motion detector. The volume was adjusted so the sound wasn’t loud, but it felt louder to Kim Jin-woo than any other sound.

“Master!”

And at that moment, Rickshasha, who had gone out on an outer patrol, ran up with a rare sense of urgency. Instead of lying flat on the floor as usual, she spoke urgently.

“Sea serpents! The sea serpents are here!”

“Damn it!”

It had only been a week since the battle with Ortega, and the installation of the traps was not yet complete.

“Call the workers in!”

“As you wish!”

Rickshasha melted back into the darkness, and Kim Jin-woo shouted to Dominique.

“What’s guarding the gate?”

‘The gatekeeper and the Drakkan, and two heroes!’

“Gather all the remaining troops and send them to the gate! I’m going straight to the gate!”

Orders were issued one after another, and Dominique shook her tail quickly and disappeared into the distance.

Thanks to the system that had been established in the meantime, the gathering of troops was quick and swift. The Naga workers aimed their shotguns at the front, and the gatekeepers and heroes supported them from behind.

At the very end, the Naga magician and priest were muttering and preparing a spell.

A perfect battle readiness. Kim Jin-woo felt a little relieved.

‘Master! There!’

Kim Jin-woo, who was organizing the Naga’s ranks, turned his head at Dominique’s voice.

In his eyes, he saw sea serpents approaching with great force, swaggering like half-standing crocodiles.

“Why aren’t there more of them?”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been prepared for the worst, tilted his head as he saw the sea serpents, which were fewer in number than he had expected.

The sea serpents, which were likely to be 5 meters long from head to tail, were impressive in themselves, but they were not great enough to fight a labyrinth war.

No matter how powerful each creature was, the Naga’s labyrinth was by no means easy to deal with with only five of them.

The sea serpents, who were approaching with their short hind legs and tails wiggling, stopped in their tracks when they discovered the Nagas.

‘What should we do? Should we fire?’

Dominique, who had quickly grabbed one, asked with her eyes shining, holding a shotgun in her hand.

She had been nervous about the enemy’s attack just a moment ago, but now that the number of enemies was small, she looked relieved.

“No. Wait.”

Kim Jin-woo, who stopped her, hid in the gatekeeper’s shadow and winked at the Drakkan. Ortega nodded and stepped forward, roaring loudly.

“Kkeuaaaa!”

He was actually a clumsy Drakkan who was just fussy, but the sea serpents, who didn’t know his true nature, seemed startled by his tremendous power.

“You who claim to be a distant relative of the dragon! What brings you here to Drakkanus Ortega!”

Just listening to it, it sounded as if Ortega himself was the owner of this place. And that was what Kim Jin-woo intended.

The erect golden scales gleamed sharply, and lightning flashed in his bulging eyes. The smoke flowing out of his teeth as if it contained sulfur was intimidating. The Drakkan seemed to be enough to be the master of a labyrinth.