LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 208
Chapter 208: A Surprising Welcome
“Honestly, I was quite shocked.”
Ryu Geon-woo began with a smile on his face.
“I never imagined I would see the Prison Castle here.”
“To be honest, I was just as surprised when I summoned it.”
Lee Si-hyun replied with a smirk, as if making a joke.
But of course, it wasn’t a joke; it was the truth. The intense shock of summoning it while a mountain was dropping at that moment was something I would never forget.
“I see. Anyway, I’m relieved. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if the Correctional Officer hadn’t been there at the time.”
As he spoke, Ryu Geon-woo gazed at Si-hyun with a thankful expression.
Then he paused for a moment, as if pondering how to bring up the next topic.
After a little time had passed, his mouth opened once more.
“The reason I requested to talk to you, despite your busy schedule, is that I have one particular question in mind.”
“I suspected that would be the case.”
Si-hyun nodded and continued.
“Since I summoned the Prison Castle, I suppose you have some questions about that.”
“Indeed. However, I hesitated to ask. I was worried I might make you uncomfortable by touching on something you didn’t want to discuss…”
As Ryu Geon-woo trailed off, Si-hyun waved his hand dismissively.
“No, it’s fine. It’d probably be better to explain it clearly to the Association President. After all, we’ll be working together on various important matters in the future.”
“Thank you for thinking that way.”
“Not at all. I should be thanking you for your consideration earlier.”
After exchanging polite words of thanks, Si-hyun spoke again.
“Although the meeting has concluded, I realize you’ll be busy because of this incident, so I’ll get straight to the point: I am a rather unique Awakened Being.”
“Deputy Director Seo mentioned something along those lines before. He said you seemed to be a rather unusual Awakened Being. I was puzzled at the time, but it seems he was right, ha ha.”
Ryu Geon-woo chuckled quietly.
Si-hyun chuckled in response.
“Well, he had enough grounds to say that. We’ve had some connections since the days when he was a low-ranked Hunter. Anyway…”
Ryu Geon-woo continued.
“In fact, not only am I an incomplete Awakened One, but… a multi? Hmm, multi sounds okay. I’m a Multi Awakened Being. In other words, I have awakened the powers of two individuals.”
“Huh…”
Ryu Geon-woo looked completely taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected that.
He seemed to have thought that revealing his identity as Po-ahim instead of a Sword Master would be a more reasonable response.
“You probably have a guess about who those two individuals are?”
“…The Sword Master and the Iron-Blooded Guard? But really, you’ve awakened the powers of those two…?”
Ryu Geon-woo still had a hard time believing it.
“That’s correct. That’s why I can summon the Prison Castle and use Hellfire with Acureruts. As you may know, the magic inscribed on Acureruts is not something just anyone can use. Because of the last Blood Inscription by Hyris, it can only be utilized by the Sword Master himself.”
“I see… I had no idea there was such a secret with Acureruts. Anyway, this is truly amazing. Just the fact that you’ve awakened the powers of two individuals is astonishing, but those two people…”
Ryu Geon-woo shook his head, his eyes wide open.
He seemed to somehow understand the explanation.
After all, considering he had Acureruts, and more importantly, the heart of the Sword Master, Si-hyun was indeed the closest to being the Sword Master among those without a formal awakening.
“Have your questions been answered now?”
At Si-hyun’s question, Ryu Geon-woo snapped to his senses.
“Yes, thank you for your explanation.”
“I hope that the Association President can subtly explain this to the other S-Class Awakened Beings as well. They also believe I’m the Sword Master, so they might have found the appearance of the Prison Castle puzzling.”
He intended to mention it casually to the S-Class Awakened Beings in Korea who think of him as the Sword Master.
It was only natural that they would feel puzzled, considering they had memories of the Prison Castle.
“Understood. I will make sure to do that.”
“Thank you.”
Si-hyun expressed his gratitude and continued.
“No matter how strictly they control it, news about the Prison Castle will probably leak to foreign countries too. They may guess that Po-ahim is in Korea as well. Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it. It’s too significant an event… But for the time being, I’d appreciate it if you could keep the multi-awakening a secret.”
In truth, it wouldn’t matter much if it was revealed now that he fully regained his powers.
However, the Emperor’s faction believes him to be the Sword Master.
He and they had already crossed a river they could not return from.
And there was no telling when they might clash again, possibly shedding blood in the process.
He had a strong intuition that such an encounter was likely.
In the hopes of causing as much confusion as possible for that Emperor faction, he remained resolute.
“Of course. I will never speak of that. But if you feel uncomfortable about anything…”
As Ryu Geon-woo observed Si-hyun’s expression, he spoke.
“No, that’s fine.”
Si-hyun waved his hand dismissively, implying it was nothing.
It seemed he had unconsciously frowned slightly.
Hyris.
She would surely hear this news as well.
Thinking of his dealings with her made his head ache just a tad.
But it was something that needed to be resolved at some point.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Whoa!”
The Association staff member who checked Si-hyun’s identification displayed a surprised expression.
Then, he quickly signaled his subordinates to clear the barricades and open the way.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Si-hyun said to the Association staff and resumed driving.
About ten minutes later, the car approached the mountain whose name he had summoned.
Si-hyun parked nearby and lifted his gaze to look at the mountain once.
It was an unexplored mountain that no one in this world had ever climbed.
And now he was about to ascend it.
For a mountaineer, it was the kind of occasion that could bring tears of joy.
However, Si-hyun, not being a mountaineer, merely thought it would be a bit of a hassle.
Nevertheless, thanks to his robust physique, he could reach the location of the Prison Castle at an astonishing speed.
“Impressive.”
Upon nearing the Prison Castle, Si-hyun found himself mumbling unconsciously.
It was truly a castle.
A massive one, at that.
The castle walls were incredibly high and thick.
Blending seamlessly with the rugged mountain terrain, it seemed capable of withstanding an army of a hundred thousand.
No one would even think of it as a prison seeing it like this.
After a while of admiring the grandeur of the Prison Castle, Si-hyun recalled the purpose of his visit.
“I am the Fifth Lord, Lee Si-hyun. Please open the gate.”
Si-hyun said.
Moments later, a heavy sound echoed as the castle gate began to open.
Once the gate was fully opened, Si-hyun stepped through it.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Clang!”
As soon as Si-hyun set foot into the plaza beyond the gate, a booming voice erupted simultaneously.
There were easily over ten thousand people in the crowd.
They stood like a precise machine, aligning flawlessly in rows and files.
The serious military discipline of elite troops could be felt from them.
At the front stood Chuck and Mari, with their razor-sharp stances, staring at Si-hyun.
Si-hyun truly appeared taken aback by the sight.
From their attire, they seemed to be guards.
Yet no matter how much one said “Prison Castle,” he had expected the number of guards to be just over a thousand at most.
But what was this?
It looked to be more than ten times that number.
It was hard to believe they were not assembled for some expedition.
And what about their military discipline?
It didn’t seem like even a special forces unit could rival them in this regard.
“Lord.”
Chuck, the First Guard Captain, walked up to Si-hyun with a precise motion and stood before him.
Following him, Mari, the Second Guard Captain, walked up and stood beside Chuck.
“What is this…?”
Si-hyun couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“This is a welcoming greeting for our new Lord.”
Chuck responded.
“This is quite the impressive welcome indeed.”
Si-hyun said, shaking his head in incredulity.
“Is there something wrong with it…?”
“No, I simply meant it’s nothing short of remarkable.”
Si-hyun shook his head.
“I appreciate your perspective.”
“But… everyone out here is a guard, right?”
“Indeed.”
“Then what about the prisoners?”
“Approximately one thousand guards are on duty, supervising the high-risk prisoners. So, please don’t worry.”
“Wait, does that mean there are another thousand guards in addition to these?”
Si-hyun asked, surprised at Chuck’s answer.
“Indeed. The exact number of guards is eleven thousand seventy-nine.”
“….”
Well, the castle was indeed a bit large.
But this number far surpassed his expectations.
It seemed this Prison Castle housed no ordinary residents, but rather an abundant number of guards.
“So, how many prisoners are there?”
Si-hyun inquired.
“The exact number of prisoners is three thousand three hundred and eighty-three.”
The number of prisoners was still quite significant.
In conclusion, there were around fifteen thousand individuals, counting both guards and prisoners, residing within this Prison Castle.
“I see… So, um… is the food situation sufficient?”
Humans must eat to survive.
Thinking of that, Si-hyun asked.
“The Prison Castle always has six months’ worth of food stockpiled in case of emergencies.”
This time it was Mari who answered.
She glanced at Si-hyun and continued.
“However, Lord…”
“What is it?”
“There seems to be an issue with the water supply…”
“Ah.”
Si-hyun’s expression changed as he understood.
Since they were summoned from another world without warning, it was likely the water source had been cut off.
“That definitely needs urgent attention.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll provide the water supply immediately.”
He had that level of capability.
If he transported bottled water at night, it should be just fine.
If that was a concern, he could also use To-ya’s teleportation magic circles to move it.
“Thank you, my Lord.”
Mari bowed her head.
“Then have the guards return to their posts. While I’m sure they’ve managed it fine, there’s no need for them to keep standing like this because of me.”
“As you command.”
“And now, I’d like to tour the prison. Please guide me.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“What in the world is this place?”
Si-hyun mumbled, looking around.
He found it puzzling that there were no buildings to accommodate over three thousand prisoners within the castle.
However, it turned out the prisoners were housed underground.
This was utterly astonishing.
They had fortified the outside with a stronghold and on top of that, imprisoned the prisoners beneath the ground.
It was no wonder the Prison Castle’s notoriety was so high.
And now he understood why the Prison Castle was summoned intact.
If only the castle itself had been summoned, it would mean there was an underground prison with no prisoners present.
Si-hyun was now endlessly descending into the underground stairs.
What he wanted to see weren’t the petty criminals.
Of course, considering this prison was said to only house notorious offenders, there surely wouldn’t be minor criminals.
But that didn’t mean there weren’t substantial figures he wanted to verify.
And that was why he was going down.
Perhaps due to being underground, torches illuminated the area in various places, but the darkness still seemed suffocating.
Furthermore, a damp and rancid smell assailed his nostrils.
He thought modern prisons smelled terrible, but it was nothing compared to this.
The air reeked of truly repulsive, putrid decay emanating from all directions.
Even Si-hyun, who had grown accustomed to the sight of corpses through his past experiences, felt his stomach churn.
He found himself thinking again about how impressive it was that Mari was walking ahead calmly.
Chuck remained behind as the First Guard Captain to manage the guards, while she was in charge of guiding him through the prison.
How much time had passed?
Mari finally opened her mouth.
“Here we are, my Lord.”
Honestly, he had lost track of how long he had been walking down.
But it was certain they had reached the lowest level.
There were no further stairs leading down.
“Clang!”
As soon as they stepped into the entrance of the prison, two guards who appeared quite strong stood upright upon seeing Si-hyun and Mari, saluting them.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Si-hyun greeted them as if addressing a security officer and gave the guards’ shoulders an encouraging pat.
He noticed them twitch slightly.
His intention was to encourage them, but it seemed to have made them even more tense.
From now on, he would probably stick to verbal encouragement only.
“Lord, this way.”
Mari stepped ahead to guide him.
Si-hyun followed her closely.
And then.
‘As expected.’
Just stepping inside the entrance, an overwhelming, fierce energy pricked at his skin.
It was a sensation he hadn’t even felt in the ward where Max was in Alcatraz.
There wasn’t even a basis for comparison.
This prison was likely filled with more than a couple of beings like Max.
Perhaps the entire bottom-most floor of this underground prison was packed with individuals on a similar level to Max.
Max was S-Class.
This meant S-Class prisoners might be flooding this place, though he couldn’t say for sure.
‘Amazing, isn’t it?’
When considering that there were only six S-Class individuals barely making the cut in Korea, this was truly astounding.
Si-hyun thought to himself as he continued moving forward.