Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 263

Dungeon Journal- Episode 264

# 263

Dungeon Journal

Episode 264

Mimir didn’t answer Kim Jin-woo’s sharp questioning.

“Good choice. If you had rashly spouted lies, I would have torn your mouth apart right then and there, warehouse keeper or not.”

He was now standing up and looking down at Mimir. It wasn’t just words; he seemed ready to tear the little imp’s body to shreds at the slightest displeasure.

But surprisingly, Mimir was calm, as if he had expected this reaction. Kim Jin-woo also accepted his composed attitude without a word.

“As the Lord said, I got the bomb for Alitos.”

It could be seen as an act of betrayal, but Mimir seemed to think there was room for excuses.

“But I swear, I didn’t foresee this situation when I got the item. It’s just that the Lord happened to get caught up in something prepared in case of the usurper’s movements.”

It was reasonable in its own way.

“But not telling me in advance suggests you have other intentions.”

“Isn’t the Lord someone who wouldn’t be affected by such a trivial bomb anyway?”

Was he determined to be brazen? Mimir’s words were even audacious.

“Well, fine. I’ll let it go. That’s not the important thing.”

Compared to his fierce demeanor, Kim Jin-woo forgave the fault easily. That was because what he really wanted to know was something else.

“Do you have ties to the surface world?”

At his question, Mimir avoided answering, sweating profusely this time. But he persistently asked about the relationship between the Black Merchant and the surface world.

“What are you plotting? Don’t even think about lying. Just because the Eye of Truth doesn’t work on you doesn’t mean I’m too dim to distinguish lies.”

Mimir kept his mouth shut for a long time at his question, but finally confessed everything.

“The Wish Stone. They are trying to find the Wish Stone that the surface dwellers stole.”

An unexpected answer; Kim Jin-woo was momentarily speechless.

“The Netherworld can only be complete with the Wish Stone.”

***

“The first restoration has already occurred. The remaining second and third restorations will happen soon. But the final restoration won’t come on its own. That’s why the Wish Stone is needed.”

“Is the Wish Stone the key to restoration?”

“That’s right. Only when the final restoration occurs can everything be said to have returned to normal. Until then, the Netherworld is incomplete.”

“Why are you so eager to return the Netherworld to its original state? Isn’t it satisfactory enough as it is now?”

Why were those related to the old lords so desperate to return the Netherworld to the past? He couldn’t understand that point.

“Because the Netherworld will perish if it stays like this.”

The greedy surface dwellers will constantly steal the Netherworld’s life force, and the veins that support the Netherworld will all dry up. Mimir’s words were like a prophecy.

“I want to hear your answer.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been lost in thought, raised his head at the clear voice. Before him, he saw the golden, gleaming lower jaw of the Drakon [a member of the Dragon race].

“Ah, I’m sorry. It seems my focus was momentarily scattered due to the continuous battles. Could you repeat that?”

The Dragon Emperor, perhaps understanding that he had fought blood battles with as many as three dukes, opened his mouth without any displeasure.

“Strictly speaking, it is something you should have obtained. Proposing a deal for unearned income is not reasonable, but this time, I will shamelessly offer you a deal. In exchange for receiving this item, I would like all past events to be as if they never happened.”

The Tarus’s Heart was in the Dragon Emperor’s hand as he spoke.

He didn’t think that honor would be restored through a deal made like haggling in a marketplace from the start, but the Dragon Emperor seemed to want to erase his clan’s faults at all costs.

“Good, the honor of the Ortega family isn’t that important to me anyway.”

It wasn’t a proposal that would be much of a loss to him. From the beginning, he had decided to cover up all the faults of the Ortegas by drawing the Dragon Emperor into this war, so he readily accepted the Dragon Emperor’s proposal.

If he could get the core of a duke-level labyrinth in exchange for covering up the faults of a reckless Drakon, he could cover it up two or three times over.

“With this, all debts between you and the clan are gone.”

Kim Jin-woo felt a strange sensation as he watched the proud Drakon’s dishonorable expression.

The sight of the descendant of the Dragon race, who had been pretending to be noble alone in this eat-or-be-eaten Asura field [a realm of conflict and suffering in Buddhist cosmology], collapsing was a unique spectacle in itself.

“If you say so, then that must be the case.”

The Dragon Emperor turned his head away, avoiding his gaze at his sarcasm.

But seeing that he didn’t go back on his word until the end, it seemed that there was a reason to protect his honor besides the constraints of the Dragon Words given to the Drakons.

“Good, is our business finished? You can go back now, I have some things to think about. Of course, you can take your lovely son with you too. I’ll even give him a chance to withdraw his Dragon Word of loyalty if he wants.”

He was willing to hand over the hostage, who was no longer of any use, to the Dragon Emperor.

“No, Ortega will remain here.”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the unexpected answer.

“As long as Ortega is in my hands, you will be used like today, again and again, won’t you?”

Although he was bound by the Dragon Word, this powerful duke was by no means foolish, and there was no use in sugarcoating his words in a tactful way.

So he blatantly reminded him of Ortega’s position once again.

“Although his honor has been forcibly patched up and become tattered, I cannot defile the Dragon Word.”

“So, in the end, it’s because of the oath of loyalty, isn’t it? I’m telling you I can make that oath of loyalty null and void.”

The Dragon Emperor repeatedly shook his head at his words, and eventually left, leaving behind the burden called Ortega.

“Do you know why your father left you here?”

After the Drakons left, he called Ortega and asked why he remained here, and an unexpected answer came.

“The Dragon Emperor said he felt the energy of the dragon here.”

It seemed he had cleverly recognized the energy of the evil dragon that had manifested when he summoned the energy of the Dragon King.

“So he told me to watch you with unwavering eyes.”

“What is he going to do by watching? Does he think that if he just watches, the diluted dragon blood will become thicker again?”

Ortega did not answer. But it was certain that he had something he wanted to achieve. Otherwise, this immature Drakon, who had been smugly nestled among his clan like a dog meeting its owner, would not have remained here.

“Well, it wouldn’t be bad to gain something if there is something to gain. I’ll cheer you on too.”

Unlike himself, who could barely attain dragon form when borrowing the power of the Dragon King, if a real dragon was born in the Netherworld, that would be meaningful in its own way.

The emergence of a powerful enemy was no different from the emergence of something worth devouring.

***

Only after the Dragon Emperor returned could Kim Jin-woo finally begin to organize his spoils.

Due to the warning message that the hard-earned Great Labyrinth could disappear if he made a mistake, he couldn’t immediately synchronize the newly acquired core with the Great Labyrinth, but he could strengthen the Great Labyrinth using numerous other spoils.

Since he had already solidified his control over the 9th floor by defeating the three dukes, there were no more enemies threatening the Nagas [a race of serpent-like beings] and the Great Labyrinth.

Thanks to this, he was able to take a break for the first time in a long time.

But thanks to the question Mimir had thrown, he couldn’t rest easy.

The Wish Stone, whose purpose he couldn’t figure out, and Mimir’s warning that the Netherworld was heading towards destruction, kept lingering in his mind.

“I don’t understand why the Lord keeps that imp alive.”

Angela, who suddenly appeared from the shadows, asked him.

“Mimir is the only key connecting the ancient and the present. I can’t rashly discard him.”

Whether intentional or not, he had been able to come into contact with the legacy of the past several times through Mimir.

As he couldn’t face the usurper now, the little imp was the only clue connecting the past and the present.

Since he was of use, he intended to keep him around a little longer.

“Come to think of it, I also obtained the Source and the Red Castle because of the bomb that dwarf handed over.”

Angela quickly showed a convinced expression.

“But I don’t intend to leave him like that forever either.”

Kim Jin-woo muttered as he looked at her.

“This incident has made it clear. Mimir is moving with some big purpose in mind. I’m starting to think that the Eternal Warehouse and loyalty to the old lord might all be secondary.”

The immediate, superficial purpose was the restoration of the Netherworld, the grand reason that the destruction of the Netherworld must be prevented, but no one knew what ulterior motives were hidden within.

“There will be a better conversation partner than me for complex worries.”

Angela, whose frivolous personality hadn’t gone anywhere even after rising to the High Lord, shook her head and hid herself in the shadows. She reappeared shortly after, holding Dominique in her hand.

“‘Sister’ is a specialist in serious worries.”

Angela, wearing a mischievous smile, disappeared again.

“Ah, Dominique. What do you think?”

Kim Jin-woo, with a face that said it was just as well, began to pour out his worries to Dominique.

“Hmm? Dominique?”

“Yes? I, I’m sorry.”

But Dominique, who would have seriously participated in his worries more than anyone else, wasn’t focusing on the story at all today.

Her face was flushed red, and she was breathing particularly roughly, so he offered words of concern, sensing that something was wrong.

“Is the afterglow of the awakening still not gone? Unlike the other Nagas, Dominique came straight here without even having time to rest.”

Perhaps feeling that his words were quite persuasive, the light of concern in his eyes grew even deeper.

“No, that’s not it.”

Dominique belatedly realized her disgraceful state and gave various pieces of advice, but unlike usual, they were completely unhelpful.

“It seems like you have something else to say.”

Only then did Kim Jin-woo realize that Dominique was being particularly flustered, and he met her eye level.

“Why can’t you say it, you idiot!”

At that moment, Angela, who he thought had completely disappeared, suddenly reappeared.

“Tell him to hug you!”

He let out a groan as he grasped the situation a beat too late. It was certain that Angela had been inciting Dominique by babbling useless stories.

“Unique ability, acquired the qualification of a mate. She has acquired the qualification to conceive the seed that can inherit the noblest blood of the Naga.”

Kim Jin-woo’s face turned red as he remembered that memory at that moment.

“Damn it.”

He frowned. It was because Dominique’s ability to share thoughts with her master had belatedly come to mind.

As expected, Dominique’s face, which was flushed to an extent that couldn’t be compared to just before, was seen turning her head here and there in a fluster.