Please Stop The Pope

According to Team Leader Kim, Ground Zero is not just a useless barren land.

It is true that it is an environment where people cannot live due to the rampant mana, but it is at a level where players with a certain level of mana resistance can operate.

And most importantly, there is a high-quality mana stone mine inside Ground Zero.

Mana stone.

A mineral that can be said to be mana itself is formed by the crystallization of mana.

It was one of the main byproducts that could be obtained mainly from monsters that use mana, but most of the high-quality mana stones are produced in mana stone mines.

It wasn’t particularly strange because it was knowledge I was already familiar with in Eden.

Moreover, it wasn’t an absurd story that a mana stone mine was located in Ground Zero.

It was already a proven fact that mana stone mines are naturally generated in mana-contaminated areas.

So what does that mana stone mine have to do with the current situation?

“It is understood that players are fighting over the mana stone mine inside Ground Zero. The estimated number of deaths so far is at least five. Since they were players with the resistance to operate inside Ground Zero, they are estimated to be at least A-rank hunters.”

“They’re amazing. Really amazing.”

“That’s because the high-quality mana stones that can be obtained from Ground Zero cannot be replaced by anything else.”

It is because the situation has reached the point where players are fighting over the mana stone mine.

I swallowed a sip of coffee while listening to Team Leader Kim’s explanation.

Is it the coffee that’s bitter, or is it this situation that’s bitter?

“As you know, Shi Yu, mana stones are minerals that are absolutely necessary for crafting players’ equipment. Since a mana stone mine was discovered in Ground Zero a year ago, major guilds have been participating in mining by organizing specialized teams.”

“Shouldn’t the government have controlled the situation from the beginning?”

At my natural question, Team Leader Kim answered with a strained smile,

“Almost all of those with the mana resistance capable of operating in Ground Zero belong to major guilds. All we could do was record the entry and exit to Ground Zero.”

It wasn’t that they weren’t controlling it, but they couldn’t control it.

I roughly understood the situation. And I could quickly figure out why the government was stopping me from entering Ground Zero.

“The moment you enter Ground Zero, Shi Yu, our government cannot help you with anything.”

Lawless zone.

That was the word that came to my mind after listening to Team Leader Kim’s explanation.

One peculiar thing is that even Min-Soo, who had explained the plan to me, was unaware of this fact, and Team Leader Kim also explained the reason for that.

“Except for the major guilds, very few people know that there is a mana stone mine in Ground Zero. Because no human wants to share information about limited resources.”

Come to think of it, mana stones had enough value to be classified as strategic resources.

Until now, that value has actually helped maintain the confidentiality.

Team Leader Kim took a sip of water and continued the conversation in a still calm voice.

“For the past year, mining had been proceeding smoothly through the council formed by major guilds, but… problems arose some time ago.”

There was only one reason why guilds that had been focusing on mining together would clash.

I raised the corner of my mouth and said,

“I guess the amount of mining has decreased.”

“…That’s right.”

“Interesting. It’s interesting.”

A fight broke out over the interests.

The reason why the Ministry of Ability Management is also preventing me from entering Ground Zero is probably because they don’t want me to get involved in that fight.

Only now did I start to understand the overall picture of this situation.

So, to neatly summarize this situation…

“In other words, you’re saying don’t get involved in their fight over rice bowls and unnecessarily shed blood, right?”

“We are always thinking of you first, Shi Yu…”

“Sigh.”

If it was going to be like this, I should have asked and started the voting earlier.

It’s not fair to blame Min-Soo since he was also unaware of the current situation unfolding in Ground Zero.

I don’t know if this is also because of the damn causality, but whenever I come up with a plausible plan, this nonsense happens.

The simplest solution in the current situation is to reverse the vote.

But if I really did that, it was obvious that the image would be not “a church that symbolizes hope,” but “a church that lies from the beginning.”

Therefore, that method is the worst.

I tried to think of various ways, but in the end, there was only one answer.

I chewed the ice in the coffee cup and swallowed it, then clenched my fist and said,

“There are a few things that religious people and politicians should not do. Do you know what the most representative one is?”

“Well…”

“Lying. To gain trust from people, of course, you shouldn’t lie.”

Reverse?

Do I really have to reverse because I’m afraid of the major guild guys fighting over their rice bowls?

Although it was a decision I made, I had no intention of withdrawing the decision just because of the vulgar interests of major guilds.

“The government is also in a difficult situation because they can’t manage that lawless zone called Ground Zero, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Then let’s do this.”

I looked at Team Leader Kim and slightly raised the corner of my mouth. Then, I said in a subtle voice,

“I will end that difficult situation for you.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Haha, you know very well, Team Leader Kim.”

What do I mean?

They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. In a lawless zone, you have to follow the lawlessness.

Things progressed smoothly.

At first, Team Leader Kim also opposed it, but in the end, the entry approval was granted.

The reason for the approval was simple.

The Ministry of Ability Management had already judged that Leo was at the level of the Demon Guild’s Leader Mr.Choi and perhaps even higher.

Discussions with the final approver, the Minister of the Ministry of Ability Management, had already been concluded.

My promise was simple.

To really try to purify Ground Zero.

Of course, I decided to separately secure a kind of compensation.

If I used the Proof of Limen, I could definitely remove the contamination in some areas, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Anyway, that’s how my entry was approved, and two days passed.

“It’s high.”

I exclaimed while looking at the huge wall blocking my view.

The size of the wall I actually faced was even more enormous than when I saw it in the photo.

“This wall is called the Ark. It means the last bastion of civilization, like Noah’s Ark.”

Team Leader Kim was with me today as well. It was inevitable to receive his help to pass through the entrance management office of Ground Zero.

I exclaimed softly at Team Leader Kim’s explanation and said,

“Seeing that, people on Earth have a really good naming sense.”

If it were Eden, they would have just named it something like .

Team Leader Kim lightly bowed his head at my exclamation, then carefully asked,

“Are you two really going in alone today?”

Our group that arrived here today consisted of only two people, including me.

The other person besides me was naturally Leo.

The reason why Team Leader Kim asked like that seemed to be because Min-Soo wasn’t here.

“I heard that electronic devices become useless in the Ground Zero area anyway. In that case, do we really need a filming crew?”

“Koo Min-Soo’s company has quite a number of decent A-rank hunters. They could have been sufficient as a force.”

At those words, I innocently answered,

“Haha, someone might misunderstand that I came here to fight. We’re just here for what should I say… a preliminary survey. We came for a preliminary survey of the temple site.”

“…Ah, I misspoke.”

Of course, it wasn’t that I hadn’t considered it at all.

But in the end, I decided that Leo and I would be sufficient. I thought there was no need to bring other people and increase the damage.

I nodded and subtly said to Team Leader Kim,

“I saw some guild advertisements on the internet. They mostly say they fight together for the country and the people while promoting themselves.”

Advertisements that had caught my eye over the past two days while resting at home.

As if to let people know that this is the era of guilds and players, most of the advertisements were promoting guilds.

Among them, quite a few were guilds that were presumed to be currently fighting in this Ground Zero.

“It’s funny that those guys are shedding blood without hesitation just for some rocks beyond the wall.”

To be honest, I don’t have a sense of mission that I’m executing justice.

Thanks to Limen’s grace, I have risen to the position of the Pope, but I also understand well that it’s not because I am morally superior to others.

I was just a bit annoyed.

I was already irritated because nothing was going according to plan, and this just happened to trigger me.

I smiled slightly, and Team Leader Kim, who saw my smile, sighed and said,

“Please avoid combat as much as possible. In the end, they are also the power of the Republic of Korea.”

“Of course. I won’t be the one to start a fight first. I can swear on Limen’s name at least for that.”

Of course, it’s only a promise that I won’t start a fight first.

If other players start a fight first, I had no intention of letting it slide even the slightest bit.

With that, the conversation with Team Leader Kim ended, and he led Leo and me to the entrance of Ground Zero.

There, soldiers wearing protective gear like radiation suits were standing guard with guns, and as soon as they saw us, they saluted.

“Sir. No abnormalities during the watch.”

“Good work. Since the approval is done, could you open the entrance?”

“Understood!”

Kiiiiik-.

As the soldiers pressed the button, the thick door opened slightly, and soon, the viscous mana could be felt from inside.

That mana seemed to be a bit overwhelming for Team Leader Kim.

He frowned slightly, then soon bowed his head politely to me and said,

“Then, I wish you good luck.”

“Don’t worry. Leo, let’s go in.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

I led Leo and walked through the door.

Kwooong.

As we entered through the door, the door closed again, and soon, a fairly long corridor was revealed along with dim lighting.

It seemed quite thick, befitting the five layers of walls.

As the two of us were left alone like that, Leo began to ask me about the points he was curious about.

“If there is a means to record the entry and exit like that, wouldn’t it be possible to identify who is currently inside this area?”

“In principle, that’s right. But people don’t have to use the main gate.”

If everything was done only through the main gate from the beginning, there’s no way the government wouldn’t have detailed information.

Moreover, Team Leader Kim had already told me about the existence of a .

There is a hidden passage somewhere here.

Therefore, it was impossible to properly gauge how many players were fighting inside.

Leo nodded once at my answer and immediately moved on to the next question.

“But why didn’t you tell that Team Leader Kim what you were going to do with the mana stone mine?”

“Is there a reason I have to tell him?”

“…But aren’t we on the same side for now?”

I smiled at Leo’s very Leo-like question and answered,

“Let’s think of it as compensation for solving their troublesome problem. There’s a saying on Earth, right? Give and take. And don’t worry. I’ve already finished talking with the higher-ups.”

“No matter what, it feels a bit uncomfortable. It feels like we’ve become merchants.”

“Is there anything in the doctrine about not receiving compensation?”

“There’s no such content, but still…”

“Let’s just let it go this time. We needed the mana stones quite a bit too, right?”

Mana stones are useful in more places than you think.

Leo reluctantly nodded his head.

“…I understand.”

“It’s coming into view.”

While we were talking, we soon reached the end of the corridor and could face the scenery beyond the wall.

“Whoa.”

The scenery beyond the wall was much more eerie than I had imagined.

Half-collapsed buildings.

Ruins that looked as if the day 5 years ago had been preserved, with no weeds that would have originally been lush.

And the viscous mana rising between them.

It was a scenery that exuded the feeling of the apocalypse.

As I was looking at that scenery with mixed feelings for quite a while.

Something was felt by my senses that had become sensitive due to mana, and Leo also said with a distorted expression,

“Your Holiness. This is…”

“I know.”

[Be careful. Magi is being detected.]

Amidst the thick mana, the wicked magic was being felt.