Return of the Frozen Player

- I’ll stay here and maintain the spacecraft.

“It might take us quite a long time to return. Are you going to be okay?”

- Not a problem. I can just disconnect and pay more attention to Neo City upon your return.

“Wow, Artificial intelligence really is the best.”

Seo Jun-Ho gently tapped Yeon’s shoulder.

“I’ll leave it to you, then.”

- Don’t worry, and please return safely. The same goes for His Majesty’s friends.

Seo Jun-Ho got off the spacecraft and saw a busy station filled with many spacecraft of all shapes. There were also mechanics moving around busily to maintain the spacecrafts.

“This place is bustling. Jun-Ho, where are we going?” asked Gilberto.

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know what to say. He had come here to meet the Administrators, but he actually had no idea where to go.

“Hmm… Let’s get out of the station first.”

The party left the station, and they soon found themselves in a city filled with vibrance and life. The streets were clean and tidy without a grain of dust, and the people were walking around with carefree smiles.

It was a scene out of a fairytale, and the party could see people of all ages with smiles on their faces walking about as far as their eyes could see.

“This city has such a nice atmosphere.”

“Well, this is the richest planet in the universe, so it’s not strange that everyone here is happy.”

“I’ve heard that the denizens of Neo City call the Aeon Empire a utopia. They weren’t lying at all.”

Seo Jun-Ho looked around with a smile, but he suddenly frowned.

“Huh? Jun-Ho. What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“Hm, I’m not sure. My eyes suddenly hurt.” Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids to ease the throbbing pain.

‘Perhaps it’s a side effect of traveling in space. It’s my first time, after all.’

He took a brief rest and asked his friends, “Are you guys feeling okay?”

“I’m okay. What about you, Mio?”

“I’m doing fine as well.”

“Hmm. Perhaps you’re just too nervous, Jun-Ho.”

“Don’t worry. You have us with you.”

Seo Jun-Ho shrugged at his friends’ words.

“Thanks, guys. I think I still haven’t completely acclimatized to my new fleshly body.”

‘I mean, it has only been about fifteen days since I woke up after another Body Transformation.’

Seo Jun-Ho asked, “What are you guys going to do? I’m thinking of visiting the Imperial Palace.”

Seo Jun-Ho was convinced that every empire would have an Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace of the Aeon Empire would definitely know about the Administrators’ whereabouts.

Seo Jun-Sik raised his hand at Seo Jun-Ho’s question.

“Hey, Original. Can I go and take a look around? This place is fascinating. I wanna explore.”

“Of course. The more information we have, the better, so I’d appreciate it if you go ahead and explore the place.”

Seo Jun-Ho checked the time and suggested, “Why don’t you guys move around freely for three hours? I’m sure there are places here that will pique your interest. It’ll be hitting two birds with one stone as well, as we can each gather information from those places.”

“Yes, I agree,” Mio said with a nod.

The others nodded as well.

“Let’s meet up in front of that fountain over there in three hours. I’ll see you guys in a bit,” said Rahmadat before walking away.

Gilberto wordlessly walked away as well.

Seo Jun-Sik and Mio also left.

Seo Jun-Ho turned to Skaya.

“What about you, Skaya? Are you not interested in what we’re seeing here?”

“I mean, I’m more interested in the Imperial Palace than anything else.”

“I see…” The Imperial Palace was definitely the most important place in the city, so it would have a ton of interesting spells protecting it. Seo Jun-Ho understood Skaya’s feelings to discover the unknown, especially when it came to magic.

Seo Jun-Ho turned to the Frost Queen, who was staring blankly at the city.

“Frost. Is this your first time here?”

“Umm…? I’m not sure.” The Frost Queen tilted her head and said, “No, I don’t remember. I think I’ve been here before, but all these are unfamiliar to me for some reason.”

“Just when will you recover your memories?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.

“Ahem…” the Frost Queen awkwardly cleared her throat.

In the end, Seo Jun-Ho, Skaya, and the Frost Queen departed together for the Imperial Palace.

‘That must be it.’

Seo Jun-Ho figured that the cleanest and most sophisticated-looking skyscraper in the middle of the city had to be the Imperial Palace of the Aeon Empire, so he didn’t bother asking the passersby.

It didn’t take them that long to arrive in front of the skyscraper’s gates.

However, the gatekeepers stood in their way.

“Stop.”

The gatekeepers’ cold eyes made Seo Jun-Ho feel a shiver down his space.

‘Liberation?’

A mere gatekeeper was equal in strength to Skaya.

‘These two gatekeepers would be one of the strongest people on Earth if they were on Earth.’

Seo Jun-Ho smiled bitterly and said, “My name is Seo Jun-Ho, and I’m a Player from Earth. Do I have to book an appointment to visit the Imperial Palace?”

“...Earth?”

The gatekeepers glanced at each other. Moments later, they drew out their weapons and glared at Seo Jun-Ho.

“Bullshit!”

“You bastard! Reveal your identity this instant!”

Seo Jun-Ho was astonished by the sudden hostility. He was starting to feel troubled, but a voice silenced the gatekeepers.

“Please stop. They’re not enemies.”

The gray man who walked out from behind the gatekeepers smiled softly.

“Fancy meeting you here, player Seo Jun-Ho.”

“Gray-nim?”

Seo Jun-Ho felt like a lightning bolt had struck him from out of the blue. It was true that he had come here to find the Administrators, but he didn’t expect that he would run into one of them so soon.

“You must be tired from such a long journey.”

“I have many questions, but first of all, why did the Administrators—”

Gray interrupted and said, “I’m afraid this is not the appropriate place to discuss such matters. Let’s go inside and talk about it, shall we? Please follow me.”

With that, Gray turned around and walked away.

The Imperial Palace’s interior was indescribable.

‘It looks similar to the Imperial Palace of the Ruben Empire, but it doesn’t look that similar at the same time.’

The skyscraper—which looked more like a castle—had a refined interior that was a mixture of medieval and modern. Seo Jun-Ho felt like he had entered a futuristic skyscraper rather than the Imperial Palace of a nation.

- This is an announcement.

“Wait, it’s that voice again. It’s the same voice as the System.”

A voice echoed from the speakers throughout the Imperial Palace.

- The 7542nd Magic Demonstration will begin shortly in the White Lotus Palace. We look forward to your attendance.

“Magic Demonstration?” Skaya abruptly stopped, and her expression brightened up in excitement upon hearing the announcement. She then turned to Gray and asked, “May I know where the White Lotus Palace is located?”

“Walk straight down that way, and it’s the first palace—”

“See you at the fountain later, Jun-Ho!”

Skaya ran down the hallway while waving her hand at Seo Jun-Ho.

“She’s so childish,” the Frost Queen murmured while staring at Skaya’s back.

“It’s kind of funny to hear that from you.”

“I’ve become an adult. I am no longer a child, so it’s about time you remove the parental controls and—”

- The space cake contest will begin shortly in the Cosmos Palace. We look forward to your attendance.

“Wait,” said the Frost Queen with wide eyes.

She grabbed Gray’s sleeves and asked, “Where is the Cosmos Palace?”

“Just go there and walk straight down…”

“Contractor! I’m going—”

“Go ahead,” said Seo Jun-Ho.

The Frost Queen grinned and skipped down the hallway with a spring in her steps.

“Hey, don’t do that hallway!” Seo Jun-Ho shouted.

The Frost Queen abruptly came to a halt. Moments later, she walked down the hallway in an elegant manner, but she began to skip down the hallway once more upon turning the corner.

“It hasn’t even been five seconds since she called Skaya childish, and she’s already skipping down a hallway for a cake contest?” Seo Jun-Ho shook his head.

He looked up and saw Gray smiling at him.

“Let’s go. It’s the room right up ahead,” said Gray.

“Okay—ah!” Seo Jun-Ho abruptly frowned. The pain in his eyes had intensified, making him feel as if his eyes were burning.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“My eyes have been hurting since I arrived here.”

“Oh, no. I’ll pressurize the room just in case, then.”

“Thank you…”

The two walked into the room, and Seo Jun-Ho found that every piece of furniture was gray-colored. They were quite apropos for Gray.

Seo Jun-Ho sat down at Gray’s offer and asked, “So, why did you want to talk to me alone?”

“...Haha, was it that obvious?”

“How could I fail to notice it when I was right beside you?”

Skaya and the Frost Queen didn’t doubt the announcements, as the two had always been crazy about magic and cake, respectively. Seo Jun-Ho found the announcements’ impeccable timing suspicious.

“Magic Demonstration is somewhat reasonable, but a space cake contest? Seriously?”

“Hm, I’ll do better next time.” Gray smiled awkwardly and put his fedora down on the table. “As you said, it is true that I made up the announcements because I wanted to have a conversation between just the two of us. I also have a favor to ask of you.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho stared at Gray, urging him to continue speaking.

“First of all, let me explain why the Administrators are absent.”

“That’s great. I’m the most curious about that.”

“To put it bluntly, I can tell you that it’s all according to plan.”

‘All according to plan?’

Seo Jun-Ho pondered briefly before asking, “Is the 7th Floor’s conquest related to it?”

“That’s right. It’s a brand-new rule.”

‘A brand-new rule? So they had no choice but to create a new rule...’

In other words, something had forced them to create a brand-new rule.

“It must be related to the Archduke.”

“Wow.” Gray was a bit impressed. “You’re quick-witted. I also didn’t expect that you would extrapolate so much information with just a few words from me.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but I would like to know what’s going on.”

“Frontier-23 wasn’t the original 7th Floor.”

“Yeah, it was supposed to be Adonia or something, right?”

Seo Jun-Ho could still remember the System announcing the opening of Adonia, but entry was prohibited for some reason, and the 7th Floor’s name ended up changing.

“Yes, but the Archduke destroyed Adonia.”

“Destroyed?”

‘So the Archduke destroyed the Administrators’ plans.’

Seo Jun-Ho’s expression turned grim.

“Since the Archduke could do such a thing, what’s stopping him from influencing the upper Floors? Has he become more influential on the Upper Floors?”

“I wish I could deny it, but… unfortunately, you are correct.”

Tap, tap.

Gray tapped on the table. “And that was why we had no choice but to make a brand-new rule. The 7th Floor alone had already exceeded our expectations.”

“I’m sure it did,” said Seo Jun-Ho. Kineos Mullibach was a ridiculously strong Floor Master. The generals, His Imperial Prince Digor, and His Imperial Princess were extremely powerful as well.

“The enemies on the 7th Floor were tremendously more powerful compared to the enemies on the 6th Floor.”

“Yes, and we concluded that the Players aren’t strong enough to clear the upper Floors just yet.”

“Are you saying that the brand-new rule that the Administrators have made involves strengthening the Players first before they can access the upper Floors?”

“You got it perfectly.” Gray smiled softly and said, “Player Seo Jun-Ho. Your journey here was a screening test.”

“Is that so? How come it was too easy?” Seo Jun-Ho was the Emperor of Neo City, so he was more than capable of bringing every single Player from Earth to the Aeon Empire if he wished to do so.

Gray shook his head and explained, “Oh, the Players will earn the qualification to participate in the real test if they somehow arrive here safely.”

“I see.” In other words, the authority to select who could take the real screening test was in Seo Jun-Ho’s hands.

“I believe that you’ll select the Players objectively.”

“I will try my best. Anyway. What test are we talking about here?”

“It’s simple.” Gray tapped on the hologram window in the air and explained, “The Administrators are currently away and are standing by on the front lines of the universe.

”Those successful in the screening test would be sent toward the front lines to train and become even stronger in a safe and controlled manner under the Administrators’ supervision.

”Once the Players have successfully passed every stage we have prepared for them, they’ll be more than qualified to challenge the 9th Floor. I predict every successful Player will be at the Liberation stage by then.”

“So the Administrators are willing to help the Players become stronger, and the Players don’t have to risk their lives for power?”

“That’s right.” Gray nodded.

Seo Jun-Ho’s expression turned somber as he asked, “Why now?”

Gray’s fingers were furiously tapping on a hologram window, but they abruptly stopped the moment Gray heard Seo Jun-Ho’s words.

“So many Players would have survived if you had done this earlier…”

“Mr. Jun-Ho.”

“I just arrived here, but the peace and the smiles of the Aeon Empire’s denizens made me think… I wonder if they know that their peace was built upon the many lives that have been sacrificed on a planet somewhere in the corner of this vast universe.”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding here,” Gray spoke up and said, “I forgot to tell you a few things.”

“First of all, Players must be above Level 300 to join the front line.”

“...”

“And believe it or not, we’re not really in a great situation.”

“Is that so?” Seo Jun-Ho found it difficult to believe Gray. The Aeon Empire was surprisingly peaceful as if the Players’ struggles had nothing to do with them at all.

“Look out the window. Look at those happy faces on the street, and—AH!”

“Mr. Jun-Ho!”

Seo Jun-Ho covered both of his eyes with his hands to suppress the intense pain. The pain was so excruciating that Seo Jun-Ho likened it to getting stabbed in the eyeballs.

“Haaa…” The pain soon passed, and Seo Jun-Ho exhaled the breath that he had been holding. He slowly raised his head to look out of the window.

“And the denizens are also—”

Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t finish his words.

The cogs in his brain had come to a halt at the incongruous and uncanny sight.

“The denizens…” The clean streets with not a single speck of dust had vanished. The smiling denizens could no longer be seen as well. The world outside had become a desolate ruin, and the red skies overhead created an even bleaker scene.

[Hero's Mind (EX) has dispelled the effects of Ideal World (EX)]

Seo Jun-Ho felt like the blindfold over his eyes had been removed.

“Sigh…” Gray’s sigh of self-mockery echoed behind him.

Seo Jun-Ho turned and stared at Gray in disbelief.

“What… what is this?”

“It is what it is.” Gray smiled bitterly. “You are staring at the true face of the Aeon Empire, the most powerful nation in the entire universe and the so-called utopia.”