Records of Dungeon Travel

Chapter 105

[An Ancient Hero has been summoned via a summoning stone.]

[Heimdall, Guardian of the Surface-Underworld Passageway, has awakened.]

The shining light disappeared as Heimdall materialized in the form of a giant bird, with pure-white feathers that seemed unfitting of the Underworld. He stood on two tough-looking legs that ended in razor sharp talons. His bright red crest trembled with every breath he took.

“Heimdall is the Guardian that protected the boundary between the surface and the Underworld,” Morrigan said upon seeing him.

“Is he of any use?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“Despite having the ability to see far beyond what a normal being’s eyes can perceive, he has the particular flaw of having little awareness of anything behind him. There was an incident where his master’s palace burned down right behind his back, and yet all he did was perform his given task until the very end. He’s a special kind of idiot.” Morrigan’s expression was full of contempt as she talked about Heimdall.

“That Parthenon bastard, how dare he put me on the same level as someone so pathetic.” She was obviously angry at the fact that Parthenon had dared to offer Heimdall in exchange for her.

“But…” Kim Jin-Woo interrupted her. “Him being a Guardian is good and all, but why does he look like that?” He was full of worry, as he suspected the advanced Naga Sorcerers of having a hand in Heimdall’s weird appearance.

But Morrigan shook her head. “That’s because Heimdall is the Guardian of War—the Dawn Rooster.”

***

With his red crest, droopy cheeks, and oversized body unfit for flight, Heimdall was undoubtedly a rooster.

Kim Jin-Woo was taken aback. Despite also being a bird, Morrigan was more impressive than an ordinary crow.

On the other hand, looking at Heimdall resting his head on his thrust-out chest, he looked exactly the way a rooster should. Aside from his abnormally huge size of three meters, he was no different from any other rooster one could find on a poultry farm.

“He has a powerful voice within the Underworld, and once he wakes up and lets out a cry, he can be heard from all corners of the Underworld. Unfortunately, he’s never been able to cry to his heart’s content,” Morrigan added.

“Wait, is that why he’s a rooster?” Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t believe what Morrigan was saying.

Morrigan laughed as she continued, “He may be dumb, but he’s not weak. Heimdall isn’t just the Guardian of War; he’s also a Fighting Rooster.”

Judging from Heimdall’s deadly-looking talons that would rip any creature to shreds, she was probably right. But in the end, a rooster was still a rooster.

“So why isn’t he waking up?” Kim Jin-Woo felt his image of Heimdall as an Ancient Hero shattering as he looked on at the dozing bird.

“What I’ve heard is that Heimdall maintained his watch for a long time, and Guardians are also infamous for spending a long time in deep sleep.”

“But he hasn’t even pledged himself to a master?”

Kim Jin-Woo hadn’t expected Heimdall to engage in combat immediately the way Morrigan did, but he had expected Heimdall to choose his master upon summoning, at the very least.

But from the way Heimdall was sleeping, it didn’t seem as if he would wake up any time soon.

“I’ll wake him up.” With that, Morrigan swiftly dashed forward and gave Heimdall a hard knock on his head. 

Heimdall let out a cry of pain. “Cock-a-doodle-doo?”

Even his cries were exactly the same as those of a chicken.

“This is your new master. Show some respect.” Morrigan returned to her Crow of the Battlefield demeanor as she howled at Heimdall with her deep voice.

Heimdall jolted awake at Morrigan’s words, saying, “What is it that I have to protect?” There was an unlikely sense of danger in his voice that seemed unfitting of his image. He continued, “I am the one who watches all, and the Guardian of War. Do you have the right to command me?”

[Ancient Hero Heimdall wants to test your worth.]

[Heimdall is a stubborn entity that will carry out his assigned duty until the end. Depending on your answer, the proud Guardian will test your worth.]

In spite of Heimdall’s seriousness, owing to his ridiculous appearance, Kim Jin-Woo let out a loud laugh.

Heimdall was momentarily stunned by the unexpected response, before brandishing his talons. “You have yet to answer me.” He seemed offended at Kim Jin-Woo’s nonchalant attitude.

Kim Jin-Woo stopped laughing, but instead smirked and replied, “Well, it seems you don’t have the capability to protect what I need protecting. What good is a half-assed Guardian that can’t even protect his own master?”

“How dare y…”

“How dare I?” Kim Jin-Woo wiped the smirk off his face as he got serious. “Just like Morrigan, none of you Ancient Heroes know what respect is. How unpleasant.”

“You have no idea who I am. I am the Guardian who has watched over the Underworld for a lo…”

“But you didn’t even do anything. You just watched. So what qualifications do you have to test me?”

Maybe he had been too stressed out recently, especially with the Black Merchant’s recent cleverly-disguised test that he had passed. But with yet another so-called test, Kim Jin-Woo was feeling fed up.

“My purpose is to ensure that the boundaries set between the surface and the Underworld do not collap…”

“They collapsed a long time ago, so what the fuck are you talking about?” Kim Jin-Woo cut Heimdall off again.

Not only had the boundaries collapsed, things had escalated into a full-on war. Even now, humans were pillaging the Underworld.

“That cannot be,” Heimdall said.

“It's up to you whether you want to believe it. So tell me, what purpose is there to you?”

“Mm.” Heimdall just stared blankly for a while in the face of Kim Jin-Woo’s pointed remarks, before nodding.

“I’ll give you a purpose,” Kim Jin-Woo said with a twisted smile. “You’re going to be my guard dog, you little bitch!”

“Such an insignificant…”

“You couldn’t even protect your own king, and you dare to tell me what’s significant or not!?”

“How far are you going to insult my pride?” Heimdall objected.

Kim Jin-Woo shook his head and tsk-tsked at Heimdall, who had his talons out and looked ready for a fight. “I’m going to say it again, but you Ancient Heroes act all so high and mighty. You should show some gratitude for my freeing you from being stuck in those tiny summoning stones, you rude imbeciles. I know just the method to teach you some manners.”

Kim Jin-Woo turned to face Morrigan. “Morrigan, don’t interrupt me.”

Morrigan shrugged at his words.

***

[The battle has ended.]

[Commander of the Naga’s Fortress, Underworld Viscount Kim Jin-Woo, has defeated Heimdall.]

[Heimdall was a powerful Guardian who once carried out the duty of protecting the boundary between the surface and the Underworld. But he has fallen in the hands of the Undefeated Commander.]

[Heimdall is displeased at all the amplification buffs cast on you, but as a proud Guardian, he has decided to honor his promise.]

[Despite the savagery, you have successfully passed Ancient Hero Heimdall’s test.]

With most of his feathers plucked from his body and his beak bloodied, Heimdall lay collapsed on the floor.

[Heimdall, Dawn Rooster and the Guardian of War, has pledged his loyalty.]

[Do you accept Heimdall?]

The dungeon owner’s amplification buffs and the Undefeated Commander’s special buff abilities felt like borderline cheating. On top of his incredible strength that was incomparable to his past self, Kim Jin-Woo had freely used all his available buffs in the heat of battle.

Thinking he may have overdone it, he was slightly apologetic as he grumbled, “You guys always have to take some beating before you come to your senses, huh?”

Heimdall fell silent as he awaited Kim Jin-Woo’s next course of action. As he looked at Morrigan, one could sense that he was, at the very least, more submissive than her. Morrigan pretended to not notice him.

“I’ll take you in. From today onward, you’ll be my guard dog protecting the Fortress.”

[Heimdall (Ancient Hero), Dawn Rooster and the Guardian of War, has joined the Naga’s Fortress.]

[Heimdall, who served the ancient One-Eyed Lord, is a Guardian who can see and hear farther than anyone else. Despite being overly focused on his given objective at times, as long as Heimdall stands guard, no one will be able to sneak into the Fortress.]

[Heimdall's greatest ability is his sense of foresight. He will warn his master before anyone else.]

[Heimdall is currently in a severely weakened state. Unlike Morrigan, he has never been awakened from his slumber, and has thus exhausted most of his powers while residing within the summoning stone. Due to an unknown entity recklessly extracting his powers from the summoning stone, he is unable to even demonstrate half of the full extent of his powers. It will take a long time for him to make a complete recovery.]

[The complete list of Heimdall’s abilities will be displayed.]

No wonder he was such a pushover, Kim Jin-Woo thought.

In addition to Heimdall having lost most of his powers while stuck in his summoning stone, the Naga Sorcerers had also contributed to his weakened state.

“Urgh. Looks like he’s of no use for now.” Kim Jin-Woo sighed deeply as he stared at the research lab in the distance.

***

“What?”

Kim Jin-Woo was passing by the research lab when one of the Naga Sorcerers handed him a jewel.

“You want me to check it?”

The weakening of Heimdall’s powers could be attributed more to the long time he had spent in the summoning stone than the fault of the Naga Sorcerers. And because Kim Jin-Woo knew he had a part to play by neglecting his management role, he was no longer angry at the Naga Sorcerers.

But he was still on his toes, as he didn’t know what the Naga Sorcerers had done this time.

“What on earth is this…?”

[Advanced Naga Sorcerer’s Summoning Stone]

[As a result of repeated experiments with Heimdall's summoning stone, the Advanced Naga Sorcerers have further unlocked the mysteries of summoning stones. Summoning stones created based on this newly obtained knowledge can contain any number of summons, despite not being of the highest grade.]

Kim Jin-Woo’s eyes widened as he read the messages, before looking at the Advanced Naga Sorcerers. “You guys are truly crazy with your experiments, aren’t you?”

One final message appeared, putting Kim Jin-Woo in a state of disbelief at its ridiculousness.

[As part of the experiment, an Advanced Naga Sorcerer has offered himself to be contained within the summoning stone as a test subject.]

***

Kaaargh!

The Advanced Naga Sorcerer burst out of the summoning stone, and cautiously looked around before wailing loudly. From the look on the sorcerer’s face and the way he was gleefully squealing, the experiment was a success.

“Mad, mad, mad. You’re all mad. You guys were at the very least obedient in the past, but now…” Kim Jin-Woo sighed as he looked on at the Naga Sorcerers dancing around in a circle.

“Summons get stronger as they rank up. As the advanced Naga Sorcerers rank up, I’m sure their personal desires and ambition will increase as well,” Dominique explained from the side, while Kim Jin-Woo pressed hard on his temple from the headache-inducing situation. “But their desire to be of use to Master is the greatest, so don’t be overly concerned. Time will balance it all out, so please wait and see.”

“They’re like some six year old kids. They’re truly hard to control.”

At Kim Jin-Woo’s quibble, Dominique slightly tilted her head as she looked at him. “Speaking of which, Master. Why haven’t you created a successor?”