Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Hero's Locket
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Upon arriving at the base, Kang-seok evenly distributed the gold coins and then sat down with Seong Yu-jin. It was to exchange Kron.
The amount of Kron they received for defeating Aden, the Gnoll King, varied for each person.
Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong, who had lost consciousness during the battle, each received 500 Kron. Seong Yu-jin, who had remained conscious, got 2,000 Kron. Kang-seok, the MVP, received 4,000 Kron.
Seong Yu-jin had used up even her newly acquired Kron to save Kang-seok, leaving her with almost none.
Seeing Kang-seok sharing Kron with Seong Yu-jin, Kim Kang-san cautiously spoke up.
“Mr. Kang-seok, it isn't much, but could I transfer some of my Kron to you?”
“M-me too….”
Unlike Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin, the two of them had their remaining survival time and Kron fully intact.
Moreover, they had each gained 500 Kron for defeating the Gnoll King, Aden. While more was always better, they were in a more comfortable position than Kang-seok or Seong Yu-jin.
Kang-seok looked over and saw that Kim Kang-san seemed sincere, while Park Han-yeong appeared to have been swept up in the moment. Her eyes held a slight worry, as if she were concerned about what she would do if Kang-seok actually accepted.
Just like Seong Yu-jin, both Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong were very human.
Kang-seok shook his head.
“No, it’s fine.”
“But….”
“I have my reasons. So you don’t need to feel so sorry.”
Kang-seok said firmly. Seong Yu-jin asked on behalf of Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong.
“Reasons?”
“Yeah, reasons. I thought of something on the way here.”
“Could you tell us?”
Kim Kang-san asked in a serious tone. He knew Kang-seok wouldn't refuse Kron for a trivial reason.
Before explaining, Kang-seok faced Kim Kang-san. It was only because Kim Kang-san had offered his Kron that Kang-seok finally revealed the decision he had settled on.
* * *
The journey back up from the 5th floor to the 1st was remarkably smooth. Just as Kang-seok had initially predicted, the monsters grew weaker the closer they got to the surface.
With their only goal being to push through, they were able to reach the 1st floor in just four days, even while proceeding at a relaxed pace.
The 1st floor of the Labyrinthos dungeon.
The entrance and exit that connected to the outside world.
But Kang-seok didn't open the door and step outside. He chose to remain in the dungeon with Seong Yu-jin.
Their amount of Kron was still too low to venture out readily.
He had squandered an enormous amount of time and Kron for Transcendence.
There was no guarantee that monsters would appear outside the dungeon.
So, he had to recover his Kron through what one might call 'grinding'.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin would remain in the Labyrinthos dungeon.
But there was no need for Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong to do the same.
“Understood. We'll go out first and scout the area.”
Kim Kang-san said with a serious expression.
The world outside the dungeon.
Kang-seok presumed that Leif Erikson and his companions were not Players. If they had been, the journal would have been written in an Earth language like Korean or English, not an unknown tongue.
A world existed outside the dungeon.
Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong would be the first to step outside. They would scout the surroundings, gather food if possible, and then return to the dungeon to rejoin Kang-seok.
It might have been a somewhat reckless plan, given the unknown situation outside, but the four of them couldn't just stay in the dungeon forever.
Furthermore, though it was a slightly materialistic calculation, reducing their numbers would help Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin gather enough Kron to leave as quickly as possible. The same went for their food supply.
Kim Kang-san had also leveled up quite a bit on the way to the 1st floor. Park Han-yeong, too, had started to properly learn how to fight after the battle with Aden.
‘If Mr. Kang-san’s affability and eloquence were combined with Park Han-yeong’s map-making skills….’
He had a good feeling about it.
They might even achieve results beyond his imagination.
The entrance to the Labyrinthos dungeon.
Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin, Kim Kang-san, and Park Han-yeong stood before the place, which resembled a massive castle gate. Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin faced the stairs leading to the gate, while Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong stood with their backs to them.
Kang-seok spoke first.
“I wish you good luck.”
Kim Kang-san grinned.
“Good luck to you too.”
“M-me too!”
Park Han-yeong stammered, and Seong Yu-jin waved her hand.
Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong climbed the stairs. They opened the heavy door and stepped outside the dungeon.
For a brief moment, sunlight poured in from the outside.
The door closed again. Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong were outside, and now only Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin remained in the dungeon.
Feeling a strange mix of relief and regret, Kang-seok let his shoulders slump. He spoke playfully to Seong Yu-jin, who was still gazing up at the door.
“Now it’s just the two of us, huh?”
He had said it lightly to change the mood, but Seong Yu-jin’s reaction was unexpected. She hugged her shoulders with both arms and spoke in a slightly chiding tone.
“You’re having dirty thoughts right now, aren’t you?”
Kang-seok quietly rolled his eyes. Then he let out a chuckle.
* * *
After parting ways with Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin headed back down to the lower floors of the dungeon.
The monsters on the lower floors were stronger, but they also gave more Kron and experience.
There were no more powerful monsters like Aden, the Gnoll King, left in Labyrinthos. Thanks to his title, he no longer had to worry about being surrounded by large groups of them, so they could earn Kron at a fairly leisurely pace.
And so, on the fifth day.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had reached their first base on the 10th floor of the dungeon.
“It’s been a while.”
“Honestly, I’m not that happy to be back.”
The 10th-floor base they called the ‘great room.’ Though it had only been a few days, they had been through so much that it felt like they were returning after several months.
Kang-seok briefly looked around the great room before shaking his head. This wasn't the time to be lost in a strange sort of nostalgia.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Together, they opened the door leading to the lowest floor. At the bottom of the long staircase lay the corpse of the bull-headed monster.
It had rotted considerably over the past few days, and the stench was foul. Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin did their best to ignore the monster’s corpse as they crossed the corridor.
The real reason Kang-seok had returned to the lowest floor with Seong Yu-jin.
“Demonic Beast Barbatos.”
The red monster with six horns.
The master of the Labyrinthos dungeon.
Leif Erikson and his companions had entered this dungeon to defeat Barbatos. The journal didn't explain why they wanted to slay it. All Kang-seok knew was that Barbatos was a demonic beast so powerful it couldn't even be compared to Aden, the Gnoll King.
“It hasn’t changed at all.”
Seong Yu-jin stared at Barbatos’s corpse with a look of revulsion. Unlike the bull-headed monster, it hadn't decayed in the slightest.
“This thing… it is dead, right?”
Her voice was slightly fearful. Kang-seok took a deep breath before approaching the corpse.
“Probably.”
He had already examined Barbatos's corpse once when he first met Seong Yu-jin. He wasn't hoping to suddenly discover a new item now.
What interested Kang-seok wasn't the body of Barbatos, but the body of the ‘hero.’
The skeleton clutching the sword plunged into the center of Barbatos’s chest.
Following Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin climbed onto Barbatos's chest and placed a trembling hand on the hero's sword.
“The demonic sword, Dainsleif. A cursed blade said to lead its wielder to their death. Over hundreds of years, it has passed through the hands of countless owners, growing its demonic energy.”
Seong Yu-jin’s face turned pale as she finished speaking. But she didn't immediately pull her hand away. Clenching her teeth, she endured and continued to read the history and performance of the demonic sword, Dainsleif.
“Number of users to date: 117. All of them… dead. In exchange for consuming the owner's life, it can grant a one-time, massive boost to their stats.”
Having read that far, Seong Yu-jin quickly snatched her hand away from Dainsleif. A purple aura had risen from its blade and hilt.
Fortunately, the purple aura soon dissipated. It seemed to have tried, and failed, to make Seong Yu-jin its 118th owner.
Kang-seok comforted the startled and panting Seong Yu-jin.
“That’s enough. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I wasn't planning on taking this sword anyway.”
Kang-seok turned his gaze to the hero's skeleton. This was the third time he had faced it.
But in truth, he hadn't examined it properly the first two times. He had only given it a cursory glance.
Half-shattered armor and a tattered cloak.
Kang-seok reached for the hero's neck. A round locket was hanging from a thin, golden chain.
It was slightly smaller than a gold coin, and he hadn't noticed it before because it had been half-hidden by the armor.
Kang-seok carefully lifted the locket and opened its lid.
Inside was a portrait of a beautiful woman with long, snow-white hair. It was only a headshot, but her green eyes and long ears, like an elf from a game, were very striking.
“A lover… maybe?”
“I don’t know, but she must have been someone close to him.”
Kang-seok handed the locket to Seong Yu-jin. Positioned in front of the hero’s skeleton just like him, she read the glowing letters that appeared in the air.
“Locket of the Yellow God. Said to be a sacred object bestowed by the Yellow God upon the family of her first paladin, the Black Bear. Increases the wearer’s stamina by 10%.”
The feeling was completely different from when she had touched Dainsleif. Just holding it made a corner of her heart feel warm.
Closing the locket, Seong Yu-jin said to Kang-seok.
“Let’s take it.”
Kang-seok couldn't answer right away.
He and Seong Yu-jin had already taken items from Leif and his female companion to survive.
But taking the hero’s necklace now felt different for some reason.
Kang-seok felt a sense of psychological debt to the hero before him, as well as to Leif and his companions.
He and Seong Yu-jin were alive because these people had defeated Barbatos. He had been able to defeat Aden, the Gnoll King, because of the three swords the hero had left behind.
Seong Yu-jin shook her head.
“It’s this person’s memento. Besides, he must not have been an ordinary person. He was probably very famous. Let’s return it to an acquaintance later… to the woman in this portrait. You should hold onto it, Kang-seok.”
Seong Yu-jin hadn't suggested taking it simply because she coveted the 10% stamina boost.
Kang-seok let out a long breath. He nodded in agreement, then carefully removed the hero’s necklace and put it around his own neck.
Outside the Labyrinthos dungeon.
The world where Leif, his companions, and the hero had lived.
Other than the Locket of the Yellow God, the hero didn't have any other noteworthy items.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin observed a moment of silence before the hero’s skeleton and then left the lowest floor. Once they were back in the great room, Seong Yu-jin looked up at the ceiling and spoke.
“I wonder if Mr. Kang-san and Ms. Han-yeong are back yet.”
It had already been five days since the two of them left the dungeon. Since they were supposed to gather as much information as they could, it might take them a bit longer, but there was also a chance they were already back.
Kang-seok also looked up at the ceiling as he replied.
“It’s about time for them to return. We’ve accomplished our goal, so should we head back up? We can earn some more Kron on the way.”
“Grinding, grinding.”
Seong Yu-jin pretended to cry, and Kang-seok chuckled. He nudged her shoulder with his own and said.
“Weren’t you famous for grinding in Exa Online?”
Instead of admitting it, Seong Yu-jin growled.