Return of the Frozen Player

Skaya stared alternatingly between the Thunder God and the unfamiliar woman. The two emerged after Voros split himself into two.

“I don’t know who that girl is, but I know a little bit about the Thunder God,” she said. She tried to summarize everything she knew as fast as possible. “They say he had one of the fastest reaction speeds out of all the Players despite being an elderly man.”

“Reaction speed? Is he in the same category as Jun-Ho?” Rahmadat asked.

“Yeah. However, his skill’s attribute is lightning, so he should be able to fully utilize his speed whenever he wanted.”

“He sounds annoying to deal with, but I don’t know if that guy will be the same as the original one.”

Their enemy wasn’t the Thunder God himself but merely a fake who was imitating him.

Rahmadat eye’s turned to the girl this time. “...And who is she?”

“I told you, I don’t know. I’ve never seen her either.”

As soon as the woman emerged from Voros, she had fallen to her knees and started praying with her hands pressed together. A magic dome then formed around them, and it was so big that they had to turn to see the whole thing.

“What do you think, nerd?” asked Rahmadat.

“The Thunder God.”

“I knew it.”

They acknowledged that the Thunder God was definitely more dangerous than the woman. They could leave the woman alone for now because she wasn’t an immediate threat.

“You made a wise choice.” The fake Thunder God cackled viciously. The laughter was the complete opposite of the old man’s usually friendly, gentle laugh.

“Her skill is exactly as it seems. All she can do is create a force field by concentrating,” said the fake Thunder God while knocking on the wall.

“Seeing how openly you’re telling us about her abilities, you must be pretty confident.”

“Of course I am.” Voros couldn’t stop cackling in the Thunder God’s form. “This human’s skills are special to the point that it’s a waste they had been bestowed upon a mere insect.”

“Is that why you’re copying him?”

“Copy? I don’t like that word,” he said flatly. “I am far stronger and faster than this man had been in his lifetime. And I can use his skills far more effectively than him. To put it simply, I have transcended the original.”

“Rahmadat, there’s no point in talking to bastards like him,” Skaya said. Once again, she started casting a number of enhancement spells on him.

Honestly, enhancement spells weren’t always a good thing. The spells Skaya had cast on Rahmadat turned his skin as hard as steel. He also became even faster, and explosions would occur whenever he made contact with his enemy along with a cloud of poisonous smoke. Needless to say, the aftereffects were unimaginably intense.

“The only reason he can handle the enhancements is that he’s Rahmadat Khali,” Shin Sung-Hyun commented.

“A tanker who charges in armed with so many spells…I wouldn’t want to face that pair as an opponent,” Wei Chun-Hak agreed. They shivered at the mere thought of facing Skaya and Rahmadat at once.

“Here I go!” The dance of death began once again. Rahmadat charged in at the speed of light—no, he charged in at speeds transcending the physical dimension.

‘It’s over with this one hit.’

The world froze, and his fist flew forward to strike the fake Thunder God in the chin.

But just before it could land, the fake Thunder God’s eyes turned to Rahmadat.

‘...He’s reacting to Tandav?’

It was an unfamiliar, uncomfortable feeling.

Just as Rahmadat snapped out of it, a radiant black flower bloomed before him.

‘Lightning…!’

Crack!

When his fist struck its target, the lightning burst and scattered all over, grazing Rahmadat as well.

He tried to follow up with another attack like usual, but he couldn’t do it.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

‘Dammit, the fucking lightning made all my muscles completely contract.’ He was spasming. Fortunately, Cha Si-Eun saw and hurried over to heal him.

But the Thunder God seized the opportunity to make a move. Now that Rahmadat was disabled, he was going to kill Skaya.

“Not a chance. Magic Missile—a hundred and twenty-eight layers!” A hundred and twenty-eight magic circles filled the air and combined into one beam that shot out and made a beeline for its target.

Bzzzzt!

It elegantly tore through the large orb of lightning.

“...” The fake Thunder God scowled.

Skaya laughed coyly and gave him the middle finger.

However, she was also a little shocked inside. She was surprised that their enemy was skilled enough to counteract Tandav.

‘His reaction speed is based on his intuition, just like Jun-Ho. Not only that…’

He held the power of lightning in his hands, which allowed him to react perfectly to every attack. With just one exchange, she instantly understood why the real Thunder God had come to be a symbol for all Players.

“Thanks, Doc,” Rahmadat said to Si-Eun.

“I’m not a doctor; I’m a healer.”

“Well, both of you guys fix people up.”

“...”

Now that he had recovered, Rahmadat stretched his stiff body and stepped forward. His hands clenched and unclenched into fists. “...I suppose your cockiness wasn’t unfounded. No one has ever been able to react to Tandav’s speed before.”

The fake Thunder God had managed to create a shield right before Rahmadat’s fist met his chin. It was likely that Rahmadat’s punch didn’t even do half the damage that it usually would.

The demon spread his arms triumphantly. “Ahahaha! Do you understand now? These two powers belong to me, and only I can draw out the full potential of those two bugs’ abilities. It was wasted on them.”

“Shut up. You’re just a copycat.”

“Can you truly call me a copycat when I have surpassed the original to this extent?” Voros licked his lips. “Oh, I just had a good idea. I’ll kill you here and take on your form to kill the rest of your friends.”

“...What a coincidence. I also just had a good idea,” Rahmadat said, his voice unusually cold as he jutted out his chin and continued. “Skaya, give me some magic.”

“How many more times can you use it?” she asked bluntly. Even though the Tandav technique looked invincible, she knew that he could only use it a limited amount of times.

“Dunno. If I’m being honest, I think this will be the last time.”

“Then…”

“Don’t worry. Even if I hurt myself, I’ll end it here.”

Skaya knew that it was rare for Rahmadat to be so sure, so she silently prepared her magic.

“...Get ready. I’m casting the spells.”

When the magic filled Rahmadat, the air around him started to burn like lava.

“Hot…! Hey! Did you…” Rahmadat stammered.

Skaya had retreated all the way back, and she grinned when she heard him.

“How unfair. She only taught Jun-Ho the good stuff,” Rahmadat remarked.

It was Overclocking. However, it was markedly different from Seo Jun-Ho’s Overclocking because Rahmadat’s maximum output was three hundred percent rather than a hundred.

‘The core of this technique is the same as Jun-Ho’s Overclocking, but the application is a bit different.’

Seo Jun-Ho consistently lowered his temperature using Frost, but Rahmadat didn’t bother to get rid of the heat. His magic circuits, skin, and internal organs were constantly being melted and repaired, but he didn’t care. All he had to do was endure the pain and persevere. They would regenerate anyway.

It would be a little weird to call it a copy of Seo Jun-Ho’s technique because the physical effects of Rahmadat’s Overclocking far exceeded Seo Jun-Ho’s Overclocking.

“Hey, demon. I’m coming for you.”

“I believe I already told you that I don’t need pests like you to tell me everything.”

“...Did you? I just thought it would be a good idea to warn you this time.” Hot breaths emerged like smoke between Rahmadat’s glossy lips.

The fake Thunder God grinned.

‘He’s facing me head-on and going for my face again. Does he ever get tired?’

The demon had already spread the force field all around them, and there was a network running through it. In other words, he could ‘predict’ the route and timing of every attack coming toward him.

‘An inferior human could never dream of using such a skill.’

He could use it only because he was a demon from a highly esteemed clan.

Voros created a shield in front of him with a lazy flick of his hand.

‘No matter how much these pests struggle, in the end, they will never be able to defeat—’

His train of thought was cut off when an incredible pain bloomed on his face. It felt like his soul itself was being ripped out of his body.

‘...Huh?’

What was this pain? What happened to the shield?

Slaaaam!

The fake Thunder God’s body struck the wall, but there was no explosion of lightning

“Haa.” Rahmadat let out a hot breath and suppressed the excruciating pain throughout his body.

Immediately afterward, he struck the fake Thunder God’s face once again.

Slaaam!

‘Faster…! Stronger…!’

And again…

Slaaaaaam!

Rahmadat’s skin peeled off layer by layer. Rahmadat felt like he was on fire as his blood started furiously spilling out of him.

‘Aaarghhh!’

Death visited him over and over.

‘Aaarghhh!’

He had already used Tandav three times in a row, and he couldn’t help but think that he might truly die if he used it one more time.

‘...Yeah? So what?’

The fake Thunder God was still breathing. He was still alive. As such, Rahmadat decided to take another step no matter the cost. After all, he had made a promise to himself.

‘Those who dare to inflict anguish on my friends…’

They would never be forgiven.

Blood started pouring out from his bloodshot eyes.

SLAAAM!

With an explosive sound, he extinguished the demon’s life.

“...!”

The demons had been leisurely watching the battle from the sidelines with their arms crossed in front of their chest, but they were forced to stand bolt upright upon witnessing Rahmadat’s might.

Impossible…

An Arch demon had created the Arcade Center, so there was no way someone could leave even a crack on it. However, the ceiling and the floor of the Arcade Center actually started to crack and catch fire like the Arcade Center had been hit by a giant meteorite.

There should have been a body on the massive depression in the Arcade Center’s floor, but there wasn’t anything else other than pieces of broken flesh, bits of bones, and vast amounts of blood.

“Rahmadat!” Skaya sprinted forward and caught Rahmadat when he tipped over. Blood was still pouring out of him like a waterfall, and his voice was very raspy when he spoke, “Hey, nerd. I told you. That I’d…end it, here.”

“Yeah, I got it; you did well! Just close your eyes and rest! Si-Eun!”

Cha Si-Eun quickly arrived next to him, but the excruciating pain wasn’t something that could be extinguished by her healing powers alone.

‘I think I really pushed myself a bit too hard this time.’

Actually, he instinctively knew that his body had reached its limit from the moment he landed the first punch. However, he actually did it again three times in a row right afterward, and now, he was paying the price for his boldness.

Rahmadat felt like the pain was tearing his soul and body apart. He had never experienced such excruciating and impossible-to-replicate pain in his whole life.

‘Tandav… I guess seven times is my limit.’

Even with his Super Regeneration (EX), he still couldn’t use Tandav an unlimited number of times. He was still an imperfect vessel, so it didn’t matter how fast he could regenerate.

“You did well. Really well,” Skaya said as she scanned the battlefield. When the fake Thunder God was killed, the woman also let out a shriek and died. It was likely that Voros also died the moment the fake Thunder God died.

“Rahmadat.” Specter—no, Seo Jun-Ho stepped right up to his side and placed his fist on Rahmadat’s chest. “I kept my eyes closed.”

“...Good. It’s good that you didn’t see.”

“It would be weird to call it repayment, but it’s about time you close your eyes.”

“Ah...” His eyes fluttered shut. A soft, warm smile appeared on his face. The man in front of him had been the one who had freed Rahmadat from his shell.

If it weren’t for Seo Jun-Ho, he would have remained a coward who could never even begin to dream about surpassing his limits.

‘Thank you. All of you…’

He only ever became this strong because he worked hard to become like those four.

And because he found someone to protect...

Blood dripped from his blissful face, and his hand went limp.

Specter felt his heart drop.

“...Rahmadat. RAHMADAAAT!!!” he screamed.

“Specter-nim.” Cha Si-Eun looked up and shook her head slowly. “The patient is asleep. Please don’t be so loud.”

“...Huh?” Specter was dumbfounded.

“I said, the patient is sleeping. Very deeply. Stabilizing him is our top priority.”

A few moments later, Rahmadat started snoring like an elephant.