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Mr. Baek was still hesitant to answer. Kim Jin-Woo could see that he was weighing the pros and cons of revealing the answer against his own worth. And he knew that if Mr. Baek was leaning toward not revealing the person’s identity, he most likely never would.

Thus, Kim Jin-Woo decided to reveal the Highlord’s presence that he had been suppressing thus far.

“Urgh!” Mr. Baek’s expression hardened at the sudden change in Kim Jin-Woo’s presence.

“I’ll ask again, who is it?” Kim Jin-Woo didn’t raise his voice. He simply revealed his desire to get straight to business. However, with that one act alone, Mr. Baek was left drained of energy as he covered his mouth out of fear.

“If you don’t want to reveal the answer, that’s fine by me. I just wanted to find out a little bit sooner, which is why I came to you. You’re not the only choice I have,” Kim Jin-Woo continued. He may have sounded as if he were resigned to Mr. Baek’s choice, but reading between the lines, he was anything but.

Mr. Baek was clever enough to understand the real meaning behind Kim Jin-Woo’s statement. If he were to let the situation go as it was, they would most likely never see each other again. No, in fact, he could be putting himself up for inclusion in Kim Jin-Woo’s list of targets to eliminate in the future.

He clearly understood where this was going, so he finally made up his mind and said, “That person is someone called Kim Jong-Bin.”

Seeing Mr. Baek close his eyes tightly as he revealed the person’s identity, Kim Jin-Woo finally relaxed a bit.

Mr. Baek, finally freed from the overwhelming presence, took a long breath as he stroked his neck. Looking as if he had lost a couple of decades off his life, he stuttered as he let out a couple more words. “And he’s a member of the Explorers’ Association.”

***

“Master?” Seeing Kim Jin-Woo return to his residence, Dominique’s eyes opened wide as she lingered around him. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but her master’s aura had changed completely in the short time he had been outside.

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t have a fiery look of anger, nor did his eyes indicate any kind of internal conflict. And yet, she could see that he was angrier than he had ever been before. He had never shown any kind of displeasure on the surface, but now, his presence was similar to the one he carried when he was in the vicinity of the Underworld’s Grand Labyrinth. Thus, Dominique couldn’t help but worry that her master was being corrupted by the will of the Grand Labyrinth once more.

Even the usually steadfast Dominique found herself being wary of her master. That was how terrifying Kim Jin-Woo’s expression was.

It was to be expected. At that moment, Kim Jin-Woo was boiling with rage and barely able to contain himself.

“I don’t think it’s just a simple scam. What on earth would a member of the Explorers’ Association be after to take a hostage?”

“I’m their target.”

“That’s highly likely.”

Kim Jin-Woo recalled his conversation with Mr. Baek, grinding his teeth.

“Dominique.” Kim Jin-Woo finally broke his silence after a long time, calling for Dominique. Surprised by the sudden break in the silence, she hurriedly responded, getting on her knees in front of him as he said, “I think I’ve been way too easy-going all along.”

“Sorry?” Dominique asked with a puzzled expression, unable to understand her master’s words.

It would have been better if he elaborated further, but Kim Jin-Woo merely continued to speak his mind. “I’ve been docile for too long, and it looks like they’ve mistaken me for some kind of easy prey.”

Finally understanding where her master was getting at, Dominique replied coldly “If anyone dares to think so about Master, they’ll never die in peace.”

Kim Jin-Woo finally broke out in a smirk. “I was thinking the same.”

And with that, he gave an order to Dominique. “Summon Espetos.”

In response, Dominique began, “If you’re looking for Espetos…”

“I need a shadow.” Kim Jin-Woo didn’t elaborate further.

***

“Mother, I’m home.” Kim Jin-Woo called out to his mother as if nothing had happened. He acted as if he had forgotten everything that had to do with his father. His acting was so natural that his mother and Hyun-Ji expressed their sadness at his cold demeanor.

“Yes, please eat. I don’t know what you’ve been doing all along, but still, having a meal at home is the best.” But his mother didn’t hesitate to welcome him home, talking about how skinny he had gotten in the past year while putting some banchan[1] on his spoon.

Kim Jin-Woo looked at the darkness lingering in the corner of the living room before turning his head. <Angela. Has anything else happened?> He telepathically communicated with Angela while casually talking to his mother at the same time. “Mother, please pack some of these for me. I want to eat them in my own place as well.”

“You do? Sure,” his mother replied.

<Well, I haven’t really learned anything, other than that they have a special affection for Master.> Angela dragged out her words, bored from hiding in the dark all this time.

<There will be movement soon. So take care of my family when the time comes,> Kim Jin-Woo told Angela.

If this was something that the Association was involved in, then it was about time for them to start making a move. Even if the others were unaware, Song Jong-Chul and Jung Chan-Sik would be aware of his strength to some extent, at the very least.

Of course, they would never be able to know the true extent of his powers, as he had only revealed what he, Kim Jin-Woo the ‘dungeon baby’, should have been capable of in their eyes. They wouldn’t be able to imagine his true identity. In addition, of course, they couldn’t have guessed that he would have an escort like Angela lurking in the darkness.

<Please don’t worry. Just take the banchan off Mother’s hands. Her hands must be aching,> Angela replied.

Kim Jin-Woo was amused hearing Angela talk about his mother like that so casually, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s wrong, Jin-Woo?” his mother asked.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just thought of something funny,” Kim Jin-Woo replied. He also asked Angela, <Where did you learn that?>

<From what Mother was watching on that thing you call a TV. What’s it called? Drama? It was pretty entertaining,> Angela replied. She seemed to have gotten quite accustomed to surface life.

“Mother, I’ll be heading off,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

His mother would have loved to have her son live with her again, but she seemed to find it difficult to bring the topic up. She simply hoped her son would stay for just a little while longer.

Knowing her inner feelings, Kim Jin-Woo planned to find time to visit her at home. However, he told Angela, <If anything happens, take Mother and Hyun-Ji and give them shelter at the labyrinth.>

<I’m sure it won’t come to that, but I’ll keep that in mind,> Angela replied.

As soon as Angela’s voice left his mind as he left his mother’s home, Kim Jin-Woo noticed the shadows trailing him again. “Mm…”

Perhaps due to his title of being the only Level 12 dungeon baby in the whole nation, the shadows dared not approach him closely this time, as they kept watch from a distance.

However, just because they were far away didn’t mean they could escape his notice. The shadows continued to trail him, not realizing that every single one of their movements had been exposed to him.

Their presence was cut off only after he arrived at the safehouse, which was located in Paju. In the meantime, he found out through Angela that the scammers had contacted his family again, and that they were harassing his mother to find out whether Kim Jin-Woo had taken notice of the hostage crisis.

Thinking of his family, who must have been suffering from the scammers’ intimidation tactics, made Kim Jin-Woo’s blood boil; he struggled to control his anger.

They would pay the price eventually. There was no need to make the situation worse just because he couldn’t control his temper. Thus, he calmed himself down as he waited for night to fall.

When night fell, not even moonlight could be seen.

Kim Jin-Woo finally began to act, asking Dominique, “Do as I’ve instructed you to.”

“Don’t worry about me. You should take care of yourself, Master,” Dominique replied.

Afterward, Kim Jin-Woo snuck out of his house, heading to the Explorers’ Association. Mr. Baek had previously confirmed that the explorer called Kim Jong-Bin spent most of his time in the Association’s office, so he sped up his pace.

Several guards were stationed around the building, hiding their presence. The building’s security was unusually strict, as if someone had specifically requested it.

The watchers guarding the building were so skilled and sensitive that even Angela, who had the ability to completely assimilate with the darkness, had been reluctant to approach them. However, Kim Jin-Woo boldly stepped forward.

***

In the middle of the night, the watchers yawned. But suddenly, they shut their mouths as they noticed something moving quickly along the blind spots between the streetlights.

“Report to above, a guest has arrived.” The watcher’s fast response prompted his colleague, who was standing beside him, to quickly take out his mobile phone.

“W-What the!?”

However, the uninvited guest was even faster than their response. Even before the watcher’s colleague could take out his mobile phone and turn on the screen, the shadow had closed the distance between them.

“Be caref—”  Even before the watcher could finish his sentence, the assailant’s fist connected with his colleague’s jaw. Before he could even press a button on his phone, the colleague collapsed hard onto the ground.

“What the…? Who are you!? Identify yourself!” The watcher belatedly took out his baton as he shouted at the assailant.

In response to the commotion, the interior of the building suddenly grew noisy and chaotic.

“You bastard, who do you think you are to show yourself here?” Having made the assailant’s presence known to everyone in the vicinity with his shouting, thus completing his primary objective, the watcher now took up a fighting stance, ready to engage with the assailant.

His opponent was still invisible. Although the watcher hid his presence within the blind spots of the building, the assailant also took advantage of the darkness to hide his presence.

The remaining watchers squinted at the uninvited guest as they did their best to identify him. However, the dungeon baby was well accustomed to the complete darkness of the Underworld, and his unique ability to do so was active. But that wasn’t all.

The watchers were barely able to discern the jawline of the assailant, who was wearing a deep hood. For some reason, a thick darkness seemed to surround him. They felt goosebumps just from seeing such a sight, and they trembled and gulped in fear.

“You’re dead now, you son of a bitch,” one watcher said threateningly.

“Your responses are better than I thought. Guess it’ll be hard for me to sneak in instead,” the assailant remarked. It would have been obvious to him by now that sneaking in wasn’t an option, and yet, he seemed even more carefree than before.

The watchers held on to their batons as they growled, despite the strangely ominous feeling.

“Asshole, you think this place is your average neighborhood police post or something?” one of them exclaimed.

The rest of the watchers, seeing their colleague threaten the assailant, finally mustered up their courage. They strengthened their stance and put on fierce expressions.

But the assailant was still relaxed as ever. And the watchers were soon about to find out why.

1. The Korean word for side dishes, an essential part of Korean cuisine.