Return of the Frozen Player

- Oh, there you are.

Upon entering the Celestial Dragon Armory of the Murim Alliance, Yeon clapped its hands and pointed at something.

"What's that?"

- Oxygen filter device. Bite it, and you won't have any issues breathing outside the city.

“I see…"

The pebble-shaped filter was the perfect size for a human mouth.

- Just one can last up to eight hours. Isn't it amazing?

"That's good. Can we make it in bulk?"

- It's definitely possible. The people need work anyway.

"Yea, as long as we have labor, then the money will be no issue." Seo Jun-Ho looked around the Celestial Dragon Armory.

There were all kinds of weapons and armor, as well as credit coins piled up like mountains.

- Look around the weapons, too. It all belongs to you, Your Majesty.

"Hmm, the Sword of Ambition broke, so I need a new sword.”

Seo Jun-Ho looked around the armory, but nothing caught his interest.

"The quality is not bad, but I don't think I want anything here.”

- Why don't you at least grab just something?

"It’s fine. It's not that urgent."

There was no need for armor because he had the Midnight Sun, and the sword was not a matter of urgency. Even now, he still had several other weapons he could use aside from the sword.

‘Come to think of it, I still have the weapons I have been using during my Specter days.’

Those weapons weren’t enough to be called great weapons, but they were enough to serve as weapons.

- Your Majesty, when are you planning to investigate?

"Let me organize things first."

Sitting on a wooden chair, Seo Jun-Ho began to organize what he had got on the 5th Floor.

‘First, when I caught Namgung Jincheon, the nucleus didn't come out.’

It was unusual. From the first to the fourth floor, every time he got rid of the floor master, he had gotten a nucleus.

'If there's any difference...… Is it that this guy was a machine?’

Well, there's no way a nucleus would come out of his body when he wasn’t even a living, breathing creature. Instead, he obtained a new title.

[Dignity of an Emperor]

Grade: S

Description: The emperor should always be dignified no matter where he is.

Effect: Consume mana to boost the emperor’s all-encompassing aura.

"Hmm."

Seo Jun-Ho read the effect again and again with eyes that seemed to be staring at a carton of milk with eight minutes left before its expiration date.

‘The emperor's aura. It's ambiguous.'

He thought he wouldn't know until he tried it himself, so he gave it a try right away.

"Hmm, Frost, you don't think I've changed or anything, right?”

"…No, I do not think so." The Frost Queen frowned before saying, "Withdraw that skill first."

When he withdrew the aura, the Frost Queen finally exhaled. "Ehew, you have gained another scary skill. During my time, I only got something like that after working hard and working hard even more…”

"Yes, Ma’am. So, what changed when I was using it?”

"Your aura, Contractor," The Frost Queen replied with a sullen look.

"Aura?"

"Yes, I felt like I was in front of a towering existence I can’t possibly resist."

Seo Jun-Ho knew better than anyone about how prideful the Frost Queen was. However, someone like her actually admitted that she felt like she couldn’t resist him?

"That's really impressive."

"When it comes to aura, Contractor was scarier than the Heavenly Demon earlier.”

"Ooohhh…!” Seo Jun-Ho's eyes shone brightly.

‘I got a really good weapon, then.’

One could evaluate ‘Dignity of an Emperor’ as a useless title. However, Seo Jun-Ho, or any other Player of his level, would never think that way.

‘It's a skill you can’t buy even with money.’

Since ancient times, strong people had always made an effort to come across as even more intimidating in the eyes of their enemies. They wore necklaces made of their enemies’ ears, put horns on their helmets, and even painted blood on their faces. It was all for the sake of crushing their enemies with their aura.

‘But I can't believe I got a skill like that...’

Of course, it was a double-edged sword rather than an all-rounder. If he got caught using it recklessly against someone stronger than him, he would have to pay a severe price.

"Status window."

[Seo Jun-Ho]

Level: 238

Title: Bringer of Spring (+8)

Strength: 757

Stamina: 768

Speed: 774

Mana: 800

He had risen by 42 levels on the 5th Floor. It was made possible by cutting down countless enemies and monopolizing the Experience Points from Namgung Jincheon’s death.

‘It would have been the icing on the cake if I got Namgung Jincheon’s nucleus here.’

However, it wasn’t like he didn’t gain any profit at all. After all, he had become the Emperor of Neo City as well as the rightful owner of the System Chip.

"Frost, give me Soso."

"Here."

The Frost Queen carefully handed over Wisoso, whom she had been gently carrying. Wisoso’s intellect was currently missing, and she was currently playing the role of a chip reader for the System Chip.

"Yeon, is it possible for me to use the System Chip using this?"

Seo Jun-Ho shook his Vita. Yeon pondered for a while before responding.

- It will take some time, but it should be possible.

"Then, please. I feel sorry having to leave it to Soso every time."

After saying that, the System Chip was removed from Wisoso’s head, and she soon woke up.

- Uah, I feel dizzy.

"Good job, Wisoso."

-(･̆⍛･̆)

- Why are you so kind all of a sudden? I-I'm telling you, I don't have any money.

Seo Jun-Ho tapped her lightly, who was acting very wary, like a street cat.

"It's all over now. I'll make this planet clean and make sure that your body will arrive here safely."

- Hmm, that doesn’t sound bad.

"When your body arrives, I'll give you a decent official position.”

- …

From fugitive to holding a decent office? Wisoso thought about it for a moment before flashing an emoticon on her LED.

- (∗❛⌄❛∗)

- You guys, let's be friends from now on.

***

Seo Jun-Ho left the city with an oxygen filter in his mouth. He was currently running toward his destination.

- I think we are almost there.

The poison gas became stronger as they approached their destination, and the filter corroded faster.

Moreover…

"Koong, koong!"

"Crrrrrr".

Radioactive and poisonous creatures surrounded them. In addition to the fact that their species were quite diverse, they also had mechanical parts.

"First of all, the aura they are emitting gets a pass from me."

After making evaluating him, the monsters quickly charged at him.

Slice!

However, they couldn’t get anywhere near Seo Jun-Ho.

- Crrrrr.

The Watchguard of Darkness didn't allow them to approach. Seo Jun-Ho put his hands in his pockets and walked leisurely.

"The level of the monsters here… it seems that they’ll be more useful than I thought."

They were neither too strong nor too weak for Players entering the 5th Floor.

‘They’re also fast with tough exoskeletons.’

In a nutshell, he liked them.

He walked a bit further and eventually found a sticky green nest appeared.

[You have entered a cave.]

[Equipment corrodes quickly inside the cave.]

"Oh."

It would’ve been a surprising message for a Player, but Seo Jun-Ho laughed.

‘Players hunting here will have no choice but to change their equipment often, right?’

He could already imagine the Players lining up in front of the equipment store in the city.

"I'm not greedy for money, so why is it that I can only hear the sound of money going into my pockets?"

- Save as much as you can while you can, Your Majesty. You will need a lot of credits for you to get stronger later.

Stronger monsters popped out from inside the cave, but they weren’t strong enough to harm Seo Jun-Ho. In the end, he killed the cave's owner without lifting even a finger.

[The cave has been destroyed.]

[Caves destroyed 1/300.]

[The poison covering the planet has become lighter ever so slightly.]

"I see."

There were a total of 300 caves. No, he had just destroyed one himself, so there were only 299 left.

‘If I give priority to the people who had come here to help me...’

The other Players would have to contend for the remaining 50 caves that he would allow them to use.

"It sounds fun."

- Are you not going to go to other caves?

"Yeon, the owner of an arcade only needs to make sure that the machines are working well."

If the owner sat down and played the games instead of the customers, how could the customers enjoy the arcade?

Seo Jun-Ho mumbled, biting down on a new oxygen filter.

"Let's just make sure that we’re thoroughly prepared for our guests."

***

Seo Jun-Ho did not come down to Earth until a few more days later. Needless to say, he first visited the President's office of the Korean Player Association.

"Oh! Jun-Ho! I’ve been waiting for you all this time."

Seo Jun-Ho calmed down his friend, who was making a fuss about whether to call medical staff or therapists.

"My friend, I'm not hurt at all. I'm fine."

"Huh? But I heard you went to see the Heavenly Demon...”

"We met, but I just gave him a warning. I think I definitely hurt him.”

With a smile, Seo Jun-Ho glanced at today's newspaper on the table.

[November 11, 2051! World Hero Day Fair is held!]

[Rewatching the history of the Players.]

[What's changed in the past 2 years since Specter’s return?]

"What? Today is November 11th?"

"Time flies, right?"

"…Yea."

It felt like yesterday since he woke up from the ice, but it had already been two years.

"I’ve been pretty busy since then."

"Pretty busy? I can assure you that no Earthling has been more prolific than you in the last two years," Shim Deok-Gu criticized.

Sometimes Shim Deok-Gu wished his old friend would put everything down and rest, but he knew that it wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

"I heard the system gave you a vacation this time. Please get some rest."

"If I rest and play all the time, when will I get strong?"

"Hey, you're strong enough."

"Strong is relative. Right now, the Heavenly Demon is stronger than me." Seo Jun-Ho let his friend’s nagging in one ear and out the other and continued. "And I don't intend to overdo it during this vacation.”

He still had one unfinished business that he had to settle before entering the 5.5th Floor.

‘Sky Soul Guild.’

It didn’t matter whether it would be a verbal or physical altercation, unless he ended things properly with them, he wouldn’t be able to climb up the floors in peace.

"Hmm, Jun-Ho."

Had Shim Deok-Gu read his thoughts?

Shim Deok-Gu held out a few hologram articles without saying a word.

"What is it?"

Seo Jun-Ho’s frown deepened as he quietly read the articles.

"Hey, is this perhaps...”

"Yeah. And the association and I aren’t involved."

"Then…"

Reading the articles again, Seo Jun-Ho was confused.

[Tenmei Ryo, director of the Sky Soul Guild, found dead at home.]

[The fall of a giant. Tenmei Yugo, the Guild Master of the Sky Soul Guild, convicted of instigating murder and 15 violent crime charges, imprisoned in Rengoku prison!]

[Big 6 Sky Soul has submitted a guild dissolution request. Will everyone’s perception of the industry change?]

"What's going on here?"