Records of Dungeon Travel

Chapter 293

The Deep Floors of the Underworld were a completely different world. Kim Jin-Woo even forgot the passage of time, as he was too busy engaging in combat with the various attacking monsters.

“Phew.” He let out a long sigh as he watched the corpse of a giant, who had been running screaming at him just moments before, scatter like dust in the wind. His breath carried a deep sense of exhaustion.

It wasn’t his physical energy that was being drained. As long as he had the power of Greed and there were monsters flocking to him like moths to a flame, he wouldn’t experience physical exhaustion.

Rather, it was his mental fortitude that was starting to wear down. It was already a burden that he had to leave his own Floor and wander around, and it was getting tiresome to continuously fight monsters whose resentment towards him ran deep, and who would come from all corners of the Underworld to enact their vengeance.

It was almost as if he were returning to his past, when he had to wander the Underworld alone.

Had he grown weak?

It seemed he had gotten too used to being around others without even realizing it. Otherwise, there was no way he would feel such deep fatigue from wandering alone.

Kim Jin-Woo even began to think that the entirety of the Underworld loathed his existence. That seemed to be the case with the monsters who rushed to block his path no matter what it took, and despite his confidence in his navigational skills, the constantly changing topography of the Underworld seemed to further reinforce his thoughts. It was as if the entire Underworld were doing its best to block his path.

The stronger the pressure, the more he clenched his teeth and pushed forward with each step. If the Underworld wanted to become one with the surface, he could feel that every step he took was something neither the Underworld nor the Ancient Lords wanted.

As if to confirm his suspicions, he soon encountered a giant with a stronger presence than any other monster he had ever met. The giant, whose skin looked red as if it were covered in his own blood, tried to initiate a conversation with him instead of rushing toward him like the other Reapers.

“How peculiar. Don’t you resent me?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

<I was watching you from a distance. And I am finally convinced.>

The giant revealed that from his observation of the annihilation Kim Jin-Woo had bestowed upon the other Reapers, he had been convinced that Kim Jin-Woo was different from the other Highlords.

“And is that important?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

<It is important. It is more important than anything else. I felt it was pointless to be hostile toward you.>

Hearing the giant’s murky voice echoing in his head, Kim Jin-Woo asked, “So, what is it that you want?”

<I saw the ‘Demon’ within you, and I felt its malice. So we have decided not to stand in your way any longer.>

“‘We’?”

<I am the Reaper among Reapers, the enemy of the Lords who was appointed from the beginning. And we have come to a decision together, that we will no longer be blocking your path.>

It appeared the giant was rather high up in the hierarchy of the Reapers. Upon hearing the unexpected remark, Kim Jin-Woo replied with a simple, “That’s great.”

However, the moment of peace lasted only for a brief moment. He immediately erased the annoyed expression he’d had and remarked seriously, “Since you’ve already come to that conclusion, why not be a little bit more generous?”

The red giant tilted his head, unable to comprehend the request. Kim Jin-Woo added, “I’ve never had the chance to talk to you in the past, but the truth is, my objective isn’t that different from yours.”

<You are saying something I do not understand.>

The giant still didn’t seem to understand what he was saying.

“Simply put,” Kim Jin-Woo began. He suggested, “I want you to help me.”

The red giant had spoken the truth. The Reapers that had been attacking Kim Jin-Woo on all fronts were now gone, and none blocked his path. Thanks to that, he would be able to go on his way quietly.

But it was far too quiet. The changed Underworld felt like silence itself. There were no creatures hiding in the dark and screaming, and there were no labyrinths guarding against unwanted visitors.

Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t tell if they had all been completely annihilated by the Reapers, or if the Floor had been that way beforehand, but ultimately, he only knew for a fact that the silence wasn’t normal at all. He would even have preferred to have continued fighting the monsters. He sighed as he heard his footsteps echo through the quiet passageway.

He walked. And walked. And walked.

Then, he found another passageway and threw himself into the darkness. He walked for an indescribable amount of time toward the Deep Floors of the Underworld. And then, when he discovered another passageway that felt like a totally different dimension from before, he stopped in his tracks.

Don’t enter. Don’t enter. You can’t enter this place.

It was as if the passageway itself were warning him. The Underworld itself, now removed of the threat of the Reapers, seemed to be giving him one final warning.

But to Kim Jin-Woo, the ominous feeling that had been growing stronger by the minute was nothing more than the moan of the Underworld itself, and he took a moment to catch his breath before shaking off that feeling.

“I’m sorry. I can’t heed your warning.” As if having a conversation with a sentient being, Kim Jin-Woo spoke before taking another step forward.

After feeling the same pressure and floating feeling he had felt several times, his body was completely engulfed in the darkness before being thrown into the passageway.

After he crossed through the passageway, a world completely different from the Underworld he had seen thus far unfolded before his eyes: A lake filled with deep blue water. Cliffs as far as the eye could see, as sharp as if they had been cut with a knife. A huge forest with no end in sight. It was hard to believe such a scene belonged to the Underworld.

“What in the…” Kim Jin-Woo explained.

There was something else that surprised him even further, and that was a single orb of light, floating in the void of the Underworld that was as black as the night sky. But instead of a blazing hot sun, the light resembled a cold full moon.

It was truly a spectacular sight. Who could ever believe it was one that could be found in the Underworld?

However, Kim Jin-Woo didn’t even have a moment to enjoy the view. Across the pale blue landscape, he saw a shadow that felt instantly familiar. Seeing the white hem of the shadow’s clothing fluttering as if it had been caught in the wind, he narrowed his eyes and glared.

Crash!

His body moved before his thoughts even finished processing. The moment he came to his senses, he was already sprinting across the ground and toward the shadow. However, for some reason, his swift steps that no other enemy could catch up to normally felt unusually sluggish.

“Damn it!” Kim Jin-Woo swore. No matter how much he ran, the distance didn’t seem to close between him and the shadow, and he couldn’t help but grind his teeth in frustration, yelling,“Arrrrrrgh!”

Eventually, he had to watch the shadow’s white hem disappear into the thick forest. That forest seemed so carefree, as if nothing had happened even after swallowing the shadow he had been chasing so desperately.

“Why? Why?!” Frustrated by his own helplessness, Kim Jin-Woo slammed his clenched fist against his thigh several times. However, he knew that wouldn’t make the shadow reappear.

“I’m pathetic.” He belatedly took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. He had thought that he would be completely alright seeing her once again, but the mere sight of just the hem of her clothing had made him go mad.

He rubbed his eyes, which were still burning hot from his feverish rush, before starting to regain his composure. He muttered, “Anyway, it’s clear that this is the deepest of the Deep Floors.”

The deepest part of the Underworld had once belonged to one of the Ancient Lords, but had since been reserved only for the Usurper, who had been reigning as the one and only king. The fact that she had appeared, even if at a distance, was proof that Kim Jin-Woo had come to the right location.

“Phew…” he sighed.

There was no need for him to have such conflicted thoughts. Her brightness had been a candle of deceit built on lies, and the warmth of her fingers had been no different from the dark breath of someone hiding their true intentions. She was his enemy.

The clear dichotomy that applied in the Underworld—the simple law that had helped him separate him from his enemies—was helping him now.

He quickly regained his composure before belatedly realizing that he was in the middle of the forest.

Swooooooosh.

The trees’ bare branches swayed along with the wind, before reaching out and pointing in one direction.

“You’re doing whatever you want now, huh,” Kim Jin-Woo muttered. Now that he had completely regained his usual arrogance, he looked at the path that the forest had made and sneered cynically.

‘Sure, I’ll play for now. But after that, I’ll do whatever I want,’ Kim Jin-Woo thought to himself as he followed the guidance of the forest to where the white hem had disappeared.

The forest was many times larger than it had looked from afar. Kim Jin-Woo continued walking along the sea of black vegetation that seemed as if it would never end no matter how long he walked, muttering, “How tiresome.”

In the empty, desolate forest, there was literally nothing to be found but trees. Even common wild creatures were nowhere to be found.

But that didn’t mean the forest was truly quiet. The trees kept whispering, their bare branches brushing against the wind, and soon, Kim Jin-Woo grew tired of their senseless whispers. Despite that, he couldn’t stop walking because of the growing ominous feeling.

He slowed down to catch his breath. The pressure hadn’t let up the slightest bit. The darkness that had been getting denser, as if it were pushing down on him, was different from the darkness of the Underworld he was so familiar with. The pale moonlight made it even colder and more unfamiliar. Its bluish hue was slowly choking him.

However, he didn’t hurry along. He didn’t flee in terror, nor did he turn on his heel and try to escape the woods. The entire Underworld was denying him, and even the air he was breathing was slowly turning against him, as if grabbing him by the throat, but he endured through all the discomfort.

If this was her labyrinth, there had to be traps. The more he rushed, the more the snares she had prepared would catch him. Ready to bring out his powers at any time, Kim Jin-Woo continued to press forward.

However, contrary to his expectations, he didn’t encounter any threats until he left the forest. Leaving just the gloomy atmosphere, the forest suddenly ended. The trees, which had been guiding Kim Jin-Woo along a certain path the whole time, suddenly stopped doing so as if they had completed their task.

Next, the lake began guiding Kim Jin-Woo instead. Its calm surface seemed to be pointing in one direction. He walked along its general direction. When he reached the end of the lake, he was finally able to meet the one person he had so longed to reunite with.

“Usurper.”

Perhaps because he had let out his anger all at once, the voice that came out of Kim Jin-Woo’s mouth was so cold and sullen that it surprised even him.

“You don’t call me what you used to anymore.”

Her feminine features were the same, as if they had last seen each other just yesterday, but there was a hint of pity in her expression as she continued speaking.

“Hello, my little Jin-Woo.”

With the hem of her pure white robe swaying in the wind, Kim Jin-Woo was finally reunited with So-Hee.