Return of the Frozen Player

The four Players gathered around Seo Jun-Ho because he was the strongest among them.

"My name is Oh Dae-Yang. It is an honor to meet you!"

"…Nilbas Perry."

"I'm Alba Mils.”

"I’m Halgi Goodrickson!"

There was a Korean and two Americans, respectively.

The man with a long beard—who introduced himself as Halgi Goodrickson—was a Norwegian Viking.

‘At least I know everyone here…’

Apart from their fame, he had already looked at the profiles of the advance party members. The Silent Moon had given him a warning, so he had felt like he had to know the faces of the advance party members at the very least.

"Hep!" Halgi slung his big ax over his shoulder and said, "It seems that the people are in groups of five."

"I-I didn't expect anything like this."

"An isolation… Will there be a hunt afterward? Huhuhu, interesting.”

However, it seemed that the Viking was the only one who found this interesting.

The other three didn't look that happy.

"Hmm, Contractor," said the Frost Queen.

She was currently invisible to the others. She looked up at the wall and said, "How about you try going up the wall?"

“…”

Indeed. A maze wouldn’t be an obstacle if one could scale its walls.

Seo Jun-Ho started moving. At the sight, Alba asked, "Where are you going?"

"I need to check something."

He ran across the circular clearing before jumping as high as he could toward the wall.

Crackle!

The Frost Queen created a wall of ice that jutted out of the wall.

‘Good timing.’

Seo Jun-Ho stepped on the frozen wall and started running upward using small ice platforms as his foothold.

"Oh! He’s trying to go over the wall?"

"I see…"

"P-please be careful!"

The team members’ eyes shone as they watched Seo Jun-Ho.

Seo Jun-Ho imbued magic into both of his feet before jumping into the air.

He looked down and saw his pursuers.

‘Do I have to deal with more of those things the closer I get to the summit?’’

The thorns and bushes from the vine wall were chasing after him.

"Take care of them." The Freedom Blade’s four blades carried out the order.

Slice, slice, slice!

They severed the thorns chasing after Seo Jun-Ho.

'It's doable...’

He ran as fast as he could because he could already see the clouds. The summit of the wall was way beyond the clouds, so Seo Jun-Ho was convinced that he would arrive at the summit as long as he went beyond those clouds.

Seo Jun-Ho took one final leap toward the clouds.

Smack!

"...Huh?"

However, his face crashed against a transparent wall.

~

[You cannot escape the Maze of Exiles. Please go down.]

~

Was it saying that it wouldn’t allow tricks like these?

Seo Jun-Ho sighed and started plummeting to the ground.

"Oh, ohhh! He’s falling!"

"Should we help him?"

“Guys, who do you think he is?” Nilbas clicked his tongue.

Seo Jun-Ho abruptly disappeared.

"It doesn’t work. The System won’t allow it."

A clump of darkness on the ground behind them quickly took on Specter’s figure.

Halgi turned around and laughed boisterously. "Hahaha! How . Specter. You are indeed as great as the rumors!"

"A-anyway, the fact that the system won’t allow any shortcut means…” Oh Dae-Yang trailed off with a frown. He looked ahead of them, and the maze seemed to be welcoming them. A cold wind was flowing out of the maze.

"I-It means that we have to go in there, after all."

"Hmm. How about we try breaking down the wall?"

"Move." Nilbas moved ahead of the others and manifested a mana javelin. Without any hesitation, he gripped the javelin tightly and started running.

‘Is he going to throw the javelin?’

The javelin throw had existed since ancient times.

It was a technique that allowed humans to show off their superiority over other species.

‘Nilbas Perry's javelin throw combined with his unique skill…’

Nilbas was known as the Javelin Master, and he had three skills that allowed him to claim the title for himself.

‘A skill related to the mastery of weapons, a skill that strengthens his physical prowess, and finally…’

A skill that allowed him to detonate magic.

Booom!

The javelin collided against the wall of the maze, and the javelin exploded the moment it made contact with the wall, creating a huge explosion that also generated a deafening boom.

The others were dozens of meters away, but they could still feel the earth vibrating beneath them.

“Tsk.” Nilbas clicked his tongue and shook his head. "The wall is being protected by the system as well."

The vines, thorns, and bushes immediately regenerated the damaged wall.

“Give me a minute…” Alba muttered before closing her eyes.

When she opened her eyes once more, her eyes were shining in white as she stared into the maze. Alba was a support-type Player who managed to get into the advance party because of her excellent reconnaissance and scout skills.

A few moments later, Alba staggered backward and said, “Ugh, I can’t see anything. It feels like a thick fog is obscuring the way ahead.”

“Indeed.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded. In fact, he had been trying to get a glimpse of the surroundings using his magic, but he failed spectacularly. He had been doing that in hopes of regrouping with his friends.

‘But something is blocking it…’’

The wavelength of Seo Jun-Ho’s magic distorted the moment it entered the maze. It felt like the maze was telling him to just experience the maze himself rather than trying to take a peek.

“I-I think we have no choice but to be careful and explore the maze,” said Oh Dae-Yang.

A system message appeared in front of them.

~

[Welcome to the Maze of Exiles.]

[The Players have been divided fairly into 30 teams, and the Players must escape within the next 24 hours.]

[The goal of this evil maze is to kill intruders by misleading them, so please keep that in mind.]

[There are hints hidden in multiple places; please use them wisely.]

~

"What’s this? It’s not even funny.” Halgi snorted in displeasure.

"Is that goddamned system trying to make us participate in a treasure hunt?”

"There are thirty teams. It seems that the number of people in a party isn’t uniform."

"T-then, I guess we got lucky."

"Yes, because there are five of us here."

While the others were talking to each other, Seo Jun-Ho fell into deep contemplation.

‘It’s strangely nice…’

This was the first time the system gave them advice.

'Perhaps it has something to do with the sudden change of the designated 7th Floor.’

It made sense for them to be kinder and nicer to the Players, who had to explore a place that they had to prepare in a hurry. If that was the case, then this warning contained more than just advice.

Seo Jun-Ho read the message over and over again.

‘Hmm?’

He noticed more and more strange things the more he read through it. He only had doubts earlier, but his doubts were starting to become certainty as time went on.

"Interesting."

"Hmm, this is interesting? I guess a hero's way of thinking is unique,” muttered Halgi.

Shwik!

The four blades of the Freedom Blade suddenly flew toward him.

Claaaang!

Halgi’s Hidden Armor (A) defended him from the blades.

"A-a traitor…!"

"What are you doing?!"

Surprised, the Players quickly widened the gap between them and Seo Jun-Ho.

Halgi stared calmly at Seo Jun-Ho with an ax in hand.

“You’re strong—stronger than what I've heard in rumors.”

"Specter! You better tell us what you’re trying to do here!"

The four Players became wary of Seo Jun-Ho.

Seo Jun-Ho withdrew his Freedom Blade and apologized. "My apologies. I had to check something."

"Hey! Do you really think that what you’ve done can be resolved with just an apology?!”

"Halgi Goodrickson. I heard you're a Player capable of protecting yourself using an intangible armor.”

“Since you know that, why did you attack me?”

"It's the other way around—I attacked because I knew that..."

That way, he would be able to find answers to his questions without hurting anyone.

"I told you. I had to check something."

"All right. I'll listen. What the hell did you want to know that you had to attack me?"

Seo Jun-Ho remained steadfast beneath Halgi’s hostile look. Instead of replying, he asked everyone, "Does anyone here know the exact number of advance party members?"

“A hundred and twenty people. I think that’s it,” replied Alba.

"Yes, a hundred and twenty people, but the teams are split into thirty groups."

“Everyone already knows that so what are you trying to say here?”

"I guess you didn’t think deeply into it.” Seo Jun-Ho swept his gaze across the others and said, "Think about it. Why are a hundred and twenty Players divided into thirty teams?”

"Because it’s the rule…?"

“Correct.” It was the rule, the key, and a hint. "Our team has five people, so how many members do you think will the other teams have?”

"I think the number of people in the other teams isn’t consistent."

"If a team has to have five members, then a few teams will have fewer members."

"No, that’s wrong. Read the message once more," Seo Jun-Ho said firmly, "The system said that it divided the Players into thirty teams fairly."

"Yeah. I think it’s referring to the power level of the members of the team."

"Well, how can it be fair when you can’t really quantify that?"

“…”

Everyone revealed thoughtful expressions while reading the system messages once more. The system had said that it had divided the Players fairly. In other words, it had to have used a clear standard in dividing the players.

"I think the standard is the number of people..."

Dividing 120 Players into 30 teams meant that each team would have 4 people. No one would argue that it was unfair if the number of people in the team was the standard of being fair.

"But there are five—” Halgi abruptly stopped talking. The others seemed to have realized something as well as they started walking away from someone.

"This is a relief. I guess the others can think as well," said the Frost Queen.

The others walked away from a particular Player.

"W-wait. What's wrong with you all?" Oh Dae-Yang hurriedly spoke. "W- why are you all moving away from me? Isn’t it weird? S-Specter-nim attacked Mr. Halgi. I-it wasn’t me…!”

"You're the only one who hasn’t used it yet." Nilbas pointed a mana javelin at Oh Dae-Yang and said, "Specter has shown us his ice and darkness elemental abilities. I showed everyone my skills. Alba used her scout skills, and we’ve also seen Halgi’s Hidden Armor. In other words, everyone here has already showcased the skills that made them famous."

“Aside from you..."

Alba and Halgi directed their suspicious gaze at Oh Dae-Yang.

Seo Jun-Ho suddenly spoke, "Oh Dae-Yang. A Player of the Silent Moon Guild. Your bread and butter skill is Singer (A)."

Singer (A) allowed Oh Dae-Yang to attack enemies by generating powerful sound waves. Seo Jun-Ho’s sharp gaze examined Oh Dae-Yang from head to toe.

"Use it. Prove to us that you’re a Player. Otherwise, I'll cut you down."

"D-don't…!”

Terrified, Oh Dae-Yang started walking toward them.

Halgi shouted, "Hey! Don't come here. Just stay there and use your skill!"

"I-I'm just anxious… I'm scared…!”

"Damn it! Don't come any closer!" Nilbas shouted. He looked like he would throw the mana javelin in his hand at any moment.

The Frost Queen couldn’t help but mutter, "They lack courage."

Yes, they weren’t courageous enough.

The answer had already presented itself, so why were they hesitating?

"...Silent Flash Wave.”

Seo Jun-Ho vanished and reappeared behind Oh Dae-Yang. The ink-like line that he had carved in the air showed how clean and determined the sword stroke that he had just executed.

"Grrr! Ack! Ack!”

Bubbles appeared on Oh Dae-Yang’s decapitated body. The grotesque-looking bubbles boiled and grew bigger and bigger until they took on the shape of an equally grotesque-looking monster.

"Grrr… scared… don’t... kill… me... Aaaahhh!"

The monster screamed and attacked Seo Jun-Ho.

However, it never managed to touch even the hem of Seo Jun-Ho’s clothes.

Booom!

"Haaa… Haaa."

Nilbas' javelin pierced the monster and caused it to explode.

Seo Jun-Ho faced the seemingly exhausted Players despite the short encounter and muttered, "You lot better be prepared.”

He turned to look at the gaze before continuing. "We’ll encounter more troublesome things than that monster just now."

He was sure of it; his gut feeling was telling him that he was right.