Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 55

Dungeon Journal – Episode 56

# 56

Dungeon Journal

Episode 56

The moment he saw the message, he knew.

Yoonhee had been chosen by a labyrinth. However, she was in a state where she had no will to decide about that choice. She probably hadn’t made any judgment and was just sitting there blankly until he arrived.

“Yoonhee.”

At Kim Jin-woo’s calm voice, after organizing his thoughts, Yoonhee turned her head. Seeing her unfocused eyes, he was once again convinced that she was ‘deferring’ judgment.

There seemed to be no room for any voluntary will in her clouded eyes.

So, he decided to help her make a decision.

“Accept it.”

He had already made a decision on the way here. If she started on the same level as him, the labyrinth’s grade would probably be only 1st grade.

Extracting such a core and installing it in his labyrinth would not be very efficient.

The fact that the labyrinths were too far apart bothered him, but he had a solution.

“Say you’ll accept the labyrinth.”

Without questioning him, Yoonhee nodded immediately. And at that moment, the Pierrot mask engraved on the stone table suddenly popped out and dug into her chest.

“Ah…….”

Yoonhee, who let out a sound that was neither a moan nor an exclamation, like an animal’s breath, quickly scanned the empty space with her vacant eyes.

Probably, at this moment, a status window that only the owner of the labyrinth can see would be floating in front of her eyes.

Kim Jin-woo, who was looking at her, said quietly.

“Become…….”

Clearly confused by the bizarre experience she was having for the first time, she reflexively turned to him.

“My knight.”

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

[Attempting to appoint Yoonhee, the King of Festivals, as the second knight of the Underground Baron.]

[Knights are the most loyal and valiant hands and feet 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 window that he had seen once before when appointing Wooseo as a knight floated in the air again.

[Would you like to appoint Yoonhee as the second knight?]

Kim Jin-woo and Yoonhee nodded simultaneously.

[Yoonhee, the organizer of the festival, has become a vassal (knight).]

[The second knight, Yoonhee, will share her fate with her master. If Naga’s labyrinth is destroyed, Yoonhee will also be annihilated.]

[The land of the festival ‘Party Hall,’ which Yoonhee ruled, has become a fief [a territory held by a vassal]. Yoonhee is still the ruler of a labyrinth, but she has a master to serve. 20% of the dungeon energy accumulated in the core that governs the Party Hall belongs to Naga’s labyrinth.]

[The portal connecting the two labyrinths cannot be activated yet because the synchronization of the Party Hall is not complete.]

Kim Jin-woo wore a satisfied expression as he looked at the message that appeared in front of him.

***

Although he had achieved his goal through the exploration of the 7th floor, there were still more things to confirm. Kim Jin-woo, who had sent Wooseo, who had become weakened, and Yoonhee, who had no stealth ability, back, quickly ascended the labyrinth with only Angela.

The 6th floor was also full of rampaging creatures, but he and Angela, who had already melted into the darkness with their stealth abilities, were able to find their way without difficulty. In addition, there was a map of the 6th floor that Lee Jun-young had given him, so they didn’t get lost.

The schedule had to be drastically reduced.

Reaching the 4th floor, Kim Jin-woo released his stealth ability.

Some dungeon babies have strange abilities, so if he moved while hiding, he could be mistaken for a creature and attacked.

“From here, we will reveal ourselves and move.”

Kim Jin-woo’s steps were unwavering, as he had already discussed everything in detail, starting with the titles, on the way.

As expected, there were countless explorers on the 4th floor. The number of explorers he encountered on the way was almost over 100.

“It’s like being on the surface.”

Angela, who encountered the explorers for the first time, looked around several times with a curious expression.

She probably found it amazing that surface dwellers were wandering around the underground like this.

“Why? As far as I know, surface dwellers avoid the underground. Aren’t darkness and creatures scary to surface dwellers?”

Kim Jin-woo gave her a brief explanation as she tilted her head, not understanding.

“Sometimes greed overcomes fear.”

If the jewel called Down Gem did not exist in the underground, the existence of explorers would not exist in the world.

“I don’t understand. I’ve heard that there are much more valuable and beautiful things on the surface than Down Gems, but I can’t understand why they are so obsessed with Down Gems.”

She looked at him with a questioning face, as if she was more interested in the surface.

“What others don’t have is more desirable.”

Surface dwellers craved Down Gems, and underground dwellers craved the land full of life on the surface. The Under War happened because they craved what they didn’t have.

“Stop. This is not the time to chat.”

Kim Jin-woo cut off the conversation appropriately because the place was not good for complex stories. Angela seemed to have many questions, but she faithfully followed his orders.

“Have you seen anything around here?”

“Well, I just came up from the 5th floor… Is there anything?”

Some of the explorers he encountered on the way boldly asked Kim Jin-woo questions.

Of course, every time he pretended not to know, they had to spit out the information they knew, but they did not give up and disappeared back into the darkness.

“They haven’t found it yet.”

He had guessed it from the moment he saw the explorers moving busily, but even though it had been almost a month, the explorers had not gotten what they wanted.

If the labyrinth was so easy to find, there would be no dungeon baby who was not the owner of the labyrinth among the dungeon babies who had been going in and out of the underground so many times.

No, maybe the labyrinth that was discovered on the 4th floor was the Party Hall, the land of the festival that Yoonhee obtained on the 7th floor. In the first place, the distinction of floors was useless to the labyrinth looking for an owner.

He obtained Naga’s labyrinth that way, and Yoonhee also leaped through space and reached the labyrinth in an instant.

For those who are chosen, the masterless labyrinth is a place they have to go to even if they don’t like it, but for those who are not, the labyrinth is a place they will never find even if they wander for the rest of their lives.

“Hmm.”

The number of encounters with explorers began to increase little by little.

“Whew.”

The explorers who passed by Kim Jin-woo and Angela stopped and whistled. The men’s eyes were all on Angela.

“Can’t you cover your face a little?”

“It’s stuffy.”

Kim Jin-woo shook his head as he looked at Angela, who had an openly enjoying expression. She probably enjoyed being the center of attention because she was among the underground beings who were not bound by beauty.

Her platinum hair and pale skin, which shone brightly even in the darkness, were extremely beautiful even to Kim Jin-woo.

If he was in his labyrinth, he would have enjoyed it, but the place was not good.

“Why? Does Master not like other people seeing my face?”

Angela, with a bright smile, asked, clinging to his arm. Her eyes were full of anticipation, as if she was expecting Kim Jin-woo to feel possessiveness towards her as he looked at her.

But he waved his hand with a look of annoyance and replied.

“No. It’s because your appearance is too flashy, so it’s burdensome to move.”

At his blunt words, she pouted and whined.

“So, how is my appearance flashy?”

“You’re too pretty.”

Angela quickly put on a happy face at the honest words. Kim Jin-woo was just expressing his impressions without thinking, so he didn’t understand why she was making such a face.

“Anyway, put on your hood. I’m worried that annoying bugs will gather.”

“Yes!”

She quickly put on her hood, drawing out her answer.

“Hmm? But Master.”

She seemed to have found something while talking, and she looked beyond the darkness covered by the wall.

“Are there any groups of explorers who move around with hundreds of people at once?”

“Could it be?”

Feeling something at her question, Kim Jin-woo stopped walking.

“Yes. There are hundreds of explorers gathered over there.”

If hundreds of explorers who prefer small-scale exploration teams were gathered in one place, it was one of two things.

Either there was a monstrous monster that was difficult to deal with as a team, or they had found something. And if they had found something now, it was highly likely that it was something Kim Jin-woo was also looking for.

“Lead the way!”

At Kim Jin-woo’s words, Angela blended into the darkness and ran out like an arrow.

***

“Who the hell are you to block the way!”

“You put on a hat as an association and look down on all the explorers?”

Hundreds of explorers gathered in a passage that was quite wide for the underground and made a fuss.

“No, we’re not saying we’re going to monopolize the labyrinth!”

The men who confronted hundreds of explorers also seemed to be at least 100 people.

“Then open the way right now!”

“Since when did the Explorer’s Association become in a position to order us around when I’m going to go with my own feet?”

The man was sweating and said a word to calm the explorers, but it was counterproductive.

“Ah, I’m going crazy! You crazy bastards, it hasn’t been long since someone died because they became the owner of the labyrinth! But what if someone else becomes the owner here again? What will happen then?”

It is said that when a powerless person obtains a treasure, a bloody storm blows. He tried to remind them of that fact several times, but the explorers were stubborn.

“The dead guy’s fate is his own! And why is the association worried about that?”

“Aren’t you planning to eat the labyrinth? That’s why you’re blocking the way now! I saw Song Jong-cheol and a few kids going inside earlier!”

One of the explorers who was confronting the association’s men at the front lit the fuse.

“What? Is that real?”

“You crazy! What kind of trick is that!”

The explorers who heard that a few members of the association had gone inside were about to break through the road and run.

If a few of them, who were quick-tempered, rushed in with a ferocious energy, a bloody storm would blow in the underground.

[It looks like a labyrinth has been discovered.]

[Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened.]

Kim Jin-woo and Angela, who had approached while hiding and concealing themselves nearby, glanced at the situation and moved on.

[What are you going to do? Shall we go inside? It looks like some people have already gone in.]

[That’s why we came.]

Kim Jin-woo said that and carefully moved through the crowded people.

[Let’s hurry. We’ll get caught if we’re not careful.]

As he feared how many people with excellent ability to sense presence were mixed in, some of the explorers felt something and were looking around, and their eyes were not ordinary sharp.

[I think we’ve already been caught.]

Kim Jin-woo, who turned his head at Angela’s words, discovered a man with blue eyes and made a troubled face. Judging by his eyes, he seemed to have the ability to detect hidden enemies.

“Someone is hiding!”

The man shouted, and the noisy passage became even more chaotic.

“Something is hiding! Be careful!”

“It’s a creature attack! Everyone prepare for battle!”

The man’s cry spread like wildfire and turned the passage upside down.

“Prepare for battle! Put the kids together before the labyrinth! If you’re unlucky, a few will die!”

As the dungeon babies of the association, who were blocking the explorers’ way, gave instructions one after another, body bunkers and lights that had been prepared in advance flashed and illuminated the passage.

“Those with good senses to the front! Those who are not confident, step back!”

The formation was overturned, and some men jumped out of it, and at the same time, the explorers screamed.

[Now! Run!]

At first, Kim Jin-woo had a troubled expression because he thought he had been caught, but the commotion became an opportunity to squeeze into the narrow passage.