Records of Dungeon Travel

In the beginning, the One-Eyed Lord and the Heavenly Giant Lord hadn’t gotten along well; no, more than that, they were polar opposites of each other. The two Lords weren’t close enough to confide their secrets in each other.

Nevertheless, Kim Jin-Woo could identify one fact from their mutual ignorance. He remarked, “The One-Eyed Lord is different from the other Lords, who were just waiting for their resurrection to come. He had a mission, much like the Immoral Lord.”

That was why, even though their master had been gone for a long time, the Wardens had been able to move with one single purpose in mind.

“The only problem is that I don’t know what the purpose is,” he continued. In the end, he was back to square one, and there was no answer to that question.

“But will you be okay?” Dominique asked.

Although Dominique hadn’t clearly specified, Kim Jin-Woo easily understood what she meant. She was concerned about the ‘Night’ in her master’s body.

“This body is just a fragment. It won’t come as any surprise if there’s one more… family member inside of me,” Kim Jin-Woo replied, seemingly paying her concerns no heed.

After all, he had a knack for ruining other people’s plans as much as his own life was ruined. He was confident that he would be able to ruin the plans of those who had gotten involved with him and wanted to take control of his life.

“They’ll never get what they want,” he said firmly.

If the Wandering Lord wanted to complete the unification of the surface and the Underworld, he would find the Wish Stone and stop the Final Restoration.

And if what Night wanted was the power of the perfect Highlord, Kim Jin-Woo would vow not to covet any more powers, even if it meant devouring all the other Nobles of the Underworld. After all, even without absorbing the power of the other Highlords, he was already the most powerful Lord in the Underworld.

Kim Jin-Woo had two options left. Now was the time for him to make a choice so that moving on, he would no longer be fooled by those who tried to deceive him by mixing lies with truths.

“Both options are too dangerous.” Dominique and the other summons requested that he find another way.

Kim Jin-Woo shook his head and replied, “I don’t have time. If I start moving after the Underworld is unified, it’ll be too late.” If the Underworld reached its state of perfection, he would be left with fewer options. Knowing that fact well, he knew he had to make an unreasonable choice.

“The Throne of Truth is too dangerous. There’s no guarantee that this time, it’ll only take one eye in return, as in the case of the One-Eyed Lord. And even if you’re lucky and things turn out better than expected, there’s no guarantee that the Throne of Truth will show the complete truth Master seeks. In that case, it’d be better to trust the White Raven’s information.”

Dominique advised that he take the path of self-actualization and seek the truth himself, rather than passively accepting the ‘Truth’ that the Throne of Truth would throw at him, at whatever cost it would take.

“I agree.” Kim Jin-Woo decided to accept her advice. However, he continued, “But before that, I need to obtain the Wish Stone.”

There was still no news from either the Queen of Corruption, who had been seeking a way to survive via the Wish Stone, or Mimir, who was supposed to act as the communication link between Kim Jin-Woo and Bryntess.

“Angela, it seems as if those Reapers are slowing down Mimir. Head out and find him,” Kim Jin-Woo ordered.

“I hate that awful guy, but if Master wishes it… As you wish,” Angela replied.

“If the situation takes a turn for the worse, abandon the others. The one we need is Mimir,” Kim Jin-Woo added.

Without delay, Angela opened the border gates and disappeared into the distance.

“Dominique, find a way to contain the others while I’m away,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

“Yes, Master. I’ll definitely find a way,” Dominique replied.

“Rikshasha, I’ll have to trouble you a little more. Send out the Under-Elves and continue the expedition. We have to confirm exactly to what extent the Underworld has expanded,” Kim Jin-Woo ordered the Under-Elf.

“As the King wills,” Rikshasha replied.

Following Kim Jin-Woo’s instructions, the summons left. After a while, however, Rikshasha returned early from her expedition. She wasn’t alone; she was accompanied by other Underworld beasts of several different races. She explained, “The Nobles of the Underworld have sent envoys to entrust themselves to you.”

Apparently, the chaos the Reapers were creating was more severe than expected. Even the mighty Duke-level labyrinths had been swarmed by monsters that had the power to consume a labyrinth within a single day; thus, their concerns were more than valid.

The Nobles each requested for protection in return for their allegiance. Naturally, Kim Jin-Woo granted all their requests. “The cunning Nobles will somehow find excuses to keep their lives after this crisis is over,” he remarked.

“But this time, they’ll end up regretting their deceitful actions. Master won’t let them off easily,” Rikshasha said.

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t answer. But based on the twisted smile hanging from the corners of his lips, it was clear that the Nobles weren’t going to have a good ending.

While Kim Jin-Woo was meeting his guests, Angela returned with Mimir. She threw the pale-looking imp in front of him and reported on the situation. “As Master guessed, the Reapers were running rampant everywhere, so this imp was having a tough time getting around.”

She explained that by the time she had met up with Mimir, more than half of the Black Merchants had already been under attack by the monsters, and thus, as per Kim Jin-Woo’s orders, she had rescued Mimir first.

“M-Milord! If you just take me away like this, what will happen to my subordinates?!” Mimir abandoned all his previous dignity as he began rolling around on the ground like a pig in mud, kicking in the air as he begged. “The mercenaries are one thing, but my own clanmates…!”

Mimir was completely desperate, having lost his Treasury recently, and thus all the power he had built up over the years. Now, he had even lost his clanmates.

“The situation wasn’t favorable enough to save them as well. Be content that at least you’re alive.” Kim Jin-Woo didn’t even raise an eyebrow at Mimir’s desperate plea. Perhaps it was because he felt that was the price the imp had to pay for having taken advantage of so many others countless times.

“Please! Please show mercy and generosity by saving my own clanmates. I’ll do anything you ask!” Mimir pleaded.

Could a sense of fraternity even exist in such an insidious imp? Kim Jin-Woo looked at the imp who clung onto him desperately like never before, before finally speaking. “Alright. I’ll listen to your request. But I won’t be able to save everyone.”

“W-what do you mean?” Mimir asked.

“You’ll choose who will be saved. Ten people would be sufficient for your clan’s survival in the future,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

“M-Milord! No, I mean, Master! Please, a bit more mercy!” Mimir screamed his lungs out, but Kim Jin-Woo was immovable.

The Reapers who had already messed up the entire Underworld were monsters that were difficult to deal with for anyone who wasn’t a Highlord, and Kim Jin-Woo had no intention of sending his own men to their deaths for the sake of the sly imp and his clan.

It was quite the pleasant spectacle to see the sickening imp, who had forced so many others to make choices for his own sadistic pleasure, suffer in the same manner.

“Quite the tough predicament you’re in. You have to decide on your own which ones to kill and which ones to save,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. Seeing Mimir collapsed onto the ground with a stunned expression, he laughed to his heart’s content.

While the little imp struggled with the decision for the lives of his clanmates, Kim Jin-Woo called for his summons and gave them secret orders. “The Reapers probably aren’t interested in the riches of the Black Merchants. Once they’re done, quietly retrieve all the wealth collected by the imps.”

“But the Under-Elves won’t be able to bring back much. It’s literally hell out there right now,” Angela remarked.

Rikshasha lowered her head with a dark expression. She wasn’t sure she could even fully carry out Kim Jin-Woo’s orders, even if she was willing to put her life on the line, which made her feel reluctant.

“Before you go, find the Beastfolk King. And tell him about the existence of the various Beastfolk tho were enslaved by the Black Merchants. That will force him to act,” Kim Jin-Woo added.

The Beastfolk King would definitely need his kin as subordinates to grow his powers. Thus, he would definitely be willing to go through the trouble of saving the Beastfolk from the Reapers.

“After tailing the Beastfolk King and the Beastfolk, pull out as and when you see fit,” Kim Jin-Woo instructed.

“As the King wills,” Rikshasha replied.

Perhaps because Kim Jin-Woo had once lived as a tunnel digger, he was extra tolerant of the slaves of the Underworld; he didn’t wish the enslaved Beastfolk to die needless deaths.

“Move now. There’s not much time to waste,” he added.

Thus, with their respective missions, his summons scattered all over the Underworld. The Grand Labyrinth, which had remained firmly in place despite the rapidly changing Underworld around it, had finally begun to move forward in earnest.