Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 44

Dungeon Chronicle – Episode 45

# 45

Dungeon Chronicle

“Our King has declared that he has no intention of antagonizing the Naga’s Labyrinth!”

The emissary of Uther, the King of Gluttons, blurted out the message in such a hurried tone.

He must have been quite surprised to see the Nagas lined up, ready to march. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be shouting without even bothering to compose himself, despite the slime dripping from his body scattering everywhere.

“For someone who says that, you were awfully blatant about spying, weren’t you? Unless you had other intentions, why would you do such a thing? I cannot believe those words!”

Kim Jin-woo replied with a nonchalant expression and ordered Quantus.

“Quantus, march out. Stir things up as much as your abilities allow.”

“As the King wills!”

Quantus was already one to charge headfirst into anything at his master’s command. To be told to wreak havoc on the enemy camp as much as he could, he would likely raze at least the outskirts of the Gluttons’ Labyrinth.

“King of the Nagas! Please, grant me a moment!”

“There is no value in listening! It hasn’t been long since the emissary you sent visited. How can I trust your words when you couldn’t even bear that short time and came out so blatantly like this!”

Kim Jin-woo, now accustomed to his position as the ruler of a region and the King of the Nagas, spoke with considerable dignity.

“What must we do for you to believe us! We will do whatever you ask!”

At the stern rebuke, the emissary dripped and trembled, oozing slime.

“Whatever I ask?”

“Our King said he would do anything if it meant avoiding war!”

Even so, it was bewildering to hear someone who was the master of a labyrinth grovel so openly. Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Dominique whispered.

‘In the Underworld, survival is a virtue above all else. A king’s power can only be enjoyed if he is alive.’

“I suppose so.”

After pondering Dominique’s words for a moment, Kim Jin-woo stopped Quantus, who was preparing the Nagas for departure, and shouted loudly.

“Then I will give you one last chance!”

The emissary trembled all over at his fierce roar, intentionally displaying his power.

“Tell your king! If he does not desire war, then show me his sincerity! Words of friendship are worthless, tell him that!”

With that, he rebuked, and the emissary fled the labyrinth as if escaping, dripping slime all over.

Could it be that the threat worked? Not long after, the King of Gluttony himself came to the labyrinth.

“King of the Nagas.”

Kim Jin-woo examined Uther with intrigued eyes, as he hadn’t really expected the master of a labyrinth to come himself, even though he had thoroughly unnerved the emissary.

Unlike his subordinates, he had a fairly distinct human form, but Uther was also made of slime.

“You really came.”

“I came to clear up misunderstandings.”

Compared to his nonchalant tone, his body frequently undulated, dripping slime, as if his soft body was not suitable for hiding his true feelings.

His appearance was somewhat comical, but Kim Jin-woo tried to look stern.

“I don’t want to talk long.”

“Speak.”

Uther, in a humiliating posture, bent at the waist and waited for Kim Jin-woo’s next words. After a moment of gazing at Uther, he spat out a word.

“Bow.”

A single, excessively short word. Uther raised his head again, rolling his clear eyes, unable to grasp the intention.

“If you swear allegiance and offer yourself as a vassal, I will consider this matter as if it never happened.”

So said Kim Jin-woo, gauging the other’s reaction.

In any case, the Gluttons’ Labyrinth was among the weaker ones even on the 9th floor. If he didn’t comply, he could just send Quantus to wipe them out.

From Kim Jin-woo’s perspective, he had nothing to lose either way.

Perhaps having anticipated this outcome, Uther spoke without much thought.

“If I offer myself as a vassal, will you believe me this time?”

If it was just swearing allegiance to avoid immediate anger, anyone in the Underworld could do it.

As Dominique had said before, the greatest virtue in the Underworld was survival.

“Will you not doubt me again?”

Kim Jin-woo grinned at Uther’s calm words.

“Is there any room for doubt? You won’t be able to betray me.”

Uther, realizing something was wrong with his unusually confident attitude, oozed slime all over and bubbled.

“Then I’ll take it that you accept the offer.”

But it was already impossible to turn back the situation. From the start, Uther had no choice.

The King of Gluttony, Uther, whose abilities were lacking compared to his greed, made the mistake of not knowing about the existence of the parasite. Even Ricksha and the other patrolmen with sensitive senses couldn’t find the mass of gluttony.

[The authority of the Underworld Baron, ‘Oath of Fealty,’ is activated.]

[Attempting to appoint Uther, the King of Gluttony, as the first knight of Underworld Baron Kim Jin-woo.]

[Knights are the most loyal and valiant limbs of the baron. But they were not loyal from the beginning. Only after taking the Oath of Fealty do they know what ‘true loyalty’ is.]

The message floated in the air. Normally, Kim Jin-woo would have been the only one to see the dense text. But this time it was different.

Uther’s clear eyes were quickly scanning the air.

“This is……”

“If you’re the master of a labyrinth, you’ll know what it is.”

The reason he easily discussed loyalty was probably because he thought he could turn his back whenever he needed to. Uther was visibly flustered by the sudden turn of events and didn’t know what to do.

[Would you like to appoint Uther as your first knight?]

[Will you become a knight of the Underworld Baron?]

Uther’s body bubbled and frothed like carbonated water as he saw the messages flashing yellow as if urging him.

***

[Uther of Gluttony has become a vassal (knight) of Underworld Baron Kim Jin-woo.]

[The first knight, Uther, will share his fate with his master. If the Naga’s Labyrinth is destroyed, Uther will also be annihilated.]

[The Land of Gluttony, ruled by Uther, has become a ‘fief’ [a territory held by a vassal from a lord]. Uther is still the ruler of a labyrinth, but he now has a master to serve. 20% of the dungeon energy accumulated in the core that governs the Land of Gluttony belongs to the Naga’s Labyrinth.]

[You can open a portal connecting the two labyrinths at any time. But opening the portal is entirely at the baron’s discretion.]

Kim Jin-woo looked satisfied as he saw the messages appearing one after another.

Uther was outwardly swearing allegiance, but the bubbles churning wildly inside his body showed that he was not comfortable.

“You may return now.”

“May I?”

Uther, now resigned and despondent, was overjoyed.

“Why, are you sad?”

Perhaps afraid of being caught and held in place for finding fault, Uther shut his mouth tightly.

“You shouldn’t lie anywhere else. It’s hard to pretend to be fooled when your insides are so visible.”

He wasn’t just saying it. Uther’s body was constantly fluctuating, representing his dismay. Moreover, the messages showed Uther’s insides so clearly.

[Uther has sworn allegiance, but he is not truly impressed. If you win the heart of his heart bound by the constraints of fealty, you can use some of the abilities of Uther of Gluttony.]

He was bound by the authority of the Underworld Baron, but true loyalty was another matter.

It was uncertain whether he would be able to win the heart of that sly mass of slime in the future, but he had nothing to lose anyway.

With a satisfied face, Kim Jin-woo gestured to Uther.

“Go back. You can see me anytime now anyway.”

“I will obey.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Uther fled the scene as if escaping. He stared blankly at the slime Uther had left behind and smiled contentedly once more.

***

Thus, the war with the Gluttons was concluded without lifting a finger.

‘Master, congratulations on becoming a true lord.’

Dominique, too, hadn’t expected things to work out this way, and sent a reverent thought with a blissful expression.

“I’m glad that amoeba-like guy is incompetent compared to his greed. And he’s so cowardly that things worked out easily.”

‘It’s extremely rare for a being on the 9th floor to meet an Underworld noble who can only be seen in the depths. Uther probably never imagined things would turn out this way either.’

“That’s true, but I don’t know how helpful he’ll be if he’s so cowardly.”

It was a great benefit just that 20% of the dungeon energy from the Land of Gluttony was accumulated in the Nagas’ core, but he doubted Uther’s own abilities.

Just in case, he tried to call up the labyrinth’s status window to check, but the Oath of Fealty was not a complete ‘attribution.’

The phrase about the first knight and his fief that appeared in the corner of the status window only indicated the labyrinth’s grade.

“I don’t understand why he’s so shabby when he’s the same grade 5.”

‘Even labyrinths of the same grade have cores that differ as much as heaven and earth.’

In other words, the Naga’s Labyrinth had such an excellent core.

“I was lucky.”

‘There is no such thing as coincidence in the workings of the Underworld’s mysteries. All of this was yours from the beginning.’

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes widened at her words, which resonated in his heart so strangely.

“Is that so? Maybe it really is fate.”

From the time he obtained the Naga’s Labyrinth to the time he met the Hell Spider and vowed revenge, he was given the necessary power when he needed it.

Now that he thought about it, the situation was so artificial that he even wondered if someone was trying to test his fate.

“First, I’ll take all of the 9th floor.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had accepted Uther as his first knight and set his future direction, spoke with a determined face.

He was clearly different from a few months ago when he first declared his fate after obtaining the labyrinth.

‘Everything is as the Master wills.’

Dominique squinted and hissed, breathing heavily, as if she was dazzled by his appearance.

***

After Uther was forced to swear allegiance to Kim Jin-woo, the visits from the emissaries from each labyrinth stopped completely. They were probably worried that they would be caught and have trouble.

“Hoo, that’s good.”

Kim Jin-woo, who had been on edge because of the numerous emissaries coming and going from the labyrinth for a while, muttered with a relaxed face for the first time in a while.

Hoya, kneeling at his feet, rubbed her cheek against his knee as if trying to act cute.

“I really can’t get used to this.”

Quite some time had passed, but he couldn’t get used to Hoya, who looked just like a human, snuggling up to him like this. But if he stopped her, she would misunderstand that he hated her and become depressed, refusing to eat or drink, so he couldn’t bring himself to push her away.

He doubted whether she was really the warrior of the Ho-in tribe who had massacred the searchers.

‘Master, a black merchant has arrived.’

There was a time when the labyrinth was turned upside down every time a black merchant visited. But now, both Dominique, who was reporting, and Kim Jin-woo were indifferent.

“What is it this time?”

Still, he remembered having quite beneficial transactions every time he came, so he got up from his seat without delay.

***

“The most honorable Underworld Baron and King of the Nagas, it has been a while.”

Kim Jin-woo replied indifferently to the black merchant’s greeting, who bowed his small head with all his might.

“Don’t bother, it doesn’t suit you. Since when have you greeted me so sincerely?”

“Don’t say that. If you treat an Underworld noble carelessly, you will be punished.”

The black merchant’s face, speaking seriously and looking around, showed that he was really worried that someone would hear.

“Enough, get to the point.”

“Keueung. You seem to be getting more and more desolate. Isn’t it true that you need to live in a wide and open place to develop ambition and broaden your mind?”

The black merchant, who was soon grinning and spouting words as he pleased, took something out of his arms and offered it.

Hoya, who had followed behind, ran and snatched the envelope that the black merchant had taken out.

But only for a moment, she handed the envelope to Dominique with a tearful face, as if she didn’t know how to read.

“What is it?”

Kim Jin-woo asked as he watched Dominique tear open the envelope sealed with a luxurious seal.

“It’s an invitation.”

He frowned at the words that cut off the beginning and end, and the black merchant said with a smug face.

“It’s an invitation to the regular auction hosted by the Black Merchant.”