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Chapter 217

#79. Restoration

Catherine’s messenger didn’t seem willing to stay for very long. If he had arrived just a little earlier, his advice might have been useful, but now that it was too late, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.

From Kim Jin-Woo’s point of view, he had just barely lost the opportunity to avoid this preventable disaster, and thus the messenger’s relaxed attitude only annoyed him further. But nevertheless, he was able to obtain various pieces of information by asking the messenger all sorts of questions.

“So, what you’re saying is that there will be three more such incidents in the future?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“Even Master said she wasn’t sure if the Day of Restoration that will happen in the near future would be similar to today, or if it would present itself in a totally different form,” the messenger replied.

Kim Jin-Woo only got more frustrated. Of the four times that this disaster was going to happen, he could have prevented at least one of them from occurring, but the timing simply hadn’t been right for him.

But the first disaster had already occurred, and he had already spent a large fortune restoring his Grand Labyrinth. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to recover those lost fortunes by unleashing his frustrations on the messenger, nor would the Grand Labyrinth be in a better position from him doing so; thus, all he could do was stare at the blank-faced messenger.

“Urgh.” The messenger had already arranged a meeting between his Master and Kim Jin-Woo before at the auction house. As such, he already knew better than anyone else what kind of prestige the Highlord held.

But this time around, the Highlord’s presence felt completely different from before, and the messenger hurriedly lowered his head and hid his somewhat condescending expression. He said, “It wasn’t easy for me to come here, as many of the Ghosts were in the way.”

It seemed it had been a bad move by Kim Jin-Woo to release the Moai in order to use them as an intruder alarm. In the end, unable to pin any of the blame on the messenger, he had no choice but to put the past aside.

“The first Restoration is the first step in reunifying the divided Underworld layers into one, so please check the surroundings quickly. This wasn’t something Master told me to inform you about, but it’s just a small gesture of apology for my not having performed my duties as a messenger because of my slow arrival.”

The messenger seemed to have felt a slight sense of responsibility, as he gave away a great deal of information. According to him, the earthquake was a disaster that had occurred due to the process of reunifying the twelve different Underworld floors.

“I’ve already sent troops to reconnoiter the area, so they should come back with a report soon.” Kim Jin-Woo kept the conversation going to hold the messenger back. He wanted to get any possible information that could prove to be useful in the future. He asked, “How’s she doing?”

“I’m not sure what answer you’re seeking, but there’s no one left to threaten Master’s peace, so I hope this answers your question,” the messenger replied.

Kim Jin-Woo had merely asked out of courtesy, but the messenger was extremely reluctant to answer his pleasantries. At this rate, it was better for him to just ask about the Restoration instead.

As time passed in awkward silence, the patrols that had gone out to reconnoiter the surrounding area returned one by one and reported on the situation.

“More than half of the Moai have disappeared, leaving the entire Floor empty. We’ll have to go for long-distance reconnaissance to get more details, but it’s as if the area surrounding the labyrinth is completely empty.”

“The passageway has collapsed, making navigation difficult. This will take a little more time.”

“Based on the remaining passageways, I predict that the existing information we have is no longer useful.”

However, the reports weren’t particularly useful.

“Can I take my leave now?” the messenger asked.

With no more excuses left to hold the messenger back, Kim Jin-Woo finally agreed reluctantly. “Go on. Convey my thanks to your Master, and tell her that I hope we can continue our conversation from where we last left off.”

“I’ll relay your message exactly as is. Until we meet again, goodbye.” With that, Catherine’s messenger left.

Not long after, the Under-Elf Rangers and Naga Rangers that had gone on their long-distance reconnaissance missions returned to report on the overall situation on the 9th Floor.

“A labyrinth we’ve never seen before has appeared about a day’s distance to the west!”

“Traces of a collapsed labyrinth have been spotted half a day to the east!”

“We’ve found traces of a small camp in the northeast!”

“A large labyrinth has been discovered within a day’s distance to the south!”

Kim Jin-Woo frowned at the successive reports. Based on their information, he had no idea how many Floors had collided and integrated with the 9th Floor.

One thing was certain, however. It was that there were no more intact labyrinths on the Lesser Floors, which had already almost disappeared. It was highly likely that an undamaged labyrinth could only be found in the Deep Floors.

“Order five Naga units to go on standby, just in case!” Kim Jin-Woo commanded. He then ordered an increase in the pace of the repairs while waiting for the Nagas.

“We’ll reinforce it even more so that it won’t be damaged again.” Daedalus, who had run out of work to do, saw the damaged Grand Labyrinth and his eyes lit up brightly. From the look of things, it was almost as if he welcomed the situation. However, considering how obsessed he was about labyrinths, Kim Jin-Woo expected the repaired Grand Labyrinth to be stronger than ever before.

“We’re still not powerful enough,” Kim Jin-Woo muttered.

There was no guarantee that the Deep Floors hadn’t integrated with the 9th Floor. If that did happen, he would have to face the worst case scenario of dealing with the Dukes when he wasn’t yet ready. He wanted to avoid such a situation as much as possible until he had absorbed the Counts’ Seals and increased his powers.

But the Underworld would never provide him such convenience, so Kim Jin-Woo had to restore the Grand Labyrinth as soon as possible so he could finally make use of the Sea Dragon’s Heart to upgrade it, and only then could he finally be relieved.

As the repair work on the labyrinth continued, so did the number of patrols heading in and out of it. They worked beyond their harsh schedule in order to fully map out the situation on the 9th Floor, as all the past information they had collected on the 9th Floor was now made obsolete.

Despite such commendable effort, however, they weren’t able to obtain any useful information.

“It’s taking some time to figure out the identities of the labyrinths that just appeared nearby. Perhaps they’re labyrinths that the Rangers have never seen before.”

However, sometimes, not knowing anything could be a piece of information in itself. This was such a moment.

In order to prove their worth, the Under-Elves had eagerly explored the entirety of the Underworld, whether it was the deepest of the Deep Floors or the lowest of the Lesser Floors.

And if the labyrinths that had appeared around the Grand Labyrinth were ones that even they hadn’t seen before, it was highly likely that they were at least the domains of the 12th Floor Dukes.

“The passageway through which the Moai passed through has completely disappeared.”

The follow-up report further added on another piece of information.

“There is a possibility that the Floor that’s connected to the 9th Floor now may not be from our Underworld.”

However, it was still too early to jump to conclusions. It was also possible that due to the changed terrain, the Rangers were simply unable to locate any previously known passageways. In order to verify the information, the number of scouts had to be increased further.

“First of all, it’s certain that those on the other end have also received serious damage from this earthquake. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to lock themselves in their labyrinths and be this cautious,” Dominique said. Indeed, her assessment seemed valid. She continued, “There are too many risk factors for us to approach those labyrinths to get confirmation. For the time being, let’s conduct ourselves with strict vigilance. Don’t forget to report back to me right away if you spot anything amiss outside the labyrinth.”

Thanks to Dominique, the identification of the labyrinths was delayed, but Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t too bothered. After all, the side that needed more time wasn’t Kim Jin-Woo, but rather the other side. That was because, as soon as his damaged labyrinth was restored, he could increase its power immediately by using the Sea Dragon’s Heart to upgrade it.

Of course, the other side could be doing the same, but given the same situation, Kim Jin-Woo was certain that his Highlord side, together with the Grand Labyrinth, would be more advantageous.

Thus, he holed himself up in the Grand Labyrinth, anxiously waiting for time to pass. Finally, after a long time, the restoration of the Grand Labyrinth was completed.

[The restoration and reinforcement of the Grand Labyrinth has been completed.]

[Most of the existing traps and facilities have been restored and further strengthened.]

[The destroyed residences of the refugee races have also been completely restored, except for the residence of the Night-Mares.]

[The Grand Labyrinth, which was previously left in pain, has finally found its footing once more. It no longer eyes its own inhabitants from hunger.]

Despite half of it having been damaged, it took less than two weeks for the Grand Labyrinth to fully recover. Of course, most of the down gems in Kim Jin-Woo’s treasury had been consumed in the process, but if he couldn’t accelerate the recovery of the labyrinth, he would have sacrificed more than just down gems.

[Daedalus, the Labyrinth Architect, suffered a severe blow to his pride. It was a great shock to him that his work, which he thought would never exist anywhere else in the Underworld, collapsed so helplessly in the face of disaster.]

[He threw his heart and soul into restoring and reinforcing the Grand Labyrinth, hoping that the labyrinth he helped design would never be destroyed again.]

[The Grand Labyrinth has once again achieved a dazzling development under the craftsmanship of Daedalus, who has risen to the rank of Master Craftsman.]

[The durability of the Grand Labyrinth has almost doubled compared to what it was before the earthquake.]

[Parts of the Grand Labyrinth are now connected to the Underworld Veins. You will no longer have to worry about its inhabitants, as the Grand Labyrinth is now able to take care of itself. If the labyrinth is damaged, it will make use of the energy stored in the Veins to restore itself.]

[The energy in the Veins is barely enough to support the Grand Labyrinth, but Daedalus has blocked the energy of the Veins from being gathered into down gems in order to speed up the accumulation of energy by the Grand Labyrinth.]

[Thanks to this, the existing Veins can no longer create new down gems, and they are now completely integrated beneath the Grand Labyrinth.]

[This abuse of the Veins is against the laws of the Underworld. The lifespan of the Veins has been cut in half.]

If Mimir had read these messages, he would have gone into a rage-induced fit. Kim Jin-Woo knew that the Veins, which formed the basis of the Underworld, were being abused for his own gains, but he didn’t care.

To him, it was just one of the methods that he could utilize in the Underworld, and whether the Veins were completely exhausted or extinguished, it mattered not to him as long as he could guarantee his own survival.

Rather, he was glad to know that the Veins, which had once been depleted and rendered useless by Uther, could turn out to be helpful in another way.

“I have a request.” Daedalus returned after completing his work and kneeled in front of Kim Jin-Woo, looking doggedly tired.

As he liked the quality of the restoration in many ways, Kim Jin-Woo didn’t hesitate to hear out the Big-Headed Dwarf. “Speak.”

“Even though it was destroyed once, thanks to that, this child of mine could be remade better than ever before. I can assure you that even if the same earthquake occurs again, it will not be destroyed so easily next time.” Daedalus was full of pride in his declaration, and looked quite confident in the result.

Kim Jin-Woo, who would have normally asked him to get to the point, instead listened to the dwarf’s lengthy rhetoric.

“I don’t think the labyrinth can get any better than this. However, if I had the Sea Dragon’s Heart that Master possesses, it would be a different story altogether,” Daedalus continued.

He seemed to have remembered the story of the Sea Dragon’s Heart, which Kim Jin-Woo had briefly brought up when he told the dwarf the reason why he wanted to rush the restoration of the labyrinth.

“And the reason you’re telling me this now is?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

When faced with the question, Daedalus answered with a look of great excitement, “If you can entrust the Sea Dragon’s Heart to me, I promise I’ll produce a result way beyond Master’s expectation.”