Chapter 148

Chapter 148 – Expedition (2)

People were gathered like a swarm of bees in front of the Seoul Station’s 1st Exit.

There was a food cart, and a ring of reporters around it.  They kept a distance of 10 meters from the food cart.  It looked as if all the media outlets from around the world was there.

There was only one person in the world, who attracted this many reporters.

The sounds of the camera shutters were going off continuously, but no one was able to approach any closer.

Woojin was eating an oden stick in front of a food cart.

“This one is pretty good.”

“Please try some of the soup.”

Woo-soonghoon poured the oden soup into a paper cup, and he handed it to Woojin.

Woojin looked at Sunggoo, Haesol, Blanka and Melody.  They were standing there doing nothing.

“You guys should eat.”

“What? Aren’t we heading immediately towards the Dungeon?”

“We are heading out, but we have to wait for one more person to join us.”

“Uh, hyung-nim? Is someone else supposed to be here?”

“Yes.”

At Sunggoo’s question, Woojin’s gaze headed towards Woo-soonghoon.

“Did you contact him?”

“Yes, I contacted him.”

After a moment, a large figure pushed past the reporters.

“Yo, brother Kahng.”

“Bake-hyung is here?”

A smiling Baek-jungdo was approaching with his secretary Jung-chansung in tow.

Baek-jungdoh looked very casual as he put an oden in his mouth.

“Uh? What’s president Baek doing here?”

Baek-jongdoh grinned at Sunggoo’s question.

“What am I doing here?  We are one team now. One team.  Ooh-haha.”

Ah. The president must have called him here.

It seemed he had taken a real liking to Baek-jungdo, since he allowed Baek-jungdo to join the expedition.

“Ah. We were short on a Tanker.”

Sunggoo had a confused expression on his face when he heard Woojin’s words.

“What about me?”

Woojin smirked as he drank the oden soup.

“You have to train separately.”

“…oohk.”

He was going to be dead soon!

Sunggoo looked as if he was about to cry.  Woojin’s gaze headed towards Haesol.

“We have someone who can kite, and she can double as a communication apparatus.”

He laughed as he looked at Blanka.

“We also have backup Tanker, who can heal and cast Buffs.”

Woojin opened his mouth when his eyes met Melody’s eyes.

“We also have a healer, who can sustain other’s life.”

When Woojin’s words ended, there was a twinkle in Sunggoo’s eyes.

“You don’t have a damage dealer, hyung-nim.  As expected, I’ll…”

“I’ve already brought in someone else.  You’ll be trained separately.”

“Hoo-oohk…….”

He couldn’t escape this. Ah, he was already scared.

Woojin ate the rest of the oden on the skewer, and he looked at Soonghoon.

“How much do I have to give you?”

“It is $100.”

“Huh. One is worth $20?”

“Yes.”

Soonghoon grumbled as he gave the money to the lady.  Then they headed towards the entrance of the Seoul Station’s 1st Exit.  When they left, the reporters crowded around the food cart.

Click, click.

They were absorbed in taking pictures of the bamboo skewers left behind after Woojin ate his oden, and they also took pictures of the food cart.  One didn’t need to see the article to guess the title of the articles they would upload.

Woojin discreetly asked Soonghoon as he watched ruckus he left behind.

“Are we on Korean land right now?”

“Yes.”

“Try buying up everything here.”

Soonghoon grinned.

“As expected.  President thought $20 was too excessive for a single oden.  I’ll immediately buy up the nearby land, and I’ll hit them up with taxes.”

Ddah-ahk.

Woojin smacked the back of Soonghoon’s head.

“Do you think I am you?  I just want you to purchase the land near here. I don’t know what I’ll bring through the Dungeon.  I need more space.”

“Yes….”

Soonghoon rubbed the back of his head as he attended the group to the Dungeon’s entrance.

“Please be safe on your trip, president.”

As a senior executive of the KH guild, Jung-chansung looked at Baek-jungdo with worry.  Baek-jungdo let out his unique laugh as he slapped Jung-chansung’s shoulder.

“Ha ha ha.  You are worrying too much.  I’m going with lil bro Kahng.  He is earth’s strongest.”

‘That is why I’m worried, president’

The party entered the Dungeon as they received a highly worried gaze from Jung-chansung.

After seeing them off, Woo-soonghoon thrust his hand forward.  As if to ask the meaning of this gesture, Jung-chansung met Woo-soonghoon’s gaze.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“President Baek ate one oden.  That’ll be $20.”

“…you are suppose to be the minister of foreign affairs.”

“Uh-uh. That doesn’t mean I can’t be thorough with my calculations.”

“…….”

Woo-soonghoon had 8 years of experience as a salesman before he turned his life around.

Woo-soonghoon’s calculation was sharp like a knife.  Jung-chansung opened his wallet.

***

There was a veil around the Seoul Station’s 1st Exit.

The Dungeon in question was a topic of many conversations.

After Kahng-woojin cleared it, endless supply of Artifacts had come out.  It was also the site where he murdered a man and the body was illegally disposed of inside the Dungeon.  It was a Dungeon that was a subject to a lot of wild rumors.

Of course, only a few select people knew its real identity.

It was Kahng-woojin’s Dimensional Domain.

The only one who had no idea about this fact was Blanka.

“Uh, president? The portal is….”

When Woojin entered the Dungeon, the Dungeon was instructed not to regenerate the monsters. Blanka became puzzled when the red portal, which was connected to the Dimensional Domain, appeared immediately in front of them.

Moreover, the president wasn’t courteous enough to resolve Blanka’s confusion.

Shoo-shoo-shook.

When Woojin passed through the portal, the rest of the party entered the portal one by one.

“Mmmm.”

When Blanka passed through the portal, he found himself in a building with a high ceiling.  It was a large hall that one might see at a palace, and there was a throne in front of his eyes.

Moreover, there were three red portals next to the seat.

Blanka was looking around when his gaze landed on Woojin, who was sitting on the throne.

“I want to welcome you all to the Dimensional Domain of Alandal.”

The group members felt a peculiar flutter at Woojin’s laugh.

There had been a new breed of monster that appeared in the world.  These monsters were able to command other monsters, and a nickname was given to them.

Monster lords.  This was what everyone was calling the Dimensional lords.

Every Roused in Alandal knew Woojin possessed a Dungeon and he was a Dimensional lord.  Of course, everyone except Blanka.

“T…that can’t be.”

“Huh huh.  It seems my foreign friend and I were the only people in the dark here.”

Even Baek-jungdo didn’t know Woojin’s true nature.  He knew Woojin could use a Dungeon, but he never expected Woojin to be a Dimensional lord…

“I’ll give you one hour to tour the palace.  You can go sightsee.”

“Huh huh. Is this place really a Dimensional Domain, lil bro Kahng?”

“If you have any questions, ask Bibi about it.”

Woojin had work to do on his throne.

Bibi used short steps to run towards the party, and she looked at them.

“Heh heh.  Please follow me.  I’ll give you a tour.”

When everyone followed Bibi out of the castle, Jaemin came forward.  He had been hiding in the darkness.

“You are a man.  Why do you get so shy all the time?”

“Ha ha.  I have no idea.”

It still felt strange to Jaemin.  He was a Vampire instead of a human.  He was having a hard time overcoming that dissonance, so what would other people think?  He was a bit short on courage to be able to stand confidently in front of others.

“Chet. What about the stuff I wanted you to learn?”

“I learned it all.”

Woojin had bought several dozen skill with his Points.

There were a lot of Skill only the Vampire Class could learn.

“It is a totally different matter as to whether you can use those Skills properly.”

“I’m practicing right now.”

“Reality is harsh. You won’t have much time to practice.”

“I’m trying.”

“I find your trying to be lacking.”

“I’m tryyyyyyyyyyying?”

A vein popped out on Woojin’s forehead.

“You want me to hit you?”

“I’m sorry.”

“We’ll depart for Planet Jaku in an hour.”

“What?”

Jaemin was surprised.

“I arranged for you to have the best teammates possible.  You should roll with them.”

He’ll immediately be put into a live battle….

Jaemin had an expression full of worry, so Woojin spoke bluntly to him.

“Do you want to whine again as you stay on the sideline?”

“…….”

He had to be strong.

If he wanted to protect his family and the one he loves….

“The party is set up in a manner where you won’t die…”

Ah. His hyung-nim was so considerate to arrange everything for him like this.

He’ll be in a party consisting of Rank A Roused, so he’ll just be carried around.

As if Woojin had read his thought, Woojin couldn’t help, but smirk.

“…if you do well.”

“…….”

“If you don’t do well, your party will be wiped out.”

“…….”

“Even if you die, I can revive you.  However, if the others die, it is the end of the road for them.”

Ah, why is he putting such a heavy burden on him?

Jaemin’s chin shook as the weight of the burden was overwhelming.

He was the damage dealer, so if he was unreliable… In the end, his party might be wiped out.

He had no idea what was waiting for him on Planet Jaku.

“Let us make the protection wall before we go.”

“Yes, hyung.”

The Domain’s Protection Period was about to come to an end.  He needed time to do his Dimensional battle.  This was why he had given his party 1 hour to do as they liked.  Jaemin sat in the chair, and Woojin immediately started to search for an opponent.

The identity of the opponent didn’t matter.  He made a half-hearted effort at finding an opponent before he selected a match for Jaemin. Jaemin could win or lose.  Either result was great either for Woojin.  Instead of watching the Dimensional battle, he looked over the status of his Domain.

Three portals had formed beside the Throne.

<Planet Earth – Seoul Station’s 1st Exit>

<Planet Jaku – Necia’s Pillar>

<Planet Alphen – Raht’s Temple>

Several hundred temples had existed in various parts of Alphen.

Each of them had been turned into a Dungeon. Several of them had existed within his old territory of Alandal.  This was why his Undead army  had endless battle with the beings from Trahnet.

<The Dimensional Domain is synchronizing with Planet Alphen. You have 20 days and 17 hours left….>

He had purchased the Dungeon on Alphen using a single Dimensional Fragment.

He planned on sweeping the Planet Jaku before  he made his return.

It would great if he reached level 90, but it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t reach it.

He didn’t care about the Yellow Lizard coalition or any other organizations.  This was a declaration of war on all the Dimensional lords.

If they touched earth, it didn’t matter if they were a Dimensional lord or a coalition. He’ll clearly show them the cost associated with the move.

***

The party gathered around the portal that would lead to the Necia’s Pillar.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes!  We are ready.”

Woojin looked at the group gathered in front of him.

Sunggoo and Jaenis would be doing their own thing, so they were excluded from the party.  There was the Tamer Haesol, Buffer Blanka, Body Reinforcement Roused Baek-jungdo, Healer Melody, and the blossoming Vampire Do-jaemin.

If they get used to working each other, this was a team able to take down most Dimensional lords.  Of course, this hinged on Do-jaemin’s rapid development.

Woojin asked for everyone’s attention.

“Let him suck on anything that looks decent.”

“…….”

Do-jaemin looked as if he was about to cry.  He had to drink the blood of a monster in front of others….

“You don’t want to become stronger?”

“It isn’t like that.”

Do-jaemin was a vampire.

He hadn’t increased his Stats through the normal Reinforcement stones.

Dead warriors and magicians…. One had to drink the blood of the defeated enemies for one to be able to absorb their power.  This was how Vampires increased their Stats.   If one considered the number of enemies he would kill and drink here…

This was the reason why Woojin expected rapid growth from Jaemin, and it was one of the core reasons why he created this party.

“All right.  When you guys pass through the Dungeon, you all are on your own.   Contact me if you run into something unusual.”

“Yes!”

Woojin had put Sunggoo and Jaenis together, so he had a method of contacting them. As the Domain’s Strategist, Woojin was able to contact Do-jaemin even if he was in a different dimension.

“All right.  Let’s go.”

Woojin activated the portal heading towards Necia’s Dungeon, and he passed through the portal.

It was his first time visiting the Planet Jaku.

Zeeeeeeeng.

When he passed through the portal, there was an enormous pillar, and it was surrounded by a wide barrier that looked like a fountain. It seemed the barrier was formed when the challenger entered a fixed territory.

It was structured a bit differently from earth’s subway stations, but it was used the same way.

The barrier faded when Woojin appeared.  It seemed this was the result of completing his synchronization.

“If we are on earth, wouldn’t we be treated like monsters?”

This was exactly the same as the Dungeon Breaks on earth except they were the invaders now.

Was it because it had been a while?  Woojin’s heart beat faster and he felt a weird sense of thrill.

“I’ll kill them all.”

It felt as if earth’s Kahng-woojin had returned to being the Immortal.

He went across the boundary of the Dungeon.

Koo-roo-rook.

Goo-rook, goo-rook, goo-rook.

Woojin was greeted by various species that let out strange sounds.

Amongst them, a green Lizard Man approached as he slithered on his snake-like body.

It wore a black crown on its head.  It looked ridiculous, but the atmosphere around it couldn’t be ignored.

The party was nervous, but Woojin walked forward to meet this being.

[I welcome you, warrior!]

[Who are you?]

[My name is Nigal.  I’m a Dimensional lord serving the Chen-nim, who is the leader of the Black Hat coalition.]

[Were you waiting for me?]

[Yes! I heard about your exploits in eradicating the Yellow Lizards.  Chen-nim is waiting for you.  He will give you a very high seat…]

Paht.

Woojin summoned his Warrior’s Weapon, and it was in the shape of an Axe.

Hoooong.  Kwah-jeek!

Lizard man Nigal’s head flew into the air, then it rolled onto the floor.

Even as his head was separated from its body, its eyes rolled to look at Woojin.

[……what is the meaning of this?]

[What’s this? It is a start to a party.]

The corner of Woojin’s mouth lifted, and he was grinning.

Afterwards, the Undead army started to be summoned behind him.