Seoul Station’s Necromancer Chapter 98:
Chapter 98 - Hong-sunggoo's Rush
[Currently, the Dungeon Break is suspected to have occurred at an already cleared Dungeon . This event is unprecedented, and this scene is a recreation of the Dungeon Shock . . . ]
Everyone's insides became numb as they watched the news flash .
“What the **** is going on?”
How could a Dungeon suddenly break without the 30 day wait period?
When everyone had fallen into a state of panic, the door to the room opened .
“Vice president . We've received a request from the Ministry of National Defense . All Roused are order to stop clearing the Dungeons . They are ordered to be on standby . ”
“Mmmm . All right . ”
After the employee stopped speaking, Minchan's expression became serious .
This was an unusual Dungeon Break, so it was the right move to put everyone on standby except for those members who was currently in the Dungeon . Sunggoo was here and Haesol was nearby at the newly leased Monster Quarantine center .
“I have no idea what is going on . ”
“Shouldn’t we report it to our president first?”
“Mmm . I don't have any way to contact . . . ”
Woojin didn't use social media, and he didn't even check his e-mails that often . The only way to contact him was through the messenger app, but it would be impossible if he didn't have internet connection .
“First, send him a message . Then try contacting him through the Titan Guild . ”
He was with the Holy Maiden . If they could contact her, then they could reach him through her . Of course, even if that didn't work out, this Dungeon Break would be reported by the world news, so he'll eventually receive the news .
“Hmmm . What the **** is going on again . . . ”
Minchan's body shook when he thought about the Dungeon Shock that had happened 5 years ago . Countless people died that day, and many cities had been destroyed . They were able to recover in such a short amount of time using the incredible amount of money made from the Bloodstones produced by the Dungeon . However, the population that had been killed off at that time hadn't recovered yet .
Everyone looked at the news with a serious expression .
*
The buildings in close proximity to Daegoo's Jookjun Station was razed to the ground .
“Koo-ohhhhhhh!”
The Ice Trolls rampaged like mad men . The clubs they swung blew the vehicles away too easily, and the buildings crumbled when they tapped the clubs against them .
There were no warnings before the Dungeon Break happened, so this was a calamity for city dwellers nearby .
An Ice Troll was huffing and puffing as it wandered around the residential area .
“Koong koong . ”
It smelled the scent of humans .
Koohng . Koohng .
It wasn't as large as an ogre, but it was twice as large as a human . The Ice Troll was tall enough to be able to look through the second floor window of a house . The Troll with the disgusting eyelashes searched by looking through the windows .
“Kyahhhhk!”
A girl made eye contact with the Troll . She covered her head, and she let out a scream .
“Koo-roo-roo . ”
The Ice Troll laughed as it stretched out its arm . Young humans were especially delicious .
“Kyahhhhk!”
The Ice Troll had abundant white fur on his body, and it used its long arms to break the window . It messed up the interior of the room as it tried to **** the girl . The girl tried to back away, but the wall was at her back . She had nowhere to run .
The door was right next to her, but fear made her feet leadened . The thought of opening the door and running out hadn’t even occurred to her .
“Koo-roo-rook . ”
The Ice Troll got close to catching the girl, but she kept eluding the Ice Troll . It became angry, and it raised its club . It decided to destroy the house then eat the young child .
At that moment, a muscular man fell from the sky .
“Hahhhhhhp!”
Kwahng .
A human's fist descended on top of the Ice Troll's head to strike it .
“Koo-roo-roo-roook!”
“Ah . It isn't dead . ”
He had put all his weight behind the attack yet the Ice Troll hadn't died . The Troll had a well-deserved reputation . The shaped of the Troll's head was deformed as if its skull had been crushed . However, it was twitching as it started to recover .
“If one blow doesn't work, then I'll give him a second one!”
The man's fist turned black .
Kwahhng!
It was as if his black fist had turned into stone . It cracked the Ice Troll's head . The brain matter spilled out . The Ice Troll was still twitching, but soon even that came to an end .
“Hey, little kid . Come out . ”
Even at the man's words, the girl wouldn't move, because she was too afraid . A group of people came chasing after the man .
“President!”
“Take care of everything here . There is a kid over there .
“Yes, sir . ”
KH Guild's president Baek-jongdo walked into the alleyway, and he frowned when he saw another Ice Troll coming towards him .
“The army isn't here yet?”
“They are trying to quell the monsters from the east . The civilians aren't evacuated yet, so you shouldn't expect any fire support . ”
This was a problem . If it was a scheduled Dungeon Break, it wouldn't have been a problem .
They would have evacuated the civilians, and the army would have concentrated their superior firepower to overwhelm and slaughter the monsters that popped out of the Dungeon .
However, this course of action wasn’t possible, since this was an unscheduled Dungeon Break .
Since the evacuation of civilians never happened, it was impossible to bombard the city . Moreover, armored vehicles were too slow to root out the monsters now hiding within the city . The Roused were best suited for tracking down and hunting the monsters unleashed within the city .
This was why all the Roused, who had come to raid the Daegoo Dungeons, were given mobilization orders .
KH guild's Baek-jongdo had an appointment to enter the Daegoo Station's 6 star Dungeon . However, when he heard about the Dungeon Break, he had come here .
The Roused occupied downtown as they hunted down the monsters .
“Chet . Fortunately, there weren't too many released . ”
A Rank B Roused was capable of facing off against an Ice Troll . If there was a really big one, it was possible to take the Troll down by teaming up with several Roused . This wasn't the Dungeon where there was a limit on how many people could enter . The Roused held the numerical advantage out here . It was quite fortunate that the big bodied Ice Trolls had come out . They were easy to spot . It would have been difficult to make much progress if small monsters, who were adept at hiding, had come out .
The damage couldn't be helped, and it wasn't enough damage to call it a calamity . There had been only one Dungeon Break . The problem was whether this unannounced Dungeon Break was an outlier, or it was the beginning of something new .
“I hope this is a one-off event . ”
If one wanted to say this event was a simple accident, they would have to find the reason why the Dungeon Break happened without any warning . However, they had to exterminate all the monsters unleashed here first .
Baek-jongdo looked at the Ice Troll stroll towards him, and his fists were dyed black .
*
Shwahhhhh .
As the water fell from the showerhead, it felt as if the water was cooling his hot body and mind .
“Ha-ah . ”
Lee-sahngho let out a restless moan . He had gained something incredible .
“I can control it . ”
The Roused could only come out after clearing the Dungeon . The Return Stone had to be used to bring down the barrier . It was the same for the monsters . After 30 days, the monsters used the Return Stone to come out of the Dungeon .
This was the Dungeon Break .
“Ha-ah . This power . . . . ”
He had become Iello's vassal . Most of the monsters didn't even register his presence as he had headed towards the Return Stone . He took the Return Stone, and he brought down the barrier .
It was like any other Dungeon Break, but this time he had guided the monsters out this time . He had loosed them into the world .
It was without warning, and it was by his will .
“Koo-koo-kook . ”
He knew how big of a damage a Dungeon Break would cause if the people wasn't prepared . He had already experienced it through the Dungeon Shock .
Most people had evacuated to a safe zone far away from the subway stations . However, there were still a lot of people around the Dungeons, because of the Dungeon Businesses . Many people still lived near the Dungeons .
This situation was akin to a house of cards .
He just had to manipulate it a little bit, and it'll all come falling down .
“Tremble from the fear . ”
It was regrettable that he couldn't control the monsters . However, he'll be able to get the desired result just by being able to cause a Dungeon Break .
Of course, he had to prepare several things .
It didn't' matter if he came out immediately after the barrier went down or if he waited to come out, people might discover him coming out of the Dungeon with the monsters .
He had to make preparations, so he could cover up his activities .
He'll begin after he finished setting several things up .
“Kahng-woojin . Wait for me . ”
Kahng-woojin .
The **** had to feel it .
The sadness felt from loss .
“What should I steal from his first?”
Lee-sahngho, who had gained power, laughed . He couldn't feel any more satisfied with the appearance reflected by his mirror . In recent days, had he ever been as happy as he was today? Endorphin surged just from thinking about how we would destroy that **** .
It felt as if the stress that was suffocating him was blown away .
“Yes . First, his family . . . ”
Next his friends, guild, underlings, reputation . . .
He'll steal it all from Woojin .
*
There were 47 dead, and 512 wounded . It was estimated 50 million dollars worth of damage was done .
The unannounced Dungeon Break held massive implications, and the damage it caused was enormous .
It hearkened the memories of the Dungeon Shock, and the fear that was felt on that day .
Just this single Dungeon Break prompted an exodus of people out of cities possessing subway stations .
There were some who left, and there were some who stayed . However, the people who stayed were those who didn't have the means to move . The people with money quickly left to the safe zone, and the rest of the people slowly started getting ready to leave .
It had been only two days since Daegoo's Dungeon Break had ended .
In just two days, 10% of Seoul's population had migrated to Kahng-wondoh's safe zone .
“Hoo-ooh . I'm too restless to stay still . ”
Sunggoo and Haesol had stayed idle during the two days, since they weren't allowed to clear Dungeons . They keenly felt the loss of opportunity . Danger had come calling, but they hadn't been ready . They felt a sense of powerlessness .
No, they had made preparations .
They temporarily moved all their families nearby Alandal's office, so they could protect them just in case . The real estate prices in the safe zone skyrocketed, but the apartments near the stations were bottoming out .
From Sunggo's perspective, he felt better knowing his family was nearby .
“We can't still contact hyung-nim?”
“Mmmm . They said he is in the midst of an operation . He'll probably call us soon . ”
Minchan was also frustrated . Korea was rocking, yet the leader of Alandal, who had to be their anchor, was absent .
Sunggoo was frustrated . He wasn’t training or hunting right now . An uneasy feeling grew inside him as if he had taken a step backwards .
“I can't stay like this . I'm going to go around the nearby low rank Dungeons . ”
“Mmm . You do that . When you are done, let's contact each other immediately”
“Yes . ”
“Go with team leader Woo . It would be best if we communicated through team leader Woo . ”
“I'll do as you say”
He was the chief of the president's secretary office, but Kahng-woojin was currently absent . This was why Woo-soonghoon joined Sunggoo to assist him . The clearing time of low rank Dungeons were short . Sunggoo thought it was more productive and better for his peace of mind if he cleared some Dungeons rather than doing nothing .
Maybe it was caused by the feeling of unrest, but the usually full Dungeon schedules had several empty spots . However, the lower rank Dungeons didn't operate on appointments . This was why the employees from the secretary office was sent to the close-by Dungeons to line up, and they were able to set up a schedule .
“Currently, it is possible to use Leesoo Station's 4th Exit . ”
“Then let's head towards there . ”
It was only one station away, so the location wouldn't cause any burden . Sunggoo and Haesol headed towards the Leesoo station . Jackson was inside a container truck . When they arrived at the Leesoo station, the sabertoothed tiger Jackson and the knife-beak crows got off .
“I'll be back within 3 hours . ”
“Yes, sir . Please work hard, director . ”
He couldn't clear the Dungeon at a crazy fast speed like Kahng-woojin, but he could solo clear a 3 star Dungeon within 3 hours . Moreover, Haesol was him, so the clear time would be much shorter .
Sunggoo and Haesol disappeared into the Dungeon . Woo-soonghoon started the now familiar waiting game .
“Hah . Should we go to a cafe?”
“Yes, chief . ”
There were 20 employee under the secretary's office . Soonghoon left couple of them to guard the Dungeon Entrance, and he headed towards a nearby cafe with the rest of the employees .
“Uh?”
Soonghoon was heading towards the cafe, when he saw a man wearing a black robe and a matching black mask . Soonhoon unconsciously came to a stop, and he tilted his head in confusion .
‘It looks as if he is laughing at me . ’
He quickly looked around, but this other person was already on his way .
‘Did I see wrong?’
The shape and glint of his eyes made him feel this person knew him . It felt as if the man was laughing at him . He was wearing a mask, so Soonghoon thought his eyes were playing tricks on him .
Woo-soonghoon headed towards a cafe, and the masked man headed toward Leesoo station's 8th exit .