Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 319

Dungeon Journal – Episode 320

# 320

Dungeon Journal

“Master!”

Dominique, who in the past would have rushed to greet her master, was now crouched on the floor, only lifting her head. Beneath her, under her shimmering tail, lay a large egg.

“How is it? Do you think it will hatch today?”

Kim Jin-woo, who had become a being akin to a god of the underground, far surpassing the title of tyrant, looked no different from an ordinary man as he spoke to Dominique.

Indeed, who could remain calm when faced with the imminent birth of their own child?

“I can feel it moving diligently, but it doesn’t seem to want to come out.”

“Perhaps, should I wake it up myself?”

“No, absolutely not! What if something goes wrong…?”

Her refusal was resolute, a side of her that had never been seen before.

With a softer expression than before, a fuller chest, and an astonishingly feminine appearance since the last battle, she was every bit the mother.

“What kind of fellow is trying to come out, causing so much trouble?”

He grumbled with feigned dissatisfaction, but his face was beaming.

“More importantly, Master.”

Dominique carefully moved her tail away from the egg she was cherishing and gestured to him with her eyes.

“Ah, I was just about to do that.”

Kim Jin-woo bent slightly and placed his hand on the egg.

“Whether you come out today or tomorrow, please, just be healthy.”

It was a commonplace sentiment that every father in the world would express at least once, but his words carried extraordinary weight.

[The Mystery of the Underground has bestowed its blessing.]

[Thanks to the accumulated blessings that have been repeated every day without fail, the effect of the blessing is further strengthened.]

[The child who will hatch from the egg will be healthier than the strongest giant king, and no disease or plague will dare to approach.]

He was a being like a god who ruled over the Mystery of the Underground, and his words were themselves incantations and blessings.

“Dominique, endure a little longer. You must be healthy until the child is born.”

A blessing was also bestowed upon Dominique, and vitality surged back into her exhausted body, which had been embracing the egg all day without leaving its place.

With a face that looked much better than before, she smiled softly and nodded.

“Ah, I can’t stand it, I’m so jealous. Really, is a woman without a child supposed to live like this?”

A cynical voice cut through the warm atmosphere, and Kim Jin-woo, who had known about Angela’s existence for a long time, greeted her with a smile.

“Is the education roughly finished?”

“Well, he’s subtly trying to climb on top [attempting to assert dominance], but he’s quite quick at assessing the situation, so he’ll adapt quickly.”

The attitude of treating the Demon King, known as the epitome of terror, like a snot-nosed kid was absurd, but no one present pointed out her words.

That was because, even though the connection with the world had gone awry and its master had changed, the underground was still a world of the survival of the fittest, and it was natural for the weak to obey the strong.

Moreover, Angela was stronger than Dantalian and was even under the protection of the immensely powerful Kim Jin-woo, so even if it were not the Demon King but an even greater being, they would not have been able to refuse her words.

“Ah, I heard an interesting story.”

Angela told him about the existence of gods, a story she had heard from Dantalian.

“The gods here, unlike those over there, don’t hesitate to reveal their forms and have a physical presence. There are saints that Master has released, and there are races that receive particularly preferential treatment, and the gods exert their influence through them.”

She frowned, saying that troublesome things might happen, but her expression wasn’t that serious.

After all, who was her master? He was the one and only ruler of this vast underground and the master of mysteries. Even if there were gods in this world, they would not dare to invade the underground.

Moreover, the apostles of the gods, who were not even gods themselves, could not be his opponents in the first place.

“This world seems like it won’t be boring either. Unlike over there, they don’t hesitate to spill blood.”

Angela was rather pleased, saying that it was a good thing since her master had become quite bored after unifying the underground.

“And on the way back, I met Lisha, and she asked if she could explore the surface with Master.”

“Without coming to me directly.”

Lisha had now become the Fairy Lord. Kim Jin-woo, who had obtained the Mystery of the Underground, had shared his own authority.

From his point of view, the power of the Fairy Lord was so insignificant that it was not even noticeable, so it was not a difficult decision.

“With that stubborn personality, how could she dare to disturb Master’s private time?”

Having said that, Angela said that Lisha seemed to have found traces of fairies in this world and wanted to go to the surface to increase the number of her dwindling race.

“Let her do so. After all, Lisha is not the same Lisha as before.”

It wasn’t just Lisha. From the day he obtained the Mystery of the Underground, all the summoned creatures were reborn as new lords or became nobles of the underground.

Morrigan had become a dignified empress ruling over the Raven Clan, and Uther had also seized the position of Duke and was enjoying his success.

According to the stories that were occasionally heard, he was increasing his power by borrowing the prestige of his master rather than developing his own strength, so his innate personality did not seem to have changed.

“Then I will tell her that.”

Having said that, Angela then brought up another story.

“It seems like it’s about time, shouldn’t we go out?”

“Ah, has it already become that time?”

Kim Jin-woo looked at Dominique with a somewhat regretful face, and she smiled gently and nodded.

“Don’t worry about me. As long as I have Master’s blessing, nothing will happen to me or the child.”

“Of course. What madman would dare to touch the Dragon God’s consort?”

Dominique chuckled at Angela’s interjection.

“Don’t be silly, go and be good to your mother. Still, your mother knows you as her daughter-in-law.”

“Ah, I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. Really, I hate it when you show off your status as the original wife!”

Dominique simply smiled silently at the playful tone.

“Then I’ll be back. If anything happens, contact me immediately. I’ll drop everything and come back.”

He gave a gentle greeting and then crossed the world with Angela.

***

Although the connection with the underground was lost, the world did not change much.

After all, the underground was only important to a small number of explorers or those involved, and it was only a disturbing presence to the general public. In such a situation, the disappearance of the underground would feel like a thorn in their side had been removed.

“Mother! I’m home!”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head as he watched Angela run to his mother and cling to her affectionately. Who would think that she was a sinister vampire if they saw her now?

“Our new daughter is here. Oh my, you brought all this. You’re better than Jin-woo, much better.”

She handed over a gift that she didn’t know when she had prepared, and congratulatory words were exchanged for a while.

His father, who had returned late from work, came in empty-handed and was scolded by his mother, followed by his younger sister who came with her nephew.

“My husband is still working overtime today and can’t take the time off.”

“A man should be diligent and work hard. If he pays too much attention to housework, he can’t become a great person. Besides, what kind of time is it? Tell him not to give them a reason to fire him from a decent job and to focus on his work.”

His father’s nagging, his younger sister’s clumsy *aegyo* [acting cute or charming], his mother’s laughter, and Angela’s nasal voice again. His nephew, who had grown noticeably recently, quietly approached and hugged Kim Jin-woo.

“You’ve gotten a lot heavier. Grow up healthy and become a great person.”

He smiled as he lifted his nephew up. Although it may not have the effect of a blessing like in the underground, the words imbued with divinity would unknowingly affect his nephew’s growth.

His younger sister’s face had also brightened, saying that her child, who had been prone to illness, had become much healthier recently, so he was only pleased.

“Okay, everyone’s here, let’s eat.”

“Before that, we have to sing!”

Watching Angela take care of his mother so diligently, Kim Jin-woo let out a hollow laugh and fiddled with the phone in his pocket.

Just in time, there was a text message from Lee Jun-young.

[Yoon-hee seems to have fully adapted to life on the surface now, so I think it’s time for me to go back.]

Surprisingly, Yoon-hee had abandoned all her foundations in the underground and chose a normal life on the surface. Lee Jun-young had helped her.

In contrast, Lee Jun-young had chosen a life in the underground and asked to be taken to the underground as soon as his work was done.

He answered that he would take him this time and raised his head again.

In the short time he was doing something else, candles had been placed on a cake that he didn’t know when they had brought out. His mother smiled and blew out the candles, and soon the family smiled brightly.

The warmth of the family that he could fully feel as his mind, which had been tainted by the night, was purified. He belatedly jumped into the warmth and enjoyed it.

The meal ended while they were laughing and enjoying themselves. Kim Jin-woo subtly got up. But his father was faster.

“Now that you know each other well enough, stop hesitating and get married.”

It was a topic he had wanted to avoid so much, but his family had managed to squeeze into the gap.

“That’s right. If it were my sister, *oppa* [term for older brother used by females] would be grateful. Why are you dragging it out so long? You’ll regret it if you miss her.”

“Don’t just think about yourself, think about your new daughter-in-law. It’s hard for a woman to have a baby when she gets older.”

He was sweating as his family ganged up on him, and Angela mischievously sided with his family.

“Oh my, miss. I’m not running away. I can’t live without this person.”

“Ah, *oppa*. If you miss my sister, I won’t see you for the rest of my life.”

It would be better to face the Underground again, but he was helpless in this situation.

However, the corners of his lips were raised because the warmth of the family that he could fully enjoy was filling his heart.

He was a Dragon God who had shed his skin and been reborn, and he was the one and only king of the vast underground world. And he was also ‘human, Kim Jin-woo’.

“Ah, Mother, Father. I think I have to go now, I have to finish the work I left behind. I’ll be going now.”

“Look at that guy. As soon as we nag him to get married, he runs away with work as an excuse.”

“That’s not it, it’s really something urgent that I have to take care of.”

Angela, who had been smiling all along, realized that his expression was serious and soothed his family. Eventually, he was able to leave the house only after promising to meet again in the near future.

“Let’s go. It seems like something has happened.”

“Yes, Master.”

The rest was over. It was time for the ruler of the underground to step in instead of the human Kim Jin-woo. He once again crossed the world and headed to the underground, where he was able to meet Dominique, who had been waiting.

“It seems that those gods are moving faster than I thought.”

It seemed that the word ‘Demon God’ that Dantalian had recklessly uttered to save his pride was the cause. The gods were surprised by the descent of the Demon God and sent their apostles to the ground, and the one who was closest to them led an army and came to the underground.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault. After all, they must have sensed my existence, and they wanted to use this opportunity to see if I was an easy target to mess with.”

Angela asked him as he glanced at Dantalian, who was crestfallen and cautiously looking around.

“What are you going to do?”

“What am I going to do?”

Angela’s voice was somehow excited. Not only her, but everyone who had hurriedly gathered in the place had the same expression as her. They were true warriors who had proven their worth through struggle and battle, and he was the leader of such people.

“I have to let them know clearly who the underground belongs to.”

Kim Jin-woo smiled more brightly than ever.

“Just like we’ve always done.”

END