Return of the Frozen Player

This was his second visit.

Sweep, sweep.

The two young monks sweeping the entrance of the manor bowed politely at him.

"You’re the man with a very clear soul! So you’ve come here again!"

"You’re the man walking on a lonely road full of hardships! So you’ve come here again!"

"Yes, it's been a long time.”

Seo Jun-Ho got down at the monk’s eye level and took out the chocolate he had prepared in advance.

"Here, a gift for you two."

“…”

“…”

Their mouths drooled as they stared blankly at the box of chocolates.

"You can take it.”

"Thank you for the food, Hero of Mankind!"

"Thank you for the food, Hero of Mankind!"

The two young monks bowed and received the box of chocolates. Then, they opened the door.

"Please follow us and be careful."

"The Sage is waiting for you.”

Seo Jun-Ho went through the magic circle with the two young monks, and he was once again met with the same beautiful garden that he had seen on his last visit.

"Huh?" However, an unexpected feminine voice reached his ears. "Wow! Awesome! Were you the guest who was coming today?”

"Hmm?"

Seo Jun-Ho's eyes widened after confirming her identity. He didn’t expect to see her here—no, he didn’t expect to see her again.

"Ms. Seo Mirae?"

"Wow~ You remember my name! I thought you would have completely forgotten about my name by now."

"Well, I actually forgot about your name, but your face reminded me."

"You’re too mean." The woman with freckles chuckled and asked, "How have you been?”

“I’ve been doing well…”

Seo Mirae. As a Player from Cheong-Hae Guild, she once cleared the Wild Forest Gate together with Seo Jun-Ho. In addition, she could see the future, albeit in fragments.

"I’ve been reading about your performance in many articles, and you really made me feel proud. We're still comrades of the same period. I mean comrades from the Wild Forest Gate."

"That's already two years ago."

"Time really flies. Don't you think so?"

Seo Jun-Ho stared at Seo Mirae

‘Pretty good.’

Seo Mirae had become a Player that was well beyond the Player she had been years ago. She was no longer giving off the vibe of a newbie. For some reason, Seo Jun-Ho felt proud staring at her.

"Don’t you feel hot wearing that?"

"Ah, that’s…" Seo Jun-Ho awkwardly smiled. He was wearing a long coat with long sleeves to hide his incessantly trembling hands.

"I get cold easily. Rather, Ms. Mirae, what are you doing here?”

"Uh, that’s…" Seo Mirae awkwardly smiled as well.

Fortunately, a voice rescued her by saying, “Don’t you think it’s about time for me to nurture a successor?"

"Ah, I told you to please walk with a cane, old man…” grumbled Seo Mirae as she approached the blind Sage of the Observatory Tower.

The Sage of the Observatory approached Seo Jun-Ho.

"It’s been a while," said Seo Jun-Ho.

“Haha, yes, it has been a while…” the Sage trailed off. For the Sage, it had only been a year since they last met, but it wasn’t the case for Seo Jun-Ho. Seo Jun-Ho was meeting him for the first time in almost eighteen years.

"You’ve worked hard."

"Thank you, but by a successor, do you mean..."

Seo Jun-Ho's eyes turned to Seo Mirae. The Sage nodded.

"She’s a complete tomboy, but with a bit of training, it should be fine."

"Certainly."

Seo Mirae had the cheat-like ability to peek into the future. What if the Sage taught her how to use that kind of skill? It wouldn’t be unreasonable to call her the Sage of the Observatory Tower’s successor.

‘Of course, it’s a bit hard for me to imagine her as the next Sage.’

Seo Jun-Ho smiled softly while looking at the Sage.

‘Could I still call him Sage?’

Setting aside combat prowess, Seo Jun-Ho could feel that the Sages’ breadth of mind was wide. He was living in the present, but he was always looking at the future. Even now, he was already preparing a successor who would replace him when he died.

"Shall we go on a stroll?"

"Yes."

The Sage gently patted the back of Seo Mirae's hand, who was still supporting him.

“The two of us will go on a stroll for a while.”

"Be careful. Don’t fall…"

"I have never fallen in my life, so why are you worrying about something like that?"

Seo Jun-Ho followed the chuckling Sage and started walking in the garden. As the smell of fragrant flowers wafted over to them, the Sage shattered the ice and spoke, "A good kid like here is rare these days. I hope she’ll find a decent man to date soon."

“I’m always busy…”

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Even if she wants to date you, I won’t accept it,” said the Sage. He wanted Seo Mirae to be happy. There was no way she could be happy with Seo Jun-Ho—a man walking on a path full of hardships.

Seo Jun-Ho went silent. He thought about something for a moment before asking carefully, "Did you know that my teacher was going to die?"

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho was obviously talking about the Thunder God.

The Sage nodded without hesitation.

"That's right. I told him about his impending death, and I also told him to treat you well because you will be there in his final moments."

Seo Jun-Ho’s heart twisted at the thought of it alone. Seo Jun-Ho basically considered the Thunder God as his parent.

"Was there no other way? Like a way to save him?"

“He could have been saved, but he refused.”

"What?!" Surprised, Seo Jun-Ho stopped walking and looked at the Sage. "He could have lived, but he gave it up? Why on earth would he make that choice?"

The Sage smiled weakly and answered, "I can only say that he did it for the future.”

"For the future? What does that mean?"

"Hmm. I don't think that he would want you to know.”

The Thunder God wouldn’t want him to know? As soon as he heard it, Seo Jun-Ho's intuition reached a conclusion.

"Janabi’s core."

The absorption of Janabi’s core meant acquiring Cell Regeneration. It meant that given enough time, the Thunder God would have eventually recovered. If the Thunder God absorbed Janabi’s core rather than himself, the Thunder God would have survived.

Seo Jun-Ho’s expression distorted upon learning the horrible truth.

"So he died because of me....”

"Haaa." The Sage sighed deeply and said, "I'll take back what I said last time about liking smart people like you. People like you are hard to deal with."

Seo Jun-Ho remained unmoving despite the Sage’s lighthearted words. He couldn’t believe that he was the reason why the Thunder God decided to accept his demise.

‘Then the reason why he alone didn’t come even when both the Big 6 and the Nine Heavens gathered at Black Field was perhaps?’

‘So the reason he didn’t show up at Blackfield along with the Big 6 and the other Heavens is…’

Seo Jun-Ho thought that it was because the Thunder God was busy teaching Baek Geon-woo, but…

‘Was he afraid that he would become greedy if he saw the core?’

Seo Jun-Ho felt dizzy as he demanded. "The reason—please tell me the reason."

“What reason?"

"Why couldn’t he absorb Janabi’s core."

The Sage stared at him. "Didn't you overcome a lot of difficulties because of that skill?”

“If he were the one who absorbed the core, then I wouldn’t have encountered so many difficulties…”

"Specter. Listen to me carefully." The Sage grabbed Seo Jun-Ho's shoulders and scolded him in a stern voice. “Once you start harboring that kind of thought, there will be no end to it. You shouldn’t blame yourself for everything untoward happening in the entire world. If you really want to know why he decided against saving himself, then I’ll tell you…”

The Sage stared at the tearful Seo Jun-Ho and said, "You’re the only one who can do it, so it has to be you.”

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho knew. He knew it deep inside. He knew that there was no way someone else could have survived the 4th Floor’s regressions. If the Thunder God knew that he would have to face such hardships, then it was understandable why he decided to accept his demise.

‘He knew that he couldn’t do it because he was old…’

As such, the Thunder God decided to hand over the role to Seo Jun-Ho. Tears fell down Seo Jun-Ho’s cheeks as he closed his eyes tightly. Right now, he was whining. He was whining like a child.

After a while, Seo Jun-Ho composed himself and said, "I'm sorry for showing you such an ugly side."

"No, it’s fine." The Sage patted him gently on the shoulder. "I can say for sure that he had complete control over his future. I’m sure that he isn’t holding any grudge against you.”

Seo Jun-Ho knew that as well. He was there when the Thunder God departed, so he knew that the Thunder God passed away while worrying about those he would have to leave behind. As such, there was no way he would resent them.

"How about you tell me your story?" the Sage asked, "Why are you here?"

"…Did you not know that I would come?"

"I knew you'd come, but I don't know why…"

Seo Jun-Ho thought for a while and said carefully, "I came because I heard that you could cure an illness of the heart."

"Pfft!" The Sage chuckled. "Who do you think am I? A therapist? What makes you think that I can cure an illness of the heart?"

"But I’ve heard from people who were previously suffering from the same illness that they got a lot better after visiting you…”

"Well, I told them a few words, and they got better on their own."

"That's exactly what I need right now."

Seo Jun-Ho revealed a serious look. The Thunder God was definitely watching over him from the heavens, so he couldn’t keep on showing the Thunder God such a pathetic side of him.

"Please let me know. I… Just what am I supposed to do?"

“…”

Tremble.

Seo Jun-Ho revealed his incessantly trembling arms.

The Sage stood still for a while and spoke, "You're strange. Why are you asking me about that?"

"…Yes?"

Seo Jun-Ho had come all the way here to find an answer. However, if even the Sage had no idea about the answer to his question, then where on earth could he find the answer?

"What you want to do and how you want to do it. Aren’t you the one who knows the best about how you should go around things?"

"Do you want me to try meditation?"

"Tsk. I am called the Sage, so would I say something so obvious?” said the Sage before looking up at the sky.

"People call me a sage and a prophet. However, they’re mistaken.” The Sage shook his head and explained, "Our tomboy is the only one who can peek into the future. An ordinary person like me can't even begin to dream of doing that."

"But… haven’t you been correctly predicting the future so far?"

"Yes, but it wasn’t because I could look into the future,” said the Sage as he lowered his head and smirked before whispering, "I simply drew an image of the future by looking at the past and collecting reference materials."

The Sage lightly struck Seo Jun-Ho’s chest. "If our tomboy can see the future, then I can see the past."

"Then, what you meant by I’m the only one who knows best is…”

"It is exactly as I said…"

Smack.

The Sage's palm landed squarely on Seo Jun-Ho's chest.

- Ask yourself.

What?

The Sage opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it. No, Seo Jun-Ho heard the Sage speak, but he sounded like he was underwater. Amidst the baffling scene, Seo Jun-Ho felt like his mind was going somewhere.