CH 224

“Having seen the Eternal Treasury for yourself, how do you feel?” Mimir approached Kim Jin-Woo and asked as soon as the door opened. “Did it live up to your expectations?”

Kim Jin-Woo briefly looked back at him, replying, “It was different from what I had thought, but it did live up to my expectations.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief. The Eternal Treasury is a demon. It’s a ferocious bastard who relentlessly devours those who don’t deserve it. I'm glad you’re back here safely,” Mimir said.

He had already heard about it before he entered, but now that Kim Jin-Woo had seen the Eternal Treasury with his own eyes, he knew that the feeling was different from anything he had ever experienced. The Eternal Treasury had tried to devour him whole, and he had almost lost to its temptation.

“But please don’t be discouraged. The moment you take over the One-Eyed Lord’s Castle, the Eternal Treasury will be forced to reveal itself in front of Milord, even if it doesn’t want to,” Mimir continued.

Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t disappointed. Although he had failed to peer beyond the Eternal Treasury, he had still gained something out of it. The Eternal Treasury had given him a small gift as a form of reward for overcoming its temptation.

It was a little nasty, so Kim Jin-Woo had mixed feelings about it, but seeing that it was an item from the treasure trove of the mighty One-Eyed Lord, he treasured the gift.

“That aside, how long was I in there?” he asked. As he couldn’t come to his senses due to being enchanted by the mystical lights, he had lost his sense of time.

“It wasn’t that long, but is it alright for you to continue staying here? I’m sure you have many things to worry about in your labyrinth…” Mimir dragged out his words, but it wasn’t difficult to understand what he was trying to say. He was implying that it was inconvenient that Kim Jin-Woo continued to stick around.

Having already visited the Eternal Treasury, Kim Jin-Woo followed behind Mimir as he started to make his exit. He had to go through the room full of treasures on the way back, just as he had when he entered the Treasury. However, the feeling of seeing it again was completely different from before.

“Mm.”

Perhaps it was because he had seen the life-changing light emitted by the Eternal Treasury, but the sparkling jewels, weapons and rare objects there felt like nothing to Kim Jin-Woo.

Is this why Mimir called them junk? he thought. It was almost as if he had been liberated of all other desires, as these precious objects did nothing to move him.

Perhaps having noticed Kim Jin-Woo’s expression, Mimir started talking to him. “Since ancient times, there have only been a few items I can call perfect. There are plenty of items that are decorated with gold or silver, but while they’re nice to look at, most of them were hardly useful at all.”

“Is that so?” Kim Jin-Woo looked around sullenly before nodding nonchalantly. Mimir also quietly increased his pace without saying any more.

“I know it was an urgent matter last time, but in the future, please give me a heads up in advance. At least I should be in rhythm with you so we can move forward in harmony, should I not?” Mimir asked.

He seemed to be a lot more compliant after having been forced into submission in their last encounter, possibly out of resignation due to the fact that no matter how much he would have protested against something, if Kim Jin-Woo wanted it, it would happen regardless.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kim Jin-Woo continued.”

“Then I’ll pay a visit some time soon.”

“Ah, I’ve still got matters to attend to.”

“Were you not here to see the Eternal Treasury?”

Mimir, who had finally relaxed a bit, was suddenly afraid of what his Lord might do next. It was almost pitiful seeing his eyes dart around while he broke out in cold sweat.

“Do you think I came here to find you for just that one matter?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“Then…”

“I want to meet the Wailing Lord.”

Seeing the Eternal Treasury was a bonus objective, and his main objective had been the Wailing Lord. He  thought that the Wailing Lord would be able to explain whether or not the strange hostile messages had something to do with the other Highlords.

“It’s not difficult for me to arrange a meeting with her…” Mimir began.

“But?”

“I wouldn’t recommend for you to visit now.”

Kim Jin-Woo asked Mimir to explain further with just a look of his eyes. However, the imp seemed rather reluctant to speak further, as if something had been caught in his throat.

“The Wailing Lord seems to be very angry at the moment and is on a rampage…” Mimir eventually choked out.

“Mm.”

“Although she is rather friendly to Milord, right now, I think it’s unreasonable to expect her to be the same as last time.”

“What’s making her so mad?”

“Urgh, I’m not too sure of the details myself, but I briefly overheard that someone stole something important to her.”

Mimir was clearly right. It was true that Catherine, the Wailing Lord, was exceptionally nice to Kim Jin-Woo, but she wasn’t that kind of woman by nature. The madness and hatred hidden behind her cheerful face was still vivid in his mind, and he was soon compelled to accept Mimir’s words.

“What the hell did she lose…”

“I’m not too sure either. I just heard that it was something very important to her.”

One thing was for certain, however; if something was highly important to a Highlord like her, it must have been an exceptional item.

Kim Jin-Woo wondered who had dared to disturb the sleeping lion, but seeing Mimir’s expression, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get an answer right now. Thus, he decided to meet Catherine for the time being.

“Um, I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Mimir protested weakly.

Kim Jin-Woo replied, “I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry.”

In the end, not having the guts to refuse his Lord’s orders, Mimir led him to the land ruled by the Wailing Lord. He said, “I can’t be with you, so from here on out, you’ll have to go alone.”

Even if the Wailing Lord wasn’t in a state of hysteria by sheer luck, only Kim Jin-Woo, who was of equal stature to the Wailing Lord, could stand side-by-side with her. Mimir, on the other hand, refused to accompany him, saying that it was something in which he couldn’t even count on his own safety.

Kim Jin-Woo also didn’t wish to see Mimir being put in a rough position; thus, he stepped into the portal alone.

But ultimately, he was unable to meet Catherine. Her messenger seemed to have known that he was coming, as he greeted Kim Jin-Woo the moment he stepped through the portal, blocking his way. The messenger said, “Master is currently away. She expected you to pay a visit, so she told me to pass on a message to you upon your arrival.”

As Mimir had said, the situation must have been really bad, as the messenger had an even sharper attitude than before as he relayed a brief message after explaining the absence of his master.

‘If you wait, I’ll come looking for you soon.’

With those few short words, Kim Jin-Woo had to turn back; thus, the only gain he had gotten out of his visit was seeing what the Other Underworld looked like.

Unlike his own Underworld, which was filled with narrow and dark tunnels, a vast expansive space filled the Other Underworld with a dull, colorless shade.

A soft illumination flowed from somewhere across the Other Underworld, making it look more like a desert on the surface with the moon glowing over it.

Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t sure if that was a change caused by the Restoration, or whether the Other Underworld had looked like this from the beginning, but it was clear that it was truly a sight to behold.

But he wouldn’t have thought that way if he didn’t know about the surface. His world was so wide that he had spent days in shock just thinking about its vast size.

He soon fell into deep thought as he recalled the messenger’s sharp attitude.

“No way…”

He was suddenly worried that the cherished thing Catherine had lost might be someone he knew.

“It can’t be.”

He immediately shook his head, as thoughts of the girl who knew much about the surface came to his mind.

Looking back, the abilities she had displayed weren’t all that great, but then again, she had never been a person who drew much admiration. That was why she had survived in the Underworld and managed to live beside a Highlord.

Kim Jin-Woo shook his head violently as if to shake off his worries. He belatedly searched his possessions and pulled out something the size of his palm.

It had a rather dull color and looked as if it had been made of ground bones, its shape wasn’t particularly unique, and it looked as if it could only be used in a Peking Opera. It was a mask that looked as if it were neither smiling nor crying, a gift given to him by the Eternal Treasury.

[Mask of the Hypocrite]

[This is a small gift given to you by the Eternal Treasury for overcoming eternal temptations, not with your temperance or perseverance, but with your Greed that was even greater than the temptation itself.]

[This mask was used by someone as powerful as the Highlord in the past.]

[Nothing is known about its effects when worn, nor about its detailed history.]

[In order to know how to use it, you have no choice but to try on the mask yourself.]

It had been described as a gift of respect, but the name indicated otherwise.

In addition, as soon as he held it in his hand, even the instructions from the messages were brief, and with nobody to tell him what kind of item the mask was, Kim Jin-Woo was highly reluctant to try it on.

Part of that was because artifacts in the Underworld were not all necessarily auspicious and good.

There were also artifacts that corrupted their owners and even destroyed them, and Kim Jin-Woo suspected that the Mask of the Hypocrite might be one of them.

However, he was too curious about its history to simply throw it away; but still, he was also too uncomfortable about his future to start using it. He stared at it for a long time, contemplating what to do next before finally putting the mask away again.

If it had been any other moment, he might have considered trying it on, but right now, even the Mysteries of the Underworld that had used to protect him had now turned heir backs against him, so the risk was far greater than ever.

Besides, he wasn’t in such a leisurely position that he could tied down by an artifact he didn’t know was useful or not.

Although the crisis was over for a while, there were still unknown Dukes’ labyrinths all around the Grand Labyrinth, and as time went on, they would surely repair the damage from the earthquake and restore themselves to their former prestige.

“Oh no, I’ve lost contact with the Greed Slimes I’ve sent out for reconnaissance,” Uther suddenly said.

Ever since Kim Jin-Woo had left Uther in charge of the dangerous task of reconnaissance of the enemy labyrinths, his body, which had once swelled up after absorbing all the Veins’ energies, was now much smaller.

“That aside, there’s still a lot left on you,” Kim Jin-Woo said, totally unmoved by Uther’s whining. No matter how thin Uther became, there was still plenty of slime left on him.

“How could that be?! If you take any more off me, I’ll die! I’ll die, I’m telling you!” Uther gave it all his might as he forcibly pulled out another lump of slime, sounding as if he were dying. However, no matter how much strength he tried to squeeze out, his body didn’ shrink, and his body continued to wobble around as he moved.

“Cut the nonsense and spread them evenly in all directions,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

“Urgh.” Uther grumbled, but he eventually gave up on his greed, and Greed Slimes began to flow everywhere once again.

“But speaking of which…” Uther, who had been shaking his body as he dispatched his Greed Slimes, suddenly spoke up as if he had remembered something. “Where did all the bustling Moai disappear to?”

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