Chapter 177: Defense (1)

Shoo-shoong!

When Woojin and Melody entered the building, the door closed. They were completely sealed off from the outside air.

Zeeeeng.

There was a ringing in his ears, and he felt a headache alongside it. Woojin frowned as he massaged his temple.

"What the hell?"

He felt some unidentifiable sense of danger, and he instinctively became wary of his surrounding. He looked around, but nothing had changed.

There was a clean corridor, and there was hole with a ladder leading down. It was something one would see in a typical spaceship.

It wasn't something outwardly that had changed. It was something within.

"...."

He couldn't feel any magical energy.

"Ramson."

"...."

Woojin called for him, but he couldn't even feel the presence of his Familiar Ramson.

"Dolsae! Jaenis!"

"...."

His voice didn't reach his familiars. His voice just echoed back to him in this space.

"You won't be able to hear anything except the goddess Aria's voice."

"..."

When Woojin turned around to look, he could see a soft energy surrounding Melody's body. He knew Melody was filled with magical energy, since it was manifesting itself as the light around Melody.

"Interesting."

Was this Aria's absolute space?

This was Woojin's first time visiting a goddess' temple, so he didn't have much knowledge regarding the temple.

He could only make guesses.

Whether it was earth or Alphen, he'd never been this far away from his Familiars.

'I guess there was that one time.'

It was when his level was initialized.

When he didn't have the prerequisites fulfilled, all his Familiars had been sealed.

This was still true for Yong Yong. He couldn't meet it until he reached level 90.

"You do what you came here to do."

"Then you will be...?"

"I'll do what I came here to do."

"..."

What business did the Immortal have at Aria's temple?

Melody stood still with a worried light in her eyes. Woojin pointed towards the entrance heading below with his chin.

"Go."

"I'll see you in a little bit."

Melody followed the dearth of energy coming from Aria. It was as if she was being called through the energy.

When she was gone, Woojin looked around the inner structure of the temple.

From the outside, the building looked angular, but the space inside wasn't that large.

In the end, it seemed he had to descend through hole in the middle of the room.

When he grabbed the ladder, he found the ladder to be cold as ice.

Tong, tong.

Every time he descended a rung it sounded as if a shoulder was being rammed into a wall. It registered to him as an oddity as the sound rang out.

Toohk.

After he descended for a long time, he came to an open stretch of land.

The round hole descended much deeper, and he could see the top of Melody's head as she descended further down the ladder.

It seemed her destination was much deeper.

Woojin decided to step onto the lower level, and he started touching the walls.

Chuhk. Too-toohng.

His hands didn't come across any switches, yet the lights turned on in the room. His hand was raised in the air with nowhere to go, so he clenched his fist as he looked around.

"It's huge."

There was a hole in the roof and the floor. The frame of a skinny ladder extended through the hole.

"Is it really a spaceship?"

He possessed a Dimensional Domain, and he had seen strange creatures and marvelous items from various Dimensions. Somehow he wasn't too surprised at finding a building he assumed to be a spaceship on Alphen.

There was no proof that something like this was on earth.

The only thing that tickled his curiosity was the fact that this was Aria's Temple.

Woojin looked around his surrounding, and he approached some unknown table. He stretched out his hand.

Weeeeeng.

A clear sound rang out, and a screen popped up on top of the table. Woojin grinned.

"Interesting. This if fun."

Indecipherable symbols and letters were displayed on the touch screen.

It wasn't English or Korean. He couldn't read it, but it was a familiar interface.

"It's a computer.."

Amongst the feelings he had experienced for the past 20 years on Alphen, the feeling he felt right now was the most special one.

He didn't know if this had anything to do with earth or not, but why was he having this odd feeling?

Was this a connecting factor between earth and Alphen? Or was the earth's modern technology similar, because it was introduced by someone else in the past? Was it part of the ancient legacy of Alphen?

Woojin randomly pressed his fingers against the touch screen.

A sound alert kept ringing out as if in error, but he didn't stop moving his fingers.

"Should I just break it?"

When he made up his mind to do so, the table projected a holographic figure made out of light.

"What? You were listening to me the whole time?"

Woojin looked straight at the woman, who he was acquainted with, with a baffled expression on his face.

[It has been a while.]

"This is my second time meeting you."

Woojin thought about the first time he met Aria.

"Is this real? Is it a dream? Or is this just a hologram?"

[Is it really important to determine what is real?]

"Well, I don't know if it is important or not."

It was important to determine if this unknown being's intentions were friendly, but he had more important things to worry about.

This was especially true for Woojin in this point in time.

"What are you?"

[I'm the goddess of prophecy. They call me Aria.]

"Are you some kind of prediction program?"

[I have no idea.]

"You are giving me a headache."

Woojin pressed his temple with his fingers.

"All right. If I ask you questions, will you answer it? Or will you be like the last time? Are you going to speak in nonsensical doubletalk?"

It was like that in his first meeting with Aria.

He didn't know if he had been in a dream or a different dimension. He had spoken to her in a nebulous location, and he hadn't particularly liked the conversation.

At the time, he felt like an elementary student being called into the principal office. She gave him praise, and it had been an uncomfortable experience.

She pretty much said she had her eyes on him, and she gave him words of encouragement to work harder.

"Does this mean you can't bring me to your location at your whim like before?"

Woojin grinned as he looked at what was surrounding the table projecting the hologram.

[.....]

"It would be in your best interest to answer me. You should do it before I destroy everything here."

[All right. However, you don't have much time left to ask your questions.]

"What is the Code?"

[It is something everyone has. You have the Code to Earth. It is like an resident certificate for a planet. It is something like your nationality.]

"...that's an unexpected answer."

[....]

Woojin's face crumpled into a harsh visage.

"The Dimensional lords are making such a mess for something so insignificant?"

[They are trying to find the Master Code.]

"Master Code?"

[It isn't a Code that allows one to reside in a Dimension. It gives one the authority to rule.]

"What a muddled mess. So they want to become a god?"

[...]

Woojin shook his head when he realized the meaning behind Aria's silence.

"How can you gain this Code?"

[You've already guessed it.]

What had the Dimensional lords done up until now? They took control of Dungeons and built Colonies to search the entire planet. They destroyed and killed....

"So I have to kill the one that has the Code?"

[Correct.]

"All right. Does a planet have only one Code?"

[It varies.]

"How many does Alphen have?"

[We have five.]

"Is it Aria, Skia, Lecia, Heres and Coors?"

[...correct.]

Alphen had numerous gods and goddesses.

However, amongst them, only 5 Holy Items were needed to make the Thrash's Set.

"Am I the only one, who is creeped out by this?"

[....]

"Thrash. Is he a Code?"

[Hidden Code. It is an authority that we agreed to seal.]

This was the riddle he couldn't solve for the longest time. Woojin hid his trembling heart as he asked the question.

"Where do I find Executioner?"

[...you'll only be able to gather the Keys on Alphen. The true Hidden Code can be completed at a different location.]

Woojin's eyebrows twitched.

He had been summoned from earth to Alphen.

Thrash's Set was an Item specialized for a Necromancer. It was for him.

"Are you saying it is on earth?"

[...]

Woojin's face crumpled. He looked at Aria with an angry expression.

"Answer me!"

[Correct.]

"What can the Hidden Code do? Does it also allow one to become a ruler? Does it allow one to become a god?"

[...]

The figure in the hologram blinked.

[It is quite different from the right to rule. It is used to Delete.]

"So it gives you the right to Delete."

He had been searching for this. This was what Woojin wanted, and it was the function of the Thrash's Executioner. This was what Jaenis always insisted they had to find.

The riddle was solved.

The answer was on earth.

Woojin was about to turn away with a relieved expression on his face. However, the hologram's mouth moved as a ringing noise prevented him from walking away.

[You have a lot of competitors, and they are starting to take you seriously.]

"I've always been the focus of their attention."

Even if all the Dimensional lords were against him, Woojin didn't care. Unlike his confidence, Aria's worry was large.

[There are a lot of beings trying to take away your gateway.]

"Are you talking about the Colony? I just have to use my Return Portal."

[...you don't have Alphen's Code. You cannot use your Return Portal here.]

"..."

Wasn't that a pretty big problem?

"Really?"

[Yes.]

"...."

Now he could understand why Dimensional refugees and lords put a special significance to their home planet.

Residence Code.

Woojin was able to use the Return Portal without restriction on earth. It was, because he was from earth.

If he couldn't use his Portal, the only way he could get to his Domain was through the Dungeon or the Colony's gate.

Woojin thought about his struggle to return to earth for the past 20 years.

"Does Melody need more time?"

[She'll be up soon.]

While Woojin was feeling restless, he suddenly had a question, so he asked it.

"The oracle... Was it talking about my current predicament?"

[...yes. This is why you shouldn't have taken your time to get here.]

Didn't she say he would find the answer, but lose his way?

"Ha... Instead of that vague mumbo jumbo, couldn't you have spoken in blunt terms?"

[...]

Woojin was shaking his head from side to side when a disc suddenly appeared from the hole in the middle of the room. Melody was standing on it.

She wore a shiny circlet, and he was glad to see her. Woojin hurriedly moved towards her.

"I'll see you next time."

[I wish you good luck.]

The disc held Woojin and Melody. It ascended quickly like an elevator. Aria's hologram was left alone, but the hologram didn't disappear.

[...I wish you good luck.]

The entrance to his Dimensional Domain would not be the only place under attack. The gateway that would lead him back to earth was also in danger....

Woojin would need a lot of luck to save earth. On the other hand, Alphen's salvation was a certainty.

Alphen had gained a hero called the Immortal.

His rage would be directed towards the Dimensional lords with gates on Alphen.

***

Saurus' Colony.

The atmosphere was beyond heavy. It took 10 days for the mood of the people to become ugly.

"Their army is over 100,000 in number! We have to make a decision!"

"Didn't we make the decision already? We have to protect the Colony and the World Tree."

Graham shook his head at Latasha's words.

"In reality, it is an impossible task. The difference in number is too stark. We won't be able to hold on by putting faith in the Fortress' castle wall. On top it all, we can't even contact the Immortal."

"...if we do run away, what can we do?"

"If we are alive, we can always come up with a different plan in the future."

"If the Immortal was here..."

If one wanted to use the unique advantages of the Colony City, the owner had to be there to use his Points. This was the only way their forces would become replenished.

"..."

Latasha turned to look at the tall World Tree.

'Mother...'

Jaemin had been brooding in the corner when he suddenly stood up. He let out a shout.

"Yes, hyung!"

He was so excited that he had spoken out loud the message he was sending through his mind. Of course, everyone's gaze focused on Jaemin.

Jaemin's face was flushed red as he conversed mentally with Woojin. Afterwards, he relayed the message to everyone there.

"I was able to contact him! He is on his way here."

"Ah, jeez. Hyung-nim made us worry too much."

"Ah..."

Sunggoo mumbled to himself. Latasha let out a sigh as she prayed. The Immortal was her father's killer, yet she was so happy that he would be returning. Fate was a fickle mistress.

"He said it'll take him one week even if he comes here at full speed...."

He was so far away that it'll take him some time to arrive here. The people gathered here didn't know whether they should laugh or cry. Tauric stepped forward to take control of the situation.

It was still dire news, but they had hope now.

"Let us protect the Colony for a week."

They had to protect the Colony until Kahng-woojin's return. This was for the Coalition, and it was for the alliance with Alandal.