Seoul Station’s Necromancer Chapter 175:
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 .
“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 **** 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 **** . ”
“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 **** 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… .