Return of the Frozen Player

Before Seo Jun-Ho left for the mission at the factory, Arnold filled him in on the details of the situation.

“The vampires keep to a very strict hierarchy. Obviously, the True Vampires are the strongest. Do you know them?”

“Yes, I heard that there are four of them.”

“Indeed. However, there are also what we call apostles. The apostles are what the True Vampires had bitten personally to turn into vampires.”

“Are they strong?”

“If we were to compare them to an ordinary vampire, they are vastly stronger.”

The apostles could use special abilities like the True Vampires, but they had clear limits.

“And there is only one way for them to surpass those limits. They have to drink the blood of another vampire.”

“But that’s…”

“Yes, it is fratricide. Tepes prohibits it, but because there are four True Vampires, there are four factions. They are apparently killing and cannibalizing each other in secret.”

In other words, even though the vampires seemed to be under the same alliance. There was actually a rivalry among them.

“In other words, an apostle has to be stopped from drinking the blood of another vampire,” Seo Jun-Ho concluded

“Just to be safe...”

“Yes, just to be safe.” After finishing his brief explanation, Arnold let out a small sigh. “ I did not tell you earlier, but our tribe was planning to sit out of this mission.”

“Why?”

“A few days ago, my daughter, along with other warriors, encountered an apostle while they were gathering information in the city.”

Ah, it had to be the incident that happened involving Rahmadat. Arnold told him that Mone was alone and was running away from something. The presence of an apostle would explain why she had to run away.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“They were great warriors. I swear, I will avenge them. I swear it,” Arnold said with conviction. “Hoo. Anyway, I sent a notice that I will train more warriors because we lost many warriors in that incident.”

“I see…”

It was understandable why they had been planning to stay out of this mission. “Wait. Then, did Rahmadat kill an apostle that day?”

“According to Mone, there weren’t any apostles. Apparently, only the subordinates were chasing after her.”

In that case, an apostle’s strength was still unclear.

Seo Jun-Ho thought about it for a moment before speaking, “Have you ever met an apostle?”

“Hm? Of course. I’ve met them many times before.”

“Then, can you tell me approximately how strong they are?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.

“It is quite difficult to put it in words—” Arnold said, looking disconcerted.

However, his eyes suddenly widened.

“Are they this strong?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.

Arnold had to stop speaking because Seo Jun-Ho suddenly exploded in power.

“I see…”

He should be able to accurately tell Seo Jun-Ho about the power of the apostles he had met so far using this kind of method. Arnold briefly smiled before concentrating hard. He evaluated the power that Seo Jun-Ho was emitting before shaking his head.

“They were stronger than that.”

“How about this?

“I have faced three apostles so far, and I believe that the weakest of them is roughly that strong.”

“I see...” Seo Jun-Ho withdrew his power and nodded. “I think I have a good idea of their strength now.”

“The apostles shouldn’t be of concern for you.” Arnold believed that the human in front of him was as strong as him. Arnold then turned around and tapped on a part of the map. “This is the rendezvous point before the mission. Tomorrow, at 11 p.m.”

“I’m a human, so will they accept me?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“I will tell you the secret code. Take this as well, just in case.” He pulled out a few hairs from his mane and gave it to the Player. “I suppose it is a little too soon to say this, but I apologize and thank you for going in our stead.”

“Not at all.” Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. He wasn’t doing this to help them save face. He simply wanted to clear the 6th Floor, and that was it.

***

Werewolves could be seen walking down a shabby hallway. They soon arrived in front of a certain apartment’s door and knocked.

A low voice could be heard from beyond the door.

- Winter has come.

“The weather is growing colder and colder.”

Click.

The door opened when the secret code was spoken. Upon walking inside the apartment, they were met with a chorus of friendly voices.

“Hey, Nails! How long has it been since we last met?”

“Pfft, it’s good to see that the Sharp Teeth are still alive and well.”

“How have you been?

“We were living in a warm and comfortable city before, but now, we’re living in the middle of nowhere. How do you think I have been doing?”

“Ahahaha!”

It was a pleasant reunion because it had been a few months since they had such a gathering.

Bigal, a member of the Sharp Tooth tribe, swept his gaze across the room and said. “I don’t see anyone from the Twilight Claw Tribe. I wonder why.”

“I think none of them will be coming here today..”

“What? Why?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear?” One of the werewolves looked up from the map to look at him. “A few days ago, they encountered apostles while doing reconnaissance in the city. Apparently, they lost thirteen warriors.”

“Shit…”

Even though they weren’t part of the same tribe, they were still fellow werewolves. In addition, the Twilight Claw Tribe warriors were taken out by the bats that they hated a lot.

Silence descended upon the apartment.

“Let us have a moment of silence for the fallen warriors.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“May their souls arrive at the Twilight Hill…”

After a short moment of silence, the briefing finally started.

“Nelson?”

“Mm. Since we’re all here, let’s get started.” Nelson gathered their attention and stepped forward. He was a werewolf from the Blue Mane tribe, and he had all the information they needed about the factory where they would conduct their mission tonight.

“Tonight, we’re going to raid a factory under the pharmaceutical company Astaneca—”

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door, and the faces of the werewolves stiffened.

‘Who is it?’

‘The participating tribes are already here.’

‘Let me check.’

Bigal slowly approached the door and focused on the presence beyond it.

“Winter has come.

- The weather is growing colder and colder.

“…”

He turned around and nodded to the others.

The other party had given the correct answer.

‘Did the Twilight Claw Tribe end up sending someone here?’

He slowly unlocked the door and stepped back. A man then entered the apartment.

The noses of the werewolves twitched at the same time.

“This smell…”

“He’s not a werewolf. He’s a human!”

“Why does a human know our secret code?”

The werewolves were confused, so they raised their guards up in response.

Meanwhile, the man quietly pulled something out of his pocket.

“Chief Arnold said that you would believe me if I showed you this.”

“Give it to me.” Bigal accepted the wooden box. He checked its contents and stared deeply at the man’s face. “He gave this to you?”

“He plucked them right in front of me.”

“He’s an ally…” Bigal announced after checking Arnold’s fur.

However, the werewolves still had doubts.

“Shit. I can’t believe that they sent a human in their place.”

“Just what is Chief Arnold thinking?”

The werewolves reacted negatively. It wasn’t really strange because the majority of the humans whom they were familiar with were both weak and fickle.

“Did he tell you what we’re about to do today?”

“I heard that there will be a raid at a factory somewhere.”

“Huuuu…”

So it was true. Arnold had really sent him over here for the mission.

Bigal scratched his forehead and warned. “I’m sorry if this sounds cold, but if you weigh us down, we will have no other choice but to throw you away. We’re not your nannies, after all.”

“Fine with me.”

“…” Bigal didn’t know what to say.

“Just think of me as a hired mercenary. The name’s Seo Jun-Ho,” added Seo Jun-Ho.

Ridiculous. Who would hire a human mercenary?

Bigal wanted to test Seo Jun-Ho’s, but Nelson pressed him. “Hey, we don’t have time for this. We have to kill all the guards and leave before they change shifts.”

Bigal gnashed his teeth and turned around. “Start with the briefing, then. Hurry up.”

“As I said, we will be raiding a factory owned by the pharmaceutical company Astaneca,” Nelson said

“What do they make there?”

“Overall, our tribe noticed two suspicious points.” Nelson held up two fingers. “First, humans would occasionally go into the factory, but they would never come out.”

“They must be harvesting their blood…”

“The second suspicious point is that once a week, they would send out a truck full of drugs.”

“Wait, drugs?” Bigal was confused. “Why is it suspicious for a pharmaceutical company to send out drugs?”

“Astaneca is a pharmaceutical company, but they aren’t accredited to sell drugs yet.”

“I see. So the drugs that they are developing aren’t for human consumption?”

“I think the drugs have something to do with the red fog.”

“Hold on. Is the CEO a vampire?”

Nelson smiled bitterly and shook his head. “As far as we know, the CEO is a human. He’s likely a puppet of the vampires”

“What a son of a bitch.” The werewolves growled in anger. Their fury was justified because becoming a puppet of vampires meant that one had sold out their fellow humans.

Bigal turned to Seo Jun-Ho. “Will you be able to kill another human?”

“Pffft!” Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t hold back his laughter. The werewolf had no idea just how many times he had killed humans who didn’t act like they were humans. “No need to worry. I can kill those kinds of bastards without an ounce of regret.”

“…I’ll choose to believe you.”

Nelson took out the map and explained the two main routes. “We’ll split into two teams. Team A will go in through the back entrance and retrieve anything that’s possibly related to the red fog. Team B will go through the front gate and rescue any humans they find. If they are beyond saving…”

Nelson didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone knew what he meant.

‘Give them a painless death…’

The werewolves gathered their equipment and walked out of the apartment.

Seo Jun-Ho was assigned to rescue the humans with Nelson and the Blue Mane tribe’s team.

“Okay, everyone. To the factory.”

The werewolves slipped out of the building and melted into the darkness of the city.

***

Nelson was surprised. He peeked at Seo Jun-Ho as they raced across the rooftops.

‘I did hear that humans have been developing well because they have more resources…’

But were all of them as physically fit as the man next to him? The man named Seo Jun-Ho had no trouble keeping up with their speed.

‘No. Based on his even breathing, he could be even stronger than us…’

Nelson couldn’t help but smile. ‘I think I’m overestimating him.’

He raised his hand, and the werewolves slowed down and stared down at something.

“We’re here.”

There were multiple chimneys sticking out of the giant factory, and the chimneys were incessantly puffing out white smoke. The property was surrounded by three-meter-tall wire fences, which made making it difficult for outsiders to trespass.

“Nelson. There are three bats at the entrance.”

“Understood,” he said tersely. “I’ll go first.”

Moonlight couldn’t fall upon the city due to the red fog, so Nelson had no choice but to transform using the Lunar Force he had saved up.

Without moonlight, they would soon run out of Lunar Force, so they would have to take turns transforming and fighting for efficiency’s sake.

“Follow up as soon as I’m done taking care of them,” muttered Nelson.

He then jumped down the building, and fur sprouted all over him as he fell.

Slam!

“Huh? What was that?”

“Shit! It’s a dog! Shoot!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Warrior Werewolves could easily overpower ten Common vampires. Nelson didn’t even bother to dodge the bullets and directly charged at them.

“Guh!”

“Urk…”

He made quick work of three vampires. Nelson plucked out the bullets in his chest and flicked them away.

Then, he threw his head back and howled. “Awoooooo!”

His howl ripped through the air and shook the surroundings.