Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 34

#34

Dungeon Expedition Log

Episode 35

#14. Labyrinth War

The Naga Labyrinth was fully prepared for battle. All forces, Naga workers and warriors alike, were gathered at the gate, and all the traps they had painstakingly prepared were activated, ready to face the Kyo-ryong [a type of dragon-like monster].

They had made every possible preparation, but Kim Jin-woo still looked anxious.

[The Rank 4 Naga Labyrinth is upgrading to Rank 5. Time remaining until upgrade completion: 02:14:59.]

Just two more hours to hold out until the new forces are replenished; it was truly a nerve-wracking time.

Kim Jin-woo desperately hoped that the Kyo-ryong would arrive late.

But as always, time was not on his side.

콰앙!

A loud explosion was heard from quite a distance away; someone had triggered a trap. And at this point, there was only one entity that could trigger a trap.

Kyo-ryong, the Kyo-ryong had reached the outskirts of the labyrinth.

“They’re coming! Prepare for battle!”

Every passage into the labyrinth was covered with a small amount of explosives and traps made from all sorts of resources.

However, neither Kim Jin-woo, who ordered the traps to be laid, nor Dominique, who oversaw the laying of the traps, had high expectations.

They were well aware that the traps they had prepared were woefully inadequate to deal with the Kyo-ryong.

Sure enough, the sound of thundering footsteps began to be heard in the distance. The pungent, fishy stench characteristic of reptiles was already surging over the gate.

“Ready to fire!”

At Kim Jin-woo’s command, the Naga workers simultaneously raised their shotguns. They had been training steadily, and unlike when they first picked up a shotgun, they now looked quite skilled.

“Dominique, stay back.”

‘I can fight too!’

Dominique, who had taken her place among the Naga workers, shook her head, clutching a shotgun she had taken out at some point.

‘If the labyrinth is breached anyway, I’ll be annihilated. Rather than sitting and waiting, I’d rather fight.’

Kim Jin-woo realized that his situation was not much different. If the core of the labyrinth was destroyed, he wouldn’t be safe either, so there was no other option but to fight to the death.

Eventually, he gave up trying to dissuade her and looked at Quantus and Ortheaga.

“My King, I assure you that none of the vile Kyo-ryong will pass this place.”

Quantus pounded his chest and made a bold statement.

“Hmph! Those Kyo-ryong! They’ll run away just by looking at my eyes!”

Ortheaga still exuded unfounded confidence.

“I hope that’s the case.”

Kim Jin-woo smiled, feeling somewhat relieved by their unchanging appearance.

But only for a moment; his expression hardened like stone at the sound of the approaching Kyo-ryong’s footsteps.

뿌우! 뿌우우!

The sound of horns echoed in the distance, followed by intense drumming that seemed to pound the heart.

“Hoo, hoo.”

The low breathing of the Naga filled his ears. Even those brave Naga warriors, who knew no retreat, showed clear signs of tension at the advance of the Kyo-ryong.

뿌우우우우우!

The sound of the horns, even longer than before, was followed by a mix of footsteps and drumming.

“Hoo! Hah!”

Quantus let out a short breath, trying to boost morale. The Naga stamped the ground with their shields or exhaled roughly in response.

But it was still not enough.

The momentum was not enough to overcome the sound of the horns and drums, which seemed as if they would reveal themselves at any moment.

So Kim Jin-woo bit his lip tightly.

“Only the Kyo-ryong! Just hold back the Kyo-ryong! I will surely bring down the Kyo-ryong King!”

He already knew what Anaxetus’s weakness was.

If the Draconians and Naga could just hold back the vanguard of the Kyo-ryong, he could somehow reverse the situation. So he repeatedly encouraged the Naga.

[The Dungeon Owner’s participation is the greatest honor for the Naga. The Naga’s fighting spirit is amplified by the Owner’s cry for victory against a mighty enemy.]

[The Naga temporarily become insensitive to fear. The Naga, who have forgotten fear, will fight more bravely than any being in the underground.]

Kim Jin-woo was delighted to see the message window that appeared before his eyes. He felt a bit relieved by the unexpected situation.

At that moment, the Kyo-ryong revealed themselves.

The vanguard of the Kyo-ryong King was distinctly different from the Kyo-ryong he had seen before. Overall, they were smaller in size, but their legs were slightly longer and their tails were pointed, making them look quite agile.

However, their menacingly long snouts, like those of crocodiles, and the teeth packed like cogs were not much different from the previous Kyo-ryong.

뿌우! 뿌우! 뿌우우!

The rhythm of the horns and the intervals of the drums were now so short that they seemed to be running out of breath. The Kyo-ryong did not stop their advance, even though they saw the Naga gathered at the gate.

Their appearance was truly magnificent.

And as the footsteps of the Kyo-ryong, who had been approaching with a thud, began to quicken, the horns and drums suddenly stopped.

“Fire!”

At that moment, Kim Jin-woo shouted to the Naga workers.

Tatatatang!

The dull sound of gunfire echoed deafeningly, and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air.

[The battle against the vanguard sent by the Kyo-ryong King Anaxetus has begun!]

[This is the first Labyrinth War for the Naga Labyrinth. Great rewards await victory, and harsh consequences await defeat. Good luck.]

The message flashed red, signaling the urgent situation.

Thus, the battle between the Naga and the Kyo-ryong began with gunfire and the smell of gunpowder.

***

“Fire again!”

At Kim Jin-woo’s command, the Naga workers exhausted the last bullets in their magazines and retreated simultaneously.

“Quantus! Ortheaga!”

“As you command, my King!”

“Just leave it to me!”

Following them, the Naga who followed Quantus and Ortheaga stepped forward.

The Kyo-ryong were unscathed despite being bombarded by hundreds of slugs. As expected, the previous battle was somewhat exceptional; terrestrial weapons were woefully weak for use in the underground.

크아아아악!

The Kyo-ryong roared fiercely. It was a charge slower than an adult male running, but its momentum was extraordinary.

Among them, two Kyo-ryong were running with outstanding momentum. Kim Jin-woo pointed to the hero-class Kyo-ryong with red and blue crests puffed up menacingly and shouted.

“Quantus! Ortheaga! Take on the hero-class Kyo-ryong!”

Already having discussed it in advance, Quantus and Ortheaga were already heading to find their respective opponents before his instructions were even given.

The first to clash with the Kyo-ryong was the hot-tempered Ortheaga.

Perhaps believing in his own sturdy body, Ortheaga immediately latched onto the blue-crested Kyo-ryong and struck the Kyo-ryong’s long snout.

크아아악!

The hero-class Kyo-ryong screamed and staggered backward, tangling with the Kyo-ryong that were running behind it.

“A mongrel with only a handful of dragon blood, where do you get off being so presumptuous!”

Ortheaga’s appearance, shouting triumphantly after a successful strike, was magnificent.

But this hot-tempered and foolish Draconian seemed to have forgotten that he had entered the middle of the battlefield.

The red-crested hero-class Kyo-ryong, whom Quantus was supposed to face, struck Ortheaga’s head with its tail.

“Keuk!”

Ortheaga screamed and staggered. He shook his head, looking so pathetic as if he was out of his mind.

But still, his innate strength was not going anywhere; Ortheaga soon regained his senses and began to rampage, looking for his opponent.

Quantus and the Naga warriors supported him from behind.

“Quantus is at a disadvantage, Ortheaga is at an advantage.”

Because of the narrow passage, most of them had not even swung their swords yet, except for the leading forces. But even so, the battle was fierce.

Blood splattered and flesh soared. The roars of the Kyo-ryong and Naga echoed wildly through the narrow passage.

“크아아악!”

The hero-class Kyo-ryong seemed too strong for Quantus, who had just reached the hero class, to block. Quantus was covered in blood all over his body, even though the battle had not been going on for very long.

But even so, he did not retreat a single step, as he had boldly declared at the beginning.

Rather, it was Ortheaga who was constantly retreating. It seemed that he was reluctant to protrude even a little, as he was concerned about his reverse scale on his back.

As a result, at some point, Quantus was left alone in the front, facing the Kyo-ryong.

“You idiot!”

Kim Jin-woo’s vision was not good because of the Naga and Kyo-ryong huddled together in the narrow passage, and the situation changed so gradually that it was already too late when he noticed it.

He saw Quantus surrounded by the Kyo-ryong and being torn to pieces.

“Keuk! Let go!”

Ortheaga belatedly realized his mistake and tried to push back the Kyo-ryong with all his might, but the blue-crested hero-class Kyo-ryong skillfully blocked Ortheaga’s feet.

In the end, Kim Jin-woo had no choice but to jump up and run forward.

Originally, he had no intention of moving until he met Anaxetus, but there was no other way. Losing Quantus now would make the future battles difficult.

Kim Jin-woo, emitting a blue light, kicked off the shoulders of the Naga and jumped over the Kyo-ryong.

“Quantus!”

“My King!”

Quantus, who had one ear cut off and was covered in blood, somehow shook off the Kyo-ryong and answered.

“I’ll take it from here, so step back!”

He didn’t need an answer. The moment he finished speaking, Kim Jin-woo was rushing towards the red-crested Kyo-ryong, who was stubbornly clinging to Quantus.

At that moment, Kim Jin-woo’s unique ability, Weakness Detection, was activated.

“Hap!”

Based on the information from the fence [likely referring to a previous source of information], he already knew that the Kyo-ryong’s weakness was under its chin, so it was not difficult to find the weakness. But the weakness he found was woefully small.

It was literally only a spot the size of a baby fingernail, so it was not easy to succeed in attacking even though he knew it.

He swung his sword several times, but the Kyo-ryong twisted its chin from side to side, deflecting all the fierce attacks with its hard scales.

“Damn it!”

Kim Jin-woo was not disappointed, even though all the attacks failed. He never thought that he could easily catch a hero-class Kyo-ryong from the beginning.

Seeing Quantus retreating, he quickly pulled his body out.

“It’s my fault!”

Quantus, entrusting his body to the Naga priest’s spell, shouted resentfully. Kim Jin-woo shook his head.

If there was a fault, it was the fault of the cowardly Ortheaga, not Quantus’s fault. He fought incredibly hard against an opponent beyond his ability.

“You bastards!”

The battle situation began to change again while he was taking out Quantus for a moment. The somewhat balanced front line began to be pushed back unilaterally.

With Quantus’s support gone, the two hero-class Kyo-ryong relentlessly attacked Ortheaga.

In the end, the Naga had no choice but to retreat, making the initial fight seem insignificant.

“Damn it.”

‘Master, I think it would be better to lure them inside the gate and fight!’

Kim Jin-woo nodded at Dominique’s cry from the rear.

“Retreat!”

It was frustrating to allow the labyrinth to be taken by enemies who were only a vanguard, but there was a chance of winning inside the gate.

The inside of the gate was the complete territory of the labyrinth, where the power of Dungeon Owner Kim Jin-woo, not Dungeon Baby Kim Jin-woo, was exerted.

***

[Dungeon Owner Kim Jin-woo’s abilities are enhanced. He will not easily lose against any enemy within the range of the labyrinth’s core.]

[Dungeon Owner Kim Jin-woo’s strength, agility, and stamina have been increased by 40%.]

[The authority of the Rank 4 Naga Labyrinth, excellent regeneration, has been activated. Most wounds will regenerate naturally.]

Kim Jin-woo already knew that his abilities were amplified inside the labyrinth, but he did not know the detailed changes like this. It seemed that the enhancement was greatly increased due to the special situation of being in battle.

Kim Jin-woo, feeling the vitality rising in his body, stepped to the front of the line.

“I should have fought inside from the beginning.”

Even as he said that, Kim Jin-woo had no intention of retreating any further. The Naga Labyrinth, which was not yet large in scale, would be connected directly to the Owner’s Room, where the core of the labyrinth was located, as soon as it passed through this place.

No matter how efficient it was, he could not easily take such a risk.

뿌우!

The slow-moving Kyo-ryong regrouped and began to advance again. They were clearly only a vanguard, but they seemed to be planning to occupy the labyrinth in one fell swoop without waiting for the main force.

“I’ve been severely underestimated.”

Kim Jin-woo spat out a bitter word and readjusted his sword.

[The Rank 4 Naga Labyrinth is upgrading to Rank 5. Time remaining until upgrade completion: 01:01:38.]

The upgrade of the labyrinth would be completed in just one hour. And that’s when the real battle would begin.

“Come!”

Kim Jin-woo lowered his stance, looking at the Kyo-ryong rushing at him with a roar.