novelHeros Mentality (2)
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Chapter 68 - Hero's Mentality (2)
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The grilled beef entrails quickly disappeared, and several rounds of alcohol was passed around. Several people were drunk, and their faces were red.
This was especially true for Woo-soonghoon. He had drunk faster than anyone else, and his eyes were already half closed."Ooh ooh. President is quite strong against alcohol."
Woo-soonghoon, who had bragged about playing around a little in the past, couldn't hold his liquor. He wagged his tongue towards Woojin. Woojin drank his soju, and his expression didn't change at all.
Woojin grinned.
If he compared soju to Alphen's alcohol, it was like drinking water.
"Hook hook. President drinks alcohol well, so why did you hit me??"
"Hey. Why are you being like this?"
Sunggoo and Haemin tried to hold back Woo-soonghoon as they were mindful of Woojin.
"It hurt. So what if I overpriced the hand phones I sold? It happens! Hoo-ook."
"......."
Should he feel regret about not killing that bastard?
Sunggoo and Haemin saw Woojin's expression turn sour, so they quickly put Woo-soonghoon inside the car. When Soonghoon was leaned against the back seat, he immediately fell asleep.
"Ooh whew."
Sunggoo laid Soonghoon down, then he asked a question using his liquid courage.
"So, hyung-nim."
"Uh, what?"
"I worry you don't pay enough attention to the mass media every time I observe you."
Woojin grinned.
"What's the point of caring?"
"Mmm. Isn't it annoying? The reporters will flock to you..."
"I'm used to it."
"That's...."
How could his words not get through to Woojin? Sunggoo couldn't coherently get his point across, so he was frustrated. Jung-minchan, who was listening from the side, understood what Sunggoo was trying to say, so he chipped in with his words.
"You will have problems with the law, and you might have to worry about international isolation. What is the benefit of making enemies?"
"I'm making enemies...."
Woojin stroked his chin. After he drank a shot of alcohol, he looked at Sunngoo, Minchan and Haemin. They were all Alandal's guild members, so they would have to know about this eventually.
"In the past, I thought the same as you guys. I was mindful of other nations. I was scared about the public sentiment, and I was conscious of how others looked at me."
What happened in Alandal that made him so unreasonable now?
"Laws exists right now since countries exist. How long do you think that will last?"
"What?"
Everyone's attention was on Woojin when he asked such a ridiculous question.
"The Dungeons will erupt. Moreover, it will explode soon. It isn't far away. It is imminent."
He didn't have evidence supporting his claim. However, he could feel it. The Dungeon Breaks weren't far away. Moreover, it will be a widespread Break.
"Try thinking about what would happen if all the Dungeons on earth overflowed at the same time."
"......."
An apocalypse.
It was too horrible to imagine, so no one opened their mouth. It felt as if the alcohol drained right out of them.
"However, we have a military. They'll be able to block it."
Woojin snorted.
"If it's only 6 star monsters, they will be able to block them. What about the higher ranked monsters?"
"What?"
"Do you think this was the endgame? Mmm. Let's see. The 6 star monsters are like the dogs you grow in your house. The tigers, lions and carnivorous elephants will pour out soon. If it doesn't end there, dragons might also come out later."
"......."
Should they believe his word or not?
"If the Specters come out right now, the modern technologies would be useless. How are you going to block them? Are you going to hack them? It would basically be suicide. If the world falls apart, the border that make up nations would be meaningless. Ethics would crumble, and only the drive to survive would be left. It is in our instinct to do so."
"......."
The scary thoughts made Sunggoo's body shake a little bit.
Woojin continued to speak in a composed manner.
"The entire world would simultaneously fall into anarchy. Do you know what will happen? All the crazy people will crawl out of the woodwork. Rape and pillaging will become the norm. Monsters are scary, but humans are weak. So humans will try to steal from other humans."
"I'm sure there will be people like the ones you describe, but I'm sure we'll unite our strength to fight."
Yes. There had been humans who acted that way. There were heroes, warriors, holy knights, and Holy Maidens. There were magicians in their towers, kings of the allied kingdoms, knights, soldiers....
"It'll be futile. They'll keep trying to hold out, but they'll eventually fall. They'll eventually be broken up. Then people will be tempted to turn their backs on the human race."
There were a lot of races, who had submitted to Trahnet, and they became slaves. Goblins and Kobolds were all Trahnet's slaves.
"S... so what do we do? Someone has to stop this...."
Sunggoo was in mid-sentence when he turned to look at Woojin. That someone might be Woojin? If he thought about it, no one had soloed a 6 star Dungeon before.
"This is why we are getting ready."
Earth was Woojin's home planet. His mother, sister and friends lived here. This was why he was trying to protect this place.
"You want me to be careful and care about what other's think? The negative articles from the press? Requests to appear before the police? It's all useless. Instead, I have to let everyone know."
What was he trying to inform everyone?
"I want them to know how brutal, vicious and tyrannical I am.."
He didn't care if the world talked about him as he became the focus of their attention. For the most part, Woojin didn't have a sense of justice or a conscience. The past 20 years was too brutal for those ideals to have survived within him.
"I don't care what they world says about me. I'm not trying to be a hero."
A powerful sovereign.
"No one ran away in my country of Alandal. Those who fought bravely found sanctuary in Alandal. The ones who ran away was turned into the Undead, and they marched against the enemies."
Woojin grinned as he saw everyone's serious expression.
"At the very least, humans didn't fight each other in Alandal. If they did, the king would assign them to a life-time military service. They all knew the score. They all knew how ruthless, and tyrannical the king was."
Sunggoo swallowed his saliva.
"Perhaps... Does the country called Alandal have something to do with our guild...."
Woojin grinned.
"Of course. I was the king of Alandal."
No wonder he hummed a song even when he killed Bae-dohsooh's party. (TLN: 2 star Dungeon where he saved Sunggoo)
"......."
Minchan, Sunggoo and Haemin shut their mouth tightly. They couldn't help, but put on a serious expression.
Minchan asked carefully.
"Shouldn't you be informing the world, and ask for help?"
"Poot."
Woojin couldn't help but laugh.
"Who's going to give us aid? The people of this world? Should I tell everyone to gather strength and get ready, since the whole earth will become a field for the monsters?"
"Wouldn't that be prudent?"
"I'm pretty sure they won't do anything."
"If they feel a threat, then I'm sure we will all come together."
Woojin popped a piece of beef entrail into his mouth, and he started chewing.
Shit. It was undercooked.
He spat out the beef entrail on an empty dish, then he cleansed his palate with cider.
"We still excavate fossil fuel even when we know it is destroying nature."
Wasn't this a problem on a different stratosphere with destroying nature. The human race could become instinct.
"Hey, Minchan. Do you think you will be able to stop people from extracting fossil fuel just by saying, 'Let's protect nature?'"
"......."
Woojin took out his hand phone then he place it on top of the table.
"The moment I saw this I gave up on that idea."
"What does the hand phone have anything to do with..."
Crazy Red.
It was a modern device using bloodstones as a new energy source.
"What would happen if I immediately tried to stop people from excavating the bloodstones from the Dungeons? They can only clear the Dungeons, and they will have to come out empty handed."
"......."
If there was no loot from raiding the Dungeon, no one would risk their life to clear the Dungeons.
"Even if the excavation of bloodstones were halted, the amount of mana on earth will still increase by a minute amount. It will delay the Dungeon Breaks. It will give humans the time to get ready. What do you think? Isn't it quite logical? Do you think the humans will be able to do so?"
"......."
Minchan lost the words he was about to say.
They wouldn't stop. There was absolutely no way people would stop.
The Dungeon Business was already too closely intertwined with the way of the world. The rulers, and people with wealth would want the resource called bloodstones.
The train filled with bombs had already left the station.
"W... what should we do then?"
The words spoken by Woojin seemed perfectly plausible, so even a logical person like Minchan was in a near panic. It felt as if a threat had suddenly crept up on him.
Woojin grinned.
"What should we do? We drink soju like this, then we grow in power by clearing Dungeons."
How would they be able to drink alcohol after hearing such serious matters? The effects of the alcohol quickly dissipated from the three people.
"Kyahh."
Woojin emptied another shot of soju, then he chewed on a crispy piece of beef entrails.
The three of them looked at Woojin with serious expressions on their faces.
"Well? What? What do you expect from me?"
Even if he asked everyone to protect earth, people wouldn't listen to him.
Humans didn't unite from being in danger. They united for profit.
"If they die, they die. If they live, they'll live. Those who will fight will fight.."
"......."
Even a Philosophy Professor wouldn't be able to talk in such a casual manner.
"There is some hope. The bloodstones brings the monsters over, but it also levels up the Roused on earth."
This was the first time hopeful words had been spoken by Woojin's mouth. The three people looked on with anticipation in their eyes.
The power of the allies and enemies increased simultaneously.
The fight would vary depending on how those power would be assembled.
"This is why I am very aggressive."
He had always wanted to come back to earth, and the situation here was very different from Alphen. This was earth. This was a place Woojin must defend at all cost. He didn't want to see Trahnet's underlings traipsing around freely.
"I'll probably continue to get into trouble. I'll never break the rules I established."
His actions was in line with Alandal's law.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Never show weakness.
Those who stab him in the back must pay a price.
Woojin's rules took precedent over following earth's laws. In a world where law and morality was gone, his rules would restore order.
When the pandemonium arrives, people would search and gather around a pivotal figure. Woojin was readying himself to become this pivotal figure.
He'll even become a ruthless demon to achieve it.
"This is how it'll be, so do your best to keep up with me."
"......."
A special command was given to the support division of Alandal.
However, unlike before they felt a heavy sense of duty.
"If they mess with me, then they are fucked. I have to instill this concept."
He had to instill it into the people of this world.
Woojin had planned for this, and he was already erecting boundary of Alandal.
*
Hwarang Guild Headquarters President's Room.
Di-ri-reek.
The hand on the mouse roughly scrolled down using the wheel.
"Eeeek."
Lee-sahngho grinded his teeth.
He became angrier as he saw more articles on Kahng-woojin.
"Shit. How is this possible?"
[The Hero who Saved North Korea from a Crisis]
[The beginning of a North South Roused organization? Largest benefactor Kahngwooin. ]
[Rapid Progress between North and South Korea. The 20th Meeting of Separated Families is being Readied. ]
[Dungeon Closer Rank AA Roused Kahgn-Woojin. The World's attention is on Him. ]
[Focused Study. There will be no future Dungeon Breaks with Kahng-woojin around. ]
"What kind of a bullshit situation is this? They treat this violent man as a hero? Huh. Good going, South Korea!"
Kahng-woojin was still under suspicion for assaulting him yet there wasn't a single line in the articles mentioning that fact.
Lee-sahngho's insides were boiling, and there were no methods that could calm him down.
Ddi-ri-ri.
When the interphone rang, he pressed the interphone's button in annoyance.
"What?"
[President. The chief of the police is on the line. ]
"What? Put him through."
The police chief was a big fish, and Lee-sahngho had met him only once before. He had steadily worked to become close to this person, and it hadn't been easy. He couldn't believe a person of such stature was calling him first.
"This is Hwarang guild's president Lee-sahngho."
[It's Lee-chuldong. ]
"Yes, Chief Lee. We've met previously on senator Che's 60th birthday."
[I won't beat around the bush. Let's close Mr. Kahng-woojin's assault case. ]
"What? It was an incident that was live broadcasted to the entire country, Chief. More than 50 million citizens witnessed it yet you want to cover it up?"
[It was an order that came down from the top. I know it is unfair, but let's just cover it up. ]
"... this doesn't make any sense."
[I've delivered the message. I'll presume you understood what I'm saying. I'm ending this call. ]
Ddoo, ddoo.
"Chief. Chief?"
A vein popped out on Lee-sahngho's forehead.
He threw the phone in his grasp.
Kwah-dahng-tahng.
The line coming off the receiver was connected to the interphone, and the whole system was thrown to the floor.
"Those sons of bitches!"
They have all gone mad.
"Good going, citizens of South Korea! Shit. Doesn't this country respect personal rights anymore?"
They were all rotten to the core.
After venting for a while, Lee-sahngho opened a safe hidden within a wall. He took out an old memo note, then he took photos of all the business transactions listed on the the paper.
"Shit. Let's see if he could resist calling me after I do this."
Chairman Kim had been avoiding his call for the past several weeks, so Lee-sahngho sent him the picture. Before several minutes could pass, the phone rang.
Lee-sahngho put on a dirty smile as he pressed the talk button.
[Are you really going to be like this? Are you threatening a mutual suicide!]
"If you agree to my single request, then I will destroy the ledger."
[What is it?]
"I know of your dealings in the Middle East. Please connect me to them."
[....... ]
After a long silence, Chairman Kim had no choice, but to assent to his request. He would be put in a very bad position if his ledger was revealed.
[All right. Let us meet, and you bring the ledger. ]
"Yes, Chairman."
After ending the call, Lee-sahngho put on a gruesome smile.
"You dared to hit me?"
He picked a fight with the wrong opponent.
He dared to lay his hands on Hwarang's Guild Master Lee-sahngho.
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