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#46. The Reason for the War

First, Kim Jin-Woo sought to gather information. It was a huge irony that he was getting information on the Underworld from the surface, but he also knew the limitations of relying on Underworld sources. The Black Merchant, who had been his main source of information so far, was nowhere to be found, and access to the 11th Floor itself was all but forbidden.

Given the situation, the best he could do now was to gather information by interrogating anyone that had anything to do with the 11th Floor. But that in itself was only a fragment of the overall picture.

“Damn it! Now that the Deep Floors are such a mess, my supply of down gems has been cut! Those cowardly explorers dare not even enter the Shallow Floors now!” Mr. Baek ranted at Kim Jin-Woo, despite the latter not having visited in a while.

After the Guardians had chased away the explorers, it seemed the explorers could no longer come to an agreement regarding further exploration. Ever since the mysterious attacks on each country’s labyrinths, this shift in mood had only grown stronger.

“I don’t even know who scooped up all the remaining down gems left on the market!”

Unsurprisingly, the price of down gems had skyrocketed. The labyrinths that had been secured with the aim of developing the Underworld were lost, and the situation only became worse after that.

“Hey, my man. If you have any down gems left, pass me some. I’ll pay generously,” Mr. Baek offered.

Coincidentally, Kim Jin-Woo needed some funds himself to proceed with his activities on the surface, and had been considering exchanging some down gems in his possession for cash. He turned his backpack upside down, and down gems started pouring onto the table.

“Oh! I knew I could depend on you!” Mr. Baek’s face lit up at the sight of the massive pile of down gems on the table. “Let’s see. Most are mid-grade. Did you go camping in the Underworld, perhaps? How do you have so many down gems?”

Kim Jin-Woo looked at Mr. Baek, who was deeply focused on appraising the down gems, before sliding one more down gem toward him.

“I… Isn’t this a highest-grade down gem!?” Mr. Baek exclaimed.

Its shining color alone was entirely different from the other down gems in the pile, and it was the size of a fist. Mr. Baek’s eyes practically rolled over backward at the sight of such a magnificent piece.

Mr. Baek slowly reached out toward it, but Kim Jin-Woo quickly pulled his hand and the down gem back, saying, “Information. I need information.”

“Tell me, what kind of information do you need? If it’s something I’m aware of, I’ll tell you everything,” Mr. Baek answered.

Are these top grade down gems really that precious? Kim Jin-Woo thought to himself as he watched Mr. Baek’s overly eager expression. He said, “I want everything to do with the 11th Floor, as well as what happened in the previous war. In full detail.”

Despite looking as if he might begin to salivate at the sight of the top grade down gem, Mr. Baek quickly grew quiet at the mention of the previous war. “By the previous war, you mean…”

“The war between the surface and the Underworld ten years ago that resulted in the armistice, as well as any subsequent wars that occurred within the Underworld,” Kim Jin-Woo confirmed. Mr. Baek collapsed back onto his chair upon hearing that. He seemed confused, almost reluctant.

However, Kim Jin-Woo slid his hand back into his pocket; this time, he took out not one, but two top grade down gems. He said, “Depending on the quality of your information, I’ll pass you all the top grade down gems I possess. And of course, I’ll accept the old prices.”

“Y-You had more of those?” Mr. Baek stammered in shock.

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t reply, but instead put the down gems back into his pocket and sat back onto the sofa.

Mr. Baek knew exactly what Kim Jin-Woo wanted, and he bit his lip as he weighed his options. “Urgh.”

But the answer had pretty much been decided. Regardless of what Mr. Baek believed himself to be, the fact was that at the end of the day, he was nothing more than a trader.

And there was no way a trader like him would pass up on such a deal. As Kim Jin-Woo had predicted, Mr. Baek eventually succumbed to the temptation of the top grade down gems, saying, “I believe you won’t go around telling others what I’m about to tell you.”

“I have no one else to tell.”

“I know that but… If word of this spreads, I have nothing to do with it, you know what I’m saying?” Mr. Baek added. He hesitated one last time before beginning his story. “I’ll send you more details separately, but for now, I’ll give you information as things come to my mind. How much do you know about the war between the surface and the Underworld?”

“Let’s just say I know as much as any average joe,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

Despite possibly being the biggest victim of the previous war, Kim Jin-Woo was in the dark about its full details. Not to mention that the dungeon babies had been released right after the war, and he had no idea how the conflict had reached that point.

“Urgh. I guess I’ll start from the beginning.”

With that, Mr. Baek started to slowly embark on his storytelling journey.

***

Kim Jin-Woo left the appraisal office with a complicated expression. His face was so stiff it resembled a crooked mask made by a child. Even the passers-by seemed affected by his ominous aura, as they all quickened their pace.

“Waaaah! M-mommy! Waah!” cried a child after seeing Kim Jin-Woo’s face. The child’s parents quickly grabbed their hand and walked away.

Kim Jin-Woo finally came to his senses upon hearing the child’s crying. “Ah…” His eyes were filled with nothing but despair. Before he realized it, his hands were covering his face. Even without a mirror, he knew exactly what kind of expression he was making.

Thus, he ran. He got up from his seat and ran away from the child’s cries, with Mr. Baek’s words ringing in his mind.

***

“Do you know how the war started?” Mr. Baek asked.

“No,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

Mr. Baek seemed to have anticipated this answer, as he continued talking. “What’s widely accepted is that the Underworld beings attacked the surface first. And for us to survive, we were forced to go into war with them. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Mr. Baek’s pupils shook as he stared off into the distance. His lips trembled as he tried to bring forth the next few words. “The truth is, the surface started the war.”

Those difficult words echoed both within the office and within Kim Jin-Woo.

“Up till that point, the Underworld wasn’t that well known to the surface, nor was it a big cause for concern. In fact, the guys at the top wanted some kind of alliance between us and the Underworld. But when they discovered the existence of down gems, everything changed.”

Mr. Baek’s wrinkled hands caressed a shiny down gem. But for someone who usually treated them like gold, there was a sense of disgust behind the gesture.

“The very first down gem we discovered… We called it a ‘wish stone’.” He dropped the down gem onto the pile containing the others as he spoke, and the pile tumbled and collapsed. “That omnipotent piece of rock resulted in a war that led to tens of millions of lives being lost.”

It was at that moment that the reality Kim Jin-Woo knew shattered. As he struggled to distinguish between good and evil, the old man’s voice continued.

“After that, we never discovered another wish stone, but instead, we found these down gems. Thus, the war continued. And it will continue until the day comes when humanity has confirmed that there are no more wish stones left.”

***

Honk! Honk! Honk!

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing in the middle of the road!?”

The piercing shouts finally woke Kim Jin-Woo from his deep thoughts.

“Hurry up and move, asshole!”

He looked up to see a car shining its headlights at him. Behind it were a long stretch of cars that had been held up in traffic because of him. It seemed he had subconsciously tried to cross the road while being lost in thought.

“I’m sorry.” Belatedly realizing what he had done, he quickly gave a short apology and tried to get out of the way.

Just then, someone shouted at him, accompanied by the sound of a car door opening and closing. “Is this son of a bitch crazy?”

The person who exited the car looked intimidating with his rather large physique. He walked up to Kim Jin-Woo with an enraged look on his face, swinging his thick arms wildly. “Hey! If my life gets screwed because of you, are you gonna be responsible for it!? If you’re gonna kill yourself, then do it on your own!”

“I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought. I’m really sorry.” Kim Jin-Woo understood where the driver was coming from, and quickly apologized.

But the driver seemed upset beyond reason, as he continued to hurl vulgarities at Kim Jin-Woo. “You asshole! It’s because of assholes like you that innocent drivers suffer! You’re so young, yet you can’t even think straight!”

“I apologize.” Despite the driver clearly crossing a line, Kim Jin-Woo continued to lower his head and apologize. After all, he was the reason this had happened.

Besides, if he were to retaliate, there was no telling what would happen next. Thus, he kept all the frustration and anger buried deep inside of him.

But the driver didn’t seem content to let the matter rest. “You! Are you crying? You crying? Look up! You bitch, you should look at people when someone is talking to you! What? Is there money on the floor? Huh? Oi!” The driver reached out and grabbed Kim Jin-Woo’s chin, pushing it up.

“You asshole, look up when someone is ta—” He suddenly fell silent and stood frozen in fear. His face turned pale as he started to take a couple of steps backward.

“I’m sorry.” Seeing the man’s sudden change in demeanor, Kim Jin-Woo apologized in return. “If you were hurt somewhere, or if I’ve caused some damage to your car, I’ll compensate you. If you would be so kind as to leave me your number…”

But as he looked at the driver, he noticed that blue streams of light were flowing from his own eyes.

“Ah, no. No, no. There’s no need…” The driver quickly ran back to his car and drove off without turning back. The rest of the cars that had been held up started to clear as well.

Seeing the situation settle down, Kim Jin-Woo turned around as he started walking once more. Mr. Baek’s words rang in his head once again.

You and the other Deep Floor dungeon babies are the descendants of the very first Underworld explorers.

It had been revealed to him that dungeon babies weren’t descendants of prisoners of war, but rather, descendents of the very first explorers who had discovered the existence of the Underworld.

“And those explorers were the reason for the war. Plunderers who drew their blades against the Underworld creatures and claimed the wish stone as their own.”