Chapter 175 – Aria’s Temple (1)
Minchan surveyed all the reporters.
“There’s a mountain fire. What would you do about it?”
When Minchan asked a question out of left field, a reporter in the first row answered in an unguarded moment.
“We have to put out the fire.”
“What if it wasn’t a fire? What if it was an active volcano?”
Minchan met eyes with the young reporter.
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“Then we have to run away.”
“What if eventually there is nowhere to run away?”
“…what are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying we have a different role to play.”
Minchan spoke in a confident tone.
“When one is at the scene of a fire, one would separate the rescue team, and the firefighting team.”
“…”
“The king of Alandal is finding a way to permanently stop the Dungeons, which erupts more often than the volcanoes. Shouldn’t we do our best to block and endure the attacks until he does?”
The reporter had a cold expression on his face.
“What are you trying to say?”
“You don’t understand what I just said? Do they let people, who hadn’t graduate primary school, become reporters these days?”
The reporter’s face turned red at Minchan’s combative words.
“How can anyone not understand something of that level? I’m asking for Alandal’s official stance. Are you willing to search for this method even as all Koreans are wiped out?”
Minchan stood up from his seat in response to the angry words of the reporter.
There was nothing more ugly than a reporter, who had lost his cool. It was rarely worth it to engage such a person.
“I…what I’m…”
The reporter stood up as he immediately tried to take back the words he had spoken. He had said those words when he was in an agitated state. Minchan glared at him.
What would his king have said in such a situation? Would he endlessly accept such selfish tantrums from people?
It seemed being a Prime Minister of Alandal wasn’t that great a job to have.
“If you can’t comprehend what I am trying to say, I’ll try to lower myself to speak at your level.”
Minchan’s eyes widened at his own rough words, and the reporters looked at him with surprised rabbit eyes.
“There should be a limit on how much you all should whine. Take responsibility for guarding your own lives. Even if you bastards don’t cry about it, Alandal is devoting all our resources into saving earth.”
“…!”
Minchan turned his back on them, and he was about to exit the press conference. Woo-soonghoon quickly came up to him, and he whispered into Jung-minchan’s ears.
“Is it ok to just leave like this?”
“Hoo. Let the chips fall where they may.”
“…..”
Ah. It seemed the Prime Minister was under considerable amount of stress.
Woo-soonghoon nodded his head heavily. The words had already been spoken…
Moreover, even if they were dual citizens, weren’t they more of a citizens of Alandal than Korea?
“We’ll conclude the press conference.”
While the reporters were speaking noisily to each other, the press conference came to an end. The end was more disordered than the beginning of the press conference.
– Alandal taking the independent route? What about the cooperation between Korea and Alandal?
– The request given by the people of Korea was ignored. Congress wonders if Alandal’s Korean citizenship should be revoked.
– An announcement was made by the Prime Minister of Alandal! He is working for the world, not Korea.
Even if one excluded the copycat articles that were being put up by the minute, over several dozen new articles regarding Alandal was being put up.
Jung-minchan tore his eyes away from the monitor, and he sunk deep into his chair.
“Hoo-ooh.”
“Are you doing ok?”
Michan smirked at Woo-soonghoon’s words.
“It is frustrating that they don’t understand what we are trying to do.”
He wanted to save earth. Korea was important to him.
However, the forest was burning. Would it make a difference if a single tree was saved? In the end, it was more important to put out the fire.
Kahng-woojin was working harder than anyone to make this happen….
“Well, nothing has changed for us.”
“Huh?”
“Did you forget what our king said? There will be no nations soon. A world where morality collapses will come…”
“Mmmm.”
He did remember Kahng-woojin saying that. However, at the time, he had thought Woojin had said those words to ramp up the sense of crisis. If one considered what was happening around the world right now, Kahng-woojin’s words didn’t sound like an idle threat anymore.
It could happen for real. If people lost trust in their government in such a tense environment, there might really come a time when there will be no governments.
The scary part was that this scenario didn’t seem too far away.
“I’m fine with the status quo right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
Woo-soonghoon shrugged his shoulders.
“What right do I have to talk about the defense of the human race? I just know that everything will turn out well if the king succeeds in his mission. I don’t feel the need to go beyond my own pond.”
He went from being a handphone salesman to being a founding member of this guild. Now he was the personal secretary of a king, who had massive influence over the world.
He was satisfied with his station, and he didn’t feel the need to advance more in life.
No, he had been placed in a position he was under-qualified for.
He didn’t plan on getting greedy, so he didn’t feel any pressure. He’ll do the work he had always done. He just had to do well in running errands for Kahng-woojin. He just had to do what he was told.
Woo-soonghoon still held this mentality even now.
“You really are…”
Jung-minchan shook his head from side to side.
He was Alandal’s Prime Minister. He didn’t deny that the pressure and responsibility was recently getting to him.
“Yes. We just have to follow our king.”
“Of course.”
They had always picked up after Kahng-woojin’s accident. However, Jung-minchan had caused the accident this time…
“You were right to roast them. Even I feel better after it.”
“Hoo hoo.”
He regretted turning the press into his enemies by saying something unnecessary, but his feelings were comforted a little bit.
“I guarantee it. You were 100 times more lenient to the press than our king.”
“Soonghoon. You… Huh huh.”
Minchan started to laugh.
So this was why the king kept Woo-soonghoon by his side.
Minchan thought he had a little bit better understanding now.
***
He was on the road after finding the location of Aria’s Temple.
Woojin was atop his Phantom Steed Shing Shing, and he was picking at his ears.
“Ah. My ears are itching.”
“Maybe we should rest a little bit before we go any further?”
Melody was behind Woojin, and she grabbed him tightly as if she was afraid of falling off.
“No. It’s all right.”
“….”
When silence greeted him, Woojin glanced backwards. He saw the pale-faced Melody. It seemed she hadn’t said those words in concern for Woojin. She wanted to rest.
“…let’s take a break.”
Woojin stopped Shing Shing, and he looked at his surrounding. There was a small hill, and a stream was flowing between a rock outcropping. However, the water smelled foul as if something had died upstream, so the water wasn’t fit for consumption.
“Ggaebi. Check if there are any Dungeons or Colonies nearby.”
[I will do so.]
Ggaebi’s true form slipped out of Woojin’s shadow, and he started scouting the surrounding land.
Woojin didn’t plan on avoiding his enemies. If they were present, he would clean them up.
Woojin opened his Inventory to take out water he could boil. He was also going to take out simple ingredients he could cook….
“They ate it all.”
Jaemin was the only one he had given access to his Inventory through the Dimensional Storage. Numerous survivors of the Coalition were gathering at his Colony, and it seemed the food and water in his possession was given to these people.
However, the Colony City was formed now. They would now have the means to purchase Items from the City’s stores with Bloodstones. They didn’t need to raid his Inventory anymore.
“Let’s see.”
Woojin opened his Achievement Store. He purchased food, water, chairs and a table. He set it up in front of him.
“….”
Melody silently watched the sight. Woojin nodded his head towards her.
“Why don’t you sit?”
“Yes.”
Melody had used her Holy Power called Aria’s Blessing.
Woojin’s Familiars were extremely incompatible with Aria’s power, so she hadn’t been able to use her powers on the Phantom Steed. She got motion sickness from riding a horse she was unfamiliar with.
When she got off, she immediately asked for Aria’s Blessing.
She sat in the seat.
“You aren’t using the power of the Colony. You are using the power of creation.”
“Well, this is a little bit different than that.”
The Achievement Store was similar to the Point Store, yet it was slightly different.
“…like a god.”
“Huh? To be precise, I’m not creating anything. I’m just purchasing it.”
“I’ve also used the Point Store before.”
“….”
Melody was well aware of the existence of the Point Store. She had lost the privilege, but she had once been a Dimensional lord.
“It is something very surprising. It is able to mimic god’s miracle.”
Is that so? Woojin had only thought about it as an Item Shop. However, such an obvious system was being called god’s miracle by Melody.
“You planted a World Tree. You created the castle and homes. Then you created bread and food….”
“What are you trying to say?”
Woojin brows furrowed.
Melody had a cautious expression. She carefully asked her question.
“I wonder if the Immortal is already a god?”
“A god…”
Woojin emptied a cup of water, and he bit into the bread.
Anything he bought from the Dimensional Store and Achievement Store was formed in reality. It could be seen as an act of creation. How should he resolve this misunderstanding? No. Was it really a misunderstanding?
“What is your definition of a god?”
“…”
She was a Holy Maiden, who worshipped a goddess. Was this question too simple for her? Or was it too complex for her?
Melody couldn’t easily answer the question, and the silence stretched on.
[There is a Dungeon to the north.]
Ggaebi had returned from his reconnaissance. Woojin got up when he heard Ggaebi’s words.
“Well, I’m going to go clear out a Dungeon. You should wait here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Woojin got on Shing Shing, and he disappeared into the distance. Melody sat for a long time as she struggled over her thoughts.
There was no easy answer to the question posed by Woojin. Her expression became complicated.
***
Colony City Yoros.
A drilling ground that doubled as a square was built at every key location. People were gathered in the square as they watched the fire.
The enormous flame alternated between expanding and shrinking. It was like a forge’s fire being stoked by a a bellow.
Hwah-roo-roohk.
A person could be seen standing within the flame.
“Whew. I’m having a hard time getting this right.”
Sunggoo tilted his head, and he once again created a flame.
Hwah-roo-roo-roohk!
It took less than 1 second for his body to burn. Sunggoo purposefully turned his body into fire. It looked as if Sunggoo’s body was getting a bit larger. However, his body kept returning to his original size. He kept repeating this process.
People seemed to be entertained by the sight especially the children. Also, several people had their two hands clasped. It looked as if they were giving a prayer.
“What are you doing?”
Do-jaemin had been passing by when he saw a praying girl, so he asked her a question. The surprised girl lowered her head.
“Ah, Count Jaemin.”
He was a noble of the night. Do-jaemin had inherited the blood of a Count, and he was now a Vampire Lord. He was famous in the coalition for his considerable battle prowess.
Do-jaemin and Hong-sunggoo was known as the vassals of Immortal. Then there was Blanka, Che-haesol and the Phantom Unit. The people gazed at them with awe.
“I’m praying for a wish as I look at the elemental spirit.”
“…elemental spirit?”
“Yes.”
The girl nodded her head as if it was obvious. He glanced at Hong-sunggoo.
“Ah. Well…”
In a certain way, he did look like an elemental spirit….
“I always though the Immortal as someone to be feared. However, it seems he is someone very extraordinary. He has the Fire Spirit King and the Count as vassals. All the people under him are powerful.”
“Yes. Well, that’s…”
They hadn’t been strong from the beginning, but he didn’t want to argue every one of her points. He just laughed. Now he had a good idea what the people on this planet thought of him.
“Well, you should continue watching the sight.”
“Yes, Count.”
Jaemin looked at Sunggoo in admiration. Sunggoo didn’t care if people watched him or not. He was able to maintain his concentration.
‘I would be too embarrassed to do that.’
Was it the case of his concentration being great? Or was he too oblivious of his surrounding?
Do-jaemin shook his head as he left his seat.
‘I wonder if Woojin-hyung got there safely.’
He planned on legitimizing Melody by making her the official Holy Maiden of Aria, and he wanted her to receive her Holy Item.
Basically, he wanted to take the Holy Item away from her, and it had been two days since he had headed towards Aria’s Temple.
It was located in the middle of enemy territory, yet he felt relaxed since this was Woojiin he was talking about.
‘If we gain goddess Aria’s Holy Item, then I guess we have only one left.’
This was according to Woojin’s words.
Once he obtained the god of time Heres’ Holy Item, Woojin would have obtained all the Items needed to make his Set.
Since the hint about destroying the Dungeons hinged on this Set, Jaemin wanted it to be found as soon as possible.
It wasn’t too bad being dispatched to Alphen, but Jaemin was already homesick.
He wondered how Woojin-hyung was able to push away his loneliness for 20 years….