Return of the Frozen Player

[You have won the Underground Octagon match.]

[You have received 500 points as a reward.]

“Nice.” Rahmadat nodded with a satisfied look. These were the first points he received ever since that bastard Seo Jun-Ho played that unfair, underhanded, unmanly trick on him.

‘Wait, 500 points from one match?’

It was the same number of points that they had received from being the first ones to rank number 1 in any game at the arcade.

He stroked his thick chin.

‘I suppose they give us such high rewards because we could obtain the Loser Title by losing here.’ It didn’t take long for him to reach a decision. ‘The games upstairs are so tiring because they require so much thinking. Can’t I just keep fighting here?’

Once the thought crossed his mind, the Underground Octagon suddenly felt as comfortable as his own house. Plus, he felt like he would lose less muscle if he stayed here rather than going back up and just sitting around.

The System had to have read his mind because a system message appeared.

[Would you like to become a fighter of the Underground Octagon?]

[Upon becoming a fighter, you can fight until you are satisfied.]

[Upon becoming a fighter, you will not obtain the ‘Loser’ Title even if you lose a match.]

[However, you cannot turn down a fight, and you cannot leave the Octagon until you collapse from exertion.]

It was a tempting offer for someone like him who loved a good fight. He nodded without even giving it a second thought.

“Deal!”

***

While Seo Jun-Ho and Skaya were clearing out the empty area and Rahmadat was reigning as the King of the Underground Octagon, Gilberto, Cha Si-Eun, and Mio were talking to each other with serious expressions on their faces.

“There aren’t any exits?” Gilberto asked.

“Yes. I have already checked several times,” Mio said.

“Me, too. I think I’ve already checked all the areas, but I still didn’t see any exits,” Cha Si-Eun agreed.

“...”

Gilberto immediately looked up. ‘Eagle Eye.’

His vision expanded like he was looking through an expensive lens, and he scanned the entirety of the ceiling.

‘There are too many of them that it’s starting to get suspicious.’

He deactivated Eagle Eye and let out a small sigh. “Things are starting to seem more and more ominous.”

“Why is that?” Mio asked.

“There are a lot of security cameras. There are at least a few hundred of them.” They filled the entire ceiling as if they were refusing to give them a single blind spot. “In any case, I think we have to meet up with Jun-Ho and Skaya.”

“Oh, they were in the empty area the last time I saw them,” Cha Si-Eun informed them.

The three of them headed over to the empty area. As they did, they started hearing the grumbling of the Players who had stopped by the shop.

“Come on, why are the items so low-quality?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I thought they’d be at least at a similar level to the items on the 2nd Floor Administrator’s Store, so I’m really disappointed.”

“Not only that, the weapons and armor are junk that can’t even be used in the meantime.”

“I told you. There are some rare magical ingredients, but other than that, they’re just random items.”

The more complaints Gilberto heard, the more suspicious he became about all this.

‘Is this really a place that’s meant for Players?’

It was too early to say. Gilberto hurried before more Players started to grow suspicious.

“Wow, who’s this? Gilbe, Mio, and even Miss Si-Eun?” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“Ooh, this is an unexpected trio. I like it~”

Gilberto quickly spoke when he discovered the two. “Jun-Ho, Skaya. Let’s talk for a bit.”

When they saw how serious he looked and sounded, the group headed to a corner, and Skaya cast several spells.

“No one around us can hear or see us. So just what is it that you look so serious?” she asked.

“There aren’t any exits,” Gilberto said flatly.

The two of them blinked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you sure you looked hard enough?”

“At the very least, we’re sure that there aren’t any normal exits,” he said.

“...Give me a second.” Sensing how serious the situation was, Skaya drew a magic circle in the air. “Detect. Stairs, doors, and elevators.”

At her order, her magic shot out in all different directions. When it returned shortly after, she let out a heavy sigh. “Sigh, you were right. The only door it detected was the door to the basement and the door to the shop.”

“So it’s true that there aren’t any exists.” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes furrowed a little.

At that, Gilberto turned to him. “Jun-Ho, I’m starting to wonder if this place is just one giant trap.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Think about it. What can Players gain from being here?”

“That’s…”

In Seo Jun-Ho’s case, he gained stat points thanks to Bringer of Spring. However, the only thing that the other Players could gain was points. And even then, there wasn’t much they could do with the points because there weren’t many items worth buying at the shop.

“But there’s definitely something to lose...”

There were tens of thousands of Players who had landed in the 10th percentile of points out of the hundreds of thousands who had come here. They would be expelled from the area after receiving a penalty that would reduce their stats by ten percent for a year.

“...”

When he thought about it that way, he finally recognized the severity of the situation. All of a sudden, it felt like this entire Floor was created for the sake of weakening the Players.

“Now that you say that, Gilbe, I’m starting to sense that there’s something malicious at work here,” said Seo Jun-Ho.

“Jun-Ho, who do you think would do such a thing?” Mio asked.

“It’s obvious.”

The only ones who hated the Players were the demons.

However, that was the problem…

“I had no idea that they were strong enough to manipulate the System,” he said.

If the 5.5th Floor was one giant trap, it meant that the demons had thrown the bait from the moment the Players cleared the 5th Floor.

‘They purposefully pushed back the opening date of the 6th Floor. They gave us no other choice but to come here because the 6th Floor is still closed.’

In that case, what was their true goal here?

Lowering the stats of all the Players by ten percent?

“...No, that’s only an extra perk.”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes darkened. The demons weren’t simpletons that merely played tricks. Compared to the Players, they would most definitely do something that was much more shrewd and cruel.

“No matter what, I have a bad feeling about this.”

His intuition told him that they had to get out of this place as soon as possible. He got the feeling that this wasn’t the end but the flashy beginning of something much bigger.

“The problem is the other Players,” Cha Si-Eun spoke up. As she said, the Players had been going mad trying to earn points up until a moment ago. So, there wasn’t exactly anyone who wanted to leave this place.

However, that wasn’t the case anymore…

“The Players are starting to grow tired, too,” Gilberto said.

“Yeah, because they realized that there aren’t many things that are worth buying at the shop even if they earn points,” Skaya agreed.

“And I can already see what they’re going to do afterward...”

They would definitely go back, whether it be back to their home or back to the field. However, what would happen if they realized that they couldn’t leave?

“Sigh.” As soon as Seo Jun-Ho massaged his wrinkled forehead, a commotion started around them.

“Tsk. I’m turning in for the day.”

“Wait, but how do we leave?”

“I’m sure there’s a door or an elevator somewhere.”

“I didn’t see any. Did you?”

“No, me neither…”

The Players quickly kicked up a fuss.

Seo Jun-Ho saw that, and his eyes turned cold. “Skaya, you’re a demon now.”

“Huh?” He ignored his friends’ bewildered looks as he explained, “So think like a demon. What would you do in this situation, what are you going to do now that the Players have fallen into chaos?”

“Hm.” She closed her eyes and thought to herself. If she were a demon that hated Players and had some level of control over the System…

The answer was obvious.

“I would excite them even more in some way so that the Players would start killing each other.”

“That’s what I thought.” Seo Jun-Ho bit his lip and prepared himself for the mayhem that would soon come. “In that case, what we need to do is minimize infighting as much as possible.”

“Jun-Ho, to be frank, the five of us aren’t enough to placate hundreds of thousands of Players,” Mio said.

“That’s why we need to get some helpers,” he said.

Mere strength wasn’t enough. The Players would only listen to someone who had great influence.

Thankfully, there were many people here who could provide them with that.

***

“Specter…! Spect—”

Painful groans continued to echo throughout the sealed cave.

“My poor master. He has to be in so much pain,” Isaac Dvor muttered sympathetically.

He heard something falling somewhere next to him. He turned at the sound and rejoiced. “You hunted a pig today.”

“I will trim and cook it,” the Chef said, delighted. He dragged the pig away and disappeared.

When the Chef disappeared, Valencia silently stared at Isaac and said, “Isaac, when you brought back the Neigong Chip, couldn’t you have brought the System Chip as well?”

“I have told you several times before. Unfortunately, my liege did not give me such an order.”

“...” He wasn’t lying at all, but it still didn’t get rid of the unpleasant feeling within her. ‘If only he brought back the System Chip.’

If he had done so, their leader wouldn’t have been in such a state, and they could have even killed Specter.

“I think that you are very angry at me, Miss Cia.” Isaac smile warmly at her when he sensed her killing intent.

“You always never think about the team. Your first priority is always your own amusement. I don’t like that.”

“Is that why you wish to kill me?”

“Yeah.”

“But if our leader finds that his servant is dead when he wakes up, wouldn’t that displease him?”

“...I know. That’s why I’m leaving you alive.”

“I am grateful. Will you dine with us?”

“Eat as much as you want, you stupid magician.”

Isaac chuckled once she left. He looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, “I suppose the Colonel and the King of Corpses will start moving as well.”

For this mission, they would inflict terror that was on a different level than everything else they had done so far. It was all because this was a part of the plan that would put the Fiend Association under the demons.

“What a shame.”

Isaac Dvor was truly disappointed that he wouldn’t be written on the ‘first page’ of the history book that was about to be written.

***

“Eek! I forfeit!”

“Hm. Another forfeit.”

Rahmadat Khali wasn’t satisfied. He had decided to become a fighter in the Underground Octagon because he wanted to stretch his muscles a bit, but no one could give him a proper fight.

‘They’re too weak.’

Back in his day, there had been more spirited people who would just go ahead and fight him regardless of the consequences.

[You have won the Underground Octagon match.]

[This is your 32nd consecutive victory. You have received 800 points as a reward.]

“Tsk.”

After thinking for the first time in a while, he realized that he couldn’t use his points no matter how many points he gained because he couldn’t leave this place after becoming an Octagon fighter.

‘I don’t like this.’

Every time he tried to leave, a System message would appear.

[You are an Underground Octagon fighter.]

[You cannot leave the Octagon until you collapse from exertion.]

“Don’t make me laugh.” What, was he supposed to eat, sleep, and piss here? He snorted and shook his head. “Take all my points, and do whatever you want. I’m gonna leave. I’m starting to get hungry as well.”

Just as he was about to rip out the steel bars of the Octagon with his bare hands, he was interrupted by a smooth-sounding voice.

“Excuse me, you can’t do that. Please return to the ring and continue fighting.”

In addition, he could feel a disturbing energy.

“Finally. It’s about time that I fight someone worth fighting.” Rahmadat flashed a toothy grin and slowly turned around. However, Rahmadat frowned when he saw the man clad in a white suit with his hands behind his back.

“Huh? Wait… You’re not a Player.”

The aura spilling out from the man’s body was clearly demonic energy.