Chapter 194 – Moon World (1)
The room was too spartan to be called a reception room.
There were no windows, and the room was thoroughly isolated from the outside. There were only two chairs present, and a man was sitting in one of the chair.
Ggee-ee-eek.
Kim-kahngchul saw the tightly shut door open up. When he saw Kahng-woojin enter, he stood up from his seat.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Woojin smirked at Kim-kahngchul’s nonchalant words.
“You have big balls.”
Kim-kahngchul had been barely able to escape after suffering a defeat, yet he had come here out of his own volition.
When Woojin sat in the chair, Kim-kahngchul also sat down.
“What do you have to say to me?”
Woojin always went straight to the point. Usually, a person used levity and delay tactics to assess the intent of one’s opponent. However, Woojin didn’t even attempt to use such tactics.
“I’m hear to deliver a message.”
“Whose message? Toppler? Tell him to come here himself.”
“He can’t come here yet.”
“Hmmm.”
Woojin folded his arms, and he leaned back into the back of his chair. It was funny, but the uncomfortable seat helped him organize his thoughts.
“Why can’t he come? Does he think he’ll die?”
“Are you planning on killing him?”
“I don’t like people, who approaches me, with some secret agenda in mind. This is true for you too.”
Woojin gave a non-subtle threat, but Kim-kahngchul’s expression remained relaxed. No, it was as if he had fully accepted the consequences of this meeting. He was beyond worrying about his own death.
“This isn’t my first time meeting you.”
“I know. We met last time.”
“No. I’m talking about meeting you in this place.”
Woojin’s eyebrows twitched.
Kim-kahngchul expressed his feeling of uneasiness in a frank manner, and the atmosphere took a turn for the worse.
“I’m not afraid of dying.”
“Everyone, who said such nonsense, ended up dying by my hands.”
“I’m only afraid that I’ll have to repeat this meeting again.”
“I want you to speak in terms that I can understand.”
Woojin stood up from his seat.
As Woojin looked down from a higher vantage point, nervousness assaulted Kim-kahngchul.
“Your actions are always the same. It is as they predicted.”
“My patience is almost at an end.”
Woojin backed up his words by unfurling his hand.
Weeeeeng.
A ball of magical energy was in his hand. Kim-kahngchul glanced at it for a moment, but his gaze didn’t falter.
If his role ended here, he didn’t mind dying.
The only regret he had was not being able to see earth being saved.
“If my death is needed to save earth, I’ll willingly give it up. However, I have words I must deliver to you.”
Kim-kahngchul spoke quickly.
“You returned to earth later than the time decided by your destiny.”
Was Kim-kahngchul talking about his return from Alphen to earth?
“So what?”
“I’m not sure why, but the appearance of Iello occurred earlier than expected.”
“Iello?”
He had heard of that name before.
“Everything has been accelerated, so you haven’t gained your full qualification yet. It is a shame.”
Woojin’s expression crumpled.
He didn’t like this.
It felt as if these people were playing above his head.
Fate, oracles, prophecies, and gods….
It was a gift set of everything he hated. He wanted to plug Kim-kahngchul’s mouth shut.
What was fate?
He wasn’t someone, who walked down a preordained road.
“When you are ready, Dr. Toppler will contact you. Only you can save the Moon World and Earth.”
“Why are those bastards so secretive about their identities?”
If they had the same goal as him, shouldn’t they lay the cards on the table like Melody?
The Moon World was an unknown dimension to Woojin. Dr. Toppler had come from that place, and he was the first human encountered by Woojin with an unobservable soul.
When a person encounters something one doesn’t understand, one feels fear and resistance.
If they truly wanted an alliance…..
If they truly held the same goal as him, they should explain the situation in a way he could understand it.
Toppler should have come here instead of a messenger like Kim-kahngchul.
Weeeeeng
The ball of magical energy in Woojin’s hand hardened. A single punch would obliterate Kim-kahngchul’s head.
“This is the last message I was tasked to deliver to you.”
He licked his dried lips, and he accepted his approaching fate.
“Have you ever asked yourself why you are able to level up?”
Kim-kahngchul closed his eyes.
He had fulfilled his role.
He had believed in the prophecy as if it was scripture…. He trusted the god-like beings. He had not hesitated in his efforts to save earth, and his role had now come to an end.
Weeeeeng.
The ball of magical energy dispersed.
Kim-kahngchul cracked open his closed eyes.
He saw Kahng-woojin, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
It was as if he had been smacked in the back of his head.
Kim-kahngchul asked questions, but Kahng-woojin didn’t respond at all.
He decided to wait this out.
A significant amount of time had passed.
Kahng-woojin’s eyes were unfocused from the confusion, and his eyes was shaking.
‘Why did I never question this point?’
It was unnatural.
No, it was unbelievable.
Leveling up….
This wasn’t a game.
When a question formed in his mind, more questions cropped up in its wake.
Why was he summoned to Alphen?
What was the relationship between Alphen and Earth?
“Toppler…. When can I meet him?”
“He said he’ll look for you when you are ready.”
“Ready….”
Was he talking about his level up? Or was he talking about the key called the Thrash’s Executioner?
He had gained treasures within Alphen to make his defensive gear. What did he need to gain on earth to make the Executioner?
Earth and Alphen….
There was no end in sight for his worries, and his thoughts were clogged up inside his mind.
There was no way he could find the answer, and he was running out of time.
If he needed to choose one of two things, he would rather abstain from choosing, so he could have both.
“You should stay here and don’t do anything.”
A new emotion sprouted on Kim-kahngchul’s resigned face.
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
“Me? Why?”
The act of murder didn’t always need a reason behind it to be carried out.
“If your information turns out to be rotten, I’ll kill you at that time.”
Did Kim-kahngchul think he killed someone on the basis of not liking someone?
If Kim-kahngchul didn’t have impure intentions, there was no reason for enmity between them. He was only a messenger sent by the Moon World.
Koo-koong.
The closed door opened, and Kahng-woojin left the room. Kim-kahngchul stood up from his chair as if he had just seen a ghost.
“…he has changed.”
The last pages to his book of fate had come to an end, yet his story hadn’t ended.
He had never planned for his life after this point in time.
Tears fell from his face.
He’ll be able to see the savior, who’ll open up the new world.
Jung-minchan, who had been waiting anxiously , asked Woojin a question.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
As if his head hurt, Kahng-woojin put pressure on his temple with his fingers.
“Just leave Kim-kahngchul imprisoned.”
“If he tries to escape, I believe he’ll succeed. Are you sure?”
Kim-kahngchul was a high rank Roused. If he wanted to secretly escape, how were they supposed to stop him?
“If he wants to leave, he’ll leave. If he wants to stay, he’ll stay.”
He didn’t care if Kim-kahngchul left or not.
At the very least, he’ll be able to read the intention of the Moon World, who kept the truth hidden from him.
He didn’t care if Kim-kahngchul stayed here as a hostage, or leave to advance his agenda.
“When will we arrive in Greece?”
“We’ll be there in three hours.”
“Hmmm.”
He was a spitting distance from level 99.
Should he continue to hunt? Or should he earn Points, so he could gain his two remaining pieces of the Thrash’s set?
“I’ll do both.”
“What?”
“Tell Jaemin to come to me. Then you go do what you have to do.”
After giving his instruction, Woojin ascended towards the deck. Jung-minchan kept following behind him.
“I told you to go do your work.”
“It is my job to help the president.”
“Basically, you don’t have any work to do.”
He was the Prime Minister.
How busy could he be?
The flying fortress traveled towards sites where large Dungeon Breaks had occurred. However, Bibi was in charge of the battles.
His job was basically changing the schedule when he received requests for help from various countries.
However, even this was being done by his subordinates.
“Your job is cushy. Anyways, I saw some people with very dark souls. You should crackdown on your employees.”
“What?”
While Woojin walked back and forth on the ship, he had crossed path with employees with souls so dirty that a bad stench emanated from them.
“It seems you were too loose in how you picked the employees.”
“…I’ll immediately investigate this problem.”
Jung-minchan answered with a serious expression on his face. Aside from the Roused, he had hand-picked all the regular employees. He had looked carefully at the 1,000 employees he had hired, but it seemed he hadn’t been able to filter out all the bad apples.
Woojin left behind Minhcan, who quickly headed towards his office. He went to the corner of the deck. He approached Yong Yong, who was taking up the entire Wyvern’s nest by itself.
[What is your wish?]
Woojin smirked as he summoned Dolsae and Bibi.
Pah-paht.
“Ah-aht. Master.”
Bibi, who had been playing inside the control room, was abruptly summoned in front of Woojin.
“Bibi. I have some other work to do. I want you to work with Dolsae and Yong Yong to kill all the Dimensional lords.”
“Oh ho. Please leave it to me.”
Afterwards, he summoned his Death Knights and Jaenis.
Shwahhhhk.
An overwhelming sense of danger was felt when they were summoned. They looked at Woojin with trust in their eyes.
“I want you all to kill every enemy you see.”
[As the lord commands….]
Their hunt would increase his EXP.
“Were you looking for me, hyung?”
Do-jaemin appeared right on time. When Jaemin arrived, Woojin took him towards the Portal.
“You’ll be coming with me.”
“Are we going to Alphen? Are we going to go pick up team leader Haesol and Sunggoo hyung?”
“They aren’t children. They’ll come when they are ready.”
“So where are we going?”
“We are going to increase our Point total”
“What?”
Jaemin, who was full of question, was taken to the Dimensional Domain of Alandal.
[My lord….]
Kiba, who had been guarding the owner-less castle, kneeled in front of him.
“Mmm. I really will take you to a battlefield next time.”
[I’ll be waiting for your order.]
He would have to rotate Kiba out with someone else. The Death Knights were causing havoc to their heart’s content outside. Kiba only had the chance to fight occasional Adventurers, who arrived to this Dimensional Domain through the Dungeon.
“Jaemin.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“I need Points.”
“Mmm…. What can I do to help?”
“We are going for an endless run of Dimensional Battles.”
At Woojin’s words, Jaemin grinned.
He had inherited the Count’s Blood to become a Vampire Lord.
He had escaped the curse of the sun, and he now had the ability to be able to control his thirst.
He was basically a human if one took away his strength, reflex, sight….
It had been a while, since he had far outstripped a human in terms of overall ability.
“Please leave it to me.”
He’ll be able to show off his enhanced capabilities through this.
Do-jaemin sat in the Tactician’s chair.
Woojin didn’t even bother to sit in his Throne to look for his opponents. He just chose a random opponent.
He didn’t care if they accepted or not. He’ll plunder all the Dimensional lords.
He needed a massive amount of Points to be able to craft the remaining two Thrash’s set Item.
〈You have requested a Dimensional Battle with Liah-nim.〉
He had picked a random opponent, yet when he saw the name, Woojin let out a smirk.
“It’s her again.”
Woojin’s war against the Dimensions had just started.
Ggee-ah-ahng, ggahng.
The sound of steel clanging against each other was loud, and the sound rang out into the surrounding.
“This is your ration, Toppler-nim.”
Toppler stopped hammering out the crumpled steel plate. He smiled at the child, who had come to him with a small basket.
“Thank you, Soh Soh.”
The little girl named Soh Soh gave a bow in farewell, and she quickly walked away with her basket.
“Whew.”
He let out a sigh after he pulled himself away from his intense labor. When he opened what was brought to him, he saw a canteen with water, and a bowl with some unknown gruel.
“Mmmm.”
He ate gruel that tasted like nothing. It dribbled down his throat, since there was nothing to chew within it. His simple meal didn’t take too long to finish, but he was still thankful for the food.
Toppler drank all the water he was given, and he turned his gaze towards the window. He looked out at the black sky.
Anticipation and worry filled his eyes as he looked at the twinkling stars.
“Ho-ooh. This time we have to….”
This place had already reached its limit.
If another Reset occurs, the Moon World might no longer have a future.
All they keys were in that man’s hands.