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Kim Jin-Woo stared into the darkness on the outskirts of his labyrinth, before turning around to face Dominique.

“It should take a while, right?” Dominique asked him.

“Nobody knows. But I know she’ll return,” Kim Jin-Woo replied confidently.

Dominique nodded as she remarked, “Still, I never imagined that that Under-Elf was a descendant of the Cursed Elf Lord.”

It seemed Dominique had been caught by surprise upon learning that Rikshasha was the Princess of the Under-Elves. Even Kim Jin-Woo himself had been surprised by the hidden backstory of the Under-Elves.

But that was the extent of their surprise. After all, the clan had been nearly wiped out, and due to the curse of the Underworld, Rikshasha was simply holding an empty shell of a title with no way of recovering her former glory.

“We can never be labyrinth masters again. The Mysteries of the Underworld deny us,” RIkshasha had said.

She seemed uninterested in the pursuit of her clan’s former glory, but nevertheless, she had left the Fortress in search of the rest of the surviving members of her clan, explaining, ‘Even though our clan has dwindled in power and numbers, there are still quite a few of our members still out there. I want to persuade them to serve Master.”

In other words, she wasn’t going to return alone. She would seek out all the surviving members of her clan, who were living scattered across the Underworld.

And with that, Rikshasha had left on her long journey. At the same time, Dominique had decided to finally consume her summoning stones, which she had put off for quite a while.

“I pray that you will remain safe until my return, my one and only Master.”

“You’re going to return soon, aren’t you? You make it sound like I’ll never see you again.” Kim Jin-Woo waved farewell as he gave her words of encouragement. “Don’t be too greedy. The person I need the most is the Dominique I have now.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She gave him a bright smile as she left.

“Mm.” With both Rikshasha and Dominique now gone, Kim Jin-Woo somehow felt that something was amiss. Subsequently, he somehow found himself spending more time wandering his labyrinth.

“My King!” Just as Kim Jin-Woo was passing by the workshop, Valicius noticed him and called out to him, saying, “I’ve finally completed my work!”

The Army of the Dead Valicius had been working on for the past few months and seemed to have finally reached completion. Kim Jin-Woo hurriedly entered the workshop, excited by Valicius’ contagious enthusiasm.

“Hm. That’s it?” Kim Jin-Woo’s enthusiasm quickly dulled when he saw a mere two Dead in the workshop. Disappointment was written all over his face.

“How could that be? If you just grab this wand here...” Valicius shook his head as he handed Kim Jin-Woo a wand embedded with strangely crafted down gems. “...and shouted ‘Summon Dead’...”

Kwaaaaaah!

As soon as Valicius finished speaking, the ground shook violently and a legion of Dead appeared, which he proudly presented to Kim Jin-Woo.

“This is how you summon the Army of the Dead.” Valicius was overly excited for some reason as he continued his explanation. “I’ve regained more than eighty percent of the power I once had. In addition, I increased the stamina and strength of the Dead, making them more capable than when they were alive.”

The aura emanating from the three hundred-odd Army of the Dead was immense. Kim Jin-Woo belatedly exclaimed with admiration at the ominous energy that was spreading all across the workshop, “This is better than I expected.”

“They might have taken a long time and cost quite a bit to create, but they will more than pull their own weight and reward your patience!” Valicius said excitedly.

Kim Jin-Woo would normally cut him off, but this time, he allowed it. That was how impressed he was with Valicius’ work. He asked, “Will they be enough to deal with the 10th Floor’s army?”

“Of course they will. Most of the materials used to make these Dead were the corpses of troops from the 10th Floor. The 9th Floor troops are simply trash in front of them. Moreover, being Dead, they fear nothing and suffer no hunger or fatigue. They’re truly an invincible army.”

“Even if half of what you said were true, that would be more than sufficient.” As Valicius’ claims got bolder, Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t too sure if Valicius was serious or if it was just hot air. He cut Valicius off and called for Balzark.

“Oh! These guys are…!” Upon seeing the Army of the Dead, Balzark instinctively knew that they weren’t too different from himself.

“This is the army you’ll be leading from now on,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

“With these guys, there’s nothing I can’t do!” Balzark exclaimed. Perhaps it was because he was finally able to overcome the loneliness that had come from being ostracized by the Iron-Blooded Knights, but he let out an almost sympathetic cry in response.

“I’ll look forward to your accomplishments.” Kim Jin-Woo handed the summoning wand to Balzark. He turned around to see Valicius, who looked sullen and upset, and asked, “Is there a problem?”

“The Army of the Dead is powerful enough to conquer a labyrinth in a single day. But to simply hand such power to someone like…” Valicius’ voice trailed off.

But Kim Jin-Woo didn’t need to hear the rest to understand what he was trying to say. He replied, “Balzark is a Death Knight. There’s no one else more suitable to lead the Army of the Dead than him.”

“Even so…”

Despite how much Valicius despised handing so much power to Balzark, Kim Jin-Woo would hear no more of it. “Stop. If I had no trust in him, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place. I forbid you from spouting any more nonsense.”

Valicius fell silent at Kim Jin-Woo’s words. Perhaps he was feeling inferior and pessimistic about being stuck in such a weak body.

“You too will be rewarded. But you’d best shut your mouth. Otherwise, I don\'t think that thick-skulled Balzark will leave you alone,” Kim Jin-Woo warned him. He wasn’t joking, either.

Balzark, who had just been celebrating happily moments ago, was now leering at Valicius. As a prideful being, the Death Knight took great offense at Valicius’ doubts.

“Eek! H-how could I dare!” Valicius had once been one of the most powerful beings on the 9th Floor. But now, he had been pitifully reduced to a meager Naga Worker. Unable to avert Balzark’s sinister gaze, Valicius collapsed onto the floor as he looked away.

“Stop. Treat him with respect, as he’s the one who created the Army of the Dead for you. I won’t tolerate any further hostility here,” Kim Jin-Woo ordered.

Despite being the one who had placed so many shackles on Valicius, Kim Jin-Woo was uncomfortable seeing the once mighty necromancer and labyrinth master sitting on the floor, trembling at the injustice unfolding before his eyes.

“I’ll find a new, more suitable body for you,” he finally said.

Valicius, who had been trembling in shame, quickly perked up at Kim Jin-Woo’s words. “Mm…” Perhaps it was due to having adapted to his new body, but Valicius’ former sense of dignity and presence could no longer be felt.

***

It didn’t seem as though Rikshasha would return anytime soon, and neither did it seem as though Dominique would be done with her own metamorphosis, either. Maybe it was because she had revealed her weak self to Kim Jin-Woo in her last metamorphosis, but this time, he couldn’t find her at all, no matter how hard he tried.

“Dominique will surely return, but don’t you think that Under-Elf has made a run for it?” Angela remarked as she stuck close to him. But Kim Jin-Woo saw no point in answering, and ignored her.

Angela continued, “Think about it, Master. Unlike before, she’s now a transformed Under-Elf after having consumed the summoning stone. She’d be bound to receive a respected welcome anywhere in the Underworld. There’s no need for her to stick around Master and this uneventful labyrinth.”

The vampire’s characteristic obsession and desire for monogamy with Kim Jin-Woo was more present than ever, as she continued to badmouth Rikshasha.

Feeling tired of her nonsense, Kim Jin-Woo gave her a job to do. “You should be familiar with the 11th Floor. Go pay Anatolius a visit.”

Angela looked stunned at the order that had come out of the blue. “Why all of a sudden…”

“The Black Merchant hasn’t visited in a long time, and Anatolius has made no effort to contact us at all. Something’s wrong.”

The labyrinth’s last contact with Anatolius was when he had said he was unable to keep Parthenon in check and wished Kim Jin-Woo good luck. And with the Black Merchant no longer making an appearance despite having practically made his labyrinth his second home, Kim Jin-Woo was completely in the dark.

“You have to personally find out what’s going on,” he said.

“I finally got some alone time with Master…” Angela pouted as her shoulders drooped with disappointment.

“Go and check it out, and report back to me. I have a weird feeling about this.”

No contact from Anatolius was understandable, but from the Black Merchant? He had never disappeared like this for such a long period. By now, he would have visited the Fortress with his usual congratulatory message, but it had been a month without any contact from him.

“Hmph. If I have to go, then I will…” Angela dragged out her words as she looked at Kim Jin-Woo.

Kim Jin-Woo sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted. With his fingernails, he cut a long slit on the palm of his other hand. Angela fanatically started to suck on the blood that dripped from the slit. After some time, he withdrew his hand, saying, “That’s it for now. I’ll give you the rest when you return.”

“Please keep your promise.” Angela’s words echoed out of the darkness as she left the Fortress. And with that, she was gone as well.

“What a bother,” Kim Jin-Woo muttered.

***

This time, not even Angela had returned from the 11th Floor. It seemed she was taking a long time to reach the 11th Floor by cutting through the 10th Floor.

“Morrigan.” Kim Jin-Woo asked, “Do you know anything about what’s going on on the 11th Floor?”

Morrigan, who had taken Angela and Dominique’s place at Kim Jin-Woo’s side, tilted her head in his direction. “It’s been so long that I’m unable to even clearly recall my last memories of it, and even if I do, I doubt it will be relevant to the present day. Is there anything in particular you would like to know?”

“The situation on the 11th Floor, why Anatolius is unable to make any moves, and why the Black Merchant has disappeared. I want to know them all,” Kim Jin-Woo answered seriously.

Morrigan simply smirked and replied, “If that’s the case, isn’t there a very good storyteller with us?”

“A storyteller?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

Morrigan simply waved her finger as she answered, “The Undefeated Mercenary, Krasto. If it’s that guy, it hasn’t been long since he left the 11th Floor.”

Kim Jin-Woo had all but forgotten Krasto’s existence. Morrigan covered her mouth as she giggled at her Master’s moment of stupidity.

Kim Jin-Woo frowned as he ordered, “Inform Krasto that I would like to see him.”

Flap flap!

Morrigan responded not with words, but with a flap of her wings as she disappeared into the distance.

Not long after, Krasto appeared at Kim Jin-Woo’s labyrinth. As he stepped inside, his eyes met with Quantus and Balzark’s. He seemed rather astonished at how rapidly they had metamorphosed into a Death Knight and a Naga Guard respectively.

But he quickly turned his attention to Kim Jin-Woo as he folded his arms and asked, “You wanted to see me?”

“Yeah, there’s something I would like to ask you,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

“Please ask,” Krasto replied swiftly.

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t hold back as he said, “I would like to know more about the 11th Floor.”

“Our agreement was that I was to be your sword, not your eyes and ears.”

Crash!

Almost as soon as Krasto finished speaking, a bundle of down gems dropped from Kim Jin-Woo’s hands.

Krasto smirked as he looked at those down gems and said, “I’ll answer everything I can. What would you like to know?”

His quick change of heart was truly fitting of a mercenary.

“What’s happening on the 11th Floor right now? The subordinates I sent out to scout have yet to return, so I have no idea what’s going on,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

Krasto paused at Kim Jin-Woo’s remark before hesitantly replying, “Oh, how unfortunate. Of all the times, for you to send your scouts out now...”