Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 57

Dungeon Journal – Episode 58

#58

Dungeon Journal

#22. Regency

“Where’s Yun-Hee?”

As soon as Kim Jin-woo saw the familiar scenery of the owner’s room, he looked around for Yun-Hee.

‘I’ll go get her.’

Dominique, who greeted him with a happy face, welcoming his return after a long time, answered and disappeared out of the owner’s room. She returned a moment later, with Yun-Hee.

Unlike when she was wandering in the underground, she was wearing rather light clothes, and the dungeon emblem in the shape of a Pierrot [a stock character in French pantomime and Commedia dell’arte] mask was clearly visible on her chest.

“Even after becoming a Dungeon Owner, her condition remains the same.”

Kim Jin-woo sighed, hoping that she might awaken as a Dungeon Owner and start speaking or show a new side of herself.

It seemed he would have to wait a little longer for her to recover.

He had intended to wait until then anyway, but now that she had to perform the role of a Dungeon Owner, he couldn’t help but worry.

“This is a headache.”

He stared at Yun-Hee, who was just blinking, looking completely lost, and then called Dominique.

“Dominique, report on the situation in the Maze of Naga.”

He set her problem aside for a moment and checked on the Maze of Naga.

‘All ten Naga Riders and the Under Elves who went out with you have returned, and there are no special events. We are continuously spying on the Maze of the Dead by sending out long-range patrols, but there are no suspicious movements.’

Indeed, no one would dare to rashly touch the Maze of Naga, which has been growing at a frightening rate recently.

“Still, don’t let your guard down and keep paying attention. The King of the Dead is definitely not someone who will stay still.”

Although he only saw him fleetingly at the auction house, Valishus, who was obsessed with creating Chimeras [a creature made of mixed parts from different animals], seemed extremely sinister.

He was a different kind of being than the Coiling Dragon King Anaxetus, who was suspicious but ultimately prioritized power, or the Gluttonous King Uther, who tended to be cautious.

If Valishus were to plot something, he would definitely try to do it secretly rather than openly declaring war.

‘Yes. I will reinforce the patrols.’

“Yes, Dominique, you’re always working hard.”

She had virtually taken over the management of the maze in his absence, so he expressed his gratitude for the first time. Dominique’s eyes widened at his affectionate tone, and soon her eyes welled up with tears, looking deeply moved.

That small word seemed to mean so much to her.

“Hmm…”

Angela was clearly showing signs of jealousy next to him, but Kim Jin-woo ignored her.

Although her abilities were useful, she was forced to take on the role, unlike Dominique, who had been with the maze from the beginning.

“If there’s anything you want, Dominique, tell me. I’ll grant it if I can.”

As soon as he asked, Dominique answered as if she had been thinking about it in advance.

‘I want to see the place where you are, Master.’

It seemed that Dominique was envious of Angela, who had accompanied him to the surface this time.

“The surface? Hmm, that’s a bit difficult…”

Unlike Angela, who was no different from humans in appearance, Dominique was clearly different, from her skin color to her lower body. Taking her to the surface rashly could cause unnecessary problems.

‘No, it’s okay. I’m more than happy just to serve you, Master, even if you don’t do anything for me.’

Kim Jin-woo pondered for a moment at her answer, which was loyal without being as demanding as Angela.

“If there’s a chance, let’s talk about it again then.”

Dominique’s face brightened at his words, which left room for hope. Even if she never actually went to the surface, she would be happy for a while just knowing that he cared this much.

“More importantly, it should be about time…”

It had been a while since Yun-Hee obtained the Maze of the Festival, so the synchronization should have been completed by now. That’s why he put aside his business on the surface and returned to the maze right away.

[Synchronization between the Land of Festival Party Hall and the Second Knight Yun-Hee has been completed. The Second Knight Yun-Hee is now the complete host of the party.]

[The portal between the two mazes, which could not be activated because synchronization was not complete, is now available.]

As if on cue, Yun-Hee and the maze completed synchronization.

“Yun-Hee.”

Having checked the message one step ahead, Yun-Hee was blankly staring when she was startled by Kim Jin-woo’s call and turned her head.

“Open the portal.”

She just stared at him blankly and didn’t open her mouth at all. Eventually, he couldn’t wait any longer and opened the portal connecting the mazes himself.

***

The first to visit the Party Hall, which had begun activation after synchronization, was not the Dungeon Owner Yun-Hee, but her master.

“There’s nothing special about it.”

Perhaps because the maze’s grade was still low, Yun-Hee’s maze was nothing special. There was only a desolate owner’s room with an altar, a small maze core, and an old wooden chair instead of a throne.

“Sit here.”

He grabbed Yun-Hee, who had followed him through the portal, and sat her on the chair, and she stared blankly into the air.

“Do you want to upgrade it first?”

Even as he said that, he shook his head and threw one of the prepared Intermediate Down Jams onto the altar.

Whether it was the Maze of Naga or Yun-Hee’s maze, they were both greedy, and the altar devoured the Down Jam in an instant.

“Try it. Upgrade.”

Watching her just blink without answering, Kim Jin-woo was starting to get a headache.

“I’m at a loss, completely at a loss.”

At this rate, his plan to develop her maze and turn it into a fighting force would fall apart. A savior came to him as he was lost in thought.

“Master, among the greedy and avaricious nobles in the depths, there are those who do not even trust their subordinates. Such people effectively control their subordinates’ mazes under the name of ‘Regent’.”

“Regent?”

“I’m not the owner, so I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard that it’s a kind of proxy rule that allows them to interfere with the maze. Anatolius was also managing the mazes of his untrustworthy subordinates in that way.”

This was an unexpected suggestion, and Kim Jin-woo looked at Yun-Hee and opened his mouth.

“Regency, do you agree?”

Yun-Hee nodded habitually without even thinking. At the same time, a message window popped up.

[Yun-Hee, the rightful ruler of the Land of Festival Party Hall, does not have the ability to take care of the maze herself. As her master, would you like to exercise control over the Party Hall?]

“I will.”

[Yun-Hee, the ruler of the Party Hall, has agreed to the regency.]

[Kim Jin-woo has become the proxy of the Party Hall.]

[From now on, summoned creatures will be able to move more freely between the two mazes.]

[You will share each other’s summoned creatures. However, please note that the penalty of weakening when leaving the floor will remain in effect.]

[With one Maze of Naga, one fief, and one regency territory, you have become a true underground noble.]

[The ‘Dignity of a Low-Ranking Noble’ ability has been changed to ‘Dignity of a Lower Noble’. Your words will now carry even more weight.]

[Charisma has greatly increased.]

Kim Jin-woo raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at the messages that popped up so densely that they completely blocked his view. In this way, Yun-Hee’s maze, the Party Hall, also effectively became Kim Jin-woo’s maze.

***

Kim Jin-woo upgraded the Party Hall and placed a few Nagas there just in case.

There was a penalty that their power would weaken as they moved away from the maze, but considering the situation of the Party Hall, which had no proper defense facilities, it was an unavoidable measure.

“Aren’t you taking me with you?”

Angela had proven her abilities through the last exploration, but for some reason, he felt like she would cause trouble. So, Kim Jin-woo left her in the maze and headed to the surface.

“Where have you been?”

Baek, the appraiser, scolded him as soon as he saw him at his appraisal shop, where he had gone to get information.

“Aish, because you were dragging your feet, I gave up on the maze and everything. Why would the association get a maze that we can’t even touch? Damn it.”

But what Baek was saying was strange.

“The association got a maze?”

“That’s right! Because those guys are blocking the entrance and won’t let us through, the other explorers haven’t even been able to enter the maze.”

“Aren’t they just trying to prevent a riot?”

“Oh, come on, you don’t look like that. After wandering around the underground so much, don’t you still know? That’s what the association says, and you’d be a fool to believe it.”

After saying that, Baek lowered his voice and started talking as if he were telling a great secret.

“Everyone seems to be keeping it quiet, but it seems the association has already taken the maze. That’s why the explorers who set out to explore are coming back to the surface.”

The maze that the Explorer Association has sealed off is virtually just an empty shell that Kim Jin-woo has taken the contents out of. But when he came to the surface, this absurd rumor was spreading.

“Oh dear, there must be a lot of resentment.”

But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Kim Jin-woo. If the explorers’ attention was focused on the association, the burden he had to bear would naturally decrease.

Moreover, this time, the association took all the resentment, so it was rather welcome news from his point of view.

“Don’t even mention it. The explorers have completely turned their backs on the association because of this. Of course, there are still many explorers who are crazy about the association, but most of the high-level dungeon babies seem to have left the association. Still, it’s a good deal. If they get a maze, the association can make up for the losses as much as they want. Aish, it’s a pity even if I think about it again.”

Of course, Baek’s words were only true if they had completely obtained the maze. If you look at the details, the association was still struggling with the empty shell of a maze.

Kim Jin-woo was already looking forward to seeing what kind of faces they would make when they found out that the maze they had taken was just an empty shell.

Seeing Kim Jin-woo with a rare pleasant expression, Baek scolded him again.

***

Lee Jun-young was also one of the explorers who had returned without even seeing the outskirts of the maze because the association was blocking the way.

“It’s a good thing. I didn’t lose anything by not knowing about that maze while exploring the underground. Rather, I feel relieved that the explorers have come to their senses and turned their backs on the association.”

She expressed her feelings about the maze situation like that as soon as she met him after a long time.

“They were following the government around, trying to get a piece of the pie, but now it seems they are being pressured by the government. I feel relieved.”

Her smile was refreshing, whether she was just saying it or being sincere. Kim Jin-woo casually agreed with her, feeling good along with her smile.

“Well, it’s too big for an individual to own.”

“That’s right. In that respect, it seems that what the association did wasn’t necessarily wrong. Of course, I still don’t like what Song Jong-chul and his gang are doing.”

Indeed, he knew that their relationship was not good when he had encountered Song Jong-chul’s group before.

“By the way, Jin-woo, are you still traveling alone?”

“Ah, yes. I find it more comfortable that way.”

She clicked her tongue at Kim Jin-woo’s answer, which seemed to draw a line.

“Oh, that’s a shame. There’s a big case. It would be really reassuring if you came with us, Jin-woo.”

“A big case?”

He knew that the exploration team that Lee Jun-young was a part of was a team with considerable ability and performance.

But if the story of a big case came out of her mouth, it was likely to be a really big case that ordinary explorers couldn’t even get close to.

But Kim Jin-woo flatly refused.

When he returned to the underground this time, he had to overturn the board on a large scale.

He had to defeat Valishus in advance, who would not be happy with the growth of the Maze of Naga, and he had to expand his power in earnest.

He didn’t want to get caught up in another strange incident in the midst of all that.

“I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while.”

“I guess so. Jun-young is busy, and I have things to do too.”

Her appearance of expressing her regret without pretense was honest.

“Well, we’ll have to wait for the next time. We can’t wander around the underground forever, so maybe we’ll have time when we retire.”

She seemed to have something more to say, but she said goodbye neatly and left.

“A big case…”

He was very curious about what that big case was, but in general, it was not good to dig too deeply because there were many cases in this field where you get involved the moment you know.

Click, click.

Kim Jin-woo, who was sitting in the seat where Lee Jun-young had left and thinking about his future schedule, frowned when he saw his cell phone ringing suddenly.

A strange number that he had never seen before was on the screen of his cell phone.