Return of the Frozen Player

Seo Jun-Ho stared at the System message in front of him.

‘It’s EX, but something is different.’

The skill name remained the same.

Seo Jun-Ho replayed Specter’s memories just in case.

“I knew it.”

‘I was right.’

Specter’s Watchguard of Darkness (S) became Darkness (EX) when he gave up Frost (EX) to evolve the former to EX.

‘It also says that the Watchguards departed…’

However, Seo Jun-Ho’s case was the opposite. The Watchguards remained, and they had become more ruthless.

“Frost, do you know anything about this?”

“No.”

Seo Jun-Ho figured that there was no way of finding out what this meant for the time being if the Frost Queen had no idea about it. However, he was sure of one thing—he had gotten even stronger.

“Well. I guess I’ll find out as I use the skill. Title open.”

The new title sparkled as if it were telling Seo Jun-Ho to take a closer look at it.

[Title: Specter]

Grade: EX

Description: This title proves that you are Specter.

Effect: You are the master of darkness.

“So an EX title actually exists…” Seo Jun-Ho muttered blankly. He had acquired many titles so far, but it was his first time seeing an EX title.

Seo Jun-Ho had many S titles, but he only had one EX title.

Seo Jun-Ho even thought that S was the highest grade a title could reach.

“I want to see it too. Hmm… the effect seems quite similar to World Tree’s Savior.”

“Nature is on your side. You are the master of darkness. Wow, you’re right. They’re similar.”

‘But the keyword here is the word master. There must be a difference.’

Seo Jun-Ho circulated his magic and created darkness. He experimented a few times, and the Frost Queen asked him excitedly, “Did anything change, Contractor? Does it feel different from before? How is it?”

“To be really honest with you…”

“Yes, yes. Be honest and tell me.”

“I have no idea what changed.”

It felt like the only change was the direct improvement in the strength of the darkness he could manifest. However, it wasn’t really a strange improvement, as the Watchguard of Darkness had become EX. It didn’t seem related to the title.

“Then… well. I guess it can’t be helped. Don’t be too disappointed. You still gained a lot from defeating Specter, right?”

“Yes, and I still have a lot more to gain.”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes turned to one side toward the mountain of bones.

The Frost Queen suddenly flinched upon realizing something.

“No way. You’re not thinking what I’m thinking, are you?”

“I’m sure I’m thinking exactly what you’re thinking.”

Apparently, no one had ever owned two EX elemental skills.

‘Perhaps I’m the first one, but I received no reward for the achievement.’

The System would award titles to Players who had either accomplished the impossible or who had done something before anyone else.

Seo Jun-Ho was clearly the very first person to have two EX elemental skills, but the fact that he hadn’t received any rewards meant only one thing.

“It means I’m lacking something.”

Seo Jun-Ho had two EX skills, but the System judged that they weren’t complete. It was unknown whether what he was lacking was experience, skill comprehension, or proficiency.

“Fortunately, there are many of us here.”

There were more than ten thousand Seo Jun-Hos in front of him. Most of those experiences were wrong answers, but humans knew how to deduce things by looking at hints.

“Contractor. Listen carefully,” the Frost Queen gestured as if she were a kindergarten teacher. “Those memories aren’t ordinary memories. Perhaps every time you use the Confession of the Dead, you will relive their lives just like what happened with Specter.”

In other words, he would clearly feel the emotions of every Seo Jun-Ho, which was risky, as the current Seo Jun-Ho’s emotions might get overwhelmed.

“I really think that it’s too dangerous. I mean, just look at you right now,” the Frost Queen said as she pointed to Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes.

The tears he had shed after observing Specter’s memories had yet to dry up.

“...It’s fine,” Seo Jun-Ho replied in a firm voice. “And maybe this is the last chance.”

“Last chance? What do you mean?”

“I can feel it. I’m about to meet the Archduke.”

‘Maybe this is the last chance for me to grow before I face the Archduke.’

“Moreover, a dimensional gap is an aberrant space unaffected by time.”

“That’s why it’s more dangerous. You don’t know how much time has passed outside.”

Seo Jun-Sik had spent five years in a dimensional gap, but only an hour had passed outside.

‘But this isn’t an ordinary dimensional gap.’

Seo Jun-Ho raised his head. He was at a dimensional gap connected to more than ten thousand dimensions. In other words, it wouldn’t be strange if time here was twisted, similar to wired earphones in one’s pocket.

“Everything might be over by the time you get out of here. You might be too late.”

“...”

‘That’s the worst-case scenario, but it can happen.’

Seo Jun-Ho hesitated, but Keen Intuition spoke.

- It’s okay, Partner.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, but I feel like I should tell you that it’s okay.”

Seo Jun-Ho had heard Keen Intuition’s voice numerous times, but this was his first time hearing such an intense longing in Keen Intuition’s voice.

‘What is it longing for so badly…?’

Even before Seo Jun-Ho could finish his question, he had the illusion that Keen Intuition’s gaze—which there was no way it existed—was directed at the pile of bones.

Its gaze contained an anguish and longing that shook Seo Jun-Ho’s heart.

“Ah.”

Seo Jun-Ho finally realized the reason why Keen Intuition suddenly appeared to him one day and why Keen Intuition wasn’t in Specter’s memories.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho sometimes thought that it was strange how Keen Intuition had the perfect answer to the dilemmas he had never encountered before.

“I understand. Intuition, you’re…”

‘You are the legacy… the legacy of the Seo Jun-Hos who died regretting their choices.’

Seo Jun-Ho smiled gently and patted the Frost Queen’s head.

She was looking at him with worried eyes.

“I’ll be back.”

“...Don’t take too long.”

“All right.”

“Take too long, and I’m going to go back to the Spirit World.”

“Okay.”

“...”

The Frost Queen looked like she had a lot she wanted to say, but she swallowed her words and raised her hand to pat Seo Jun-Ho on the head.

“Come back safe and sound. Take care of your health.”

“...What are you, my mom?”

Seo Jun-Ho smiled and slowly turned around to face the bones of ten thousand Seo Jun-Hos. He took a moment to compose himself before taking a deep breath.

“Confession of the Dead.”

***

The Archduke opened his eyes.

Specter was dead.

“...No.”

He shook his head and corrected his thoughts.

The old Specter had simply been replaced by the new Specter.

‘But this is the end of it…’

The Frost Queen on the 8th Floor had perished as well, even though he thought that she would forever be his obstacle. In other words, she could never freeze the world again, and the Archduke no longer had any reason to create more parallel worlds.

“Great.” The Archduke smiled in satisfaction. He had been waiting for quite a long time for everything to end. Indeed, a long time, even by his own standards.

‘Specter… I promised him.’

The Archduke had promised Specter that he would bestow upon the happiest death to the universe the day he destroyed the Floors and escaped the System.

‘It’s a bit unfortunate that he can’t witness that sight.’

Specter was one of the few beings who understood the Archduke’s will more accurately than anyone else.

The Archduke recalled Specter’s figure before muttering, “Rest in peace. I’ll make sure to create the peaceful world you’ve been wanting to see.”

The Archduke raised his hand slightly, and his subordinates immediately appeared in front of him.

“Your Grace.”

“I’ll give you three years. I want you to gather all the demons throughout the universe in three years.”

“Does that mean…”

“From now on, we’ll go down the Floors and start destroying the System cores.”

‘I’ll recover a portion of my power every time a System core is destroyed. The System cores are the foundation of the Floors, after all.’ The 10th Floor’s System core had already been destroyed. ‘Once the System cores on every Floor are destroyed, nothing can hold me back anymore.’

It would mark the end of the universe's peace and happiness

‘It’ll be an inescapable but fair and happy ending…’

“Understood, Your Grace. What should we do about those disturbing our will?”

“Kill them all. Ignore those who are not disturbing our will.”

The Archduke ordered and closed his eyes once more. ‘The promise I made with Specter about taking as many lives as I can to paradise will soon be fulfilled.’

***

Skaya Killiland frowned.

[Congratulations! Specter has been defeated.]

[Safe zones will appear in the Underworld Area.]

Skaya’s smart brain couldn’t quite grasp the message that had appeared in front of her.

She walked out and found others who had come out of their lodgings with the same concern in mind.

“Hey, nerd. What is this supposed to mean?”

“You think I’d know?”

“D-did something happen to Jun-Ho?”

Seo Jun-Ho’s friends and the Players, who were on their way to the many front lines of the universe, walked out of their lodgings while muttering to each other.

“Sword Saint-nim, what do you think is going on?”

“Something’s wrong,” replied Kim Woo-Joong. He acted like the question wasn’t even worthy of ruminating over.

Meanwhile, Shin Sung-Hyun burst into anger.

“Specter-nim has been defeated? Why does this message sound like he’s the Floor Master?”

Everyone couldn’t quite understand what was going on, but they knew that something was wrong here.

Skaya turned toward a certain someone.

“I think you know something. Do you mind telling us?” she asked.

“...”

Gray was the supervisor responsible for the Players’ training on the front lines. He groaned upon hearing Skaya, but he soon replied, “Well, it seems the 9th Floor has been cleared.”

“That’s not my question. What does the 9th Floor have to do with Jun-Ho’s defeat?”

Gray looked around and saw hundreds of Players staring at him.

“All right. Gray sighed and said, “It’s something you should know, anyway…”

Gray’s lengthy explanation started.

Skaya staggered upon hearing Gray’s explanation.

“W-what nonsense is that…?”

If Gray were someone else, Skaya would have snorted and walked away.

However, an Administrator had no reason to lie to them.

Skaya composed herself and asked, “Why Jun-Ho?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why is Jun-Ho the only one carrying such a heavy burden?”

“...” Gray shut his mouth tightly.

The gazes of hundreds of Players pierced Gray, and he eventually opened his eyes and said calmly, “We had no other choice.”

“You better explain.”

“In a short time of only a dozen years, Specter showed more definite results than anyone else.” Despite the poor conditions, Specter eventually grew to the point of threatening the Archduke. “However, his speedy growth became a big problem. He got too strong for the Players to defeat.”

The higher-ups of the Aeon Empire, including the Administrators, had run millions of simulations, but they had discovered that it was nigh impossible to defeat the Floor Master of the 9th Floor—Specter.

“In the end, the higher-ups found out that the only person who could kill Specter was Specter himself.”

And that was why Seo Jun-Ho had lived so many lives and perished so many times.

That was the reason the being named Seo Jun-Ho had to go through all sorts of hardships.

“Are you serious?!”

Boom!

Gray’s face turned sideways at Rahmadat’s punch.

He could have avoided it, but he didn’t avoid it.

“Hmph. At least you still have a bit of conscience.”

“...I don’t think you’ll believe me, but it was the choice we had to make for everyone’s sake,” said Gray. He stretched his stiff neck before continuing. “All of you and the Administrators—no, the entire universe, are beneath fate. We had to do something to stop the universe’s destruction.”

“...”

“...”

Everyone went silent.

It felt surreal, but they were aware that the universe’s destruction had to be stopped at all costs.

“But why…”

However, they couldn’t understand why one person was forced to make such a terrible sacrifice for the peace of the universe. Everyone had the same question in mind, but it was a question that no one could answer.

“...Then what happens now?”

Gray turned to Gilberto.

“If I were the Archduke, I would start preparing for a major invasion.”

“Invasion? But there are safe zones.”

“The Archduke has pilfered a certain amount of the System’s power, so I think—”

Gray couldn’t finish speaking as numerous System messages popped up before everyone.

[The safe zones on the 10th Floor has been destroyed.]

[The 10th Floor is no longer safe.]

[The safe zones on the 9th Floor has been destroyed.]

[The 9th Floor is no longer safe.]

[The safe zones on the 8th Floor has been destroyed.]

…

“Sigh.” Gray sighed heavily. “To think that he can already destroy safe zones.”

It meant that the safety of Players and the common people was no longer guaranteed.

Everyone was silent while processing the harsh reality.

“We don’t have that much time left, “Gray said, “We have two years or three years at most.”

“...Are you talking about the time left until the invasion?”

“Yes, and all of you have to become as strong as possible in the meantime.”

It was their last chance to become even stronger.

Mio slightly raised her hand and asked, “Is Jun-Ho safe?”

“His clone is on the 9th Floor, but I’m not sure about the original.”

The dimensional gap where Specter resided was one of the most abstruse places throughout the entire universe. Gray was powerful, but he couldn’t quite penetrate that dimensional gap.

“We should consider that Mr. Specter died along Floor Master Specter on the 9th Floor.”

“No. The Jun-Ho I know will come back for sure,” Rahmadat answered in a firm voice.

Skaya added, “He’ll make us worry to death for him first before coming back as if nothing had happened.”

“In other words, there’s only one thing we have to do.”

“Indeed. We have to become even stronger. I’m scared just imagining just how heartbroken he’ll feel once he returns and sees a destroyed Earth.”

Five years later, Seo Jun-Ho was still missing.