Return of the Frozen Player

Chapter 369. Teacher Darkness (3)

A white-haired man was looking down the night street of Neo City on the 5th floor. A man in a purple suit approached him.

"I received a call from Shadow. Butcher was killed."

"I see…"

Despite the grim news, the white-haired man’s eyes looking at the night view did not show even an ounce of regret or disappointment.

"Specter’s growth is frightening. Apparently, Butcher did not last even a day."

"That’s why I tipped him off in advance that Specter was special."

But since Butcher still ended up dying, it meant that Butcher himself wasn’t skilled enough. It also meant that Butcher hadn’t been worthy of his interest.

"Shouldn't we call in Nazad and the rest of them?”

"Why?"

"He died like a dog, but wouldn’t it still be a waste?"

"…A waste?"

The Heavenly Demon finally turned his head. His calm face seemed to ask why he should care about their death.

"No, my tongue slipped.” Isaac Dvor smiled.

Facing the Heavenly Demon’s eyes which appeared to be endless pits, Isaac shuddered.

'Ah, yes. My master had always been this kind of man.’

He confirmed it once again. The Heavenly Demon had never been the type to regret. Perhaps even if Isaac Dvor died right now, the Heavenly Demon wouldn’t even produce the faintest reaction on his face. It was all because he had always been like that.

"Shadow says he's moving today.”

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I don't think he’s going to fail since he said he will be using the Medusa’s poison you gave him."

The Medusa's poison? An assassination was bound to succeed once that was used.

"That's too bad. I wanted to fight him again.”

It was the first time the Heavenly Demon felt regretful about someone’s death. As the feeling dragged on, it soon turned to irritation.

"Tsk, let's go."

"Where would you like to go?"

The Heavenly Demon turned around and replied, “I heard the fiends own a sect here. Let’s go there and take a look.”

"With pleasure."

Three of his seven executives followed behind him.

***

"Kneel before overwhelming power!"

A million thorns shot out of Erebo's body. However, all Gilberto could see was empty space rather than the horns. He was staring at a thousand badge pieces shining brilliantly like stars.

“…”

His eyes and brain started to get busy. He had to find a way to connect them all together.

"Have you gone crazy with fear? You aren’t even moving.”

At Erebo’s sarcastic voice, the thorns grew closer.

Budump, budump.

Gilberto slowly got impatient, and his vision narrowed as a result.

"Damn it!”

Gilberto cursed after hastily pulling the trigger. In the end, he could only bounce the bullet 400 times, let alone 1,000 times.

Pierce!

Gilberto couldn’t get used to the sensation of being pierced by a million thorns, no matter how many times he had gone through it by now.

It was still extremely painful even though the system had already diluted it.

‘Compared to what Jun-Ho went through, this is nothing.’

[#211]

Gilberto didn’t even waste a second. He looked at the thousand badge pieces scattered in the air and studied them without even sleeping properly.

'No one knows me better than I do.’

Therefore, he was certain. He was sure that he couldn’t bounce a single bullet on a thousand badge pieces with his own talent.

‘With the classic method, that’s for sure.’

However, would the method really matter? Shouldn’t reaching the goal be more important than the method used to reach it? Gilberto decided to give up on his calculations and started changing his ways.

'Grade. I have no choice but to raise my skills’ grade.’

He had a lot of skills. However, he only had four useful skills when it came to shooting.

1. Object Transparency (B) turned his bullets transparent.

2. Mute (A) completely suppressed the sound of his sniping.

3. Curve Ball (C) allowed him to bend his bullets in mid-air.

4. Hawkeye (B) allowed him to identify and acquire information about objects tens of kilometers away.

Gilberto chose to focus on two skills.

‘Curve Ball and Hawkeye. I’ll raise the grades of these two.’

There was only one reason why he always let fate decide the end of his battles whenever he fired the Repeating Covenant Revolver: the bullet it fired was so fast he couldn’t even see it.

‘I was hoping that someday, I would be able to raise the grades of these skills.’

Unfortunately, just because he wanted to raise the grades of his skills didn’t mean he could raise them that easily.

'It reminds me of the old days...’

Back then, Seo Jun-Ho worked him like a dog, and he had become a dog. It was such a difficult time that it was the number one memory he didn’t want to remember at all. But now, he was trying to repeat those hellish days on his own.

'I have always been on the receiving end when it comes to him.’

‘I'll help you. I'll really help you next time…’ Such words had only remained as promises in his heart. The friend who took him out of the trash can had always been walking a few steps ahead of him. He had always been doing well, even without Gilberto.

‘It's my turn.’

Determined, Gilberto started focusing on training both skills. The number of his regressions piled up. The system was protecting his mind, but it only made sure that he wouldn’t lose his mind.

[For the Player's mental health, it is recommended that you stop the challenge.]

[For the Player's mental health, it is recommended that you stop the challenge.]

[For the Player's mental health, it is recommended that you stop the challenge.]

…

He ignored the countless messages and continued the challenge.

- Shouldn’t we stop him?

The World Tree asked.

While sitting in the Forest of the World Tree’s special seat, Seo Jun-Ho watched Gilberto’s regressions. He shook his head at the World Tree’s words. “It’s the path he chose. The only thing I should do is to trust and wait for him rather than stop him.”

- You are a stricter teacher than I thought.

Seo Jun-Ho smiled bitterly and clenched his fist.

‘You can do it, Gilberto.’

***

"Phew."

Shim Deok-Gu loosened his tie and groaned. Now that The Loneliness of the 4th Floor was gaining worldwide popularity, love calls for Seo Jun-Ho kept on coming.

“Am I the president of the Korean Player Association or the president of an entertainment agency?”

The scene outside was pretty routine. People leaving for work filled the streets, and some were about to go drinking with their colleagues and friends. Regardless of the difficulty of his work, such a sight always cheered Shim Deok-Gu up.

Clack.

Shim Deok-Gu turned when he heard the door being opened.

"Oh, is it Jun-Ho?"

"No, it's not."

"…What? Oh, it’s the clone."

Seo Jun-Sik hung Cold Spear—no, White Dragon, on the wall. Afterward, he turned to Shim Deok-Gu and asked, "Your reaction is strangely awkward. Do I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Maybe a little. It's my first time dealing with a clone."

"Well, I guess that’s possible." Seo Jun-Sik readily nodded and asked, "But isn't it time for you to get off work?"

"I always drink coffee and get off work. Did you come here for something?"

"No. The Original told me not to cause any trouble and stay next to you."

At that, Shim Deok-Gu smiled without saying anything.

‘I see, so that’s what he meant.’

He was wondering what the Frost Queen meant when she said he was cute. He was definitely a little cute. He had never seen Seo Jun-Ho being obedient except when he was young. Thinking like that, his awkwardness toward the clone somewhat transformed into friendliness.

"That punk Jun-Ho doesn't even eat with me because he says it’s bothersome, but how about we go out for dinner?"

"I don't want to go out and eat either because it’s bothersome."

The frown on Seo Jun-Sik’s face was just like Seo Jun-Ho's. However, Seo Jun-Sik stood up while complaining. "But it can't be helped. The Original told me to stick next to you."

"Wear a mask and sunglasses. It'll be hard to go around with that face.”

"Is there a good sushi place nearby?"

"I know one place."

"Oh, let's eat sushi then. Hot fried udon, too."

As the two men left the building after putting on a simple disguise, a group protected them from a distance.

From the roof of a nearby building, a man muttered. "Are they the elites of the Korean Player Association?"

‘Can I do it?’

The man, Shadow, contemplated. He was currently following the orders of the Heavenly Demon to cause confusion among the Players. Of course, the goal was Seo Jun-Ho. His death would definitely cause the most confusion.

‘I've already figured out his skills.’

He watched the fight between Specter and the Chef, Butcher, with his Shadow Eye. As such, he reached a conclusion.

‘In a face-to-face confrontation, I’ll lose, but if I try to assassinate him, the probability of success is over ninety percent.’

He was confident because of Medusa’s Poison. It was a rare poison that turned the entire body of the afflicted into stone as soon as it was administered. Resuscitation was impossible because it had no antidote. Having made up his mind, Shadow closed his eyes.

‘Heavenly Demon, it was an honor to have served you.’

Dozens of Players were guarding Seo Jun-Ho and Shim Deok-Gu. It was impossible to leave unscathed after assassinating his target.

‘I’ll gain more than I’ll lose as long as I can drag Specter down to hell with me.’

After a while, Shadow entered the Japanese restaurant where Seo Jun-Ho and Shim Deok-Gu were located. Players were guarding both the entrance and the back door, but as expected, they couldn’t detect his presence.

‘Fools.’

Walking past them, he followed the employee he kept in mind.

"The special assorted sushi and fried udon are here!"

Click.

He stuck behind the waiter and entered the room Seo Jun-Ho was using.

"Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you for the food."

The moment the employee left and when Seo Jun-Ho picked up his chopsticks—

‘His vigilance will be at the lowest… now!'

Shadow undid his stealth and stuck out a syringe.

Push!

The needle reinforced with demonic energy easily penetrated Seo Jun-Ho's skin.

"Huh?"

The poison quickly spread. Seo Jun-Ho’s body started turning into stone, and he looked up at Shadow with a dumbfounded look.

'I love that stupid face…’

As the fiend who assassinated a hero of mankind. His name was bound to be recorded in history. Shadow smiled in satisfaction.

"Come down from this stage with me, Seo Jun-Ho."

"Goddamned it."

Seo Jun-Ho cursed, and before he completely turned into stone, he muttered in a wronged voice, "But, I'm Jun-Sik…”

"What? Jun-Sik?"

Who was Jun-Sik?

Unfortunately, the petrified Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t answer.

"J-Jun-Sik!"

Shim Deok-Gu shouted with a distorted look. At that, the smile on Shadow’s face faded.

"Wait, who’s Jun-Sik?"

But what he received in response was a sword rather than the answer he was looking for. The Elite Players quickly raided the room and sliced his throat open.

'Ugh, in life... I have no regrets.’

Shadow managed to send a message to the Heavenly Demon before he died.

[May your wishes come true]

[Picture.]

The picture depicted the petrified Seo Jun-Ho.

***

"Huh?"

Seo Jun-Ho blinked upon absorbing his clone’s memories. The leaves fanning him paused.

- What's wrong?

"No, it's...” Seo Jun-Ho replied with a bitter look. “My clone died."

- Oh no.

"He was poisoned to death as well."

Seo Jun-Ho absorbed the memories and experienced the pain his clone, Seo Jun-Sik, had experienced just before dying. It didn’t hurt that much for Seo Jun-Ho. After all, he died hundreds of times on the 4th Floor. There was a different issue.

"No, what's wrong with his name?"

‘I will have to say that name a lot in the future, so what’s up with the name Jun-Sik…?’

Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly tried to use Cloning.

[Your clone has died and cannot be summoned.]

[The clone can be summoned after 72 hours.]

‘So there's a penalty...’

Whenever the clone died, it could only be summoned after three full days. After learning something new, Seo Jun-Ho traced Seo Jun-Sik’s memories about the assassin.

‘I’m familiar with that face…’

To be exact, he had seen that face in Butcher’s memory. The assassin was Shadow, an executive of the Fiend Association and the head of the Darkmoon Pavillion. He was a fiend specializing in assassination.

“Hmm."

Seo Jun-Ho pondered for a while in his seat before muttering, "How lucky..."