Dungeon Odyssey [EN]: Chapter 99

Dungeon Journal – 99

# 99

Dungeon Journal

Episode 100

The quiet underground was suddenly shattered by noise. Kim Jin-woo glanced at the black marketeer as a short, mechanical alarm sounded from afar.

The black marketeer seemed to be explaining something to the Imp, who was slated to be in charge of the 5th floor, continuing to move his lips, seemingly unconcerned by the alarm.

Only the innocent mercenaries were making a fuss, blocking the narrow passage and forming ranks.

However, even the black marketeer had to stop at the sudden appearance of bright flashes of light.

The defense forces of the Harimau Labyrinth [a fictional labyrinth, likely named after the Malay word for “tiger”], who had appeared out of nowhere, stood with the lights behind them, glaring at the group.

Body bunkers, shields and spears specifically designed for explorers, and numerous firearms that explorers hadn’t yet obtained were pointed in their direction.

“Stop! Identify yourselves! This is an area controlled by the South Korean government! Civilian explorers are no longer allowed to approach!”

Perhaps mistaking the procession for an explorer team, the Harimau Labyrinth guards issued their warning.

“I repeat! This is an area controlled by the South Korean government! Access by unauthorized personnel is restricted, so turn back!”

The warning was repeated.

Meanwhile, the black marketeer, who had been frowning at the flashes of light, pushed the Imp next to him forward.

As if that was a signal, the Imp, who had been very nervous, took a step forward.

Clang! Clang!

The humans flinched at the small movement and drew their weapons.

“Any further approach will be considered a threat and will be dealt with!”

As he listened to the guards repeating only the order to retreat, regardless of affiliation, the Imp opened his mouth in a clear voice.

“Greetings, surface dwellers.”

It was a greeting that seemed oddly out of place. It seemed he was simply reciting pre-arranged lines given to him by the black marketeer.

“Surface dwellers?”

A flustered voice was heard from inside the guard ranks at the word ‘surface dwellers.’ Seeing their reaction, the Imp spoke in the clearest voice possible without provoking them.

“We are merchants from the underground. We have not come to antagonize you, so please lower your weapons.”

“What nonsense is this?”

It was no wonder that even the elite guards carefully selected were flustered when someone claiming to be a merchant appeared in the brutal underground.

“Who are you people…?”

As one of the guards questioned, he suddenly shouted.

“These bastards! They’re not human!”

Now that he mentioned it, the hideous faces of the escort mercenaries, hidden by deep hoods, were half-exposed in the bright light. The guards belatedly made a fuss when they discovered blue skin and long fangs that were clearly different from humans.

“Report to the situation room! Request support troops! It’s an enemy invasion!”

“The number of enemy troops is approximately 70 to 90!”

The momentum emanating from the bustling human ranks had completely turned hostile. Sensing that fact, the Imp at the head shouted in embarrassment.

“We didn’t come to fight! We just came to trade with you!”

Over the Imp’s small body, a dozen red dots appeared. Seeing the dots, Kim Jin-woo quickly scanned the darkness in front.

“Hmm…”

He could see snipers placed among the guard forces aiming at their side with ridiculously large sniper rifles. If they just flicked their fingers, a dozen large-caliber bullets would fly towards that small, fragile Imp.

However, the Imp, unaware of the identity of the red dots, was making a fuss, waving his short hands as if the red dots on his body were fascinating.

“Ahem.”

The black marketeer, who was standing behind, cleared his throat and gave a signal, and only then did the Imp come to his senses and continue speaking.

“We are merchants! We have brought items that you may find interesting! We just want to trade, we have no other intentions!”

Even if he said that, they wouldn’t obediently lower their guns and put away their weapons. At least, the underground known to humans was just a terrible world of savagery where killing and dying was the only overriding task.

“Is there still no word from above? We need to know whether to fight or retreat!”

Despite putting forward the small and young Imp, the Harimau Labyrinth guards did not let their guard down. At the head of the guards, who quickly lined up in battle formation, the body bunker pierced the hard floor and was fixed.

“I repeat, I didn’t come here to fight! I just brought things that might be helpful to you!”

The Imp shouted again. In a way, the sight of him shouting in front of dozens of blades and gun muzzles was so pathetic that Kim Jin-woo glanced at the black marketeer.

The moment he saw the black marketeer hiding behind the escort mercenaries, he knew why the experienced black marketeer had put the Imp forward instead of directly stepping up to the important issue of contact with surface dwellers.

The black marketeer cunningly put the Imp forward as a decoy in case of any danger.

In fact, even if the snipers just flicked their fingers, the Imp’s body, which was known to be insignificant even in the underground, would be riddled with holes in an instant.

Knowing that fact well, the black marketeer was completely hiding behind the large bodies of the escort mercenaries.

While Kim Jin-woo was shaking his head at the black marketeer’s cunning, the Harimau Labyrinth’s ranks became noisy.

“Did you say you want to trade?”

The ones who came out from among the explorers were Kim Jin-tae, the owner of the labyrinth, and Kim Joo-hyuk, the deputy director of the Underground Development Corporation.

“That’s right. It is an honor to meet the king of the Black Tigers and the representative of the surface dwellers.”

Seeing the people in charge who had finally revealed themselves, the Imp let out a sigh of relief and greeted them once again.

***

The Imp and the people in charge of the Harimau Labyrinth held a meeting in the middle of the two sides facing each other.

Because they had moved back about 50 meters each to ensure safety, the distance had widened, and Kim Jin-woo could not understand what they were talking about at all.

Kim Joo-hyuk, the deputy director, was the one who stepped up to talk on the Harimau Labyrinth side.

Five Dungeon Babies [likely a type of monster or creature] were closely guarding him, whereas the black marketeer’s side only put out one Imp.

“Hmm.”

He concentrated all his attention on eavesdropping on their conversation, but because the distance was far, he could only barely hear words such as ‘Down Jam,’ ‘Black Merchant,’ and ‘continuous transaction.’

But with that alone, there was no way to know what they were talking about. So he eventually gave up listening to the conversation.

“Hoo.”

Kim Jin-woo, who let out a long sigh, changed his expression and looked at the Harimau Labyrinth group and the Imp.

Among the people who came out to guard Deputy Director Kim Joo-hyuk, there was a face he knew well.

Lee Joon-young.

She was there, sharply raising her eyes as if she was about to draw her sword at any moment. Well, it was not strange. She and Jung Chan-sik’s group were under long-term employment with the Underground Development Corporation.

“Ike.”

While he was lost in thought for a moment, he made eye contact with her, who had turned her head. Surprised, he quickly lowered the end of his hood and bowed his head.

His heart was pounding. It would be a big problem if anyone in here recognized him as being part of the black marketeer’s group.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to recognize him. Watching her gaze pass indifferently, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps it was natural. She would not have imagined that he would be here.

“Hmm?”

But just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, Kim Jin-woo’s expression hardened as he suddenly felt the surrounding air change.

A subtle murderous intent was flowing out from among the Harimau Labyrinth’s forces, which had been tense but not at all threatening.

Some of the escort mercenaries, who were sensitive to murderous intent, were already breathing heavily and lowering their posture.

“Stand by. Do not move until ordered.”

The atmosphere was on the verge of explosion, and the sharply rising momentum of the mercenaries cooled down again at the black marketeer’s words.

Although the Harimau Labyrinth’s momentum was still fierce, Kim Jin-woo was able to breathe a sigh of relief just by the fact that this side’s momentum had subsided.

As he took a long breath, he felt a gaze looking at him.

Turning his head, he made eye contact with the black marketeer, who was looking at him with an expressionless face.

‘And when that time comes, you, Lord, will also have to make a choice.’

Looking at the eyes that did not show any emotion, the conversation before arriving at the labyrinth came to mind again.

***

“Choice? What choice?”

Kim Jin-woo frowned at the black marketeer’s question. Looking at him, the black marketeer spoke in a still low voice.

“Don’t you know? Perhaps the mercenaries and surface dwellers gathered here will engage in battle.”

The worst-case scenario, which he had vaguely thought about, became a reality through the black marketeer’s mouth. His cold voice made him feel as if he had been splashed with cold water, and he glared at the black marketeer.

“When that time comes, what will you do, Lord?”

The black marketeer asked without even blinking, slowly but clearly.

“Will you join us in eliminating those troublemakers?”

For some reason, the black marketeer seemed to be smiling.

“Or will you join your fellow humans in stopping us?”

***

In the end, Kim Jin-woo could not answer.

It was not that he was reluctant to kill now. He was already prepared to get his hands dirty as much as necessary.

He had already dealt with hunters who craved human flesh and humans who bared their teeth at him several times.

Even now, he was confident that he could deal with the ‘enemies’ who threatened him.

But the black marketeer’s question was asking something more fundamental than that.

When the time for choice came, would he side with the underground or with the humans? The black marketeer was asking exactly that.

Originally, he would naturally side with the surface dwellers.

But he had hated the underground so much, but now that he had become a part of it, he had to think about whether he could handle the aftermath if he sided with them.

The Black Merchant was willing to erase even the Black Tiger’s Labyrinth if it became a threat to the underground. He would definitely force responsibility for the choice in some way.

So he could not answer rashly. If he made a careless decision with clumsy camaraderie, everything he had achieved so far would be in vain.

Kim Jin-woo’s eyes swept over Lee Joon-young, who was fiddling with the handle of her sword. Seeing her face, his heart grew heavier, and he sighed inwardly without realizing it.

Now, he could only hope and hope that such a moment would not come. And if such a moment really came…

His gaze quickly swept over the ranks of the escort mercenaries.

The black marketeer was looking at Kim Jin-woo, who was lost in thought, with clear eyes.

***

Was the story over? Lee Joon-young ran towards the labyrinth guards.

For some reason, the Imp was restless and stomping his feet, and Deputy Director Kim Joo-hyuk was looking back and forth between the Imp and the black marketeer’s procession with a serious face.

Somehow, he had a bad feeling. He was worried that something had gone wrong, whether it was Deputy Director Kim Joo-hyuk’s serious expression or the Imp’s flustered face.

As soon as Lee Joon-young reached the guard ranks, the Harimau Labyrinth’s personnel suddenly became busy.

And in response, he could feel the bodies of the escort mercenaries tensing up. The breath of the escort mercenaries, who had been on edge due to the murderous intent of the humans, quickly became rough.

Krrk, krrrk.

At the awkward growling sound, as if something was stuck in his throat, Kim Jin-woo looked at the black marketeer without realizing it.