Chapter 119

The creatures’ raw red flesh was exposed, lacking any sort of skin. They were each holding a weapon, but Kim Jin-Woo found them very familiar. As it happened, they were holding knives and spears that were identical to the ones explorers commonly used.

No way, Kim Jin-Woo thought to himself. But his suspicions were soon confirmed to be correct. Song Jong-Chul and the other explorers were completely unfazed by the creatures’ appearance.

“You guys are very late this time.” Shockingly, one of the creatures spoke. It was a giant that was around two and a half meters tall.

Despite its humongous size, Song Jong-Chul spoke casually to it as if it were any other person. “What do you mean, late? Our guys paid you a visit not too long ago!”

Song Jong-Chul then turned to Kim Jin-Woo and gave him a wink. Everything clicked at that moment for Kim Jin-Woo as he realized what Song Jong-Chul had meant by a secret passageway.

Surprisingly, Song Jong-Chul had ties to the Underworld forces. And Kim Jin-Woo was certain that they, in turn, had ties to the Deep Floors. In hindsight, there was no way Song Jong-Chul would have visited the wrong labyrinth after talking so much about the secret passageway.

“We’re humans, you know? We’ve got to use our heads. Just fighting all the time won’t get us anywhere,” Song Jong-Chul sasid.

And with that, the true identity of the secret passageway was confirmed.

“We use this labyrinth to access the Deep Floors. Of course, it’s not for free, but compared to all the trouble we save, it’s a small fortune to pay.”

“Fortune?”

“Well, we can’t really call it a fortune to be honest, since it’s all pretty much valueless junk on the surface. Isn’t it funny? The Underworld values highly what we perceive as trash.” Song Jong-Chul chuckled in a low voice as he looked at the creatures.

Kim Jin-Woo could finally see the bigger picture, and understood what the explorers were carrying in their backpacks. Now, he also finally understood how the 10th Floor Nobles were getting all their random pieces of surface items.

“Hold on. Let me introduce you to them. That way, you can use the passageway too, my friend,” Song Jong-Chul said, offering to get Kim Jin-Woo acquainted with the creatures.

However, Kim Jin-Woo refused. “No, that’s fine. Now that I know what it is, that’s good enough for me.”

“Ah? Do you feel out of place? Don’t worry. We’ve been dealing with these friends for a long time. At the very least, they’re more reasonable than humans, so even if you don’t trust them completely, you don’t have to be so wary of them,” Song Jong-Chul said. He was completely off the mark, however, as Kim Jin-Woo had a different reason for his refusal.

It was because while he was a dungeon baby and an explorer on the surface, he was also a proud Viscount and labyrinth master of the Underworld. Right now, his rank was so high that the creatures had yet to notice his presence, but should he come forth and reveal himself, it would be rather troublesome.

In the worst case scenario, Kim Jin-Woo’s identity would be completely exposed to Song Jong-Chul and the explorers. He wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

He suppressed his presence as much as he could, trying to blend into the background. Thankfully, the creatures were preoccupied by the goods that the explorers had brought forth.

“I gratefully decline. There’s no reason for me to visit the Deep Floors now, anyway. I’m satisfied with seeing the secret passageway,” Kim Jin-Woo finally said.

“You sure are a careful one, despite being a Level 12. Oh well, maybe that’s exactly why you were able to survive such depths and make it out alive.” Song Jong-Chul half-exclaimed, half-teased Kim Jin-Woo as he turned back to talk to the creatures.

***

Kim Jin-Woo and the rest returned to the surface, and he was satisfied with the unexpected amount of information he had gotten out of this trip. Song Jong-Chul also seemed to have been pleased with the team’s cohesion, and was chirpier than usual.

Kim Jin-Woo now understood that the Explorer’s Association had long-running ties with the Underworld, despite having obtained only fragments of information on the Underworld from various sources.

“Anyway, think over it again. Once things settle down, we can head to the Deep Floors together too. I’ve told you this before, but there’s no one else who knows the Deep Floors like we do,” Song Jong-Chul said. He went on for a long time about the benefits of the Deep Floors before finally letting Kim Jin-Woo go.

The first order of business for Kim Jin-Woo was to head to the Party Hall.

“Master.” Yoon-Hee belatedly greeted him on his arrival, presumably busy with something.

“Don’t mind me. I’m here for some other matters today.” Kim Jin-Woo observed the Party Hall, which had made tremendous progress recently, before heading out.

The purpose of his stay in the Underworld this time wasn’t the Party Hall, nor was it Yoon-Hee. He wanted to find out more about the mysterious labyrinth that had connections to the Explorer’s Association.

Using his Guidance ability, he was able to reach his destination in a short time by following the completed map. Pulling down on his hood, he silently waited in front of the labyrinth, waiting for anyone to appear.

He didn’t have to wait long. Soon after, skinless guards appeared from all corners of the labyrinth.

“I would like to meet your king,” Kim Jin-Woo said. As his words rang out, his Underworld Noble powers were activated.

The creatures that surrounded the mysterious visitor shuddered in fear as he commanded, “Call forth your king.”

Although it didn’t seem as if the creatures understood his words, they seemed to have at least understood the intent behind them, as one of them ran toward the interior of the labyrinth.

Shortly after, the creature returned with the giant who had talked to Song Jong-Chul during their visit.

[The Underworld Noble’s unique ability, ‘Noble's Majesty—Lesser Grade’, has been activated.]

[Your opponent is a Noble. He is able to maintain his sanity.]

[However, the difference in presence is too great for your opponent to mount a full resistance.]

[Your opponent has half-succeeded in resisting the effects of ‘Noble’s Majesty—Lesser Grade’. A limited intimidation effect will take place. Your opponent will be split between fear and vigilance toward you.]

[Your opponent is confused by the limited intimidation effect.]

[They will break free of the intimidation effect upon receiving a strong shock.]

Kim Jin-Woo smirked as the giant’s half rotten jaw dropped, asking, “Who’s your master?”

“B... Baron Ustus from the Deep Floors…”

And thus, Kim Jin-Woo’s interrogation started.

***

Thanks to the giant not being fully affected by the intimidation effect, Kim Jin-Woo was paradoxically able to get more out of the giant than he had hoped for. In his state of confusion, the giant revealed everything he knew as he lay collapsed and exhausted.

The skinless creature was Molzark, King of the Ghouls, and he had been specially appointed by Baron Ustus to form a trade route with the Terrans.

Perhaps due to his forced loyalty to his master, Molzark didn’t comment on Ustus at all, but instead told Kim Jin-Woo everything he knew about the Terrans.

Molzark’s information revealed a shocking secret.

“There were dungeon babies released before the war ended?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

It was common knowledge that all the dungeon babies had been released only after the end of the war. But Molzark revealed otherwise, and that he had been acting as the bridge between those dungeon babies and the Deep Floor nobles.

When Kim Jin-Woo heard this, there was only one thing that popped into his mind:

Turncoat.

There were dungeon babies that were colluding with the Underworld. And at the center of them all was Song Jong-Chul. The creation of the Explorer’s Association, the way the dungeon babies were loyal to him like a cult, everything just made sense.

But Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t figure out the motive behind it all.

Thus, he ordered Molzark to help him meet with Ustus. While he was so confused he couldn’t tell an Underworld Noble and a Terran apart, Molzark readily opened a portal for Kim Jin-Woo.

Kim Jin-Woo looked beyond the portal and tilted his head slightly. The sight beyond the portal was oddly unfamiliar. The Labyrinth Core that was supposed to be there wasn’t present at all, and neither was the throne.

With his hand on the knife at his side, ready to summon his troops in an instant, Kim Jin-Woo carefully crossed through the portal.

“Hmm…”

It was exactly as he had expected. The portal wasn’t connected to the center of a labyrinth, but to a secret room instead. That alone shattered the premise that portals could only be connected to the Labyrinth Core.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings before opening the door of the secret room. As soon as he opened the door, dozens of creatures quickly surrounded him.

Kim Jin-Woo tried to retreat, but he saw Molzark and his ghouls waiting for him as well.

“I’ve been had.” Looking at the giant’s cold eyes, Kim Jin-Woo realized that Molzark had only been pretending to be under his influence the entire time.

Kim Jin-Woo cursed under his breath as his grip tightened on his knife. This wasn’t beyond his expectations. He’d known that there was no way he would be able to get to the center of a labyrinth without running into trouble. And opening a portal required the permission of the master, which meant that it was a given to see Ustus’ troops waiting for him on the receiving end of the portal.

But despite that, Kim Jin-Woo had taken the risk, as he was confident in his ability to escape the 10th Floor by any means necessary.

Blue streams of light started to flow from his eyes as he said, “If only you had just let me off, nobody would have had to get hurt. Tsk.”

With that, he quickly glanced ahead and behind him to size up his opponents, all while planning his escape route.

“Phew.”

It was a long thought process, but his actions were swift. But before he could charge backward toward the 7th Floor ghouls, he had to compose himself.

“Welcome, Undefeated Commander and the sole Underworld Conqueror.” A formidable commanding voice called out to Kim Jin-Woo.

Kim Jin-Woo turned back to face the strange being that was looking at him. Its humongous body… no, it was too strange to be called a body... But regardless, a monster with a large eye forming its main body had appeared in front of him.

“Welcome. I am the One-Eyed King, Ustus.”